章 93: Chapter 91: A Lady's Proposition and a Brawler's Unfavorable Route of Fate

"Wait, wait, hold on, you're part of the strongest adventurer party in the Demon-Kin's Territory, right? Surely, they're pretty high up there in ranking that pales in comparison to ours. Why would you join our party despite that?" I ask after helping Tyvera sit back upright.

"And what made you want to be one of Jin's mates?" Ume then follows.

"I know I'm asking for a lot here but I'm tired of being a part of this party that didn't turn out what I had hoped for when I signed up," Tyvera starts while looking down. "The Duke of Demon's Disciples. They are a party composed of the strongest adventurers known in the Demon-Kin's Territory, whether it be among their own race or some other. It's so well-renowned that some of the members have their own 'sub-parties' to work for them. I've worked as a solo adventurer for quite some time, enough to be recognized as the 'Terror of the Skies,' the strongest Harpy to have lived, and so Lord Rowling recruited me for that reason. When I heard the 'disciples' have their own parties, I thought … joining it would give me enough recognition for my own, to be with people who aren't afraid of me, and maybe find a capable mate I may come across while I'm with them.

"I was so wrong! Save for one or two, the other disciples are a bunch of assholes! Even working under Gabriella has started to become annoying!"

"Ah!" Gabriella's gagged, so she could only look so appalled.

"Not only that but being part of the disciples have also scared people away from me even more! The more I worked for them, the more I realized how cruel everybody is, especially Lord … no, fuck formalities! I hate Rowling! So many times, I wanted to claw out his neck, but I know he'd freakin' killed me if I even think that! Up to this point, I had to do what I was told if I didn't want to become a roast chicken, including turning my eyes away from people in need of help, and that is so not how I roll! How they've also always bashed hate on humans put such a downer on me and my efforts to find a mate, too!"

"Ms. Tyvera, if I may," Ren starts with a hand up, sitting on the floor in seiza with a seat cushion below her. "There are human male slaves out there if you know where to look. I'm sure the slave merchants who sold Eri and I also have some back in their main quarters in Alluga that are worth however much you earn as an adventurer of your caliber."

"But I don't want a human male slave! Whatever backgrounds they came from, I know they're not good for me if they wound up in their current positions! I'm not looking for just any guy to … to … you know! Make babies with! I want a man with the balls to not get intimidated by me and can actually hold his ground! A man who actually accepts me for who I really am like I would want from friends!"

Tyvera takes a moment to catch her breath before looking up to me with upturned eyes and a straining smile. "I saw hints of both of those and so much more from the short time I spent watching you and your party, Mr. Jinma. Your wife and the others genuinely adore you, you give that affection back, and they get along with each other, too, despite how different you all are. Not to mention, you're kind of a hunk when I first laid eyes on you."

<"Oo la la~, bird girl putting it all out there, what a twist!"> Nyra comments. I scratch the back of my head and avert my gaze in awkwardness from being called a 'hunk.'

She then looks down while biting her lower lip. Her eyes start to well up. "I was watching my dream party right in front of me and it took so much to keep myself from breaking down from the pain of loneliness I was feeling. If you don't feel attracted enough of me to make one of your own, that's fine. I'd be satisfied enough if we could start over and become friends at the least, but please …" Tyvera trails off before hitting her head on the floor once more in a compromised dogeza. "My money, my gear, I'll give you all of it, I'll do anything you want, just please, get me out of that trash mob and let me join your party! Please!"

All of us is stunned silent, it's almost deafening how quiet the living room became after her confession.

That is until a stifling giggle breaks the silence.

"'I'll do anything you want.' I did not hear that incorrectly, yes? You are true to your word, Tyvera?" Lady Krauss asks as she stands next to me, looking down on Tyvera while holding an open decorative fan to cover the lower half of her face, only revealing her amethyst eyes.

"Yes! I'll do anything! If it's for what I've done towards Mr. Jinma's party and Lady Krauss, I'll do whatever it takes to make up for it!"

"Uh, Tyvera, it's not that I don't believe your words, but you should probably restrain yourself a little …" I say.

In fact, it's because of my maxed-out Intuition skill not responding to Tyvera's claims that I'm deeply concerned. Not only that, Lady Krauss somehow knows she isn't lying, either, and though I can't see her lips, the glint in her squinting eyes shows how much she's really smiling right now. Somehow, I even find that rather charming, yet it sends a chill down my spine.

Before I could even say anything further, Lady Krauss beats me to the punch.

