Unruly Summon Chapter 34: Visitors (Patreon)

"This writ is legitimate," declared Christine after a careful examination. "It's signed and stamped by the late King Edward."

"Shall I prepare a room, if Miss Minoru is going to be staying?" asked Mary uncertainly.

"I'm... not sure if I am," admitted Minoru without going 'nya' once. "I was expecting to meet you at the castle, but got directed here instead."

"Yeah, we got kicked out," shrugged Wendy. "The new king doesn't like us much."

Minoru opened her mouth as if to say something, then paused and shrugged. "Open and honest, huh? Fine then. Yes, I was told King George was likely to blame Thomas for the death of his parents, and I should watch out for him doing anything stupid I could take advantage of. I can't say I was expecting him to start mistreating you before you fixed Ricousian's farmland, though."

"Take advantage? Just why are you here, exactly?" asked Christine suspiciously.

"Exactly why I said," said the cat-girl, shrugging again. "I was given four orders. In order of priority, the first was to do nothing to antagonise Thomas or make him believe the Ti'zharr Empire posed a threat to him or his harem. Second, to learn Miraculum and find a way to apply it to our lands. Third, to build a personal relationship with Thomas and his harem, and do what I can to ensure they're favourably disposed to demons. Fourth, to encourage them to move to Ti'zharr."

"His harem?" asked Mary, tilting her head in confusion. "You mean us?"

"There seems to have been a misunderstanding somewhere, but Thomas does appear to be the only male living here with three young girls who are all—if you'll forgive me being a little coarse—conventionally beautiful. I can see why our informants might have got the wrong end of the stick."

"Should you really be saying all this?" I asked. "Won't you get into trouble?"

"See, what did I say?" smirked Wendy. "A bit of honesty, and you've got him worried about you already. I swear, if only King Edward knew his personality beforehand, he'd have had him bent around his little finger."

"Uh... I'm not that odd, am I?"

"A minute ago, she was trying to seduce you, and now you're empathising with her! Of course you're odd," complained Wendy, before turning back to Minoru. "What was with that nya thing, anyway? And if you intended to seduce him, does that mean we need to worry about... uh... that?"

"No, you don't need to worry about 'that'," replied Minoru, somewhat bitterly, but without explaining what the heck 'that' was. "And our records of previous summoned heroes show they often pick up young female demons with cat-like features, but then complain they aren't talking properly if they don't end every sentence with nya. None of the records explain what 'nya' means, beyond that it's a noise that cats are supposed to make."

"... But you're a demon, not a cat," pointed out Mary.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure that's not a noise I've ever heard a cat make," added Wendy.

"Maybe there's some translation shenanigans going on?" I suggested, not wanting to even try explaining that subject. Given the sort of previous heroes they apparently had, it was starting to become very obvious why their attempts to control me had been so misguided. "And what's the 'that' you were talking about?"

"Nothing you need to worry your innocent little head about," giggled Wendy.

"You're aware Toby had his more obvious demonic features surgically removed and cursed to prevent healing?" asked Minoru, being slightly more helpful. "Let's just say that I've been through a similar procedure. I'd rather not talk about the details."

"I still don't get it," said Wendy. "How does saying 'nya' all the time result in Thomas moving to Ti'zharr?"

"I present myself to the hero as being cute and defenceless, then I say I'm returning on my own to Ti'zharr to spread the spell, the hero feels worried about me and offers to escort me on my journey, then he sees how much better Ti'zharr is and stays there."

"That... It's actually going to work, isn't it?" whined Wendy. "You have literally just told us your plan, and it's still going to work. Maybe not that last bit, but if you try going home alone, I can totally see Thomas insisting on escorting you. Never mind the fact that you turned up here alone in the first place. No, he won't care about that at all."

"I'm not sure if you're complaining about me or not..." I muttered.

"I don't know either!"

"Anyway, would you like breakfast, Miss Minoru?" asked Mary. "I'm sorry for screaming earlier. I was frightened seeing a demon."

"Well, aren't you a polite little thing?" replied the demon, petting her. "I forgive you, and I'd love some, please."

"Don't get too excited. It's just gruel," said Wendy.

"... Just how much does the king hate you? In the spirit of fulfilling my orders, I should point out that if you chose to stay in Ti'zharr, you would certainly get better food."

Despite her complaint, Minoru dug into the bowl with every sign of enjoyment.

"So... We're simply welcoming a demon into our house? And no-one has a problem with this?" asked Christine.

"I know I keep mentioning it, but I'm already sharing a house with someone who tried to murder Mary," I pointed out.

Christine frowned, not having a great comeback prepared. I could see her point, though; she was worried about our safety. However, before we could debate the subject, there was once again a knock at the door.

"Let me answer it," said Christine when Mary began moving again. "Wendy, you should add some magical protection to this place."

"I'd love to, if only we could afford the materials I'd need."

"... The king hasn't even given you money?" asked a disbelieving Minoru.

"Why do you think we're eating gruel?!"

"Wow. My job will be easier than I thought."

"Archbishop Alexander," greeted Christine from the doorway, bowing politely. "I fear we can't offer much in the way of hospitality, but please come in."

"Thank you, my daughter," came a croaky but still strong voice from outside. An elderly man stepped in, supporting himself on a cane and dressed in white vestments with yellow decoration. His status as a religious figurehead was cemented by the ridiculous hat he carried, almost a full third of his height, and which he'd needed to remove to fit through our doorway. He hobbled forward with a gait that suggested he already had one foot in the grave, but his focused expression and piercing eyes implied that he was going to fight the final step with everything he had. It was, alas, a fight that most of his hair had already lost, leaving him with a few white tufts that seemed as determined to cling to their owner as he was to cling to his life.

