Newly Summoned Demoness - Chapter 56 – Signs and Revelations (Patreon)

Yolani and Elania spent the rest of the day going over the contract, ensuring that no stone was left unturned. There wasn’t really any lawbook or contract law for them to use, so they had to wing it. Elania was pretty sure that a real lawyer would have hated their contract because of the number of ‘reasonables’ and other vague words.

Lucas was slightly confused when Yolani sent him back to work without a demon in tow, but he didn’t argue or seem too concerned.

By the time they were finished, it was already late into the night. Sealing the deal was almost anti-climactic. No magic fanfare or cheering. Just a message.

[Contract has been accepted. Active Contracts: 1]

A sense of relief washed over her anyway as she stared at the final version of the document. It felt right, balanced. She couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of security in its existence. Even if it was seemingly hideously complex.

Until Yolani had told her, she hadn’t realized there could be multiple tiers of requirements and penalties.

“Are you sure that whatever manages these things is going to be able to follow all this?” Elania asked.

Yolani nodded, her finger moving to the contract. “The more complex the contract, the higher the maintenance tax on it. Look, you’ll be paying 25% of your acquired essence to maintaining the contract for the duration.”

Elania nodded slowly. “And you’re giving me half of your mana regeneration, and mana is synonymous with essence. Which also happens to be [Power].”

“Not exactly, but close enough. As a demon, you eat essence and convert it into [Power] which can then be stored in mana shards, crystals, and a few other devices or stones capable of storing it,” Yolani explained.

“I was really confused when I learned people had HP and MP, but I don’t,” Elania admitted.

Yolani nodded. “That’s because you’re an outsider. Seraphs don’t have HP or MP either.”

Elania rubbed her temples. “I still am a bit surprised angels are real.”

Yolani looked thoughtful. “I think you have a bit of otherworld cultural baggage associated with that, or it’s something strange with how your [Universal Speech] is working.”

Elania looked over at the tray of mana crystals that Yolani had been interested in charging. “Did you want to charge those now?”

Yolani suppressed a yawn and shook her head. “Tomorrow morning.” She started to get up, but then froze with a more serious expression. “Unless it will be a problem for you? Now that you have [Power] income, it isn’t going to push you over your limit? I don’t want you to get hurt…”

Elania shook her head. “My [Power] is nearly full right now, but that’s fine. When I go over the limit, I usually just gain more capacity.”

Yolani blinked. “It…it works that way? I thought it would kill you fairly quickly if you went over.”

“Uhh. Not for me? I mean, I’ve been almost double my capacity a few times. It burns off fast as [Regeneration] kicks in and heals the ‘thermal’ damage the [System] starts going on about. Even before then, it wasn’t too bad when I went over just a little bit.”

“D…double? And you didn’t turn into a human torch?” Yolani stammered.

A smile appeared on Elania’s face. The other girl’s reactions were fun. “I did that once. I don’t recommend it.”

Yolani stared at her, wide-mouthed. “You’re joking… you’re joking, right?”

Elania smiled and shook her head.

Yolani shook her head. “I admit I’m not a demonologist, so I just really have secondary information on this because it relates to Artificery. But that’s really not typical for demons.”

“I don’t mind being special. It worked out for me,” Elania said with a grin.

That just riled Yolani. “You’re way too cavalier about this! If you keep gaining capacity and charge up fully, it could mean bad things for you! It’s a theoretical disaster waiting to happen!”

Elania opened her mouth in surprise. “Bad things like what?” she finally asked.

Yolani raised her hands and then smacked them together. Then she made a funny explosion noise before finishing with a serious look.

“Umm. Magnets smack into each other and then go boom?” Elania asked with a weak laugh.

The facepalm was instant, and Yolani shook her head. “You just need to be more careful. High levels of [Power], especially used at once, can cause exponential curves that can be bad.”

Elania bit her lip. “Bad is sometimes good if it’s for someone you don’t like.”

Yolani shook her head. “Okay, let me specify: it could be bad for everyone, including you.”

Elania nodded. “I understand. I’ll try to be careful.”

