Chapter 28

“Mercy!” cried a naked girl, kneeling where the wolf had just been.

Despite her scream, Marcus was still rushing at her. I pushed my mana toward him. He was just by the girl, lowering his sword toward her body, and I was scared that I was too late. But at the last moment, my mana struck his arm, pushing his weapon to the side so that it thrust into the ground.

“Wait!” I screamed, running toward them. Marcus completely ignored me and raised his sword to attack again, but fortunately, I was close. As the wolf girl curled up on the ground, I leaped at Marcus, knocking him down before he managed to hit her.

“What the fuck!?” Marcus screamed after we tumbled a little on the ground. “Are you fucked up?” he shouted, rising and grabbing his sword.

“That’s a woman,” I exclaimed.

“It’s a wild demon,” Marcus replied.

I turned toward her, but she was no longer there. She had probably run away the moment she had an opportunity. Marcus snorted, lowering his weapon.

“Why did you stop me?!” Marcus accused, turning toward me.

“You wanted to kill a human!”

“A wild demon!”

“She was scared, not aggressive. And as she screamed for mercy, she didn't sound like a wild demon.”

“Just because she didn't attack us doesn't mean she won't attack a villager, a child, or their animals. Because of you, they may not pay us.”

“Marcus, calm down. That was a demon, a shapeshifter,” Tori interrupted.

Marcus fell silent but still stared at me, clearly frustrated.

“You’ll bring them the bodies of five wolves. They don’t need to know that one ran away. You’re not staying in the village anyway—you can just scam them,” I said, looking at Tori. “I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that. You just wanted to kill a human,” I added, glancing at Marcus.

Tori nodded and stepped toward one of the wolves she had killed, beginning to gut it.

I ignored Marcus, who was still angrily looking at me, and walked over to Zoe, who was sitting next to the wolf she had killed.

“Zoe, is everything okay?” I asked.

She lifted her head, looked at me, and then lowered her gaze, avoiding mine.

“Zoe, are you fine?” I asked again, kneeling next to her, worried.

She simply nodded. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“Zoe, I don't even know what you’re apologizing for, so I doubt that you did anything wrong.”

Zoe waved her hand over herself and the wolf. “I’m disgusting,” she said, then started to cry, hiding her face in her hands.

“Hey, hey, you’re not,” I said, shifting closer to her and grabbing her arms. She was covered in blood, mostly around her lips and chin, but I hugged her, being careful not to get too dirty. “Zoe, you defended me. You beat this wolf to protect me,” I whispered while pressing her against me.

“I already knew that you were a vampire, and it didn't change anything, did it? I still took you with me and spent every moment in this world with you. Perhaps these aren’t the most amazing views, but you were fighting. For me. No surprise that it ended bloody.”

Zoe sniffled but raised her head and glanced at me. “You’re not disgusted by me?” she whispered.

“No,” I replied, shaking my head. Then I kissed her cute nose, which was clean of blood. “We can just wash you again, and you’ll be clean and smelling like new. And then, there’s a reward waiting for you for winning our little game,” I said, smiling.

Zoe smiled too, exposing her fangs, which she licked with her tongue. I hugged her once more.

[Level up!]
[Demon: Zoe Drazantis]
[Class: Night Hunter! (Level 9)]
[Stat Points Gained: 1]
[Unlocked new skill: Night Senses (Level 1)]
[Night Senses Level 1 (Passive) – Enhances senses at night, making it easier to see in darkness and hear better.]

“You leveled up—good job,” I said quietly, still pressing her slim body to mine. Zoe shifted so her head was pressed against my chest. She was dirtying my shirt with blood, but I ignored it. There wasn’t even that much, since Zoe had drunk most of it.

“I don't want to interrupt you, lovebirds, but if you could at least move to the side so I can take care of this wolf,” Tori said, standing next to us.

I nodded, and then together with Zoe we stood up. Marcus glanced at her with disgust on his face, but I quickly grabbed Zoe and turned her so that she was facing me, her back to him.

“We’ll return to the village now,” I said to Tori.

“Sure,” she replied simply, not even looking at us as she cut something out of the wolf.

As we walked back, I wondered why Tori hadn’t said a single word about me using my mana. She must have seen it when I pushed the wolf away right in front of her. And I had used my mana on Marcus, who, even though he was angry, hadn’t mentioned it either. I wasn't sure why they just ignored it—or if I should be worried about it.

Zoe and I headed toward the village in silence, holding hands. I glanced at her and noticed a soft smile on her innocent face. Well, now that she was smeared with blood, she didn't look as innocent as usual.

I glanced around the forest. What happened to that wolf? From the start, I had noticed that she looked different, but I hadn’t suspected that she was a real human woman. Or rather, a demon. But in this world, I probably shouldn’t be so surprised.

“Zoe,” I said. “Did you see what happened to the last wolf—the smaller one with blue fur that turned into a woman?”

“She changed back into a wolf and ran into the forest,” Zoe replied. “You did well protecting her, Master. You’re amazing.”

I smiled softly, nodding. I wondered what would happen to her.

We reached the village, and I stopped Zoe.

“Wait,” I said, pulling off my shirt and using it to clean her face. Being covered in blood didn't look as bad as the fact that her whole face was smeared with it. I didn't manage to clean her completely, but since it was dark, it wasn't so obvious anymore.

