Newly Summoned Demoness - Chapter 58 – Mutual Questioning (Patreon)

A sense of unease filled Elania as they rode in the carriage toward the City Guard’s headquarters. Henri sat opposite of them and had been strangely quiet after his revelation. Yolani seemed equally concerned. The tension in the air was palpable, and she could feel a knot forming in her stomach.

Henri tapped his fingers rhythmically on his thigh—a clear sign of nervous energy.

Tugging on her hair, she watched the streets go by while she wracked her brain for why the Lieutenant wanted to question her.

When Yolani’s hand slipped onto hers and patted it, Elania looked at her with wide eyes.

Sparkling emerald eyes highlighted a weak smile. “Everything will be alright. We made a deal, right? I’m not going to abandon you.”

Elania let out a tense breath and nodded. “Thank you.” Glancing down at the other girl’s hand, now she just needed to figure out how to slow down her thrumming heart patter.

Yolani frowned at Henri. “You don’t have any ideas?”

He frowned back. “Might have to do with that noble shop? They might have filed a direct complaint with the Magisters or something. Seems ridiculous, though. It isn’t like I was not there as a witness. They were just bullying her out of the shop. She didn’t do anything.”

When they finally arrived at the headquarters, it was an imposing sight—an enormous tower of gray stone that loomed over the district like a mountain. Henri’s credentials had them ushered through a side entrance by a pair of stern-looking guards. Everything was expedited, unlike her first encounter with the checkpoint garrison.

The bottom floor was an expansive space, with massive murals and tapestries covering the walls in heraldry. Two crossed poleaxes on a solid yellow background were the symbol of the Guard, while a horizontal dragon’s skull on a gray background was the city’s motif.

As they crossed the hall, Elania spotted the destination of their path. Her eyes widened slightly. “You have elevators, too?”

Yolani and Henri looked at her.

“Artifice Lift, yes? You have them on Earth? You can use electricity to move them?” Yolani asked excitedly.

“On what and with what?” Henri frowned in confusion.

“Elania’s home is full of really interesting things and ideas,” Yolani explained.

Henri shook his head as they all entered the box. “Right. My uncle’s office is on the twelfth floor.”

Yolani turned a dial to its first position and then pressed down two small levers. The box reacted immediately, sending them upwards faster than she’d expected. They slowed as they neared their destination floor, then came to a smooth stop.

Elania shook her head. The thing didn’t even groan, which meant the lift didn’t need much maintenance or they really cared about elevator safety, unlike back home.

Henri led the way out of the lift box and past a receptionist's desk. He obviously knew the way and the worker there waved them by without question.

The room he brought them to was a spacious office, with hundreds of books lining one wall while the other was decorated with various swords, axes, firearms, and shields. Behind the large ornate desk was a ceiling height window, secured by a steel lattice frame that let the light stones trickle in their distant light.

Gaston looked up and waved them in. “Henri. Good work.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. Like I told you, they came to me wanting to speak to you.”

The lieutenant’s sharp eyes were exactly as Elania remembered them, and they cut to her swiftly. His lips slowly turned into a frown. “Would you two ladies like Henri to step out, or do you mind if he joins our conversation?”

Elania shrugged and let Yolani answer for them.

She smiled. “Henri can stay.”

Gaston nodded. “Of course, but I had to ask. These matters could be slightly sensitive.”

“We have our own questions for you, actually,” Yolani replied.

He nodded. “I understand, but first I need to go over some things.” His gaze locked onto Elania’s, and he continued. “Miss Elania, we meet again.”

Elania smiled weakly. “Yes. Hello Lieutenant.”

“I see you are contracted. To Miss Aetherhart, I presume?” Gaston asked.

Elania nodded. “That’s right.”

He rubbed his chin. “Yet there was a period where you were contactless after passing through the checkpoint?”

She nodded. “That’s right as well. After the Conclave monks left me in the bazaar, I was left on my own for a while. When I finally met Yolani, we made a deal after finding out we had common ground.”

