Hey guys, I'm back for another chapter! :D
Once again, I deeply apologize for the lack of content lately; you can blame school for that.
Before heading to the chapter, my followers, thank you very much. You, who supported this story despite my absence, I love you all ;-;
Firstly, I would like to thank Ghost-chanzu, mei springphoenix, MagicalMew and CainLimbo for following and placing this story to their favorites! I love you guys :D
Now without further adieu, enjoy the story!
Ciel woke up to the sight of Lu near his face. Lu had her eyes closed with her mouth pointing towards his lips. Ciel panicked a little bit which was enough for Lu to realize that he'd awaken. Lu blushed madly as she quickly jumped back to the bed.
"You saw nothing, okay!" Lu blurted out while she hid behind a pillow. Ciel heaved a sigh as he'd got off from the chair. "Don't act so disappointed!"
"Having you able to read my mind is very disturbing at so many ways. Can you just remove that part in the contract?" Ciel said as he'd walked towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
"That's a no can do!" Lu asserted. Ciel looked over the shelves to see if there's any food stored in by the owner of the inn.
"Can I at least know the reason why do you need to be able to read my mind?" Ciel asked as he'd found some pancake mix.
"Err… Th-t-that's…" Lu looked down at her thumbs as she'd fiddled with them. Ciel decided to let it pass. Lu rose her head with a delighted expression.
"We're having pancakes for breakfast," Ciel announced.
"Pancakes?" Lu asked and tilted her head.
"Yeah. They're basically hot cakes and you pour syrup above them," Ciel said. Ciel opened the package and noticed there was only a few left. "I'll just give this to Lu," he thought to himself.
"That sounds… pretty tasty," Lu said as she'd walked to Ciel. She was distracted by the concept of hot cakes and syrup.
"Don't get too close to the stove, Lu. You might get a burn."
"Ciel, you don't have to worry that much about me. I can take care of myself with simple things like this." Lu watched Ciel cook with fascination. "You mortals have a more interesting way of cooking things. Back at the demon dimension, we just simply scorched them with our flames until they're good enough to eat." Ciel's eyebrow twitched.
"What?! We've been doing it wrong?" Lu gasped as she'd read Ciel's mind.
"Lu, cooking is a luxury. Your race's way of cooking things is just wrong," Ciel scolded though Lu was confused.
"Uhh… You do realize I'm a demon right? Why isn't your anger directed towards me as well?" Lu asked. Ciel stopped for a while. Lu giggled with delight. "I'm happy to know that, servant." Ciel nodded his head and was quite surprised that the pancake was almost finished already.
"Time flies when I talk with you. The pancake is ready." Ciel placed the finished pancake on a plate he prepared beforehand. Lu walked over and was quite disappointed.
"Why does it look so plain?"
"I still haven't placed the syrup and butter on top yet. I'll go prepare the tea first," Ciel said as he'd reached for the top shelf.
"Hot!" Lu announced as she'd touched the pan with her finger. Ciel instantly reacted by grabbing her hand.
"Ci-Ciel? What are you doing?" Lu asked. Ciel looked at Lu's finger with a worried expression.
"I've told you not to stick close. You just really are a child, aren't you?" Lu puffed her cheeks.
"I may have the body of a child but I still have the mind of an adult! Don't disrespect royalty, you dog," Lu angrily spoke. Ciel shook his head with his eyes closed.
"That's not what I'm trying to say." Ciel stuck the finger on his mouth.
"Wha-!" Lu said with an embarrassed expression.
"Better?" Ciel said as he'd removed the finger from his mouth. Lu's face flushed red as she'd angrily punched Ciel in the head.
"That doesn't make it any better!" Lu announced as she'd stormed off towards the table. Ciel was surprised Lu landed a fist on him.
"Girls are complicated," Ciel said as he'd prepared the tea. After finishing the rest of the breakfast, he placed them down on a tray then carried it over to Lu.
"Don't think I've forgiven you for what you did earlier," Lu said.
"You're not being honest to yourself, your face is pure red," Ciel stated. Lu was flabbergasted and quickly landed another punch on Ciel's head.
"Just serve me the damn breakfast," Lu scolded as she'd quickly turned away to hide her blushing face.
"Alright, here's the meal," Ciel said as he'd placed the plate, fork and tea cup down on the table. Ciel poured the syrup on top of the pancake. The sweet scent of the syrup instantly caught Lu's attention.
"Oh my gods, what is this delicious smell?" Lu exclaimed. She watched the syrup drip down the side of the pancake.
"Why don't you try it? It's one of my favorite dish when I was younger," Ciel stated as he'd poured tea on Lu's cup.
"Then…" Lu grabbed the fork and silently gulped down her saliva. She stick the fork on the pancake, sliced off a part and placed it on her mouth. The flavor of the syrup and the pancake burst into her mouth as she'd hummed with delight. "This is delicious!" She exclaimed as she ate the pancake. "I wish for seconds!" Ciel chuckled for a bit.
