These Demons Do it for Free-Chapter 103

I'm not sure how many more stacks of exhaustion I can handle, but I know the moment they will fall will come.

"Shall we continue?"

Even now, Lana Gromadin was silently oozing wariness towards me as she slowly lowered her weapon.

"No. That’s enough. To ask for more would be forcing it."

They say even a dog will recite poetry after three years of study. Now, it’s so familiar that I don’t even need to guess what she’s thinking.

She probably thought it would be rude to keep going with the training since every use of magic for a demon warlock is exhausting.

I could do this all day, though. I have my guardian demons looking out for me.

[Contractor, why didn’t you watch opera, yet you’re fine watching movies?]

But opera is expensive... Honestly, isn’t it a bit boring?

[Contractor! What kind of nonsense is this?] [It’s true though.] [Movies? Opera? What are you even talking about? A demon should enjoy life itself, the human-made one.]

Ugh, now that there are three contract demons, they get noisy just after saying one thing.

Anyway, now that Lana’s suggesting we stop here, there’s no need for me to press on for more.

I stopped the movement of Axis and began closing the contracts one by one. Simultaneously, opening all three contracts and using four different demon magics at once has become rather familiar for me. Though I’ve never used them in actual combat, today’s sparring has given me some practical data.

I can use two demon magics simultaneously, but with proper switching, I can rotate and use four in one cycle. However, the mark is essentially tied to exhaustion, so I need to be cautious.

While Lana, lost in thought, was likely reflecting on the sparring, she turned her gaze to the side and spoke.

"Are those two similar?"

"Hmm?"

"They might not use space magic, but I think if someone like you has been working with them from the training camp, those two must have something comparable to what you have."

She seems to have caught on, but it’s still confidential.

"Shall we take our time to find out?"

"...Yes, I see. It’s a matter of time."

Lana’s affirmation to my question felt like a confirmation of her assessment.

She was a liaison sent from Conquerors to our guild. Over time, she would come to learn about the others in our group naturally. How long that would take, though, I didn’t know.

"When we leave the training room, the twins will guide you to a place to rest. If you have any injuries, let us know. Our guild has healers as well. I’ll be reporting to the deputy guild master."

Even though I showed no visible injuries, Lana didn’t know what demon magic was truly capable of. I’ve heard of demons who sacrifice parts of their bodies for power. There are even insane demon warlocks who offer their organs to cast great magic. Sacrificing one’s internal organs has been a common practice in ancient religious rituals, so it wouldn’t be unusual in demon magic either.

Maybe I could use a backup organ in case of an emergency?

Or perhaps my liver, which regenerates fairly quickly.

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"Hey, Roman."

"Hmm?"

"You’ve gotten stronger, huh? I knew I’d lose, but it happened way easier than I thought."

"Right. Multi-casting, huh? How many did you do? It looked like two, but maybe three...?"

Leif, who had been trying her best to lower her voice, quietly asked as she glanced at Lana.

Leif was clearly trying to hide her words, but considering her effort, it seems the expert-level martial artist heard it anyway. There was a slight movement, but I swear I saw Lana’s ear twitch. Maybe it wasn’t just my imagination.

Lana Gromadin subtly reduced her pace, trying not to let herself be noticed.

Should I reveal this much?

After all, they’ve been through it too, so they’ll find out anyway.

"Two. Anything more requires switching."

"Wow... Switching is really fast."

Having spent every day managing traffic with my guardian demons, switching demon magics has become relatively easy for me. I didn’t go into further detail, but Leif, with her complaints as a spirit summoner, echoed some of my own frustrations.

Then, there was another mutter.

"That was switching...? I thought it was multi-casting."

She doesn’t even use honorifics when talking to herself.

The moment we left the door, the triplet-tailed, rose gold-colored tail wagged and approached us as if waiting.

Not a mystery at all. Two heads, but three tails.

One tail, Maj Burnett, approached Lana first. Two tails, Angie Burnett, took a few more steps and came towards us.

"Lana, you won? How was it?"

"...Ask them. I’ve got to go report, so I’m busy."

Lana pushed away the eager Maj and walked away without hesitation.

She had already greeted us when we left the training room, so Lana left without delay.

Left behind were the three of us and the curious twins… along with a few others.

"We’ll guide you to the break room."

We all simultaneously thought that this was going to be a hassle.

§

After leaving the guild members and Roman’s group behind, Lana arrived at the deputy guild master’s office.

As if waiting for her arrival, there were no guests.

As soon as Lana entered, Rep said calmly.

"17 minutes. That was quick."

"It was enough time."

Rep trusted his daughter.

Though she hadn’t broken through the master’s wall yet, he knew the effort she had put in to reach this point.

A diligent worker acknowledged by everyone in Conquerors. Lana, who sacrificed her own body to plant artifacts and sought every way to grow by reading every ancient tome.

If Lana ever decided to give up following her master and attempted to pass the head examiner’s master assessment, she would have a high chance of success. Her effort was genuine.

Because of this, Lana’s evaluation would be meticulous and cold.

"Okay. Is the check complete?"

"Yes."

"Is it worth it?"

Worth it?

Of course, the question was expected.

Space magic alone proved its worth.

Then there’s the illusion magic, which complements the relatively simple space magic. Matán fired without delay, without any casting. The Strong Hit that could shake even Lana with its power if given time.

Roman was already complete. His abilities, experiences, and wisdom—there’s little lacking for him as an explorer.

Of course, he still falls short in a one-on-one against an expert. They, like Lana, use multiple Abyss artifacts to cover their weaknesses and maximize their strengths.

Though Roman lags behind in space magic, he too possesses unexpected trump cards. He might not have many artifacts or magic books, but in terms of equipment, he’s already at a disadvantage.

But if Roman properly equips himself with the right artifacts? He may not be able to beat a master, but he could definitely challenge an expert.

"That’s enough."

"Straight to the point."

"There's no doubt."

"I see…"

It wasn’t a completely unexpected answer.

Even with his connections, Rep was more likely to be positive now that he had accepted Roman into Frontier.

But it was still somewhat surprising that Lana answered so decisively without hesitation.

"Such a pity."

"...Is there a problem?"

"No. Now, I’m curious about that secret."

Recently, Rep had been regretting many of his decisions. Sending Grant was one of those, and the aftermath of dealing with those who brought him in.

"Bring them in. We need to finalize the contract."

"Yes."

After replying briefly, Lana turned her body to grab the door handle.

But, holding the handle without pulling it, she spoke shyly.

"...Thank you for giving me the opportunity."

As Rep trusted and believed in Lana, she trusted him in return.

His insight and intuition. His information about Roman’s group. His analysis and reasoning.

No wonder Sullivan Evans appointed Rep as deputy guild master, giving him the role of a guild leader's deputy.

Rep, with such a keen mind, would have noticed Roman’s brilliance right away. And by handpicking him for this role, Rep saw it as an opportunity for growth.

"A chance? It’s just passing off the work."

"...Yes. I’ll be more careful with my words. Then."

Rep thanked Lana silently after she left.

And his gratitude faded instantly during the following conversation.

"If you tell me where the guild house is, I’ll send Lana there tomorrow."

"Oh, about that..."

"Don’t tell me... the guild house isn’t ready yet?"

"Hahaha, we rushed over here a bit."

No guild members, no guild house—was this even right? But I could understand if it was a timing issue with our invitation.

But how should I take his next words?

"So, do you have any leftover villas or anything?"

"...Didn’t you say you were co-investing?"