Chapter 3: Chapter 3: If Lost Please Return

Argos gave me a key off his master key ring and moved along without another word. No solidarity between dog brethren, then. I felt my ears start to droop a little at the perceived rejection. Very quickly, however, I was distracted by the quarters I had been led to.

For one thing, they were private — a luxury I hadn't expected. For a Lackey to be treated so well, it was either an oversight on Lord Azdarch's part or he was truly kinder than any demon had any right to be. Although, since I was a demon myself, shouldn't I stop judging them with such a shitty yardstick?

It was about as large as my college dorm room had been, with a bed pushed up against one corner and a desk against the far wall. Light from the window, as well as from a blue flame, illuminated the space; there was definitely no light switch. There were no additional furnishings aside from one dresser and one bookshelf. My eyes were naturally drawn to the clear lettering on the spines, but I found I couldn't understand the characters.

A small ding accompanied a small triangle that began to bob up and down in the periphery of my vision. I focused on it, understanding it to be an indicator of some kind, and was rewarded with text that hovered in front of me.

Assign 1 skill point to learn [Language: Demonic]?

"How many skill points do I have?" I asked out loud, hoping the system would react and answer me.

[Lackey Matsuo] still has 5 skill points to assign at level 1.

"And the other skills?"

I scrolled through an exhaustive list that included Alchemy, Animal Friendship, Armor Proficiency, Art, Cooking, a variety of Language skills, Sneaking, Tracking, True Shot, and a handful of Weapon Proficiency skills. It seemed there were more skills than stars in the sky, so figuring out an optimal build wouldn't be a quick or easy task. I'd have to cross-reference the ones available at level 1 with those that became available later, and I didn't know how fast one could progress in the first place.

Besides, to min-max one's status as a Lackey seemed to defeat the purpose of embracing this class in all of its quiet glory.

"Assign skill point," I said, deciding that reading was fundamental enough to be required no matter what.

I heard a click like a key turning in a lock and knowledge flooded my mind. For a single moment, my brain was connected with the infinite cosmos, the hivemind, the collective consciousness of this bold new world. And just as quickly as I was able to glimpse this perfect state of knowledge, the door to it slammed shut, the book closed, and the waves carried me back to shore.

With brand-new understanding of the words in front of me, I eagerly looked through the titles that had been generously given to this insignificant Lackey. There was A Brief History of Lethe, which I could guess was either the name of the world or the kingdom. That should probably be my first choice. Flora, Fauna, And You was clearly a reference book, too. Three volumes of Simple Spells made up a trilogy I was looking forward to. But, as helpful as they'd all likely be, I couldn't help but feel somewhat discouraged that there didn't appear to be any fiction.

An awful realization hit me. Nobody ever had the careless freedom to write or read fiction in these worlds. They were always focused on survival. Eating or being eaten. Conquering or being conquered. That, or daily life was so exciting and interesting that having an escape from reality wasn't ever necessary.

Get it together, Matsuo, it's not like you're going to find Watase-sensei's works here! Pining for comics is only going to hurt you in ways you don't actually want! Better to give up the dream now, be sad for a few minutes, and get it all out of your system.

Closing my eyes as if in prayer, I observed a moment of silence for the countless authors whose potentially-great works would likely be stifled by the constraints of their society — and for the fact that I'd probably never see a pornographic comic ever again.

Hey, I never claimed to be a saint.

Although I reached for A Brief History, I knew that much of the day was still ahead of me. It wouldn't do to take it with me and read it in public where anyone could hazard a guess that I wasn't as native as I looked. I'd have to spend my alone time with it instead. Even though the other books probably wouldn't have looked as unusual, I did have to wonder if reading anything was a safe play. Again, not to judge demons too harshly, but we didn't seem to be the most receptive to the written word.

That would have to be okay. I was used to getting my social interaction with like-minded people from social media and—

Worse than the thought that I might never read dirty comics ever again was knowledge that my endless hours of scrolling had ended along with my human life. If I wanted to make friends, I would have to do it in meatspace— in person, face-to-face.

I would have to introduce myself as a Lackey to the Demon Lord. Were classes assigned in this world, or did one happen into them based on the circumstances of their life? Imagine, someone thinking I chose this for myself. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. I might as well be wearing a leash and collar, with a little name tag with my name on the front and If lost, please return to Azdarch on the back.

"Ahh, I'm not worthy!" I mumbled, covering my face with my hands and rolling back and forth on the bed. "I don't deserve such a nice accessory... Honestly..."

It was more comfortable than my dorm room bed had been. Time lost all meaning as I let myself rest, and soon I was dreaming. I was walking to my first class of the week with my roommate on one side of me and Death on the other. The three of us were talking about the last episode of a television show that didn't exist, and it felt like I was wading through molasses with every step.

By the time I woke up, the room was no darker despite the setting sun. I realized that my eyes were naturally adapting to the dark with [Darkvision]. Holy shit, I'd be able to read in the dark! This was an absolute game-changer.

My thoughts were interrupted by my stomach growling, reminding me that I hadn't eaten at all since my reincarnation. I guess I'd have to leave the room after all to find something to eat. I had suspected that I'd miss food delivery services eventually, but not quite this quickly.

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Once in the hallway, it became clear that I could just follow my nose. It had been a little harder to distinguish anything unique when I'd been in a room full of people because everything had blended together, but that was definitely the scent of— lunch meat? Maybe peppers of some kind? I sneezed, then pushed ever onward, ignoring the various doors I passed until the smell was too powerful to ignore.

"Hello?" I called out, knocking as I did so.

"Nobody'sh here!" a voice called back, clearly trying to speak around some sort of food.

As I opened the door, the person on the other side seemed to put all of their weight into closing it back on me.

"I shaid nobody'sh here!"

"I can hear you chewing." I sighed. "I'm not here to hurt you, I just want a snack."

"Shnack..." I heard the person behind the door swallow loudly. After that, the voice was clear and feminine. "You can't have any of mine."

"That's fine."

"You promise?"

"Yeah."

The woman on the other side finally relented, easing up on the door so that I could get inside. I was shocked to see the Hellcat from the ceremony earlier. Up close she was, contrary to what her voracious appetite might lead one to think, actually quite muscled. By the time I noticed what she was eating, she had almost finished a large sandwich.

She watched me warily as I prepared a similar meal from the plates that had been laid out on the long dining table. "Metis."

"Sorry?"

"That's my name," the Hellcat said. "Got a problem with it?"

I shook my head. "I'm Matsuo. You're another Lackey, right?"

"Level two." She nodded proudly. "I'm gonna promote to Demon General."

"We can do that?" My eyes widened. "Ah, of— of course we can! I knew that."

Metis looked puzzled for a moment, but then seemed to buy my obvious lie. There was still a lot I had to learn about my own abilities and their potential, but I felt like this was a good first step. Imagine becoming a Demon General! That had such a ring to it.

As I started to daydream, our hands met over the last slice of cheese on one of the serving platters.

"Don't even think about it," Metis growled.

I held up my hands and backed away. "It's all yours. Have a good night, okay?"

She grunted and nodded, refusing to spare me a second thought. Was this what they called neglect play—?! I could see myself getting used to it, so before I could indulge in that awkward feeling of being ignored again, I headed back to my room for the night.

Although my eyes drifted towards the bookshelf and I did pick up A Brief History of Lethe, I couldn't seem to read past the first sentence. Maybe I could put my head down for just a moment. Maybe I could hug the book tightly to my chest like a young child with a stuffed animal. Maybe, just maybe, I'd fall asleep.

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