I Made a Contract with a Devil, but the Price is Strange

The usually quiet guild was bustling with activity. Many people were peering at the bulletin board in the lobby.

“Master. I’ll go check the request and come back. Please wait here.”

“Okay.”

I was reluctant to push through that crowd, but fortunately, Inis took the initiative.

“Be careful not to let your robe slip off. Showing black hair might not be a problem, but there’s no need to create unnecessary trouble.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

She pulled her robe down more firmly and disappeared into the crowd. Meanwhile, I leaned against the wall and looked around.

I observed the adventurers, and they were quite diverse.

There were fierce-looking individuals like those I often saw during my mercenary days, but there were also quite a few young women. Occasionally, there were those with animal ears and tails. They were different species.

Some different species were completely covered in fluffy fur, while others just had ears and tails, like cosplayers.

“Hmm.”

Personally, I wasn’t fond of those covered in fur. People who like that sort of thing are called hardcore furries, I think.

My preference, if any, would be just ears and tails. Anything more than that was a bit much.

“Master.”

While I was busy observing, Inis approached with a hardened face. I quickly stood up.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing happened. It’s just…”

She opened her mouth and then closed it. She clasped her hands in front of her chest tightly. The fact that she wasn’t speaking readily suggested she felt uncomfortable talking here.

“Let’s go to a tea house.”

I grabbed Inis’s wrist and left the building. We came out to the street and walked down the slope.

Ding-ding-

“Welcome!”

We entered a nearby café. We went to a corner seat, and an employee brought a menu. She knelt down to be at eye level with us.

“Hello. Is this your first time using our tea house?”

“Yes. Is there a specific way to use it?”

“No. Like at an inn, you choose from the menu and then call me. I’m your designated employee until you leave the shop.”

She crossed her fingers and continued.

“By the way, our shop doesn’t sell alcohol. It’s also not possible for employees to sit next to you and chat. You can’t smoke either. And you can’t touch the employees in any way.”

I chuckled at the rapid-fire explanation.

“There must be quite a few troublemakers around.”

“Yes. There are many people who make unreasonable demands. Especially adventurers who often cause such problems.”

She sighed deeply and lamented. Seeing her darkened face, it seemed she had gone through quite a lot.

“Can you read, by any chance? Sometimes there are people who can’t read, you see.”

“I can read.”

“I understand. Then I’ll get up now. Please call me if you need anything.”

The employee got up. She bowed her head and disappeared. For some reason, it reminded me of the service at a steakhouse in my previous life.

I opened the menu she had left behind.

『Lion’s Flame — 5 silver』
『Flowing Magic — 7 silver』

I thought they might sell coffee since it was a tea house, but it was full of poetic expressions. What was most surprising was that the prices were ridiculously expensive. It seemed like this kind of tea house was a place for nobles.

Turning the menu page, I found even more expensive teas than those in front. It was now completely unaffordable, so I went back to the front.

‘Flowing Magic.’

I should try this once. Although I wasn’t sure if it would be as effective as its poetic name suggested, I was curious.

“…Inis, what would you like to drink?”

I handed the menu to her. Inis took it and opened it.

“Heek!?”

Her eyes gradually widened. Her sad face slowly brightened. She seemed genuinely surprised.

“M-Master. This is too expensive…?”

She pressed her body close to me and spoke in a small voice. She kept rubbing her eyes with her free hand, as if she couldn’t believe the price written there.

“I-is it normally this expensive?”

“I don’t know either. This is my first time here.”

“Sh-shouldn’t we leave now? With these prices, how many orcs would we need to kill? And how many goblins would we need to kill?”

“Just order what you want to drink. We should experience this kind of thing at least once.”

“Then I’ll…”

At my words, Inis quickly began looking at the menu. A smile appeared at the corners of her mouth; she must have wanted to drink something.

“I’ll choose this.”

『Vitality Tea — 8 silver』

It was a tea that was 1 silver more expensive than mine. After saying it was expensive and suggesting we leave… It was a bit irksome.

“Excuse me.”

Without bothering to point this out, I called the employee. She approached with a smile.

“Yes. Would you like to order?”

“One Flowing Magic. And one Vitality Tea. Two cups, please.”

“Yes. One Flowing Magic. 7 silver. One Vitality Tea. 8 silver. That’s a total of 15 silver.”

At the employee’s words, Inis’s eyes widened again. She waved her arms and repeatedly opened and closed her mouth. When our eyes met, her pupils were shaking.

“Now?”

I chuckled and turned my head back to the employee.

“Yes. Usually, you pay when leaving the shop, but some adventurers drink and run away.”

“Ah.”

Again, you? Adventurers?

“Oh. I don’t mean that the customer is that kind of person. It’s to prevent unpleasant incidents, so please understand.”

