## Chapter 287 – (8)
“Huh?”
“Is something the matter…?”
I tilted my head, looking at the door, and Eira responded with a slow, deliberate tone.
She was still breathing heavily, likely from the aftereffects of the climax.
I hesitated for a moment, then waved my hand.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
I said.
Slowly reaching out, I pushed the door open gently.
The door wasn’t closed.
I clearly remembered closing it when I came in.
I stroked my chin with one hand.
Who found it?
Silver? Victoria? Maybe both of them.
They’ve been together all the time lately.
“So, what do you think? I think you have a talent for this.”
“No, that can’t be. I’ve been trained. There’s no way I’d feel anything from this level.”
“…Trained?”
“…I used to be an assassin.”
Indeed.
I did sense that she was well-trained.
But an assassin.
What a unique profession.
“I lost my job when peace came.”
It seemed she lost her job quite quickly.
Considering she became the butler of this house before Silver.
“The training instructor who rigorously trained me and my colleagues confessed everything during light torture…”
Eira let out a hollow laugh, as if recalling that time.
The instructor who put them through hellish training, to the point of dulling all their emotions.
Turned out to be the weakest human.
It was understandable that she felt a sense of emptiness at that truth.
That’s how the assassin organization had all its secrets exposed and was nearly sent to the gallows.
Fortunately, peace miraculously arrived, and they were able to choose slavery instead of execution.
Even though they would have to work as slaves almost for life, it was better than dying.
And that’s when Eira was bought.
“By me.”
“Yes. By you, Master.”
From Eira’s perspective, it felt like she had been saved.
Because the person who was bidding against me until the end was the husband of the target she had assassinated, her first and last.
“You killed that man’s wife?”
“Yes.”
Eira answered calmly.
She didn’t seem to have any regrets.
“She was a beastkin hater. She would buy beastkin slaves, use them like tools, and then throw them away.”
“Hmm. Well done.”
Apparently, even the husband wasn’t saddened by his wife’s death.
Yet, the reason he tried to buy Eira wasn’t revenge.
“…He seemed to like me.”
It was a simpler reason.
“He even made a reservation a year in advance.”
“Reservation?”
“…He put down the amount of money he would bid for me in advance. If I were to be fired… I would be immediately handed over to that man. It’s not a common method because the price usually drops significantly after being abandoned, but…”
Yet, he did it.
So, that’s why?
She hated being fired so much.
And why she was so overly cautious of Silver and Victoria.
Because she didn’t know what would happen to her if she went to that man.
Because she felt that this life, even if it was a little busier than her life with that man, was better.
[Hidden Quest]
[Make a deal with Hoyden and receive 1,000 gold coins or items of equivalent value.]
“Hmm.”
A hidden quest appeared.
Again, it was strangely timed.
“Hoyden?”
“You remember that man’s name.”
“The man who was bidding against me, right?”
“Yes…”
Eira frowned, as if she didn’t want to remember.
A thousand gold coins. That was definitely not a small amount.
This analogy might be a bit much, but.
It was enough to fill a carriage with Silver and Victoria and still have money left over.
It also meant that Hoyden had that much money.
At the same time, it meant that Hoyden wanted Eira that much.
I also wanted this hidden quest.
Clearing quests wasn’t just a reward for me anymore.
Hanna would have read this message in her room too.
And, a good idea came to my mind.
“What do you think of this guy, Hoyden?”
“What do I think…”
“Do you feel guilty?”
“No, I don’t.”
Eira shook her head immediately.
She said she killed a beastkin hater, so she didn’t seem to feel guilty.
“Besides, recently Hoyden… crossed the line.”
Since Hoyden couldn’t buy Eira, he bought Eira’s fellow assassins instead.
And then he threatened her.
If she didn’t quit her job and come to him immediately, he didn’t know what would happen to her colleagues.
“When was that?”
“Since a few days ago…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“…I was hesitating. I didn’t want to cause Master unnecessary worry, and I felt like I would be doing what he wanted if I said anything…”
He did something like that.
Well, that’s good.
I’ll have to extort money from Hoyden in my own way.
When I said I would extort money from Hoyden, Eira’s eyes widened slightly, as if she was interested.
“It would be easier if you helped too.”
