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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…

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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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.”

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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“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…”

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

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.

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.

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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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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.”

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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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.

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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SPONSORED CHAPTER

Nari stuck out her little pink tongue and smiled at Hayley, “Oh, then let’s get married together.”

What the heck…kids these days are scary… isn’t it a bit early for a three year old to be talking about marriage? Although… if I were to say yes now, wouldn’t that mean I instantly gain two more fiancees? I wonder if anyone will call me a scumbag if I do so? No way… my pee pee is still on vacation so any relationship between us can only be a pure one!

The more I considered the possibilities, the more I realised that this wasn’t a good idea at all. I threw Ancarin a flustered look as she continued chuckling at me from the sidelines. “Ancarin… aren’t the two of them rather mature for their age?”

She first nodded apologetically in my direction then explained, “Master… Lady Ferti’nier actually gave us a gift when she guided us to becoming your Demonesses. While you were asleep, Ferti’nier carved a dream array onto a Dreameater’s core. That array allows its owner to enter a dream simulation of life…”

“It simulates life?” Don’t tell me…

“That Dreameater’s core was originally meant for me and Regine, but roughly half a year ago, those two scamps suddenly barged into my arms while I was using it and… well, the three of us were…”

Let me guess… those two probably spent a fair amount of time in the dream… Blasted Ferti’nier, this is all your fault!

“Hey, your big sis is innocent. She only wanted her little brother’s Demonesses to be more prepared for their future advancements.” Ferti’nier immediately popped up to defend herself. “Who knew that it would end up like this…”

Sigh… I know it’s not her fault… but what have I inadvertently gotten myself into…

“That’s enough, you two.” Said Regine in her usual icy voice. The moment she noticed the predicament I was in, she quickly stepped in to intervene. “Can’t you see that master is feeling troubled?”

“But aunty Regine… Nari isn’t troubling mastah at all!”

“Me too, teacher…”

The two of them reacted differently to Regine’s admonishment. Nari seemed a lot closer to Regine, while Hayley seemed almost a little afraid of her. And while I hadn’t explicitly asked Ancarin yet, I could tell that she hadn’t told Hayley the truth about her origins.

Hayley’s greyish hair and matching tail and ears were the epitome of furry cuteness. But this furriness was also a grim reminder of the close battle I had with that bandit leader who also happened to be a Werewolf.

Either way, with Regine’s intervention, the two scamps finally quietened down while the rest were also done with their meals as well. Jezsere, Reyage and Zurnalin were all led down to their rooms by Ancarin in order to get some rest while I stayed behind to settle some matters.

“Everyone is ready now, please follow me, master.” Said Ancarin as she carried the children to the entrance. As she did so, she had on a brilliant smile. “This will be the first time our sisters have met you, master.”

Even though she did not say it, I could tell from her sparkling eyes that she was full of excitement for this long-awaited introduction.

Before we started our meal, Ancarin had sent word for the other women of Demoness Abode to gather in the great hall. By all accounts, they should be ready by now. In order to formalise their worship, it was important that everyone had a clear mental image of my being. In that case, I had better perform well.

“Off we go then.”

Under the guidance of Ancarin and Regine, I slowly climbed down the stairs. With every step down the Abode’s wooden stairs, I could feel the number of eyes on me grow. There had to at least be four hundred of them gathered down there right now, and as I became increasingly visible to them, my body began to change as well.

The blue magical tattoos on the left of my face became clearer; the golden horn on my forehead started to appear; my purple hair started to dance in the air, following which my cloak started to rise up, revealing a set of resplendent purple wings beneath…

By the time I was at the podium in the great hall, my transformation had been completed. Before I had stepped into the Western Human Realms, I had already considered what would happen if I had to transform all of a sudden. The clothes that I was wearing right now were magical tools that had the ability to automatically alter themselves to fit me. It was because of this that my wings did not end up tearing apart my clothes.

Thanks to the grandeur of my little performance, I could hear the deafening silence of their bated breaths.

Very good. Exactly the reaction I was looking for.

I deliberately stayed silent for a while longer, then under the suspense-filled eyes of those present, I started with as much pomp as I could muster, “I am the master of this Abode, serving me is your honor. Do well and I will bestow unto you…”

Perhaps it was because of my awe-inspiring opening, those present were all shocked into silence. Suddenly, in the middle of my speech, a boy’s voice interrupted me, “Lady Mo Ke, is that really you?”

