It felt like only a single moment had passed, and my peaceful sleep was suddenly disturbed by a loud noise coming from outside my room.

.....

– "...re is ou–....ster's son?"

– "...n't need t–....ow..."

.....

For reasons I couldn't fathom, some people were talking and yelling in a loud voice outside my room.

Their overlapping voices made it a bit difficult for me to understand what exactly was going on outside.

"Ugh..."

As I cracked open my eyes, I saw the dim crimson light from the twin suns shining inside my room through the half-broken window beside the bed.

'Is it noon again? Did I sleep for an entire day?'

With a small groan, I got up from the bed while wishing that I could sleep for a bit longer.

'First, where are my clothes...?'

Yesterday, I went to bed without any clothes on my body, as I didn't have anything to wear other than the stinky wolf hide I threw in the corner.

Fortunately, the inn provided some sheets for me to cover myself with. Otherwise, it would have been a struggle for me to sleep peacefully.

.....

– "...we need t–...him now!"

– "...just.....him up!"

– "...–will come back later! I don't know where he went!"

– "Then who's been hanging around you since yesterday?"

– "That's..."

.....

As I slowly walked towards the door while focusing, the noises finally started to make some sense.

It seemed like my Lycan guide was quarreling with some unknown demons for some reason.

.....

– "That's what? If you are going to just blabber your mouth anyway, it will be faster if we do it ourselves…"

*thump–!*

– "No, wait!"

– "Shut up! We need to answer to our chief, so if you don't want to die, get out of our way!"

– "But I told you I don't know where Busir went! And the other guy was just an old acquaintance, he's got nothing to do with this!"

– "That's something for us to determine. Hey, bring out whoever's in there!"

– "Gubo! Understood."

.....

...Okay, I got a rough idea about the demons she was quarreling with.

It seemed like the Hobgoblin tribe was somehow unsettled by my presence near the Lycan woman, along with the sudden disappearance of their chief's son.

'But why are they showing up so soon? What spooked them so badly?'

Well, wondering about the reason behind their appearance could be saved for another time.

....*step*....*step*....

Right now, I could hear one of the demons stepping closer to my room's door!

'Damn it, I don't want to get caught up in some troublesome problems right now...!'

I was supposed to depart for the dimensional gate today, and now this problem suddenly shows up on my doorstep.

The chief's son was already dead. No matter how long they waited, he wouldn't come back to life!

Now, if they tried to imprison us, waiting for that dead guy to show up...

'...it definitely wouldn't end well for me.'

And though we were staying in this inn to make sure we could escape through the nearby city gate, I couldn't let the situation spiral down that path.

If I couldn't resolve the current situation peacefully, my plans to safely get into Etheria would definitely go down the drain.

'Unacceptable... I won't let you puny goblins ruin my brilliant scheme!'

Before the other guy could reach my room's door, I hurriedly covered myself with a bedsheet and pulled open the door myself.

*creeaak~*

"Gu...bo?"

"What happened? Why are you standing th...eh?"

"...Wha–! Bu-Busir? H-How a-are y-you...?"

Three different kinds of reactions greeted me as soon as I opened the door.

A muscular Hobgoblin wearing full-body leather armor, who was about to reach out for the handle of my door, gave me a perplexed look with his head tilted to the side.

The other tall and slender one among the two of them was busy dealing with Yera – who looked like she was about to stop the other Hobgoblin warrior from reaching my door.

His words were caught in his throat as he furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly unable to understand what was happening in front of his eyes.

Yera's hair was even more disheveled than usual, hinting that she had been forcefully woken up by these same people. However, when her eyes fell on me, her face suddenly paled as if she had seen a horrifying ghost.

'Can't you tone down that reaction a little?'

It was really fortunate that the two Hobgoblin warriors were facing me instead of her, making it so that her ridiculous reaction was mostly ignored.

Keeping my facial expressions as neutral as possible, I swept my eyes over the three demons gathered in front of me.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

"...What is going on here?"

An unfamiliar, gruff voice came out from my mouth, carrying some similarities to the Hobgoblin's speaking patterns.

I couldn't emulate their way of speaking very well, so I kept my tone as emotionless as possible to keep them from noticing anything weird.

I knew it was far from perfect, but it was better if they harbored some light suspicions instead of blowing my cover immediately!

Yera's wide eyes trembled, hinting that she had somewhat figured out the mystery behind what she was seeing.

That's right, I was using one of the racial abilities of the Devil race to pose as the dead Hobgoblin warrior – [Uncanny Form]!

My deal with the Devil came with his body's full ownership after all.

--------------------

>> Skill Name: Uncanny Form

>> Skill Level: MAX (Racial – Cannot be upgraded).

>> Skill Description: To be a Devil is to be a master of deception. All Devils innately possess the uncanny ability to take on any form they desire in order to tempt, deceive and corrupt any and all living beings.

✦ However, you can only take on forms you have seen before and remember in detail.

>> Skill Cost: Mental drain proportionate to the severity of physical change.

--------------------

Still, my usage of this skill was extremely flawed, not to mention I was bound by its severe limitations.

Even though my face had transformed into the face of the deceased Hobgoblin warrior from yesterday, the rest of my body under the bedsheet remained unchanged.

'What a trash skill to pass down. Damn you, Vanir!'

Because of my unfamiliarity with the form I took on right now, I could vividly feel the mental drain slowly pressurizing me.

I had to make this quick.

"I asked you guys a question. What is happening here?"

The frown on the slender Hobgoblin's face deepened for a second, before he relaxed them.

