[SS 2.93] Eye Spy (Part 1/4) (Patreon)

Gelic bounded from roof to roof, tailing Angie while the Duplicate went to go get some takeout. It was the day after the Demon had been given this directive from High Summoner Cordial, so she’d at least need to play along for a bit. As promised, the woman had reached out to her later that evening to make sure that she had found Angelica, and had also mentally called her that morning to ensure she planned to stick to her stalking routine.

So to placate her mother, she went and sat up on her apartment’s roof for roughly half an hour waiting for Angie to come out at the agreed upon time. Gelic spent the time fiddling with her usual puzzle box so that it wasn’t a complete waste, getting ever closer to her next Fabrication Skill.

[Ambidextral Mastery Lv.18]

Hopefully, after a few assurances that her daughter wasn’t caught up in anything shady—which she technically wasn’t, at least for now, though it was everchanging—Corticia would see reason and relax a bit. Honestly, though, Angelica would rather keep the arrangement going for as long as possible. Better her being a fake spy than her mother sending a real one. 

That’d cause a whole bunch of problems, especially if it happened unexpectedly with her Deterring Field. She’d already thought of a few lies on how to explain it, mostly involving some Sect or Rogue wanting to protect her after finding out she was Cordial’s daughter, either as a favor or blackmail. If she begged, there was a good chance she could get either Fioso or Zenmoon to go along with it, especially now with Vystal knowing their familial relation.

Seriously, what was the woman so concerned about, though? Sure, Angelica was now different from the daughter she knew, but definitely for the better. When they’d last been talking regularly, she’d basically been bottling everything, starting to stumble deep into her depression due to her soul-crushing internship. But she didn’t let it show, basically becoming a shell that only spoke platitudes, doing her best to appease her mother and maintain their relationship until she broke.

Angelica was now so much better off, actually showing off her personality and acting like her true self, even if she was still somewhat wearing a mask around the woman. Well, a mask and a skin-suit. But that shouldn’t be enough to cause such alarm. Obviously, asking to go shooting had been the main issue, but even that shouldn’t be so damning that it warranted suddenly having her monitored—again, apparently.

Did Corticia think she’d become a drug dealer or joined some criminal gang? Why else would she be so bothered by the idea? But even if Angelica was acting differently, that was such a leap. If she knew her daughter as well as she’d claimed, then she’d have no reason to suspect that Angelica would randomly just join some sketchy group.

[Incoming Transmission from Accomplice: Ba Skin. Do you accept?]

Ah, if it wasn’t a perfectly timed call from the sketchy group she’d joined just to prove her wrong. Well, since a good amount of Demons were in Cults, it wasn’t too sketchy, and she seemed to have a much more level headed leader than most, but still; the irony. 

“What’s up, Ba?”

“Is now a good time, Gelic?”

“Uhh, somewhat in the middle of something, but I can talk. I’m guessing you have a job for me.”

“Correct. Well, sadly, it doesn’t particularly match with your artistic goals. I’m still working on that. But I imagine this will be of interest to you regardless.”

“Is it something urgent?” she needed to check. “Happy to hear you out, I just have a commitment in two days.” Yes, the dreaded apartment viewing was fast approaching, and she needed to be there to ensure it was an equally dreadful experience for those visiting. This would either need to wrap up before or be something she could do after.

“It’s about Gawk,” he elaborated. “Later today, he will be summoned for the first time. It’s a Summoner we’ve worked with before, and the job isn’t anything he can’t handle… but I still have concerns. So I am looking for someone to shadow him and ensure everything goes well—discreetly.”

Yeesh, what was with all these stalking requests she was getting all of a sudden. Trust and faith were apparently in short supply. But at the same time, yeah, she totally understood the concern. “Okay, I’m interested.”

“Great, then if you could meet me here as soon as you’re available, then we can discuss the details further. You’ll have to come here regardless, since you’ll have to use the prepared Circle we have. And if you agree, I’d like to send you out ahead of him, within the next three Hell hours, if that works for you.”

“Uhh, sure, I’ll be there in a bit.” Once the communication ended, Gelic opened up another with Angie to hurry her along. Fortunately, they’d ordered the food ahead of time, and it was waiting at the restaurant, so it was only a few more minutes until the clone was back home, since she had some pep in her step. Sadly, she’d just have to throw it into the fridge, because she’d be destroyed soon. After watching Angie enter the apartment, and quickly reporting to Corticia where she’d gone, the Demon rushed off to hell, making the transfer over to Suciraga. She was hit with a brief flash of Angie’s last moments, sneaking a bite of food before her inevitable demise.

