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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.”

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.