As the sun starts to set and cast an orange-yellow hue over the area, Richard yawns as he keeps driving down the street. By now, he is moving along the sidewalk as cars are packed up and blocking the road they are on. At which point, by the time of weaving through things, the group find themselves traveling through a neighborhood that seems abandoned by the cars littered messily in the road and suitcases and boxes of items thrown everywhere. "We need to rest and get everyone cleaned up. I could use a shower or something even," Richard speaks up as the team has fallen asleep a little with Evie sleeping against Rachel's chest. Only Herleva is the one awake and looking at their surroundings to make sure nothing sneaks up on them.
Rachel nods while looking at all the houses. "Stop at that one," she says, pointing to a home with some lights peeking through the windows. "Herleva and I will check the place out. Watch everyone in the meantime," she says as Richard brings the truck to a stop and lets them both step out. Evie is also settled into the passenger seat and sleeping on top of it while cutely hugging her bag of things. Herleva grabs her weapons out of the trunk as she follows Rachel towards the home. Richard smiles at the sight while seeing the two walk through the open garage and into the house. He then looks behind him and sees everyone sleeping soundly before Ruby starts to flutter her eyes open.
Ruby yawns cutely and smacks her lips. "Are we there yet?"
"We are checking for humans and supplies. Want to help?" Richard asks. "Plus, a place to clean up."
Ruby stretches before yawning. "Yeah. I need to stretch my legs for once," she says, opening the door and stepping out. "You'll be fine, right?" she asks, watching Richard.
Richard smiles as she walks around to his window. "Yeah. I have the others with me. I won't be lonely," he jokes, smiling.
Ruby smiles as well before leaning up and kissing him. Richard doesn't jerk away or become shocked at anything. He kisses the girl back while Ruby looks at him with a sexy gaze that draws him in. "Now, you won't be lonely. I'll be checking those empty houses. Maybe I'll bring back a cake," she giggles and gives a peck to his cheek. "See you soon," she says before walking away down the street towards the other dark houses as she carries her weapons in gun mode.
After a bit of searching, Ruby moves down through several houses. As she steps into another one, she grabs a few cans of food off the kitchen counter into a bag she found. The few places Ruby went through has hardly any signs of power or running water. But there is plenty of food to grab. Even a chocolate bar that she eats happily before she even gets to the home she is in.
As she steps in through an open window, she finds herself into a living which has signs of the previous residence with blankets and pillows on the couch and food cans on the ground beside it. Ruby sighs at the loss of more food containers and figures they must have moved on. So with that, she moves up the stairs and into a random room, which turns out to be a bedroom hardly messed up. Though, strangely enough, only the bed is messed up with clothes lying around the room. Ruby hums as she keeps looking around for something to grab before she eventually hears a sound behind her.
Ruby perks up before slowly turning to look behind her before she stares at some purple and pink glowing orbs that stare her down. Her eyes focus so much on them; she doesn't notice large meaty hands grabbing her head and moves her closer, as if on her own accord. A deep chuckle sounds out as the man who is now holding Ruby holds her chin and makes her stare at him fully. "Damn, such a fuckable body," he says as if he is a whisper in Ruby's ears. The light to his eyes dies down, and Ruby can start to see more of the man before her. Only the lack of certain features is what gets her attention. Ruby looks and sees the black-skinned man before moving her around and inspects her body, eyeing her squishy chest as his other hand squeezes one of her breasts, and the first one goes down to her full ass to give a squeeze through her skirt.
Ruby then sees how built the man is and sees that he is an average at best, but has a great form to it. Then her eyes land on his twitching cock, and she invertedly gulps in fear that it is a foot long and thick as her hand. The man huffs and slaps her ass, making a squeak come out. "Good enough," he mutters while pushing her to her knees and steps closer to her head. Ruby's head swims in a musk she smells off of him before he grabs her head to hold her still. The man then grabs his cock with his other hand and holds it up to her face. "Suck it, slut," he orders. Ruby slowly opens her mouth before wrapping her lips around his tip. The man groans in satisfaction before pushing more into her throat, and she gags as he holds her head with both hands. Ruby starts to struggle before he slaps her cheek hard, making her stop as more cock flesh slips down her neck. "Stop struggling, or I will make things worse, bitch," he warns.
