Two hours and forty-five minutes later, Aldritch was standing beside Edward’s chair while the slimy man finished reading through the last piece of paperwork he’d brought for Aldritch's eyes. The moment he was done, he slid it over to Aldritch without a word or a glance in his direction.
Aldritch exhaled loudly through his nose and glanced at Sulika, who was sitting with her head resting on the desk. He was feeling a tad guilty about her situation, but wasn’t sure what he could do to help... Well, aside from snapping Edward’s neck and being done with it. But he couldn’t do that without losing his only lead to a potential Devil sighting. It was unfortunate, but Sulika would just have to hold out on her own for the time being.
Aldritch picked up the piece of paper and carefully read through it. He’d read through every inch of nonsense Edward tried to convince him to sign. Some he did; Like the request for an I.D card, a form to request citizenship, and an agreement to have his abilities tested by the guild for three gold coins. But for every term he agreed to, there were three he refused to sign for. None of the terms were predatory per se, but he didn’t see any reason to give the guild an annual ‘membership fee’, or permission to call upon him whenever a situation arose that they deemed ‘suitable’.
He had no intention of becoming the guild’s dog, no matter what benefits they offered in return. And there were a couple that caught his eye; Access to a twenty-four-hour gym, an onsite tailor and smithy that was advertised as ‘the best in town’, a permanent dwelling inside the dormitory, and a yearly salary of ten silver coins to start. Those could’ve been appealing, but not at the expense of his freedom.
“Mr. Aldritch, I’m afraid you must also sign this one.” Edward said, sliding a piece of paper in front of Aldritch. It was the guild membership form, which Aldritch had purposely left blank.
“No, I don’t,” Aldritch replied while dropping the last piece of paper onto the desk. It was an estimate for the Ogre’s corpse. The guild was offering to buy the entire body for one gold and seventy-five silver coins. “I’m also not agreeing with this. The corpse is worth at least four times as much as what you’re offering.”
Edward sucked in a breath and sighed out of irritation. “If you plan to join the guild, then you must sign this form.” He said and waved the form in front of my face. “Even a child would know this, Mr. Aldritch. So, sign the form.” He ordered, placing the piece of paper on the table between them and aggressively sliding it towards Aldritch.
Aldritch glanced between the guild application and the man sitting in front of him. Then, with a neutral smile on his face, he lifted the sheet of paper off the table and tore it into four pieces. Aldritch slid the pieces of the application back across the table to Edward and said, “Why are you offering me a fraction of what the ogre is worth?”
“Are you crazy?” Edward shouted. He grabbed the pieces in his hand and waved them in front of Aldritch’s face. “What the hell were you thinking? Why would you do this?” He shouted again. The incredulity at what Aldritch had done drove Edward’s stress levels through the ceiling and he could no longer contain his anger.
Aldritch ignored his outburst and brought his attention to the receipt for the ogre’s corpse. “An Ogre’s corpse is worth-”
Edward snatched the receipt out of Aldritch’s hand. “I don’t give a damn about the Ogre!” He ripped up the receipt in front of Aldritch and slammed it on the table between them. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? The amount of disrespect you’ve shown the guild today. You’ll be lucky if we even let you in after this!” He said, his anger skyrocketing because of the bored expression on Aldritch’s face.
“Are you done?” Aldritch asked once Edward paused to take a breath. His question only angered the man even more than before. And Aldritch guessed by the color his face was turning, it wouldn’t take much longer for him to explo-
“Get out.” Edward said through clenched teeth. “You are no longer being considered for guild membership. If you do not leave the premises in five minutes, I’ll have security remove you.”
“That was easier than I thought it’d be. Weren’t the servants of devils supposed to be master manipulators?” Oakairo said in a bemused tone.
“He’s been on edge since he walked in, and he was blatantly antagonistic from the beginning. I doubt he’s a direct servant, since no true devil servant would dare endanger their master’s goals over such petty tricks. Only someone who doesn't know the true horror of a devil, or a complete idiot would make such a mistake. Either way, I'm not sure we'll get much out of him. Might be better off getting rid of him after all and save someone a headache later.”