"Well, then, I believe there is a proposition we can work out that can settle the issues that surround this quest right now," Lady Krauss starts while folding her fan closed. "Despite the complications, I do still want to clear the dungeon in one go. It would be dangerous to rush, so it would be wise that we take our time with the number we currently have."

"Actually, a word, Lady Krauss," Konjiro interrupts. "According to Lord Rowling, he wishes for you and the assigned party to clear the dungeon within 5 days."

"5 days?" I ask. "That would mean we'd have to go through at least 12 floors every day to get to the bottom 60th, right? I don't know how big dungeons usually are, but can anybody clear this one while going through bosses at that time?"

"The fastest time an adventurer party of five has cleared the Palocaesy Dungeon is 3 days," Konjiro explains. "While it is possible to achieve, it's not as easy to pull off. Since the minimum rank is blue, whether the adventurer's going solo or in a party of 5, Rowling thought this time would be most reasonable, and it is the average time adventurers of that rank complete the dungeon, anyway."

"Konjiro … I am aware that is approaching and he said he would have a date marked for when that would come, but I expected it to be further away from today. Did he give us that time limit knowing how close it would be? Were thou aware of them all of this time? Moreover, were thou aware of Tyvera's involvement?" Eugus asks while straining his voice and furrowing his brow.

"The conditions were sent to me this morning. I was actually going to relay that message to Lady Krauss when I came here, but Lady Beelzebub didn't really give me a chance. The date of that has been marked for 2 weeks from tomorrow. Taking the required time to complete the quest into account, there would be enough left over for Lady Krauss to return to Korangar immediately afterward and prepare for that date. As for Tyvera's involvement … no, I was not filled in on that at all."

A ringing sound comes in my mind, making me straighten up a little.

<"Jinma …">

{Yes, Nyra, I know … Konjiro's hiding something,} I answer to her in my mind.

According to my Intuition, everything that Konjiro just stated up to Tyvera was true, which can only mean a few things:

1: Going by how he emphasized 'that,' Konjiro could be referring to Lady Krauss' and Rowling's wedding, which is apparently scheduled 2 weeks from tomorrow. Why cutting it so close while expecting us to clear the dungeon in 5 days, I'm not sure of yet.

2: Konjiro, acting as the mediator of these arrangements, is actually in on Rowling's plans from how he played dumb on Tyvera's involvement. Question is, what are his gains, especially since it seems to put his place as a guild master in such a compromising position.

"… I have not been filled in on this. Why did he not send me that same notice?" Lady Krauss asks while furrowing her own brow. Seeing as how my Intuition didn't react, she really didn't know this, either.

"He did tell me to relay this news to you, he probably figured that would be enough. Here's the message to prove it." Konjiro then takes out the envelope and hands it over to Lady Krauss.

Just like before, she inspected the envelope and its contents in a thorough matter. "Hmm … this does seem legitimate, but considering the circumstances now, his input at this moment is meaningless to me. Create Fire." With that and a snap of her fingers, the envelope and letter spontaneously combusted, immediately turning them to ash and making us jump in fright. The nearby maids immediately clean up the ashes that fell to the floor.

{Well, at least we know she specializes in Fire Magic,} I think.

"As I was saying," Lady Krauss continues, "I have a proposition that can look past your interferences in this quest by Rowling's hand while still allowing the both of you to participate in it, Tyvera and Gabriella."

"And what would that be?" Tyvera asks while looking up.

"Simple: Tyvera leaves the Duke of Demon's Disciples and joins Jinma's Twilight Sky party … as his slave."

"Huh?!"

"Whoa, whoa, time out, I understand their interference is a huge deal but isn't that kind of harsh?" I ask.

"While I have much to discuss with Rowling after the quest, if he truly wishes to make amends for his hindrance towards me, then he needs to provide collateral in some form for the time being. He should be thankful I am even making this as painless as possible by cutting Gabriella's pay in half alongside that, of which will go to whatever penalty fees necessary the adventurer's guild charges us for inconveniencing them, if not to your party on top of the reward money you will earn for completing the quest, Jinma. That is if he decides to take my proposition to look past his blunder. As for what will happen if he refuses to accept it … it is unfortunate, but I will drop this quest altogether, have him pay for the penalties for wasting all of our time, have him questioned for the marked date on that, and demand appropriate punishment for Tyvera and Gabriella for their involvement of going against the Krauss family's affairs … perhaps execution would be suitable enough?"

""HUH?!""

