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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

The Werewolves and the Vampires have been enemies for generations. It all started with the ancestor of the Vampires, who in a bid to find protection for his sunlight-vulnerable offspring, seduced the first Werewolf.

Average Werewolves have a fatal weakness to their strength, and that was they couldn’t transform during the day like the Elite Werewolves. They could only do so in the light of the moon, meaning they were just as weak as an ordinary person during the day.

Some Werewolves ended up succumbing to the wiles of the Vampires in order to conquer this weakness. These Werewolves were now Blood Ghouls, blessed with the ability to transform at will thanks to the secret arts passed down by the first Vampire. Upon swearing allegiance to the Vampires, these Werewolves were no longer called Werewolves, instead they called themselves Lycans.

From [I am the Greatest Demon Hunter] (Number One Bestselling Novel of the Western Human Realms)

“Guard duty?” Zurnalin shook her head. “Lack of sleep is a woman’s number one mortal enemy. Something like guard duty should be left to Reyage instead.” Zurnalin explained with such conviction that I nearly believed her for a second.

“Master…” Jezsere said as she scratched her head. “Isn’t the Vampire still at loose? Is it really all right for us to be sleeping like this?”

“Why not? The warning has already been set up and Reyage is out patrolling as well. If there’s any problem, he should be able to hold the line for a while.” I waved my hand as I said that, telling her not to worry too much. “Besides, even the Vampire has days where it wants to just laze around.”

“But big brother…”

“It’s fine, he’s your big brother, isn’t he? He should get more practise too, if he wishes to protect you.” I briskly brushed off her concern with another wave of my hand.

It was at that point that Zurnalin brazenly tossed her pillow onto the bed and said, “And that’s why I should sleep together with your holiness as well.”

However, the bed we were sleeping was rather old. Had it just been me and Jezsere, it would have still been enough. But the moment Zurnalin tried to climb onboard, it started to sway and give out a decidedly worrying creak… crap…

“Ahh… there’s nothing more comfortable than being with your holiness!” Zurnalin leaned over and hugged me like how you hug a bolster. In fact, this shameless woman was even lightly rubbing against me with her face. “Your holiness is so fragrant as well… I almost want to take a bite…”

“Mhm, mhm. Master’s fragrance is the best, Jezsere likes it too!” Jezsere happily chimed in, not at all bothered by her actions.

“Jezsere is such a good girl. In that case, it’s decided then. The three of us will sleep together tonight.” Zurnalin boldly made the decision for all.

“But Sister Regine hasn’t returned yet…”

“Regine?” Zurnalin suddenly recalled that such a girl actually existed. “You mean that gloomy brat?”

“That’s right. Sister Regine said she was going to take a shower, but it has already been over an hour.” Jezsere adorably put a finger to her lip while thinking to her. “Shouldn’t she be back by now?”

“Who cares if she’s back or not. The bed’s only this big, there’s no room for her even if she makes it back now.” Having said that, she wrapped her legs around my waist. “Your holiness, let’s have a pleasant time tonight.”

“Absolutely not!” was what I had wanted to say, had it not been for the fact that Regine had already yelled that for me.

Dressed in a white pyjamas, Regine rushed in through the door, hair still dripping from the shower. She swiftly grabbed hold of Zurnalin and tried to drag her off the bed. “That is my spot!”

“Hah. Just because you say it’s yours, doesn’t make it so. I don’t see your name on it!” Zurnalin slapped aside Regine’s arms then sneered at the girl. “If you say it’s yours, why don’t you try calling out to it then? See if it responds.” Zurnalin gave the bed a quick pat at that point.

Shameless! As if a bed could talk.

Regine had always been a girl of action; if it could be solved with force, one could be sure that she would. At the same time that Zurnalin threw out that downright shameless argument, she was already guarding against Regine. Sure enough, a fist came flying towards her, which she blocked with a hasty guard. She frowned and said, “Damn brat, you actually dare to attack, I think it’s high time someone teaches you a lesson…”

“Boom!”

Suddenly, an explosion interrupted their confrontation. Our eyes were immediately drawn towards the windows. From the bed, we could only see that, roughly a kilometer away or so, a battle of some sort was taking place.

“I’m afraid our Vampire is here.” Zurnalin promptly leaped off the bed and ran towards the window to have a closer look. “That attack shouldn’t be Reyage’s. He’s an Assassin so his tactics are rarely so flashy. If it’s not the Vampire, it should be those two humans your holiness is concerned about.”

“Nicole…”

Blast! I should have thought of it sooner. As a Demon Hunter, Nicole’s number one priority should be slaying that Vampire. Even if I have already told her that someone’s out patrolling tonight, I forgot that I have yet to tell her who I am. There’s no way she would ever trust the word of a stranger she just met… in other words, that boom must have been from her!

“Zurnalin, Jezsere, stay behind. I’ll go have a look with Regine.”

Without waiting for Zurnalin or Jezsere to object, I immediately jumped out of the window. Regine had put on her equipment at breakneck speeds as well, having fully suited up and jumped out at roughly the same time as I did.

“Snort~~” It was then that Mo Ning trotted up to us from her stables and signalled for us to hop on. Without wasting any further words, I climbed onto her back and helped Regine up as well. Before leaving, I looked towards the window and yelled, “look after Jezsere for me”, then rode off with Mo Ning.

As a Nightmare Steed, Mo Ning’s eyesight at night was only going to be better, not worse. As she galloped along the deserted roads of the village, the sounds of metal clashing and explosions kept bombarding us. Based on that, there should at least be ten people fighting right now.

By all accounts, there should only be one Vampire terrorizing the village, but there were also the Vampire’s Blood Ghouls to contend with…

Mo Ning’s speed could only be compared to a bolt of lightning. In barely any time at all, she had brought us to the scene of the battle.

Nicole, Neneth and Reyage were currently surrounded by ten assailants, some Werewolves and some normal Humans. Not only that, there was a youth, dressed in an extravagant-looking robe that was black on the outside and red on the inside. As he smiled mockingly in their direction, there were no traces of blood to be seen on his pale face, not even in his red eyes. From time to time, he would lick his lips, as if he was looking at a feast in the making.

“Master, that Werewolf serving at the side of that Vampire is no ordinary Werewolf. It’s one of their favourite types of Blood Ghouls, a Lycan.” Regine leaned in and whispered in my ears. “They are stronger than their normal counterparts and can transform at will thanks to the secret arts of the Vampires.”

“Lycan?” I coldly harrumphed. “Nothing but mongrels who have abandoned their clans for power. As if just changing their names will change their fates…”

Perhaps it was because of Shadowfang resting inside my Shadow Demon, but I couldn’t help feeling a little turned off by the idea of a Werewolf betraying his clan for power.

“It’s time to fight, I want those Blood Ghouls taken care of first.” Because Nicole and Neneth were present, I couldn’t command the Dark Elves to strike. In that case, I could only handle this myself. “By my name, burn! O emissary of flame!”

In the shortest time possible, I had summoned three Five-star Fire Elementals to join in the fight. I could have just summoned a Seven-star variant, but I did not want to reveal too much of my power in front of Nicole. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that I was supposedly chased about by a bunch of bandits. If I were to suddenly summon three Seven-stars right now… that cover story would have seemed really suspicious.

“Master, I’ll be off then.”

“Be careful. Your safety takes priority.”

“Mhm.”

Regine jumped off Mo Ning’s back, and in an instant, blended completely into the darkness. At the same time as the darkness wrapped around her, her scent and aura vanished in an instant. If anyone were to look in her direction right now, no one would be able to notice her presence.

The battle was only heating up by the second. Nicole’s style of fighting was brutal but efficient. Wielding her weapon that seemed both like a sword and a blade, she rarely acted, but when she did, her opponents would be left with a myriad of cuts.

Beneath her, there was already a fallen Lycan and a Human warrior lying motionlessly on the ground. Even so, there were still a number of opponents to contend with. As of right now, there were three Lycans surrounding her. Their attacks were cautious; in all likelihood, they wanted to wear her out in a prolonged fight.

Neneth was fighting against a pair of Lycans at the same time as Nicole. Unlike Nicole, her style was more brash, swinging her door-sized blade wildly in a dance. Anyone who dared approach her would be smacked aside mercilessly.

On the surface, Neneth seemed to be at the level of a Four-star, but based on her style, I wouldn’t be surprised if her destructive power was that of a Five-star’s.

Wherever the door-sized blade struck, an explosion would resound across the battlefield, leaving a gaping hole in the ground soon after… seems like I’ve found the source of those explosions…

Out of everyone present, Reyage’s job was probably the easiest. He only had to deal with five Humans and two Lycans. Even though he had more opponents to deal with, he was the most experienced present. An assassin might not have specialised in group battles, but his ability to use magic and martial arts meant that he easily suppressed his opponents.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

“I’m not lying to you. I really am of common birth. When I was just six months old, my parents were murdered by soldiers dressed as bandits. It was my adoptive father who raised me… All that I have today is because of my hard work and luck. Even luck is only possible because I took that first step, else everything would have merely been a pipe dream.” I explained to the disbelief of the bandit leader.

The eyes were the window to one’s soul, at least that was how the saying went. Even if the bandit leader *** interim village chief did not believe me at first, when he looked deep into my eyes, he could tell I wasn’t lying at all. Naturally, of course. I wasn’t lying, I merely left out the part about me becoming a Devil and what not. However, even if that was true, it was still a fact that one had no choice but to work hard if they weren’t born into fortune.

“I’ll go see if there are any refreshments in the kitchen…” The bandit leader stood up somewhat in a fluster then left, “It has been a while since I came home, I wonder if the food is still edible…”

“It’s fine, we brought our own food.” I quickly replied, then without waiting for him to even say anything, I glanced towards Jezsere who promptly took out some bread and fruits from her dimensional ring.

Seeing us take out our own food, and especially from a dimensional ring, a hint of resentment flashed across his eyes, though he quickly suppressed it. His expression stiffened up significantly at this point, having realised that we were still wary of him.

“Then… I will make some for myself…”

I did not pay much attention to his words. Instead, I waved warmly at Nicole and Neneth, “Nicole, Neneth, how about joining us for some food.”

“Wah!! Sister Maid actually has a dimensional ring! I heard those things are expensive -you must be rich!” Neneth animatedly gushed about the rareness of the ring. Yet it didn’t take long before her attention was immediately captured by the food on the table.

“Wooo~ that fruit salad looks really fresh, the bread is really cute looking too!” Saliva was practically dripping from the corners of her mouth at this point. Poison be damned, what was risking one’s life to a little glutton when compared to inhumanity of starving oneself?

