Chapter 80: Persuasion and Charisma
"Sorry lad, the topic is a sour one." Kestor suddenly said, and Izaya realized none of the people present had talked for quite a while.
They probably took Izaya's silence as one of discomfort. Trying to lift it was actually a pretty gentle action from Kestor that Izaya hadn't expected.
"Despite that, may I ask one question still?" Izaya tried, now that it seemed that he had garnered his favor.
"Be careful of your words." Kestor warned, but he seemed not opposed to listening.
"How does Balthasar intend to investigate? Demons and god aside, the occurrence has already passed," Izaya stated, but his words seemed to prove amusement rather than help his research.
"I see, you come from a fair household." Crawl was the first to speak as a row of meak smiles drew upon the elder's features.
"If you think he is searching for evidence you are mistaken," Kestor sighed, "He is looking for witnesses."
Witnesses?
Confused, Izaya searched for hints of a joke, but found none.
"Didn't you say he was alone?" He repeated what he had been told. After all the rumors circled around him he took the children in, locked himself away, and cured them overnight. That didn't sound like there had been many people present to watch the miracle.
"That doesn't stop one from claiming to be a witness." Crawl suddenly uttered and Izaya understood. Lying. Medieval age. The hunts for witches and trials.
Usually people who were brought into close connection with dark magic or demons had acted in a suspicious way. Used plants as medicine for example or tried new inventions and ideas.
The fact that some people might just accuse others of having seen such in order to get rid of them was a very real concept and one that had only recently been damned in modern society. Somehow seeing how simple life was in this time of age Izaya had somewhat neglected the fact that mischief and lies were refined to their best around these ages.
"It's all coming down to the matter of how many people want him gone and how many don't." Kestor continued with a sigh.
"Once he gathered enough people he will hold a trial and it won't be pretty," Crawl finished what Kestor couldn't and Izaya frowned.
That was not good.
They needed the priest alive.
Having him be executed or burnt alive was not exactly what he had hoped would happen as soon as he returned. No matter whether he had dealt with a demon or not, right now, in order to solve this mess of incubi genes reaching into the future, Izaya had to make sure the guy survived.
"I suppose I know the priest from long ago. A straight man as he can be, not once involved with heresy," he suddenly declared with not even the slightest intention to even act upon his lie.
Confused gazes and warning glances were cast upon each other as the elders frowned.
"Lad." Kestor warned, without really saying more than that.
"Lying to the royal court ain't the way." Laron explained and Crawl nodded with the righteousness that Izaya expected of a former knight.
But he wasn't going to back down from his decision.
"Who says I am?" he shrugged, "You seem trustworthy and all actions I saw and heard about were nothing but clear signs for priest Marcius' altruism."
"Alt- what?" Kestor asked and looked at Crawl who also denied knowledge of the word.
"It means he is helping people before thinking about himself." Izaya quickly explained, and Laron's face lit up as he had spoken what was on all their minds.
"That!" Laron nodded to himself, lacking the words to properly praise Izaya's assessment. "Accurate! Very perfect."
Just what Izaya had expected. This priest, he may be living a few hundred years before Maria's father did, but when it came to the way they treated others they seemed to share an awful lot of traits.
"Why not defend a man as noble as that when he needs it the most?" Izaya ended his declaration with no argument to be held against him.
And his chosen course seemed to not only show his conviction but also garnered him favors.
Surprise was the ruling emotion at the table, along with a hand that was suddenly offered towards Izaya.
It was Kestor who was extending it with an awfully serious expression.
"You are a fine one," he announced, and Izaya felt as though he had unlocked a new area of a game map by choosing the right answers to Kestor's dialogue. "Should you ever need something, we have our eyes and ears everywhere." Kestor announced, and Izaya found himself taking the hand without wondering where it had been before as he smiled.
"I will gladly take you up on that offer once I need it."
It was then that a very familiar face entered the hall again from the side.
Shizuo.
He had returned, and judging from his expression he had found what he had been looking for.
