Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Eren coughed as he took the first drag of a smoke. He had recently opted for an alternative to his usual Sativa Stick due to unavailability in Labh Salem. It didn't take long for him to regret his choice.

"Ugh! What is this awful taste? It's like I'm smoking a dog turd wrapped in paper."

Eren tossed the smoke out of the window, watching it burst into flames and vanish in irritation. He regretted not stocking enough Sativa Stick during his time in Anfang. The supplies from his homeworld had depleted in his storage, leaving him with what he deemed as either mediocre or incompatible substitutes.

"You know what I don't like about your world, Kayara?" Eren asked Kayara abruptly without turning back at her.

"It's that the demons and gods have consumed the lives of people here. Don't get me wrong– I don't think having faith is a bad thing. But too much of anything can cause a problem." Eren said as he sighed and looked at the star-studded night sky.

The butcher, not feeling shy of his naked form, reclined over the window sill with both his folded arms and felt the gentle nightly breeze on his skin as he continued speaking to her.

"You see, we don't believe in anything where I come from– which I think is equally bad. But at least we got some things right even when we were called the faithless. You people are so busy fighting some ever-so-eternal religious war that you don't know what this life has to offer to you.

You are so busy fighting with each other that you can't see what's best for all of you. For all the diversity in faith you have here, you can't even get a simple thing like making good smoke right."

Eren said and dramatically sighed again. As soon as he realized that there was no better alternative to Sativa Stick, he started to crave it even more.

'This man… is he for real?'

Kayara found it quite surprising that the man, whose bare tush was currently in her line of sight, was criticizing all of Labh Salem simply because he couldn't find the specific smoke flavor he desired. Unfortunately, she couldn't respond since he had previously imposed a gag order on her.

"Anyway, it seems I'll have to solve this problem myself because I don't think someone else will do that for me here," Eren muttered to himself while extracting a handful of Sativa Seeds from his Inventory. He observed the seeds under the moonlight and asked Kayara.

"Do you know how to farm? You better start learning everything about it if you don't. Because I expect a great yield of Sativa crops from you in a few months." With that, he stored the seeds away.

Eren removed the gag order, allowing Kayara to speak. She regarded him skeptically before cautiously asking, "You... you mean you won't kill me?"

Kayara had assumed her fate was sealed the moment Eren uncovered the truth about her and her motives. Knowing his decisiveness in tying loose ends, especially after neutralizing many of her sisters in Kizamgaar's ruin, she believed he would feel nothing killing one more.

"Why would I? You belong to me now," Eren replied calmly as if stating the obvious.

"I know what you're thinking, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Let me tell you something about me first.

I didn't kill your sisters for sport or some twisted enjoyment. I did it because they attacked me first. Just because I'm good at what I do doesn't mean I do it for fun."

He paused for a bit before correcting himself. "Um… At least not most of the time. And certainly not when your coven attacked me first in the Kizammgaar's ruins."

Eren explained as he retrieved a wine bottle that he had obtained from the inn's cellar. From his Inventory, he produced two wine glasses, placing them on the windowsill before slowly pouring the wine.

With a subtle gesture, Eren invited Kayara to join him for a drink. He then lifted the wine glass in his hands, gently swirling its contents as he continued speaking.

"Besides, if I kill you, your coven will send more witches after me," he chuckled.

"Keke. Some of them will spread their legs for me just like what you did. Some will try to bargain, others will resort to blackmail and threats.

And when all else fails, they'll attempt to eliminate me. I've played this game before and don't want to waste my time playing the same thing with different players."

Kayara was shocked once again at how accurately Eren could foresee the actions of her coven in the future. It aligned perfectly with what the higher-ups had planned for him.

"I'm not worried about your coven, Kayara. I can deal with them," Eren spoke seriously as he sensed Kayara getting up from the bed. He allowed her to join him and stand beside him before continuing.

"I'm more concerned about the powers that support your coven. Tell me, what is the importance of the Demon Prince of Lust for your coven? Because I'm seeing a pattern here that I refuse to brush off as a mere coincidence," he asked Kayara as he watched her lift her wine glass warily. He didn't say anything to her and allowed her to gauge the contents of the wine silently.

"Demon Lord Asmodeus... he is worshiped by one of the three main branches we have in our coven," Kayara responded to Eren truthfully, even though he was supposed to be her enemy.

She had come to realize that Eren didn't need to do anything special or even lift his hands to kill her. He could just order her to kill herself, and under the influence of the mark, she would have no choice but to follow his orders.

As such, she didn't hesitate any more and drank all of the wine in the glass in one big gulp to calm her nerves. The auburn-

haired witch then began explaining the structure of her coven and its hierarchy.