Nicole, on the other hand, was more composed about the whole situation. She did not make a scene about the dimensional ring, nor did she show any outward reaction to Neneth accepting our offer. It was only after I took a bite first out of the food that Nicole was finally reassured enough to eat as well.

I picked up an apple and handed it over to Regine beside me, “This is for you.”

“Thank you, Master.” Regine gingerly took the apple from me, doing her best to avoid any bodily contact.

It was at that point that Jill threw me a quick look -seems like she wants her dues now. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to turn in her mission now. After all, she was here to help us find Nicole. Now that Nicole was found, her work was done.

I gently ruffled Jezsere’s soft hair then smiled, “I’m a little worried about the defenses, you guys go ahead first. I’ll go have a look with Jill. Jezsere, Regine, you guys have fun with Nicole and Neneth in the meantime”

“Eh? Jezsere is staying behind?”

“What’s wrong? Aren’t Regine, Neneth and Nicole here to keep you company as well?” I chuckled then flicked her lightly on her forehead. “Be good, your master will be back soon. While I’m gone, I’ll leave my maid in your care, Lady Nicole, Neneth.”

Regine stayed silent, showing her consent for this arrangement.

“No problem. Neneth will take good care of Sister Maid!” Neneth happily answered before taking a huge bite out of the bread. Yet she didn’t seem all that satisfied by it, saying, “If only there was some meat…”

“Meat?” Jezsere considered for a second then reached into her dimensional ring once more. “Here’s some of the roasted meat we bought this morning. It’s a little cold. Should I heat it up in the kitchen?”

“Wooo~ there’s actually meat now! Sister Maid is the best… is there anything you do not have in that dimensional ring?!”

When it came to gluttons like her, whoever fed her was a friend. That was the law of the land, nothing could change it.

Upon leaving the bandit leader *** interim village chief’s house, we walked down a deserted alleyway. By now, the sun had already set. If everything went according to plan, our Vampire should be making its appearance soon to pick up a snack.

As she walked shoulder to shoulder with me, Jill unabashedly said, “I’ve found the person you wanted, now about that gold…”

“For you. As promised.”

I tossed a sack of gold coins at her; within was a hundred gold coins. She quickly caught it in one hand, and without even opening, counted the amount through sheer feeling.

“It’s rare to see a forthright employer like you.” She happily slapped me on the shoulders as she kept the sack of coins. “If there’s anything else you need of me, I’ll happily give you a discount.”

“Not for the moment. But if there’s any matter I need in the future, I will find you.”

While this girl was a stickler about money, I had to admit that she was very professional. As long as you gave her the gold, she would deliver the goods as promised, not a cent less. The only reason we were able to locate Nicole so quickly was because Jill had taken the effort to scour the Thieves’ Guild for leads. Simply put, she put her best foot forward for this sack of gold.

Now that the question of money was settled, we temporarily ran out of topics to talk about. We continued walking onwards for a moment before Jill suddenly said, “Oh right, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“And what is that?”

“Are you Mo Ke or are you Mo Na?”

“…” I did not expect her to ask that question. To be safe, I decided not to answer her directly. “You do not need to pry too deeply into my… matters. All you need to know is that by working for me, you will be well-rewarded.”

“You wish to buy my silence?” Having said that, Jill rubbed her fingers together and smiled. “I’m really expensive.”

I took out another sack of coins and threw it her way. “Is this enough?”

“Oh, most definitely,” Jill kept the coins without even counting, a smug smirk on her lips. “But the amount you gave me just now was more than the fee of my silence, that’s why I’ve decided to work for you for a while.”

So all that talk about silence was just an excuse. She just wanted a reason to stay behind. I guess that makes sense, Regine’s the one who introduced us to her. That means their relationship should have been close, in the past at least…

“By the way, Senior Regine has been missing for the past few years, would you happen to know what happened to her?”

“Regine, huh… I think it’s better if you don’t know.” Thinking back on what she had suffered, I couldn’t help but feel a pang in my heart. “I don’t think you should ask her as well. Unless she brings it up by myself, don’t ask her.”

“In that case, I won’t ask. But her current state…” Even though she said she wouldn’t ask, I could tell she was still dying to know why.

“It’s fine. It might not seem like it, but she has already recovered a fair bit.” It was then that our conversation came to an abrupt end; Reyage and Zurnalin were now in sight. “That’s them, let’s head over.”

“Alright…”

At the same time that we spotted Reyage and Zurnalin, they spotted us as well. Both of them greeted me with a bow first, “Master.”

I nodded back. “How are the preparations going?”

Reyage turned around to eye the nearby shrubbery. “The traps have been set. We’ve also set up more magical traps around the perimeter of the village. As long as that Vampire dares step a foot into the village, we will be the first to know.”

“Already?! With just the two of you?” Jill was more than a little shocked as she looked at them. “Lyon is at the very least a village of a thousand… and you’ve set up traps throughout the entire village in just thirty minutes? Magical traps too!”

Naturally, it was impossible for just two people to accomplish such a feat. However, I had a hundred Dark Elven Assassins accompanying me. These were all the elite of the elites within their own clans. Whether it was magic or martial arts, they were all top of their class. Just a single one of them could give the best assassins in the human realm a run for their money. Setting up traps was a cakewalk for them.

“That’s our secret.” I curtly answered, then without caring if she had more to say, I turned towards Reyage and Zurnalin. “Let’s go back for now, to the home of that bandit leader. Oh right, did you guys know that the bandit leader is also the interim village chief…”

The night was deathly silent, but that only brought more terror into the hearts of the villagers. With a hundred Dark Elven Assassins guarding the perimeter, I could safely go to bed with Jezsere on the second floor…

Honestly, this bandit leader has a pretty big house. It’s a little cramped, but it can fit all of us in it. And being a little cramped isn’t all that bad…

“Your holiness, I’m here~~” The door to the room swung open with a bang, revealing a very proactive Zurnalin with a pillow in her arms. Clearly, closing the door was pointless.

Even so, I wasn’t the least bit surprised, only a little miffed. “Zurnalin… it’s late, what are you doing here?”

“I’m afraid of the dark… can I sleep with you, your holiness?” As she said that, she squeezed the pillow and pouted.

“Stop fooling around, there’s no way you’re afraid of the dark! Also…” I almost facepalmed myself at that point. “Aren’t you the one in charge of guard duty today?”

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Because we had coordinated before, it didn’t take long before we bumped into Reyage and the others while they were out ‘searching’ for us. While we could have just met up at the site of the battle, I decided it was better if we didn’t. After all, hearing about a battle from my mouth was one thing, actually seeing the carnage we wrought on those nearly one hundred bandits was another. Given that I couldn’t guarantee how Nicole would react after seeing such a sight, caution was the better part of valor.

“Master~~”

Having spotted me from a distance away, Jezsere came galloping towards me while excitedly waving her hands. The moment she caught up to us, she leaped off Mo Ning and right into my arms, like a dog that had just found its long-lost owner.

Ahh… my adorable Jezsere is with me again and everything is right in the world… but… Mo Ning… can you not stick your horse face in mine… you’re blocking my heartwarming reunion with our resident timid girl. Also, don’t lick my face.

Now that we had ticked off the reunion with the servants event, our next mission was to safely reach the village of Lyon.

As for why safely… well… certain unfortunate accidents might happen if we were to bump into that massive crime scene nearby…

While bandits were undoubtedly the scum of the earth, Nicole was still a kind girl deep down, of that I was sure. I was worried that my methods would leave a bitter taste in her mouth. And all that talk about not caring about me… that was all a test… Yes… a test. She wanted to test if I was a bad person.

My Nicole is a kind girl! She would never knowingly leave me to die!

Since this was the first time we were all meeting, I decided to have a short round of introductions. Naturally, I was going to introduce myself as Mo Na, and definitely not Mo Ke.

“This girl here is Nicole, and her companion is Neneth. They are both Demon Hunters from the guild. They have the same goal as us: to take down that Vampire in Lyon. Oh right, Nicole, you may just address me as Mo Na.” Having said that, I then pointed at those gathered around me. “I’m sure you already know Regine. This here is my bodyguard, Zurnalin. The cute girl is Jezsere, my maid. And that’s Reyage, Jezsere’s elder brother and also my most trusted officer. That beautiful girl over that is the guide we hired, Jill.”

And that was all the introductions. Or at least it should have been, had it not been for Mo Ning neighing unhappily in my direction. Seeing that, I could only pat her horse head gently before adding on, “This is my steed, Mo Ning. Don’t let her looks fool you, she’s a very smart horse with the blood of a magical beast mixed into her bloodlines.”

Upon hearing that last bit, Nenenth’s eyes practically lit with admiration. As for Nicole… she was as unaffected as before.

Thanks to that, the whole scene became a little awkward. Once again, it was up to me to save the day. I quickly eyed the cowering bandit leader. “Didn’t you say that you were from Lyon? Lead the way, we still have a Vampire to slay.”

“Okay, I’ll get to it immediately…” Said the bandit leader as he turned around to leave.

“Hold on.”

The bandit leader turned around and looked at me confused.

“Take the shortest route instead.”

At that, the bandit leader almost fell over as he immediately did a complete one eighty to the opposite direction. “Right. Right. I know just such a shortcut. Over here… but it might be a little… unsuitable for horses…”

“Just lead the way.”

“All right…”

Short that exchange might have been, but I knew that Nicole would get a little suspicious of me because of that. That was why I decided to nip that problem in the bud with an excuse I prepared well beforehand.

“It’s getting late now and we still have some ways to go before we reach Lyon. If we can arrive at the village before nightfall, we might even be able to set up some preparations against the Vampire.”

At that, Nicole curtly nodded her head; clearly she was in agreement with my idea.

As for Neneth… she was all excited and clapping. “That’s brilliant, Sister Mo Na. You even thought so far ahead… not at all like Neneth… she’s so stupid in comparison…”

Now that the conversation was suddenly about her, Neneth couldn’t help but lower her head a little, as if to say, pat me now.

Seeing this cute side of her, I couldn’t help but smile a little as I gently comforted her till she finally smiled back.

Our current location was roughly ten kilometers away from Lyon. Because the bandits did not have any horses, we ended up taking longer than necessary. However, that bandit leader ended up finding us a shortcut as he promised. It was a hidden route, and not at all suited for horses as he warned us. Even so, we still managed to reach the village before nightfall.

On the surface, Lyon didn’t seem all that different from an ordinary village. However, there was a palpable sense of gloom cast over the entire village. The villagers were all hidden in their homes and only whispers could be heard throughout the village. Had this been an ordinary village, we would have already seen children running about the streets, playing without a care in the world. Yet everyone was now locked up tight in their homes, as if they wanted nothing more than to permanently seal the windows and doors.

