Chapter 11: Aiernan

“Ugh… how embarrassing.”

La Fei was holding a bag with the several sets of underwear she had just bought in it.

She was now wearing a set that wasn’t as revealing as before.

La Fei followed closely behind Lainmute, her lips pressed into a thin line under her hood.

In her mind, she was replaying the expression on Lainmute’s face when that gust of wind had lifted her skirt.

That wind had made her entire hem flutter up because she hadn’t been prepared at all.

So Lainmute had gotten an eyeful.

That look in his eyes held surprise and… liking?

But after that, Lainmute had been walking with a hunched back.

When she was buying underwear in the lingerie store earlier,

he hadn’t said a word, just sat there, looking, uh, a bit pained?

“Ugh… what’s this?”

La Fei rubbed her slightly sore nose and took a few steps back.

Lainmute and La Fei stood in front of a somewhat shabby storefront.

“We’re here.”

Lainmute pushed open the door and led La Fei inside.

The wind chime on the door jingled at their arrival.

As soon as she entered, La Fei saw… a green bird’s nest?

Lainmute walked over to that lump and unceremoniously punched it.

“Ow! That hurts! Which blind bastard dares to hit me? I’ll shove your head up your ass and then… uh, long time no see, Boss Lain.”

The young man scratched his head awkwardly, stepping back half a step and looking at Lainmute warily.

The green bird’s nest turned around, still cursing the one who had just hit him on the head.

A tired-looking young face appeared in La Fei’s view.

The guy had terrifyingly dark circles under his eyes and pale lips, almost like a corpse.

What caught the eye most were his sharply pointed ears and skin so pale it was startling.

La Fei didn’t need to think to know that the person before her was from the Elf race.

But she couldn’t help feeling curious.

If she remembered correctly, elves rarely appeared in human cities, didn’t they?

If the chance of a Demon appearing among humans was about five percent, then the chance of an elf was maybe one percent.

That showed just how rare this male elf standing before her was.

Lainmute gave a helpless smile and spoke with some exasperation.

“It’s time to pay the rent. Also, how’s that thing I asked you to make last time, Aiernan?”

Aiernan quickly rummaged around the room.

Soon he took out a white box and lifted the lid to reveal a purple bracelet inside.

After handing the thing to Lainmute, Aiernan looked curiously at La Fei, who had remained silent the whole time.

Lainmute toyed with the bracelet, seeming very satisfied with Aiernan’s work.

“Boss Lain, who’s this… uh, is she my sister-in-law?”

Aiernan pointed at La Fei, who was following behind Lainmute, his eyes full of curiosity.

Hearing the words “sister-in-law,” Lainmute was a bit speechless.

He felt like hitting Aiernan on the head again, but held back.

As Lainmute’s maid, La Fei naturally wouldn’t let her master worry about such things.

She stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Lainmute.

She lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed slightly, performing a standard maid’s curtsey.

In a soft voice, she introduced herself.

“Hello, Mr. Aiernan. I am Lain… my master’s newly hired maid. My name is La Fei.”

She had meant to say Lainmute, but a glare from him made her quickly correct herself.

‘Ugh… why does this perverted freak sword saint have to be so embarrassing? It’s bad enough at home, but now outside too?’

Even though it was her duty, calling Lainmute “master” in front of someone else for the first time made her deeply embarrassed.

After her introduction, La Fei lowered her head and said nothing more.

“Tsk tsk tsk… Boss Lain has good taste in choosing maids too. Look at this… Ow! I’m sorry, Boss!”

A sharp kick landed on Aiernan’s butt.

Lainmute said irritably,

“Stop messing around with me. You haven’t paid rent for a year and three months. If you don’t pay up, I’ll have to send you back to your people.”

Hearing Lainmute say that, Aiernan immediately lunged forward and hugged his leg, tears and snot streaming down.

“Boo hoo… Boss Lain, I really have no money right now. You know how expensive magical device research is. I really can’t afford the rent right now, waaah.”

Lainmute’s mouth twitched.

He felt helpless.

Who thought he was a kind person?

“Let go of my leg first. You’re getting snot on my pants. Since you did a good job this time, I’ll give you another three months.”

Seeing his goal achieved, Aiernan put away his sour face, let go of Lainmute’s leg, wiped his face clean of snot and tears, and beamed with joy.

Lainmute grabbed La Fei’s hand and turned to leave, adding as he walked,

“La Fei, when you come to town later, don’t talk too much to this guy. Being around him too long will make you stupid.”

La Fei nodded in agreement, as if she strongly concurred.

“Let’s go. Now that we’ve picked up the goods, it’s time to go home.”

Lainmute let go of La Fei’s hand and led her towards home.

Meanwhile, Aiernan watched the master and maid walk away and sighed helplessly.

“Ah… Boss, what are you up to? Miss La Fei is clearly a member of the Demon race.”

His face had lost its previous playful expression, replaced by seriousness.

When Lainmute had commissioned him earlier to craft a magical device that could conceal appearance, body shape, and aura, he had thought Lainmute was planning something.

But he never expected such a bombshell—bringing a Demon into the Empire.

It was like carrying a time bomb around.

If this were discovered, it would cause an uproar, not just with the Empire but also among the public.

When Lainmute had brought La Fei here, the moment they entered the door, he had sensed her demonic aura.

After all, he was a ninth-rank magic item master.

How could he not detect the faint demonic energy radiating from La Fei?

He was currently recognized as the Empire’s number one magical device master.

He was confident he could ensure that no one below the ninth rank could detect that La Fei was a Demon.

But the Empire was only so big.

Eventually, they would run into those people, especially since she was with the Sword Saint.

He wondered what the Sword Saint would choose.

He sighed helplessly.

After all, this was Lainmute’s own business; he couldn’t meddle.

He was his boss, so he’d help if he could. It wasn’t a big deal.

After thinking this over, a worried expression crossed his face, and he sighed deeply again.

He scratched his already messy green hair, which looked like a bird’s nest.

“Ah… I need to find a way to make money, or else Boss Lain will really beat me half to death.”