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

Chapter 1159 1159 Elven Hero

As the team exited the hidden elevator, Kat saw that the other groups had scattered. If Burnice or Blue had been visible, Kat and Lily wouldʼve gone to chat with them. For Burnice, a chat to ensure there were no hard feelings, and for Blue it wouldʼve been a discussion about what happened during her mountain climb… alas they were missing. 

Stan was laid out seductively on one of the couches in the lounge, making eyes at Kress, while Romilda and Borgick who were also using the room ignored him. The dwarven pair seemed to be debating the merits of tacking Borgickʼs cannon to the secret challenge, as they were assuming there would be no time to grab it if it was necessary. 

Borgick seemed to be arguing against bringing it, while Romilda was arguing for its deployment. Though as her team spread out and Kat heard more of the conversation it became clear why. Romilda was arguing that anyone could hold it if Borgick didnʼt need it, but his counter argument was that the sand from the beach would get everywhere. 

Romilda said it was a minor concern, Borgick refused to clean it, Romilda offered to do so, which Borgick shut down with vague mentions of ʼlast timeʼ that Kat almost wanted to ask about. Alas, she didnʼt want to get involved with whatever Stan was doing, especially not as Kress seemed to have decided to speak with the incubus. 

Over in the cafeteria Vanya and Marigold were arguing, with Vanya gesticulating wildly, and Marigold gazing back calmly. It was unclear what they were talking about, as while they were quite clearly discussing, intensely on Vanyaʼs part, Kat could hear nothing at all from their table. Not their words, not the movement of air from Vanyaʼs arms, not their beating hearts. 

Knowing that Marigold was real royalty, Kat felt it safe to assume that Marigold had access to something that muted sound in a small area for moderately private conversations. Of course, why neither of them returned to their rooms was the real question, yet one Kat still had no answer to. *Why do you think theyʼre just chatting out in the open when clearly there is at least some need for secrecy?*

[I wouldnʼt be surprised if itʼs just a reflex for Vanya. Maybe itʼs part of her job? Like, Nixilei is part bodyguard but spy part… etiquette teacher? That last one Iʼm a bit unsure of… but Iʼm sure if Green was about to do something really stupid Nixilei would stop her, not just for their friendship but also because Iʼm pretty sure itʼs her job. So… maybe itʼs Vanyaʼs?]

Kat looked over the scene with Lilyʼs insight and felt there was at least some truth to it. *Yeah… I can see it. Not sure how much authority Vanya actually has to tell Marigold off… because if sheʼs part of the monarchy Marigold can just sort of do things right?  Royal privilege?*

[Ehh… without knowing exactly how their society functions and just based on Earth? Yes and no. There are some things she can do that normal people or ʼcommoners and lesser nobilityʼ but there are also things Marigold probably canʼt do because sheʼs royalty all the same. It might not seem that way, but she likely wonʼt chose her husband… or well… huh…]

[Maybe she can? Auctifer has a number of wives… and at least a few husbands as well. Or well Queens? Hang on, are the male lovers still called Queens? How does that work? Nevermind not the point. My point was, she might be forced into political marriage, but itʼs looking likely thatʼs not the case…]

[So another example then. Sheʼs expected to act with decorum in public. Behind closed doors itʼs not an issue, and even at semi-private functions like parties sheʼd have more leeway… but when acting in public in her official role as princess Marigold sheʼd like get in quite a deal of trouble for not acting ʼnoblyʼ or at least pretending to.]

*So sheʼs might need to… what… make sure she has good PR?*

[YES! Actually thatʼs the perfect analogy! Marigold isnʼt just Marigold, sheʼs PRINCESS Marigold, and the ʼroyal brandʼ has certain standards it needs to uphold. There are benefits and expectations, but sheʼs essentially an employee thatʼs been forcibly hired but still needs to live up to company standards.]

[Which, admittedly might not be too bad with Auctifer in charge. He seems to have very much decided that he can just get away with shit, likely because heʼs old, powerful, of royal lineage and can have a lot of kids. Though that last one is more a guess… but just based on how they talk about elves? Iʼm guessing the fact he can have quite a few kids is considered a massive benefit to running the country. Probably one of the big reasons nobody cares how many people he sleeps with.]

