Chapter 17
Clang, whoosh!
No sooner had the door shut than it swung open inward as if some force was at play.
“What’s taking you so long? Ah! Juice!”
Lania, playfully nudging the unconscious Dovan, waltzed over with a slack-jawed grin, her voice oozing sweetness as she grabbed the juice. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
“Gulp, gulp. Whoa! So good!”
“Mia, you should try some too. It’s made from the fruit you brought last time.”
“Oh, thanks!”
Mia, already accustomed to it, took the glass and sipped the juice. As Lania licked the juice off her lips, she crossed her legs while sitting across from Mia.
“Oh wow…”
As she crossed her legs, her pants — which could barely be called underwear — hiked up even more. After barely managing to avert my gaze, I cleared my throat and spoke.
“What about that guy, Mia?”
“Ah, I’m not sure…”
Mia rolled her eyes toward the half-conscious Dovan.
“I’d love to kill him, but obviously we can’t do that.”
“Why not? Just off him!”
Lania popped one of the few cookies left into her mouth and said it playfully, her sultry charm evaporating like the cookie in her mouth.
“Sigh, even if he looks innocent, Dovan has ties with one of the other Heavenly Kings. I’d rather not poke the bear, you know?”
“Pfft, just kill him anyway.”
“Even if that’s Erboan’s doing?”
“Huh…? You mean he knows Erboan?”
“Not exactly. More like he’s chummy with one of Erboan’s goons.”
“That’s playing with fire, my friend.”
Erboan was famous for keeping work and play separate — a real by-the-book type within the Demon King’s entourage. Getting on his bad side would mean endless headaches. Knowing someone close to him was a slippery slope.
“With the war heating up, stirring unnecessary trouble would be a pain.”
“So what’s the plan then?”
Lania grinned blissfully while munching on a cookie, obviously feeling like a proud chef.
“I was thinking about asking Jiso to mediate.”
“Gulp, smart move. That’s pretty diabolical!”
Jiso was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, managing the Frenzied Coliseum. He dabbled in all sorts of nasty business — loan sharking, drugs, you name it!
Getting Jiso to mediate meant he would evaluate Mia’s damages and forcibly squeeze Dovan for a ‘fair price.’
If Dovan had enough dough, no problem! But if he was short on cash, Jiso would clean him out, body and soul.
Even if Dovan scrapes together some compensation, Jiso would still swipe the rest under the pretense of a ‘service fee.’ No wonder Lania called it diabolical!
Having Jiso on the case meant no messy backlash, and boy, would he rake in a lot! Plus, he could toss Dovan right into the abyss, making it the prime choice.
“So, do we let him go?”
“I guess, but with a few strings attached.”
“Fair enough. If we just release him, he’s going to be a pain in the neck.”
Mia stood up after closing her book and sauntered over to Dovan, who looked like a jumbled mess after all Lania’s magical bullying.
“…ψπΝδΦΩ”
As Mia mumbled something, a magic circle appeared above Dovan before weaving into his body.
“That should do it.”
“So, this means we’re cleaning up?”
“Yup, let’s do it.”
Lania waved her fingers lightly, lifting Dovan into the air. She then glided over to the mirror standing in one corner of the room.
“Let’s see, coordinates are… right here.”
She traced the magic remnants on the mirror, figuring out where Dovan came from before activating it.
Whoosh.
The surface of the mirror rippled once more.
“If you want to die, just come back. I’ll entertain you!”
Flashing a bewitching smile, Lania sent the suspended Dovan through the mirror with a flick of her wrist. He disappeared so fast that only an afterimage lingered behind.
Tap, tap.
With a casual shake of her hands, as if she had tossed him in herself, Lania confidently strolled back to her place. I stole a glance before mustering up the courage to speak.
“Um, Mia, I wanted to chat about security….”
“Oh, don’t sweat it! I plan to lay down security magic throughout the building to prevent this from happening again.”
“Oh! Thank you so much!”
I bowed my head in gratitude before adding,
“Well then, I’ll be off!”
*
As Lian stepped out, the once light atmosphere dropped back down a notch.
“He’s cute. Maybe I should’ve just snatched him!”
