Jake needed a moment as he was pretty sure he’d heard Irin wrong. “He asked me if I wanted to be what?”
“To be his best man... I believe that’s what you call it on your planet, right? It may be a bit different, and amongst the demons, we call it a prime witness, but there certainly are some similarities,” Irin shrugged, still pretty casual about the entire thing.
“Go back a little,” Jake shook his head. “What is up with this marriage between the two hells? And why would he ask me of all people? I get that I helped him, but I won’t say we’re close or really know one another.”
Irin, clearly enjoying Jake’s confused state, gladly explained. “As you well know, we demons put a lot of stock in contracts, and one of the most tried and tested methods to forge alliances is through marriage, especially among demons who put more stock in these unions than nearly every other race. Needless to say, this engagement is political in nature, though the two parties involved do know one another, which is far from a given.”
“Yeah, I kinda assumed it was political, but again, why ask me of all people?” Jake continued to be confused. He was not good at being a best man. He already knew that after being Caleb’s when he and Maja got married. It had been damn stressful trying to plan everything, and there was no way Jake was going to agree to do that again for some dude he’d only met a couple of times. Plus, Caleb’s had been a super small ordeal, while this definitely wouldn’t be.
“Being a prime witness does vary a bit from a best man based on what I read. There will be no expectations of you outside of your presence during the day in question, and your primary role will simply be to, well, be there and bear witness,” Irin explained. “As for why he asked you... the prime witness always needs to be an outsider, and who you invite is a way to show off status. Having you, the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, show up will be quite a way to flaunt his connections. It also makes sense, considering your role in elevating his position, and you kinda were the impetus for this entire union in the first place. Also, to clarify, being asked to be a prime witness is usually viewed as a huge honor.”
Jake listened and, upon realizing this would very much be a favor to the Demon Prince, couldn’t help but ask: “What’s in it for me? Outside of cake. I assume there will be cake.”
“There will definitely be cake, and as for what’s in it for you, well, directly paying a prime witness to show up is incredibly shameful, so you won’t get anything from the Demon Prince or those affiliated with him. However, the other party – in this case, those from the Second Hell – will bring gifts to the other side’s prime witness, which is to say you, should you agree. This is another subtle competition to see who brought the prime witness that receives the best gifts. Give too bad gifts, and you risk offending the prime witness and whatever faction they may come from, but give too good ones, and you’re sure to lose this competition. In your case, I believe the Second Hell would willingly lose the competition to try and forge a better relationship with you and the Order, which is definitely also what the Demon Prince would expect,” Irin continued the explain.
“You know, the more I hear, the more exhausting that entire ordeal sounds,” Jake sighed. “This is why I prefer courthouse weddings.”
“You truly won’t need to do anything outside of showing up if you agree,” Irin said, with Jake getting a strong feeling she wanted him to agree to go. “Also, I want to clarify that while the Demon Prince wanted me to relay his request, he will likely come to officially invite you personally once an actual date has been set. As for when that will be... who knows? There’s no time limit on an engagement, and the Fourth and Second hell will definitely have a lot of things to discuss before they move forward. They also need to consider the reactions of the other Hells. Let’s just say that I doubt you are in a rush to buy a new suit.”“If I agree to go,” Jake pointed out. “The more I’m hearing about this marriage, the more it just sounds like two factions trying to have a dick-measuring contest, with the entire marriage part of it just the set dressing.”
“I can’t fault you for thinking that way, but I would still heavily recommend you do. I empathize that it may be hard to understand why they go this far for a social event, but you need to understand that to us, demons, status matters in a far more tangible way than you are used to. It’s not simply something chased due to vanity, but how our race works. In the same vein that a king gets Records and even experience based on what his subjects believe about him, we demons also benefit when our fame grows. One example is that as a succubus, I progress not only by actually being near you but by others knowing I’m near you. The fact that you gave me the opportunity to visit the Fourth Hell in your stead was massive for my Path.”
“That does explain how you got so many levels in so little time, “Jake muttered.
“Partly,” Irin smiled. “I didn’t leave the Fourth Hell empty-handed, but was given quite a valuable natural treasure. I then spent about ten months Realtime in Nevermore, taking advantage of the time dilation to digest it fully. I will readily admit my progress has been far beyond anything I’d ever expected... I thought reaching C-grade would be a struggle, but now I’m fast approaching B-grade.”
“Your speed is definitely impressive,” Jake agreed. He knew that due to his Path, he didn’t level as fast as some others, but seeing Irin pretty much be caught up was still a little shocking. Just a little, though. He knew that her Path had some crazy synergy going in that the same actions could level up both her profession and race. This did mean that she would share the experience and effectively need twice as many Records in that particular aspect of her Path... but Jake’s presence had made that a non-issue for the most part.
Jake had casually made Irin his official liaison with the Order of the Malefic Viper, and while doing so was indeed just some casual appointment to him, to Irin, it was a momentous thing. There was a big fundamental difference between her just being the person assigned to Jake and Jake actually appointing her.
“I was in the Fourth Hell both before and after Malefic One killed Yip of Yore and your subsequent slaying of Ell’Hakan, and let’s just say I felt the entire vibe around me shift from one day to another. I also doubt they would have given me a mythical treasure if I had left before you’d killed the Usurper,” Irin said, looking Jake directly in the eyes. “I’m fully aware of who I have to thank for how things are currently going for me, and I’ll gladly do anything to allow it to continue. Absolutely anything.”
