"Wow, so lifelike! Master, how do you guys manage to disguise yourselves so convincingly as humans?" The innocent voice of the girl sounded like a death sentence for Murphy and Byron.
Demons don't require rest, so Murphy's body is always in top condition, even when he's sleeping. Byron, on the other hand, becomes even more alert at night. Upon hearing the girl’s words, the two monsters were instantly on high alert—although they appeared to be deep in sleep, they were fully conscious. In short, they were faking it.
As the most powerful demon, Murphy could sense that Pepe bore no malice and had no magical traces. He almost thought a brave hero had taken over Pepe's body to challenge him!
Convinced the girl meant no harm, Murphy opened his eyes and asked, "Impressive, how did you figure it out?"
"Watch more, talk less," Pepe replied softly.
Murphy could have burst out laughing. Was he a once-in-a-millennium mentor whose guidance enlightened his disciple, or was Pepe a once-in-a-millennium genius who turned out to be a treasure for Lord Demon himself?
Murphy believed he was unbeatable in this world, except by a hero. But he knew he wasn't cut out for teaching. So there was only one conclusion: Murphy, the unlucky demon, had struck gold in the small village's lottery with the high-growth, super-rare SSR card — the genius girl, Pepe.
Growing more interested in the girl, Murphy said, "Watch more, talk less, huh? Share the details."
"Well, it was just a guess. When I was little, the village chief would tell me loads of demon tales and I noticed that Buster never sheds." Pepe glanced at the dozing dog by the fire.
"So, I sneaked off a couple of his hairs during dinner and roasted them by the fire. They melted away in an instant!"
"Plus, Buster gets super squishy and cool to the touch when he's sound asleep, like a cat. But cats and dogs aren't like that. I remembered the stories about demons, so I thought maybe Buster was a ghost that possessed a dog."
Hearing this bold theory, Buster shook his head furiously.
"Ha-ha-ha!" Murphy clapped his hands with laughter. Now that everyone, including the dog, was awake, he urged, "Interesting, go on."
Pepe began to expose Byron's secret. "That uncle drank with twenty of our villagers two nights ago without refusing a single cup and never once went to the toilet after. That can't be right."
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"But he looks just like any human, so I think he must be a werewolf. It's just that there's only a sliver of moon these nights, so there’s no tail or ears showing."
Tapping Byron on the shoulder, Murphy said, "See what your problem is? Practice more."
"And me? What kind of demon do you think I am?" Murphy looked at Pepe expectantly.
"I dunno. You act just like a human, but you can't be ordinary if you're with them." The girl wasn't sure what kind of demon Murphy was.
"Ha, amusing indeed." Murphy was nearly doubled over with laughter at the girl's bizarre yet brilliant deductions.
"So you guess we're demons, why don't you run?" Murphy changed the subject and grew more interested in this uniquely minded SSR girl.
"If you haven't killed me yet, you probably don't want to, right? You wouldn't wait to off me in some deserted place and then do it in the City of Gath." She shrugged. "Besides, you took out those bandits, so you don't seem like bad folks."
Murphy crawled out of his sleeping bag and took a small cloth bag hanging from the side of the saddle and shook it before the girl, saying, "Those twenty bandits are all here. Scared?"
"If they're all dead, there's nothing to be scared of. I'd be scared if they weren't dead." The girl quickly averted her gaze from the pouch and started to mutter under her breath.
"Smart, observant, and brave. You're quite the kid. While there's a tiny insignificant error in your observation, it's nothing serious. Now, let me formally introduce us, and if you don’t mind, you can stick around, and I'll take you on as my apprentice."
Murphy turned to the bionic Byron and muttered, "Reveal your true form, bold demon!"
Byron, accustomed to His Majesty's eccentricities, effortlessly grasped Murphy's intent, which was to dissemble.
Byron's skin and muscles began to discolor and soften, then gathered into a ball-shaped mass of blue, honey-like substance, leaving behind a skeleton.
"This ball of blue slime is the demon lord's executive, Slime Lord Brue."
"This skeleton belongs to the demon lord's executive, Skeleton Lord Byron."
Murphy grabbed Buster and announced, "This one's even more high-profile. Meet the newest mascot of the demon race and the strongest cleaner, who's even more dog than a dog, SlimeBuster."
Finally, bending down with a smile, Murphy introduced himself to the little girl, "I'm the newly-appointed Demon Lord, [Arrogant] Murphy Ferrers. Just call me Murphy."
"Now, clever child, do you wish to stay? I'm looking forward to your answer."
"I do. The only people I've seen from outside the village were those bandits who wanted to kill me. Since you saved me, I see no harm in following you."
"You've got good judgment. I hereby declare you a proud member of the demon race's undercover human squad, with me as the captain."
"Let’s test your magical talent first."
---
"This doesn't make any scientific - or rather, magical - sense. How can there not be a trace?"
Murphy immediately fulfilled his promise to take Pepe as an apprentice and extended his mana for a health check.
In this world, whether human or demon, there is a strand of mana inherent in everyone. If one can perceive and manipulate it, they have the talent to become a mage.
Yet Murphy’s mana inspection of the girl turned up nothing, not a hint of mana.
"What's going on?"
"Yeah, what's happening?"
Murphy became pensive. When humans or demons are close to death, their souls start to dissipate. He wondered if he rescued the girl from the bandits a bit late, causing her to permanently lose that bit of magic.
But such problems were trivial for a demon lord.
"Pepe, are you interested in dark magic?" Murphy asked with a benevolent smile.