As the first rays of sunlight shone on his face through the open window, Tyler woke from his slumber and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and took in the unfamiliar surroundings.
He had just been having a nightmare where he was trapped in the Demon King's castle on the Demon Continent, with a strange door that led to a non-existent magic library. It was a relief to realize it was just a dream.
"Damn it!"
Tyler frowned as he facepalmed himself after recognizing the room he was in. It turned out it wasn't a dream after all.
"What did I do to deserve this..."
He couldn't help but grumble as he got out of bed and walked into the bathroom, which had an old Western design reminiscent of Earth. At least, that's what he assumed—after all, he hadn't traveled much during his life on Earth.
Walking to the sink, he pressed down on the tap's head, causing it to emit a dim glow before water gushed out. The tap was connected to the castle's well via a basic magic circuit system, inscribed with magic runes that seemed to link the entire castle.
Only nobles could afford such luxuries, as it required a ridiculous power source, which should be located somewhere in this castle. The importance of hygiene and the comfort of baths was something introduced by summoned heroes.
He was surprised to see their influence reach even the Demon Continent.
He splashed water on his face and decided to take a bath, noting that the water system worked. He hadn't bathed since he woke up underground, and he felt grimy. Although there was no soap, he wasn't too bothered—he knew how to make it, a skill he had learned during his high school days on Earth.
Naturally, he had used that skill when he first arrived in the Human Continent. He had also sold the formula to a store owner for a good profit, and it might have become popular on the Human Continent by now, as he wasn't the only one who had done so. He mused that he might need to invent something similar here, but first, he needed more information about this time period.
After his bath and drying off, Tyler walked out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. He noticed that his body felt in top form, and his mana had fully recovered—perhaps even increased—which seemed impossible.
No, I feel incredible. All my previous muscle aches seem to have healed on their own. My eyes are sharper too. What's going on? Is this an effect from the castle or the magic library?
Tyler was at a loss for words, but before he could finish examining his body, something happened.
Thud!
A loud sound came from the room next door, snapping Tyler out of his thoughts. Instinctively, he grabbed his new dagger and hurried to the neighboring room. He couldn't afford to be complacent when dealing with demons.
Not long after, Tyler ran back into his room and grabbed his clothes. He didn't know why he was so comfortable in his bathing suit, but he couldn't show such indecency to his guest if he wanted to make a good first impression—or would it be a second impression?
After finally putting on some clothes, he arrived at the adjacent room and opened the door without knocking, wanting to make a strong impression. They shouldn't know anything about him, just as he knew nothing about them, putting both parties at the same starting point.
Still, he would act as though he held the upper hand in this encounter. After all, he had saved their lives, even if it was partly his fault one of them had been knocked unconscious.
The one thing he knew about high-level demons was that they weren't mindless monsters. Their egos would not allow them to be in anyone's debt. This was the main reason he had helped them; otherwise, he might have needed to abandon the castle for a while.
Even if the magic library was priceless, he valued his life more and didn't even know how to access the library again.
Inside the room, he saw a blonde-haired girl on the ground, moaning in pain and holding the back of her head. She must have rolled out of bed and hit the floor.
Clearing his throat, Tyler spoke in a deep, slightly hoarse voice, "Are you okay?" The girl jumped, startled, and looked up at him. She saw a tall young man staring at her with beautiful hazel-colored eyes. He had a slightly bronze skin tone, short black hair with a clean-cut fade, and was wearing a brown shirt and pants with ordinary boots.
He seemed to have appeared in front of her almost out of thin air, as she had completely failed to notice his approach.
Her expression changed instantly as she shrieked. The high-pitched sound startled Tyler, making him retreat a few steps. This reaction was not what he expected from a demon. She seemed to be overreacting, her emotions a chaotic mess.
He scratched his head, unsure how to approach without provoking another exaggerated response. The girl, now in tears, dragged herself to the edge of the room, mumbling, "Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me…"
Tyler was confused. This girl was strong, evidenced by her killing the magic beast, yet she acted like a frightened kitten. He had witnessed her icy gaze that sent chills down his spine when her hair had been white.
Was it an act? He sensed her mana fluctuations were off, possibly a side effect of the strange transformation he had witnessed last night. The white-haired lady and this blonde girl seemed like different people, their auras completely distinct.
He had assumed the change in hair color was an effect of her spell or abilities, like a transformation or something, but perhaps it was simply the side effect of a powerful skill with a costly backlash.
If that was the case, then perhaps her memories of last night's events were also hazy. Hence why she didn't recognize him and even seemed to be afraid of him. Her mind must be in total disarray at the moment.
Impressed by his own analytical skills, Tyler decided to give the girl space. He crouched down and spoke gently, "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, so don't be scared. You and your companion were unconscious in the woods, so I brought you here to protect you from monsters. Why would I hurt you after that?"
A gentle smile formed on Tyler's face as he secretly rejoiced. This was perfect. Although he felt bad for the girl, this was his chance to manipulate the situation to his favor. As long as he navigated this situation perfectly, not only would he gain the information he wanted, but he might also be able to get them to owe him a favor.
Although he wouldn't blindly trust demons, there were several ways of enforcing a deal, and as a weakling, he had learned almost all of them.
Meanwhile, mentioning the girl's companion seemed to resonate with her. She looked thoughtful, ignoring the rest of his words, then suddenly yelled, "Rain! Where's Rain?"