“What can I do…”
“Just scare him a bit, and then match up with me like always. Like what we’ve been doing lately.”
“…Yes? Matching up… I, I understand for now.”
Her eyes were full of anxiety.
But she said she would follow me.
Was it because of her former colleagues?
Or because of the fear that she would be sold to Hoyden someday?
She decided to actively cooperate with my plan to mess with Hoyden.
No matter what it was.
***
“…So why do I have to go?”
Sitting in the carriage, Silver crossed her legs with a dissatisfied expression.
Her sleek legs and fluffy tail created a striking contrast.
She seemed even more uncomfortable because she was separated from Victoria.
Although they were completely different people in the past, they had developed camaraderie as colleagues who came to the mansion at the same time.
They had become quite close.
Like sisters.
Silver’s feelings were commendable, but the place we were going this time required someone who could protect themselves.
Victoria was out of the question.
“As my bodyguard.”
“…I’m not needed.”
In response to my answer, Silver looked us up and down with a blunt expression.
Eira was riding in the carriage, not as the coachman this time.
Moreover, she had taken off the androgynous butler uniform and was wearing a dress.
Hanna had also helped with her makeup.
When Hanna was helping with her makeup, Eira seemed to feel a strange sense of guilt and shrunk her shoulders, but—.
Hanna actually knew everything.
Eira looked beautiful when she was dolled up.
Her femininity, which was a contrast to her usual self, made her look even more alluring.
It would be nice if her expressions were a little richer.
Like when I touched her.
“No, there will be a moment when I need your help.”
“Hmph…”
Silver snorted and looked out the window.
We arrived at Hoyden’s mansion.
Hoyden was a merchant with a lot of money.
He wasn’t always like this, and it was said that it was the result of countless strokes of luck.
“…It’s bigger than our mansion… Ah, sorry.”
Silver blurted out and then apologized, looking at me.
It was definitely big.
If Hoyden’s luck had come a little sooner, he would have been the one who won the bidding war.
“Wait, stop!”
A soldier-like man stopped us.
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve come to talk about Eira.”
“Eira? Who’s that?”
“Tell Hoyden.”
“…Okay, I understand.”
Since I was in the carriage, I spoke in a slightly stronger tone, and the soldier, half in doubt, quickly ran off somewhere.
It didn’t even take a minute for the soldier to return.
Panting, the soldier, who had run at full speed, bowed to us at a 90-degree angle and allowed us to enter.
“T, this way!”
Then, a well-built man who seemed to have rushed out of the mansion waved at us.
He had a bright expression on his face.
[Sexual Desire : Eira, a cruel woman.]
“Ugh… That’s the man.”
I could tell who it was just by looking at his sexual desire.
He liked cruel women, so he must have been attracted to his beastkin-hating wife and Eira, who killed such a wife.
What an incredible sexual desire.
I’m not in a position to judge, though.
I slowly got out of the carriage and approached Hoyden.
“W, welcome.”
“Nice to meet you, Hoyden.”
“Yes! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
I took the lead and spoke informally, but he didn’t seem to mind at all.
Rather, he was overly happy.
The reason was obvious.
Since I brought Eira here, he must have thought I came to make a deal.
In fact, Eira’s appearance was much more dolled up than usual.
“Huk…”
Hoyden’s gaze turned to the carriage.
Eira got out of the carriage.
The way she slowly got out of the carriage, holding the dress with both hands, was no different from a noble lady.
Her femininity, which was usually hidden by her rough work and butler uniform, was being shown off to the fullest at this moment.
I put my arm around Hoyden’s shoulder in a friendly manner and said.
“How is it, do you like it?”
“Yes, yes! It’s a wonderful dress and makeup! It suits Eira well!”
“Well, lead us to a room. I want to sit down and talk.”
At those words, Hoyden began to guide us with exaggerated gestures.
Hoyden seemed very excited.
He brought up various stories without even being asked.
How much he liked Eira.
What kind of things he had imagined doing.
How grateful he was that I came here today.
Every time he heard those stories, Eira frowned as if she found it disgusting.
I slowly tapped Eira’s waist.
To reassure her that it would be okay.
She could really rest assured.
After all, Hoyden wouldn’t be able to touch a single hair on Eira’s head today.
