Nicole Chu
His eyes widened at my words. "Will this really work?" He asked. "If it doesn't, I'll look like a complete fool."
"Whether it works or not, depends on your sincerity and Elizabeth's feeling towards you." I answered. "As for the risk of looking like a fool, does it really matter when something so important to you is on the line?"
"Guess not."
I looked at Alex - his previously gloomy, devoid of life and purpose face now began to glow anew. It seemed that he sobered up immediately and began radiating the determination of a man that was ready to stand alone against the world, if that was what it took for him to reach his goal. I was amazed, almost mesmerized by what I saw and yet, a small part of me was disappointed that his goal - the one he was fighting so fiercely for - wasn't me.
With a smile, I said to him. "Then what are you waiting for? Go and do what you must."
Without a 'thank you' or 'good bye', he stood up and rushed out of the restaurant. I sighed inwardly. I guess, it's simply not to be… Well, let's not think about it and eat. I lowered my eyes towards the table, just to see that all of the plates that contained food weren't just empty, but missing. How? Where? When? Why?
_________________________________________________________________________
Adam
I ran out of the restaurant like being carried by wings and immediately began planning. This was an endeavor that would be committed by the great and powerful demon king - the first true demon, the one that stole the power of a god, blah, blah, blah. The point is that I had to make it grand - something that the world would remember.
I immediately made a call. The person on the other side answered in seconds. "Hey kid, what's up? I'm a bit busy at the moment, so. if it's nothing special, can we talk later?"
"No time, send money. 100 million, no 1 billion should be enough. Scratch that, just give me access to your company card."
"Wait, hold on, why do you need so much?" The voice on the other side asked. "Don't tell me… Are you finally planning to plunge this world into chaos and darkness and rule on a throne made of the heads of your victims?"
"Not that, there's…" I began to speak, but was interrupted.
"You know you can't do that, right? It's inhumane, just think of the economy, what will I do, if you totally wreck it? And you can't indiscriminately kill the plebeians too, they're my precious work force, without them I would be doomed!" The voice on the other side seemed panicked.
"No, it's not like…"
"It's immoral, totally immoral." Interrupted again. "I can not simply allow you to do something like that, unless…" A short pause. "Unless you give me a high rank in your Pandemonium. Something like a general or a duke. Wait, can you quickly send me a chart of the new world order's rankings, so that I could choose a position suitable for me?"
"I won't go for the top, I promise, those positions are probably already filled by your harem of dragons, right? But being a petty foot soldier is a bit beneath me too. I am far too old to climb my way from the bottom and, since I presume that I'm the primary sponsor for the upcoming apocalypse, I feel like a mid to high rank would suit me just right." He continued.
"Fine, whatever, when I plunge the world into a pool of blood and sunder, I'll give you a high ranking, just shut up and send the money, Galahad!" I finally blurted out.
"Wait… So you're not going to do that now?" Galahad sounded confused. "Then why do you need so much money, kid?"
"I fucked up and am trying to fix it by proposing. It has to be grand." I answered. "And who gave you the right to call me a kid, huh? Are you ready to meet your maker, or something?"
"Pfth… Yeah right. I heard a lot about you from the little one. You act tough, but almost never go through with it - like an edgy middle schooler. That's why I call you a kid." the old man laughed.
"When did you get so close to Lilia?" I asked.
"Who do you think baby sits her when you take Liz out on dates?"
"I just assumed that it would be one of the other girls…"
"Now think long and hard what would happen, if you left a literal child in the hands of two unhinged dragons and a manipulative sicko."
I thought for a while, then shuttered. "Good point. Thanks for that."
"No prob, kid. About the money, I could send it to you, or I could arrange everything myself. No, scratch that, I'll just hire a professional to do the whole thing and then take the credit, how about that?"
"How hard could it be?" I asked. "I'll do it myself."
"Do you have a plan?"
"A palace built from pure gold." I answered nonchalantly.
"The decorations?"
"More gold."
"The staff, food, drinks, accommodations, guests and so on?" Galahad asked.
"...More gold?"
"No."
"Fine, take care of it."
"Okay."
For the first time in days, I headed for the penthouse. I couldn't count the times I wanted to return, but the fear of seeing Liz and not knowing what to say, kept me back. I approached the building and was about to enter the lobby, my hand resting on the door knob, but then, I hesitated.
I go home, then what? I thought. Do I act like nothing happened? Do I get down on my knees and ask for forgiveness? Or maybe, I start by snuffing out the life of the elf, just to be sure she doesn't interfere.
I stood there, thinking, when a familiar voice drifted into my ear. "Adam? Is that you?" I turned around to see Liz and Lilia with a few bags full of groceries.
I wanted to hug her so much, but held back, lowered my eyes and said weakly. "Yeah, it's me… How have you been?"
