Robert Vlaho
patreon
[DEVILICH] Chapter 27 - Mystery
🕑 Added 2024-04-19 17:44:02 +0000 UTC“So… You two are just gonna leave me alone in your house? Without any supervision?” I asked Martin and Amelia, who were both halfway out the door, leaving for work.
“Why wouldn’t we?” asked Amelia.
I was about to argue back, but before any solid reasons could come to mind, I realized that they… well… didn’t have anything to worry about. I understood their reasoning logically, but to James of Earth, the concept of leaving a total stranger entirely alone in your house was insane.
I was still underestimating the power of being able to prove without a shadow of a doubt that I was a good person. Now, it was just a question of how far I could push it.
“Just because you’re here,” Martin started, “doesn’t give me an excuse not to show up for work. But rest easy,” he told me as he playfully tapped my shoulder. “We’re gonna talk later, okay?”
“About what?” I asked.
“Well, you need to find work,” he said. “If you’re not registering with the temple, you need a way to earn money. I’ll give you a few choices, and we’ll maybe take a walk through the town to see what we can sign you up for.”
I squinted at the man, frowning.
“What?” Martin asked. “Did you expect to be allowed to free-load or something?” He shot me a cheeky grin.
“No, I…” I paused. “I’m just wondering… what exactly is happening here?”
The two of them paused.
“What do you mean?” Amelia asked.
“I’m just… confused, that’s all,” I said earnestly. “You two have taken me in, and I can’t help but wonder why you’re doing this. This is a lot.”
It wasn’t a matter of not trusting them. I trusted Amelia as a good-aligned, but I still wanted to see their thought process.
“Kid, look,” Martin called, pinching the bridge of his nose as he breathed out. “If you aren’t comfortable with this, neither of us can keep you from doing what you want,” he said. “But I’ve seen too many young men like yourself run out into the world and lose their way. I’m sick of it.” He paused for emphasis. “I may not be a saint, but my blood is still warm. I hope for your sake that you accept our help.”
“I…” I started, but… “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.”
Martin snorted and shook his head, patting me on the shoulder again. “If you’re feeling guilty, there’s wood to chop in the backyard.”
“Dad!” Amelia shouted.
The guard laughed. “What?” He could use some work; look at his bony hands,” he said as he tapped me on my thin arm.
“Don’t listen to my father,” Amelia said, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure you’re more suited for a scholarly profession.”
My eye twitched slightly. “No… I can chop some wood, don’t worry.”
“Attaboy,” Martin said with a throaty chuckle. “Okay, now I really have to hurry, we’ll see you later! If you get hungry, there’s cured meat in the pantry, feel free to help yourself.”
And with that, the two of them walked away.
As soon as they were out of sight, I dropped the insecure, anxious facade and stepped back into the tight hallway, closing the door behind me.
These two kind-hearted fools would be of great help. I had no plans for earning myself a “scholarly profession,” although I was curious about the types of classes I could get in that area.
No, I needed to become a fighter—a competent one. However, several obstacles stood in my way.
The first and the biggest was the lack of information. I simply didn’t know what was and wasn’t ordinary here. Good-aligned or not, I was sure people would raise an eyebrow or two once they saw me regenerate my whole body from mangled mush.
I needed a plausible alibi for at least some of my powers.
A curious idea formed in my mind. I consulted my [Shapeshifting] skill and tried using it to alter my body. I frowned. I had planned to shapeshift to change my looks, but from my understanding, it appeared that I had misinterpreted the function of this ability.
It wasn’t just the ability to shapeshift into a human form but a skill that shifted me into the human form. Into my human form—the way I used to look. Well, the way I remembered myself, at least.
“Shit,” I cursed. Without even realizing it, I had been subconsciously hinging my immediate plans on using this skill to my advantage.
As the realization that it wouldn’t work sank in, I felt like I was falling into a deep hole.
I had to do everything as… James.
I had to do everything as just myself.
***
Martin and Amelia walked side by side, and neither said a word.
An awkward silence hung between them. Keen as she was, Amelia finally sighed and stopped pretending she didn’t notice. “What is it?” she asked her father. “Something is troubling you.”
A frown flashed on his face as a mix of confusion and frustration flickered through his expression. “He doesn’t act like any good-aligned I’ve seen. The boy got into a fistfight in broad daylight! He’s strange.”
“Whatever the reason was, his intention was good,” she insisted.
“But the witness testimony was—”
“Witness testimony is unreliable at best,” she interrupted him. “You should know this better than anyone. The boy was trying to protect someone; there’s no two ways around it.”
“But nobody said that!” Martin shouted, scowling. “Not him, not Bruno, not any of the witnesses.”
“Bruno lied, obviously,” she said, “the witnesses didn’t see the whole thing happen, and James…” she frowned. “He most likely omitted a few details because he didn’t believe he had enough evidence to back him up.”
Martin wasn’t satisfied with that explanation. “I don’t know…” he said. “Again, that doesn’t seem like something a good-aligned would do. I’d expect him to be more… earnest, you know?”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Are you doubting the accuracy of a holy gem? If so, I assure you, he’s definitely—”
“That’s not it,” he said, trying to calm himself. “It’s just that”—he angrily scratched the back of his head—”Look, the boy clearly did a good thing, his alignment is proof enough,” he said. “I’m not worried about that.”
“So what are you worried about?”
He paused, hesitating. “Do you think he… hasn’t lost the alignment yet?” he asked. “His intent was undeniably good, but how he went about it…” He blew air through pursed lips. “From what I can tell, he has lived a sheltered life. I fear he’s only good because he wasn’t allowed to make the right mistakes.”
