Chapter 764 Meeting With Ater [Pt 2]
"W-what do you mean all wrong?"
For a moment, Ater remained quiet after Rey's question. Instead, he took time to observe the boy's appearance once more, his gaze scrutinizing even the littlest detail. It even almost felt like he was undressing him with his eyes.
"Your appearance… it feels odd—almost like you are cosplaying as a Dragon—if you know what I mean…"
"Wait…" Rey knew this wasn't an important thing to bring up at the moment, but he just had to satisfy his curiosity. "How do you know about cosplaying?"
"Belle told me about it."
"O-ohh…" It all made perfect sense once he knew who the knowledge came from.
'I guess the two of them really talk a lot, huh?'
"In any case, it doesn't feel very authentic. I believe it also does very little to hide your human-like features, and doesn't blend the two together. For example, you need slightly bigger eyes and more defined jaws. Your ears should also…"
By the time Ater was done with explanations, Rey realized just how off he was when it came to disguising as a Dragon. It wasn't that he wasn't that he didn't know what a Dragon looked like, but it was simply that he didn't know how to incorporate it into his own custom appearance.
The only thing he really got right was the number of horns. Even the age of his disguise was slightly off, but that was only because Rey had only encountered adult Dragons. In conclusion, he needed to rework his design from scratch—and that was exactly what he did.
Under Ater's supervision, he was finally able to get the design right. ************
"Thanks. I finally figured it out." Rey sighed, collapsing on his bed for a moment, mostly due to mental exhaustion.
He wasn't tired in the true sense of the word, but he definitely felt like he was.
"This is nothing, Master. You can always rely on me."
Ater bowed his head after saying this, and the sincere manner by which he said this caused Rey to feel a slight pang of guilt within him. It genuinely seemed like Ater was doing his best for the sake of his Master, yet Rey was viewing everything through the lens of suspicion.
At that point, Rey had two options—remain the way he was, or address the ever-growing gap of trust between the two of them.
He chose the former.
"Hm. Thank you."
"I will also ensure to do my best in the South. As promised, I will resort to as little violence as possible, and also ensure they become our cooperative allies no matter what. Of course, I won't force them to do it."
"Yeah… I look forward to that."
Rey didn't think he expressed it with his words, but he was really surprised and impressed by how much Ater had changed over the course of him being around.
He remembered how very open and assertive he used to be regarding his dark inclinations, but he had slowly gained more tact and understanding as time went on. In fact, he rarely ever brought up suggestions or plans unless asked, and his evil alignment hardly showed in his strategy.
All of these changes were due to the conditions that Rey had set previously.
'He's studied my preferences and chosen to act in accordance with them.' He smiled, clearly satisfied with the progress that the Familiar showed.
This made it all the more difficult to view Ater in a negative light.
"Master, I should remind you that you still owe me a reward for my most recent accomplishment of protecting the Capital and resolving the pre-existing issues."
Once Rey heard this, he gave a slight gasp.
"Ah, yes…"
He hadn't thought of a reward, and after becoming occupied with their other plans, it skipped his mind. Considering the gravity of what Ater did, Rey reckoned he needed something very rewarding.
'It's only because of him I was able to get this strong as well. The plan he concocted with Emil was suspicious, but also very helpful.'
Rey could not deny Ater's assistance, even though he no longer trusted him.
'I'll just ask him what he wants.' And so he did.
Ater fell into deep contemplation upon being asked to mention what he wanted most as his reward.
"Well… if I was to choose…"
It was at that moment that Rey remembered what Ater chose as his reward the last time—being petted as a cat.
'It would be even weirder now! Please don't choose that!' He cried inside, looking at Ater with pleading eyes while the unaware Familiar seemingly wrestled with his thoughts about what he considered a fitting reward.
"I would have chosen to receive some praise from you, but… I believe there is one thing I desire most from you."
"Oh, whew! I mean… what is it that you desire most?" Rey smiled, relieved it wasn't what he feared, but also fearing what was about to come.
Silence.
Ater merely looked at Rey for a moment without saying anything, as if studying his countenance. He then approached the boy with a few steps before stopping just a few inches from his Master's feet.
"You no longer trust me, Master."
Those words hit Rey like a sledgehammer, cousin yet another pang to swell from within him.
Ater's smile completely vanished, now replaced by a contemplative expression that drew even more sympathy and guilt from Rey. He wanted to believe that Ater was merely trying to manipulate the situation, but everything about him oozed genuineness. It began to seem as though Rey was the one being paranoid.
"I have observed your actions prior to your return from the Land of the Elves, and especially after. After watching you and thinking for quite a while, I have come to the conclusion that you have doubts about me."
Rey could not deny those allegations, because they were true.
Now that Ater said them out loud, it made the whole matter quite serious, and the fact that the usually smiling figure in the room was completely serious gave off a grim feeling in the air.
"Master… I want you to trust me. That is my desire."
As soon as Ater uttered those words, he fell to his knees and made a subservient bow that chilled Rey to his very core.
"Ater, I—"
"I recognize that it might be very demanding to ask of you, but I intend to make things easier for you to make your decision." Ater raised his head and lifted his hand, causing a black box to appear almost instantly.
Rey instantly recognized it as the Cursed Box that belonged to the United Human Alliance.
"The Dybbuk, Master. This allows multiple parties to enter a pact that can be enforced with a curse from this world. As you are well aware, I have no means to alter a curse, or I would have done something to help Alicia. Since that is the case, it appears this Item is most optimal in restoring the trust you have in me."
"What exactly are you driving at, Ater?" Rey blurted out.
"Let us enter a pact, Master. I will accept all of your conditions, including to be absolutely submissive to your words and to never betray you."
A lot of thoughts went on in all the layers of Rey's mind, but they could all be summarized into one thing—
'For real?!'
~Master, I'm surprised you didn't place him under a pact, but you placed me under one. Do you trust him more than you trust me?~
Emil's thoughts were also loud in his thoughts, so he had to address that too.
'Haha! Not exactly. We are sort of already connected by a bond, so there was no need for any kind of pact. At least… back then…'
Since Rey had no way to formally enforce their bond, it made it functionally useless. He also didn't have any Taming Skills, so he couldn't confidently call Ater a Familiar in a very strict sense.
Despite all of this, he remained very loyal—too loyal.
"Are you sure about this?" Rey asked, an eyebrow raised as he stared at the disturbing energy that the Dyubbuk released from all around it.
Ater nodded his head, silence still remaining as his lips were tightly shut.
He simply stared in determination.
"Huu… fine, then." Rey finally said. "Who am I to refuse your heartfelt request?"
"I thank you, Master."
And so, just as with Emil, they set up standards for the pact—rules and punishment that would be followed by both sides.
The restriction placed on Ater were three;
One was to never act in any way that would jeopardize the interests of Rey or any of his allies.
The second was to obey any of Rey's commands, and to inform Rey of any action he would take that would affect those commands in any way.
The third and final one was to protect Rey and his allies if the case demanded for it.
To all of this, Ater nodded and readily accepted the conditions, as well as the only punishment for disobedience.
—Instant death.