These Demons Do it for Free-Chapter 87

Hop.

Mea lightly hopped onto the stool next to me and continued.

“It’s pointless. If anyone was in the third sector back then, they’d already know.”

Oh no…could it be?

“Bongshik, the place you mentioned—is that where Viola was lured?”

“Well, um…”

The way his gaze wavered and words trailed off made the answer obvious.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

“Oh, Bongshik…”

“Yes, yes…”

Bongshik trembled, beads of sweat forming and dripping from his chin.

An expression of extreme tension.

‘Actually, maybe he isn’t overreacting.’

A brand, in some cases, could even reverse the roles of master and subordinate, which made it a tool of overwhelming control. With a thought, it could cut off all of one’s mana. For a mage, it was like wearing a collar with a self-destruct button.

The fact that Mea had asked to be branded herself was, if anything, unusual. A regular mage would be as terrified as Bongshik was now.

Especially since Bongshik and I had a relationship close to that of a defeated slave and a victorious master in a war. To Bongshik, my displeasure was a threat to his life.

“Just go back for now. I was planning to assign you a different task anyway.”

There was work to be done—a sign that I wasn’t planning to dispose of him yet. Bongshik sighed in obvious relief and replied,

“Understood.”

Priscilla turned to open the door for Bongshik. Catching my glance, he nodded toward her as well and disappeared, after which Priscilla commented,

“Seeing him show some backbone is refreshing.”

Backbone? Was it?

I glanced at Mea, hoping for her opinion, but she only shrugged as if to say, “How would I know?”

“So, Priscilla, what brings you here? Is there any word from the Blostma faction?”

Or was it perhaps a personal message from Theresia?

Apparently not. Priscilla stammered a bit before replying cautiously,

“It’s just… I thought I’d say hi since Roman is back…”

Roman?

If it were about gratitude, the Blostma faction had already paid their debt. They’d delivered the chromatic fiend’s leather, fully tanned and enchanted. It must have cost them quite a bit in effort and resources.

Though some might say it was too cheap for a life-saving debt, Theresia’s side had a hand in it too.

Priscilla might think that wasn’t enough on a personal level…but I had a feeling that wasn’t all.

[Perhaps it’s self-consciousness, Contractor?]

[Hmm. Agreed.]

[Oh, Contractor! I think that woman is smitten with you!]

[No, Contractor, listen to me.]

[I’m siding with Seir on this one.]

[What?! Contractor! Trust me! My demonic gaze has pierced the truth through a thousand years of darkness!]

Honestly, I leaned more toward Procel’s perspective, but…if Seir said so, perhaps it was true.

My trust in Seir was such that if she called a deer a horse, I’d wonder if it was some rare subspecies of horse I didn’t know about.

Alright, let’s go with Seir’s judgment for now.

“I have some pressing business at the moment. If I find a reason to visit Blostma’s faction, I’ll send word in advance.”

“Oh…okay.”

Priscilla looked down in disappointment. Her pink hair seemed to add a certain liveliness to the gesture.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

Priscilla’s shoulders drooped slightly. Was I too harsh? Priscilla had a connection with me and was even on the same team as Mea.

If Mea or Hecate sent my teammates, Leif and Ray, away as she had, I’d feel uneasy too. I glanced at Mea to gauge her reaction.

“Hmph.”

But Mea’s reaction differed from mine. Her expression remained unchanged, yet she seemed somehow satisfied.

Well, as long as she wasn’t upset…was she just that detached?

‘Maybe it’s because her team is more businesslike, unlike ours?’

The way she interacted with her former teammate, the potion shop owner, had always felt somewhat stiff; perhaps it wasn’t only because she’d lost memories in exchange.

In any case, it wasn’t my place to meddle, so I pushed thoughts of Priscilla aside and brought up the matter with Mea.

“Mea, I need your help with something.”

“Help?”

You? Asking me?

Mea’s eyes gleamed with surprise as she looked at me.

“As you might have heard, I was in the second sector recently. And I felt it keenly—I’ve got a long way to go. I need to get stronger.”

“Right.”

Mea nodded with a force that, oddly, felt like a blow to my pride.

But that was for the best. Her view of me was clearly objective.

That meant she’d be diligent in fulfilling my request.

“Teach me demonic magic.”

---

Though it was late, neither of us felt the need to put it off until tomorrow.

Ever since Mea’s ordeal with nightmares and lost memories had ended, she had strictly adhered to her full nine-hour sleep schedule. Yet, at my request, that ironclad pattern took a backseat.

We descended to the underground training room below Hecate’s locked workshop. Mea started with the basics.

“As I mentioned during training, there are two ways a demonologist can expand their magic.”

“Demon contracts and the extension of powers?”

Mea nodded, confirming my answer, and then took up a pen, writing something on the training room’s whiteboard.

[1 Demon] - Spatial Magic

[2 Demon] - Weakening Magic

[3 Demon] -

At that point, she turned to look at me, still holding the pen.

“Oh, Illusion Magic.”

While I didn’t know the true names of my contracted demons, Mea at least knew the numbers and types of magic associated with them. Mea was a skilled demonologist. Hecate had said she was practically guaranteed expert status if she wanted it. Her unique intuition even let her perceive the number and ranks of other demonologists’ contracted demons.

And since I was connected to her through the brand, Mea could sense even some of the powers I borrowed. I didn’t bother hiding it. I trusted Mea on par with my teammates, even if she wasn’t like my guardian demons, like Seir.

Mea filled in the last blank with “Illusion Magic.”

“The first option is out of the question.”

Even without me saying so, Mea knew how hard it was for me to form new contracts with demons. Of course, if it were possible, I wouldn’t need her help.

Mea didn’t know the secret behind my method of contracting these high-ranking demons, or why I could interact with demons far beyond her contracted ones.

So what I sought from Mea was the latter.

“The key to developing demonology is understanding.”

“Understanding…”

It sounded like something that could apply to any magic, but I knew her comment had a hidden nuance. Specifically, understanding “demons” themselves.

Demonology was all about understanding demons. This was why Hecate, who inherited a family with deep knowledge of demons and had a boundless curiosity for them, was the city’s top demonologist.

“Let me give you an example.”

Next to the list of my demons, Mea wrote the name of one of her own.

Eclipto.

Eclipto was the demon she’d contracted with powers associated with consumption.

“When I first made a contract with Eclipto, I used his power to erode my opponent’s mana. That was all I knew about Eclipto’s power at the time.”

Much like how I had used Leraje’s power to cause exhaustion by disrupting mana.

Did that mean she didn’t know what Eclipto’s powers were at first?

That seemed strange, so I asked.

“Don’t they usually lure you in by showing their powers?”

“Two cases where that happens. One, a demon who’s desperate to make a contract. Or two, a demon with high enough rank that it can afford to reveal its powers.”

Typically, a demon’s power was an indicator of its rank. Revealing its power was like showing off to a summoner, saying, “This is my level.”

“Even if a high-ranked demon has multiple powers, it

usually won’t show all its cards.”

“To keep the contract cost high?”

“Exactly.”

It was essentially an unfair trade.

If a summoner wanted a certain power, the demon could agree, but if it hid its full power, the summoner wouldn’t know the exact strength. Still, the summoner would pay whatever price the demon asked for that power. It was a devilish arrangement indeed.

Demons—supposedly fair and truthful—turned out to be quite the scoundrels.

So, if my guardian demons had openly revealed all their powers at the outset…

‘They didn’t ask for any price, showed all their powers, and even introduced other demons… they really gave everything.’

Once again, I am in awe.

Seir, Demon of World Restoration…

[Indeed! Worship more!]