Melody woke up in time to have a shower. Fortunately for her sanity, the bathroom was pretty much identical to one she’d see in the human realm, apart from some of the grimness of the decor, and slightly sturdier fixtures. She supposed that probably had something to do with the fact they were demons. The shower was refreshing though, and helped her prepare for the day. Scrambling to get into an unfamiliar uniform, she had to fiddle quite a bit with the fastenings before she got it looking quasi-presentable. Rushing out of her room, she found her way to the dining room. Although she was afraid of the food, she was also afraid of going hungry. Maybe some fruit, or a bun, would be safer than whatever was being served last night. Come to think of it, she never did ask Mammon if the brain was literal, or just a joke at her expense.
Speaking of Mammon, he was waiting for her at the dinner table. Beel was there also, stuffing his face. He grunted slightly and nodded his head in Melody’s direction, but didn’t say anything. Melody suspected that if he tried to speak, he’d likely choke, and was just as happy to go without a verbal greeting. None of the other brothers were present. Shoving a bag into one of Melody’s hands, Mammon grabbed her other arm and started rushing her out of the room. Looking back over her shoulder at the table, she wondered if she had done something wrong, but she didn’t have much time to protest. The sound of her feet, in their new and polished shoes, were rapid as she tried to keep the pace with Mammon and his longer legs.
Once they got out the door, and past the gate, Mammon stopped short, and Melody almost stumbled because she didn’t expect it.
“Go on; open the bag. You can eat while we walk. If I’d let you open it up in there, Beel would have been after it in a heart beat,” Mammon said. “I scrounged around for some food that’s suitable for your weak human stomach, so ya should be thankin’ me.”
“Thank you Mammon,” Melody said, opening the bag and reaching inside. The fruits in there looked a lot like human realm fruit, with some slight differences in shape and texture. But, at the least, they wouldn’t be some strange part of an animal she’d never heard of. Carefully she bit into one of the fruits; it was sour and tangy, but not too sour.
“Do ya always just do what people tell you?”
“Well…” Melody had to think about that one for a moment.
“Don’t hurt your brain, human. Let’s just go.” And, without further ado, Mammon was off again. Boy, was he ever fast! Melody was hard pressed to keep up with him, yet, he never completely lost her. Every so often, he’d stop and look back, his face exasperated. He’d grumble, he’d complain, he’d insult, but he never took off completely, and Melody was grateful for that last part, even if the rest wasn’t entirely pleasant. At least it wasn’t only her slowness that irritated him; he seemed to be able to find something wrong in everything around him, or head of him. Melody wasn’t sure she had ever heard someone complain that much. But, with his constant tirades, her mind wasn’t free to completely wander, and she found it oddly soothing to hear a voice, even if it spoke only negative words.
However, as soon as she got past the large front doors of RAD, the white-haired demon sprinted off, leaving her in a sea of strangers. It was then that she felt a stab of anxiety. As worried as she had been on the way, Mammon’s constant chatter kept her from dwelling too much on the strangeness of her situation, and her complete unfamiliarity with where she was. Fortunately for her, the students were assembling for orientation, and there was instructions given, questions asked and answered. Melody paid attention, tapping in a few notes on her DDD as she listened. When all the prep was done, however, she was left to her own devices before classes started. Hovering uncertainly off to the side of the main hall, she heard some voices a little ways away from her.
“Hey, check it out. That’s the human that everyone’s been talking about. You think it’s true what they say, that Mammon became a babysitter?” one student was saying to another. From what Melody could see, they looked human, but so had the brothers and Lord Diavolo. It was not at all flattering to hear Mammon compared to a babysitter, because that just meant she was seen as a child, a nuisance.
“Well, if so, then I’d say that actually works out great, doncha think? If we wait and strike when he’s not paying attention, he’ll never figure out it was us. C’mon, we should devour the human before Beel does.” There were too many things wrong with those sentences for Melody to get past them, and she trembled in fear. Firstly, they wanted to eat her. Secondly, Mammon wasn’t reliable and they were trusting in his unreliability to cover their crimes. Thirdly, she now lived with Beel, who, by the demon’s assumption, would devour her. They didn’t make it sound like it was a question of if, but of when. Melody gulped.
“Hey, you there.” A voice even closer to Melody made her turn. Standing a little ways from her was a youngish looking man, though he had silvery-gray hair a few shades darker than Mammon’s. At first he was smiling, but when Melody gave him a questioning look, he frowned. “That’s right, I’m talking to you, the human with that frightened, tormented look on her face that demons love so much. You’re practically screaming, ‘Come and eat me! I’m scrumptious!’ Your name’s Melody, isn’t it? This DDD here belongs to you, right? I saw you drop it just now. Here, take it.”
Nervously Melody patted her pocket, finding that the man’s words were true, at least in the respect that it could be hers, for it was no longer on her person. Reaching out, she accepted the device from the man, her hand clutching onto it. She remembered that Lucifer said all the student council’s numbers were in there so she could get help if it was needed. If those demons had made a move…her stay in the Devildom would have come to an abrupt end. Even if it was true, she wished everyone would stop talking about her as though she was a walking menu option.
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“Haha. What’s with that look? There’s no need to be suspicious of me. My name’s Solomon. I’m an exchange student from the human world, just like you. Nice to meet you Melody.” It took Melody a moment, but she remembered saying that the other human exchange student had magic of some kind. Melody did believe in such things, since her family knew about magic, though she knew little about it personally. Her siblings rubbed it in that she had no magic, while they did.
“You…you’re the other human student? Truly?” She was intimidated, but at the same time, hopeful. If he had magic, he might be just as bad as her siblings. On the other hand, he was unlikely to want to eat her, so that familiar disdain would at least be a safer option.