“The sky is turning dark, if there is no other instruction, we’ll be off then…”

Having completed his mission of leading us here, the bandit leader quickly glanced at his companions before throwing out the quickest excuse he could come up with to bid farewell.

Unfortunately for him, there was no chance in heck I was letting him go. His lackeys could leave, but the leader that he was had to stay behind.

“The rest can go, but not you.” I waved my hands to dismiss the other seven lackeys. Finally, I pointed at the bandit leader, “I need you to bring us somewhere.”

“I…” His face almost fell apart.

“To the village chief first.” It was then that Nicole spoke up. Having done that, she glared at the bandit leader. Even if the others were gone, it wouldn’t be a problem tracking them down as long as we had their leader in our hands.

With tears in his eyes, the bandit leader brought us to a relatively large building with two stories on the eastern side. He opened the lock on the door with practised ease and walked in naturally as if this was his home.

Wait… don’t tell me he’s the village chief? No way, he looks like someone with muscles for brains.

“Reyage, Zurnalin, go set up some defenses; it’s getting dark soon. I don’t expect the defenses to be able to defeat the Vampire, but they should at least warn us of its coming.” I instructed the two of them upon entering the house.

The two of them left immediately without saying another word.

Upon stepping into the building, the bandit leader dug out some chairs from the somewhat messy living room before pulling one for himself in the corner.

Seeing that, I was quickly reminded of how odd this whole situation was. “Who are you exactly?”

“The previous village chief is my father…” The bandit leader immediately opened up with a shocking bit of news, but that was only the precursor of what was to come. “During our third attempt at organizing mercenaries against that Vampire, he was slain by Blood Ghouls. I’m now the… interim village chief.”

“…”

What the heck? Why are you even a bandit then? You have a perfectly bright future ahead of you! Do you actually think banditry is better than what you got?

“I know what you must be thinking right now… why would I even choose to be a bandit…” The bandit leader *** interim village chief sighed at that point. “I’m sure you all have already noticed what’s wrong upon entering the village. This village is barely alive. That Vampire will at least capture one villager a day. His favourite prey includes beautiful virgins, strong men and children… But with no money to hire more mercenaries, an uncaring lord, and an unresponsive Demon Hunters Guild… we can do nothing about that. The villagers spend every day in terror.”

“Our village isn’t rich. Most of us have no kin outside of the village. Leaving now would only delay our deaths a little. What’s worse is that a slaver party got wind of our plight and even set up shop nearby to capture those who flee…”

A slaver party?! Right outside of the village too? Doesn’t that mean that the Vampire also has some connection to those slavers? But even if they don’t, those slavers have reached a new low. Even a firing squad would be too kind for these monsters.

Speaking of which, the village is already at such a desperate stage and yet the lord hasn’t intervened yet?

Clearly, I wasn’t the only one to share this surprise as well. “EHHHH?!!” Neneth exclaimed loudly. “Is the lord of this region not going to step in even now? The slavers are already openly capturing his subjects.”

“The lord… hmph… didn’t you just mention one of his most profitable schemes just then?” The bandit leader coldly harrumphed.

“You don’t mean…”

“All you noblemen and ladies will never understand the suffering of us common folk.” The more he spoke, the more the agitation in his voice grew, any thought of that spider in his belly long gone by now. He waved his thick arms about in rage as he yelled. “You all are born with a silver spoon in your mouths, never worrying about how to fill your bellies -but we aren’t that fortunate! We wake up everyday to crippling hunger. When you open your eyes, you see a feast spread out before you, while we only have despair on the dinner table if the crops do not meet the winter needs. While we endure the harshness of the cold within our very own homes, you sit by the fireside and make merry… You even have servants to drive you around on carriages while we…”

The bandit leader was on a roll at this point. Unfortunately, his otherwise moving rant was immediately cut short by me.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something here.” I stared right into the eyes of that livid bandit leader and said, “Your misfortune is not justification for robbing innocents. Besides, I was of common birth as well…”

“Impossible!” The bandit leader eyed me from top to toe, not at all convinced by what I said. “There’s no way you are of common birth. Just look at those serving you right now, their auras are nobler than the last. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were all born noble. And as their master, you have the gall to claim you are of common birth? What a joke! Our plight is already miserable enough without your jokes!”

Unfortunately, I was telling the truth here. My family in the past had all been commoners, even if it seemed like I was doing a right fine job for myself right now. However, the world was like this sometimes: a convenient lie might earn you the trust of bystanders while telling the truth might just earn you scorn instead.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

When a Demon Hunter advanced to become a Senior Demon Hunter, they would have their own area to hunt in. Should they leave that area… well, that would be a disaster… It was under such circumstances that Nicole, a rising star amongst the Demon Hunters, famed for hunting down creatures in cities, took up this mission of unknown difficulty.

The village of Lyon ended up being in a worse state than we had anticipated. The lord of this region was a veritable bloodsucker to the commoners, concerned only with taxing them but not with administering them. In a lot of ways, he was similar to the Vampire plaguing the village, the only difference being that his tithe wasn’t blood.

Because of that, the village had no way of hiring a proper mercenary troupe that was powerful enough to defeat the Vampire. The lord of the region had no intention of sending his troops either. And while all that was happening, the Demon Hunter Guild administering this region was still trying to determine what the actual difficulty level of this request was.

Naturally, that didn’t mean the village was just going to lie down and await their demise either. The able-bodied youth of the village decided to take matters into their own hands by forming a bandit troupe to raid passing merchants… at least, that was till they bumped into me…

“So what you’re saying is that your initial aim was to gather enough money in order to hire a more powerful mercenary troupe?” I guess that’s an option too. Some of the more powerful mercenaries are just as effective as slaying demons as the Demon Hunters.

“Not necessarily…” The bandit leader paused for a second before continuing, “If we aren’t able to procure enough gold to hire a mercenary troupe, the next plan was to find a way to move the villagers away…”

So they had a backup plan as well… huh… I never expected this bandit leader to be capable of such meticulous planning.

However, I could clearly see his eyes shifting as he said that. In all likelihood, the safety of the village wasn’t his only concern either. Perhaps, that might just be an excuse for his banditry. After all, it would be a lot easier for him to flee by himself versus dragging along an entire village. Between selfishness and self-sacrifice, I was more inclined to believe that Humans chose the former.

Even so, now wasn’t the time to nitpick on the motives for his banditry. With the bandit leader’s brief account, I now had a rough idea of the situation.

Having understood the danger of the village as well, Neneth couldn’t help but throw me a curious look. “Oh right. Sister Mo Na, Neneth and Sister Nicole are both here to slay that creature of darkness, but what are you here for?”

For Nicole, of course. Does it look like I’m here to visit family instead?

Not that I would ever say that out loud, of course; it would be wise to set up an honorable image in front of Nicole and Neneth instead. With that in mind, I first smiled at Neneth then raised my head slightly, eyes peering into the distant blue sky as I said solemnly, “I’ve heard that Lyon has been plagued by darkness, that’s why I’ve decided to lend a hand. I wish to… deliver salvation unto these unfortunate commoners!”

Hear! Hear! Now that was some good speech delivering right there! Just listen to how noble, how determined I was just now. The men would cheer while the women would weep tears of joy! I’m such a genius. Even I’m moved by my rousing performance and selfless spirit…

“Wah~~Such nobility, Sister Mo Na!” Clearly, Neneth agreed with my assessment as well. The next time she looked at me, there was an undisguised fervour in her eyes. “Not only is our Sister Mo Na beautiful, she’s so compassionate as well… Sister Mo Na’s the best, Neneth likes you even more now!”

Hahaha. Just look at my wonderful oratory skills. Dealing with some naive brat is no challenge at all. Now that I’ve successfully persuaded Nicole’s little follower, how long more before I take the prize herself?

Unfortunately, the speech itself did not seem to impact the rest as much as Neneth. The bandits obviously weren’t going to buy it, seeing as they had a grudge with me. But why was Nicole so unmoved as well? My speech was flawless, my acting skills sublime… I doubt there’s anyone in the Western Human Realms who can act better than me! And if there is, step forth right now. I’ll use my actions to prove who is the actor with the bigger sword!

However, I knew better than anyone that overconfidence was a slow and insidious killer. That was why I quickly reined in my conceited thoughts… I mean, my attempts at bravely challenging the competition… As long as you can convince yourself, you can convince anyone!

Seeing that Neneth had completely bought into my story, Nicole raised an eyebrow before coldly asking, “Just by yourself?”

“Of course not, I just got separated from my companions.” I pointed at the pleading bandits. “There were others with me. We just got separated during the chaos of the bandit encounter. They got tangled up with his lackeys while I tried to summon my Fire Elemental. But because of my inexperience, and a momentary panic, I ended up…”

As I said that, I lowered my head as if in remorse.

“Don’t be sad, Sister Mo Na, Neneth thinks you did a fine job.” Neneth quickly tried to change the topic upon noticing my dejected look. “But Sister Mo Na, you mentioned there were others with you? Where are they now? Do they need our help?”

“That’s okay. They are all accomplished warriors, there were just too many bandits at the time, and we were ambushed as well. Oh, that’s right.” I pointed at the bandit leader. “This guy should be their leader, he was the one that had them try to capture me… Even if my companions are still fighting, the battle should be over once we show them that their leader has been captured.”

“In that case, let’s hurry.” Neneth turned to Nicole as she said that. “Sister Nicole, let’s go save them, all right?”

“…fine.” Nicole spat out coldly. Yet as soon as she said that, she drew her sword at one of the large trees roughly ten meters away. “Who’s there?!”

A crescent-shaped, white wave of sword energy swiftly split that half-meter thick tree trunk, causing it to slowly slide downwards and revealing its behind. A slender black figure immediately jumped out from the shadows.

The figure darted to the side of Nicole, and in the time it took to blink, drew out a dagger and stabbed at Nicole’s shoulders.

“Clink!”

Still seated on her white horse, Nicole spun about and deflected the incoming dagger with her sword. At the same time, the black figure, defying all the known laws of physics, managed to launch herself at Nicole in mid-air, despite having nowhere to kick off from. Even so, Nicole remained as calm as before. Her left hand swiftly struck out at the oncoming leg, meeting force with force.

All that happened within the span of a few seconds. Upon exchanging these few blows, the figure landed nimbly back on the ground, choosing not to harass the girl any further.

