Extended Stay

'...maybe I overdid it? I'm sure that I overdid it'

As I'm sitting at a massive wooden table with all the high ranking people at the army camp, I'm starting to get tired of the constant meal every single day.

There is variety, but barely. We've been here for nearly an extra month searching for the horns that don't exist. At least only I know that they don't exist.

I have thought of using the horns from the armor I stole from that demon queen girl, but I was a bit scared of them finding out it was a fake.

I sent to to Lyca a couple weeks back and she was able to verify it for me: it was real, but it wasn't. It was confusing but the simpler way to put it was that it was real, but it was modified a bit.

She thinks that the horns maybe had a bad shape and were deformed at birth, so the owner of the horns had them cosmetically modified using either magic or a crude form of plastic surgery.

She also said that the horns themselves are only 24 cm long and that the rest of horn was cosmetically added. She has no idea how that happened, but it did.

So, I called for the Danlias. They were a bit reluctant to send me back to the capital since the horns might be found, but I convinced them that nothing was happening over here.

When I arrived at their mansion in Destinasia, I was greeted by 10 maids and 10 butlers. These people are aware of my wit and they know that I'm not stupid enough to think they respect me THAT much.

They respect me enough to send 20 servants, but they also ONLY respect me enough to ONLY send 20 servants. It may seem pessimistic, but it's the truth.

Should a Lambert or a Basset come over, you can be sure that there would be a damn parade welcoming that person. If there isn't, then the Danlias must have gone mad.

I entered the "tea room by the fifth guest room next to the third library" and was greeted by an eloquent Rosé sipping tea and her sister, Poppy Danlia, playing around with some mind toy.

When the door behind me quietly closed, they both looked up and had very different, yet similar reaction. Rosé was smiling with some sort tinge of "I know what you're doing" while Poppy was looking at an old friend.

...I guess old business partner? It is a bit weird that Poppy was "The Blacksmith" all along, but I guess it could be acceptable since she is the second borne. Most of the younger siblings of massive families are left to their own devices once they finish schooling.

This is the same with the Danlias and maybe Poppy wanted to surpass her sister in something, considering how much of a genius Rosé was. The only question now is, does Rosé know about her sister's side hustle?

If she does, then I should be a little less careful when dealing with The Blacksmith. If not, then I'll stick to what I was doing before. The name "Danlia" provides a cover from many many things.

"Yo! If it isn't my favorite hero, eh?"

"Yes. Good afternoon Rosé. You too Poppy"

"Uhuh"

With the pleasantries out of the way, Rosé starts asking extensively about my stay in the army camp and how were the sieges like. For Poppy, she was mostly looking at me like me had something to hide.

With a smirk, Poppy turns her head away with a wink and continues doing something else. She reminds of those kids who say a secret code in front of their parents and when the parent asks what that means, they giggle and run away.

It's very cute, but also very annoying.

Rose's questions have nothing to do with why I'm here and I'm not just going to share every little experience on the trail to the demon capital. If I did, she'd lose her appetite.

Finally, she smoothly starts transitioning from the random questions into questions about the horns. Nothing serious, but things like "did ya see any big ones?" or "how was it near the demon castle?"

"So Min-chul, I heard you got into some trouble? I think we should talk about that"

With a wryly smile, I turn my head to make eye contact with her. After a minute long stare down, I break out into a laughing fit.

"Ahahaha...haahhhhh, that's a good one. Yeah, I got into some trouble and yes, I did mutiny against him"

"Oh? How forward"

With both of us smirking at each other, we look like some hooligans about to cause mischief. Poppy meanwhile was minding her own business by asking the maids for some more tea.

"Also...I'd like to point something out. This horn hunt, it'll never end"

"It'll never en-...are you serious? Do you really?!?!"

With a slam on the table in front of us, she grabs me by the collar in excitement and her eyes were shaking like crazy. I wait for her to regain her composure before telling her the real deal.

"Well, it isn't that I got the package, it's that there is no package. I'm 99.99% sure that the horns...they aren't real"

"Explain, now"

So, I start telling her my story what happened with my men, the fight against the demon queen and me taking her armor. The only thing I forgot to mention was little Abbadon.

If she found out about that baby, I'm sure our relationship will be strained if I refuse to give up that baby.

Her questions are immediately answered and the ones such as "are you sure he isn't out there?", I just repeat my regular robotic answer.

"I wouldn't know"

I also told her about the cosmetic horns that I found and when she heard me, she furrowed her brows in annoyance. Why the hell would she want to know about some fake horns?

That's when she realized.

"You...damn, this is pretty great. You're pretty great, Min-chul. I'll tell you when this whole charade will end"

"Will do...boss"

As a smart lady, she already used common deductions to conclude that I was the reason the search for the horns was lasting this long. She also concluded that I could control when this thing ended and that I was knowingly helping her plans by lengthening this process.

I'm buying her time and she is appreciatively that.

"Bye bye Poppy"

"Huh? Yes yes, bye bye custo- Min-chul"

When Poppy raised her head from the table she was sleeping on, she unknowingly calls me customer. What a mess up. When she realized her mistake, she instantly corrected herself as if it was a stutter.

Hopefully Rosé didn't hear it...

"Ahaha...no worries"

With a gentle smile on my face, I leave the massive mansion to return to the hotel I was staying at. Here, I will rest and chow down on all my favorite foods before returning to that bleak-ass place again.

Hopefully my employers gets this done quicker than I expect, or else I might think that eating slop might be a good meal. It's not a good fate for someone of my caliber.

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(A.N) yo! Another chapter for you beautiful and handsome readers and I hope you are having a wonderful day today and that tomorrow will be even better!

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