He was now able to enjoy the benefits without restraint. He was given a large, luxurious lodging, along with two male attendants and two female attendants
each. Needless to say, he was provided with splendid clothing, and the finest meals were served at every mealtime.
Of course, to Damon, this new treatment felt stifling, as if he had been forced into clothes that did not fit.
“What the hell! Don’t I look like a prisoner being dragged to the execution grounds? Is this their way of telling me to indulge myself all I want
before I go off to die?”
Damon was wearing loose, obviously cumbersome clothing, his face twisted in an endless scowl.
If he had his way, he would have run at once to the Land of Death located at the northern end of the continent.
To him, the battlefield seemed a place far better suited to his nature. But for some reason,
Sergei kept delaying their departure under the pretext that preparations were not yet complete.
“Damn it! Countless soldiers must be dying on the battlefield even now……”
Damon trudged over and sank deep into a chair. It was fitted with the finest cushioning, so soft
it was beyond description. Frowning, Damon lifted himself up again.
“Damn it, I can’t even keep my balance properly……”
He plopped down onto the floor and sat cross-legged.
“I’d better train whenever I have the time. There’s no telling what kind of fight
is waiting for me.”
Just as he was about to gather mana, he sensed someone behind him. Turning his head, he saw a young-faced maid
hurrying toward him with quick little steps. Since his training had been interrupted, Damon grimaced
and snapped irritably.
“What is it?”
“Um…… Your meal is ready, my lord.”
Unfortunately, the maid’s voice was trembling. Judging by her stiffly frozen expression,
it was clear she was terribly afraid of him. At the sight, irritation suddenly surged up in Damon.
“Damn it all…… Do I really look that vicious?”
“N-no, my lord.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean!”
Damon roared and rose to his feet. Suddenly, a strange light flashed through his eyes.
“Wait. How long has it been since I held a woman?”
Even at the most conservative estimate, it had probably been several years. Since crossing over from the Central Plains,
he had not been given a single opportunity. Of course, back in the Central Plains, if he had only set his mind to it,
there would have been no woman who could refuse him, but here, circumstances were entirely different.
There was no way any woman would take interest in him, a lowly mercenary.
But now it was different. By Sergei’s order, he was now receiving the finest treatment,
and having grown accustomed to life in Trubenia, he was well aware that nobles often laid hands on their maids.
“Shall I indulge myself for the first time in a while?”
Damon approached with lust in his eyes. At the sight, the maid’s eyes filled with extreme terror,
and she shuffled backward. Pitifully, her slender body was trembling.
“W-why? Why are you doing this, my lord?”
“Heh heh heh. Don’t pretend not to know when you know perfectly well.”
Seeing Damon approach with a sinister laugh, the maid squeezed her eyes shut. Of course,
she had experience offering her body to the master she served, but this situation was entirely different.
The appearance of this newly assigned foreigner was enough to make one’s skin crawl at a glance.
It seemed impossible for her to accept him with a sane mind. When she felt the hot, sweet breath near her face,
she felt as though she would go mad. Her lips parted without her realizing it, and a moan escaped.
“Oh, God, please……”
At that moment, the sound of footsteps approaching her stopped abruptly. The other party simply stood there,
breathing roughly, huffing and puffing. He showed no sign at all of trying to touch her.
“Hm?”
Puzzled, the maid slowly opened her eyes. But what she saw was that horrifying face pressed right up
in front of her nose. The foreigner had brought his face close to hers. As a woman,
she could not help but be scared out of her wits. Without realizing it, she screamed.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Damn it! I won’t touch you, so shut up!”
Only then did the maid realize the situation. To think she had screamed at the sight of her master’s face……
In Trubenia, a medieval-era land, a maid’s life was literally as fragile as a fly’s.
If even the slightest thing displeased them, masters inflicted harsh punishment on their servants.
Beatings severe enough to leave the entire body bruised black and blue were common, and in the worst cases,
they were often killed without mercy. Thus, the maid’s face could not help but turn deathly pale.
“I-I am truly sorry. Please kill this lowly thing.”
As if there was nothing more to think about, she knelt on the floor. Now her fate
depended entirely on her master’s mood. Simply put, if the foreigner bore a grudge,
there was no doubt her head would immediately fly.
To make matters worse, the door opened, and the sound of a group of military boots came rushing into the room.
They were clearly the royal guards who had come running after hearing her scream. If they learned what had happened,
they would drag her mercilessly to the execution grounds, so the maid’s face had gone completely ashen.
“What is the matter?”
The guards who rushed in urgently scanned the scene inside the room. In an instant, the expressions of several of them
stiffened. For standing in the room with his hands clasped behind his back was the very person who had,
not long ago, left a fatal stain on the reputation of the royal guards.