Naturally, this newcomer was Regine. In order to prevent any potential mishap -such as those bandits suddenly deciding to commit suicide by attacking me- she had been tailing us from the beginning. Yet who would have thought that Nicole’s senses would be so sharp that she could actually see through Nicole’s stealth…

Speaking of which, Nicole is now a Demon Hunter and Regine is my Demoness… things might get a little troublesome…

Even though Ancarin and Regine were Demonesses, as long as they did not go all out, the chances of them being exposed were low. Even so, Nicole was a Demon Hunter, a profession dedicated to slaying just such beings. Plus, she was also the disciple of one of their branch heads. I couldn’t say for certain whether or not she might have some special method of seeing through Regine’s identity. If she had, then it wouldn’t just be Regine’s identity which would be exposed, mine would as well.

“Master.”

Regine continued facing off against Nicole as she said that, both girls strikingly similar in how frigid they were. If there had to be a difference between the two, Regine’s coldness was a result of what she had suffered previously, so while her eyes were cold, they were not empty. As for Nicole, her suffering had a lot to do with me and was most likely ongoing…

“Hahahaha. A misunderstanding, this is all a misunderstanding.” I quickly dragged Regine behind me then stepped forward to explain the situation. “Regine is one of my bodyguards. She was probably worried for my safety so she came chasing over.”

“So she’s an ally then…” Neneth happily clapped her hands together. “That’s great, we have another pretty sister to accompany us!”

Without waiting for Nicole to say anything, I immediately greeted Regine happily and asked, “Regine, how is everyone doing?”

“Fine.” She curtly answered, face as expressionless as before. “No one has suffered any injuries.”

“That’s great! Let’s go meet up with Jezsere and the others then!” I then turned to look at the bandits who were still kneeling before me. “Regine, I need you to look after them. If anyone dares to make a move, kill them. Well, maybe not kill, but at least teach them a lesson.”

“Understood, Master.”

Strangely enough, I couldn’t detect any animosity between Nicole and Regine right now. Perhaps it was because they had both fought each other to a draw, or perhaps they had developed some sort of kinship, seeing as they were both ice queens.

Either way, it was good news that Regine’s identity hadn’t been exposed. In actuality, it was difficult for a Demoness to be exposed, not unless she used the abilities given to her by her Devil patron. Normally, a Demoness really wasn’t all that different from a normal person. That was the reason why there were all sorts of strange books about how to identify a Demoness, though those books had already been declared forbidden by the Church due to the damage they caused. What was worth noting was that they were the ones who wrote it in the first place…

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

Even with her companion’s pleading on my behalf, Nicole still coldly said, “No.”

At this point, the bandit leader was on the verge of collapsing on his knees. If Nicole wasn’t going to play along with this script, he was done for; there was no doubt in his mind that I would turn him into spider food.

What the heck…when did my Nicole become such an unlikable girl?! This ain’t natural!

“Since Sister Nicole doesn’t want to, then Neneth will stay out as well.” Neneth said before gobbling up the last of her bread. With a clap of her little white hands, she said to the bandits, “Neneth will be off then.”

I… blast. What to do now? If I let her go now, I…

I could barely hold myself back any longer. An undisguised wave of murderous aura slowly leaked out of my body towards the bandits. If Nicole wasn’t to help and neither was Neneth, I could only settle matters myself in order to push this scene onwards.

“I thank you both for helping me stall for time. I’ll be the one to handle these curs!” I grasped my left wrist at that point, then with a flourish, revealed Lion’s Majesty for all to see. “By my name, burn! O emissary of flame!”

As the last of my chant finished, a towering silhouette made entirely out of flames began to take the shape of a humanoid between the bandits and Nicole.

By controlling the output of my mana, I was able to ensure that this Fire Elemental was only at the level of a Five-star. Yet even at this level, its appearance was enough to have the already hot air around us burn even further. Plus, with its current strength, it was more than enough to bully the bandits in a feigned fight.

“We surrender… please don’t kill us…” But before I could even give the command to attack, the bandit leader had already thrown aside his massive blade and led the pack by offering his surrender.

…

I know you guys are just last-minute hires, but can you at least put in some effort? What’s the idea behind surrendering without even trying?

The bandit leader deliberately turned his head away at that point to avoid my hateful gaze. “That flame monster is terrifying… there’s no way we can win…”

“That’s right. That’s right. Fire is our greatest weakness. My mom even told me when I was young not to play with fire, you will end up wetting the bed if you do…” One of the other bandits immediately interjected to support his boss.

“I miss my mom too…”

“What a coincidence, me too…”

One after another, the bandits joined in the chorus of reminiscing about their moms, ruining the otherwise tense atmosphere in an instant.

I swear! What can I even do with a bunch of pig allies like them?!

Neneth, on the other hand, was confused as she eyed the kneeling bandits. “Eh? Aren’t you guys going to catch her?”

As if they dare. Bah, I know how these spineless jellyfish work now. When it’s a bunch of normal people, they are more than happy to act like a fierce bandit troupe. Now when it came to an opponent they couldn’t win against, they would immediately wag their dog tails. But at least they created a chance for me to talk to Nicole. All I need to do now is use my gift of the gab to turn this disaster into fortune.

“You have my sincerest thanks for stalling these dastardly villains. Had it not been for that, I would never have had enough time to summon help.” I addressed Neneth this time instead. While nothing would have made me happier than to address Nicole directly, knowing her cold attitude, that was doomed to fail.

“You’re welcome. As long as you’re fine, pretty sister.” Still riding atop her white horse, Neneth reached into her backpack and rummaged about for a second before pulling out a paper-wrapped piece of bread. “Neneth was so worried just now. But don’t worry, pretty sister, Neneth would have stepped in if those dirty bandits actually tried anything.”

“Oh, then you have my thanks once again.”

While I might have said that, deep down, I was practically beside myself. Had she really intervened, I would be chatting with Nicole right now. But… looks like a change of plans is in order.

“So… Neneth? May I know where you two are heading to?”

Hearing me call her by her name, the blue-haired, bread-munching girl nearly dropped her bread in surprise. “Eh? How do you know my name is Neneth, pretty sister? Neneth never mentioned that her name is Neneth!”

But you did mention it… many times, in fact… Oh boy, looks like we have another sharp one here…

“And will you stop addressing me as pretty sister, I’m actually a man.”

Even though Neneth was admittedly a cute girl, there were some mistakes that couldn’t be overlooked. Especially when it came to my gender.

“Huh? So it’s pretty brother then?” Neneth hopped off her horse, bread safely cupped in both her hands. She then leaned in and gave me a sniff before breaking out in a smile, “Oh, sister is such a kidder. There’s no way a boy would ever be so fragrant.”

“I…” But I’m really a man… why does no one believe me…

Yet just as I was busy being tormented by the question of my gender, Nicole who hadn’t spoken up till now suddenly asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m Mo…” I barely managed to catch my tongue in time. Thankfully, I was able to stop myself when I noticed Nicole’s eyes sharpening when I said Mo. I swallowed by reflex and said, “I’m Mo Na.”

Good daughter of mine, I hope you won’t mind that I borrow your name for a while. I promise I will return it right away once I’m done. So be good and don’t cause trouble. I swear, I’m at wit’s end here…

“Mo Na…” Nicole softly repeated the name of my daughter, eyes never blinking as she stared at me. My heart couldn’t help but race as I worried whether or not my cover had been blown.

“Greetings, Sister Mo Na, I’m Neneth.” Said Neneth while she happily waved at me. She then introduced Nicole as well, “This here is my sister, Nicole.”

“Greetings as well. I plan to travel to the nearby Lyon, what about you two?”

Now was the time to take the initiative by stating my objective before Nicole. This way, even if she felt that this was too much of a coincidence, she shouldn’t be all that suspicious. After all, her intelligence shouldn’t have any report about me being here.

“What a coincidence. We’re heading there too.” As she said that, she waved her obviously bitten bread and smiled happily. “Well, since we’re both heading there, how about Sister Mo Na join us!”

“Alright, I was thinking the same thing as well.” I quickly threw her an approving look. Even though this girl seemed callous at first, she actually wasn’t such a bad person after all. However, when my eyes swept over the kneeling bandits, I realised another problem. How was I going to find an excuse to let them go? After all, with that spider in their bodies, there was no way they would ever dare defy me. Leaving them alive could prove useful in the future.

“So what should we do with these fellows?” I casually asked.

“You’re the one who captured them, this has nothing to do with me.” Nicole impatiently snapped.

“That’s right. Sister Nicole, how you handle them is up to you.”

Their attitudes towards this matter were crystal clear: they didn’t care. Yet I clearly couldn’t let them off the hook so easily either. In that case, there was no choice but to have them suffer a little and fake their deaths.

With that in mind, I declared, “A trial is unnecessary then. Bandits are all bad people, leaving them alive would only bring tragedy in the future. In that case…”

“No! Please, we’re actually just villagers from Lyon. We had no choice but to become bandits… please let us go, brave heroines… Didn’t you say that you were heading to Lyon, we can guide you all to the village!” Having completely missed my point, the bandit leader honestly thought that I was about to kill them all so he immediately jumped to his feet and yelled. “I know you. You must be from the Demon Hunters. I recognise the insignia on your clothes. We really had no choice but to become bandits… it’s all that Vampire’s fault…”

The bandit leader then began his woeful recount of how a Vampire brought ruin to their village. As he spoke, I could clearly hear the resentment and resignation in his voice.

So they really were forced into becoming bandits…and not the professional kind.

The village of Lyon was a highly populated settlement. But because of the village’s inherent bad geography, the majority of the villagers were impoverished. Unlike my previous world, this world wasn’t a kind one to the ordinary folk. Even if they were suffering, the leader of the territory would never spend a dime on bettering their lives.

It was under such a backdrop that the situation of the villagers got increasingly worse. Leaving the village carried a very real risk of starving to death or just being captured as slaves. Yet staying behind was certain death as well.

Faced with such a disaster, those that had the ability to leave had already left. Those who could not weren’t going to quietly wait for their deaths either.