Ruby gives a needy moan and starts to suck away as best she could. She even laps at the underside and licks the sides of him as he starts to thrust his hips. Ruby grunts as he pounds away and leaves her to a point where he doesn't allow her even a single breath of air. Soon, he can hilt her down to the base while Ruby has her face smashed into the man's crotch. His balls slap against her wet chin as she feels it slowly throbbing for a release soon.
The man yanks Ruby's head back, leaving her gasping for air as his cock drips drool and precum onto her face. "Okay, good enough there. Let's see if you can give a good fuck from your cunt," he mutters, pushing her towards the bed and leaves her bent over the edge. Ruby tries to push herself up off the bed before she grunts when he presses against her back, another hand on her ass while ripping the shorts and underwear off and pushes the skirt up. Ruby groans in pain while he slaps his cock against her ass. Her succubus mind finally breaks through the haze in her mind and tries to understand what is happening. As even though she can move on her own, she can't deny his suggestions and ideas he is giving when he pokes her dripping hole. "Come on, moan for me slut," he calls out, and Ruby lets out a needy moan as he slips in just as easily as he expected.
Ruby moans and lays against the bed as he pushes in deeper into her, hitting the entrance of her womb already. She tried to resist the suggestion from the man, but it slipped through her resistance, then she could have managed to have fought back against it. The man grunts above her as he moves his hips against hers, trying to break through and finally get his release after a while of staying in this place. Ruby bites her lips and tries to shut up, but the man only speaks again. "Come on, bitch, scream!" he calls out and slaps her ass and gives a hard thrust that jerks her forward.
"You want a scream? Fine. I will make you scream," Ruby says as she starts to use her succubus powers, and her form starts to change. Once her wings were out, she used them to smack the man away into the wall. The man groans as he tries to lift a hand, but a few things from a shelf above lands on his head and leaves him in a heavier daze. Ruby scoffs while grabbing her shorts and underwear off the floor before tossing it away, finding them ripped to pieces. "You owe me some clothes," she spits at the man, moving her tail up to his heart to see if she can stab people with it. If so, this would be more satisfying than finishing the fuck or going to Richard and bouncing him into a bed until the morning. "Now, I think I am owed," Ruby says before stomping on his hand with an audible crack.
The man wakes up with a scream and groans as he tries to hold his hand, but another kick from her sends him flying back into the wall. "Fucking hell…what kind of fucking slut are you?!" he demands as he stares her down now.
"Me? I am a demon," Ruby informs and watches with delight as his face starts to morph into an expression of terror. "Now, what should I do to you?" Ruby contemplates, examining her claws.
"Fuck you bitch," the man spits and tries to punch her with his good hand, but gets it smacked against the wall and stuck there when she grabs it with her claws. He groans in pain as the claws dig into his flesh, dripping blood down the walls. "Seriously. Fuck you! Should have hurried and raped your ass."
"You know, I am conflicted now. Do I torture you to death now? Or should I get my man? I am sure he will love to hear what you tried to do. He might just do far worse than I can," Ruby contemplates before thrusting the spade end of her tail, stabbing into his leg with it.
The man screams in pain now before pushing himself off the wall and pushes her to the ground. "Ha! What do you think of that bitch?!" he boasts as he grips her neck as tight as he can while fighting against the claw hold on his other arm.
"Oh, that is adorable," Ruby says, not even affected by his attempts to choke her before slashing him with her other claw, spraying blood from his chest. The man cries out, holding his chest. Ruby gets a leg between them before kicking him away. She spits at him while getting up and huffs. "Your dick can't even compare to my guy. That's how pathetic you are," she mutters while looking around and then at herself. "Fuck. And you still owe me a new set of clothes—specifically one with a skirt. The sexy kind," Ruby scolds down to the groaning man as he holds his bleeding chest. "Oh, grow a fucking pair. You are an able-bodied man who can take a goblin or two like this, fully naked, and without a weapon…oh, wait. I forgot how fragile you people of this world are. Silly me," Ruby says before flicking one of his ribs.
A loud crack sounds out, and the man screams in pain as he holds his sides. "You…fucking bitch!" he calls and tries to grab her by swinging a bloodied hand at her.
