You?! Human Traitor!

A few minutes before Cien and Princess Sravati's entourage arrived at Kirana's Shop.

Reiss, who had been living alone in the cave behind the shop for the past few weeks, had been eagerly awaiting the return of the Shop Owner.

In the past few days, Reiss felt that his luck was rapidly improving. In just the past three days, Reiss had successfully completed all the missions given by Cien.

He had managed to kill an Inferno Bear as a mission to obtain information about the way out of Death Valley.

Then he had also succeeded in killing eight monsters with a minimum Rank 5. With that, Reiss was entitled to receive a Fire Glove as promised by Cien.

Reiss was now enjoying a dinner made from the meat of one of the Rank 3 monsters shaped like a sheep.

Not far from him, precisely in the corner of the cave he inhabited, there was a pile of Rank 5 monster corpses to be given to Cien.

Seeing that the day was already late, Reiss thought that the Shop Owner would not come home today either.

He remembered that Cien had said he would return in approximately a week.

'Two more days…'

Reiss thought while biting into the monster's meat in his hand.

After completing the mission, Reiss grew increasingly impatient with each passing day. He truly wanted to meet Cien, obtain the Fire Glove, and leave the Death Valley.

Not because of fear or discomfort in Death Valley. But because he was anxious about the current situation in his hometown, Marina.

Reiss feared that the lack of information about the conspiracy between Huntara and Abyss would have fatal consequences for the city and his kingdom.

He was also afraid that while he was busy in Death Valley at the moment, the forces of Blackwinter and Abyss had attacked Marina City. And when he returned, his home would be leveled to the ground.

Therefore, Reiss truly hoped that Cien would return as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, just a few minutes after he finished his dinner and had just closed his eyes to sleep, faint voices of people conversing could be heard from outside the cave.

Reiss immediately woke up and listened carefully to the faint sound.

Recognizing Cien's familiar voice, Reiss was instantly filled with joy.

"Sir Millard has returned!"

Reiss quickly got up and prepared to approach Cien, although there was a strange feeling because it wasn't just Cien's voice that he heard.

Reiss didn't dwell on it for long. He only thought that the voices might be from the people Cien had invited to visit his shop.

As Reiss arrived at the front door of the shop, he could hear Cien's voice and several others, including the voices of two women.

This made Reiss hesitate to enter. He was afraid that the two women might be slaves brought by Cien to warm his bed, and entering at this moment would disrupt the Shop Owner's enjoyment.

However, a few moments later, he heard a woman's shout mentioning the name of the city, Wynteria.

This made Reiss frown slightly, as Wynteria is the capital of the Huntara Kingdom.

A kingdom that, in Reiss' eyes, had collaborated with Abyss.

Reiss became curious about the people visiting the shop. He wanted to open the door, but still feared that his previous assumption was correct, so he didn't dare to do it.

In the end, Reiss decided to knock on the door of the shop.

Knock! Knock!

"Come in!"

Hearing Cien's response, Reiss opened the door.

As soon as he opened the door, Reiss found two women and three men inside.

However, among the three men, only one appeared to be alive. One was unconscious and in critical condition, while the other looked lifeless.

"A customer?!"

Suddenly, Reiss heard a surprised voice from the three strangers in front of him.

He could now see the face of one of the women standing before him. And when he saw her face, Reiss's expression turned grim.

"You! Human traitor!"

As one of the soldiers of Marina City, which bordered the Huntara territory, Reiss had once met the girl when she was about to leave for Westya.

The smooth white complexion and beauty of the princess were unforgettable to Reiss. The Third Princess of Huntara, Sravati Lye Huntara.

Therefore, seeing Princess Sravati in front of him, the anger within Reiss surged instantly.

For Reiss, Sravati, as the Third Princess of Huntara Kingdom must have been aware of the collaboration between Huntara and Abyss.

Therefore, in Reiss's eyes, Princess Sravati was no different from a traitor to the human race. A traitor who had slaughtered his troops just a few weeks ago.

