Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Valen could have woken Argen to ask her to open the door or provided her with the vital energy as per their contract, but he decided against both.

There was no particular reason. He simply didn’t feel like it.

Instead, he roughly pulled down her blanket. Swoosh. Her silver hair rubbed against the blanket, creating static electricity. It was amusing to see it stand up wildly, like lightning struck.

“She wouldn’t even notice if I carried her away.”

As he noticed before, once Argen fell asleep, she rarely woke up. Even when he slipped his hand under the blanket and touched her bare back, she didn’t notice.

Valen moved a bit more boldly. As he slowly stroked the thin belly skin, there was no reaction even when he swept up his hands up her ribs and towards m0und of the chest all at once.

He scratched her long, straight collarbone with his fingernail. It seemed to tickle, as she unconsciously scratched the spot Valen had touched.

At this rate, shouldn’t she at least lock the door properly before sleeping?

If that goat, vampire, or stupid demon, or whatever the hell it was—if they were to harbor a vile mind, Argen would be completely at their mercy. If they mustered just enough strength to not wake up Argen, they could indulge in all sorts of things.

This oblivious Argen would wake up, drenched in s3men from head to toe, with a puzzled expression, unaware that the three demons were watching her with their evil eyes, waiting for night to come.

“…”

He couldn’t explain it, but he felt a strange twist in his stomach. Valen twitched one eyebrow and pinched her cheek. The soft, pliable texture wasn’t bad at all. However, upon closer inspection, the skin under her eyes had a bluish tint. It was something he hadn’t noticed before.

“So, it’s true that you only sleep an hour a day.”

He thought Argen had a lot of time on her hands because she always came to see him every single day. However, it turns out she was actually devoting precious sleeping time to him, as her body had an extremely low efficiency and she needed sleep for at least fourteen hours.

“It’s an absurd sense of debt.”

If he was a demon, it would be better to treat Valen like a s€m€n bag, befitting a demon’s nature.

……Demon.

His hand, which had been tracing her face, gradually moved down to grasp her white neck. It was as slender and fragile as a baby’s arm, and it seemed like it would break with just a little pressure.

Argen was unconscious, and Valen had the upper hand over her. If he wanted to, he could easily snap her neck. The learned intent to kill fervently informed him that now was the opportunity, but something caught his eye at that moment.

The bandage wrapped around his hand bothered him like a hangnail. Why did she do something so pointless? There was no way that wrapping this would erase the traces of that day when his palm was pierced. Stupidity should have its limits.

Valen couldn’t muster the strength to tighten his grip on her neck. The reason for his hesitation was clear. It was an irrational decision. If Argen lost her life, the contract would be nullified, and Valen would have to face her followers alone.

So for now… he won’t twist her neck.

*

“I can’t understand. You say you don’t need me.”

Just before the apple, which had floated high in the air, fell into her palm, Argen snatched it. Valen took it back and took a big bite.

“Don’t make that face. I’ll come to your bedroom diligently every three days.”

“If you have any complaints about me, tell me.”

Valen raised the index finger of the hand holding the apple. Then, after touching the top of Argen’s head, he slid it down to point at her toes.

“Everything.”

“Ah…”

“I’ve caught one idle guy, so I can use him as the key.”

“Who on earth…?”

At that moment, the new key waved cheerfully from a distance. With flaming red hair flowing, he came running.

“Zephyr.”

Argen muttered in a tone full of evident bewilderment. Valen glanced at her dazed expression and took another crisp bite of the apple.

‘She should be sleeping at least fourteen hours a day…’

Nadal’s words from yesterday wouldn’t leave his ears. The images of him nodding off like a sick chicken kept resurfacing, making Valen’s mind uneasy.

Argen doesn’t get enough sleep, and she was already weak. Demons were a species that find it difficult to conceive.

Moreover, Valen was human. Despite the additional challenge of having to bear a child of a different species, how could he not focus on the task at hand? Argen needed to get pregnant as soon as possible so that he could receive his payment and escape this accursed demon realm.

Thus, Valen made a decision. He would find another key. While doing so, he spotted Zephyr scurrying around outside the window and designated him as the new key.

“Let’s meet only once every three days.”

After giving Argen’s shoulder a light tap, he walked towards Zephyr. He didn’t hear any footsteps following or retreating.

  *

“So, you’re the one who turned the kitchen upside down, right? I’ve worked at the Demon King’s castle for 200 years, but the food has never been as delicious as it is these days. Haha! Even that guy Finn had lunch in the banquet hall. I thought I was allergic to mung beans, pork, chicken, eggs, cabbage, potatoes, fish, and corn. Every time I ate food with those ingredients, my stomach would hurt. So for 200 years, mung beans, pork, chicken, eggs…”

Valen stood with his arms crossed under the barracks of the training ground, staring straight ahead. Despite Zephyr’s incessant chatter that made his eardrums ache, he didn’t show any significant reaction.

However, Zephyr didn’t get discouraged and kept talking non-stop.

‘Sh!t… I really picked the wrong key.’

He massaged his throbbing temples. He didn’t even want to call him a replacement for Argen. The difference in satisfaction was immense.

He missed her absence so much that it was almost painful. Feeling such emotions towards a demon was humiliating, but that was the reality.

Zephyr’s chatter continued endlessly. Listening to his nonsensical babble, which made one question the existence of his brain, seemed to induce a nervous breakdown. If he could, he would have liked to cut Zephyr’s tongue into pieces. It would heal in less than half a day, but at least there would be some silence for a while.

Argen, who was generally indifferent to the world and had a limited range of emotions, wasn’t exactly a person of few words either. However, her words were delivered in a moderate tone that was pleasant to the ear, sometimes even resembling a soft melody, making them not unpleasant to listen to.

Of course, she sometimes said things that were beyond common sense. But it was never to the extent that he wanted to grind her up in a blender like Zephyr. It was more of a “Is she sane?” kind of moment that he could brush off with a sigh.

In the end, Valen stormed out from under the canopy. He couldn’t focus on monitoring the soldiers with that guy around. Training would be a better use of his time.

“Move.”

He pushed the demons aside and drew his sword. As he swung his sword with precise movements in the middle of the training ground, exclamations of admiration could be heard from all around.

“Wow… That form is amazing.”

“How did you do that just now? Please teach me too!”

Unlike Valen, who wielded his sword for survival, the demons’ only goal was to look impressive. Since their ancestors, they had swung swords for trivial reasons, so proper swordsmanship was never taught.

Having seen only clumsy stances every day, the soldiers’ eyes sparkled as they witnessed real swordsmanship up close.

The sharp tip of the sword sliced through the air and fell towards the ground with precision.

It’s been a while since I had a good workout.

Sparring was far more beneficial than swinging the sword a hundred times alone. Conveniently, there were plenty of monsters around that wouldn’t die even if cut. In hindsight, there was no better training ground than this. As Valen twisted one corner of his mouth into a smirk, the gathered soldiers flinched.

“What hell are you standing around for? I’ll teach you, so pick up your swords.”

*

A sudden bloodstorm swept through the training ground, which had previously been filled with the fragrant scent of flowers. This wasn’t a metaphor; it was a literal bloodstorm.

“S-save me!”

“Stop whining, you won’t even die.”

“Aaah!! It’s a monster!”

“Have you looked in a mirror?”

Squelch. The once gleaming sword was now caked with clumps of red blood, and the training ground was filled with screams. Valen didn’t give a d@mn, and went back to training against the demons.