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A deal with a devil
🕑 Added 2024-11-18 07:43:29 +0000 UTC"Stop, stop, stop!!!" Kuisha exclaimed, her voice filled with emotion. She had been silent since her second arrival. Initially, her plan was to bring the entire peerage—just in case they needed to support their king—but everyone was busy with their own affairs today.
As if that weren't enough, she now discovered that the kid in front of her was the sage everyone had been searching for. And that wasn't all; the boy was rude, impolite, and his view of them bordered on indifference.
'Ughhhh, his behavior really gets under my skin!!’
And now, here he was, telling them that Sairaorg was supposed to be dead before he was born, hinting at a conspiracy she knew was too complex for her to uncover alone. She didn't want to believe him, but something about the way he spoke and behaved suggested he genuinely believed what he was saying.
She glanced at her king, who appeared somber and somewhat agitated. She knew exactly what she had to ask.
"Can you please clarify what you mean by what you just said?" she asked, striving to maintain a respectful tone.
"I believe I said everything very clearly, so I don't understand exactly what you mean," he replied, his expression unchanged, amusement lingering since the beginning. There was something unsettling about the way he looked at her—not in the creepy way some males stared, but in a way that suggested, "I can see through you." If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he was merely toying with her. She looked at Sairaorg for assistance, but he merely nodded, signaling her to stop talking—so she did, though she didn't like it.
'Still, I'll make sure to discuss how to deal with the implications of this with Sairaorg and the rest when they return later. This is turning into a bigger problem than anticipated.'
************
"Harry, my friend, how about we make a deal?" Sairaorg said in a formal tone. "I have lived long enough and seen various types of people to gauge what they want. So tell me what you want in exchange for the information and the two magicians you have in there, so we don't waste our time."
Some might find it strange to trust a kid he had just met, but his instincts told him that what the boy said was likely true, and he had learned to trust those instincts.
Plus, there's the fact that the boy being a sage meant something significant in the supernatural world. If his suspicions about the boy being born a sage proved correct, it would be all the reason he needed to at least hear him out and build a little relationship with him.
'The kid has a direct link to a primordial after all.' The thought appeared out of nowhere in a corner of his mind.
"You know, I'm starting to like you more and more, Sairaorg, so I'll tell you what I think without needing to include it in the deal," Harry said, his tone serious, though his amused expression remained unchanged.
"What I think happened is that someone poisoned your mother while she was still pregnant with you. However, the poison either didn't work as intended, or you somehow—for reasons I can't quite think of—fought it off while in the womb, but still that left you with the consequence side effects that could perfectly explain your lack of magical capacity." He paused slightly, made a thoughtful face, and then continued, "It could also be that your mother discovered she was poisoned and took some kind of antidote which saved your life, but still didn't spare you from the side effects. I can't say exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure it was poison, and I am also sure your condition is a side effect," his voice steady and his expression thoughtful.
'If what he says proves to be true…' I didn't let that thought continue.
"And it couldn't be a curse? Or a hex of some sort?" I asked, trying to forget my increasingly dark thoughts and understand why he didn't consider that. We were devils, after all, but judging by the look he gave me, he thought it was a stupid question. His eyes were quite expressive.
"It can't be direct magic because it leaves traces. No matter how insidious a curse is, it always leaves a mark. You don't have one," he told me, his voice and expression neutral.
I could guess why he was the way he was—he was smart, perhaps too smart for anyone to have the right to be at his age. He might not have experienced a normal life either; such things leave traces on a person's personality. I noticed from the start that the emotions he conveyed weren't as intense as one would expect from someone his age. It was as if he unconsciously let just a fraction of emotion show while tightly controlling the rest.
*********
"Anyway, that's what I think. I could be wrong, so just take my words as a reference," I told Sairaorg, trying to snap him out of his thoughtful contemplation. I am not wrong, though. His magical capacity is capped at the level he had when he was in the womb, that I can tell for certain. If anyone is wondering how, then all I can say is natural energy-based scanning. It's a very useful trick.
"Ah, yes, I will investigate it myself too," he replied. "Now let's talk about the deal. Tell me what you want in exchange for those two," he continued quickly.
"Oh, that's easy. You can take them and bring me books about magical theory, the basics of magical circles—how to create them, wards, runic languages, and anything magic-related, really. Start from the basics, though. Oh, and don't forget to bring me a variety, both old and modern," I said with a smile. This was what all this farce was about. If only I could somehow copy everything magic-related in the world, I wouldn't even need to go out, let alone deal with people.
"So, magic then. I'll leave that to Kuisha. I'm not much of a magician as you can see, but I'm a master of combat, so if you need to learn, you just let me know," he paused slightly before continuing, "If it's okay to ask, though, why the basics? Kuisha told me you're a powerful magician."
Now I faced the choice of telling him the truth or giving him a half-truth.
"Hmm, it's magic. There shouldn't be much need for an explanation. I always start from the basics when it comes to it; the wards and runes are for warding—duh. I'm really trying hard here not to tear the shifty ones around the shack," I replied, half-serious, half-joking.
"Well, a deal is a deal. So, okay. Just hand over the men to me, and I will have Kuisha or someone else from my peerage come and deliver the books to you later," he said, extending his hand for a handshake, which I took. I then gestured with my free hand, and the unconscious men were dragged outside by my magic and thrown toward Kuisha, who had been sitting quietly behind him for a while now.
After they left, I went inside and sat down for a moment. I wanted to ask more about the peerage system they had going on. From the information I gathered, I knew they enslaved different races and turned them into devils, but that was also based on what a fanatic human supremacist would say. I didn't hold much belief in human supremacy myself. Truth be told, I didn't have much belief at all; I wanted to be powerful for the sake of being powerful and to complete the job I had so that I could continue doing what I wanted.
Now that I think about it, I can see why the old man sent me here. To experience more of life, build character, and explore more about myself. I don't share the beliefs of those people because I haven't lived like them. I want power and knowledge because I know there are things out there that I don't understand. Is this what it feels like to grow up? Ah, who am I kidding? I didn't grow at all; I just contemplated a little. Or is that what it's all about? Uh, who cares…
I will just do my thing for now and wait and see what will happen.