Turning his head, Izaya glanced towards Namie once more. She had taken her seat at an empty table at the very corner of the hall. The disgust she felt for most people present was avidly visible on her expression, and Izaya couldn't really blame her.
Noticing his stare, she was quick to meet Izaya's gaze and waved at her, signing to come over.
"Talking about offers, I have yet to fulfill mine," Izaya suddenly announced, and the elders blinked in mild confusion. They had long forgotten their early banter about letting Izaya join their table in the first place, and his offer to introduce the lady to them had probably seemed like fake bait to them.
But his offer hadn't been fake, and getting Namie to entertain these men was a task that couldn't have been easier, considering she was no true nobility, but his former secretary and ally in their cause.
"If you were so kind, my lady, these gentlemen would love to converse with you," Izaya announced as soon as he rose from the table and bowed lightly to her presence. Their act had to continue after all, or else they would have to answer some very unanswerable questions.
Not having expected the quick approach the elders quickly fumbled with their clothes and hair as they tried to look as presentable as humanly possible.
It was Crawl who got up first and knelt on one knee with a devotion that only fit what Izaya thought to be his former profession.
"My lady," he greeted politely, and even Namie seemed to somewhat enjoy her act as she smiled.
Being treated like nobility and one who walked above everyone else had to have its own perks in a way.
Not to mention, these men were delighted by her mere presence and so she smiled.
"I guess I have some time on hand."
Of course she had. She was enjoying this.
"Well then, if you would excuse me," Izaya quickly bowed as well, and leaving the elders to their very nervous and excited fate he walked off.
It was Shizuo's direction that he chose as he joined him at the door leading back into the corridors.
"Where?" he whispered as soon as he got close enough, and tore Shizuo out of his fascinated stare.
He had watched Namie's act and was probably wondering why Izaya had been sitting at the geezers' table.
But the question was easy and the answer was one that Shizuo could provide.
With quick strides he steered back into the corridor. Down right, then left, another corridor opened to the far back of the monastery and Izaya followed until the last door of their path opened.
A room, made up of not much more than the rest of the sleeping chambers presented itself in front of them. Containing a bed, a table and a desk on the side it only varied by the stench of blood and equally harmful as well as helpful herbs hung in the air.
There he was. Leo.
Laying in the bed present he quickly pushed himself up and his face relaxed upon seeing Izaya.
"How are you feeling?" Izaya asked as soon as the door was closed and Leo sighed exasperatedly.
"Like shit, have you seen my leg?" he joked, but Izaya took his question a bit too seriously as he approached the young man.
The clothes wrapped around his wound had been changed and from what he could tell sister Monica had tried to clean the wound with hopefully boiled water.
The layers weren't exceptionally tight in order to allow the wound to breathe and Izaya was grateful for that fact as he undid the few layers.
He had no real doctor's knowledge to actually treat or assess the wound's state, but he could differentiate one from being infected or not.
And gladly- this one seemed to be lacking any signs of possible infection.
"You should be glad it's not warm," Izaya announced, and Leo hissed quietly as he put the white cloth back on. "Getting an infection would most likely kill you slowly," he grinned and Leo's expression somewhat fell.
"So? Found out anything yet?" Shizuo suddenly asked, and Izaya smiled.
"More than I thought I would." Rising from the ground he stretched his back and sighed. "Priest Marcius is about to be prosecuted for heresy. Those children he saved were most likely the reason he dealt with a demon."
Bewilderment reflected in Leo's expression at that and his voice flailed.
"He already did?"
It was obvious that Leo thought having dealt with the demon already was a bad sign. Something they should have prevented, but actually it was good.
Because as lucky as they were, they could have had to wait for another year before the demon that was at fault for their genes was going to appear.
Hell in the worst case they could have entered a time span in which priest Marcius had already been executed and the demon long disappeared.
This way they at least had a real chance to still catch up to it.
"I would be surprised if he didn't. Word has it God's will healed the children over the course of a single night," Izaya quickly confirmed once more and Leo groaned.
"But then… aren't we too late?"