“Haha, good question. Honestly, there are times when even I’m not so sure,” Solomon said. That wasn’t a response Melody was expecting. Solomon pulled a face, and Melody wasn’t entirely sure what his expression was, but it wasn’t a happy one. “Long ago, I obtained a ring of wisdom— a gift from a certain someone in a VERY high position. And, drunk on its power, I used it to form pacts with 72 different demons, becoming a wicked sorcerer… That is, if you believe the stories people tell about me. Regardless, I’m fairly sure that I am indeed still human, though it may not seem like it.”
Really, it made Melody feel very small an insignificant again. Obviously, even if the rumors weren’t true, it would be enough that the man in front of her had the power to have such things whispered about him. He had magic, and she didn’t. How did someone as ordinary as herself end up in this program? Maybe one of them was the control group, while the other was the experiment. She just couldn’t tell which was which. Melody sighed deeply. Was he the Solomon of the legends, or was he using the legend to make himself seem more powerful? She was half inclined to believe the former, since he didn’t seem to be bragging. Something seemed to be bothering him, but she couldn’t begin to guess what.
“..Uh-oh. I’d better get going. See you around, Melody. Take care of yourself.” And, just like that, Melody was abandoned by the second white-haired man that morning. Melody didn’t have time to be nervous this time, for soon after Solomon left, Lucifer approached. She noticed how the other students gave him a wide berth. Since he made eye-contact with her and was headed straight for her, she stood still and waited for him, rather than scuttling away like some of the other students. Still, she trembled as he came to a stop a polite distance in front of her.
“Good morning, Melody. You’ve become quite the celebrity here, haven’t you?”
“Good morning, Lucifer…um…sir.” Melody hadn’t been told, definitively, how to address Lucifer. “I don’t know about celebrity, but, well, I’ve definitely been noticed,” she said meekly, remembering the students she heard gossiping about her. No, if she was honest, it didn’t feel like gossiping so much as plotting her demise. That was a lot more deadly than idle gossip.
“Looks like you made it through the night without being eaten. Good for you. Still, there’s no guarantee that you’ll make it to tomorrow.” Well, if Lucifer wanted to applaud her survival, it could have at least been in a less threatening way. Not that Melody felt he was going to take action against her himself, but that he was simply waiting to see who would move against her, when, and if she’d be able to defend herself. It was…uncomfortable. On the surface, his smile was pleasant enough, but there was a gleam in his eyes that only made her feel more vulnerable. It didn’t last long though, before it turned into a more neutral expression.
“Was that Solomon I saw you talking with earlier? You and he are the only two students from the human world here. Seeing as you’re both human, it’s fine if you associate with him, but know that he can’t be trusted.” By now Lucifer was scowling, and Melody felt like the weight of his displeasure could easily suffocate her. “He may be a mere human, but he has a ring imbued with wisdom, and he wields powerful magic. He’s the type of man who will try to subjugate even a powerful, greater demon if he gets the chance.”
Great, so the closest thing Melody had to an ally in this realm was a power hungry maniac, according to Lucifer. Solomon had also mentioned his ring, and pacts with demons. Curious, how he brought it up after Melody had turned down the option to pursue a pact with Mammon. What would he think of that decision? Had she made an error? On the other hand, Lucifer seemed angry at the use of pacts, so perhaps making one would turn the others against her. She had no way to know, and Lucifer didn’t seem like the kind she could ask a question of. And Solomon was already gone. Why hadn’t she tried to ask him more information? Obviously he hadn’t given up his soul to the first demon, or he wouldn’t be able to make further pacts? Unless, a soul could be divided somehow? Melody’s head hurt from trying to sort it all out.
“What is it, Melody? Is there something you wanted to ask me?” Lucifer was smiling again, and Melody couldn’t tell if he was amused or not. If he was, it was likely at her expense. Melody simply shook her head.
“Can you tell me a little more about Mammon?” Melody asked, blurting out the first question that came to mind that wasn’t about pacts, or souls, or Solomon.
“Mammon? Why do you want to know about him all of a sudden? Still, I guess it’s only natural, considering he’s the one assigned to look after you. Mammon is my brother. I don’t want to say anything unkind about him. So, I’ll try to be sparing in my criticism.” Lucifer shook his head, his expression going into one of regret. He coughed lightly. “He’s pure scum. The scummiest sort of scum. Pure, unfiltered, disgusting scum to the point that I’m embarrassed to call him a fellow demon, much less my brother… So, any particular reason you asked, or were you just curious.?”
Melody had to take a few moments to unpack that as well. Lucifer did speak a lot, but, usually what he said wasn’t idle words. She wasn’t sure she could keep up in an extensive conversation with the man…er…demon. If that was a sparing criticism, she would hate to hear the full version, which worried her. Also, the completely unflattering depiction of Mammon made her siblings sound downright complimentary when it came to how they described her. Yet, despite this terrible report of Mammon’s characteristics, he had entrusted her to Mammon. What did that mean for her? Another thing that nagged at her mind was that Lucifer said that being scum made him embarrassing as a demon. So, what was the actual nature of a demon, if not to be, well, scummy? Not that Lucifer seemed at all scummy. Harsh and autocratic, perhaps, but still someone that demanded respect just by breathing.
“Curious is a good word, but I don’t think that’s quite it. I… well… he complains a lot, but I get the feeling he’s not always honest about how upset he is.” She was about to say more, but then a bell buzzed, giving her a knot in her stomach. It sounded far too close to the school bell at home, and she had not enjoyed high school. The similarity was not a welcome one.
“That’s the first bell. Class is about to start. Time to get going. You’d better hurry too. You don’t want to be late on your first day here.”