106 Dealing Again with the Devil

With the use of the map provided by Saku, and Lerish's geographical knowledge of Narashel, I was able to estimate the possible location for the tower based on the way I saw the object back when we're still in the desert. It's on the northwestern part of the country, particularly near the city of Yaref. Lerish stated that some people also believed that the tower could be found in that area, and the city's residents report of numerous pillars of light coming from the sky especially during rainy days. Some therefore speculated that one of those light pillars could be the actual tower in question.

"So, are you saying that the tower, if it really does exist, can be located there?" Myriel asked me.

"Who said anything about being sure? After all, it's just a rough estimate. Who knows, it might be located outside of Narashel, and I know that you hate dealing with the authorities if that was the case."

That's right. For some reason, this woman hates suffering the hassle of bureaucracy despite being a deity. It might be because she believes in the saying 'when in Rome, do as what the Romans do' or she's just lazy, probably the latter. Either way, as much as possible she prefer to work behind the scenes, providing assistance, and let others do the dirty work.

"Yes, that's why I'm glad that the princess of Narashel is here. With that lady around, things will become more convenient for me. You'll help me achieve my goals right, Your Highness?"

"H-Hii—"

She then looked at Lerish, causing her body to jolt and tremble in intimidation. With Aoi standing on her side and Myriel sitting in front, the pressure coming from the two goddesses were just too much for her to handle.

"Myriel, don't involve her into this..."

"...Hhrgh..."

Raising her eyebrows, she replied, "Hm, why not? It'll be a waste if we won't use her powers as a royalty to our advantage. Besides, I'm sure she's raring to go and investigate the tower's existence, for she'll be able to go to an adventure with you."

When she said that, I...

"L-Lerish, is that true...?"

"U-Uh...nn," she nodded meekly.

With her hand placed on her chest, it does seem that she's eager to go to Yaref with me...but why?

"Well, as usual, I'll leave the final decision to you. Come tomorrow to my place if you fully agree on investigating the tower for me, and I will tell you what's in it for you there. See ya~"

Myriel finished her bottle of wine afterwards. With her primary reason of seeing Lerish fulfilled, she decided that it's time to go.

"By the way, Ren..."

"W-What is it this ti...—"

*pomf*

Before I could even finish my sentence, my face was suddenly buried between her bountiful bosom, as she gently stroked the back of my head.

"There, there, don't be so tense, boy. It's been a while since the last time Big Sis saw you, you know? This elder sister missed you so much, that while you're away I lay awake on my bed every night, constantly thinking of you. Ahhh, having these pent-up feelings makes me want to spoil you rotten even more..."

"H-Hngh?! Hmmhh! Hnnnggghhh...!!!"

"...NOOOOOOOO!!! Let go of my big brother, you lecherous woman!!!" Aoi screamed as she climbed on my back while trying to free me from Myriel's grasp.

"Hmmnnhhh! Hmmmmhhhh!!!"

While I'm being sandwiched between these two goddesses—

"U-Uhh...is it really alright to leave them like that? Wouldn't Ren be suffocated if this were to continue?" Lerish worrieldly asked the siblings.

"Oh, I'm sure Ren will be fine, Miss Lerish," Saku replied.

"That's right, Big Sis Lerish. It's not the first time that happened anyway, so no worries about Brother Ren's safety," Saki agreed.

"E-Ehh..."

"Hnnggghh!!! HHNNGGGHHHH!!!"

Even with the [Death] Arcana inside me, I still almost died of suffocation that night. Needless to say, there's an awkward air between me and Lerish that arose after Myriel finally let go of me and left Sandy Fish.

I just hope that her opinion of me won't change even after this incident.

-----

Aoi, Lerish, and I came to Myriel's bar the next day according to what she said. Well, not much, since we haven't agreed to her yet 100 percent. I just thought that we should negotiate terms first before any judgment is done.

Sitting on the bar counter, the three of us waited for Myriel to show herself to us. It's been more than an hour since we arrived here in this dark and lonely place, she better not disappoint us.

"You know what Ren, I was surprised to know that you also have a goddess elder sister in the form of Miss Myriel. Truly, you are favored by the gods amongst all humans in the world..." Lerish spoke as twirled her finger around the counter.

"Ugh, how many times do I have to say that she's not my big sister?" I glared at her in disbelief. "Besides, I don't think she favors me the way you think. She's cunning, chaotic, cruel—she does whatever she likes, and gets whatever she likes through her charms or by force..."

To me, she's like a domineering boss more than anything. I have yet to see her act like a big sister to me.

"...Big brother doesn't need another sister—more specifically, an older one," Aoi said proudly. "Just having me as a little sister is enough, because I can also provide big brother the things a big sister can do, whenever he wanted. Even now, I can act like an older lady and tease big brother like this..."

Leaning closer to me while kneeling on her barstool, Aoi then lifted my chin with her finger as she looked at me with her alluring azure eyes.

"...Myriel likes to do this to you, right? What do you think now that I'm also doing it?"

Trying not to get mesmerized too much by her eyes and cute face, I averted my gaze and said, "I'm sorry, Aoi. No matter how much you try, I can only see you as a cheeky brat."

"...Muuu! I hate you, you stupid big brother!" Aoi retreated, angrily puffing her cheeks at me.

I can't blame her though, since her youthful charm and Myriel's mature vibe are like heaven and earth in contrast. Still, I do love this cheeky little brat with all my heart.

"My, what do we have here?" a few minutes later, Myriel finally arrived as she came back from the wine cellars. "You three are here this early in the morning. That means to say, you want to partake in what I'm planning this time?"

"...We came here to negotiate, Myriel," Aoi immediately frowned upon seeing her.