In actuality, the villagers of Lyon had not only requested aid from the Demon Hunters, they had also made the same request of several mercenary troupes. Because of a Vampire’s obvious weakness to sunlight, even ordinary troops stood a chance at victory as long as they were crafty. Unfortunately, the Vampire in question was just too strong. They had hired three mercenary troupes in the shortest time possible, each more powerful than the other. Unfortunately, every one of them had been met with failure. In fact, some of the mercenaries had even turned into slaves for the Vampire. The fact that their efforts did not weaken the Vampire but ended up strengthening it instead was just sad…

It was also because of this that this mission was stuck in limbo for a good long while in the Demon Hunters. The constantly rising difficulty of the mission meant that the Demon Hunters could not figure out who to send to rescue the villagers. After all, Lyon wasn’t the only village they had to look after. They couldn’t waste unnecessary manpower on a task if it did not warrant such effort. When facing a Vampire, sending more than necessary might even backfire…

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

SPONSORED CHAPTER

I am the almighty child of Lolthe, that is an inescapable fact. And as an almighty child of Lolthe, I will not stand for being harassed by a bunch of lowly bandits. The only reason why Reyage and Zurnalin hadn’t massacred the lot of them yet was because they were waiting for my command to finish the job. Plus, they also had an understanding of my personality: while I might have been angry right now, I couldn’t bear to slaughter them all in the end.

All in all, it didn’t take long for them to finish off a bunch of bandits that were as well-equipped as refugees – roughly two minutes. Out of the hundred or so bandits, less than ten were completely unharmed. The rest were a mangled mess on the floor.

Reyage and Zurnalin had especially left the bandit leader alive. His transgressions were the worst of the entire lot and one could only imagine what kind of sordid fate awaited him once all this was said and done.

However, his fate was of no concern to me. All I wanted to do now was find a nice picnic spot while waiting for Regine to return with news of Nicole.

But because of the sheer amount of freshly dead in the vicinity, the environment was a horrific mess. Out of concern for our resident timid girl, I decided to have Mo Ning bring us to somewhere more palatable. While Jill was no stranger to violence herself, the sight of nearly a hundred corpses didn’t sit well with her either so she left with us.

“Bring the living over, I have questions for them.”

Just like that, the remaining eight bandits were herded towards me. Yet before I could even interrogate them, Regine returned from her reconnaissance mission.

She stepped over the mountain of corpses without even batting an eye and said calmly, “Master, we’ve found the target.”

A couple of days ago, we managed to procure a portrait of Nicole and Neneth, her companion Demon Hunter. The Nicole depicted within was older. More beautiful, and also more mature. However, she had a frosty demeanour that not only pushed everyone away from her, it also made my heart ache. I had known her since her childhood days: she was a bright, gentle girl, yet here she was, an ice queen. Never would I have imagined that the act of me leaving home would cause such an impact on her… but it was too late for regrets now…

As for the girl, Neneth, she seemed familiar… Haven’t I seen her before in my previous trip to the human realms? Yeah… she’s that girl I tried to tail back in Azure City. I remember being found by the Demon Hunters not long after… seems like she has become a proper Demon Hunter as well… maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that I was discovered all those years ago?

Doesn’t matter now, as long as I can meet Nicole, it’s all fine. As for that Neneth… I need to be careful of her.

“That fast? Where is she?”

“I never expected her to arrive so soon either. I had expected to wait for another day or two.”

“Based on her current speed, she should reach us in half an hour.”

That’s great, I can finally meet Nicole… hold on… I don’t even look the same anymore. If I were to say that I’m Mo Ke, there’s no way she would believe me. And there’s the matter of those corpses as well. While they may have deserved to die, I definitely don’t want Nicole to see me as a bloodthirsty boy. Perhaps I should pretend to bump into her then… maybe create a coincidence?

How to go about that… hmm….

As I pondered that question, my eyes started to drift towards the thoroughly frightened survivors of the bandit troupe… Don’t I have a ready stock of actors over here already?

My following plan was a simple one. I would first pretend to be a noble scion that had been separated from his guards and was being chased by bandits. These survivors would chase me from the back while I ran towards Nicole. Being the kind-hearted angel that I knew she was, Nicole would definitely step in to save a person in need.

Then I would take this opportunity to infiltrate her little band. As for Zurnalin and the rest… they would be the guards who finally caught up to me after a terrible battle with the bandit troupe…

That way, the mountain of corpses could be easily explained away while also creating a chance to join Nicole.

Naisu. I’m such a genius! Truly a plan for the ages! At the very least, I can’t see anything wrong with this plan. Assuming those bandits don’t sell me out at the crucial moment. I guess I have to take some extreme actions on that front. Don’t blame me, blame yourselves for being so unfortunate…

I reached into my dimensional ring and pulled out a black bottle the size of a cup. I opened it and poured out eight pearly white balls the size of my thumbnail.

“Reyage, feed these to them. One person, one ball.”

Reyage received the pills and swiftly force-fed the ball down their throat.

“Cough… cough… what did you feed us?” Having just been forced to swallow an unknown object, the bandit leader desperately tried to puke it out by shoving his fingers down his throat. However, that ball was now safely down in his stomach, no amount of gagging was going to get it up now.

“You really want to know?” I flashed him a sinister smile. “While I honestly think that knowing the truth would just make you wet your pants, being the kind soul that I am, I will tell you anyway.”

I poured out another white ball from the bottle and channelled a little of mana into it. As the mana slowly infused itself into the ball, it miraculously sprouted out eight legs…

In actuality, that black bottle was used to hold the eggs of a parasitic spider. These parasites would latch onto living hosts then feed on them from the inside. They would then lay more eggs within their hosts which would hatch and repeat the entire cycle until the host was nothing but bones. The black bottle was a necessary tool to store these eggs as the dimensional ring did not have a breathable atmosphere; the bottle itself would store them in a dormant state.

“See this, this lovely little creature is inside you all right now. If any of you dare defy me, I will have them munch on all of you from the inside. Little by little. Until there’s nothing left!”

“You… you devil!” The bandit leader yelled as he pointed a shaking finger at me. His voice had cracked from trying to hold back his tears, while his other underlings had broken down completely, some even falling unconscious from the terror.

“I’m a devil? Hah. Well, I won’t deny that.” I coldy sneered at the human scum lying before me. “What about you lot then? If I was an ordinary helpless girl, what would happen to me?”

“I… I…”

It was true that my actions were self-serving and inhumane, but that was how the world was, wasn’t it? The only difference between me and him was how quickly the tables had turned on his perfect plan to add me to his harem. Just because he was now the victim, I had turned into a devil in his eyes, regardless of what he had tried to do to me before.

Yet if one was going to kill, one should also be prepared to be killed!

“That’s enough idle chatter for now. My time is limited. You will follow me now, and when necessary, you will follow my instructions completely, or else…

“So you’ll let us go if we do as you say?”

“I don’t know about letting you go, but as long as the job is done well, I will give you a chance at living.”

“I… what do you want us to do?” He quickly asked, anxious to grasp onto this ray of hope before I changed my mind.

“Very simple.” I smiled even wider at that point. “I need you to pursue me…”

“…”

“It’s alright if you do not understand why now, in time you will. Regine will lead us to the spot, I will explain on the way.”

“But… some of our companions are still unconscious from the shock.”

“Unconscious from the shock? I guess I won’t need them then. Kill them.”

The moment I said that, the bandits who were supposed to be unconscious immediately sprang to their feet and threw themselves at my feet begging, “Don’t… I’m not unconscious… don’t kill me… I don’t want to die yet…”

Hmph, I just knew those potatoes were lying.

---

Through my telescope, I was able to spot the distant figures of Nicole and Neneth riding atop their white horses as they approached Lyon.

Nicole really has grown up, hasn’t she… I still remember when she was still a flat-chested little girl; her development isn’t half bad. She’s prettier now, but her face seems as heartbreakingly cold as Regine…

As for Neneth… why is she even munching on bread while riding a horse? Doesn’t she know that she might bite her tongue like that?

“Everyone’s ready, I assume. Later, I will run out and call for help while you guys chase after me from behind. Remember to put some effort into the acting, otherwise I will feed your hearts to the spiders.” I coldly instructed the eight nervous bandits around me as we hid out in a nearby forest. “Remember, it won’t just be one of you who dies, it will be all of you. Got it?”

“Understood…” The bandits answered shakingly as they threw me one last look. Yet the moment they realised that they met eyes with me, they instinctively recoiled back and turned away.

Seems like I have become the literal devil to them. No matter, I’m a Devil to begin with. As long as they do well for me, I’m not opposed to giving them a chance to turn over a new leaf.

“If the plan turns out well, I will remove the spiders within every one of you. Who knows, you guys might even make some change in the process.” Having said that, I fetched out a gold coin from my dimensional ring and threw it at the feet of the bandits. As the golden coin spun through the air, their eyes immediately darted to it.

The typical carrot and stick. Now that the bandits were not only motivated by fear, but also by gold, they were a lot more receptive to my instructions. The eight of them nodded their heads in unison confidently while saying, “We will do our best, milady. You are most generous to us…”

With that last bit settled, I turned around to Regine who had been silently waiting at my side. “Regine, I need you to watch them from behind. If anyone tries anything funny, kill them.”

“Understood, master.”

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

SPONSORED CHAPTER

“Save… save me… will someone please save me…”

I yelled frantically as I ran across the field like an F-list actor trying to steal the show. Yet I really could not be blamed here; the supposedly villainous bandits who were supposed to be viciously pursuing me seemed even more out of character than me.

“Hey, can’t you guys act any better?!” I finally stopped in my tracks and glared at them. “How are you guys even bandits? Is this how you plan on robbing me? Can you not embarrass your profession any further?”

“But milady… we…”

“What milady? How am I a lady?” I pointed right at the bandit leader’s nose and yelled. “I’m a man. A bonafide, 100% pure man. Got it?”

“But milady…” The bandit leader immediately blurted out without even considering. “No matter how I look at you, you are a lady.”

“Then would you like a new pair of eyes?”

“No, no, no… You are clearly a man, sire… but…” The bandit leader meekly lowered his head in defeat and said, “We’re no longer bandits… and we don’t dare to rob you in the first place…”

“Oh? So you’re saying you would rather die than help me act out this scene?” Having said that, I coldly laughed.

Seeing my mood sour right away, the bandit leader immediately knew what I wanted to say. He promptly barked a response, “I’m willing! I’m willing to do anything!”

“Very good. The two of them are about to arrive so I have no more time for you guys to rehearse. Remember to act fiercer, and I don’t mean the parent scolding a kid kind either.” The bandit leader nodded obediently at my words, earning him a look of approval right away. “Alright. Just remember, act like how you usually do when you’re robbing someone and you will do fine.”

“Like how we usually do…” The bandit leader mumbled to himself before saying, “But… we just started this occupation…”

“What the heck, you’re not fooling anyone at this point. Let me tell you, what I see right now is a complete scumbag of a bandit!” I had to hand it to that bandit leader, even at this stage of the game, he’s still trying to weasel his way out of punishment. As if I was ever going to believe him after that practised show of attempted unsanctioned fornication!

I swear… some people…

Realising that I was displeased again, the bandit leader promptly lowered his head and said no more.

