David’s words prompted Martin to question, “But what if they don’t help us?”

David closed his mouth. A hint of bewilderment crossed his expression, suggesting he hadn’t considered the possibility they might not receive help.

Martin continued:

“Of course we argue that we need to find Romei… no, that we need to find her because we’re close to her. But from the temple’s perspective, she’s just one of many holy knights. Just a rookie knight who isn’t particularly exceptional, whose disappearance makes little difference to them.”

“…”

“We have a compelling reason to find Romei. But the higher-ups don’t. Besides, there haven’t been any disappearances or casualties since Romei vanished. If rumors start spreading that Romei sacrificed herself to stop the devil and we simply failed to realize it, our chances of getting help will vanish forever.”

Martin’s observation was painfully realistic but valid. Each of them had harbored feelings for Romei at some point, and some still did. They simply didn’t show it outwardly.

Finding Romei was tremendously important to them, but to everyone else, it wasn’t their concern.

Romei was precious only to those who knew her.

A heavy atmosphere descended over the table. Romei’s disappearance alone was enough to trouble their minds, but now even more complications kept arising.

While everyone hung their heads and swallowed their sighs, Enoch, who had been unusually quiet, spoke up.

“What if Romei is alive? If she’s alive, wouldn’t the higher-ups step in to help?”

“Enoch, Romei is missing. We don’t know if she’s dead, but we can’t be certain she’s alive either,” Aron, who had maintained his silence, pointed out. But Enoch shook his head, undeterred, and countered:

“Think about it. David just said that normally when someone goes missing, their body is found in the forest within a week. If her soul had been eaten by the devil, enough time has passed that she should have been found by now, but Romei hasn’t been discovered anywhere. All we found were her gun, flare, and bucket.”

“…So?”

“If we think about it in reverse, maybe she hasn’t been found despite our thorough search of the forest because her soul hasn’t been eaten yet? That means she’s still alive, with the devil.”

David, who had been pondering Enoch’s words, nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. The bodies we’ve found were always just physical shells without souls. The devil has no reason to keep a soulless body.”

Encouraged, Enoch elaborated on his theory.

“Romei, however she managed to deal with the devil, is with it now. Her soul probably hasn’t been eaten yet. If that’s the case, couldn’t we make a compelling argument that finding Romei means catching the devil behind these incidents?”

“…”

“Missing an opportunity to catch a devil is exactly what the temple should avoid at all costs. This should be persuasive enough, don’t you think?”

Enoch looked around at the group. Everyone showed signs of fatigue from ten days of inadequate sleep and searching the forest, but none seemed to oppose his idea.

Martin was the first to respond positively to Enoch’s suggestion.

“I think we should push forward with Enoch’s argument. Like David said, we can’t solve this disappearance on our own. One way or another, we need help from others. If we present it the way Enoch suggested, the higher-ups might cooperate in finding Romei.”

“Right. That seems like our best option right now. Romei has disappeared—we need to grasp at any straw we can.”

Edward supported Martin’s statement with his vote of approval. David also seemed to agree, quietly nodding his head.

Only Aron remained.

As the attention of his four friends turned to him, he finally spoke.

“Alright. I’ll compile everything we’ve discussed and our actions so far into a report for the Captain. And we…”

“…”

“No matter what happens, we must find Romei.”

As Aron made his solemn pledge, the other friends nodded with equally grave expressions.

The five friends exchanged glances, sharing a vow more quiet and solemn than ever before.

* * *

【 The Wager He Proposed 】

“Do humans really eat this garbage every day?”

Barmas muttered in a chilling voice, holding a rotting, crumbling potato in his hand. Rajie, standing beside him, silently swallowed a dry gulp while watching his master’s mood.

Before him lay the food ingredients Rajie had hurriedly and with great difficulty procured for the human. Though called ingredients, there was actually little that was edible.

A few potatoes with disgusting sprouts, two apples with wrinkled surfaces looking like they’d been dipped in sulfuric acid, and some wilting leaves that seemed torn from a dying tree—that was all.

