D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

D.E.M.O.N.S had been right. The old man just asked a bunch of simple yes or no questions that took less then a second's worth of thought to answer. Simple things like 'Are you Rank 3' and 'Do you think you can work well together' or 'Do you hold any hatred for the human race' and other such things. Though, Kat did give the old man a bit of a confused look at the latter. There was only one question that Kat wasn't entirely sure of the answer to. After asking if Sue was 'Specialised as an Escort' to which the answer was yes of course, he asked Kat if she 'Specialised as a Body Guard' which…

"Um… maybe? I'd say probably not?" offered Kat.

The old man frowned at this and said, "Hmm… not ideal… would you mind elaborating on your stance?"

"Um… I can but I don't understand the confusion?" returned Kat.

"The Contract I'm brokering requires one demon to act as a defensive measure for a young master, while the other acts as his date to an official event. The fact that you do not seem to specialise in defence is not a great sign for the runes we used. Based on your answer, you have at least some experience, so we are likely not on entirely the wrong track, but further clarification would be nice," explained the old man.

*Hmm… how much of an answer do you think I should give him Lily? I've got a few guesses as to what might have happened, but I'm not sure how much to share.*

[I don't think it matters too much. He's already shared that we're going to be doing bodyguard stuff if we agree to the contract. If you're cool with helping him out that's fine with me. You're nice like that and we don't have much of a reason to think poorly of the maybe-not-old man. He's been quite polite so far and I can respect how he goes about things. He's even got a proper survey on his clipboard.]

*Ok. Thanks Lily.*

[Anytime]

"Right well… I'd say that I don't necessarily have a specialty so far? I've done a lot of different jobs which is apparently somewhat strange for a demon. I also don't have any good abilities that lend me to one role or another, except perhaps my regeneration for combat. That being said… I do often throw myself into danger, especially to protect people and I'd say I have a good temperament for being a bodyguard even if I lack specialised skills for it, or much experience. I have been a bodyguard definitely once, and maybe twice or three times, but the only time I was certainly a guard I didn't actually have to do any fighting at all," explained Kat.

"Hmm…" the old man noted down Kat's response on a separate paper. "I see… hmm… I do wonder… if you wouldn't mind another question, how well do you know your partner here?" the old man asked pointing at Sue.

They shared a look, and Sue shrugged. Taking that as a queue to answer however she wanted, "Sue's a good friend of mine. We've not known each other for a particularly long length of time but our friendship is quite strong I'd say,"

"Hmm…" more scribbling, "I wonder if we put too much emphasis on the companionship aspect of the summoning? Possible?" the old man made a few more notes, crossing out one line in the process before writing three more, "Attitude or specialised skills? Do we have runes to optimise for one over the other? If yes should we? If no why not? Hm… hmm…"

There was some more mumbling and scribbling before the old man ripped the paper off his board and folded it into a neat square that vanished, presumably into the ring on his finger. "This has been most informative. Thank you both for your cooperation. Now for the Contract, assuming you are both ready to hear it?"

At this point the soup had been cleared away, and most of the fruit had been eaten. The raw meat for Lily was still around, and the Memphis snagged one last piece for the road. Kat gave a simple, "I'm ready,"

Sue looked at the old man a bit more closely… but couldn't find anything particularly strange. It wasn't the first time she'd been summoned to help someone else, and it likely wouldn't be the last. Especially considering that quite a lot of parents didn't trust their children to summon a Succubus and word the contract properly while she was leaning all over them.

What Sue had noticed, that Kat hadn't, is they'd intentionally sent in a gay man after seeing two Succubi show up. Well, it was possible they were asexual of course, though if Sue was putting money on it? She'd go for gay. Something that many people forgot was that lust wasn't the only way to distract people. Looking beautiful, it was possible to distract an asexual person. Kat was a great example of that whenever she looked at Lily. A gay man however?  He'd be more likely to complain about their outfits, or think about hot guys.

Now, you might say 'why not send in a straight woman then'? Sue knew that was a mistake. Sending a straight woman to conduct an interview with two attractive Succubi? One that wasn't even trying and one that new all the tricks in the book? The woman in question either needed to be a peerless beauty and risk annoying the Succubi, or the woman in question would be easily played like a fiddle.

Sue had plenty of experience making powerful women glare at her in envy. A few 'subtle' looks, a handful of backhanded compliments… and anyone without complete confidence in their image would crumble. Sue was also getting the sense that this was a Qi based world… and if Sue managed to cheekily introduce a heart demon into a powerful demon summoner? Nobody except Sue would be pleased with that outcome. No, best to send in a gay man who would just register them as 'vaguely important' in his mind and move on.

Men were simple like that. For a gay man, women weren't competition, and they weren't something to chase after either. They were just… there. Oh sure it was a little more complex then that, but in essence that was what it boiled down to. At least, that's how Sue saw things. Still, that did mean that the 'old man' wasn't likely to cause them any unnecessary grief. So she gave him a solid nod, "I'm also ready to hear what you have to say,"

"Understood. In that case, the Contract is somewhat simple. The individual you are tasked with watching is the young master of the Mountain Shaker sect. He has been invited to a large gathering, that includes a ball and a small tournament afterwards. He needs an Escort we can trust not to murder him in his sleep because the young master has shown himself to have horrendous luck with women he himself chooses.

"He needs a guard, because despite the fact it is being hosted by the Holy Icy Wind sect which is supposed to be an ally of the Mountain Shaker sect, we have heard rumblings through our spy network that they may in fact be about to turn traitor. Of course, it is not yet confirmed. That's why we need a guard of unknown origin and exceptional, but unconfirmed power should the worst happen.

"Poison is a minor concern, as it is considered exceptionally dishonourable to the Icy Wind sect. Additionally, we will have an alchemist travelling with you should they completely disregard their honour that can handle anything that is not instantly fatal. For the Escort, your job is to ensure that the young master doesn't get entangled with other women. It is fine to speak with them, but do not allow it to come to anything more than that.

"For the Guard, you will be required to watch him during the event and combat any assassinations. During the tournament, if someone goes for a killing blow you are to intervene. The tournament is NOT to the death, simply to knock out or forfeit but 'accidents happen' will be the excuse used. Even if it would disqualify the assassin, they'd risk it for a chance to take out our young master. I would like it if your intervention does not disqualify the young master, but if he is about to perish it is of no consequence.

"As for the timeline. You will have two days to get to know the young master before taking the sky boat to the Holy Icy Wind sect, after which you will have two more days, with the feast on the third, and the tournament starting on the fourth. We do not currently have an estimate of how long the tournament shall last, but it is expected to be two or three days at this stage. Your mission will be complete once the sky boat takes off from the Holy Icy Wind sect, or in the event of escalating tensions, when our own sect master, or the vice sect master arrives as reinforcements. Any questions?"