Chapter 22: Restless Aura, Unexplained Concern
At this moment, at the ancient castle in the town—located at the edge of the town, it was Lord Orden's castle, a structure built upon an estate, now naturally belonging to Aura.
The grayish-white stone castle stood at the edge of a cliff, its spire towers piercing the lead-gray sky, Gothic arched windows embedded with jewels... Even as a minor noble in a remote area, they still possessed wealth beyond the imagination of commoners.
Under Fingal's persuasion with reasons like "As the most precious one, you naturally deserve to live in the noblest place," Aura spent her days in the castle eating, sleeping, and when awake, passing the time by studying Magic.
"Aura-sama... Your... your apple."
A trembling maid carefully brought a tray and gently placed it on the table, staring with somewhat fearful eyes at Aura's two horns—Aura-sama was indeed a Demon. Why would the noble lord allow her to stay here?
And...
The maid couldn't bear to look—using a maid as a chair? How perverted.
"Mhm~ Not bad, I like this fruit."
Aura sat on the back of a maid cosplaying as a chair, holding a horsewhip in her hand, her attire changed to a black-style leather outfit.
She enjoyed the expressions of the shivering maids while eating the fruit.
To be honest... she found this kind of life quite pleasant. All she had to do was give an order to get anything done.
Fingal was right... With this, I might not get bored for centuries.
Speaking of which... where is Fingal?
It suddenly occurred to Aura that she hadn't seen Fingal for several days. Where had this Paramecium gone? Just a few days ago—no, wait, it seemed like a month ago—she was still ordering Fingal around.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like seeing the lowly Paramecium.
It was strange. Even though her goal had been achieved, she shouldn't care about what Fingal was doing.
Aura frowned but decided to summon him back.
"Where is Fingal? Do any of you know?"
She asked the maids, but they all shook their heads, indicating they didn't know—they were just a bunch of unlucky souls left in the castle.
"How about you? You worthless worm."
With a sharp crack, Aura struck the kneeling girl's buttocks with the horsewhip, causing her to let out a pained moan.
"Ah! I... I don't know!"
Aura stood up irritably and stomped on the girl twice... How weak humans are. What value do they hold? Not even their appearances are beautiful enough.
If not for Fingal's request, she would have slaughtered them long ago.
"Worthless, not even comparable to a Paramecium."
In the end, she decided to go look for Fingal herself... Though Aura was reluctant to admit it, she seemed to have grown somewhat dependent on Fingal. Even though Fingal was no longer of much use now, she still wanted to find him.
Because when she was around Fingal, it seemed she would never be bored.
After Aura left, the maids hurried over to check on their companion.
"...Are you alright?"
They were somewhat concerned—being treated like that by a demon would drive anyone mad, right?
Unexpectedly, the maid lay on the ground clutching her buttocks, her body trembling slightly, with a strange flush on her face.
"Dammit..."
The maids: ...Her expression seems a bit off.
Kind of perverted.
They could only sigh, praying they wouldn't develop any strange fetishes.
...
While Aura was wrestling with her inner thoughts, what was Fingal doing?
He was... engaged in a dating conquest!!
Initiate!
Targets: Flamme! Frieren!
Decided... my future eldest son will be named Singal!
Fingal, who had been rejected when trying to hold hands, thought shamelessly... Yes, he was that kind of brazen person. His greatest dream had once been to enjoy a cigar rolled from a beautiful girl's thigh while playing lewd games with her during a business trip.
If he could conquer Flamme and her disciple Frieren, playing games while having Aura sitting on his lap... Hiss.
Fingal gasped sharply, so... so tempting!!
That horned bitch Aura deserved exactly that kind of treatment, damn it!
His fists clenched tightly.
He once again sank into his pathetic, lewd, depraved, otaku fantasies, like a rat hiding in a corner peeping at the beauty outside the window.
Flamme: ?
This guy... his expression is so creepy. What is he thinking about now?
For the first time, this genius magician felt a twinge of regret... Should she have secretly infiltrated the town and found an opportunity to eliminate that demon outright?
Flamme narrowed her eyes slightly. With her powerful perception, she knew there was definitely a demon in the town—and a fairly strong one at that. It was almost confirmed: the local nobility was colluding with demons.
...
The group soon arrived in the town—which made things even stranger. Flamme's expression grew increasingly serious.
There were many magical creatures... just the flying demonic beasts in the sky alone were numerous, and some magical beasts lurked on the outskirts of the town. Clearly, they were all being controlled.
[Flamme has developed some doubts about you.]
[Generating entry... Tier 3 Entry]
[Tier 3 Entry: Even an idealistic big sister can have strange fantasies—unrelated to personality, merely an instinctive physiological reaction]
[Generating entry... Affection entry.]
[Implantation successful. Current Flamme Affection: 109]
[Tier 3 Entry implantation successful... Tonight, Flamme will have some strange dreams.]
Oh?
Fingal's smile widened... Although it didn't align with his upright character, he was indeed growing fonder of the Hypnosis System.
System, you bastard, you've been a huge help.
His mind was now entirely occupied with thoughts of how to trick the master-disciple duo into bed, accidentally forgetting that Aura was a demon and that Flamme specialized in killing demons—Aura? Ah, such a familiar name, just couldn't quite recall it for some reason.
Wait, no—not accidentally.
"Let's get something to eat first. As your host, I must treat you properly—our town's pastry chef just released new desserts." Fingal extended the invitation, striving to maximize his time with the two.
The essence of my Hypnosis System is to wield a blade against those around me. So when you see me, watch your backs—and keep an eye behind you.
"This... really isn't necessary. We have enough money. We wouldn't want to trouble you."
"We should part ways here. I need to take Frieren to find an inn to rest—so, goodbye."
Flamme politely declined. Who knows what schemes this guy has in mind... Though he is quite handsome, his personal conduct and the personality he's shown so far are completely incompatible with hers.
Besides, she had more important matters to attend to.
She tugged at Frieren's sleeve, ready to leave. It's better not to interact with this man any further... Tonight, she would act alone and ambush the Demons.
"Ah, then resting is not allowed."
Fingal's expression darkened tactically. Trying to run? Not so easy!
"You—go tell every inn owner in town they're not allowed to open today. No, wait—they can't open for the entire month!"
Flamme halted in her tracks, turning back in disbelief.