"DEMON?!" Kai's voice cracked as he processed what Olivia had just called him. "What the hell are you talking about?! I'm not a demon! I'm just a regular guy who got lost and ended up in your stupid waterfall!"
He struggled against the ropes binding his hands, his voice rising to near-hysteria as the absurdity of the situation hit him full force.
"This is insane! You can't just tie people up and accuse them of being supernatural creatures! Do I look like a demon to you?! Where are my horns? My evil aura? My dramatic cape?!"
Olivia watched his outburst with the cold satisfaction of someone who believed she had successfully exposed a clever deception. Her starry blue eyes never wavered from his face as she waited for his desperate protests to die down.
"You ugly ass demon," she said with disgusting smugness, crossing her arms over her chest. "I knew you were trying to kidnap me the moment you opened your mouth."
Kai's jaw dropped so far it probably violated several laws of anatomy. "KIDNAP YOU?! Are you completely insane?! You're way stronger than me! What could I possibly do to kidnap someone who can make water dance in the air and knock people unconscious with magic spells?!"
The irony of his situation wasn't lost on him—here he was, tied up in a basement, being accused of attempted kidnapping by the very person who had actually kidnapped him.
Olivia's expression grew even more self-satisfied, as if his protests were merely confirming her suspicions. "First," she began, holding up one finger like a prosecutor presenting evidence, "you stalked me to my private practice area. Then you asked if I was 'the woman with orange hair and blue eyes' like you were following some kind of description. Only demons are foolish enough to be so obvious about their evil schemes."
The accusation hit Kai like a physical blow to his already battered psyche. *She's not wrong about that part,* he thought miserably. *I really was looking for someone matching her description. But how was I supposed to know that would make me sound like a supernatural stalker?*
"But that's not even the worst part," Olivia continued, her voice taking on the tone of someone delivering a devastating revelation. "Those pants you're wearing—they belong to a Lichtritter. No knight would ever give their uniform to some random stranger they found in the forest."
She leaned closer, her blue eyes narrowing with suspicion and barely contained anger.
"Which means you probably killed that knight and stole his body, didn't you? That's how demons operate—they possess corpses and use them to infiltrate human society."
Kai felt his heart stop. The accusation was so horrifically wrong and yet so logically constructed based on the evidence available to her that he could barely formulate a response.
"That's... that's not... I didn't kill anyone!" he stammered. "The knight gave me these pants because I was naked in some randome forest filled with monsters ! He was helping me!"
"Sure he was," Olivia replied with acidic sarcasm. "And I suppose you'll claim he just happened to be wandering around the most dangerous forest in the region looking for naked strangers to assist out of the goodness of his heart?"
Before Kai could attempt to explain the impossible truth, Olivia delivered what she clearly considered the killing blow to his credibility.
"But the real mistake—the one that proves beyond any doubt what you are—is that you mentioned the name Juno."
Kai blinked in confusion. "What's wrong with mentioning Juno-san? He's the one who told me to find you!"
"SHUT UP!" Olivia shouted, her composure finally cracking as real anger blazed in her eyes. "Juno Ambrose is no normal being! He's the Crimson Sage—the strongest person in the entire country! Only the highest-ranking officials barely even know where he might be training at any given time, and you're here claiming that some random stranger like you just happened to meet him?!"
The revelation hit Kai like a sledgehammer to his already fragmented worldview. *Crimson Sage? Strongest in the country? The guy who spent a week beating me up and making fun of my magic was that important?*
"It's been ages since I last saw him," Olivia continued, her voice rising with each word. "And you think someone like you—a scrawny, powerless nobody—could just casually encounter the most legendary knight in the empire? That's absolutely absurd!"
Kai's mind reeled as he tried to process this information. Juno's surname was Ambrose? He was some kind of legendary figure known throughout the country? The casual, sarcastic mentor who had tormented him for days was apparently one of the most important people alive?
*No wonder he was so impossibly strong,* Kai thought numbly. *I've been training with a living legend and didn't even know it.*
His prolonged silence seemed to confirm Olivia's suspicions. She nodded with grim satisfaction, clearly believing his speechlessness was proof of his deception.
