Perhaps it was because of his long claws or simply a lack of experience, but the glistening pieces of boiled pork kept sliding right out from the tips of his chopsticks.
Eventually, unable to watch the struggle any longer, I snatched the chopsticks from his hand.
"Aish, this requires a bit of technique."
For the sake of this foreign monster experiencing K-food for the first time, I spread out a leaf of lettuce and layered it with a spoonful of rice, a slice of pork, a dollop of ssamjang, and a clove of garlic. I rolled it into a neat, bite-sized ball, opened my own mouth as a guide, and said.
"Say 'ahhh.'"
"Ah?"
He opened his mouth in confusion, and I popped the wrap right in. Forced to eat the wrap, Damian froze for a moment before he began to chew slowly.
As his puffed-out cheeks and jaw moved, his eyes grew wider and wider. Soon, the speed of his chewing increased.
"It’s delicious, isn't it?"
A smile tugged at the corners of my lips despite myself.
Honestly, it’s just the way it is. Whether the guest in front of me is a human or a monster, there is no moment more rewarding than when they enjoy the food I’ve made. But then, he stopped his busy chewing and looked me straight in the eye.
"I told you before."
"...?"
"You are too weak to bear what is mine."
"Excuse me?"
"But your effort is commendable."
What is he even talking about while eating?
An absurd retort almost escaped my mouth, but Damian, seeing my blank expression, very nonchalantly opened his mouth again.
"Ah."
"...What now?"
"Ah."
This time, he opened it wide, quite pointedly.
...Is he seriously asking me to feed him again?
I froze for a second with the chopsticks in my hand. Then, he added indifferently.
"I’ll acknowledge your efforts and allow myself to be conquered by you today."
"...By what? A lettuce wrap?"
I wanted to grab him by the collar, but I changed my mind. Fine, let’s just pretend he’s a preschooler. I can just feed him, right? So, I forced a bright smile, rolled another wrap, and moved it in a big circle toward his mouth.
"Yes, sir! Here comes the airplane~ Brrrrroom!"
However, Damian wrinkled his nose and spoke.
"You're spitting."
"..."
"Monsters have excellent eyesight. I can see every microscopic drop of liquid."
Oh, right. And your hearing is great too, isn't it?
I ground my teeth internally. He was incredibly annoying, but what could I do? I ended up eating the wrap I had just made myself, then made a fresh one and held it out to him. He didn't hesitate for a second before swallowing it whole. Every time his mouth moved, his Adam's apple bobbed.
As I mechanically assembled and offered wraps to him, a thought occurred to me.
"By the way... that bloodstain in front of the inn. That was your doing, right?"
"Damian."
He always calls me "Human," yet he corrects me immediately for not using his name.
"...Right. Damian, you did that, didn't you?"
At my words, Damian chewed slowly with his cheeks full of food. After swallowing, he gave a short answer.
"I did."
"Why? Was there a monster nearby?"
The question felt silly even to me. This was the Border, it would be weirder if there weren't monsters. However, his expression was strangely calm.
"Less of a monster, more of a servant."
At that single word, my expression hardened.
In the world of monsters, a servant refers to a lower-ranking monster serving a higher one. They aren't just servants, they are like shadows following a master. Naturally, they are weaker than their master, but they also serve as a barometer for how powerful that master truly is.
And those bloodstains hadn't appeared just once or twice. The traces soaked into the grass still hadn't fully faded.
...Could they be targeting this inn? Or me?
As that thought took hold, my fingertips trembled slightly. Just as the hand holding the chopsticks began to shake, Damian slowly reached out and tapped the back of my hand. At the touch of his long claw, I moved the chopsticks mechanically.
Damian looked down at me for a while without saying a word. His red eyes scanned my expression from top to bottom before he spoke flatly.
"Don't worry. I am stronger than the master of those servants."
"......!"
Those words echoed in my head.
Stronger than the master of the servants?
In the original novel, The Saintess Wants a Peaceful Life, there wasn't much detail about the Monster Forest being a "Blue Forest," but the descriptions of war and monsters were obsessively precise.
It stated that one could only command servants if they possessed immense power, and only after subjugating the opponent through sheer force. In other words, it was a feat possible only for a tiny fraction of high-ranking monsters.
Then just how strong is this guy?