Who is that?! Who dares interrupt my opening speech?!

Turning in the direction of the voice, I found a red haired, moderately charming youth sporting a buzzcut standing at the door. The moment that youth laid eyes on me, his eyes went unbelievably wide. Most likely because of the drastic changes my body had undergone since I last returned, he hesitated for a moment before recognising me. Overwhelmed by excitement, he threw his arms wide open and hugged me tightly.

“Lady Mo Ke, you’re finally back… do you know how much I’ve missed you…”

“Who the heck are you?” I said as I casually waved my hands, summoning forth a short bone wall to separate myself from the buzzcut youth. As expected, he ended up tripping because of the wall and fell face first onto the ground. By the time he got back up to his feet, his previously dashing face was a bloodied mess.

A critical hit!

Now that he had come back to his senses, and also partly because of the shock of my actions, the youth anxiously explained himself to me with tears in his eyes, “It’s me, Dioh… don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten about me, lady Mo Ke?”

“I say, you’re still a man and all, so can you not give that forlorn look?!” For some inexplicable reason, I really wanted to punch this kid right now. “And let’s get something straight here, I’m a man!”

“Claiming to be a man like that… it has to be lady Mo Ke!” Even though I had just rejected him so callously, the buzzcut youth did not seem to be affected at all. In fact, he seemed even more excited now that he confirmed my identity. “But why doesn’t lady Mo Ke remember me? It’s me, Dioh!”

Having said that, he immediately pointed at his bloody nose which only had just stopped bleeding. Faced with such a comical act, even my unexplained fury died out in an instant, replaced by a bemused smile on my lips.

“Oh, it’s Dioh. Sorry about that, I didn’t recognise you there. It’s been so long after all, and we’ve all changed a fair bit as well. You know I have problems with faces…”

“So lady Mo Ke does remember me… that’s great! I heard the Demoness Abode was receiving a guest so I thought it might be you. That’s why I ran all the way here… it’s been three whole years… you’ve become even more beautiful…” As he said that, Dioh gazed smittenly at me.

“That’s right. It’s been three years and you still look as dumb as before.”

Honestly speaking, the way he looked at me was a little off-putting. Naturally, I had no kind words for a person like that. I coldly harrumphed and continued, “It’s been three years and you still can’t even figure out that I’m a man!”

However, Dioh didn’t seem at all angered by my barbed words. He instead smiled back at me with a silly grin plastered on his lips. “Lady Mo Ke is always such a kidder. How can there be such a beautiful man in this world? If there is, wouldn’t all the girls have to commit suicide in despair?”

… How is it my fault that I’m so beautiful?!

At this point, I was about done with this airhead so I decided to change the topic. “That’s enough out of you. Can’t you see that I’m busy showing of– I mean, we are having an important discussion right now.”

“Oh. My apologies, I was just too excited so I did not see you talking just now. I’ll get out of your way then.” Thankfully, Dioh, while a complete airhead, still had the courtesy to know that he had interrupted something important so he quickly stepped to the side.

Alright, that’s that guy settled. Now, back to the show… Hold on, why is everyone giving me such a strange look all of a sudden? And what’s with that horrible attempt at holding back a laugh? Weren’t they all awed by me?!

I swept my eyes across the room to where that silly potato Dioh was and found the crux of the problem… That brat… he turned my grand introduction into a blasted comedy skit… Fudge! Do you think I’m a lousy late night comedian or something? I’m the man who will one day become the Devil King!

Unfortunately, whatever atmosphere I had built up with my entrance was all completely ruined by Dioh’s interruption. Everyone present only had a strange look to give me as they waited for me to continue.

“Lady Mo Ke, didn’t you have something to say?” Realising that the atmosphere was rather awkward as well, Dioh promptly stepped in to remind me of his annoying existence. “Don’t worry, everyone is listening. Please, let’s have a round of applause for Lady Mo Ke. Woooo!”

Clap… clap… clap… A wave of clapping started to fill the air under the guidance of Dioh. However, those clapping only had a bemused look on their faces while I had the face of someone who was out for blood… truly…

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.

