Candidate Titles

Although Richie had kept most of our loot on him, and Michael had picked up some of the loot from the Goblin King, I'd grabbed a decent amount of supplies during first the dungeon and then our return trip. I gave what I had to Nero when Alicia wasn't looking, and he went to sell it while Alicia and I ate dinner. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep us afloat until we could take on regular quests again.

That night, Nero waited until Alicia fell asleep, then sat up and faced me. "Okay, Luna. Who's and what is Fyth?"

He calls himself a demon lord. I died in another world, and he sent me here in exchange for saving my daughter from being the one to find my body.

“You have a daughter?” Nero yelped. Then he shot a sheepish look toward Alicia and waited to see if she stirred. When she didn’t, he relaxed and asked, more quietly, “How old was she?”

The same age as you.

“Wow. So you’re… Huh. Okay. So what does this Fyth guy want?”

I don't know. He’s annoying, but I don’t think that he’s actually done anything other than sending me to this world in the first place. Although he'd ordered me to kill the party, he hadn't even threatened me with anything should I fail to do so. I imagined that there was some manner of punishment I'd receive if I disobeyed him, but he hadn't brought it up yet.

Nero studied me closely. "And your title? Hated by God?"

I gave as close to a shrug as I could manage as a cat. I had it when I was summoned to this world. I never killed anyone in my original world. I assume it's a result of the other title. I would expect God to hate someone called an Agent for a demon lord.

"Fair enough," Nero said with a sigh. "Can you see my Status?"

Yes.

He grimaced. "Then you saw my title." He fisted his hands. “When I evolved - crap, that sounds so weird to say as a human - I had some options. I could reset my skills and refund my points, I could choose a skill from a ‘Limited Store,’ or I could ‘gamble.’ I don’t know what that last one means, but Fyth wanted me to choose it. He sounded annoyed when I chose a skill from the Limited Store instead.”

Limited Store? I was immediately curious. That and the ‘gamble’ option both sounded intensely interesting. What kinds of skills were in the Limited Store?

“Uh…” Nero scrunched up his face in thought. “I kind of chose Reverse as soon as I saw it, but I remember there was something called Creation, and another one called Purgatory… Oh, and one called Heaven’s Blessing.”

This did nothing to quench my curiosity. I wondered if I might get an option like that one day.

“What do you think it means to be a Demon Lord Candidate?” Nero asked quietly. “Do you know anything about it?”

I'm sorry, I said. I didn’t even know Demon Lords were a thing until I died. They only existed in fantasy stories in my first world.

Nero nodded miserably and lay down. “Does it hurt?” he asked. “Being dead?”

No. Not at all. I didn’t even realize it had happened until Fyth told me.

“That’s good. Even if they were murderers, I don’t like the idea of them being in pain,” Nero mumbled as he fell asleep. I nuzzled his cheek, then I curled up against him, offering my warmth as what little comfort I could provide.

In the morning, we went downstairs to look at the Quest Board. We weren’t up to accepting any yet, but Alicia wanted to keep an eye out for Pegasus hunts. They were rare creatures, so missing out on a hunt would be a loss Alicia didn’t think we could afford now that we were going to be a two-human party for the foreseeable future.

When we reached the building’s first floor, though, we were told the Guild Master wanted to talk to Nero. We left Alicia to look at the quests and headed upstairs past the second floor, where the inn’s rooms were located, and up to the same room as before. The Guild Master was already there, this time with Mathew, the Guild assistant.

"Thank you for coming, Nero," the Guild Master said. She smiled at us. "Mathew tells me that you're acquainted?"

Nero and I both nodded.

"Good. I didn't want to bring this up in front of your companion, but you're aware, I assume, that you're a Demon Lord Candidate?"

Nero stiffened, then nodded again. "Yes, ma'am."

She laughed. "Don't worry. I won’t judge. Feel free to have your summon Assess me, if you like.”

I did.

Name: Raleigh Straits                                             Level: 160/160
Birth Date: 01.01.65
Race: Human(?) - A
Status: STR UP, END UP, INT UP, CHA UP           Health: 1300/1300
Skills:                                                                         Available Points: 0
     Active: ??                                                               Passive: ??
Titles: Demon Lord Candidate, Guild Master, ??

