12 Chapter 12: Possibility of Revenge
"Then, if we are moving on, I have a question to ask," Marquis Everflame said, seeming to have regained his composure.
"Yes?" I ask, snapping out of my thoughts.
"Who exactly are you?"
I flinched.
Fudge.
"I-I don't follow what you mean."
'Umm… perhaps he mysteriously got amnesia and forgot about the past 9 years of his life? So he doesn't remember me?' I think, attempting to run away from reality.
"I mean that a malnourished nine year old who lived her whole life stuck in a room, with no education received other than language, wouldn't be able to accomplish something remotely close to what you have. I doubt that she would be able to even muster the courage to request a meeting with me, the person who abused her. Not only that but your etiquette, manner of speech, aura, negotiating skills, etc. are way above the capabilities of an uneducated 9 year old"
Guh! I was too careless. I should have only given hints to my worth and acted more childish. Think! What can I say? Ugh, any more time taken will make me come across as suspicious.
"Why do you need to know? If you are worried about me betraying you, I can prove I won't using my unique magic, once it is unsealed."
A slightly annoyed look came across his face, showing his dissatisfaction towards my answer.
"Sage is my daughter. I have a right to know."
I flash a wry, sad smile. Filled with sympathy for the pitied villainess, who I recently found out was an actual human with emotions. Filled with the guilt of taking the body which belonged to a soul(?) that was not mine. Filled with ironic, bitter humor towards a man who never considered his child his daughter until it became useful for him to do so.
"When have you ever actually considered Sage your daughter?"
The man flinched back and then turned his eyes towards the ground in what perhaps was embarrassment for being seen through.
A silence fills the air for a bit, however this time I was the one to break the silence.
I heave a sigh, then create a cross with my two index fingers and press it on my lips.
"Then this information is confidential. This shall be added to the contract."
I walk towards the door, hoping this small motion would keep my feet from falling into a numb state (if you had forgotten, I was forced to stand throughout the whole conversation).
"Well, if that is all, I will be taking my leave," I say as I reach for the door handle
"Please wait a moment, as I call a servant," he says, his voice that used to be dripping in authority and arrogance was now almost as if he was speaking towards an equal.
He touched a transparent crystal that had a milky green and slightly shiny gas floating around in it. A light spread through the crystal, reflecting off the gas in an unnaturally bright and colorful way.
A few moments later, a rhythmic knock was heard. After Marquis Everflame muttered an 'enter', a male servant in leather knight attire walked through the door.
"Please pardon my humble self for this interruption," the young man said. He made some hand symbols and then kneeled down in a bow.
"Escort Sage to her room. She seems tired. Carry her."
"Y-yes, sir!" He replied, seeming a bit shocked at the unexpected request. He then proceeded to politely pick me up and carry me out of the room.
….Wait a moment. Eh?
I get why before he was angry at me being mistreated. In the political world, daughters are known to be thought of as only useful for marrying off. If due to the abuse, I couldn't bear a child or looked very ugly, my usefulness is drastically reduced. But carrying me? Yes, I know that I asked for him to act as if he favored me, however, there was no need to call a knight in, and much less to ask him to carry me. What benefit would he get out of that? Doesn't he hate my guts with a raging passion?
'Welp, I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Free kindness is always welcome'
Coming to this conclusion, my mind continued to wander to other places.
"Miss Everflame, we have reached your room" The young man politely notified, snapping me out of thoughts that hadn't been stored in my short term memory yet.
"Thank you for escorting me," I said as he slowly lowered me down.
I then went into my room, lightly closing the door behind me. I stayed still and quiet, straining my ears.
'PAT PAT Pat pat pat'
Hearing the footsteps of the young man fade as he walked away, I ran towards my bed and jumped on it (earning myself a groan of pain as I remembered how hard the mattress was). I had planned to read about this world for the rest of the day, however, the discussion had left me so mentally drained due to all the stress, that I couldn't bring myself to lift a finger.
'Wait… now that I think of it, I haven't received a window from the system saying that my mission was complete!'
'System, open mission!'
'<l Mission:
You are currently being mistreated by the marquess. If this persists, permanent damage may be done to your body. Find a way out of this position!
*complete*
Reward: |claim|
Note from administrator:
Lololol XD you had actually finished this
when you met with him the first time
XD
You just needed to have at least 2
semi-nutritious meals a day'
'Eh?'
'message to 'god' Subject: Mission completion Message: Why didn't I get notified? I told the system to show me the notification automatically whenever something happens. And why didn't you tell me it was complete?'
"Ding!"
''Subject: Mission completion
From: God
I changed the settings of the system to only show you message notifications, as otherwise, the mission screen would appear every second due to the timer(I don't think you would want that!). I forgot to change it so that it notifies you when the mission is complete, so sorry 'bout that, (ﾉ≧ڡ≦) Teehee~!
