The knocking at the door came again, this time louder. Luke forced himself to open it, and a tall woman clad in strange armor stared at him with disdain.
"We're looking for a fugitive," she said bluntly. "A demon girl with wings and horns. She escaped our custody a week ago. Have you seen her?"
Luke put on an innocent face. "No one like that has stayed here."
The woman's eyes scanned the inn behind him, then landed on Nyx, and instantly recognized her.
"…Ohhhh," she murmured.
"What?" one of the two men behind her asked, frowning.
"A succubus," the woman said quietly. "Or close enough."
Nyx didn't react to being recognized.
The woman frowned deeper, still staring at Nyx. "Demons don't look like that after a week on the run."
But then she muttered as her gaze swept the inn again, "Succubi adapt fast… Give them food, safety, a place that doesn't want to kill them~"
Suddenly her eyes snapped back to Nyx. "And they change," she continued.
Everyone fell silent, staring at Nyx, except Luke, who was observing the three intruders.
"Mind if we check her inside?" one of the hunters asked him.
Luke stepped forward, blocking them. "No."
"This is neutral ground," he added coldly. "No searches. No violence."
The woman hesitated, but still tried to push past him into the inn.
Arc responded instantly, wooden vines bursting from the floorboards, wrapping around her legs and slamming her down. The two men moved to help, but vines shot out from the doorway as well, pinning them just as quickly.
Their crossbows clattered to the floor.
Luke looked at them coldly. "I warned you."
The woman struggled, then stopped, as if remembering something. "An inn mimic…" she whispered. "You bonded it."
Nyx walked toward them, wings spread wide on purpose, projecting the image of the demon girl they sought.
The hunters stared in shock, feeling the oppressive aura of a fully grown succubus pressing down on them.
"You've become an adult succubus," the woman rasped. "This place made you grow up."
Nyx gave a thin smile. "Yes. I'm working here."
Fear flickered across their faces. They knew they couldn't fight both the mimic and the succubus.
Luke took control. "Arx. Release them."
The vines loosened and withdrew.
The hunters scrambled to grab their weapons, backing away step by step.
"This isn't over," the woman threatened.
"Then come back with respect. Or don't come at all," Luke said firmly.
They left, and Luke shut the door with trembling hands.
"They know I'm here now," Nyx murmured, eyes fixed on the closed door.
"No. They also know this place isn't theirs. They can't do anything here," Luke replied, clenching his fists to stop the shaking.
Nyx studied his face. "And you're not afraid?"
Luke met her gaze. "I am afraid. But I'm more afraid of not being able to fight at all."
A brown system panel appeared before him, after days of silence.
[Another Quest]
[Defend the inn from hostile intrusions (1/3)]
[Reward: Barrier System]
Luke read the new quest, realizing the hunters would return, likely for Nyx.
"They'll come back," he said flatly.
Luke looked at Nyx, who gazed back with innocent eyes. "They won't stop chasing you," he told her.
She said nothing.
—
Hours later, the inn resumed normal operations. Luke forced himself to keep working. Cleaning tables, rearranging chairs, checking the floor where Arx's vines had erupted, finding no trace at all.
The four guests came down almost together for breakfast. As monsters, their senses were sharp; they could feel the inn's changed atmosphere.
"Something happened, right?" Thorin asked as he sat.
Luke didn't deny it. "Uninvited guests earlier," he said, serving a tray with thick chicken soup and warm bread.
Gralk stopped snorting, then took his spoon. "Did they leave alive?"
"Yeah," Luke answered.
The lizardman nodded in satisfaction. "Then you handled it right," he said, sipping his soup.
"But rumors will spread. An inn that shelters a succubus, and a mimic bound to a human," Millie remarked with a grin.
Thorin chuckled, his beard and mustache smeared with soup. "That's a story worth gold, actually."
"Or blood," Millie added, laughing.
Luke stayed silent, neither laughing nor replying. He had chosen his path, but one question lingered.
Nyx might be a succubus, but why was she hunted? Were they after her alive, or worse, dead?
—
That night, the aroma of Stonefire Roasted Meat and Deep Cavern Neutral Salad filled the inn, mingling with Thorin's booming laughter as he slammed the table, joking with the others.
Luke stood behind the reception counter, watching with a feeling hard to describe. Warm satisfaction mixed with the memory of the morning's confrontation.
"You're daydreaming again, Luke," Nyx's voice broke his thoughts. The demon girl, now fully grown with her succubus aura radiating party temptation and partly power, stood beside him carrying a stack of dirty plates.
"Just thinking," Luke replied shortly. "Thorin said he heard about this place from a lizardman in a village. I'm sure it wasn't Gralk. News spreads faster than I thought."
Luke's feelings tangled further.
The forest's protective magic shielded them from mindless monsters along the path and the clearing where Arx Inn stood.
But beyond that, the Rafathar Kingdom must already be hearing whispers that the wrongly summoned youth managed to run the monster inn, but also sheltered a fugitive succubus.
"Nyx, make sure all the doors and windows are locked after all the guests go up to their rooms," ordered Luke, even though he knew Arx must have already locked everything automatically. After all, the inn was his body. But there was no harm in being cautious.
She nodded obediently. Since the staff bond was formed, she had become different. No longer just the little demon girl Luke had saved, but she was also a tough assistant manager.