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Is It Wrong For The Devil To Fool Around In Orario?
Chapter 3
The Salome
One week. It had been one week since Bell had received his falna and moved into the Salome and Lucifer was still no closer to figuring out exactly how to deal with this situation.
While Lucifer and Maze had initially been concerned with Bell's Prescence being disruptive to the club in some way this concern had proven largely unfounded. Bell proved to be an early riser and would often set out for The Dungeon early in the morning and would spend the majority of his day either there or at The Guild receiving lessons from his advisor. He would usually return to the club about an hour before sunset and quickly fix himself a small meal before retiring to his room for the night. The only real hiccup he caused was him asking Lucifer to update his falna whenever he returned, a process that usually took no more than five minutes. And while he had been eager to enjoy the clubs performances on his first night he proved much more restrained while sober.
As for how the employee's reacted to Bell no one seemed to have any real problem with his presence. In fact most of them seemed to support Lucifer's decision to offer the boy a helping hand and had praised him for his kindness, something that left Lucifer pleasantly flustered. Several of the female dancers had even come to enjoy interacting with Bell when they saw him and enjoyed how easy it was to tease and fluster him. Bell for his part always tried to be polite and had begun to be more at ease when interacting with the clubs various employees as time passed.
This left the clubs two founders. Lucifer for his part still felt uneasy whenever Bell addressed him so respectfully and was still somewhat awkward when interacting with him, a fact that Bell either didn't notice or chose not to comment on. He had mostly left Bell to his own devices and only really conversed with him when Bell asked for his daily update. Lucifer had begun to relax a bit after the first several days and seeing how independent Bell was. So, while he was still trying to think of a good familia to introduce Bell to for his eventual conversion and if there was any reasonable way he could speed up the process, Lucifer was more or less back to his normal self.
As for Maze….. Maze was not pleased. For her part she had taken to mostly just ignoring Bell and any attempt he made at interacting with her. She had yet to take any kind of physical action against the young rabbit but it was clear to everyone that she could not wait to get Bell out of the club. As for why she held so much animosity towards Bell even Maze herself was having trouble putting her finger on exactly what it was about Bell that irked her so, but Lucifer had a theory.
Maze was a demon and as such had spent the vast majority of her existence in Hell, a realm were friendship and compassion were even rarer than snow in the Sahara Desert. Her entire existence there had been defined by pain, anger, and sadism with her having to constantly struggle with other demons to hold onto her high position in the pecking order of the damned. On top of that all of the humans she had interacted with in Hell had been sinners deserving of punishment, people who would happily throw others under the proverbial bus if it meant getting what they desired. So when Bell approached her with the pure intent of befriending her of course she would reject it. From Maze's perspective Bell approaching her like that, with no clear hostility or ulterior motive, would have seemed extremely unnatural to her and would have caused her guard to go up and the knives to come out. The two were quite simply like night and day.
Lucifer pondered this particular dilemma as he sat in the kitchen sipping on his morning coffee, though it was already close to noon the club keeping him up well into the night. He assumes that Bell had already left for the day given the fact that the kitchen was missing several of the bagels and an apple that were present last night. If he remembered correctly several of the girls would be coming in early today to practice some new dances and routines but aside from that his schedule was clear until the club opened after sunset.
As he finished his cup he heard the distinct clack of heels on the stairway and turned to face the door as Maze joined him in the kitchen.
"Good Morning" Lucifer offered as Maze made her way over to the coffee and poured herself a cup. After she had taken a few sips she turned to face Lucifer.
"Anything yet?"
Lucifer let out a sigh at that question, the same one she had been asking him every morning since Bell had moved in. "Nothing yet I'm afraid. Every god I've talked to seems maddeningly adamant about observing the rules of their damned "game" even the one about how long an adventurer has to wait to change familia."
"Have you considered just declaring a war game?" Maze asked as she leaned against the counter. "Seems like the fastest method to me."
"Fastest yes, but also the most risky or were you not paying attention when they went over how the victors familia can claim ANYTHING from the losers, not just members. I may want to send Bell somewhere more beneficial to him but I am not about to risk losing everything else to do it."
"You misunderstand" Maze replied after another sip. "I was thinking you challenge some minor familia with a softhearted enough god and then I wipe the floor with them in the war game. When we win we demand they take Bell on as a member and problem solved."
"Oh yes an absolutely splendid idea" Lucifer said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "We tell all of Orario about the lengths we are prepared to go to too get rid of this one inconvenient member, both accomplishing our goal and making Bell one of the most undesirable adventurers in Orario's history, to say nothing of how Bell would react to be forcefully shunted into a familia that would likely want nothing to do with him. How could I possibly be so blind?"