Rubbing her temples, Yolani frowned. “Sorry if that was a bit too intense and serious.”

Elania shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I wasn’t trying to make light of it…just its all so… very serious and trying to laugh it off is a way to cope. I didn’t really expect to be here. Really, I should be thanking you.”

Yolani gave her a soft smile. “Well, we can thank each other then?”

Elania smiled back and nodded. “That works!”

Her hand went to her chest absentmindedly as she thought about her arrival. “Say… do you have any idea what’s causing the mana shard shortage?”

Yolani blinked before shaking her head. “Not exactly. Almost all mana shards come from the Syndicate controlled dungeon in the city. There haven’t been any coming out of it though, compared to normal.”

“When I was summoned, there were these cultists. Black Candle something. They had a scary-looking guy who called himself the Bishop. Does that ring any bells?” Elania asked.

Yolani shook her head. “Can’t say it does, but there are probably a lot of weird cults around.”

Elania bit her lip. “I was stuck in a circle at first. They wanted me to make a contract with them…then offered me a chest. I didn’t really know what it was at the time, a bunch of gold and… mana shards.”

The other girl’s eyes widened. “How many? Where was this?”

“It was really far, in the Deep Caverns. Near a Mushroohum colony,” Elania explained. “There were… at least a hundred. Maybe two hundred.”

A frown appeared on Yolani’s face. “And you got away without agreeing to a contract?”

Elania nodded. “A holy knight… or paladin, I’m not sure—I didn’t have [Identify] working yet, broke me out of the circle when he attacked.”

Yolani’s jaw fell open. “You survived the attack?”

Elania nodded. “His sword wouldn’t stab me for some reason. It didn’t feel good, but it probably should have chopped me in half.”

“Wait. Wait. He had a sword that didn’t hurt you? Like it was sentient?” Yolani asked.

Was that important? Elania tried to produce the memory in more focus. “Uhm. He talked to it actually, I think.”

Silence filled the room as Yolani appeared lost in thought. Finally, the black-haired girl spoke. “This is a lot to take in. If they had that many shards…they might very well have something to do with the shortage. Maybe they somehow found a way to steal them from the dungeon without the Syndicate knowing?”

Elania shrugged.

“There have been rumors of a Lightbringer Order paladin in the city. I really haven’t been paying much attention to stuff like that, but if he’s the same one you met… maybe we can get answers from him,” Yolani concluded.

That…felt like a bad idea. The man’s first impression had been pretty terrible. Still, if it was a lead, and helpful… Elania nodded. She’d agreed to help, and she’d meant it when she had done so. “If it will help. Just promise to not let him jab me with his blunt sword again.”

“We’ll be prepared. First, though, we need to figure out where he is, or if he’s even in the city, or if the rumors are just fake. Luckily, I know someone who can probably help us figure that out.” A smile lit up on Yolani’s face. “My friend’s uncle is a lot nicer than mine, and just so happens to be a Lieutenant in the City Guard. We can ask him about it and see if we can get a lead.”

Elania nodded. “Okay. I’m glad I brought it up. It seems like it was more important than I thought.”

Yolani’s eyes sparkled. “Honestly, this is fantastic. I have had no idea what to do, but this could be promising.”

Elania watched as the other girl pulled out a parchment and began to write and sketch on it. That was fine… except the conversation was suddenly dead, and it seemed like the other girl had forgotten she was even there after five minutes. [Universal Reading] didn’t seem to apply to whatever Yolani was working on, either.

“Umm?” Elania prompted.

Yolani looked up like a deer caught in headlights. “Oh… OH! I’m so sorry, I got distracted.”

“No problem… but what is it?” Elania asked.

“It’s a ward for negating holy-aligned magic from a positive karmic demon utilizing a—” Yolani coughed and changed tack. Maybe it was the bewildered expression on Elania’s face. “It’s a ward for protecting you from paladins.”

“Oh.” A grin started to spread on Elania’s face. “That’s thoughtful of you.”

