NABC Chapter 145 – Spy
Chapter 145 – Spy
Chapter 145 – Spy
"...It was a pleasure to speak with you two queens again, should probably get moving along now though"
(Petra) "Heh, nice to see you as well Geld"
(Ikarus) "Yeah, bye..."
In one of the mornings me and Petra were walking around our snowy settlement, we just so happened to bump into the beastkin leading the Adventures guild out in the town. It turns out that little 'scare' about the golems and wraiths was unneeded as their guild have turned it into a subjugation quest for the members and we even found Geld destroying a small group of them.
We've only really spoken to him once or twice, one of those times being the demonic invasion itself. We haven't exactly discussed much except giving our thanks for the guild's help and small talk like about the weather but there is something a little iffy about him.
He's pretty slim but quite muscley, has blonde short hair and always carries around a big two-handed longsword. His clothing choice isn't exactly practical considering the guy basically just wears a tight tank top even if the freezing snow but his appearance isn't the reason why I'm cautious about him. I'll get onto that in a second...
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Spoiler
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Ah, can't forget the gasmasks we all wear as well but that should be a given right now. Apparently, the dust is already starting to settle a little more so we may be able to finally remove these in a week or two, at least that's according to Aesa.
Oh, parents are still here as well but I'm focusing heavily on this guy right now, I can't decide whether he's friend or foe. I've basically been ignoring the entire conversation simply because of something I saw when doing his status check, something there is suspect as fuck.
As the beast Geld is walking off, I'm still glancing in his direction.
'Status check again'
[Name: Geld | Species: Wolf'oid | Level: 500]
[Health 30,000/30,000]
[Stamina 17,723/20,000]
[Magicka 0/0]
'That's suspicious, right Aesa? This isn't me becoming extremely paranoid or something?'
It's nothing to do with his stats since he holds nothing to me, but it's the level making me question things. Nearly every human or humanoid person we come across always seems to have a level that not perfectly rounded like that with only a few exceptions like with the dryads or boss fights. Another exception being Charlotte, who also is exactly five hundred as well...
[
'Right, I'll ask her then'
While the beast Geld is still walking off, I quickly start to whisper to Petra. Pretty sure she thought I was going in for a kiss there but a potential foe is more important than lovey dovey stuff right now... even if I don't want it to be.
"Petra... have you checked out his level yet? It's suspicious as hell, right?"
"It's five hundred Ikarus, why is that suspicious? We have loads of powerful people here already and he is representing the guild after all"
"It's not that he's powerful, it's the specific level itself. Priestess for example, she is also the exact same but hers is borrowed from a God. It's either an extreme coincidence, or he's also the same"
Almost as if you could hear a pin drop in the snow, Petra finally clocks onto what my problem is. Enemies who seem to have a level perfectly rounded like that are extremely rare so there is a small chance he could naturally be that level... but coincidences like that don't happen in this world. Shit always has a bigger meaning... I know it sounds like paranoia but I refuse to be naïve anymore! That guy is sus!
"Hey Geld! Come back here a second"
Without even giving me a warning, Petra calls him back and I can already sense how she's going to approach this. It's funny how I'm supposed to be the bloodthirsty one out of our duo yet she's about to attack him...
"Yes Queen Petra, what can I help you wi-"
And of course, Petra charges towards him blade in hand and goes for his neck while I quickly join her. We're obviously not going to kill him but need to make it seem scary enough.
Anyways, Petra's first attack gets parried by the huge sword the guy wields and my follow up also clatters against it, could feel the vampiric blade rattle from the impact there. We may have been holding ourselves back a load but damn, this guy knows what he's doing. The speed of his reactions were similar to Petra.
"...Why the fuck are we fighting!?"
"Spill the beans wolf! Reveal who you work for and we'll stop!"
"Heh, me and Ikarus aren't fools guild lackey. We know you serve someone else"
Both of us decide to go for another attack with Petra leading going for his neck again and me going for his shoulder, somehow he manages to evade us both jumping back and avoiding the swings. It's crazy how a guy wielding such a large sword can match our speed, it doesn't seem like he really wants to fight though.
It is strange that the Adventurers guild wants us protected as well though, not really sure why that's been stated to him. You'd think that they'd only care about their headquarters but they have been really useful for the most part. Not sure on who their actual leader is as apparently, they prefer to remain anonymous.