"Sorry but that's everything we have," Ciel stated. He grabbed the plate and the fork and placed it on the tray.
"What?! That's ver- wait. Wait. Did you just give me everything and didn't even ask for a slice?" Ciel simply nodded his head. Lu widened her eyes.
"Why would you do such a thing… I mean, I know you're my servant and all, your loyalty and your capability to do something like this is incredibly astonishing, but you still didn't need to do something like this," Lu said with a guilty tone. Ciel simply walked over to her and rubbed her head.
"I did this out of my free will. Don't let it get to you." Lu brightened up with a smile.
"Then I won't!"
The two recollected the events that happened from the previous night. Lu praised Ciel again much to his discomfort. He's used to being praised but for some reason, being praised by Lu made him embarrassed. They left the room together and headed towards the town hall.
Lu never thought she would be impressed by a town hall. It was nicely decorated with banners and a color scheme which had a good contract against the rusty sand and the peach colored road. Mercenaries still gathered around the area. Requests from different people were posted on the bulletin board for them to take.
"I'm honestly impressed. I thought this place would be much more rowdy and messier. Props to Stella for this advancement," Lu praised. The two looked around and spotted a lizard.
"That's Chacha. Let's approach him and ask for the details," Ciel thought.
"You don't have to tell me, Ciel," Lu called back.
"Then if you don't want me to tell you that then remove your ability to hear my thoughts."
"I don't want to."
"What's the reason?"
Lu stared at Ciel with her face blushing yet again.
"Let me guess, the reason why you won't tell me is because you just want to know if I'm thinking about you all the time."
"N-n-n-no! I swear that's not the case," Lu accidentally shouted. The mercenaries turned their heads towards them. Lu lowered her head and fidgeted in place. "Fine, yes. That's the reason, nothing else."
"And so you admit it, you're not being honest," Ciel said with a teasing smile.
"Fine, I'll cut off that part of the contract, you happy now?" Lu quietly spoke as she'd cut off the connection between their minds. The mercenaries soon lost their interest and went back to what they were doing.
"Let me test it then." Ciel closed his eyes and stood in place. No trail of thought went into Lu's head, making her feel nervous about what he's thinking. Ciel opened his eyes and was pleased to see the confusion on Lu's face.
"What did you think about?" Ciel lowered his head to meet Lu's and looked at her straight in the eye. This made Lu feel very uncomfortable and embarrassed that she couldn't help to fidget in place.
"About how much I want to take you down right now and make out with you until you faint," Ciel joked. Unfortunately for him, Lu took this seriously. She looked down at the floor again, her face pure red. "It was a joke okay? My partners in crime told me that perverted jokes usually work the best." Lu rose her head with an angry expression.
"Don't lead me on like that, you jerk!" Lu shouted again as she'd butted Ciel's face with her head. Ciel fell back from the force as Lu had stared at him with a very angry expression.
"Sorry. I thought I should lighten up the mood. Looks like it didn't go as planned, sorry," Ciel said with an apologetic expression. This made it harder for Lu to resent Ciel, so she forgave him right afterwards.
"So I was right. You lovebirds better stop making a ruckus," Stella called out as she'd approached the two of them. Ciel stood back to his feet.
"We apologize for the noise we've made," Ciel said as he'd bowed down formally.
"No no, it's fine. It's nice to see two idiots bickering at each other. It really lessens the stress."
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Lu barked back.
"Woah there, I didn't mean it like that. We need to get moving before-" Stella was cut off as a bunch of villagers stormed into the town hall, calling for Stella.
"Stella, where's the town's blacksmith? What did you do to him? Stella, you murderer! You betrayed everyone, you demon."
Lu's eyes widened to the vast number of people there are. Lu looked at Ciel then to Stella.
"Let me guess, the people are blaming you for the person's death because the two of you have some rivalry going on," Lu concluded.
"Correct. As expected from a demon. Two of you, follow me." Stella motioned Ciel and Lu to enter the room at the far back of the town hall. Mercenaries and guards pushed back the townspeople who tried to chase after them. One citizen threw a rock at Stella but instead hit Lu in the head. Lu groaned in pain as a result, causing Ciel to momentarily panic. Stella turned around and saw Ciel crouch down to tend to Lu.
"Lu! Are you alright?" Ciel asked as he'd touched the back of Lu's head. She wasn't bleeding nor received a scratch from the rock. Lu felt Ciel caressing the back of her head, making her silently moan.
"At this rate… I'll…" Lu thought.
"Oh thank El Lady, you're alright. Does it hurt? Here," Ciel kissed the back of Lu's head, making Lu squeal. Stella crouched down in front of Lu.
"Sorry you have to get hurt in my place," Stella spoke and gave Lu a hug.
