Ambush (1)
"Num, num..."
...She really eats well.
I wasn't much of a cook, but since it was just a sandwich made by tucking ingredients between slices of soft bread, my lack of culinary skill didn't really show. Thinking back to when I first tried making baby food—throwing out batch after batch because I couldn't regulate the water or the heat—this felt like a monumental achievement.
I did wonder whether it was all right to keep feeding a child nothing but sandwiches, but hey, a sandwich had all the essential nutrients, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats included. It was practically health food.
Besides, I always used the absolute finest cuts of meat, the freshest vegetables, and the highest-grade bread, so it had to taste superb.
Of course, eating the exact same meal day in and day out would strip all the joy out of life, so I needed to introduce some variety. The problem was that street food wasn't prepared with a child's delicate stomach in mind. I’d either have to hire a private chef or learn to cook properly myself—tsk.
What? Why so fast?
As I pondered my options, I glanced down at the tree leaf stuck to my palm to measure the passage of time. It had already turned pitch-black and withered into a brittle husk.
Sure, sticking it directly against my flesh meant it absorbed far more of my demonic magi than normal, but if it rotted this quickly, the ambient toll on the surrounding environment had to be severe.
I’d only been home for an hour. I wanted to stay just a little longer... No. If I lingered any more, we’d have to pack up and move again. It was time to leave.
"I shall return in two hours."
"Again...?"
"I am sorry. If I stay too long, you will fall ill, Lucia."
We’d probably have to abandon this place and move somewhere else in a few years anyway, but shouldn't we try to make it last as long as possible? Moving too frequently during childhood wasn't good for emotional development.
...Then again, leaving a child alone all the time wasn't great for emotional development either, but I had no choice. If I stayed by her side continuously, her emotional health wouldn't be the issue—her survival would.
Wait, maybe I should look for a friend her age, or hire a nanny?
That honestly sounded like a much better idea. Stepping out was fine once or twice, but only being able to spend one hour with her for every two hours away was no way for Lucia to grow up.
If I hired a nanny who could bond with her in my stead... Ah, but our living situation was a problem.
We were forced to keep moving between remote, uninhabited places, and no ordinary nanny would follow us out into the middle of nowhere. I could buy a nanny slave, but leaving Lucia in the care of an enslaved stranger made me too anxious.
Above all, I was a demon. What sane nanny would willingly work for an archdemon? Of course, I could hire an underground caregiver without revealing my true face, but those brokers only dealt with shady characters, making it just as nerve-wracking as buying a slave.
Right, then maybe I could just brainwash a nanny—wait, no, what in the world was I thinking?
My body might be that of a demon, but my mind hadn't fallen to depravity.
Which left only one realistic option...
"Lucia, are you lonely?"
"Mm... Don't go..."
"...You are human, Lucia. It would be better for you to be raised by human hands. I shall look for a house in the city and hire a nanny—"
"No!!"
My plan had been to buy a house in the city, hire a nanny to care for her, and drop by whenever possible without letting my demonic magi erode the urban populace. But clearly, that idea was dead on arrival.
I had never seen Lucia reject something so vehemently.
"I-I'm not hurting... I don't feel sick at all, so..."
"...I apologize. I spoke out of turn."
"Then we're gonna keep living together?!"
The moment I apologized, the gloom vanished from Lucia's face, replaced by radiant joy as if her misery had never existed. Even to my demonic senses, which perceived the emotions of others with piercing clarity, her delight was completely genuine.
"Yes. However, if I remain beside you indefinitely, you will suffer. We must maintain our distance at regular intervals. That cannot be helped."
"Can't we just stay together forever and ever?"
"We cannot."
Regrettably, on this point I could not compromise.
If I stayed glued to her side, not only would she cross over into death's door once more, but she would also be completely consumed by demonic mana. Her eyes, which had stained crimson during that past incident, hadn't even returned to their original color yet. If things escalated, a true catastrophe would occur.
"I'm really, really not sick, though..."
"I am sorry. I shall return in two hours, so please be good while I am away."
The leaf stuck to my palm hadn't just withered; it had completely rotted away and crumbled into fine ash.
Lingering any longer would be dangerous. I needed to leave at once.
...Still, my passive mana emissions certainly hadn't been this overwhelming back when we lived in Montpellier. Why had it grown so intense? Had something gone wrong during my clash with the priests?
"D-Dad... I'm really not sick. Even when you're right next to me, it doesn't hurt... Don't go..."
...It broke my heart.
If we were back in Korea, she’d be at the age where she’d run around playing with friends at kindergarten, yet here she was, trapped all alone in an empty house.
Maybe I should adopt another child around her age? It would double my workload, but that was far better than letting Lucia suffer from loneliness.
Yes, that made sense.
"Lucia, if you were to have a sibling, which would you prefer?"
"A sibling...?"
"Indeed. Tell me whether you would prefer an older brother, an older sister, a younger brother, or a younger sister. You seem far too lonely."
