"Excuse me, Sir. Are you perhaps, in need of a guide?"
Inside the Eternal Night Tavern, one of the most popular gathering spots in the town, the sound of clinking drinks filled the air, which was barely audible amidst the unstoppable outburst of heated talks and laughter.
The temporary leader of the Zephirre's momentary hunting squad, Gerald, was smoking alone in the furthest corner of the room, chilling when a cloaked figure approached him with long strides, directly offering her service without any further ado.
At the sudden intrusion of space, the man's lax movement seemed to have paused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing as he lowered the burning tobacco stick in his hand to fix his eyes on the uninvited guest's figure, staying there for a mere three seconds before they turned away with disinterest.
It was embarrassing to be ignored like she was some kind of empty air, but Riize wasn't the slightest fazed by his silent refusal.
Unsurprisingly, the hunter wasn't interested in her offer, which led her to two conclusions – either the hunter had found one for the job or, he didn't need one to begin with.
If it's the latter, she might not be able to do anything about it. But if it's the former… Riize let out a small smile, her entire figure radiating confidence.
Taking two steps closer, she decisively lowered her hood with a hand, exposing an ethereal head of midnight blue hair dark as the night sky, and most importantly, the tiny little horn peeking out on top.
As she had expected, the hunter's gaze returned to lock on her peeking horn, eyebrows raising as he opened his mouth to ask, "Oh, a demon?"
Beneath the devil's mask, the ends of her mouth curled as Riize boldly raised her eyes to stare against the hunter's glimmering pitch black ones, "Yes."
"Thus, if it's the Demon Realm you're heading to, you won't be able to find a better guide than a native of the realm itself. Don't you agree, Sir?"
Gerald lowered his eyes, chuckling in amusement. Never in his life had a demon come to stand before him this voluntarily. Moreover to exude such confidence.
'This is getting interesting.'
His interest was undeniably piqued however–
Since ancient times, being easy was never a good way to start a relationship, moreover in such times as being proposed an alliance based on nothing but trust.
Thus, he said nothing and had instead lit another cigarette with an expert-like flick, puffing out a ring of smoke as he allowed the brooding silence to overcome the demon, waiting to pounce on the slightest jolt of her anxiety.
He was in no rush. Such novice games, he was undoubtedly good at it.
"As long as the honorable Sir is willing to allow me the opportunity, I'm sure that I can be of great help."
The light in Gerald's dark eyes flickered as if he had caught a sniff of her weakness. "A native of the demon realm," he started, "You made a good point there, Demon. But–"
"I can trust no demons."
This was not a lie. But that didn't mean he was unwilling to accept her into the team. All he needed was just one thing, a slip of the tongue or stance to verify his doubts.
"I am weak." Gerald couldn't peer at the expressions behind her mask as the demon, a supposedly-prideful creature since birth, said such degrading words of herself.
However, he was certain that she had spouted nothing but the truth, for the tiny little horn sticking out of the top of her forehead was solid proof.
"I can pose no threats. What is Sir possibly afraid of?"
Of course, when it comes to the demon before him, Gerald was afraid of nothing. A demon's fearsome powers originated from their horns, which meant that the more horns a demon possessed, the stronger their powers would turn out to be.
While the demon before him wasn't necessarily devoid of any horns, he and his men might as well resign from their position for good if they were to find trouble in dealing a measly one-horned demon whose size wasn't even a fifth of an ordinary demon horn.
"You are right." Gerald slowly nodded, the stiffness of his gesture lowering by a few points. "A demon like you can do us no harm. However, what makes you think that we would not turn to harm you instead?"
Under the devil's mask, her sniggers were unsuppressed. He sounded like a genuinely good person with his silly inquiries. But, Riize was no fool to put her trust in humans for the second time.
While demons were vicious, humans were disgustingly fickle, and she had learned of this in the hardest and most bitter way.
The first betrayal had nearly cost her life, she didn't want to bet on her wellbeing only to ruin herself for the second time.
Despite the repulse rising in her heart, Riize didn't allow any of her grievances to betray the tone of her voice.
"Whether it's the Human Realm or the Demon Realm, there exists rules of hunting. I believe that Sir is an honorable person that will respect the rules."
What she's saying was an utter load of bullshit. But it'll do just as fine as long as she can secure herself the job by spouting this.
Gerald didn't know what to say, feeling as if all words had been robbed of him. The demon was undoubtedly skillful with her tongue, and he had found no fault in her words so far.
By getting a demon as their guide, they might end up reaping more benefits than they had initially expected for the expedition.
Moreover, there's something else that he needed to verify on his own…
When Gerald himself arrived at this point, he seemed to have been thoroughly convinced. He sat back and moved his coarse fingers to fiddle with the burning stick in his hand, the running thoughts in his mind unable to be deciphered as he slowly declared.
"Congratulations. You're hired, Demon."
===
As Riize navigated her way out of the tavern, she brushed past a man with flushed cheeks and glazed eyes. Though that didn't hinder her pace, the drunk man had stopped to turn around with a confused look, gazing at her back intensely as if intending to puncture a hole through her figure.
'That heartless woman…'
Max wondered if he had been dreaming, to see the woman he's been thinking all day in a place like this. His eyes traced back to the direction she had just trudged from, recognizing the smoking man sitting in isolation by the furthest corner of the room.
"Zep-phirre?"
He muttered with uncertainty, his legs finally giving out as he collapsed to the floor grounds, losing his consciousness completely.