Chapter 7: 7

THREDON PHILIAN

The world’s scum. The Evil that seduces those lost and wandering. Devouring their tragedies and drowning their clogged throats with tears. And so on. If you looking for the vile words that describe the demons in this world, you would find no end of derogatory terms for them.

I quietly looked at Thredon Philian and slowly opened my mouth to speak. Thredon waited relaxed for me to speak, even though he called me here.

“Respected Lord Thredon. I’m sorry, but can I ask you a little favor?”

“Speak.”

“There’s something I’d like to tell you in private.”

Even though I knew the demon’s identity, the demon couldn’t recognize me. The divinity of corruption was a very secretive thing.

Thredon stared at me and slowly said.

“Everyone back off.”

Hearing his order, the servants and two knights backed away. With only the two left, I decided to cut to the chase.

“Are you enjoying your life as a lord while possessing a human? Demon.”

Thredon stared at me and slowly moved the muscles of his face. His stiff expression changed, and the cold atmosphere disappeared without a trace. Instead, the demon wore a mischievous smile.

“Thanks to the dead Galad, we have a special guest.”

The demon openly examined me up and down as if licking me all over. It was extremely rude and frivolous, but there was no malice.

“If you recognized me at a glance, you’re likely not the priest who serves the maintenance goddess.”

Demons were hostile to most churches. And as the old saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

I said with a big smile:

“I serve the Mother of Corruption.”

The demon’s eyes widened with admiration.

“Oh? I thought they were all dead, but there was still a son of corruption alive. It’s an honor to meet such a precious person. My name is Crawling Creep.”

“It’s an honor to meet you too. My name is Marnak, a priest who serves the Mother of Corruption.”

The smiling demon, Crawling Creep, sat comfortably with his legs stretched out.

“You can sit comfortably. It’s just the two of us here anyway. By the way, I can’t believe I’m having such a friendly conversation with a priest. It’s been a really long time.”

The demons had no feelings for the priests or even the gods they worshiped. Their interest was solely directed toward intelligent creatures.

Demons were born stronger than anyone else but couldn’t take anything alone. Those who didn’t belong to the world had no choice but to obtain what belonged to the world through fair deals made with intelligent partners. Therefore, the demons loved all intelligent beings. They were playful spectators and talkative readers who enjoyed immersing themselves in others’ lives.

Demons had different things they could do, and their limitations were clear, but from the point of view of a weak human, they were close to omnipotent. Therefore, the gods were wary of them.

The price of a deal with a demon was always directly proportional to what you wanted, but the size of your faith and the blessings the gods granted you were rarely so. The gods couldn’t agree to their believers’ demands, so many fell to the demon’s fairer bargain. Eventually, they drew their swords and declared it for all to hear:

‘From now on, the name of the vile are the demons. They are an absolute evil that must be slain!’

The demons readily accepted the sudden hostility from the gods. And like this, the priests’ hunt for demons began.

The answer to why I knew so much about the demons was very simple.

The Demon Contractor, which was persecuted by everyone if their identity were discovered, was an extremely difficult job that everyone was reluctant to play. It was the job I set myself to play next after the Priest of Corruption. Now that I fell into the game, it was irrelevant.

Mother’s hand in my pocket wriggled as if bored.

‘Kill.’

Her voice was muffled. Our Mother of Corruption, unlike the other gods, had little interest in demons. I soothed Mother by patting her hand.

“How many years have you been in possession?”

The demon lord stretched out one hand and counted on his fingers, one by one, before smiling broadly.

“It’ll be the 40th winter this year! Hahaha! If it wasn’t for this priest, this monumental year would have almost passed by uneventfully. I will hold a festival to bring warmth to this chilly city! Because of the role I find myself in, it’s so rare when I can throw it all away and have fun!”

Crawling Creep soon fell into his own world and began muttering.

“Let’s see, how much money is left for Guise this year… it’s a little tight, but if I add a little, the city can play and eat for five days. Good. Very good! Perfect!”

After completing the calculations, the demon clapped his hands.

“If you’re not too busy, I hope you enjoy the festival! I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun! Hahaha!”

The demon, bursting out in friendly laughter, tilted his head and asked me.

“By the way, why did you come to see me?”

“I came because you invited me…?”

The demon slapped his forehead and belted out another laugh.

“Oh, right! Look at me! Hahaha! I’m sorry, Priest, it’s been a while since I’ve met someone I could talk to comfortably, so I was a bit distracted. I apologize for this!”

I smiled brightly.

“It’s fine.”

“This Son of Corruption has a character as generous as his fair face!”

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‘Kill!’

