But whether it was because of his long nails or because he was clumsy, the glistening boiled pork slices kept slipping and rolling off the tip of his chopsticks.
Eventually, unable to watch anymore, I snatched the chopsticks from him and said.
“Ah, this requires technique.”
For the foreign demon encountering K-food for the first time, I spread out a lettuce leaf and placed a spoonful of rice, a piece of boiled pork, a dollop of ssamjang, and a piece of garlic on it. I soon rolled it into a round, bite-sized piece, and opened my mouth saying.
“Say ‘ahh.'”
“Ah?”
He opened his mouth puzzledly, and I popped the ssam right in. Damian, who was forced to eat the ssam, paused for a moment, then slowly began to chew.
As his bulging cheeks and jaw moved, his eyes grew wider and wider. And his chewing speed increased.
“Delicious, right?”
A smile spread across my face without me realizing it.
Because honestly, whether the customer in front of me is human or demon, there’s no moment more satisfying than when they eat my food deliciously. But then he stopped his diligently moving mouth and looked straight at me.
“I told you before.”
“……?”
“You’re too weak to bear my offspring.”
“What?”
“But your efforts are commendable.”
What the hell is he saying while eating?
An absurd retort came out without me realizing it, but Damian looked at my dazed face and very calmly opened his mouth.
“Ah.”
“…What?”
“Ah.”
This time he opened it blatantly again.
…Don’t tell me, he wants me to feed him again?
I froze for a moment holding the chopsticks. Then he nonchalantly added.
“I’ll specially let you have your way today, in recognition of your efforts.”
“…Have my way with what? The ssam?”
I wanted to grab him by the collar, but I changed my mind. Right, let’s consider him a kindergartener. I just need to feed him. So I smiled brightly on purpose, rolled another ssam, made a big circle motion and brought it to his mouth.
“Yes! The airplane is taking off~ Vroooom!”
But Damian wrinkled his nose and said.
“Your spit is flying.”
“……”
“Demons have good eyesight, so we can see even such minute droplets.”
Ah, yes. Now that I think about it, you have good hearing too.
I ground my teeth inwardly, and though I was annoyed to death, what could I do? In the end, I ate the one I just made, wrapped a new ssam and held it in front of his mouth. He didn’t hesitate for a moment and took it in one bite. His Adam’s apple bobbed every time his mouth moved.
As I mechanically wrapped ssam and offered it like that, a thought suddenly occurred to me and I opened my mouth.
“By the way… those bloodstains in front of the inn. You did that, right?”
“Damian.”
He always calls me human, but immediately corrects me when I don’t use his name.
“……? Ah yes. Damian did it, right?”
At my words, Damian chewed slowly with both cheeks full of ssam, then swallowed with a gulp and answered briefly.
“That’s right.”
“Why? Were there demons nearby?”
That question sounded ridiculous even to me. This was on the boundary. It would be strange if there weren’t demons in such a place. However, his expression was oddly calm.
“More like vassals than demons.”
At those words, my expression hardened without me realizing it.
In the demon world, vassals meant lower demons commanded by higher demons. Not simply servants, but shadow-like beings that followed their master. Naturally they were weaker than their master, but at the same time they were also a measure of how strong that master was.
But those bloodstains weren’t just once or twice. The traces soaked into the grass still hadn’t been completely erased.
…Could they be targeting this inn? Or me?
As my thoughts reached that point, my fingertips trembled finely. Just as the hand holding the chopsticks was about to shake, Damian slowly raised his hand and tapped my hand. When the tip of his long nail touched me, I mechanically moved the chopsticks.
Then Damian looked down at me for a while with his mouth closed. His red eyes moved up and down as if reading my expression, then he said matter-of-factly.
“Don’t worry. Because I’m stronger than the master of those vassals.”
“……!”
Those words echoed in my head over and over.
Stronger than the master of the vassals?
The original work 《The Saint Wants to Live Peacefully》 didn’t have trivial descriptions like the demon territory being a blue forest, but the depictions of war and demons were obsessively precise.
There, it was described that vassals could only be commanded with tremendous power, and they were beings that could only be obtained by subduing opponents with that power. In other words, only a very select few among higher demons could do this.
Then just how strong is this bastard?
