Sate

Following a brief pause, Will adopted a cheeky smile and replied, "You can ask all you like. Whether I answer is another matter entirely."

Pushing up his glasses, the creepy, green-eyed man said, "Allow me the honor of introducing myself...I am Philius Vupecula Diacur, a 5th-ranked Magistrate in service of the Supreme Axial Star, His Majesty, Calius Leone Astralis..."

"You must have worked hard," responded Will, supplying a curt, clearly disinterested nod. He would need to be touched in the head not to see that Philius was trying to intimidate him, but the only thing he found even remotely disconcerting about the man was his appearance.

Furrowing his brows, though it was difficult to tell, Philius questioned, "Do you not understand your position? It is my duty to ascertain the truth and, if necessary, pass judgment on those who act against the Crown..."

"By all means, Magistrate Diacur, carry out your duty..." said Will, his tone calm by his look icy as he added, "But the next time you dare to insinuate that I, the Gamma Star of House Oirthear, am acting against the interests of the Crown, you had better be prepared to defend your lack of decorum before His Majesty..."

Though his expression didn't change, the glossiness of Philius's forehead increased as he realized it had been a mistake to reveal he was aware of Will's identity. But, had he waited and it came to light that he was aware of Will's identity but threatened him regardless, it would be more than just his career on the chopping block...

Closing his eyes and clearing his throat into his left fist, Philius reasoned, "I believe we may have started on the wrong foot...it was not my intention to offend—"

"You're not here to make conjecture or express your beliefs," said Will, his expression and tone hardening as he reminded, "You are here to hear our account of the situation and help settle the as-of-yet-resolved incident in the Tomb of the Jackal King. If my reason for being here had anything to do with that, I would readily reveal why. As it doesn't, I would appreciate it if you could skip the posturing so my traveling companions and I can be on our way. We both know you lack the pretense to keep me here even a second longer than I'm willing to tolerate your presence..."

"I am deeply appreciative of your patience and understanding..." said Philius, gesturing to the chair reserved for Will with his right hand while clenching his left fist behind his back. Had anyone else spoken to him like Will, he would have had them bound to a waterwheel and left them there for at least half a day. In Will's case, if he felt like his life was in danger or he was being detained against his will, he could resist and even kill them. And if they severely injured or killed him in turn, everyone in their chain of command would be investigated and likely executed to avoid conflict with the Oirthear Constellation...

...

..

.

"Thank you for your cooperation, and please accept my deepest, most sincere apologies for the inconvenience..." expressed Philius, the powder he applied to his face to maintain his statuesque features running a bit as he saw Will off at the door.

"See to it that my traveling companions are treated just as fairly..." said Will, fearlessly meeting the more than two-meter-tall man's gaze before departing for the Guild Hall's tavern to reserve himself and the members of Silver Cat a booth. Ordinarily, people being interrogated by the Solais Society would be detained for a minimum of three days, but he was fairly confident they would be joining him for lunch.

"Of course..." responded Philius, doing his best not to grit his teeth as he resisted the urge to slap the head from Will's shoulders. Fortunately for the latter, he valued his own considerably. Thus, even before submitting his report and asking his superiors how he should proceed, he trespassed the other interrogation rooms to ensure the members of Silver Cat weren't receiving the usual treatment they afforded witnesses...

...

..

.

With most Adventurers staying well away to avoid the Solais Society, Will essentially had the entire tavern area to himself. Everyone else was either an employee of the Guild Hall or a member of the Solais Society, so when the bar staff saw him approach, they naturally tensed and wondered what kind of status he must have to be able to walk around in such a precarious atmosphere without care.

"Mind if I order some food and drinks...?" asked Will, sporting a friendly smile as he addressed a man with bronzed skin, long brown hair fixed into a kind of topknot, and a neatly trimmed goatee.

Though he wanted to respond that the kitchen was closed, the barkeep got the impression that Will was someone he shouldn't offend, compelling him to swallow hard before answering, "Of course...just tell us what you'd like, and we'll have it out to you as quickly as we can..."

"Mmm...I'm not yet familiar with Deisceartan cuisine, so I'll leave the food choice to you," said Will, pulling out a pouch full of Astralian Crowns as he added, "Just make sure it's enough to feed between five to ten people. As for drinks, I'll start with a glass of water and some coffee."

Before the barkeep could refuse or insist that he didn't need to pay, Will pulled out five golden coins nearly 4cm across and 2.8mm thick, valued at 10,000 Astra a piece. Refusing money once it had already been presented was considered exceptionally rude, so with a noticeably forced smile, the barkeep accepted it and once again assured Will that they would have his order out as soon as possible. In the meantime, the latter found himself a booth near the far end of the Guild Hall, prompting Ohta to appear next to him, where he couldn't easily be seen.

"Man...you practically had that four-eyes shitting bricks..." remarked Ohta, sporting a faint, uncharacteristic smile.

"The Oirthear Duchy may not be the most technologically advanced, but our power and influence are second only to the Royal Family's," explained Will. "Those in lesser positions might think they can get away with it, but anyone in a sufficiently high position knows that, without a warrant issued by the ruling King or Queen, trying to flex their status and authority over a descendent of a Great Constellations is a good way to lose both..."