"I'm fine, I guess." Liz hesitated. "But what in the world happened to you?"
"Nothing serious. Can I… Come in?"
"Yes of course, it's your house after all." Liz came forward and opened the door. "Come on in, I'll make you something to eat."
"Thanks."
Not even five minutes later, I sat in my former seat at the head of the table, while Elizabeth was cooking something that smelled amazing. There were so many things to talk about, yet we both kept quiet. Not long after, I was presented with a big plate of rarely cooked stakes. Just how I liked them.
I began eating, savoring every bite, it had been days without food - since my cooking was no good and I had no real drive to make anything, I subsisted on booze and poison. Now these premium stakes cooked to my liking were like a rain to a parched land.
Liz sat in front of me, concern evident on her face. Then she spoke. "I don't mind what happened between you and Luna, I really don't. I was simply worried when you disappeared off the face of the earth and didn't pick up calls. I'm not angry, I swear, so please, don't ever do that again."
I put down my fork and knife thinking that this girl is far too kind, then said. "I won't make any excuses, or try to explain myself, but can you come with me somewhere in four days? There's something that I want to show you."
"If you wish it, I'll follow you wherever you go." Liz said with a smile.
"Thank you, Liz." I said, also smiling. "You should know, I really care about you."
"I know. But… You really should take a shover." She said, lowering her gaze.
I smelled my shirt. "Oh wow, That's quite intense. I'll get going." I finished my food, stood up and patted Elizabeth's head while walking by. "Thank you for always caring about me."
For the next four days, I slept on the couch. In that time, my and Elizabeth's relationship began to mend. I was extremely cautious of the elf, monitoring her every move, carefully refusing the tea she sometimes offered and staying at least six feet apart from her. Luna, of course, didn't like any of that, but I couldn't let what happened last time repeat and I needed time to prepare.
I still didn't know what kind of a poison she used on me, so I asked Pain to rummage in the elf's brain for a bit and figure it out, but the elf's mind was so calm on the surface and had so many mental and logic paradox traps deeper inside, that Pain wasn't able to find out anything.
Finally, after her patience ran out, Luna came to me with an ultimatum, I was ready and waiting. "Have you thought about what I said last time?"
"I did." I answered.
"Have you made your decision? If you are willing to be with me, I'll allow you to keep Elizabeth as a mistress. How about it?" Luna said with an innocent smile.
"I'll have to refuse."
"Think carefully, you know what will happen if you refuse, right? If you refuse, you will never be with Elizabeth." Her face smiled, while her voice carried icy daggers.
I gave a disdainful smile. "last time, I was unprepared, so you got the better of me, do you think that this time will go the same?"
"Whatever do you mean by this?" The elf's smile wavered for a fleeting moment.
"This…" I disappeared and appeared behind her. "Good night, your highness." A light tap on the back of her neck sent her consciousness to a deep slumber.
The elf woke up after some time and sat up, then looked around, examined her clothing and looked for any blood below her skirt, then pouted. "You knock me out and don't even do anything? Are you really a man?"
"Who told you that I didn't do anything?" I asked, an innocent smile playing on my face.
Luna shivered. "Then what?" Her smile noticeably faltered.
"How much do you know about contract magic?" I asked, still smiling sweetly.
"It's a type of black magic that creates a contract between two people with penalties, if the contract is broken." Luna's smile returned. "But you can't force one to enter a contract, especially, if that person is unconscious."
"You lived for so long and still believe that?" I asked, shaking my head. "Have you ever heard of something called a blood contract?"
Luna's eyes widened. "Impossible! That magic has been lost during the chaos era! There's no way that you can use it!"
I simply looked at her right hand, she followed my gaze and saw that her pinky had a cut on it. "No! You're bluffing!" She shouted.
"Then test it." I said with an innocent smile. "The conditions are simple - you will in no way willingly harm Elizabeth and our relationship. If you do…" I crossed my neck with my thumb. "Well, you get the picture."
Without saying another thing, I stood up and left the room. On the other side of the door, Pain was already waiting for me. "How did it go?" She asked.
"Just as you predicted. Bluff or not she has only one way to test and, if it's not a bluff, then…" I shook my head. "Still, what made you want to help me?"
"The fact that I can't read her mind and mess with her memories is annoying." Pain said with a villainous smile. "Now that her psyche is destabilized by fear, there should be no problems."
Join me on patreon at patreon.com/BonsaiCat for early access to new chapters or buy my book 'How to rule a fantasy world' on Amazon. It's the same stuff that you read here, but I fucked up with the naming and the book is already out, so fuck it, let's go with this name for the book. I appreciate all of your support and your forgiveness for my utter incompetence. Best regards, BonsaiCat.