Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

“W-What? T-Taking you for a fool…?”

“If you weren’t taking me for a fool, you wouldn’t act like this.”

Startled by Habin’s words, Ipsine quickly replied.

“Heuk, how could I dare…!”

Habin glanced sidelong at Ipsine.

Those large, dewy eyes. The desperate attitude to please. Watching for reactions while subtly saying everything she wanted to say, even going so far as to lay out her sad story.

This demon wanted to get something from the ‘Demon King’ by any means necessary. Whether through sympathy or by currying favor.

Despite being so afraid, she still invited her to her home first. And even knowing it might upset the Demon King, she brought up the ball and guardian story at this timing.

Her purpose was…

“In conclusion, you’re roundaboutly asking me to be your guarantor so you can attend the ball, aren’t you?”

“Ah, no… no, that’s…”

As if struck at her core, Ipsine bowed her head deeply. Her cotton candy-like pink hair swayed.

“Hmm……”

As Habin closed her eyes as if displeased, Ipsine quickly opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry……. Please pretend you didn’t hear it. It was my mistake. I couldn’t overcome my personal feelings and just……”

“I’ll see how you do.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll think about it depending on how you do.”

“Heukkkk. Are, are you serious?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Y-Yes! H-Hey! Bring more alcohol right away!”

Ipsine shouted at the nearby servants. Why does she keep asking for alcohol when she’s flustered?

Habin grabbed Ipsine’s pale white hand and placed it back on the table.

“No, not that.”

“Is, is there something else you need?”

“Where do I go from here to reach the Demon King’s castle?”

“Pardon?”

Facing Ipsine, who was staring blankly, Habin slowly continued.

“Because I accepted your invitation and came here, I’ve strayed from my path. Thanks to you, my future journey is now uncertain, you know?”

“I’m so sorry!”

“So guide me to the Demon King’s castle until the auction.”

“……!”

Ipsine looked at Habin with wide eyes. Habin grumbled and spat out:

“Then, well, I’ll consider whether to take you in or not.”

“Gasp! Th-Thank you!”

An undisguisable smile slowly spread across Ipsine’s face. She shouted joyfully:

“Thank you so much, Demon King! You there, quickly bring more food! Hurry!”

No……. We don’t need more food. At this rate, the table might break.

Wobble, wobble.

Looking at the creaking table and the servants who couldn’t properly attend to them because they were too busy watching for reactions, Habin had no choice but to snap at them in a way they’d understand.

“Hmph. I don’t need this pathetic food! It doesn’t even taste good, you lot can eat it all!”

“Y-Yes!”

“We’ll enjoy it!”

In any case, thanks to this, she had gained a reliable informant who would guide her to the Demon King’s castle where the ring would be. Jiseok, sitting across from her, also smiled contentedly.

◆◇◆◇◆

After the evening banquet, a maid of the mansion guided them. The maid was also a humanoid demon. She politely indicated the doors.

“Th-This is the room for the Demon King of Greed. And this is the room for Your Majesty’s……”

“My confidant!”

“Ah, yes! This is the room for Your Majesty’s confidant.”

Habin opened the door to her assigned room.

The large room was lavishly decorated with roses and scented candles everywhere. At the head of the bed were luscious fruits, snacks, drinks, and even towels beautifully folded into rabbit shapes.

It was like a scene from a hotel suite. There was even a note next to the snacks.

☆These are my loyal gifts prepared for Your Majesty! We sincerely welcome you to our home!☆

-From Ipsine

‘Are these really demons? Why are they so adorable?’

Habin approached the canopy and drew back the curtains. Sitting down on the bed with a plop, Habin’s eyes widened.

“Wow, it’s so soft! It’s like a real hotel!”

The silky smooth texture of the bedding and the incredibly soft and cozy mattress made of who-knows-what. Habin smiled with satisfaction.

‘It was definitely worth pretending to be a Demon King!’

No fighting monsters outside, no sleeping rough. A VIP hotel package service with a free pass to the Demon King’s castle!

Hmm hmm, Habin hummed and nodded.

‘Good. Bed, check. Snacks, check! Everything’s perfect, just one more thing and it’ll be the perfect hotel vacation!’

Habin swiftly pulled something out of her inventory.

-Pii?

Libe tilted its head, seeing what Habin held in her hand.

“Ta-da.”

Click. Habin turned on its switch, and a brilliant image spread across the wall of the room.

‘A mini projector I bought for moments like this!’

Habin then deftly pulled out a Bluetooth speaker she had stored in her inventory. She set up the speakers in stereo surround, placing them on both sides, above, and below the bed. Then she took out her phone and checked the movie she had downloaded in advance.

‘Alright, now I’ll watch a movie here!’

[Here? You’re going to watch a movie here?]

Ahezar interjected, seemingly displeased.

[You’re going to watch a movie even at a time like this! In the middle of enemy territory, when we should be planning our next move!]

‘Come on, I already said before we left that I’d watch a movie on the 50th floor. Besides, not watching a movie in such a perfect environment would be impolite.’

She pointed to Ipsine’s heartfelt note as she spoke.

‘Our Ipsine went to all this trouble, so it’s only polite as a guest to enjoy it properly!’

That’s right, that’s right.

Habin connected her phone to the mini projector and paired it with the Bluetooth speakers. Immediately, a big sound filled the room.

Bam-para-bam! Bam-bam-bam bam-para-bam!

The logo of a certain movie company covered one side of the wall before the movie started.

At that moment.

“Heukkkk……”

The demon maid who was still standing by the door, not having left yet, covered her mouth in surprise at the sight. Habin turned her head.

“Oh, right. You haven’t left yet?”

“I-I-I’m sorry! I thought I might help with your bath…”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Y-Yes!”

