The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
“I’m home!”
A cheerful voice echoed through a mansion located on the outskirts of the Central Continent.
It belonged to Mona.
“Welcome back.”
Greeting her was a demon named Reez, the master of the mansion.
From behind the scenes, Reez orchestrated various incidents, spreading chaos and disrupting order.
Her true purpose remained a mystery.
“Man, I’m beat. I’m so thirsty. Got anything to drink?”
“Before that, could you give me your report?”
“Ehh, that’s such a pain.”
“Good grief… You’re competent, so I wish you’d act a bit more seriously.”
“I am serious. Really. I’m always serious.”
“That kind of attitude is the problem.”
Reez let out a sigh.
But there wasn’t a tone of genuine exasperation.
If anything, it felt more like dealing with a troublesome little sister.
“Sorry, I failed.”
“Wait, you failed?”
“Yup. Normally, it should be impossible to break the curse of darkness. But the opponent wasn’t normal.”
“…Rain Shroud?”
“Yup, him—and his companions. What the heck are they? They’re ridiculously strong.”
Mona, who could shapeshift into anyone, also possessed the ability to transform parts of her body and had decent combat skills.
Even against a “strongest class” opponent, she had the confidence to hold her own.
But that human was different.
Rain Shroud… he had no discernible limit.
By using her transformation skills for tricky tactics, she had overwhelmed them at first.
She even took hostages and had them cornered.
But…
What would’ve happened had the fight gone to the end?
Mona calmly analyzed that she most likely would’ve lost.
Even if she used her best plans and pulled out her trump card, she had a feeling it would’ve been dodged at the last moment.
And in the end, she’d be hit by a devastating counterattack—
A bite right to the throat.
That’s the kind of danger she sensed.
So, Mona decided to retreat rather quickly.
She could’ve kept fighting, but…
No matter how she imagined it, the outcome seemed bad.
“Sorry. Honestly, I might be outmatched there.”
“Then… what about the memories of that divine race?”
“Maybe they’re back? I had already erased the most dangerous parts, so I don’t think there’s a problem… but yeah, it’ll probably still be a pain. That part’s on me—sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. Thanks to you, we even realized the curse was close to being broken. If anything, we should be grateful.”
“Like I said before—wouldn’t it be simpler to just kill her? Then we wouldn’t have to worry about her remembering troublesome stuff, and we could even use her as a sacrifice.”
“That’s true. But… if possible, I’d like to corrupt that divine being and make her one of us—just like you, Mona.”
“Well, demons created from a ‘strongest class’ base are really powerful.”
“That’s why we’ve been laying so many plans.”
“Still feels impossible, though. By now, they must be on high alert.”
“It’s turning into a real headache… At this point, we might just have to give up.”
“Turning the strongest into a demon… It’s a fun plan, but too many obstacles. I’d like to deal with them somehow, but it’s tough. I mean, I did try, you know? But nope. Totally impossible. If we’re serious about it, we need a proper combat specialist.”
“You're right…”
Mona’s words made Reez pause and think.
She did know of some combat specialists.
But they weren’t her direct subordinates.
Nor were they particularly close.
“I’d like to do something about it, but I’m in the minority faction. With limited forces and connections, I’d rather preserve what strength I can.”
“Figures. Ugh, being in the minority’s such a hassle.”
“Do you regret siding with the minority, Mona?”
“No way. I couldn’t be part of that stupid majority that ignores the Demon Lord’s will and prioritizes the survival of the demon race. I think the true demons are the minority who work to fulfill the Demon Lord’s will—like us.”
“Heh… Hearing that puts my mind at ease.”
“I mean, what are those majority idiots thinking? We exist for the Demon Lord’s sake. And yet they put themselves first?”
“It can’t be helped. The Demon Lord is asleep right now. And this time, the slumber is especially long… It’s no surprise that some forget their true purpose.”
Reez sighed again.
Seeing that, Mona simply shrugged, as if to say, what a mess.
“Come to think of it, the Four Heavenly Kings are also on our side—the minority faction, right? Well, one of them did get taken down, though.”
“That’s true, they are in the minority like us, but we can’t move them. Their authority is above mine, and more importantly, they’re tasked with guarding the Demon Lord.”
“Yeah, I know, but couldn’t we maybe get just one of them involved? I mean, it’s practically impossible that humans would invade the Western Continent, right? Even the majority wouldn’t dare target the Demon Lord… so I figure, just one of them should be fine?”
“Hmm… that’s a point…”
Reez made a thoughtful gesture.
After a short pause, she gave a small nod.
“Understood. I can’t say whether it’ll work, but if I get the chance, I’ll try to negotiate with one of them.”
“Yup yup, I think that’s the right move. That Rain Shroud guy… I’ve got a bad feeling about letting him roam free.”
“Hmm…”
Suddenly, Reez felt a chill—an unpleasant sensation crawling up her spine.
Monica had warned her before.
That Rain Shroud might be a dangerous human.
Back then, Reez had been focused entirely on recruiting Arios, so she brushed it off.
She’d kept it in the back of her mind, but never seriously considered it.
Maybe that had been a mistake…
Lately, their plans had been interfered with one after another.
Weiss had been defeated.
Lin had been taken down.
And despite all that, they had nothing to show for it.
“…Until now, we’ve been acting in small bursts. But maybe it’s time we changed our approach.”
“What do you mean?”
“We make the Demon Lord’s awakening our top priority—and begin full-scale operations.”
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