Michael entered the study, finally finding Liara holding her legs to her chest in the corner of the room.
“Lia.” Michael knelt before her.
She looked so small and vulnerable.
“Come on.” Michael wrapped her in his arms, picking her up.
“I want to be alone,” Liara said, but her actions spoke the opposite. Her hands clung to his shirt, and she leaned into him.
Michael silently carried her to the master bath and, after stripping the two of them, sat in the hot bath together. He cradled her against his body, refusing to lighten his comforting hold on her.
Over time, her tense body relaxed, and her breath became smooth and steady.
“All this time…” Liara spoke. “I thought my mother sealed my skill because she despised me. But… I’m starting to wonder if she….”
“Did it to protect you?” Michael finished for her.
Liara nodded her head.
“I didn’t tell you much about my childhood. I was told my mother died during childbirth, so I was raised by a nanny. My father was a noble in the country of demons of high standing, a draconic type of demon. I don’t remember much from childhood beyond never seeing my father until I was fourteen. I would see him from a distance, but I was forbidden from approaching him. But when I turned fourteen, I was taken to a temple to read my status.” Liara retold.
“They found out the skill was sealed?” Michael asked, caressing her cheek.
“Yes. Though back then, I had no idea what it meant. All that was said was that ability was sealed before my father dragged the priest out of earshot. A heated discussion happened, and I was dragged back home. My father had many people come to the estate to break the seal, but no one could. He tried to get help from the fae-folk, but they all refused to help him.” Liara trembled a bit before calming once more in his embrace.
“My father became so enraged over my ability being sealed that he abused and ignored me. My nanny, whom I had known for fourteen years, started to treat me coldly. There would be days when I would not even get a meal and go weeks without being able to wash. Maids would sometimes show me a bit of kindness just to get me to do their work for them. I was so desperate to be loved….” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Michael gently took hold of her chin and brought her face to face. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore. I will love you. I will never mistreat you. I will never abuse you. I will never abandon you. In the name of Io, I swear that I will keep these promises so long as you desire.” The Divine Oath activated, an intense silver light shining from his body.
Liara looked upon him wide-eyed. She smiled. “I promise. I will love you and never abandon you, no matter how the world may view you. You are my heart and my soul. I swear in the name of Io that I will keep this oath.”
The light of their oaths entwined and linked into one, shining brightly, filling the room with its brilliance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spouse of the Demon-Lord. No woman can compare to the ones who win the heart of the Demon-Lord. Their power and loyalty shall never be questioned. +20 to overall status. +20% Progression in any skills Possessed by the Demon-Lord.
Michael read over the new Special title added to Liara’s info screen.
“Good for your Miss Lia!” Lily said cheerily.
“A step ahead, I see….” Rana mulled over.
Liara sat at the kitchen table with everyone with a bright grin, looking good as new.
“I never would have expected something like this to happen. I mean, looking back at what we said, it could easily be seen as marriage vows.” Liara commented, looking at Michael bashfully.
The big demon himself was also a bit embarrassed, feeling what he said was cringy, but it sounded good to him at the moment.
“Well, I’m happy about it. I can say that much, at least.” Michael began stuffing his face with dinner.
Liara leaned into him happily but then turned her attention to Rana. “Oh, could the two of us have the room to ourselves tonight?”
Rana didn’t seem too crazy about the idea but relented for the happy occasion.
“I’m just asking for the night. You are more than welcome to have a quicky. I do remember your mental state from earlier.” Liara teased the demi-woman.
Rana seemed to get angry but then stopped and smiled. “Sure.”
Liara tensed in surprise.
“I’m going to clean up.” Lily reading the mood, stood and began loading items into the cleaning box.
Liara wanted to protest as she watched Michael be dragged away by the grinning demi-woman, but she knew she had reaped what she had sown.
But unfortunately for both ladies, the mighty dragon could not be slain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following day, Michael received a call from Yanni that he was able to work out a deal with OWP for an exclusive discount on Philbra Merchant Group merchandise. The downside was that Yanni could no longer offer the 50% discount at the company shop. Yanni’s sister had an aneurysm over what her brother was doing. The best deal Yanni could get his sister to agree to is a 20% discount on Philbra products at both their shops and with OWP.
Michael arrived at the OWP, where he met with Alice and the manager he had met before.
“Welcome, esteemed customer! How may we assist you today?” The manager asked with a business smile.
“I came here today to apply for a membership,” Michael informed them.
“Fantastic, sir! Please, this way.” The manager and Alice led Michael to a private room to discuss it.
After seating Michael, the two sat on the other side where a computer was.