The maid nodded hurriedly. But she kept glancing at the projector, seemingly quite fascinated.

The screen was displaying the dazzling fireworks effect of the movie production company.

“If I may be so bold, that is……”

Habin shrugged nonchalantly and pointed at the screen as she answered.

“It’s the Demon King’s magic.”

“Gasp, as expected of the Demon King!”

“It might get a bit noisy, is that okay?”

“I-It’s fine! You can be as loud as you want!”

The maid nodded with a ‘wow’ expression. As she backed out of the room, she added:

“Th-Then…… Your Majesty, sleep well and call us anytime if you need anything!”

“You too…… Ah, no. Do whatever you want, it’s up to you!”

“Y-Yes!”

Bang.

As the door closed, Habin rested her chin on her hand comfortably, munching on snacks.

“…Ah, I should have brought popcorn.”

◆◇◆◇◆

Meanwhile, Chae Jiseok in the next room…

As soon as he confirmed that the maid and servant had left the room and disappeared from the corridor, he immediately came out of his room.

The reason was simple.

‘I should have a strategy meeting with Hyun Habin, right?’

Now that they had decided to go to the Demon King’s castle, they needed to discuss not only what to do afterwards, but also about the current situation.

He had always held frequent meetings with guild members to strategize whenever they conquered dungeons. This habit hadn’t gone away this time either.

Jiseok quietly approached Habin’s room and knocked on the door.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

Click.

Chae Jiseok, having received permission, opened the door.

At that moment.

Bam-bam-bam! Ba-ba-bam!

Stereo surround movie sounds hit him as soon as he opened the door.

“……”

The magnificent visuals filling the entire wall. It was no different from a movie theater.

Habin, lying comfortably on the bed as if it were her own bedroom, just turned her head slightly to look at Chae Jiseok.

“Oh, you’re here? Did you come to watch the movie together too, Chae-ssi?”

Habin pointed at the screen.

“That one was number one at the box office last week!”

The door clicked shut behind Chae Jiseok, who had been standing blankly at the doorway for a moment. He replied in a dry voice.

“…Hey, you’re really watching a movie here after all. Fortunately, I’m not surprised this time since I heard about it beforehand.”

[No, when did you get used to this? You shouldn’t get used to it! You should get swept up together!]

-Pii!

Libe, who had been rolling around on the pillow, flapped its wings excitedly upon seeing Jiseok. Chae Jiseok sat on the sofa next to the bed and took out a soundproofing item.

He had set up the item in case their conversation might be heard outside. As he was checking its operation here and there, Habin interjected in a quiet voice.

“It’s okay. Don’t bother. It won’t be heard anyway because of the movie sound, right? Oh, wait. This is an important scene now. Wow, amazing.”

“……”

Bam-bam ba-ra-bam!

Hearing the movie background music filling the room, Chae Jiseok paused and raised his head.

‘It won’t be heard because it’s loud? That actually makes sense.’

Thinking about it calmly, it was quite a reasonable statement.

Basically, soundproofing items only serve to prevent sound from going outside. If the soundproofing effect is broken, the content of the conversation will inevitably leak out.

…But in this situation.

Even now, the movie sound was loudly resonating through the speakers Habin had set up. Even if someone tried to eavesdrop on their conversation in this situation, it would be difficult to discern the exact dialogue mixed with the movie sound.

Although it’s an analog method, it’s the most reliable one for now.

Of course, using a soundproofing item on top of this would create an incredible synergy effect.

‘Surely Hyun Habin didn’t intentionally turn on the movie thinking this far ahead, right?’

Did you foresee even this, Hyun Habin?

Chae Jiseok looked back at Habin with a dubious expression. But Habin was still focusing on the movie with an excited expression.

“Wow, it’s a masterpiece! I would have really regretted not seeing this!”

Her innocent appearance, exclaiming in admiration as if she was really enjoying the movie, efficiently popping snacks into her mouth.

Chae Jiseok shook his head.

‘No way. There’s no way she turned it on intentionally. Anyone would think she’s just enjoying it without thinking, right?’

Anyway, now that the soundproofing was perfect, it should be okay to get to the main point.

Chae Jiseok rummaged through his inventory and spoke to Habin.

“First, let me tell you in advance that I’m planning to eavesdrop on Ipsine’s conversations with other servants from now on.”

Jiseok discreetly took out a tiny bean-sized earphone.

[Spy Eavesdropping Kit]

A set with an ultra-small eavesdropping device, it lets you hear all sounds from the bug.

“I already planted it on Ipsine during dinner. Want to listen too?”

“Do we have to listen right now? What is it?”

“I haven’t listened to it yet either. Let’s check together just in case.”

He tossed one side of the earphone to Habin. Despite lying on the bed, Habin caught it perfectly with a snap.

The moment she put the earphone in her ear.

Ipsine’s voice was heard through the receiver.

-……As I thought, that person is not the Demon King of ‘Greed’.

“……!”

Chae Jiseok’s eyes widened in surprise, apparently having heard the same conversation.

Could it be that they’ve been found out that Habin isn’t the real Demon King!

Ahezar interjected with an unbelieving voice.

[Impossible. She was the very embodiment of the ‘Demon King of Greed’ without a shred of doubt!]

“…Right, she really had an incredible personality!”

Jiseok and Ahezar were thrown into confusion. Habin shot them an exasperated look.

“What are you two saying? Be quiet. I can’t hear!”

At Habin’s words, they calmed down and silently eavesdropped on the next part of the conversation.

The next voice they heard was the maid’s.

-……Why, my lady? You were so certain earlier that this was indeed the Demon King.

In response to the maid’s question, Ipsine’s gentle laughter followed.