Oliver Spectre

Hearing the knock on the door, Jack got up and excused himself. Leisurely, he walked up to the door, located by the hallway in the entrance. But once his eyes spotted the one standing outside… They widened. 

Oliver Spectre, a member of the Blue Shepherds.

With his two hazel eyes under the mostly bald head, only shielded by a few dark hairs and a well-maintained beard, he looked up to the purple-skinned titan.

"Mister Oliver. What brings you here?" inquired Jack. Any trace of relaxation had left his body from the moment he spotted his figure.

"Not much. I have yet another request for you," he said while waving the silky blue scarf hanging on his neck. The other hand, as pale and frail looking as the rest of his body, held on to a creamy blue walking stick.

"I-I see… What is this one about?"

The cold gaze never left the spectre's eyes. "I assume you're aware of the influx of strangers into our sacred land, along with the instances of crimes occurring."

"Correct."

"Good, good, that saves me some time… As a protector and guardian of Fernbedie's purity and beauty, I must make sure to never let anyone ruin the sanctity of this gorgeous land. Sadly, I been quite busy with my already big share of work."

Jack nodded, not minding the mistake the blue-wearing spectre had just made.

"So, I need you to collaborate in the defense of my– ahem, our homeland. This is a list of the things that I been assigned," spoke the blue-clad demon, as he passed an rather short list, with exactly five assignments.

Some included sabotage of abandoned buildings, exploration, protection, and… One even involved a game of hide and seek.

The sort that never ended for the hider.

"..... I understand. Consider it done."

Smiling confidently, the one holding the cane thanked the young titan, and switched topics. "Now, would you know where my dear Nade is?"

Jack's body stifled slightly. "I'm not quite sure, Mister Oliver. I met her today when she passed by the stonegrinder, but I haven't seen her since."

"I see. I guess I can check if she's back home," commented the middle aged demon, before reminding Jack of the list and departing.

Jack maintained a composed, friendly expression for a while. Still holding the list, he eventually went back in.

"This guy..."

The paper crumbled under the weight of his hand, and softened after a few seconds. But the damage was still done.

With the mantle and the three wooden bowls in place, along with the food, the duo waited. One expectantly, and the other one quietly.

"Who was it?"

"Nobody important," he answered, as he sat down and looked at the food in the mantle.

It was mostly fruits and seeds, along with some vegetables. 

Afterwards, they went to sleep rather early, finishing their day on a good note… Though, the day wasn't over for everyone, no. There were some demons who were awake.

One such demon was the pale-skinned spectre from earlier, Oliver.

He walked along the now empty main roads with pride, unlike Randall and the others. For he had nothing to hide.

"Jack… He's a good soldier, but Nade is getting too attached to him."

He reached a slope, and his mouth curved into a slight smile. The gaze of his hazel eyes landed on a set of eleven normal-looking houses just ahead. Yet, he knew such houses were far from ordinary.

"It would be a pity to sack him due to her inability to let go, really."

He spotted a well-dressed female fiend leaving the largest house of the hill, who strolled in a similar direction. As soon as they were in close proximity, they greeted each other.

"Good night, Mayor," voiced Oliver.

"Likewise, Mister Oliver," she replied.

Silence returned to the proximity. Minus the footsteps, that is.

"... Yeah. The incoming conflict might just work."

The blue-wearing demon shook his head. His hands held the copper doorknob, and noticed a young woman with short hair holding a pen and a book. "Aha, Nade. You were here, after all."

"Hello, Dad," she answered with a sweet, delicate voice. Her slender hands closed the book smoothly.

…

The next morning, Jack was the first to wake up. A yawn contaminated the room's ambience, while the titan's body rose from the torn mattress in the corner, opposing the entry hallway. 

"Haaa… Time to do stuff."

Sparing the list beside him a glance, a sigh left his lips, tiredly. "This… He's really trying hard now, isn't he?"

"Mmgh… Morning."

The tall demon looked downwards, spotting the rising fiend leaving the empty, all-purpose room which he himself often slept by. "Ah, Randall. Good thing you're awake, we need to talk."

"About what?" inquired the light blue skinned fiend, before also letting out a yawn.

"You and the other fiend. I... I need your help with something… But let's wait until she wakes up." 

They waited. Not for long, as it took her two minutes to get up, and then caught her up.

"... You see, yesterday I received a visit from Oliver Spectre, one of the key members of the Blue Shepherds, along with a request of sorts."

Randall nodded, and Jack kept going.

"If I don't do everything on this list, he'll kick  me out of this house and force me to leave the town… The issue is, it's extremely difficult to do it all on my own-"

"So you want us to help you?" voiced Anne, rather coldly.

Jack nodded seriously, but the outsider duo remained hesitant. Each passing second only added to the pressure in the bulky demon's heart.

"We need to talk about it, on our own. Give us a minute," stated Randall, before he and Anne left the house.

A minute of walking later, they stopped by a purple patch of grass and sat down. 

"So, this town is about to be engulfed in a syndicate war. And there's at least one side backed by a school, that being the Shepherds'."

"Which school do you think it is?"

"Possibly Roemoon. Their main theory and the way this place is managed have quite a few similarities. It also fits in with some of the characteristics of the district they set up in Perilentia… However, these people brought it to an extreme. Not even the apostles from the main school went this far in their isolation."

Randall nodded along, calmly. Though, his face changed when a sudden thought landed. "Wait, then that means it would be good for us if they remained under control."

"You're right. One of the core elements behind the Roemoon doctrine is "to only deal with our issues," so… It should be easy to see where I'm going with this."

"Yeah. I suppose we're helping Jack."

"Yes. It is in our best interests."