Baku sat on a boulder, holding a small translucent bottle in one hand as he gazed down at the small, pink-haired devil folded like a lawn chair on the ground.
Hannya lay there, just as crumpled as she was the day before, defeated once again. Unable to get rid of the vial of liquid death held in the old man's hand. They had been doing this exercise for 8 days now, but the result hadn't changed in the slightest.
He let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head while he watched the girl sizzle on the ground from their morning session of cat and mouse.
'She's slowly gaining resistance, but her thought process in achieving victory is as feral as ever.'
Though subtle, he could see her body slowly learning to heal through the holy water disrupting the chaotic balance that held her body together.
But the goal of this training was more than just gaining an immunity to the liquified order laws.
'The approach seems to be no good for this one. Why is she being so stubborn? She shouldn't be this inflexible…'
Baku knew an old fox when he saw one. Though she was an infant, his old bones could tell at a glance she was a little schemer, so why was she just letting her blood do as it pleased during this training?
'Perhaps the consequences aren't harsh enough to get her mind in gear?'
As Baku pondered on his vicious thoughts, Hannya, yamcha resting on the ground, was secretly peeking at her status and logs while her body slowly healed.
[Status]
[
Name: Hannya 6th Luxuria
True Name: (?)
Lv: 38 - Young Devil
Age: 13
*NAA - Normal Awakened Average - at current level
MP: 19,000/19,000 - (NAA: 3,800/3,800)
CHI: 15,200/15,200 - (NAA: 3,800/3,800)
STR: 51 - B-
DEX: 77 - A-
INT: 85 - A
END: 53 - B-
CHA: 60 - B
CHM: 115 - S-
LCK: 22 - D
Bloodline: 6 Star Heart Devil (Mythical Entity) (Awakening…)
Wishes: 6 (current capacity: 3)
Devil Aspects: 4 (Major: 3, Minor: 1)
Devil Eyes: Eye of the Blasphemer(S) - Stage: 1
Devil Heart: (Unawakened)
Devil Physique: True Dream Body(S)
Devil Knowledge: (Locked)
Potential: SS
Innate Abilities(Passive): Subtle Charm(S), Danger Sense(C)
Innate Abilities(Active): Method Actor(S), Devil's Whisper(B), Dread Mist Steps(A - Growth), Vicious Strike(A), Devilish Pose(EX), Devil Contract: Heart Trial of Will(S)
Learned Abilities(Passive): Enduring Will(D - Growth), Cold Reading(C), Charm Aura(B)
Learned Abilities(Active): Heart Devil Curse: Waking Nightmare - Parasomnia(Locked), Charming Smile(A), Mist Clone(C+), Charming Wail(A)
Boons: Quantifier, (???)
Curses: (???)
Exclusive Contracts: 3 [Charm Demons: Penelope, Lily, Rose]
Minor Contracts: 1 [War Demon: Hans]
]
[Logs]
[
Adaptation Time: 0 seconds
[Low Order Law Resistance(E)] gained!
]
A small grin formed on her dirt-covered face.
'Kikiki! What a sucker!'
This old man thought he was gonna keep her here for eternity? Nonsense! Not when Vain was in dire straits! The pain of the holy water was just another rite of passage on the road to glory!
If building immunity to the water was all she had to do to progress in training, it made things simple. She would brute force her body's adaptation! With her boon, she was acutely aware of her progress.
'Finally, something useful about this thing!'
She held back a snort thinking that. No need to bait that boomer over here to douse her any more.
Watching Hannya pretend to be more injured than she actually was, the old monster made up his mind. He would step it up a bit; physical resistance was only half the goal. He pitied the young one's future days, but to be a good grandfather, he had to teach her values properly.
'Kahuhu! I'll appease her now; the road ahead will be difficult.'
The fortress lord stood up from his spot and spoke. "Alright, kid, that's enough for today." He waved his hand, causing his chi to brush past the fetaled Hannya, expelling the holy water from her body.
As she regained her rapid healing, Baku turned to the mountain path, leading down to the village. "Today, we will be going into the village. There is a place there that serves the best dishes on this humble mountain. Since you've been either cooped up in your lodgings or training up here, now would be a good chance to try the local delicacies and greet the residents properly."
Hannya's eyes lit up at the mention of food. She was interested in the food they had in this fantasy world. Hellnia's dishes weren't really touched upon in the story, but some of Neel's mainland dishes were, and they sounded quite good.
But she held back a grimace at the thought of meeting village NPCs. She didn't like forcing pleasantries in her old world, and she doesn't like them now. Especially if there weren't people from the story like the dream knights or Baku.
"O-ok." But she pushed down that bit of annoyance; it wasn't like they kept score on social credits here. Not meticulously, at least; how could they? Cameras didn't exist in Neel.