"Now, don't you remember? You wanted a scream," Ruby reminds, looking like she was about to continue. She casually swipes aside his hand, sending it crashing into the ground to make the floor break.
The man glares at her, his eyes glowing brighter and brighter each second. "You…slutty…asshole…red-haired…bitch!" he calls again through his painful groans as more blood leaks out of him.
"Oh, don't you get it? Your power now, that I am in this form, is worthless. You know…there's an idea. How about I take those eyes for someone else to use?" Ruby asks, a wicked smirk now adorning her face.
"Why not get your asshole boyfriend to do it?" he insults before grinning. "And when he gets here, I will kill his ass. Bet even his dick isn't up to snuff on fucking your loose ass!" the man laughs through the pain as Ruby's face flush with red in pure anger.
Ruby raises her claw and is about to bring it down, this time to tear this piece of shit apart when her hand is stopped. Looking at what had stopped her, she sees a fine cane with a rabbit-like head adorning the top. "Now, now. There are better ways to punish mortals." Ruby follows the cane and sees the gloved hand to see a tall rabbit being that seems to be stuck in a perpetual smile and eyes closed. "Hello," he greets and waves his other hand towards her. "You are a fine demoness."
"Who are you?" Ruby asks carefully as she instinctively knows this is a stronger demon.
The rabbit tilts his head before looking at the man and moves his cane before smacking it against the guy's head, knocking them out. "You may call me the Manager."
"…I know I have been set up for this, but the manager of what?" Ruby asks.
"Why, the demon market, of course," the manager says very flamboyantly.
Ruby becomes even more confused. "Wha…?"
The rabbit demon moves his cane to her and lifts part of her dress. "You may need a new outfit. We have some that I can provide for free later on. But first," he says, snapping his fingers, and the closet door beside them starts to glow dark smokey air around the edges. "If you would, please step through. It is time to learn the life of a demon."
"Right…but I really should finish what I started," Ruby says, turning her attention back to her would-be rapist.
"Oh, there is no need for that. You gave him a service, didn't you?" the manager asks.
"Service my tail. He tried to rape me. I am going to finish what he started," Ruby argues as she sends a glare at the rabbit, he gives a flick of his fingers that somehow erases her glare at him.
"But he did get some action, didn't he?" the manager asks.
Ruby growls before spitting to the side. "Don't even make me recount it all."
"Then his soul is now yours," the manager informs with an evil smirk.
Ruby raises an eyebrow as she hears what he said before her thoughts turn to Richard and how she fucked him back at the castle. If that's true, then what could that mean for him? "So…what does that mean for me?" she asks curiously but keeps an eye on the rabbit.
"Imagine a slave collar and chain on him," the manager advises as he spins his cane.
"That's not all. Is it?" Ruby asks unamused while watching where his cane spins.
"Think like when you made that nightmare of yours submit," the manager says cheekily.
Ruby raises an eyebrow before looking back at the man. "So…can I make him do things now? Does that include sending him to rape others or walk off a cliff?" Ruby asks, half wondering about the rape part and more so for the cliff part.
"Of course, but your pride will never allow him to go unpunished after what he did. So I have an offer. Sell him to me, and I make sure he spends the rest of eternity being tortured and enslaved. I will even give you triple the going rate as a first-time transaction bonus," the manager offers, holding up three fingers.
"Triple…wait. What can you buy at this crazy…market anyway?" Ruby presses as she wonders how they value humans at all.
"Why I am glad you asked. We offer services in clothes, materials, land development, potions to mold your slaves/lovers into anything you want, even monsters and demons to fill out your ranks, and so much more," the manager says, going into full-blown salesman mode.
"Lovers? What about lovers, specifically?" Ruby asks quickly.
"Want to change your lover? We have potions for that. You want them to have animal attributes like a lion's pelt? We have potions for that. You want to swap the gender or make them a futa? We have about nine varieties for it, ranging from instant effect to slow effect. Do you want it? We probably have it. We can even make them into a copy of yourself if you want," the manager informs.
Ruby slowly blinks. "Bigger dick and stronger body."
"Pashaw. That is easy, and one of the most common requests we get," the manager answers with a wave of his hand.
