ITSM 21

Chapter 21

“Wow, I wasn’t supposed to say this.”

When I tilted my head, Vasago covered his mouth and started trembling all over.

Ah, so he just accidentally said something he wasn’t supposed to tell me.

Well, I had even put a spell on my room to make it soundproof, yet Vasago had just blurted everything out.

‘Idiot.’

The Vasago who had been ignoring me until a moment ago was now stammering, clutching my shoulder and spinning around.

“Haha, no, it’s nothing.”

Seeing him flustered with that expression, I couldn’t help but laugh. At the same time, I realized I’d found his weakness.

Of course, I knew this little weakness wasn’t much for him.

‘Still, having any kind of weakness is important.’

Yep, exactly.

In this bleak Winspire… and I actually found a weakness in Vasago.

I lifted the corners of my mouth in a wicked smile and looked at him.

“Nothing happened, I mean, I’m not—interested…”
“……”
“Ah, right?”

Reading my expression, Vasago gasped and shivered, using his arm in panic.

“Good heavens, a demon? Why would you say something so scary?”
“Hehe…”
“Something must have happened yesterday. I should go ask Bael-san about it.”

I passed by Vasago with an air of nonchalance. A few steps later, I turned my head, shrugged, and added:

“Well, or maybe I could ask Shion-san or Amon-san from before.”
“Hey, hey! Wait a minute!”

His voice was desperate.

But even in this panic, he still spoke informally.

Do you think you’re the only one who can be brief? I can do it too.

“Huh? Trying to tell me what happened?”

I smiled teasingly and asked back.

Vasago muttered a small curse under his breath, frustrated by me.

“So… should I go?”
“Wow, seriously. What is wrong with you?”

He pulled his hair and screamed, utterly exasperated.

“Ugh! I really shouldn’t have helped that old man Bael this morning.”
“Huh?”
“You stupid Vasago! You crazy Vasago!”

I watched him thrash around, comfortably waiting.

I had been curious about what had happened yesterday, and this opportunity came right to me—I couldn’t miss it.

After screaming a few more times, Vasago asked seriously:

“Are you really going to tell me?”
“Not going to tell you?”
“More importantly, why are you speaking informally?”
“You started it. Or do you want me to speak politely too?”
“Ugh! This is worse than the old man, seriously!”

When I showed signs of moving away, Vasago slumped and spoke in a timid, almost confessional voice.

“No, it’s just… you’re the one Roan-san personally brought.”
“Right?”
“There were some people who didn’t like that. And the duke found out about it.”

Vasago seemed determined not to make another mistake and stiffened like a log as he continued.

“Apparently, Roan-san has considerable power in the Duke’s house?”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and the duke seems to care a lot about you too.”
“I’ve never even met him.”
“Don’t know. Anyway, because Roan-san looks after you, the duke also wants to look after you! Stop overthinking everything!”

If someone didn’t know that Roan and the Winspire Duke were the same person, this explanation would be utterly confusing.

But I knew the truth and understood Vasago’s rambling.

‘So there were demons who disliked me, and Roan handled them, huh?’

That must be why they gathered in front of my room yesterday.

‘He’s surprisingly considerate…’

A mere human wandering around Winspire was getting far too many advantages.

While I was pondering why he was so kind, Vasago continued.

“Anyway, those guys tried to threaten you. They had a well-thought-out plan… no, you’d be scared if I told you in detail, so don’t worry about it. Anyway, I took care of it all to prevent that.”
“Really?”
“Not in a violent way, I just… persuaded them nicely. No need to be afraid. Our Winspire isn’t exactly dangerous. Roan-san worries a lot, a lot, a lot about your safety, so you’re safer than when you were outside.”
“…Aren’t you tired?”
“Yeah. I may look like this, but I’m pretty strong. Amon and Shion are slightly weaker than me, but they’re smart too, so nothing too serious will happen.”

The large Vasago stomped his feet anxiously, looking completely out of place.

A few-hundred-year-old demon acting so flustered in front of a twenty-something human was funny.

I pinched my thigh to hold back laughter. The pain brought tears to my eyes.

Seeing this, Vasago misunderstood and turned pale.

“Wow. I’m dead.”

He pulled at his hair as if truly terrified. By now, he was holding a clump of his own red hair, like a child who’d gotten into trouble and awaited punishment.

“Say something!”
“What should I say?”
“Ah, this is maddening! Really.”

I laughed quietly at him and tapped his shoulder before asking the question I was most curious about.

“So, where is Roan-san?”
“I don’t know! I really don’t know!”

He screamed as if his life depended on it.

“Fine. I won’t ask, so stop yelling.”

I covered my ears, frowning. His shouting was deafening.

Vasago’s eyes lit up as he asked again:

“Really?”
“Instead, it would be good if there’s something to do until Roan-san returns.”

I didn’t know why Roan was away, but I figured it was better to keep busy in the meantime.

Especially since all I’d done in Winspire so far was…

‘Eat, play, sleep.’

I was living as a pure loafer.

It felt both convenient and terrifying to have nothing to do compared to working humans.

Better to find something to do before a “bomb” gets dropped later.

Hearing this, Vasago grimaced as if I’d said something terrible.

“Work? What kind of work?”
“Since I’m a secretary but haven’t done anything, I feel awkward.”
“Why feel awkward?”
“Unlike you, I’m a productive human.”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, it’d be good to get tasks from Bael-san.”

Since Roan wasn’t around, it seemed smart to get work from Bael.

I started walking, but Vasago froze and just stared after me.

“Am I going alone?”
“…Do I have to follow?”
“If you can spread everything we just talked about, then sure, follow.”

Vasago slumped his shoulders and trailed beside me.

Bael raised his glasses in surprise at our sudden appearance, seemingly unsure if the situation was as expected.

“What brings you here?”
“I heard Roan-san will be away for a while.”

Bael glanced at Vasago and then back at me.

“You were well informed, then?”
“Yes. So I thought it’d be good to do something else while Roan-san’s away.”
“Work?”
“I’ve been a secretary, but I’ve done nothing.”
“True… hmm. But you don’t have to work.”

Bael seemed tempted by my words but didn’t commit.

After a brief thought, I spoke.

“I’m good at work, so even if you give me a simple task, I can handle it quickly.”

I’d noticed before that Bael seemed very responsible and didn’t like letting others handle his work unless it met his standards.

Hearing this, Bael’s interest was clearly piqued.