Chapter 2

  Adder

  After having spent a good while surviving and leveling himself up in the forest, Adder was now level twelve. He had been working very diligently for his goal to get himself a humanoid form so that he could move to a human city and eat something other than wild creatures. He didn't know if this was even a possibility but it couldn’t hurt to try. He just wanted to do his best and live a life that was at least a little bit better than his previous one.

  In his previous life he had been shut indoors most of the time and had suffered through chronic pain all over his body. There had been something wrong with too many of his organs, his body essentially becoming a prison. The doctors had done all they could but once one part of him began working again, another would begin to fail. Thus he was always stuck in bed.

  He had hated it, and so he had spent his time distracting himself by reading fantasy books and pying games. Now that knowledge turned out to come in handy while surviving in this strange new world, so it had clearly not been as much a waste of time as his parents had cimed.

  In his spare time, Adder had built himself a temporary nest. He couldn't do much without hands but he had managed to make a decent hideout nonetheless. The roof was built from big leaves stacked on top of each other, covering him from rain and wind at the very least. There was also a burrow underneath, where he stored some of his prey. He had to eat to survive after all. It was no gourmet meal but if he compared it to being constantly hooked up to an IV, he couldn’t compin too much.

  Though the sky had been sunny a mere moment ago, now dark clouds had gathered on the horizon. There was a rumble in the air, and an ominous feeling rose up in Adder’s gut. The wind picked up, nearly ripping apart the roof off of his recently built home and he hissed in displeasure. Goddamn wind! I'll curse your entire family if my house falls apart!

  But it turned out that this wasn't just any ordinary storm. Loud booms began to echo in the forest, causing a sudden ruckus in all the critters and monsters that lived in the area. They must've sensed something that Adder didn't, because they began to run amok and away from the noise and the source of the storm. It would be a bad idea to go take a look… but….

  Adder's curiosity got the best of him and he began to sneak his way closer to the commotion. When he arrived at the scene, he was astonished by what he saw. It was the man that had been injured before, (months ago) looking less bloodied and more pristine in his white cape and white hair. Opposite to him floated a young man… or a demon? He was tall, otherwise human-like and devilishly handsome but he had pointy ears and sharp horns growing out of his head. His clothing was very fshy and eye-catching, some might even say gaudy, but oddly the clothes suited this person despite their extra appearance. His eyes, an eerie purple, glowed brightly as stormy winds enveloped around him.

  This man was very clearly not human, so was this possible proof that a monster could cultivate a humanoid form? Adder rejoiced while watching from the sidelines.

  The previously injured man and the demon were battling each other for some reason. Adder wasn't interested in getting between them so he stayed put. The only thing he was interested in at this moment was to find some way to talk to this demon-guy. If he was a demon with a human form then maybe he could tell Adder how he had managed to get it and teach him his ways.

  Now, if only there was some way to get these guys to calm down and have a chat with him. Wait, but I'm still a snake right now, how will I communicate??

  Adder sighed in despair, maybe he could try writing a message on the ground with the tip of his tail. How would he get these guys to read it though? The solution wasn't easy to find.

  Just as he was about to give up and return to his nest in defeat, a system notification popped up.

  [Your skill has leveled up!

  Sneak is now level 10!

  This skill has reached its maximum level. Please choose an ability from the following:

  Invisibility

  (gain invisibility for a limited amount of time, usage of this ability is reset every 24 hours)

  Eavesdrop

  (gain enhanced hearing for a limited amount of time, usage of this ability in reset every 24 hours)

  perception

  (gain the ability to assess your opponent. You will be informed of your opponents level, skills, abilities and status. Usage of this ability is limited to three times every 24 hours)]

  What the hell, isn't perception too much of a cheat ability? You'd be able to know exactly what your opponent does beforehand! Adder felt a little bad at the idea for some reason, like it really would be cheating somehow. But he was still just a snake and he wanted to survive, having this ability would benefit him way more than those other two would. He nodded resolutely and chose the ability [perception] for himself in the end.

  The system confirmed his choice and he tried his new ability immediately out of curiosity. He looked at the white haired man and a bunch of information was now visible to him.

  [????

  level 30

  skills: Heal level 10, Guard level 10, Sword User level 10, Deduction level 5

  abilities: Immunity, Indestructible Shield, Holy Sword

  status: no status effect]

  This guy had a healing skill this entire time? Why didn't he use it on himself before then? Adder thought of many possibilities but couldn't be sure for now. He then turned to look at the demon-guy instead.

