บท 83: The Administrator with questionable values
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Rumius walked briskly down the main streets, following Isadora silently. As ordained by habit, they had woken up in the early morning and the streets were deserted, save for a couple demons staggering home, drunk and barely balanced on the balls of their feet. A lingering mist with the scent of flowers remained in the air.
Rumius and Isadora turned to the right at the first corner. They walked some distance down to an intersection where a large building stood at the far end on the other side of the crossing, facing them.
True to its name, the Citadel Of Order was a large rectangular building with a smaller rectangular hollow in its centre. An obelisk-like citadel jutted up from the gap, filling it up while leaving excess space on the sides for a small courtyard.
Rumius followed his master as she crossed the street, navigating through the thin stream of people until they reached the other side. Rumius looked up as he entered the gates, spotting the words Citadel Of Order engraved into the yellow sandstone.
Entering through the gaping entrance, there were demons who were still inside and about. A small counter for reception was erected in the corner and there was no queue.
Walking over, Isadora rapped on the smoothened sandstone. The droopy headed demon opposite sat up in a hurry, nearly knocking his chair over. His long, straight hair fell down over his eyes like a messy curtain. The demon swatted it out of his eyes and looked at them, wide eyed with shock.
" Y-Yes? I-I wasn't sleeping! I just didn't expect anyone this early! Umm.." he looked at Isadora, then at the smaller white haired demon next to her, then back at the taller female figure. Then, seemingly in an instant, his eyes lit up with recognition and fear.
" We're envoys from the Inglisa Bureau, we are here to meet Administrator Verrater." Isadora told him in a serious voice.
" YES! I mean, y-yes of course. Please wait here for a moment. I will get someone to guide you!" He yelped. The demon disappeared behind the counter and punched buttons on a circular device, then spoke in hushed whispers into it.
Several moments later, a stern-looking demon, tall and with short horns, approached them. Rumius and Isadora turned to face their new arrival to see him eyeing them up and down. No one said a word until the demon broke the silence by nodding , contented, and saying:" Follow me."
The dulled of footsteps on the sandstone floor were the only sounds in an otherwise quiet corridor as Rumisusand Isadora followed their guide. They did not pose questions or chat idly, instead staying silent and floating along like phantoms. The guard eventually led them into a tall, upward winding staircase. Climbing it, they eventually emerged into a blinding light.
Rumius squinted and covered his eyes and suddenly found himself in a glamorous hall. There were no doors and was unlike the rest of the building, and the hall was built from a different whitish,material, but it was nonetheless well maintained until it sparkled. Small braziers stood proudly, lining the sides.
There were few of them, and they mainly served as style. The place was lit primarily by an unknown spell and two long, rectangular holes at the end of the hall which let a fresh breeze and the burning sunlight in. Yet all the same, the area was tranquil, as if a detached dimensional from the outside world.
Rumius trailed Isadora to the end of the hall, where a demon on a small table waited.
The guard announced their arrival, making the demon look up from his work. A grotesque smile spread over his horse face.
" Welcome! Welcome!" The demon immediately stood up, pushing his chair back with a screech. He spread his arms warmly in welcome at the sound of their footsteps and fluttering cloaks.
At a glance at the marble floor, Rumius caught the faint sight of a small, pale-skinned demon looking up at him from the world of mirror images. His green eyes and white horns and white hair made a pleasant contrast against his black outfit, which bore the clawed symbol of the Inglisa bureau.
The Administrator, Verrater, was just as he had been in the picture. Or perhaps, even more ug-..more uncomfortable to the eyes. His buck teeth stole away most of the charm from his smile. The rest were as defined; with no redeeming features.
Verrater pushed his hands forward enthusiastically towards Isadora. Amiably, she smiled and took it, feeling his firm grip on her hand as she returned with slightly less force than him. The horse demon smiled a line of yellowed teeth and let out a foul smelling laugh.
" It is an honor to be allowed an audience with you, your grace. You have a lovely office." Isadora started, making small talk. She pulled her hand away after two firm shakes.
The demon laughed hoarsely, retracting his hand himself as he gestured around." Yes..yes! I'm grateful for the compliment! I took great pains to move everything in. It was a hassle, but it was all worth it. If I can please you."
Isadora chuckled and smiled warmly at the demon's words. Meanwhile, Rumius remained silent.