Ruby gaps like a fish before smirking. "Being as strong as me from my world. I don't want to see him hurt again."
"Oh…you are in love. Oh, that is so sweet and rare…you do realize that unless you turn him into a demon by next century, he will be gone, right?" the manager asks.
"I don't want him to leave like that…but I don't want to torture him to hell by forcing him to live long," Ruby warns, pointing at him.
"Kid, let me share a common 'rule' for us demons. Never fall for a mortal. We…I am not sure how long we can live for, but the moment you turn away and back, the mortal is already dead and gone," the manager warns.
Ruby frowns before huffs. "Screw off about that. I rather he becomes happy with me and the others…how much is this bastard's soul?" she asks, stomping on the man's hand.
"You know what, I feel sorry for you, so I will triple the price for what it was before the slave market became over flooded with humans from this new world," the manager says showing her a number now.
Ruby blinks as she stares at the number and raises a finger. "First, before I agree, what's the price of at least regular underwear? Nothing on it. Just sexy underwear."
"Hum...I don't know off the top of my head. After all, I have people to run the sections," the manager says.
Ruby takes a deep breath before sighing. "Fine…get his naked ass out of here. Not even a good one to look at," she mutters before slowly smiling at seeing Richard's body in her head.
The manager reaches his hand out as it glows blue. "We demons, when it comes to transactions like this, must shake on it. To seal the deal," the manager informs.
Ruby raises a hand and then looks at the manager. "List out the deal before I shake. I read comics and know the demon deal."
"I will pay you triple for the man's soul before the market price crashed. On the stipulation that you come and tour the market and shop there or at one of our branches in the future," the manager informs.
"I want to add one last detail. He must always suffer in your service and can even if you sell or trade him away, he must still have that condition," Ruby informs.
The manager slowly grins and shows his very demonic sharp teeth. "So we have a deal?" he asks, the color of the glow changing to a deep green.
Ruby sighs and grabs his hand, shaking it. "It's a deal."
"You will fit in just fine. Now, as part of our agreement," the manager says before red shackles shoot out of a magic circle from his hand and latch onto the man, making him scream in pain as Ruby hears searing from him now.
Ruby smiles and watches as the chains lift the man into the air, the metal still digging into his flesh and hooking around his bones. She grins as a fiery portal opens below him, and he slowly sinks into the ground where chains are everywhere through what she can see. "You fucking slutty bitch!" the man yells before the portal closes.
"Now follow me," the manager chirps.
A portal opens behind him and steps through while watching Ruby see what she might do. She watches the edge of the portal burn the carpet it's touching before walking through and steps into a stone-walled office room with stacks of papers behind a large desk as window lines behind the documents. "Wow…homey."
"Now then, let's give you the tour," the manager says gleefully.
Ruby looks to the rabbit and follows him as he steps out through the intricate demonically marked doors and into a large hallway. "I am guessing this place is never closed," she guesses and looks at the smaller doors lining the hall. "And these are personal rooms and offices?"
"Each leads to a different part of the market. The end of the hallway is for employees only, but I can give you a peek to see something," the manager informs.
Ruby follows the manager to a door before he grabs the handle, and it glows a bright red. "Is this…?" Ruby starts before the door opens, and she hears, screaming to see the man that she sold is working on mining rocks against a large boulder that keeps repairing itself. And his pickaxe is the shittiest wooden one ever seen by a human at all. "Wow…" Ruby breathes out before smiling as she takes enjoyment from his misery before the chains stuck in his body pull at the hooks around his bones and sends his arms flying in another direction only for a black whip to strike his back and make another mark on the red welts.
"This feels like history repeating itself, human," the demonic incubus with wings laughs as he rolls and plays with the whip before striking the man again. "And all it took was for your world to fall to end up like this again."
The rabbit calmly looks to Ruby before gesturing to the scene before her. "What do you think?"
"Does this benefit you for him to mine like that?" Ruby asks.
"Hum…you're right. Demoinis!" the manager cheerfully calls to the incubus.
Demoinis glides over to the two, and the man sighs in relief before crying out as he is whipped again. "No slacking!" the incubus calls before chuckling at the two new arrivals. "How can I help you, master?"