Maze simply scowled at Lucifer's response. "At least I'm still trying to solve this problem instead of just giving up and resigning myself to have to deal with him for the full year."
"Is it really that big of a deal?" Lucifer asked "He mostly keeps to himself and doesn't seem to need much help. Besides you talk as though a year is really that long a time, I seem to remember times when you would forget what decade it was when you got too caught up in your work."
"I don't like having him here." Maze persisted "The club doesn't feel right since he got here. It feels…..off, wrong, like it's become something else. I don't like it. I don't appreciate some brat wandering in and changing the atmosphere of the club I put so much effort into."
"The club we put so much effort into." Lucifer corrected Maze "I'm sorry Maze, you know this isn't what I wanted but until we can find an idea that doesn't result in Bell becoming the adventurer equivalent of a leper there's not much we can do besides grin and bear it. Or scowl and bear it in your case."
Maze released a noise of discontent as she finished up her coffee and set the cup down. "Fine, but if there comes a point when he begins to try to make changes to the club I will stab him Lucifer. He may be allowed to live here but he better damn well remember that I am the queen of this castle, not him."
"Ans what am I supposed to be, the court jester?" Lucifer asked before sighing. "I'll be sure to remind him when I update his falna tonight. Now if you will excuse me your highness some of the girls have some new routines they want my opinion on and they should be here soon so if you need me you can find me in the front."
With that Lucifer left the kitchen and Maze and made his way to the front of his club to wait for the girls to arrive.
/
Eina Tulle let out a content sigh as she made her way down Orario's southern main street. It was not often she could leave The Guild during work hours, and she was enjoying feeling the spring breeze on her face as she made her way towards the address her newest adventurer, a rather shy but friendly young human named Bell Cranel, had given her when she asked were his familia's home was located.
During the week they had been acquainted Eina had been pleasantly surprised by Bell and his willingness to listen to her advice. Oh, she knew how her coworkers and the other adventurers whispered about how strict and demanding her education regiment was for the adventurers she advised but she refused to cut back on her lessons and lower her standards as she knew the lessons she was teaching could mean the difference between life and death in certain circumstances. She was therefore pleased by how eagerly Bell had taken to her lessons and the fact that he seemed committed to continue learning from her going forward.
But while Bell had proven an eager student he had proven less eager to share information about his familia and god with her during their sessions. Oh he had assured her that his god, Lord Lucifer, was a very kind patron who had lent him a helping hand when no one else had been willing to and had given him a very nice room to live in at his familia's home but whenever specifics about what his god and fellow familia members were like came up his face always seemed to become flushed and he tried his best to change the subject. This caused Eina to feel a bit concerned for her new adventurer and so she had looked into what The Guild knew about the Lucifer Familia. What she had found were nothing more than the papers Bell himself had written when signing up at The Guild, with not mention of Lucifer or his familia before that point.
This caused a fair degree of concern when she had brought the matter up with several other guild employees. The Guild always requested that a god register with them when they arrived in the city with the intention of taking up residence in Orario. The reason for this was so the guild had a list of how many gods were in the city that could grant people the blessing of falna and could go down the list when unknown adventurers began to cause problems for the populace. This was one of the matters were The Guild was very strict with the deities in the city and would severely punish those who failed to register after an extended period of time had passed. The reason for this strictness was the damage that could be done by evil minded deities giving out their falna to the worst of the mortal populace in the city, as could be amply seen when looking back at the sheer carnage that Evilus had wrought upon Orario during their heyday. Because of this the lack of paper work on the Lucifer Familia was a cause for some concern at The Guild and why Eina was making her way towards the address she had forced out of Bell that morning.
While she doubted that either Bell or his god were up to anything malicious in the city, she still needed to confirm what kind of person Lord Lucifer was and what kind of familia he ran, along with the number of people he had under him and their levels. Bell had told her that he knew of only one other person who was a member of the familia, an amazon named Maze who was the captain of the familia, but besides her Bell said he knew of no other members. So, as the only member of The Guild who had any interaction with the Lucifer Familia up to that point it was decided that Eina would go and speak with the new god and ascertain his intentions.
