[1.29] Merlina the Summoner (Part 1)

“You’re hesitant, that’s good.” Fioso nodded, surprisingly accepting that Angelica was straight up ignoring his question. “A Bound Demon cannot do anything that would harm their master, at least physically, but most would be wary to divulge their master’s secrets in fear of punishment, or breaking trust, if it exists. Allow me to assure you that nothing negative will happen by sharing her alias.”

“Still no?” The High Summoner shrugged his lips. “Most Demons would love to sell out their master if given the chance. I’m fortunate that Diamen and I have a long-standing mutually beneficial relationship, but I do not doubt for a second that he would betray me the moment he received a substantially better offer.”

“Without a second thought, master.” The Demon butler nodded his head.

“See?” That made the man chuckle again. “So she has done well to earn your loyalty. Or perhaps since she snatched you up as a veritable hatchling, you somewhat see her as family. That’s something extremely rare, and something worth holding on to as long as it suits you both. So if my word cannot convince you, then how about a little added assurance. I’m sure you’ve heard of Contracts and Orders, but how about Pacts?

“Diamen, would you please draft a Pact that states the following: no harm or negative action will come to either the Imp, Gelic, or their master as a result of anything discussed between the parties present today, nor will any information shared be further conveyed to others outside of this room. The period will be one-hundred years, and the punishment will be elinguation.”

The Daemon held out their hand and a piece of parchment appeared. Words began to write themselves on the paper, roughly half of which Angelica could read thanks to Tongues, recognizing that it was mostly the same as what had been dictated. The script was different, though, than what was in her Summoning book, a new language entirely. Since it was written by a Demon, maybe she’d just call the text Demonic.

Interesting that this was a Demon power and not a Summoner one. Maybe it was their equivalent of Contracts? When it was done being written, the High Summoner picked up his letter opener and pricked his finger, dabbing a bit of blood on the Pact. The man then grunted slightly, “Diamen,” as if he had to remind his servant. This made the butler grumble in turn, but then he held out his hand, and a burn mark suddenly appeared on the paper. It then rolled itself into a scroll, which flew over and landed in the girl’s lap before it vanished entirely.

[Pact Received | Terms: Nothing negative will happen as a result of the current discussion. | Length: 100 Years | Punishment: Elinguation | Subjected: Fioso, Diamen | Stakeholder: ******a ******]

If the Demon Growth System had recognized it, then the Pact had to be legit, right? It was interesting that it had used Angelica’s true name, probably because she hadn’t registered an alias yet. Hopefully, they couldn’t see it on their end, but it would be censored if they could. Also, she had no clue what elinguation was, but it didn’t sound good—something she’d have to look up later.

“Her name is…” Gelic meant to cooperate now since her worries had been addressed, feeling a whole lot better about the situation now, most of her fears washing away. However, she’d never mentally made it this far. What should the alias be? Honestly, “Gelic” probably should have been reserved for this case. No, it was undoubtedly better to keep them separate, since it would be easier to link to Angelica when tied to a human. So she went with the very first other Summoner-like name that came to mind, courtesy of her webcomic. “Her name is Merlina.”

“Merlina…” Fioso repeated, the name hanging on the lips. He then looked over to one of the bookcases, causing one of its inhabitants to slowly float over to him and start flipping through its own pages as he scanned. Angelica had undeniably used magic herself now, a few times with Reprint, Transfiguration, and Frost Touch, but it still felt a bit trippy to see it being used openly in the wild like this.

“As of this morning, there are no Summoners in any Sect that use that alias. The last one who used it died fifty-seven years ago. Can I take it, then, that your master is a Rogue Summoner?” The man’s eyes turned serious, gazing at the girl as if this was the most serious question yet. If the Pact hadn’t been signed, she’d definitely be hesitant about it. However, in this case…

“You don’t know what that is, do you?” the High Summoner quickly surmised. “To be expected, I suppose. An Imp would have little reason to know the inner workings of Summoner Society. To be clear, being a Rogue Summoner is not a bad thing. I, myself, am one. That is something a younger me would have made you sign a Pact to keep secret, but that fact is well-known worldwide by now. Not that it is inherently a bad thing. All it really means is that we are not a member of any of the official Summoner Sects.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Ah, yes, she’s not in any Sect.” Gelic could at least answer that for certain, unless she’d unwittingly joined one somehow in all this craziness.

“As expected,” Fioso stroked his chin. “Given your appearance, I take it she is quite young, as well, likely a lower-ranking Summoner, no higher than an Apprentice, at most, though one with budding talent. I wonder if she has her reasons for not joining a Sect. If she’s as powerful as I speculate, then they should be banging down her door. Maybe that’s part of the problem. May I ask, has Merlina been experiencing some… trouble lately?