“Now then, which membership were you thinking of purchasing?” The manager asked.
“Lifetime.” Michael pulled his bank card out.
“Wha-. Really?” The manager seemed surprised.
“Is it that surprising?” Michael tilted his head.
“Well, no, I have never met anyone who selects it.” The manager replied.
Michael had a hard time believing that. “Really? I thought nobles would buy it.”
“True! But they actually go with the Platinum Annual service. It opens our artisan goods section. One thing to understand about nobles is that it is all about boasting about one’s wealth. Regarding memberships, they don’t like making a one-time purchase.” The manager explained.
“I see. So is the lifetime membership less than that one?” Michael asked.
“No, sir! Nobles don’t pay attention to such things. We created the lifetime purchase because there are certain long-lived races, like the spirits of the Fae. We have many who decide to make such a purchase. Not to mention they typically can build such a level of funds. Being here in Galgalake, I have never had a demi-human or demon purchase one.” The manager chuckled.
“Is this going to be a single or household plan?” Alice asked as she worked on her terminal.
“Oh, household. I, uh, kind of got married recently.” Michael bashfully chuckled.
“Congratulations!” The two exclaimed.
“Yeah. I was not expecting it, but here I am.” Michael’s grin couldn’t get any wider.
“Well then, while Alice gets your account set up, I will retrieve your home terminal and, how many child accounts?” The manager asked as he stood.
“Three child accounts.” He replied.
The manager nodded and left the room.
“Okay, can I see your ID, please? Also, if you allow me to see your Crys-Link, I can link it to your account.” Alice asked.
Michael handed the items to her, and she continued to work. The manager returned with what looked like a catalog, but it looked far sturdier with a reinforced frame.
“This is your home terminal.” The manager handed the brick of a unit to Michael. He then set a small case on the table and opened it; four cards were inside. One card was black and gold while the remaining three looked like a polished bronze.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“The black card is the Master Account holder. The three here are your Child Account cards. So long as you or your household have these cards, you are welcome at any of our OWP locations. Also, you will need to insert your cards into the terminal there to be able to use them. The terminal has two slots, both will accept your membership card, but if you want to utilize the Remote Ordering function, you will also have to insert a bank card.” The manager explained, pointing to each item.
“Thanks. Would it be possible for me to get an additional terminal for when I am traveling? I have people in my home who will not likely be going on jobs with me.” Michael requested.
The manager was more than happy to retrieve another terminal for him.
“Alright, Mr. Caeldaemos, your account is almost ready. All that is left is the payment. The membership is 1.5 million Tress for the Household version. One terminal comes with the purchase, but the additional terminal will add an additional 50,000 Tress. Is there anything else you require?” Alice asked.
“Yes. I want to purchase two more Crys-Links like mine for my family members.” Michael informed her.
After discussing it, Michael would purchase two more premium Crys-Links, one for Liara and the other for Rana. Liara would give her older Crys-Link to Lily to use.
Michael had around 4.5 million Tress in his account but spent 1.9 million, bringing him down to 2.4 million. It was still enough for him and his family to live comfortably, but he decided to start picking up more jobs and move up the ranks at the Mercenary Guild. With Liara’s leg restored, she became motivated to travel with him on assignments while Rana stayed in the city, growing their wealth through investments and other ventures.
That was why the two ladies were not with him at the time.
Liara went to the guild to investigate a job for them to do. Since Liara was originally a Rank 6 at the guild, doing jobs with her would help Michael to progress his job rank even faster.
After Michael called and spoke to Roger, Rana went to the bank to establish a Household account. With an account for the house, Rana could make her investments for their household and use their funds to maintain the mansion. Michael planned to transfer most of his funds to the home, keeping a bit to use while Liara and he was out on missions.
Alice finished setting up the two Crys-Links and turned them over to Michael.
“Thank you so much for your business, sir!” Alice seemed to be glowing with how happy she looked.
“Did something good happen?” Michael asked.
The manager laughed. “Since you know about commissions, she will get a sizable payout. With it, she will not only be able to pay off the remaining debt left by her deadbeat father but also start living her life with her mother and little brothers. I truly thank you for working with Alice, good sir.” The manager bowed his head.
Michael smiled and congratulated Alice.
After finishing his business, at OWP, Michael left to go to the mercenary guild.
Michael arrived but didn’t see Liara at the kiosks. Looking around the main room, he didn’t see her anywhere. Just then, the doors to the back halls opened and she entered the room.
“Cael!” Liara brightened and skipped up to him. Liara was no longer hiding her true form, as the only opinion she cared about was Michael’s.
“Hey. Everything okay?” He asked, welcoming her to hang on his arm.