Looking at the man in front of me, I became certain that if Damian truly felt like it, he could tear me apart right this second. While a chill ran down my spine, strangely, a part of my heart felt a sense of relief.
A bizarre mixture of fear and security tickled my gut.
I mean, think about it.
There isn't a war going on right now. So for now, he isn't my enemy... he’s just the inn’s part-timer. A very sturdy, muscular guard for this establishment.
Where else would I find a security guard of this caliber?
As my thoughts reached that conclusion, my expression gradually softened. I set the chopsticks down, leaned toward Damian, and shoved the lettuce wrap I had been mechanically making into his mouth with a wide grin.
"Now, say 'ahhh.' Ahhh~"
"...?"
Damian’s red eyes wavered slightly as he looked at me in confusion. Nevertheless, I didn't lose my smile and pressed the wrap against his lips.
"Ahhh."
"Ah."
He hesitated for a moment before accepting the food. I watched him eat with satisfaction, calculating things in my head.
Once I figure out the secrets of this inn, a day will come when I won't need Damian’s help. Until then, I'll use him. Whether it’s high-tech security or an ironclad magic circle, I can just build it all later.
"Ahhh, that’s it. Good, right? Here, one more. Ahhh."
Having finished my mental math, I held out another wrap.
He swallowed it without hesitation. Looking at his face with those chubby, full cheeks, I suppressed a devious laugh.
Until he gets bored of me, and until I uncover every secret of this inn, I’ll keep him tied to my side.
So, cooperate with me, Damian.
If the seduction you're talking about is just being fed well. I'll play the part of a "pretty wife" until you get sick of it.
***
Strangely enough, I woke up early. Dawn was just breaking, and a thin mist seeped through the cracks in the window, bringing with it the cool scent of the early morning. I didn't feel the weight that usually pressed down on me, Damian’s massive frame, so I rubbed my eyes groggily and sat up.
"What the..., ahem."
Swallowing a cough to clear my raspy voice, I stepped outside. Following the hallway, I heard a faint presence coming from the kitchen. I saw the back of Damian’s head and walked toward him, yawning with my eyes half-closed.
"Dami.."
My voice cut off mid-sentence.
I hadn't realized it because his broad back was blocking my view, but as I got closer, I saw that Damian was clutching something.
And I saw the tips of a person's limp feet dangling in the air.
"......!"
Sleep vanished instantly.
Damian was choking a middle-aged man with one hand. The man’s face was pale, and his feet were scrabbling at the empty air.
"Wh-what are you doing?! What do you think you’re doing?! Let him go!"
The words burst out like a scream. Before my mind could even process the situation, my body moved first.
Even as I ran, I found myself absurd. Normally, I would have sworn I was the type of person to hide if I saw a scene like this, but strangely, not today. Was it because I was watching someone’s life slip away right in front of me?
Rather than fear, the thought that I had to save him hit me first.
Damian turned his head when I grabbed his arm. His red eyes flashed in the dim light of dawn.
"He infiltrated this place in secret."
"That doesn't matter! You don't know the circumstances! Why go straight for the throat?! He’s not dead, is he?"
He looked at me indifferently before slightly loosening his grip on the man's neck. The man’s body slumped down. Thud. The sound of him hitting the floor cut through the morning silence.
I immediately dropped to the floor at the sound. Placing my ear against the man’s chest, I heard a faint but steady heartbeat.
Fortunately, he was still alive.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Damian, who had been quietly looking down at the scene, spoke up.
"Until now, I have killed every servant that has stormed this place."
"No, those were monsters, but this is a person! You should have at least talked to him first..."
"What is the difference?"
Suddenly, I was at a loss for words.
"Both approach with hidden intentions. Why is there a reason to save the human and kill the monster?"
Damian’s voice was calm. There was no suppressed anger, no emotional fluctuation. He spoke in a natural tone, as if discussing a daily routine.
"Those servants also had no intent to kill. It was more akin to scouting."
"..."
My lips parted a few times, but no sound came out. Only the sound of my ragged breathing filled the air. Seeing this, Damian brushed off his hands and muttered lowly.
"I suppose humans are naturally more compassionate toward their own kind."
"..."
"It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a human who speaks with a proper will of their own. I had forgotten for a moment."
A proper will? Did that mean Damian had encountered other humans besides me before?
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