[SS 2.88] Privacy Policy (Part 1/3) (Patreon)

Angelica found herself dragged by the hand as she’d just done with Lixxy not long ago. Then she was practically pushed into a teeny tiny supply closet, with Vystal squishing in and closing the door behind them. 

“I’m going to ask you a few questions, Lina. Please be honest with me. Are you lying about your Rank?”

“Err, no, I’m not,” she answered genuinely. “To the best of my knowledge, I’m a Novice. I’m entirely unable to bind a second Demon right now. Nor can I heal them yet.”

“I see.” For some odd reason, Vystal looked slightly excited for the answer. “Then… would I be correct in guessing that Cordial is your former mentor?” Angelica didn’t actually answer that, trying to mentally write out the best way to convey it without a lie, but apparently her silence was telling enough. “I knew it! That explains so much! To have someone as revered as her teaching you, no wonder you’re so advanced. I didn’t even know she had any students. Actually… you two look kind of similar. Are you somehow related, perhaps?”

Apparently the differences she’d made in appearance for Merlina weren’t enough. Angelica once again answered without answering. She grabbed both of Vystal’s hands, held them up, and squeezed them while pleading. “Please don’t tell anyone about this! It would be very bad for me if someone found out. And it would be even worse if she knew I was here.”

“Okay.” Vystal responded calmly, and swapped the position of their hands so that hers were on the outside, as if to comfort her. “I promise, I won’t tell anyone. But I wouldn’t be able to without your permission anyways, even if I wanted to because of the rite. Well, I suppose I could say that Cordial was your mentor, but nothing of the deeper personal connection. And… why do you look confused?”

Yes, Angelica was confused. What rite was she talking about?

“Merlina…” Vystal’s eyes widened again, but this time, with genuine concern. “Please don’t tell me you’ve never performed the Rite of Unknowing.”

“I…” Well there was no point in lying, especially if her responses are being screened. “I genuinely have no idea what that is. Never heard of it before in my life. I take it that’s a bad thing.”

“Y-y-yes!” Vystal stammered. “Why would Cordial have kept you from it? Unless she genuinely planned to keep you locked up and away from Summoner society forever.” Another look of unintended realization dominated the woman, as if she’d suddenly jumped to the conclusion that such a tall-tale was the cruel reality—adding up things to match the speculation. And her gaze changed to one of pure pity. 

Angelica found herself swept up into a hug. “I’m so sorry, Lina. You must have had it hard. But we’ll do all we can to keep you safe and out of her hands.” Clearly there was some sort of grave misunderstanding, but it didn’t exactly behoove Angelica to clear that up just yet, if ever. “And the top of that list is making sure you perform the rite as soon as possible. You’re vulnerable, all of us are by association until you do.”

“Uhh, is it really that big of a deal?” she had to ask.

“Yes.” Vystal stated firmly. “All Summoners and Abstainers need to perform the rite as soon as possible. Even Rogue Summoners will make sure their students complete it, but will skip the Rite of Naming so they’re not registered in the Sect index. There’s really no reason not to do it, unless your mentor’s intent was to keep you outside of the system for questionable leverage. Normally, it’s done right around their awakening, after someone from a Sect makes first contact, especially if they’re going to keep going with their lives while seeing Demons.

“It’s called the Rite of Unknowing since that is the key aspect, but it actually achieves a few very important things beyond that. First, it prohibits us from speaking of Demons or anything pertaining to magic and Summoners to those who have not awakened. Not that there are no ways around it, but the rite makes it extremely difficult to successfully convey the information. This prevents our secrets from spreading wide, while also allowing the masses to remain blissfully ignorant. 

“Since they can’t see, control, or protect themselves from Demons, there’s no reason for them to be in the know. As far as we can tell, Demons have little to no interest in getting involved with humans that don’t have high enough Magical Proficiency because they can’t easily get Essence from them, so they only engage with Summoners. If a Demon were to associate with a regular human, it’s most likely under Summoner Order. 

“The second thing that the rite does is prevent any of us from sharing personal information about another Summoner without their permission. I know Rastille and Sperado’s True Names, but I genuinely would be unable to tell you. Even under torture or mind manipulation, it would be physically impossible for me. That’s why it’s important for us that you get this done as well. If you found out something incriminating about one of us, you would be able to share it. Also, the rite only works inclusively, meaning since you have not performed it, I, or anyone else could spill your secrets, even to Demons.