After a long moment of thinking, she nodded. “That’s possible,” she agreed. “He distrusts the church, too. But if anything, I only see this as a sign that we should put extra effort into keeping him on the right track.”
Martin remained silent for a long few moments. “Did I make a mistake?” he asked.
“Doing a good deed is never a mistake,” said Amelia.
“Easy for you to say,” he spat but immediately regretted it. “Sorry, I mean—”
“I know what you mean,” she said, smiling kindly at him. “What you’ve done is halfway to adopting him. Even he’s noticed it. That’s a lot of responsibility, and you’re right to be afraid of it. Don’t worry, though. You always have me.”
“No,” he said. “I’m not going to force him on you.” He paused, letting the words sink in. “He’s my responsibility. I’m going to—ow!” he yelped as she flicked the side of his head. Her strength was greater than his, so the pain was no joke. “What was that for!?”
“Refusing help is a sin of pride, Father,” she cheerfully reminded him. “You don’t want the boy to suffer because you were too proud to let me help, do you?”
He shrank under her strict gaze, feeling chastised. “Yeah… Sorry…”
She ruffled his hair a bit, giggling. “Helping him was very brave of you, Dad. I’m sure mom would be proud.”
“Yeah.” He smiled softly at her. “I’m sure she would.”
They reached the point where they split ways, and Amelia turned to him. “Remember what I told you?”
“Hmm?” He looked at her. “What exactly?”
She met his gaze for a few moments.
“Oh! Yeah, don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t confront him about why he left the house last night.”
Amelia nodded.
They had both noticed that James had escaped through the window at some point. Their conclusion was that he was intimidated by their charity, didn’t want to impose himself on them, and was too embarassed to openly refuse their help.
Yet, not long after he left, he returned.
Perhaps he had changed his mind—maybe it was something else altogether. As Amelia had already mentioned, refusing help when one needed it was a sin of pride. It could be that he realized that and returned.
In any case, whatever he’d done, he hadn’t lost his alignment. The boy might have simply walked outside to get fresh air or gaze upon the stars.
They didn’t want to pry, but it would be prudent to at least warn him about the dangers of going outside at night while people are disappearing.
The two of them split ways and headed to work.
Martin walked back to the guard post, where he was welcomed by several of his colleagues who were waiting outside.
Something was wrong.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
One of the guards stepped up, a short, stout man. “That bastard Bruno didn’t show up for the lashing this morning,” he said. “We have to go find him.”
Martin sighed. Not the best way to start his shift. But it was strange. Bruno was a brute, but he was no idiot. He wasn’t the type to ruin his life over something so petty.
The others noticed his frown, and another guard stepped up, this time a taller, stern man. “You think he really ran?” the man asked.
“Honestly?” Marting started. “I don’t think so.”
A few of the others nodded.
“In any case, we have to go look for him,” another of the guards stepped up, tall and burly. “Someone should go and try to find the boy he beat up yesterday. It’s possible Bruno went after him.”
Martin stepped up. “Don’t worry about that,” he said. “That young man is over at my house.”
A few of them looked at him strangely.
“What?” he asked. “The kid was going to get into trouble again, so I offered him lodging.”
“No offense, but,” the short, stout guard started. “That kid is a troublemaker. Why did you leave him alone?”
“No, no,” he said, waving the man down. “That kid is good-aligned, don’t worry about that.”
All of the guards instantly paled.
“No!” Martin shouted. “Relax, our heads won’t be rolling today!” he soothed them. “It’s complicated, but to simplify, the kid didn’t know that being good-aligned made him immune to arrests. It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Wait,” the tall, stern man stepped up. “The boy is good-aligned? So why did he get into a fight with Bruno?”
“My daughter’s guess is that he was trying to protect someone, most likely the old man,” said Martin. “The witness testimonies don’t add up, but they are close enough to the truth that I can see a misunderstanding taking place.”
The stern guard scowled at that. “Wait a minute…” he said, cupping his chin between his fingers. “If that’s the case, why didn’t the boy say so?”
“Maybe he thought we already knew?” the short guard added.
“No, no,” Martin said, frowning. “If that was the case, he outright lied to me.”
”And the old man must have lied, too,” the stern guard added. “When he was the one being attacked? I doubt it. You made sure that the boy is good-aligned?”
Martin nodded. “Yeah… My daughter checked him.”
“This is nonsense,” the stern guard declared. “The story can’t be inaccurate, everyone’s side lines up too perfectly for that. So how did the kid not lose the good alignment?” he proposed. “Even with the best of intentions, he publicly attacked a man because he was pushing people around, nearly getting himself killed. Why didn’t he call the guards?”
The short guard shrugged. “Whatever it was, he had a good reason to do it. Who are we to doubt someone the gods themselves acknowledge as an ally?”
The stern guard wasn’t done, however. “You said that the kid didn’t know that his alignment gave him immunity? How?”
“Sheltered growing up, as far as I can tell,” Martin said. “What are you aiming at?”
The stern guard tapped his vambrace thoughfully. “How about we ask him?” he suggested. “He is innocent, but he sounds ignorant. It could be that he’s keeping something a secret because he doesn’t know whether he should say it.”
Martin scowled at that. He didn’t want to bother James with this. “What exactly do you think he’s hiding?” he asked.
“I can think of only one way what the kid did being good,” the stern guard proposed. “Bruno is evil. And that kid knew it.”
Comments
Kronos
Good for them having brains that work lol
Beeees!
It is kinda obvious once the gaurds had the facts all laid out like that i guess. But maybe its not as big a deal as hes worried about
LolGamez
Uh oh looks like his ability to sus out evil was learned pretty quick
