Transmigration: I Made A Deal With A Man in Yellow

Chapter 8: Katana and a Scythe [1]

After looking at the contract one last time, I folded it and put it inside the drawer. fгeewebnovёl.com

I looked at the table and Ezio’s feet were still on it. So I slapped them off — he almost fell back in reaction, his chair scraping against the marble floor, but he recovered his balance.

"Hey, I almost fell." He narrowed his eyes.

"Keep your feet off my table." I said.

Knock, Knock.

Someone knocked on the door and I told them to come in.

The sweet aroma arrived before the person did, making my stomach rumble.

A maid came in pushing a rolling food tray loaded with food and drinks — roasted potatoes, succulent meat, fruits, juices, and more. Just like I asked — enough to feed a family of five.

As the maid entered, she abruptly stopped at the sight of Ezio. She had probably never seen him before since he rarely came out of my shadow.

Regaining her composure, she pushed the tray next to my table.

"H-here’s your food, young master." She said as she placed the plates down.

It smelled so good I could feel my mouth watering, but I refused to let that show in front of a subordinate.

"Thank you."

I picked up the cutlery the way a noble would, cut a small piece of meat, and raised the fork towards my mouth.

Then I stopped and looked at the maid, making her flinch.

"It’s not poisoned, is it?" I asked with an aloof tone.

The color drained from the maid’s face and she bowed her head.

"N-no, I wouldn’t dare!" She said.

I watched her expression for any sign of a lie, but saw nothing but honesty. Besides, I was just messing with her — if the food had been poisoned, Ezio would have dealt with her the moment he noticed.

"Good. You can leave."

She bowed and left.

I turned to my meal and started eating. The food tasted incredibly good and real, despite me just being inside a dream.

Ezio reached out and tried to grab a plate, but a smack to the hand stopped him.

"Easy. You don’t touch another man’s food without permission." I pointed the knife at him.

"What do you mean? I am your servant — it makes sense that I eat as well." His eye twitched.

"You mean ’not yet.’ You haven’t given me your life yet. And if you were truly not interested in being my Shadow Guardian from the start, you wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of making a bet." I took a sip of juice. "So no food for you. Go find your own."

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue and crossed his arms. "It’s not like I was really hungry anyway."

I continued eating, savoring each rich flavor, and the more I ate, the more I was reminded of my mother’s cooking.

’When I wake up, I need to eat a lot of my mother’s food.’

As I kept eating, I noticed Ezio sneaking glances at my plate, even licking his lips. Whenever I caught him looking, he quickly looked away.

So I started eating while talking, even though it was bad manners — my mother would definitely scold me for it.

"This tastes incredible." I said, chewing on the meat and savouring the rich juices. Then smacked my lips after a sip of juice. "Nice."

I could see Ezio’s eye twitching. The more I flaunted how good the food was, the more his eye twitched and his lips moved.

I was doing it on purpose to get on his nerves, and God, it was working beautifully.

A man’s biggest enemy is his own stomach, after all.

Finally, he caved and opened his mouth.

"Can I please have some? It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper meal."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"I’ve never shown myself to anyone since I always stayed hidden in my shadow, so I’ve had to hunt in the wild for food."

"Why didn’t you just steal from the kitchen? With your ability to move through shadows, no one would have caught you." I said.

"No. I don’t steal."

"Since when do assassins have morals?" I raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued.

His eye twitched again at my words.

"You... you are too good with your words." He hissed.

I shrugged and kept eating.

"Come on, just give me some — don’t be stingy!" He said.

"Hmm, I don’t know..." I said, pretending to think it over.

Rumble~! Ezio’s stomach rumbled loudly.

"I’ll do anything!" He pressed.

Now that was what I wanted to hear.

"Sure. But let’s make a deal."

The moment he heard those words his face dropped into a frown.

"A deal?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Why do I feel like I’m about to get scammed?"

’You will.’

"You won’t. I’m a fair man."

Ezio narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth.

"You wish. I refu—"

Rumble~!

His stomach complained again.

"Fine! What do you want?"

"I’ll have the maids personally bring you food from now on, but in exchange, you have to teach me how to fight and take me out into the wild with you."

Anger surfaced on his face. "That’s absur—"

Rumble~!

"Deal! Now let me at the food!"

"No, sign here first." I pulled another mana contract from the drawer.

Ezio snatched it, signed with his blood, and the contract glowed blue.

He threw it at me and I caught it.

"You can dig in —" I said with a smile.

Ezio didn’t wait for me to finish my words and started eating like an animal that hadn’t fed in days.

I lost my appetite. I had already gotten what I wanted anyway.

You see, the Laurent family was one that wielded mostly swords — it was rare to find a member who didn’t.

And their talent with the blade was something else entirely, making them terrifying swordmasters. It was as if they had been blessed by a sword god or something.

Heh, you may have already guessed it, but I’m not spoiling anything.

From Yves’s memories, he wielded not just any ordinary sword but a katana. He had trained for years improving his technique, though it was never quite enough without a proper teacher.

Well, there was someone who could have taught him — the family head, his own father, who also wielded a katana. He was mostly the reason Yves had taken to the katana in the first place, trying to be like his father.

Don’t we all?

But since their relationship was complicated, he’d had to do it on his own.

Now, however, I had the perfect candidate to teach me.

I looked at Ezio, smiling as he feasted.

Shadow Guardians ranked among the strongest fighters around — some could even rival a Duke in power. I knew that because I had written them myself.

Though I wasn’t so sure about Ezio specifically — he was an unknown variable. But a guardian was still a guardian, and I would learn a great deal from him.

If I really wanted to close the gap with those other kids, his help would be essential. If Ezio could read my thoughts right now, he’d realize he was digging his own grave.

Was this manipulation?

No, no — listen, I was a kind man.

I don’t have it in me to manipulate anyone. That’s just how I was raised.

Anyway, I wasn’t planning to rely on just one weapon. With the variety of weapons available in this world, I already had a second one in mind — one I truly loved.

That one I would have to learn on my own, which wasn’t a problem.

"This is heaven!" Ezio’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

Remember, ladies — the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.