"I mean really, it may be two black ranks, but does Rowling really think just the two of them would be enough to help me get through the dungeon as an 'emergency substitution party' within 5 days?" Lady Krauss continues while shrugging her shoulders. "It would be a different matter if there was no time limit, but unlike the three of them, I have not gone into a dungeon before. I would be making a death wish if I went along with his demands. Moreover, he had just committed invasion of personal privacy through using Tyvera as an illegal prowler, forgery of a noble family's seal and impersonating a high-ranking noble through a forged letter. Around these parts, they are bigger offenses than humans may make light of. Yes, Rowling said he had assigned Tyvera as a second bodyguard, but unless he told me otherwise further ahead of time, we would not even be in this mess and Tyvera at this moment is an illegal trespasser to me."

"… Do you or your family have that kind of political power to make such a demand like executing someone?" I ask.

"The current head of the Krauss family, my father, Ramone Silshire Krauss, is the Minister of Defense and Weaponry. I only need to relay these events to him, he reports them to the Demon King, and she will decide on things accordingly. Considering how close in acquaintanceship he is to her, though … I do not think it will take much to convince her into going along with the execution."

{So, this is what a demon noble is capable of …}

<"Yeaaaaaah, you can count me out on any further political affairs. Even if I hate the guy I'd have to service the rest of my life, I'd take being a sex slave over getting executed any day,"> Nyra quips.

"And you wish to send a message to Lord Rowling about this proposal, Lady Krauss?" Konjiro asks.

"I understand that we are on a schedule right now and a message can only go so fast. This is a very critical matter that needs to be resolved posthaste, but if I recall, Rowling assigned a representative to stand in for him to make decisions on his behalf. Now, who was that again? Ah, yes, Gabriella." Lady Krauss then turns to the disembodied head whose eye is twitching from the sheer stress and anger of the situation. Her mouth is still gagged with the washrag before Lady Krauss orders the maid holding her to remove it.

The Vampire lady then bends over with a fan over her mouth to hide the conniving grin. "Well, Gabriella, today is your lucky day. You get to decide your own fate on behalf of your superior's. So, what will it be? Give up half of your money and your comrade who is clearly dissatisfied with you and your party to slavery under Jinma's possession, or risk to put both of your lives under Her Highness' judgment? And before you ask whether I see Jinma and his party qualified to escort me on this quest, my decision is already made. What happens from here will depend on you and him."

It's clear she has taken everything into account to come up with her proposition in such a short span of time, all so she could put on the pressure on Gabriella with her life and reputation on the line. It seems that when an opportunity to get back at those who wronged her arises, she will relish every moment of it.

Not that I don't understand her feelings when it comes to me and my own battles, but this is a much grander scale than I could ever pull off.

"You knew what kind of person Jinma Kotori is, how I would react when I discover his identity and chose to keep it to yourself until this very moment. I think you already know where I stand when it comes to working with people like him," Gabriella says before shooting a glare in my direction.

"With all due respect, Gabriella, you were never one to get along with anybody in general. You may despise us just as much as you do for people like Jinma and Julius. I could have told you the truth, but your attitude would be bothersome for me to deal with for a few days. Even so, the final decision of who is worthy to be my escort through the dungeon still falls to me. I may not know what Rowling saw in you, but it is clear your skills as a Dark Knight are second-to-none. You should be grateful I am even giving you this chance from that alone when I could just drop you altogether. So, what will it be? Give up one's life and half of your reward money to another, or put two lives, including your own, to the chopping block? The choice is yours, Gabriella Carlamat."

The disembodied head practically growls her discontent and looks away. "I don't fucking care anymore. I hate everybody here but I hate losing my life again like this even more."

"That settles on her decision! Tyvera, you may not have had a say in this but you did say you would do anything to atone. Are you satisfied with these arrangements?" Lady Krauss asks her who still sits on the floor wide-eyed throughout the whole spectacle.

"… Yes, I think this is fine," she submits while bowing her head to the lady standing above her.

"And now we go to you, Jinma Kotori," Lady Krauss then says while folding her fan closed, revealing a face that's apologetic and full of sympathy. "First, allow me to deeply apologize for the trouble you have gone through to make it this far. These are clearly personal affairs between Rowling and I that should not involve third parties, yet our complications resulted in miscommunication with the adventurer's guild. I do hope you could forgive and not think less of me." She then bows her head with eyes closed.

"Um, no, not at all. This is a bit confusing for us as well, and I don't think you're … bad, per se, since you're going this far to settle things." More like I know now how I shouldn't mess with you under any circumstance.

"You are too kind, Jinma. Eugus, I also apologize for having you go out of your way going through all of this."