I relayed this back to Nero, whose eyes widened, and he nodded faintly. Clearly, the Guild Master wasn’t going to think we were evil for having a title she also possessed. She smiled knowingly. “It sounds terrible, and I wouldn't recommend telling anyone about it, but all it means is that you evolved. It's rare for a human to evolve, but those who do inevitably become either a Demon Lord Candidate or a Hero Candidate. For most people, that’s the end of it. I merely wanted to make you aware that Mathew here was originally a researcher studying this phenomenon. Should you require any information, I recommend speaking with him."

She rose and, with a simple goodbye, left the room.

Mathew smiled brilliantly at us both. "I'm so glad to have a chance to speak with a newly evolved Demon Lord Candidate. As Lady Straits said, most Candidates never go any further, but I hope you won't mind me saying that I hope you don't succumb to such a boring conclusion."

Nero blinked owlishly. "Wouldn't it be better if I did? I mean, becoming a Demon Lord doesn't sound like a good thing..."

"There's a difference between a titled Demon Lord and a socially-proclaimed demon lord," Mathew said. "Even Heroes have occasionally come to be called demon lords by the public, and vice versa. It's not well-studied, and we can't say for sure what differentiates between the two, but if I had to guess at the difference, I'd say that it lies within their ideologies. Regardless, it’s clear to anyone who studies the history of the two titles that neither strictly equates to ‘good’ or ‘evil.’"

Nero relaxed even further. "Really? That's... I'm glad." He petted my head gently. "Since I summoned, you know, a Demon Cat, and then I got this Demon Lord Candidate title, I was thinking... You know... what if I was just born evil or something?"

I scratched him for being stupid. Of course, he wasn't born evil. And while I couldn't be sure what would happen in the future, I had no particular intention of letting him turn evil either. I'd take on any unpleasant tasks for him. He was a child. He didn’t need to be worrying about stuff like being evil or not.

Mathe’s smile increased in intensity. “If the thought of being evil bothers you, then I’d say that’s definitive proof that you aren’t evil. Which isn’t to say you couldn’t still do evil without noticing, but I think that’s true for most people, don’t you?”

“Um, I guess?” Nero hesitated a moment, then asked, “The members of Crimson Rain thought God was responsible for the dungeon forming around us, but Alicia said it sounded more like something the Demon Lord would do… Are there any active Demon Lords in Asteria right now?”

The look Mathew gave Nero suggested that it was a stupid question. “Of course not. The Guild doesn’t have exact numbers, as the Assess skill is rare, and few people willingly disclose the title, but we know of at least twenty-six Demon Lord Candidates in Asteria at this time. Those of us who work with these records believe the world seeks to fill the vacuum left when either a Demon Lord or a Hero dies, so those numbers will most likely continue to increase until a Demon Lord does appear.”

“So there aren’t any Hero Candidates right now?”

Mathew shook his head. “There are, but there are only a handful. They are all people who became Hero Candidates before the king became a Hero. We probably won’t see any new Hero Candidates until the king passes.”

Nero and Mathew chatted a bit more before Nero headed back downstairs to find Alicia. She was waiting at a table, drinking a glass of water as she studied some papers. "Welcome back," she said, stuffing the papers into her purse. She nodded toward the Quest Board. "There aren't any Pegasus hunts up, so what do you say we take the rest of the day off? I'd like to visit the bathhouse, personally."

Nero blushed and looked away. "Sure, we can do that."

Watching Alicia's teasing smile in response, I felt a twinge in my heart. I missed my daughter. How was she doing? Would she be just starting to notice the other sex, too, or would she be like me, indifferent to it all until intellectual curiosity kicked in? Whatever the case, I hoped she was happy. I hoped she wasn't taking my death too hard. If she could move on quickly, that'd be for the best.

I thought she probably would. She and I weren't that affectionate before I’d died. It was hard to tell, though. She'd never liked talking about her feelings, even when she was young. For all I knew, deep down, she really cared about me and would be devastated by my death.