“True. The ones you used to hunt were much more conniving than this one. They even fooled you a few times… Ah, I'm sorry. That was unkind of me.” Oakairo said, feeling genuinely apologetic for speaking out of turn.
“Do not apologize, My Lord. You’ve spoken only the truth.” Aldritch glanced over at Sulika for the briefest moment before holding out his hand for Edward to shake. “Thank you for your time today. Hopefully, I’ll be seeing you soon.” Aldritch told the man, who ignored his attempt to get a handshake. After standing with his hand extended for a few seconds, Aldritch dropped it to his side and turned to Sulika. “Would you like me to wait with you?” He asked her.
“Final warning. Leave the premises or I’ll have you dragged out.” Edward spat; his voice was so full of vitriol it slightly surprised Aldritch when it didn’t trigger his poison resistance skill.
Aldritch ignored the threat and continued watching Sulika. “I appreciate the offer, but I think it’ll be best for everyone if you leave. I’ll see you at the store later, okay?” Sulika said. She didn’t want to see any of the guards get hurt. They were only doing their jobs and didn’t deserve whatever fate awaited them if they tried to forcibly remove Aldritch.
“Understood.” Aldritch said and smiled at her. “I’ll swing by the dormitory to collect some things and see you after you’re done here.”
“The dormitory is guild property; you may not just waltz inside however you please!” Edward said… And was pointedly ignored. Aldritch walked to the door and gently knocked on it to get the guard’s attention. There was a loud *Clack* sound as the door was unlocked and they let Aldritch leave without a word. “Hey!” Edward shouted at the two guards. He stood up and pointed a shaking finger at Aldritch’s back. “Have someone follow him until he’s left the premises. And if he’s still inside the guild in five minutes, I’ll have the both of you fired for disobeying a direct order!”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Sulika gave the two male guards an apologetic look, but they both seemed more amused than angry. “Yes, sir.” One of them said to the vice-master and gave him a sloppy salute before shutting the door and locking it… There was a moment of awkward silence after the guard locked the door, during which neither Sulika nor Edward said anything.
“Do you know your sin?” Edward sighed. He tugged at the top button of his suit until it came undone and sat back in his chair.
“I disobeyed your orders.”
“You disobeyed my orders, exactly right- so you can listen.” Edward said. His voice was humorless, and Sulika could hear the undercurrent of anger that was just waiting to lash out at her. “Do you remember what you said to me the day I agreed to give you command of your own squad?” He asked.
“That I would do anything to prove myself capable.” Sulika replied, looking down at the table.
“Not quite. You said you’d follow any command I gave you to prove yourself. But that’s not what you did, is it? You came to me with this-this, this idiotic and completely illegal plan to break into someone’s private warehouse on the word of some untested oracle-”
“She isn’t untested.” Sulika said, interrupting him.
“Look, I know she’s your friend. But the fact of the matter is, there’s an order to things. And no matter how accurate you say she is, without a certification of accuracy from the guild, she might as well be a sideshow psychic. Which is exactly what I told you when you first brought this case to me.”
“Her being my friend has nothing to do with it. Faeyra has a 90% accuracy rating-”
“According to you.” Edward interrupted. “But if she’s so accurate, why doesn’t she work for the guild? You know, most oracles only have a 65% accuracy rating. If she really did have a 90%, as you claim, she’d be the most powerful Oracle the guild has ever hired. Her salary would likely be more than the operating cost of an entire division… If she could prove it. Yet she’s never attempted to prove those claims to us, has she?”
“No.” Sulika replied through clenched teeth.
“Exactly right. But, on your word, I looked into her. And do you know what I found?”
“What?”
“She’s never been certified as an Oracle in the eyes of the guild. Or anyone else, as far as I can tell. Furthermore, her only work history is as a two-bit alchemist. You even helped pay for the shop she owns, correct?”
“No, that’s not right. I helped purchase the building, yes. But the shop is all hers, and she works her ass off to keep it running.” Sulika adamantly replied. She was getting angry now. The vice-master could talk down to her all he wanted. She’d messed up and will accept the punishment… but Faeyra didn’t deserve any of this.
