"So you committed the cardinal sin of adventurers: underestimating your enemy. Ended up like this... Hmm~, honestly, you look way more pleasant now than before!"

Larry had originally planned to scold Aelis for her carelessness, but seeing her stunning appearance, his tone shifted involuntarily.

"Hey girl, smile for me."

The trace of goodwill Aelis felt from Larry’s earlier concern vanished instantly. This guy would never be redeemed in her eyes!

"Smile my ass? Is this really the time?!"

"Indeed not. Those terrifying devils are still roaming, hunting our tracks."

Larry nodded grimly. "We must escape fast. Did you get the demon’s horn?"

"I got it," Aelis replied, confused. "But what devils scare you this much?"

"Larry, are you nearby? It’s Mika!"

That clear, melodious voice—like a golden oriole—belonged to a beauty, and indeed it did.

Aelis recognized it immediately: a gentle member of their adventuring party. But Larry’s face turned deathly pale.

"Devils incoming! Run!"

Larry grabbed Aelis’s hand and bolted, leaving no chance to grab the sack of Demon King’s jewels abandoned on the ground.

"My money!"

Aelis’s wail pierced the air, spine-chilling as a ghost’s lament.

Mika jumped, vaguely recognizing the voice.

"Aelis, are you there?"

She crept closer, finding only a lonely sack of jewels discarded like trash. No sign of its owner.

......

A kilometer from Demon King’s Castle, hidden in a grove, Larry finally stopped dragging Aelis on their "elopement."

"Phew~, almost got tangled again. Shook them off! Found an exit path. Our fun journey as two grown men restarts—hahaha!"

"Haha your sister!"

As Larry laughed, hands on hips, Aelis shoved him flat.

Straddling him, she shook her idiot best friend. "You tossed my Demon King reward like garbage! And you dare laugh?!"

Dizzy, Larry gasped, "Isn’t the demon’s horn with you?"

"That’s a damn quest item! Needs HQ redemption. I meant the clear reward—the shiny gold jewels and coins in that sack!"

Larry froze. "Mika startled me. But money’s fleeting; escaping devils mattered more."

"Devils?" Aelis frowned. "Your ‘harem’?"

"Drop the joke! They chase my S-Rank Adventurer rep. A harem? Enemy officers didn’t stop me—I nearly died from my own ‘allies’! Scheming rivals, drugging plots—you know this. Even at the castle, I almost got crushed by their ‘accidents’!"

Aelis knew well. Their alchemist teammate had slipped Larry a love potion once—succeeded, until Aelis dispelled it with Blessing Yuan Technique.

She stared at Larry, complex. His harem had plotted worse: kidnapping him asleep, curses, staged intimacy. Larry remained clueless; Aelis secretly fixed it all. That’s why those women feared her—unbeatable, holding their secrets, with Larry’s blind trust. To schemers, Aelis was a nightmare.

Though also S-Rank, Aelis’s tarnished rep and "doomed-to-be-single" vibe excluded her from their targets. She’d once envied Larry, now saw perks in infamy. "Yeah... they really are devils."

"Told you! Just us two traveling. You insisted gathering companions for fun—brought nothing but trouble."

They’d been a duo originally, hence their high ranks. Aelis took this quest for immersion in her past life’s classic game, temporarily recruiting others. Now she regretted it.

"Don’t say that. Truff seemed decent."

"Only Truff. Seriously, next to them, you’re an angel."

Larry’s gaze locked on Aelis’s face. "This hair, these eyes... stunning. Aelis, you’re no angel—you’re a vampire princess."

Aelis: (◦`~´◦)

She punched his nose.

"Ugh!"

"Vampire princess my head! Finally remember I’m a girl?! Ungrateful beast! I should’ve let them tear you apart!"

Aelis stood, brushing dust off. Her idiot friend always sparked her rage. This trip yielded only a B-Rank top-difficulty quest item. She’d lost everything—and herself. The more she thought, the more cheated she felt.

Larry pinched his bleeding nose, standing awkwardly. "Truth! You look better than those past-life surgeries in two certain countries."

Aelis glared, murder in her eyes. Dark aura seeped into Larry’s pores, icy dread making him shiver.

"Try it yourself?!"

"Haha, joking! Time to move."

Larry strode away from the castle—but halted, collar yanked from behind.

"What now, Aelis?"

Her voice turned glacial. "You’re oddly light. Did you bring funds?"

Larry stiffened. Aelis’s gut twisted.

"You forgot travel money?!"

Larry’s face fell. "Saw a perfect escape chance. My cash is with them. You still have money, right?"

"I blew it all yesterday at the tavern! That rabbit meat and plum wine cost a fortune. Counted on looting the castle!"

Dizzy, Aelis pointed back. "Go get the money!"

"No! I’ll die there!"

"What use are you without funds? Better sacrifice your small self for my greater good than both die!"

Larry gaped, pointing. "Ungrateful woman!"

Aelis shot back, furious. "Ungrateful man!"

"Go get the money! (Don’t think of making me pay!)"