The Blue Demon's Revenge
The blue demon known as the dangerous slave Eos had chosen to become my slave. So I asked her directly.
"What is your purpose?"
I didn't know much about demons, so I figured I'd learn by asking one question at a time.
"There is a demon I must kill."
"Not a person, but a demon?" Just as Syucali had predicted, the answer was nothing like what I'd expected.
"I am Eos of the Blue Demon Family. We were betrayed by the Silver Demons and sold to the human heroes."
"I see." I didn't know the full story, but it was clear she'd been through the battlefield.
"Were you the only one captured?"
"My entire family has likely been enslaved. I cannot forgive them. I will destroy the Silver Demons in exactly the same way."
Eos clenched her fist tightly, her eyes burning with fierce determination.
"Syucali."
"Yes?"
"Is it possible?"
"Of course it's not possible." We didn't even know where the Silver Demons lived or who they were, yet she spoke of destroying them.
"As you can see, I currently have no power."
"..."
"But if you help me build up my forces, I will assist you in your revenge."
"Do you truly mean that?"
"I do."
Eos bowed her head right where she stood.
"Since you reached out and took my hand, I have decided to follow your will. And since you have offered to help with my revenge, I will serve you as my Master."
I could feel powerful mana radiating from Eos's voice. She'd said all her mana circles had been destroyed, yet I could clearly sense that she could still wield mana.
"You can use magic?"
"Demons breathe mana from the moment we are born. We naturally understand and accept magic as well."
"That's impressive. When I tried mana breathing, I just ended up vomiting."
"A human attempting mana breathing?"
"Is that not allowed?"
"It should be impossible. Very few humans can even sense mana, and even those who can usually rely on tools to manipulate it."
"I see." So there was a reason I couldn't use mana. People fundamentally couldn't store mana within their bodies. Now that I thought about it, Margaret had been covered head to toe in jewel-like ornaments. She'd also been holding a staff when she fought Syucali.
"What about now?"
"I can restore my mana circles. It will take a long time, however. I will need mana stones as well..."
"So it's not impossible."
Despite being betrayed, Eos had not broken. Her unyielding determination to rise again and exact revenge on the Silver Demons was only making her stronger.
"Let's get moving."
On the way, I bought Eos new clothes and underwear. Since I had no idea what would suit her, I left it to Syucali.
"How does it look?"
"Not bad."
Leather armor and a robe. She didn't look much different from an ordinary adventurer.
"What is the staple food of demons?"
"Meat."
There was no need for elaborate preparations. We stopped by a butcher's shop and bought meat. Then, as we continued on our way, I stepped into a small patch of grass.
"Kang Seo-ja-nim... what are you doing?"
"Picking leaves to wrap the meat with."
"Umm..."
Syucali, who didn't understand, simply stared at me with confusion written all over her face. Eos watched me quietly. I could feel her gaze, but I kept moving toward the hideout while checking every visible plant along the way.
This should work as ssam leaves.
I gathered the medicinal herb leaves that carried flowing mana, then stopped by a general store to buy ingredients and spices for making dipping sauce. Only after that did we finally return to the hideout.
"Wash Eos."
"Yes, Kang Seo-ja-nim."
I sent Syucali and Eos to the shower room and began preparing the food ingredients. There wasn't much to do. I set up a grill, washed the ssam leaves one by one and arranged them on a wooden plate. Using the simple dipping sauce and the herbs I'd picked, I made something similar to seasoned scallions. I also sliced ingredients that smelled like onions and garlic and set them aside.
"We're all washed."
Eos emerged wearing the prepared clothes.
"Not bad." They say clothes are wings, and the previously gloomy demon looked completely transformed.
"I'll grill the meat, so go ahead and eat."
"I'll grill it...!"
"No. You burn everything, so that's not happening."
"Huuung..."
There was no way I could trust Syucali with the tongs when her cooking talent was the absolute worst. You can only rely on someone if they actually have the ability. If I dumped everything on her just because it was annoying, I'd only be hurting myself.
-Sizzle...
The sound of meat cooking echoed from outside the hideout.
"Whoa... wow!"
Syucali was marveling even though it was just meat grilling.
"Eat up."
I placed the perfectly cooked meat onto the plates.
"Thank you again today, Kang Seo-ja-nim. Nom... mmm~ You grilled it so perfectly!"
Syucali popped a piece of meat into her mouth and smiled with pure happiness. Following her lead, Eos also put meat in her mouth and began to chew. She ate with a calm expression. I wrapped a ssam leaf with dipping sauce and seasoned vegetables and ate it beside them.
The taste is different, but the feeling is similar.
The herb leaves were slightly bitter yet spicy. It was a shame there was no gochujang, but eating it all together gave me a feeling close to the ssam I remembered from Earth. The seasoned vegetables were pleasantly sour and sweet. Every bite released rich umami that harmonized beautifully. It was the kind of combination that would make any Korean clap in approval.
