Chương 31: [1.31] Merlina the Summoner (Part 3)

"Irk, yes…" Angelica squeaked, confessing her sin, having no idea that word would have spread so fast. She was expecting… well, she wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't for the High Summoner to suddenly start bursting out laughing.

"That's hilarious!" Fioso slammed the letter back on the table and then slapped his knee.

"I bet the Danxer Sect are beside themselves trying to figure it out, dying to uncover what happened to their prize artifact. There's no way they think a mere Imp got the better of them and took their tiara. I bet their thought matches my initial one, assuming you were merely disguising yourself. Did Merlina put you up to it?"

"Err, no." She made sure to clarify that, not wanting to make him think her non-existent master was the type to demand such things.

"That was the job I did for someone else to get Essence."

"And you only got enough for two levels from it?" Diamen interjected.

"You may have been the thief, Imp, but you were the one who was robbed." Well, she hadn't actually spent the Essence from the heist yet, but it would be the same as the two she'd done prior, so that was just semantics.

"Well, she was allowed to keep the tiara from it, apparently." Fioso took back over.

"I know you Demons take no stock in our currency, but it would more than make up for the amount of lost Essence. Well… does it still have the Rune in the center?" The man suddenly asked with expedience, as if the way forward hinged on the answer.

"No, the Summoner took it and just gave me the rest."

"Ah, that does significantly decrease the value." Despite that, the man almost sounded relieved.

"Yet it is probably better for your situation. Without the Rune, it will not exude any energy that can be detected. Otherwise, I'd be worried about you keeping it in your possession. It is still not something your master should flaunt, however. Tell me, if you don't mind, who was the Summoner who gave the Order? Since they are not your primary master, you do not need to worry about allegiance, assuming you are not still Bound to them."

"Her name was Lustre."

"Hmm, Lustre," Fioso returned to his earlier book.

"That name sounds familiar. Ah, hilarious, indeed! She is the daughter of the Sect leaders. Just an Apprentice, though, so she doesn't take it seriously, but she would have known their weak points and the perfect time to steal from them. I bet that will lead to a lot of chaos in the future. Per our Pact, I cannot relay this information, or your involvement, in any way, but it will be fun to watch it unfurl from the sidelines.

"As for fencing it, that will probably take some time; months, possibly years, even. Since it is such a hot item, no fence will touch it until it cools off a bit, and even then, finding a buyer will be a bit of a process. Summoners would probably only want it for the prestige in their private collections or to refit it with a Rune of their own, but even that would be a slim selection.

If we can get a replacement regular gem for the center, that would likely speed things along a bit, since humans won't be able to tell the difference and it would make them more interested. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you!" Angelica's gratitude knew no bounds. She almost wanted to hug him like the father figure she'd been missing all of her life.

"Should I bring it to you to hold on to?"

"Please don't." Fioso was stern with his answer.

"The less I know about it, the better. I may introduce Merlina to the fence directly, but that would be the end of my involvement. From there, it would be hers to sell. Plus, while I am happy you have come to trust me enough that you would be willing to place it in my care, you are also young and naive. A healthy dose of skepticism would do wonders, especially for those you believe yourself closest to.

My advice would be for you to hide it away somewhere it won't be found, and not tell a soul where, even your master, if she'll allow it. That would keep her from spilling the secret, and provide insurance for yourself as her servant—job security."

"Thank you, Fioso." Angelica had to express her appreciation again.

"I am glad you invited me in." He reciprocated with a smile.

"And I am glad you obliged me. With my noisy Disciple bedridden, it has been rather quiet around here. Come by again anytime. Diamen will see you out." The walk leaving the manor was a lot more peaceful than the scary march toward it had been. And the Demon butler even left her with some sort-of nice parting words as well.

"Take care, Imp. Now that you know what they are, try to avoid walking into any more territories or repulsion fields. You will find that others do not take so kindly to trespassers as my master." Leaving the luxurious property, part of Angelica just wanted to cast Return and go lay about in her apartment, having survived the unanticipated encounter.

But now she had a lot more to think about, a lot more to worry about, so she chose to continue with her waddling run in her Imp form, to use that time to get her thoughts in order. And that actually turned out to be both a better and worse choice. Because during that time, she learned even more truths, but with it, also came that much more concern. The world she travelled through now was not the one she knew. It was as if the veil had been lifted.

