A figure wearing a brown cloak walked down the town road; their head was hidden under the hood.

Despite Shio's best attempt to look conspicuous, people still stare in his direction. But it wasn't him they were looking at, but the girl walking beside him. While he seemed to be laying low, the girl was the exact opposite. The girl's long silky hair and pure eyes were a sight to be seen by everyone. Every person they passed so far turned their head around just to stare at her beauty longer, both men and women. Though, mostly men.

Lula can't help but fidgets her hand. She was not used to this much attention. She usually only roamed around at night, when fewer people were walking around. But since her Master wished to visit the town immediately, she had to accompany him.

And as if they didn't have enough trouble, two men wearing red bandanas and leather shoulder pad approached him and the succubus. Shio could already smell trouble the moment he noticed them.

"Hey, are you new around here? We can show you the best places in town," one of the guys said to Lula. They didn't even give Shio a second glance. A colossal mistake, but not worth breaking cover for.

He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have asked Lula to be his guide. He thought Lula was able to control a succubus most significant perk. Being desirable to almost anyone. And now, two thugs were trying to hit on her. If only they know who the figure beside her was, they would be running off like dogs just by a glance from him.

Noticing Lula unable to get rid of the thugs, it was time for him to take matters into his own hand. The necromancer cast illusion in a hurry to change his face so he looks humane.

"Here," he took off his cloak and placed it on her. He was wearing a tunic and long pants he took from one of the zombies. His panic casting caused his face to be somewhat bland. Other than his short blonde hair and sky blue eyes, he has nothing that stands out. But it should suffice. He wasn't planning to show his face for long anyway.

"Oh, c'mon, dude. Don't hog her all to yourself," one of the thug's hands circled Shio's neck. It seems like a friendly gesture until Shi felt something sharp on his throat. The thug had pulled out a switchblade and pointed it at his throat.

"You do know what this is, right? Just lend her for a moment. She will-"

He didn't wait for the thug to finish his sentences. No, he was way too pissed for that. He was going to go easy since they didn't know who he was. But after trying to threaten him and treating Lulya like some object to toss around, he changed his mind. The fuckers must pay.

CRACK

His punch to the thug's face sends him flying to a nearby cart. And from the sound of it, he would probably end up with a broken nose and some stitches on his face.

"O-o-"

The other thug turned around and was about to run, but Shio grabbed his head before he could even take a step. The thug was lifted off the ground and then smashed into the marble road face first. Shio did it a couple of times, creating a small crater. If the unfortunate guy survived that, he would probably end up with a worse-looking face than the other thug.

"Fucking bugs," Shio kicked the thug one last time before start walking again, leaving the thug as blood began flowing from his face.

Holy shit. That's so cool! Lula must be dumbfounded by what I just did!

And his guess was right on target. Lula, clutching her Master's cloak around her, watched in awe when her Master beaten the thugs. Not only has her Master protected her, but he also placed his cover around her. She was so happy that she could explode at any moment.

There was only one thing repeating in her mind the whole time.

My Master is so cool!

"… Lula? Are you alright?" he calmly called the succubus, who seemed to be still dumbfounded by what he did.

"Y-y-yes! Coming!" she rushes to her Master's side.

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The two continued on their exploration of the town.

Just like what he read in the books, the world was not as advanced as he thought at first. The town seemed like a typical fantasy town. There was a tavern, equipment shop, blacksmith, and the adventurer's guild. People roamed around with weapons on their backs, most likely adventurers or maybe mercenaries. From what he read, there was a special license for people to carry weapons in public.

One of the books said that there was some kind of Dark Age, where technology advancement was prohibited by the Pope, saying it would bring about the world's destruction. The rule holds up until Pope Albert rose. He immediately revises all decisions made by the previous Popes since he thought it wasn't what God wished.

He couldn't help but felt the similarity with real life. The developers probably took inspiration from history.

Satisfied with admiring the people and walking around the town, Shio decided to visit one of the shops.

"Welcome!" the girl standing behind the counter greeted them with a smile. She seemed young and scar-less for an equipment shop owner. Her long brown hair was tied into a braid, and her clothes seemed spotless despite her job. When Shio entered the shop, he thought he would be met by an old man with a white beard hammering a glowing metal rod near a furnace.

