I stood there waiting for my new Daemon henchman to answer. I found it strange that someone with his kind of stats and knowledge with magic would find himself in such a dire situation from simple Mountain Boars.

  The shadow moth stood there for a few seconds, taking his time to answer. That’s when his glowing eyes closed as he lowered his head in acknowledgement before he responded.

  “That….is a long story. To keep it short I have been running from my home country. Most of us Daemons seclude ourselves in our own continent up north with a few of us down for various reason.”

  I picked up on the fact he didn’t share his reason for running. I decided to let it be for now as it doesn’t matter to me too much. What did matter to me was why he ended up in such a life-threatening state.

  “I picked up on your skills with magic. With that kind of power, I find it hard to believe you would be bested by those boars. Not only that but you seem to have taken some damage that no boar should be able to inflict.”

  I tapped my claws in anticipation for his answer which he noticed and quickly answered. “Ah at the time I was running low on Mana. I did mention that I was on the run. Some people have hunted me because of prejudiced belief of my species being actual Demons that are against the goddess Purity. In truth we are no different to the rest of them. We’re more like the Beastmen of these lands but with more potency for Mana”

  Paimoth then did a slight bow both with one arm and wing on his left side. The way he has his posture just makes me think of a butler. But hearing the fact they are seen as Demons rather than Daemons makes me believe that there are actual Demons in this world. I did pick up on several people using the word Inferno in place to what my old world would use. Maybe that’s where Demons come from. What exactly makes Daemons different then? Lots of questions but honestly, I don’t really care too much about that.

  “Hm, alright fine by me.” I simply stated as I shrugged.

  That seemed to confuse the Daemon “R-really?”

  “Yeah, in the end of the day you did offer to work for me. So long as that is the case, I’ll deal with whatever trouble you probably lead to me.” I then gave off a big grin. An intense fire was growing in my eyes. “After all I don’t plan on anyone messing with what’s mine! Veehahahahaha~”

  The shadow moth looked on in a stunning silence, which quickly changed with his wings casually flapping. I don’t know what that means but I could guess he seemed happy about that. As if to prove me right he started to move with excitement, the glow in his eyes seemed to get more intense as he offered to carry my things for me.

  Huh. Almost as enthusiastic as Mordred.

  Sometime later, I managed to gather what I needed from the Mountain Boars I hunted while burying the rest in the ground. Paimoth was gladly carrying the bag of materials for me and showed some of his [Shadow Mastery] Ability to create shadow tendrils to carry them like a luggage cart.

  Out of curiosity I decided to check the shadows he conjured out. They were cold to the touch, and it felt like I was feeling a fog that just barely solidifies at the core. It was like it was barely being kept in reality and it would phase out of existence any second now.

  I could swear though that it was enjoying my touch. Like an animal receiving a pet, it was…. weirdly cute. Especially since Paimoth’s glowing eyes seemed to squint? It’s hard to tell. At least this would solve the issue of carrying the materials back. I don’t have enough room in my [Dimensional Box] and they’re a lot heavier than I thought they were. Plus, there could be more uses I could have with his shadows.

  Paimoth kept a distance up in the air. He said it would make it easier to keep track of things. Thanks to all that we managed to return to Grayston in less than a day. I told Paimoth to stay near the border before I called him over. During the journey back I had already taught him how to use the call and message features of [Game Screen] so he should be able to communicate with me now.

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  Considering what I heard from him about people’s usual reaction to Daemons, I thought it was best I gave them forewarning.

  I returned with the bag of quest materials which took me a lot longer to drag with me, Paimoth offered to let the shadows linger longer to carry it for me, but I was against it. I could already imagine people panicking over the shadow tendrils just casually going through town and I still need to keep my adventurer persona secret.

  When I completed the quest, the receptionist seemed a bit surprised. They expected it would take at least another day to finish. Damn should have done that. It could ruin the disguise.

  Luckily, she didn’t figure it out and simply praised me for my hard work and finished the paperwork. I took the money and headed off so I could remove my disguise in secret then messaged all of my henchmen.

