Lanchi Knows How to Work a Contract

Even though the golden light of dusk had long since vanished completely, the city-state's nightscape, illuminated by lamplight, was no less beautiful than before.

Beside the ancient buildings on both sides, pedestrians wore all manner of clothing, relaxed smiles appearing on their faces.

At a corner of the residential district, several hundred meters from the city gate.

Other than the torches the guards had placed on the walls and the lights spilling from residents' windows, there was no other illumination.

Once Lanchi's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he slowly approached his destination.

He could see things curled up beneath the wall at the street corner—there were actually many creatures huddled together.

They looked fragile, shivering from the cold.

Lanchi continued toward them and could hear the sounds of those little lives.

"Meow~ meoww~"

He stopped, crouched down, and opened the lunchbox in his hand.

Just like that, the fragrance began to spread.

When Lanchi tossed the cooked chicken inside onto the ground some distance away, kittens gradually began approaching him.

At that moment.

He seemed not to notice at all that, not far across the street, there was another figure sitting against the wall, looking like a homeless person from the slums.

Though this street corner wasn't exactly a nice place—secluded and home only to a few stray cats—

there were no other vagrants around, and few guards came by.

Talia hated humans, so she actually felt rather comfortable here.

No one would have imagined that a girl dressed like a refugee had once been the Demon Race Princess.

Time passed just like that.

Nearly all the kittens around had been drawn to Lanchi's side.

Lanchi watched the cats eat with a blissful smile on his face.

He had learned from Butler that Talia had been sleeping rough on this street for the past two days.

So before dinner, Lanchi had asked the residence's chef to prepare plenty of special Aromatic Chicken for him. Cats could eat it, and it tasted even better to people.

Then, a little later, he had deliberately come here to pretend to feed the cats.

"..."

Although Lanchi hadn't glanced at Talia even once in the past few minutes,

Talia had noticed this human who had rashly intruded into her "territory" long ago.

If he had simply stayed here quietly, Talia might have treated him as air.

But why was that damned human feeding stray cats such high-quality meat?

Thinking back on her years of living rough, Talia could only reach one conclusion: even the cats ate better than she did.

At last, she couldn't help looking in Lanchi's direction.

But because of her pride, she seemed unable to say a single word of reproach for the moment.

She could only glare murderously at Lanchi.

Yet Lanchi still acted as though he hadn't noticed her for quite some time.

"Can you feed the cats somewhere else?"

She spoke in a cold voice.

Lanchi raised his head slightly, looking blankly toward the source of the voice. After seeming to roughly understand the situation, he calmly replied,

"I come here more often than you do."

As if declaring his ownership, he was stating the fact that he often came here to feed cats.

Hearing that, Talia gave a barely audible snort and ignored him.

Because this human really wasn't lying.

Lanchi didn't say anything more either.

What he had said just now was indeed true.

As a native of this town, no matter how often he came here, it would still be more often than Talia.

And Talia had only arrived in this town recently, so naturally she couldn't have seen whether Lanchi had come here to feed cats in the days before.

But Talia was stubborn.

She disliked Lanchi, yet she was unwilling to take the initiative to leave the spot where she had stayed for two days.

Whoever backed down at a time like this would look like they had lost.

So she sat in the corner by the wall, enduring her hunger while trying her best to fall asleep.

A little while passed like that.

"Can you do me a favor?"

Lanchi's unexpected voice rang through the quiet street.

Talia raised her head slightly toward Lanchi, confirming that he was speaking to her.

"What?"

Talia hadn't wanted to pay him any attention.

But according to the rules of human lands, if someone asked her for help, there should surely be compensation.

She needed all kinds of compensation right now.

"Help me feed the cats. Don't let the big cats bully the little ones. I'm sleepy and want to go home to sleep."

After saying that, Lanchi raised the box in his hand and added,

"You can keep the rest."

"..."

Talia fell silent.

If it wasn't charity but a transaction, she could consider it.

However, for demons, adhering to the rules of a transaction was especially important.

It was even a matter of their dignity.

The nobler the demon, the more they would rather die than break the rules of a deal.

Even if this human didn't know she was a demon.

But as Demon Royalty, even if she truly starved herself to death, she would never violate the terms of a deal just to claim even a little more cat food.

She counted the cats in her heart and determined that she should still be able to eat a little chicken in the end.

"Deal."

Talia felt there was no problem with accepting this transaction.

Though she didn't quite understand what joy humans could get from feeding cats.

Lanchi temporarily covered the lunchbox, placed it on the ground, stood up to stretch his back, and leisurely left.

The next morning, at a Rich Merchant's Residence in the town.

Today was another disciplined day. Lanchi got up early, ate breakfast, and left home.

The plants in the courtyard seemed to have been coated in a hazy sheen by the rising sun, while canaries in the surrounding trees chirped away in song.

It couldn't help but put Lanchi in a good mood as he walked through the courtyard.

However, the moment he stepped outside the gate, he stopped.

Because he saw Talia sitting across the street, as though she had been waiting to ambush him.

But he wasn't panicked at all.

It was unlikely that Talia could have investigated his misdeeds so quickly.

Talia swiftly approached Lanchi, and the guards standing behind him at the residence gate immediately became alert.

Lanchi raised a hand to signal the guards not to worry.

Worrying would be useless anyway. If she wanted to go on a killing spree, no one here could stop her.

"The box."

She merely raised her hand and handed Lanchi the lunchbox that had held the chicken last night.

She had found Lanchi so quickly because, in this town, all she had to do was casually ask around about a "Black Hair Green Eyes boy" to hear about the exploits of that ill-reputed young noble.