  [????

  level 31

  skills: Wind Magic level 10, Persuasion level 10, Deduction level 6, Magical Barrier level 10

  Abilities: Windstorm, Charm, Barrier master

  status: low on mana]

  What do you mean low on mana? There's mana in this world? And it runs out? Have I used mana before? Adder had way more questions than answers now. After obtaining some new information, he decided to give these guys names for convenience. He named them Healer-man and Scary-demon-guy respectively in his head and kept observing the two in secret.

  Healer-man and Scary-demon-guy were still locked in a fierce battle. Healer-man was mostly guarding himself against an onsught of wind attacks and deflecting strikes with his fancy sword. Come to think of it, didn't the woman that tried to kill him back then call this guy your highness? That sword looks expensive too, he must be a prince or something…

  [Congratutions! You've gained a skill

  Deduction level 1!]

  Is this some sort of joke? Are you making fun of me or something? Are you saying that until this moment I've been so stupid that I haven't even gotten the skill [deduction]? Adder tried to ignore his annoyance by watching the battle in front of him. Scary-demon-guy had managed to raise winds that were strong enough to rip out some smaller trees in the area, he then used his skill to throw those trees at healer-man without hesitation. Healer-man dodged skillfully and gripped his sword, ready to attack whenever there would be an opportunity.

  But suddenly their fight came to a halt when the scary-demon-guy had seemingly ran out of mana completely and the winds that had ravaged the forest finally quelled down. The demon gasped with bored breath as he fell to the ground unceremoniously.

  Healer-man was still on guard. He moved closer to the demon ying on the ground but didn't lower his weapon. "Get up, I know you can still fight without mana", he said and took a defensive stand. His tone was very serious and Adder noticed his hand was shaking slightly. Was he scared?

  Scary-demon-guy hadn’t passed out, even though it had looked like he had hit his head. He got up from the ground and began to ugh, "You really don't give up easily, do you?" the smile on his face didn't reach his eyes. Adder felt a cold chill run through his spine as he watched with anticipation what would happen next.

  Healer-man gripped his sword tighter and unched an attack without any further dey. His movements were swift and practiced, his sword dancing in his hand with ease. It could be described as beautiful even though Adder didn’t know much about sword wielding.

  Scary-demon-guy wasn't an easy target, he had moved just as fast to get out of the sharp bde's directed path and used a dagger to spar against the continuous stream of blows. Adder had never seen a battle like this before in his entire life. It was completely different seeing it through his real eyes than on a computer screen or reading it in a book. His heart was pounding in excitement, his eyes glued to the battle before him. He watched in awe as these two warriors exchanged moves for many tens of times. He wondered if he could learn to fight like that too at some point. Now he could only strike with his tail and bite with his fangs and such a fighting style wasn’t as cool as this.

  A few moments went by and the battle seemed to come to an end. Healer-man managed to flick the dagger off his opponent's hand and brought his bde right next to the scary-demon-guy's neck. "Surrender!" he said in a stern voice.

  "Alright, alright, I surrender", the scary-demon guy said but his tone was very id back, like he wasn't taking the situation seriously at all. This seemed to annoy healer-man and he furrowed his brows before retreating his weapon and sheathing it back into its scabbard.

  Scary-demon-guy smiled still, his hands had been halfway up in the air in a zy surrender and now he brought them down and csped them behind his back leisurely. He walked to a nearby rock and sat down like an old man after a long day. "Haah, I'm so tired, why must we go all out for these spars?" he said, stretching his back.

  Healer-man eyed him angrily, "You know why, we won't ever improve if we keep going easy on each other"

  "What is there to improve upon? Our fighting abilities are already much higher than most humans or demons. Aren't you being a bit too cautious?"

  Healer-man looked at his side, seeming to reminisce about something. He sighed, "I almost got killed a few months ago, can you bme me?"

  "That wasn't because of your ck of skills but because you were tricked into a trap though"

  "Exactly,” Healer-man humphed, “that's why I must become even stronger so the situation doesn't repeat itself"

  "Hmmm…" Scary-demon-guy hummed, not convinced at all.

  The two hadn't been actually fighting but had been sparring this entire time. Adder shuddered to think that these two might be even more formidable in an actual fight.

  He thought about his next move carefully, if he went in slowly and in a non-threatening way maybe they wouldn't attack him. But then again, if a big snake silently slithered closer to him, he'd be scared and attack too…

  What to do, what to do…

  An answer came to him suddenly when a fruit fell on his head from above, startling him. He looked at the fruit angrily at first but then thought of an idea. He grabbed the fruit with his tail and moved out of the bushes in a moment of bravery.

