The Author's POV

"So you're saying that you defeated her and in doing so convinced her to sign a mana contract with you?"

Douglas's clear voice echoed throughout the room.

"That's correct."

I replied with a nod.

Since the cat was out of the bag, I came clean about Angelica.

I told Douglas and Waylan everything that had happened between Angelica and me, from how I defeated her to how I made her sign a mana contract with me and how we came to the current working relationship.

I, of course, altered a few of the details about the story. After all, I couldn't just tell him that I defeated her through the use of the red book.

All I told him was that Angelica was heavily injured before fighting me, and that was how I was able to defeat her.

"…I see."

Stroking his beard, Douglas looked at Waylan, who looked back at him.

"Do you have a copy of the mana contract with you?"

Waylan asked from the side.

"I do."

"Can you let us see it?"

Turning to face Angelica and seeing her nod her head, I nodded back.

"No problem."

Tapping on my bracelet, an old-looking scroll materialized in my hand.

Unraveling the scroll, I took a brief look at it.

「Mana contract」

[Term 1]

Party A and Party B are prohibited from harming each other, regardless of means. If either party has any intention of harming the other party, the contract breached will suffer the consequences.

[Term 2]

If Party A is in danger, and Party B has the power to help, he/she must provide support to other party.

[Term 3]

The contract between the two parties will dissolve in five years. After five years, the two parties will no longer be bound by the terms of the contract.

[Term 4]

Parties are prohibited from harming each other's self-interest.

[Term 5]

.

.

.

"Here you go."

After taking a good look at it, I proceeded to hand it to them.

"Thank you."

Taking the contract, Waylan and Douglas unscrolled it and took a good look at it.

The silence that ensued after that felt almost suffocating.

But I remained calm.

I had gone through too much shit to get fazed from something like this. At the end of the day, given Douglas's personality, there shouldn't be any worries.

...I hope.

"How long do you have left in the contract?"

Douglas suddenly asked.

"How long?"

Frowning, I mused.

'If we're talking about time, counting the eight months I spent at the Monolith, the four months I used to get here to Henolur, and the additional four months that I spent with her before the Monolith incident, it should be about...'

Lifting my head, I confidently replied.

"Three years. I still have a little over three years of contract with her."

Turning their heads to face each other, Douglas stroked his beard and once again looked through the contract.

"Here, you can take this back."

Scrolling the scroll, he proceeded to hand me back the contract back.

"Thank you."

Taking the contract from Douglas's hands, I put it away.

What followed after was a subtle uncomfortable silence that was soon broken by Douglas, who's face returned to its usual calm.

"Having taken a good look at the contract, I can tell that what you were saying was the truth."

Turning his head, Douglas looked at Angelica with interest.

"…to think that you managed to get a count ranked demon to ally with you."

"I was lucky."

In reality, Angelica was not even a Baron ranked demon was when she tried to fight Kevin and me.

Because of the injuries she sustained from Elijah's death, her rank was downgraded to that of an untitled demon, and that was how Kevin and I were able to beat her.

If Douglas and Waylan found out that Angelica had gone from Baron to Count in a mere two years, they'd start to grow suspicious.

"Alright, it seems like we've taken enough of your time. You can go rest now."

Glancing at Angelica, Douglas asked.

"Can she still turn back into a ring?"

I nodded my head.

"She should still be able to."

"I see."

Taking the teacup, the tepid tea re-heated instantly at Douglas's touch. Steam slowly diffused in the air.

"Then you should do so for now. Her concealment is excellent. However, it's not perfect."

Waving his hand, the demonic energy that leaked out of Angelica's body suddenly stopped, and a small transparent film enveloped her.

Douglas took a small sip of the tea.

"Although subtle, she does leak demonic energy from time to time. It was because of these subtle traces that I realized that she was a demon. This little protection I added should be able to hide her presence even better. Don't worry too much, though. Only <SS> ranked individuals can see through this level of disguise…"

Pausing, Douglas frowned.

"No, wait. Elves can probably also see. The only reason you hadn't been caught till now was probably because they were too focused on the enemies rather than you."

He then put the teacup down and mused.

"Now that I think about it, cases in which demons have worked with other races aren't all too rare. If you had explained it to the dwarves before coming here, she probably would've been able to roam around freely."

"You have a point."

Waylan spoke up from the side.

Leaning back on his chair, he said.

"I've already seen a couple of demons working together with the dwarves. So it's not that strange. What's strange, however, is..."

Turning to face me, Waylan pointed at my hand.

"Trying to hide a demon in your finger. That's very suspicious."

"...Right."

Now that I thought about it, what Waylan was saying was right.

I shouldn't have hidden the fact that I had Angelica with me. Everything would've been resolved if I had just shown them the contract.

This was a factor that I failed to take into account.

Crossing his legs, Waylan once again spoke up.

"Now that the cat is out of the bag, are you planning on telling the others about Angelica's presence?"

Lifting my head and staring in his direction, I shook my head.