He walked up to the counter and was about to order some essential equipment when it struck him.

He didn't have any money on him.

His body froze as his brain flipped around, trying to find a way out of the mess. He cursed himself for forgetting something so trivial. It would be very embarrassing if he had to ask Lula for money. He pretended to look around while he looked for a solution.

Lula, noticing her Master's sudden stop, also stopped. She wanted to question what was bothering her Master but dismissed the idea immediately. The succubus was afraid that asking him would just anger him. She was his servant. It was not her place to doubt her Master.

… Oh! It must be because he is waiting for me! she thought.

He had told her to grab anything valuable from people she had kidnapped before he turned them into zombies. And she conveniently kept it all in her backpack. He must be waiting for her to show her intuition!

Lula placed her bag on the counter and pulled out everything inside.

"So much stuff here; I need to check them first so I can tell you their price. Some of these don't look sellable, though... " the counter girl said while checking a golden ring. She pulled out a magnifying glass from her apron pocket and started by examining the ring.

Shio nodded. He realized he had ordered her to grab valuables on the zombies so it wouldn't go to waste. It didn't cross his mind to sell them. While the shop owner rated all the items, Shi decided to walk around the shop and see what kind of equipment they sold. Lula stayed close behind him.

"Have you ever hold a weapon, Lula?" Shio asked.

"N-No, I never used a weapon..."

"Not even a dagger?" Shio raised an eyebrow while looking at her. Of course, he already knew the answer since he read her memory. There was only one instance where she used a weapon. She used a dagger she stole from the man that tried to rape her and accidentally killed him. It was probably a quite traumatizing experience for someone like her, but he couldn't help but be impressed with her will.

What made it worse was that she had nowhere to report to if she didn't' kill the man. The soldiers would probably do the same to her, so killing him was actually her best course of action. At least, in his opinion.

"W-Well... I used a dagger... once..." Lula finally answered honestly.

"If the situation force you to use a dagger again, would you?" Shio asked as he took one of the daggers being displayed. Lula shivered at the thought but mustered all of her courage to answer.

"M-Maybe..." she answered hesitantly. He nodded, satisfied with her answer.

He roamed around the store and noticed that the cheapest stuff he could buy was leather armors and wooden weapons. Wooden staff being the most affordable of them all. He wasn't hoping to get much money from the stuff they sold, so those things were probably the best ones he could get.

"I think I'm going to buy a wooden staff and some leather armor. What do you say?" Shio asked.

"E-Eh?"

"Is there a problem with asking your opinion?"

"N-No, of course not! In my opinion, considering our situation, that would be the best choice, Master."

Before he could continue their conversation, the shopkeeper beckoned them to come back to her, and the two obliged.

"Alright. That would be 1 gold coin, a couple of silver, and some bronze," the shopkeeper put the coins on the counter and shoved back the unsellable items. Lula grabbed it all and put them in her bag but left a couple of bronze coins behind.

"U-Uhm, my master would like to buy staff and some leather armor."

… Crap. I forgot to tell Lula to not call me that in public.

But at this point, he could only roll along with what she said. If the shopkeeper had asked, he would pretend Lulya was his student. And since he didn't care what she called him, she decided to call him Master.

Surprisingly, the girl didn't seem bothered by her calling him Master.

"Sure! I will be right back" the girl checked the racks behind her. She returned with a plain-looking wooden staff and leather armor for one shoulder and two leather armor for the knee.

"To avoid any trouble, you should test the staff first to see if it fits you," the shopkeeper suggested.

He grabbed the staff first. It felt light, maybe a bit too much, but beggar can't be a chooser. He swung it around quickly, and it seemed to be able to receive his mana flow pretty well. With his nod of approval, the shopkeeper took the coins. Lula took the change, and the two walked out of the store.

"You have done well," he praised her with a calm face. But internally, he was screaming.

GAHHH! I WILL LOSE MY FACE IF I KEEP MAKING MISTAKES!

"Thank you, Master!" she blushes as she gripped the cloak around her even tighter.

"So, what do you think we should do next?"