192 Dekan Tries to Calm the Child
Dekan quickly rewrapped the bandage over her right eye.
“You’re called Tarta, right? Come with me. There are some things I need to ask you.”
Dekan’s expression became more serious now, all traces of his earlier jest gone.
The notes on magic cards are optional, usually something trivial that the cardmaker writes upon completion of the card.
Sometimes, a cardmaker leaves a remark or a note on the creation process.
And then there are more prideful cardmakers who prefer to sign their masterpieces.
The results of Dekan’s appraisal earlier indicated that Tarta in the card notes should indeed refer to the little girl’s name.
If this little one was truly a half-demon, leaving her be before she grows stronger would likely lead her to either be killed or forced into servitude according to the cardmaker’s style.
Neither the good nor the evil would let a demon skilled in making malevolent cards go free.
Only the compassionate Dekan might pity the demon.
Of course, under normal circumstances, even with his demon card-making expertise, it would be difficult for Dekan to grow strong.
After all, even up to now, both the black and white paths have people who want to take him down.
Dekan was able to survive his growth period smoothly because, on one hand, he was under the protection of a nurturing environment.
On the other hand, Dekan was undoubtedly human.
If Dekan’s race was demonic, he would be opposed by the entire world.
And Tarta, whose living conditions looked poor, had to go to great lengths to hide her race.
One day she would be exposed and become an enemy of humanity.
Even with her current abilities surpassing the first tier, she wouldn’t stand a chance against higher-tier attacks.
The fact that she was easily subdued by Chloix today best illustrates this.
Tarta glared at Dekan with a look of absolute determination to die.
Because she realized clearly that, the moment their eyes met, Dekan had noticed her secret to some extent.
So now it’s either her or him.
“I won’t hurt you.”
Dekan’s tone softened a bit.
“Hah.”
Tarta responded with a sound of barely audible derisive laughter.
It seemed that she believed Dekan wasn’t a good person.
By the side, Chloix covered his face.
From Dekan’s initial performance, Tarta should have found it difficult to trust him at all.
In Tarta’s eyes, the now seemingly more gentle Dekan looked even more terrifying.
Like an unpredictable maniac!
As if the words “I have a scheme” were engraved on his face.
“Phew, just go to sleep.”
Dekan sighed helplessly and activated “Hypnotic Gas.”
He could only knock out the little girl for now.
Later, the pediatric expert, Mia, might take a look at her. Maybe, just maybe, this would make Tarta behave better.
In the narrow shop, the original owner—the thin middle-aged man—quickly passed out.
However, Tarta seemingly anticipated how to deal with the hypnotic gas.
She held her breath the entire time.
This way, she, Dekan, and Chloix were all holding their breaths.
Even as she turned red in the face struggling not to breathe, she absolutely refused to inhale a single breath.
Her stubbornness suggested she would rather asphyxiate herself than lose consciousness and be at someone’s mercy.
“Alright, you’ve scared me.”
Dekan stopped using the “Hypnotic Gas,” opening the door to let fresh air in, fearing she might harm herself.
He couldn’t bring himself to use too strong an anesthetic on a child several years old.
“Alright, let her go,” Dekan sighed helplessly to Chloix.
It looked like using force against the girl wouldn’t work; she would fight to the death.
They would have to try talking to her.
Since they were all demons, they should resolve issues in the demon’s way.
Chloix nodded and released the light magic holding Tarta.
Tarta looked at Dekan and Chloix with disbelief, standing up, and then stepped back cautiously two or three steps until her back was against the counter, having nowhere else to retreat.
Despite her movements showing obvious fear, her gaze never left Dekan.
Dekan judged that she was probably thinking hard about how to defeat these two far superior individuals and finding a way out of the shop.
“Whether you want to hear it or not, let me say what I want to say first. You can listen and figure out how to beat us while I talk.”
Dekan said indifferently.
Tarta seemed startled by Dekan’s words, her expression slightly changing.
“You have the talent to make cards, but you shouldn’t plagiarize others’ research results and create low-quality counterfeit cards for profit.”
Dekan continued, speaking earnestly.
He needed to communicate with Tarta.
Communication was the key to finding her vulnerabilities.
Any being capable of verbal communication can be affected internally through words.
The simplest method is continuously trying to provoke with aggressive remarks, inducing her to reveal her weaknesses.
“…That’s not counterfeit!”
Tarta finally responded to Dekan’s accusations, her tone filled with anger.
She seemed to believe that the counterfeit cards Dekan was referring to included her two masterpieces—”Cursed Puppet” and “Mental Impact.”
She had made them independently; they were her pride!
“Oh? Then may I ask if the card ‘Captain De’Erkan’ was really your work?”
Dekan chuckled, covering his mouth in a pretense of politeness.
“…!”
Tarta bit her lips; she couldn’t refute Dekan’s ridicule.
Because the cards she made never sold well.
Demon-school cards lacking core cards all fell into the category of unpopular ones that didn’t sell.
However, due to the peculiar market demand, creating “Captain De’Erkan” and “Bandit Goblin” cards alone could easily be sold for far more than the price of first-tier blue quality cards.
In this kingdom with its large flow of people, “Captain De’Erkan” currently sold the best.
She didn’t want to imitate the cardmaker named Dekan and felt she was no worse than him.
But to make money, she had to counterfeit “Captain De’Erkan,” which was already humiliating for her.
“Because the ‘Captain De’Erkan’ you made deviates from the attributes of the original, it might lead to the death of its user, you know? Is a cardmaker with such poor skills even qualified to label their work as a ‘masterpiece’? How laughable.”
Tarta lowered her head, seemingly understanding the principle, completely unable to refute Dekan’s mockery.
From the interactions so far, Dekan had more or less figured out that Tarta was a strong-willed little girl but reasonable at heart; she wouldn’t stubbornly insist on her point out of pride.
The reason she chose to counterfeit ‘Captain De’Erkan’ was quite apparent: it was due to lack of money.
Therein lies her weakness.
A child a few years old, after all, still lacked experience in terms of mental fortitude.
“We two are employees of Happy Group, and we won’t harm you.”
Dekan looked earnestly at Tarta and said,
“But we will sue you, demanding enormous compensation.”
Upon hearing this, Tarta suddenly looked up, her formerly resolute eyes momentarily unable to focus.