Also, I did warn you. I hinted at it, but you never questioned it further '
'Don't fall for it, he(?) wants you to be upset. Happy thoughts, yess that is right calm down'
I envision [censored due to excessive violence] this self-proclaimed god over and over, hearing the satisfying blood-curdling screams. My state of mind turns to a peaceful and satisfying one, and a smile dances on my face to celebrate this refreshed mindset.
I change my mind to the mission window, and press [claim]. '+ 6 xp' in a digital-ish font floats in my line of sight for a few seconds before fading away. Then comes a '+2 stat points'.
'Reply: First, I didn't know the mission was complete due to your fault, so I would like compensation. Second, what are xp and stat points used for, and how do I use them?'
'Ding'
'Subject: Mission completion
From: God
Boooo~ it is your fault for not realizing the hint. I'll let the system decide whether you need a prize and if somehow so, how much of compensation
Oh yeah, you can learn all this stuff in the 'system guidebook' app on your phone'
A few seconds later, another 'ding' sound was heard.
'Subject: Compensation
From: System
Please click the 'claim' button below to revive compensation
[claim]
*You cannot reply due to system due to lack of authority*'
So I may be able to talk directly to the system? Why can't I talk to it now? Is talking to the system the same thing as talking to 'God', who made the system? If so, then why is the feature of talking to the system even there? Additionally, what does it mean by lack of authority? How do I gain authority? Are there other people with the system?
A superfluous amount of questions unreasonably flooded my head. Shoving them aside, I pressed the claim button
'+94 xp'
'+9 stat points'
Wow, comparing this to the original reward, this was quite the amount!
I took the phone from the drawer I had hidden it in and turned it on, inputting the '111111' code in. The device then opened up to the home screen. Scrolling around, I found the app that said 'system guidebook'. Ignoring the 'ding' I hear and the system window popping open in my peripheral vision, I press the app and it opens up to a 'table of contents', with each section having a link to go directly to the wanted section. I choose the one that says 'currencies, XP, and points'
XP:
XP is used to upgrade the system.
Click here to learn about system upgrade
You currently have 100 xp
50 xp left to go until system upgrade
STAT POINTS:
Stat points can be used to upgrade
your physical, magical, and mental abilities.
You currently have 10 stat points
How to use stat points
'So stat points are just like expected, but it seems that xp is used for upgrading the system, not the user...'
I then turn my attention to the popup.
Subject: System compensation
Recipients: System, Sage
From: God
What are you doing! Do you know how much divine power I used to just bring her here? If you use so much divine power, I will die! I brought her here to restore my divine power, not deplete it!
'Huh' I thought, utterly confused 'Reply: ???'
Just a second later, a ding was heard.
Subject: System compensation
Recipients: System, Sage
From: God
What are you doing! Do you know how much divine power I used to just bring her here? If you use so much divine power, I may actually die! I brought her here to restore my divine power, not deplete it!
Reply
From: Sage
???
Reply
From: God
Never mind it, it is just a glitch! Oops~
. . .
[This message string has been deleted]
Like I would believe that. I silently scoffed, looking at how quick it had been deleted by the self-proclaimed god. It must have been such a convenient glitch to send something that actually makes a bit sense, and fit in with the events that recently happened. Additionally, this was also sent to the system, which was clearly who he(?) was talking to. How rushed everything was after I sent my reply (how quick his response was, and how he almost immediately deleted the messages afterward) was, just like when people realize they sent a more private email to a random person, proved my point further.
Despite him deleting the message from the system, I still had saved it to my memory. Disassembling the words to understand it further, I came to the conclusion
He(?) has something called divine power
He is running low on it now
If he doesn't have enough of it, he may die
He summoned me to help him make more divine power
Some of the system's features use this divine power, xp and/or stat points are one (or two) of them
This means that divine power can be used to do some pretty cool things
I have some value in the eyes of this 'god'
It is possible to take revenge on this self-proclaimed god
This may just be a trap, however, I don't see how this being a trap would benefit him. Me coming to this conclusion, however, means more rebellious behavior, and threats, which would be just frustrating and annoying. Nothing to gain there.
So I have been summoned as a way to make divine power. This means that I can take revenge by depleting him of divine power, and/or not making much of it. I don't exactly want to kill him(?), I obviously don't hate him that bad, but I certainly do have a bone to pick with him. I mean who wouldn't if they were whisked out of their hard-earned lives, and forced to do whatever this 'god' says, at the risk of having a heart attack (which he oh graciously let you experience), and he doesn't even have any sympathy for you (and acts like a sadistic b*stard, which he probably is).
