“In that case, it’s my turn to introduce myself. Sevitis Adams, as you can see, I’m not a monster, just an ordinary human.”
“Ohh, Little Sevi, right? You can just call me Niu Niu.”
Sevitis ignored her overfamiliarity and raised an eyebrow.
“Miss Su Ling, I saw you hiding in the bushes earlier… Don’t tell me you were eating out of hunger?”
“Wow! You’re amazing, you figured it out just like that! How did you do it?”
Sevitis rolled her eyes internally.
‘Of course I’m not about to reveal my Soul Vein like that. Besides… even without the status screen, I could tell, because she still hasn’t spat out that twig in her mouth.’
“Actually, I happen to have some extra rations on me. I was wondering if you needed any.”
“Really?!” Hearing there was food, Su Ling spat out the twig with a “ptooey,” her eyes lighting up. “What kind of good stuff is it?”
“It’s just plain black bread, but at least it’s better than twigs.”
With that, Sevitis pulled a piece of black bread out of her Storage Space and handed it over.
Su Ling instinctively reached out to take it, but her hand stopped halfway. She swallowed hard, hesitating.
“But… Mom said I shouldn’t eat food from strangers outside, especially humans.”
“It’s fine. Didn’t we just exchange names? That means we’re not strangers anymore.”
‘Your mom is absolutely right. But unfortunately, what you met today isn’t a human—it’s an even more evil demon.’
“That makes sense! Then I won’t hold back!” With that, Su Ling snatched the black bread and started wolfing it down.
“Crunch, crunch.”
Hearing the sound of her chewing likc crushing rocks, Sevitis silently put back the water bottle she was about to pull out.
‘Are all Spirit Races’ teeth this ridiculous? This is black bread hard enough to kill someone—a normal person couldn’t swallow it without water!’
“Mmff… thang kyou sho munch…” Su Ling mumbled through her full mouth, tears in her eyes.
“Glad you like it.”
Sevitis certainly hadn’t brought this bread for herself.
A Duke Family wouldn’t be so poor that their heir would have to eat black bread as rations.
Besides, now that she was a Vampire, she didn’t need regular food—a bit of monster blood was enough to fill her up.
In truth, she had prepared these black breads specifically to use as bait along with monster flesh for traps.
She just never expected that instead of luring out a monster, she’d end up catching an easy-to-trick silly cow.
‘So easy to handle…’
“Did you say something?” Su Ling looked up with puffed cheeks, confused.
“Nothing. Take your time eating—I have plenty more here.” Sevitis smiled and pulled out another pile of black bread.
Su Ling was instantly moved to tears.
“Wow, you’re such a good person!”
…
After about half an hour, the ox demon finally stopped eating.
She lay on the ground, contentedly rubbing her round belly.
“Full?” Sevitis asked with a grin.
“So full, so full! Thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome. Now that you’re full, it’s time to settle the bill.”
“Huh? What bill?” Su Ling barely propped herself up, blinking blankly.
“The bill for all that black bread you ate, of course.” Sevitis pointed at her belly, tilting her head. “You’re not thinking of skipping out, are you?”
“But—but when you gave it to me, you didn’t say I had to pay!” Su Ling panicked.
“And I didn’t say it was free either. You eat someone else’s food, you pay for it—that’s only natural, right?”
“I saw you starving and pitiful, so I shared the rations I prepared hard for the exam. And instead of being grateful, you want to eat your fill and run off?”
Sevitis covered her face, feigning a heart-wrenching expression.
“I—I’m sorry! I took it for granted. Name your price—I’ll pay you back.” Su Ling bowed her head in shame.
“Even though you ate quite a lot, since we happened to meet in this forest, I’ll give you a friendly price—let’s call it one gold coin.”
“Wha—?! One gold coin?!” Hearing the shocking price, Su Ling’s jaw nearly hit the ground.
One gold coin! That was equivalent to a whole year’s worth of food expenses! If she had that much money, why would she have come all the way to Contar Academy to mooch off free meals? Even if she sold herself by the pound, she couldn’t pay it back!
“You don’t think I’m ripping you off, do you? This isn’t ordinary black bread—it’s a special ration made from carefully selected, extremely dense ingredients.”
Dense enough to break a normal person’s front teeth.
