Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: A Tumultuous Date with a Beastkin and a Demon (3)
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The tearful mood at the dessert cafe gradually subsided as time passed.
Finally regaining her composure, Answer fiddled with her bangs shyly.
“Um, thank you. Yuria, and Sabrina. Even though I’m an adult, I feel like I’ve only shown you my pathetic side…”
“Ahaha, it’s okay! My master always said that even adults feel like crying sometimes!”
“…!”
I nodded, heartily agreeing with Sabrina.
Even if you called her an adult, she was in her early twenties at most.
The standards of this world might be different, but in my opinion, she wasn’t at an age where she needed to put on airs.
Of course, bawling her eyes out in front of two kids who looked to be around ten would surely become an embarrassing memory she’d never live down.
But on the other hand, it meant she had been pushed to her absolute limit, so I hoped our words had been a comfort.
Did our sincerity get through to her?
Her eyes still red, Answer looked at us as if she’d come to a decision and spoke with a rather serious expression.
“I don’t have the means to pay you back with money right now… Instead, I’ll give you this to thank you.”
She glanced around and grabbed two napkins from nearby.
Then, she touched her index finger and thumb together and swished them as if writing.
For a moment, I tilted my head in confusion, wondering what on earth she was doing.
But I couldn’t help but stare, wide-eyed, at the mystical sight of words being clearly engraved on the napkin with just a brush of her finger.
“Is that…?”
“I-it’s nothing much, but… I thought it might be helpful…”
Answer rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and handed us the inscribed napkins.
It was only after taking them and reading the contents closely that I realized the napkins were a type of contract.
[ Through a Pledge of the Soul, the contractor, Answer, temporarily provides the Eye of Contract to the other party, Yuria, at no cost. This contract takes effect when destroyed by the other party, who may refuse its terms at will. ]
To think she wrote all this on a palm-sized napkin.
I nodded, inwardly impressed by the demon’s incredible magic, but one passage suddenly made me pause.
Hold on, the Eye of Contract. Don’t tell me it’s *the* one I’m thinking of?
She’s lending it to me just like that, with no strings attached?
While I was blinking in disbelief at the contract’s terms, Sabrina, who was beside me, asked Answer without a moment’s hesitation.
“What’s this?”
“Th-that’s a contract I’m giving you as a gift… The only way I can repay you is by offering myself…”
“And this ‘Eye of Contract’ here?”
“Ah, that’s an eye that demons are naturally born with. When you make a contract with a demon, you can easily find things like hidden clauses!”
Well… though hiding clauses in a contract is a strange thing to do in the first place.
She said, scratching her cheek with an embarrassed expression.
Her reaction was understandable. It was common for demons to use magic or tools to subtly conceal clauses in a contract, only to later claim a breach and seize the other party’s soul.
What’s that? Then why not just avoid making contracts with demons?
Think of it this way. Imagine gaining immense power, authority, or love, just by putting your soul on the line… Not everyone could resist such a temptation.
In any case, Answer seemed thoroughly displeased with the practices of her fellow demons.
Perhaps it was because she herself had been an unwilling victim of such accumulated misdeeds.
‘…Still. The Eye of Contract. This seems like too much for just buying her a dessert.’
They called it an ‘eye’, but the Eye of Contract was practically a demon-exclusive master key.
That’s because demons couldn’t make contracts that were solely advantageous to them.
So they tried to hide anything that could become a weakness for either themselves or the other party, which was, in many ways, why demons had such a notorious reputation.
Therefore, while its usefulness depended on the situation, borrowing this was far too valuable to be repaid with a single dessert. Now I felt even guiltier.
Wondering if I should accept, I studied the contract, then snuck a glance at Answer’s face.
Her expression was one of anxious anticipation, her heart seemingly pounding.
…She’d be really hurt if I refused. I suppose I should just accept it.
Having made up my mind, I put the napkin in my pocket and bowed my head in thanks.
Seeing me, perhaps, Sabrina—who had been watching uncertainly, unable to gauge whether this was a good thing or not—also accepted, obediently tucking the napkin into her pocket.
She probably wouldn’t ever use it, but since it had no effect unless torn, it didn't matter.
It seemed she also decided not to refuse, out of respect for the sincere gesture.
“P-p-please, use it whenever you need it…! It doesn’t matter when!”
“Okay, okay…”
“…”
Perhaps she was just happy to be able to repay us.
Answer’s shoulders bounced with excitement, her face slightly flushed.
Who knew a demon could be so much like a puppy.
Sabrina and I could only offer awkward smiles in response.
It felt like we’d unexpectedly made friends with a demon.
*
After another thirty minutes of light conversation, the three of them left the dessert cafe together.
Answer, though timid, had a surprisingly sociable side for a demon.
This was largely thanks to her clicking so well with Sabrina, the only one she could really converse with.
“Well then, I-I should get going… I have an interview today, too…!”
“See you, Answer!”
“…!”
“Oh, thank you so much for today! Goodbye, you two!”
In that short time, they had grown comfortable enough to speak informally and even exchange contact info. Answer left with a cheerful laugh, her complexion much brighter than when they’d first met.
I was a little nervous because she was a demon, but she’s a fun person.
Sabrina thought to herself, turning her head slightly to the side.
There stood Yuria, watching Answer’s figure disappear into the distant crowd.
A girl of small stature, her eyes level with Sabrina’s, yet her unusual proportions made her look like a walking doll.
Despite the mask on her face, she exuded an odd aura that strangely drew the eye.
‘And… back then, she definitely used some kind of strange power.’
Gazing at her profile, Sabrina’s mind drifted back to a recent memory.
The hotel where David had stormed in, facing off against Nemesis to rescue Reine.
The memory of being held in Yuria’s arms as they flew through the sky was still vivid in her mind.
To Sabrina, who had been forced by her master to become well-versed in magic, it was an utterly bizarre phenomenon.
Magic with no flow of mana, no incantation, no spell whatsoever.
No matter how she looked at it, it couldn’t be called magic. You might as well say you could make salt from sugar.
‘Then what in the world is it? What… is it psychic power or something?’
The thought was so absurd that Sabrina couldn’t help but scoff.
Psychic power? Ridiculous. That was the stuff of urban legends.
If psychics really existed in this world, they’d probably be locked away in a lab, subjected to all sorts of experiments to create more of them.
That was how significant the existence of a psychic was in this world… significant enough to have nearly brought the world to ruin once.
‘I must be mistaken… right? No, I *hope* I’m mistaken.’
And so, Sabrina desperately hoped that this girl was not a psychic.
If Yuria truly was a psychic… the fate awaiting her would be unimaginably harsh.
“…”
“Ah-! Oh, what is it, Yuria?”
Perhaps Sabrina had been too lost in her own thoughts.
Yuria had approached her without her noticing.
So close that one more step would cause their shoulders to touch.
By the time Sabrina noticed and her eyes widened in surprise, Yuria—her expression hidden by the mask—had already reached out a hand to her.
“…!”
She took Sabrina’s hand, which had grown cold, and pulled it into the pocket of her own coat.
Held tightly in Yuria’s grasp, Sabrina was flustered by the warm, soft sensation against her fingertips.
But oblivious to Sabrina’s reaction, or perhaps not, Yuria simply nudged her with her shoulder, as if urging her to move on to their next destination.
Sabrina quickly realized Yuria was just excited. She let out a small laugh and led her on, their hands still joined.
She would have to make sure today was an incredibly fun day.
The complicated thoughts from before had already vanished.
The date had only just begun.