"The production is going to slow. Give them metal equipment. Oh, and the one who sold that one to me had a condition to it. Be extra cruel to him," the manager informs, pointing him out.
The incubus gives a bow to the two and smiles. "Of course, master. Slave! You are getting finer help," he calls out as he conjures a metal pickaxe and tosses it at him, making it stick out of the rock but stuck in place. "Your new tool to work with."
"Back to your fun Demoinis. I have to show our newest customer around," the manager says, escorting Ruby out.
Ruby still has a smile on her face as he shuts and locks the door behind them. "I like that room."
"It is where we mine materials for weapons and other things. The misery of the miner constantly restores it to what it was. Demoinis even tells them that once they finish mining it, that they are free to go," the manager informs with a chuckle.
"Correction. I love that room," Ruby corrects herself and giggles.
"Now, let us begin," the manager says before busting out into a jazz-themed song as he shows her around, letting Ruby know he is having fun with this whole thing. "In this little room, we have the silk," he sings, opening the next door, and there are lines upon lines of stalls with different clothing. With the first one being an apparent sexy set of them that Ruby keeps eyeing as the door closes. "In this colorful fall, we have the blood," he continues, opening the next door to a set of weapon shops. Ruby then sees something akin to a plasma rifle somehow in a pile of things before the door closes. "For your magical needs, you need the gruel," he continues singing in a somewhat haphazard and inadequate fashion that Ruby shrugs at as another door opens to show the potions shop with many vials and colorful liquids.
"Here, have a few free samples. We usually have to overstock these. So have some of these goblin curse cures. Trust me, they will come in handy when you need to undo something an insubordinate goblin does," the manager informs, giving her two vails off the shelf. "Also, don't worry. The vials are magically enchanted to be very durable."
Ruby raises an eyebrow at that claim and takes the vials. "Even goblins fucking things up?"
"They are lower-tier monsters, but they are also stupid at times and disobey orders and do stupid things. Got to keep an eye on them constantly, and the more there are, the harder that is. Now time for the only remaining important shop area. The minion store," the manager adds laughing.
"Please don't tell me there are only goblins in that store," Ruby asks as she follows him to another door.
"Why, of course not. We don't keep the stock on display," the manager says, leading her to a different kind of door, and when it opened, it seemed like a very nice hotel restaurant and bar area. All over the place, Ruby sees many different types of incubus and succubus talking, eating, gambling, watching, reading, etc.
"Is it only those two types of demons here?" Ruby questions as she knows there should be more demons than this.
"My dear, we are the upper class of demons. As such, we can take any appearance we want on a whim. You can even become an incubus right now if you wanted," the manager informs.
"Ew…no," Ruby mutters, stepping away from him. "I mean…any higher demons?"
"My dear, you will learn how to spot one. Like myself," the manager informs her, giving her a sinister smirk before going back to a happy go lucky smile and leading her to a turtle-like monster operating a counter.
"I am guessing this one is the monster seller," Ruby tries to guess, and both of them smile at her intelligence.
"Romomer, my good man. We have a new shopper today," the manager informs, and the turtle nods and slowly starts getting out what seems like a manual.
Ruby watches the turtle take out a book painfully slow that Ruby swears an hour is going by at this rate. "Is this normal?"
"Oh, yes. That is why we made this area like this," the manager informs as Ruby sees the scam now.
"Smart," Ruby quips, and the manager only smiles at her. "So, in the meantime, what now? And can I take the book out with me?"
"Yes, the manual also doubles as a catalog of what we offer, but I know you are in a hurry to get back to keep your cover, so here. You may look through mine. After all, you are just starting and need minions," the manager says, summoning a red-covered book.
Opening up the book, Ruby sees something she hadn't seen yet. A, what appears to be, mini-devil with the title 'Imp' above it. Along with a description. The book claims that these imps were most useful for doing domestic work and not heavy labor or fighting.
"How much do I have right now?" Ruby asks as she looks around for a price.
"Ah, right, sign this. It's the request for your official registry. This is so we can keep up with everyone and issue them for lack of a better term, your inventory page. A magical item that only you can see, and it details your current possession when it comes to minions, magical items, and money. Souls you own also appear under the minions part," the manager informs, giving her a form from behind the desk.
