Chapter 15
“Last one for the day, last one for the day…” Cruz says as she lays her head down on a desk.
“Holy crap, you have a breaking point?” I say as she reaches for an 8-hour energy bottle. “Aren’t I supposed to be the stressed one?”
“Well, aren’t you the sensitive type? Insinuating a federal agent can’t get stressed.” Cruz says as she furrows her eyebrows. “Honestly, you’re almost as infuriating as he is, rich boy,”
“W-who? He-”
“Your next and final interrogee, genius.” She cuts me off as she finishes downing the bottle.
“...If this guy managed to put you in this state before I’ve even met him, what the heck do you expect me to do?!” I say as I throw my arms.
“Suffer like I did,” Cruz says with a sadistic smile on her face. “Everything I want you to ask him is on the tablet. Have fun.”
I roll my eyes and turn to face the music, but Cruz chimes in.
“Oh, and Monarch~,” Cruz says, getting my attention. “I know it runs in your family, but…try not to make any deals with this one.” She says with a smirk on her face.
…
…
…
Contrast to everyone else I’ve met, the guy in front of me sits in his chair with his eyes closed and a giant smirk on his face. His hands relax behind his head as his black, shaggy hair gives them a cushion. He leans back in the chair as he lifts his legs up and rests them on the top of a nearby chair.
I, on the other hand, feel dead inside.
Just as I’m trying to figure out what to say, he opens and reveals his crimson eyes and sharp pupils to me. He keeps the smirk as he moves from the resting position to face me directly. The red-tattered cloths attached to his black armor flow as he moves. His gaze shifts to my face as his smirk creeps into a toothy smile.
“Heh. Someone easy-looking for once.” The man says as he scans me up and down before speaking again.
“Name’s Leylo: Nerakan wonderer and curious soul.” He says as he gives a smooth wink. Just as quickly as he introduces himself, he shoves his hand toward me. “Put ‘er there!”
This guy’s attitude is WAY better than the last two. My shoulders relax at the radiating charisma before me. I reach forward to give a formal handsha-
Waaaaaaaait a minute. I freeze in place just before making contact.
I’m… getting a weird vibe here. My eyes narrow as I witness a strange aura. Literally, there’s a faint but noticeable crimson glow around his hand. That, combined with the fact that a gentle breeze seems to emanate from him…
Yeah, no. I’m not earning my Darwin award today. I pull my hand back and lean in my seat.
“Oh, what? Scared of physical contact?” Leylo says as he chuckles and rolls his eyes. “Or maybe you’re just the hateful type?”
“Not hateful…” I begin. “My brain tells me that shaking the red glowing hand of someone with crimson predator eyes might just be a bad idea.”
“Oh, so just because I’m a demon suddenly shaking my hand’s a bad idea?” He says as he scoffs at me.
“Well, now that I know you’re a demon, absolutely!” I say, throwing my hands up.
“Tch.” The demon boy clicks his tongue and flips his hair. “Whatever. Don’t wanna dirty my hands by touching someone who reeks.”
“Hey, you try going over 30 hours without a shower and smell yourself!” I yell, pointing at him.
“Shower? You use the weather to bathe?” He asks as he narrows his eyes and shakes his head.
“Right. Not from Earth. You wouldn’t know what a shower is, anyway. Sorry about that.” I say, looking down.
“Forget it… Your body odor isn't what I meant anyway.” He says, looking away from me. “You smell angelic.”
W-wha- How is he gonna say I reek then turn around and say I smell angelic-
…Ohhhh… He might mean… I should investigate. I ask him what he means by angelic.
“I’m talking about the angelic residue left all over you. Don’t blame you for not noticing if you didn't know about it prior. Mortals tend to have a hard time smelling it.” He says as he uses his hands to explain. “You’ve been in bed with Langit recently, haven't you?”
I explain how Ellie healed my bruises after interviewing her. There’s definitely more to the angels than meets the eye, but maybe Leylo knows a thing or two.
“Heh. So she healed you and was forced to sucker up to you? Humans? That Sephora…” He chuckles briefly, but his expression darkens, and his voice gets deeper as he mentions the goddess. “Glad to know that madwoman’s wasting no time… I wonder if SHE’s on the move too…”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I’m about to press for more on the goddess, but he foresaw that and cut’s me off.
“Forget it. I’m not saying anything about them. At least not yet.” He says as he smirks.
Them? Whatever… I need to move on to Cruz’s task anyway. I pull out the tablet and navigate to the map of the new world once more. Leylo oogles at the tablet as I zoom in on a blood-red continent between Erde and Langit. The continent has purple beaches and strangely circular lakes with rivers connecting them. I mean, they’re PERFECTLY circular.
“My boss and I are guessing this is where you are from?” I ask as I point out the continent.
“Home, sweet Neraka…” He says as he gazes lovingly at the map. “Although I’ve never seen it like this before… It’s just a picture, but it looks so real… how did you fly so high up? And who painted this?”