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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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“Little brother, you can shove whatever you want down your throat, but you can’t spew whatever you want out of it.” Just when I thought I had latched onto the crux of the problem, Ferti’nier suddenly interrupted me. “Your big sis won’t try to harm you, believe her.”

She’s not wrong there. We are two souls in one body; if I die, she dies as well. But isn’t her hobby messing with me as well? Turning my body into one that is neither male nor female, and laughing at the whole situation from the sidelines, isn’t that just the perfect setup for her?

So it is her fault!

“Your big sis has already said it’s not her fault, she’s innocent.” Realising that her words weren’t having the effect she’d hope for, she rushed out to explain herself once more. “When Yi Yi decided to throw you into the Blood Sea, she had no mana at all. It was all thanks to your big sis that the dimensional barriers were even broken. Your big sis was originally an incomplete soul to begin with, she could only exist within the confines of the Chaos Crystal… you have no idea how hard your big sis tried in order to transport you to the Blood Sea. She could only fall into a dormant state after expanding all that mana…”

She does make a fair point… And if she were to really deny it all the way, there’s nothing I can do as well. Fine… I’ll let her off the hook this time.

“And the Faith Power?”

‘It’s yours. It’s all yours, happy now?’

“Heheh, our little brother is the best. Once your big sis over here gets her body back, she will definitely find a way to return our little brother’s manhood.”

‘Alright, alright. It’s not like my body won’t automatically regain its manhood once you leave. If you really want to repay my generosity, you need to find another way instead.’

“Deal. Your big sis is a Devil of her word.”

As my little banter with Ferti’nier came to a close, several young ladies came in bearing platters of food. For the most part, they held steaks, a variety of poultry and fish, and finally some pastries -your typical western meal.

To be honest, I did not dislike this style of food, I just wished there were also more oriental options.

Since its inception, the Demoness Abode had always made it its mission to provide refuge for homeless women, girls, abandoned infants and those forced into servitude.

As of right now, the members of Demoness Abode had already crossed the three hundred mark. All the gold we had salvaged from that scumbag Duran had all been invested into the infrastructure of the Demoness Abode. Naturally, the Abode couldn’t just survive on brick and mortar, so Ancarin began brewing potions to trade with Plateau Village.

Before Ancarin had become a Mage apprentice, she was a certified physician whose job was to tend to the ordinary folk. It wasn’t a very prestigious occupation in a world of magic and swords, but for the ordinary folk who needed them, physicians were highly respected. As for why they did not just seek out Priests, they just did not have the money to afford one.

Ancarin had kept all of Duran’s books, from which she combined her medical knowledge and those of alchemy to create some basic potions to treat ailments. These potions were then traded to the outside world via Plateau Village, gaining her huge sums of money in the process.

In a lot of ways, Plateau Village was able to prosper so quickly because of her unique potions.

While Ancarin was busy brewing potions, Regine wasn’t idle either. She had entered an Assassin’s guild and was often travelling the world. As she embarked on missions, she would always keep an eye out for those who needed help and bring the women and children back to Plateau Village.

Thanks to her efforts, the amount of street urchins in the cities had decreased noticeably. The boys whom she rescued would be left in Plateau Village where they would train to become Warriors. The girls would be sent to Demoness Abode where they would be groomed into my Demonesses.

Because I wasn’t fully aware of the existence of the Demoness Abode, plus I did not have the attention to spare towards it anyway, Ancarin and Regine were the only true Demonesses in this place. The rest of the rescued women and girls were all just normal people who worshipped me.

Being Demonesses under my patronage, Ancarin and Regine did not receive much benefits initially. But ever since I evolved into a Fallen Angel, my noble bloodline had borne fruits for them. Both of their combat strengths had soared as a result, making them both Six-star… while I was still a measly Five-star… cough…

What I needed to do right now was to formally establish my worship in the Demoness Abode; I needed to let them know who it was they were worshipping. Following which, I would bless them with greater strength and our relationship would be formalised. The next step would then be to erect a statue of myself for the future residents to pray to.

As long as they were sincere in their worship, these newcomer Demonesses would be recognized by the statue and become a fully-fledged Demoness.