Ruby takes the form and looks it over, noticing it looks like an official governmental form. "How…?"
"It adapts to what you know and what it needs," the manager adds, giving a sly smirk.
Ruby shrugs before grabbing a nearby quill and starts to write into it after finding no hidden catch or fine print. She hisses as the ink begins to burn on the paper while her hand flush with blood under her skin. "Blood ink?" she groans, still writing away.
The manager still smiles away before walking around the counter. "Anything that connects to the soul of the user, blood must be sacrificed. It's widespread among our realm."
"At least it's not as bad as mortal paperwork. We would have to fill out ten request forms just to have the chance to get to request this and then be denied before getting it," Ruby says.
Most of the demons in the room turn to look at her as the manager peeks around a pillar at her with the same expression on his face. "Mortals are such a waste."
Ruby frowns at him, and the manager can guess why she is giving him an annoyed and angry expression.
"And some wonder how they end up imprisoned in this realm," one says chuckling.
Ruby shrugs while the manager leans close to her ear. "Take care, not to mention you have a mortal lover. We consider such things a weakness for gaining power," he warns while eyeing the rest of the demons in the room.
Ruby frowns before some sort of screen that she would see in a game pops up before she eyes with her name at the top and a list of items. She spots Crescent Rose under equipment to her approval, but also a nightmare and an egg under her minions. 'Wait. If Richard was like that last guy, shouldn't he be here?' Ruby thinks confused before seeing she had a thousand and five hundred dark currency.
Looking back at the manual, Ruby sees there are four labels for the minions, which are base, mutation, alpha, and alpha mutations. "Ah, what is this about?" Ruby asks.
"Oh well, minions, when they are born, have a chance at mutations. They are born with unique powers or abilities at birth. Alphas are born leaders of their species—the price changes depending on that. Also, the mutations we don't even know what they will be. So whenever you buy that, you are rolling the dice for it," the manager explains.
"But, you do know the chances of mutations?" Ruby questions.
"Hey, Bonsco, any progress on figuring that part out?" the manager calls to someone seemingly doing research and calculations.
"No!" Bonsco calls back, not looking up from his work.
"Nope not yet," the manager says, smirking.
Ruby frowns and slouches before sighing. "Can't be helped," she says quietly and looks at the imp again, this time trying to find the price. "How's my book coming along?"
"It's going to take a while, I will have it delivered to you later if you want," the manager offers.
"Before that. Which is better to start with, within your opinion? Imps or goblins?" Ruby asks, seeing their prices are very similar. With a hundred fifty for normal imps, two hundred for scouts, and five hundred for an alpha imp.
"Imps, I would say, are far more manageable. Just need an alpha to keep them all coordinated and inline—goblins you have to watch constantly…oh, does this mean you are already going to make a purchase?" the manager asks excitedly.
"There must be pros and cons to each other. Can't just be in control over others," Ruby voices with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Let's continue this in a private booth," the manager says, smiling as he walks with a bit of a hop in his step.
Ruby follows the manager into a booth where he draws the curtain, and it seemed like she and the manager were now sitting in a black void. "So, my question," Ruby reiterates. "About the pros and cons."
"I find imps a good starter as you just need an alpha to keep them under control as you learn how to be a good master. The goblins, though, by their nature, are very chaotic, so you have to watch them constantly, or they will go rape, for example, a slave you had assigned a job like forging some gear or making clothes making them unable to do the job. Or go out and attack a human village when you are trying to stay hidden while you build up—thus bringing unwanted attention. The trade-off is imps is the best for decent scouting while being cheap and doing domestic work like cooking and cleaning. At the same time, goblins are only good for menial labor or raiding in vast numbers," the manager explains.
Ruby hums and looks between the imps and the goblins in the book. "Yeah…with the way things are going for my group and me, I might have a mix at best. Imps for keeping things checked up and clean while goblins are breeding and making a horde to attack and sacrifice."
"There is one also a bonus for imps," the manager adds, getting her attention.
Ruby places the book on the table and pays full attention to the manager. "What bonus?"
"You can rent your imps to the market to get some income. We don't do that for goblins though," the manager informs.
"Obviously," Ruby mutters to the side. "How much can I get from one?"
