Chapter 9 - Chatter
"Hey, you, let's have a little chat!" (Ur)
Ur called out to me from inside the prison.
There's no merit for me, and I'm not particularly interested either. Maybe she is trying to get some information from me by having a conversation? Besides, I have noticed it. From the flow of magic power, it seems to be a telepathic magic. I don't know who the other party is, but everything that's taking place here is likely being leaked to the other side.
"I refuse." (Fell)
"Oh my, are perhaps scared of humans?" (Ur)
"Nah, I'm just not interested." (Fell)
"I'm interested in you. I've heard that you couldn't have a conversation with demons, but that seems to be lie. Say, what are you doing in the human world?" (Ur)
I wonder what part of 'I refuse' that she didn't understand. What should I do?
Looking around, it didn't seem Mittor and the other guards were planning to stop her.
Maybe they're also hoping to get some information about them from our conversation? If that's the case, let's use it as a bargain chip.
"Mittor, if I can get some information out of her, give me some apples." (Fell)
"Eh? Umm, that kind of thing, shouldn't you not say it in front of the target?" (Mittor)
Mittor was dumbfounded.
I have to make things clear first. I don't want to work for free, after all.
"I don't care, and I don't feel like doing anything for you guys without something in return." (Fell)
"I understand. You have my words." (Mittor)
Good. I got his words. Now it’s time to work.
"I will answer your question, but first, you should say something about yourself. Yeah, it’s an information exchange of some sort." (Fell)
Yesterday, I did something similar with Mittor. I will try it with Ur now. However, this time my demonic eyes are on standby. No lies may pass me.
"Interesting! Hmm, let's see.... For a start, I'm from the Magic Country of Olin." (Ur)
Ur was throwing a lie at me right from the start.
“That’s a lie.” (Fell)
Too bad, but such attempts are useless before my Demonic Eyes. However, with or without them, I don't think someone was stupid enough to take her words for granted.
"Eh? That was a lie?" (Mittor)
I heard Mittor muttered those words from behind.
I wonder if the other elves are thinking the same thing as Mittor. You guys seriously should be careful not to get caught in fraud.
"How can you be sure of it? If you claimed everything I said as lies, then there's no point in me talking." (Ur)
"You should know it the best whether you were lying or not. If you're still doubting my ability to discern any lies, go ahead and try me. I did say I wanted apples as reward, but that doesn't mean I have to force myself to talk with you. If I decided you have no intention of exchanging information at all, that's where the talk ends." (Fell)
That should put some pressure on her. In this situation, she might let slip some important information out of her mouth by accident. That's what I'm aiming for.
"Do you still not believe me? Then, why don't you try to say something?" (Fell)
Ur looks troubled. Is she thinking how can I see through lies? Or is she thinking about what to say? Oh well, I will be waiting.
"Then, I'll tell you the truth. I'm from the Ruhara Empire." (Ur)
"You seem to have told the truth…. Okay, I will answer your question from before. What am I doing in the human world, was it? Now the demon race has a policy of establishing a friendly relationship with the human race. Our end goal is to make a place in the human world for demons to live. I'm working pretty hard on it." (Fell)
Now she looks surprised. Probably because I kept my promise. Or perhaps it's because I know that she was telling the truth. Ur seems to brooding over something. I wonder what she's going to say next.
"We are nobles. If you overlook us, we will compensate you accordingly." (Ur)
"That's a lie. Your lord is born of noble blood, but you three are not." (Fell)
I suddenly felt squeezing pain in my head.
Ouch!? I probed too much information about this woman. Maou-sama once warned me that this kind of act could put me in danger. I managed to not showing it on my face somehow, but it hurts a lot that I want to scream right now. Let's stop using the Mystic Eyes until the pain subsides.
"You.... just how much...." (Ur)
Ur's face turned frightened. The same true for the other two who were also inside the prison with her. Mittor was confused, but he seemed to understand that I meant what I said.
"I don't know what's going on anymore.... Fell, did you actually know about them from the start?" (Mittor)
"No, I don't know them. It's just my guts feeling. Now then, do you have anything else to say? If you would stop telling lies, we can talk as much as you want." (Fell)
I don't think I can rely on my Demonic Eyes more than this, but let’s keep pushing forward. Bluffing is also a proper strategy.
"No, I will say no more…. I don't want to talk to you…." (Ur)
Ur was trying to get some information from me, but fell under the impression that she was only leaking information about herself instead. The result is she lost her will to fight due to her own delusion. No, maybe she decided to withdraw before she lost more?