"No matter the circumstances, if thou still wish to continue this arrangement, thou must pay for the repercussions of not making the details of this quest clear for the guild and our assigned adventurers. It is imperative that the adventurer is filled in on all of the conditions and information on the quest at hand, and we of the guild do not wish to send them on quests that would lead to dangers outside of our knowledge."

"I fully understand and am willing to pay for whatever is necessary to settle the penalty. If Jinma still wishes to take part in this quest, then I can offer him and his party a bigger reward for taking his time after the dungeon is cleared. Let's see, I believe it was 780,000 karos before, yes? How does one white gold coin sound?"

The silence that fills the room after Lady Krauss' suggestion is deafening.

{That's a million karos, isn't it?}

<"Damn right, and this 'sucker's' fucking loaded!"> Nyra answers.

"Of course, this is if you still wish to take on my quest, Jinma," Lady Krauss continues. "I will not hold anything against you if you would rather decline. You will still receive Tyvera's services as your slave and I will pay for the penalties with Gabriella's pay cut before the two of us return to Korangar and I have a firm discussion with Rowling. I do not wish to burden you with my personal affairs any more than I already have, and you can definitely be sure that I will not bring them up as we take on the dungeon should you take on my quest."

"I will remind thee that thy reputation will not be affected if thou decide to decline," Eugus adds. "We will still need to assign thee another quest to serve as a replacement trial to evaluate your capabilities as a newly-registered adventurer starting off at black rank, but if thou decide to still take this quest, then we will go along with the trial as originally planned."

"I see …" I look down, deep in thought, before the familiar scale-covered claw interlocking with my hand catches my attention. I look over to see Ume giving a smile.

"I'll go with whatever you decide for us, Jin. I will make sure nothing will come to harm you, and so will the others," Ume says as she turns to the rest of our party who are sitting on the floor. They all give their determined smiles and nods in confirmation. Sue seems to be occupied with her own thoughts but with how contemplative she looks right now, it's hard to tell what she thinks of everything here.

In my deeper thoughts, I recall Tephalia's warning last night about involving myself in Lady Krauss' affairs. If her family is that close to the Demon King then it's no wonder others may try to marry into it: to have that political and governmental power to do a variety of things one can't do on their own, and if they get on their bad side … they could very well disappear.

I glance over to Lady Krauss. As far as I know, other demon nobles could handle these affairs in a similar fashion as she displayed. I have yet to see a noble of any kind in this world that would determine the standards and exceptions of nobility. While I admit she's an ethereal beauty that has a sort of charm of drawing me in, when I remember with a clear head where we stand, I'd be crazy to think I might have some kind of chance with her, especially if I may put my party's lives on the line from making even the smallest of fuck-ups. Putting my LUCK in the equation, just who knows how long this 'streak' will go before things go downhill?

{If I simply choose between the lives of my party who've cared for me up to this point and a beautiful lady I had just met, then the decision's obvious, isn't it?}

<"Are you sure about this, Jinma? I mean, according to my Psyche Magic, she—">

{I honestly don't want to make things any more complicated than it needs to be. The only reason we came this far was because getting close with Lady Krauss would give us a chance to have an audience with the Demon King. That's less of a hassle in the long term than turning myself in as a Champion that she has everyone in her territory search for. It'd be one thing if it was just you and me, but we got Ume and the others to take into account, as well. In fact, if I just went to the Demon King on my own with that plan, then I'd risk the least number of casualties possible. Yeah, let's go with that plan. If we somehow come across other opportunities along the way, we'll look into them, but as long as the Demon King's search for the Champions still goes on—}

"Milady! It is urgent!" one of the maids exclaim as she rushes into the room with parchment in hand.

"… What could it possibly be this time?" Lady Krauss asks while restraining her annoyed tone. It seems she's had a number of surprises today and she was already getting tired of the frequency.

"Just read this!" the exclaims while shoving the parchment in Lady Krauss' face.

"… A proclamation from Her Highness?"

The words 'Her Highness' straighten up everyone in the room in shock. The only exceptions are Julius, Ume, me, and Sue.

Lady Krauss takes the parchment and skims through the contents. "… Yes, this has the royal seal and everything. This is a legit proclamation. Where did you get this?" she asks the maid.

"They're falling from the sky outside!"

From that, we all look out to the nearest window and sure enough, there are many parchments falling from above. Some winged people, Imps, Harpies, and the like, are flying in a coordinated fashion as they drop more from their knapsacks. Palocaesy's citizens are all looking up in wonder as they snatch a parchment from above and on the ground to read the contents.

"Muhfuh! Muhfuh!"

