[SS 2.100] Back to Haunt You (Part 2/3) (Patreon)

Angie snuck out first, disguised as a small bug, only to return moments later as Gelic, the much bigger bug. She camped out on the roof of the nearest building for a few minutes until Angelica came wandering outside and began leaning against the railing of the walkway, looking bored. Then pretending she was her clone, since they likely had to go through her thoughts regardless, Angelica made a report to her mother.

“Your daughter is outside of her apartment, dressed all fancy. It looks like she’s waiting for someone.”

“Thank you for the report.” She heard Corticia’s voice about a minute later. “That is the sort of thing I am looking for, but tonight is actually no cause for concern. She’ll be joining me for an event.”

“Ah, I see. Well, if she’ll be with you, I guess I’ll go back to my master then.”

“Actually…” The woman mentally caught her before the telepathic connection severed. “Would you mind following her to the event hall and make sure she gets there safely, and then stick around for a while? It’s been some time since she’s attended an event like this, and I’m afraid she may get overwhelmed and try to flee. It could be an issue having her dolled up and walking through the city alone, and would prefer someone be looking out for her if that does happen. Only if you’re available, of course. I’ll pay you extra the next time you report to me.”

“Uhh… sure,” Angelica hesitantly agreed. She was just going to have Angie do some portfolio management and maybe some commissions that evening, and they were both things she could do out in the city on her own tablet, so it wouldn’t really be a waste. It was just weirder that her mother was taking such things into consideration. While she kind of wanted to complain about the woman not having enough faith in her, the concerns also weren’t exactly unwarranted. It made her wonder just how many times she’d had a Demon babysitter in her youth and never knew.

After informing Angie of the slight change of plans, there wasn’t much to do in the remaining wait besides do some more Merlina editing in her mind. The one-eyed bat had just been kidnapped in her story, with Merlina going to rescue him, and would have to get her hands a little dirty for once. Nothing too violent, since it wasn’t that kind of story, but definitely a bit darker and more actiony than the usual story, but that had been helping with its growth, so she’d been adding more of it when possible, as long as it didn’t ultimately change the heart of her work.

Just when she really got lost in the work, she was snapped out of the near trance by the sound of tires scraping to a halt. Then when she looked out at the car that had parked, she let out an exasperated sigh. Really mom, a limo? Angelica had ridden them a few times as a kid, often to events like this, and always got excited. But as soon as she stopped going, her mother had begun calling regular cars. So now that she was attending again, suddenly, the limo was back? Was it meant to make her think fondly of those times? Sadly, as an adult, the novelty was lost on her, and she found it more embarrassing than anything. Plus, spending the money on a limo to be taken to a fundraising event felt ironically tacky. 

When the driver got out of the limo and glanced around, obvious disappointment showed on his face. And it wasn’t due to any Evoke effect that was previously on the railings and other exterior touch-ups. Angelica had used Retcon to remove them for now. Otherwise, weird rumors could pop up about the place. Maybe some kids would talk about the creepy apartment that made them feel unsafe when they walked by. All the vacant interiors were still emotionally charged, however, should someone come by unexpectedly. 

In this case, the driver was disappointed by the area itself, just being a snob, probably wondering why he was sent to this scuffhole part of the city while on assignment for one of the wealthy politicians. Though, his demeanor changed a bit when he got a proper glimpse of Angelica in her refined attire, looking a little stunned even before shooting her a more professional smile. Damn, that was a boost straight to her confidence, and yet, it didn’t feel surprising. She knew she looked good, and it wasn’t just her Pride talking. Okay, maybe a little.

The ride to the event hall was pretty uneventful. She kind of regretted storing her phone in Second Stomach now, not wanting to spend the evening clutching a handbag the whole time just to have something to hold it in. Her fabricated dress did have secret inner pockets, which she’d added just because it felt good to have, not for any real purpose, but pulling her phone in and out from where they were located would look even more awkward. So instead, she just enjoyed the ride by watching Angie bounce from building to building, doing her best to keep up.