  As he had expected, the two turned to look, immediately on high alert. Healer-man had reached for his sword but had yet to pull it out. Adder was quick and he pced the lonesome fruit on the ground as a peace offering in front of them and then retreated back swiftly.

  From an outside perspective, this behavior was very strange for a snake monster. Adder hoped that because of this, the two would notice something wasn't quite as normal about him and they would hesitate to attack.

  His gamble had proved fruitful and he wasn't impaled in an instant after all.

  Healer-guy looked perplexed as he stared at the fruit. He seemed to think of something and lifted his gaze towards Adder, who kept himself a good distance away for safety.

  "...This snake..is a bit odd", Healer-man said and opted to not pull out his sword yet.

  Scary-demon-guy appeared surprised at this and he gnced between him and the snake, "Did it bring you that fruit? Haha! Maybe it wants to be your friend" He was only joking but he actually wasn't far from the truth at all.

  Adder nodded his head in earnest in a desperate attempt to communicate.

  Healer-man looked astonished, "Did it just…nod?"

  Snake monsters and other animal-like creatures usually weren't smart enough to communicate. That a snake could understand speech and respond with a nod was something completely unexpected for the other two.

  Scary-demon-guy looked surprised, "Maybe it has reached enlightenment?"

  Healer-man gave him an angry look, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

  "I don't know, I was just guessing," the demon said, shrugging his shoulders nonchantly.

  Adder took a breath to calm himself as the two bantered back and forth. He decided to try out his previous pn of writing on the ground and he began to write a message. It said: I am not dangerous. Please help me turn into a human form.

  Seeing the snake suddenly begin to scribble with its tail, the two got curious despite their hesitation and they walked closer to look at the message.

  "What the hell?" Healer-man asked in a deadpan voice. Scary-demon-guy ughed next to him and spped his back in his fit. The other looked annoyed at this.

  Adder tried his best to appear harmless and cute. As cute as a huge snake-monster could possibly be. He began rolling on the ground and blinked his eyes like a dog.

  This did in fact not look cute at all but very strange and it made scary-demon-guy ugh even harder, "AHAHAHAHA! What the hell is this thing?! It's doing tricks now hahaha!"

  "Shut up! Stop ughing! This could be another trap!" Alexander yelled and raised his hand, threatening to hit the ughing demon beside him.

  Scary-demon-guy ignored him, "Who would come up with a trap this idiotic? HAHAHA!"

  Healer-man didn't seem to want to admit how right the other’s words were but he appeared to rex a bit in the end. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "You, snake, you want to have a human form?" he asked carefully.

  Adder nodded his head eagerly. The two men exchanged a look and shrugged their shoulders.

  Scary-demon-guy moved closer to Adder, who stood still despite being scared for his life.

  Please believe me and don’t kill me, good sir! Adder squeezed his eyes shut but opened them again when he felt a hand against his neck gently patting him instead of hurting him. Oh thank the heavens! He let out the breath he had been holding and looked at the demon patting him with curiosity. Maybe this guy just wanted to pet him?

  Scary-demon-guy smiled, "For a non-human, low css monster, gaining a new form isn't easy. But I might be able to help if you're willing to enter a contract with me"

  A contract? Can I read the fine print? I don't have a choice do I…. Adder fretted since he cked knowledge which gave him limited options at this moment. He might be tricked into a weird deal with bad consequences, but if he didn't accept help now, he might end up spending the rest of his life in this world as a snake. And he really wanted to eat some grilled food….

  Fuck it! Adder nodded and wrote on the ground: "I accept! Please help me!"

  Scary-demon-guy hummed in amusement. "Alright then, guess I'll help you poor thing, haha"

  He then turned to Healer-man and held out his palm as if asking for something. Healer-man rolled his eyes and took out a blue potion from his breast pocket. He tossed it to the scary-demon guy and the other accepted it, drinking it down in one gulp. He looked refreshed and his energy replenished. He pced his hand back onto Adder's neck and mumbled out some sort of chant. Under his hand a magical circle appeared glowing brilliantly purple.

  Adder felt like his body had been wrapped in tight shackles for just a moment and a faint stream of something entered his bloodstream. He felt afraid, adrenaline pumping through him but he also noticed that he somehow felt stronger, like someone had pushed their own power into him. He felt disoriented for a while before he blinked his eyesight clear.

