My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

"You must learn to control your emotions, princess. The imperial court is full of two-faced snakes. A failure in judgement due to cloudy feelings will result in your fall."

Abellona did not forget this voice, the voice of her instructor. With that in mind she had to restrain her emotions no matter how much she found this person getting on her bad side.

At the same time she felt a sensation she had never experienced before. She was born into the imperial family, always fawned over by many. As she grew older, she became more beautiful. She was easily one of the most beautiful women in the Valtheron Empire. Countless men would lay down their lives just to impress her. They had brought jewels and treasures from around the world, yet none had impressed her.

Her status and her beauty were reason enough for any man to want to help her.

"Y.. you're asking for... money..."

She found it confounding. This was not how things were supposed to go. She was a princess and he was a hot-blooded young warrior. Wasn't he supposed to be doing everything he could to save her?

Damon glanced at her confused expression as if he had spoken in a strange language.

"Did I stutter."

She nodded slowly.

"Deplorable... don't you have any pride as a noble..."

Damon smiled, taking in a breath of cold air. He had been waiting for her to say that.

"Actually... I pride myself on having no pride."

There truly was no understanding this man.

"Fine. How much is your price... I'll hire you as a mercenary."

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"A mercenary... do I look like common trash to you? Do you know what noble blood flows through my veins? If you're thinking of hiring me for cheap, you can forget it."

She almost gasped. What was up with this guy and his unpredictability? Wasn't that why he was asking for money?

'Didn't he say he was a commoner earlier?'

"I don't know, you never told me. And if you took pride in your pedigree, you would help without asking for a price."

Damon chuckled.

"Alright then... how much do you think you're worth."

She paused. She was the third princess, the favorite of her imperial father. How could he ask her to name her price as if she were a common prostitute, or a mare being priced at a marketplace? Never in her life had she felt so insulted.

"I am priceless."

Damon sneered.

"You are worthless."

He lifted his hand to her chin, lifting her face up. There was a mild irritation in her eyes.

"Anything that can't be priced is worth nothing. Right now, princess, that's what you are."

She slapped his hand away, ignoring his almost bewitching tone.

"Five hundred million zeni... that's how much I'm willing to pay."

Damon shook his head.

"For a princess? Please. You really aren't worth much. I can't let you insult yourself like that... ten billion zeni."

Abellona's eyes flickered with a scoff. Did he really expect her to have that much money? Was he trying to equip an army, no, create one? That much money wasn't something she could simply fork out.

"I'll give you three billion."

That was her best offer, else she would have to borrow money from the war banks and pay back later.

"Make that five and we have a deal." Damon pressed his final offer.

"Deal." Abellona agreed before he could jack up the price further.

At this rate she would have to borrow from the war banks. Their interest rates were just horrible. Hopefully he would agree for her to pay in installments.

'That way I can also figure out his identity...'

Damon nodded with a thin smile, his gaze briefly flashing to her spatial ring.

She took out the oath scrolls, and after reading it several times to be sure, she added his own conditions, which included no act of retaliation against him for anything that might happen within the course of their contract and three years after. Of course she disagreed, however Damon agreed to no deposit for that clause to be settled.

With that, Damon was set to go. His conversation with her had not been long, but it wasn't short either. His body was already dry from the flames.

He re-equipped his armor. With a deep breath he took out some meat and a grill and began to roast them over the flames, adding spices.

The sizzling and scent created a soft ambiance in the cave. When the meat was done Damon brought out his usual table and chairs from his shadow storage.

Being in a cave was no reason to live like a beast. He swore after Lysithara he would live well whenever he could.

Abellona watched him with a stunned expression as he set up the table.

He arranged the meat, brought out some potatoes, and cooked a bit of side for his main course. For the final touch he took out the expensive wine he stole from Abellona.

After that he set the table, pulling Abellona, who was still shackled to him, to it.

With the table set, he sat down wordless and began to serve himself.

Seeing the food, Abellona's mouth watered slightly. Seeing this as a show of hospitality, she reached for a fork.

She felt a smack on her hand.

She looked at where Damon had struck her.

He sneered. "This is mine. You didn't pay for feeding."

She twitched.

"How much."

"Well, I charge fair rates... so you know what, I'll give you a discount... a million zeni per meal."

She stood up, smacking the table. Fair ….

"That's daylight robbery..."

He looked around.

"It's night time now."

She trembled, pointing at the wine bottle.

"That's mine..."

Damon took a slice of his meat, sipping a glass.

"Was. Now it's mine. Finders keepers."

She sat down with a sour expression. Finders. He stole it.

"The price is too outrageous..."

He elegantly sliced up some more meat.

"This is royal quality cooking, top notch. The ingredients are foreign and very expensive, rare and hard to come by..."

She gritted her teeth, holding back her anger.

"I just watched you make it... with the cheapest ingredients possible. The kind you find at street stalls in Valerion..."

He took another bite.

"Exactly. Rare. We aren't in Valerion, are we?"

She gritted her teeth.

"Fine... five hundred thousand..."

He looked like he was hesitant, but then agreed. The meal prep and ingredients wouldn't even cost ten thousand zeni.

They ate in silence until Damon spoke.

"Tell me what you know about that goblin... what have you learned."

She paused, her hands trembling slightly.

"I have learned we cannot defeat him... should we face him, we will die."

Damon smiled coldly.

"Makes me want to face him even more."