[He goes from something of a… well I donʼt have any better way to describe it then ʼmanwhoreʼ  which I sort of dislike needing to use, but the word has the right connotations for this and gets the point across easily. Anyway, I donʼt want to complain, so my point. Instead of being a ʼmanwhoreʼ heʼs instead ʼperforming an important public serviceʼ which is really weird to think about in that way. Perhaps ʼPublic Heroʼ would be better instead?]

[Wait thatʼs it! Heʼs an ʼElven Idealʼ the idea that he can have a large family with lots of children. Itʼs something that Elves likely strive for the same way most humans strive for money and power. Elves live for a long time so they can likely get both of those things casually just as a function over time. They donʼt care as much if it takes centuries to become strong because they have the time. What they donʼt have is large families. Normally anyway.]

[Auctifer is even better then that though… because ideally all of his kids will get whatever it is that allows him to have so many of his own, eventually exponentially increasing the number of elves in the world. Itʼs probably why Nixilei didnʼt mention anyone challenging him despite not talking of his strength all that much. Elves, as a species, probably feel like he NEEDS to stay king.]I think you should take a look at

*Thatʼs a really weird thing to think about Lily.* 

[Sorry… I didnʼt mean to make it weird.]

*No I didnʼt mean it like that. Thereʼs nothing wrong with considering it, I mean itʼs weird to realise that Auctifer is likely incredibly popular for sleeping around. Something that a human politician couldnʼt really get away with. Not on a large scale anyway.*

[Ah. Yes of course. Sorry for making the wrong assumption]

With that settled, Kat and Lily wandered over to Mint, only the girl… woman? The tree in question was much more tree-like then normal. She wasnʼt moving at all and if Kat didnʼt know better, sheʼd assume it was just a statue of a receptionist instead of a real one. ”Uh… Mint?” asked Kat carefully to no response. 

Lily frowned at that and leaned forward, pushing somewhat on Mintʼs ʼbodyʼ to no avail. The wooden figure didnʼt even move with the push. Evidently it was stuck to the ground. Lily frowned again and nocked as if she was knocking on the front door of a house. To Katʼs shock this seemed to work. 

A ripple went across Mintʼs ʼbodyʼ as if she was shaking off a layer of dust. The whole figure seemed to vibrate slightly as life came back to it. All the little details that made it seem alive starting back up once again. ”Oh, hello Lily, hello Kat. Did you need something?” asked Mint. 

”Oh, um… no but we were just going to chat and wondered if you wanted to join us?” offered Lily. 

”Sure,” said Mint with a smile, and the three headed upstairs. When they entered Katʼs room, Mint spoke again, ”Did you have any questions in particular?” 

Lily shrugged, ”Not really… but now that youʼve offered… whatʼs up with the team names this round?” 

Mint let out a small laugh, ”Itʼs a minor joke on Thymeʼs part, and they have a bet going with me in regards to how long it will take someone to ask him what the meaning behind all the names are… hmm… I wonder if that means Iʼve lost? Thyme bet less then two days, and I said more. You asked me though… not Thyme… hmm…” 

”So itʼs just a joke?” asked Lily. 

Mint nodded, ”Indeed. Thyme actually had appropriate names all thought up… or so I was told anyway. In the end, he decided that giving everyone simpler names fit better with the ʼkeeping it casualʼ idea he was going for in regards to this round of the tournament. Iʼm not sure if it was the right idea, but they seemed proud of it… then again, considering the mastery Thyme has over both their body and mind they can likely give that impression about anything. 

”I suspect if Thyme wished, they could state the sky was pink with what looked like complete honesty and then argue for their point of view without anyone finding it strange. Considering Thyme developed a lot of the techniques I use to seem more ʼnormalʼ to the other races, it really shouldnʼt be a surprise,” 

”So Thyme came up with it all?” asked Lily. 

Mint winced at the question, ”Well… no probably not. Or perhaps they did? Itʼs… a bad assumption me and my classmates got into. Simply assuming Thyme invented something they handed out to our glades. They seem so wise and itʼs been confirmed they did invent a bunch of stuff… but itʼs a bad assumption, on Thyme would get mad at me for propagating.”