"Well depends on how long you rent them for. Taking out expenses for food and sleeping quarters as you most likely don't have anywhere safe for them at the moment, you can get six dark currency per hour per imp," the manager informs.
"Keeping them safe…what do you mean by that? I thought they already have their cave or something like my nightmare…I think," Ruby says to herself.
"The world is a dangerous place. A nightmare, you can let them wander the plains in this realm, and they will mostly be completely safe, baring if one of the biggest goes on a rampage, but they can usually outrun that danger. But imps? Oh, boy. They end up being prey more times than not," the manager informs.
Ruby frowns as she taps her finger against the table. "Feels like I am running a fucking business and castle at the same time," she sighs before humming.
"That is because you are my dear. That is why we refer to it as the great game," the manager informs.
Ruby sputters her lips and then hums as she sees the manager smirking, figuring that she is already thinking of another item at play. "You sell places, don't you?"
"We also make places. Like, for example, your private island, but those cost a lot," the manager informs.
"Five thousand?" Ruby asks dryly.
"Add about five more zeros to that for a small one," the manager informs with a wave of his hand.
"Cheapest?" Ruby presses, leaning against the table now.
"For an island, that is the cheapest, but for saying a house or something, a small one is like five hundred thousand," the manager informs.
Ruby groans and hangs her head, letting it land against the table. 'There must be someway…' she then looks up and sees the manager smirking and then notices a twitch of his lips. "There is another way? Isn't there? Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken the egg that easily."
"You could always steal one from a lesser demon, but with your current forces…" the manager trails off implies.
"We had one defeated. He left almost everything behind. Even the monsters fought and killed each other," Ruby informs.
"It's on you to keep it in order. Also, we can't sell what the demon world doesn't own. Even if you take over a place in the mortal's world, we have no true legal claim to it unless we build it," the manager informs.
"No. I mean, wouldn't his realm and possessions in that world be mine?" Ruby clarifies.
"You would have to invade his place and either kill him or make him your servant. Something you most likely don't have the time or forces to do at this point," the manager informs.
Ruby frowns before sighing. "What about if adventurers or hunters leave the demons for dead? Can I claim them then?"
"Did they die, though?" the manager asks.
"Can it be done?" Ruby presses, frowning heavily.
"When that happens, the demon usually just loses their body. They can easily get a new one. If desperate, some demons have been known to take the body of their slaves. We even have a service where you can order a new body for yourself," the manager informs.
"What you are saying is, it is incredibly hard truly to kill one?" Ruby asks and gets a nod.
"We do have a small realm on the market that no one seems to want, but you lack the money to buy it. So tell you what, you capture a few strong enough monsters or kill a few problem monsters for us, and I will give it to you," the manager offers.
"Problem monster? You guys have that besides goblins?" Ruby asks with another dry tone.
"Problem monsters are monsters that escape their servitude because of an incompetent demon. Can't let them go free as it could put ideas into the rest heads. Thankfully, mortal adventurers help deal with them mostly, but that has been lessening lately. It also makes good sport to watch and place bets on. So if you can deal with a few like that, then I will let you have the realm, but not a word of this to anyone as I don't want the rest swarming me for something like that," the manager informs.
Ruby nods before sighing. "Why help me so much?"
"Because you interest me so much, you were a mortal from a world that gods abandoned from the looks of your energy," the manager says with a sinister smirk, reminding Ruby of what she had been told about her world by Richard.
"Right…one alpha imp, three of these scout imps, and two regular imps," Ruby says, telling him what she is ordering before closing the book and sliding it back to him.
"A very nice starting choice. Now, you mentioned that a demon abandoned his minions and fled, yes?" the manager asks, writing down her order.
"Yeah. Why? Placing a kill order on him?" Ruby asks rhetorically.
"You must not know about branding then. It's a spell we demons can use on minions who have lost their master or wild monsters we have forced into submission. Doing so makes them your new minion," the manager informs.
Ruby hums as she thinks back to the mall battle and wonders who the winners are at this point. "So…do my minions usually battle one another if I am away for a while?"
"The more chaotic do like goblins or those who are more loners and don't work well with others. Now I have a new deal for you if you want the branding spell," the manager informs.
