How Can a Homebody Defeat The Demon King? – Chapter 13

Author: arnlian

The night was black as pitch.

Dozens of glowing red eyes shimmered in the darkness—monsters, watching from the shadows.

Guided only by the eerie glow, Sirinü swung her blade without pause, cutting down wave after wave of creatures that lunged at her from every direction.

Rumors had been swirling: a sudden surge of monsters had appeared in the mountains near the capital, attacking farms and snatching livestock.

The moment Sirinü received the report, she rushed straight there without hesitation.

From the steep mountain ridge, a chilling, high-pitched scream echoed—so sharp and strange it hardly sounded human.

With that cry, the last of the red eyes disappeared into the night.

“Huu…”

Only then did Sirinü release the breath he’d been holding.

A sharp pain flared near his shoulder.

There had been so many of them—one must have grazed him with its claws without him even noticing.

Brushing it off, he began descending the pitch-black mountain path.

The wound would heal soon enough. What weighed more heavily on his mind was something else entirely.

That day, by sheer chance, he had met a girl on a hillside—only to realize later that she was the one spoken of in the prophecy.
And when his blood had touched the girl’s bracelet, there had been… a reaction.

He couldn’t be completely certain yet, but he had a feeling.

‘A wrong contract.’

The blood of House Lephrix carried a power that went beyond merely slaying the Demon King.
It could bind another through a contract, one that enforced absolute submission.

According to family lore, such a contract could only be formed if the ritual took place in a space occupied solely by the contractor and the one to be bound.
And most importantly, the blood had to be willingly offered—infused into the other’s body with intent.

That was why Sirinü hadn’t thought a contract could form just from his blood brushing against the girl’s bracelet.

It was only afterward that he understood what had happened.

Chains forged from blood now bound them both.

The signs of a contract were unmistakable.

And yet, if the contract had been properly formed, the girl wouldn’t have been able to run from him—even if Sirinü himself had willed it.

Back home, he had scoured every book on blood-binding contracts, only to find that if the ritual had gone awry, there was but one way to break it: one of them had to die.

Sirinü closed his eyes, and a pair of soft gray irises floated into his mind.

The image of the girl running away replayed so vividly, it felt like he could almost reach out and stop her.

‘If she was going to run…’

Sliding his sword back into its sheath, Sirinü raised a hand.

From the darkness, a figure silently stepped forward.

“Find out where she is and what she’s doing.”

“Please, just give me his address. Please?”

Warm sunshine, a gentle breeze, and… me, begging a stranger for his contact information.

What is even happening right now?

At the moment, I was clinging to a random man’s sleeve, shamelessly asking for his number.

How did I end up in this ridiculous situation? Well, for that, we need to rewind just a little.

After leaving the Imperial Palace, I got into the carriage with Arkas to return home.

I had officially run out of energy for the day.

Closing my eyes, I tried to disconnect from the mortal world.

But beside me, there was a constant rustling sound.

Ah~ Are you using this whole carriage by yourself?

Cracking one eye open, I turned to see Arkas shaking the box I had brought back from the palace.

“Hey! Don’t shake that!”

Startled by my sudden outburst, Arkas flinched and quickly set the box down.

“Sorry~ But what is it?”

“The desserts from earlier. There were so many leftovers.”

Is taking them home considered rude here?

But seriously, who’s supposed to eat all that? Wasting food is a sin!

No one had actually said anything, but I was already mentally defending myself. I hurriedly opened the box to check on the whipped cream cake inside.

Phew~ still intact. Noticing my anxious expression, Arkas asked,

“So, who were those young ladies you met?”

“Ah… Elloe? Vivian? Something like that.”

Honestly, the names here are so hard to remember.

Then Arkas, after thinking for a moment, seemed to recall who fit those descriptions. His face lit up.

“Ah, Lady Callart and Lady Erylleon.”

“Oh, yeah, that sounds about right.”

As I made an impressed face, Arkas chuckled and lightly tapped my cheek with his finger.

“So now that you’re close with those ladies, does that mean I won’t even get to see your face anymore?”

“Not a chance.”

“You’ll still make time to have tea with your dear brother, right?”

Why is everyone in this town so eager to make friends…?

