Chapter 14 - Trace of Gratitude

"Why did you keep those guys alive?"

Locki almost missed his next step, stubbing his foot on a raised brick of cobblestone. The roads in Evermont weren't that bad, but it was night and his companion's sudden question didn't make it any better. With a couple stuttered steps, Locki caught himself mid fall. He sent a look at the demon in question, holding back an annoyed grimace.

"The guys at the bar?" Locki asked.

Gyutaro nodded seriously. "Yeah, them. I'm just confused since we know they're in this Celery Cult or something, why can't we kill them?"

Locki frowned, shaking his head. "Just because we suspect they are doesn't mean we can kill them outright. There's restrictions and laws about this kind of thing, and while we can skirt around stuff because you're in my Magic Guild, the Council won't like it if we just murder everyone…" he pursed his lips. "And they're called the Zeref Cult. They're crazy, so just saying their name wrong can set them off."

"I'll keep that in mind," Gyutaro shrugged.

Locki looked around as the trip descended into uncomfortable silence. The Western parts of Evermont were some of the most developed economically. With the city around two or three hours away from Magnolia, there was quite a bit of trade between the two as Evermont needed plenty of supplies to trade to merchants from Bosco. As such, the Western areas of Evermont were some of the largest by virtue of being the place with the largest amounts of shops, venues and larger merchant guilds.

Of course, those guilds were quite different from Magic Guilds. Instead of mages' time and effort as the commerce, they brokered in pretty much everything else. All this meant was that the west was where the money was, so it was an unspoken rule to not cause too much trouble around here.

Which, incidentally, Locki could ignore completely.

In a way, the Tigertooth gang was as much a merchant guild as they were a gang. They kicked around the smaller merchants by the orders of bigger ones, and those who were dealt with were either consumed by the larger merchant guild or were under the protection of the Rose Tyrants. They were also the largest suppliers of various drugs that entered into Evermont, obtaining secret imports by virtue of the larger guilds.

As it stands, they were a pretty much untouchable gang in the eyes of ordinary people. The merchants who worked with them wouldn't rat them out, those unaffiliated with them were too afraid to speak out and Rose Tyrant blatantly let them run around while they "chased" after them at random. It also hurt that Evermont stood too far away from the main Fiore branch of the Magic Council for them to reliably send enough support to oversee the entire city.

And because Evermont was so close to Bosco, it was inevitable that they dabbled a bit in human trafficking. Not often, though. They had plenty of money from their other ventures, so they only did it for fun.

Locki gritted his teeth as he thought of that fact. He normally used to sit around, cry and whine about everything. A way to just ignore his problems that always seemed to grow. However, now he was trying to run his guild. Trying to do work he felt monotonous and boring just for the simple fact of fame.

And the thought that some people were eying his guildmates and his guild was something that grated him to no end. It seemed that problems cropped up no matter what he did.

"These people are after that girl. Kagura, was it?" Gyutaro asked suddenly.

"Probably." Locki said, narrowing his eyes at the buildings they passed. He wasn't sure if the gang had lookouts, but he did know that the Tigertooth gang had several different bases that they switched between so that they wouldn't get caught. "Why? I doubt you're actually concerned about her."

Gyutaro frowned, but nodded slightly, seemingly agreeing. "I didn't think I'd ever work with people again."

"What about other demons? They have more back where you were, right?"

"We– demons in general don't really get along that well with others. We can if we were… forced, I guess."

Locki waved. He was curious, but he didn't really want to get into Gyutaro and Daki's lives just yet. There was enough drama with Kagura's past already. "I can see that. But what's this about? I didn't think a demon would get cold feet."

"No," Gyutaro said, annoyed. "I am just… thinking about if these Zeref Cult people would target my sister like that girl. Laws or not," the demon eyed Locki for a moment. "You don't seem like the person to let those that target your own go."

"Are you still on that topic again?" Locki sighed, seeing the nod from the demon. His shoulders drooped further with that confirmation. "Look, there wasn't much evidence that they were part of a Zeref Cult beyond what they told us. The Magic Council has a very strict set of rules about information gained through magical means– which is just the long way of saying that they won't believe us unless we can replicate the same thing in front of a bunch of old men who like to talk a lot."

"But you would kill them." The demon said, staring straight into the teen's eyes. "You would if you knew you could. Because you care about that… guildmate of yours?"

"...yes. I haven't really thought about killing other people for others, but if it would protect my guild members, I feel like I can do it."

Gyutaro bobbed his head slowly. "I see. I can understand that."

"Your sister, I'm guessing." Locki said, looking around. They had reached one of the hideouts of the Tigertooth gang. He cursed under his breath as there was barely anyone around, and no one seemed to be inhabiting the upper floors, meaning they were in a different hideout.

"Is this it?" Gyutaro asked, rolling his shoulders. There were a couple gang members that were posted out front, but Locki and Gyutaro had stuck to the sides of the road, so they hadn't been seen yet.

Locki tapped the demon's shoulder. "No, there's no one here– well, no one important. Tigertooth is a mainly nocturnal gang, so they tend to move and party during the night. Their leaders normally can be seen in the upper floors around this time."