“Fine, if you can’t do the job right, I will just have to finish you off right now.” I deliberately channelled my mana slowly in front of him. “Actually, I’ll just let you suffer a fate worse than death.”

“Sire… I was wrong, I’ll get right to robbing you immediately… I will make sure those louts are properly trained and ready for their roles as bandits!”

“Alright, your lives are in your hands right now, so do your job well.” I patted him one last time on the shoulders before starting to run in the direction of Nicole’s arrival, arms stretched out in the classical running away pose. “Save me… bandits are attacking me… Oh, will someone please save me…”

“…”

“Boss, what should we do?” One of the bandits who had been acting unconscious not too long ago ran up to the bandit leader and asked quietly.

“What do you mean what should we do? Chase him, of course!” The bandit leader slapped the head of that silly bandit then ,under the stunned eyes of his subordinates, yelled. “Girl, you’re not going anywhere! You’re coming home with daddy today! Hahahaha…”

Yet while he might have been shouting at the top of his lungs, his feet weren’t going anywhere at all…

Confused by his actions, one of the bandits asked, “Boss, why aren’t you chasing him?”

“I should ask you lot that question too! Who’s the boss here?! Don’t tell me you expect your leader to lead the charge?” Another swift slap to the head of the bandit, then without giving it more thought, he kicked a few of the bandits. “Go on, be quick about it!”

Finally, the bandits began chasing after me, though they were all still deathly afraid of me.

“Stop running… you had better stop right now or else…” The bandits yelled in a tone that was obviously more bark than bite.

Initially, the bandits had assumed that this bit of shoddy work would be enough to get the job done, but someone else clearly had something to say to that. A cold shiver immediately ran down the spines of the bandits. The bandit leader, being a decent fighter at Four-star, could tell right away where this killing intent was coming from. He turned his head in the direction of the forest and came face to face with a Regine whose face was even scarier than the aura she emanated…

It was at that point that the bandit leader knew this was no time for fooling around. At this rate, someone was really going to die. With that in mind, he turned towards the lackluster actors that were his subordinates and bellowed, “You lot. I want to hear more oomph ub your shouts, show some of that bandit spirit!”

To which the bandits couldn’t help but give their leader a wronged look. Even so, the bandit leader could only sigh before reprimanding them once more, “What’s with that lack of energy?! Are you guys sick of living? Don’t forget that there’s still something crawling in our bellies!”

“…” It was at that point that the bandits finally realised how desperate their current situation was. They finally gathered up their spirits and chased after me in earnest. “Capture that harlot! She’s mine tonight!”

Now that’s more like it! That’s how a bandit should act. But don’t think I’ve forgotten how you guys tried to sabotage me just now. Once I’ve infiltrated Nicole’s little band, you guys are next.

Seeing as the actors were finally all in place, I ran towards the direction of Nicole’s arrival as planned. As I did so, I cried for help just like before.

Slowly trotting ahead on their horses, it didn’t take long before Nicole and Neneth spotted me. Nicole’s expression was as frigid as the rumors would have me believe. In contrast, Neneth was more intrigued by the whole scene and had even stopped to watch while munching on her bread.

“Save me please… there’s some bandits chasing me…” I pretended to plead for Nicole’s aid, doing my best to act like a desperate noble as per the plan.

Even though I was beside myself with excitement right now at having met Nicole after so many years, I knew that she wouldn’t recognise me even if I said anything right now. If I were to reveal my identity as Mo Ke now, she might even treat me as a Devil and just slice me up. Even after all this time, I still hadn’t forgotten that time when the Demon Hunters had me cornered in my own home. The fact that Nicole had become a Demon Hunter must have had something to do with that…

“That blasted wench can really run!” Seeing that I had hid myself behind Nicole’s white horse, the bandit leader finally arrived on the scene, panting along with his other subordinates. They slowly formed a circle around us. “There’s two more pretty girls now. Good, I want them all rounded up. Meat’s back on the menu again, boys!”

“Woooo!!” The bandits cheered rapturously.

Seeing my last-minute hires pull their weight for once, I was at last relieved… But why are those potatoes just standing there? Go on. Charge at them so they have no time to think!

I winked at the bandit leader from the safety behind Nicole’s horse. Threatened, the bandit leader had no choice but to take the next step.

“Ahem.” The bandit leader cleared his throat in response to my wink, at which point the other bandits promptly shut up. The bandit leader nodded his head in satisfaction then swung his blade in the same manner he did when we first met. “You know what, all I want is that woman hiding behind you two. Stay out of this matter or someone’s going to get hurt!”

Finally, under the threat of the bandit leader, Nicole spoke for the first time ever, her voice cold and mature at the same time. “You want her?”

Ah… I still remember when she used to be a little girl. Now look at her. All grown up and beautiful… my Nicole’s the best!

“That’s right. We only want her. If you know what’s good for you, you will immediately turn around and leave.”

Kukuku. Like my gentle, kind-hearted Nicole would ever abandon me to a bunch of bandits. All I need to do now is wait for her to step forward, defeat the bandits, and save me from those dastardly villains!

Unfortunately, I was soon to be proven disappointed. She did not help me as I had expected. Instead, she turned around to address Neneth who was still munching on her bread, “Neneth, we’re leaving.”

“Ehh? Aren’t we saving her?”

“There’s no need.” She said then got ready to ride without even waiting for Neneth to respond.

Me on the verge of mental collapse: …

The bandits on the verge of mental collapse but for different reasons: …

Wait. What happened to the kind-hearted girl savior I was promised? There’s no way my Nicole would ever be so cold-hearted.

Even the bandits were shocked by this turn of events at this point, let alone Neneth.

I quickly winked at the bandit leader once more, signalling for him to try and rescue this scene. If I couldn’t join their party now, those fools only had one fate waiting for them: death.

Noticing the blame in my eyes, the bandit leader broke out into cold sweat but managed to stammer out a question, “You… aren’t you going to stop us?”

Nicole eyed the man for a second then coldly said, “No.”

“Just because we look all fierce and tough doesn’t mean we’re strong. Actually, we’re really weak…”

“No.”

“Look at that girl behind you, she’s so pretty. If we capture her, she’s in for a world of pain… we…” The bandit leader was practically crying at this point under my withering gaze. “If we get our hands on her, we will make her do this… and this… don’t you want to prevent another tragedy from happening in this world?”

“That’s right, sister Nicole. Neneth finds that beautiful sister over there really pitiful as well.” Neneth stopped munching on her bread to unhappily pout in my direction. “Isn’t it a pity for such a beautiful lady to be made to do that… and that…”

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

SPONSORED CHAPTER

Now that I had successfully shown off my wealth to the roaring cheers of the tavern goers, my next stop was to rush off to the location of Nicole’s task. Fortunately, all of us had a mount to ride so our speed was definitely going to be faster than Nicole’s.

Her mission was in the small mountain village of Lyon, located roughly 25km from where we were. It was said that people often went missing in this village, only to be found later as a corpse drained of its blood.

Normally, such a case would be attributed to Vampires, but Vampires were often more discreet in their dealings, given their obvious weakness to sunlight and fire. Because of this weakness, their normal methods were to raise Blood Ghouls as a source of blood and as protection during the day.

(TL: I’m assuming the author meant to say that the vampires didn’t usually kill their victims or leave them lying around. The original text was quite disjointed.)

Lyon was a large village of over a thousand villagers. Had it not been for the remoteness of the village restricting merchant trade, such a village would have already evolved into a town.

By convention, only settlements that were at least a town could apply to the headquarters of the Demon Hunters to have a branch office set up in their settlement. In other words, Lyon did not qualify for a Demon Hunter branch and could only rely on outside help to solve their troubles. Which would not have been a problem, if the Humans were more proficient in dimensional magic like the Elves. Basically speaking, there weren’t many teleportation arrays in the Human kingdoms, and those that existed were all in the hands of the elite or required exorbitant amounts of gold to use.

For the villagers of Lyon to issue a request for help, a large amount of time was required. By the time help arrived, a portion of the villagers had already begun migrating away. However, a large majority still chose to stay behind because moving away wasn’t a good option either. The living conditions in the Western Human Realms weren’t high in general, so even if they moved away, they did not stand a good chance of surviving. Rather than starve to death in the wilderness, it would make more sense to take a chance in one’s home.

Under the leadership of Jill, we quickly reached the outskirts of Lyon, about ten kilometers away from the entrance. As luck would have it, we encountered a band of bandits on the road. They were roughly one hundred strong, decked out in patchwork leather armor and armed to the teeth with a hodgepodge of weapons.

Amongst them stood what had to be the most stereotypical bandit I had ever seen. He was a burly man, roughly 180 cm tall. He wielded a battered but massive iron blade which he swung around a couple of times in what looked like an attempt at intimidating us. Finally, he yelled, “These roads are opened with my blessing, these trees are planted with my hands. If you wish to cross, you must pay a toll!”

Unfortunately for the man, his otherwise impressive opening was quickly blotted out by his underlings. “A robbery! This is a robbery! Hand over your coins right now!”

I just knew that bandits were all cut off the same cloth, no matter what world we are talking about…

“Master… they are…” As always, our resident timid girl was ready and waiting in my arms, shivering away in fright. In contrast, Mo Ning was more annoyed than scared as she stomped on the grounds a couple of times in irritation.

Being at the head of the pack, Reyage and the remaining guards all hopped off their horses while Zurnalin, who was riding beside me just now, got off and shielded me from the front.

It was then that Jill rode up to me and whispered, “Lady Mo Ke, I think that bandit leader is at least Four-star, how about we…”

“Don’t worry, just leave this to Zurnalin and Reyage.”

“But their numbers… and we have horses on our side. There’s no chance at all that they can catch up to us. We can always regroup and attack them later.” Still unfamiliar with our strength, it was only understandable that she was worried right now.

However, her words were picked up by the leader who immediately said, “Hah! You think you can get away just because you have horses?!” At that point, he waved his hand and a couple dozen bandits stepped out of the crowd, each wielding a hunting bow, nocked and aimed right at us. “We only want your coins, not your bodies. As long as you hand over the toll, we will let you pass unharmed. Otherwise… our arrows are more than ready to make your acquaintance.”

A few seconds and nothing happened. Seeing that we weren’t reacting at all, the bandit leader tried to intimidate us once more. Yet just as he was planning to do so, his eyes came to rest upon me. His lips curled into a smirk and his eyes ogled me for a good long while before, finally, he said, “Hey, you there, the smug-looking woman. You and your maid had better surrender right now or else. In fact, if you do not wish to suffer a fate worse than death, you had better serve me well.”