"Keep giving me deals, and I might end up sucking your dick," Ruby jokes smiling.
"Oh, is that an offer?" the manager asks seriously as Ruby feels that might have been a mistake.
"No…no. That was a joke," Ruby quickly corrects.
"Oh. Too bad. Now I am willing to sell you the branding spell for...all your minions," the manager informs with his sinister smirk.
Ruby frowns as she immediately thinks of her nightmare daughter and how devastated she would be if her mother does this, but recalls there is only one nightmare on her sheet. "No. I won't sell them. My first monster fuck and a friendly monster in all of this mess. And that damn egg. That's my friend's. I rather she faces what her weakness brought us," Ruby states, tapping the table with her finger.
"Oh, then you would rather sacrifice the ability to get more minions without having to pay for them over the idea of selling the one that made you into a succubus, the egg, and your new imps?" the manager asks.
Ruby was about to say something when she stops and thinks about how many wild monsters she could meet along with abandoned monsters she could use it on, especially if Herleva and Richard take care of all the masters. "I see…fine then."
"Do we have a deal?" the manager asks, extending a hand that was glowing again.
Ruby frowns at him. "List out the deal," she says, bring up her hand to prepare to shake.
"I give you the spell branding in exchange for your nightmare, the egg, and your new imps," the manager informs.
Ruby sighs and reaches to shake his hand before the aura disappears when she grabs him. "What…?" she asks, confused and looks around their hands.
"I see. You're not one of those stingy types we have. You passed my test. The branding spell is yours," the manager informs.
Ruby's hand slowly falls to the table now. "Sorry, what?"
"I was testing you to see what kind of customer you will be and if you would take a long term advantage over an early one. By taking it, that means you will do more business here without deals. Now we need to choose the design for your brand. What symbol do you want to have that shows, ownership?" the manager asks.
Ruby hums. "We can go with a silver rose," she requests, bringing up the metal rose pendant on her belt.
"Very well," the manager says before grabbing her hand, and information starts to bombard her mind, and in the end, she sees a burning silver rose emblem in her head.
Ruby groans and holds her head. "Ow and double ow," she sighs and looks at the smoking hand.
"Any other questions before we conclude the tour?" the manager asks.
"Two. You see, I gave birth to another nightmare, but it's not here under minions," Ruby explains after recovering for a bit.
"Oh, that's easy to explain. You don't automatically get your offspring as minions," the manager explains simply.
"…I see, but what about this other human? I did far more with him than the last one, but he isn't here," Ruby says.
"Hum…did you come onto him or feel grateful for anything he had done for you or someone you know?" the manager asks.
Ruby raises a finger before sighing. "Almost all the above."
"Then it doesn't count. Because you felt like he either already did you a service or helped you," the manager explains.
Ruby groans. "Damn demon deals. No way for even neither of us to be 'minionzed," she says with air quotes. "I doubt even Richard can take control of me and own me. Even if it is kinky as all hell," she ends with a smile, and her tail whips behind her into a heart shape.
"Oh, of course, there is. You just have to dominate them to the point they submit," the manager informs, putting Ruby on guard.
"Wait…does that mean that humans can…?" Ruby starts to question and wonders what happens to all of her hard work if Richard takes control of her.
"They need to know the brand spell for the most part," the manager informs.
Ruby sighs in relief. 'At least I can keep fucking around with Richard at that time. Maybe I should give him a present even. What would he like?' she thinks with a smile on her face now.
"You can also brand humans as well, but most find it a waste of time for your level," the manager informs.
"Okay, one last question. The way you said it, demons do sleep with mortals. Does that mean there are family lines of them?" Ruby asks, interested.
"Why, yes, and they are easy to find. Just look for those with strong magical prowess in their bloodlines, and you will find them," the manager informs before reaching over and moves the curtain, bringing them back to the market.
Ruby keeps smiling. 'I don't think Richard would mind if I said it would protect us and make him stronger. Though…he might throw a fit,' she thinks heavily now as she hums to herself.
The manager sighs happily before spinning his cane around. "Well, that concludes our eventful tour. Is there anything else you wish to buy? I saw you eyeing those sets of clothing at the start." Ruby blushes bright red before sighing and slumping over.
"I need a new pair anyway."