'It'll be fine. Just like the internet, this place is essentially the wild west!' She comforted herself as she hopped up from her spot, completely forgetting she was playing possum seconds ago.
Baku raised an eyebrow at his disciples' lackluster reaction. He decided to play the fool and ignore her character-breaking actions and questioned. "Oh? You don't seem too excited about going into the village. Not fancy enough for you, kid?"
It was clear she had some sort of reservations about this excursion.
Hannya scoffed at this guy's nosy nature. "Stop putting words in my mouth. It's nothing. Let's just go and get that food. And it better be good! I haven't eaten in days." She said as she followed the departing old devil.
"Kahuhuh! Don't worry, kid, this will be the best meal you've had in your entire life." How couldn't it be? She's like three weeks old. "Ah, and by the way, the place we are going will have someone there I would like you to meet. She heard of my recovery and returned yesterday; now would be a good time to meet her."
"..."
"Hm? Kid?"
*Sigh*"Let's just get this over with." Hannya grumbled as she followed along the path down the mountain.
~~~
Central Neel, Kradel Kingdom, Capital City Serenis
The fancy carriage came to a halt in front of a luxurious inn. A servant stepped down from his seat at the reins and opened the ornately decorated and engraved door of the expensive-looking cabin.
Step
Step
And out stepped a tall and elegant-looking businessman, followed by a petite and cute young girl. The businessman straightened his tie as he looked up at the impressive atmosphere of his temporary lodgings. He grinned triumphantly at the scene before him; he had pulled all the stops to get a top suite at this place. In the capital, it wasn't what you had that got you access to places such as this; it was who you knew!
He straightened his back with pride; his business prowess was as formidable as ever. He glanced down at his daughter, hoping to see a face filled with awe and admiration, a reaction that often gave him a grand boost for the day.
But his eyes were met with the same dazed expression that he had seen the whole trip to this place. His hopeful pride quickly shifted to fatherly concern. She had been like this since a few days ago, spacing out every now and then, occasionally staring off at random objects, a certain look deep in her green eyes.
A look akin to caution, or maybe fear? Ramsus couldn't tell.
Something was wrong, yet his precious daughter would not voice her worries to him.
"Corrine?" He voiced gently, jolting the girl out of her stunned state.
Corrine, now back to her usual self, looked up to her father and forced a smile. "Y-yes, Papa?" she asked, her mind slowly drifting back to the concerns in her heart.
"Are you sure everything is ok? If you aren't feeling well, it really is ok to rest for a bit and just go back." The businessman suggested, obtaining this item would be great, but not at the expense of his daughter's health.
Corrine shook her head. "I'm fine. I've just had a lot on my mind lately; it's nothing important." She hastily grabbed his hand and led him to the entrance of the inn. "We just need to focus on getting that relic, and all will be fine! So let's go check out our lodgings; this inn is one of the best in all the capital!"
The middle-aged father shook his head as he followed along. If she says she was fine, what could he do? He was helpless. He decided on making this trip a quick and easy one. They would speak more on her concerns once they were back in their territory.
While they checked in, a rotund butler with a monocle carried the luggage in after them. It was Chauncy, today wearing his illusion ring. The Baphomet family knew the rules of the capital, especially in places as prestigious as this.
No demons allowed.
As he carried the items in, his eyes met Ramsus's, giving each other a small nod of understanding. He too noticed the strangeness of his young miss ever since a few days ago. It seemed the head of the house had given him the mission of gleaning any information from the young lady.
An auxiliary responsibility of a seasoned butler, snitching. For Chauncy, this was not a betrayal of his young miss but rather a mark of loyalty. The way the apostate of a butler saw it, it was his duty to do what was in the best interest of his young miss, and letting her troubles fester alone was not the proper way to serve her diligently.
Soon they entered their lavish suite. Two conjoining rooms with a balcony viewing the vibrant city. The city was vast, with people traveling to and fro with large buildings made of wood and stone. The view overlooked half the residential and commercial districts, a fine scene of bustling events and whimsical people going about their business in the afternoon sun.
Far off in the distance, they could see the capital's grand temple, a marble, dome-shaped structure housing all the major gods' places of worship under one roof. The capital's way of showing unity across the continent.
Human unity, at least.
Though the view was breathtaking, one small girl opted to dash to her private room rather than take in the sights, closing the door tight behind her.
The butler and head of house glanced at each other. Corrine was definitely hiding something.
The butler adjusted his monocle and spoke reassuringly. "Rest assured, Lord Ramsus. This humble butler will figure out what the issue is. The young miss can't keep a secret for long when she is out and about. I will suggest going venturing for clothes and delicate dishes tomorrow. She will lay her worries bare when she's caught up in all the fun eventually."
Ramsus nodded and patted his loyal butler's shoulder. He let out a heavy sigh. "Then I'll be trusting you with this, Chaunce. But be careful out there; remember, this isn't our territory. Sadly, too much attention would spell trouble for you in these parts."
Chauncy just chuckled. "Haha, no worries, my lord. With the ring you've given me, it would take far more than a disruption spell to cause any issues. Besides, this risk is for the young lady!"
Ramsus smiled at his loyal subordinate and old friend. "Thanks, Chauncy. I doubt she'll be too interested in the auction tomorrow with her mind so ill at ease. I'll handle getting her the relic, and you try to lift her mood in the meantime."
"Roger that, sir, hahaha."
~~~
Inside the other conjoining room. Corrine lay in the fancy bed prepared for her, the sheets and blankets covering her head, her eyes shut tight. She felt guilty for lying to Chauncy and her father, but she didn't want to ruin their trip here.
If her father knew of her situation, they wouldn't be going to this auction any longer. And now, this relic could possibly be their only solution to her issue, so she concluded.
Ever since she found that black note in her room, her paranoia had gone through the roof.
At first she thought it was a love letter. She was curious about who could have sent it. She even foolishly imagined it was a magic letter sent by her savior from a few days ago.
But when she hurriedly picked it up and opened it to read the contents within, she was met with…
Nothing.
The black paper within was blank. It was just an empty piece of paper. In her slight disappointment, she simply tossed it on her desk and continued to pack, feeling a bit silly.
After a while she forgot about the letter altogether, allowing it to drift away from her conscious mind. Continuing her days like any other.
It was a mistake to leave it in her room. She should have immediately burned it. Why?
Because she soon figured out the letter she received was no simple piece of paper. When the next morning came around and Corrine went down to eat breakfast in her large dining room with her father, she was startled by the sight on the table.
By the fresh fruit and warm dishes, the young girl saw it again.
The letter, resealed and sitting on the center of the table between all the food. At first she felt a little angry at her papa for snooping around in her room while she slept again, but after some time, she realized he couldn't see it. In fact, no one in the mansion could.
They never spoke of it; they would unconsciously avoid touching it. Heck, their eyes never lingered on the spots the letter sat, not even for a second. Corrine's stomach churned at the word 'spots' in her mind.
Because the letter didn't just show up on the breakfast table. When she finished eating, she sneakily took the letter away and threw it in the trash, only to find it a little over ten minutes later in her private study, leaning on one of her history books.
She burned it next, only to see it again in one of the changing rooms of her favorite clothing store.
She tried tying it to a rock and tossing it over a bridge, ripping it up and putting it in a spatial ring, even dunking it in a jug filled with holy water and burying it.
But again and again, the letter would arrive a little over ten minutes later at a new location and just as pristine as she had found it.
'I…I've been cursed.' Was Corrine's final conclusion.
She peeked her head above the covers she was currently barricaded in. Sure enough, there it was. Lying neatly on the pillow next to her.
She wanted to cry seeing that cursed letter again. Her nerves were beginning to stretch thin. She didn't know who did this to her, but as every day passed, she felt the fear in her heart grow.
The letter had done nothing to her now, but it was only a matter of time before the malicious entity that cast this binding curse on her would come to collect. That she was sure of.
She researched this type of curse for the last couple of days; their library had many such books on the topic. The only curses she found close to this was a few special curses cast by witches and 2-star devils and above. Removing it would take a high-level mage or a god's blessing.
A blessing was out of the question, given her family's notoriety.
Telling her father would do no good in her mind either; he wasn't a mage, he was a businessman. And letting him know would have surely cancelled their trip, and they would have spent money they didn't have to get a mage to look at her. She knew her father well; something like this would be met with roaring anxiety and mountains of money. She knew his care would blind his logic.
Especially after the incident with her mother.
They were rich, sure, but most of their wealth was being spent on their prospering city. Having a mage come and resolve the curse would not only cost the same as half the city's expenses, on top of the 'fee' for traveling to a 'demon-infested area', it would also take months before a willing and capable mage would wander to their territory.
So she came up with a simpler solution.
'The relic will fix this.' Was her thought.
Obtaining the relic was the simplest and most surefire way to eliminate this curse. If her father could summon their family guardian, the curse would be removed in an instant. The family text said Baphomet was an ascended demon that achieved 4 stars during his evolution. With such a guardian, removing the curse would be no problem; a devil higher than that had no reason to target a nobody like her.
She trusted her papa to obtain that relic by any means necessary.
Like she said, he wasn't a mage; he was a businessman. The best businessman on the continent. She chose to rely on his top skill to get that item. Without the stress of her ailment knocking at the back of his mind during the auction, he would be in his best form to succeed.
She grabbed the letter lying next to her and threw it on the floor. She pulled the covers over her head once more, shutting her eyes tight. She hugged herself under the blanket and whispered comforting words.
"Just one more day, and everything will be solved."