Am I hearing things right? A soon-to-be-dead bandit is trying to perform the act of unsanctioned fornication on me?! I see now. Just because I don’t lose my temper often, a bunch of small fries think they can step on me!

I gently ruffled Jezsere’s hair then sneered at them. “A fate worse than death? What exactly do you have in mind?”

“That will depend on you. If you serve me well, then that’s it. Otherwise, I will have to have you practise with my underlings as well.” The bandit leader then broke out into a boisterous laugh. “Hahaha. Make your choice: me or them?”

“Of course she’s going to choose us, boss. Just look at her, she’s not going to be satisfied with just you.”

“Boss. Boss. Don’t forget about us once you’ve had your fun! This is one’s a looker, she is. My body is just aching thinking about how I’m going to feel her up and down. Too bad about that chest though. But I guess flatness has its advantages too.”

“That’s right, Boss, remember to let us have the leftovers once you’re down. I don’t being giving up a year of my life for her!”

“I’ll give up ten!”

“I’m willing to die if you let me have her first!”

Man… never would I have dreamt that I would one day be harassed by a bunch of hoodlums…

“Hahahaha… fools.” I coldly laughed, my anger barely hidden under my frosty tone.

“Boss, I think that woman has gone insane from fright.”

“Maybe she’s just too excited about spending time with our meat clubs?”

“You dogs, don’t go scaring our little flower before we even start!” The bandit leader exclaimed while wringing his hands. He stared lavisciously at me before finally giving the order, “Grab her, she’s mine now! Well, what are you lot waiting for? Get to it!”

“Got it, boss!”

Bit by bit, the bandits began to stir, like a pack of wolves that had just spotted a choice cut of meat… Oh you foolish potatoes, you have no idea what’s coming to you…

“Hmph, everyone has to be responsible for their own actions.” I raised my eyebrows then said to Reyage and Zurnalin, “If someone’s dead set on seeking death, it’s not our place to stop them. Especially not when they are a bunch of bandits; their deaths would only serve to make the world a cleaner place. Kill them, but leave a few behind.

“Understood, master.” The two of them promptly replied, both already incensed beyond belief by the bandits’ actions.

A second later, Reyage disappeared from their very eyes. The next time he appeared, he was already behind the bandit leader. He struck first with his left fist and sent the man’s head spinning to the side before he even realised he was struck. Then with the momentum of his initial strike, he sent a spinning kick to another bandit who was still stunned from the sudden turn of events. Finally, he threw out a pair of black daggers, landing squarely in the forehead of an unsuspecting bandit…

Had it not been for the fact that Reyage held back with his punch, that bandit leader would have been dead already.

Yet this was nothing compared to Zurnalin whose strength was above Reyage’s. Normally, she would be found riding atop a Blood Drake. However, that did not mean that she wasn’t strong on foot. In order to qualify as a Blood Drake Rider, one had to be a powerful warrior both mounted and on foot. This was even more so for Zurnalin who was their interim leader.

Zurnalin opened up with a vicious slash to the waists of a dozen bandits in front of her, bifurcating them in a gory display of blood and organs. The pungent smell of raw flesh scattered about the ground was a scene straight out of hell.

“Ahhh…” Jezsere almost fainted right there and then. I quickly caught her and started patting her on the back to comfort her. As I did that, I also threw a look at Zurnalin. “Don’t cause such a ruckus. Also, those bandits are noisy.”

Being split in half along the waist did not immediately kill off the bandits. Thanks to that, there were a bunch of them writhing about in pain and screaming in a manner that could only be described as unholy.

Zurnalin wasn’t all too happy about the fact that I was hugging Jezsere, but she did not show it right now. Instead, she directed her anger back towards the poor bandits. The next time she swung her sword, those writhing bandits were all silenced forever, at which point she charged towards the bandits fighting with Reyage…

The leader of these bandits was at most a Four-star. In contrast, his stronger bandits were One-stars or Two-stars, with only a few being Three-star. Over half of them were normal people without much power. Under the combined attacks of Zurnalin and Reyage, the bandits were quickly routed in seconds. Faced with two bloodthirsty grim reapers, the bandits could only turn tail and run. Unfortunately, their previous words had not only angered me but Zurnalin and Reyage as well.

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

SPONSORED CHAPTER

Just as we finished with our pleasantries, Regine suddenly asked Jill, “Is that enough reassurance, Jill?”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?” Jill innocently blinked at us. “I don’t get what you’re asking.”

Regine wasn’t buying that act however. She coldly eyed the girl before saying, “I’m talking about those smoke bombs, you can keep them now.”

“Oh… there’s no need to be so distant, Regine. I never intended to use them against my senior.” Having said that, Jill pulled out the two arms she kept behind her back and opened up her palms. “See, nothing at all!”

Naturally, I didn’t buy that either. Between Regine and a girl that I had just met, I was clearly going to trust Regine more. But the fact that she could so effortlessly hide her tracks like that was proof that she wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill Thief either.

“I’m not here to cause trouble. There’s something I need done and I wanted you to help.” Said Regine, candid to a fault as always. Yet at the rate this conversation was falling apart, it was only a matter of time before this whole meeting went sour.

I quickly intervened with a more palatable subject. “Money is not an issue, as long as you’re able to do the job.”

“Woo~ a rich sister then. But my fees aren’t cheap, I’ll have you know.” Jill winked at me at that point. “But if it’s for our dear senior’s master, I will be sure the job is done well, assuming the money is sufficient, of course.”

“All right, I won’t beat about the bush then. I need you to find someone for me.” I began recounting what I knew of Nicole. “She’s called Nicole, she should look like a sixteen or seventeen year old, long red hair, and a warm, gentle personality. Her hometown is Chaik Village but she went to Azure City roughly three years ago to attend the Warrior Academy… I’m not sure if she’s still there, but that’s where you come in.”

“Nicole… red hair… Now that you mention it, I have heard about someone matching this description from a fellow colleague.” She paused in thought for a second then continued in an unsure voice. “I’m not sure if her personality is as warm as you say, but I was told she rarely speaks and has a cold attitude to anyone she meets -kind of like senior Regine. The red hair is a match though.”

“Location’s a match; name’s a match; hair’s a match… that should be her, it has to be!” I excitedly concluded. This was the first true clue I had to her whereabouts and I couldn’t help but lose control of myself for a moment. I profusely shook Jill about in hopes of getting more out of her, “Bring me to her… quickly!”

“I get it, I get it. Just stop shaking me, I’m about to faint…” Her eyes began to swim as she said that, and it was then that I realised how inappropriate I was being.

“I apologise, it wasn’t on purpose…” I quickly let go of her then slowly took a couple steps back. “I was just too excited…”

No longer spinning about, Jill gently rubbed her temples for a while before happily accepting the deal. “It’s fine. If you wish to find Nicole, I can help you on that front.”

“You can?!”

“Of course. However…” She then rubbed her fingers together in a surprisingly universal sign of money. “It won’t be cheap.”

“Like I said before, just state your price, I will pay it.”

“I’ll take your words for it then.” She deliberately paused for a second, as if in thought, before saying ,”I can help you find this Nicole of yours, but it will cost you a hundred gold coins.”

“Done.” I swiftly pulled out a coin sack from the dimensional ring on my right hand and tossed it to her. “Here’s the deposit. There will be more once you complete the job.”

“Woah! A dimensional ring!” Jill exclaimed in surprise as she caught the sack by reflex. She then glanced at me from top to toe before saying, “I never thought that our sister Mo Ke is so rich as well. There has to be at least a hundred coins in this sack!”

“I want you to find Nicole as soon as possible. Once you locate her, I will have more to give.”

Money naturally wasn’t a problem for me anymore, given my identity as the holy child of Lolthe. Prior to leaving, I was given a dimensional ring by the Matriarchs along with some spending money. In fact, even Jezsere was given a dimensional ring as a sign of goodwill.

If it’s a problem that can be solved by money, then it’s not a problem at all! Basically, that was my current situation.

Having had a taste of the money to be made, Jill flew off at blinding speeds to complete her task. Whenever we passed by a settled location on our way to Azure City, she would be up before dawn, checking out the local Thieves’s Guild to get more information about Nicole. Such a routine continued every day for a whole week before she finally came back with good news.

We were in the midst of having a meal in the tavern when she arrived, dashing through the door yelling, “Sister Mo Ke, I got the news!”

“You do?!” That had to be the best news I had heard in a long while. “Tell me, quick, where is she?”

“I just got word from the other guild members that Nicole accepted a Demon Hunter mission not too long ago. And the location of the mission just so happens to be a nearby village.” Jill reported in a voice that was as excited as my own. “In other words, we do not even need to seek her out. We merely have to wait for her along a route that she has to take.”

“But how can you be sure that she accepted this mission?” Having spent seven days with Jill, I had learnt from her that Nicole joined the Demon Hunters stationed in Azure City, and had even been accepted as the disciple of Aques Lumen. However, such tasks were usually confidential, so how did they learn about it?

“Hah, don’t look down on the Thieves’ Guild. Have you forgotten? One of our main businesses is the sale of information.” She then made the universal sign of money once more. “As long as you have the gold, nothing’s impossible.”

I’m guessing some of her fellow Demon Hunters sold her out… despicable humans…

“Master, what’s wrong?” Ever the adorable ditz, Jezsere was still in the dark about the implications of what Jill said. She cut up a piece of steak then waved it in front of my eyes. “Master, do you need Jez to feed you? It’s really good~”

“Hmm?”

Thanks to her sweet little offer, I was brought back to my senses, opening up my mouth for her to feed me. However, that only served to anger Zurnalin who quickly stabbed a fruit with her fork and brought it to my mouth. In that same flirtatious voice, she asked, “Master, I don’t really like this fruit, can you help me finish it?”

“Be serious.” I immediately threw her a stern glare, though I still ate the fruit anyway when I saw that she was about to cry.

Seeing that, Zurnalin took the fork I ate the fruit with and licked it seductively. “Hehe, I just knew that master liked me the best.”

“Ahhh~~~”

This time, it was Regine’s chicken fillet.

Now that the three girls had fed me their food, Reyage started to realise something as well. However, I quickly gave him a murderous stare, stopping him before he got any weird ideas… He sent the steak to Jezsere’s mouth instead.

“Brother!” She exclaimed while shaking her head.

With no one to feed it to, Reyage dejectedly finished the steak himself.

Yet that wasn’t the end of the incident either. The atmosphere between Zurnalin and Regine had grown tenser since that brief food showdown. There was a spark in the air, one that threatened to ignite a full-blown fight in an instant.

