Red hair with pitch-black eyes.

That somewhat irritable-looking man was definitely Deus Klein, the male protagonist of the novel.

But why couldn’t I see the other person?

I was sure there had been someone talking with Deus, but there wasn’t even a shadow visible around.

“Y-you’ll get caught that way, human. Come inside.”

Taro grabbed the hem of my dress with his beak and pulled me inward.

Leaning against the cave wall, I whispered to Taro.

“Wasn’t there another person besides that red-haired man? Why can I only see one person?”

“A-are you talking about Leon?”

“Leon? Who’s Leon?”

“Kekeke. The sword that the human man is wearing is Leon, Master.”

Sword?

Come to think of it, despite his simple attire, the sword he wore at his waist did look quite elaborate.

But that sword is Leon?

I looked at Wit and Taro, who were staring at me.

Seeing how familiar they were with the name, Leon must also be a demon like them, right?

“What kind of fairy is Leon? Judging by his sword form… a sword fairy?”

“Kekeke. Kekeke. A sword fairy, she says. Master called Leon a sword fairy. Kekeke.”

“Shh! C-can’t you speak quietly, Wit! And h-human, Leon is a fairy of power.”

Looking at Taro, who was making more noise than Wit, I thought.

A fairy of power…

Come to think of it, in the original story, Deus suddenly became stronger at some point.

The comments said Deus became stronger to protect Violet.

But was it actually through a contract with a demon that he became so strong?

I was going through the contents of the original novel one by one when.

“For someone who claims to know well, you can only use this much power?”

I heard a voice that sounded like the demon called Leon scolding Deus.

“This month I’ve only eaten three humans, Deus.”

At that moment, my mind froze like a stone.

W-what did he say he ate?

Before I could gather my dazed thoughts, Deus’s irritable voice was heard.

“You normally eat about that many in a month anyway. Last month was unusual when you devoured five people.”

“Three is not enough. No matter how much I eat, I’m hungry, so hungry.”

“Tch. You’re not a pig… If you’re that desperate, I’ve put another child in the basement, so go eat now if you want.”

I didn’t mishear!

Thump, thump-

My heart beat violently.

Wait, wasn’t this supposed to be a romance novel?

Why is the genre suddenly changing to horror or suspense? How can the male lead be saying lines that sound like they belong to a plot-twist psychopathic murderer in a movie!

Of course, even in the original novel, Deus had many personality issues.

He was a typical playboy with a volatile temper who would beat people nearly to death just because they made him feel bad.

Because of this, whenever Deus appeared, the comment section would be flooded with insults.

However, once his tragic past was revealed and he showed his love and devotion to Violet, public opinion shifted to “the regretful man is indeed delicious.”

But even for a male lead, this is different. Human trafficking is a serious different level of problem!

What on earth is Deus doing this for?

I turned my head back to where Deus and Leon had been.

Shadows flickered on the cave walls from the candles lit here and there.

“Just know that if you eat now, you’ll have to starve for a week.”

“You’re telling me to starve for a whole week? That’s basically telling me to die!”

“Then eat sparingly. Finding people isn’t as easy as you think.”

At Deus’s words, Leon made a strange groan.

“Deus, I’ll say it again. If you want to contract with me, show me your sincerity.”

I paused at Leon’s words.

Does that mean Deus hasn’t yet contracted with Leon?

“I’m hungry. So hungry.”

“I’ll definitely cut open your stomach someday to check if you have parasites.”

Thud, thud.

Along with heavy footsteps, Deus and Leon’s voices gradually faded away.

“H-human, I’ll lower you down, so stay still.”

After some time, Taro put me back on the ground.

I entered the cave where Deus and Leon had been and looked around.

One desk and several wooden boxes.

Empty liquor bottles were rolling on the floor.

“T-the treasures collected by the human we just saw should be in these boxes.”

Taro said that and urged me to open the boxes.

However, seeing me standing still, Taro looked puzzled.

“W-why aren’t you opening them? What are you doing?”

I raised my head to look at Taro.

“I think there’s someone in the basement.”

At my words, Taro belatedly seemed to understand what I meant.

“T-the human in the basement? That would be a human captured by Leon.”

“They said they were going to eat that person…”

“T-to be precise, they drink human blood. Leon needs to drink human blood to m-maintain his power.”

“What? If they only need blood, why did they say they’re eat… ugh… eating people?”

As I retched involuntarily at the horrible thought, Wit bumped against me and patted my back.

“I-it’s just Leon’s bad taste. I understand, human. S-sometimes even we fairies wonder if he might actually be a demon.”

After finishing his words, Taro fluttered his wings, telling me to open the boxes now.

But jewels weren’t on my mind right now.

No matter how much I love jewels, I’m not insensitive enough to ignore someone dying.

“Master, do you want to save the human in the basement? Kekeke.”

I turned my head to look at Wit.

Understanding the meaning in my eyes, Wit flew around excitedly and shouted.

“Alright, Master. Wit will help you!”

“W-what are you trying to do!”

But Taro stopped Wit, who was about to go down to the basement.

“T-that human is Leon’s prey. Do you want to see Leon go berserk, Wit?”

“Hmm? Is Taro scared? Coward! Coward! Kekeke!”

Seeing Wit teasing him like a child, Taro sighed as if there was no answer.

“E-even we would have trouble stopping Leon once he explodes, human. How about ignoring the human in the basement and just taking the treasures?”

“Cowardly Taro. Scared of Leon. Coward, coward! Kekeke!”

“W-who are you calling a coward! You’ve never even met Leon!”

I got nervous when Taro spoke like that.

Anyway, it means this demon called Leon is so strong that other demons can’t stop him.

But even so…

“Where is the way down to the basement?”

If I turn a blind eye to this situation and leave, I would feel like I’ve given up on being human.

I didn’t want to live with such an uncomfortable feeling for the rest of my life.

“H-has Wit’s stubbornness rubbed off on you? Not listening, just the same.”

Taro looked at me with complicated eyes.

But despite his words, Taro flew toward somewhere as if to show me the way to the basement.

“Sigh…”

After letting out a small sigh, I followed Taro.

***

Below the cave, a boy was curled up and trembling.

The boy, who introduced himself as Pin, said he had fainted on his way home after playing with friends, and when he opened his eyes, he was here.

I asked Wit to take Pin home.

Before sending Pin off, I tore off a few jewels from my dress, gave them to him, and added that he should move to another place away from where he originally lived, just in case.

And then…

“D-do you like them, human?”

I nodded while looking happily at the jewels that Taro had separately prepared for me.

“Of course I do.”

While I was contemplating how to send Pin away, Taro had gone into the cave and managed to gather jewels for me.

According to Taro, this cave was a place where Deus supplied people to Leon and secretly accumulated funds.

How thrilling is this? Stealing money from the male protagonist who is both an Imperial Prince and a serial killer.