When Gelic got to the Legion building, Crectal grunted at her presence, then gestured for her to head into the Heir’s office. “Thank you for coming, Gelic.” Ba greeted her warmly. It felt like she should get charmed again since it had been a while since she’d seen him, but interestingly, nothing happened. Maybe the innate effect only worked once when it was a surprise, or if the Daemon actively turned on the charm. He was still pretty handsome, though. 

“As I mentioned, Gawk will be summoned shortly. He’s in your shared room, resting, but I’d ask that you not disturb him before then. The anticipation has clearly affected his sleep, and he doesn’t need another distraction. Besides, if you’ll be watching him discreetly, then it’s best that you’re out of his mind altogether.

“The Summoner in question will request that Gawk watch his son for a few days, a young human who is still in schooling. Apparently, the Summoner believes another human is being mean to his son and wants to get to the bottom of it. As I’m sure you’re aware, Gawk’s skillset should make him quite adept at such a task. And yet… well, you know his personality. He’s dedicated, yes, and will genuinely do his best, but he’s excitable and easily distracted. We took him out once to a human world before this, just so he could get acquainted, and he went missing every time any of us looked the other way. With his curiosity, he also asked questions that even I couldn’t answer.

“So I fear that despite his best efforts, his nature could betray him, and that would look poorly upon us. It could also hamper his future growth if he hits a hurdle out the gate. That’s where I would ask for your help. Ideally, if anything happens, you can help get him back on track without him realizing. Normally, we wouldn’t stoop to such hand-holding efforts, but I believe it’s for the best that he genuinely succeeds this time, or at least believes he did. Failure and improvement can come later. What he needs now is confidence that he is capable.”

“Y’know, you’re pretty good at this whole leader thing,” Gelic couldn’t help but remark. “I don’t have experience with any other Cults or Legions, but the impression I get is they’d just shun him for any weakness.”

“You’re not wrong, and I appreciate the comment.” The man leaned against his desk. “But it is mostly because it is necessary. Strength dominates in most Legions, even here, despite our leanings towards more innovative methods. I am likely one of, if not the weakest Legion Heir because of how I was forced to develop my build. Though, I still wouldn’t count myself out in a fight against most of them. What that means, however, is I cannot rule by strength the same way as the rest. It would just highlight my weakness in comparison. So to really prevail, besides schemes and cunning, I need to invest all I can into my recruits. We rise together, and eventually, will be the best as a whole. Even if that means hand-holding a Puck.

“But I am also willing to put so much effort into him because he has earned it. Unlike some others in our roster, he has been dedicated every day into being as useful as he can be to aid our efforts, constantly proving his Worth.” Clearly, that was a jab at Gelic, but she could only shrug. The man knew the deal when he recruited her, and by his tone, it clearly wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.

“Really, despite his shortcomings and Rank, he’s a model Cult Demon that any should strive to imitate. As such, I’ve dedicated as much time as I can in training him, and have helped guide his development. He’s significantly stronger now compared to when you two took the trial, and could possibly hold off one of Cappy’s Spawns on his own. Probably not the big one, but it’s a start.”

She was curious. “Oh, so you managed to get him to stop hoarding his points so much?”

“To an extent.” That was clearly a point of grief for the Daemon, and it showed on his face. “He’s still got a decent stockpile, but I was able to get him to invest competently into Tempest Attunement. That should suit him well since he’s constantly in flight. It’s also understated in its power compared to the other elemental Attunements.” 

Ah, Tempest must be for wind magic like Cyclone Sphere. Yeah, that would suit him well, especially if he could use his wings to boost the power. It was definitely a good choice. And yet… she couldn’t help but imagine him getting sucked up by a tornado he made. 

“Alright, so what are the specifics of this?” Gelic moved things along. “Just follow, observe, then only get involved if I think things are going sideways?”

“Essentially,” Ba Skin confirmed. “Though, if you foresee an obstacle, you’re welcome to deal with it preemptively. How are your stealth Skills? That will give me a better idea of what to expect, and how much I should pay you.”

“Uhm, I got Conceal recently, though I haven't used it much. Even still, my MP should let me use it endlessly for quite a while, and I’ve got plenty stored up.”

“Impressive. Though Gawk has high Lucidity, he should still struggle if not looking for you specifically. You’ve been spending your GP wisely then.”

“I actually got it for free.” Sadly, Gelic couldn't really make a smug face in her puck form, but it probably still showed in her glowing eyes. 

“Even more impressive. I would assume animal Transfiguration, yes? At least you’re holding up to my expectations of you. In that case, since you mentioned being on a time limit, I will pay you seven hundred Essence for a day of observation. After that point, if nothing has gone wrong, I’ll be more comfortable letting him continue on his own. That’s actually more than he’ll be getting; not quite four hundred per day after the Cult tax. But with your growth, I can tell your time is more valuable.”