“Master, you don’t take care of slaves properly. You’d probably neglect him and let him starve!”
“Eh, at least he can cook for himself!”
“Only if he has ingredients!”
“Touché.”
The two traded playful jabs before diving into the real talk.
“So, what’s got you dropping by during such a busy time, Master?”
“Oh, right.”
Lania dug her hand into her chest and retrieved a black envelope. It was fancy-looking, adorned with gold edges.
“Here, take this. It’s from the Demon King himself!”
Swish.
As Lania let the envelope go, it gleamed with a light magic flow and landed gracefully on Mia’s thigh. Mia instantly opened it to see what it said.
“…!”
“What does it say?”
Lania, shoving cookies into her mouth, looked curiously at Mia as her brows scrunched together in thought.
“It says to pitch in with taking down the neighboring kingdom.”
“Perfect! This is your chance at an easy title, right?”
As Lania nodded along, Mia tucked the letter back into its envelope.
“You know I’m not into that stuff. Besides, who’s going to protect things here while I’m away? Didn’t you say you wanted the slaves watched over until they’re grown?”
“Well, if we bulked up security magic, wouldn’t that solve it?”
Mia rolled her eyes at Lania’s nonchalant response and frowned at the envelope.
“Security isn’t the only thing I should be worried about!”
“Geez… but it looks like you’re managing just fine! I figured you’d be fed up and throw in the towel as you usually do.”
“Only because the master asked me to personally.”
As Mia looked away with a pout, Lania smirked, pleased.
‘Ugh, if not for this war, I would’ve swept him away already.’
With all the wars breaking out, Lania, as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, found herself hopping through various battlefields. Snatching new recruits wasn’t exactly easy.
‘When the fighting cools down, I’ll just kidnap him then.’
She was one of the glorious Heavenly Kings of the greedy Demon King’s forces, someone who always gets what she wants and acts on her whims.
Under normal circumstances, she would’ve dragged Lian with her, regardless of the situation, but this time was different.
Mia was her pupil. That meant Mia was, in a sense, Lania’s property. She was usually quite generous towards whatever entered her territory, so she could put her obsession with Lian on hold—at least for now.
“Master, you just thought something weird, didn’t you?”
“Eh? Me? No way!”
“Hmmm…”
As she watched her master grin like a predator ready to hunt, Mia’s eyes lit up, but Lania simply shrugged it off, wearing an innocent look.
“Sigh. Anyway, thanks for delivering the message.”
“So, you going for it?”
“Of course! The Demon King personally requested it.”
“Right, if you said no, Erboan would’ve blown a gasket.”
Lania stood up, the last cookie still in hand.
“Is that how you’ll play it?”
“I should send a prompt response—”
“No need for that! I’ll just deliver it myself.”
“Wait… Master!”
Before Mia could grab her, Lania vanished in a flash of magic. Sighing, Mia got to her feet.
“I should set up some security magic. And don’t forget to finish that basic experiment before I leave.”
Mia left the parlor, determined to wrap up the essentials on Lian before setting off.
*
“Now, take it slow. It’s hot.”
During the late lunch hour, kids lined up with bowls in front of Lian. Pia, taking in the all-too-familiar sight, bit down on her lip.
“Thank you!”
“Thanks, sir!”
The children, fumbling over their words, grabbed their food while looking up at him with hopeful eyes, desperate for his attention.
Pia felt an urge to gag.
‘What a loser.’
Pia absolutely despised Lian. But it wasn’t just because Lian had been cold to the kids in the past.
‘He’s just using the kids.’
Through the merciless eyes of survival on the Demon King’s land, Pia saw the kids struggling not to starve or become lab rats, clinging to the strong for any shred of safety. And there was Lian, leisurely basking in their plight.
‘No different from the demons, really.’
Pia figured Lian savored the sight of the kids prostrating themselves in front of him for the tiniest crumbs of fake power.
‘Whatever, all I need to do is protect my brother.’
Among the throng of kids lining up for food, she locked eyes on Lily, a glint of madness flashing briefly across her gaze.
‘If he lays a finger on Lily, then I’ll just kill him.’
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