"Not literally," whispered Wendy in my ear, alerting me that I'd gone a little slack jawed thinking of him as Christine's father. Given the age gap, great-grandfather would have been more realistic!

"To think I'd live to see this day," he said, gazing at me. "What a joyous occasion this is."

"How may we help you, Archbishop?" asked Christine.

"Me? Not at all," he rasped, taking a seat on a chair that Mary smoothly pulled out for him. "I just felt like being a little selfish and laying eyes on the saviour of the continent just once before I finally pop my clogs."

"... I think it's a little premature to start calling me that," I commented.

"Perhaps. Perhaps," he laughed creakily. "But let an old man live in hope. I very much doubt I'll be around to see the continent restored and the curse of the dragons lifted, but I would like to believe the process has begun. Now..."

He stopped mid sentence, leaving me a little concerned he'd died right there and then, but thankfully he was still moving. He raised a shaking hand, pointing at a sheet of paper Wendy had left on the table.

"What is that?" he asked. "Why do you have it?"

"Do you recognise it?" asked Wendy. "Something made contact with Thomas in his dreams, and that's a transcription of some of what it said."

"In his dreams?" asked the archbishop, shuddering. "And just when I was feeling so optimistic, too."

"What is it?"

"It's unusual to see it written in our script, instead of its own angular markings, but phonetically, I have little doubt it's Infernal. It's the divine language of devils and fallen gods."

"If it's not of this world, that would explain why the blessing didn't work," said Wendy. "But in the dream, it was spoken by a dragon. I thought the dragons had their own language?"

"I know little of dragons, my child. You would need to seek a scholar more learned than I to answer that, but I do know a little of divine scripts. I'll need to consult some dusty old tomes to give a precise translation, but roughly... It starts with an expression of amusement, followed by a hope that someone will survive. The final part talks about something coming, but I'm not certain what. Infernal is an evil language, in which even the equivalent of 'good morning' reads as a threat, but given the phrasing here, I'd say this has the style of a hunter taunting its prey. A hunter finds its prey amusing, and hopes it will survive a little longer, to face the hunt that is coming for it. Presumably the dragon is the hunter and Thomas the prey."

"Crap..." said Wendy.

Mary didn't even chastise her for her language.

"In the light of this, King George's behaviour can no longer be called a mere annoyance. It's now a danger to the kingdom," declared Christine. "No longer can we say the threats to Thomas's life have ended. He requires protection, and we require proper resources to continue his training."

"I will talk to the king," offered Alexander. "He is grieving, and a grieving child can be forgiven for lashing out."

"At the risk of repeating myself..." said Minoru. "Well, you know exactly what I want to say. But since I know you're going to ignore me..."

She reached into her small pack and pulled out a jingling pouch, dropping it on the table with a thud. "Will this be enough to get the materials you need to defend this place?"

Wendy examined the contents. "It'll certainly let me set up some decent enchantments, but this place will never be a castle. Besides, Thomas is going to spend a lot of time travelling outside of Odimere."

"Then use it to get him armour and weapons. Or heck, just use it to get some decent grub. No-one can fight properly with an empty belly."

"Thanks," I said, slightly suspicious. "Isn't that your money, though?"

"It's expenses for my mission, and I can't think of a more spectacular way to fail my mission than letting you get killed. Besides, it's not a gift. It's a loan. Once your king stops sulking, you can pay me back, and if you can't afford to... well... we'll just have to make alternative compensatory arrangements."

"Like me moving to Ti'zharr?" I guessed.

Minoru smirked. "Open and honest," she replied.

"If Archbishop Alexander is unable to talk sense into the king, we should seriously consider moving," said Christine, surprising me greatly. "But not this second. Whatever is coming, I doubt it will arrive overnight. The fact that a part of the text requests Thomas survive until then implies that we have a significant length of time to prepare. We should do what we can here first. I assume you didn't only come here to look at Thomas, Archbishop?"

"No, my excuse for coming was to play the role of messenger boy. I came to inform you that the priests and priestesses who are assigned to tour the local farms with you—and hopefully learn Miraculum—are ready and waiting in the cathedral. Please stop by and collect them when you depart."

"I see there is more that King George failed to inform us of," sighed Christine. "Very well. I shall travel with Thomas. We'll leave immediately. Wendy, make what use you can of Minoru's oh-so-generous loan. Use your discretion on what would be most helpful, but I think the suggestion of weapons and armour is a good one. With the war over, you'll likely find some bargains. Mary, take some of the coins and purchase food and necessities."

Mary looked over at me for confirmation, no longer taking orders from Christine over me. "And remember that necessities includes stuff for you, too," I told her. "Get yourself spare clothes. Proper clothes, not more uniforms."

"You realise you've never seen Christine in anything other than her armour, either, right?" asked Wendy, but I ignored her on account of the way she was wrong. Or perhaps naked didn't count?

"And of course, I shall also be accompanying Thomas in order to learn Miraculum," said Minoru.

"I shall seek an audience with our king and see if I can talk him off the unfortunate path on which he has set himself," stated Alexander. "I shall also seek a more accurate translation of this text."

"Sounds like we have a plan," I agreed. "Let's go save the continent."