The war between Demon lord Larne and Demon lord Beria had finally ended .

Though, in actuality, Demon lord Larne had been defeated beforehand, leaving remnants to run Larne's castle .

But with Larne gone, as expected, Lord Beria swiftly took control of that as well .

Before, I had been under Larne's magic; at the defense line, I fought Beria and ended up getting both my wings burned off .

Yes, my dear wings, thank you for being with me all this time…, but I won't be needed you anymore during these times of peace…how great is it if I could say something like that .

Obviously, reality didn't partake to fantasy .

Maybe fate deemed the price for my freedom as my wings, and even though it seems to be nothing in comparison, I still couldn't help but feel regret over that loss .

Things would have gone better if demon lord Larne had surrendered from the beginning .

Then again, I would be bound by slavery magic still .

The best way was if he had committed suicide after declaring something like 'that was not my subordinate's fault, I will bring this war to the end with my life' .

But expecting such manly act from that arrogant son of a-, was of course, not likely .

Well, it is no use to cry over the matter; it would grow back eventually…I think .

The way I heal, it's practically considered a regeneration ability .

But I'm not sure if my wings could grow back since the one who burned them was one of twelve demon lords, an existence with top class strength .

If the deed had been done by someone ordinary creature, then it would have grown by now…that damn Beria .

No, I need to calm myself .

From now on I will try to think as positively as possible .

Considering that the one I fought was a demon lord, I should count myself lucky for remaining unharmed…despite the wings .

It was adequate for me to have no physical defect… .

I mean, I was content that the other bits were still intact .

Thinking it that way, it was not that bad .

It was worth noting that even if I became damaged goods, in truth I was the oldest among the other gargoyles .

Gargoyles are demons that are relatively easy to produce as long as the appropriate materials are available .

Honestly, I didn't think I could survive until now .

In the past, there was a time when I had a fight with ancient dragon .

To go toe to toe with a dragon . That was not even supposed to be possible…I am a gargoyle . And that's a Dragon

But I survived . Somehow .

Those cheeky brats that left me behind, they're just a bunch of newborns .

Despite that…despite that…

Calm . Stay calm .

It was more important for me to look to the future than to remain in the past .

So… What should I do now?

The number one priority would be… . .

I need to secure a source of food .

This was a fundamental problem .

Starving to death after I just gained my freedom? Not . Funny .

Before I didn't need to think of such things; never had the concept of food .

When we are made, we are not just made of ore, but also of some organic tissue . That means we needed to eat to sustain ourselves .

Although Larne had stolen my freedom, there were some benefits to being under him . One was I did not feel hunger .

During my servitude to him, we were connected by the same magic that bounded me, and through that link, I was supplied with energy- enough to supplant the supply I would get from food .

Now that that link had been severed, it meant I needed to eat . I needed a new source of energy .

Anyway, slavery magic couldn't be applied to the same target twice .

After the magic had been casted once, resistance against an identical magic system would develop to certain degree .

Slavery magic, as the system of soul magic, is difficult to have any effect, but on the other hand it is compatible with every race .

In the end, at least I would never have to suffer being a slave again .

Leaving that aside, how should I secure myself a meal?

Should I first try hunting some monster?

Though some monsters can be poisonous . Well, if prepared correctly, you can prevent being poisoned . Too bad I do not know of such methods .

I remember eating together with my creator . I miss those times .

The man who created me, did so so that I would work as his assistant . And in only one short year, he had taught me many things: language, compounding, even magic .

Anyway, back on topic . If the purpose was simply to fill my belly, then I could just eat anything . I do have a good resistance against poison .

Chewing raw meat need a little courage but it is inevitable in this occasion .

There is another option, though . I could rush till I hit a town and look for a place .

Even someone like me who's bad at cooking can eat something normal if I do that .

But since I don't have any money, I have to do a day's worth of labor or something .

And since those juniors just left me here, I can't just cross those mountains easily and reach the nearest town anytime soon .

Without any wings, going on foot is the only option, and that would take me at least 5 days to reach the outskirt of Falla town . 5 days without food .

I could also just pillage food from Beria's army along the way .

Sounds the most plausible .

Taking care of her subordinates is not much of a problem, but what is a problem is if Beria sees my face . She has seen me before, and so, I can't just sneak in . I'll be discovered .

Ending up fighting against her in the condition I am in? Dangerous .

I could always just go and apply for a job…

Griffons; giants, there were various races in which slavery magic usually weren't effective . And so, they were usually hired instead as soldiers .