“Common ground,” Gaston repeated, musing over the world.

Elania nodded politely but remained silent—unsure of what to expect next.

“Could you two please go into more detail about the nature of your contract?” Gaston asked.

Elania opened her mouth to try to answer, when Yolani stopped her with a hand to her wrist.

The other girl shook her head. “That’s private. If you want to know, you need to give us something in return.”

Gaston raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. “Very well, Miss Aetherhart. Feel free to ask your question.”

Yolani smiled. “We’ve heard rumors there is a Lightbringer Paladin in the city. We want to know his whereabouts.”

A frown erupted on the lieutenant’s face. “Why do you want to know that?”

Yolani remained silent, and Elania took her cue from her.

The man puffed, then nodded. “I know about the paladin. He is here in the city. He has a mansion in the Mercenary District he has been using as a base of operations.”

Yolani and Elania shared a look. That was something they had heard as a rumor, but it was good to have it confirmed. It just wasn’t an address.

Gaston looked over at Elania. “We’ve had two serious reports on you during your uncontracted period.” His gaze slid over to Henri. “The first, I believe, is easily dismissed, although it is the far more serious of the two. My nephew vouches for your innocence in the matter, and it appears the shopkeeper grossly misrepresented the facts in his report for some reason.”

Elania let out a tense breath. So that had been what it was. She wondered what the Guard would have done if she hadn’t already been contracted to Yolani.

“The other, however, is concerning. It says that a woman ran into you while traversing gatehouse number eight, and then you beat her near to death in front of her child. Could you please explain your side of the story?”

Elania blinked. “What? I didn’t beat her! The guards did that!”

Gaston raised an eyebrow. “That is not what the report, filled out by the guard and woman indicates.”

Yolani bit her lip and interjected. “I don’t think Elania would lie about something like this.”

Elania nodded. “Bring back your truth box thing. I’ll exonerate myself right now.”

Gaston held up a hand. “No need. I believe you. Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can do about the woman or the guards there. They aren’t under my section, and making a deal of it would simply cause… strife.”

“Still, I don’t want to be charged for a crime I didn’t commit.” The frown on Elania’s face deepened.

Gaston nodded. “Your case was presented to the captain, and he charged me with your surveillance and care. He’s made me responsible for you. I believe that under Miss Aetherhart’s wing you will be fine, but I want you to check in with the Guard periodically, just so I can keep tabs on you. Henri should do. That shouldn’t be a problem?”

Elania looked over at Henri, then shrugged. “That’s fine. Your nephew is nice.”

Gaston laughed, and Henri looked embarrassed. “Nice. Right. At least someone in the Guard has a good reputation, eh?”

Yolani took a deep breath, her eyes serious as she leveled a gaze at Lieutenant Gaston. “Lieutenant, we need to know about the Lightbringer Paladin. Do you have the exact address?”

He frowned. “Why are you looking for him?”

Yolani and Elania shared a look as they both considered what they should tell him. Eventually, Yolani nodded.

Elania cleared her throat. “He’s related to my arrival here. There was a cult—The Black Candle—that summoned me. He showed up and interrupted things, but… they had a massive chest of mana shards. We believe that it might have something to do with the shortage, which is harming Yolani’s shop seriously.”

Gaston remained silent. Eventually his gaze landed on Yolani. “I heard about your father from Henri. I am sorry about that. I’m afraid there’s been nothing I could do about the contract with Magister Relain.”

Yolani nodded carefully, but didn’t relent. “And the Paladin’s location?”

Gaston shook his head. “You two shouldn’t be looking into something like this. It’s dangerous. I haven’t heard about this cult specifically, but if what you say is true, the shortage could be manufactured to create a crisis.”

Yolani’s eyes widened. “The magisterial elections.”

“Exactly so.” Gaston grunted. “Very astute, Miss Aetherhart.”

Elania frowned. “I still need to see the Paladin. He might know more about the summoning.”