While she was less than pleased with the extra work this demanded of her Eina found she was in a good mood as she made her way towards the address of Bell's familia's home. While not as bad as Misha Eina also got tired of the daily work at The Guild at times and was glad for the change of pace. That good mood followed her as she left the main road and made her way into the southeastern section of the city and persisted right up until she found herself standing outside a walled of section of the city. At this point her mood underwent a sudden shift as she realized exactly where Bell's instructions had been leading her to that point.
Feeling her face begin to heat up Eina took the sheet of paper that Bell had written on and went over the address again to make sure she had not taken a wrong turn. When she realized that the directions would indeed lead her inside the Entertainment district she felt her face grow hotter and continued to stand in front of the north gate to the district.
"Why do Bell's directions lead into….. there?" Eina mumbled as she stared into the last section of Orario she ever imagined setting foot in. "Bell seems like such an innocent boy, how could his familia be inside….. there?"
Eina stood outside the gate fidgeting for a few moments before she mustered up the courage to walk through the gate. While the district would be mostly empty at this time of day the elven sense of propriety and morals that her mother had drilled into her since childhood still recoiled at the thought of setting foot in such as den of ill repute. It was therefore a great relief when she found the building she was looking for was not far from the gate and she immediately ran up to it and knocked on the door, hoping to be let in so that no one could see her walking around in the entertainment district. After she spent a minute fidgeting in front of the door and was about to knock again she heard several locks being undone and the door opened slightly.
Peeking out at her from the narrow opening in the door was a young woman around her own age with pale skin and red hair about the same length as her own, though the other girls was red and curly while her own was straight and brown. The girl was also similar to Eina in that she also sported a pair of short pointed ears that marked her as a half-elf as well. She looked at Eina in clear confusion before speaking.
"I'm sorry" she said in a soft voice "The Salome does not open until sunset. If you're here about work then I could go and ask the owner but if not then we would please ask that you return after dark."
"Um no, I'm not here looking for work but to do my job." Eina offered the other girl a short bow "I'm Eina Tulle from The Guild and I was sent here to speak with Lord Lucifer, do you know if he is in at the moment?"
The girls eyes widened in understanding and she opened the door wide enough to let Eina enter. "Yes, Lucifer is in at the moment. If you will follow me I can take you to him."
Eina just offered a friendly smile and a nod as she stepped through to doorway. The girl quickly locked it behind her and the two made their way into the club. Eina briefly felt a small spark of hope that this establishment was not as bad as she initially feared if there was a fellow half-elf willing to work here. Perhaps it was simply a bar that took catered to the districts clients who were in need of some liquid courage before heading further in for the night? That thought was much more appealing to Eina than thinking that someone with elven blood in their veins would willingly debase themselves in the shameless perversions the entertainment districts was known for. That hope lasted for all of ten seconds before the two walked into the club's main area and Eina saw what awaited her there.
She quickly took in the exotic architecture and bundles of pillows strewn around the low tables and raised stages along with the bar along one wall, but what drew Eina's attention the most was the cluster of women off to one side looking up at a black haired werewolf woman who was dancing on the stage without a shred of clothing on her body. The other women did not stare up at the werewolf in lust or envy but had contemplative looks on their faces as though they were judging an art piece instead of watching someone bear there naked body for everyone to see. Eina's entire body heated up like never before and she felt her jaw drop as she watched the shameless spectacle and she just stood there. After a moment the dancer ceased her performance and received a round of polite applause from the other women as she made her way off the stage, several of them congratulating her on her dance while one offered a critique that her tail was too rigid during the performance.
'THIS is Bell's familia ?!' Eina thought as she felt all of her previous views on the "innocent" young adventurer she advised begin to disintegrate to ash inside her mind.
Eina was suddenly brought out of her stupor by someone suddenly clapping their hands next to her. She quickly turned and found a very handsome man… no not a man, his aura clearly marked him as a god. He was standing a little to the right behind Eina and he was smiling while facing the werewolf who had been dancing a moment before. Beside him was the red-haired half-elf who had let Eina into the building.
"Very nicely done Luna, though Sophie is right about you needing to loosen up your tail. Still you get a definite A for effort, just relax a bit more during the performance and you'll have the audience eating out of your hands." Turning away from the now blushing werewolf the god took in Eina's appearance and offered her a friendly smile. "So, you're the advisor Bell speaks so highly of. Cynthia said that you wanted to speak to me so here I am."
He turned to face the now identified Cynthia "Thank you for letting her in, I'll take it from here so why don't you rejoin the others."
The red head smiled and nodded, her hands going to the tie holding the red robe she had been wearing closed and undoing it, the robe quickly falling to the floor to reveal the small red panties she had been wearing underneath, The ONLY thing she had been wearing under the robe. With a playful wink towards Eina she strutted of to join the other women around the platform again, leaving Eina and Lucifer standing next to each other a short distance away.