“I—I don’t mean that, but… I really can’t afford it…” Su Ling was on the verge of tears. She hadn’t even gotten to eat the academy’s free rice yet, and she was already buried in debt. Who could she complain to?
“Can you give me a little leeway? Once I get into the academy, I’ll work hard to pay you back!”
“But how do I know you’ll actually get into the academy? What if you fail and run away?” Sevitis hit the nail on the head.
“Then—then I…” Su Ling was at a loss for words, on the verge of crying.
Watching her flounder, a glint of triumph flashed in Sevitis’s eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and put on a very troubled expression.
“Alright… I suppose there’s no helping it. Seeing how pitiful you are, I’ll allow you to repay me in another way.”
“Huh? Really?!” Su Ling instantly stopped her sniffling, looking at the black-haired girl with hope.
‘Bite! Hook, line, and sinker!’
Watching the dumb ox obediently step into the trap she’d set, Sevitis was overjoyed inside.
But outwardly, she let out a long, reluctant sigh.
“Ah, what can I say? I’m just born kind-hearted—I can’t stand seeing others suffer.”
With that, Sevitis leaned in slightly, a sly curve finally appearing at the corner of her mouth.
“As a special exception, I’ll allow you to repay me with your ‘body.'”
Hearing this, Su Ling’s face flushed bright red, and her tall frame twisted like a pretzel.
‘So he really is after my body?! Mom was right—humans out there are all perverts, even a little girl like this! But… she is my lifesaver. Paying off a huge debt of one gold coin this way doesn’t seem like a loss…’
“Ugh… w-well, okay… I’ll do whatever you say…” the girl murmured, her voice barely a whisper.
Seeing her resigned, Sevitis nodded in satisfaction.
‘Hmph, what a fool. So easily tricked. I was just worrying about not having someone to use as a meatshield, and this idiot cow walks right into it. Time to put her to good use.’
“Then let’s talk about your job in detail…”
But before Sevitis could finish, she saw the ox demon girl blushing and quickly starting to unbutton her shirt.
Sevitis froze.
“…Hey! What are you doing?”
“Taking off my clothes?” Su Ling paused, looking up as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“I have eyes! Of course I can see you’re taking off your clothes!” Sevitis’s scalp tingled. “I’m asking why you’re doing that!”
“Didn’t you say I could repay you with my ‘body’? The most valuable things I’ve got are these two lumps of meat.”
Su Ling even puffed out her impressive chest, making the copper bell around her neck jingle.
Staring at those heaving curves, Sevitis felt as if an arrow had struck her own chest, her mouth twitching wildly.
Seeing her expression, Su Ling suddenly had a realization and slapped her palm.
“Wait—did you not pick me for those? Oh! I get it! Little Sevi likes the backside, huh? It’s a bit embarrassing, but it’s not impossible…”
With that, Su Ling actually turned around, sticking out equally impressive curves, and even wagged her little cow tail ingratiatingly.
Sevitis’s usually composed expression finally cracked. She took a deep breath, smiled, and shook her head.
“That won’t be necessary. Let’s stick with those two annoying lumps on your front for repayment.”
“I knew it! The front really is more attractive, right? Hmph, I’m very confident in them.” Su Ling turned back, proudly puffing out her chest. “But be gentle, okay? It’s my first time…”
“No time like the present. Let’s start right now.” Sevitis slowly approached, her tone icy. “I’m very skilled at this kind of work.”
“Is that so? For a first meeting, Little Sevi sure is impatient.”
With a sharp clang, Sevitis didn’t hesitate to draw the longsword at her waist, the blade gleaming with cold light.
“Indeed. I can’t wait to cut those two things off.”
‘Since [Seven Sins Eye]’s status screen clearly says those two lumps are her “weakness,” if I physically remove them, this dumb ox should behave, right?’
“Huh? W-wait! Why cut them off? What did I do wrong?!” Su Ling finally realized things were heading in a strange direction.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle. I promise to root them out in one stroke.” Sevitis’s smile was incredibly sweet, but her blue-violet eyes had lost all light, her killing intent completely undisguised.
“W-wait wait wait! I surrender—”
“The hell I’ll wait for you!”
“Evil loli is killing a cow! Help—!”
The next second, the ox demon girl’s blood-curdling scream echoed through the dark Blood Burial Forest.