A legendary figure who, single-handedly, had sent some fifty royal guards flying like fallen leaves in an autumn wind.
In particular, the guards who had experienced being subdued by him could not help but grow even tenser.
If they had their way, they would have liked to take revenge even if it meant staking the honor of the guard,
but unfortunately, he was now an honored guest of Icarot. They had to avoid carelessly provoking his temper
at all costs. Therefore, they first assessed the situation in the room. One quick-witted guard
soon grasped the circumstances.
‘His face is frightening even to us men. He must have tried to violate the maid,
only for her scream to stop him before he could. I feel sorry for the maid, but there’s nothing to be done.’
Having settled his thoughts, the guard respectfully bowed his head to Damon.
“It seems the maid has offended our honored guest. We will deal with her.”
The guard straightened and pointed a finger at the maid.
“Take her away. She will be punished sharply for offending the honored guest’s mood.”
The pitiful maid could only hang her head low and tremble like an aspen leaf. The guards
rushed in and roughly hauled her to her feet. At that moment, Damon stepped forward.
“Hold it. What do you bastards think you’re doing?”
“Pardon? W-we were going to punish the maid who committed a fault……”
“And how do you know so well whether she committed a fault or not?”
Damon’s face twisted fiercely as he barked at them. At his unexpected reaction, the guards could do nothing
but fluster helplessly.
“You bastards crawl in here without being called and make a damned commotion! Looks like the Magic Missile
you tasted last time still wasn’t enough for you, huh?”
“N-no, sir.”
Due to his past experiences, Damon’s feelings toward the royal guards were by no means good.
How many humiliations had he suffered at the hands of the guards in the past? As those memories
resurfaced, Damon blindly fired off a Magic Missile. Straight at the face of the especially smarmy fellow.
“Guhk!”
The arrogant guard collapsed from a single blow. If having unusually quick wits was a fault,
then that had been his fault. To the guards supporting their unconscious comrade with pale faces,
Damon growled savagely.
“I have no need for protection from weaklings like you, so get out of here at once. From now on,
no matter what sounds you hear from this place, ignore them……”
“U-understood.”
Carrying their unconscious comrade, the guards fled the room as if their lives depended on it. Of course,
they were hurling every curse imaginable inside.
‘What kind of temper is that?’
‘Damn it, what rotten luck.’
Once all the guards had disappeared, Damon turned his gaze to the maid.
“Get up.”
No sooner had he spoken than the maid sprang to her feet. Relief that she had survived
flashed through her mind, but another worry threw her thoughts into confusion.
‘He will surely demand my body.’
Although he had saved her from punishment by the guards, when she looked at his face, fear
flooded back in once more. She truly hated the thought of entrusting her body to someone like that more than death.
But with her life at stake, there was no helping it. If she wanted to live, she had to comply with any demand.
“I am truly sorry for what happened just now. Then……”
Having said that, the maid hurriedly began to take off her clothes. As each layer of clothing came away,
her pure white skin began to reveal itself. At the sight, Damon’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon? I-I am……”
The maid stopped undressing midway and lowered her head deeply, her face flushed red.
She could not bring herself to say what came next. At the sight, Damon clicked his tongue.
“My desire to take you has vanished completely, so put your clothes back on.”
“Pardon? N-no, my lord.”
“Is my appearance truly that hideous?”
“T-that is not what I meant……”
Looking at the flustered maid, Damon shook his head.
“Forget it. Let’s pretend today never happened. I’m going to go eat.”
Damon walked out, grumbling. The maid’s eyes, fixed on his retreating back, were filled
with confusion.
“Damn it. Women……”
As he walked down the splendidly decorated corridor, Damon continued to grumble. Of course, it was not
as though this was the first or second time he had seen women react like the maid. Women treated him
as if they were looking at some repulsive insect. In the eyes of the women who looked at him,
there was always, without a single exception, a deep sense of contempt and nausea.
In truth, during his days as the cult leader of the heretical sect, he had slept with countless women.
Of course, because of his status as cult leader, the women had not dared to refuse and had been forced
to take off their clothes. But Damon had seen the same look in them as well. A look as if a lizard
or a cockroach were crawling over their skin. Recalling that, Damon tossed out a remark.
“Once my magic improves, I’ll have to try changing my appearance. Then we’ll see how women
treat me.”
Though he said that, it was something he did not particularly feel inclined to do. Damon knew all too well
that while one could change outward appearance, one’s essence never changed. Also,
deceiving someone was not at all to Damon’s taste.
“Damn it…… I’ll just live with the face I was born with.”
Suddenly overcome with anger, Damon kicked open the dining hall door.
Bang.
As the door was flung open as if it would break, Damon strode inside.