  The demon spoke, his voice dangerous yet alluring, "Now, I will give you a name, it won't be your actual name, just your title. And every time I call you by this name you will have to obey me alright?"

  Ah, so this was the condition, how scary. Adder nodded despite himself and he felt another yer of shackles close around him and then dissipating into thin air, like they had never been there in the first pce.

  "Your name is Hydra'' the demon said and Adder felt like his soul was somehow locked in pce. It felt suffocating. Thankfully it all was quickly over and all of the weird sensations disappeared completely.

  Adder looked at his new master with complex emotion. They say you should not make deals with the devil but… Well, whatever…

  Scary demon-guy smiled at him and patted him as if to comfort him. It felt a little fake. "Now that I've shared some of my power with you, you should have gained the ability to shapeshift, it's something I've given to all my generals as a gift!"

  Generals? What generals? This guy is some sort of big shot too isn't he? Just my luck… Adder nodded and checked his system screen which dispyed a new ability. He closed his eyes and focused. [Shapeshift] was just a very vague ability, he would probably have to try his hardest to imagine a humanlike form for himself. Or maybe he would get randomized into a human form. He wouldn't know unless he tried.

  And so he activated the spell, and noticed that for the first time he had spent mana. There was a blue meter on his system screen that depleted for a moment as soon as he activated the spell but it didn't seem to keep going down after that, which meant that he could stay in his shapeshifted form as long as he liked. Perfect.

  Adder saw himself shrinking slightly, he had been rather tall as a snake and now he was for some reason shorter than the two people in front him. He looked down at his body and saw he had hands and feet, he rejoiced in glee. There were some bck scales that lingered here and there as if it was not a perfect transformation. He lifted his hand to examine it and then tried his hair, which was very long for some reason. It was bck and silky, but he was definitely going to try to shapeshift it again or then just cut it using scissors, because hair this long would be rather inconvenient. He also felt his ear, which was pointy instead of round, despite him having imagined a fully human form. Maybe a monster could never fully disguise itself as a human— his master too had some demon characteristics on him after all.

  "Wow, what a cutie!" his master then stated shamelessly and earned himself a sp in the back of his head by the healer-man next to him.

  Adder hadn't really thought about it in his excitement but he was now stark naked, wasn't he? Thankfully Healer-man was the gentleman between the two and had already taken off his outer coat, draping it on Adder's shoulders without another word.

  "Thank you" Adder said, his voice new and strange to him. It was a bit different from his voice in his previous life, a bit lower than what he was used to. He grasped at the jacket around him and pulled it closer in embarrassment.

  He bowed his head in gratitude, "Thank you, really! If I hadn't met you two today, I might have never had the chance to have hands again!"

  "Again?" his new master asked, turning his head to the side.

  "Aah, yes well…I was once a human. It's hard to expin…"

  Scary demon guy stroked his chin in thought and mumbled: "Could it be, you're someone who has been brought in through reincarnation?"

  "Oh, you know of this? Is it a normal occurrence in this world?" Adder asked in shock.

  Healer-man nodded and joined the conversation, "It has happened a few times before, but it's been mostly legendary heroes—humans or high ranking demons, never a snake"

  Scary-demon-guy chuckled, "Haha, maybe there have been reincarnated snakes before, but they've remained snakes because no one could understand them"

  He received an unimpressed look from Healer-man, which didn't seem to matter to him at all.

  Adder ughed awkwardly, "By the way, um may I ask for your names? My name is Adder!"

  "'My name is Shion, but you can call me master haha!" the scary demon-guy said. Adder felt like from now on this guy would bring him more trouble than he'd like.

  "My name is Alexander,'' said Healer-man. He looked rather disinterested in the conversation but perhaps that was just how his resting face was. He then added, ”And you don't have to call this guy master, he is tricking you”

  These two were very lively and interesting to be around, Adder thought.

  The three of them decided to head over to a nearby town to get some clothes for Adder. He tagged behind his new master and Alexander with newfound excitement, despite his situation not being the most ideal still. He still had no idea what it meant to have Shion as his master, and what was expected of him but for some reason he didn't feel that scared of him. He was suspicious, sure but somehow the demon’s id back air made Adder rex despite himself.

  In front of the town, Adder felt an odd sensation as though he had just walked through a barrier but did not question it too much since no one else seemed to care about it. At the front gates a dy from a nearby church greeted them cheerily. She happily talked to Alexander and Shion, seemingly already knowing who they were and led them to the church.

