Please Don’t Come To The Villainess’ Stationery Store!

Somewhere, with the sounds of crackling, black plumes of smoke started shooting ice.

Thud, thud-thud!

Pointy icicles started embedding themselves into the garden floor.

Ice chunks that seemed likely to put someone in critical condition if hit wrong began flying madly towards Dominic and in front of me as well.

“We need to dodge, Mel!”

Dominic raised one hand and smashed the ice chunks being shot out by the smoke with a crackling noise.

‘How am I supposed to dodge this ice!’

I quickly hid behind Dominic, covering my face.

In an emergency, to not be a burden, I shouldn’t try to do anything but just stay hidden!

However, that bizarre black smoke seemed to get enraged by Dominic’s actions.

Sharper ice pieces started falling faster than Dominic could smash them.

[Is that it? The contractor.]

A loud and creepy voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard filled the entire garden.

Soon after, my vision as the contractor went dark, and I started feeling a tight grip around my throat.

“Ah, ahk…”

At the moment my airway was blocked and my breathing constricted.

I struggled to breathe, barely feeling the air coming through my nose.

But even that was completely blocked after a few seconds.

“Uh…”

In front of me, thick black smoke slithered and shouted,

“[I’ll kill this human!]”

A scream-like voice echoed, chillingly sinister.

As shivers ran down my spine, the voice of salvation whispered in my ear.

“Who dares?”

Dominic, approaching, forcefully tried to remove the suffocating smoke gripping my neck.

“[I’ll kill him! I’ll avenge by killing!]”

Despite Dominic’s efforts, the entrenched demon only tightened its grip.

“Ugh!”

My vision blurred rapidly as the smoke penetrated my chest, compressing my heart. I was truly dying. Just then, Dominic managed to pull the smoke away.

“Hu… huuk.”

Gasping for air, I clutched my throat, feeling the sting of an impending wound.

Dominic, helping me up, said sternly,

“Come with me.”

Bang!

The large smoke transformed into the shape of a child that appeared to be about seven years old.

With hair and skin blacker than ebony, fangs peeking between the gaps of its teeth, and sharp horns protruding slightly from its head.

Dominic harshly asked the child with an odd appearance, whom he hoisted by the scruff of his neck, “Do you really want to be annihilated?”

Dominic’s piercing gaze stared at the abnormally tall child.

“Annihilation is absolutely not allowed!”

The child, once a mass of black smoke, fiddled with his cheeks in wonder at his manifested body and pouted his lips.

‘What on earth is this identity?’

I looked around the child.

The building was already a ruin, but the floor was frozen solid with ice and overflowed with icicle-like formations, a complete mess just five minutes ago.

And I, dealing with a tight throat, coughed and looked around.

‘Let’s organize the situation first.’

***

Shortly after, Dominic, the child who had been black smoke, and I entered the first floor of the stationery store and began a three-way confrontation.

The child, bound by restraining magic, actually an ancient demon over a thousand years old, furrowed its eyebrows.

“This is a demon I sealed away in the past, Mel. A creature I was trapped in the sword with…”

“I, the ‘Winter Moon Demon,’ have finally arrived in the mortal realm!”

The demon, manifested in the body of a child, looked at its own form with wonder and laughed cheerfully.

Looking at the excited demon with a cold gaze, I soon whispered to Dominic.

“You sealed this demon away? Then it should have been under a sealing spell. How did it get out?”

“I don’t know.”

“Even I do not clearly understand how I appeared in the mortal realm. However, I find the human world very much to my liking. Look at this!”

…Perhaps due to being an ancient demon, it spoke in archaic language, making it somewhat difficult to understand.

Dominic sighed as he watched the Winter Moon Demon bursting into high spirits.

“Having used my powers for the first time in hundreds of years, perhaps I didn’t control them well, I can’t say why… But it seems to have naturally freed itself. However, it will be sealed again. The sealing magic is strong.”

Dominic shook his head disapprovingly and restrained the Winter Moon Demon more firmly.

“You, apologize to Mel.”

“…Foolish human, accept my apology.”

Isn’t this too much like bowing and scraping?

But I had something to say to the Winter Moon Demon.

“About the ice outside, did you create that?”

“It is so.”

I marveled at the undissolved ice spit out by the demon, which I had brought in from outside.

“Is this ice that never melts? Fascinating.”

I had no idea what a winter month demon was, but the ice that this demon had spat out was clearly visible in front of me. It didn’t melt even when I touched it.

‘And to think it’s ice.’

In Korea, ice is common. However, in this world without refrigerators, ice was generally considered a luxury.

“I thought there were hardly any people in this world who could create unmelting ice…”

“Yes, only a demon born under the winter month like me can create ice that never melts indefinitely.”

“Can’t Dominic do it?”

The hero specialized in strength, Dominic, awkwardly avoided my gaze.

Come to think of it, that was true.

Even the great houses of Babeloa or Hesman had trouble obtaining ice easily.

Especially ice that never melts like the one this demon created was even rarer.

‘This demon, not bad?’

I thought of a way to properly exploit this demon while getting my revenge for it having choked me.

I wickedly smiled and gently stroked the winter month demon’s horns.

“Right, demon. There’s something you need to do.”

“Something to do?”

“Yeah. I was thinking you could make some slush for me.”

The demon’s eyes widened.

Of course, due to the binding and restraining magic, it could only widen its eyes.

However, he was so surprised that his eyes widened and his blood vessels nearly burst.

“What? You’re going to rip my stuff apart with slush magic? You angelic human being!”

What is this ‘stuff’, and what’s slush magic, more importantly, angel?

“Are you complimenting me now?”

“No, I am cursing you in the most dreadful way.”

Dominic laughed and added his comment.

“Yes, you winter devil. You will soon be torn apart by slush magic.”

“……?”

I looked at Dominic with a puzzled expression.

“Mel is a very scary person. I was even tricked into a fraudulent contract by Mel.”

I was stunned at Dominic’s arrogance.

‘Why on earth is he bragging about that.’

But the devil went even further.

“Oh, turns out you were a very remarkable human.”

Why on earth did his horns, as hard as ivory, suddenly droop like marshmallows. And why did his tone suddenly change.

“Yes. So, a worthless devil like you is naturally going to be obliterated right away. Farewell, winter devil.”

“No, please…….”

The winter devil shivered and despaired at Dominic’s cold words.

‘…I haven’t even said a word yet.’

The situation was smoothly getting worse.