"I knew it," she said triumphantly. "After exposing you, I knew you'd be speechless. Demons always get caught up in their own lies eventually."
Kai finally found his voice, though it came out weaker than he would have liked. "Everything I'm saying is true. I really did meet Juno-san, and he really did tell me to find you. I don't know why that's so hard to believe."
"Because it's impossible!" Olivia snapped. "Someone like you could never—"
"Wait," Kai interrupted, a more pressing concern suddenly occurring to him. "More importantly, why does my entire body feel like I got trampled by a herd of angry elephants? What happened to me after you knocked me out?"
Olivia's angry expression shifted to something that looked disturbingly like pride.
"Hmm, well," she said with obvious satisfaction, "I used you as a training bag."
The casual way she delivered this information made it somehow more horrifying than any dramatic revelation could have been.
"YOU WHAT?!" Kai's voice reached a pitch that probably scared wildlife in neighboring kingdoms. "You used my unconscious body for combat practice?! What kind of psychopath does that?!"
"The kind who catches demons trying to infiltrate her family," Olivia replied smugly. "I figured if you were going to lie there unconscious anyway, I might as well get some productive training done. You should be honored—it's not every day someone gets to serve as a practice dummy for a Wolf family heir."
Kai stared at her in absolute horror. The beautiful, graceful girl he had been so enchanted by at the waterfall had apparently spent hours systematically beating his unconscious body for magical combat practice.
"You're an evil witch!" he shouted, his voice cracking with indignation and disbelief. "What kind of person thinks that's acceptable behavior?!"
"Evil witch?!" Olivia's face flushed red with anger. "I'm protecting my family and my community from supernatural threats! If anything, I'm a hero!"
"Heroes don't use unconscious people as punching bags!"
"They do when those people are demons in disguise!"
"I'M NOT A DEMON!"
"PROVE IT!"
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PROVE A NEGATIVE?!"
Their shouting match might have continued indefinitely, but it was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching from upstairs, followed by a voice that made Olivia's entire demeanor change instantly.
"Olivia-sama! Katrina-sama is here!"
Olivia's angry expression transformed into something resembling triumphant anticipation. She smoothed down her hair and adjusted her clothing as if preparing for an important presentation.
"Perfect timing," she said to Kai with obvious satisfaction. "My grandmother is here. She's one of the most important members of the Lumen Council and an expert on magical threats. Once I explain what I've discovered, she'll know exactly how to deal with a demon like you."
Kai felt his stomach drop. *The Lumen Council? The same group that Juno-san was summoned to meet? This is getting worse by the minute.*
"This is your end, demon," Olivia declared with the confidence of someone who believed victory was within reach. "Grandmother will be so proud when she sees how I've handled this situation."
Heavy footsteps echoed down the wooden stairs, and Kai found himself face-to-face with a woman whose presence seemed to fill the entire basement. Katrina Wolf was clearly Olivia's grandmother—they shared the same bone structure and intelligent eyes—but where Olivia radiated youthful energy, Katrina projected the kind of authority that came from decades of making difficult decisions.
Her silver hair was pulled back in a severe style, and her expression as she surveyed the scene before her was... not what Olivia had been expecting.
Instead of pride or approval, Katrina's face displayed a mixture of horror, embarrassment, and barely contained fury that made the air itself seem to crackle with dangerous energy.
"Grandmother!" Olivia began eagerly. "I'm so glad you're here! I've captured a demon who was trying to infiltrate our family! He claimed to know Juno Ambrose and was asking suspicious questions about my appearance, so I—"
**THWACK.**
The sound of Katrina's hand connecting with the back of Olivia's head echoed through the basement like a gunshot.
"OW! Grandmother, what was that for?!"
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Katrina's voice rose to levels that probably registered on seismic equipment in neighboring provinces. "You absolute, complete, thoroughly hopeless IDIOT! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
Olivia stared at her grandmother in shock, clearly having expected praise rather than violence. "I... I caught a demon! Isn't that good?"
"A DEMON?!" Katrina looked like she was seriously considering strangling her own granddaughter. "You've beaten, tied up, and imprisoned someone who is completely innocent—he's the person Juno specifically entrusted to our family's care!"
