Chapter 21. A Demon's Proposition

Warning: Language

It was her first mission as an official Exwire: Go to the far side of True Cross town to recover a delivery and bring it back to the Japan Branch headquarters. It might have been a task for an errand girl, but at least it was some form of official business from the Order, and she was not going to let them down. Her goal was to show how good she was at her 'job' as an exorcist, to prove her often scrutinized competence and usefulness from the professors and higher ups. They of course, like even the students, questioned how far she could make it in the Order with her lack of temptaint. Rumors began to spread even among the teachers of reasons to explain why she had yet to receive hers; wild stories varying from allergies to her being a demon herself and pretending circulated.

And as she began spending more and more time around the headmaster, people all across the order began to buzz about what could be going on between the two—was he protecting her? Mentoring her? Perhaps seeing her romantically? A lot of people laughed at the notion of Pheles being romantic in any sense. Perhaps a sexual sadist, they would sneer. And all the higher ups seemed to gossip about what would happen if a human received their temptaint directly from a Demon King.

Members of the order of course kept these fables and speculation under tight lock and key when in the presence of the Japan Branch director, Mephisto; and still even hushed when he was not in the vicinity, as they all knew how he operated. Very little happened that he didn't know about.

Unfortunately, the opposite was true about the girl. Carefully guided by her headmaster, she was kept in the shadows about more than just one thing. To her, he was still just Johann Faust, the human headmaster of True Cross University, a simple exorcist, and the director of the Japan sect.

Looking at the time on her phone, she exited the co-op game she had been playing with Johann, and grabbed her bags as she stood. The delivery would be arriving soon, so she had decided to get a head start on her trip. The headmaster had already offered to have his driver take her all the way across town, but she had declined his offer, instead insisting that it was a mission she must complete on her own without any help – especially without the special help from the director. Recently, he had been becoming increasingly more comfortable interacting publicly with the girl, but she always had to tell him no, and remind him that they didn't need to give people the wrong idea. Her being at his residence, alone, was enough to spread the rumors she was blissfully unaware of. Having her being escorted around by his staff would insinuate much more was going on between the two. He couldn't help but to admire her determination, and chuckle at the state of denial she was in.

Johann sent her off on her first mission with a hug and a peck on her nose, leaving a warm feeling in the bottom of her stomach as she began her trek. Reviewing her map of the town, she found that walking through the woods would cut her expedition nearly in half. Plus, she reasoned, the trees would offer some protection from the summer heat a bit. It was a long journey through the woods, but thankfully there were some winding paths cut out through the trees that saved her legs from getting any more scraped up.

Arriving on the other side of town, she followed her map and the street signs until she found the dark little supply shop, tucked away in a corner. As she opened the door, a large raven with one eye cawed and flapped his wings at her, throwing feathers all about, scaring a shriek out of her. The shop was lit by beeswax candles, and smelled like musty, centuries-old paper. The shelves were cluttered with rare and strange items, some handcrafted, scattered scrolls, rat tails and other dried animal parts, spices and herbs of all kinds, a few live plants, and a plethora of bottles.

A potions shop? She thought as she took in the chaos.

The sound of rattling drew her attention to the back of the shop, where a hunched, frail old woman came from the back room through a curtain of beads, shells, claws, and bones strung together. Her white frizz of a hair looked as untouched as some of the dusty items in her shop, as it packed together and began to form dreadlocks. As she walked to the counter, she pulled off a headdress of twigs and antlers, setting it down. Her cloudy eyes looked straight at the girl, revealing her wrinkled face, where a single gem was stuck into her forehead which changed colors depending on the way the light hit the cut of the stone.

"What does she want?" the woman spoke with a stale, thick accent.

"I-I'm here to pick up a delivery," she paused, looking around the shop once more. "An order, maybe?" It didn't look like the kind of place for a delivery. It was the farthest thing from a post office she had ever seen. "I'm from the True Cross order."

Without a word, the woman grunted as she hopped down from the counter, heading once again to the back of the shop. A few banging noises came from the back room, including a hiss from a cat before it darted out between the girls' legs. The old hag came back out shortly with a package wrapped in brown butchers' paper, which she held out over the counter. When the girl approached and reached a hand out for it, it was quickly snatched by the woman, who began inspecting the creases in her skin. Letting out a labored sigh, she released the girl's wrist from her surprisingly tight grip and continued to stare her down as she left the shop. The girl caught a glimpse of the woman through the window, lighting a bundle of sage, her cloudy pupils still on the girl as she passed.