“And that brings us to point three. It keeps Demons from accidentally discovering our True Names or any other incriminating information. Which, if you did not know, significantly boosts the potency of their Curses on us. So it’s very important to keep it safe—why we have Aliases. The rite effectively makes all this unknowable to Demons. They cannot perceive it naturally. It will be impossible for them to read or uncover—to hear it from any non-magical friends or family—and if a Summoner speaks it casually, they will be stopped if a Demon is listening. And thank Vissiem for that, or Sperado would have screwed up a thousand times already.”

Ah, yeah, that had actually happened. Sperado had attempted to say his name when Gelic had been cruising with them in Rastille’s truck. “Per” something. So it hadn’t been him catching the mistake. This rite had figuratively made him bite his tongue. 

“That makes the only way for a Demon to learn it is if the Summoner gives it up willingly, or the Demon manages to deceive or trick them.” Oops, something Angelica had done earlier that very evening. “It’s still not the end of the world, since Curses are apparently complicated to activate, but they can be deadly in the wrong hands.”

Okay, that made a lot of sense now as to how Summoners stayed secret. Her mother’s True Name was widely public. It was on billboards, in countless records, openly written on the diploma in her office where she apparently summoned Demons on the regular. Then why could Angelica read it now? Was it just because she knew the woman’s True Name already? “So like, is the name blurred out for them or something on written things?”

“Hmm, from what I’ve heard, it definitely becomes basically impossible for them to understand.” Vystal then dug into her pocket, grabbed her wallet, and pulled out her driver’s license. “See my name, here? It would just be like a blob to them. I think address and date of birth may be as well, but we can still say those verbally. Stuff like the expiration dates I believe are still fair game, not that it would be of much use to them anyways.”

“Y-yes. I understand.” Except, Angelica didn’t understand, yet now she knew way too much. “Vyre. It’s a nice name. Are you sure it’s fine for me to know?” A name that for some reason, she could read clearly. Apparently, whatever restriction other Demons had didn’t apply to her. It opened a whole potential avenue of being a detective for Demons and selling them names of Summoners they wanted to Curse, not that she ever would. It was definitely something she should keep Secret.

[You were about to trigger an error, but it was caught preemptively. We thank you for being loud with your thoughts. A ticket has been submitted for resolution. For now, please avoid sharing your findings]

Apparently the DGS was in heavy agreement.

Vystal nodded at the question. “Well, now we both know something personal about each other, and thus both have stakes in making sure you complete the rite.”

“Okay, sure, I’ll do it,” Angelica agreed. “Definitely seems like a good safety net for a lot of things, especially against Demons. It does make me curious about the specifics. The rite must take a lot of power to somehow affect them all universally like that.”

“Well, it doesn’t actually come from us,” Vystal admitted. “It’d be hard for freshly awakened Summoners to pull off any sort of powerful feat like that. No, it’s so strong because the rite is actually a Pact with the Demon Lord themself.”

“Wait, so the Demon Lord created the rite?” Angelica was more confused than ever and couldn’t hide her curiosity. “Isn’t that counterintuitive, though? It seems like Demons get the short end of this Pact, so why would they facilitate it?”

“No, Demons actually benefit from it as well,” Vystal argued. “Both parties get protections. In exchange for not being able to easily uncover our true names, we cannot demand that they tell us theirs. Additionally, we can’t give any Orders that would force the Demons to directly harm, debilitate, or imprison themselves or end their own lives. That doesn’t stop them from being mistreated or being used as disposable tools, but we can’t functionally tell them to permanently ruin their future. This would probably be the main reason for a Summoner not to perform the rite, though I would imagine they’d find it more difficult to get Demons to work with them and accept Summons to begin with, assuming the Demon lord has some sort of precautions in place.”

Oh wow, Angelica definitely didn’t know all that, and it honestly made her feel a lot better about being a Demon. Yes, she could still end up Bound to a bastard, but they apparently couldn’t just tell her to off herself. A scuffer like Utwo could try to harm her, but she at least had ways of saving herself there. That made the biggest threat to her then being stuck with a powerful human until they died, and with Summoner apparently-extended lifespans, that could be a pain.Also, it would seem that if she didn’t perform this rite, then there was a good chance she’d be unable to perform any summons in the future. It was definitely something she should do then before reaching Disciple, which she was getting close to. “Okay, thanks for explaining everything. When can we do this?”

“As soon as possible,” Vystal stated, pulled out her phone and immediately called Pathos. After a bit of explaining and audible disbelief on the other side, it was all set. “She’ll have everything ready by the time we get back. Unfortunately, I don’t think we could just leave right now in the middle of the event, but I don’t want you to have to force yourself if you’re really trying to avoid Cordial. So you could wait in the van if you wanted.”

