Even though the golden hue of dusk had completely faded, the illuminated cityscape still displayed a beauty that rivaled its former glory.

Alongside the ancient buildings, pedestrians wore various costumes, their faces adorned with relaxed smiles.

In a corner of the residential area, several hundred meters from the city gate.

Apart from the torches the guards placed on the walls and the light spilling from the residents' windows, there was no other illumination.

After Ranch's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he slowly approached his destination.

He could see something huddled beneath the corner of the wall—actually, there were several huddled creatures.

Frail figures shivering from the cold.

Ranch continued toward the spot, and he could hear the sounds of those lives.

"Meow~ Meowww~"

He stopped, squatted down, and opened the lunchbox in his hand.

The aroma began to spread at once.

And as Ranch tossed the cooked chicken inside onto the ground a short distance away, little cats gradually began to approach him.

At this very moment.

He seemed not to notice at all that across the street, not far away, there was another figure leaning against the wall, looking like a homeless person from the slums.

This street corner wasn't exactly a good place; isolated, with only stray cats.

But there were no other vagrants, and few guards.

Talia hated humans, so she found it relatively comfortable here.

No one would have imagined that such a slum-dressed girl was actually the former Demon Princess.

Time passed.

The surrounding kittens were almost all drawn to Ranch's side.

Ranch watched the cats eating with a happy expression.

He had learned from the steward that Talia had been sleeping on the streets here for the past two days.

So Ranch had asked the chef in the mansion to prepare a generous amount of special aromatic chicken before dinner; cats could eat it, and it smelled even better to humans.

Then, later in the evening, he deliberately came here pretending to feed the cats.

"..."

Even though Ranch hadn't glanced at Talia once in these past few minutes.

Talia had noticed this human who had rashly invaded her "territory" long ago.

If he had just quietly stayed there, Talia might have treated him like air.

But that damn human, why was he feeding stray cats such high-quality meat?

Recalling how she had been exposed to the elements and slept in the open these past few years, Talia could only conclude that even cats ate better than she did.

Finally, she couldn't help but look toward Ranch.

But out of pride, she couldn't seem to bring herself to say any words of reproach for the moment.

She could only glare daggers at Ranch.

But Ranch still didn't seem to notice her for a long time.

"Can you go feed the cats somewhere else?"

She spoke, saying coldly.

Ranch looked up in slight surprise, glancing blankly in the direction the voice came from, and after seemingly understanding the situation, he responded calmly:

"I come to this place more often than you."

He declared his sovereignty, stating the fact that "he often comes here to feed the cats."

Talia scoffed softly upon hearing this, and ignored him.

Because this human wasn't lying.

Ranch didn't say anything more.

What he had just said was indeed the truth.

As a native of this town, he certainly came to this place more frequently than Talia.

And Talia had only been in this town for a short time, so naturally, she wouldn't have seen Ranch feeding the cats here in the past few days.

However, Talia was stubborn.

She hated Ranch and was unwilling to take the initiative to leave and abandon the spot where she had been staying for the past two days.

If anyone gave way at this time, it would seem like she had lost.

So she sat in the corner of the wall, enduring her hunger while trying to fall asleep.

A little while passed.

"Can you do me a favor?"

Ranch's abrupt voice rang out in the quiet street.

Talia raised her head slightly and looked toward Ranch, making sure he was talking to her.

"What?"

Talia originally didn't want to pay him any attention.

But according to the rules of the human kingdom, since someone was asking her for help, there would surely be a reward.

She was in great need of various rewards right now.

"Help me feed the cats, and don't let the big cats bully the little ones. I'm sleepy and want to go home and sleep."

Ranch finished speaking, and raised the box in his hand, adding,

"You can have what's left."

"..."

Talia was silent.

If it wasn't charity, but a transaction, she could consider it.

However, for demons, abiding by the rules of a transaction was an especially important matter.

It even concerned their dignity.

The more noble the demon, the more likely they were to die rather than break the rules of a transaction.

Even though this human didn't know she was a demon.

But as a member of the demon royal family, she would never violate the rules of a transaction, even if she starved to death, and would not covet half a bite of the cats' food.

She counted the number of cats in her head, making sure that she should still be able to eat a little chicken in the end.

"Deal."

Talia thought it was okay to accept this deal.

Although she didn't quite understand what joy humans could get from feeding cats.

Ranch temporarily closed the lunchbox, put it on the ground, stood up, stretched his back, and left leisurely.

...

The next morning, at a wealthy merchant's residence in this town.

Today was another disciplined day; Ranch got up early, and left home after eating breakfast.

The plants in the courtyard seemed to be coated with a misty luster by the rising sun, and canaries were chirping on the surrounding trees.

Making Ranch, who was walking in the courtyard, feel cheerful.

However, he stopped in his tracks as soon as he walked out of the courtyard gate.

Because he saw Talia sitting across the street, as if she was staking him out.

But he wasn't flustered at all.

It was unlikely that Talia could have investigated the bad things he had done so quickly.

Talia in the distance quickly walked up to Ranch, and behind Ranch, the guards standing at the gate of the residence immediately became alert.

Ranch raised his hand to signal the guards not to be nervous.

Being nervous was useless; if she wanted to go on a killing spree, no one here could stop her.

"The box."

She simply raised her hand and handed Ranch the lunchbox that had contained the chicken last night.

The reason she had found Ranch so quickly was that after inquiring about "a black-haired, green-eyed young man" in this town, she could learn about the deeds of this not-so-reputable young master.

