Chapter 3: Three

Janilari had been around big, bustling, smelly cities full of humans, and in small and isolated towns that not even the sun wanted to visit. The one where she had been summoned this time? Right in the middle, perfectly average, nothing unique going on by the looks of it.

While Rida was getting yelled at in a nearby alley, the demon bored herself watching the mortals on the street pass and go. But more mortals than not looked back at her, which led her to believe she had forgotten something about her appearance. As far as she knew, however, she looked perfectly normal!

Human culture was hard like that. Very simple in some aspects, impossible to decipher in others. Growing tired of the lingering looks of the town folk, she decided, why not, to eavesdrop on the conversation happening in that alley.

Surely her body would be fine if she left it be for a few moments, right?

Making up her mind at once she abandoned her physical vessel to mimic a human shape all on its own, hoping it wouldn't attract much attention. As her mind separated from her body, the world around her became foggy and confusing. Without physical organs to perceive the world around her, she could still see, hear, feel and taste, but it all became a blurry mess, and she sensed all at once, the information coming through her mind unfiltered in a way that would break any mortal.

She had plenty of training with it, however, and in a few seconds, she had found the alleyway.

And apparently, it wasn't going very well for Rida.

"What were you thinking!?"

"Are you actually dumb!?"

"Betrayal!"

The voices of the adventurers reverberated loudly in Janilari's current state of existence. But Rida didn't seem too affected by the shouting, although that could be explained by the amount of alcohol she had recently consumed. She had her arms crossed behind her back and she was leaning over a stone wall, while her friends lost their minds around her.

"Alright, alright." Finally interrupted the Huddinli guy. "I think we established the fact that Rida is an idiot."

"A complete dumbass!" snapped Pendi.

"Rida, I'm disappointed, but I hope that at least you can share your point of view." said Maesron.

"Do you even have an explanation for this?" doubted Brunai.

Rida took a few seconds to respond. In the meanwhile, she stared at each of her friends.

"We need the help." She said eventually, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"No, we don't!" Protested Pendi. The foxgirl's tail was shaking behind her as she paced in front of Rida. "We are fine without a literal demon breathing down our necks!"

"Even if we do, Rida, our principles go completely against having a demon in our company." Maesron continued.

"You mean YOUR company." Rida remarked under her breath. But it was clear that everyone heard, from the way Maesron seemed to gasp at the connotation.

"This again, Rida?" Sighed Brunai, sounding completely disappointed. "Till you against the world?"

"Shut up Brun, no, WE need the help." Rida insisted and then gestured helplessly around them. "Do I even need to say it? We are completely useless!"

"Speak for yourself." Grumbled Pendi, clutching her bow self-consciously. Rida stared at her.

"Pendi, you can't hit me even at this distance."

"You bet!?" Pendi said before Maesron stopped her from drawing her bow.

"Listen, Rida." Maesron spoke slowly. "You are right that we do, probably, need some help." He looked around for confirmation, and the rest agreed with silence or in Pendi's case, looking straight at the ground. "But we should look for more members, shouldn't we? Summoning demons is..." He hesitated.

"Dangerous." Replied Huddinli, in a somber voice.

"And against the core belief of the company!" Added Maesron.

"It went well, didn't it?" Rida lied, looking straight at Huddinli, and then at Maesron. "And that doesn't matter, right? As long as she's helping what difference does it make?"

"You are arguing that summoning demons is not morally wrong." Said Pendi, incredulously.

"If it helps people, why would it be?" Rida replied.

"But why is Janilari helping?" Muttered Brunai. Rida hesitated.

"That's right!" Maesron exclaimed, clapping again much to the dismay of Pendi. "You know I trust all of you with my life! Can you say the same about Janilari?"

"You cannot..." grumbled Pendi, massaging the sides of her head. "You cannot trust a demon."

"I don't." Rida mumbled.

"Ah! You don't!"

"Then what, Rida?" Inquired Brunai, crossing her arms.

The mage half-shrugged, clearly stalling to find an answer. Eventually she talked.

"You don't have to worry about Janilari. If you trust me, you should trust her."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means she's bound to me." Rida quickly replied. Her lie was followed by silence.

"Wait, do you mean..."