While the idea of skipping out on menial labor did appeal to her, Angelica would feel way too guilty. “It’s fine, I’ll just work back here. But yeah, if you wouldn’t mind handling the food runs just to be safe.” The pair of women were finally about to leave the closet when it suddenly opened on its own, and they found Sperado’s intrigued face staring in, which eagerly turned to a grin.

“I know Lina told us her preferences, but I didn’t know you were curious as well, Vystal. Guess she’s bringing out a whole new side of you. I’m sure it can be exciting, and I don’t want to discourage this new exploration, but it does seem a touch unprofessional while we’re on the clock.”

Of course, that was followed by a death glare from Vystal that made the man literally quake for a moment before he regained his composure. “Ah, I did look into that crying girl as well. Unfortunately, it would seem some pretty boy beat me to the punch. Apparently it, was some Summoner no one had ever seen before who dragged her out onto the dance floor and blew everyone away. And now he’s entirely vanished with no trace.” 

Now it was Vystal’s turn to shoot Angelica a glance, who was probably a bit too telling with her avoidance of eye contact. At least she managed to keep it together for the man’s next line. “I wonder if it was someone’s Demon in disguise. Good dancer, though, apparently. Ah well, there will always be more chances to woo. I’ll do some food delivery myself too, just so I don’t miss any more opportunities.” Thanks to that, it was easy to shift the duties around, and Angelica spent most of the rest of the evening spaced out and on edge, letting an Order move supplies around and wash dishes. 

The drive back was pretty quiet. It was rather late, though no one was really tired except for Sperado, since they were used to working deep into the night. But it was still nice to have a relaxing calm after hard work. Between his naps, Sperado would hum one of the songs he’d heard at the ball. As soon as they got back, the two men got to unloading the equipment, while Angelica was ushered away by Vystal into the main castle. 

“I apologize,” Pathos said as soon as they met up with her in a kind of creepy room. With the stone walls, fancy scones, and complicated circle on the floor, it kind of looked like a more dubious ritual was about to take place. “I should have double-checked that you'd performed the rite when we first met, so my assumptions have made this more precarious than needed. And I also apologize for the abrupt nature of this, usually there's a bit more ceremony and mysticism.

“This rite is the simplest but also the crudest since it requires no skill from the Summoner. We’ll need you to prick your finger, or we can do it for you. Then you just kneel down and place your hands on the Circle. It will react to the magic in your blood and take care of the rest.”

Ah… would that be a problem? Like with the Magical Proficiency detector, would it act strangely or not at all to her demonic nature? Well, this was probably the best group to do it with, since they’d likely come to expect the unexpected with her. Better to try it now than have someone less understanding accuse her of baseless, or possibly very based things. But this was supposed to be a Pact with the Demon Lord, right? Would that matter?

Odds were, it was similar to the DGS, some sort of automated, possibly semi-sentient process that didn’t actually involve the Demon Lord at all. Otherwise, they’d get nothing else done all day. Hopefully, in that case, it would be fully capable of adapting to her weird situation as well. 

“You’ll probably hear some voices,” Pathos added. “Some people can understand some or all of it, some can’t, but the claims for the messaging are always different. We suspect it may be in a Demon tongue. It’s usually something along the lines of forging a partnership for greatness. However, there’s no need to share if you do hear it properly. This is your personal revelation with Hell, after all. Vystal and I will just be here in case the magic gets a bit unruly. There can be some errant power depending on the Summoner’s capabilities, and honestly, we don’t know what to expect with you.”

Well, stalling wasn’t going to change whatever was in store for her, so best to get to it. Angelica performed the prod herself, since the two ladies may find it a bit difficult to make her bleed with all of her resistances and increased Vigor. Her bloody hand slapped the outer rim of the weird circle which she’d Mused on a whim, just so she could evaluate it later if she wanted. Fortunately, this was not the same scenario with the detector where nothing happened. 

No, something definitely did happen, but it was even more gut-wrenching. It started out fine, a pretty generic-sounding speech in her voice, just like any other message from the DGS. That made her wonder if everyone heard their own voice during this rite, or if she was special in that case.

[One freshly born to the world of magic, we thank you for the tithe. The kingdom of Hell has acknowledged your power, and through this Pact, agrees to lend you its own. By subjecting yourself to the absolution of Unknowing, you can be trusted to command our kind. Use them, work with them, grow your own strength in partnership with theirs, so that one day we all can revel in a shared freedom from our oppressors. We welcome you and formally bestow upon you the power of a Summon—Error]

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