The demon is by my side

never look back

"Don't be so surprised; this is just a Dark Dragon weakened to one percent of its energy due to the distance rule. Look, it's a summoned creature with an owner." Phyllis kicked open its mouth, pulled out the tongue, and on the massive tongue, there was a black and white emblem. A black inverted triangle with a white skull and a circle of the number six around it.

"This emblem belongs to the Dark Mage Laisado. He's notorious, with a bounty of thirty million gold coins on the wanted list. He's a dimensional summoner proficient in both dark and flame magic, a triple-element mage. However, this guy is quite formidable; both his dark and flame magic skills have reached the level of a seventh-rank Archmage, allowing him to elude capture until now. If I hadn't passed by Hua Wei Village and accepted their demon-slaying mission, I wouldn't have encountered this dragon. Surprisingly, he was causing trouble, committing murders and atrocities here. Originally, I just wanted to earn some travel expenses, but unexpectedly, it led to the completion of my dimensional summoning technique. Hehe, the skin of the Dark Dragon, a summoning treasure that you encounter by chance but cannot seek!"

Kakaso looked at the girl in front of him, who was gesturing and talking animatedly. He realized he really knew nothing about humans. Even a Dark Dragon, weakened to one percent of its energy due to the distance rule, was effortlessly captured by this little girl! Is she really a human?

"But why! How did I end up in this damn contract?" Phyllis's eyes flashed with a fierce light as she grabbed Kakaso's neck and shook him vigorously. "Spit it out! Spit out the price!"

Kakaso forcefully swallowed, unwilling to spit it out. An eternal contract that can never be fulfilled—this was exactly what he wanted!

"Damn it, you dare to swallow it! I'll dig it out!" Phyllis reached into his throat without hesitation, pushing Kakaso away in fright.

Phyllis was thrown to the ground, unaware that this short humanoid creature, with at least the skills of a third-level swordsman, still had enough strength to push her.

"What do you mean? Don't you want to go back? A high-level demon like you willingly becoming my long-term labor for the sake of a pig's trotter?" Phyllis continued speaking, narrowing her eyes with a dangerous glint.

"However, even if you're a high-level demon, your abilities are too poor. A third-level swordsman! Do you even understand what that means? The entry requirement for the Hua Wei Village patrol is a fourth-level swordsman. A third-level swordsman can't even get a job guarding the gate! You, a third-level swordsman, can't even withstand my basic fireball spell! I'm a fifth-level elemental mage, and your physical skills provide no advantage to my magical abilities. The only thing I get from you is a fifty percent increase in magical defense against six-element magic. Even with that, you're not fit to be my meat shield! Your language comprehension is terrible, and your magical fluctuations are almost nonexistent. Even if I let you do chores for me, I think your basic knowledge is insufficient. I could easily find an apprentice at any magic academy who's more capable than you!"

Phyllis ranted, her frustration growing. She looked at Kakaso with an expression as if she had made a big loss. "What can you do? I'm a fifth-level elemental mage. You can't even handle my first-level fireball spell!"

Kakaso remained obediently crouched on the remnants of the magic circle, watching Phyllis.

"Look at you! I'm going to send you back! I must send you back! I don't want a useless companion like you! That emblem on the back of your hand keeps reminding me that I'll be wanted throughout the continent!"

Kakaso hurriedly erased the runes on the ground. He knew that these interdimensional summoning runes were drawn with expensive magical materials. While small damages could be repaired, extensive destruction would require considerable resources, something this girl might not afford.

Phyllis's face darkened as she watched Kakaso. It seemed like he intentionally prevented her from activating the magic circle. Was he planning to stay here on purpose? Well, even if she wanted to force him back, she couldn't do it immediately. However, she had another idea.

"You know what this is drawn with? It's fresh Dark Dragon blood! Where do you expect me to find fresh dragon blood again? Are you deliberately hindering the activation of the magic circle? You must want to stay here! Fine, even if I admit I've been cheated, ignoring all costs, I'll forcefully break the contract now. But, if you want to stay, that's also acceptable. Let's sign a second contract. This one is called a Servitude Contract. If you don't want to leave, I won't let you. Besides tasks, you'll have to obey me in everything. Also, this contract has no price; I won't give you anything at all!"

"Pig trotters..." Kakaso looked at Phyllis pitifully.

Seeing his expression, Phyllis suddenly felt like an exploiting class, making someone work for nothing. This demon had come from afar, and perhaps she was being a bit heartless.

So, she made a decision that she might regret for a lifetime: "Alright, the price is pig trotters!"

Kakaso's face instantly lit up with excitement.

Phyllis was speechless. This demon was indeed easy to please. However, treaties were one thing, and the magical effectiveness of the contract had to be strong enough to bind him. Otherwise, if he decided to break the contract one day, tearing it apart would be easy for him. She decided to be cautious, thinking carefully. After a while, she bit her lip, tore off another piece of the Dark Dragon's skin, let poor Kakaso bleed a bit, and wrote the second contract. This was an unconditional contract, but at Kakaso's request, she added providing him with pig trotters.

The contract was signed smoothly, and another purple circle appeared on Kakaso's hand. This signified that he was a familiar with a master, completely bound by the servitude contract. Such contracts were unequal, demanding little from the demon but having strict control over them. Typically, demons with such marks were of lower intelligence, and Kakaso, being a humanoid demon, was undoubtedly an exception.

Phyllis didn't expect the contract to go so smoothly. Why did he agree to such an unequal contract? She didn't care; however you looked at it, she had gained an advantage.

Feeling relieved, Phyllis started planning for the future.

"Speaking of which, your human-like appearance saves me the trouble of disguising you. As long as you don't reveal your silver blood, nobody will doubt it, right? It's normal for a fifth-level mage to have an assistant. Hmm, I also need to pay attention to this emblem."

Phyllis took out an apprentice glove. "This is a glove that isolates elements, a standard accessory for alchemy experiments for apprentices. Wearing this as my assistant is reasonable, and it can also block magic below the seventh level. As long as you don't take it off, it's good. Well, seven levels are too low..." Phyllis spread the glove on her palm and, with the other hand, dipped her finger in the dragon blood. She drew some symbols on the glove, then quickly chanted a spell. A red light flashed, and the glove showed no traces of the blood.

"Hehe, I inscribed a rune on it. Even a ninth-level mage won't see through it. Wear it properly, and don't take it off or damage it!" Phyllis handed the glove to him.

Kakaso didn't hesitate to put it on.

Phyllis continued to assess Kakaso. She hadn't paid attention to his attire earlier due to her thoughts on the contract. Now she realized he was completely naked, standing in front of her like an unclothed alien. It made her uncomfortable.

"Cough, your physique is a bit thin. Saying you hired a swordsman bodyguard would be unbelievable. You're better off as a junior apprentice..." Phyllis rummaged through her bag, pulling out an old apprentice robe.

"Put this on. Maybe the Abyss is too hot for you guys to wear clothes, but you can't walk around here naked. This is my old apprentice robe, and you're slightly taller than me. It should fit. Once we're back in the city, I'll buy you some proper clothes." When she mentioned innerwear, Phyllis couldn't help but blush. Buying men's clothes? Forget it, maybe she could ask the village chief in Hua Wei Village for a set while pretending she encountered a slime that corroded her clothes. Yeah, that idea seemed good.