Enough of this internal monologuing though, there's still some more questions that need to be asked to this guy.
"If you're employed by a demon lord though, why the hell were you helping us in the invasion? Wouldn't it make more sense that you'd be on the side attacking?"
"Because, everything is crazy right now and my master is cleaning house, as he calls it. I really have no idea why he wants me here nor why we're going against other demons. I'm just his pawn till he needs me unfortunately"
Once again, he's only spilling the truth. I know not to completely rely on my lie detector but his words are spoke with true conviction though.
"Petra, it's not like we can really trust him but he doesn't seem to be lying about this"
"Agree Ikarus, he does seem to be telling the truth"
The thing is, I'm not sure what else to ask him now. He clearly isn't an enemy but he obviously works for a demon lord. I'm not saying that they're all bad but we did actually suffer some casualties even including Ariza, having an agenda against them should be pretty obvious.
"So... what do we even do about you Geld? If it isn't obvious by now, we really aren't fans of demons around here, even if you did help us out"
"Well... nothing really, I guess? My master is a fan of predicaments so my life has also tied to yours if you're worried about me attacking you. If one of you two were to die, then my head goes bye bye in that situation as well"
Wait, his life is attached to ours? What kinda cruel bastard does that?
(Petra) "Your master placed a forced servitude curse on you? Weren't they supposed to be forgotten?"
"Yes! He's terrible at times, but it does promote complete faith and devotion to him... and you two as well now. It's not like I hate him because of it but when you two flew off to kill Belphegor, I was shitting myself! Not literally, you get what I mean. Actually knowing you destroyed him makes me no longer worry"
I can't help but let out an inaudible sigh, this demon lord he serves sound like a piece of work. We've already got the heavens to fight off, now hell as well it seems.
"Considering you could die if one of us perish, I'm surprised you haven't been trying to stick around me and Ikarus more"
"Like I said, there's no real need for me to be here, you two really don't need any defending. It makes me think he just wanted some privacy while he conducts his schemes and made sure I kept quiet over here in the human world"
You know, it's bloody irritating he can't reveal who he works for, the only named demon we have is Asmodeus right now but it could be any of them for all we know. It may end up in a bloodbath if it's him, we did hear his name being used specifically in the attack.
(Ikarus) "Do you even get anything from doing this or are basically just his slave?"
"Not really. I think servant is better than slave but I can see why you might say that"
(Petra) "Would you like it if we could find some way of releasing you from your servitude Geld?"
Like earlier, he pauses before answering Petra taking a second to think. Oh, also he's finally getting up off the ground, at least it's okay he no longer views as a threat even if that thought would've gone pretty quickly. Petra's kindness can make even the most fearful of people change.
"It's... not as simple as that. It may sound like I'm complaining but my master has saved my mind and soul many times already. Gosh, I can remember him helping me out with one of my old bodies a thousand years ago, that's how far back I've been serving him"
A thousand years ago!? Why am I even surprised? This world is full of people like that at this point so this guy being a thousand years old isn't that unbelievable. He did say something about an old body so maybe his demon lord helps him switch bodies when a new one is needed? I'm not going to question him on everything though.
Petra now seems a little uncomfortable about something different, is it something to do with the time span perhaps?
"Geld... your master, would you say he looks pretty similar to you?"
"Erm... it's difficult to tell since he changes faces every now and then. He could look like me right now but also like one of you two! If you exclude the red skin and horns of course"
"Oh, don't worry about it then"
Petra almost seems depressed about his answer, is this regarding her deal with a demon?
"You think this is about you know what Petra?"
"Maybe Ikarus, he could be the same person but it was a very long time ago. Thought we were onto something there"
I haven't seen Petra start to get like this in a while so now, it's time to switch on the obnoxious side to me!
"Don't you be getting depressed Petra, can't be having my future waifu frowning gaining wrinkles. I'll personally kick the arse of the demon or devil who did this to you, mark my words! I'll also kick yours as well if you don't show me that smile again!"
"Heh... thanks Ikarus... You really make everyday better than the last"
"Jeez, don't be getting like that on me, you'll make me blush like usual..."
Urgh... what were we talking about again? Ah, Geld, I think we're pretty much done here though...