He gave him food, washed his wounds, and occasionally stroked his head with indifference. There was even a moment when he lightly kissed his horn!
"……!"
To a monster, a horn was not a simple decoration.
Well, to be precise, it wasn't just a decoration to Damian.
Not all monsters possessed horns, but for those who did, they were a symbol of power and dignity. Damian’s horn was especially unique, sleek, beautifully curved, and so magnificent that it commanded instant admiration.
His servant looked upon it with envy and awe, and those seeking to mate with him would always begin by praising his horn and stroking it with their fingertips.
And yet, this human had kissed that very horn?
Is this also a ploy to seduce me?
Could it be... does this weak human desire to mate with me?
Damian’s crimson eyes slowly narrowed.
Of course, with that frail body, a human could never possibly endure him. Taking him in was an utter impossibility to begin with.
Despite this, Damian was spiraling into a delusion that bordered on absolute certainty.
***
Then came the day when Damian had finally recovered enough to remove the collar himself.
The man with the messy hair approached first and reached out without hesitation.
Click,
The collar unlocked, and the sound of the chain rattling faded into the air. The man stared at Damian for a moment before murmuring softly.
"You can't come back now, okay?"
His smile was so bright that it made Damian feel... strange.
...What a peculiar human.
If a monster falls into your hands, the natural order is to exploit it. To let it go without a single lingering regret...
Of course, the human likely had no idea that Damian could have broken the collar himself. Damian watched the man for a moment before casting himself into the darkness.
The beast's four-legged gallop soon shifted into a bipedal stride. His dark red fur smoothed into flowing locks of hair. Before long, the horn on his forehead had grown even larger and thicker.
Returning to his strikingly beautiful human form, Damian immediately sought out the territory of Basha, the one who controlled the centipede servant, and turned the place into a wasteland.
Blood was splattered everywhere, and severed centipede heads rolled across the ground. Damian crushed one in his grip without a moment's hesitation.
Splat!
As blood sprayed, a metallic stench filled the air.
Normally, it was a scent he was intimately familiar with. But had he grown too accustomed to the warm, savory smell of soup lately? This scent felt strangely alien. His thoughts began to spiral, eventually landing on the face of that messy-haired human.
The human who approached him with a smile.
The human who kissed his horn.
"……?"
Thinking of that man brought on a bizarre sensation. It felt as if a tiny insect-type monster were gnawing at the tip of his finger. A lowly creature like that could never truly harm him, but if its tiny teeth dug into his nerves, it became an annoyance. It didn't hurt, yet it was a deeply unsettling feeling.
What was this emotion?
Was it anger at the human for daring to give him the ridiculous name 'Happy' and treating him like a dog? Or was he displeased because a human had witnessed him in such a humiliating state?
Monsters, by nature, do not dwell on such things. They move on instinct, and Damian, who reigned above them all, was no different. Thus, the very act of questioning himself was a foreign experience.
What was truly frustrating was the fact that the man kept popping into his head. Damian let out a low breath, gritting his teeth.
Whatever it was, there was only one answer. If he was curious, he would check. If it was anger, he would crush it, if it was desire, he would seize it.
Damian narrowed his red eyes and dashed back toward the inn on the boundary. His dark red hair whipped through the pitch-black darkness.
***
After running without rest, it was already around lunchtime.
Inside the inn, where a dim light leaked out, the human was defenselessly sleeping on his bed, breathing evenly. Damian approached slowly and draped his body over the man's.
His dark red hair spilled down, tickling the human's cheek. Perhaps he was dreaming, as he scratched his cheek and waved a hand absentmindedly before his eyes fluttered open.
In that instant, those golden pupils captured Damian’s red eyes.
"……?"
Looking down at the human staring up at him with a dazed expression, Damian curled his lips into a sharp, predatory smirk.
"Amusing. To think a mere human would seduce me."
He didn't know exactly which part of the human's actions constituted 'seduction.' But one thing was certain. Damian himself had been quite thoroughly ensnared by it.
"How bold."
The sight of the human looking completely shocked was quite a spectacle.
***
If there were internet communities in this era, I would have posted something like this.
