"So, what are you, a fellow human?" I asked. "You don't have any weird trait or quirky appearance to tell that you're a demon."
"Obviously~" Anatuya casually took another bite of her dessert. "Humans are, in a way, one of the predecessors to Demons. Of course some of us have an appearance that greatly resembles your kin."
"So, am I some kind of mythical creature in this world?"
"Sort of?"
"Don't you all invade the Human Realm from time to time?"
"How many humans are there in the Human Realm?"
"Possibly around ten billion or so, at the current moment."
"How many demons invade the Human Realm from time to time before you got here?"
"Do the non-humanoid ones count?"
"Those are Demonic Beasts, not Demons."
"How about flying imp-like creatures with claws, are those Demons?"
"You might be referring to the Demonic Pawns then. Do they come in swarm?"
"They do."
"They are not a full fledged Demons, so you can count them out."
I could assume that I could learn more about this Demonic Pawn somewhere from a book here, then.
"Well, then probably somewhere around one to five Demons can be recorded every invasion attempt," I testified.
"Then you found your answer," Anatuya pointed the fork on her hand at me as she munched. "The Demonic Realm also possesses billions of demons. If we really want to invade your world, don't you think that we should raise our numbers on every dispatch to ensure the success of the invasion?
"Not to mention, there is hardly any accessible attempt to get into the Human Realm for the average demon in this world. You'd think that we want to give great access to everyone and create a brand new drafting system if we want to have profit for raiding another realm."
"Then explain the consistent attempt of invasion done by the demons."
"Those are probably the work of one of the Seven Fingers," Anatuya snapped her fingers into a finger-gun.
"Seven Fingers?"
"You'll learn what that is if you read the book on your hand even further~"
After what felt like an eternity of her nonstop teasing and flirting, I could not focus on a single sentence in the book I'm reading.
I closed the book and stood. It was time to see more of this mansion properly.
Anatuya straightened and nodded, falling into step beside me as if she had been waiting for the cue.
"As the Head Maid of this mansion, shall I provide you with a proper guide around the place~?"
"Guide me."
Unlike Surreal's rushed tour, which skipped half the details—like the mansion's name or even mentioning a head maid. Actually, she skipped the majority of the details—Anatuya laid it all out clearly.
She pointed out the fifty quarters set aside for staff, noting that she was the only one using them right now.
She even mentioned the large storage room Surreal had overlooked entirely, stocked with initial supplies for every need, as long as I didn't waste it away with a grand buffet or something.
She even led me to the Wine Room, its racks lined with bottles from brands I had never heard of.
"And all of this is yours now," Anatuya finished, gesturing around the dimly lit space. "As the sole owner of Ravena Mansion."
The weight of it all pressed down on me harder than before.
"Am I... rich by demon standards here?"
She grinned.
"Richer than most. Probably the wealthiest human in the whole Demonic Realm too."
Might be because there wasn't much human inhabitant to begin with.
"Woah," I breathed, staring at the shelves.
Before long, we had one of those bottles open, the cork popping with a soft echo.
Anatuya poured deep red liquid into two glasses, and we raised them in a toast to the mansion's first true owner—me!
The wine hit fast—too fast.
One sip led to another, and soon the room spun in a warm haze.
I do not remember much after that blur, but words tumbled out of me anyway. I ranted about how I had ended up in this realm, thrown here by that fraud of a hero, Caligula, just to suffer.
Anatuya listened, her head tilted, and prompted gently. "Who is this Caligula, then?"
"A top Hero back home," I grumbled, slurring through the details. "Prestigious family, trained at the best academy. I was a huge fan for years. She is beautiful, tall, sexy…"
Anatuya's eyebrows rose. "You talk about her like she's your ex."
"What are you even yapping about?" I shot back, fixing her with a glare as best I could through the fog. "That bitch is my nemesis, and the first thing I will do the moment I get my hands on an immense power, is to exact revenge on her sorry ass…!"
She sipped her glass, unfazed.
"So why did she dump you into the Demonic Realm?"
I pouted, swirling the wine in my hand. "Because I exposed her. Wrote about what she really did—murdering hostages after a fight. Well, I basically ruined her spotless image for everyone to see."
Anatuya nodded slowly. "Sounds like you handed her a full social death."
"Yeah," I agreed, a bitter laugh escaping. "In a way." The room tilted again, and I blinked hard. "This stuff is strong. I thought I handled alcohol well, but this is the first time it's knocked me flat like this."
"You did choose one of the strongest wines amongst the available brands on the shelves."
"What could I say? It has a pretty flower logo on it…"
"Mmm, as much as I want to tease you more, I think you're too intoxicated to handle the teasing properly, Master."
"Stop teasing me then…"
"But you're too cute and adorable for me to not to~"
These excessive teasing, alongside the care and attention to my personal boundary when talking with each other…
"You reminded me of my friend at high school."
"What if I'm this friend of yours from high school?"
"Yeah, right. That's impossible…"
'She' is a human, while Anatuya is a demon.
The next thing I knew, I was gazing at the ceiling of my personal room from my expensive royal bed.
I lay there naked, sheets tangled around my legs.
Anatuya was beside me, equally bare, propped on one elbow with that same smile as she gazed down at me.
"How are you feeling, Master?"
"GAAAAAAAAAAA—"
I screamed.