âWeâre all meeting here.â
Zagnac and Azela both turned their heads simultaneously at the familiar voice.
Lane, wearing a parasol to shelter herself from the blazing sun, stood in front of the boutique shop. With a lollipop in her mouth, she glanced back and forth at them and smiled. It was the first time they saw her after she tearfully told them that her contractor, the dwarf, had died.
âShould I greet her?â
Not knowing what to say to her, Azela stood with a hesitant face while Lane waved her hand lightly first.
âYouâre still there, contractor.â
When she looked away at Laneâs tone as if she wasnât happy that she was there, Azela lost her will to greet her as well. She didnât want to be polite to the devil who didnât respect her.
Meanwhile, seeing that Lane tilted her head at Azela, who didnât accept her greeting despite her greeting, Zagnac asked, changing the mood.
âLane, what are you doing here? You donât like humans and you donât like hanging out with humans, donât you.â
âI do.â
Lane responded lightly and folded the parasol she was wearing. Then, with her finger, she pointed to the boutique shop where Zagnac and Azela had just appeared.
âThe clothes here are rumored to be very good and elegant among humans, so I came to get one.â
âMy boutique shop?â
ââ¦Is this your boutique shop?â
At those words, she frowned as she stared at the boutique shop. Lane folded her fingers that were pointed to the boutique shop and shook her head, clicking her tongue.
âI came here for no reason. If I had known it was your place, I wouldnât have come.â
âIs that a bad thing?â
âIt canât be a good thing.â
Lane grunted and opened the parasol again. She was really determined not to enter the boutique shop. It seemed that despite saying she didnât like humans, she seemed to be quite interested in human clothes.
Zagnac asked urgently as he saw Lane turning her body around without saying a word.
âAre you going back?â
âNo, I will be staying in the human world a little more.â
âWhy?â
âI was thinking about making the next contractor a human.â
It was worrisome what would happen if Lane was still heartbroken that her former contractor, the Dwarf, left, but Lane seemed to have completely forgotten about it. When Azela looked at her, she let out a sigh of relief as she saw Laneâs bright expression, unlike the last time.
On the contrary, Zagnac, however, frowned at Laneâs words.
ââ¦Why? You donât like humans.â
âThatâs right.â
âYou said contracts with humans are too short.â
âThatâs right.â
âYou even said that human souls, no matter how noble, are insignificant compared to your contractors.â
âYou remembered everything well.â
Hearing Zagnacâs words, Lane turned her upper body to look at him.
âA lot of races I can contract with have disappeared. Perhaps, sooner or later, truly only the human race will remain in this world⦠as humans want.â
Lane said the last words, âas humans want,â and turned her gaze to look at Azela.
Even though the extinction of the species was not Azelaâs fault, hearing her words, she felt guilty and bowed her head. After all, it was humans who destroyed and drove out the different races in this world.
âSo, Iâm preparing to pick out a human. If Iâm lucky, Iâll be able to get a good-spirited human like you as my contractor.â
Saying so, she licked her red lips with her tongue and her eyes twinkled with lust for her.
Seeing that, Zagnac raised his palm to block Azela from her view. Lane, who was looking at Azela, turned around without hesitation.
ââ¦Are you okay?â
As Lane took a step, Zagnac turned his head to Azela and asked a small question. As she was about to reply that she was fine, Lane, who was walking far away, suddenly stopped and turned her upper body.
âOh.â
ââ¦.?â
âBy the way, Zagnac.â
Lane raised her finger and pointed at Azela.
âWhy donât you eat her? She seems to be ripe enough.â
ââ¦.!â
âShe was much better than last time. She seems to have a sweet scent all the way up here.â
It wasnât a malicious word. Lane must have been really curious as to why did he keep a ripe soul by his side and not eat it? At the same time, hearing her question, Azelaâs eyes fluttered as she turned her stiff head to look at Zagnac.
âLane.â
âThe other day, since you like sweet things so much, I wondered if you would leave her on and eat her when she tastes best, but now Iâm curious.â
âShut up.â
âOf course, itâs not the best stage yet⦠but itâs quite different? Whether you eat her now or then, the taste wonât be much different.â
Lane smiled brightly with a red smile.
Unlike her, Zagnacâs face hardened. It looked like he was going to bite her neck at any moment, though she still had a bright smile on her red lips.
âEat her.â
Lane uttered briefly.
With that short word, Azela felt as if her heart had stopped. And at that moment, the wind blew up. It happened in the blink of an eye.
With the strong wind, Zagnac, who had been by her side, approached Lane in an instant and grabbed her neck tightly. He was clenching his hand until her face turned bright red, but Lane remained calm without changing a single fold on her face.
âZagnacâ¦!â
She hurriedly ran to Zagnac and grabbed him. This was a street. There were many eyes of people who saw him and might recognize him as Duke ferial. Moreover, it was in front of his boutique shop. This kind of behavior was an act that would be many noblesâ gossip.
Still, despite Azelaâs restraint, he did not budge.
âYou react in an unusual way.â
âI told you to shut up.â
âWhat a big deal? You, who was desperate to live by hiding your body odor among humans.â
As he grabbed Lance by the neck, she glanced at the surroundings casually. It seemed that many people passing by the street were glancing at them.
âYou act like youâre revealing your identity like this.â
âShut up.â
âYou must have liked your contractor quite a bit.â
Seeing her calm expression, Zagnac gritted his teeth and gave his hand more strength. Veins spurted out violently on the back of his hand, and a grotesque sound of bones breaking was heard.
Azela hurriedly looked at Lane with dismay, but she remained calm despite it all. At first glance, she didnât even think Lane was choking.
âAfter living with humansâ¦â
ââ¦.â
âIâm not mistaken that youâve become a real human?â