Dead Man's Harem. Since I can't kill myself, I'll find other ways to be happy.

Chapter 62: Dinner with the Earl and Neko Slavegirl Hospitality

Devon found himself on a carriage sitting opposite to Patrick, who was given a new set of oversized army clothing to replace the feminine dress that the young lady forced him to wear while taking on the persona of 'Petunia'. Now, he looked a lot more like a battle hardened veteran rather than a disgruntled uncle trying to make his niece happy.

They were en route to the Earl's estate, as the Earl was notified by raven about the events that occurred and invited both Patrick and Devon to a stately dinner tonight to celebrate their military accomplishments, felling a demon that even the royal army would have trouble against.

It was exactly as the head commander of the earl's private army suspected how the earl would react. The older gentleman of a noble loved to hear stories about conquests and accomplishments, so how could he resist inviting two of those heroes to his estate for dinner when the conquest occurred in his own backyard?

Devon didn't know this yet, but killing a demon was a monumental feat. As demon sightings and demon conflicts become more frequent over the past month, the royal army was getting a bit more familiar with how demons functioned.

A well trained, professional army could stand up against a demon with some casualties, and even overwhelm it, but the problem was that the demons would flee when the situation turned against them. It was impossible to stop a fleeing demon.

At least, it was thought to be impossible to stop a fleeing demon until just today.

The gorilla demon was the very first recorded instance of a demon being slain. It was a monumental feat, one only feasible through the use of armaments still unknown to mankind, such as Devon's mana backflow explosion magic. Devon had no idea of the ramifications of accomplishing such a feat, although he wisely shifted some of the attention away from himself by asking Patrick to claim a stake in it.

Devon also had no idea that he instinctually reached for a form of mana manipulation that was still undiscovered in this world mana backflow.

The leading scholars of magic in this world had a good understanding of how mana functioned. Stamina and energy from the caster could be reconfigured and converted into mana, which was the fuel for all magic.

However, what Devon did during the minotaur fight was different. Instead of using the mana that he generated, he ignited it, instinctually grasping a method to repurpose the mana into something that was not quite a normal spell. It was something far more destructive in nature than a simple spell. It was a completely new, unnamed branch of magic that was still undiscovered in this world.

Of course, Devon didn't have a clue about what he did. It was hard to even say that he cared.

"Doing okay?" Devon asked.

Patrick grunted in response, not in the mood to talk. And with that, their conversation came to an end.

They arrived at the Earl's manor after a half an hour carriage ride. Devon and Patrick were escorted by several scantily dressed young slave girls of different races to a guestroom, which had the bearings of a stately reception.

"Tea? Coffee? Jellyfruit?" a green eyed neko slave girl with silver hair and a large snack platter in her arm asked Devon with a hospitable smile on her face.

"Tea is fine," Devon replied. "What's jellyfruit?"

"Oh, are you not from around here?" the neko slave girl replied with a giggle, wagging her tail excitedly. "These are jellyfruit~ they're very yummy~"

The neko slave girl lowered her tray and showed Devon a jiggling, wriggling translucent fruit that had a clear pit in the middle like an avocado. It flopped around on the plate like a sticky, peeled jello, although it was clearly a fruit and not an artificial creation like jello from earth.

Devon really wondered what kind of trees these things grew on, if they grew on trees at all

"Here, try one~"

The neko slave girl put on a thin white sanitary glove and picked up the lime green jellyfruit. "Aaaaah~" she said, leaning in towards Devon as an intoxicating wave of female pheromones hit him as she got close in proximity. He felt his bulge budge just a bit.

Devon opened his mouth obediently, and the jiggly foreign fruit entered his mouth. It tasted like pure bliss, a mix of honey and fruity flavors, and the texture was bouncy and smooth.

"Sho goodf... " he managed to say with his mouth full of the jellyfruit.

The silver haired neko girl smiled and bit her lip giggling. "Hehee~ I know right~"