Even though the golden color of dusk had completely disappeared, the night view of the city illuminated by lights still showed no less beauty than before.
Next to the ancient buildings on both sides, pedestrians were dressed in various clothes and had leisurely smiles on their faces.
In a corner of a residential area a few hundred meters away from the city gate.
There was no light except the torches the guards placed on the walls and the lamps that came from the residents' windows.
After Lanci's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he slowly approached his destination.
He could see something huddled under the wall at the corner—many huddled creatures, in fact.
A fragile-looking guy shivering from the cold.
Lanqi continued to walk towards that place. He could hear the sounds of those lives.
"Meow~ Meow~"
He stopped, squatted, and opened the lunch box in his hand.
Just by doing this, the fragrance begins to spread.
When Lanqi threw the cooked chicken on the ground not far away, kittens gradually began to approach him.
Right now.
He seemed not to notice that not far across the street, there was a figure sitting against the wall. She looked like a homeless person in the slums.
This street corner is not a good place, it is lonely and only has some wild cats.
But there were no other homeless people and few guards.
Talia hates humans, so this place makes her feel more comfortable.
No one would have thought that a girl dressed like a refugee was once a demon princess.
Time just passes by like this.
Almost all the kittens around were attracted to Lanqi.
Lanqi watched the cats eat with a happy face.
He learned from the housekeeper that Talia had been sleeping on the street here for the past two days.
So before dinner, Lanqi asked the chef at the mansion to prepare enough special scented chicken for him. Cats can eat it, and it tastes even better when eaten by humans.
Then a little later, I deliberately found this place and pretended to feed the cat.
"… "
Although during these few minutes, Lanqi never looked at Talia.
But Talia had already noticed this human who had rashly entered her "territory".
If he just stayed here honestly, Talia might just ignore him.
But why would that damn human use such high-quality meat to feed wild cats
Thinking back on the years of living in the open air, Talia could only come to one conclusion: even cats eat better than her.
Finally, she couldn't help but look towards Lanqi.
But due to her dignity, she seemed unable to utter any words of rebuke for a moment.
He could only stare at Ranchi with death.
But Lanqi seemed not to notice her for a long time.
“Can you feed the cats somewhere else?”
She spoke, coldly.
Lanqi raised his head in a daze, looking blankly in the direction where the voice came from. After seeming to roughly understand the situation, he responded calmly:
"I come to this place more often than you do."
He was declaring his sovereignty by stating the fact that he often feeds cats here.
Upon hearing this, Talia snorted coldly and ignored him.
Because this human didn't lie.
Lanqi didn't say anything more.
What he just said is indeed true.
As a native of this town, he comes here more often than Talia.
Talia had just arrived in this town, so she naturally didn't know whether Lanqi had come here to feed the cats in the past few days.
But Talia is stubborn.
She hated Lanqi, but was unwilling to leave and give up the position she had held for two days.
Anyone who gives in at this time will appear to have lost.
So she sat in the corner, enduring her hunger and trying to fall asleep.
A short while passed like this.
"Can you give me a hand?"
Lanqi's sudden voice rang out in the quiet street.
Talia raised her head slightly and looked in Lanqi's direction to make sure he was talking to her.
"What?"
Talia didn't want to pay any attention to him.
But according to the rules of the human kingdom, since someone asked her for help, she should be rewarded.
She really needs all kinds of rewards now.
"Help me feed the cats. Don't let the big cats bully the little ones. I'm sleepy and want to go home and sleep."
Lanqi raised the box in his hand and added,
"The extra is yours."
"… "
Talia was silent.
If it wasn't a charity but a transaction, she might consider it.
However, for the devil, abiding by the rules of the transaction is extremely important.
It even concerns their dignity.
The more noble the devil is, the more likely he would rather die than break the rules of the deal.
Even if this human doesn't know that she is a demon.
But as a member of the demon royal family, she would never violate the rules of the transaction and covet even a little bit of the kitten's food, even if she really starved herself to death.
She counted the cats in her mind, making sure she would get a little chicken at the end.
"make a deal."
Talia had no problem accepting the deal.
Although she didn't quite understand what kind of pleasure humans could get from feeding cats.
Lanqi covered the lunch box temporarily, put it on the ground, stood up, stretched his back, and left leisurely.
…
The next morning, at the mansion of a wealthy businessman in this town.
Today is another day of self-discipline. Lanqi got up early, had breakfast and left home.
The plants in the courtyard seemed to be covered with a hazy color by the rising sun, and canaries were chirping on the surrounding trees.
This made Lanqi feel happy as he walked in the yard.
However, he stopped as soon as he walked out of the gate.
Because he saw that Talia was sitting across the street, as if she was watching him.
But he was not panicked at all.
It's unlikely that Talia would be able to investigate his evil deeds so quickly.
Talia, who was in the distance, quickly walked up to Ranchi, and behind Ranchi, the guards standing at the door of the mansion immediately became alert.
Lanqi raised his hand to signal the guards not to be nervous.
There's no point in being nervous. If she wants to go on a killing spree, no one here can stop her.
"Box."
She simply raised her hand and handed Lanci the lunch box containing last night's chicken.
The reason she found Lanqi so quickly was that by simply asking around in this town about the "black-haired, green-eyed boy", she could learn about the deeds of this nobleman with a bad reputation.
