I Only Summon Villainesses

Chapter 228: The Future Pattern

Confusion didn’t even begin to cut what I felt after Tristan had uttered that statement. What he’d meant to say, I realized after a moment of parsing through his awkward delivery, was that I was the only one he could trust with information like this.

Since I was hell bent on giving back to the church every ounce of misery they gave to us, he felt like he owed me this explanation. Fair enough.

There were no words to capture the exact feeling it stirred in me. But there was a subtle inkling, something sitting at the edge of my throat like a half-formed promise, that this information was going to prove very useful. That this might turn out to be more than simple vengeance.

More than just burning down the house that burned us first.

What exactly was I thinking?

Simple, really. All I wanted to do was grow stronger, awaken all my five villainesses, and count the attributes. If I gained four from each of them, I’d be walking around with twelve attributes total. Sufficiently grown. Sufficiently dangerous.

I think if at that point I was still scared of numbers and being overwhelmed, I was just never cut out for a worthy story to begin with.

’That’s the test, isn’t it? Whether you can handle the weight you asked for.’

The plan crystallized further as I stared at the ceiling. I wanted to cultivate myself in this city, grow viciously, and start releasing clandestine attacks on the church. Make them fear an enemy they couldn’t name or find. Make them jump at shadows and question every corner.

And when I finally showed myself? It would be like shoving an ice block down their throat and watching them choke on it.

Satisfying. Very satisfying to think about.

And this was very much doable. It was just discipline, dedication, hard work and a strong resolve that I needed. Nothing I hadn’t promised myself before. Nothing I couldn’t deliver.

Oh, before I forgot, I also needed to find a way out of this weird limbo where Kassie and I weren’t... progressing. Physically speaking. I’d thought the first time would open doors, but apparently I’d been optimistic.

’Really though, I thought the first time would open doors.’

Kassie had been unpredictable. I truly didn’t see this coming. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, tracing cracks that weren’t really there. Just my eyes looking for patterns in the blank space.

’Could it be that she’s angry?’

I did take her virginity. That seemed to be a big deal, wasn’t it? People made a whole thing about it. Songs, stories, dramatic confessions. But something told me that wasn’t the real issue with Kassie.

From what I’d perceived of her, I don’t think she even placed any value on her virginity to begin with. Kassie was just so fearsome and dangerous that the thought of getting that intimate with someone, especially a man, was simply not in character for her. Not in the era she came from.

’Yeah... men had to have been a bunch of wimps in an era like that.’

Not in strength, though. In character, yes. Kassie’s era, the Era of Calamity, seemed to have been ruled by viciously strong people with the worst mentality and character imaginable. Hence the name.

’Come to think of it, the era before hers was the Era of Broken Thrones. At the time she was a child... I suspect that era came to hold the Sovereign tier, which I know nothing about yet.’

It would be nice to get a Sovereign tier Villainess for a change. Diversify the portfolio, so to speak.

I went silent in my own head for a while, thoughts drifting to Maggie.

She had to have been from the Era of Broken Thrones too.

’No... Kassie said she heard about her. Perhaps they were both from the same era but in different regions.’

I leaned up on my elbows and glanced through the wall partition. Maggie was also laying on the bed. I couldn’t tell if she was sleeping. Then again, she was a spirit.

’How can she possibly be sleeping?’

”Uhm, Sister Magdalene, do you care to share with me the period you were active, and the region? You killed a lot of people, but where?”

Silence answered me. A very loud, very pointed silence.

I scoffed and laid back down.

’Pfft, jokes on you. Not like I expected a response from you to begin with.’

’Cade.’

The moment I heard Kassie’s voice slip into my mind, I jerked upright so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash.

”Kassie!”

I had meant to talk to her later today, after I’d processed my emotions and sorted through everything in my head. But she came to me first.

’And she called my name!’

She was calling my name so much lately and it made me feel something every time. A warmth spreading through my chest that I was becoming increasingly familiar with.

’I can hear your thoughts when this link is activated.’

’Oh. Right. You can.’

I went silent immediately. Both internally and externally. Just standing there in my room like an idiot while my mind scrambled to be less embarrassing.

There was a moment of silence in my head, stretching long enough that I almost thought she’d abandoned the link. Was she in danger? But the absurdity of that worry reached me less than a second later.

’I have more chances at killing the entire church singlehandedly than Kassie being in actual danger.’

’Something interesting came up...’ Kassie’s voice slipped into my head again. It sounded exactly like my own thoughts but in her voice. Actually, for a much better description, it felt like I had headphones on and was hearing her through them. Intimate and close, yet separate.

’Something interesting? Oh? Put me on...’

Kassie hesitated. ”Put... you... on?”

I cleared my throat, even though I had no intention of using it to speak.

’I mean, uhm, tell me.’

Her voice sounded genuinely amused now. A rare thing with Kassie, and I found myself treasuring these small glimpses of lightness from her.

’Our little prisoner here is trying to sell me off to slavery.’

I shot to my feet instantly.

”What?!”

The anger that began to boil in my chest was enough to cook rice in under one minute. I imagined the man’s face and thought about the things I would do to it. None of them were pleasant. All of them involved significant property damage to his skull.

’If he’s planning something like that, then shouldn’t you withdraw?’

Kassie responded, her mental voice as calm as still water:

’Withdrawal is not a considerable option. We must help the young girl and other people like her, and to do that I must get useful information. There seems to be a special link between this man called Francis and the Manhattan Trade Center, but he’s beginning to be really cautious around me. Although my guess for that is because he’s trying not to let me suspect that he’s trying to sell me off...’

Her voice seemed to wander off for a moment, thoughtful.

’Hmm, I wonder how much I’m actually worth.’

’Uhm, hello? Kassie? Really?’

I think you’re beginning to not be funny, Kassie.

’The only way to extract more intel is to let myself be sold into slavery.’

’Or you can simply withdraw and let us go to the gate raid together.’

It slipped out before I caught myself, and I stood there with my mouth hanging open.

’Gate raid? What gate raid?’

I was silent for a few seconds, running through possible responses, then I calmed down. No point hiding now.

’Well, in order to get money, the company wants to hijack a gate and complete it in time. Then we can use the money to get a lot of elven slaves.’

Kassie was silent for several moments. Her silences were starting to drive me crazy, each one feeling like it stretched for hours.

’I see. What tier?’

’It’s not clear yet, but I think Milo says it won’t even be a tier C gate. Maybe D or E, possibly even F.’

’Is that so, and you weren’t going to tell me?’

Despite the fact that her voice sounded cool and almost indifferent, there was something in it that made my heart thump against my ribs. A weight. A test I hadn’t realized I was taking.

’I... I wanted to try this out myself. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to follow me.’

Silence stretched between us again, filling the space in my head. Then her voice finally broke through.

’Naturally. You can trust me to trust your decision. You don’t have to resort to hiding...’

I lowered my head for a moment, feeling like a child caught sneaking cookies.

’Right...’

Sometimes I forgot that Kassie had lived an entire lifetime and I was merely nineteen. Of course she was wiser. Of course she could handle me trying to spread my wings without feeling threatened or left behind. That was the difference between us, and I needed to remember it.

I nodded even though she wasn’t here with me.

’I’m sorry. I’m going to fix that.’

’You do that.’

Silence descended in my head again, but it was me who broke it this time.

’So... you really are going to let yourself get sold into slavery?’

’Of course... I look forward to it. It’s been years since I was enslaved.’

I wasn’t sure, but her voice sounded like she was grinning. The kind of grin that promised whoever tried to chain her would regret it profoundly.