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

Chapter 319: Where Blame Lies

Kat pondered over Lilyʼs question. The idea of just pushing the responsibility of onto whatever possessed Xiang was a tempting thing. *But I canʼt just do that. Itʼs not like I think they? It? Whatever you count a possessed person as? Anyway, it just… isnʼt quite the point. Tempting, and perhaps a good method of dealing with everything and having the bonus of being true as well…

But it just isnʼt the point. I want to deal with the parts that are my fault, and the fact that it doesnʼt seem to be bothering me. Then again… even if we ignore the fact that Xiang got possessed, he did summon me to that world. I could have been somewhere else having a good time, but instead no, Iʼm contracted to go revenge seeking. Hmm… but I feel like that robs me of a bit too much agency.

A gun isnʼt responsible for killing someone when the trigger is pulled, but the assassin should be… I think. Sure, whoever hired them should be responsible as well, but I think that it doesnʼt make the assassin completely free of guilt. So… is that what I am? Itʼs still not quite right though is it… because I did TRY not to get anyone killed.

Especially in the compound. I can be glad that I tried my hardest there… and really do I feel bad about the injuries I caused them? Kat considered that, and realised it was a very easy no. She felt no guilt for the damage inflicted onto them. She didnʼt feel bad for being ok with the injuries either. Unlike the deaths, this just seemed too inconsequential. A bit of bruising and maybe broken bones.

I might be a little skewed in that perspective because I can walk off getting stabbed in the heart twice after some nice bed rest in the hospital but I suppose thatʼs how it is isnʼt it? Everything is altered by our own experi-*

”Kat you alright?” asked Vivian. ”You seem to be going through a few facial expressions there”

”Eyes on the road” said Lily with a joking tone that had a hint of seriousness to it.

”Itʼs fine, I just took a glance in the review mirror” said Vivian with a smile, looking pointedly into that same mirror again and into Katʼs own eyes.

Kat sighed with a smile on her face. ”Yeah Iʼm good. I was just thinking about what Lily said. I donʼt think… well I canʼt say that I agree fully. I have some of my own agency even if a contract is restricting me. Especially because I can say no after all. Now, granted it was somewhat forced this time but that isnʼt the main point…

”I was also thinking on if I was bothered by the injuries I caused. Outside of the people who died, I hurt a bunch of humans… and I just donʼt feel bad about that, and unlike the deaths I think that is perfectly ok. I mean… maybe that makes me a bad person but…

”Everyone was able to fight against me. Sure, I outclassed them a tonne, but they were all at least prepared for a fight. Not a single one of them asked what I was doing fighting them, or seemed surprised that they were in a battle at all. Not even when we attacked that compound did that stuff happen, they just rocked up and we fought…

”I donʼt want to say it was simple, but it kinda was. I wouldnʼt just attack anyone here because they arenʼt looking for a fight or even expecting it but… so far the only places Iʼve been they kind of have. Well, Iʼm probably just extrapolating… I didnʼt even fight when I visited Minor, but it sounds about as deadly as Xiangʼs world…

”Anyway, Iʼm getting of track. I guess Iʼm saying that, Iʼve found at least some parts of what happened with Xiang that I can move past easily” said Kat

”Obviously” said Lily ”Thereʼs a bunch of really cool scenes in books Iʼve read that are something like that. Which is, if you seek to take the life of another then you must be prepared to lose your life in turn. Now, it isnʼt quite the same for you Kat, but you DONʼT target anyoneʼs life. You just go for injuries, and accept that you will get hurt. I mean, did you even hesitate for a second once Xiang started to go all murder hobo?”

”Murder Hobo?” asked Kat

”Itʼs a dnd term” said Sylvie ”Describes a character that has little to no character development or likeable traits and treats every encounter with anything that moves a combat encounter and kills them. Itʼs also somewhat common in video games”

Kat raised an eyebrow and looked down at the girl in her lap. ”When did you pick that up? There isnʼt exactly a lot of ways at the orphanage.”

”Books and internet forums accessed from the school library” said Sylvie innocently.

Kat decided not to push, and just be thankful she wasnʼt looking for anything stranger than that… right? Shaking her head to clear it of the image of Sylvie looking for satanic rituals to remove someoneʼs voice forcibly, Kat let herself relax.

After the group travelled in silence for a bit longer Kat spoke up. ”Hey Sylvie what exactly have you been doing while I was away?”

”I helped Lily a bit with her big project and I spent some time doing things with Callisto. Vivian also tried to watch a movie with me but she fell asleep before it got past the first ten minutes so Iʼm not sure if that one counts. Oh, and Callisto got me books. Not sure from where but they disappear when I finish with them and more appear. I think sheʼs getting them from a library but the town one is really small and I think at least some of the books arenʼt from there” said Sylvie softly.

Vivian chucked from the front. ”Ah yeah… Iʼm really sorry about that Sylvie. I did want to spend some more time with you…”

”Itʼs ok Vivian, I got to snuggle with you while watching a movie after all. It would have been better if you were awake to watch Atlantis with me but having you around is more than good enough” said Sylvie in response.

”Naaw, youʼre too sweet to me Sylvie. Adopting you and Kat was the best decision I ever made” Vivian said with a beaming smile.

Katʼs cheeks heated up slightly. She tried to push down the blush but continued to feel it linger. ”Ah… sorry to be a bother” said Kat without thinking.

Vivian glared into the mirror ”No talking down to yourself Kat. You are very easy to take care of and wonderful to have around. Donʼt you go trying to undersell yourself. Why, even Callisto is fond of you now, and I donʼt think thatʼs ever happened”

”She gets along well with Lily and Sylvie though” said Kat

Vivian smiled wider ”Yes but… in at least some small way they are both… ʼher peopleʼ so to speak. You on the other hand, are not, and she normally just canʼt get along with or even find common ground with people like you and me”

Eh? Katʼs confusion was written on her face but nobody comment as she tried to examine her thoughts. *I donʼt understand? Well, I can understand how Callisto, Lily, and Sylvie get along of course… but… I feel like I have some kinship with her as well. Not to give myself too much praise but… Iʼm rather industrious. I helped out around the orphanage all the time, and Iʼd damn well do it at home if Callisto didnʼt clean everything as if the slightest build-up of dust was going to cause the end of the world.

Then again. Itʼs not like Vivian isnʼt industrious either. She gets her work done well, takes on numerous big projects… but she also loves her work… maybe thatʼs the difference? No that canʼt be right because Callisto also has a… well maybe not a real job, but she can earn her own money somehow.*

Kat decided she couldnʼt find the answer she was looking for and it was best to just ask. ”I donʼt quite follow Vivian. I mean… I think we both have at least some things in common with Callisto”

Vivian shrugged ”Well sure, everyone has at least some common ground, but let me ask everyone this. Say you had free time for an afternoon but you werenʼt able to meet anyone. What would you do?”

”Um… probably go for a walk or clean? Maybe if there were some nice clouds, Iʼd find a quiet place to watch them instead?” said Kat

”Books” said Lily without hesitation.

Sylvie giggled ”Books” giggled some more and repeated ”Books” once more.

Vivian nodded ”Iʼd probably do some sketches. Callisto of course, would probably do some inventing, or…”

”Read books” said Sylvie and Lily mostly in sync.

Authorʼs note

TFW you go back to when Chekov was first introduced to double check what he looks like and you find out you didnʼt give him a description.