Chapter 18
A famous, large tavern in the Dungeon City of Bastion.
True to the name "Rainbow," the spacious interior glows with various colorful lanterns, exuding a mysterious atmosphere.
"To wealth, honor! And to health~!"
""Cheers!""
Clink!
The hearty laughter of adventurers and the clattering sound of wooden mugs clashing together.
"Hahaha! Today, you see, right at the dungeon entrance...."
"Noonim! Two glasses of mead here! No, make it three!"
"Yes, yes! Please wait just a moment! It'll be right out~"
"Oppa! We're out of sausages over here!"
"Owner!"
"Yeah. I'll make some right away."
In the spacious hall, clerks wearing white uniforms are bustling about, filling customers' glasses and carrying food.
Seeing how none of them lose their smiles despite the obvious signs of fatigue, they must all be aces who have worked here for quite a while.
'Not bad.'
At first, it was a bit overwhelming because there were so many people, but after getting used to it, I felt that this kind of atmosphere was okay once in a while.
That is, until a red-haired clerk with a mischievous smile came over to take my order.
"How exactly is a crow head stuck on a human race body? Ugh, it feels creepy. Could this crow-headed customer be a phantom? A trashy phantom who lost out in a turf war, fell behind, and ended up clinging to the human race's side? Pfft! Just kidding~ Don't tell me you're mad? Hmm. I can't really tell? I'm not sensing anything from Appraisal. How in the world are you avoiding my eyes? Hmm? Won't you tell me? I could do something nice for you. Aren't you curious about what that is? Crow oppa♡"
"...."
Red twin-tails reminiscent of red wine, and eyes full of mischief.
She looks about the same age as my contractor, but she's a bit shorter. She's a total kid.
Though it doesn't seem that way at all just from the way she talks.
"Hehe. You're blushing. No way...? A virgin? Pfft, hahaha! Whatever~"
The corners of her mouth, curled up in a sneer, show no signs of coming down, and her small, incessantly babbling mouth carefully selects and delivers only the most optimal words to grate, provoke, and stimulate her target.
A full-course meal of red insults, a twisted banquet of rewards.
What is this? I have no idea how to deal with this.
At that moment, I was just staring blankly at the cheeky clerk, unable to speak properly due to the sudden storm of stimulation.
Scrape!
The wooden chair was pushed back roughly, and the hem of a black robe covered my vision.
"...My familiar. Don't bully him."
With that warning, my contractor thrust out a long awl—seemingly a substitute for a fork—like a rapier, pointing it at the cheeky clerk.
Her brave figure, trying to protect her familiar who couldn't come to his senses swept up in a wave of stimulation, looked just like a kitten trying to defend its favorite stuffed toy.
She is really, really reliable. That's my contractor for you.
"My demon? Hmm..."
However, despite the contractor's fierce(?) warning, the clerk still maintained her cheeky smile. She simply tilted her head.
Pure questioning lay in her ominously bright red pupils, and an obvious mockery hung on her moist lips.
"I think that idiot crow is way too good for a trashy adventurer customer who doesn't even seem to be a tier 1. What do you think? Hmm? Hmm?"
"....That's."
"They say crows like shiny things. Does a weak, lazy, frail, terrible, poor, broke, trashy adventurer customer have the money to get even a tiny pearl for a crow? Pfft. Of course not, which is why you're trying to be an adventurer or whatever~ How pathetic♡"
Jab – Jab – Punch – Hook – Weaving - Uppercut!
The red-haired kid's seasoned combo of insults.
"Ah. Weell... Ugh. Eh? Aah?"
The contractor was put into a groggy state!
And then.
Slam!
Mind down.
Clang, clang, clang!
Game set.
Well, you fought well enough, contractor.
Or rather, should I say you took the beating well?
"...Ugh."
"Are you okay?"
"...I'm sorry for being a poor and pathetic contractor. I'm just a wannabe trashy adventurer whose entire fortune is 249 talents...."
"...."
The contractor collapsed, burying her head in my palm, and began to spout nonsense as if she were drunk.
Seeing her slightly flushed face and feeling the heat from her forehead, it seems she really did get drunk.
And the cheeky clerk, who was leisurely admiring the contractor's state with dark red eyes, slowly rolled something around in her mouth as if savoring wine.
Unlike her playful demeanor just a moment ago, her expression was incredibly serious.
"Hmm. It's quite rich and deep for your age. Not bad. But it's highly volatile, so it doesn't linger for very long. I wonder if that's because of your low self-esteem? Hmm. I don't know what you've been through, but try to love yourself a bit more and have some confidence from now on. The way I see it, a trashy adventurer customer like you has a high potential for growth. My score is 12 out of 20! Which means you're just so-so~"
"Ugh?"
The cheeky clerk, who had just verbally beaten the contractor to a pulp, suddenly started wrapping a bandage around her.
Leaning against my hand, the contractor stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.