"… Am I correct to assume that you are Lord Lucifer, the head of the Lucifer Familia which includes the rookie adventurer Bell Cranel among its numbers?" Eina asked as her mind began to return to her.
"Indeed, though I would prefer it if you dropped the "lord" part, I've never been one to care much for formality. Now what can I do for you today?"
"The Guild has sent me here to ask you some questions as you failed to properly register your presence with The Guild when you arrived in the city. As you may or may not know The Guild considers a new deity taking up residence in Orario an important matter and asks that they make their presence known before they begin establishing themselves in the city. Not only that but there are several questions concerning your familia that your child Bell Cranel was unable or unwilling to answer. As such I am here to clear things up." With that Eina lifted the small folder of paperwork she had brought with her from The Guild so that Lucifer could clearly see it.
Lucifer's expression dropped at the mention of paperwork, and he let out a sigh before turning to face the group of women. "Sorry ladies but I'm afraid I have some familia related business to take care of. I don't know how long this will take so it's up to you if you want keep practicing or head home for the day."
Turning back to Eina he gestured for her to follow him and lead her towards the stairs. "I do most of this kind of work upstairs, I'll just need to collect my familia's captain before we can begin."
Eina simply nodded and followed him up the stairs.
/
Lucifer led Eina and Maze into his sitting room after they had collected the latter from her room on the third floor.
"Please make yourself comfortable." Lucifer said as he gestured towards the couch and made his way towards the bar. "Would you care for something to drink?"
"No thank you." Eina replied as she took a seat on the couch.
"Suit yourself" Lucifer said as he fixed himself and Maze each a small glass of brandy and moved to sit on one of the two chairs across from the couch. "Now how can I help you today, Ms. Tulle?"
"As I mentioned before I am here on behalf of The Guild to gather information on your familia. As you may or may not know whenever a new god takes up residence in Orario The Guild requires them to register with us before they can begin recruiting into their familia or procuring a residence in the city. However, you never bothered to inform us when you took up residence in the city some six months ago, this means that I must inform you that your familia is being fined for this breach of protocol."
With that Eina pulled out a sheet of paper from the envelope she was carrying and slid it across the table towards Lucifer. The Devil looked distinctly annoyed as he picked up the sheet and saw the not insubstantial amount he was being fined. Maze for her part simply scowled as she leaned against the bar facing the two.
"You have until the end of the month to pay the fine or else you will face further penalties. Now I have some questions about your familia if you would be willing to answer them?"
Lucifer simply nodded as a sign of consent and Eina continued.
"We know that your familia contains two members at the least, the amazon Maze as the captain and Bell Cranel as a new level one adventurer. Does your familia possess any more members besides these two?"
"No" Lucifer replied "Maze and Bell are the only ones with my blessing."
Eina nodded and quickly wrote on the piece of paper she had lain on the folder in front of her. "Would you please tell me what kind of familia you wish to be classified as? With Bell Cranel expressing a desire to explore The Dungeon you meet the minimum requirements to be classified as an exploration type familia. However, with your ownership of this establishment you could also register as a business type familia as well. Choosing to be registered as an exploration type would lead to lower taxes from The Guild however you would be required to mount regular expeditions into The Dungeon whereas a business type would mean higher taxes but no obligation to send your children to explore The Dungeon."
"I would prefer that we be registered as a business type familia." Lucifer replied "The Salome has been the main focus of Maze and I since our arrival in the city, with the recent addition of Bell being an unexpected change that we did not plan for at the start."
This statement caused Eina to look up at Lucifer and narrow her eyes slightly. "If you did not originally plan to expand then may I ask how Bell Cranel came to be one of your children? He has told me how grateful he is for the chance you gave him but has also stated that his recollection of the night it occurred is somewhat hazy."
Lucifer shifted in his seat as he suddenly felt distinctly uncomfortable "Well as Bell might have told you we met after I had accidently caused him to lose the thief who stole his money so I invited him here to introduce him to several adventurers and gods who are regular patrons of my establishment. However the introductions did not go as well as planned so I offered to bless him myself in an effort to help him and make amends, so he became my….. a member of my familia and that's how things ended up the way they are now."