The basement fell silent except for the sound of Kai's jaw hitting the floor and Olivia's worldview crumbling into dust.
"He's... what?" Olivia whispered.
"Philip!" Katrina barked toward the stairs. "Get down here immediately!"
A tall, muscular figure descended the steps with the efficient movements of someone accustomed to responding quickly to urgent summons. The man appeared to be in his late thirties, with striking grey hair and the kind of build that suggested he could probably bench-press a small building. Despite his intimidating physical presence, his expression was gentle and apologetic as he surveyed the scene.
"Take the boy and treat his wounds immediately," Katrina ordered. "Use whatever healing supplies are necessary and make sure he's comfortable. I'll deal with this disaster of a granddaughter."
Philip nodded respectfully and moved toward Kai's restraints. "Of course, Katrina-sama. Right away."
As the butler carefully untied the ropes around Kai's wrists, he spoke in a voice that carried genuine remorse. "I sincerely apologize for this treatment, young sir. I am Philip, head butler of the Wolf mansion. We were not informed of your arrival, or this situation would never have been allowed to occur."
Kai rubbed his chafed wrists, still trying to process the dramatic reversal in his circumstances. "It's... it's okay. I think there was just some kind of misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding that resulted in you being beaten unconscious and used as magical target practice," Philip replied grimly. "I assure you, such hospitality is not typical of the Wolf family."
As Philip helped Kai to his feet, two additional figures appeared at the bottom of the stairs—a young girl with bright yellow hair who appeared to be in her early teens, and a boy roughly the same age with brown hair and an expression of barely contained curiosity.
"Bell, Dory," Philip called to them. "Assist me in getting our guest properly treated and cared for."
The moment the two younger servants got a good look at Kai's battered condition, they immediately launched into the kind of rapid-fire chatter that suggested they had been bursting with questions since his arrival.
"Oh wow, you look terrible!" the girl—Bell—announced with the tactless honesty of youth. "Did Olivia-sama really beat you up that badly? That's so cool! I mean, not cool that you got hurt, but cool that she's gotten so strong with her combat training!"
"Bell!" the boy—Dory—hissed. "You can't just say things like that!"
"Why not? It's true! Look at his face! She must have landed some really good hits!"
"That's exactly why you can't say it!"
As the three of them helped Kai up the stairs toward what he presumed would be more comfortable accommodations, Bell and Dory kept up a constant stream of observations, questions, and sibling-style bickering that made his already pounding headache worse.
"Excuse me Is it true that you really are from far away?" Bell asked. "You talk kind of funny. Not bad funny, just different funny."
"Where exactly is 'far away'?" Dory added. "Like, another kingdom? Or just really far out in the countryside?"
"How did you meet Juno-sama? Is it true he's incredibly handsome? Bell has a huge crush on him even though she's never seen him."
"I do not!"
"You totally do! You keep asking about him every time someone mentions the Crimson Sage!"
"That's not a crush, that's professional interest!"
"Professional interest in his dreamy purple eyes?"
"SHUT UP, DORY!"
Kai found their enthusiastic chatter both endearing and deeply annoying. After everything he'd been through—the confusion, the accusations, the beating, the bizarre revelations about Juno's true identity—he was not in the mood for teenage gossip and romantic speculation.
*Why,* he thought as Bell launched into a detailed explanation of why Juno was obviously the most eligible bachelor in the entire empire despite being completely unattainable, *why on earth was I even summoned to this world?*
The question had been nagging at him since his arrival, but now it felt more urgent than ever. He'd been beaten up by his mentor, chased by angry villagers, accused of being a supernatural kidnapper, and used as an unconscious punching bag by the most beautiful girl he'd ever met.
None of this felt like the kind of heroic destiny that justified being pulled away from his old life and dropped into a world of magic and political intrigue.
As Bell and Dory continued their relentless chatter about everything from Olivia's training regimen to the proper way to treat magical injuries, Kai felt his patience finally reach its breaking point.
"DAMN HELL!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the mansion corridors and probably startling half the staff.
The outburst felt good, even if it didn't actually solve any of his problems.
At least it made Bell and Dory stop talking for a few blessed seconds.