Taking a deep breath, Benny blinked back tears and spoke clearly.
“You sneaky demon, you infiltrated to ruin my party!”
“?”
Oh my. What in the world does that mean?
There are demons in this world too, but most have fallen into madness and turned into monsters.
The few that barely resisted are either lucky enough to be in areas untouched by the curse or are incredibly strong individuals.
These surviving demons typically end up as… courtesans.
But it’s clear I’m not an incubus, simply by the shape of my wings, tail, and ears.
So, Benny isn’t genuinely suspecting me of being an incubus.
She’s just calling me a “bitch” among her acquaintances.
“Ugh, seriously.”
I was so dumbfounded that I thumped my chest and yelled.
“I let it slide because you’re Lydia’s companion, but aren’t your words a bit too harsh?!”
“You’re the harsh one! Not only did you seduce the noble Lydia, but even Ellie, who’s like our master…!”
Benny was glistening with sobs as she pointed a finger at me. With her motion, the materialized shadow monster loomed terrifyingly close.
“I’ve heard of you! A party breaker… infiltrating established adventurer parties, seducing members, draining them of help and support… Only to instigate love battles and then worm your way into another party while pretending to be a poor victim…”
“No. What even is that?”
I’ve never heard of such a thing.
Is that it? Like the queen bee of an otaku club? A queen bee in a gender-reversed world? No, that wouldn’t apply since the ecology is entirely different. It would be a “male lion” if we had to get specific.
As I thought that, Benny let out a more primal expression.
“You snake! You might have been charming the ladies with your little tail, but that won’t work on me…”
“Benny! There are things you can and can’t say. What kind of talk is that to a kid!”
Though it was a bit too crude, I stopped talking mid-sentence after receiving a light smack from Ellie.
“Yarg!”
That wasn’t just a light smack; it echoed loudly. I wondered if that was too much, anxious as I checked. Thankfully, Benny’s head hadn’t caved in.
Instead, the shadow monster that now covered her head had finally become the shadow monster it was meant to be.
Black goo spilled on the floor. Rolling eyeballs. Broken horns. Shark teeth scattered everywhere…
It was a grotesque sight, one that would haunt my dreams, but as Benny shook her head, it vanished in an instant as if it had never existed.
And then, from Benny’s shadow, a hideous form rose again. Seeing this, Ellie raised her remaining fist.
“Come on, are you not gonna clean this up?!”
“Ellie! Pay attention! You’re being fooled right now!”
“No way! It’s not what you think; just quickly pack the shadow away, you brat!”
“No, Ellie! Wait a second! Let me explain…”
Before I could finish, Ellie spun around, peeked this way, and quietly asked.
“Can I talk about the saint story?”
So, I gave a little wave towards Ellie. She tilted her head curiously but bent down slightly for me.
I took a big bite of her beautiful gray fur wolf ears, not using my teeth, just my lips to avoid hurting her.
“Mwah.”
“Wh-what?!”
In that instant, she flinched and perked up her tail, but then it softened, wrapping around my arm.
I leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“It’s a secret, but I’m one of Ellie’s juniors and a teammate of Lydia’s, so I’ll let it slide. Make sure you tell everyone it’s strictly confidential.”
“Okay, fine, but first, let go of my ear…!”
Where had the cool, cynical ex-adventurer bartender gone, leaving only a regular girl’s face on Ellie?
I thought it was a bit funny, so I playfully licked the inside of her ear before releasing it.
“Ugh…”
With a flushed face, Ellie glared at me and then sighed heavily, draping her arm around Benny’s shoulder.
“Come here for a second.”
“Is that important right now, Ellie?! What was that earlier? You demon! Did you use hypnosis or something?!”
“Not like that, just hurry up and come here, dummy.”
Since I had been sleeping all day, it was evening now. This meant it was prime time for the bar’s activity.
Ellie couldn’t use divine barriers like Karen or aura infusion like Lydia because her body was purely physical—no divine power, aura, or magical energy.
So I dragged the mumbling Benny into the storeroom. A little while later…
With tears in her eyes for a different reason than before, Benny patted my shoulder.