Yet she always felt that the rich young master the townspeople described was somewhat different from the boy she had seen with her own eyes.

He looked a little foolish and rather lazy, but at least he didn't seem like a bad-tempered human.

"You can sell it. I wasn't planning to take it back."

Lanchi looked at her in confusion.

Selling off the household's fine tableware could fetch at least half a pound.

"This is outside the terms of our transaction."

Talia said expressionlessly.

Lanchi nodded at that and reached out to take the box.

This Demon Race Princess had surely put considerable effort into disguising herself as a human, strictly following every rule of human society.

Before Lanchi could say anything else, Talia turned around without pause and walked away indifferently.

"Didn't you eat much?"

Lanchi watched Talia, who in an instant had left him only the back of her dark Gray Cloak, and asked.

"I fulfilled our transaction."

Talia replied without looking back.

"I see."

Lanchi lowered his head and spoke as though to himself while looking at the box.

This demon seemed especially insistent that this was a "transaction," not a "favor."

Her pride wouldn't allow anyone to give her charity, nor did she want to owe anyone gratitude. She understood very well that free things were actually the most expensive.

So his little plan to give Talia a favor had been shattered.

Even the box, which could have become a "favor trap," had been returned immediately.

Lanchi sighed and handed the lunchbox to the guard beside him.

Sure enough, trying to offset the "enmity he had formed with Talia" by "giving her favors" was far from easy.

However.

Everything so far had been within his expectations.

Lanchi signaled for the guard following behind him not to stay on alert. He wanted to speak to this Young Miss alone.

The guard didn't dare say anything and remained at the residence gate as Lanchi instructed.

Then Lanchi jogged after Talia.

Talia turned her head to look at the human who had come to her side again, her expression growing somewhat puzzled.

She didn't understand what this seemingly high-status yet weak fellow wanted.

"I'd like to propose another transaction. I guarantee its fairness in my family's name."

Lanchi spoke politely and respectfully.

Talia's golden eyes stared at Lanchi as though trying to peer into his pupils.

He wasn't lying.

She had magic that could judge whether another person's words were true or false.

And they had already completed one transaction.

This wealthy human didn't seem too bad, and he should be able to offer the compensation she needed right now.

"Let's hear it."

Talia stopped and replied.

"As for the details of this transaction, I hope you won't ask me why."

Lanchi's expression became somewhat serious.

Talia nodded.

She had no need to pry further, because no one could deceive her with lies.

"There's someone in this town who wants to kill me. So I'd like to hire you to watch for suspicious people near my home, eliminate any dangers, and protect me. I'll give you appropriate compensation."

Lanchi looked troubled, making no attempt to hide the worry in his eyes as he looked directly at Talia.

"That's not difficult."

After hearing Lanchi's proposal, Talia was certain everything he had said was true.

"Your family should be wealthy and influential in this town. You shouldn't lack people in your residence who can protect you."

After thinking for a moment, she glanced at the not-so-weak guards in the distance and voiced her doubts to Lanchi.

"Because the assassin may be close to me, I can't fully trust anyone around me. That's why I need as much reliable insurance as possible."

Lanchi looked as though he held Talia in particularly high regard.

His gaze plainly showed his appreciation for Talia, both because she had honestly returned the box and because she hadn't judged him based on his identity, status, or rumors.

"So you think I'm more reliable than those guards around you?"

Talia seemed to tacitly accept the fact that she wasn't weak.

She understood that Lanchi possessed the discerning eye characteristic of certain shrewd merchants.

"Relatively speaking, yes."

Lanchi nodded.

"Hiring me is expensive."

That was all Talia said.

She had been judging the truth of every word this human spoke.

But up to now, he hadn't lied to her even once.

Among all the humans she had encountered so far, that was rare and precious.

By her judgment, he should be the honest, upright, and kind sort of human—a good candidate for a transaction.

"Three pounds a day. As long as you remain in this city, this agreement will stay in effect."

Lanchi had already taken a checkbook bearing the words "Wilford Merchant Guild" and a pen from his pocket.

It seemed that carrying one-pound and half-pound gold coins on him was too much trouble for him.

Generally, thirty pounds was enough for an ordinary family in the South Wantina Border Territory of the Hutton Kingdom to live on for a year.

Talia was clearly stunned.

It wasn't just Lanchi's rich-guy aura that had shocked her.

For someone who hadn't dealt with currency measured in pounds for a long time and was also an illegal resident of the kingdom, this was a hard deal to refuse.

However, she had absolute confidence in her own strength.

So this wasn't a "favor," but a "transaction."

Most importantly, she held the initiative in ending this transaction, so it wouldn't affect her freedom.

"...Deal."

Talia said softly.

"Then I'll be counting on you."

Lanchi directly handed both the checkbook and pen to Talia, leaving her stunned once again.

Talia lowered her head and looked thoughtfully at the check in her hand.

Does that mean I can fill in the amount myself every day and then cash it?

He truly was a wealthy and generous human.

He also possessed many qualities like kindness and integrity.

Yet humans like this often got along the worst with demons like them.

At that moment, Lanchi turned around and walked toward the street on the other side.

The corners of his mouth twitched as he was nearly unable to suppress his laughter.

Talia still didn't know that the person who wanted to kill Lanchi was herself.

Even if Talia discovered the truth that Lanchi had hunted down her familiar, she wouldn't be able to lay a hand on him.

Because she had to follow this rule—

"As long as she's in this city, she must protect Lanchi, and earn three pounds every day!"