Looking at the man before my eyes, I became convinced that if Damian really wanted to, he could tear me to death right now. Even as my spine went ice cold, strangely one side of my chest loosened.
Fear and relief mixed together, tickling my stomach with a strange emotion.
Well, of course, right?
Because we’re not at war right now. So right now he’s not my enemy… just an inn part-timer. One reliable muscular guard for this inn.
Where else could I find such a security guard?
As my thoughts reached that point, my expression gradually relaxed. I put down the chopsticks, leaned toward Damian, and pushed the lettuce ssam I’d mechanically wrapped earlier into his mouth while smiling brightly.
“Come on, say ‘ahh.’ Ahh.”
“……?”
Damian’s red eyes wavered subtly, and he looked at me as if puzzled. Nevertheless, I didn’t lose my smile and thrust the ssam in front of his mouth.
“Ahh.”
“Ah.”
He hesitated for a moment, then ate it as is. I looked at him eating contentedly and calculated inwardly.
Once I figure out this inn’s secret, the day will come when I don’t need Damian’s help. Until then, I’ll use him. Whether it’s cutting-edge security or ironclad magic circles, I’ll just make them all.
“Ahh, that’s right. Delicious, isn’t it? Here’s one more, ahh.”
After finishing my calculations, I made another ssam and held it out.
He swallowed it without hesitation, and looking at that face with both cheeks plump, I smiled sinisterly inwardly.
Until he gets sick of me, and before I dig up all the inn’s secrets, let’s tie him down next to me.
So cooperate a little, Damian.
If the ‘seduction’ you speak of is feeding you well, then until you get sick of it, I’ll at least play the pretty wife.
***
Strangely, I woke up early. It must have been just as dawn was breaking, as thin morning mist seeped through the window cracks and a cool dawn scent spread. The weight that always pressed down on my body—Damian’s large frame—was absent, so I rubbed my eyes drowsily and sat up.
“What the…, ahem.”
Suppressing a cough at my cracking voice, I stepped outside. Following the corridor, faint signs of presence leaked from the kitchen area, and I could see Damian’s back. I walked toward him yawning with half-closed eyes.
“Damia….”
I was about to call him when my words stopped.
I didn’t know because his broad back was blocking my view, but as I got closer, I could see Damian gripping onto something.
And a person’s limp toes floating in the air.
“……!”
In an instant, my sleepiness flew away completely.
Damian was choking a middle-aged man by the neck with one hand. The man’s face was pale, and his toes were flailing in the air.
“……Wh-what are you doing! What are you doing right now! Let go!”
A scream-like sound burst out. And before my mind could catch up, my body moved first.
Even as I ran, I was absurd at myself.
Normally, I’d have sworn I was the type to hide when seeing such a scene, but strangely, not now. Was it because someone’s life was being snuffed out before my eyes?
What hit me before fear was the thought that I had to save them somehow.
When my hand grabbed his arm, Damian turned his head. His red eyes flashed in the dark dawn light.
“He secretly infiltrated this place.”
“No, you don’t know what circumstances he might have! Why are you choking him first! He’s not dead, is he?”
At my words, he looked at me indifferently, then soon loosened the strength a little from the fingertips gripping the neck. Then the man’s body dropped with a thud. The sound of hitting the floor split the silence of dawn.
I immediately dropped to the floor at that sound. And when I brought my ear to the man’s chest, I could hear a weak but steady heartbeat.
Fortunately, he was still alive.
A sigh of relief escaped.
Damian, who had been quietly looking down at that scene, opened his mouth.
“I’ve killed all the vassals that have barged in here so far.”
“No, those are demons, and this is a person! At least talk first….”
“What’s the difference?”
Suddenly, I was at a loss for words.
“Both approach with hidden intentions—is there a reason to spare humans and kill demons?”
Damian’s voice as he uttered those words was calm. There was no suppressed anger, no emotional fluctuation whatsoever. It was just a natural tone, as if talking about everyday matters.
“Those vassals also had no killing intent. It was closer to reconnaissance.”
“……”
My lips moved several times, but no sound came out. Only the sound of swallowing leaked between the air. Seeing that, Damian dusted off his hands and muttered lowly.
“Then again, humans do care about their own kind.”
“……”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a human with proper will speaking, so I forgot for a moment.”
Proper will. Does that mean Damian has seen other humans besides me before?
