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

Chapter 661 Bearing Yourself

”So whatʼs it like having a demon on your team?” asked Nell.

Reflexively, Nixilei jumped in with, ”She does have a name you know. We introduced everyone” While working on Ellenellʼs leg.

”Yeees…” said Nell hesitantly, ”But Iʼm not asking Kat what itʼs like to be on a the team, I want to know what itʼs like having a demon on the team… actually, first Iʼd like to know WHY you summoned a demon for your team? Surely the training time youʼd miss out on would be quite significant and valuable. Unless you can afford to keep her around I suppose… but that seems wasteful in other ways.”

Nixilei looked suitably abashed but didnʼt say anything more, not quite willing to apologise for the action while healing someone else. Gareth sighed and stepped up to answer. ”Weʼve had exceptionally bad luck keeping our fifth team members. Both expected and unexpected departures from a large number of people caused us to really think about how to find a permanent fifth member. The demon summoning industry was also just getting accepted by law and it seemed like a good idea at the time… so we went through with it. Because well… someone bound magically to be here will show up properly.”

”I can understand that,” said Nell as she shifted to face Gareth. ”Not sure Iʼd do the same… but I can understand it. Has it been worth it? And I will apologise for sort of talking like you arenʼt here Kat but…” Nell shrugged giving a ʼwhat can you doʼ look which seemed to be universal.

”Itʼs fine,” said Kat well used to students talking about her nearby… or more commonly orphanage kids talking about her while she was in the room.

”I think so,” said Gareth smoothly, ”Kat has gone above and beyond her contract truth be told. Perhaps we could have opted for something stricter the first time, but we wanted to keep costs down if possible, and more importantly, we didnʼt want any resentment. The payment is one thing, but what we really wanted to avoid was a demon willing to sabotage our attempts for some reason. If we had one straining against the tightly wound Contract we might have offered instead… it would be a disaster. Co-operation over strength is what we strove for.”

Nell nodded in understanding, twisting her arms so that her chin was resting on the large gauntlets she wore, before glancing down and realising she still had them on. Taking a quick moment to remove them, Nell returned to her position, this time letting her palms be the resting point. ”That does sound like a good idea. And itʼs panned out? No issues?”

Gareth made a deliberate glance at Kress, not overly long, and certainly short enough that Kress, who wasnʼt really watching the conversation missed it but clear enough for Nell to see. Green sitting down after grabbing some more water around the same time helped further obfuscate the action. ”Kat has been quite accommodating and I think her strength makes up for the lack of practice together…

”But in saying that, do remember our issues keeping that last member around. Unlike you guys, or well Iʼm just assuming here, but I do assume youʼve worked together for more than just this tournament so trying to add in a demon would be an issue. For us, we worked mostly as a close knit group of four with a fifth person that came and went for years before Kat joined up. Not to disparage her at all, but weʼre sort of working as a group of four plus demon rather than a group of five.

”I do want to be clear, this isnʼt because Kat doesnʼt work with us… but itʼs hard without the years of practice. We donʼt know how she fights as well as we do each other, and I assume the same in the reverse. Itʼs hard to get into the flow state worrying about what she might do. Weʼre working on it of course… but itʼs a thing Iʼm not really sure we can overcome, or should devote the time to overcoming anyway. Itʼs not like Kat will be a permanent addition to the team once this is all over, so…” Gareth ended what he was saying with a shrug.

Nell returned with a wince, and said, ”Yes… I suppose it is a bit different if your fifth member is so regularly changing. Did you intend to keep Kat as your fifth member the whole time or just whatever demon you could summon?”

Gareth shrugged in return. ”Donʼt rightfully know if Iʼm honest. It was more of a test run than anything else. We didnʼt really have to think about it in the end. We had a way to summon Kat again, she was a great help in the first round and that was really all there was to it.”

”I suppose some things can have a way of working themselves out,” said Nell with a wry smile as she glanced at the now healed Elf. ”I suppose now I will address you Kat. Is this normal for a demon like yourself?”

Kat glanced over somewhat shocked at being addressed. ”Um… I suppose it depends on what you mean by normal? I donʼt get summoned for tournaments on the regular, but it also doesnʼt feel all that strange.”

”I guess I donʼt know… what IS normal for a demon summoning?” asked Nell.

Kat grinned and said, ”Nothing really. There is normal for given demons, but because of how everything is set up on our ends, rarely will we be summoned for a job we arenʼt interested in doing. It happens of course, and sometimes weʼll agree if the payment is enough, but if done right youʼll normally get someone willing to do the job. Iʼm… not exactly sure what Iʼd call normal for me, but Iʼm a succubus with no interest at all in seduction missions, just as an example of things I suppose.”

”Why is that?” asked Nell, ”Iʼd assume… and I mean… correct me if this is over the line… but wouldnʼt a succubus be practically designed for something like that? Or… evolved to be I guess? I know bear beastkin such as myself tend to gain dense muscle much easier than other beastkin and making myself flexible is much harder despite how thin I might look.” Nell gestured to herself as she finished.

Kat made a ʼso-soʼ gesture. ”Some Succubi are like that. Iʼm also pretty sure most seduction missions are taken by Succubi, or at least Iʼd suspect that. I personally know someone who really enjoys those kinds of missions and a few others who donʼt. Still, there is some truth to what youʼre saying. Succubi tend to get abilities that push them in that direction… but being asexual myself a lot of them wonʼt develop or will develop strangely. Pheromones for example, only work on people the Succubus finds sexually attractive and for thatʼs… nobody.”

”Never thought youʼd say that,” said Nell as she breathed out a long puff of air, ”then again I didnʼt exactly think Iʼd be just chatting with a demon either. Anything else interesting you could mention? Iʼm genuinely curious now.”

Kat glanced down at the sleeping Memphis in her arms. Well… the strangest thing would certainly be my currently cat-like girlfriend… which isnʼt really about being a demon… but I feel the odd urge to share anyway. ”Well my girlfriend is a stuck as a Memphis, a type of cat for the foreseeable future. So… thatʼs a thing,” said Kat indicating to Lily.

Nellʼs eyes bugged out slightly. ”Girlfriend? Is she a beastkin? What happened to get her stuck like that? I didnʼt think a curse would be able to cause such a thing… but perhaps something older…” Nell actually looked slightly worried as she rattled off possibilities.

Kat jumped back in before Nell could spiral too far. ”No no, itʼs not quite like that. She is a beastkin, but not a normal one. Currently sheʼs like this for her soul to stabilise… though I am getting concerned about how long sheʼs slept. Would you know anything about that?”

”Oh…” said Nell suddenly calming down. It was still weird, but seemingly much less terrifying than a curse that could lock her as a bear would be. ”Um… hmm… how long has she been asleep?”

Kat thought back, ”Um… since a bit after breakfast?”

Nell just nodded as if that made perfect sense. ”Yup that seems fine. I donʼt know exactly what a Memphis is… but just based on size alone she has to be a small cat. Those tend to sleep quite a lot, especially when younger. The more time she spends in that form, the more her instincts will start to press in on her. Sleeping helps relieve that tension just like giving into them would… better in fact for a feline beastkin because sleeping regularly is ALSO one of their instincts.

”I mean… I donʼt like to think about it… but if I was in bear form for like a month leading up to winter and it was cold enough I would have to either turn back to human form for a bit or hibernate. I wouldnʼt be worried for her… annoyed at sleeping too long perhaps, but not worried.”

”Thanks, thatʼs a weight off my mind,” said Kat cheerily.