Luke needed to grow stronger and mentally tougher.
Herace briefly looked at him with a look of sympathy.
“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s creepy.”
“What kind of look am I giving?”
“You’re looking at me like you’re better than me!”
Well, his temper was definitely as bad as advertised.
“Then don’t look down on me, I’m obviously way weaker than you! What’s it to you if I seem easy to handle?”
“…I’m supposed to be some kind of talent that you, my master, recognized, right? Eventually, you’ll be begging me on your knees to notice you!”
Though all of it was fabricated, at least the protagonist had accepted his role.
And, it seemed he had firmly established his negative image.
Herace felt relieved and decided to sample some of the hotel food.
Seeing Luke eat so joyfully made him a bit hungry too.
Maybe he’d just try a bite to see what it tasted like.
“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t die before that happens.”
“Why would I die?”
Did he instinctively know he wasn’t going to die, even if he wasn’t aware of being the protagonist?
Or was it just unshakable confidence?
Seeing Luke looking so pleased with himself, Herace couldn’t help but smile slyly.
“That’s right.”
He briefly lifted his mask.
Only his mouth was visible, but now that the elegant mask was gone, it felt a bit refreshing.
Herace smiled more comfortably than before.
His plump lips curved into a refined smile, and his lavender hair fluttered slightly in the breeze.
Luke let out a sharp breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing.”
It was definitely a surprised sound, but Herace soon realized that Luke’s gaze was fixed on his exposed face.
“Is this the first time you’ve seen a monster’s face?”
“Yeah, you look a lot better than I expected. I’m surprised.”
Herace felt pleased.
‘Surprised because I look better than you thought.’
He was probably surprised by how handsome he was.
From the moment he was born, Herace had been famous as the most beautiful boy in the village, and eventually, he was called the most handsome man in the empire.
That hadn’t changed much even after he left the book and became a member of the Dimensional Management Bureau.
He was very confident in his appearance.
Herace Schlye was elegant, mysterious, and a beautiful man. That aura didn’t disappear just because he wore a mask.
“People wouldn’t think much of it if I took it all off.”
But because of his outstanding appearance, Herace wore a mask.
His face was unmistakably the “protagonist’s” face, one that would steal attention from those around him.
Taking the spotlight in someone else’s novel wasn’t good for the plot.
So, he had no intention of taking it off until he left.
What if Luke fell for him just because of this face?
“The monster’s head is all the same. See for yourself.”
He lied to try to divert his attention, but Luke only grew more curious.
“I don’t want to.”
“Why? Is it a complex to have such a human face but still be disgusting?”
Herace ignored him and continued eating.
After all, it wasn’t just any room service; it was really delicious.
“What do you think?”
After savoring a bite, he lowered his mask.
It was tasty, but it wasn’t anything that would excite a 140-year-old like Herace.
“Hey, let me see!”
“Shut up and don’t eat it, or I’ll make you puke everything you’ve eaten so far.”
Luke flinched.
“With a personality like yours, I can guess what your face is like. You little bastard.”
“What did I just say?”
“I said, eat!”
Burying his face in the bowl as he ate seemed to have caught the attention of the man beneath the mask.
However, unable to properly rebut and feeling frustrated from being threatened, he kept grumbling as he ate.
Herace waited for Luke to tire himself out while mentally reviewing his plans.
‘I’ve fed him well, so maybe it’s time to take him to hunt monsters.’
The collar symbolizing a slave bothered him, but since Luke was already so defiant, letting him go would only make him even more disobedient.
Herace still had no intention of using electric shocks, but it was better to keep it as a warning.
“Give me a sword.”
It was Luke’s audacious voice that broke his thoughts.
“What?”
It wasn’t as if he had left the sword with him.
Herace responded in disbelief, but Luke stood his ground.
“I passed the preliminaries. So, you’re going to test my abilities more, right? But I’m a swordsman, so I can’t do anything without a sword.”
Surprisingly, his reasoning made sense.
However, when he joined the monster-hunting squad, weapons would be provided, so there was no need for Herace to gift him one.
“I don’t think so.”
“Why!”
“Do you understand your position? I’m a slave you bought for 100 million gold. After spending that much, why would I want to give you anything more?”
Luke fell silent for a moment.
Even he had to admit that 100 million gold was a large sum.
“But a slave bought with that much gold is so shameless too. If you want something, why don’t you kiss my feet and beg for it?”
“Hey!”
Luke’s face flushed with anger, shouting in response.
For a protagonist, he was quite hot-headed.
“What’s that?”
“Let’s fight! I’ll show you that I deserve the sword!”
“……”
Herace was slightly surprised.
As the antagonist who gave experience in this fantasy novel, it felt like his rewards were being exposed for doing what was expected.
Even though Luke was the protagonist, it was embarrassing for someone in his early twenties to be reading this.
But in terms of the novel, it might be fun as he, the protagonist, managed to read the villain with his wits since physically, he couldn’t compete yet.
This was the kind of story where the protagonist had to be impressive.
‘Should I play along a bit?’
There were many swords in his space.
As a great mage, Herace had often wielded a sword for physical training in the past.
He could toss out a decent but weak sword, and it would probably break when he faced the next opponent.
Once the story got back on track, the first enemy would appear.
As the first boss, it was in a “strong but weakened” state, but it would still be a tough challenge for Luke at this point.
It was unavoidable since they had to create a scene where Luke barely gained some fate-altering opportunity.
Besides, the weapon they had given him in the monster-hunting squad would break eventually.
“Alright, then.”
Herace took out a simple, unimpressive sword from his space and tossed it to the ground.
“This is the prize.”
“What’s this?”
Luke frowned.
The sword, supposedly, had an ornate hilt with decorations and was adorned with flashy jewels.
The scabbard was even gilded, making it shine.
No matter how you looked at it, it looked more like a decorative sword than a functional weapon.
But it couldn’t be helped. Herace didn’t collect items that didn’t suit him.
To match his flashy appearance, one had to be assertive enough.
“Is this a toy?”
“No.”
“You’re mocking me, right?”
“If you don’t want it, don’t take it.”
“I didn’t say that!”
Even when he tried to be kind, the protagonist wouldn’t listen.
Herace grabbed Luke’s arm and teleported him to a nearby forest.
The sudden change in scenery surprised Luke, and he looked around frantically, still clutching the sword he had received earlier as if afraid to drop it.
“Are you really a monster?”
There was a prejudice that monsters who followed instincts couldn’t use this level of magic.
Of course, most of them couldn’t. But there were exceptions, like the Great Dragon, so it wasn’t strange for a mage subordinate like Herace to exist.
“Of course. My king is so strong, this would be nothing. Someone like you, Luke, would probably pee his pants just looking at him.”
“Get over here!”
Luke was provoked and shouted angrily, his face flushed.
“Don’t get too excited. You’re already dumb, but if you get too excited, your brain will stop working.”
“You bastard, I’ll kill you…”
“You can’t kill me.”
“Argh!”
Herace threw Luke into the air.
Thanks for the Chapter~