Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 18
>Chapter Title: I'll Just Kidnap Him
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*Clang, Whoosh!*
No sooner had the door closed than it was flung inward, as if pulled by some unseen force.
“What are you doing not coming in? Ah! The juice!”
Rania, who had been poking the collapsed Doban with her foot, approached with a giddy, relaxed expression. Her voice was sweet and cooing as she took the juice from me. It all happened in an instant.
“Gulp, gulp. Ahh! Delicious!”
“You have some too, Mia-nim. I made it with the fruit you bought the other day.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Mia expertly took a glass and sipped the juice. Licking the juice from her lips, Rania sat down across from Mia and crossed her legs.
‘Whoa…’
As she crossed her legs, the shorts—which could barely be called underwear—rode up even higher. I managed to tear my gaze away and cleared my throat before speaking.
“Mia-nim, what should we do about that man?”
“Ah, I wonder.”
Mia’s eyes rolled over to the semi-conscious Doban.
“I’d like to kill him, but I suppose I can’t.”
“Why not? Just kill him.”
Rania said, popping one of the few remaining cookies into her mouth. Her sexy and alluring face instantly softened into a blissful expression.
She seemed to really love the cookies.
“Sigh. He may look like that, but he has connections to another of the Four Heavenly Kings. I don’t want to stir up trouble for no reason.”
“Eh, just kill him.”
“Even if that Heavenly King is Erboan-nim?”
“Hmm…? You mean that guy knows Erboan?”
“To be precise, he knows one of Erboan-nim’s close associates.”
“That’s tricky.”
Erboan, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, was famous for strictly separating his public and private affairs. Within the Demon King's army, he served as a strategist.
Getting on his bad side would unleash an endless stream of problems. If the man knew Erboan himself, it would be best to avoid him, but knowing one of his associates made the situation strangely ambiguous.
“It would be a pain to start an unnecessary fight when we’re in the middle of a full-scale war.”
“Then whash we doin’?”
Rania’s cheeks twitched with happiness. As the one who had diligently baked the cookies, I felt a surge of pride.
“I’m thinking of asking Jiso-nim to mediate.”
“Gulp. Good idea. A rather devilish idea, at that.”
Jiso was another of the Four Heavenly Kings, the one who ran the Arena of Frenzy. He was also one of the Heavenly Kings who dealt in most of the things humans would call atrocities, such as loan sharking and drugs.
Asking Jiso to mediate meant that Jiso would assess the damages Mia suffered and forcibly extract a ‘reasonable price’ in money from Doban.
If one had enough money, it wasn't a problem, but if not, Jiso was the type to strip you of your body and soul.
Even if you managed to pay the compensation, Jiso would take every last coin you had left under the guise of a ‘commission fee.’ There was a reason Rania had mentioned the word ‘devil.’
If Jiso handled it himself, there would be no troublesome retaliation, and they could extract the maximum possible amount. On top of that, it would send Doban straight to ruin, making it the best possible choice.
“So we let this thing go?”
“Ah, after placing a restriction on him.”
“Right. If we just let him go, he’s sure to cause more trouble.”
Mia snapped the book she was reading shut, stood up, and walked over to Doban. He was a complete mess, having been tormented by Rania with all sorts of magic.
“…ψπΝδΦΩ”
As Mia muttered something, a magic circle materialized above Doban’s body before seeping into him.
“This should be enough.”
“Then I’ll get rid of this?”
“Yes, please do.”
Rania casually flicked her fingers, levitating Doban into the air. Then she approached a mirror placed on one side of the drawing room.
“Let’s see, the coordinates are… here.”
She traced the magical residue left on the mirror to find the location Doban had come from, then activated it.
*Vwoom.*
The surface of the mirror rippled once more.
“Come find me again if you want to die. I’ll play with you in a fun way.”
With a captivating smile playing on her lips, Rania sent the levitating Doban flying into the mirror. He moved so fast that he vanished through the mirror, leaving only an afterimage behind.
*Clap, clap.*
Rania dusted off her hands lightly as if she had thrown him in herself, then strode back to her seat. I cautiously watched for an opening before speaking.
“Um, Mia-nim, there’s something I’d like to discuss regarding security…”
“Ah. Don’t worry about that. I plan to cast security magic over the entire building to prevent something like this from happening again.”
“Ah! Thank you!”
I immediately bowed my head deeply in thanks and then said.
“Then I’ll be taking my leave!”
