HDBMTD 63

~Chapter 63~

Jang stared blankly at the woman for a moment before snapping out of it.

“…Ah, yes!”

He hurried to light the flame on his lighter.

But the woman didn’t take out a cigarette—she just stared intently at the flame. Then she suddenly spoke.

“Thanks. Now, can you give me the lighter?”

“What? Ah…”

Jang handed over the lighter without thinking.

When her hand brushed against his fingers as she took it, his face flushed for no reason.

The colleague beside him whispered in his ear.

“You know her?”

“No.”

“Then why give it to someone you don’t know? That’s expensive.”

“I… I just…”

Why did he feel so overwhelmed?

After fumbling for a bit, Jang carefully asked the woman,

“Um… who are you?”

“…”

“It’s just… you’re too beautiful to be in such a remote place…”

The woman stared straight at him, as if looking right into his mind. Red eyes that made it impossible to read her thoughts.

“Asher Rinata.”

After a pause, she curled up one corner of her mouth.

“Already forgotten my face?”

Asher? That sounded familiar… Who was that again…?

After thinking for a while, Jang’s eyes widened and he quickly bowed.

“I’m sorry, Boss!”

So she was the boss of their district! He hadn’t been here long, so he didn’t recognize her at first.

The boss smiled.

“It’s fine. I didn’t visit often anyway.”

What a fool—forgetting the beautiful face of the boss!

Good thing their boss was not only beautiful but also generous!

“No, I’ll accept any punishment!”

Jang bent deeply again, shouting. The colleague beside him seemed to finally understand the situation and hurried to bow as well.

The beautiful boss chuckled.

“Alright, then here’s your first punishment. Guide me to the breeding pen.”

“Boss…”

Jang’s eyes grew misty with emotion at the lenient judgment. He could almost fall in love with a boss like this.

“Since the Big Boss isn’t here, we’ll serve you with all our hearts!”

“Good. So, is the King Wraith big enough now?”

Ah, so that’s what she came to check.

Jang’s heart beat nervously. If she found out it still wasn’t S-rank, she’d definitely be angry.

“It’s still… not quite S-rank. But if we feed it the scattered wraiths, it might reach it!”

“Is that so?”

While explaining, Jang noticed a man following behind the boss. He didn’t recognize him, but he seemed to be her aide.

Looks like an Imperial knight…

He gave the aide a quick glare before humbly continuing to guide the boss. His colleague nudged him.

“Hey… wasn’t our boss a man?”

“What nonsense, you idiot? How could you say that about someone so beautiful? If you want to live, never say something like that again.”

“Why are you so mad? Were you always this loyal?”

“What man wouldn’t be?”

Jang replied firmly.

Before entering the breeding pen, the boss said she had lost her disguise artifact and asked for a new one—essential equipment to be recognized as one of their own among the wraiths.

“Oh, I’ll bring one right away.”

Jang rushed to get artifacts and generously gave two each to the boss and her aide.

Once ready, he led them to the warehouse where the King Wraith’s cage was.

“This is the King Wraith!”

Jang proudly announced. Jason, who had come in with the princess disguised as the boss, froze.

Jason had seen clever wraiths with strange abilities before, like the one that lured them to this village, and thought the King Wraith might be similar.

But what he saw was overwhelming.

Inside a massive iron cage, the King Wraith slept quietly. Its body was the size of a house, but its face was that of a kind-looking middle-aged man.

Yet instead of human limbs, countless insect legs sprouted from its body, slowly twitching as if in a dream.

So this… is the King Wraith…

This was a monster from an entirely different world.

Jason couldn’t speak, gripped by instinctive fear and disgust. Jang spread his arms proudly.

“Magnificent, right? Feeding it so many souls made it grow this big!”

“…It has grown a lot in just four days.”

“Haha, all thanks to you, Boss. Following your orders, we kept feeding it insect-type monsters. It absorbed their traits and even gained some of the power and abilities of the wraiths it created. So whenever other wraiths eat souls, the King Wraith grows as well.”

Jang clapped excitedly.

“At first, I had no idea how to make an S-rank monster, but now… I think it’s possible!”

“That’s right!”

Even his colleague, who had complained earlier, joined in laughing.

“But… that door over there.”

In the large room with the King Wraith’s cage, there was another small side room. The boss pointed to it.

“It’s locked, right? Open it.”

“That’s the room with the ‘Chair,’ though.”

Jason tilted his head. A room with a chair? Did they usually describe an empty room like that?

The princess, still pretending to be the boss, frowned.

“Don’t argue. I’m checking the Chair’s condition.”

“Ah, understood! Sorry!”

Jang hurriedly bowed.

He must have lost his mind for a moment—how dare he question the boss’s command!

He quickly fetched the key, opened the door, and then, by order of the boss, left the breeding pen.

“Looks like everything here will be done today. We can finally leave this place.”

“Yeah, I really want to work harder to please the boss!”

“You’re totally smitten.”

They joked as they walked back to their quarters.

“Phew…”

Once Jang and his colleague left, Jason exhaled deeply and leaned against the wall. He glanced to the side.

The princess calmly examined the King Wraith. Seeing her so composed, Jason muttered,

“You’re amazing, Your Highness…”

“Haha, Jason, you’re not cut out to be a spy.”

Jason couldn’t help but feel respect for her. She had read those Cambiata members’ minds, manipulated their thoughts, and perfectly imitated the boss.

Jason, who had failed to find a permanent partner, had worked with many different mental-type Eshapes. Though young, he was an A-rank and had mostly teamed up with skilled, experienced people.

But he had never seen a mental-type Eshape handle things so smoothly.

Even injured… an S-rank really is different…

When he first met Nocturne, he had been overwhelmed. But while what he felt toward Nocturne was admiration, what he felt now was awe—like facing a being from an entirely different dimension.

When they first broke in, he thought he had to protect her, but now… he was just being dragged along like an extra.

“Jason, can you take that thing down?”

The princess suddenly asked. He forced himself to look up at the King Wraith.

“…If it’s asleep, I can try. But I’m not sure if it’ll stay asleep even if stabbed.”

The princess nodded.

“Hmm… then let’s leave it. When Nocturne comes, he can deal with it.”

“Good idea.”