She darted down the street and headed back into the forest where she finally broke down into a walk for the rest of her trip back to campus. It was beginning to grow dark in the woods after walking through the tree canopy for so long, and her bare legs were chilly as she trudged on through the bushes. What a strange woman, she thought, looking at the palm that was inspected.

While her attention was focused elsewhere, a pair of arms reached down from the trees above her, snatching the package from her and disappearing into the tree cover. She gasped loudly and called out, swearing under her breath and demanding that the perpetrator show themselves.

A pointy green head of hair dropped down from the trees slowly, until a whole body was exposed, floating midair; long black nails clutched onto the package.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end to see someone float upside down before her very eyes. "Do you work with that witch? Are you here to steal that back?!"

The boy cocked his head to the side. "Witch? I'm afraid I don't know many witches from this world. Most I know have already sold their souls to Satan and come to live with us."

What the hell?

"Now, what's this?" he said, sliding a sharp nail down the paper, slicing it open. The contents of the poorly bundled package spilled out from the wrapping and landed on the ground beneath him. "Oopsie."

The girl darted for the contents of the spilled package, hurriedly picking up the items—a scroll, a potion, a rabbit's foot, a book. As she kneeled, the boy lowered himself even more to the point he was directly within her line of sight. She looked over his dull, expressionless face; he had a wooden popsicle stick in his mouth, which he was chewing on lightly. "You're a demon," she said smoothly, her heart not even wavering.

"Yes," he replied. "And I know who you are."

She raised a bow. "How do you know that?"

"Let's say I've been interested in you for a bit."

Pausing, she thought hard. "Are you the demon that's been stalking me my entire life?"

Pulling the chewed up piece of wood from his mouth, he scanned it over, and tossed it into the bushes. "Do you want me to be?" he asked, looking at her with a hint of curiosity in his dull eyes.

"I'd like the truth," she replied sternly.

"Maybe," he said calmly, pulling a lollipop from his pocket and popping it into his mouth. "But maybe not."

"How does this work," she questioned with narrow eyes. "I make a wager, I do something for you, what?"

He spun around in a circle as he hummed and hawed. "How about this—" he started, a little excitedly. "I'll tell you the truth, and I'll even teach you how to see demons."

"If?" she asked, eyes widening.

Knowing that his elder brother had yet to claim this girl for himself, as he was savoring every minute of the game by slowly wooing her over time with his crafty charm, Amaimon took advantage of the opportunity he was given to explore Japan and show himself to her; and to be his usual, brash self. He knew precisely what she wanted, and although he wasn't exactly sure what to do with these humans, something about her called out to him – just as it had his brothers. He himself lacked the cunning nature of his elder brother, so he decided to work with what he did best, which was being straight to the point. "If you seal our pact with a kiss."

Her face churned with shock. What the hell is going on lately, she thought wildly. Why would he want a kiss? It seemed fishy to her. She would receive everything she wanted, and all this demon got was a measly little peck on the lips? What if that was a way to sell her soul, she wondered. What if he was an incubus, a demon who lied and tricked women in order to shag them. Or perhaps, she wondered, what if it was some form of possession? She had never interacted with a demon like this, and each demon she had studied in her textbooks were so different in their interests, motivations, and abilities. She of course could risk it, since he seemed harmless enough, but perhaps that was the catch. However, a temptaint was very enticing; maybe it wouldn't hurt, she thought. The image of Johann flashed through her mind briefly among her internal unrest.

"And if I say no?" she finally asked.

"Oh," he sighed plainly. "Well, I guess there's no deal," he said as he levitated upwards into the air and flipped right-side up.

"Wait!" she yelled, jumping to her feet as she hugged the items to her chest. "Will I see you again?" There were so many questions she wished to ask.

The demon turned and examined her with a plain expression. Of course he wanted that, and he was elated to hear her ask. Floating over to her, he held out an extended pinky finger. "Only if you promise to keep this a secret."

"Deal," she said without giving the proposal any further thought, fumbling with the items in her grasp until she could wrap her pinky around his.

(Author: Amaimonnnnn what are you doinnggggggg stoooooppppp)