While some might have escaped, a lot of those that had been working for the Larne should have been lured in by Beria .

There are cruel demon lords who won't tolerate disobedience, but she more or less doesn't kill needlessly .

At least they are useful as stance . [TL: Something like a monster-shield?]

Obviously it doesn't mean that everyone iw willing to work under a demon lord .

The gargoyles who just left most likely don't want to become demon lord subordinate for a second time .

Gargoyles have a chance to be hired .

Even if their fighting abilities are not high, demons that can fly are scarce, and thus are given favorable treatment to some degree as spies .

However I can't fly, so it won't work for me .

Then again, considering my fighting abilities which are way higher than ordinary gargoyles, there maybe a chance .

As for low-rank races, like slimes and goblins, even if they are hired, they generally receive poorer treatment .

They are practically useless in battle, and furthermore, they consume food supplies as they are one of those creatures that slavery magic won't work on, leaving them both useless and costly .

While everyone thought as such, I on the other hand, thought those creatures were handy as subordinates; their battle ability may have been low, but they were clever, leaving them as apt logistic supporters .

Well there is no point in worrying about others .

But I'd like to avoid living a tied life .

If we talk about a temporary contract employment then I can possibly endure it .

A compelling force like slavery magic was a big no-no, of course .

It would be good if I could leave after save up some money .

Then being a temporary employee does not sound that bad .

Only in my case there is a big problem .

Will she even give me permission?

I did many… unforgivable things at the defence line, after all .

Though she should have known from my dim eyes that I was under Larne's magic, right? Right?

[ED: Ok . Why would you work for a Demon Lord again, Slave Magic or not?!]

[TN: lol . Calm down… xD]

What I have done, you may ask? That's right… .

I grabbed her smooth pretty, silver hair, twirled her around, and threw her against the castle wall with foce .

As she crashed, using a stone spear made by earth magic, I pierced it into her belly .

Afterwards, I soiled her pretty face, which fascinated everyone by the way, with a thick, viscous mud I had spat out .

Yup…terrible, isn't it?

On another note, Beria's hair got stuck on my claw .

Saving it carefully, I casted a preservation magic .

Something like a demon lord's hair is rare after all .

No, no, don't think this as abnormal act, the pure blood vampire's hair, her hair, could be used as powerful magic medium .

[TN: in raw it was 'true ancestor' . ]

Ok, maybe it's worse than I thought .

But I also lost my wings, so I should get some remuneration, right?… . .

Truly, . . Will she give me her permission?

Thinking on this, my confidence waned .

She was of course not dead or heavily injured; there was large scale magic that was made to repel my attack .

The hole in her must have been closed by vampire's peculiar regeneration ability; and I think not even scar was left .

In the end, if I get her permission then all is well, but if not then most likely she'll gut me on sight .

I could greet her, maybe .

They'll think about hearing what I say first, right?

"Hey~, how was my deluxe mud face mask? Demon lord-sama becoming much more pretty~ it was thoroughly clean your face~" I mumbled to myself .

Yeah…we're fighting .

So, a job is no good then .

'I'm definitely reflecting on what I did' . If it could say that and everything ends simply with that, that would be good .

No matter how much I apologize, they care .

Aa, I'm pitiful .

In the end, after thinking things through, I decided to go to Falla Town .

To obtain food necessity, I will hunt monsters along the way as I can .

When I arrive at the town, I'll look for job to earn money in order to have a proper meal .

And then, If I decide to reside there, I have to think a way to save enough funds to certain degree .

I'm doing all this not only for pursue a decent meal, but I want find some people .

I am not a type of person who get lonely easily, but not having a companion to talk is a little unsettling .

Although it is not happen yet, living retirement in seclusion is unpleasant .

I think I'll be doing something like this from now on; I know that it might be too rough/reckless but I will not worry about it .

[TN: he is talking about his plan to go to falla town . ]

The time needed to reach Falla town at the south is one day by flying and five days by foot .

Even if I not be able to secure food in case not encountering any monster, if I have water I could manage not eating for 5 days .

I more or less could use water magic .

Making water will consume magic, however to make standard drinking water do not need a large magic consumption .

The worst case I will use body strengthen magic then sprint at full speed until reach town, I think it won't even need one day .

A gargoyle that sprints on the ground with all his might would be considerably conspicuous so I rather not do that .

Now, since I already decided what action I will take, staying any longer here would just be a waste of time .

Time to go!