In a dark hall, there was a large, white marble table with eight seats.
In the middle of the right side, a plump young man with goat horns on his head was eating enormous amounts of bloody, raw meat.
To his left, a stern looking middle aged man spoke.
"For some reason, that pesky fellow has gone into hibernation. What shall we do?"
The young man kept filling his mouth. Instead, a beautiful red-headed girl seated opposite to him smiled brightly.
"I've always wanted to punch that arrogant guy! Hmph, I hope he doesn't wake up for the next thousand years. Right, Lady Ayina?"
She looked respectfully at the old woman next to her, only to find the latter sleeping.
The girl scratched her head.
Sitting next to the table, a cute, small white dog stared at a chicken and barked. The chicken, not to be outdone, roused its feathers and looked at the dog in disdain.
On one end of the long table, a white haired, hunchback old man sighed at the bunch of unreliable fellows.
Strangely, his face was hidden behind a bizarre fog that swirled around him.
The moment the seemingly weak old man spoke, the Hall quieted down. Only the old woman snored peacefully.
"That fellow wasn't harmed by outsiders, but seems to be nurturing a descendant."
Everyone was shocked. The energetic young girl was the first to speak.
"S-seriously? He still had descendants?!"
The middle aged man closed his eyes in thought, and the plump man fidgeted restlessly.
The hunchback looked helplessly at the sleeping old hag. He waved his hand and dismissed the meeting.
"Feel free to visit that descendant and help him. Well, I won't stop you from harming him, but beware Azazel's reprisal."
Hearing this, the middle aged man and the young girl stared at each other.
In the corner, a chicken and a dog were also staring each other down.
…
Rosalind Plumeria Vitalis finished her dinner and looked outside the window.
She wondered, with some disappointment, if Sir Dio had found another lodging and wouldn't be coming tonight.
As she stared at the full moon, she then thought about what she had heard earlier today.
It had been surprisingly easy to listen to the rumors surrounding her shop.
They were being spread on purpose, after all.
"C-corpse fertilizer."
Rosalind could only admire Sir Dio, the powerful Class Holder businessman, who had seen through those people's tricks in an instant.
To be honest, she didn't know what to do.
Fighting against rumors had always been a futile endeavor, akin to trapping smoke with one's hands.
But those bastards were too vicious. Corpse Fertilization? How could a small flower shop like hers use such advanced Forbidden Techniques?
But regardless of how baseless the defamation was, if the Cathedral ever came to hear of it…
Rosalind trembled in fear as she curled up in bed.
"Why do you have to go this far, Uncle? Daddy's also gone. Was it really you?"
Hatred overwhelmed the fear in her eyes and the resentment in the young woman's heart grew and festered.
…
In a dirty alleyway on the fringes of Porto, a handsome and frail young man sat on the ground.
Arnold guessed that unlocking the powerful Subclass system wasn't so simple, even for the mighty Devil Lord.
It had either forced him to sleep, or worse. But why did that guy go so far for a mortal?
Arnold didn't believe for a second that a Devil like Azazel cherished their bond that much. He must have a deeper goal that he hid from Arnold.
Suddenly, Arnold stood up in shock.
"The Contract!"
He closed his eyes and focused on the ethereal piece of paper in his consciousness.
Inspecting it carefully, the Contract had indeed changed!
A few lines appeared in fine print right at the bottom.
"Triggered hidden clause: In case the Contracted, Devil Lord Azazel, enters hibernation because of the Contractor."
[Once you're strong enough, visit the Hells to awaken me. Also, swear to always address Yours Truly with respect and call me Big Bro, kekeke.]
"If not followed, the Contractor's ability to procreate will be compromised in the most cruel way of the Hells."
Arnold first shivered at the punishment then sighed in relief. It seemed that the Devil Lord was only hibernating.
He started thinking. While Azazel was chaotic and cruel, he was also straightforward.
He could've put this condition in the original Contract, and Arnold would still sign it in a heartbeat.
In other words, these hidden clauses had another purpose. For example, to warn him to be more careful of Contracts and other Devils.
Arnold's expression changed. Again and again, Azazel had told him not to take things at face value. Even now, the Devil Lord was warning him.
"Wake up, me. Being naive as a Merchant means reincarnation."
He steeled his gaze and warned himself.
The young man scouted the alley, not noticing that he had made the same joke as Azazel.
The guards would patrol at night, so he couldn't move around freely. He found a relatively clean and isolated spot and slept just like that. He had fainted for so long, only to wake up and go back to sleep almost immediately, but it couldn't be helped. He needed to give Rosalind more time before he could visit her.
Enough time that she would do anything for revenge.
The next couple of days, Arnold begged in the morning and checked Porto's economy in the evening. He was thoroughly preparing for his plan.
On the 8th day of April.
Three days after their first encounter, Arnold finally visited Rosalind's small shop again.
The young woman wasn't waiting for customers in front of the shop like she used to. Instead, he found her slumped on the counter, sleeping with dark bags under her eyes.
He looked around the shop and frowned.
There was dust on the shelves and broken glass on the floor; the place looked almost abandoned.
The once beautiful flowers, the heart of the small shop, had wilted.
It was a pitiful sight. He felt bitter, knowing that he could've come earlier and helped Rosalind. But he was selfish, and in order to maximize his own benefits, he had to be cruel to the poor girl.
He removed these thoughts from his head and shook the disheveled shop owner awake.
The young lady rubbed the sleep from her eyes and spoke languidly.
"...Sir Dio? Am I dreaming?"
'Dio' rubbed the back of his head in shame.
"Miss Vitalis, I apologize for being late. I was trying to gather information, but it took much longer than expected. I didn't want to come back before I was certain I could help you."
Rosalind woke up and understood that Sir 'Dio' hadn't abandoned her after all. The frustration and angst she had bottled up all these days finally overwhelmed her, and she started crying and bawling.
"Sobsob… Sir Dhiooo *sniff* I was so scared, sob. Why didn't you come earlieeeer, *sniff*."
She proceeded to hug and squeeze her Sir 'Dio'.
Arnold was stunned. He truly didn't expect this beautiful girl, whom he had only briefly met once, would come to rely on him so much, so quickly.
This was the ideal result, so why did he feel so bad?
If Azazel were here, he would spit and tell his protégé to quickly hug the girl and stop being a dense protagonist.
Thankfully, Arnold gently patted Rosalind's back and she gradually calmed down.
"Miss Vitalis, please be at ease. I promise to help you to the best of my ability. The best, yes."
He also didn't forget to adopt 'Dio's' mannerisms.
…
A few minutes later, the shop was closed and the two young people were awkwardly sitting inside.
A blushing Rosalind was the first to break the silence.
"I'm sorry to have doubted you, Sir Dio, when you've been doing your best to help me."
'Dio' shook his head and smiled.
"I'm also sorry for my shameful display. The past few days have been a… difficult time for me."
The young woman took a deep breath.
"You were completely correct. Fabricated rumors have been circulating, undermining my reputation. They… they say I've been using c-corpse fertilizers."
'Dio' revealed a shocked look at the appropriate time.