In the inn restaurant, Del was having his dinner after taking a bath from the nearest bathhouse. In front of him was Cole eating his dinner with such an appetite. Besides him was his Kar98 rifle loaded with ammunition.

“Cole, we need to form a plan,” Del said.

Cole kept eating.

“I am thinking of attacking them from a distance. First of all, I really need to kill the mage first. After that, I will kill the archer. I hope you can deal with those two knights when I engage the ranged units. Do you have anything to add?” Del said.

Cole kept eating.

“Do you have any questions?”

Cole kept eating.

“Perhaps, you have any suggestion for me?”

Cole kept eating.

“I will also add that it will be a good idea that you act as my meat shield. I think it would be best for me if you distract those two knights that are highly likely to hunt me down first. I hope you don’t mind,” Del smirked.

Cole stopped putting food inside his mouth, “What? Are you crazy? Do you want to get me killed?”

“Well, you don’t give me any input so I have to do what I have in mind. Unless you can give me a better input, I will force you to do what I’m planning to do no matter what the condition is,” Del said.

“Alright, alright, let me think what I can do. Do you have any idea where this gang is located?” Cole asked.

“Finding them won’t be hard. The road between Midham and Alder had little to no place to hide a little hut where Osmond is hiding. Besides, the only reason why he is not hunted down is that nobody takes that contract because the pay is simply too low for a D-rank adventurer,” Del said.

“One gold coin is too low?” Cole asked.

“Yes, on average, a quest for a D-rank is ranging between one to five gold coins in reward,” Del said.

“Really?” Cole asked.

“Yeah. I might be a novice adventurer, but I am more than well-aware of the payment of each rank,” Del said.

“I see. Back to the main topic, I don’t want to become your meat shield. I am an engineer, not a knight,” Cole said.

“I think I still need to remind you that I own you. Anyway, I don’t like to use the ability of the collar on your neck. Do you have any suggestion that will make sure that the enemies come after you instead of coming after me?” Del asked.

“Well, I think I can burn the grassland so that our enemies would be focused on running away instead of fighting us,” Cole said.

“It would be a good idea if the fire wouldn’t spread to Midham or Alder. However, in this season, I think you will accidentally create a wildfire that stretches from Alder to Midham. That’s not a good idea,” Del said.

“I think I don’t have any choice, do I?” Cole said.

“I think so,” Del smirked.

“Fine, I’ll become your meat shield on one condition,” Cole said.

“What’s the condition?” Del asked.

“Give me your sword,” Cole said.

“Fair enough,” Del said.

It was the same cheap steel sword that he used to kill Alberto anyway. If Cole accidentally lost it, he could buy a new one as long as Cole managed to pull the operation without making any blunder. If Cole made a blunder, Del doubted that both of them could come back to Midham in one piece.

Still, even though Del wanted Cole to be a meat shield, he didn’t want to leave Cole to death. He would still treat him if he became injured from the battle. After all, even though Cole was his slave, Del still considered him to be a friend that needed to be kept on a leash.

Del and Cole finished their meal. They went back upstairs to their bedroom. Del opened the metal box and put his Kar98 back into the metal box. He went into bed shortly after that.

“Del, where should I sleep?” Cole asked.

“Well, you can sleep on the floor if you want, but I think my bed should fit one more person,” Del said.

“On second thought, I’ll just sleep on the floor,” Cole said.

Del threw a pillow to Cole, “If you want to sleep on the floor, just make sure that you use this.”

“Thanks,” Cole said as he laid down on the floor.

Del turned off the magic lantern that was hanging on the wall and he closed his eyes. It didn’t take too long until Cole slept. It seemed that even an injured demon would require some sleep. Del eventually closed his eyes.

[Del]

“Yes?” Del opened his eyes again after seeing that screen.

[Why are you taking this demon as your slave? Won’t he be an extra problem for you? He needs to be fed after all]

“I have one simple reason. I need someone who can back me up without asking me many questions. Cole also seems to be very educated although he is a moron in some conditions,” Del replied.

[I see. Will you give Cole a gun?]

“For now? I think the answer is a simple no. I can’t trust him for that matter,” Del said.

[I see. Del, what do you think of demons in general?]

“They’re just another race. I don’t care about stereotypes of this world. If Cole proves himself to be a good man, I will trust him, that’s all. He only needs to gain my respect,” Del said.

[Are you scared of him?]

“No.”

[Do you need anything else?]

“No, thanks for asking. Right now, I only want some sleep to be honest. Pidma, good night,” Del closed his eyes.

[Good night, Del]

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I’ll post the continuation soon. Hopefully, in under 12 hours.. Thanks for reading and have a nice day.