“Everything is… great.” A devious smile came to her face, but she kept it hidden from him.
“Were you able to find anything?” Michael began walking toward the kiosk with her.
“I found a couple of jobs near each other that we can pick up. They’re about a week’s worth of travel by vehicle to the south.” Liara separated from him and began getting the kiosk ready by inserting her card.
“Sounds good. What are we doing?” Michael inserted his card at the prompt.
“Both jobs are out of a town called Luffa. Supposedly a hunter there spotted an ogre had made a home too close for comfort for them. The other is hunting Gore Bulls. Their meat and materials sell really well. The job asks for a total of five worth. This type of job allows for extras to be hunted, but over-hunting will be penalized.” Liara finished accepting jobs.
“I’m just glad the Branch Head accepted letting me do Rank 6 jobs with you.” Michael walked next to Liara out of the guild.
Liara laughed suspiciously. “I can be quite persuasive.”
After pulling out his Magic Cycle, the two headed home to prepare for their trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before Caeldaemos arrived at the Mercenary guild. Liara stepped out of the wagon and said goodbye to Rana, who was dropping her off.
“I’ll see you later, partner,” Liara said with a sly smile.
“Must you always drag me into battle? Last night was great, but this morning was too much.” Rana complained, rubbing her hips.
“You complain, but I know you wanted more.” Liara’s grin grew wider.
Rana looked at the foxy woman, distraught, before silently driving away.
Liara laughed victoriously. Looking around, she noticed that people were looking at her. She was no longer hiding her true form, wearing it proudly, knowing full well that none of their opinions mattered. Only Cael’s mattered to her. And she guessed Rana’s counted a little bit too.
Confidently spinning on her heels, she burst into the guild hall.
“Huh!? What happened to you, Liara?!” A mercenary asked from a table.
She smiled brightly. “I got married!” Was all she said before heading to the help desk in the back.
“My! Liara! You look so lovely! And intimidating.” A lady commented.
“Thanks, Sarah. Is the Branch Head in today? I need to have a chat with him.” Liara smiled at the woman.
“Of course, I can… Liara! Your leg!” Sarah noticed that Liara’s leg had been restored.
“Yup! Let’s just say I have an excellent husband.” Liara was happy.
Sarah assumed that the husband must have been wealthy and bought an expensive elixir to restore Liara’s leg.
“What a good husband.” Sarah moved out from behind the counter.
“He is definitely quite the gentleman.” Liara bit her lower lip, reminiscing about fun times.
Sarah blushed a bit, but hurriedly guided Liara upstairs.
Knocking on the door to the Branch Heads office, he called for them to enter.
“Mr. Halli!” Liara burst into the room.
“Liara? What happened?!” He was surprised by her change of look.
“I got married. Anyway, you know Caeldaemos, right?” Liara didn’t feel like explaining it.
“What? Huh? Uh. Congratulations? But you…” Halli let out a heavy sigh in frustration.
Liara liked seeing the man squirm in frustration.
“I hope I will hear how your appearance has changed so much. But yes, I know of the demon.” Halli looked at her, annoyed.
“Excellent! So, I saw his capabilities firsthand, and he is truly above a measly Rank 5. I would like for you to place him at Rank 6 immediately so that he can go on jobs with me.” She demanded.
“What? No, I will not bend on that. I placed him at Rank 5 beca-.”
“Because you wanted to test him. Yes, I know. But let me just say this, not even I could beat him. I swear in the name of Io.” Liara interrupted him.
He looked at her with a furrowed brow. “You have been out of the field for two years. That is not saying much.”
The door burst open once more. “I demand to know if the demon Caeldaemos showed up!”
Standing in the doorway was a female winged demon with a thin and pointed tail.
Halli sighed heavily again. “Miss Listamati, how many times must I tell you I will not help you with that.”
Listamati strutted up toward the desk. “I’m a Rank 7 merc! That should give me some privileges!”
Liara remembered the demon before her, the one that they believed to be a crazy ex of Cael. She could use her.
“You want to know where Cael is?” Liara asked.
Listamati spun on Liara. “You know him? Who are you!?” She demanded.
Liara grinned smugly. “I can tell you. But you need to beat me in a match.”
“Liara! There is no way you could beat a rank 7!” Halli yelled in protest.
Listamati eyed Liara suspiciously. “What rank are you?”
“Only a Rank 6. Should be easy for you.” Liara cooed mockingly.
“Fine.” Listamati agreed, much to Halli’s dismay.
A large central ring in the training area out back was cleared, and trainees kept out to the sides.
Listamati waited in the ring, impatiently tapping her foot with her arms crossed.