Izaya wasn't surprised about Leo's misconception, but he was also not quite willing to explain their current situation in detail. Leo was no good actor. He had already realized that upon entering the church for the first time.
It was most likely the reason sister Monica had chosen him to tell their motives of approaching their church.
He was an ace up their sleeves in his own way, as long as he remained in the dark that is.
"Don't wreck your head, just focus on getting better," Izaya said and smiled, "We only need to find the demon he entered a contract with. And that's something you can leave to us," he announced while pointing at Shizuo and himself.
"You don't need me to help?"
Surprise grazed Izaya's face for a moment.
Leo seemed awfully invested and eager to help. A trait that Izaya had not quite expected. Seeing him jump in the way in order to save Maria was one thing, but feeling the same responsibility for them was another.
It raised his opinion of the young guy at the very least and so he hummed.
"If you truly want to help us, then get better and befriend everyone you meet," Izaya announced and Leo blinked,
"Befriend?" he repeated and Izaya nodded.
"I'm afraid sister Monica dislikes me and I fear the same accounts to the rest of us." Mainly due to their acting he supposed. "So just be kind. And you will be helping more than you realize."
Relief grazed Leo's expression at the prospect of being able to contribute and he nodded quickly. "I can do that."
Calmth, one that had been missing upon entering, was taking over his body and Izaya realized yet again how much of a center he was being for this group.
Namie was relying on him to find the demon and a way to get back. Leo was lost in the ways he was supposed to act and needed his guidance.
And his sisters-
He had yet to check up on them. Where were they even? He hadn't seen them at the hall.
"Well then, sleep if you can. The body's regenerative functions are said to peak during absolute rest. Were it not a necessity the act of sleeping would be banned from sport competitions for its insane benefits and boosts to performance," Izaya quickly explained and Leo laughed.
"Are you trying to convince me that sleeping is a drug?" He was probably thinking Izaya was crafting a beautiful lie, to make him feel better. Not like Izaya wasn't willing to do that, but right now he was actually speaking the truth.
"It is. The best you can take," he announced, and even Leo seemed to recognize the truth of his conviction.
And so he sighed.
"Alright, got it," and closed his eyes as though he was intending to act on Izaya's order as quickly as possible.
A soft snort escaped Izaya's lips at the act and he moved back towards the door.
For now there was nothing more that he needed Leo to do than to rest.
Closing quietly the door moved back into its hinges, and Shizuo finally asked what he meant to.
"What are you going to do once you meet Marcius? Ask him about the demon?"
Even Shizuo had realized that bringing their current problems up before Leo wasn't exactly the wisest option, and Izaya appreciated his delicate insight.
"Once I get the chance," he replied, and it seemed to have been an unexpected answer as Shizuo halted.
"Wait, seriously?"
"Depends," Izaya shrugged, "But if worse comes to worst I will just stop time and show him I'm on his side." Because at the end of the day he was a demon and his powers derived from priest Marciu's mistake. Once he brought up that his contract was at fault he doubted the priest was going to prove much of a difficulty. "The only problem is the time of his return," Izaya mumbled, more to himself than to Shizuo, but he heard him nonetheless.
"He is gone?" Shizuo asked and Izaya nodded with a soft sigh.
"Yeah, apparently for an undefined amount of time too."
It was then that a loud noise ruptured through the monastery.
Low and threatening it repeated itself for a couple times and before long there was an array of voices and screams surpassing each other-
A quick glance at Shizuo was all that was needed and the two quickly advanced through the corridor.
The noise had come from the hall they had been in earlier and the commotion had yet to calm down.
Chaos had erupted in under a few seconds and the praying women were hiding behind the altar while the available men advanced to the front entrance.
The leaves had been burst open, misplaced off their angles too and Izaya realized someone had busted the door open from outside.
It was only then that he saw the amount of people stationed before the church and heard their voices for what they were.
"BURN THE DEMON LAIR!"
A riot.
to be continued~
Oh my, people are really not friendly in this time and age xDDDD
See you next friday everyone~ C: