Chapter 3Adder

  Alexander bid farewell when night fell and Adder was left alone with his new master Shion to nervously follow him to their destination. On the way, Shion expined that he had a temporary residence at the outskirts of the town. He seemed to dance around the topic of who he really was, not divulging any important information, but it was apparent that he was not just some random demon after they reached the residence. It was a huge mansion with a garden and a stable, tall walls surrounding it and servants walking here and there. Adder wasn't sure what he was getting himself into.

  A maid greeted them at the door, "Welcome home Master Shion. Shall I prepare your bed chamber for you and your companion for the night?"

  Adder shuddered. She better not be implying what I think she is implying!

  Shion shook his head with a chuckle, "No need, he isn't here for that. Please prepare one of the guest rooms for him, he'll be staying here for the time being"

  The maid bowed her head and turned to leave, but before she could, Shion stopped her and added, "He'll also need a few extra pairs of clothing, he borrowed these from the church. You can choose some from my dresser for him for now. I'll take him shopping tomorrow"

  The maid bowed once more and left to do her work.

  Adder twisted his fingers together, "Sir? I would feel bad if you gave me new clothes as well, it's already generous of you to give me a room in a house as big as this" He had never been anywhere as extravagant as this, and he felt out of pce standing in the hallway in his church clothes.

  Shion ughed, "Haha, what are you talking about? I finally have a new toy I can py with, of course I'll have to dress you up!"

  "Toy?…you….sir…." Adder felt his cheeks redden with anger. This person was really too much. What did he take him for?

  "Oh?” Shion raised a brow, “Is that annoyance I see? You finally look a bit angry, I'm gd. That means you're no longer as scared of me as you were before, haha!"

  What a troublesome person, Adder thought.

  His room in the mansion was bigger than his apartment had been in his previous life. The room had a tall ceiling and a decorative chandelier hanging above the bed. The bed was unnecessarily big, covering half of the room. He had his own closet, a table and a mirror, as well as two windows that showed some moonlight through them with a view to the garden. He really had gotten rather lucky today, hadn’t he?

  Adder walked up to the mirror and looked at himself once again. His hair was now short, but still long enough to cover his face a bit, he wondered if humans and demons in this world were not as hostile towards each other as he had assumed they would be. The church woman and the clearly human maid hadn't given him any weird looks and Alexander, who was some sort of human royalty, was even friends with Shion.

  Though that female knight that had been with Alexander many months ago, had very quickly tried to kill him. In her defense, he was just a snake back then and had been sneakily following the injured Alexander until they had reached the old battlefield. She probably thought that he was about to eat him. Also snake monsters were more like animals in this world. Alexander and Shion must have thought it was crazy that one had been intelligent enough to write them a message.

  Though he was bound by a shady demon contract, Adder really felt lucky. He had gotten exactly what he had wished for, a human form and a good meal on top of it all. Now he was staying in luxury, being pampered by some rich bored high ranking demon. Could he really compin at all? And though Shion was a bit…well, like that. At least he didn't seem to be a bad person… for now.

  For the first time in a very long time, Adder fell asleep in a bed, under soft covers and warm clothes, his stomach full and a smile on his face.

  But his dreams, unfortunately, were not as nice as he had hoped.

  In his dream he was back at the hospital. He was on a white bed with white sheets, hoping that he could ignore the fear and pain that he felt in that moment. He was only a child in this dream, still new to the treatments, the needles, the strangers treating him.

  His small hands grasped at the thin bnket that covered his body. He was breathing heavily, his limbs trembling and pupils contracted. The needle was scary, the doctor was scary. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to go back to his grandmother.

  And then the scene changed, he was tossed into an endless pit. Darkness surrounded him, enveloped him and he prayed to any god he could think of to save him.

  He woke up the next day gasping for breath, his hands were shaking and his body was filled with cold sweat. What an awful dream. I guess I can't be too happy for too long.

  The morning sun leaked in through the curtains, dust particles floated in the air and watching them dance calmed him down a bit. He got up and dressed himself in the clothes Shion had borrowed him. He wore bck pants and a white shirt, simple and surprisingly calm for someone with such extravagant taste like Shion. He found it somehow a bit irritating that he had to bend the hems of his pant legs, so that they wouldn’t be too long for him. Thankfully the shirt wasn’t too big, and rather comfortable.

  He didn't know what time it was, he had spent his time in the wild for a while and his sense of it had almost completely disappeared. Thankfully, the sun rose and fell in this world the same way it had in his previous life. It was morning, that much he knew but judging from the ck of noise in the hallways, it must've been still quite early. He decided to go downstairs and find the kitchen, maybe he could help with something while he was at it.

  As he walked through decorative hallways, Adder thought that if he lived alone in a house as big as this, he would surely feel a bit lonely. At this thought, he remembered the day before and what the maid had said. She had asked if she should prepare Shion’s room for the two of them, which meant that she assumed that Adder was here for a one night stand or something, which meant that Shion brought people here to spend the night frequently enough for his maid to assume immediately. Maybe he too got lonely here.

  [Congratutions! Your skill has leveled up!

  Deduction is now level 2!]

  Why do I feel like the system is mocking me with this? This is basic human thinking, I have never been stupid, I should've had [deduction] already by the time I was born in this world since I already had my knowledge from my previous life!

  Feeling a bit aggrieved, he went out to search for the kitchen. The house was a bit eerie when it was so empty. He passed by a big grandfather clock on his way and saw that it was almost 6 in the morning. People use a 12 hour clock in this world too I see.

  After a while of searching and snooping around he finally found his way into a big kitchen. It was very clean and pristine, the servants took very good care of it. There was no fridge, and the stove was powered by wood, so technology in this world wasn't that advanced. Maybe there was no need here for technology since magic existed after all.

  He went to open a cupboard and busied himself with making breakfast. He had often watched cooking videos in his previous life and did manage to cook for himself the few times he was healthy enough to stay home.

  Now he was very healthy, so of course he wanted to cook. He also felt like Shion had helped him a lot despite him being a complete stranger so in an attempt to do a favor back, Adder wanted to cook him a share as well.

  Thankfully, he knew how to use a wood stove, since he had spent some time at his grandparents’ house as a kid. They lived in the countryside very far from the city, so when his health had begun deteriorating, he hadn't had any chances of going to see them ter in his life.

  He hummed as he worked and reminisced about the few happy days of his childhood. He remembered his grandfather was a bit grumpy and compined a lot but would always help Adder do everything without asking. He remembered his grandma was very smart and would say a lot of poetic things that he couldn't understand at the time. He wasn't sure he would understand them now either.

  What were the things she always mumbled about? "Sharing love is easier than sharing pain" and then she also said "To be loved is to be seen at your worst and helped to become your best".

  She had been a wonderful person. His grandparents had both died in the same year. He had been too sick to go to their funeral. It was still something he regretted from his previous life. Maybe he could make a shrine or something for them and pay his respects now in this world. Would his prayers reach them from here? Not that it mattered, since he didn’t believe in gods or prayers anyway. Though, perhaps he should, since his circumstances right now were anything but logically expined.

  As he wondered deep questions, he managed to cook up some omelets with fried tomatoes on the side. By the time he was finished, a maid walked in through the door, it was the same woman from the day before. For a moment she looked bewildered until she saw the ptes and held a complicated expression, "Sir, I was just about to come and make breakfast, I hope you will forgive me for being so te that you had to go through the trouble of making it yourself!"

  "Oh, no no! That's not it at all, miss!" Adder quickly tried to expin, "I had just woken up too early and wanted to make breakfast for myself and Master Shion as a thank you!"

  The maid watched him with raised brows for a moment before covering her smile with her hand, ”Ah, I see. Then I will leave this to you sir”

  Adder wasn't sure why she tried to cover her smile but he wasn't one to pry. He gave the maid a nod, "You can call me Adder, it's fine. May I know your name?"

  "Sir Adder then, thank you for your trouble this morning. My name is Mari,” she looked like she was in her twenties, her blond hair was tied neatly into a bun so that it was out of the way of her housework. The maid-uniform was a long bck dress, covered by a white apron. She acted in a very courteous and humble way and somehow she gave off a very noble air.

  She gave a slight bow, ”I shall leave to handle my other duties then. Master Shion is still asleep, I usually wake him around this time, but since you made him breakfast, perhaps you should go wake him as well, sir Adder. Excuse me"

  And then she was gone before Adder could stop her. He wanted to say that adding a “sir” to his name was unnecessary and also that he did not want to wake Shion up but now he was left with no choice. The breakfast might turn cold if he didn’t after all.

  He steeled his nerves and brought the breakfast to the dining room, he pted it nicely and hummed happily before he went upstairs with wary steps.

  It should be enough if I just knock and call him through the door right? He knocked on the door. There was no sound. He called out "Sir?" but still there was no sound or movement happening. He sighed and opened the door carefully. He peeked in.

  Shion was in deep slumber, his chest rising and falling steadily. His sleeping shirt was purple and made out of very high quality material, the buttons had opened during his sleep, making his firm chest fully visible. His sleeping face was calm and appeared less fox-like than when he was awake. His shes were long and thick, and there was a small mole under his eye, Adder noticed. He moved closer and cleared his throat in an attempt to wake him. It did nothing.

  "Sir? It's morning!" he said louder this time. When that didn't work he worked up the courage to go closer and he lightly tapped his master's shoulder. Shion’s eyes opened immediately and nded on the hand. Adder took it back in shock and excimed "Sorry!" as he jumped back like a scared little mouse.

  Shion grumbled something unintelligible and rose into a seating position. He rubbed his face groggily and swiped his hair back. Adder wasn't going to admit it but his eyes did linger on the action a bit longer than what was considered acceptable.

  Adder looked to the side in shame and began to twist his fingers together in a nervous dispy. It was a habit that he had had in his previous life that had apparently carried over.

  Shion was finally awake enough to see who had woken him up and he raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't Mari wake me up? Did she trick you?" he asked, ughing, his voice still rough from sleep.

  "It’s a long story, but I um…made some breakfast if you um…" Adder trailed off and took quick gnces at Shion and then looked away again. He hid his hands behind his back to try and hide his nervousness but it was very apparent to anyone watching how awkward he was.

  Shion smiled, and this time it was more genuine, "You made breakfast for me?"

  Adder nodded.

  They left downstairs together.

  Adder watched nervously as Shion took a bite of the omelet he had made and was happy to find that his cooking was acceptable. As they ate, they began to chat.

  ”When we arrived in this town, I noticed there was some sort of barrier set up that we walked through,” Adder said inquisitively.

  ”You noticed?” Shion asked, his brows raised in surprise, “That is something I set up. No one can enter unless I let them in”

  Adder nodded at the expnation, ”I see, makes sense because you have the magic barrier skill”

  ”How do you know that?” Shion asked with suspicion then.

  Adder felt himself stiffen under Shion’s scrutinizing gaze. ”Uh…”, he dumbly mumbled.

  Shion patiently waited for him to expin. And Adder was about to but then stopped himself. He remembered Shion had talked about having generals before, which meant there was an army in this world, which meant there was war and Shion had also mentioned something about not sending him on the battlefield. Since it was like this and Shion didn't seem to know of or realize about the perception skill, it might be better to keep quiet about it for now.

  If he were at war and learned that someone had such a skill he would beg them to join the ranks immediately. So it was much more in his favor to not tell anyone that he had this ability. He had slipped up just now and it was likely that Shion would sooner or ter find out but at least for now he wanted to stay quiet on the matter.

  [Congratutions, your skill has leveled up!

  Deduction is now level 3!]

  …

  Adder cleared his throat, ”I assumed….since the barrier was made of mana…”

  He wasn't actually sure that the barrier was made out of mana; he took a gamble and pretended to know what he was talking about.

  Thankfully, Shion saw his panicked face and didn't press, he could only wonder if Adder had a skill that let him know of such information or if adder was truly a very cunning spy who was hiding his true identity from him. Adder hoped that he didn't think it was the tter.

  They went shopping in town that day. Many shops were open, people walking in and out. Though the town was small, the community was packed and there were travelling merchants passing by every day. The business seemed to be booming, despite the remote location.

  Adder followed Shion through the crowds a little bit behind him, never next to him. Shion was easy to see, since he wore expensive and colorful clothing that matched his personality and possibly his status. Adder thought he would definitely not lose sight of him despite the crowd.

  They arrived at a clothing store in no time. The shop was on the expensive side which made Adder a bit nervous. He wasn't given any choice in the matter though as Shion walked around him and pced a hand at the small of his back, pushing him gently inside the shop.

  Inside there were rows of expensive looking colorful fabric, tailored suits and dresses dispyed on wooden mannequins. Adder looked around curiously. In his previous life he hadn't gone shopping much, ordering most of his clothes online and when he had been a child, his mother had shopped his clothes for him, never letting him decide for himself what to wear.

  Adder didn't think of himself as very fashionable and also never knew what looked good on him so he actually hoped that Shion wouldn't ask him what he wanted and would just choose for him.

  He was led into a fitting room by the shopkeeper who took his measurements with practiced ease. The man then left the room to go fetch something. Adder heard Shion talk about something with the shopkeeper but he couldn't make out the words and simply waited patiently.

  When the shopkeeper came back, he was carrying multiple different items of clothing, which he pced on a stool near a long full body mirror.

  ”The master has asked you to try on these, sir. I will be back in a moment” the man left the room so Adder could dress himself in private.

  The clothes weren’t too fshy, thankfully. They were mostly bck and white, a few red garments too. Maybe it was because he had such colorful red eyes that it wouldn't look good if he had lots of cshing color on him. He really didn't have a preference either way. Though the clothes did look good on him, he had to admit. They did make him look a bit more threatening though and he only hoped that this way of dressing wouldn't bring him trouble in the future.

  He left the dressing room after the shopkeeper had looked him over and went to show Shion. He felt very embarrassed by this whole ordeal and it was even more embarrassing to model and spin around in front of this new master of his. His master looked extremely happy to be there, though (This didn't make him feel any less embarrassed).