***
As Rian left the room, the somewhat light atmosphere subsided.
“He’s cute. Maybe I should have taken him after all.”
“Master, you don’t take proper care of your slaves. You’d just neglect him and let him starve to death again, wouldn’t you?”
“But he knows how to cook for himself.”
“He still needs ingredients for that.”
“That’s true.”
The two exchanged idle chatter before finally getting to the point.
“So… what brings you here during such a busy time, Master?”
“Ah, right.”
Rania reached a hand deep into her cleavage and pulled out a black envelope. With its gold-leafed edges, it was quite ornate.
“Take this. It’s directly from the Demon King-nim.”
*Swoosh.*
The envelope slipped from Rania’s fingers and, carried by a light flow of demonic energy, landed on Mia’s lap. Mia immediately opened it and read its contents.
“...!”
“Whash it say?”
Rania asked, stuffing a cookie into her mouth. Mia, who was frowning slightly, let out a small sigh and spoke.
“It says he wants my help in crushing the neighboring kingdom.”
“That’s great. It’s a chance to easily earn a title. Yup, yup.”
As Rania nodded in agreement, Mia pushed the letter back into the envelope.
“You know I have no interest in such things. Besides, if I participate, who will guard this place? You asked me to look after the slave until he becomes an adult.”
“Well, can’t you just put up some strong security magic?”
At Rania’s nonchalant reply, Mia looked down at the envelope, displeased.
“Security isn’t the only thing I have to worry about.”
“Heeh… But you seem to be getting along quite well. I thought you’d just throw them all away like before, saying it’s too much trouble.”
“…It’s only because you personally asked me to, Master.”
Mia muttered, uncharacteristically turning her head away sharply. Rania licked her lips.
‘Tsk, if it weren’t for the war, I would’ve taken him myself.’
Due to the frequent wars, Rania, as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, was required to fight on various battlefields. Because of this, she couldn’t easily take in new family members.
‘Once the war is mostly over, I’ll just kidnap him then.’
She was one of the great Four Heavenly Kings of the avaricious Demon King's army. If there was something she wanted, she had to have it, and if there was something she wanted to do, she had to do it.
Normally, she would have kidnapped Rian and tucked him under her arm regardless of the circumstances, but this situation was unique.
Mia was her disciple. That meant Mia belonged to Rania. She was merciful to all that entered her domain. That was why she could easily, for a moment, set aside her obsession with Rian.
“You were just thinking something strange, weren’t you, Master?”
“Huh? Me? No? Of course not.”
“Hmm…”
Seeing her master’s predatory expression, like a beast before a hunt, Mia’s eyes glinted, but Rania just shrugged and put on an innocent face.
“Haa, anyway, thank you for delivering the letter.”
“So, are you going?”
“I have to. It’s a personal request from the Demon King-nim.”
“True. If you’d said no, Erboan would have thrown a fit.”
Rania stood up, the last cookie in her hand.
“So I’ll relay your answer?”
“I’ll send a reply right away—”
“Eh, why bother with that? I can just tell him myself.”
“Wai— Master!”
Before Mia could stop her, she vanished in a flash of magic. Mia sighed and rose from her seat.
“I should put up the security magic. And finish the basic experiments before I leave.”
Mia decided she needed to complete her basic experiments on Rian before she left, and exited the drawing room.
***
“Here, eat slowly. It’s hot.”
During the late lunch hour, the children lined up in front of Rian, holding their bowls. Pia watched the familiar scene, biting her lip.
“Thank… you.”
“Fank ou.”
The children, still clumsy with their words, accepted the food with lisps. Some even gazed up at him with sparkling eyes, hoping to catch his attention, if only for a moment.
Pia felt a wave of nausea.
‘Piece of trash.’
Pia hated Rian. It wasn't just because he had been cruel to the children in the past.
‘He’s just using the children.’
Pia, who had survived in the cruel land of the Demon King, could see it. The children's desperate struggle to cling to the powerful to avoid starvation and experimentation. And she could clearly picture Rian leisurely enjoying that struggle.
‘A human no different from a demon.’
Pia believed Rian was enjoying the sight of the children groveling and fawning before a sliver of power.
‘…Whatever. I just need to protect my sister.’
Pia’s dark, sunken gaze fell upon Lily, who was in line receiving food. At the same time, a glint of madness flickered in her eyes.
‘If that bastard lays a hand on Lily, that’s when I’ll kill him.’