The Mother of Corruption was pleased as if she were indirectly praised by the demon.

“Actually, I didn’t call you to tell you anything special. It’s Galad. I called the priest because I wanted to hear from the witness how he died. If you don’t mind, could you tell me more about Galad’s death? I’ll give you a reward.”

That wasn’t a big deal, so I could do it. Furthermore, he said he’d give me a reward, so why not? I told the demon in detail about how Galad died. After hearing the story, the demon clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Tsk, tsk. What a tragedy. I can’t believe my only brother went like that. I’ve told him several times to quit mercenary work because it’s dangerous. Tsk. Oh, I meant this body’s brother.”

I looked around carefully. The frugality of this lord was obvious, given the room had no special decorations. So, a frugal demon lord who regretted the death of his ill-fated half-brother. It was fun.

I settled into a slightly more comfortable position.

“By the way, is the original owner of your body the contractor?”

When I asked, the demon answered as if he had been waiting.

“Hahaha! You must be curious about my story! I can tell you as much as you want! Isn’t a story more interesting if there’s someone to listen to it?”

The story of how the demon started out wasn’t so complicated. The demon contractor was Thredon’s father, the former lord, and he desperately wanted a woman he met in Guise. But the woman he loved already had a fiancée, and the former lord longed for not only her body but also her heart. In the end, he summoned the demon and spewed out his desires.

‘Give her heart to me! I’ll give you everything!’

The demon spoke to the former lord in a gentle voice with the utmost kindness.

‘You don’t have to give me everything. All you have to do is give me what I want.’

‘What do you want?’

The demon, slowly spreading out the fingers of his hands, laughed.

‘To ruin one life, you need another. Your fifteen-year-old son, if you give me his life, I will give you the life of that woman.’

Devoured by his desire, the former lord sold his son to the demon without hesitation. The demon gave him what he promised. Thus, the woman became the former lord’s mistress.

The demon said that the son born between the mistress and the lord was Galad.

“What a pity. Galad was like a child I created, so I always tried to take good care of him. But this brother wasn’t happy with his birthplace, so he left our home to work as a mercenary. This winter, my brother was in trouble because he had no work. I didn’t expect that trying to give him a job in secret would lead to his death. Life is really hard.”

The demon grinned, filled with satisfaction.

“That’s why it makes my heart beat even faster! By the way, it’s time for me to start working as a lord. I’d like to say more about myself, but I’ll put it off again! Oh, you’re welcome to come by anytime. It’s always nice to have a visit from a close friend you can talk with!”

Before I knew it, I became the demon’s friend. The friendly demon lord handed me a bag as a reward, which was very much to my liking.

“I’m ashamed I didn’t put much in it, but it’ll help you. Now, go back in peace!”

I left the lord’s mansion and carefully opened the bag. Inside were two shiny golden coins, each worth a hundred silver.

“Wow!”

‘Kill!’

“Oh, Mother. He is a lord. What do you mean the lord is trying to seduce me with money? This gold is purely a display of courtesy.”

The Mother of Corruption expressed her deep jealousy towards the demon lord, perhaps because she couldn’t bestow gold on her son herself.

‘Kill!’

“A priest who covets money?! That’s too much. But you know what? Gold coins don’t rot.”

‘Kill!’

“Mother, don’t be angry and listen to me till the end. More words are supposed to come after that.”

I cleared my throat.

“Khm-khm. One thing never rots and lasts as long as a gold coin. Do you know what it is?”

‘Kill?’

“That’s my love for Mother.”

‘Kill…!’

She was so touched she couldn’t snap out of her reverie.

“My Mother always comes first. So don’t worry too much.”

I patted the hand and headed for the mercenary guild with two gold coins in tow.

The first sight to greet me was shiny white armor that reflected sunlight, a huge hammer attached to its bearer’s back, and a black cloak engraved with patterning of pure white scales. They also had a sword strapped to their waist in case of emergency.

Three priests of the Reformation Church, ready to slaughter at the drop of a hat, were talking to Erin inside the mercenary guild. Erin smiled brightly and waved to me once she noticed my appearance.

“Oh, you’re here? Priest Marnak! Say hello to the Reformation Priests here!”

A friendly greeting was welcome, but I didn’t want to meet those fanatical friends. I hid my innermost thoughts, smiled reverently, and bowed to the priests of the Reformation Church.

“Hello. I’m Marnak, a priest serving the goddess of maintenance who protects daily life.”

The moment I made eye contact with one of the priests of the Reformation Church.

‘Kill!!!!!’

Mother informed me that one of them held one of the twelve remaining holy relics.

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