## Chapter 133 – Jane. Contract
Inspiration surges.
The hand that wouldn’t move, that didn’t even want to move a moment ago, now adorns the canvas as if dancing.
This is it. This is the sensation I’ve been longing for.
With each stroke of the line, Jane’s face was filled with delight, and her hand moved faster than before.
Once ignited, the spirit of art accelerated, driving her forward.
Now, the moment to finish was approaching.
Swinging her arm broadly, she completed the final brushstroke. Jane exhaled briefly, her face filled with elation as she looked at the draft of the painting she had finished in one go.
A simple portrait of a person, a humble painting compared to the overwhelming landscapes she usually painted, but Jane nodded with a very satisfied expression.
She placed her hand on the painting, slowly scanning it, her eyes gleaming.
“Yes, this is it. This is what I wanted!”
Soon, Jane spread her arms wide, gazing at her work for the first time with a satisfied look.
She hadn’t even colored it. She had only drawn the lines.
But it gave her a higher sense of satisfaction than any painting she had ever done.
Some might dismiss it as just another painting, but for her, what others called mere paintings, sculptures, or trivial art was her whole life and the path she pursued throughout her life.
Lost in such ecstasy, at that moment.
“Jane, can I come in now?”
A familiar voice is heard from outside.
Jane wiped the sweat from her forehead and responded in a voice that was somewhat soft, not the crazed voice she usually had. Rather, her quiet and gentle voice was so mild that one might wonder if this was the same crazed woman we knew. Her voice surpassed even Low, who was known to be the most gentle among the Demon Kings.
“Yes, come in.”
Aser entered Jane’s room familiarly after receiving permission.
Knowing Jane’s eccentric side well, she wasn’t particularly surprised by the current situation.
Aser carefully entered the room, making sure not to step on the scattered sculptures or paint on the floor, and glanced around.
The scenery was unchanged, but in the center of the room, there was a painting she hadn’t seen before.
It was still just black lines, but Aser could tell at a glance.
That the subject of the painting in the center of Jane’s room was No. 25.
It’s perplexing.
Jane, who had suddenly disappeared into her room, was painting No. 25 and wearing a satisfied expression.
An ominous premonition crept in, but Aser dismissed it as her new inspiration from seeing the Dragon race, which she thought was extinct, and steeled her heart.
While Aser was seized with anxiety, Jane’s gaze was fixed not on her friend Aser, but on a boy who seemed like a servant following her.
Jane stood still without saying anything, so Aser spoke first.
“No. 25, say hello.”
As soon as Aser finished speaking, she gently pushed his back, and No. 25 slightly bowed his head in front of Jane with trembling gestures.
“Hello?”
Meeting a new Demon King was always nerve-wracking.
Moreover, the Demon King in front of him, Jane, was the most difficult one he had ever seen.
No. 25’s instincts were warning him. This woman was perhaps an even more dangerous predator than Orca.
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
Jane greeted him with a smile, but the scent of roses and tobacco emanating from her lips felt unpleasant.
No. 25 found it hard to endure Jane’s gaze, which was looking down at him with a look he had never experienced before.
Madness, a crazed look that he had never seen in anyone, was stickily enveloping his small body. Like a snake, or rather, like a giant mollusk inhabiting the deep sea, an unpleasant feeling of having his body’s freedom bound by tentacles.
He wanted to get out of here right away, but the only support that came to his mind was that he had to protect Aser.
Jane finished the greeting simply and took a step back, asking.
“Why don’t we sit down somewhere for now?”
Aser seemed unwilling to rest in the room that was a mess with paint, and she glanced slightly outside.
Jane quickly understood her intention and smiled awkwardly, opening her mouth again.
“Ah, it’s a bit messy, isn’t it? Let’s go outside.”
Jane casually put on a white gown hanging on one side of the wall, passed Aser, and headed out to the street in District 3.
Aser gently wrapped her arm around No. 25’s shoulder and followed Jane to the street in District 3.
Jane, without looking back, pointed to the walls and said.
“How is it? It’s not much different from when you came before, right?”
The street in District 3, known as the most beautiful place.
Aser was slowly looking around the street, which was distinctly different from her own district.
The artists were either agonizing with expressions similar to Jane’s, or smiling happily as they drew their art on the white walls.