The teen frowned as he looked up at the night sky. There was a layer of clouds that covered the moonlight from above, so he couldn't really judge the time. He felt it would be risking it too much if they took a few more hours.

"You seem to know a lot about this gang. Were you expecting something like this?"

Locki clicked his teeth, turning around to a nearby alleyway as he heard Gyutaro follow him. "Information is pretty important, you know. I made a point to research everything available from the Magic Council branch in the town when I first decided to be the guild master."

Gyutaro hummed behind the teen, and Locki felt the hairs on his neck stand up as he felt how close the demon was. While the green haired demon's loyalty wasn't proven yet, Locki still felt he would outright get killed randomly. He could tell the brother was too concerned for his sister's sake to do such a thing.

However, Locki carefully slowed his pace, gesturing for the demon to lead. Gyutaro closed his lips, but didn't say anything about the teen's actions.

"So, there any mages there?" Gyutaro asked, looking over his shoulder as Locki pointed out the way forwards.

"Three– their leader is an A-rank mage; take over magic, animal soul. He mastered only a single take over, but considering he made A-rank with it, he's probably the toughest of the bunch. The others don't really have much on them, but they're barely B-rank, so you should watch out." Locki said carefully. He had the experience of his previous mission, and he didn't think that Gyutaro would lose too easily, but he was cautious about the unknown.

The less information he had, the less he could do with his Curse.

"I have no idea what all these ranks are." Gyutaro groused before mumbling, "I wonder how they match up to that Hashira…"

Locki put that name into the back of his mind, tabling it for later. "The ranks are pretty subjective. Normally, spells that can affect a larger area or have the potential to bring down a couple buildings are A-rank. Spells that are strong enough to defeat hundreds of normal humans are B-rank, and they just keep going lower."

Gyutaro's eyes narrowed, and Locki found a frown on the demon's face. "...and these people are after that Kagura girl. The girl you sent my sister along with?"

"Yes."

"You!" Gyutaro spun around, glaring at Locki for the first time. His teeth were bared, and Locki could see his fingers twitching, signaling that he could use his scythes at any time. "Why? We should have just kept her here; she could have helped with whatever this shit is. Instead, you are putting her away from where she can help you!"

Locki tried not to flinch at the demon's rage. He kept his face neutral as he stared down Gyutaro.

"She could help me– that's right." Locki admitted easily after he saw Gyutaro's rage die down as he realized his outburst. "However, I think you are getting the facts mixed up. I don't think you want Ume here to "help me," you want her here so you can protect her."

"How do you know that–"

"Ume? It's your sister's name, isn't it?" Locki said, watching at the demon's face lost a bit of color. The teen knew he had given a bit of slack to the rope around the demon's neck, but he felt that Gyutaro might run away should he believe that he had a better chance elsewhere. The two demons were a dangerous element, sure. That was why he needed to be ready to exploit anything he knew about them to get them to fall in line.

"You have always seen yourself as your sister's protector." Locki continued. "You should understand that us arguing now won't solve the fact that this gang is targeting my guild members, so I want to ask you: [what the hell do you think you're doing]? Even if you didn't trust Kagura –which is understandable– why would you risk that gang doing something like kidnapping your sister should you let them get away? Besides, would bringing her here, with what we're about to do, be protecting your sister at all?"

Gyutaro froze at that, stilling almost as if a revelation had hit him like some magic vehicle. His gaze seemed to gloss over, and the demon trembled slightly as if he heard something. After a second, he looked at his guild master carefully.

"I… sorry. If you want to punish me, just exclude my sister." Gyutaro bowed his head.

Locki just brushed past the demon, taking the lead without looking back. "Just don't let it happen again."

"...yes, I will."

"And Gyutaro," Locki added, getting the attention of the demon. "I am not doing this only for Kagura. Don't take this the wrong way, but you and your sister are probably going to attract attention from stronger people one day, and I don't doubt that some research labs would want you two as a perfect test subject."

Gyutaro's face crumpled into clear distaste. "I will… keep that in mind."

"No need." Locki shrugged. "I'll do it for you; [I am your guild master], after all."

"Don't see what that does, though."

"Didn't I say it to you two back in the basement?" Locki asked with a smirk. "When you become my guild members, you're entitled to everything that entails. And guild rule number one: [don't abandon your guild when they need it]. So, if either of you ever gets in some shit, as your guild master, I'm obligated to make sure whoever put you there regrets it."

Locki failed to see the ghost of a smile that traced Gyutaro's lips for a second. "I will keep that in mind, guild master."

Locki scoffed, feeling good at Gyutaro actually using his title. "Yeah yeah, now let's go find these bastards."

"You aren't like that Muzan bastard, after all…"

"Of course not," Locki said, feeling rather insulted at the demon constantly comparing him with some unknown guy. "I am a cringe-inducing bastard who needs too much help all the time, and currently, I need to stab some fools who think they can target my guild member behind my back."

"Yes…" Gyutaro mumbled as Locki marched ahead. "Definitely not like him."

Locki didn't care what was on the demon's mind as he wondered where the hell that gang was. He certainly hoped that they found them before sunrise, or else he'd have to deal with an extra crispy demon.