Continue with the adventure

After Nami finally finishes, I lean back in my chair and make a lengthy sigh. That was a lot to take in. I never thought there might have been this many important characters in the demon kingdom. Among the humans there are only 4, while for all non-demon nations combined there are like … 10-ish. But damn, the demons have a lot of them.

“Wow, that’s a lot of people.” Shalia mentions, echoing my thoughts.

“I know, it’s kinda hard to keep track of them.” Leona adds. “You just don’t get that kind of information in the villages.”

That’s right, we have to trick Nami into thinking we are fellow demons from a remote village.

“It actually does make me feel proud of being a demon.” I tell everyone. “I mean, look at how many S-ranks we have. And even the Tribunes, despite being B-ranks, are still pretty badass.”

My comment makes Nami smile. “Yeah, we do have quite the army to be proud of.” But then, Nami’s smile fades. “Too bad it’s all under the command of Ziges now.”

“You don’t support Ziges?” Ryul asks.

Nami quickly turns her face in Ryul’s direction and hisses, “If you ever dare say that in public I will rip out your throath.”

Ryul is taken aback by Nami’s threat, and so were several others. “Wow, hold on. No need to get aggressive.” Ryul says.

Nami takes a deep breath and gets her emotions under control, then she explains why she reacted like such.

“You have to understand, Ziges has a lot of support among the general population. A lot of people believe he will solve our problems. If these people discover you oppose Ziges for any reason, they will report you. When you get reported, you get punished. Especially people like me.”

I lean in closer and carefully ask Nami, “What do you mean with ‘people like you’?”

“She is a member of Enzal’s party.” Livia announces. “The same party I once tried to join, but was rejected.

Livia stares accusingly at Nami and says, “You were still in Enzal’s party when the rebellion happened, weren’t you?”

“Indeed I was.” Nami admits, “And I did explain that Enzal was among the loyalists. So I fought with her against Ziges and his allies.”

“You also said Enzal was captured.” Livia then walks up to Nami and looks her in the eyes. “What happened?”

Nami steps away from Livia and walks towards a window to look out into the city. “When Enzal was captured, Ziges ripped her wings out. He does that to every S-rank that rebelled against him. Then he presents them with an offer to earn their wings back. They return to their duties, under surveillance of course, and if they can prove their loyalty to him, they will get their wings back.”

I remember Livia explaining that wings were a big deal in demon society. To be a prestigious S-rank and then have your wings ripped out must have been a big deal to them.

“So what, you are now looking for an opportunity to help Enzal prove her loyalty to the usurper?” Livia asks.

“It’s not that simple.” Nami continues. “Yes, some S-ranks took him up on his offer. When Ziges invades the other kingdoms, these will be the most likely to volunteer to go in and conquer for him. But not Enzal. She decided to refuse his offer.”

Nami turns around, weirdly with a smile on her lips.

“It’s not as if he could really deny her wings. She’s got a skill that makes her rapidly heal so her wings grew back in but a few minutes. She also has mutation magic, so even if he makes the flesh grafters mutate her back so her wings fall off, she can just undo that by herself. No, he had to deal with her in a different way.”

Then, Nami’s smile falters and is replaced by a somber expression.

“If any of Enzal’s party members shows a willingness to betray Ziges, Enzal will be executed.”

I thought Livia would have something to say to Nami after this, and I waited for her answer, but Livia remained silent as well. It was Merlara who ended up breaking the silence.

“So that is why you don’t want commoners like us who know nothing about politics to start speculating. You’ve got eyes on you so a simple guess might just as well be an accusation.”

“Exactly right.” Nami answers. “No matter how much I dislike Ziges, my hands are tied. I can do nothing.” Then she turns her gaze to Livia. “But in your case, it’s different.”

“Me?” Livia asks while raising an eyebrow?

“You were not a member of Enzal’s party when we were defeated. You were hiding out in some village nursing your wounded ego. Which means Ziges and his forces don’t know about you. Or your desire to join Enzal’s party.” Nami says as she walks slowly towards Livia. “That means you are free to move around, to figure out where Enzal is being kept locked away.”