Whether it was her Lucidity increases, or actually seeing Diamen had caused some seal to come undone, now she could see it all, the reality previously unseen. In the same neighborhood as Fioso, there were a few more houses with their own means of protection. Not all of them looked the same as his manor's shadowy aura, but picking out where the Summoners lived had never been more obvious.

More immediately concerning were the Demons she saw flitting about the area like birds, either patrolling or hopping about from boredom. She must have counted a dozen or so. Gelic didn't bother using Scrying Eye on them, her mind already tired from the influx of information. But just by looks, none were as grand as Diamen, so they were all probably on the lower end. A few were possibly Imps like her, but most had more detail than her Puffball self, and a couple were even more refined. Gremlins perhaps.

One was even marching around a lawn like a dog, defending their home, so out of curiosity, she went ahead and examined that one. [Demon | Alias: Britticus | Demon Rank: Hellion | Status: Bound] A good name for what basically amounted to a guard dog. Gelic definitely wouldn't antagonize it, because it would undoubtedly snap at her. Even with her Imp body's own impressive chompers, she'd lose a biting battle to that thing. What did reassure her, however, was how none of the other Demons ever gave her a second glance.

They did not care for the lowly Imp waddling down the street. To them, from their perspective, she was probably just another random unimportant person going about her business. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. As Gelic continued her journey, progressing to poorer parts of the city, their numbers thinned. And when she got back to her apartment, there were none remotely around. As it turned out, her home really was a pretty good safehouse.

Yet, she still didn't feel quite safe in it. Cus apparently now there was a whole group of people who didn't like her because of a fluke. Maybe it wouldn't be the dumbest thing in the world to actually join a Sect. That way, she'd no longer be ostracized for being a Rogue Summoner, a designation she definitely hadn't picked. But even if they accepted her, then she might have to cater her life to their rules, which she wasn't sure was a thing she'd want. Perhaps it would be better to further ask Fioso for his help.

If he couldn't take her as a student, maybe another Rogue Summoner could. Well, either option was off the table for now. Even in a perfect human Transfiguration, both Demon and Summoner had been able to clock her as an Imp. There was no way she could ever trust anyone to understand her situation. Humanborn, Self-Summon, Soulbound, they were all labelled as Secrets for a reason. And even if someone like Fioso believed her situation, she doubted he would look at her the same.

If a person with more malintentions found out, she also wouldn't be surprised if she found herself the subject of endless experiments. Perhaps a Pact could solve the problem… as soon as she knew how to make one. She could say something like she had a great secret to tell, but needed nothing bad to happen to her upon telling it. Yes, that was definitely a possibility. But also, the High Summoner had mentioned forging perception.

Perhaps there was a Skill down the line that could trick Scrying Eye and other means of detection. But until she figured out either solution, Merlina the Summoner would have to remain unseen. And then there was another matter about potential future stalkers. Gelic wished she had a protective field of her own. Her best guess was that Runes were involved, but otherwise, she didn't know how to obtain them. Maybe it was some kind of Skill.

In retrospect, she'd wished that she'd asked, but it wasn't at the forefront of her mind at the time. Maybe it would warrant a trip back. Now that she had a grasp of the bigger picture of her situation, Angelica had a better understanding of how her life should proceed forward. And yet she still remained conflicted. It sounded hard, really hard, and she wasn't sure she was ready to commit to it. Before deciding anything else, Gelic really had something she wanted to try.

She hopped up on her bathroom counter and stared into the mirror. Immediately, she noticed that her horn had healed from the damage it had taken during the museum heist, but that wasn't why she was here.

"Activate Transfiguration." For the first time, she didn't turn back into her human self. [Transfiguration activated] [Transfiguration attuned to Fraud] [Fraud Attunement increased] [Transfiguration Lv. 6] [Beguilement increased] [Beguilement has improved from Insipid to Drab] [Fraud attunement increased] [Fraud attunement has improved from Aware to Touched] Despite the flurry of messages and improvements, she wasn't impressed. Or rather, the cat wasn't impressed.