If Eina noticed the brief pause in his explanation, she chose not to comment. "While I applaud your willingness to offer a helping hand to Mr. Cranel when he clearly needed it might I ask if there is anything else you are doing to assist him? While the gifts of a falna and a home are no small things Bell has never mentioned going into the dungeon with anyone else or receiving any kind of instruction on how to fight properly. Might I ask if there is anything you or your captain plans to change any of this?"
Eina turned to look at Maze after she finished, and Maze simply crossed her arms and stared back.
"I've always thought that experience is the best teacher." Maze said simply with no apparent concern. "Besides, like Lucifer already said, the club is our primary concern."
"Not that we haven't thought about those particular matters." Lucifer quickly stated after Maze had finished. "I have actually asked to see if any our patrons parties are looking for new member to show the ropes but the best reply I received was that they might consider using Bell as a supporter during some of their longer dives into The Dungeon. As for training finding skilled willing teachers has been even more problematic."
As he said that Lucifer sent Maze a look. In response Maze simply stared back at him from her spot on the bar, choosing to simply ignore Lucifer's remark as she sipped on her drink. Eina missed none of this and a small frown made its way onto her face.
"You said that the club remains your main focus, correct?" Eina asked as she glanced between the two. "The Guild is actually rather curious about your establishment, as it is well known that Lady Ishtar is the undisputed ruler of the entertainment district. Would you be willing to share with us what arrangement you have come to with Lady Ishtar? the thought of her willingly allowing another deity and familia to operate in her territory is something many at The Guild are having a hard time believing as all previous attempts to encroach on her territory ended rather badly for the gods and familia's involved."
Turning back to face Eina Lucifer's posture noticeably relaxed when she brought up this new question. "Oh, the answer to that is quite simply really." Lucifer said as a small grin returned to his features. "Ishtar and I have an understanding between us as two beings who thoroughly understand desire. We pay rent to her every month in exchange for her giving us this building and in return we and our employees receive the same protection from her familia afforded to the rest of the district while being acknowledged as being our own business. We even receive a small discount from certain other establishments in the district, if I or my employees want to spend some time sampling what the other businesses have to offer."
Eina's face flushed slightly at the last parts implications before pressing on. "So your familia are subordinates of the Ishtar familia? You pay them and they allow you to operate in their territory?"
"I prefer to think of it as being business partners." Lucifer responded "While I can certainly appreciate the rather upfront and bold way Ishtar chooses to run the district there are times when being so open can be a bit of a turn off for some people. I offer another perspective on how things can be done to entice the most people to come and enjoy a night in our district, one different from Ishtar's but in my not so humble opinion no less skilled at catering to people's desires. The two of us usually have a nice chat whenever I go to pay the rent and we talk about ways the district can be improved and changed to benefit us both. I am pleased to see that she had made several changes to the district that I suggested, and I have taken some of her advice in how to improve my club."
"So, you have an alliance with Lady Ishtar?" Eina asked "The two of you are working together to improve the entertainment district so you offer her rent and in exchange she gives you protection and….. discounts."
Eina began to fidget uncomfortably on the couch and her face began to flush again. "A-and how many of your employees make use of this discount? Does it extend to members of your familia?" Eina began to feel and look very nervous as she tried to force the last question out "D-does this discount extend e-even to new me-members like Mr. Cranel?" Eina finished the last question in a nervous whisper that Maze and Lucifer could barely hear.
"Are you seriously asking if Bell has been visiting the local brothels?" Lucifer asked in clear amusement before he let out a short chuckle. From her spot against the bar Maze joined him with a few barks of her own laughter.
"T-this isn't a laughing matter!" Eina said indignantly at the two's response. "Such a young boy should not be learning about….. should not be visiting….. it's incredibly immoral to expose Bell to the kind of things I saw downstairs! Such sights would corrupt that boys innocent mind into something perverse and immoral!"
"So, your fine sending him into a hole in the ground literally filled with monsters everyday but the thought of him enjoying what the district has to offer is wrong to you?" Maze asked before shaking her head in bewilderment. "I swear I will never understand your kinds hang ups. Sending children against monsters is an accepted part of everyday life but give them a drop of alcohol or show a little too much skin in front of them and everyone starts condemning you."
Lucifer simply chuckled as he faced Eina. "I'm surprised a Guild advisor would ask such a personal question about one of their adventurers. Do you check on the personal lives of all your adventurers or only the short, young, white haired ones?"
Eina felt her whole head burning as she tried to defend herself. "No, I am simply concerned what effect this environment could have on such an impressionable young man."