Even if they did get separated, her Duplicate should know where they were going. It was the same event hall she’d been to tons of times when she was younger, and it wasn’t actually too far from city hall to begin with—why she was meeting her mother there instead of going together, besides the woman needing to be there even earlier. Though, they’d be leaving together, likely in this same limo. Since it was such a well-known and frankly boring area of the city, it did make it weirder that her mother had made the request that she be escorted there safely, but it could just be a parent thing that she didn’t understand. 

Her mother was standing outside when they arrived, greeting each group of guests. Angelica was actually on the later end of arrivals by design, so that she wouldn’t have to be sitting around the entire time, especially before the event even properly started. Corticia still pulled her to her side when she attempted to skirt past her into the building. “Stick with me for a bit and say hello to a few people.” She said the exact thing Angelica didn’t want to hear, though then followed it up with a bit of kind praise. “You look lovely by the way. That’s a wonderful dress. And your hair and makeup, did you get them done somewhere?”

“Uhh no, I did them myself,” she answered honestly. It just didn’t need to be stated that it was done in a literal second.

“Hmm, well I suppose your artistic talents manifest in several ways. I’ll have to get you to do mine next time.” What was clearly meant as a compliment filled Angelica with dread. Because if it actually came to fruition, she’d be screwed. While she knew how to come up with and draw good styles, she didn’t know the first damn thing about actual cosmetology. At least she had some warning of what had to be included in Angie’s next studying binge. 

“Well, I think you look great yourself, mom,” she attempted to deflect. Though, the woman did genuinely look amazing; dressed in a dark green gown that was quite striking from the business suits she usually wore. And the woman hardly looked like she was in her fifties either, having aged amazingly. It had given Angelica hope for her own future, though now that she knew more, she speculated that it could be some Demon ability she was borrowing as a Summoner. Cordial likely had no problem utilizing Passive Skills that kept her young and healthy. Thinking back, she couldn’t recall a single time her mother had gotten sick either.

Their nice family moment passed after the next car pulled up. Angelica was proudly introduced as Corticia’s daughter, and she made the quick, polite pleasantries that were expected, usually accompanied with her hand getting squished. Fortunately, since they were so much more interested in the city treasurer than someone who was entirely outside the realm of politics, she usually got off easy and was written off after the basic courtesies. 

One guest, however, suddenly greeted her like an old friend. The older woman squeezed the sides of Angelica’s shoulders and gushed, “My, you’ve grown up so much. Look how beautiful you’ve become.”

It must have been someone she’d met when she was much younger and had no memory of, which would probably happen a lot tonight. “Thank you, ma’am. You look wonderful as well.” She replied politely, doing best to hide her ignorance, yet the woman ate it up all the same, like she was absolutely delighted by the compliment, to an irrational degree. Angelica feared for a moment that she might have her cheeks pinched as would often happen when she was younger. Yet she got away clean when the woman whisked away, still riding the high for some reason, her hands clasped over her heart.

That was fritsing weird, and made even weirder by the look her mother was giving her, like she’d just committed some sort of inexcusable taboo. “Angelica…” she spat in as hushed a voice as she could muster, though the tone was more befuddled than angry. “H-how?!” 

“How what?” This was all just making her even more confused.

“You just spoke perfect Ottopalan.”

“Uhm, I did?” That was news to her, and it just got her a more miffed stare in response, so she did her best to come up with an excuse on the spot. “I didn’t even notice. I used to work with someone from there, so I guess I picked up a few things.” Technically, none of that was really a lie, so hopefully it wouldn’t be pinged as such if her mother had Detect Falsehoods active. Back during the crossroads heart delivery job, she had in fact worked with Grahj, who was from Ottopa, and picked up a few Ottopalan words when listening to music in an effort to develop Tongues. 

And well, her mother dropped it and moved on, mostly because there was someone new to greet. The following message she got, however, definitely made her more confident that she’d gotten away with it. 

[Smooth Talker Lv.2]

Despite that, she went ahead and had a quick, mildly panicked conversation with the Demon Growth System and Divining Ear about possibly warning her when someone was speaking to her in her non-native language when reciprocating would get her in trouble. And she also went ahead and gave herself an Order to do her best not to commit any more suspicious social faux pas for the evening. That might make her behave a bit more stiffly and prudish, but it was better than the alternative if she got caught acting out of turn. 

