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

— Kat —

A short time later Bower returned to the main setup. Apparently he’d had enough explosions for the time being. He requested a fishing rod and grabbed one of the nearby chairs to set up on the lakeshore. He then disappeared into the forest for a bit before coming back with a bucket of worms… somehow. Kat and Kamiko just kept preparing the feast for later.

Sure it was going to be a lot of leftovers again… but they’d actually chewed through a good portion of those while they wasted time searching for the drake. A big feast was a great excuse to stock up again.

It was about half an hour later, Bower was still ‘fishing’ and Kat couldn’t help but ask. “What exactly are you doing Bower?”

“Fishing,” he answered.

“Right… but the lake was full of monsters of questionable edibility… and that was before we killed everything in the nearby area. Sure the lake isn’t completely empty yet but this shore definitely is,” said Kat.

“Correct,” agreed Bower.

Kat waited a few moments for a follow up but that was all Bower said. Confused, Kat had to ask, “Right… so what are you doing?”

“Fishing,” returned Bower.

“But didn’t we just establish that there’s no fish?”

“Yup,”

“So how is that fishing?”

“Well do I have a rod?”

“Yes?”

“And bait?”

“Seems that way yes…”

“Then that means I’m fishing,” said Bower confidently, rod in hand as he leant back in his chair.

“But… but you’re never going to catch anything?” offered Kat. “I mean… there’s no fish around right?”

“So? That’s the case wherever and whenever you fish. Sometimes there just isn’t any for you to catch. Doesn’t mean you aren’t fishing,” explained Bower.

Kat bit her lip as she considered that for a few moments. Kat wanted to say that this was completely different to normal but it took her a couple of seconds to articulate why. “Maybe so, but at least in those circumstances you don’t know that there’s no chance of catching anything. Besides, normally there’s at least a small chance…”

“Indeed, and even now there is still a small chance. The lake still exists after all,” agreed Bower. Though his answer really wasn’t one Kat wanted to accept. “Besides, there are plenty of monsters that are quite edible. A whole lot of high Rank monsters make for the best eating. Though I will admit fishing with a basic fishing pole is not the way to catch high Rank fish monsters.

I don’t really want to get wet though, so fishing it is,”

Kat just threw her hands up and got back to preparing the food. If Bower wanted to waste his time fishing that was on him. *I get that it’s probably just a relaxation thing for him but I still find this whole thing exceptionally silly. If he wanted to fish why not do the fishing before the fish genocide.

Sure we agreed to that so we could swim in the lake without getting attacked, but the real reason was to blow of some steam.

Which, is sort of cruel now that I think about it. Really these monsters weren’t doing anything to us… but they ARE monsters so I don’t know how much I should care. It’s not like I feel guilty about it… but I’m thinking maybe I should? Then again, this is just a temporary bubble of space. I don’t even know if these monsters are considered ‘real’ or if they’d keep existing after the bubble pops.

It might just destroy the monsters when it dissipates.*

Kat considered asking Bower, but suspected he didn’t know and Kat didn’t really feel like getting into another conversation with him so soon. Partially because Kat suspected Bower was being so obtuse about her questions before just to wind her up. Perhaps Bower was a bit of a jokester when he was younger… and maybe still is.

*Hmm… I have to wonder now. How much of Bower’s real personality have we seen?*

[What sort of question is that?]

*I mean, he was thinking that coming along would mean that he’d die in the end right? I’d think that even if you were accepting of your death it would make you pretty stressed. So… now that we’re dealing with relaxed Bower do you think he’d act differently? Because while technically we’re still looking for the drake…*

[… we’re not that concerned anymore. It’s the other things worrying us and they don’t really effect Bower at all. Hmm… honestly I have no idea. Bower seems like the type of person that’s already been through a lot of combat, and probably more than a few life or death fights so I suspect that he’s been acting pretty much as he normally would.]

*I suppose that makes sense. How is your hunting going?*

[Good. Great even. Perhaps excellent. I mean, it’s not that challenging but it’s scratching a particular itch I hadn’t even known I had. I mean it makes sense. I am a feline, and they’re known as one of the few animals that will kill things as a means of entertainment even if they aren’t hungry anymore.]

*Think you’ll be doing a lot of hunting in the future?*

[Hmm… no probably not. I mean it’s satisfying don’t get me wrong… but a lot of that is the fact I’m using this as a major stress relief activity. Casual hunting has no interest to me and I’ve got better ways to relax most of the time. And well… in the future I hope I get to the point I’ll have a MUCH better way of relaxing…]

*Lewd.*

[Come on. I’m trying not to be so embarrassed about it! Isn’t that something you’ve been working on?!]

*Well yes of course… but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still fun to tease you about. Just because you’re moving in a healthier direction doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly lost the desire to tease you. Besides, you’re in just about the best headspace for something like this… and I can still here you mentally screaming in embarrassment even if you’re trying to push it away from the link.*

[End me.]

*Nope. You’re stuck with me and you’re not allowed to die.*

The link was silent after that as the pair simply enjoyed the feeling of affection that bounced up and down between them. Kat was currently mixing together some spices for a glaze while Kamiko was plucking the not-chicken, because apparently leaving the feathers on was something the demons who packed the rings decided was a good idea.

Kat was also watching the crumbed fish as it fried, but that wasn’t due to be taken out for a bit yet.

It was a simple thing really. Things were just… nice. This chance to relax had been a great idea and Kat was willing to milk it for as long as possible. Still… “Hey Bower, do we need to worry about the bubble collapsing at some point?”

“Nah,” dismissed Bower. “You’ll start to notice it falling apart long before it deteriorates completely. Plus it’s always easier to leave bubbles that are breaking down so getting trapped inside is something you have to actively strive for. Not totally sure if even that’d be enough. Some hunters have claimed to live through a collapse… but I don’t really believe them.

Still it MIGHT be possible, so really don’t be concerned. Especially with Lily around to guide us safely if it came to that,”

Kat nodded and turned to Kamiko as she scooped out some fish from the pot. “How long do you think Hunter and Lily will be out there for?”

“Couldn’t you just ask Lily?” questioned Kamiko.

“Well sure but that takes the fun out of it. I’m looking for a guess,” returned Kat.

“Eh…” Kamiko looked at the sky… and remembered they were in a bubble and there wasn’t actually a sun. “However long they want really. I bet that they could be finished clearing the lake by now if that was actually their goal. Considering they’re just having fun? I imagine they’ll keep playing around until they get hungry and then come over.”

“Oh… yeah that makes more sense then my ideas,” agreed Kat.

“Hehe… yeah well… I’m surprised Lily is getting so into it. Did you know she’d be like that?” asked Kamiko.

“Nope. Maybe I could’ve made some guesses, but she’s not really shown any real desire to go out and hunt before now. I dunno if it’s in response to the recent stress, if it’s because she can hunt without feeling bad, the fact Hunter is around to turn it into a competition, or a mixture everything,” said Kat with a shrug as she added more fish to the pot.

“Hmm…” murmured Kamiko. “You’d know her better then me. I didn’t ask Mum too many things about the operation, mostly just if you were both alright. Privacy reasons you know? I… I don’t mean to say Mum would’ve told me just because I asked… or maybe she would have? I don’t know.

It’s different when I know you personally first, and not just as a patient of hers,”

“Did you meet many patients your mother saw?” asked Kat.

“Oh, no not at all. Only the ones I saw on the bring your kid to work days when I was younger and things like that,” said Kamiko.

“Huh… I’m a bit surprised demons have those… but I really shouldn’t be,” admitted Kat. “I wonder if they allow that for demons on a contract?”