"Negotiate? But what is there to negotiate? Haven't I told you that you come here if, and only if, you fully agree on doing the investigation for me? Are you bunch lacking in comprehension or just plain stupid?" Myriel said in a condescending tone.

As I thought, she'll get mad if we were to say that to her.

"We heard you look and clear at that time. However, there's one distinction I want to remind you of."

"What is it, then?"

When she said that, I stood up from my seat and approached her. Myriel stood unfazed, as she smiled while waiting for me to come close.

"We are not, and never will be, your servants. I hope you remember that."

"Heh..."

"Equal footing, equal responsibility, and equal rewards—those are the three things we wanted from you. We won't settle on anything less, so if you disagree on that then please excuse us as we're going to leave this place..."

I then nodded at the girls, telling them that we should head back now. But just before we reached for the door, Myriel—

"I knew that you're going to say that, so I already prepared a contract for the three of you."

"C-Contract...?"

She snapped her finger, and all of a sudden, three sheets of high-class paper came floating in the air and landing right in front of us. Written in each of them are Myriel's rationale and initial details regarding the tower, followed by the details about both parties' share of responsibility, then lastly the rewards our side will get. Each copy already has her seal on them, so it's our turn now to make the deal.

However, um...

"This contract still feels quite dodgy, don't you think?"

"...Err...even though I can't read some of the complex words this contract has, I can still feel a suspicious aura coming from this document."

"Now, now, you two should trust me a little bit more," Myriel raised her eyebrows at us. "In any rate, this young lady over here seems to not have any problems about the contract I prepared. Is that right, Your Highness?"

"N-Nn. Disregarding the questionable rationale, I don't see any major problems with this contract," Lerish said, while cautiously poring over her copy of the document.

For a princess like Lerish, contracts and other official instruments are merely but an everyday affair to her. I have yet to know how extensive really is her knowledge of the law but I'm confident that she knows what she's talking about, with all the experience she got in her line of work.

"And to placate your qualms even more, you can see that there's a blank space underneath the third paragraph of the contract. You can put there whatever condition you like other than the ones already stated, and perhaps we could negotiate on it depending on their feasibility," Myriel added.

Oh, so we can add terms to this contract to our advantage? Nice. Let's see, what conditions am I going to add...hmm...

After writing on our respective copies each of our own conditions, Myriel tried to compile the three copies but...

"My, so you three haven't signed your names on it yet."

"Yeah. It would be better if you were to see first our personal demands before we make a deal."

"Haah," Myriel sighed ass she placed her hand on her forehead. "I guess it can't be helped then."

She then picked a copy from her hand and started reading its addendum.

"[A petition to allow our party to back out in case the situation becomes too dangerous for us to proceed]...was it you who wrote this, young lady?" Myriel asked Lerish.

"That's right, Miss Myriel," Lerish nodded. "Despite not having any major issues when it comes to legality, the contract does not explicitly state any guarantee with regards to our safety. While it is understood that Miss Myriel will also protect us from behind the scenes, the lack of such clause implies that we are obliged to proceed no matter what happens, and we have no right to retreat. I also made it so that we are the ones who shall decide whether to retreat or not."

Now that she mentioned it, it does seem that we'll be forced to only move forward like a pawn once we're bound to the contract. With the addition of her proposal, it would be impossible for Myriel to say anything if we were to back out and not finish the mission due to safety reasons.

Add to that the fact that Lerish, unlike us, doesn't have a way to defend herself other than her weapon of choice. She can't use magic, is not that physically active, and she barely had some combat experience. Even though her marksmanship is insane, she has no chance if we were to meet someone of Argus' level or higher. Her proposal isn't an act of cowardice, but a safety net for her.

Hearing her explanation, Myriel pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright. I'll leave that thing to you bunch."

"T-Thank you very much, Miss Myriel!" Lerish said happily.

"Next is Ren's proposal. Hmm...that same thing again, I see?"

"Yeah."

I said to her before that I will only agree to go with her plans if there's someone to look after the Rainens whenever we're away. Myriel have her lackeys after all, so this shouldn't be a problem for both of us.

"And last, but definitely the least, uh...care to explain what did you did in this contract, Death Goddess?" Myriel looked at Aoi as she showed to us the copy in her hand.

Within the space provided in contract, Aoi made a crude drawing of me and her holding hands and looking very happy on the left, and a drawing of a very ugly and miserable-looking person she labeled 'lewd wooman' while being locked behind bars and with what seemed to be fire raging under her feet, on the right.

While this clearly is an 'art' made by a child, one could sense the burning aggression being conveyed towards the woman in question.

"...I think the message is already clear to you, Myriel: do not go near me and my big brother ever again, if you want me to sign that stupid paper of yours."

Myriel chuckled as she replied, "My, is that a threat, Death Goddess? Do you think that will stop me from ever approaching your beloved big brother?"

"...Hhrghh," Aoi gritted her teeth. "Try me, and you'll get what you deserve, you petty woman!"

"Very well, shall we begin?"

"You two, stop it! Now's not the time for that!" I stood right between the two goddesses. "Aren't you two ashamed letting yourselves be seen fighting over trivial things by other people? Don't you two goddesses have any shame?"

As I said that, Lerish's cheeks burned red as she averted her gaze from the awkward situation in front of her.

"Listen, if you two hate to see each other that much then at least show some decency while Lerish is around. For now, let's settle on this matter already so that we can finally call it a day and excuse yourselves from each other's sight," I scolded them.

When I said that, the two...

"You're right, boy. My apologies."

"...Hmph."

Haah. Even though I managed to calm these two down, I think it would still take us a little longer to settle everything at this rate.

As I thought, dealing with the devil really is a pain in the butt, especially if your sister is a devil too.

I just hope that I still have the strength and patience to last the day surrounded with these girls.