"No, I would like it if her presence still remains a secret."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Douglas curiously asked.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Leaning back on my chair, I tapped on the wooden armrest.

"Why?"

Briefly glancing at Angelica from the corner of my eyes, I calmly opened my mouth.

"Because we can use her presence to our advantage…"

***

Separating from Waylan and Douglas, I made my way towards the utility center. I needed to sell the demon cores that I had harvested during my fight.

On my way there, much to my surprise, I was met with looks of approval. Be it dwarves, elves, or even orcs, whenever I went, they would nod their heads in my direction before going on about their business.

It was a bit surprising, but now that I thought about it, dwarven technology was quite advanced. It wouldn't be hard for the others to see clips of how I fought.

Even then, I was quite pleased with the sight.

After all, their looks were a sign of acknowledgment. It meant that my efforts paid off.

Following the same road as before, I walked towards the utility center's main building.

Ci Clank—!

As soon as I entered the building, I instantly spotted Malvil. He was currently leaning by the side of the reception, wiping his sweaty forehead with the large apron in his body.

Upon seeing me, he greeted me with a somewhat cold voice.

"You're here, human. How was yer fight?"

"...Not bad."

Taking a glimpse at Malvil, the first thing I noticed was the unpleased look on his face.

'He probably saw it, didn't he?'

Inwardly sighing, I decided to come clean.

"Alright, fine. I didn't fight the whole time with the sword you gave me."

"Tsk."

The sound of Malvil's tongue clicking sounded.

Turning around with his hands behind his back, he silently walked back to his workshop.

'There goes my chance at getting a sword forged from him.'

I helplessly muttered to myself as I stared at Malvil's disappearing back.

The moment I took out my sword, I sort of expected this outcome. I did, after all, refuse to listen to Malvil's instructions.

If I were in his shoes, I, too, wouldn't want to make a sword for someone that refused to listen to his instruction, but at the end of the day, I did not regret what I did.

What was the point in having a sword if I wasn't alive to hold it?

Of course, that didn't mean I was sad about this development, but it's not like I could force him to make a sword for me, right?

"I guess I'll just have to find another bl—"

"What be ye doing? Follow me."

"Huh?"

But just as I was about to leave, Malvil's voice rang out from afar.

Lifting my head, I saw him standing not too far from where I was with an annoyed look on his face.

"Why be ye still standing there like an idiot? hurry up; I dinna have much time."

"…Ah, yeah. Sure."

Staring At Malvil in the distance, a smile appeared on my lips.

It was a smile mixed with relief and joy,

'I guess things aren't as bad as I thought they'd be.'

"hurry up."

"Coming, coming."

Following Malvil deep into the building, we soon stopped in front of a large room where an enormous furnace rested.

—Pang! —Pang!

The sound of metal being pounded sounded, and a heavy scent of iron invaded my nostrils.

Standing behind the furnace was Malvil's disciple. The one I met back at his shop on the first level.

Sitting down on a wooden stool, Malvil extended his hand in my direction.

"Give me the sword."

"Okay."

Tapping on my bracelet, the dull sword that Malvil gave me appeared in my hand.

"Here."

"Let me see."

Snatching the sword from my hand, Malvil put it on the table and analyzed it. Then, flipping the sword on the table, Malvil opened his mouth and asked.

"Do ye know why I gave ye tha sword?"

"To help me train?"

Wasn't this what he said before? That the purpose of the sword was to help me train?

"Tsk, yes. But that's only a part of it."

A part of it?

The more Malvil spoke, the greater my confusion became.

But before I could voice out my concerns, Malvil started speaking.

"To a blacksmith, a simple sword can tell me a story."

Looking closely at the sword, Malvil traced his finger across the scars that appeared on the sword.

"From tha scratches on tha body o' tha sword ta tha cracks an' tha nicks on tha sword. We can tell how a swordsman fought, an' how they well they fight, but that be granted that they be alive."

Putting the sword down, Malvil looked at me.

"Had ye nae switched tha sword an' continued ta fight using it, ye wou''ve died on tha battlefield, an' what blacksmiths hate tha most be their swords going ta waste like that. Tha reason why i'm nae angry at your decision be because ye proved ta me that ye value yer nae stupid enough ta know when ta train an' when not to."

"Is that so..."

I was worried for nothing.

From the looks of it, Malvil had never expected me to use the sword the whole time. The only reason he said what he said was probably to test me.

Stroking a certain scratch on the sword, Malvil suddenly asked.

"Why did you want to get your sword made by me?"

"Because I've heard that you were one of the greatest blacksmiths alive."

I replied without hesitation.

"Is that the only reason?"

Malvil asked, turning his attention away from the sword.

"Hmmm."

What other reason other than that did he want?

Musing for a moment, I tapped on my bracelet and took out the piece of Okleum that I had on me.

Handing it to Malvil, I added.

"Also, because you're one of the only people that can handle this metal."

"…what the."

Something unexpected happened.

The moment I took out the rock from my dimensional space, Malvil's jaw dropped and he became flustered.

"Y-you...y-you, where did you get that!?"