However, she always felt that the rich young man that the people in the town talked about seemed a little inconsistent with the young man she saw with her own eyes.
Although he looks a bit stupid and lazy, at least he doesn't look like a bad-tempered human.
"You can sell it. I have no intention of taking it back."
Lanci looked at her in confusion.
If you sell the high-end tableware at home, you can get at least half a pound.
“That’s outside the deal.”
Talia said expressionlessly.
Lanqi nodded when he heard this and reached out to take the box.
This demon princess must have put a lot of effort into disguising herself as a human, and she strictly followed the rules and regulations of human society.
Before Lanqi could say anything else, Talia turned around without hesitation and left indifferently.
"You didn't eat much?"
Lanqi asked as he looked at Talia, who was now only visible in her dark gray cloak.
"I have fulfilled our deal."
Talia said without turning her head.
“I see.”
Lanqi lowered his head, looked at the box and spoke to himself.
The demon seemed to emphasize that this was a "deal" rather than a "favor."
Her pride does not allow anyone to give her charity, and she does not want to repay any favors. She knows very well that free things are actually the most expensive.
Then his plan to show favor to Talia would be shattered.
Even the box that could have become a "favor trap" was returned immediately.
Lanqi sighed and handed the lunch box in his hand to the guard beside him.
Sure enough, it is far from easy to offset the "hatred with her" by "giving favor to Talia".
but.
This was all within his expectations for now.
Lanqi signaled to the guards following behind him not to be on alert, as he wanted to talk to the young lady alone.
The guard didn't dare to say anything and stood guard at the door of the mansion according to Lanqi's instructions.
Then Lanqi trotted and caught up with Talia.
Talia turned her head and looked at the human who came to her again, her expression becoming a little confused.
She didn't understand what this guy, who seemed to be of a high status but was weak, was trying to do.
"I want to make you another deal, and I guarantee its fairness on the honor of my family."
Lanci preached respectfully.
Talia's golden eyes stared at Lanci, as if she wanted to look into his pupils.
It's not a lie.
She has magic that can determine the truthfulness of the other person's words.
And I have had a trading experience.
It seemed that this wealthy human didn't seem too bad, and should be able to give her the compensation she needed now.
"Tell me about it."
Talia paused and responded.
"Regarding the following transaction, I hope you won't ask me why."
Lanqi's expression became a little serious.
Talia nodded.
She didn't need to explore any further because no one could deceive her with lies.
"There's a guy in this town who wants to kill me. So I'd like to ask you to help me keep an eye out for suspicious people near my home, and to help me eliminate danger and protect me. I'll give you a corresponding reward."
Lanqi looked a little embarrassed, and looked directly at Talia without hiding the worry in his eyes.
"It's not that difficult."
After listening to Lanqi's proposal, Talia was convinced that what he said was true.
"Your family should be very wealthy and powerful in this town, and there should be no shortage of people in your mansion who can protect your safety."
She thought about it, looked at the not-so-weak guard in the distance, and raised her doubts to Lanqi.
"Because the killer may be right next to me, I can't absolutely trust anyone around me, so I need as much and reliable insurance as possible."
Lanci seemed to be particularly fond of Talia.
His eyes showed his admiration for Talia because she honestly returned the box and had no prejudice against him because of his identity, status or rumors.
"So you think I'm more reliable than the guards around you?"
Talia seemed to accept the fact that she was not weak.
She knew that Lanci had the vision of a shrewd businessman.
"Relatively speaking, yes."
Lanci nodded.
“It’s expensive to hire me.”
Talia just said this.
She has been judging the truthfulness of every word spoken by this human being.
But he has never lied to her so far.
This was rare among all the humans she had met so far.
According to her judgment, he should be an honest, upright and kind person, and a good trading partner.
"3 pounds a day, and the agreement will be in effect as long as you stay in this city."
Lanci had already taken out a checkbook and a pen marked "Wilford Chamber of Commerce" from his pocket.
It seemed that the one-pound and half-pound gold pieces were too much trouble for him to carry about with him.
Generally, 30 pounds is enough for an average family in the South Wantina border area of the Hutton Kingdom to survive for a year.
Talia was visibly stunned.
It wasn't just Lanqi's rich temperament that intimidated him.
For her, who had not come across the currency denomination of "pound" for a long time and was an illegal resident of the kingdom, this was a deal that was hard to refuse.
However, she has absolute confidence in her own abilities.
So this is not a "favor" but a "transaction."
The most important thing is that she has the initiative to terminate the deal, and it will not affect her freedom.
"… make a deal."
Talia whispered.
"Then I'll trouble you."
Lanqi directly handed the checkbook and pen to Talia, which made her stunned again.
Talia looked down at the check in her hand thoughtfully.
Does that mean I have to fill in the numbers myself every day and then cash them out
He is indeed a wealthy and generous human being.
He also has many qualities such as kindness and honesty.
However, this kind of human is often the least compatible with their demon race.
…
At this time, Lanqi turned around and walked towards the other side of the street.
The corners of his mouth twitched, and he could hardly hold back his smile.
Talia doesn't know yet that the person who wants to kill Lanqi is herself.
By then, even if Talia discovered the truth that it was Ranchi who hunted down her familiar, she would not be able to do anything to Ranchi.
Because she has to follow this rule -
"As long as she is in this city, she must protect Lanqi and get 3 pounds a day"!