Yolani rubbed her temple. “Sorry, when I get tired, my mind wanders easily. We’ve been at this all evening, and it is getting late. Maybe we should turn in for the night?”

Elania nodded. “Sure. That sounds good.”

Yolani pushed herself up from her chair and led the way to a small door on the far side of the shop near the back. The abbreviated tour of the downstairs workshops hadn’t included the upstairs, so Elania’s interest was piqued.

A small stone stairway went up half a flight before curving back and reaching the second floor. It was a simple stone hallway with a few lights and two doors opposite each other and one at the end.

Elania almost bumped into the other girl’s back when she paused.

“Umm?” Elania raised an eyebrow.

Yolani let out a sigh. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m not ready yet to go through my father’s things… So, we can share my bed.”

Elania’s jaw dropped. By the time she closed her mouth, her cheeks were heating up slightly at the suggestion. Studying the back of Yolani’s neck, her brain started to short-circuit.

“Uhm… sure?” Elania finally responded with a little laugh, trying to play off her surprise casually. “I hope you don’t snore though.”

Opening the door on the right, Yolani chuckled lightly. “Oh no, you caught me! I’m actually famous for keeping up entire neighborhoods with my snores.”

Elania couldn’t resist a giggle. The room turned out to be remarkably spacious and larger than expected. Yolani’s bed was surprisingly large—spacious enough for two people without discomfort. The sheets were a warm, cream color, and a soft quilt was folded neatly at the foot.

The rest of the room resembled the workshop. There was clutter and items everywhere. A free-standing clothes rack held a half dozen outfits near the corner, while an over-stuffed wardrobe looked neglected beside it. Devices and gadgets were strewn about as well, and while a few had obvious uses, most were rather arcane.

Elania looked down at herself, still covered in her gear and armor. “Umm. Where do I put my stuff?”

“Oh. Umm.” Yolani paused and looked around before pushing a bunch of clutter out of a corner. “You can put your stuff here.”

Elania nodded and began to pull her cloak off, then her armor. She felt a small amount of panic when she reached her mana shard. She hadn’t shared its existence yet. It still felt like an important lifeline. Pulling off her boots, she stuffed the shard and its cloth wrap down one of them.

She’d need to see if it was possible to buy a few new outfits with her coin tomorrow. Turning to ask Yolani about it, Elania froze in shock.

The other girl was highlighted by the glowing lantern against the far wall, her very bare, naked body burning itself into Elania’s memory. Then she mercifully pulled a light single-piece nightgown over her head.

Elania dot exe finally rebooted and started to work when Yolani tilted her head and looked at her with a question mark.

The emerald-green eyes slid to Elania’s pack then back to its owner. “Do you want a nightgown? I have extra, and you’re not that much taller than me, so it probably will fit fine.”

“Y...yeah! That’d be great. I just have these, and I was wondering if we…I could go find a tailor or something to get some new clothes. That fit,” Elania replied quickly.

Yolani’s eyes widened. “Of course! I’ll go with you. I know some nice people who do great work. I’m sorry for not thinking about it.”

A nightgown was fetched and delivered, but Elania looked around for the still missing privacy divider. It apparently didn’t exist. Yolani didn’t seem to notice her search and slid into the bed.

Elania pulled off the rest of her clothes and then slid the nightgown on. The other girl didn’t peek or even show interest. That had been what she’d been worried about…but…why did she feel disappointed?

Rubbing her forehead, Elania pinched her own cheek. Why was she so wound up? A pretty girl was nice to her, and her mind was jumping way, way, way ahead. There were so many critical issues to deal with, adding a sudden attraction… or crush was not a good idea.

The innocence of Yolani’s offer was obvious in retrospect. Walking over to the bed, Elania carefully slid under the sheet and turned on her side to place her back between them.

“Goodnight, Elania,” Yolani murmured.

“G…goodnight, Yolani,” she managed to reply, her heart skipping a beat.

Despite everything that had happened—was happening around her—she felt a bit of comfort. For the first time, Elania felt like she wasn’t alone as her mind slowly ordered itself into stillness and she drifted off to sleep.