"Who did that?!" Ciel asked with a murderous tone. He stood to his feet and stared at the crowd. No response came from them. "Let me ask again," Ciel said as he'd whisked out a gunblade. "Who. Did. That." A demonic aura radiated from Ciel, causing the citizens to point at the person who threw the rock.
"Ciel, stop. Don't drag yourself down to their level. As much as I want that person dead, tainting your hands with him would be a waste of time," Lu said as she'd grabbed Ciel's sleeve. Ciel stopped momentarily and sheathed his gunblade. Lu felt glad he would do such a thing for her.
"Let's get going then," Stella said. The trio reached the end of the room where Chacha Buch was very happy to see them. A mercenary stood next to Chacha Buch.
"Shall we begin the party?" Chacha asked. Stella nodded as she'd opened the map.
"Let's recall last night's mission before proceeding to our next course of action," the mercenary suggested. Stella nodded her head.
"The first raid was a success thanks to the two of you. Over the course of last night, we decided to rebuild the outpost as one of our own. Right now as we speak, the outpost is still under renovations. Any news from you, Chacha?" Stella asked. Chacha nodded his head with a serious expression.
"We've received reports of an army heading towards the outpost. It seems like the demons sensed the destruction of it and sent some troops to reclaim it. As of right now, they still haven't attacked and are currently camped just a few miles away." Chacha ended his statement.
"So right now, we're planning our next course of action. Should we defend the outpost or raid the campsite?" Stella asked again. The mercenary rose his hand. "Yes?"
"I motion we strike the campsite. They would expect us to defend the outpost; if we attack them right now, they would be caught by surprise," the mercenary called out.
"Rejected," Lu and Ciel argued. The 3 turned their heads towards the two.
"Care to tell us the reason why?" Stella called out. Lu heaved a sigh and rose her head. Out of all things she hates, she really hated the questions related to her decisions.
"Demons may be one trick ponies as I've said yesterday; however, the fact they noticed their outpost being captured by us and sending an army to reclaim it is very unnatural. If we're dealing with normal demons then they should've never noticed the destruction of their outpost," Lu explained. Ciel nodded his head.
"I've met demons myself face to face and most of them are brainless; but there's this one demon who seemed different than the rest. She carried a scythe and had the ability to speak. The fact she retreated back then when she noticed she was at a disadvantage means not all demons are brainless. I have a feeling that if we attack their camp, we would be falling right for their trap," Ciel lectured. Stella placed her hand on her mouth.
"Seems like that's the case. What do you think we should do then?" The mercenary asked.
"That's where the tricky part comes in," Lu admitted. All eyes turned on her.
"What do you mean, Lu?" Ciel asked. Lu heaved a heavy sigh. For once, she was very irritated at how much they're at a disadvantage against an army. Normally, she would just laugh it off; but since she lost her powers, they have to deal with the demons the hard way.
"If we attack their camp, we would be falling right for their trap. If the demon who sent them there is actually smart then he would've revised a trap in case a group of mercenaries would try and flank them. If we hold out at the stronghold instead, we wouldn't win against their firearm especially with the renovations going on," Lu clarified. Stella, Chacha and the mercenary sighed. They were at a big disadvantage here.
"Then, how about we let them take over the outpost?" Ciel asked. Lu smiled at Ciel. It wasn't a smile of cynicism. She genuinely liked the idea of where Ciel is going.
"What do you mean, Ciel? Are you out of your mi-"
"Don't interrupt when my servant is talking," Lu scolded to cut off Stella.
"Chacha, clarify something for me. Are the demons the same ones we've faced last night?" Ciel asked.
"Yes."
"Then as we saw last night, those demons would fight without a care if they would die or not. They would strike without thinking and would celebrate early if they feel they're winning. A few of them are very cocky and let their emotions get the best of them, right Lu?" Lu nodded her head.
"I'm surprised you remember that one. That one was a major bastard," Lu chuckled. The 3 of them looked at the two soulmates with confusion.
"Still don't get what he's trying to say?" Lu asked with a slight tinge of teasing in her voice. They shook their heads.
"What I'm saying is, we'll turn the outpost into a trap. Let the demons take over it and we strike from the top. We need a set of mercenaries by their camp. That way, we can get them cornered; they won't be able to come back to the outpost due to archers we've set from the top and won't be able to ask for reinforcements since we've taken over their camp," Ciel pointed out.
"That's… actually a very plausible argument," Chacha admitted. The mercenary and Stella nodded their heads in approval.
"Then, our course of action has been chosen. Let's head to the outpost now, shall we~?" Lu cheerfully said. Stella called the other mercenaries and told them the plan.
"You might want to go ahead, the two of you. This is going to take a while," Chacha told Lu and Ciel. He headed towards his tent afterwards along with the mercenary. Lu and Ciel left the town hall and headed for the outpost.