"What's to prevent someone from killing you and simply covering it up...?" asked Ohta.

"You mean, other than you...?" asked Will, finding Ohta's reactive deadpan fairly adorable as he held up his wrist, bearing his Interspatial Bangle, and explained, "This bangle has Dimensional Tracking, Life Link, and Emissive Mapping Magic applied to it. If my heart rate exceeds a certain threshold for an extended period or stops outright, it emits omnidirectional pulses to take a snapshot of my surroundings. This data then gets transmitted back to Oirthearhall, so it's safe to assume my family knows where we're at and what happened back in the Dungeon."

"Seriously...?" asked Ohta, looking incredulous and a little disturbed as he pointed out, "Isn't that a tremendous invasion of privacy? What if you get excited, and it has nothing to do with fighting?"

"It doesn't just monitor my heart rate," clarified Will. "The main activation triggers are spontaneous changes in my Mana and Aura. If I were training or sparring, it wouldn't begin transmitting unless I sustained a heavy blow or a foreign energy started invading my body."

"Still..." muttered Ohta, frowning as he remarked, "I don't think I'd be able to relax if someone could track my movements or spy on me at a whim..."

Though he was tempted to point out that Ohta was constantly tracking and spying on him, Will winked and assured, "Don't worry...if we ever do anything untoward, I'll be certain to place the bangle somewhere it can't transmit..."

"Big talk..." retorted Ohta, snorting and looking visibly annoyed as a scantily clad Deisceartan woman approached them with drinks and a large tray of soup, bread, and veggies. Fortunately, she didn't linger for too long, allowing Ohta's anger to settle as he remarked, "If you're not going to take action, don't tease me..." in a warning tone.

"If you don't want me to, I won't," responded Will, his expression and tone softening as he maintained, "But I think you enjoy the attention...at least a little bit..."

Though he frowned and snorted contemptuously, Ohta didn't attempt to refute Will's words. Instead, he took a large bite out of a piece of bread, aggressively chewing it with a frown. It smelled sweet and had a honey glaze, but its taste was nonexistent, just texture.

As the only Demons who actively consumed blood were those belonging to the Pride caste, chiefly Vampires, Will, noticing Ohta's grimace, asked, "Do you need to drink my blood...?" in a calm, untroubled tone.

"I don't need to..." responded Ohta, his frown deepening but his heart racing as Will held out his arm like a large, juicy drumstick, his eyes and tone gentle as he said, "I read that a Vampire's tastebuds only function for a short while after consuming blood. Now, drink..."

"Don't tell me what to do..." muttered Ohta, but his gaze was firmly fixed on Will's arm, his usually dark brown eyes gaining a carmine hue. At the same time, Will's veins became increasingly apparent, as if his bones had turned into light sources, allowing Ohta to see their pulsing.

Unable to resist, Ohta, rather aggressively, sank his teeth into Will's arm and began sucking his blood. His eyes widened in panicked realization at the start, but when he looked over and saw Will observing him with more curiosity than anything else, he gradually calmed down, averted his eyes, and then closed them to focus.

'How peculiar...' thought Will, sneaking a peek at Ohta's breast, watching them very gradually inflate as he thought about the implications behind the latter's abilities. As a general rule, Demons only manifested the traits of a single parent, but the horns Ohta sometimes sprouted, his habit of lashing out, and his shark-like teeth suggested he was a variant of Wrath Demon. Bloodsucking was almost exclusive to Vampires, Dhampires, and Lamia...

'And then there was Sarah...' recalled Will, thinking back to the previous night. At a glance, Sarah had been identical to Ohta, but while he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, he recalled her having white horns that curled at her temples. That, combined with the fact she appeared to him in a dream, indicated she had the capabilities of a Lust Demon. More specifically, a Succubus...

*Ding!*

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[Archfiend's Seed]

Rank: SSS [Main Quest]

Objective(s): You have begun to suspect that your friend is more than meets the eye, but just how deep do their secrets go? Uncover the truth, but beware. One mistake, and you could find yourself hunted by the Four Heavenly Kings or the Archfiend himself...

Optional Objective(s): Impregnate 'Ohta'(0/1), Kill 'Ohta'(0/1), Present 'Ohta' to the current Archfiend, Dractus Crimson(0/1), ????(0/1), ????(0/1)

Reward(s): 100,000 Karma, [Demonic Affection]x1, [Heavenly Demon Sealing Stake]x1, [Bloodstained Silver Coin]x30, ????, ????

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'Yet another Main Quest...these things are just popping up left and right...' thought Will, frowning. He supposed it made sense, considering Ohta's connection to Sarah, but since the difficulty of a Quest was based on both his capabilities and those of the allies he could readily call upon, SSS implied it was virtually impossible to complete, even with the help of Ohta. However, even if he hadn't promised he would help Ohta unveil the truth behind his abandonment and amnesia, the fact the latter might be a Sage obligated him to place the Quest in his active list, regardless of what might await him in the pursuit of its completion...

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..

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