Shaking his head, Gaston clasped his hands. “I’m sorry, Elania. I must insist that you both refrain from getting involved. I will be placing this as a high-priority and will see about speaking to the man myself to learn more.”

Yolani’s brow furrowed. “But—”

“Henri! Escort these two back to her shop. Make sure they make it back safely. I’m assigning you and a squad to watch them for the time being,” Gaston ordered.

Henri blinked. “A full squad? Full-time surveillance?”

“That’s an order,” Gaston replied sternly.

Yolani looked ready to argue, but Gaston held up his hand. “This discussion is over for now, Miss Aetherhart. If you won’t comply, then I’ll be forced to consider imprisoning your demon.”

That knocked the sails out of Yolani’s response, but not the angry glare. The other woman stood up and pulled Elania to her feet as well. “Come on, Elania. Let’s go home before he changes his mind.”

Shit. They weren’t going to leave on good terms. That was bad. Lieutenant Gaston obviously had a lot of pull. She waved weakly at him. “Thank you for your time, Lieutenant.”

Henri followed them out.

Yolani turned her sharp eyes on Elania as they waited for the lift. “Why are you thanking him?”

“Well, just in case we need to talk to him again,” Elania offered.

“He just squelched our plans,” Yolani countered.

Elania shook her head. “I don’t believe for one second we can’t figure a way around it.”

“Hey. I’m supposed to watch you two. I’m right here listening,” Henri said weakly.

Yolani jabbed him with her eyes next. “Shut up.”

The ride down was done in tense silence, as was the ride back.

Yolani eventually let out a breath. “Sorry. I’m just annoyed.”

Elania nodded. “No worries. What are we going to do?”

“We need a plan,” Yolani stated firmly, her gaze meeting Elania’s. “A way to slip out without being noticed, and somehow locate the paladin’s residence.”

“Sounds good. I bet we can get Henri to help with the first part,” Elania said, her eyes sliding over to the young man.

“I’m right here. I’m listening to you. I can’t disobey a direct order,” Henri replied.

Yolani’s eyes lit up. “What were your uncle’s exact orders?”

A frown erupted on Henri’s face.

“I believe it was ‘to watch’ us,” Elania smiled as she answered for him. “Nothing about staying locked up in the shop or out of the mercenary district.”

As they pulled through the Ironfist checkpoint, Elania saw and waved to Sergeant Harlock. The man had a scowl and shook his head, garnering a frown from Elania. Was he having a bad day? He had seemed fairly nice during their earlier encounters.

The carriage pulled to a stop, and they disembarked. Up by the shop there was already a crowd at the door to Aetherhart’s Artifice.

“You sure didn’t waste any time getting your squad here to watch us,” Elania commented.

Henri frowned and shook his head. “Those aren’t my squad. Not my uncle’s division, either. Looks like—”

“They’re trying to break in!” Yolani shouted before taking off at a jog up the street to the group of men.

Elania followed in a hurry, with Henri close behind her.

“Stop that!” Yolani shouted once she was closer.

Immediately alarm bells started going off in Elania’s head. She recognized Master Ranolf and a few of his apprentices. The guards were wearing a different color surcoat, the same as the ones who had beaten the woman. When her eyes reached the fat bald man, she knew it was Yolani’s uncle again.

The entire group turned toward them at once.

Yolani pulled to a halt. “Uncle Hester, Master Ranolf, what are you doing to my shop front?”

A chilling grin emerged on the swollen face of the man.

He, accompanied by a guard, advanced.

Hester meticulously unfurled a parchment and declared, “By virtue of this official document, ordained by the Magisterial Court, on the grounds of personal assault and malevolent aggression upon Hester Hartman, Esquire, one Yolani Aetherhart is hereby summoned to answer and if found guilty, make amends for her alleged transgressions.”

He rolled the parchment up and then gestured to Ranolf while pointing the decree at Elania. “But first, we’re confiscating your new pet.”