“Master, you’re the one who buys me clothes.”
“That’s because I feel bad since you buy mine for me…… As I always say, if you’re going to buy them, use my money.”
Belly bought my clothes but didn’t buy his own. Even when I gave him my wallet, he was immovable. I had no choice but to buy Belly’s clothes periodically. In the end, we were buying each other’s clothes.
Like that, we had another inconclusive chat, and when it was time to leave, we left the room.
As if he’d been waiting, Belly transformed into a small lizard and clung to my neck. Since this mission was a personal mission, Belly couldn’t come along.
There were occasionally missions like this. Missions where, by the rules, others’ accompaniment was prohibited. However, Belly never wanted to be separated from me, so since he couldn’t go with me, he transformed into a small lizard and clung to me as the next best option.
Rose’s words were definitely right. Walking the streets after so long, I felt refreshed. The reason my mood had been sinking lately seemed to be because I’d only been in my room. I headed to the mission target’s shop with light steps while basking in the sunlight. I was planning to visit as a customer first.
But soon my mood plummeted to the floor.
“Sorry, but I don’t tattoo any random riffraff on their body.”
Dull silver hair and sunken black eyes. The tired-looking man leaned crookedly against the doorframe and looked down at me. The way he puffed on his cigarette with hands densely covered in tattoos was both delinquent and decadent. He was a man who truly fit the word “punk.”
“I got permission from my parents!”
It wasn’t a lie. Rose wouldn’t stop me from getting a tattoo. Rose isn’t my parent, but she is my guardian, so it shouldn’t be a problem to use her at times like this. Besides, Rose was the one who sent me here anyway.
However, Din exhaled cigarette smoke at my face as if sighing. I coughed continuously at the harsh smell, but Din didn’t care and said mockingly.
“Yeah? Anyway, I don’t do it for just anyone. Know that and get lost.”
After taking a long drag on his remaining cigarette, Din stubbed it out and went inside the shop. Only then did the sign hanging on the door clearly enter my sight.
[Appointments Only.]
I should have seen it earlier…… As I dejectedly hung my head, Belly spoke in a voice mixed with anger.
“Master, shall I kill that bastard?”
“Why are you being so scary? I came without being an appointment customer, so he must have been angry.”
If there are set rules, just follow them and that’s it. Isn’t there also a saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do?” If I follow it properly, that guy won’t be able to turn me away at the door.
“Haha……”
What Rose originally wanted was probably for me to observe a bit and come back after resting. Seeing him act like that, making an appointment itself wouldn’t be easy either. She must have easily predicted I’d be turned away in person.
In other words, I could watch from hiding, but Rose probably gave me free time under the name of a mission. That’s why she told me to meet people too. I understood that intention, but contrary to that, my motivation flared up.
I found an interesting character after a long time.
[There is a new update.]
“Huh?”
At that moment, a sudden notification window appeared before my eyes. It was the notification window that appeared when using Glutton.
Currently, the only novel registered in Glutton was <Frankenstein Lizard>. I didn’t know why this notification that hadn’t appeared even during daily updates suddenly appeared.
“Should I go back for now?”
I was curious, but I was reluctant to use Glutton in a crowded place. Since I’d be summoning an object not of this world, I had the confident thought that it wouldn’t be good if it was seen for no reason.
Belly licked my face, clinging to it, as if returning would be good. That adorable appearance was cute, so when I stroked his head with my finger, Belly wagged his tail. Sometimes he was so friendly I couldn’t tell if he was a reptile or a dog.
* * *
Having returned home, I used Glutton. Since Belly had seen me use Glutton several times over the past few years, he didn’t find it strange.
While I was looking at the novel, Belly prepared refreshments. Originally, I had tried to hide Glutton from Belly as I did from others. However, spending time in the same room for as long as six years, there was no way to do something in secret.
Belly even tried to follow me when I went to the bathroom. It could be said that hiding it was impossible. Still, fortunately Belly thought of it as an extension of my hobby and didn’t pay much attention.
[A new novel is being updated.]
[<Snow White>]
Snow White? Among the updated novels, the title was an all-too-famous fairy tale. But why did this suddenly appear? No matter how much I racked my brain, among the characters I met today, there was no character that suited Snow White.
Well…… I’ll know if I read it.