Before I arrived in the Demoness Abode, the women and children only had my broken horn to pray to. Even though it was possible to treat that as a medium to channel Faith Power, it wasn’t a likeness of me. Without a concrete image to worship, the resulting Faith Power would often get obstructed; a statue was absolutely necessary.

“Oh right. Mo Ning, my steed, requires food as well, have you sent her some?”

In the midst of our meal, I suddenly remembered that Mo Ning hadn’t eaten as well.

“We have. The best beans we could find.” Ancarin smiled as she answered. “I’m sure our master’s steed is no ordinary horse either.”

“Mhm, she’s one of my hidden trump cards.” Without a doubt, a Nightmare Steed was clearly a powerful weapon of mine. But given that Mo Ning had only fed on meat and souls in the past, would beans even be able to satisfy her? After giving it some thought, I decided to at least make sure she enjoyed some benefits as well. “How about this, she will eat whatever we eat from now on, and some eggs as well.”

“Understood. I’ll see to it that’s done right away.”

Roughly half an hour later, the door to the Abode opened up to reveal Regine, dressed in a cute blue dress and hair still slightly wet from her bath. She immediately spotted me and Ancarin chatting idly, at which point her lips broke into a smile and her eyes started to water.

Ever a frosty beauty, a smile from Regine was both a rarity and a sight to behold. At the side, the girls waiting on us couldn’t help but stare at her for a moment. Even though none of them said it, they were all probably shocked their Vice-leader could even smile. Perhaps the world was ending soon?

“Master…”

A slight fragrance wafting in the wind behind her, Regine swiftly plopped herself down onto my lap and snugly settled herself in. At this distance, the scent of her body, mixed with the freshness of a recent bath, creeped into my nose. I subconsciously wrapped my arms around her then gently whispered, “I’m home, Regine.”

“Welcome… home… master…”

I just knew Regine would never hate me. Who was the one who said I scared off Regine? Stand up right now and I promise I won’t hit you!

“Master seems very welcome here.” Jezsere commented as she nibbled on a small piece of bread while seated between Reyage and Zurnalin. Her eyes had never once strayed from Regine and I, watching our every move with interest, but not with jealousy -as if our resident timid girl was even capable of such negative emotions to begin with!

“Blast… there’s another one now…” Zurnalin had to forcefully suppress her desire to come in between Regine and me right this very instant. Being my bodyguard, she could only channel her inner jealousy into rage. A rage that she took out on the steak laying before her which she now named Regine…

Our cool boy, Reyage, merely furrowed his brows a little but said nothing.

While I was busy catching up with Regine, Ancarin left the room for a brief moment, finally returning with a couple of kids in her arms.

“Master, these are my children. This is Nari and Hayley.” Ancarin took this opportunity to introduce the two girls of three and four years of age. She then gently told them, “This here is our master, you have to address him as master from now on as well.”

“Master.” The wolf-eared and wolf-tailed Hayley greeted me first with a clarion voice. Looking at the serious look on her face as she said that, I was immediately reminded of a miniature Regine… What’s the term for this again? A kid that keeps trying to act like an adult… gap moe!

“Mastahh~~” Next to greet me was a slightly nasally voice that wasn’t as clear as Hayley’s. However, the way Nari waved at me while saying that was the very definition of adorable…

“Mhm, hello to you two too…” Is that all I have to say to these two fine specimens…

Nari wiggled about in Ancarin’s arms for a second then flashed me a smile that must have descended from the heavens themselves. “Mastah, I’m Nari, the big sister.”

At that, I immediately saw Hayley wiggle her tail and ears in dissatisfaction. She began waving her hands about then sternly said, “Wrong. I’m the big sister!”

“Nari is the big sister here. She’s older than Hayley by one minute.”

“But Hayley is the one who came out first!”

“Mastah, it’s Nari who came out first, right?”

“Master, I’m the older one here, I’m the big sister!”

Hmm? How did I get dragged into this mess… still… they are just too adorable!

I know I said I like them young in the past, but you know what, I like them furry too!

“Mastah, mastah, since Nari is the bigger sister here, then Nari just has to let her younger sister have the honor of marrying you.” Nari batted her eyes at me then. “Mastah is okay with that, right?”

“Why am I the only one marrying?” Hayley immediately voiced her objection. “I thought we said we would both marry together.”

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.