Zoe just stood there waiting as I wiped her clean. Her cheeks blushed, and when I finished, I kissed her smiling lips.

“Done. Let’s go,” I said.

As we reached the house, the man who had spoken with Tori earlier was standing in front of the door. I told him what had happened, not mentioning the wolf woman. He led us to a building next to his house, telling us that all four of us could sleep there, as it was empty.

When we entered, he glanced at me and Zoe, then led us to one of the bedrooms. “You can sleep here. I’ll bring you linen soon,” he said. “Will your companions sleep together?”

“Separately,” I replied. “Can we take a bath here?” I asked.

The man nodded. “Here’s the bathroom,” he said, opening another door. We followed him into the room. In the middle, there was a bathtub and a few lockers under the walls. The man pulled out towels and soap from one of them, then stopped next to a small panel that hung over the edge of the bath.

There were three stones on it, and as he shifted one of them, they all glowed slightly, and water rushed from under the panel into the tub.

“I will bring you food soon. It will be waiting in the main room. Do you need anything else?” he asked.

“Would you have some new clothes for us?” I asked, looking at our clothes, which were covered in blood. It wasn't bad, but I would prefer not to walk around in clothes like that the whole day.

“Yeah, I should have something in the right size. I have a daughter around your age,” he said, looking at Zoe.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“I need to thank you. Those wolves would have ruined us,” he said, leaving the room.

Together with Zoe, we stripped off our dirty clothes and entered the bath. As it was almost completely filled with water, Zoe raised and shifted one of the magic stones on the panel so they were no longer touching, then sat back down between my legs, leaning against my chest.

“How do these stones work?” I asked, nodding my head toward them.

Zoe raised again slightly to be able to reach the stones. “This one creates water,” she said, touching one that she hadn't shifted earlier. “I think it's collecting it somehow from the air and then releasing it as a stream,” she said as I started to wash her body.

“This,” she said, pointing at another one, “if you put mana into it, it gets hot, and when water passes through it, it takes the heat from it. And this,” Zoe said, pointing at the last one she had been shifting, “is storing mana, and when it touches the others, it passes it, activating them,” she explained.

“Where did they come from?” I asked, still washing her body as she sat between my legs.

“From dungeons, and some mages can modify them.”

“And the one that is storing mana—could it be recharged?”

“I think so,” Zoe replied.

“Could I earn money doing that? Recharging mana stones?”

“I don't know, maybe,” Zoe replied, shrugging.

That was something that could allow me to earn some money. I would need to check this later on—perhaps Gemma could tell me something more.

As I finished washing Zoe, she then washed my body, and we rubbed each other dry with towels while she giggled happily.

I wrapped the towel around my waist and left the bathroom. As I stopped in the corridor, I noticed that Tori and Marcus had returned and were eating in the main room. Both of them glanced at me, but their eyes quickly focused behind me.

Marcus frowned, and Tori tilted her head, seeming curious. I thought that Zoe was running around naked again, but when I looked at her, she was covered in a towel. However, her tail was swinging behind her slowly.

“Let’s go put the clothes on,” I said, pulling Zoe into the room, which was our bedroom. The fact that they had seen her tail didn't change much. In fact, Zoe claimed that because she was my ****, people would not bother her, so she didn't really need to hide it at all. The new clothes were lying on the bed, waiting for us. They were too big, but not to the point that they were uncomfortable.

We left the room, going back into the main room. Zoe wasn't hiding her tail anymore, as she had probably decided that since they had already seen it once, she didn't need to.

“Food for you,” Tori said, pointing with her spoon at the pot and bowls next to it. I was starving after the whole day of traveling.

“Thanks,” I said, putting food into the bowls for me and Zoe. Then I sat down in front of Tori at the table. Zoe followed after me and stopped, standing next to me, watching me expectantly. I smiled and shifted back, making space so she could climb onto my thighs and sit in my lap. We fed each other in this already standard position for us, with her tail wrapped around my waist.

I glanced at Tori, who ate with a soft smile. Marcus was staring at us—or rather, at Zoe, who was sitting in my lap.

“What are you?” he asked.

“It’s none of your business, Marcus,” Tori replied immediately.

He looked at her, surprised. They exchanged looks, and he shook his head, frowning, and focused on his food.

“Did they pay you already?” I asked Tori between bites from Zoe.

“Yes, and on top of that, we got the fur, claws, and tusks of the wolves, so we will have extra profit,” Tori said, putting the empty bowl back on the table.

“But the man deducted our wages for the clothes you bought from him,” Marcus accused.

Actually, I hadn’t discussed with the man on what terms he gave us the clothes, but it looked like it was no longer part of his gratitude for the help.

“That’s why we’ll take the spoils from the wolf that Zoe killed and call it even,” Tori said. “We’re heading out early tomorrow, so don't stay up too late and oversleep,” she added with a slight smile before heading toward the bathroom.

Marcus left the room almost immediately after her, making his way to one of the bedrooms.

Zoe and I finished feeding each other and then went to our own bedroom. Inside was a single, large double bed. As soon as we stepped in, I closed the door, and Zoe stripped off all her clothes.

She stood before me completely naked, her hands clasped in front of her, looking at me shyly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

I shook my head with a smile. It was incredible how she could go from acting like a sex demon one moment to suddenly getting flustered about it the next.

“Do you want to claim your reward?” I asked.