"Well, I doubt you have much to worry about when it comes to Bell." Lucifer said "To my knowledge he has not partaken in any of the establishments in the district and has shown no real interest in doing so, at least in front of me. He usually returns from The Dungeon before we open for the night and stays in his room while we are open. Besides a few brief chats with some of the girls Bell hasn't really had anything to do with the club."
Eina let out a small sigh of relief before Lucifer continued "However, I will say that if there comes a time that he chooses to pursue such things I do not plan to stop him. After all it would be rather hypocritical of me to encourage others to pursue their desires but to tell a member of my familia not to do the same. I respect your desire to look after Bell but I believe it is best to let people make their own decisions, not tell them they are wicked or sinful for having urges literally everyone has in some capacity."
Eina grimaced in displeasure at Lucifer's words before releasing a defeated sigh."….. I don't like the idea of Mr. Cranel being exposed to such vices, but he is ultimately a member of your familia. All I can really ask is that you continue to look out for his wellbeing in the future."
Eina then stood from the couch and offered Lucifer a short bow. "Thank you for your time and willingness to answer my questions, Lord Lucifer. I believe that I have enough information to satisfy The Guild now so I will be leaving. If you wish to continue with your decision to be recognized as a business type familia then you will need to send The Guild your establishments financial information by the end of the month along with the payment for your fines. After that The Guild will determine the amount you will have to pay in taxes each month."
Lucifer simply exhaled in clear annoyance. "What's that old saying you mortals are so fond off "The only certainties in life are death and taxes"? I wish I could say it is nice to see that some things never change."
Eina simply offered an apologetic smile before turning to leave. However, as she reached the door she stopped and turned to face Maze with a slight blush on her cheeks.
"This is somewhat embarrassing but I just realized that I never asked what level you are Ms. Maze." Eina said sheepishly as she opened her folder and took out her pen. "If you could just tell me then I will be on my way."
"I'm level five." Maze said simply as she turned her head to face the half-elf.
Eina's eyes widened as she looked at Maze in astonishment and confusion at her answer. "Is that so? That's quite surprising, you're saying you were able to reach level five outside of Orario?"
"That's what I said" was all Maze said in reply.
Eina's face scrunched up in clear disbelief, but she chose not to say anything more and simply offered the two another quick bow before leaving through the door.
Lucifer waited for a moment before turning to face Maze with a questioning look "Why level five?"
"Level five is the point where an adventurer gets to be called a first-class adventurer." Maze responded as she simply looked back at Lucifer. "Did you expect me to settle for being known as anything less than first class?"
"Not really, I just hope that this doesn't come back to bite you in your well-shaped posterior later."
Maze simply shrugged before moving to leave the room as well.
"You know with us now on The Guilds radar it should be very simple for you to gain access to The Dungeon." Lucifer called out before Maze could open the door. "I seem to remember you being very excited about the opportunity to go and slaughter monsters to your hearts content before we learned of all the annoying bureaucracy that went with it. Now that we find ourselves in the system anyway, I don't see why you couldn't join Bell on one of his dives, just to see if The Dungeon is worth your time."
"Still trying to convince me to help with your pet rabbit?" Maze replied as she kept her hand on the door. "… I might tag along on one of his trips, but only so he can show me the fastest way down to were some actually challenging monsters can be found. I refuse to waste my blades on goblins and kobolds."
With that Maze made her own exit from the room, leaving Lucifer to look into his now empty glass and ponder what this discussion could mean for the future of his familia.
/
I had more trouble writing this chapter than the previous ones. I think it was because the subject matter interested me less than what I previously wrote about but was something I still felt needed to be covered before moving onto the beginning of canon with the next chapter. A good portion of next chapter is going to take place from Maze's perspective for those who have been waiting to find out what's been going on in her head.
I have a question for you all this time as there is something that I have been trying to figure out for this story for a while now. How strong do you think Lucifer and Maze should be for this story? I mean if I go by the tv show then both of them would probably lose to level 2 or 3 adventurers and if I go by what they can do in the comics then they're probably the two most powerful beings in the lower world at this time. I personally am planning to make Lucifer as strong as a god like Ouranos given his nature as The Devil and an archangel while I am thinking of putting Maze's current strength somewhere around level six, easily comparable to the top three Loki familia executives and the top executives of Freya familia. I am unsure if I want to make her as strong as if not stronger than Ottar as I don't really like the thought of her being able to simply curb stomp the top adventurers she will meet in the city with relative ease. Overpowered characters can be fun on occasion but I don't feel this story would be one of those. Please let me know how you think I should handle scaling Lucifer's and Maze's power levels for this fic in the reviews.