There was also the matter of our Throne Worlds. Sure, we could have easily activated them, but it was such an unnecessary expense, especially with the after-effects to our body, that it wasn't worth it for just a mere spar… although, Aisa didn't seem like the type to hold back during a spar, so maybe she didn't activate hers for a different reason.
"Let's end it here," Aisa sighed, rubbing the back of her head as she coughed out a few last puffs of icy breath. "I see no point in continuing, plus… I'm so fucking tired," She laughed, flopping back onto the ground while I walked over to her. I then proceeded to sit next to her, smiling as we regained our stamina.
"You know, I've been thinking. Will I change just like Cy if I meet my demon lord? Do you think he will do something so rigorous that I'll end up like Cy… I heard Leviathan is even worse and crueler than Beezlebub, so I'm scared I'll lose myself."
"You want me to be honest?" I looked down at the girl, who just shrugged. "You probably will change, but how your personality changes is up to you. I don't know… just… try not to lose yourself, I guess."
"You're horrible at comforting people," Aisa laughed, and as I saw her smile, I smiled as well.
…
"What do you want?" I asked, stepping into the vampire's office. She had calmed down by quite a great amount than before, almost to the point it seemed creepy. She wasn't agitated by my presence, nor was she annoyed by it. She was just… I don't know, not the same as before.
"What? Do you not want to know of the location of the items you requested? I don't have to tell you if you're going to be a fucking bitch about it." Or maybe not.
"Alright, whatever, my bad. How can I get them?" I sighed, wiping the snarky grin from my face as her sudden shift in attitude was amusing. It was almost like she had to do a complete one-eighty in… well, everything, to talk to somebody. "Hey, did the demon lord come here? Is that why you're acting so strange?"
It was obvious from her loud gulp and immediate stuttering that I was right on the mark. But that didn't really matter to me. Whether she had beef with Beezlebub or not was none of my business, and in fact, I'd rather stay out of it as best as I could. Dabbling in the shit of others will just put me in even deeper shit.
"Well, luckily for you, our merchants in this city have the materials you need. I'll give you the money to buy them, but that doesn't mean you'll immediately be able to obtain them. You'll need to do the negotiation, arguably the hardest part. So, if you're up to the challenge, which you might very well die from, I will send you off now. Bring your friend while you're at it. I don't want them leeching off of this estate… she reeks of that skank bitch."
"Hmmmmm… I mean, I got nothing else to do," I muttered, but inside, I couldn't help but grin so wide it felt like my brain was tickling the tips of my ears. With this chance, I was able to not only connect with merchants but also obtain the materials I needed to evolve. This was the perfect chance to expand my underworld connections as best as I could before creating a plan to get close to Leviathan. "So, where are these merchants?"
All she did was toss me a map of the city with three red X's slashes across different parts of the dry and crinkled paper sheet. Her glare was apparent, digging deep into my skin and burrowing its hateful aura so far inside of me that it looked as if I had no chance of redeeming myself.
"I'm sorry about earlier. It must have made you so much more paranoid," I lowered my guard, immediately beginning to use [Heroic Persuasion] to try and get this woman back on my side. And with this skill, in tandem with just a bit of sweet talk, I was able to get her to calm down and sink back into her chair, letting out a long sigh. "If you ever need to talk about something, I'm here for you. Just tell me. We may be working contractually, but we're still allies."
Yeah, I really didn't care about this woman's feelings, but if it could get me just a bit closer to her heart, then I guess it would be worth it in the end. To be honest… even this might work-
Just as soon as I crawled over the tail as seductively as I could and reached out my hand towards the now vulnerable woman's chin, I was immediately caught. Her hand gripped tightly around my wrist, squeezing it so tightly it felt as if my hand was about to pop off of my arm. So as soon as she pushed me back, I retreated out of the door, map in hand.
"Hmm… That was a bit too quick. Maybe I'll try it later," I grinned, walking down the hallway, making sure nobody followed me.
I immediately met up with Aisa, who was currently eating alone in her room. She was enjoying the beautiful view that this mountaintop estate presented us with, and with a delicious meal unparalleled by any of the crap served down on those dirty streets, she couldn't stop smiling.
"Hey, how close are you to evolution?" I caught the young woman off guard, startling her and nearly causing her to drop her plate of delicious food. She immediately glared at me before brushing the bits of toppled goodness off the balcony before fully turning her entire body towards me. "Sorry about that."
"I'm already at the limit. I've hit max level at the Demon evolution. I'm sure you're there as well, so are you going to ask me to help you find the pieces or what? Maybe you already have them, and you're offering them to me?" Aisa lightly smirked, trying to seem serious, but the way she scarfed down her food was incredibly funny.
"Did she not feed you? You're like a rabid beast who hasn't had a decent meal in days," I commented, lightly chuckling as the young woman forcefully swallowed a large ball of mashed potatoes with some golden water before speaking up.
"No, she did not feed me and answer my damn question."
"Alright, no, I do not have the materials, but I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to find them. I know where they are… just need a bit of help in the negotiations. So, are you up for the task?"
"Are these evolutionary materials for you or me because they're very different? Mine are ice and assassination-focused. Yours are probably much different, so… if you want me to help, you have to got to help me find my evolutionary materials as well, deal?"
From the moment I began speaking to her, I was already caught in her trap of negotiation. She had immediately set everything in her favor, causing me to laugh just a bit since I had never expected such actions from Aisa. She was normally the quiet type and not really one to take the initiative… but it seems her independence has indeed changed her in a beneficial way.
.
[1. Blooming Carnivorous Rose]
[2. Contained War Essence]
[3. One Hundred Decaying Warrior Souls]
.
"Okay, well, let's go for the Blooming Carnivorous Rose first. It's the closest to us… even though it's slightly in the ice section of the capital. Are you aware of the different sections and the Quincys ruling those sections?" I immediately asked Aisa, who most likely didn't learn anything from her previous captor. And as expected, she shook her head from side to side with a clueless look plastered all across her face.
"I know about the different sections. I've literally been to the bipolar sections of this capital, but I didn't know two different people rule them. I thought it was just the demon lord… or is he just lazy?"
"Nah, he's busy conquering other places, but that's beside the point. First of all, there is the Quincy of Ice, who will be ruling the place we are going to. And as long as we don't do anything super fucking sketchy, we should be fine. So, just lay low and let me do the talking… a-AND-!"
Aisa was about to interrupt, saying she could handle herself, and I knew she could now, but I doubt she was at a level as high as me. She can definitely handle herself when I'm assisting her with her own evolutionary materials, but for mine, I need everything to be perfect.
"Please. Aisa… just let me do the talking, and you do the shooting, just in case. I NEED! Like, I NEED a good relationship with these merchants, and if you somehow fuck that up, then I'll be super fucking angry. Okay? Okay? Understand? Now just… stay back and let me do the talking no matter what. Okay?"
"Yes sir…" Aisa groaned, rolling her eyes, but I didn't pay any mind to her annoyance and instead focused on trying to figure out how exactly I'll tackle this.