Thankfully, it wasn’t long after that before her mother dismissed her to head inside and start mingling. Not that she was actually going to mingle. Since she’d made her appearance and done some socialising, her goal now was to find a nice spot to park herself that would be out of the way from the main crowd, but still close enough to be present, where as few people would bother her as possible. She would be the prettiest wallflower possible, though she might get some food on the way. Angelica wouldn’t be completely anti-social if someone approached her, but no way was she going to strike up a conversation with anyone here. She knew no one, had nothing in common with any of them, and would prefer to keep it that way. 

As soon as she entered the building, though, she couldn’t help but tense up from the sudden silence. Nothing had actually gotten quieter, yet she suddenly felt disconnected. It was a familiar feeling that had happened twice before, and she’d only now started to properly recognize, possibly due to her growth as a Summoner. Angelica, and everyone else in the building, had been cut-off, magically speaking. Just like at the Migrore Museum and the recent Summoner event, she wouldn’t be able to talk to Angie or any other Demons besides herself.

How annoying. Well, Angie had her directive for the night, so hopefully she could enjoy the peace and quiet just chilling on a roof nearby. Maybe she’d find an excuse to step outside later and send her home, or her clone could decide to do that herself after no contact for a while. Since this building was owned by the city, it was all the more proof that Summoners were running the show, not that she needed any more at this point.

Scrying around, though, and honestly, there weren’t that many that she spotted. There was a Summoner here and there, often from Sects she’d never heard of, but there were far more Abstainers, and significantly more plain ol’ regular folk who just happened to have a lot of money and an interest in politics. She gave up scrying them after going through all those in her immediate line of sight. Processing those names and random information that she didn’t care to remember was starting to give her a headache.

So she went on a bit of a walk around the place blindly, preferring to be blissfully ignorant of who she was bumping elbows with. She mostly kept her eyes on the walls, pretending to look at the various campaign flyers plastered everywhere, of which her own hand-drawn portrait of her mother was the predominant one. Annoyingly, the fundraiser was a bit more crowded than she was prepared for. Well, she supposed it told a story of her mother’s long career, having made so many connections, which again, made her wonder why they were going through so much trouble for her re-election campaign when the whole thing was a shoo-in regardless. Hopefully, it’d make it easier to blend in with the crowd then, at least, though the sheer volume of people made it feel like the oxygen was being sucked out of the space.

Angelica’s hopes for a decent evening were further dashed when she found the buffet table. The line was wrapped around itself. While the food smelled good, she definitely wasn’t going to wait in that crowd, and would content herself with what remained after it thinned. This just made her want to flee even more, since now it really felt like she was starting to suffocate, proving her mother’s concerns even more warranted. She knew it was all her anxiety acting up, but that didn’t make it feel any better. 

After a quick glance around, she saw that the doors to the terrace were open. While it’d be tempting to hop the railing and run, just some fresh air would help calm her down. And thankfully, the space didn’t seem too crowded. Even though they were in the middle of spring, the evening was still a somewhat chilly one, and that’d keep most from loitering outside for too long. 

As soon as she stepped outside, she felt her connection with Angie reestablish, which was comforting in its own way. Only for any relief to immediately vacate her body a moment later as she noticed whose company she was in the presence of. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to spot her right away, or didn’t recognize her, which gave her a moment to push forward and post up at the edge of the balcony.

Angelica grabbed the railing, squeezing it much tighter than her dainty hands should allow, to the point that it could very well crack if she kept it up for too long. Her teeth faced similar punishment, grit to the point that it would make her veins pop if she weren’t a Demon. Just what the hell was he doing here? Did her mother know? Had she purposefully invited him to torment her, or was this some ploy to try to get Angelica to move past her previous failings? There was a good chance he’d just tagged along on someone else’s invite who was more important. That sounded like him.

Ultimately, his reasons for being there didn’t matter, because this was actually a wonderful opportunity. Angie, put away anything that you’ve got and get ready for a teleport. Our former boss is here. It’s time for some revenge.