It felt strange to think, but I honestly hoped my daughter didn't like me that much, since I'd up and died on her just a few weeks before her birthday.

"Luna?"

I tore myself out of my thoughts and back to the present. We'd reached the bathhouse, and Nero was looking between the changing room entrances. Normally, summons entered with their Master, even in the case of summons like Dragon, who’d had a female human appearance. I’d found it uncomfortable, at first, to go into the men’s side, but I’d gotten used to it by now. It was a relief, in a way, that I was no longer expected to have an opinion of naked people. My lack of anything resembling interest worked well with being a cat.

Now, however, Nero was giving me an uncomfortable look. "You should probably go with Alicia," he said. "Since you’re a girl and all."

Was this a new stage of his development as a human being or a reaction to learning that I’d had a life before this one? Regardless, just as I didn’t care about seeing naked men, I didn’t care about not seeing naked men. Without hesitation, I nodded and hopped over to Alicia's waiting arms. She giggled as she caught me and waved to Nero. Then she brought me into the changing room, where she quickly undressed and set about washing herself off. Once clean, she turned to me. "Let's get you clean, too, Luna," she said.

I twitched but valiantly held myself still as she doused me with water, then lathered some sort of shampoo into my fur. She was careful around the small bat wings that had appeared with my evolution, only gently rubbing them between her fingers before rinsing me off entirely. I shook myself, then escaped to the corner of the room to lick myself dry.

“Sorry, Luna, but it’s important to stay clean.”

Cats can clean themselves.

Alicia laughed. “Come on. Keep me company?” She held the door to the actual bath open and waited for me to slink through it. I didn’t entirely trust her not to try to get me into the bath, too.

The baths were a series of pools ranging from just large enough for one person to swimming pool-sized, and they came with different benefits. Some were supposed to promote youthfulness, while others helped soothe injuries. Alicia entered one of the larger baths that was simply meant for relaxation and sighed in pleasure. The baths were busy today. Humans and summons alike were soaking in them, taking the opportunity to relax before they resumed their daily lives. Alicia turned toward me, resting her arms on the edge of the bath. “Say, Luna, what do you think about Nero?”

Was I about to experience girl talk? I’d rather not, all things being equal. He’s a good Master, I said.

Alicia rolled her eyes. “Not like that. I mean, he’s cute, right?”

Yes. That was exactly what was happening. Please remember that I’m a cat. I suppose he has features that humans seem to find attractive, but I care far more about how he treats me than how he looks. Not to mention that the idea of rating the cuteness of a boy my daughter’s age made my hackles rise.

“I guess.” Alicia sighed. “He was a real brat when we were little, but he’s gotten pretty reliable.”

I wanted to point out that they were still little, but I heroically managed to bite back the comment. I wouldn’t have taken it well when I was thirteen.

Apparently, that was the end of girl talk. I sighed in relief as Alicia closed her eyes and fell silent.

“Did you hear? Another dungeon’s been discovered.”

My ears twitched as I overheard a pair of women speaking. I glanced at Alica, then crept closer to the women.

“I heard the party that discovered it was only D-ranked, but they still went in. What idiots. I’d never enter an unknown dungeon, even if I was B-ranked. Save that for the A- and S-ranked adventurers.”

“They probably were blinded by the idea of getting famous for mapping an unknown dungeon.” The woman sniffed haughtily. “They won’t make that mistake again. I heard the dungeon killed all but two of them.”

“How awful. There should be some kind of intelligence test necessary to become an adventurer…”

I returned to Alicia’s side, fuming. I understood that we weren’t allowed to tell the truth of the matter, although I didn’t understand why it was a secret. Hearing people arbitrarily making up their own version of events and motivations was infuriating, though.

Alicia cracked an eye open. “It sucks, huh?” she murmured. The corners of her lips tightened, and she took several deep breaths before she spoke again. “I can’t believe they killed their previous team. Whatever caused them to get that title, it must have been something else. Some misunderstanding. They… they were all so nice to us. Murderers wouldn’t be nice.”

I didn’t reply. After all, I was a murderer now, too. After a long silence, Alicia shook herself free of her melancholy and climbed out of the bath to get dressed.