Edward stared at Sulika. His lips curled into an amused grin that irritated Sulika. “So, that’s a yes.” He said smugly. “I understand the scheme now.” He said cryptically, which brought a confused look to Sulika’s face. “Intentionally or not, you’ve been using guild funds to support your friend’s business. And then, after funneling dozens of gold coins into her business, you tried to portray this friend as an Oracle to divert even more coins into her business. You’re laundering the guild’s money.” He said and leaned across the table so she couldn’t escape his gaze. “Just admit it so we can move on.”
Sulika stared at him, and the confusion on her face was clear as day… “If I had a copper bit for every mile that leap of logic just crossed, I could retire today and still have enough funds to buy my great, great, great-granddaughter a house.” She said after a moment. “First; I’ve never stolen anything from the guild. Second; If I put money into the store, it was out of my own pocket.”
“Which you got from the guild.” Edward said, still keeping his smug grin.
“Yes, as part of my salary… Which I earned. Or are you trying to say that money was loaned to me?” Sulika asked, her voice dropping because of irritation.
While continuing to grin, Edward held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Now, now, no need to get upset just because you got caught. Everyone gets caught eventually, no matter how much they try to hide the truth.” He pushed a sheet of paper across the table to her and tapped it twice with his index finger. “Just sign this piece of paper, agree to pay us back, and I won’t need to make a big deal out of this.”
Sulika looked at the piece of paper and grit her teeth. It was the fine for six-hundred gold coins. It wasn’t for Aldritch, it was for her… “He was planning to do this from the beginning. This little weasel never intended to let me explain.”
Edward pushed a pen into her hand and tried to grab hold of her wrist, but Sulika jerked her hand away. “Don’t touch me.” Sulika snapped.
The smile on Edward’s face fell away. He roughly grabbed her wrist and forced it onto the paper. “Sign it.” He told her.
“No.” Sulika said and shoved him away. She stood from the chair and reached for her sword… Only to remember she still didn’t have it on her.
“How about this- Sign it, and I’ll let you and the rest of your team go on like normal? I won’t even mention the insubordination to the guild master. Don’t sign it and I’ll sign this little piece of paper right here,” He said while pushing a ‘letter of dismissal’ in front of her. “I’ve already signed Zarud, Derrik Longhammer, Oladi Aspenspark, and Ralocan Whiteeagle’s letters. But because of all the stress your… friend has caused me today, I forgot to submit them. But if you agree to pay back the debt you owe us, then I’d be happy to throw all five letters in the trash. What say you now?” Edward asked. He smiled at Sulika’s frowning face and place his hand on top of hers. ”Do the right thing.” He whispered and gave her hand a squeeze…
“Don’t worry. I plan on it.” She muttered just loud enough for him to hear. She looked at him through predatory yellow eyes that looked nothing like the beautiful green Edward had been looking into just seconds ago. The rage and hatred barely contained within them sent a bolt of fear down Edward’s spine, and he was quick to release her hand and sit back in his chair.
Sulika stood after he released her hand and backed towards the door. Her glowing yellow eyes remained fixed on him, and try as she might, she couldn’t move them. Edward had angered her more in the last few minutes than she’d experienced in the last decade, and it was taking every ounce of self-control she possessed to maintain her form. She needed to leave- needed to find someplace dark and quiet to hide until she could get her heart rate back under control.
She finally mustered the strength to pull her eyes away from him and knocked on the door with surprising strength for one so slight. The guards mistook her knocking for someone falling against the door and hurried to open it- only to freeze the moment Sulika’s gaze caught them.
Sulika thanked them for opening the door and left without so much as a glance in Edward’s direction. She’d known he was a greedy asshole before today, but she never would’ve thought it was this bad.
To hell with the guild, and to hell with Edward. There were other ways to accomplish her goal. The guild was just the most convenient one for her purposes… She almost hesitated while walking out the front door of the guild building.
What would she tell the others? Would they be upset with her for not saving their jobs, or would they understand?