I swallowed hard and asked, "…Then, how long do you plan on staying here?"
In my head, I was obviously thinking. When are you going to get lost?
But I didn't dare say that out loud. If I slipped up and said the wrong thing, it was clear my head would be the first thing to fly off.
Damian, however, spoke with utter composure.
"Until I succumb to your seduction."
"…Pardon?"
What kind of nonsense is that?!
"Y-You mean you're staying here until then? What about sleep? Or food? Don't tell me you're staying... in here?"
Damian nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"……!"
Unbelievable. This massive man was going to hole up in my inn?
Back when he was Happy, he was small enough that I could hide him somehow, but this guy looked to be easily over two meters tall at a glance. And look at that build. If Happy could polish off a single bowl of soup, this guy was bound to be a glutton who’d empty my entire cauldron.
"That's absolutely...!"
Just as I was about to urgently refuse, Damian continued in a low voice.
"However, I shall provide proof."
"…Proof?"
At my dazed voice, Damian tilted his head. That unnecessarily silky hair kept catching my eye.
"In the human tongue, 'compensation' might be the more fitting term. When we monsters step into another's territory, we must provide proof. If the master of the territory is strong, we face them to display our power, if they are weak, we exercise our power on their behalf."
Damian narrowed his crimson eyes, scanning me from head to toe. Then, he stated flatly.
"You are weak."
"……"
I wondered what on earth he was talking about.
So, if I were strong, he’d headbutt me and fight, but since I’m weak, he’ll use his strength for me? Am I supposed to be happy about having zero power or status in this situation?
While I was cursing him out internally, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
...Wait a minute.
If a monster exercised its power on my behalf, all the small-fry monsters loitering around the inn might just back off on their own.
I immediately scanned Damian again. He was well over 200cm tall with a massive frame, clearly not an ordinary fellow. Moreover, he was in human form.
The reason I emphasize the 'human form' is that it is by no means common in the monster world. Most monsters are consumed by instinct and remain in beastly shapes, but only those strong enough to suppress that instinct can maintain a human appearance.
In other words, the more human they look, the more dangerous they are. Yet, this guy was perfect, save for the horn on his forehead. His skin, muscles, and even his movements were no different from a human's. Therefore, for someone like me, "kicking him out" wasn't even a valid option.
In that case, there was only one way.
"Anything else to say?"
Since it’s come to this, why not make him do some chores? If I put him in charge of dishwashing, monster extermination, and cleaning, I’d get zero labor costs and guaranteed security.
Isn't this a total win?
Damian’s red eyes glowed as if piercing through my thoughts, but I quickly squeezed out a smile and put on my most innocent face.
"…You are welcome here!"
Since I can't kick him out anyway, I might as well squeeze every drop of labor out of him as free help.
***
Free help, my foot.
My grand plan went up in smoke. Actually, it was bound to happen from the start.
Why?
Take a wild guess.
"So, about that horn... can't you hide it somehow?"
No matter how human he looked, his appearance was a problem. His height alone would draw every eye, and anyone seeing that dark red hair and those eyes burning like blood would flinch.
But the real problem came after that.
Because his face was so handsome, people would admire him for a second before that horn, planted squarely on his forehead, entered their field of vision. And then their jaws would drop.
Exactly.
That horn is a 100% monster certification. If he shoves that in people's faces inside the inn, the customers' hearts will stop before they even get to eat their soup!
"A horn is a symbol of dignity. It is only right to display it proudly."
"……"
This monster isn't just crazy, he's stubborn enough to make my blood pressure skyrocket. Free labor? Yeah, right. The reality was just another mouth to feed.
I fell into deep thought in front of the glutton, no, Damian.
...Where on earth am I supposed to hide him?
The only saving grace was that it was currently subjugation season, so there were almost no customers. At most, there were just people buying my "Subjugation Meal Kits."
Today was my day off, so it didn't matter if he roamed the inn, but tomorrow was the problem. The moment a customer saw Damian after I opened for business, they'd almost certainly yell "Monster!" and draw their swords.
Geoffrey was generous enough to listen to my forced logic, but other customers were human weapons armed with short tempers and muscles. I’d be lucky if they didn't smash the tables. You can't expect manners from people like that.
Furthermore, this monster fellow was casually lounging around the inn. He even loitered near the door, making me feel like my heart was going to drop out of my chest.
So, even though it was my day off, I forced Damian into a room and locked the door just in case. Damian, who had been watching me intently, suddenly asked in a serious voice.
