Proposition

"It's not!!" I said loudly.

The words escaped my mouth before my mind could catch up, but I knew exactly why it did. At that moment I saw myself in her, blaming myself for things that were out of my control, being consumed by the anger that I felt, not being able to do anything about it and having a seething hatred at myself.

It was only then that I realised how dismissive and unhealthy it was, to let the anger and regret consume you. Staying stuck in your past misfortunes binds you to a lost cause. It made me wonder if it really was the hate keeping me alive in the forest, or maybe if I was more rational, I wouldn't have needed any help.

She looked at me with her eyes widened.

"I am sorry, and I know it feels contrived but I know how you feel, you cannot blame yourself for things out of your control. That anger you feel, I felt it too, I thought it gave me the motivation to live but when I was about to die I realised that it was not true....please don't make the same mistake I did" I said as I looked her straight in my eyes.

She just kept staring at me, her eyes still widened, like she was surprised.

"I-I am sorry, I just didn't want to see you hurt I guess. Sorry for crossing the line" I apologised, realising the boundary I might have crossed.

"N-no..thank you, I needed that" she said meekly.

We sat there looking at each other for a few seconds before we were interrupted by the maid putting down the plates and bringing out the food.

"ahem, let's eat shall we" Lucy said, clearing her throat.

We dug into the exquisite food, mostly extravagant European-looking cuisine.

"Anyway where was I, oh yeah, so now that your origin is cleared up. Let's get to the rest, as I said earlier, you are currently in the Tempest empire, my race, the demons are the rulers of this empire but people of all races are a part of it...excluding humans" she said, the last bit trailing off.

"The place where you arrived was the Rostaria Kingdom, the largest human kingdom. As you may have guessed the Tempest Empire borders the Rostaria kingdom in the north. The Dark Forest, the place where I found you, separating them" she continued.

"Speaking of which, it is a miracle you survived that long in the forest without knowing how to use magic, that place has a concentration of something called miasma...humans think of it as a corrupted form of mana, but to us, it is just a more potent form. Turning anyone who absorbs it into mindless beasts, reducing them to their most basic instincts of survival but giving them an insurmountable amount of power and giving them their distinct red eyes" she said, I immediately looked into her eyes, more questions popping up.

"BUT, my ancestors, the original demons...learned to control this power and keep their sanity and rationality intact. Ever since then, all demons have been born with the ability to control both miasma and mana to a varying degree" she said, anticipating the questions I had and answering them.

"The Tempest Kingdom is bordered by two more human kingdoms in the East and the West. Namely the Erithria Kingdom in the East and the Florentia Kingdom in the West. You see, the humans of this world are afraid of us demons and the other races because of our innate power which is far superior to theirs and for a long time, the Tempest empire and these human nations had been hostile. But almost a hundred years ago my grandfather created a fine thread of peace and diplomacy among all the nations. These relations had even gotten better due to the establishment of Antioch Academy, the namesake of my grandfather. In exchange for peace and trade, my grandfather proposed that the future leaders and pioneers of all nations attend this academy when they are of age to prosper growth of capable leaders and have a free exchange of knowledge and ideologies, a place where status and race didn't matter" She said proudly.

"But all of that work has come crashing down with my brother's treachery. Now that a human kingdom has power rivalling that of the Tempest Empire, the careful balance of power that has been maintained has shifted. When this news reaches the other kingdoms and the public of all sides, tensions will rise. I can't believe I will be entering this academy at the same time as all of this" she said with an annoyed tone.

"An academy? I didn't expect that, before I came here I was in an academy too" I said trying to keep conversation.

"Really!! Enough about me, I want to know all about you and your world. Do you know how long I have waited for this day, the countless hours I spent deciphering that book. THE BOOK!! if its a script from your world you might be able to read it won't you..." She went on rambling with a shine in her eyes. I found it really cute

As she kept speaking she suddenly stopped, " I didn't know how to make you stay but...Haruto Hideyoshi, I have a proposition for you that would benefit both of us. Would you like to hear it?" she said firmly.

I was confused as to what she meant but I nodded, beckoning her to continue, interested in what this proposal would entail.

"Haruto Hideyoshi, I Lucille Tempest Mephistopheles will take you as my knight, you must swear to protect me and come to my aid whenever I require including providing me all the knowledge of your world and helping me with anything I desire. In return, I will provide you with a home, food, my eternal companionship and anything else you desire, do you accept" she said in a dignified tone.

I stifled a laugh as I found her sudden seriousness amusing.

" 'Eternal companionship' huh, so you are saying that your companionship is a privilege? and how do make sure I wouldn't use this proposition maliciously" I asked jokingly.

Lucy got up from her chair and stood right in front of me, putting her right hand right beside my head and bending downwards, our faces millimetres away from each other.

"Why yes, that is exactly what I am implying....and I have this feeling that I should trust you, a demon always trusts their instincts. So...do you accept" She said.

I turned away shyly and composed myself before looking back at her.

"There is just one question I want to ask you, will I ever be able to go home?" I said with a pit forming in my stomach, the anticipation of the answer making me anxious.

Lucy's teasing smile disappeared almost instantly, she gently put her hand on my cheek.

"I am so sorry Haruto, but there is no way to do that...even with the spellform" she said with true sadness in her eyes.

I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath, a small tear forming in one of my eyes. The pain of not being able to see my family again felt like being hit by a truck.

I felt two hands wrap around my head, gently being pushed against her warm embrace, a dam of emotions flooded and I broke down crying. The whole time her gentle embrace got tighter as I could feel her heartbeat soothing my emotions and her hand rubbing against my hair. It took me a few minutes before I could calm down.

When I had come to terms with my situation and calmed down, I felt her hands on my cheeks again, pushing my face up to directly look into her eyes.

"Told you my companionship is worthwhile, didn't I" she said in a gentle voice.

I smiled and closed my eyes and took a deep breath again, before looking at her again.

"Lucy, I accept your proposition" I said seriously. Life had given me a new chance, there was no point lamenting the past anymore. I had shouted at myself that I wanted to be happy, and this was the happiest I had felt in a long time. This was an opportunity for me to stop being weak and running away from everything. This was an opportunity of a lifetime and I would be a fool to let it go.

"Thank you...truly" Lucy replied with a smile on her face.

She then held my hand and started chanting something. The environment around us started glowing and her hair started standing up straight like it was defying gravity. In mere moments she was done and a blinding flash enveloped us for a few seconds.

"That was a demon's oath, a binding promise for both parties to abide by the proposition, failure in doing so would lead to death. Every knight has to take this oath with the person they serve" she said still holding my hand.

"Does that mean we both have to hold up our side of the bargain?" I asked. Apprehensive about the stakes.

"Yes, if the other party feels they have been betrayed and the oath has been broken. The punishment is handed out immediately" she replied

I was surprised, "That is all great, but I made an oath to protect you, but the one doing the protecting till now is you...." I said, asking genuinely.

"Don't you remember Haruto, any person bought here is also blessed with immense power. You have that power in you, all we have to do is find out what it is" She said as she smiled as she pulled me up from her chair.

"Its time for some experiments"