Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ Your name is □

An intangible blade swept through, leaving a field of fallen wheat stalks scattered across the floor.

I picked up one of the stalks rolling at my feet.

It had a clean cross-section, as if cut by a blade from the stem.

Yet, the wheat kernels inside the husk were completely undamaged.

“I never thought this would be used in such a way.”

Originally, the Blade Gale was a magic I developed for long-range sniping on battlefields.

Focused solely on the cutting power of the blade, it was relatively weaker compared to other spells of the same tier, but its basic range was incredibly long, making it great for killing enemies from afar.

“Wowwwww!”

“Incredible!”

“Amazing!”

In the midst of this, the villagers who had been watching me cast the spell cheered and rejoiced from behind.

Though it felt like they were bowing down to me, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“Then, villagers, please gather the fallen stalks and bring them to one place.”

As I said this and stepped aside, the villagers eagerly rushed into the fields to collect the stalks.

Barnett looked with a stunned expression at the wheat field where most of the stalks had been cut down by a single spell and approached me, muttering offhandedly.

“You’re a far more remarkable mage than I imagined.”

“The title of Archmage wasn’t earned just for fun.”

The title of “mage” itself is only given to those above the fourth rank in magical prowess.

By the sixth rank, one is almost considered the best within their chosen elemental specialization.

Because so many villagers had gathered to watch the magic demonstration, it didn’t take long to collect all the fallen stalks.

Each villager brought their collected sheaves and piled them together, creating a heap that looked like a small mountain.

Once roughly tidied up, Violet, who had been leading the villagers in place of the village elder, wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked,

“So, Master Mage, what should we do next?”

“Now, everyone can rest. I’ll handle the rest.”

Saying this, I encouraged the villagers to move further away.

Realizing I was about to use magic again, the villagers happily returned to their previous spots.

I stretched out both arms forward.

Manipulating matter with mana is my specialty.

The wind flowing in the air slowly began to envelop the wheat sheaves.

Once the transparent sphere formed and completely isolated the inside from the outside, it was time to generate turbulence within the walls.

What started as a gentle breeze soon intertwined with winds blowing from different directions, forming fierce gusts.

These gusts gathered into vortices, and the vortices soon turned into a small storm.

Trapped inside the sphere, the pile of sheaves began to spin violently, much like being inside a washing machine.

Through the centrifugal force generated, the grain gradually separated from the chaff.

After maintaining the storm inside the sphere for some time, I confirmed that the spinning grain had completely separated into bran and wheat kernels, then fetched a large burlap sack.

As soon as I cut off the mana supply, the sphere of wind disappeared, leaving only the husks scattered on the floor. I carefully collected the clean wheat kernels and placed them into the sack.

Impressed by how everything was resolved without needing to visit the mill, the villagers stood there, mouths agape, staring dumbfounded before eventually starting to applaud.

“Hmm. That was simple.”

As I indulged in a strange sense of satisfaction, Barnett, who had been watching the entire scene from behind, muttered incredulously,

“I should’ve learned magic too.”

We repeated the process after that.

“Blade Gale! Blade Gale! Blade Gale!”

Instead of cutting each stem with a scythe, we efficiently harvested large swathes using the powerful magic—

‘Let’s separate the rice from the straw!’

The wheat sheaves collected by the villagers in the field were immediately processed through an impromptu washing-machine magic (tentative name) for threshing and milling.

Working together seamlessly with the villagers, we managed to harvest the entire 10,000-pyeong field in less than three hours.

If we pushed ourselves a bit more, we could’ve finished everything today, but since I was feeling drained from mana exhaustion and the villagers also seemed to be tiring, we decided to stop for the day.

The sacks filled with wheat were loaded onto carts brought from the village.

This is when the size of the Vycon proved useful.

Much stronger than regular horses, it could carry heavy loads yet still walk briskly.

The Vycon, admired for its majestic appearance, especially among the younger crowd, had a strong personal preference. It would react violently and back away when approached by children or virgins, yet would become docile and allow itself to be petted when surrounded by village housewives.

Watching this from a distance, Loto, the beastman child I met at the village entrance yesterday, came up to me and asked,

“Master Mage! What’s the name of that horse?”

“Name?”

