“Ok, so,” Pig-faced straightened up, putting his hands on his hips, “essentially, you want us to kill the guardian and harvest its blood?”

“No. We will help you kill the guardian and then harvest its blood.”

“That indicates your devil is a blood mage, which is unsurprising. Now that I think of it, you did mention that. But that would be extremely dangerous for us.”

“You set out to kill the guardian anyway, right? Having a devil fight by your side will certainly increase your odds of survival.”

“Against the guardian, yes. But we’ll be at her mercy once the guardian is dead.”

“You think she has more stamina than you guys?”

“That’s not the issue. She will have the guardian’s blood to fuel her magic. She will have a fresh, high-yield source of magic while our own sources will be depleted.”

“And she can use it just like that? Doesn’t she need to process it somehow?”

“Sure, processing increases its value, but a good blood mage can use it raw. And the better the blood, the easier it is to use it. And since we’re dealing with a devil here … it’s safe to assume she is not a good but is a great mage. I mean, just look at yourself,” Pig-faced extended his hand towards Eric, “She brought you back to life! I don’t think you can even fathom how much skill it takes for a non-healing mage to revive someone like that. And it takes much more than just the magical skill.”

“She had to use all of the blood we’ve collected to bring me back.”

“Yes, it wasn’t the most efficient undertaking because she’s not a healer, but just pulling it off is a tremendous achievement. I don’t think you realize just how powerful your devil is, especially if you did come from a different world. She is essentially a small deity.”

“Then wouldn’t having her by your side be a huge advantage?”

“It would until we kill the guardian. Then she may turn on us and kill us all.”

“But why? What would she gain out of it?”

“Our blood. Everything is blood to monsters like her.”

“As I understand, she will have plenty of blood from the guardian, and your blood is far less potent than the guardian’s. So what motivation would she have for something like that?”

“Maybe she wants to keep the riches too? Why wouldn’t she? If we get exhausted and she gets all the blood she needs, what is stopping her from using it to murder us and steal the riches the guardian was defending? She could both get out of here and get rich simultaneously. There is no way a devil would miss such an opportunity.”

“She doesn’t need riches. Her mother is … I forgot what the title is … some sort of ruler. She grew up rich and never needed any money.”

“Yeah, that’s what she said. And you’re naïve enough to believe her.”

“She walks naked because she refuses to wear peasant clothing or armor. The dress she came here in got torn, but she refuses to wear anything that lacks elegance. She is that kind of snob, so yes, I do believe her when she says her family is rich.”

“Devils love flaunting what they have. So, if she is good-looking, that may be nothing but an excuse for her to flaunt her good looks. But ask yourself this: why did she come here? If she had everything she wanted, why did she feel like risking her life and her time coming here?”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Because she is a spoiled brat. A very powerful one, but a spoiled brat nonetheless. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the end, I discovered that the only reason she came here was to spite her parents.”

“In other words, she can’t be trusted.”

Eric let out a deep, tired sigh: “Look … I thought you said we should get back to business. If you have any doubts, go and take them with the rest of your team.”

“Can you blame me for wanting to learn more about the people I’m supposed to work with?”

“No, but this is getting tiresome. I’m not asking you to trust me or her, but if you’re going to argue about every little thing, then I don’t think we can cooperate. I’m offering you a devil by your side, who is not only a skilled mage and a fighter but also knows the layout of the area.”

“And you’re also offering me a possible stab in the back.”

“But what is the alternative? I may be clueless about dungeons, gods, devils, and some other things, but I know how to read people. And the behavior of your party tells me that you guys are pretty desperate. You have bitten far more than you can chew.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“The very fact that I’m still here proves it. If you guys really thought we were the greater threat than the guardian, you’d kick me out as soon as I made my proposition. The fact that your teammates want me to stay shows just how desperate you are. It shows that your chances of beating the guardian on your own are rather slim. And if your chances are so slim, to the point that your friends are willing to work with a devil, then why not take the chance? What do you have to lose? Your lives? Well, it looks like your lives are already in danger, and a big one. So, if you’re going to doubt every single sentence I say, then go ahead and kick me out already! I’m tired of trying to justify and explain every little thing I say. You need us, and we need you. That’s all that matters. And if you can’t trust me, then fine, let me go! We’re just wasting our precious time here.”

Pig-faced stared menacingly at Eric for a while before answering: “Don’t worry about time. We got plenty of that. We have agreed that you’ll stay in the camp, and that’s it. Nothing else is decided.”

“Ok, you’re questioning me, I get that. I’d probably do the same thing in your shoes. But you’re just going in circles, my man. I understand that you want to interrogate me as much as possible, and I appreciate that you’re being very civil about it, but what are you doing? Really, what are you doing? If I am lying about it, don’t you think my tongue would slip long ago? You keep going in circles, always returning to the same things, and fine, I get it! But how many circles do you need to make before you’re finally satisfied? When will you finally realize that I’m telling the truth? You are very courteous and non-violent, thank you very much for that, but I have to admit that your line of questioning is starting to irritate me. Just when I think we can finally start talking about something useful, you go back to arguing over stupid, pointless shit.”

Eric shifted in his chair, “We didn’t even start discussing the plan! You have plenty of time to decide whether I’m a liar or not. You can keep on questioning me as we’re working on our plan. Don’t you think that would be far more efficient? Right now, I’m on my guard, but if we start talking about something else, my guard will drop, and then you can slip an unexpected question in. That’s how you discover if someone is a liar or not. You don’t argue with them all day long, leveling accusation after accusation at them, no. You leave them alone, let them get comfortable, and then you slip your question when they least expect it.”

“Is that how your people do it?”

“I’m not a cop, I’m not involved with law. Actually, do you have cops?”

“Yes, we do have town guards.”

“I’ve never interrogated criminals or someone similar, but I’m a diplomat. As a diplomat, I had to negotiate with many dishonest people. And I found that dishonesty is best confronted indirectly. Liars will deny everything if you confront them directly, so it’s far better to take your time and create conditions where they will blurt it out on their own. Just keep going as if you aren’t suspecting anything, and then one well-placed, sudden question will be all you need to get a confession out of them.”

“That makes sense if you’re a diplomat with plenty of time. We don’t have such luxury here.”

Eric couldn’t help but put a cocky grin on his face: “But you just said I shouldn’t worry because we got plenty of time just a minute ago! See what I mean? I didn’t even have to ask you. You gave me the information I wanted on your own. All because I didn’t press you about it.”

“Time is a relative thing. Plenty of time for one thing is often not enough time for something else.”

“And yet, I bet all your friends want to get out of here as soon as possible. And the same goes for me and my devil. So, can we please stop with these pointless arguments and get down to business? Feel free to slip in a question or two from time to time, but by now you should’ve realized that arguing with me will get you nowhere. You’re only wasting our precious time.”

Pig-faced sighed as his eyes rolled slightly: “That devil must’ve landed on her head really hard to bring someone as weak and condescending as you back from the dead.”