"Delicious."
"Is that how you're supposed to eat it?" Syucali looked intrigued.
"This is how we eat grilled meat."
"Is this the black-haired way? I want to try too."
Syucali had eaten the food I made quite well. Perhaps because of that, she tried to copy every single way I ate. I'd seen her practicing both mixing things into soup and using chopsticks.
"I'll make one for you."
I centered the wrap around the meat, added the other ingredients and sauce, and shaped it into a perfect bite-sized portion.
"Ah."
"Aah~?"
I placed the ssam into Syucali's open mouth.
"Mmm... chew... chew... huh?"
She looked at me with eyes that seemed to mix joy and curiosity. Then, without another word, she continued chewing and reached for another herb leaf with her own hand. It seemed to suit her taste perfectly.
"Where on earth did you learn this? Hooop! Nom!"
Syucali kept eating without pause.
"Shall I make one for you as well?"
This time I looked at Eos. She watched the mood for a moment before quietly nodding. She probably didn't fully trust us yet, but I could sense her trying to open her heart. For the first day, this was more than enough.
"Ah."
"Ah... munch... munch..."
Eos ate the meat ssam. After chewing thoroughly, the demon looked up at me in surprise. Then she nodded. They said demons were similar to humans, and it seemed that was true.
I didn't expect their tastes to be similar too.
Watching both Syucali and Eos, I realized they weren't all that different from people.
"Eat plenty. I'll be working you both like crazy later."
"Yes!"
"Understood."
The two of them didn't stop, devouring the meat ssams one after another.
"Clean up when you're done."
"Yes~ Master. Here, you too, demon. It's time for you to start working."
The well-fed slaves immediately got to work. Syucali had grown used to it, moving naturally as she wet her hands with water. Eos was still awkward. It was obvious she'd never done housework before. Since she'd come from the Blue Demon Family, she was basically nobility by human standards.
In the end, even with slaves, it looks like I'll still have to handle the cooking myself.
She had hoped for a combat role, so I couldn't complain. You can't have everything. I would fill in the gaps myself and keep moving forward. After all, I had the power to gain abilities by spending the night with women.
"Shall we prepare now?"
"Yes."
Syucali took off her clothes. Then she came close and began removing mine as well.
"You take yours off too."
"What are you doing?"
"What else? I must serve my Master."
"Serve... I see."
Eos began removing her clothes as well. The faint slave brand was visible on her shoulder. The adventurer outfit slid down, revealing her copper-toned naked body. Scars covered her here and there, still unhealed with scabs intact. Though the shackles had been removed, I could see clumps of mana gathered around the wounds.
"Am I to serve as a sex slave in this place?"
"No. You will be responsible for the party's firepower as our mage."
"But I cannot use magic in my current state. The only thing I can offer is this body."
Eos was accurately assessing her own condition. The mana circles inside her body had been destroyed. Since she couldn't use magic with this shell, she was saying that becoming a body servant was appropriate.
"I'll treat you, so don't worry."
"It won't be easy to treat. The human heroes sealed off all my mana flow. The circles might recover to some degree, but undoing the mana seal will be difficult."
"Didn't you say you could use magic?"
"Once my mana circles recover... I should be able to use basic spells at least."
"I see... Then I'll have to find a way to break the mana seal as well."
I walked over to Eos and gently touched the scabbed area on her lower abdomen.
"Ugh..."
"Does it still hurt?"
"I forcibly closed the pierced wound. If I hadn't, I would have died right away."
What kind of battle had left her stomach pierced like that? At this point she was basically a walking hospital. A demon who'd lost a horn, an eye, and had her stomach run through. In a way, she was practically a zombie.
Yet she's still alive. Her mental strength is incredible.
She had endured that pain and was now pretending to be fine. I wasn't sure if she was simply rigid by nature or if she'd learned that crying out in pain wouldn't change anything.
"Are all demons this resilient?"
"I don't know about the others, but I don't want to die easily."
"A good attitude."
I led Eos to the bed, laid her down, and reached out toward her unfamiliar body. She showed a slight reflexive flinch at first, but gradually relaxed and let the tension leave her muscles.
"This is... my first time..."
"Good."
It seemed even demons placed importance on their first experience.
"How nice..."
Syucali watched Eos with clear envy from the side.
And so I began to caress Eos's body.
"Mmm... ah..."
Even though it was her first time, she felt it intensely. Actually, every woman who had spent the night with me had been completely satisfied. That was why I'd been called the black-haired incubus, and why this ability had made me famous in the village.
If demons weren't all that different from humans, they would react strongly to my touch and enjoy it.
"Ah..."
Just as I'd expected, Eos let out a moan. Surprised by the sound of her own voice, she quickly covered her mouth with both hands. From her reaction, it looked like the treatment would go smoothly.