"Is that...?"

"YES!" Interrupted Rida. "She cannot, physically can't disobey me." She paused again, taking a deep breath. "So yeah, there's nothing to worry about."

"... Really." Replied Huddinli in a skeptical tone.

"Really." Grunted Rida.

"I still don't like it." Said Pendi. "And I still think you are an idiot."

"Noted."

"I don't like it either..." doubted Maesron. "But if she's bound... I guess ill trust you, Rida. But... Next time..." He looked around him. "Let's make it a rule? Not summoning demons without the approval of the group?"

"Or..." Brunai hesitated. "Rida... Just talk to us from now on?"

The mage didn't respond at first. The silence prolonged until it was almost unbearable.

"... Fine." The sorcerer conceded at last.

"Perfect!" Maesron sighed in relief, apparently completely believing Rida, while Brunai didn't seem very convinced. "Now, team, let's get going! We have a caravan to find!"

"Great. Can't we do it tomorrow?" Replied Pendi, clearly in a sour mood, but still following Maesrom out of the alley. Brunai was next, turning away from Rida with a sigh.

Before the sorcerer could follow, however, Huddinli talked:

"What is the chance that a summoning goes perfectly right?" He asked when only Rida could hear him. The mage glared at him.

"I guess I'm very lucky." She grunted.

Huddinli just shook his head wordlessly, and they both started walking out of the alley. Lost in thought, Janilari went back to her body.

*

As the demon rejoined her vessel of flesh, she found a small crowd of children surrounding what was until then her inert body. She stood up with a jump, making the kids scream and flee in every direction, causing gossip among everyone in the street.

Ignoring such frivolities, she rushed to act natural and relaxed as the party of adventurers turned the street to find her.

When they did, Maesron's smile froze the moment he saw her, Pendi stared at her with an expression that oozed hatred, and Brunai just spared her a distant look. Janilari feigned offense, placing her hands on her hips.

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"Oh, it's like that?" She teased them, causing Pendi to mutter something that made Maesron go wide-eyed.

Then Rida and Huddinli joined them. The sorcerer was quick to circle past the group to address the demon.

"We have a mission." She said, quickly. "And you are going to help."

Janilari was about to make it harder for the mage, but then saw the almost desperate expression in her two big, cute black eyes. So instead she answered, in a sickly sweet tone:

"Of course I am."

Those beautiful black eyes narrowed at her tone, while the rest of the party behind the mage exchanged looks.

*

Janilari had to admit, she had never seen scenery quite like this one.

Aside from being extremely boring, Hell was a nice enough place in many ways. Natural beauty? Not so much. But as they left the town in search of the proverbial caravan, the demon was met with views that would permanently leave her breathless if her stupid human lungs didn't need air so often.

They passed green hills, a couple of rivers, and tranquil, crystal-like lakes. The forest around them seemed peaceful, as critters of the woods chirped and flew around, unknowing of how inevitable their deaths were.

The only downside of the whole situation was the fact that she was not given a horse. Everyone else had one!

To be fair they were Maesron's horses, and he only owned five. And they assumed that she, as a powerful demon, would have the means to travel by herself anyways. And this was true, but she at least wanted the experience! She had never ridden a horse before!

As it was, she made absolutely no effort in hiding her disappointment, and spent the entire first portion of the travel sulking around and hoping someone would cave. She even decided to walk, even drag her feet a little, just to make them feel guilty. But no dice, and Rida even told everyone to ride faster so she would snap out of it.

Now Janilari was arms and legs crossed, levitating near Rida's horse and making sure the mage noticed her mood. The rest of the party traveled in front of them at a distance, sometimes turning to see them.

Unfortunately for the demon, Rida wasn't taking the bait. Eventually the demoness sighed. She held out her hand, and a loaf of bread materialized above, much to the shock of the mage. With a lazy gesture, Janilari offered her the food, without even looking in her direction.

"Here. You should eat." She said. The sorcerer hesitated before taking it.

"You... How... Why?"

"Just being helpful." Sighed the demon. "Humans need food to survive and I haven't seen you eat anything yet."

"... Thanks." The mage responded in a stunned tone. "But... Did you just make it appear out of nowhere...?"