However, she always felt that the rich young master the humans in the town were talking about was a little inconsistent with the young man she had seen with her own eyes.

Although he looked a little stupid and lazy, he didn't seem like a bad-tempered human.

"You can sell it; I don't plan on taking it back."

Ranch looked at her in confusion.

The high-end tableware from home could be sold for at least half a pound.

"This is outside the terms of the deal."

Talia said expressionlessly.

Ranch nodded upon hearing this, and reached out to take the box.

This Demon Princess must have put in a lot of effort to disguise herself as a human, and was strictly enforcing the rules of human society.

Before Ranch could say anything else, Talia turned around without hesitation and left indifferently.

"Didn't you eat much?"

Ranch looked at Talia, who had only left him with the back of her dark gray cloak in an instant, and asked.

"I fulfilled the terms of our deal."

Talia said without turning her head.

"I see."

Ranch looked down, and said to himself as if to himself, looking at the box.

This demon seemed to emphasize that this was a "transaction" rather than a "favor."

Her pride didn't allow anyone to give her charity, and she didn't want to repay any kindness, because she was very clear that free things were actually the most expensive.

Then his little plan to give Talia a favor was shattered.

Even the box, which could have become a "favor trap," was returned at once.

Ranch sighed and handed the lunchbox in his hand to the guard next to him.

Sure enough, it was not so easy to offset "the hatred formed with her" by "giving Talia a favor."

However.

All of this was within his expectations.

Ranch signaled the guards behind him not to be vigilant; he was going to talk to this young lady alone.

The guards didn't dare to say anything, and stayed at the gate of the residence according to Ranch's instructions.

Then Ranch trotted to catch up with Talia.

Talia tilted her head and looked at this human who had come to her side again, her expression becoming somewhat puzzled.

She didn't understand what this seemingly powerful but weak guy wanted to do.

"I would like to propose another deal with you; I guarantee its fairness in the name of my family."

Ranch said respectfully and politely.

Talia's golden eyes stared at Ranch, as if to penetrate his pupils.

Not a lie.

She had magic that could judge the truth of the other party's words.

And she had a transaction experience.

It seemed that this wealthy human wasn't too bad, and should be able to give her the reward she needed now.

"Tell me about it."

Talia stopped and responded.

"Regarding the content of the next transaction, I hope you don't ask me why."

Ranch's expression became somewhat serious.

Talia nodded.

She didn't need to explore too much, because no one could deceive her with lies.

"There's a guy in this town who wants to kill me. So I want to ask you to pay attention to whether there are any suspicious people near my house, and help me eliminate dangers and protect me; I will give you the corresponding reward."

Ranch looked a little embarrassed, not concealing the worry in his eyes, and looked directly at Talia.

"Not difficult."

After listening to Ranch's proposal, Talia was sure that everything he had said was true.

"Your family should be very rich and powerful in this town, and even your mansion shouldn't lack people who can protect your safety."

She thought for a while, then looked at the not-so-weak guards in the distance, and raised her question to Ranch.

"Because the assassin might be by my side, I can't absolutely trust anyone around me, so I need as much and as reliable insurance as possible."

Ranch looked like he particularly liked Talia.

His eyes did not conceal his appreciation for Talia, because of her honest return of the box, and because she didn't have any prejudice against him because of his identity, status, or rumors.

"So you think I'm more reliable than those guards around you?"

Talia seemed to have defaulted to the fact that she wasn't weak.

She understood that Ranch had the discerning eye that some shrewd merchants possessed.

"Relatively speaking, yes."

Ranch nodded.

"Hiring me is expensive."

Talia just said this.

She had been judging the truth of every word this human said.

But he hadn't lied to her so far.

Among all the humans she had met so far, this was rare.

According to her judgment, he should be the honest, upright, and kind type of human, a good trading partner.

"3 pounds a day; as long as you stay in this city, this agreement will be in effect."

Ranch had already taken out a checkbook with the words "Wilfort Merchant Guild" on it and a pen from his pocket.

It seemed that gold coins of one pound and half a pound were too troublesome for him to carry around.

Generally, 30 pounds was enough for an ordinary family in the southern Mantina border territory of the Hutton Kingdom to live on for a year.

Talia was obviously stunned.

Not only was she shocked by Ranch's rich-guy aura.

For her, who hadn't touched currency in the unit of "pounds" for a long time and was still an illegal resident of the kingdom, this was an irresistible business.

However, she had absolute confidence in her own strength.

So this wasn't a "favor," but a "transaction."

Most importantly, the initiative to terminate this transaction was also in her hands, and would not affect her freedom.

"...Deal."

Talia said in a low voice.

"Then I'll have to trouble you."

Ranch directly handed the checkbook and pen to Talia, making her stunned again.

Talia lowered her head and looked at the check in her hand thoughtfully.

Does this mean, let me fill in the numbers on it every day, and then take it to cash it?

Sure enough, he was a wealthy and generous human.

He also had many qualities such as kindness and integrity.

However, this kind of human was often the most incompatible with their demons.

...

At this time, Ranch turned around and was walking towards the other side of the street.

The corners of his mouth twitched, and he was almost unable to hold back his laughter.

Talia still didn't know that the person who wanted to kill Ranch was herself.

Even if Talia found out the truth that Ranch had hunted down her familiar, she couldn't attack Ranch.

Because she had to abide by this rule—

"As long as she is in this city, she must protect Ranch and get 3 pounds of money every day"!