  {Everyone in Greyston I got an announcement to make. Gather the people to the center of town as well as our guests. Those who are stationed at Mivtic I’ll come by later to provide the details.}

  I quickly received a message back from everyone in agreement.

  Not long afterwards everyone was gathered together, several of them were whispering amongst themselves with a mix of worry and intrigue. Mordred looked very excited for what I had to say while Zeph looked on as if he had already guessed what this is about. The three stooges though looked clueless and were talking amongst themselves. As for Katherine….

  Yeah, she was highly suspicious about my actions while also annoyed over the impromptu announcement. Well, she is in for a surprise. Veehahahahaha

  She squinted her eyes, glaring at me with some intensity. “…. What are you up to kobold?”

  I raised my claws in defense to her question. “Nothing, just a simple announcement. Thought it would be better to have everyone here for this.”

  She continued to glare at me while she and everyone waited for me.

  I coughed to my claw to recompose myself as I began to talk. “During my time out, I came across to a new henchman. I would like to introduce him to you all and get to know him.”

  The priestess’ stance relaxed a bit. “Oh, is that all? That’s not too bad. Does it really warrant such attention?”

  Mordred though was pumping his fists in excitement. “A new addition for you, boss?! Great, I can show the new guy the ropes as his senior!”

  “Oh, wow a new henchman. I’m so surprised bossman. ~” The vulture responded, with a familiar tone as he tipped his hat.

  Yup he definitely figured it out.

  I continued. “Let me introduce you to my latest henchman Paimoth!”

  {"You can come here now. Go say hi to everyone"}

  {"Understood, Master Vladimir"}

  A second later shadows started to swirl in front of everyone. Everyone started to panic with the fighters pulling out their weapons, but I motioned them to stop. Seems Zephyrus isn’t the only one for the flair for the dramatics.

  Katherine on the other hand started to sweat, she seemed familiar with the magic happening before us as she tightened her grip on her staff.

  The swirling darkness grew high before they suddenly dispersed. Leaving behind the shadow moth who was standing straight while lowering his upper body with his arm over his chest. The shadowy mist surrounding his body was controlled and contained, making it easier to see his features.

  He then spoke with a respectful tone. “Greetings everyone. I am the newly loyal attendant to Master Vladimir, the Daemon Shadow Moth Paimoth. It is a pleasure to meet you all.”

  The second the word Daemon was uttered, many of the citizens started to freak out. Sounds of screams could be heard across the crowd as many of them had started to brandish their weapons again.

  But before things could really grow chaotic, I silenced everyone letting my voice be heard with as much authority as I could muster. “Enough! I have heard about people’s feelings of Daemons but hear me now! He is now my henchman which means he is mine and I will not tolerate any animosity understand?!”

  That got them to quiet down, though the look of nervousness never left them. The only one who spoke in defiance was of course Katherine.

  “Are you mad?! That is a Daemon! They could be related to the Demons who are opposed to the goddess Astrea! This is blasphemous!!” the priestess was already starting to let light gather around her staff.

  “But you do not have proof of such claims, correct?”

  She didn’t respond. Merely glaring at me while continuing to let the light gather. So, I continued.

  “Why not keep watch over him as well? He’ll be around me at all times for now. I need to get him acquainted with everything anyway.”

  She was about to point her staff but noticed the onlookers who seemed more fearful of her than Paimoth. She made a sigh of recognition before letting the light dim. “…. Very well, I am not happy about this but at least this way I keep watch for any misdeeds. But I will have to report this to the bishop when he returns!”

  I shrugged, not thinking much on that matter. At the very least I can continue things as is. I sent everyone back to their daily duties as I prepared for the next step for integrating Paimoth into my fold.

  I had to start thinking about what he could do for my kingdom. I started considering the types of roles that would be appropriate as I eyed him. Remembering how the shadow moth acted, an idea crossed my mind. Reminded of a particular story I read as inspiration I settled on the perfect role for him.

  “Paimoth, what do you say on accepting the job as my new personal Daemon butler? ~”

  He tilted his misty head in intrigue. “A… butler master Vladimir?”