"I see. Then, the talk is over with this…. Mittor, the apples!" (Fell)
"No, hold on, you hardly obtained information from her. You need more than this to get the apples." (Mittor)
Now that I think about it, even if I provide him with the information, it's useless if I can't prove its authenticity. I can talk about my Mystic Eyes to just anyone, after all.
In any case, I still made such basic mistakes. No wonder the level my Negotiation Skill doesn't increase.
"Then, I will provide you with another piece of information. One of them is most likely using telepathic magic to communicate with someone. I don't know what their conversation is about, but the other party should be somewhere not too far from this place. You better take measures before something unwanted happens." (Fell)
"Lie!"
The smallest of the three sisters raised her voice in panic.
Maybe she had never thought it would be exposed? It's nothing personal, but I need to sacrifice you for the sake of obtaining apples.
"Are you serious!? Captain!" (Mittor)
Mittor dashed towards the captain.
The rest is up to the elves. I've provide them with information that should be worth one or two apples at least. I'm looking forward to tonight. Still, the apples would definitely make me smile. I wonder if it's better keep them until I return to the Sodogora Village.
Nah, never mind. I just need to eat them secretly when nobody is watching like the bento. Yeah, let's do that!
"We have run out of luck the moment we met a demon like you…." (Ur)
I was sure she had said that she didn't want to talk to me anymore. Do I have to respond? I just declared the talk was over with a cool face not long ago. However, it's not good to ignore someone. That hurts them mentally.
"This happened because you tried to make me a scapegoat." (Fell)
"Let me tell you this; we have not done anything to the World Tree. I'm sure you know that I'm not lying since you can see through lies.... but, yeah, dragging you into this was a big mistake. I was surprised when the elves suddenly asked about our relation with demons when we were caught. I didn't think you really existed at that time, and even if you did exist, I thought they wouldn't be able to catch you this soon." (Ur)
In other words, she was just using my existence to earn them time at first. Still, what are they trying to do here? They seemed so adamant about going to the World Tree before.
What does the World Tree have to offer in the first place? It's the fruits, after all. If possible, I'd like to try it, too.
"Say, why don't you join us? You want to establish a friendly relationship with the human race, do you? Just as you may have known, our lord is a human noble with great influence. If you help us, we will gladly cooperate with you." (Ur)
Is this the rumored headhunting? In the demon world, we are competing for competent individual in each department. I've never experienced such things, though.
But a cooperation, huh. If I accept her invitation, the path to establish a friendly relationship with the human race might become much easier. However, I can't trust them, so it's impossible to cooperate with them.
"I'm afraid I can't trust those words. Because of you, I was almost dedicated to the World Tree. Don’t think I have forgotten it." (Fell)
"That was because I didn't know that I could have a proper conversation with a demon like this. If I knew, I would have never done it." (Ur)
"You picked a fight without even trying to talk to me first. Give up, I don't want to get involved with that kind of people." (Fell)
On this matter, the people of Sodogora Village are the opposite of them. They're good people who didn't judge me by my race. I want to treasure our relationship. Especially the relationship with Nia is a wonderful one.
This makes me want to eat her cooking. Let's eat the bento in the middle of the night again today. I'm sure I won't get fat as long as I put my spirit into it.
Mittor, the captain, and few more elves came when I was thinking about the bento.
"I want to hear the details." (Captain)
"There's no definite proof. I only detected a telepathic magic from the little one over there before. I don't know who she communicated with or what they were talking about." (Fell)
"Understood. I will put up a barrier to interfere with telepathy just to be safe. Hey, make the preparation!" (Captain)
Elf's interference barrier, huh. I'm little interested. From the preparation, it seems to be the type of barrier that uses stone as medium. This exists in the demon world, too. I want to see their magic formula.
"Mittor, this information should be worth some apples. Could you serve them as dessert after dinner?" (Fell)
"I don't have apples with me now. I will give you some after we return to the village, so be patient." (Mittor)
What!? But I have already made a plan. Oh well, there’s no helping it.
"If you help us, I will give you one hundred apples." (Ur)
Ur who was listening to our conversation, cut in amusingly.
"Deal! You can ask me anything! Should I break the prison?" (Fell)
I'm good at making snap decisions. I can even write it on my resume with confidence.
"Oi, why do you believe in such a blatant lie? The stolen apples have all been recovered. Besides, apple trees only grow inside the Elven Forest." (Mittor)
"Eh!? That was a lie?" (Fell)
I got fooled myself after all the big talk. Even so, I don’t want to hear that from you!