“That’s satellite imagery,” I explain. “So this Neraka place… I-”
“Nope.” He says while smirking. “I can’t give any info about that place…”
“W-why? You’re from there… I swear we don’t have bad intentions, we just-”
“Hey. What’s your name?” Leylo asks me.
“Monarch,” I state plainly. “Monarch Key.”
“Listen, Monarch. I like you. So I’m going to let you in on a little something.” He says as he leans in. “If you want to survive on Neraka, there’s a lot of rules you gotta follow. And one of those rules is NEVER give information for free. You get where I’m coming from?”
“If you want information about my homeland, I’m gonna need some incentive if you catch my drift.” He says as he winks at me.
I can practically feel Cruz ready to storm in with a gun, but I hold up a finger at the one-way window, telling them to wait. I’m actually pretty curious…
“What do you want?” I ask. “Within reason.”
“Water.”
“...What?”
“You heard me. Water or I don’t talk.”
…I hope this isn't a mistake. After a few moments, a styrofoam cup of water ends up in front of Leylo. Guess they knew better than to give him a glass.
A big smile runs across the demon’s face as he takes a swig of the water and demolishes the poor cup in one fell swoop. His eyes widen as he drops the cup and stares at it in wonder for a few seconds.
“...That was water?! But that was so good! So clean! H-how did you guys accomplish this?!” He asks as he lights up.
“...Plumbing.” I respond with a blank face.
“And you guys really just gave that high of quality of water to me?! A demon?!” He asks nobody in particular. “You… you guys really are a sophisticated society, aren’t you? You wouldn’t understand Neraka…”
I ask him what he means as he explains.
“Neraka is a lawless land. The only societies there are ruled by raw strength.” He details for me. “All the resources, respect, and reputation go to the strongest tribes in the land. They get the best ruins to settle in. Well, the ruins that are safe anyway.”
“I take it you’re strong too? You seem to have a good lay of the land.” I probe.
“Well… truth be told, I’m MUCH smaller than the ones that currently rule, well, everything down there.” He says as he rubs the back of his head. “Before you ask, I still got around. You’d be surprised what you can accomplish by making deals, knowing secrets about other nations, and being good with magical crossbows.”
I nod as I lean in, absorbing everything he has to say.
“Why the odd colors of the land? The entire continent is loaded with salt and dust that changes to red on contact with air and purple when it touches water.” He explains as he closes his eyes, leaning back into his chair. “Also, those lakes? Your boss is right to suspect them. Those aren’t natural. Those decorations were done quite recently. And against our will, if I might add.”
…Shivers travel up my spine as my heart speeds up. Against our will? Is he implying those were done by an attacking force?
I REALLY hope not because if each of those lakes really formed from attacks…
They are a similar size to craters left over by hydrogen bombs.
“And boy, let me tell ya, that split across the continent isn't natural either! That was recent, too!” He explains while chuckling. “Well, recent to us. Humans only live what, 50-100 years at best?”
I gulp before I continue. “S-so what force did-”
“Ah, ah, ah!” Leylo wags his finger at me. “More water first.”
I sigh as another cup is brought in. If there’s really a force from this new world that can damage continents on a scale like that, we need to know right away.
Why am I the one that has to get the existential dread?
Leylo stands up this time as he downs another cup with pure ecstasy.
“I gotta learn more about this plumbing or whatever, cuz this is fantastic! You guys must charge a ton for this stuff- WHOA!” He says as he trips on the ground, moaning in pain. “Oooohhh… you, uhh, mind giving me a hand?”
I sigh as I get up and walk over to him. I grab his hand and pull him up as he slowly stabilizes himself. “Thanks, you’re a kind human. But…” He says as he gives me a soft smile but slowly creeps into a toothy smile, showing his canines. “Pleasure doing business with you, Monarch.”
I feel heat in my hand as I look down and realize we are still holding each other. A bright crimson-red aura glows from our hands as Leylo starts to chuckle. I recoil and jump back, looking at my hand as the glow fades. My heart rate skyrockets as my fingers go numb. My breathing intensifies as I check my body for any injuries.
“W-what… WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!” I yell at him. Green squares start to form around me.
“Oh, relax, won't ya? I didn’t hurt you. Honest.” He explains calmly with a smirk as he raises his hands like surrendering. “We just made a deal is all.”
“What are you talking-”
“What’s the most powerful weapon your nation has?” He asks me while smiling.
“The nuclear bomb.” I answer without hesit- “Wait, why did I-”
“Answer that?” He finishes it for me. “I already explained we made a deal. And let’s just say I’m always happy with how eager people are to hold up their end of the bargain!” He exclaims with a sadistic smile. “No idea what a nuclear bomb is, by the way, but I can’t wait to learn!”
Di-did he hit me with some type of magic? Am I FORCED to do whatever he asks of me?!
“W-what are even the terms of the deal?” I ask as the armor starts to form around me.
“You’ll answer any question I have about this world and your nation, and in turn, I’ll… well, that’s for me to know and you to find out~” He explains as guards rush in and proceed to cuff him.
“We’ll be in touch.” He says as the guards force him out of the room.
I stare at the ground, feeling sick to my stomach. Is that part of the deal, too?