The paintings drawn by different people created a strange harmony, as if they had talked about it in advance.
Moreover, the streets were filled with sculptures, fountains, and flower beds that matched the atmosphere of the street.
It would be a lie to say that she wasn’t envious.
The scenery that Aser had longed for was reproduced in District 3 as it was.
Passersby greeted Jane, and Jane gave them a kind smile.
Although her face was deeply shadowed by dark circles, Jane’s eyes were shining brighter than ever as she looked at the people under her command.
While they were walking for a long time without any particular conversation, Jane suddenly stopped and pointed to a store, saying.
“I heard this store is popular among people these days, should we go in?”
Jane opened the door of the store and went inside, even though there was no answer from Aser. Aser also wanted to sit down and rest, so she didn’t complain and immediately headed inside.
Unlike its sophisticated exterior, the interior of the store was made of wood, boasting an interior reminiscent of the great forest where elves are said to live.
Jane, who was sitting in a corner seat by the window, asked Aser before the menu even came out.
“So? What’s the reason you came all the way here?”
Aser crossed her legs, looked straight into Jane’s eyes, and revealed the purpose of her visit.
“Well… it’s a bit embarrassing, but as you know, our district is in a bit of a state, right? I wanted to learn a little about how to manage it.”
Jane nodded, and just as she was about to open her lips to say, ‘That’s easy enough,’ a good idea suddenly came to her mind.
She narrowed her eyes and slowly looked at Aser’s face.
She didn’t know why, but she looked desperate at first glance.
If used well, it could be a good negotiation where Aser, as well as herself, could get what they wanted.
Jane picked up the coffee cup that was already in front of her and said with a smile on her lips.
“That’s easy enough. But you’re not going to ask for a favor without offering anything in return, are you?”
Aser seemed to have never even thought that Jane would ask for compensation, and she trembled slightly with a flustered expression.
But it is the way of the world and the principle that there is giving when there is receiving. Aser soon relaxed her expression as if she understood and asked Jane.
“What do you want?”
“You’re quick to get to the point. Let me keep the servant you brought with you for a few days.”
“What?”
Aser, who had been maintaining a smile all along, frowned for the first time, and Jane tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.
It wasn’t like she was taking his life or asking for complete ownership. Wasn’t it just a simple suggestion? Borrowing a subordinate for a while and getting a corresponding reward, a very simple and answerable suggestion.
Aser’s reaction was unexpected for Jane.
From Aser’s hesitant gaze, Jane caught a glimpse of a special thread.
She thought he was just a servant, but it seemed like they had a more special relationship than that.
As if to prove it, Aser gently pulled No. 25 towards her and uttered a low, warning voice.
“Not him.”
Jane was convinced by that reaction.
Even better. No, could there be a better relationship than this?
The thought of being able to use her friend’s lover as her model, and Aser watching that scene from the corner with a bewildered expression, already made her heart beat faster.
Jane maintained a calm appearance as much as possible, sipped her coffee, and scanned Aser from top to bottom.
“I think you’re the one who’s desperate? And do you think I’m going to do something weird? I just need a model.”
Well, Aser could be sure that she knew better than anyone what kind of woman Jane was. She had never met a man or had a crush on anyone. She had devoted her life only to painting, sculpture, and beauty, so there was no way she would be caught up in trivial emotions now, she could say with certainty.
It wasn’t like she was doing anything strange, just becoming a model for paintings or sculptures….
However, this decision could not be made by Aser alone. The most important thing was No. 25’s opinion. Aser held No. 25’s hand tightly and prepared to ask him carefully.
She needed Jane’s know-how, but if No. 25 was in pain because of it, she would definitely stop.
But No. 25 was already prepared. He knew what Aser needed, so he could give his body enough.
No. 25 looked straight into Aser’s eyes as if to say don’t worry and nodded slightly.
After that, he said to Jane, who was silently watching their conversation.
“I’ll do it.”
“Good, good choice. I look forward to working with you.”
Jane smiled and reached out her hand, and No. 25 grabbed the hand extended to him.
It was a touch that seemed gentle at first glance, but the sense of alienation hidden behind it, like encountering an unknown creature living in the deep sea, seemed to warn No. 25 of his future.