[He always craved the perfect subject. Skin white as snow, pale to the point of being sickly. Hair black as ebony to make that skin stand out. It doesn’t matter if they’re ugly or fat. Only the skin of the object of his desire matters to him.]
“Uhhng?”
[But today too, the subject he wants doesn’t come. Since the people in the organization he’s in charge of are the type who live harshly in the world, their skin couldn’t be pretty.
Even the greenhorn who suddenly came today was full of freckles on their skin. Blemishes were one of the things he despised most.]
“Ah!”
I could tell who the protagonist of this novel was. It was Din Telliano, whom I’d visited today. The description of the greenhorn in the novel was clearly me no matter who looked at it.
My eyes widened at the unexpected situation. With just this, I could learn more about Din Telliano in detail.
“Master, what’s so interesting?”
Belly spoke as he put a snack in my mouth, seeing me excited.
The pastry with grape jam that he brought scattered a lot of powder but was a cookie I liked. He generally brought cookies he made himself. Since he couldn’t use the dormitory kitchen, it seemed he made them at Rose’s house. Really capable too, my Belly.
I munched on the cookie and held out the reader.
“Look at this. It’s a novel about that Din Telliano from earlier.”
“What?”
Since the only novel I could see with Glutton was <Frankenstein Lizard> related to Belly, I couldn’t show him until now. Belly knew I read novels through Glutton, but this meant this was the first time he was seeing the content.
Belly first read the novel with smiling eyes, but soon received a shock.
“This…… is? How? Did you write this, Master?”
“I don’t really know either! It appeared one day, you know? Isn’t it amazing?”
Belly had a face full of confusion. At his appearance of being shocked more than I thought, I hastily glossed over it.
“Whatever the case, thanks to it I can get information about Din Telliano, so it worked out well.”
“……That’s true.”
Belly had a somewhat uneasy face, but didn’t voice what he was thinking. Moreover, that expression soon disappeared, erased by a beautiful smile. It seemed to have somehow passed.
I let out a small sigh mixed with relief, then carefully read the novel thoroughly.
The novel wasn’t long. Like <Frankenstein Lizard>, it was serialized and since it was the first update, the volume wasn’t very much. But even with that short volume, I found a definite way to capture him.
Skin white to the point of being pale. Hair black as ebony. With just those two things, approaching Din Telliano wouldn’t be difficult.
But how? Hair could just be dyed, but skin was different. The Din Telliano in the novel seemed to be pathologically obsessed with white skin. Such a being wouldn’t be fooled by skin roughly covered with makeup.
“What should I do……”
“Do you have some concern?”
“Hmm……”
I deactivated Glutton and rolled around on the bed. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer. It would be nice if I could use magic, but sadly I had no talent for magic either. ……Magic?
“Belly!”
“Yes.”
“Help me out!”
Upon hearing my words, Belly’s two eyes sparkled radiantly like glass beads receiving sunlight. What dwelled within them was joy.
“Belly will help you with anything Master wants.”
Belly, who smiled gently and clasped my hands, overflowed with benevolence. It seemed he would give me anything I wanted, whatever it was. Yes, it seemed he would give even his life without hesitation.
The affection given by this world’s important being was so sweet and saccharine.
* * *
“Magic that changes a person’s appearance?”
With makeup or the disguise techniques I learned at the guild, it was impossible to create white skin enough to fool Din. But if it was magic, it might be possible.
On the Ritsa Continent, magic was used quite commonly. However, there were quite a few things that were prohibited among them. Generally, attack magic and subspace magic and such. Because if they were misused for crimes, they could cause great damage.
However, Belly was free from such restrictions. He was a mage who could use magic without restrictions.
To prevent the misuse of mages’ abilities, nobles and royalty would place restraining devices on their bodies. Mages also made efforts on their own to prevent accidents in advance. Because they didn’t want to be sanctioned as a group for an individual’s accident.
As they handled mana, they could see mana with their eyes. With that ability, mages would recruit talented young children or find hidden mages.
However, looking at Glutton, Belly had the necklace Rose gave him, so he could hide his abilities from them. He could hide both the demi-human’s mana characteristics and the amount of mana he possessed simultaneously. So he could avoid the sanction process that would normally be engraved on the body at a young age.
Belly improved his magic skills in such an environment, and seeing that he could now even use subspace magic, he clearly possessed talent beyond imagination.