“… and if I can break her out of prison, you no longer have to play nice to Ziges.” Livia finishes.

I am quite frankly struggling to keep up here. First Nami tells us this whole story about Ziges being the victorious conqueror, and now she wants us to break someone out of prison for her? I don’t like where this is going.

Kiara, who has been quietly listening for most of this finally speaks up. “I don’t approve of this. We didn’t come here to start playing a part in some rebellion we didn’t even know was happening. I say it is better for us to stick to our own business and not get involved.”

“I do remember hearing Livia saying something about you kids being here.” Nami says as she stares at Kiara. “Something about you guys finding your place in the bigger world? That sounds like you kids are on a search for adventure.”

“It would also be a good way for you to get into Enzal’s party.” Nami says, turning her gaze back to Livia. “I am sure breaking her out of a secret prison will be quite the accomplishment. You will prove your skill, she will be grateful, it is the perfect opportunity for you.”

All of us are silently waiting for Livia’s answer. This is a thing she once wanted. Now she has that opportunity again. It would also be interesting to have an S-rank on our side.

But when Livia makes up her mind she answers, “I’m sorry, Nami, but that part of my life is behind me. I have different priorities now.”

The hopeful expression Nami had falters and she turns her eyes to the ground, showing that she has given up.

“You really have changed, Livia. I guess motherhood has tamed you.” Nami says.

“It has taught me responsibility.” Livia replies.

“Sure, whatever.” Nami says callously. “You were a disappointment back then, and you are still a disappointment now.”

She walks past Livia, bumping shoulders on her way to the door. When Nami reaches the door, the grabs the door handle and pauses.

“If you change your mind, or if you kids are in for some adventure, you should go to the Avernus province. Rumor has is that Verine is operating there. If you’re lucky, maybe you can find the remnants of the 5th cohort.”

After that, Nami opens the door and leaves.

“What was all that about?” Leona explodes as soon as the door is closed. “We are in an unknown country with possible enemies all around us. We can use all the help we can get and she was offering. Heck, we could have an S-rank who owes us a favor. One that rebels against the current government anyways.”

“And what if it was a trap?” Livia asks Leona. “She just explained that one way to get Enzal free is by showing loyalty to Ziges. Imagine she first tricks us into rebellion and then delivers us to the authorities. Enzal would be free, just like she wanted, and eventually your real goal would be found out.”

Leona looks away in shame, and frankly, I feel a bit ashamed too. After all the information Nami gave us, I felt that we could trust her. Is demon society truly this cutthroat?

“Besides, we are on a mission to find and free Zaine.” Livia continues. “If we start accepting side quest, we’ll still be at it a year from now.”

“Livia is right.” Kiara says. “We have to stay focused. But I do appreciate Nami for telling us about the current state of the nation. We now have an idea of which people are influential and what side they are on.”

“You’re talking about us contacting the rebels?” Merlara asks.

“I’m saying we’ve got options.” Kiara continues. “We could contact the rebels on our own, see what they know about Zaine. Or we could infiltrate the demon king’s legion and see if we can get information from them.”

“I guess.” Leona says. “But doesn’t joining the military take a long time before you get the proper clearance?”

“Perhaps in the human military, but not over here.” Livia says. “Demons respect strength. If you are strong, you can quickly rise through the ranks. And many of you are A ranks. If we were to form an official party, we could be rival the tribune of a 1st cohort. Or maybe even try to join the party of one of these S-ranks working for Ziges.”

“I guess we will have to vote on it.” Kiara suggests. “All in favor of seeking out the rebels, raise your hand.”

Among our group, Leona, Merlara, Kiara, Sophie and Ari raise their arms. That’s 5 in favor of joining the rebels. Lilith, Livia, Amelia, Ryul and Shalia keep their arms lowered. That’s 5 against. My vote will be the tie breaker