"It's nothing. We got some concerning news from a close associate of your 'boss' here, so we had no choice but to check up on you. But it looks like it was just a false alarm. Anyway..."

The muscular Hobgoblin went back to the slender one, as the slender one looked me up and down for a few moments before a hideous smirk appeared on his face.

"...it looks like you're working hard for the tribe, eh?"

...Looks like he jumped to a rather inappropriate misunderstanding.

Giving the Lycan woman a sidelong glance with that same disgusting smirk, he chuckled and directed his gaze back to me.

"Kekeke... You two can continue on your 'business', no need to hide such things from us. Nice catch by the way, as expected of our chief's heir."

My eyes narrowed a little, understanding what he was getting at. But I didn't refute anything he said.

"You got what you need. Anything else?"

It would be great if that misunderstanding could get him out of my hair even a second faster.

"No, nothing else. Keke, keep up the good work! ...Hey, Gorbak! Come, leave those two alone. We have other work to do!"

"Ugh...gubo. Coming..."

Leaving a thumbs up in my direction, he turned around to leave, pulling his comrade along with him.

…

…

I waited for their presence to disappear for a few moments, before signaling the Lycan woman to get in my room with a slight jerk of my chin.

She was still standing on the same spot with a dumbfounded look on her face, but fortunately, my words reached her ears as she obediently stepped inside with a dark look on her face.

*thuck–!*

Closing the door, I turned around and returned back to my usual appearance, before addressing her in a grim tone.

"...Who were they? And how did they find out?"

"They...t-they are from Busir's tribe. B-But I don't know how they figured out something was wrong. I-I didn't tell them anything!"

The look on my face darkened even further. If she didn't do anything, then how, or who...?

'…wait. If it's a close associate of hers...'

"...Your employer, that Troll. Did he contact you yesterday after we came to this inn?"

Yera's face immediately paled, as if she had realized something.

"Yes, he did. But I told him that we failed to track you down, and you suddenly went missing in the crowd..."

Hearing her account, I grimaced as a certain possibility came to my mind.

"And because he couldn't let go of his greed, he tried to track me through others, gathering some suspicious accounts of the Hobgoblin going missing and someone else suddenly appearing by your side, huh."

It all made sense, then.

The narrative fit the story so well that I was left speechless.

Staying in this city for even a single day almost ended in a disaster for both of us!

"...Whatever. We can't change what has already happened. Let's get going before we get entangled in this mess any further."

With a sigh, I massaged my forehead.

'That trash skill really saved me this time. Now...'

I looked at the Lycan standing before me.

"Did you pack everything you need?"

"Yes. I have them in my room."

"Good. Bring them here right now, along with my new clothes. We're leaving after this."

She looked back at me with a complicated expression on her face, but I didn't pay it any mind.

Even if I could sense her emotions, it was almost impossible for me to decipher them.

'So this is why the sages used to say that women are too complicated. I think I can somewhat feel their pain now...'

But before she could leave the room, a gruff voice suddenly called out from outside.

.....

– "Ah, Busir! I forgot to tell you something!"

.....

Yera's expression fell, and I felt a chill creep into my heart.

'Damn it!'

I stopped trying to sense their presence after feeling that they had left the inn, but who knew they would come back again?!

Hurriedly activating my skill, I replied back to the voice without exposing myself to them.

"What is it?"

My voice came out a bit strained, but I didn't have the leisure to care about that.

A torrent of thoughts flashed past my mind in a single moment.

'If that Troll employed others to search for me, then they must have seen me enter this place too. The owner of this place didn't see me, but the scavengers from the other table certainly did.'

'But now that cloaked guy suddenly disappears from his room, and an unknown Hobgoblin appears in his place. If those two question them, they're bound to find out that something is missing...'

Great. Amazing! It seems like we were going to be exposed anyway...!

"Inventory."

Mumbling in a small voice, I put one hand inside the inventory space that opened up in front of me, clutching onto my trustworthy whip.

If it really came down to it, I would just have to slaughter my way out of this city...!!

.....

– "Actually, the chief wanted to meet you. Make sure you visit him as soon as possible. Kekeke, it sounds like you're busy, so I'll leave you alone now."

....*thump*....*thump*....*thump*....

.....

After saying that, his footsteps gradually faded away once again, both of their presence leaving the inn a short while later.

"Whooo..."

My body finally relaxed, after confirming that the two were truly gone.

It seems like the worst-case scenario was averted at least. But...

"Yera, bring your stuff quickly. We're not out of danger yet. Go!"

Yes, the worst-case scenario didn't occur yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Even if those two didn't investigate this any further, that Troll would definitely do so, and my rough patchwork would soon come apart.

We had to abandon this city before then!

"U-Understood."

Getting the hint of urgency in my tone, the Lycan nodded and stomped out of the room, still a bit breathless and pale from the tension.

***

In just half an hour's time, we came out of the inn with all our belongings stuffed into my inventory space.

Covered in a real cloak this time, both of our figures seamlessly merged into the crowd of demons roaming the busy streets of the city.

A few more minutes later, we were finally outside the gates of the city.

Yera looked back at the bustling city for a few moments with a solemn expression on her face.

"What? Regretting your choices now?"

With a shake of her head, Yera responded to my question.

"No. Just....nothing. Let's go."

"Well, if you say so..."

The twin red suns dimly shone in the dark sky, as both of our figures slowly disappeared into the raging fog of crimson miasma churning in the distance.

The dimensional gate leading to Etheria silently shimmered in the distance, as our journey to the west began.