It felt slightly selfish to bring another living soul into the picture just to soothe Lucia's isolation, but wasn't it common for parents to have another child so their firstborn wouldn't be lonely? Couldn't this be seen in the same light? It would benefit Lucia, and it would rescue an orphan destined to grow up alone in an asylum—
"...No."
Huh?
Contrary to my expectations, Lucia’s demeanor flipped like a switched circuit.
The child who had just been weeping genuine tears and begging me not to leave was suddenly looking at me with chilling indifference. A torrential wave of dark, negative emotions emanated from her small frame.
And that wasn't all.
Her crimson-dyed irises were actually beginning to glow.
Uh... well...
"I'd rather have a pet. Yeah, a puppy... no, a kitten. I want a cat."
"...Very well. As you wish."
If she hated the idea that much, there was nothing else for it.
Guess I was adopting a cat.
Staying any longer risked contaminating the vicinity with my demonic mana, and since Lucia had adamantly demanded that I bring back a cat right away, I slipped out of the house and made for the nearest metropolis.
Visiting the same city over and over invited the risk of harming the populace—just like what had happened in Montpellier—so I made a conscious effort to patronize new settlements whenever possible.
"Mister, one chicken skewer, please! Here's twenty-five lira."
"Let's see here... Hmph, two gold and four hundred and seventy lira should be plenty for this bolt of fabric."
"What? Isn't that far too cheap?"
"Of course it's cheap! It's cotton, the most common and inexpensive cloth on the market, and it's thin as paper besides. I'm already being generous!"
Man, the atmosphere here is something else.
Montpellier had certainly been an active commercial hub, but it couldn't hold a candle to Spezia. Unlike Montpellier, Spezia boasted a sprawling, deep-water port, and without the festering slums born of extreme wealth disparity, the cityscape was breathtaking.
Even in Noah, Spezia had been renowned as a flourishing merchant metropolis with a grand metropolitan vista, but witnessing it with my own eyes rather than through a monitor felt entirely novel. It felt just like backpacking through Europe.
Now then, where would I find a cat...?
Did they sell them in the general market? Chickens and pigs were one thing, but cats weren't livestock; I doubted anyone hawked them from a market stall.
Well, a city this massive was bound to have at least one place dealing in pets if I searched long enough. Long-haired breeds shed too much, so I’d stick to a short-haired one—huh?
"..."
"Who on earth stands blankly in the middle of the road like—step aside, will... you...?"
Irene, the pawnbroker who had helped me liquidate treasures over the past several years, strode right up to me before trailing off into a stunned stammer as she recognized who I was.
What? What is she doing here?
I knew she had fled Montpellier early to avoid the Seraphia Church, but I never expected her to end up in Spezia.
And well... running into each other again so soon made things a little awkward. Exchanging names during our parting felt rather pointless in retrospect.
"Why is Faust here...?"
Evidently, the awkwardness was mutual. Irene, whose face had held a spark of irritation just moments prior, was now flustered and fidgeting.
Ahem. Well, whatever. This actually worked out in my favor.
A shrewd merchant like Irene, skilled in liquidating all manner of goods, was unlikely to be ignorant of local commerce.
"Irene. I have a question for you."
"A question...?"
As soon as the words left my mouth, Irene lowered her stance, shifting into an intensely guarded posture. She darted glances around like a skittish dog searching for an escape route.
What gives? We've had a perfectly cordial, mutually beneficial business relationship all these years. Why get defensive now?
She was practically trembling in fear of me.
"...What is it? If it is something that threatens the safety of this world—"
"Where can one acquire a cat?"
"...Pardon?"
What on earth did she think I was going to ask that warranted bringing up the fate of the world...?
"Mew... Meow..."
Isn't it a bit too young?
Well, the shopkeeper claimed it had just been weaned, so it should be fine.
Man, a black cat. A fitting match for an archdemon like me, which felt oddly surreal.
"Did you truly... come all this way just to buy a cat?"
Why was she being so suspicious? What was so strange about me looking for a kitten?
More importantly, why was Irene still hanging around? I’d already paid her a handsome guiding fee.
"Does it not appear so to your eyes?"
"I can see it, but... why would a demon..."
"A demon?"
What is she talking about? A demon?
Did she mean me?
Wait, hadn't I disguised myself every time I met Irene...? Don't tell me my cover was blown—whoa?!
Screeech—!
"Eeeek!!"
In that split second, a barrage of spells rained down upon me without warning.
Basic spells like Fireballs and Thunderbolts were merely the vanguard. Massive awls forged of blood, spheres of concentrated dark-element mana, and an entire arsenal of destructive magic plummeted toward us, their collective impact kicking up a violent shockwave that tore the surroundings to shreds.
Fortunately, I threw a barrier around Irene and the kitten nestled in my arms, shielding them from harm, but... what the hell was this?
"Why... is he unharmed?"
As the shockwave subsided and the dust cleared, a demon with the head of a goat stood there, sweating bullets and visibly shaken. His stunned expression made it clear he hadn't anticipated his ambush being deflected in the slightest.
This is absurd.
I was the one who just got ambushed out of nowhere—why was he the one looking so bewildered?