The muffled calls and a tug on my blazer catch my attention before I turn and see Ren … sitting in a squat with a parchment in her mouth like a dog fetching a newspaper while her tail wags in pride and accomplishment.

{Since when did she get an opportunity to go out and get that? No, more than that, why is it that she's becoming more dog-like lately?}

<"I don't think that's the important thing here, dude,"> Nyra quips as I take the parchment out of Ren's mouth.

At first glance, I, of course, can't read jack shit, but I recognize the characters to be Padimonian. Ume remembers that and thankfully steps close to my side and read the message aloud.

[By Her Majesty, the Demon King's, decree, she will no longer accept any more Champions that residents of the Demon-Kin's Territory have escorted to the kingdom and hereby bring the 'Territory-Wide Champion Search' that has lasted for the last 4 years to a close. She thanks you for your support and efforts in the search up to now and wishes you all a pleasant day.

Long Live the Demon King.]

A heavy weight falls on my stomach and shoulders long before Ume finishes reading the decree.

<"Dude? Isn't that 'Champion Search' the only fallback plan you have to have an audience with the Demon King?"> Nyra asks.

{… It was. I had a fallback plan relating to that, anyway.}

<"Wow … that is one hell timing for her to stop the search. If you try to go up there with that now, they probably won't even look at you even if you show proof like the bracelet. With that closed and no other known method to get an audience with the Demon King available, that means having good enough relations with the Krauss family to introduce you to her is the only chance you have right now, and who knows when another opportunity like this will ever come up? Sheesh, what 'LUCK' to have that route closed, huh? I guess this is how it finally starts to catch up to you.">

{WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!}

"So, she is finally stopping this search, huh?" Lady Krauss asks before shrugging. "Not that I care for it all that much but I do wonder what brought her to make such a thing in the first place. Well, no matter. Getting back on topic, what is your decision, Jinma?"

At a loss and in defeat, there's only one thing I could do. If I don't take this chance now, like Nyra said, who knows when another opportunity will arise? How do I know it will be better or worse in terms of risk than this one? Other than 'Shining Tea Set' with no known whereabouts of their residence or even their race, the Demon King, a Devil, is the only other hope I have who can possibly provide answers as to why I, a [D-]Human, possess a skill like the Devil Eyes and maybe learn how to control it.

If my LUCK is taunting me to take it, then I'd have to kick it in the balls and do everything I can to make sure everybody in my party and Lady Krauss can walk away from the quest safe and sound.

"… Yes. I will accept these conditions and Twilight Sky will participate in this quest," I answer while trying not to sound disappointed and restrain myself from hanging my head.

"You will?! Oh, this is wonderful!" Lady Krauss exclaims as she takes one of my hands in both of hers and looks up at me with sparkling eyes. "Really, you have no idea how happy and grateful I am to receive your assistance, Jinma."

"Wait, Lady Noire! Are you telling me you will really take this human in as your escort without further questioning?!" Mar—I mean Beelzebub exclaims. "We have not even seen what he can do! And did I hear right that he just registered as an adventurer recently, and as a black rank no less?! Does this not sound suspicious to you—"

"Lady Beelzebub," Lady Krauss interrupts while strongly emphasizing the name as she turns her head to the fly loli, hands still holding my own. The smile is still plastered on her face, but I could suddenly feel an intense pressure coming off of her that sends chills down my spine. "I will be taking Jinma Kotori as my escort. My decision is final. Do I make myself clear?"

"… Crystal," Beelzebub squeaks before sitting back in her seat.

Lady Krauss clears her throat and lessens the pressure before turning back to me, the air surrounding her smile more genuine than it was seconds ago. Actually, it's like there's some kind of warm, bubbly glow that starkly contrasts her gothic lolita look in ways I didn't think was possible. "As I was saying, Jinma, let us work hard together and make this adventure a memorable experience for all of us."

Partially afraid of turning her mood sour, I force the best smile I could while straining a laugh. I pray my maxed-out Deception skill is helping to take most of the work off of my mental strength. "Yeah … we won't let you down, Lady Krauss."

{Aaaaaaaaaugh! It doesn't help that Lady Krauss looks kind of cute like this! What the hell did I even sign up for?! I gotta clean myself with Ume's love after this is over!}

And with that, our first quest as the adventuring party, Twilight Sky, has been reconfirmed. The only good thing that came out of all this is that we get a new capable party member in Tyvera joining the group as the third member of my Slave Harem with Ren and Erizora. I'm still a little apprehensive with how that came to be, but at least she has her own charms that I'd like to get to know … if the others are okay with it, that is.