  The building was tall and built out of wood and stone. Stained gss windows depicted a woman dressed in white robes, her eyes covered behind a veil. Behind her was the depiction of a golden sun and in her hands she held a book and a sword. Adder could only conclude that this was reted to this world's religion but having no knowledge, he couldn't tell if this was a depiction of a deity or a saint.

  In the backroom of the church was a storehouse. Some extra robes for the church workers were stored in neat folded piles and the dy took some, handing them to Adder.

  He finally saw himself in the mirror, in the private bathroom of the church. He was surprised to find how much he looked like his own self from his previous life. Of course, the things that differed were many too. His long bck hair for one and his glowing red eyes another. If he saw himself as an outsider he might even say he was scary. It was interesting how the church dy didn't seem to be afraid of him at all though.

  It was good that this form was that of an adult despite technically being less than a year old. Adder was mentally an adult so he was grateful for this. If he had been given the form of a child not only would it have been restrictive, but also embarrassing.

  Adder turned from side to side to look at himself. The church clothes consisted of a white buttoned up undershirt, bck pants and a bck robe-like dress that id on top of it all. It was rather priest-like but he cked the accessories that priests would usually wear alongside it so he looked more like an apprentice of the church.

  Before heading out, Adder did his best to braid his too long hair but it just got more and more tangled the more he tried. He gave up and decided he would instead ask the church dy for scissors.

  When he walked outside Alexander and Shion were waiting patiently for him. They seemed to be chatting leisurely with the church dy, though Shion appeared more to be flirting with her. She covered her mouth politely as she giggled at something Shion had said before her eyes nded on Adder, who had just come out.

  "My! They look perfect on you!" she excimed excitedly, cpping her hands together. Adder blushed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

  "Um, thank you", he said as he made his way towards the group. "I wanted to ask if there was something I could borrow to cut my hair with?"

  "You want to cut your hair? Why? It's so pretty!" Shion asked with a pout.

  Alexander eyed Shion suspiciously, "If he wants to cut his hair, he can cut his hair."

  "Why are you being so pissy all of a sudden?" Shion asked, annoyed.

  Alexander furrowed his brow, "I'm just making sure that you don't take advantage of the fact that he doesn't know much. You didn't even tell him anything about the contract you made with him, now he probably thinks he has to do everything you say without question!"

  "Yeah, okay I know I was wrong. I was just having some fun, I was going to tell him all about it ter" Shion waved his hands in front of Alexander dismissively, which made the tter’s eyebrows furrow even further.

  Alexander took a gnce at Adder, who stood awkwardly as though he wasn’t sure how to contribute to the conversation. He probably looked so pitiful from an outside perspective that Alexander had to defend him, "Look at him, he looks scared out of his wits!" He pointed at Adder, who raised his brows in surprise.

  Shion rolled his eyes, "Haah, you're so troublesome"

  Adder watched with the church dy as the two men argued. She was smiling as though this was nothing new to her, but Adder felt very awkward, since they were talking about him after all. He cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention, "Um, I'd appreciate it if Master would expin to me the demands of our contract, but I am not afraid, I am alright." He was hoping that with this crification the two would stop fighting.

  Instead, Shion smiled brightly at Adder before turning to Alexander, whilst puffing his chest out, "Did you hear that? He called me Master so naturally, how cute!"

  "That's because you told him to! Idiot!" Alexander smacked him on the head. Adder sighed.

  Unfortunately the church didn't have any scissors, so Adder would have to endure his troublesome long hair for a while longer.

  Evening arrived and Alexander, Shion and Adder went into a nearby tavern to have a long talk. They picked a table in the corner, where it was more quiet. Shion ordered many dishes to be served, handing a generous amount of gold coins to the waiter.

  Adder watched with shining eyes as a pte of warm food was pced in front of him. His mouth watered at the sight of meat and sausages, vegetables and garlic bread. He almost drooled onto the table.

  ”Is it really ok for me to have this?” he asked carefully, his eyes never leaving the pte of delicious food.

  "Of course", Shion chuckled and patted his head. It felt slightly infuriating but Adder decided to let him do it for now. He was too hungry and too focused on his meal to care.

  After they had mostly eaten and the mood had risen because of it, Shion began to expin to Adder the terms of their contract.

  "You see, I am a high ranking demon, and thus I can create contracts with lesser demons. The idea is that it's a way to build an army of sorts, but you can rest assured I have no intention of putting you on the battlefield"

  Adder nodded in relief.