“It’s okay.”
“Y-yes?”
“Even if others don’t understand, I understand you.”
“Y-yes?”
“You said your name was Jonah? I’m the same as you. This shadow didn’t appear because it wanted to either. I’m not aging any further in this appearance.”
“Um, okay! Yes!”
Not quite sure what she meant, I just answered enthusiastically, and at that, Benny’s furrowed brow relaxed.
“I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t know it was a blessing from the Goddess of Love.”
“Well, it’s fine. You could hardly be expected to know.”
I shrugged and quickly began to think about what might have happened in the storeroom.
No way would Ellie have been hitting Benny while telling her to be friends…
Then again, knowing my lip movements from earlier, I must have said something about being favored by the Goddess of Love.
To clarify, the Goddess of Love is, quite literally, the goddess of love and not some goddess of wisdom or adventure.
Her favorite people aren’t necessarily smart or strong. It’s the attractive ones.
Being cherished by the Goddess of Love means being a captivating presence, not a seducing demon like Benny imagines.
There must have been something else I said, which might be why Benny feels a sense of affinity towards me…
But I’m not totally sure. What matters is that Benny’s guard has come back down.
Now, let’s take this chance to get closer. Since I’ve already formed deep bonds with Ellie and Lydia, I have to live closely with Benny too.
“By the way, Benny, can I ask you something?”
“Huh? What is it? Go ahead.”
“That shadow of yours. Is that the reason behind your creepy nickname ‘Creepy Witch’?”
“…Yeah, I guess. It’s kinda gross, isn’t it?”
Benny pouted her lips. Unlike the amazing Elina or typically expressionless Lydia, she was straightforward yet simple in her reactions.
A refreshing sight not often seen in women of the Pan Continent.
I smiled, thinking it was interesting, and pointed to the quiet shadow.
“Could you show it to me once more?”
“Well, I don’t see why not… But are you sure? It’s kind of a curse, and even those with strong stomachs find it unpleasant…”
“Which makes me even more curious.”
When I pressed her, Benny hesitated for a moment before cautiously nodding.
“Fine. I’ll show it to you, but don’t stare too deeply.”
With that warning, Benny snapped her fingers. Instantly, the shadow elongated, rising and mixing with parts of various creatures.
Eyes far too large for a human, glaring at me with bloodshot intensity; irregularly sprouted shark teeth were terrifying to behold.
It resembled a lump of all sorts of beasts, and I continued speaking without taking my eyes off it.
“Benny, can I touch it for a sec?”
“What? No, that’s too dangerous. The shadow does follow my orders, but I can’t control it perfectly. If you just touch it recklessly….”
“Yap!”
I reached out and touched the shadow monster directly.
It had a strangely sticky body, rolling eyes glancing around, tentacles hidden like tiny spikes, and shark teeth that seemed to smirk despite not being hungry.
What looked so menacing transformed into a gentle creature the moment my fingers brushed against it, reshaping itself to become more touchable.
“Eek!”
Benny gasped, reacting a half-beat late to my actions.
“Are you insane?! I told you it was dangerous! It could mistakenly munch on your hand thinking you were food… but… huh?”
The shadow’s surface rippled, almost as if regretting the loss of my touch, displaying all its various parts.
It seemed to shout, “Please touch me!” and Benny stared at me, dumbfounded.
“You… who are you? …No, I don’t care who you are. You said Jonah, right? Let’s team up on a job.”
“…The dirty job comes first! Ellie picked ahead, so go grow your bust a bit first.”
“That’s not what it’s about! More importantly, why is your bust important right now?!”
Benny huffed angrily, revealing her jagged shark teeth as she grinned.
“I’ll pay you about 10 units a day. Since you’re already pulling my heavy loads, why not be my research assistant too?”
“10 coppers a day…? Who do you think that’s enough for?!”
“It’s silver, not copper, though?”
“Eh.”
A daily wage of 10 silver coins…
I smiled brightly.
“What should I start with?”
The smile of capitalism.
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