> [URGENT] Guys, I just woke up and there's a crazy person in my room,,,,
> I woke up because my face felt ticklish, and some crazy guy with long hair is on top of me staring at me.
> Just for the record, I’m a guy, and he’s a guy too.
> …And the comments would probably look like this.
> └ Congrats on being chosen.
> └ Chosen or not, that's breaking and entering.
> └ Welcome to the gay world~
> └ Post a pic or it didn't happen.
Of course, if I saw a post like that, I’d probably reply with something like '└ Bro, that’s just a cockroach antenna lol' and chuckle.
The problem is, this isn't a joke, it’s my actual reality.
I froze, pinned to the bed. A cold shiver ran down my spine as those blood-red eyes stared down at me.
...Who is this? Who are you, and why are you in my inn, what the, in my room, on my bed while I'm sleeping? And what? Did he just say, "To think a mere human would seduce me"?
I have no idea what he means by seduction, and to top it off, he has a horn on his head.
Is he a new part-timer who saw the job posting?
...As if, goddammit.
Even if I’ve been sucked into a fantasy novel, there’s a limit to realism. A human with a horn? I’ve never heard of such a thing.
Which means... he’s definitely a monster, right?
I was frozen, unable to speak, my lips trembling as my brain reached that conclusion. Taking advantage of my silence, the man leaned his face even closer. My forehead was pricked by his horn, and a moan escaped me reflexively.
"Ugh...!"
At that sound, the man tilted his head back slightly and muttered in a low voice.
"Why so quiet? You're usually so talkative."
How do you know that?
How do you know I’m usually talkative?!
The nuance was clear. he had been watching me from somewhere.
Was he a guest? Or maybe... the guy who left bloodstains all over the inn? You know, the one Happy was guarding the place from?
...Wait. Happy?
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off.
Dark red hair. A horn on the forehead. Blood-red eyes.
"...Happy?"
The word tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. Even as I said it, I thought it was absurd, but then I countered myself.
I mean, why is it absurd?
This is a world where an innkeeper beats down monsters with a frying pan and there's a country where the ancestors were reptiles. So, it's not weird at all if a monster I knew turned into a human form, right?
Looking at me as I gaped like an idiot, the man’s lips curled into a grin.
It was the kind of smile a beast gives when it finds its prey, yet there was a hint of genuine amusement in it. As if watching my stupid face, he whispered.
"Don't call me by that ridiculous name."
"……?"
"It's Damian. Human."
...Okay, can you please move your face now?
I couldn't get the words out, my trembling lips just twitched in a half-hearted attempt at a smile. As I sat there, pale and speechless, the man, no, Damian, finally pulled back a little.
Once I could breathe again, I scrambled to sit up, pressing my back firmly against the headboard.
"H-How... how did you even get in here?"
My voice was shaking uncontrollably. But the most important question right now was 'Why is this guy in my room?'
Damian tilted his head as if the question puzzled him. Then, he spoke with utter nonchalance.
"I walked."
"……"
...I know how you physically moved!
I’m asking why you would walk into someone else's inn, on my day off, and specifically onto my bed like you own the place, for god’s sake.
As I stared at him with a look of utter disbelief, Damian tilted his head slowly.
Once, twice, and then a third time.
Every time his dark red hair swayed, for some reason, I was reminded of Geoffrey.
No, do I have some kind of bad karma with long-haired guys? Why is every crazy person I get involved with a man with hair down to his waist?
"...Why... why did you come here?"
At that moment, Damian’s eyebrow arched, and he spoke in a strangely resonant voice.
"To see how far you'd go."
"With... what?"
"Your seduction."
Seriously, why do you keep spouting that nonsense about seduction?
"When did I ever seduce you?"
"You fed me soup when I was hurt."
"……"
What about the soup?
What's wrong with the soup now?
In the monster world, is serving a bowl of soup a marriage proposal or something?
I’ve met a guy who made a fuss about love over a meal, and a guy who looked for alchemy in food, but this guy has come up with the most novel formula. Food = Seduction.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that he isn't trying to eat me right this second? No, wait. He’s a monster. He actually could be aiming for my body... in the literal, 'chew-and-swallow' sense.
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