"Well then," I said, cracking my knuckles. "Let's quickly deal with this pig."

"W-Wait! I'll give you money! If you want, slaves prettier than that girl! Just name your price!"

Heney scrambled backward, his eyes darting desperately between me and the corpse of his butler. All he could do was offer everything he had to survive.

If he could just survive, he could recover everything—revenge, butlers, money, all of it.

I paused, hand hovering mid-air.

"Oh…"

Heney's eyes lit up. Look at that, he thought. True to his commoner nature, he's considering it at the mention of money. I should have done this from the beginning.

Poor bastard.

He had it all wrong. He mistook me for a greedy commoner mercenary.

If he knew my real identity—if he knew he was trying to bribe the heir of Count Ashborne, a family that possessed more wealth in their armory than Heney had in his entire lineage—he would have never dared to even think of sending assassins to my place.

He would have severed his own hand before signing that contract.

"Yes! Yes!" Heney shouted, eager to seal the deal. "If you spare me, I'll give you anything you want! My entire vault! Money or sla—"

"ORA!"

—THWACK!

My fist smashed directly into the center of Heney's face.

Cartilage crunched.

Heney flew backward, chair and all, crashing into the wall with a thunderous boom.

"Guh—!"

I didn't stop. I walked over, grabbed him by his expensive silk collar, and hauled him up.

Smack!

"You tried to touch my chef."

Smack!

"You sent an assassin to my house."

Smack!

"And now you try to bribe me with pocket change?!"

Heney's face was quickly turning into a swollen purple mess. He gurgled, eyes rolling back, consciousness fading. I pulled my arm back for a finishing blow that would definitely cave his skull in.

"B-Boss, wait a moment!"

A hand grabbed my wrist.

I stopped, panting slightly, and looked back. Alicia was holding my arm, her expression urgent.

"Why?" I asked, annoyed. "Do you want to kill him yourself?"

Alicia looked at the bloody mess of a merchant and frowned. She wanted to kill him badly—he had insulted her and tried to kill them—but reason held her back.

"Even though he is corrupt," she said quickly, "he is still a member of an Imperial noble house by marriage. If he turns up dead, the Empire will investigate. We can't afford that kind of heat right now."

She had a point. It seemed like these situations would happen often while traveling with me, and if we killed a noble every time, we'd be chased out of not just the Empire but the entire continent.

"So?" I dropped Heney. He hit the floor with a wet thud. "We just let him go?"

"No," Alicia's eyes gleamed with a cold, dangerous light. "I have a better idea."

She leaned in and whispered her suggestion into my ear.

As I listened, my eyebrows rose higher and higher.

"..."

I looked at Heney. Then I looked at Alicia.

"Wow…" I muttered, genuinely impressed. "Even the Demon God wouldn't go that far."

I stared at her, seeing the innocent-looking girl in a new light.

"I thought you were a gentle princess type… I never knew you had this side to you."

Alicia coughed into her fist, looking away, cheeks slightly pink. "Ahem… so, what do you think of my plan?"

I looked back at the unconscious pig on the floor and grinned.

"Sounds fun."

*****

[The Next Day – Imperial Academy]

The morning sun filtered through the classroom windows, casting long beams of light across the desks.

I sat in my usual spot, chin resting on my hand, lazily flipping through a textbook.

"Where were you yesterday?"

A soft voice broke my concentration.

I turned. Ariana was sitting beside me, her silver hair shimmering in the sunlight. She looked concerned.

"I visited your place yesterday evening to practice alchemy," she said, "but Lily said you were out."

"Ah."

I recalled the messy business in the underground hideout. The screaming, the 'negotiations,' and the aftermath.

"Nothing much," I said with a casual shrug. "Just some trivial business."

Ariana stared at me for a moment, as if trying to read my expression, but eventually accepted the vague answer. She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, biting her lip.

"So… are you free this weekend?" she asked, her voice dropping a little lower.