“Liara, what are you doing? Sure, your leg is restored, but how the hell are you going to beat her?” Halli asked.
“Marriage changed me for the better. Trust me. You will give me permission to take Cael with me on Rank 6 jobs.” Liara stated.
“Is that what this is about!? You’re mad!” Halli yelled as Liara entered the ring.
“Are you finished?” Listamati impatiently asked.
“I am ready when you are.” Liara smiled confidently, pulling out dual gladius’ that had been dulled.
“Hmph.” Listamati pulled out twin Magic pistols.
“Artillery? Nice.” Liara commented.
Listamati lifted one of her guns and fired.
The magic bullet flew straight through Liara, disturbing a mist.
“What? An illusion!?”
Liara appeared next to Listamati. “Haze.”
Swinging her swords, Listamati narrowly dodged one strike and blocked the other with her left pistol.
Listamati kicked out at Liara, but the foxy woman bent backward, dodging the attack.
Liara followed her dodge with a scissor attack with her blades on Listamati’s leg.
Listamati defended by firing at the blades, driving off course just enough to pull her leg out of danger.
Liara straightened and swung her right blade downward.
Seeing the blade extending in length, Listamati dodged to the side instead of backward like she had wanted to open the distance.
Liara pounced forward, her blades whirring toward Listamati in a flurry.
Listamati was sweating as she was pushed back, doing everything she could to defend herself with her heavy pistols.
“Damn, you!” Listamati expanded her wings and used them to blow a dust screen toward Liara, but it also blew away the image of Liara.
“What?” Listamati paused, only to receive a heavy blow to the back of her head.
She fell to the ground unconscious. Liara appeared behind the falling woman, breathing heavily.
The buff Liara received from Cael gave her more access to Misty Veil, but due to the seal, using it was considerably draining. She would have to continue to limit using it until the curse was lifted.
Cheers rang out all around her.
Halli approached Liara. “Stronger than you, huh?” He looked down at the unconscious Listamati.
“Way stronger,” Liara replied, steadying her breath.
Halli scratched his head and sighed. “Fine. Sarah put an exception into the system for Caeldaemos that if he does jobs with Liara, he can do Rank 6 jobs. Each Rank 6 job will count as performing three Rank 5.”
“Ten Rank 5’s.” Liara counter-offered.
Halli looked at her stubborn expression, annoyed. “I will allow six.”
Liara smiled in agreement.
Liara turned to leave but stopped. “Could you deliver a message for me to this woman?”
“Sure?” Halli was tired.
“Tell her, ‘Stay the hell away from my husband.’” Liara said with a dangerous smile.
Halli paused for a moment before bursting out in laughter.
Liara left the training area, and many welcomed her back to active duty. She burst through the doors to the main room and saw her beloved man standing near the entrance.
“Cael!” She skipped over to her big man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michael and Liara arrived back at the mansion and found Rana in the kitchen with several documents spread before her.
“Welcome back. Did everything go well?” Rana welcomed them with a smile.
“It did.” Michael pulled out one of the OWP terminals and the two Crys-Links.
“My day was great.” Liara grinned wickedly as she picked up her new Crys-Link.
Rana was more interested in the OWP terminal, looking through the products.
Once Liara had calibrated her new Crys-Link to her mana, she went off to find Lily in her room to give the girl her old Crys-Link.
Michael sat down at the table and asked Rana what she was up to.
“Hmm?” She looked up from the OWP terminal. “Oh, the documents.” She giggled.
Picking up one of the documents, Rana showed it to Michael. “These are some market statistics from the year. I plan on checking out the market history of the last few years during the next few days. Right now, it looks like tea might be making a comeback soon amongst commoners. So, I will likely be investing in a few shops tomorrow. Right! I have the Household bank cards.” Rana pulled two cards from her pocket. The cards were not the plain metal-looking ones anymore. They had a basic design etched into them.
She handed a specific one to Michael. “This is the Head of Household card.”
Michael thanked her and asked if she could get her Crys-Link ready so that he could add her number to his unit.
Rana became a little embarrassed but did it happily. Liara returned with Lily, and they all made sure to save each other’s numbers.
Michael was quite happy with his new life. Things were looking good for him. But the weight of being the Demon-Lord still weighed heavily on him. The Heroes would be getting stronger, which meant if he wanted to survive and protect the happiness he held, he would have to become an unsurmountable force. Power was only one of the many things he needed. Allies, influence, and perhaps create an image in the world that no one could say that he deserved to die. Unsure of how he was going to do it…
“Cael?” “My lord?” “Big brother?”
Michael smiled. “One step at a time.”
---End Volume One---