  Shion continued, "This contract is very simple actually, I even told you at the time; If I call you by the name I gave you, you have to obey my orders. If I don't use that name, you don't have to do anything I say"

  Despite feeling slightly relieved, Adder thought that there was still danger in a contract such as this. Didn't it mean that Shion had complete power over him as long as he used the name “Hydra” to call out to him? Yikes…

  "Of course, I have no intention of using you, this I promise. I am not a bad person, even though I might look scary haha" Shion ughed.

  "If he had any evil intentions, I would have killed him long ago", said Alexander suddenly, his intent being to reassure Adder. Adder wondered if these two had known each other for a long time, they seemed to be very close and could even joke about such things with each other. Shion even didn't deny his words and only smiled happily.

  Adder nodded to show that he understood.

  "But," Shion said then, his smile turning a bit sinister, "you were able to hide your presence from us earlier. This means that for the time that you have been living in your snake body, you have managed to gather skills that make you possibly dangerous. The fact that you have knowledge from a world beyond ours means that I cannot let you so easily run free" Shion tapped the table as he spoke, the rhythm starting to feel a bit threatening.

  Adder gulped and nodded his head nervously. Seeing how scared Adder had become and how Alexander was giving him an angry look Shion quickly changed his tone to a more gentle one. "I only mean that I would like to offer you a pce to stay, at least for now. Just so you are near enough for me to reach you if it is necessary"

  "I…" Adder thought for a moment, carefully choosing his words, "I wasn't anything special in my past life, being born here was a blessing for me, despite being born as a snake. Even if I have to feel restricted for the time being, I won't mind. I'll do my best to show you, that I am trustworthy"

  "Mm, you sound so serious haha! But I'm gd, either you're very honest and innocent, or very very cunning. I like both types" Shion said with an innocent smile.

  "Huh?" Adder questioned, lost as to what his master was talking about. He was even more confused as to why Alexander once again hit Shion on the head with an angry look. Despite being hit so many times, Shion didn't seem pissed off at all. Perhaps the hits weren't very strong.

  Alexander got up from his seat, "I'll go ask the waiter for a pair of scissors for you" He left swiftly without another word.

  Shion took this moment to gossip, "He looks grumpy but he is actually very nice. If you tell him you like something he'll remember it forever, isn't he cute?"

  Adder raised his brow, "Cute? I wouldn't call him that, but he is handsome, if that was what you were asking"

  Shion then erupted in loud ughter "HAHAHAHAHA! I have to tell him you said that ter!"

  Adder wasn't sure what he had said to gain such a reaction. He had just been honest. He tilted his head and answered, "Okay?"

  After calming down a bit, Shion got closer to him, leaning his elbows on the table, "Hey, hey, what about me? Is your master handsome too?"

  Adder observed the man in front of him for a moment. His features were rather delicate, but his brows were sharp, it made him look a bit cunning and a bit feminine, so less handsome and more pretty, he thought. But all of this was difficult and kind of embarrassing to say out loud, so he just said, "I guess?"

  "Mm? You guess? Am I ugly then?" Shion looked at him with fake tears in his eyes.

  "I didn’t mean that…you are very handsome too…mas-... Shio-... sir?" He wasn't sure anymore what he should call the man in front of him, so he ended up in sir. That would be good enough for now. Though he wasn't sure why this made his master bu?st out in loud ughter once again, making some of the other tavern goers look at them oddly. What a strange person…

  Soon Alexander returned with a pair of scissors and Adder could finally go outside and cut off his extra long hair. Despite Shion pestering him not to, he coldly snipped them off like they meant nothing to him. He couldn't see himself so he wasn't sure how bad of a haircut he had given himself but thankfully Alexander took the scissors from him and snipped here and there in silence. After he was done Adder thanked him quietly.

  Shion looked him up and down with a contemptive look.

  "Well, this isn't bad either, a beauty is a beauty, hair makes no difference" he said and Adder looked at him in bewilderment. Beauty? What is this man on about?! I have scary red glowing eyes and bck ominous scales all over my body, how is that beautiful? Shion was a demon himself though, so perhaps demons had different standards from humans then…

  Adder wondered what this person truly wanted. He seemed to spout nonsense and flirt with almost anyone. It probably didn't mean anything and it was just his way of communicating. Adder felt kind of envious of his confidence and charisma, he had never had such things in his previous life (or this one). Despite being reborn, he was still just as shy and awkward as ever. But perhaps he could try to change that in this life, build confidence and self worth and all that.

  Maybe, he thought and followed his new companions back inside.