DSB 62

“You’re quite skilled.”

Iol was surprised as he looked at Lebel smoothly handling paperwork.

“It isn’t that difficult.”

Managing a territory wasn’t much different from what he did in the Demon Realm.

Lebel had worked hard to oversee the lives of the demons living in his domain. The largest part of that duty had been paperwork.

The way to handle documents was similar in both the Demon Realm and the human world.

Of course, that had been hundreds of years ago. Once he learned that the domain could run fine even when he delegated the task to subordinates, he had passed it all down.

The only work he used to handle himself was to deal with those who occasionally drained the lifeblood of his land. So doing paperwork again after so long brought back memories, and it was manageable.

Whenever he got stuck, Karon poked his head out over the desk and helped, which made it easier.

Karon had assisted Lebel for a long time and had often handled the domain’s affairs in his stead.

“You really adore Young Madam. You never leave his side.”

“I didn’t know he was such a lonely child.”

At first, Iol had been afraid of Karon, but after seeing him act obediently to Lebel’s words, the distance between them lessened.

Karon pointed to a part of the document as he read.

[Lord Lebel, someone played a trick here. They manipulated the numbers. It’s clumsy. Even if it’s a small amount, stealing from one’s master deserves death as atonement!]

Lebel took the paper Karon pointed to in his hand. Since the Hestro family governed the North, many houses within the North sent them requests for help.

Most of them were for restoration aid from damage caused by demonic beasts or for knights to be dispatched to subjugate them. Of course, they were paid for that, but since the family bore responsibility for the North’s welfare, they often helped without charge.

By reading through the documents, he couldn’t help but understand why the Hestro family was the house that ruled the North.

So many troublesome matters came to them. Everyone knew there was nowhere else to turn for help, but the number of petitions was excessive, and they always tried to minimize their payments.

He understood that life with demonic beasts was difficult, but they exaggerated the damage to claim higher compensation and, at the same time, used every trick to reduce what they owed.

While he read, Lebel remembered that the same house had sent a request for funds just a week ago.

‘If they ask for help, it’s only right to pay the price that matches it.’

Taking everything owed was a demon’s nature.

Even though it was proper to pay fair compensation, they shamelessly asked if they couldn’t receive help without paying anything, using their hardship as an excuse. What was the purpose of a contract? If a person ignored what was written in it, they had to bear the price that followed.

Lebel smirked and handed the document to Iol.

“They claim there’s serious damage. A week ago they asked for aid money for beast damage, and now they say they can’t pay what they owe.”

When Lebel spoke, Damian, who had been looking through another stack of papers, raised his head. Iol quickly passed the document to him.

Damian softly clicked his tongue. He seemed to remember the case. It must have been a troublesome one since he even remembered the name.

“If there’s a problem, we should cut them off.”

“You think that’s easy?”

[What’s so hard about it?]

…Isn’t it easy?

Karon and Lebel thought the same, but since humans had their own way of doing things, Lebel remained silent.

“If we don’t help, the people in that barony will struggle to survive.”

Ah, so that’s why they always help, because they don’t want to see the people starve.

“But we can’t let them take advantage of us. I’ll have to go and deal with this myself.”

A wise choice.

“Why don’t you go after the snowstorm clears? It’ll be a good time to check if the food and gold we sent were used properly for the people.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Besides, Young Madam’s doing so well that there’s almost nothing left to teach. Don’t you think so?”

Iol tried to draw Damian’s agreement while praising Lebel, but Damian scoffed.

“Even a grub knows how to roll. He’s good at sitting and reading papers, at least.”

“It wouldn’t hurt you to give a simple compliment…”

“I didn’t even teach him half of this, but he’s doing fine. Have you done something like this before?”

“…Well, I’ve picked up a lot of things.”

He couldn’t talk about his work in the Demon Realm, so that much would do.

“Young Madam, that should be enough for today. It’s about time young master Yutis returned.”

“Ah, right.”

When he focused, he could sense Yutis’s presence getting closer. Lebel said goodbye to the two, held Karon in his arms and stood up. Mahan followed behind.

Since Lebel refused to be guarded by Yutis’s knights, Mahan had stayed by his side without leaving. Mahan, who was said to oversee the castle’s operations, followed Lebel wherever he went.

