Callos, thinking carefully about how to resolve this issue, finally said, “Shall I continue raising Yomi for you?”

Her hand, which had been aimlessly poking at the salad, stopped.

Irene looked at Callos with a puzzled expression. “Continue raising Yomi… for me?”

“I feel sorry to separate you two like this.”

“But even so…”
“Then let’s continue raising it as a pet. To do that, you’ll have to form a contract with that child and bring it in through the pact.”

Whether it’s a pet or anything else, if a human wants to have a demon with them, they must contract with that demon and bring it in through the pact.

“I don’t know if you remember, but humans can only have one pact in their lifetime. Still, if you don’t mind, let’s make that child your pet.”

“I don’t mind!”

Irene replied immediately without a moment’s hesitation.

“I never thought of raising any demon other than Yomi. So if you permit it, I’ll take good care of it. I’ll prepare to make a contract with Yomi soon.”

Wow. I’m really going to raise Yomi.

The eyes that were clouded just a while ago now sparkled with vitality.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Despite trying to hide the upward curve of his lips behind the coffee cup, Callos responded with an indifferent tone.

“Not really.”

“But wasn’t the ritual day already over?”

As Irene remembered, the day for the ritual, when it was possible to make a pact, occurred only once a year.

So, the ritual was held on that specific date.

However, Callos, in response to Irene’s curious question, kindly explained, “I can perform the ritual on any day I desire.”

“Yes? But before, you clearly said it’s only possible for one day…”

“I intentionally provided that information. That way, there won’t be guys coming at me every now and then, asking to perform the ritual.”

Irene looked at Callos with a bewildered expression.

Could there be such a reason hidden behind it?

She couldn’t have imagined it even in her dreams.

“Are you disappointed because I lied?”

“No? I’m not disappointed at all.”

“Well, that’s good.”

With a sly smile, Callos stood up.

“It seems the meal is over, so let’s get up.”

“As commanded by the master, I located the highest-ranking priest and the paladin responsible for communication within the dispatched unit and assassinated them.”

Duce stood in a dignified posture in front of the desk, calmly reporting horrifying events.

“I pushed the high-ranking priest off the cliff, and due to the excessive resistance from the communication paladin, I had no choice but to kill him first and then throw him off the cliff.”

Leaning back, Callos asked, “What happened to the situation after they discovered the bodies?”

“They seemed extremely shaken and wandered around as if unsure what to do. Eventually, they headed towards a nearby village. There, they inquired about how to contact the temple. When the village chief said there was no way other than sending a letter, they had no choice but to send a letter to the nearby temple.”

If it’s a nearby temple, it would be the Kamus Temple.

Sending a letter and waiting for a reply would take at least a few days.
“I’ve properly caught my prey.” Callos smiled with satisfaction.

“Good job. You can leave now,” Callos said as Duce left, immediately calling Dewey and giving him a command.

“Prepare for the ritual.”

“What?”

Due to the demonic unrest, not only the ritual but also the ceremony had been canceled. So why would they be preparing for the ritual now?

Confused by the sudden order, Dewey asked, “Why the sudden preparation for the ritual?”

“Irene decided to make Yomi her familiar.”

“Oh, is that so.”

He had recently been focused on taking care of Yomi, so it wasn’t surprising that it eventually led to making a pact.

Understanding the expected outcome, Dewey immediately grasped the situation.

“All right. When should I prepare?”

“As soon as possible. Since there might be pigeons coming, it’s better to do it before that happens.”

That means there’s really no time left…

Calculating possible dates in his head, Dewey asked, “How about doing it in two days? Doing it tomorrow is too rushed, and after that, there’s a possibility of pigeons arriving, so it seems better to do it then.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll inform the young lady.”

Callos nodded.

“No, I’ll tell her myself.”

Though it was an action that wasn’t typical of Callos, it felt natural with Irene in the middle of it.

“All right. Then I’ll go prepare for the ritual.”

As Dewey politely excused himself to leave, Callos added, “Investigate Irene’s parents.”

This was also a sudden order, but this time, Dewey didn’t ask for the reason.

“What aspects should I focus on in the investigation?”

“Check if they said or did anything strange recently. If they did, find out what it was. Also, investigate their relationships with others. If there’s anyone suspicious, scrutinize them as well.”

Dewey accepted Callos’s command, saying he would do so.

“Do you have any other orders?”

About to respond that he had none, Callos suddenly furrowed his brows when the unfortunate face of Abel came to his mind.

It wasn’t what Callos himself saw, but what the shadow he had attached revealed.

And the person Callos had currently shadowed was Irene, that woman.

In other words, it meant that Abel had approached Irene.

As soon as he realized this, he instinctively moved toward Irene’s location, leaving the bewildered Dewey behind.

“Mas… Master?”

Leaving the puzzled Dewey behind, Callos almost ran towards where Irene was.