44 Chapter 8 (1): Say what now?

Chapter 8 (1): Say what now?

After chasing off those suitors aiming for Tuare, we returned to the room in which Haru, Elise, Char, and Mae waited, recounted what happened, and then, once they'd stopped laughing, we continued our conversation where we'd left off. Raiser had left around the time the three of us did, for reasons unknown, not that it matters much. By the way, here is just about the only snippet from that talk that you might find interesting or important, that you don't already know.

"So, here's hoping the fact that you two are engaged spreads quickly. See, I've had some problems pushing out a few other suitors, especially when it comes to the new third seat of the demon generals, Indra Astaroth, who, unlike his late father and older brother, is a member of the radical faction. He... well, he doesn't have any problems dropping not-so-subtle threats to get what he wants, but I can't actually do anything about it, as they aren't said explicitly, and thus far, he hasn't followed through with any of them. However... if he continues like that even now, while knowing that Tuare is already engaged, especially because it's an engagement to the Demon Lord, I would be within my rights to ban him and his servants from entering or purchasing goods from my properties and territories. That includes the restaurants I own in the capital, which covers a surprisingly high percentage of the map" (Lars)

"And, if that doesn't work, and he still threatens you, I would make sure that he would have to answer for all of that... Nobody is above the law, even him, and threatening a demon general, especially over something like this, absolutely falls under illegal" (Ryuu)

After that, we went to sleep in an inn, because Tuare did want to continue to live and travel without relying on her family name or power, so sleeping in her family's house is... well, it'd break that rule, somewhat. The next day, we went to the guild to look for a request.

"Hmm... what's good? Uh... well, there's a hydra a few hours from here, or we could go for the ogre hunt if that doesn't seem good. What do you think?" (Mae)

"I'd like to try fighting a hydra, it seems like it could be interesting" (Char)

"Yeah... ogres... are somewhat boring" (Elise)

"And they smell... I can't stand them" (Haru)

"They don't taste good, either" (Ver)

"Sounds like it's settled. Hydra it is" (Tuare)

"I'll go accept the request, then" (Ryuu)

I went to the counter with the wooden request tag, ignoring the guy who tried to tell me I was in way over my head, as he got silenced by someone who'd been there to hear Iroh talk about how he'd lost to me.

"I'd like to take this request, along with the rest of my party" (Ryuu)

"You... ah, sorry. Uh, you have a designated request, actually. The one who asked for you is still here, so would you please talk to him? Until you do so, I'm afraid I can't have you accept any other requests" (Receptionist)

"Haa... very well" (Ryuu)

She pointed us to a room off the side, and then went back to her duties. In that room, we found a male demon waiting for us while reading a book, but he quickly closed it when we walked in.

"Ah, thank you for meeting with me. I'm here at the request of my master, to ask you to-" (Male)

"Sorry, but I'd rather not deal with a middleman. If we are to accept any request, we'd like to hear it from your master. I hope you understand" (Ryuu)

"I... very well. He's a busy person, so I hope you will pay the fee for intruding upon his schedule. Honestly, it's probably not much to people as skilled as you seem to be, at least, from the rumors, but... if you don't, it'll come from my pocket, and I don't make all that much money" (Male)

"I suppose. Well, lead the way" (Ryuu)

He lead us to the same area as Lars's mansion, but it was two plots down the street. Indra Astaroth's mansion. This is going to be interesting. After a minute, we were let in to speak with Astaroth, who seemed impatient, as well as very upset, though he hid that part decently well.

"Well, let's get down to business. I've heard how you are quite skilled, enough so that your leader completely overwhelmed Iroh, who is close to becoming an SS rank. As such, you seem like you would be strong enough to complete this task. To put it bluntly, there's someone who has seriously pissed me off, stealing a very, very valuable opportunity from me without going through the proper methods. As such, I'd like her dead. She's just a young girl with little to no training in actual combat, from what I could learn" (Astaroth)

"Give us her name and description, and I might consider it. Assassination isn't actually something an adventurer should be in the business of doing, but... we've killed enough criminals that one more shouldn't be a problem, in most cases" (Ryuu)

I wasn't actually planning to do it, but if I could get proof that he'd ordered the death of someone over a personal grudge, I could lock him up for a while, and have cause to investigate the problems he'd been causing Lars as well.

"Here's a picture of her, and her name is Miryuu Maou. As you aren't from or based in the demon lands, you could just leave and not get punished if a problem comes up" (Astaroth)

"Hmm... so, basically, you want us to kill the Demon Lord. Do I have that right?" (Ryuu)

"That's the case. If you don't accept the request, by the way, you'll have to have a silencing curse put upon you, so that the contents of this conversation aren't said to anyone else. If you do, the same will happen, but you'll be rewarded with anything you desire in return" (Astaroth)

"Hmm... well, here's the thing... I don't think you are in a position to do any of that. See, uh... I'm going to have to arrest you for high treason... no, just execute you for it" (Ryuu)

"And what authority do you have to do so? You aren't an S rank or above, nor in any position in the guard or government. You also aren't a member of the nobility here, and according to the information I've gotten from the guild, none of your party is either. And to execute me for it legally, you need to also have the authority of a magistrate or demon general" (Astaroth)

"If you are done... you see, I don't have to have any authority to kill someone expressing the intent to have me killed. It's pretty handy. Though, I and three other members of my party do actually have the authority to do so, just so you know" (Ryuu)

"But I never wanted you dead, just the one who stole my chance to marry into the family of L-" (Astaroth)

I cut him off, because I was getting tired of listening to him, and wanted to get back in time to accept the hydra subjugation request. I know, that's a petty reason, but he is a traitor, so why should I care about being rude to him?

"Allow us to introduce ourselves..." (Ryuu)