An Invitation From the Demon – Part 03
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Translator: Kell
The official story was that the enemy paid me to double-cross the Knights Templar, but I failed and was captured. After I killed Gemma’s father, my infamy spread for hundreds of miles.
Fortunately, my alias as the Black Beast of Death kept me from being recognized by those who didn’t know that my fur was originally white. Nevertheless, I was forced to leave the south where I mostly fought and wandered the whole continent.
“Funnily enough, the commander’s death made him a martyr. He was good towards other people, and he was extremely polite to the nobles and clergy. The bigshots of the Knights Templar then drilled into the young Lady Gemma how brave her father was.”
“So the captain, aspiring to be like her father, joined the Knights Templar.”
“As you may have already guessed, the captain’s father was a scumbag,” Barcel said, smiling. “I was his attendant, so you can take my word for it.”
He was pure scum, all right. Barcel knew that firsthand. I accepted his offer to kill the man after listening to his story. I could have just pretended to accept his commission and ran away, but the meager sense of justice I had could not let vile scum like him live, even if it meant earning a bad rap.
“There are members of the Knights Templar who know about it,” Barcel continued. “Especially Vice Captain Leyland. That old man treated the captain’s father with disdain.”
Hmm? All of a sudden, the story about my past had ended, and he was now talking about Gemma and the vice captain.
I poked my face through the canvas. “What are you really here for?” I shot Barcel a glare.
“To talk about your past.”
“But you’re talking about the captain now.”
“See how you immediately try to get to the point? That’s why people don’t like you. You’re supposed to start with idle chatter when negotiating.” Barcel twirled his long forelocks around his finger. “Besides, I’m negotiating with the lady, not you, so can you please keep quiet? I thought you didn’t like people talking about your past.” He tried to drive me back into the carriage.
He pissed me off, so I got down from the carriage and sat by the fire.
“Were you always like this?” Barcel gave a strained laugh.
“So attendant,” Zero said. “What did you mean by negotiating?”
“I didn’t expect you to get straight to the point as well. Well, in that case, I might as well tell you. You know how the relationship between the captain and vice captain is not that good, right? I wanted to ask you two if you could take the captain’s side.”
“Take her side? You want to drag us into some factional dispute? You’ve gotta be kidding me. No way.” I scowled.
“I’m not kidding you.” Barcel laughed. “I’ve taught the captain a lot about philosophy, justice, morals, and compassion. It’s not fair for the old man to dislike the captain just because her father was a garbage human being.”
“I do not understand.” Zero gave a troubled frown. “Why is there a need to classify friend and foe between members of the same organization? I am fond of the captain’s overly-righteous attitude. I also admire the vice captain for passing through the Demon’s Archway without the lifeline I provided. While it is true that they oppose each other, no one is absolutely right—”
“Wait!” Barcel stopped Zero’s lecture. “I didn’t think things through. Since the vice captain hates witches, while the captain shows appreciation to them, I thought that you would take the captain’s side without question. I didn’t give it enough thought. Shame on me.”
“What do you mean by taking her side anyway?” I asked. “Like backing her up in an argument?”
“No, the other way around. I want you to oppose her, no matter how right she is.”
“I wouldn’t call that ‘taking her side’.”
“Oh,” Zero said, as though realizing something. “You want us to oppose her, argue, and ultimately yield. Am I correct?”
Barcel didn’t say anything, but his expression affirmed it.
As the captain, Gemma had to show to her subordinates that she didn’t serve a witch, and instead employed them. To do this, they had to oppose each other.
Gemma was currently politically moderate; she was trying to get along with us. However, this jeopardized her position, as the knights seemed to think that she was pandering to a witch.
“Is her situation really that bad?”
“After seeing what the vice captain did this morning, yes.” Barcel shrugged.
The old man survived without the lifeline that Zero had prepared, and saved the lives of dozens of knights as well.
“More and more people are starting to think that they can carry out the mission without a witch’s escort.”
“The old man just lucked out, didn’t he?”
“Yes, but the Knights Templar have nothing to show for lately. Demons annihilated them. Then they were saved by the kingdom they were supposed to destroy. Their pride is in shambles. Even if the old man simply lucked out, they would be tempted to turn it into an amazing feat.” Barcel laughed. He seemed to look down on the Knights Templar. “Lady Witch. You seem to be of noble character. You see things impartially, and you don’t choose sides based on emotions. But that’s not the case with ordinary people. If the vice captain’s faction takes over, they will put you in chains sooner or later.” His voice was firm, his gray eyes seemingly devoid of life.
Zero smiled, undaunted by Barcel’s look. “That sounds terrifying. If that happens, the Knights Templar will be annihilated.”
“By demons?”
“It is the threats closer to home that you should be focusing on, attendant. If you try to put a chain on me, Mercenary will go on a rampage.”
Barcel shot me a horrified look. “That sounds terrifying, all right.”
“The real terrifying part comes after that,” I cut in. “If you tried to kill me then, the witch will be so furious, she will burn every single knight to ashes.” I tried to put as much fear in my voice as possible.
Barcel went silent for a while. Then suddenly he burst into laughter for the first time. “I get it. You’re that close. Here I was, seriously concerned about the troops. Anyway, I’ve stayed too long. It’s time the nuisance leaves. You never know what the captain might do if you leave her alone.”
“Like beat up a king?”
Gemma once had a talk with the king of Wenias that ended with her beating him to a pulp.
Barcel chuckled at my remark. “That actually petrified me. Like my body was wrapped in the God of Death’s shroud.”
The idiom intrigued Zero. “The shroud of the God of Death,” she murmured. “I believe it brings a painful death to the wicked, and a peaceful one to the virtuous. You wrap the deceased with cloth to guide their soul. You also give scissors to the sick and injured to cut through the cloth.”
“Impressive,” Barcel said. “So witches study the Church as well.”
“To the same extent that the Church studies witches.”
Barcel gave a forced smile and stood up. “Anyway, the captain is still young. She might screw up, but please be patient with her. Oh, and by the way.” He pointed at me. “The captain thinks that her father was an honorable knight. Don’t tell her the cruel truth, okay? She will never forgive anyone who insults her father.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not stupid enough to poke my nose into someone else’s family affairs.”
“Sounds good. I trust you.” Barcel left.
It was clear that he did not trust me one bit.
Mercenaries and soldiers put their swords to each other’s hearts to somehow maintain balance, but currently, Barcel’s sword was digging into my heart a little deeper than mine did into his. Still, I wasn’t fragile enough to die from it.
“Take the captain’s side, eh? What’s the plan, witch?”
“To keep the captain from being alienated, I, as a witch, would oppose her. Logical, but I find it quite dull.”
“I thought you liked things being logical.”
“There can be more than one logical approach.” Zero stuck out her forefinger and drew a circle in the air. “In short, we must find a way for the knights to support the captain’s—and by extension, Commander Eudwright’s—wish. Resorting to simple yet effective makeshift solution simply because you are having difficulty will not solve anything.”
“Being a perfectionist won’t solve anything either.”
Zero raised an eyebrow and shot me a reproachful look. “So you are saying that we should follow the attendant’s plan and support the captain?”
“Not really.”
“Forget it. Your kindness is a virtue, but showing it here is dangerous. The Knights Templar are not our allies.”
“You don’t need to remind me. Not once in my life did I ever have an ally.”
Zero blinked in surprise, and then suddenly realized something. She must have remembered what Barcel said earlier.
Beastfallen mercenaries get betrayed by their comrades for no particular reason.
“But that was before you met me, right?” Zero said.
My brows furrowed. “You really are so sure of yourself, you know that?”
“Of course. I have never been your enemy since we met. And I never will be.”
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