~CHAPTER 10~
The inside of the mansion was… spotless, without a speck of dust.
“What in the world is this?”
“Did something happen—”
Sian, who had followed me inside, heard my murmur and asked, but even he couldn’t finish his sentence.
The interior sparkled, a complete contrast to the exterior.
Sian’s eyes widened just like mine.
“The Goddess… She hasn’t abandoned me after all.”
I’d thought he was a bit odd when we got the house, like he was missing a screw somewhere… but this?
He was actually bringing up the Goddess here?
What, did the Goddess come and sweep the place clean herself?
From outside, the windows had been cracked and the whole place looked abandoned.
But from the inside, they were spotless—no dust, no cracks.
This is definitely magic.
I narrowed my eyes and reached for a candlestick sitting on a decorative drawer beside me.
Or rather, I would have picked it up—if I hadn’t suddenly noticed someone lying on the floor below my line of sight.
“Ah!”
I screamed, startled, and Sian quickly stepped in front of me.
So the reason the door wouldn’t open was because of this man?
He was lying half inside the doorway, eyes closed, unmoving.
His pale face caught my attention.
Is he… dead?
Sian must have had the same thought because I saw him step forward carefully and check the man’s pulse.
“He’s alive.”
Afraid that he might wake, we quietly stepped back, putting some distance between us.
Thanks to the expensive carpet laid across the mansion floor, we didn’t make a sound.
“I’m not sure. But when I got close to him…”
He trailed off.
“What? What about it?”
Did he find something when he went near?
I urged him to continue.
After a brief hesitation, Sian finally spoke.
“…He smelled of alcohol.”
“What?”
“Maybe he’s a vagrant.”
“Ugh…”
Perhaps woken by our whispering, the man stirred slightly and let out a low groan.
He rubbed his messy hair and sat up, yawning widely, his eyes still half-closed.
When his face came into view, I realized—he looked nothing like an intruder.
He had a face so beautiful it could belong to a fairy.
“Yawn… What a good sle— Huh? What the—?”
He spotted us almost immediately.
We were standing right in front of him, so it wasn’t hard to notice.
“Who are you people?”
“We’re… the owners of this house.”
Sian answered awkwardly.
“What? Owners?”
The man looked utterly confused.
“What are you talking about? This is the house I bought.”
He didn’t look like he was lying.
“…I have no idea what you mean. I bought this house legally from an agent. I’m moving in starting tomorrow.”
But Sian didn’t back down.
“What are you talking about? I’ve been living here for almost a month now!”
“I’m sorry to say this, but you’ve been scammed.”
Sian stepped in front of me, blocking the man’s view of me.
The man frowned, confused.
“Oh great, now my buzz is gone. That’s ridiculous! Do you know how trustworthy the friend I bought this from was?”
“Then show me the contract.”
“…Contract?”
The man froze.
He didn’t even have a written contract?
“No, I didn’t write one. I told you, he’s a trustworthy friend. I just handed him a check and—”
“Then I can say this clearly. You were scammed.”
The man looked shocked, but Sian didn’t let up.
“I received this house, along with the deed to the land it stands on, from Count Noel himself. It’s an officially notarized document from the Imperial Court. Therefore, this house belongs to me.”
He spoke firmly, his earlier dazed look gone.
The resolute knight commander was back.
His sharp gaze fixed on the man.
“Do you have any such official documents?”
“No, nothing like that…”
It was a direct hit.
The man looked like he might cry.
I carefully tugged on Sian’s arm.
“What is it?”
He turned his eyes toward me, still focused on the man before us.
“He looks pitiful. Let’s hear him out.”
“Since when have you been this kind? You weren’t like this when you cornered me earlier.”
“Well…”
He said he was tricked by a friend.
Ever since he said that, I couldn’t help but sympathize.
I’d been scammed once too, back when I was still a clueless beginner in this possessed body.
I looked at Sian as if to say *see, you can relate*, and he averted his gaze uncomfortably.
“You paid your own money and went through an agent without even checking the house. You have no right to judge a man who was scammed by his friend.”
“…Well, I paid less than I expected, so it’s a good deal, isn’t it?”
“Be quiet.”
“Yes.”
At my scolding, Sian lowered his head.
Sometimes, he’s surprisingly obedient.
“Just for a short while. We can’t keep a stranger here for long.”
“Got it.”
With that reluctant permission, I quickly approached the man.
“Th-there’s no way… Shuli couldn’t have deceived me…”
“Excuse me.”
“Huh?”
He flinched when I spoke to him.
“What’s your name?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
My interest in him wasn’t just pity for a man tricked by his friend.
His tattered robe—at first, I hadn’t recognized it because it was so worn and dirty, but I realized what it was.
It was a robe worn by the mages of the Mage Tower.
The Mage Tower only accepted the most talented mages among humans.
I’d lost my magic, and I needed someone who knew about it.
A mage from the Tower would be perfect.
He’s probably the one who made this mansion look abandoned from the outside.
“I’m Serena.”
He looked wary, which meant he had good instincts.
From the way he spoke, he seemed perceptive but a bit clumsy—and far too trusting.
Perfect. Just my type of helper.
As I smiled kindly and introduced myself first, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“I’m Jahar Knox.”
The moment I heard his name, I nearly screamed—out of joy.
Jahar Knox. One of the few human names I still remember.
Whenever I stayed in the human world, his name was always in the newspapers.
He was always mentioned with the same title—
“The Youngest Tower Master.”
I can’t believe my luck!
Even if he wasn’t Tower Master yet, that didn’t matter.
He would be one in the future.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep calm and smiled naturally as I reached out my hand.
“…Ah, really? Nice to meet you, Mr. Knox.”
“Y-yeah, me too.”
Jahar shook my hand awkwardly.
So this is the so-called genius of the century? He’s… kind of dense.
After greeting him, I turned to Sian.
“He doesn’t seem to have anywhere to go. How about letting him stay with us for a while?”
“What? No. Absolutely not. We can’t live with someone whose identity we don’t know.”
As expected, Sian rejected the idea immediately.
But I was ready for that.
“…My identity is uncertain too, isn’t it?”
“That’s…”
As I spoke with a pitiful expression, Sian’s brow twitched.
He didn’t know anything about me—and no one here was more mysterious than I was.
I shouldn’t push too hard.
To lighten the mood, I looked back at Jahar.
“Besides, he’s more trustworthy than me.”
“Look at his robe.”
Sian finally looked at Jahar properly.
“The Mage Tower…?”
“Exactly.”
“Even so—”
“Wait.”
Before he could argue again, I quickly pulled him aside by the shoulder.
He bent down slightly, meeting my eyes, and I whispered so only he could hear.
“We need Jahar.”
“…Why?”
“Because his magic might be able to turn me human again.”
Sian’s eyes wavered for a moment.
I didn’t miss my chance.
“I wasn’t born a demon. It’s the demonic power that turned me into one. And you know how skilled the mages of the Tower are with magic—he might be able to help.”
Sian’s expression shifted to one of realization.
He didn’t know how impossible that actually was.
From then on, things went smoothly.
Jahar happily accepted our offer to stay.
“Sure, sure! I’ll stay! There are plenty of empty rooms anyway.”
“It’s my house. You’re the one moving in.”
There were a few minor clashes, but nothing serious.
After reluctantly accepting Jahar’s usefulness, Sian finally introduced himself.
“Sian Aliston.”
It was the first time I’d heard his full name, only knowing him from what his comrades called him before.
Aliston…?
I thought it sounded familiar.
After a moment, I remembered.
Wasn’t the previous Saint from the Aliston family?