“Our sister Mo Ke sure is a lucky lady, being able to enjoy such a large harem by herself.” Jill cheekily interjected while slapping her thighs. “Not just the men, but the women too. Thank the heavens I’m not sitting there right now or I might just end up like that steak.”

“…” So you’re saying I might end up like that steak…

However, just when I thought that the two were about to act up, a surprised shout filled the tavern. I turned around instinctively towards the doorway and found a large, black horse blocking the door…

Wait… what is Mo Ning doing here? I thought I left her at the stables before we started eating?

She brazenly trotted through the door, still in her horse form. Being a tavern for humans, the room clearly wasn’t arranged with a horse in mind. However, that wasn’t about to stop her as she forcefully shoved a couple of tables aside before coming up to me. As promised, she did not say a word, but the look that she gave me now said enough.

Looks like another one is here to assert her dominance… I get it… I get it…

I quietly brought the plate of fruits up to her, at which point she threw me a look that basically said, at least you know what to do. She then lowered her head and began eating the fruits. Upon finishing them, she was now satisfied and quietly trotted out of the tavern.

But having gone through her little tantrum, the entire tavern only had strange looks to give me…

“Now I’ve really seen everything. That’s the true meaning of charm right there!” First to recover from the shock of having a horse invade the tavern, Jill practically leapt off her chair as she exclaimed, “Not just humans anymore, now we have a horse too! Woooo~!:

“Eh?” Ever the airhead, Jezsere tilted her head to the side in confusion and asked, “Why is sister Mo Ning leaving so quickly? Doesn’t she want to have a meal with us?”

No. No. No. If she really did that, the tavern would explode…

The tavern practically burst into life at this point. The guests who were pushed aside by Mo Ning tried to approach us for compensation but were rebuffed by the deathly glares of Regine and Zurnalin.

Bah… our meal’s about done anyway, let’s just leave.

I stood up, reached into my dimensional ring and tossed a gold coin to a still shocked waiter. “I apologise for my steed’s behavior just now. As compensation, their meal is on me.”

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Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

If you liked my work translating Devil’s Evolution Catalog, feel free to check out Song of Adolescence. Also, every comment is appreciated even though I might not reply. I do read them.

Leave a comment

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Author: The Sole Survivor	Original Source: SFACG
Translator: CatatoPatch	English Source: Re:Library

SPONSORED CHAPTER

No matter how many times Dioh ruined the mood, some things still had to be said, but saying them in such an awkward atmosphere was counterproductive… thank the heavens that I had already said the most important parts.

Despite Dioh’s unintentional bungling, the women of Demoness Abode already knew that I was the master they were serving. That was an undeniable fact, even if they only had strange looks to give me right now!

And that was why I decided to have Dioh lynched right this instant!

I threw Dioh a glare before arrogantly asking, “Do you have some time to spare? I…”

“I’m sorry, but my little brother isn’t free right now.” A voice interrupted me. It was a man who looked like a grown up version of Dioh. He had the same red buzzcut as Dioh but he was burlier and wore a set of grey leather armor of varying condition.

“George?”

I knew this man. He was that man who did not take to me very much but still proved reliable in a pinch. Because of Dioh’s barely disguised courtship, George ended up disliking me as a result.

“So it’s you after all.” George narrowed his eyes as he said that. “I heard that the Demoness Abode was suddenly receiving some guests despite not doing so before. Even if you weren’t amongst these guests, they had to be connected to you in some way.”

“Big brother, what are you doing here?” The moment Dioh noticed his brother’s arrival, his face immediately paled. He subconsciously stepped back a little and even began to shake, most likely a trauma from his past encounters with his brother.

“Just in time. Can you please take your little brother away with you, and don’t let him cause more trouble in the future.”

“That’s exactly what I had in mind.” Said George, after which he promptly picked up the boy by his collar and carried him off. “Come on, stop embarrassing yourself any further.”

“Let go of me… Big brother… there’s still so much I have to say to lady Mo Ke…” Dioh flailed his arms about desperately but to no avail. In the end, he could do nothing but allow himself to be taken away.

Yet before they left the building, George abruptly stopped, back still faced towards me, and said something unexpected, “How long are you planning to stay?”

“A day, perhaps?” I paused for a good long while before answering. What… so he does care… but I think I will have to pass on a male tsundere hitting on me… a cute girl is one thing, but a grown man…

“Then you’d better be quick about it. I’ve heard that Moranthal and the others will be back in a couple day’s time.” Having said that, George dragged his still flailing brother back home.

While the two brothers were now removed from the scene, the damage Dioh did to the atmosphere was irreparable. Even if I wanted to say something now, it would just seem like a continuation of a comedy skit… Bah, they know who their master is anyway. My goals are met for now, the rest can be figured out along the way.

Having left the great hall not long after to head to Ancarin’s room, I returned to my human form, but not before plucking off a feather and handing it to Ancarin.

“Ancarin, what I’m about to tell you is of utmost importance. When you create a stature of me, remember to place this feather within it as well. From now, you all merely have to pray to the stature and I will bless you through it. Naturally, what you receive has to do with your own potential, but faith and sincerity has a large part to play as well.”

“Understood, master. I will personally oversee the construction of the stature.” Said Ancarin as she reverently received the feather from me.

“Little brother, don’t forget that you promised to hand the Faith Power over to me.”

Relax… I still want to return to my male form, and that requires my body to be rid of you. That’s why, before your soul is able to exist on its own independently, I won’t do anything to break this promise.

“That’s good then. On my end, I will do my best to return to my original power so that our little brother can become a man a day sooner.”

By the way, would you happen to have a way to return to Abaddon?

“Abaddon, huh…not for now.” She answered evasively. “It’s a real hassle to go there unless you have some special medium or teleportation array that can transport you there. I do not suggest it.”

Hmm. If I can make it to Abaddon and find Yi Yi, she can definitely help to separate Ferti’nier’s soul from my own. But based on how she answered, she doesn’t seem too happy about this prospect. Perhaps she has some ulterior motive for not wanting me to go there?

“You’re reading too much into this. Your big sis really has no way to send you there. If your big sis was still at her peak and had the Chaos Crystal, she would naturally be able to do so. However, your big sis is just a fragmented soul right now with no body of her own. She can’t open up a dimensional tunnel…” Having explained her own side of the story, she quickly reassured me. “But don’t worry! Once your big sis gets her body back, she will definitely help her little brother accomplish whatever wish he has. Even starting a harem won’t be a problem at that time!”

Alright then. I will take your word for it. When I want to start a harem in the future, I had better see you helping out.

“Of course, of course. Your big is a Devil of her own words.” At that, she smiled confidently. “She is your big sis, after all.”

Like what I said to George, I did not end up staying in the Demoness Abode for too long; Nicole was still waiting to be found in the Western Human Realms.

A day of rest later, I led Zurnalin, Reyage, Jezsere, Mo Ning and Regine onto the road towards Azure City.

So why was I in such a hurry to leave? Hmm… because Dioh was annoying? That was true, but there was also another very important reason called Moranthal, a man who equally had me at wit’s end. Now if I were to allow those two to meet in my presence… oh Jeebus, thank the heavens he was out when I visited the Demoness Abode. (Moranthal was another man who fell in love with Mo Ke and pursued him endlessly.)

Ancarin initially wanted to abandon everything and follow us, but the Demoness Abode was no longer just a one-woman show. Through three years of combined effort between Ancarin and Regine, the Demoness Abode had grown into a shelter for troubled women. There were now over four hundred poor souls taking refuge in the Abode, not to mention the members actively searching for those in need. These women needed a rallying figure. They needed Ancarin.

The reason why I chose to bring along Regine instead of Ancarin was because she often wandered the lands; she was perfect for locating Nicole.

Since the time I last met her, Regine had actually transferred from the Thieves’ Guild to the Assassin’s Guild. While both guilds lived in the dark underbelly of society, there were some very fundamental differences between the two.

The Thieves’ Guild mainly operated in the realm of information peddling, fencing stolen goods, and the procurement of said stolen goods. Members had to live by the guild’s tenet of not killing under any circumstances, not even by mistake. Should anyone be found breaking this tenet, a light punishment would be to cripple this member and then kick him out. A heavier punishment would be death.

Naturally, this only applied to when they were carrying out missions.

The Assassin’s Guild, on the other hand, did not have such a restriction. After all, their whole existence was to kill the target in exchange for a monetary reward. Anyone who got in the way of this mission was expandable. However, members weren’t allowed to steal on the job. While they were off the job, they weren’t allowed to kill without reason either.

As for the possessions of the killed target… that was called looting, not stealing.

Not too long ago, Regine met one of her juniors from her Thieves’ Guild days, a female Thief known as Jill. Apparently, Jill used to be a noble of Tarnia. Because her family was destroyed by a political rival, she ended up being the only survivor of her family.

Being her senior, Regine was highly respected by Jill. Because our objective, Nicole, was last seen in Azure City, a city of Tarnia, Regine decided after some deliberation that we should first make contact with Jill. After all, who knew what kind of repercussions my inadvertent encounter with the Demon Hunters had -it would be safer to find a familiar contact first, instead of rushing into the city unprepared.

By using a magical tool, Regine was able to inform Jill ahead of our arrival. She quickly replied with a location we could meet first. It was set in the wilderness. Our contact Jill was a blonde, short-haired young girl that wore a black, form-fitting leather armor. Whenever she spoke, she would always have a smirk on her face.

Upon our arrival at the meeting point, Jill made her entrance by leaping off a tree branch ahead of us. She landed nimbly and leaned back on the tree trunk like a dashing rogue. “Regine.” She waved as she greeted her senior. “It has been a while, what business do you have with me today?”

Regine did not answer her question directly however. “This here is my master.” She then stepped back a little to make space for me. “Master needs your help.”

“Oh? When did you gain a master? Why haven’t I been informed of that?” Said Jill as she folded both hands behind her back and peered intently at me. “Hello there, master of my senior, Regine.”

Now that’s a strange way to address me.

However, being a man of culture, I wasn’t about to be impolite after the courtesy she showed me. “Hello to you too. You may address me as just Mo Ke.”

“All right. Lady Mo Ke.” She happily grinned back at me. “Who would’ve thought that my senior’s master would be such a beautiful lady. I’m a little jealous right now.”

“Errr… about that… I’m actually a man.”

‘I’m a man’ is basically my catchphrase at this point…

“Pfft… you’re a man? Hahahahaha… no way… please, you’re killing me here, sister. How are you a man? What a joke… hahahaha…”

I… sigh… what can I even say to such a cute girl. It’s not like I never expected this. You know what, I give up.

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