Miroslav Southall is a man-hater.

　If one were to ask him what caused this, Miroslav would be the first to mention his father's name.



　His father's family, the Southall Trading Company, was one of the three largest trading companies in the Canary Kingdom.

　It was my father who built up that large trading company in just one generation.

　My father, who raised a small clothing store in a corner of the royal capital to a huge trade association in just thirty years, was undoubtedly a great man as a merchant.

　But as a father, he failed - no, he was a terrible father.



　My father always had women on his left and right. And the women's faces changed from day to day. He was a man who was as energetic with women as he was with business, or even more so.

　Miroslav was the son of the seventh concubine (mekake). His mother was a flowing dancer and she gave birth to Miroslav because of his passionate dancing and flaming red hair.

　The young Miroslav did not live in the main house of Sauzaar, but in a shabby villa. It was a house that the residents of the neighborhood called the house a concubine's house.

　Miroslav has no memory of ever having spoken to his father as a child. When the children of his wife were wearing brightly colored clothes, he was made to wear unbleached clothes in the concubine's house.

　Inside the mansion, my mother and the other concubines were waiting for my father, who might arrive at any moment, to apply their makeup, polish their skin, and keep each other in check.

　The young Miroslav looked at his mother and the other concubines in such a disgraceful way.

　I'll never be like that, he thought.



　That's why I worked so hard at my studies.

　Her goal was to enter the Academy for the Wise, the gateway to success for intellectuals.

　To avoid becoming a woman who sells her color, she improved her knowledge.

　However, she could do whatever she wanted with her efforts to improve her academic ability, but she couldn't pay for the examinations by herself.

　She had no choice but to turn to her father for help. She didn't ask him for money, but suggested it as an investment.

　She persuaded my father that the stock of the Chamber of Commerce would go up if the daughter entered the Academy for the Wise Men, and she got the money to take the exam.

　When she passed the examinations of the academy, he would shout for joy.

　Thus, Miroslav successfully escaped from the "mistress house".



　However, the wise man's academy that he entered with difficulty did not become a safe haven for Miroslav.

　The first stumbling block was his appearance.

　At the time, Miroslav did not have much interest in beauty at all.

　All he cared about was cleanliness, and he didn't care if his hair was shaggy, freckled, or he had dark circles in his eyes from an all-nighter, he didn't wear makeup or care for it.

　Those are the things that women who flirt with men do. That was Miroslav's idea.

　Besides, there was an unknowable fear that wearing makeup would bring her closer to her mothers.



　Because of this, Miroslav was not well received by the opposite s*x and was shunned by the same s*x.

　Nevertheless, Miroslav himself was fine with it. He could devote himself to his studies to his heart's content and not be bothered by anything.

　In fact, Miroslav was a brilliant man. He was proud of his academic knowledge and magical skills, and although he was not always superior to his older colleagues, he did not behave arrogantly.



　As a result, Miroslav would be isolated. Not only that, but direct and indirect harassment began.

　Their harassment was not limited to the opposite s*x. The fact that he hates men does not mean that he has any affinity for the same s*x.

　Even though they had entered the academy, the girls of the same age who talked about make-up and the opposite s*x were nothing more than idiots in Miroslav's eyes.

　Such feelings naturally oozed into his words and actions.

　The few acquaintances left one by one, and one by one, and soon there was not a single ally of Miroslav's in the school.



　Days of chronic discomfort followed.

　The turning point for Miroslav was an investigation into the ecology of a certain demon.

　The village where Miroslav arrived at was Lars and Ilaria's hometown.

　Curious about the outside world, Lars was surprised to learn that Miroslav, who was only a year older than he was, was acting as a full-fledged investigator, and he followed him around with his own reasons for being there.

　At first, Miroslav dislikes this, but he gradually begins to feel comfortable with Lars' straightforward words and actions in praise of Miroslav, regardless of his appearance or gender.


　It was also at this time that he learned that Lars had a desire to be an adventurer.

　The wise men's academy is also active in the study of magic, and some become adventurers after leaving the academy.

　But that was more of a pathway for the lower grades.

　The best ones get jobs in state institutions such as court wizards and magical institutes.



　As a matter of fact, Miroslav also had that path in mind. Miroslav's magical aptitude, especially his handling of fire magic, was at the level of one person in five years, and he had been approached by the higher-ups at the institute.

　No matter how much she was attracted to Lars, she was not willing to give up her bright future for a boy a year younger than her.

　The relationship between Miroslav and Lars should have ended there.



　But things change quickly.

　He was supposed to graduate from the academy with the name of a child prodigy on his shoulders, having shortened the course he had originally completed at the age of 15 by two years.

　However, on the day of his graduation exam, Miroslav did not show up at the venue.

　However, he never showed up on the day of the examinations, because he was locked in the old library in the basement of the dormitory. Every attempt to destroy the door with magic would put even the surgeon in danger in the small room.

　Besides, there was also the fact that the valuable books could not be damaged.



　The culprit is still unknown. Later, Miroslav managed to escape on his own and complained about the situation, but he was not re-tested.

　This was the result of the issue of letting the royals, who had come to see the expected prodigy, go to waste.

　Because of this, Miroslav was not even able to graduate, let alone get a prosperous job, and was expelled from the academy, almost like an outcast.