Hearing Reiss's words as he pointed towards Sravati, Cien and the others were instantly confused. However, their confusion was short-lived as the situation grew even more tense.

Ian, unable to accept his superior being called a traitor, though unaware of the reasons, drew his sword from his hip.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! DO YOU KNOW WHO SHE IS?!"

Although Ian asked, he didn't wait for an answer from the sudden visitor. He immediately attacked the unknown man, directing the sharp edge of his sword towards Reiss's throat.

Reiss, of course, didn't remain passive. Skillfully, he evaded the sword swing aimed at him. Then, swiftly and agilely, he approached Ian and struck his enemy's stomach with full force.

"Kuaak!" Ian let out air from within him, then his body lifted and fell.

"IAN!"

Sravati cried out, raising her magic staff. The same went for Legia, who unsheathed her sword.

At this moment, whether it was Sravati or Legia, both of them still didn't understand the situation unfolding before them.

However, they understood that the person who had just arrived in front of them was neither a customer nor someone who wanted to befriend them.

Fortunately, before the confrontation could escalate further, four water balls the size of basketballs pummeled the heads of those individuals.

"[Waterball]."

Splash!

Reiss and Sravati's group, now with wet and cold heads, simultaneously turned their gaze towards the person who had attacked them.

"What do you want to do? Fighting is prohibited inside the Shop. Put down your weapons! If any of you intend to cause trouble again, I won't hesitate to take your lives."

"..."

Sravati and Legia, hearing this, could only stay silent and comply with Cien's words. The power of Cien, capable of completely incinerating a large monster, still lingered in their memories.

Reiss didn't carry any weapons, but he stood silently at the doorway, glaring at Sravati and her group.

"Sir Millard! I apologize for being impolite, but these individuals have conspired with demons!" Reiss exclaimed, still unable to accept the presence of Sravati and the others.

"What did you say?!"

This time, Legia was furious. She didn't recognize the man in front of her, but being accused of colluding with demons greatly tarnished her pride.

"Traitorous humans! Do you think I don't know? You, from Huntara, have conspired with the Abyss! You—"

Splash!

Once again, a water ball shot straight at Reiss' head.

"Can you just shut up? I don't care if they're friends of demons or they're demons themselves. This is Death Valley, a place where no single race holds dominion. Furthermore, this is a store. Even if they are demons, if they're customers, I won't turn them away. Do you understand?"

Reiss and even Sravati were stunned to hear Cien's words.

"Huh? Sir Millard, please don't joke around. Why would you serve demons?"

"Why? Because there's nothing to lose."

"..."

Both Reiss and Sravati are lost for words.

"Politics and the state of affairs in the outside world have no influence here. And one more thing, not all demon races are as bad as people claim."

Indeed, not all demon races are bad. At least that's what Cien believes. His thinking is not without reason, as he has encountered a kind-hearted demon before.

Moreover, as memories of his past life return, Cien's perspective on the continent of Kastia can be said to have drastically changed.

Cien is more open-minded right now, and he does not judge something solely based on what people say.

Seeing that his guests have fallen silent and dare not speak up anymore, Cien gives a Healing Potion to Legia and instructs her to take Jamie to the guest room upstairs.

After that, Cien tells Ian, who is still in pain from Reiss's punch, to bury his friend's body in the backyard of the shop.

The corpse has started to emit an unpleasant odor, and regardless of Ian's condition, Cien just wants to get rid of the body as soon as possible.

From the beginning it was impossible for Ian to take the corpse to Huntara. If he still intends to take it, Cien just can see the Death will come for him. As the odor of the corpse will invite many monsters to come. Before Ian can get out from Death Valley, he may end up in the monster's stomach.

Seeing Ian leave, Cien turns to Princess Sravati and Reiss who are still there.

"Both of you, come with me. Instead of seeing you two behave like cat and dog, it's better if you tell me what you mean by 'human traitor'."

Reiss and Sravati exchange glances, showing a cynical look towards each other. They both nod and follow Cien upstairs.