"Pfft. Why are you staring at me so blankly? Should I give you some mead on the house? Aw, how cute♡"
Her cheeky smile and annoyed tone remained the same, but her slightly lowered gaze was overflowing with worry and affection.
I couldn't get a read on what kind of person she was at all. Does she have a split personality or something?
As the contractor and I stared blankly at the clerk, Shion, who had been tapping her water dish and yawning, naturally began to explain.
"Yaaawn.... Miss Chroma tastes the emotion of wrath, scores it, and then discounts the food bill accordingly, meow. The higher your wrath score, the cheaper you can eat, meow! The angrier you get, the more you benefit, meow!"
"Thanks for the lousy explanation, coward cat customer~ This is why I love my regular customers! Though the shedding fur is a bit annoying!"
"Stop spouting bullshit, meow! What fur could possibly be shedding from this body, meow!"
"Ugh, ptui, ptui! What is this incredibly lousy, defective taste? Ugh... I feel like my mouth is full of cat hair."
"What are you saying, meow? Do you want to die, meow? I'll bite you!"
"Kyaa~ Go away, you beast♡"
"Hoo...."
"So... that's how it was?"
'Tasting emotions.'
That's not a phrase you hear every day.
'Why is it so familiar?'
I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. When was it again?
-No matter how much you want to taste the emotion of fear, if you go around scattering your power all the time....
Just as I briefly traced back my memories, a loud meowing echoed in a corner of my head.
'Ah, I remember.'
It was what I heard from Shion today.
Because I had only been half-listening, it came to mind a bit late.
But. If that's the case.
'Look at this?'
Well, well, I figured she wasn't just an ordinary kid, but to think she'd be my senior(?). But wait. That thing is a demon?
'The demons of this world are somewhat cute.'
She looks more like a mischievous fairy than a demon.
Although judging by her personality and the way she talks, she definitely seems like a demon.
"Hmm?"
While I was quietly observing her, my curiosity piqued by encountering a kin (not) for the first time in my life, the demon clerk. No, did she say her name was Chroma?
Anyway, she sent a playful wink in my direction.
Why am I suddenly getting goosebumps...
"Now then. Let's see, my appetite was ruined by a trashy opening, so should I do a little mood conversion with the main course?"
The main course? Don't tell me it's me?
"Are you talking to me?"
"Yeah! You're the only one who dared to hide your pitch-black inner thoughts from me, stupid crow customer! That's a rule violation in our tavern~ You trash♡ Make sure to follow the rules~"
"Is that something I have to do even if I don't eat the food?"
Having to show my emotions to others. That's a bit burdensome.
"Hmm? What does that mean? Is our stupid crow customer on a hunger strike like a bratty child?"
"No way! Could it be that you're full from absorbing too much of the emotion of fear today, meow?"
"Hmm? Emotion of fear?"
"Ooh... So the thesis that demons feel satiated from emotions was true...."
Hearing Shion's words, a question surfaced on Chroma's face, who had been glaring at me like I was a child complaining about side dishes.
At this, Shion kindly added an explanation.
"The crow is actually a terrifying demon of fear, meow! He did something crazy, saying he would eliminate this body's fears. There was a huge uproar on the Dungeon Road today, meow! He probably gained a massive amount of fear there, meow. It makes sense that he isn't hungry, meow!"
"Ugh, what's with the meow, meow, meow at the end of every sentence! It's hurting my ears! This is why I can't hold long conversations with Felises~"
"Then. Close your ears and get lost, meow."
Thief, calling it something crazy is a bit too harsh.
I did it all for you.
I'm sure the adventurers who were there at the time just thought of it as a surprise! street performance. Probably.
"Well, anyway. A demon of fear.... Aha? So that's how it was? No wonder my power wasn't working on you, I think I know why now."
Chroma nodded her head as if she had realized something after hearing Shion's explanation.
How did she figure out something that even I didn't know?
As expected of a demon senior(?), she seems extremely competent. Or maybe she's just an idiot like the gray cat.
"Intelligent lifeforms tend to feel fear from the boundaries of knowledge, and beyond. That is, the 'unknown'. A power to hide information? Interesting. It's truly an authority befitting a demon of fear."
It seems to be the latter.
"Anyway, hurry up and relax your power! Just how high is your status that I can't taste anything? Hmm? I'm not that trashy of a demon either, you know!"
Saying so, Chroma thrust her flat upper body toward me. It's burdensome, so I wish she would back off a bit.
Above all. The contractor's glare is too scary.
And, even if you say that, there's nothing I can do....
-Ding.
[Entity Name: Chroma Ira has requested a 'Tasting'. Do you wish to accept?]
[ [YES] [NO] ]
[Expected Reward: Free Food]
...Maybe there is?
'What's this now?'
Is it something like a side quest?
But right now, are you telling me to sell my emotions to a demon just for a free meal?
Hah. Interesting.
"Deal."
"Hmm?"
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