Did the Demon King file his taxes today? chapter 3: Take This, My Turtle Punch! (1)

* * *

A ledger is a record of economic activities, and it comes in various forms depending on the era, location, and even worldview.

Lin Lin had to keep reminding herself over and over. In a world filled with demons, dragons, slimes, and other creatures, having a strange ledger was reasonable.

Yes, reasonable. Even if the ledger included entries like “Sunny but very windy” and “Lunch was awful today,” it was still reasonable.

… No, no matter how much she tried to convince herself, having weather and lunch details in the ledger was still maddening.

This was why Lin Lin, clutching two thick volumes, angrily went to find the Demon King.

Sapphire had no intention of leaving. The three humanoid beings sat at the rectangular table in the Demon King’s office, with the warm afternoon sun streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, as Lin Lin spread the ledger open.

Pointing to the landscape illustration in the ledger, Lin Lin asked calmly, “What’s this about?”

The Demon King replied, “I don’t know.”

Lin Lin continued, “This drawing is quite good, the control of color is excellent, the artist must be very skilled.”

The Demon King suddenly adopted an inappropriately elegant, lamenting tone, “Oh, my dear friend, I drew this for my 160th birthday. Such nostalgia.”

… So it was you!

Although there was no concrete evidence, Lin Lin had already suspected the Demon King the moment she opened the ledger, given his laid-back and careless manner.

Flipping through the ledger quickly, Lin Lin skipped over the entries that read like a grade-school diary.

At the very least, the front part recorded income and expenses, but by the end, it had turned into a pure stream-of-consciousness diary with no relation to finances.

“What is this?” Lin Lin asked.

The Demon King looked at the content and honestly answered, “A recipe for honey cakes. I can bake decent honey cake.”

Who cares if the Demon King can bake honey cakes! Winnie the Pooh, maybe?

Lin Lin earnestly asked, “Where’s the money you spent? The money that should be in the ledger?”

The Demon King looked up, realizing the situation was serious, and flashed a dazzling smile.

Lin Lin was all too familiar with that smile. Whenever the Demon King tried to get away with something, this handsome and supposedly imposing Demon King would show a warm, sunny smile.

On the day Lin Lin was summoned to this world, when she angrily grabbed the Demon King’s horns, he wore that same smile.

This scoundrel was trying to bluff his way through without offering any help!

The more Lin Lin looked at that radiant smile, the angrier she became. She reached out, grabbed the Demon King’s left horn, and forced the tall young man to bow his head in reflection, “You better fill in the missing details over the years!”

The Demon King obediently bowed his head, his silky curls swaying.

The youth’s ram-like horns curling over his forehead were a mark of maturity among demons. Even Sapphire had horns, though the dragon’s were straighter.

Lin Lin’s palm felt the cool, fine texture of the uneven surface. Humans didn’t have such horns; the sensation was more like touching a deer or a sheep.

The strange feeling of the non-human texture made Lin Lin instinctively uncomfortable, so she looked away.

Lin Lin noticed that the moment she grasped the Demon King’s horn, his smile paused for a moment.

It seemed that this method was effective in preventing him from slipping through, a simple thought flashed through Lin Lin’s mind as she saw the dragon youth, who had been sitting quietly across from her, noticeably pause.

The dragon youth was holding a teacup and drinking with his head lowered. When he swallowed, the delicate ice-blue scales on his neck undulated, reflecting a gentle light.

Sapphire never knew how to hide his intentions, so his gaze was particularly noticeable. When he saw Lin Lin holding the Demon King’s horn, he slightly raised his eyebrows.

Compared to disapproval of Lin Lin’s offensive behavior, Sapphire seemed more surprised, exhibiting emotions like astonishment.

Lin Lin instantly let go.

This action of letting go the moment she realized something was wrong was completely instinctive, like when you’re called alone by your boss and suddenly praised for being promising, you suddenly become cautious, wondering if more work is coming your way.

This time, Sapphire remained quite calm, saying nothing more, just slowly lowering his gaze and continuing to drink, as if his astonishment from a moment ago had never existed.

Lin Lin turned her head to look at the Demon King sitting beside her.

The Demon King was no different from usual, having already regained his smile.

Damn, this guy’s emotions are so stable that it’s impossible to judge this world’s common sense based on his reactions.

Not wanting to bluntly ask in front of these two horned creatures if touching their horns had any special meaning, Lin Lin decided to later ask the more approachable slimes.

The dragon youth showed no interest in the account book; he was obviously more concerned with other matters.

“Why did you suddenly summon a creature from another world?”
Sapphire looked at the Demon King with his most provocative yet calm attitude, “It’s a very risky thing to do.”

As the risky subject, Lin Lin looked up, curious as well.

“You mean that…” The Demon King scratched his head, “I saw this old book in my father’s study and tried it out casually.”

‘Father?’

Lin Lin keenly caught this term. Could the Demon King be a hereditary title?

Mentioning the Demon King’s father, Sapphire did not ask further.

The youth’s fingers lightly tapped the table, showing a somewhat leisurely posture.

He pulled out a piece of paper from who-knows-where in the Demon King’s study and started writing on it.

Lin Lin peeked and found it was an attendance sheet, with many names densely written besides Sapphire’s.

An attendance sheet! Do you top ten villains have such things too?

Sapphire leisurely marked the previous few days when he hadn’t shown up.

This month was fully attended; the dragon youth nodded in satisfaction.

‘Boss, look! He’s cheating on attendance!’

Lin Lin’s eyes widened like saucers, signaling her superior sitting beside her.

The Demon King, feeling her intense stare, glanced at the clock.

The Demon King said, “It’s five o’clock, time to clock out. Nine-to-five is your rule, don’t mention work anymore!”

Lin Lin: …

Goodness, a nine-to-five system set specifically to avoid overtime, and you’re actually using it.

Goodness, I’ve become a capitalist.

Hello, it seems I might be the only one in the demon camp who works seriously.

Even though I’m human.

Lin Lin, an office worker summoned from another world by the Demon King and tasked with the ongoing development of funds, made an agreement on her first day as the Demon King’s servant.

A four-day work week, comprehensive insurance, bonuses, and a nine-to-five schedule.

Now, the scary thing is that her boss is spending every day dragging out time, trying to get past 5 PM without being disturbed by work.

After his afternoon tea, the Demon King seamlessly transitions to dinner.

“Let’s dine together,” the Demon King said happily.

Lin Lin: “…No need.”

The last time she dined with the Demon King, she ate swamp trout and spent the night vomiting. Her face was darker than the swamp the fish came from.

Even though she signed a contract with the Demon King, Lin Lin is still human and can’t withstand the toxins of the demon realm creatures.

After days of eating plain boiled radishes and cabbage, Lin Lin felt her mood growing increasingly irritable, directly linked to the bland and monotonous food.

Seeing through everything, Sapphire spoke up: “She needs to eat human food.”

Lin Lin quickly looked at Sapphire, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Could it be… this seemingly cold guy is actually very reliable?

Sapphire looked at Lin Lin, their eyes met.

The knowledgeable dragon nodded slightly, with a confident, noble, and elegant gesture that seemed to say, “You don’t need to say it, I understand.”

The Sapphire Blue Dragon’s expression was calm as he slowly spoke: “Humans need to eat millet. I have millet, five tons for her.”

Lin Lin: …You eat five tons of millet! You know nothing about humans!

* * *

*Summary page is only available for login users. Non-users can view the chapters on the chapter list.*