  Shion bought him multiple sets of clothes and asked for them to be sent to his manor. This way, they didn't have to carry heavy bags for the rest of the day. As they walked, Shion asked if there was anything else he needed. But Adder already felt guilty by the amount of things he had received from him so he only shook his head resolutely.

  Shion had finally seemed to give up and defeatedly brought them to a small cafe at the edge of town. Adder looked around the happy faces of the people and even saw some demons walking among the humans. Flowers were blooming, it was probably the end of summer. It was hard to imagine that there might be a war going on when the people here looked so happy. He wondered what the truth of the situation was but didn't want to ask at this time.

  ”Do you want this apple tart dessert?” Shion asked and pointed at an item on the menu.

  Adder had never eaten anything like it but it sounded good so he nodded ”Sure”

  ”What about this strawberry jam pastry?” Shion asked again and pointed to a different spot on the menu.

  Adder was a bit confused by this. Hadn't he already agreed on the previous one… ”Sure?” he said with a questioning tilt to his head.

  His master seemed troubled, ”Do you not have a preference? I’m trying to figure out what you like best”

  What he liked best? Adder contempted his preferences. But having been so sick in his previous life, he had had a very strict diet so anything like this had been out of the question for him to consume. ”I have never tasted any of these dishes before so I won't know which one I like the most,” he admitted and twisted his fingers in his p.

  After Shion stared at him for a moment, trying to read his expression for some sort of confirmation, he seemed to come to a conclusion. ”Waiter, we will have all of these four items on the menu, thank you!”

  The waiter nodded, wrote down the order with a smile and left to prepare their treats.

  Adder almost jumped up from his seat, ”All of them?! Surely that's a bit excessive, sir!”

  ”We’ll share them, and you get to taste each one” Shion said nonchantly and twirled a metal spoon in his hands. He didn't seem to care at all about the price or amount of purchases this entire trip. Maybe he was filthy rich.

  Adder could only sigh and let this insane man do as he wished.

  They somehow managed to finish everything that was brought out before them. Adder thought that despite him having this human form, he might still have a stomach as big as a snake monster’s. In his past life he would have become full very quickly, never eating more than one pte of food. Now he could easily down multiple meals at one time, though he still felt less hungry less often.

  Before they left back to the manor, Shion dragged them to one final shop. It was a bookstore and a magical potion store split into two sides. Some of the books on sale were spellbooks. Adder eyed them curiously. He had realized that he didn't possess any mana using skills aside from his shapeshifting ability and now he was a bit Interested if he could try his hand at magic.

  Shion saw him staring at the spellbooks and hummed behind him. Adder ignored him and didn't ask for Shion to buy him a book. He would have more opportunities in the future.

  After Shion had bought things that he refused to show Adder(maybe they were some secret items) they left back to the manor.

  Back at the manor, they had dinner, Shion insisting Adder sit right next to him even though the table was long and there were many other seats avaible.

  ”I got you a gift,” his master said with a devious smile. Adder really couldn’t handle much more of this. He felt so awkward with everything else he had received already.

  ”…Sir” he began to whine but was shushed by his master's finger on his lips. He held back the urge to bite it.

  ”This is the final one I promise,” Shion said and pulled out something wrapped in brown paper. He pced it into Adder's arms and patted the gift twice before moving back to watch in interest.

  ”Alright…” Adder opened the parcel and inside it was a book titled introduction to basic magic. So he had noticed Adder watching it in the shop earlier. ”You really didn’t have to get me this, I already feel very indebted to you. Thank you, sir”

  Shion smiled happily, a gss of red wine in his hand swayed slightly. ”Mm, but what if this is my tactic of buttering you up and making you feel indebted to me so you’ll stay here forever~?”

  ”Then I guess I’ll succumb to my fate, sir, '' Adder said but he was just pying along, his tone heavy with sarcasm. He knew he was being teased and he refused to give his master the reaction he wanted.

  Shion chuckled,”You were so shaky and scared of me before. What happened to that?” His words would have been more threatening if he wasn't looking so gleeful.

  Adder shook his head and only rolled his eyes. Shion was smiling happily. Whatever he was thinking of made his eyes turn into crescents. Adder pretended like it didn't affect him at all. Beautiful and cunning people were so hard to deal with. Thankfully his master had seemingly given up on his teasing for now, returning to his dinner in silence.

  Adder watched him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Maybe if he tried often enough, he’d gain a mind-reading skill. That would surely make his life a little bit easier. He made a questioning sound when he felt a hand rest on top of his head. Shion had suddenly reached out to pat him.

  Does he take me for a dog? Adder furrowed his brows but let himself be pat for a moment, before Shion moved away. He really didn't understand this person's actions at all.