Already exhausted by the extroverts around me, I pulled a cookie from the box and popped it into Arkas’s mouth to shut him up.

He happily accepted it, chewing with a contented smile.

“This is good. It’s been ages since I had something like this—probably when I was really little.”

As I dug through the box looking for another treat, I asked casually,

“Are desserts like these only for nobles?”

Arkas tilted his head, thinking for a moment.

“Not exactly, but they’re not the kind of thing commoners can just go out and buy. Especially if it’s from the Imperial Palace… Why?”

Swallowing the sweet flavor still lingering in my mouth, I answered honestly,

“They’re just so good… I kinda want the girls back home to try them too. But I don’t think we could make them ourselves.”

“You want to share them with the maids? Unbelievable… Our Selene is so thoughtful…”

Before he could get all teary-eyed again, I stuffed a soft, round pastry into his mouth.

“There should be shops in the market that sell stuff like this. Want to go check it out together?”

I fell into a moment of deep contemplation. I really wanted to go home, but as a professional homebody, I had one ironclad rule:

‘If you’re already out, get everything done before you go home.’

No way I’d leave the house again just to buy sweets.

So, with a heavy heart, I nodded—and Arkas, completely unaware of my inner turmoil, cheerfully redirected the carriage’s destination.

“I’m so happy… I get to go shopping with Selie…”

Give me a break!

I smacked Arkas on the arm—and instantly regretted it.

Ow. Why’s he so solid? Is he hiding rocks under his clothes or something?

As I rubbed my sore hand, the carriage came to a stop.

Peeking out the window, I saw a charming pastry shop through an arched frame, its windows displaying rows of breads and desserts.

“Let’s go, Selie.”

The moment we stepped inside, a cheerful bell rang, and the sweet aroma of butter and sugar wrapped around me like a hug.

‘Hmm, not that many customers.’

For a second, I wondered if we were supposed to make a reservation or something.

Cute, delicate pastries and breads were neatly displayed, each labeled with a price, but I had no idea if any of them were considered cheap or expensive here.

“If anything catches your eye, just let me know. I’ll pack it up for you.”

A shop clerk in an adorable uniform approached and gestured to a plate of sample slices.

“Thank you.”

I took a piece and popped it into my mouth—pure buttery bliss exploded on my tongue.

Can they deliver? If they delivered, I’d order every day. I’d even sign up for a subscription plan.

Meanwhile, Arkas was busy trying to buy every single dessert I so much as glanced at. I had to stop him immediately.

“Whoa, calm down! Do you even know how much all this costs?”

“Selie doesn’t need to worry about that. So? What else do you like?”

“At this rate, if I say I like the store, you’ll probably try to buy the whole thing.”

Arkas blinked in surprise at the offhand remark I’d made.

“Should I, then?”

“No! It was a joke! I was joking!”

I broke out in a cold sweat trying to stop Arkas from seriously telling the clerk he wanted to buy the entire store. You really can’t say anything around this guy.

We had bought enough desserts to last several days even without eating regular meals, and there was no way they would all fit in the carriage.

“If you could just provide an address, we’ll send everything over once the delivery wagon arrives.”

While Arkas gave the address, I stepped outside and looked around.

I’d never seen buildings like these in real life, so everything felt new and fascinating.

Instead of the usual flashy signs hanging everywhere, the shops here had small wrought-iron plaques with little illustrations showing what kind of store it was.

The buildings were made of pretty bricks, and the windows had grid-like patterns that looked like they would let in incredible sunlight.

Drawn by curiosity, I walked toward the neighboring shop to take a closer look at some small ornaments and dishes on display.

That’s when someone suddenly popped out from around the corner.

Before I could react, I bumped shoulders with him.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!”

It was just a light bump, so I instinctively winced and pulled back—but to my horror, the person I’d bumped into actually flew backward.

And I don’t mean metaphorically — like he’d been hit by a carriage, he literally lifted off the ground and hit the pavement with a loud thud.

“Oh my!”

A few passersby stopped and screamed.

For a split second, I panicked. Maybe a carriage had come up behind us? But no—there was nothing there.

‘Wait… was I the carriage?!’

Realizing what had just happened, I rushed over to the person who had fallen.