I glanced briefly at the Vycon.

A Vycon is just a Vycon.

I didn’t have the habit of giving nicknames to mounts.

But not wanting to break the innocence of a young child, I gently patted Loto’s head and made something up.

“That guy loves second-hand stuff, so call him ‘Secondhand Country.'”

“Wow! Secondhand Country!”

After the first day’s harvest ended, Camilla and I returned to the village elder’s house.

We planned to stay here for a while until the farming work was done.

Barnett, the Demon King’s royal guard captain, went back to the Demon King’s Castle, saying she couldn’t leave her post for too long.

Thanks to this, Camilla and I were left alone, but since we’d already spent a night here, staying at someone else’s home no longer felt awkward.

“And the elder?”

“He has already finished his meal and retired to his room.”

Although the menu was simpler compared to yesterday, the table was still filled with delicious homemade dishes.

Violet’s cooking skills are top-notch.

Even though I’ve traveled around with heroes, tasting various home-cooked meals, hers ranks among the top ten I’ve ever eaten.

Impressed by the taste of the vegetable stew, I sincerely complimented her.

“Mr. Violet’s husband must be very lucky to eat such good food every day.”

At this, Violet shyly blushed and shook her head.

“Oh no, not really. I haven’t seen my husband in six months. Father doesn’t have much appetite and only eats what he likes, but it makes me feel accomplished to see you enjoying the food so much.”

Thus, we continued our cheerful conversation filled with compliments and pleasantries during the meal.

“…Thank you for the meal.”

Just like yesterday, even though the meal had barely started, Camilla wiped her mouth with a napkin and got up from her seat first.

When she retreated to her room, Violet clasped her cheeks worriedly and asked,

“Does Camilla dislike my cooking?”

I waved my hand at Violet.

“Don’t worry. Objectively speaking, your food is excellent. If there’s any issue, it likely lies with her.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“It’s probably a constitution problem.”

As I shrugged, Violet let out a soft exclamation: “Ah…”

It’s a well-known fact that succubi mainly feed on the essence of men.

However, I hadn’t seen Camilla meet any man separately, either yesterday or today.

And considering that the Vycon certified her as a pure virgin…

Anyway, continuing such talk with the person absent felt inappropriate, so I changed the subject.

Fortunately, Violet caught on quickly and played along.

Had Violet appeared as an ordinary human, I might have been slightly charmed by her considerate nature as a married woman.

After the meal for just the two of us ended, I announced that I would go to bed early and entered the room.

Apparently, it was the room used by Violet’s son, who had joined the military, but it suited me just fine.

Since both the elder and Violet were fox beastmen, her husband and child were probably fox beastmen as well.

I thanked her unseen son and took off the green robe I had worn all day.

Pang! Pang!

I casually brushed off the dust with my palm and hung it neatly on a hanger to prevent wrinkles.

Above all, I always meticulously maintained my robes, which were akin to a mage’s uniform.

Feeling much lighter, I was about to lie down on the bed when—

Knock-knock.

Suddenly hearing a knock on the door, I froze.

Tension dissipated as Violet’s voice came from outside the door.

“Are you already asleep?”

Curious about what she wanted, I slightly opened the door.

“Hmm? What is it…?”

Hmm?

Standing in front of the door, Violet held a wine bottle and a plate with some snacks.

While this wasn’t particularly surprising, what truly astonished me was that she had taken on a fully human form instead of her usual half-human, half-beast appearance with a purple tail.

Her ears and tail gone, she now looked exactly like a human.

She shook the wine bottle in her right hand and smiled faintly.

“Would you care for a glass? It feels lonely drinking alone.”

I stared straight into her face, trying to gauge her intentions from her usual tone.

A beautiful woman with slightly slanted eyes and a beauty mark at the corner of her lips—characteristic traits of a fox beastman.

She blinked innocently, as if she had no ulterior motives beyond drinking.

Finding her annoyingly adorable, I chuckled and opened the door wider.

“If that’s the case, there’s no reason to refuse. Please come in.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“Is the soundproofing in here good?”

“Father usually sleeps lightly.”

Click.

I locked the door after she entered the room.

Sometimes, getting enchanted by a fox isn’t such a bad thing.