He didn’t bring only knights with him, but he still had a guard by his side.

“Isn’t it heavy? I can carry him instead.”

[Don’t you dare touch me!]

Mahan tried to take Karon into his arms, but Karon fiercely resisted. He had grown especially hostile since the day Mahan tried to wash him.

“It’s fine.”

“Isn’t it heavy?”

[Heavy? What’s heavy about it! Do you think I’m fat!? I know you’re just jealous because Lord Lebel’s the one holding me.]

Karon actually liked being carried in Lebel’s arms, but since Mahan continued interfering, he found it unpleasant.

When he had been born in this small body, he thought the world was ending, but once he saw that Lebel found him cute, he had acted even more affectionately on purpose.

It was different from assisting and protecting Lebel’s side, but it wasn’t bad either.

“I’m worried you might get sore muscles. Your arm’s trembling.”

“Hmm?”

As Mahan said, Lebel’s arm trembled slightly.

Even though Karon was a young beast, he was still large enough to completely fill Lebel’s arms. He ate several kilograms of meat every meal, so there was no way he wasn’t heavy.

[Ah…!]

Karon blamed himself for indulging his own selfishness and failing to notice Lebel’s condition, and he jumped down from Lebel’s arms.

[I’ll walk on my own! I’m supposed to protect Lord Lebel, and it makes no sense for me to be carried in his arms.]

“I’ve never heard of a beast who can understand human speech.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Karon, who had been stubbornly refusing to come down until now, climbed out of Lebel’s arms, and Mahan gave him a suspicious glance.

There were some beasts with high intelligence, and such beasts were troublesome to handle. If one caused an incident, it could be dangerous. He didn’t doubt Lebel’s ability, but being cautious did no harm.

“Karon is special.”

At Lebel’s words, Karon wagged his tail. Then someone called out to Lebel from afar.

“Young Madam!!”

The one running from a distance was Jess, who managed the demonic beasts’ materials. He was one of those who always welcomed Lebel whenever he saw him after Lebel arrived at the main castle.

“You’re…”

“Do you remember me?!”

“I saw you yesterday.”

Jess’s face brightened. Every time he greeted Lebel, it seemed like Lebel didn’t remember him, but now it was the first time he had remembered his face.

“It’s an honor! Please remember my name next time too! I’m Jess.”

“Hmm, alright.”

Jess realized Lebel remembered his face but still hadn’t memorized his name, so he said it again. Then he bent down and met Karon’s eyes.

The reason he came to see Lebel wasn’t only to greet him.

“Hello Karon. Did you sleep well last night? Your fur’s so shiny, so you must’ve slept well! I have another favor to ask from you today…”

Jess’s eyes sparkled with scholarly curiosity. He was very interested in Karon, who was a rare young Morbelk.

[What’s this human planning to do to me again…!]

Karon growled the moment he saw Jess. The first time Jess saw Karon, he had petted him under the excuse of research, and the next day, he brought a measuring tape to record his body length and weight.

Under Lebel’s order that he couldn’t harm humans, Karon hadn’t been able to resist.

[Lor, Lord Lebel! Please stop that human!]

Karon clung to Lebel’s leg and whined. Lebel looked down at Karon, then at Jess, whose eyes still sparkled toward him.

“Karon was very stressed yesterday. Keep it brief and let him go.”

[Lord, Lord Lebel…!]

“Of course!”

Jess smiled brightly at Lebel’s permission, then began examining Karon and scribbling quickly in his notebook.

“Thanks to Young Madam, I’m able to closely observe such a rare young beast. I’m deeply grateful. Ah, and from the number of teeth and the body size, I’ve determined he’s less than a month old!”

So he was that young. He must have come to me right after he was born.

“Morbelks are known for moving without sound. They say the reason lies in their paw pads. I’m very curious whether they’ll stay soft even after he grows into an adult.”

[Get lost! You human, how dare you touch me?!]

Karon growled, but Jess didn’t stop and continued poking him here and there. Unlike other humans who got scared when he showed his teeth, Jess was a tough one. Then, Jess gasped as he came to his senses and released Karon.

Karon thought it was finally over, but Jess still hadn’t done what he came to do today.