Honestly, it really hadn't been lately. Ever since the birth of Angie, she’d pretty much just been playing babysitter and teacher, but those days were soon coming to an end. She’d kind of miss them, especially since it meant getting back to the Demon grind. “Okay, that’s fair. I accept.” Ba Skin sent her a Pact to sign for the job.

“Well, since you came quickly, there’s still a bit of time before the Summoner will be expecting either of you. Why don’t we take a moment to check in on your progress. I can see you’re close to Evolving already. You’re growing far quicker than any of us would expect. The Puck stage usually lasts a year or two, and even the fastest tend to only get it done in roughly half a year. You must have found a good source of income, another reason why I need to pay you generously. I take it you haven’t veered from your goal of being an art Demon? Planning to incorporate it into your Evolution? Frankly, I find it hard to picture what that would look like.”

“Yeah… I’m still struggling with that a bit too.” Despite ruminating on the subject on occasion, Gelic was no closer to nailing down a form she wanted to ask for when she became a Hellion. Character designs usually came to her easily, but it was infinitely more difficult when the subject was herself. She would need to come up with a design soon, though, but she could figure it out once she had everything needed to Evolve. In a way, she kind of worked better under pressure, and with the ability to become a Hellion whenever she wanted, that should hopefully provide the spark. “Hopefully I’ll get some good Fabrication Skills from it.”

That made the Daemon chuckle. “It’s so rare to see a Demon genuinely want them. You’d think Pestilence is one of the lowest desired, but compared to Fabrication, it may as well be a best seller. There’s not even a dedicated Cult for Fabrication anymore. From what I’ve heard, there used to be one back in the founding days of Hell, but now that the major cities have been built and society rooted, there isn’t much call for new creations. Its name has been lost to time, but maybe the Demon Lord could recall it.

“They do actually have a few architects in their retainer for large scale projects, but there hasn’t been any sort of major expansion in centuries. There’s a few private firms as well for places like this, but I can’t imagine they get too much work, unless they started selling their services to the poor Demons who live in the tunnels. Of course there’s no Essence in that, however. Still, maybe if you caught Ferrul’s or another established developer’s eye, they could find a way to make use of your ambition. I don’t know if you’d qualify that as art, but it’s something tangible.”

Damn, so there was no artsy Cult, huh. That was a shame, not that she had a big incentive to leave her current one for now. Maybe she could make her own someday, but that’s something she’d need a lot more influence for. Finding or inspiring other Demons to be interested as well would be another major hurdle, so it was probably best that she just do her own thing for now than try to force a hopeless endeavor. 

“Yeah, can’t say that buildings are my thing, though I would like to build a castle at some point,” Gelic clarified. “It’s not just art I’m interested in, though. I’d like to learn more about Hell itself and the other worlds. And like with Conceal, I’m hoping to get a lot of Skills through animal Transfiguration, as well as getting deep into Runes. So I may ask your help for resources for all of those things.”

“Runes, huh.” That made Ba Skin’s lips purse. “It’s an expensive hobby to have, and often not worth it. Unless you’re in the upper ranks, it’s usually more cost effective to increase your levels with that Essence instead, and then you can just buy the Skill.”

“Well, I was planning to get Rune Absorber as my next Skill,” she mentioned. “And actually, with my abilities, I only need to be able to see a Rune to be able to recreate it. So not only would it be essentially free, but I’d also—” The Legion Heir suddenly reached over and grabbed the Puck’s proboscis, making the rest of her words come out as mumbled tooting. 

Ba Skin pressed a finger over his lips, and after glancing out the window to see if Crectal was watching, glared at Gelic with deadly seriousness. He then spoke with a far more hushed voice. “Don’t forget that we have a mole in our midst. Clearly, you haven’t properly learned the lesson of maintaining others' perception of you. We all know you are a talented Puck with strange ambitions, Gelic, but don’t go acting out of your station.

“Make sure others know your Worth, but hide your true potential. What you just spoke of now is something that could get you in a lot of trouble. If Morgo Gorgo learned what you just said, he would never let you escape. And it’s good that I didn’t even get to hear the whole thing, though I can make educated guesses. Because while I’m glad you’re willing to share with me, if I learned the full extent, I may be tempted to sell you off myself.” He finally let go of her pointy nose, letting her take a deep breath.

“But I can help. If you are able to Evolve within the next month, I may have an opportunity that interests you. Not art per se, but knowledge, unique animals, maybe even a few Runes; it’ll have it all. So come find me when you’re a Hellion. Even if the window has passed, I should still be able to get you some resources, for a cost, of course. We should wrap up for now, though, and send you on your way to get prepared for this mission. Before you accidentally confess something else I shouldn’t know.”