“I understand.”

I took out fifteen silver coins from my pocket and handed them over.

“Yes. Confirmed 15 silver. I’ll prepare it right away.”

She counted the coins one by one, then bowed her head and disappeared. Once the employee left, Inis leaned towards me again.

“M-Master. The tea I ordered is more expensive than yours…?”

“Yes. So?”

“Th-that’s not right. How could a slave enjoy something better than her master… That’s not a proper master-slave relationship….”

“Oh. So you still recognize our master-slave relationship? I thought you had already forgotten since you ordered a more expensive tea.”

“What!?”

She was startled and stood up from her seat. Gazes immediately gathered at the loud voice.

“Customer. Is there a problem?”

“It’s nothing.”

Our designated employee came and went. Inis sat back down in her chair.

“H-how could that be? How could I disrespect Master? After receiving so much….”

She spoke tearfully, so I hurriedly said,

“It’s a joke. A joke. I said it because you looked like you were in a bad mood. Don’t worry about it too much.”

“Ah.”

Inis lowered her head. The tips of her ears turned red.

“I’ve disrespected Master again. I’m really sorry….”

“It’s okay. More importantly, why did your mood suddenly worsen at the guild? What’s the reason?”

“I saw the request issued by the guild, and it said this.”

The content of the request was to rescue an adventurer trapped in the greenskin territory. The reason the guild took this step was because they didn’t want to lose a talent who could help break through the labyrinth in the future due to an accident.

“It’s literally a formal content and reason.”

“Yes. As you said, there are more equal adventurers.”

“How did you know that?”

“There was a list of adventurers to be rescued beside it. Faces and names were written, but there was one person who took up a particularly large area compared to other adventurers.”

“How large was it?”

“If other adventurers were the size of a coin, in the case of the young lady, it was enough to fill one side?”

It was an obvious difference.

Although the guild provided a formal reason, anyone who wasn’t a fool would immediately notice. In the end, the important thing was that she was a noble’s daughter.

“With other adventurers, it was hard to even read their faces and names. But the young lady immediately caught my eye. So I memorized it right away.”

“Is that why you were upset? Because what I said was true?”

“That’s part of it. But the real reason I was depressed was….”

“Excuse me.”

The employee appeared while Inis was speaking. She smiled brightly and placed teacups in front of each of us.

“Here’s your ordered Flowing Magic. And Vitality Tea. The cookies are complimentary for first-time visitors to our shop. We don’t charge extra, so feel free to enjoy them.”

“Thank you.”

“Yes. Then have a good time.”

The employee bowed her head and disappeared again.

“Shall we drink first?”

“Yes. But Master. Are you sure you don’t want to switch teas with me…? My tea is 1 silver more expensive….”

“As I said before, it was a joke. So don’t worry about it too much.”

“Yees….”

I picked up the teacup. Before drinking, I smelled it first; it had a cool and refreshing scent. Somehow, it gave me a sense of déjà vu.

Slurp-

I carefully drank the tea. The warm temperature touching my tongue. At the same time, my mouth felt refreshingly cool.

It was bitter and astringent, yet oddly refreshing. Truly a garbage taste. If I were to describe it, it was similar to mint. But it tasted much worse.

“Wow. Master! This is really delicious!”

In contrast to my frowning face, Inis’s face was infinitely bright.

“Would you like to try some?”

“Sure. You try some too.”

We exchanged cups. The Vitality Tea had a sweet scent like honey.

Slurp-

I took a small sip, and immediately felt a subtle sweetness on my tongue. It was just right, neither too much nor too little.

“Ugh….”

Inis put down the teacup with a horrified expression.

“It’s not good, is it?”

“Yes. It’s truly a taste I’ve never experienced in my life. Also a taste I’d be fine never experiencing again. Do you find this tasty, Master?”

“I don’t particularly like it either.”

“Then should I drink this…? Would you like to have the Vitality Tea, Master?”

Her face was full of worry as she said that. She had an expression that seemed to dread if I were to really agree to switch.

“It’s okay. Inis, you drink this.”

“Yes.”

Inis quickly took it back. That behavior was a bit annoying. It was also vexing.

“I guess it’s not expensive for nothing.”

I could feel the magic in my body becoming a bit more active. Of course, the effect wasn’t that great, but it could be considered significant.

“I also feel like my body is gaining strength.”

I think that’s because of the sugar intake, but I didn’t voice that thought.

“So continue with what you were saying. What’s the real reason your mood worsened?”

Inis’s excited face sank again.

“I examined the list of adventurers to be rescued from the greenskin territory one by one, and there was a familiar face….”

“A familiar face… Ah. Surely not?”

I hope it’s not what I’m thinking?