Barmas had zero interest in what humans ate, but he was certain they wouldn’t eat this trash.

He carelessly dropped the sprouted potato he was holding and crushed it under his foot. The potato, which had maintained its round shape until then, shattered with a loud noise. Rajie’s shoulders flinched.

“I clearly sent you to bring food, but you’ve only brought back dying garbage.”

“I apologize, Lord Barmas.”

“I believe I generously gave you one chance, but have you already forgotten? Or have you suddenly developed a death wish and thought of a new way to commit suicide?”

Under Barmas’s rapid-fire criticism, Rajie trembled with undisguised fear and begged for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, Lord Barmas. I was wrong. I foolishly failed to understand what you wanted and made the mistake of causing you more trouble. If you give me another chance, I’ll bring proper food.”

Barmas looked down expressionlessly at Rajie, who was crawling on the floor and desperately begging for forgiveness.

Though displeased with Rajie for causing him such trouble, he appreciated the posture of supplication and decided to let it pass with just a light warning.

Barmas lightly stepped on Rajie’s head with his shoe. Then, crushing it gradually like he had done with the potato, he said:

“Make such a mistake one more time, and your life is forfeit. Understood?”

“…Yes. Thank you for your forgiveness, Lord Barmas.”

Only when he heard the words of gratitude from beneath his foot did Barmas withdraw his foot. Still, Rajie didn’t raise his head, as he hadn’t received permission to do so.

‘He seems to have come to his senses now.’

With that thought, Barmas gave Rajie an order.

“Raise your head and stand up.”

Rajie immediately rose from his position. Barmas’s foot had left a clear red gash in the center of his forehead, with beads of blood forming. Nevertheless, he stood with an expressionless face, waiting for Barmas’s orders.

Barmas issued the same command for the third time today.

“Bring something ‘edible’ for the human. If you show up again with this kind of withered trash in quantities barely enough to fill a bird’s eye, you’ll create some memorable experiences in the torture chamber. Understood?”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind, Lord Barmas.”

“If you understand, then go.”

After bowing respectfully, Rajie set out to find something edible for the human.

Barmas glared with dissatisfaction at the spot where Rajie had disappeared, then called for a servant. Pointing at the grotesque ingredients laid out before him, he said:

“Throw all this garbage outside.”

“Yes, understood, Lord Barmas.”

“Has the woman woken up?”

The servant, who was organizing the ingredients by pushing them onto a large tray, blinked momentarily at his question.

The servants in the mansion were mentally connected to each other, so if they concentrated, they could know what others were doing and communicate messages.

The servant accessed the senses of another servant who had recently taken the human to the bathroom, assessed the situation, and reported back to Barmas.

“…It seems she hasn’t woken up yet. She’s lying in the bathtub with her eyes closed.”

“Tell them to send her to the bedroom as soon as she finishes bathing.”

“Understood.”

The servant acknowledged and continued his work, but as Barmas was about to leave, he asked:

“Lord Barmas, may I ask one question, if you don’t mind?”

“What? Has something happened to the human?”

“No. Throughout the bathing, strange noises keep coming from the human’s stomach, and I wanted to confirm if it’s alright to leave it be.”

Barmas found the servant’s polite request for confirmation absurd. He wondered how loud the noise must have been for the servants to ask him about it.

But the human hadn’t done anything wrong. She simply had a soul strong and special enough not to break despite the rough intercourse.

And he had decided to keep the human here to consume that special soul.

Barmas addressed the servant who was politely waiting for his answer, speaking in a casual tone:

“Leave it be. It’s just noise from not being fed. Feed her, and it will disappear, so don’t worry about it.”

“Understood. Then I’ll send her to the bedroom as soon as she finishes bathing, Lord Barmas.”

“Good.”

Barmas left, and the remaining servant finished clearing away what they had intended to feed the human. The inedible garbage Rajie had brought was scattered behind the mansion and disappeared into the soil.