"Pst. No. I was just hiding it. I stole it earlier." Rida looked forward in concern.

"Shh, keep quiet." She said hushedly. Janilari stared ahead and frowned.

"Really!? Stealing doesn't hurt anyone!"

Rida hesitated. "... Sure. Just don't mention it out loud. Uh... Thanks, anyway."

Janilari sighed dejectedly. "I can't let you starve, even if you are being a jerk."

Rida made a small, drowned, amused sound, which made the demoness immediately forget about her stubborn attitude to look at the mage instead. She saw the sorcerer take a full bite of the bread, and then frown when noticing the demon looking at her with a smile.

"Wut?" muttered Rida from behind a mouthful of bread. Janilari just laughed to herself. Rida rolled her eyes.

They spent a good amount of time in silence, as the mage finished her food. Janilari was smiling at herself, basking in her small, but unexpected victory. Now, it would be generous to call that sound from Rida a "laugh", but it was headed there, right?

"So..." The mage hesitated, and in a second she had the demoness' full attention. "... I'm sure you'll have another opportunity to ride a horse."

"Is that an apology?"

The sorcerer scoffed. "Of course not."

But the demon was smiling brightly nonetheless. "Oh, don't worry, I forgive you!" She said cheerfully. "Did you like the bread? I'll make sure to learn more about human dietary specifications to better-"

"Woah, no." The mage replied in a sharp tone. "Remember what I said? I only want your help in combat."

"Well you can't do combat with an empty stomach, so you are welcome."

Probably deciding it was useless to argue further, Rida sighed and stared ahead. But a few moments later she spoke again.

"Can I ask you a question?" She inquired. Janilari went wide-eyed, but she managed expectations and replied with a classy:

"You may."

"How does your magic work?" The mage had a... Frustrated tone. "I haven't seen anything like it, and you make it seem effortless. How is it possible?"

Janilari giggled. "Oh, come on, is nothing special. Any demon can do what you saw me do."

"But... How? I've..." The sorcerer stopped herself, glancing ahead to check how much distance they had before continuing talking. "I've tried everything to improve my magic, and I can't even dream of..." To illustrate her point, she just gestured wildly to the demoness's casual levitation stance.

"How many small children have you sacrificed?" Janilari asked. The mage blinked.

"What!?"

"You said you tried everything, didn't you?" The demon shrugged. "That's how humans usually get power. Through death, I mean." She looked at the mage. "You never killed anyone in your life."

Rida looked back at her with fiery eyes. "Of course I haven't."

"That's very nice of you." The demon smiled. "But if what you are looking for is power, then it's the wrong direction."

"So you have killed people?" The sorcerer asked in a hard tone. Janilari pondered.

"That doesn't apply to me. I'm a demon. We are fundamentally different from humans."

"Why? How are you different?"

"Oh, well, you know..." The demon shrugged. "Would you survive without your body?"

"... What?"

"You know, if you didn't have your body would you still be alive?"

"... Obviously not."

"Exactly. You ARE your body. Us demons? We ARE our minds. Humans can lose their minds and survive, demons can lose their bodies and survive. But not vice versa, right? And, before you get any ideas..." She was quick to add. "It's not really possible to kill the mind of a demon. At least, not that I'm aware of."

"You are immortal, then." Deadpanned Rida. The demon sighed.

"... Yeah. Annoying, huh?" Rida stared at her, seriously, and Janilari flashed her a smile. "But anyways. You shouldn't aim to replicate my magic. Focus on human magic."

"Which is based on death, right?"

The demoness shrugged. "What other option do you have? If you feel so bad about killing, think about people as if they were just bags of flesh. Easy, right? Or maybe target really old people, like that also works I think. But I'm pretty sure the youngest, the better." She pondered. "Either way, this adventuring company? Not the best place you can be at." She looked at Rida, and found her with her eyes fixed ahead. "Uhh... All good?"

The mage glanced at her, a cold, furious look that almost made the demoness freeze in place.

"You really think I would do any of that?" Rida said in a cold tone. "You are wrong, ill prove you wrong."

And with that she rushed her horse forward, leaving Janilari some distance behind, while the demon was still shocked at the human's sudden ire.

"... What did I say!?" 

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