"The reason I'm taking your question last is simple. Some people shut their mouths as soon as they get a piece of candy."
"So, are you saying I should trust that you'll give me candy?"
"You have to trust."
Reed pressed the rune card firmly.
He reminded Peon of their relationship.
"You have to trust like a devout believer waiting for mercy. If not, what will you do? I'm not the least bit curious about you demons like the Tower Master of Greenwood or other Tower Masters."
He bluffs with the coldest eyes possible.
He threw a cold glance at Peon.
He tried to induce Peon to reveal his best card.
"I know how to recognize demons."
And he played it.
"Isn't that what you all want? Aren't you looking for the demons mixed among humans with your eyes wide open?"
"..."
That's accurate.
After being discovered in the Althea Order, it must have spread to the empire, and spreading rumors was not a big deal.
Peon showed that card and proposed a negotiation to Reed.
"I'll cooperate. Just doing that much won't cause any harm to you guys, right?"
Hearing that, Reed closed his mouth and dropped his gaze.
He carefully stroked his chin with the hand he had brought to his chin.
He contemplated.
And after a moment, he replied.
"I'll decline."
"What?"
"I don't negotiate with demons. That's the principle. Even after you give everything up, I'll have to worry about whether to spare you or not, so why should I do that?"
His purpose was different from other demons and unique, but it wasn't beneficial to humans either.
There are too many variables.
He had no intention of stressing over Peon's affairs, lest he unwittingly get himself in trouble.
At least until it's clear what kind of person Peon is, there will be no cooperation with him.
Reed got up to leave and wiggled his hips.
Then Peon grabbed Reed desperately.
"Whoa, whoa, if that's the end of the questions, isn't it my turn now? That was the condition."
"Fine, I'll give you a chance to ask a question."
Reed sat back down.
Peon was finally able to spit out the question he had been waiting for.
"I thought about what you did overnight. The more I think about it, the stranger it seems. A Tower Master using a tactic that involves bombing himself as well."
"I have the means to handle it."
"It's not a commonly used strategy. It was a tactic that seemed to know me well. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have used it."
"You're too conceited."
Peon's words were correct.
If Reed hadn't known Peon, he wouldn't have calculated a firebomb attack that would engulf himself as well.
'Should I call him a warrior after all?'
Although he lost, by reviewing his defeat, he discovered that Reed had information about him.
"How do you know me?"
Peon was a trainee who had honed the Western magic martial arts.
In order to reach the extreme, he didn't walk the right path and was defeated, and he made a bet on becoming a demon.
No one mentions the defeated disciple.
It's impossible unless someone is persistently targeting him.
But Reed recognized Peon as soon as he saw him.
He provoked him, penetrated the gap in his thoughts that he hadn't thought of, and defeated him.
"I saw you in the future. And I killed you."
"...What?"
"As a demon king, you were my second disaster. You were undoubtedly the best opponent. Though I lost."
"What nonsense... are you babbling?"
Reed chuckled.
"See? As soon as I give you a piece of candy, you're already full of desire to be insincere."
It was unbelievable.
He thought it was a sweet grape candy, but it was a ginseng candy only old people would eat.
Reed removed the card with gum attached from Peon's face.
While the gum was attached, the adhesive force was not strong, so it fell off easily.
"That's why you should always be in a favorable position."
Reed held the card and came out of the detention cell.
Peon stared at his back for a long time.
He didn't even have the strength to yell.
***
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[Original Source – dreambigtl . com]
* * *
"What did you talk about?"
Kamin asked Reed.
"It was nothing much. He seemed to not know the reason for his defeat."
"Is that so?"
"Warriors are like that. They blindly trust their arrogant judgments and refuse to admit it even in the face of death."
"You couldn't get any information about demons, could you?"
"Yes, he said he would cooperate... but I doubted it and declined."
"Cooperating with a demon... It's impossible. You did well, Reed."
Kamin smiled and looked down at Peon through the glass window.
"I'm thinking of asking for help from the Tower Master of Jade's Tower since it seems like a waste of time to keep him here like this. What do you think? It doesn't seem like holding onto him myself would yield any results."
"Since he's a Tower Master proficient in curses and poison, he'll have expertise in cornering them mentally."
Reed nodded.
Since magic development was not Reed's responsibility, it was just sharing Kamin's work, and an expert was needed for such matters.
"Is there anything else you need?"
"No. Are you leaving?"
"I have a lot of work to do."
Through this fight, he had organized all the issues to be improved and the points to be honed.
He needed to develop further so that he could fight more easily when encountering other demons.
***
Reed picked up the card and looked at it closely.
He had only seen a Gambler once before
However, the gambler's main role was as a debuffer.
Primarily, they cause confusion to their opponents and expose their weaknesses.
It was a profession that couldn't be the main dealer.
'It would be nice to master card techniques more.'
He had become quite familiar with throwing.
An ability called "Throwing Technique" had emerged and reached Lv.3.
That means he can hit a stationary target accurately.
'What if it reaches Level 5?'
Perhaps he could change the trajectory of the card at will and penetrate even narrow gaps.
Of course, Reed didn't believe his character had such talent.
'It's better to resort to tricks than to believe in that.'
That's a tactic too.
It was possible because Peon, who would not have been caught if he had faced him head-on, had a secret.
He became accustomed to battles with runes, his biggest weapon, and the supporting techniques.
While honing "Throwing Technique", he researched what magic could support it.
'Would "Telekinesis" be the most promising?'
If he could control the direction of the flying card, he could imitate "Throwing Technique Lv.5".
'I'll need practice.'
It needs to be mastered enough to be done reflexively, connecting rune magic to throwing and then to general magic.
It's better to start doing it right away than to think about it quietly.
Reed got up from his seat.
-Tower Master!
At that timing, a worker raised a fuss and reported.
He patted his startled chest and asked him.
"What's going on?"
-Well, that's because there's a guest outside the tower right now.
"A guest?"
He had no one to meet today.
There were occasional visitors without appointments, but he couldn't understand the fuss.
"Who's here that's causing such a commotion?"
-It's, it's the Saintess!
The Saintess.
The Saintess of Meditation, Isel, had come to visit the Silence Tower.
