At dawn, Annan rolled out of bed.
The noise brought Della rushing into the room. She ignored Annan as he got up rubbing his head and swept her gaze around the room.
"Where's the enemy?"
"There isn't one... Lily pushed me. Bad Lily."
"Meow?" Lily looked up from licking her paw.
After Della left, Annan's face fell again.
Betar's Redemption and Annan Potter and the Magic Stone had only four hours left between them... which meant he would have to endure another four hours of beatings tonight.
Annan almost wanted to ask Beludona if she could return the Mad Dog Duke's soul. But when he remembered that the duke was suffering a hundred times worse in Hell, he found he could bear it.
Downstairs in the dining room, Annan stared into space and poked at his cream of mushroom soup with a spoon.
"You don't look well rested." Ingrid appeared right on time and sat beside him.
"I'm worried those Orcs will cause trouble..." Annan barely lifted an eyelid.
"They've behaved themselves. If they're Pea Pods, they know what they should and shouldn't do."
"Pea Pod?"
"That's how Mercenary Companies describe Orcs who make a living through them."
Mercenary Companies were happy to hire Orcs. An ordinary Orc could fight a human Warrior to a draw. The former only needed feeding, while the latter demanded a share of the money and had to be watched when profit was at stake.
They might not be the best warriors, but they were certainly the best beasts.
Ingrid handed Annan a financial statement. "You can handle it yourself." Annan pushed it back.
"You really should look. We're running low on funds."
"How are we out of money again!?"
Annan wanted to give Ingrid a hard kick in the backside, just as the Demon