　Miroslav was isolated in the first place. In the end, Miroslav ended up as an adventurer, as there was no one to reach out to whoever had incurred the wrath of the royal family.

　Lars's presence had something to do with it.

　He didn't turn to Lars right away because he didn't want to be seen as a failed adventurer.

　I didn't want to say that that boy had kicked me out of the academy as if I were an outcast.

　You will find a lot of people who will be able to help you. And as an adventurer, I'll make a name for myself. I decided that I would go to see Lars after that.


　



◆◆◆



　And now, for the umpteenth time, Miroslav was trapped by the existence of a man.

　Mitsurugi Sora is mistaken about one thing.

　It's not that Miroslav doesn't understand the situation. Rather, he understood it more than ever - that if he didn't, he would be killed.



　At first he thought it was in retaliation for setting him up. At first I thought it was in retaliation for setting me up in a trap, that I was being led into an unpopular place, that I was being violated.

　But those thoughts were gone in a day.

　Every time Sola took her lips from mine, something important inside me was sucked out and chewed on. I'm going to die, I thought more than once.




　I tried to kill the man in front of me - no, I tried to kill the monster. This is another one in human form. This was evident from the fact that Sora, who was supposed to be level one, was able to deal with Miroslav's magic perfectly.

　However, the monster in the form of Sora was strong. She couldn't even escape, and her days of captivity continued.

　He even tried to choose death. He told his opponent about it, but Sora only shrugged lightly at such a Miroslav.

　Either they think they can't choose death anyway, or they don't care if they die.

　Perhaps it's the former, and perhaps it's the latter.

　In short, the other side does not put any importance on whether Miroslav is alive or dead. They do not dare to let him die, but they are willing to let him die as a result.



　Once he was convinced of this, Miroslav stopped his rebellion. He did not want to die, he thought.

　If this was a despicable criminal, he could resist as much as he wanted. I would not be dead if I had to sulk and give you my lips.

　But there is no point in being stubborn against an unknowing monster.　

　Every time he sucked my lips, I began to vomit in disgust. In spite of this, her body felt a strong sense of pleasure and heated up on its own.

　Her mind and body diverged from each other. She felt like she was going crazy.



　There were times when I thought about giving up on everything and just rubbing my forehead against his feet.

　But if I did that, they would lose interest in Miroslav.

　I am sure that I am being kept alive because it is more "delicious" for me. The word "live" here also has a spiritual meaning. The prey that has given up everything and become irresistible is surely not tasty.

　In the depths of Titis, the realm of demonic beasts, the reason why I prepared a place where people can live in a humble way is to keep Miroslav alive for as long as possible.

　Therefore, Miroslav must live on. It has to be "lively food" for him.




　Ikie (live food). Yes, he thought to himself, he is ikie now.

　A monster is keeping me alive so I can eat well.

　Just like Sora, who was once held captive by the Lord of the Flies.



　It was Miroslav who did it.

　Sora must have felt the same despair and fear as he does now.

　She must have screamed out, "I don't want to die, help me!

　-- even after all this time, I felt terribly sorry for her.



　Only after I've been through the same thing do I understand. This is hell. It's a living hell.

　If you let someone else experience this, you deserve to be resented, you deserve to be hated. Miroslav would do the same thing.

　He called Sora a monster, but it was none other than Miroslav who created the monster.



　Since that day, Miroslav has changed his attitude towards his opponent.

　He began to do what he thought they wanted before they wanted him to do it. Sola might have thought he was being flirtatious. In fact, it's hard to say that she didn't feel that way.

　But underlying it was a sense of redemption. I can't blame him if he eats me, I thought that way. I thought that.




　At that moment, Miroslav Souzaar was probably eaten.

　Not his body, not his soul, but something just as important as those two things were eaten.

　Then, for the first time since he had fallen that far, Miroslav was able to see.

　The true nature of the thing that now captures, taunts and eats him.

　The figure of the illusory beast that stretches in the shadow of Sora.


◆◆◆


　Five days after this day, Miroslav Souzar was in the city of Ishka.

　It had been about a month since Miroslav had disappeared. The guild staff and adventurers who had been desperately searching for him, especially party members Lars, Ilaria and Lunamaria, rushed to Miroslav's side in a frenzy.

　There, they noticed that Miroslav's long red hair, which had been his pride and joy, had been cut clean off from his shoulders.

　If not that, it was after a month of disappearance. When asked what on earth happened, Miroslav shrugged his shoulders, unusually, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry.


　He said he wasn't satisfied with the guild's house arrest and had disappeared as a protest.


　Miroslav confesses that the incriminating statement he left in his room was also his own trick.

　When the guild officials heard this, they were momentarily stunned, then their faces turned red with indignation.

　Of course, it was natural, because they had been mocked more than this.

　To them, Miroslav bowed deeply and apologized. He was alone and his head was cold. I will accept any kind of penalty - with those words, the situation was settled for the time being.

　Later, Miroslav was taken to the guild and anointed with a lot of oil, but at any rate, the situation was now settled.

　The manhunt for Sola, who was secretly being pursued as a key suspect, was also cancelled.



　Ten days later, Sola returned to the city of Ishqa.

　At this time, Sola had a slave with her.

　There were still only two people, including Sola, who knew that this slave would be the spark of a new disturbance at this point....