Tyler, mid-speech, was startled. "Rain?" He glanced out the window, then realized she meant her companion. "If you mean your friend, she's on the bed. She was bleeding a lot, so I had to bandage her with an old shirt. I don't have any medical supplies, but a healing spell should erase any infection."
The girl ran to the bed, weeping and calling out to her friend, "Rain! Rain! Are you okay?"
Feeling a bit ignored, Tyler moved to the bedside. "She's unconscious. She lost a lot of blood. I don't know any healing spells, so I couldn't do much. If you know any, you should use them now."
"Sob… sob… I… I don't know any…" she replied, still crying.
Finally, Tyler got a response. If she had ignored him any longer, he might have snapped, which would've been a waste.
He decided to use her concern for her friend to get information first. "She might have internal injuries and broken bones. If you want her to survive, we need to find a healer quickly. Do you know any nearby?"
Tyler spoke as he walked closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to freeze for a moment.
"Around here? Where? Where are we?" she seemed surprised by his words as she looked around, pulling away from him.
"You're in the castle," he stated as a matter of fact.
He avoided the word "demon" to prevent sounding weird.
"The castle? The castle... The castle!"
The girl's eyes widened in shock. She stepped back, staring intensely at Tyler.
"Who… who are you?"
"Me? I'm…"
"How did you get in here? That's impossible… you can't be."
"Huh?" Tyler tilted his head, confused. What did she mean, how did I get in here? He had no idea why she was coming to conclusions on her own without even giving him a chance to keep up.
He didn't even know how to answer who he was. Saying, "Hey, I'm Tyler, nice to meet you," wouldn't suffice. After all, although his name had been common on Earth, it had been considered weird on the Human Continent, so Tyler wasn't sure how his name would translate to demons.
Even amongst the summoned heroes, who were mostly a mix of English and Asians, his name hadn't appeared once. It was almost a strange phenomenon.
Then there was the issue of his presence in this castle.
Was this actually her family's castle? Is that why she was staring at him with such an intense gaze? Wouldn't that destroy all the plans he had in mind? Didn't that mean he was actually trespassing on her property?
Still, he had been the one to save them, so bringing them to the closest shelter shouldn't be considered a problem, even if it was her castle. It was, after all, still an abandoned castle.
Not knowing how to respond, he decided to keep his mouth shut for the moment.
"No one has been able to bypass that spell. The only one who should be capable of that is... No... No... It can't be! How's this possible? Isn't he dead? It should be empty. That's why we stole that thing..."
Liz muttered to herself, her theories getting wilder. Tyler didn't want to see where it would end. "Your friend doesn't have much time, and I don't know how much has changed since I've been gone. So, do you know anywhere we can find a healer?" he reiterated, trying to keep her grounded.
His words were true but vague enough that they caused Liz to read way too much into them, as a look of realization flashed across her eyes. Her previous rampaging emotions seemed to have settled considerably as she took a deep breath.
She was silent for a moment before responding in a low voice, "If this is really the castle, then there should be a settlement of freemen a couple of miles southwest. That's the closest place. I think."
"You think?"
"Well, I haven't been here before, so my knowledge is only based on rumors."
She spoke in a barely audible voice as her ears turned a shade of red, and she stared at the ground, trying to hide her embarrassed expression.
Tyler sighed. It seemed she didn't know as much about this area as he would like. Still, his plan still had merit. Perhaps the one with the information he needed would be the dark elf.
Still, putting himself in danger wasn't something he wanted to do. Yet he couldn't think of another solution to his problem. He needed information and, perhaps, the currency for this region. That was not something he could get without making a deal.
Although shameless, he had gone through the girls' properties while they were unconscious and found only the dagger and a small box.
"Alright, I'll make you a deal."
"A deal?"
"I'll assist you in saving your friend in exchange for a favor. I promise it will only be something within your means."
Hearing that, Liz frowned yet was relieved inwardly. This simply meant the man before her was no longer a complete mystery. One was always scared of the unknown, and knowing his goal—which was surprisingly reasonable—was a huge relief.
This was something Tyler couldn't predict.
"Alright. I understand. Please, help me save my friend. She's all I have left in this world."
Tyler was surprised his deal had been accepted so quickly, but he could understand why. He didn't plan on asking any questions at the moment because he was afraid to ask a stupid question and needed to take his time formulating a series of important questions.
After all, this was all happening too fast for him to cope. He was never a fast thinker, so it was best he took his time while getting to know this demon, which might help in his later questioning.
"Alright. I don't think your friend should be moved, and I'm unfamiliar with the location. We should be back before dark."
"Y-Yes… Sir."
Sir? What's with the sudden change in attitude? He decided not to overthink it, attributing it to the transformation's side effects.
Looking at her after settling down, he had to admit, this was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. She gave off a different aura from the white-haired lady, whose beauty was also unrivaled but in a different way.
Her clothes were filthy, and she looked uncomfortable.
"You can use the bath, change into the clothes on the sofa, and clean your friend's wounds. I'll bring some roasted meat. You should eat before we leave."
Liz seemed hesitant but managed to say, "T… Thank you… Sir."
"Please don't call me sir," Tyler said, cringing. "But… ..... O… Okay…" she hesitated but agreed.
Tyler walked out, closing the door. In the end, he hadn't needed the dagger and ended up consoling her. It turned out demons weren't as he thought, but this was just one, and it didn't mean the others were like her.
At the very least, he had taken his first step into understanding the world he had suddenly found himself in.