The demon seemed to delight himself in Isadora's smile as he gestured to the single chair across from him. " Right, please take a seat." Eyeing Rumius, he added respectfully: " I won't be long my lord, I will have a chair brought out for you as we-"
Rumius shook his head and kept his words to a minimum. " No need. Standing suits me fine."
Nodding at him, Isadora lowered herself onto the soft cushion and crossed her legs. " I assure that we won't take much of your time. As you know there has been a recent situation…"
Isadora trailed off as the demon raised a hand, signalling her to stop. A distressed look plagued his face." Please, it is no worry. I must make you understand that you're not imposing." The demon clapped his hands and called: " Tea! And cakes for our guests!" Rumius turned his head slightly as he heard and saw the guard standing behind them nodding quickly and hurrying off.
" I love my cakes, you see." The demon began with a cordial gesture. "…and I can assure you, the ones made by our bakers are only the best! How about we wait until they arrive before we talk?"
Isadora's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Her blue eyes steadily reflected the figure of the demon across her.
" Your grace, I apologise sincerely, but I must refuse your hospitality. " She said while bowing her head. " We must ensure a fair assessment of both you and the fellow members on the council."
" I'd-I'd hardly consider a matter of chatting over cakes an act that would compromise the integrity of your inquisition!" The demon exclaimed, alarmed. " I can assure you, I mean hidden agenda by inviting you to share with me this small treat. I simply wish for us to be more at ease!"
Isadora nodded." Then, by your grace, we will begin the inquisition now. Should the cakes arrive before the inquisition ends, we shall partake. Is this agreeable?"
The demon looked slightly miffed as he reeled slightly. " Wel…yes…I suppose so." He grumbled.
" Very well. Now then."
Rumius watched as his master dug a hand into her cloak and drew out a small pyramid. A jingle of bell could be heard as she set the pyramid on the table with a thud. Almost seemingly at the very sight of the little trinket, the Demon opposite them seemed to tense up, as if shocked by an eel. He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, pushing his rear further back and sitting up straighter.
" As I am sure you are aware of what this is, I shall skip the introductory statements."
" However, please be advised that from this moment forth, all information exchanged will be scrutinised by the Eye Of The High Lord. That goes for information exchanged from me to you as well as I information exchanged from you to me." Isadora said seriously.
" Of course." The demon's voice was a whisper, as calm as he could muster. Rumius could see the stretch and contraction in his long neck as occasional balls of spit made its way down his gullet.
" Very well, let us begin. "
Rumius listened on as the interrogation commenced, but his gaze soon wandered away, returning to the little pyramid which his master had just taken out of her person.
' Stay put and listen. I want you to gather experience by being there. There is no need for you to say or do anything.' Rumius recalled his master's words from that morning. She had also taken out the small pyramid and shown him how it worked. So far, it hadn't rung just yet.
It was a lie detector. But compared to the ones used in horror or detective plots on earth, this one was slightly different.
' Demons hate being looked down on. Especially when it is made obvious.' Master had told him. 'To them, a good contract is one, made on equal footing, with no threats or punishments hanging overhead to influence the outcome. In interrogations, this Eye Of The High Lord thus helps to fulfill the role of an impartial witness, putting both parties on even ground, both being unable to deceive.'
' You've read INCANTATIONS AND SPELL CREATION right?' Master had said with a smirk. ' By the end of the interrogation, I want you to see the flaw in this trinket. You can zone out on the contents of the interrogation. They're unimportant.'
Rumius's purpose here was hence completely different. Inwardly, Rumius couldn't help but smirk in self deprecation. They weren't doing anything wrong, technically. However, it just struck him as awfully strange as to why he didn't balk at this nigh heartless and rotten behaviour.
Rumius felt as if there would be no different if the person sitting across from him squirming, was a human. Master would have had instructed him exploit the situation all the same.
With the life's work of an individual on the line, she didn't even show the basic respect of instructing her disciple to give this brave man his full attention as he fights for his dreams. Instead, she still somehow finds a way to exploit the situation even more. Pfft.. Rumius had to stifle a laugh. Then here he was, not stopping her at all.
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RumiusDaylight
RumiusDaylight New chapter! Whoo! Thanks so much for reading and your support. Please do drop a comment once in a while to tell me if my writing is improving, okay? ;)
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