"Hmm?"

I made a show of thinking, tapping my chin.

"Well, I don't have anything necessary going on. Why?"

Ariana took a deep breath. She clutched her hands together in her lap, her knuckles turning white.

"Th-Then… would you like to go to the new amusement park opening this weekend? With… me?"

Her voice trailed off at the end, barely a squeak.

The moment the words left her mouth, her face turned beet red. She immediately lowered her head, staring intensely at her desk as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

'Cute,' I thought.

Her ears were burning. I could practically see the steam rising from her head.

I stayed silent for a few seconds, just enjoying the reaction. The longer I waited, the redder she became. It spread down her neck, turning her skin a lovely shade of pink.

If I waited any longer, she might actually explode.

"Of course," I said smoothly. "Why not?"

Ariana flinched, looking up with wide, hopeful eyes.

I leaned in closer, resting my cheek on my palm, and gave her a teasing smile.

"I am always ready to accompany you anywhere, Ariana."

Poof.

I swear I heard the sound.

Ariana's face went from red to atomic crimson. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a squeak came out. She quickly buried her face in her hands, unable to meet my eyes.

It was then that she realized something.

The classroom was… quiet.

Too quiet.

She slowly lifted her head and looked around.

While we had been busy chatting, the rest of the students had filed in. The room was full.

And every single one of them was staring at us.

Kael. Celestia. Mariella. The random extras. Everyone.

They had heard everything.

"The Villain and the Solmere daughter?"

"Is that… a date?"

Ariana froze. The weight of dozens of gazes bore down on her. She looked like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

She shrank into her seat, trembling like a small animal.

Fortunately for her, salvation arrived.

Slide.

The classroom door opened with a sharp clatter.

"Take your seats."

Instructor Samantha strode in, her sharp gaze sweeping the room and silencing the murmurs instantly.

"We have a lot to cover today. Open your books to page 394."

I chuckled softly, opening my book, while beside me, Ariana let out a long, shaky breath, still hiding her burning face behind her hair.

Life was getting interesting.

*****

Classes ended without further incident, though the whispers about my "date" with Ariana followed me all the way to the gates. I ignored them, adjusting my bag as I stepped out into the bustling streets of the capital.

As I walked, the sound of excited chatter drifted from a group of passersby gathered near a newsstand.

"Did you read the newspaper today?"

"No, why? Did the Emperor cough or something?"

"Better. Something interesting happened. You won't believe it."

One of the men shook his head, pulling a folded broadsheet from his coat pocket. He snapped it open, grinning.

I slowed my pace, glancing sideways.

[Prominent Businessman Heney Smith Found Tied Up Half-Naked in the Capital Square.]

That was the headline adorning the front page in bold, black ink.

There were no photos—magic photography technology wasn't widespread enough for daily tabloids yet—but honestly, that was a mercy. Even if they had the tech, printing a picture of that fat pig in his birthday suit would probably violate several public decency laws.

I stepped closer, pretending to browse a nearby stall, and read the main text right below the headline.

[Early this morning, Viscount-in-law Heney Smith was reported to be hanging half-naked in front of the central fountain in the Empire's square. Witnesses describe his condition as 'severe,' with his face appearing to have been beaten dozens of times. Beneath his suspended form, a ledger was found nailed to a wooden board, detailing connections with assassination guilds, extortion records, illegal slave contracts, and bribery lists. Based on this, the City Guard presumes Heney Smith was the victim of a vigilante revenge act.]

"Hah…"

A small smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth.

"The tabloids here are quite accurate."

I recalled last evening.

After I had beaten Heney into a pulp and was ready to finish him, Alicia had stopped me. Her suggestion—the one she whispered with cold, glittering eyes—was this:

— "Let's strip him naked. Tie him up in the busiest square in the capital. And leave his own ledger open beneath him."

I remembered looking at her then.

Even a Demon God would shake their head and say, "That's a bit much, isn't it?"

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