She stared at herself in the mirror, gawking at the poor imitation, failing to become the feline friend she aspired to be. It was interesting that Transfiguration had attuned to Fraud, because she wouldn't be fooling anyone with this poor cartoony-ass excuse for a cat. Despite being clearly fake, she looked badly drawn, on top of it. So she turned back to normal, but she wasn't done quite yet.

The description for Transfiguration had mentioned familiarity a lot, so the more familiar with something she was, the better the result would be. And though she may be bad with people, she knew cats! She focused on Cherub, every inch of his fluffy form, she thought about all the cats she'd seen online, met in-person, all those she'd wished to hug and snuggle. Then she visualized herself as a cat, the ideal form she'd want to turn into. So once more, "Activate Transfiguration!"

When Angelica opened her eyes after the change, she found them hard to believe. It was not a derpy drawing staring back at her this time, but a real cat. And not just that, it was the most elegant, refined cat she'd seen in her life. The long, blonde fur matched her hair, though unlike hers, it was perfectly groomed and pristine, as if she emitted endless grace. If Angelica saw this cat at the shelter, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from adopting it, no questions asked.

Unfortunately with this transformation, there was a bit of an odd feeling, like her energy was steadily being depleted. While looking at her paw, she once more checked Scrying Eye, and found her MP slowly ticking down. The drain rate wasn't too bad, probably since she had a few decent levels in Transfiguration now, but sadly, it meant she wouldn't be able to maintain the form forever.

Probably for the best, or else she'd be tempted to say screw being a Demon or human, and just live the rest of her life as a cat, the prettiest cat who would win all the cat shows. Still, she was going to enjoy the time she had. A moment later, she once more admired her own dexterity when she perfectly landed on the floor. It wasn't like the chaotic Imp bounces.

And after she sophisticatedly sauntered out to the main room, when she got to the edge of her bed, she instinctively bent her haunches and wiggled her butt slightly before leaping up onto the sheets. There she found her comrade in cathood, curled up and asleep. Part of her didn't want to wake Cherub, but she was getting more impatient with each passing second, so she gave him a light bap on the head with her paw.

The pet groggily turned around, likely expecting to find his usual owner wanting to pet him, but instead his own eyes looked shocked. He did not hiss, though. There was no fear in his eyes, just awe. He was stunned, both by the presence of another cat, and possibly how pretty she was, or so Angelica liked to think. Well, that part was actually a bit conflicting. She wanted Cherub to like her feline form, but not too much. Her own pet having a kitty crush on her would certainly be a bit awkward.

The animal got up and sniffed her for a bit. He was thankfully noticeably less interested when he realized it was his master. Still, he was quite bemused, not sure what to make of it, so he gave her a bap right back. This led to a bit of play fighting and pouncing, honestly the most fun Angelica had experienced in a while. Then, after one particular tackle, they just laid entwined, and didn't move. Oh, gosh, these cuddles are the best!

She couldn't help herself from internally squeeing when Cherub drifted off and began purring against her as they lay together in a mangled ball of fluff. It was at that moment that Angelica finally reached a moment of resolution. This was the life she wanted, to just lay about with cat snuggles, to peacefully make art without worry. Yet unfortunately, such peace was not so easily obtained. In her past situation, as just a boring human, she would have had to worry about money so that she could keep on living.

Now, as a Demon, she still had to worry about money, but also a whole slew of new things. It felt unfair, but it was the hand she was dealt. Despite it all, she had no dreams of power, no desire to become a Demon Lord or a Grand Summoner, or whatever their highest rank was called. She just wanted her simple little life. Now, though, Angelica had finally accepted that it was not something that would be handed to her.

If she wanted to not be bothered, to be left alone to do her own thing, she had to become someone or something that people wouldn't mess with. Honestly, Fioso had become her ideal. Despite being a Rogue Summoner, in apparent opposition with the majority of the magical world, he had the respect of his adversaries. They wouldn't target him without undue cause, and he had the power and skills to do as he pleased. That's what she needed. No… that wasn't enough, she needed to aim even higher. Gelic the Demon…

Merlina the Summoner… They had to become so strong, so respected and feared, that no one would ever dare mess with her or her peaceful life. Yes, that was the path she had to walk, her aim for the future. And she was invigorated, ready to start immediately with nothing to hold her back. Or… that would have been the case, if not for the insane warmth hugging her that lulled her off to the best catnap of her life.