"Do you desire to mate?"
"…W-What did you say?"
He looked at my frozen face, then slowly moved his gaze up and down my body. Then he said calmly.
"You cannot handle it."
"……!"
No, I’m not doing it! Who said I was?! Forget "handling it," we aren't even starting!
I knew he wasn't sane since he started spouting that "seduction" nonsense, but what on earth did he see to make him say such a thing?
Of course, I had no desire to know, nor the courage to look into it. I just shivered and asked.
"Could you... please reconsider staying here just once?"
Damian tilted his head slightly and answered firmly.
"No."
Dammit!
Lunch passed in a chaotic blur. As night fell and the world grew dim, my mind regained a sliver of peace.
...But only for a moment.
I had calmed down slightly, but the fundamental problem still had me clutching my hair.
"Argh... seriously. This damn frizz."
Maybe it was because of my extreme curls, but my fingers kept getting snagged every time I ruffled my hair. Eventually, I gave up on pulling my hair and glanced up at the second-floor stairs.
I sighed deeply, thinking of Damian, who was hopefully being "well-behaved" in there.
While I was sighing like the world was ending, the monster was probably rolling around on the bed without a care in the world.
...No, actually, that's fine. Stay in there! If you come out and ruin my business, what am I supposed to do?!
If you asked if I was scared of a monster being in my room, I’d say yes, of course. But there was something I feared more than monsters.
My dwindling funds.
The "glutton" eating away at my money, my inn, and my grocery budget, that was the true horror.
"What do I do now...?"
I have to start business again tomorrow. What am I going to do with that massive monster if customers swarm in?
As I sat there sipping plain water, not even a shot of soju, and sighing over an empty bowl, Damian suddenly emerged from the room and approached me.
"And mine?"
"…Huh?"
As I looked at him blankly, Damian snorted a puff of air and tapped my bowl.
Clatter,
"……"
...Damned glutton.
But I couldn't exactly refuse him. I was a weak human, after all, and he was a dangerous monster at a glance.
Ultimately, instead of the small bowl I used to give Happy, I handed him a large earthenware pot filled to the brim with soup.
Fortunately, Damian didn't stick his nose in the bowl to eat like he did as Happy. Instead, he picked up a spoon, though it looked like a tiny teaspoon in his hand. Furthermore, his long nails were as sharp as blades, if I got scratched, it clearly wouldn't end with just a graze.
Honestly, looking at it objectively, I’m the weird one for worrying about the inn in this situation.
…But still.
The basis for my composure was surprisingly simple.
The Original Work.
The Saintess Wants a Peaceful Life.
Knowing the plot was a pretty useful insurance policy for surviving in this world. For instance, if a war breaks out, I can leave for a city with less damage ahead of time, or I can know the habits and weaknesses of monsters that ordinary people don't. All of that was a weapon of knowledge given to me, even if I lacked the common knowledge needed to live as a local here.
And right now, I was reaping those benefits.
Unlike beasts that move solely on instinct, human-form monsters are beings that calculate and move rationally. In other words, I calculated that this giant monster would weigh other benefits before immediately ripping my throat out.
To put it simply, the possibility of him tearing me apart right now was low. That fact alone was enough reason for me to catch my breath instead of running away like other humans.
I mean, right?
If the owner of a famous restaurant dies, would the customers just sit still? In the real world, they’d report it to the police and a search would begin immediately. Would it be any different here? The death of a "hot place" owner would spread far and wide.
As I was comforting myself and catching my breath, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
In the original work, the Monster King was also in human form.
"…Surely, it can’t be."
Of course, human-form monsters are extremely rare.
However, the Monster King in the original had centipedes as subordinates and was described as having green hair and green eyes. He even frequently appeared with a snake-like lower body.
I glanced at the monster in front of me.
Dark red hair. Blood-red eyes. And a single horn protruding from his forehead.
He was definitely different from the description in the original. Most importantly, a horn? It’s completely different.
Anxiety slowly crept up my body, but I shook my head vigorously.
No, he’s different. Completely different.
Just then, Damian, who was eating his soup, slowly raised his head. My eyes locked with his blood-red ones. Just as my back began to freeze, he muttered in a low voice.
"Refrain from seducing me while I'm eating, will you?"
"……"
...How do I shut that mouth of his?
Why did I have to be an innkeeper? If I had been reincarnated as a mage’s servant or something, I would have at least memorized a silence spell by now.
"…Or I at least need a bandana to cover that damn horn."
And so, the night passed in a dither.
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