“Ree?” a hawk Jake had kind of forgotten was still around asked.
“If Lord Thayne wants me to, then of course,” Irin answered politely, though that definitely hadn’t been what was on her mind.
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“Ree!” Sylphie screeched happily while throwing looks at Jake.
“Just get her some,” Jake sighed, unable to deny Sylphie her happiness. “Guess it gives me a good opportunity to check out what’s up with that tower.”
“In that case, I’ll be right back. Does Lady Sylphie have any preferences?” Irin asked Sylphie what kind of snacks she wanted.
“Ree!” Sylphie answered excitedly.
“Tasty ones it shall be,” Irin said with a bow before turning to Jake. “I hope Lord Thayne will also give me the opportunity for a tasty snack when convenient.”
“I think we can organize something at a more opportune time,” Jake gave her a smile in reply, definitely not against the idea.
Irin just returned his smile flirtatiously before going through the gateway to buy Sylphie her snacks.
“Ree?” the bird asked Jake while tilting her head the second the succubus was gone.
“... you’re still way too young in my mind to be asking those kinds of questions,” Jake coughed.
“Ree!” Sylphie protested, but Jake refused to engage in that kind of topic with her. Was she technically an around sixty-year-old hawk now? Yes. Did that make Jake comfortable answering her when she asked if Jake was “going to mate with the demon later?”
Nope, definitely not.
“Forget all that,” Jake desperately tried to change the subject. “Let’s go check out the big tower over there. You remember Meira, right? Maybe she’s in there, and who knows, Duskleaf could also be around. Duskleaf is sure to carry around a lot of tasty stuff.”
“Ree!” Sylphie screeched happily while flapping her wings before taking to the air and motioning Jake to follow.
Happy he’d successfully moved on from that topic, he followed her toward the massive white tower. Also, he didn’t speculate if Meira and Duskleaf were in there just to convince Sylphie to go check it out with him. He genuinely didn’t know, as the inside of the tower was clearly spatially expanded, messing with his Sphere of Perception.
Arriving at the barrier surrounding the tower, Jake realized it wasn’t made to block access at all. He and Sylphie flew through it effortlessly, and once on the other side, he instantly realized its effect.
The environment shifted as the mana density rose and the affinity changed. The tower radiated life and light energy, soaking into the soil all around it, making it prime ground to grow certain herbs. Upon closely inspecting the ground, Jake did find a lot of planted seeds here and there, but it was evident they’d been put there very recently and hadn’t yet had time to sprout.
Continuing toward the entrance to the tower, Jake checked for any defensive measures but found none. In fact, there wasn’t even a door but just a white glow functioning as a portal. When they landed in front of it, Sylphie took her rightful place on top of Jake’s head as he proceeded to walk inside.
His vision shifted as he did so, before quickly stabilizing, revealing a large circular room. It was mostly empty, with only a few pieces of furniture here and there. The only other thing of note was a large teleportation circle in the middle, definitely serving as a magical elevator of sorts, leading up to the next floor.
“Ree?” Sylphie asked after looking around a bit.
“Yeah, it’s way too empty,” Jake agreed. “I suppose this first floor is meant as some common area to welcome guests. Doesn’t look like it’s quite done yet, though.”
Wanting to explore further, the two of them went to the teleporter to head to the second floor. Or, they tried to, but nothing happened when Jake stepped on the teleportation platform, making him frown. Right as he was about to assess why the damn thing didn’t work, a figure appeared right behind him, having teleported in not with the help of the circle.
“It only works if you’ve been given permission by the tower owner or carry a particular kind of token,” the newcomer spoke as Jake turned around to greet him.
“Hey, Duskleaf, been a while,” he said politely with a smile as he greeted the god.
“Hardly,” the old alchemist responded bluntly. “Let me already inform you now that Meira isn’t in the tower. In fact, she’s not even in the universe.”
“Oh?” Jake exclaimed, surprised. “Did she decide to finally visit the Altmar Empire? Or is it Nevermore?”
Those were kind of Jake’s only two guesses, and luckily for him, one of them turned out to be correct.
“Nevermore,” Duskleaf answered. “I’m still a bit worried about her, but we’ve been training in combat a lot, and I believe she was ready. We couldn’t allow her class to fall further behind than it already was, and she had the opportunity to join a good party.”
Jake nodded, genuinely happy to hear that. He knew that Meira and Duskleaf had been training in the art of combat a lot, as Meira had never really fought anyone. Healers were one of the few classes that could progress a lot without actually fighting anything, but that did mean they could easily end up with high levels but no combat sense. For Duskleaf to judge she was ready to enter Nevermore definitely meant she had improved a lot in that regard.
Even if she was a healer, she had to know how to fight appropriately, as fighting post-system wasn’t like in video games. Enemies didn’t simply ignore the healer while only hitting the brawny front liners. In fact, most of them would actively aim to take down the healer first. This is why having a good party was essential, for healers more than anyone else, and definitely also part of the reason Nature’s Attendant had asked Jake to bring Dina along. Even if Dina had been a damn good party member, in pure one-on-one combat, she had definitely been the weakest of them.
And, despite how much Meira had no doubt improved... she wasn’t even close to Dina’s level, so she’d definitely need a good party.
“Who did she end up going with?” Jake asked curiously. More out of curiosity than concern, as Duskleaf himself had said that her party was good, and given how protective the alchemist god had become of Meira, he knew his standards had to be high.
“Four individuals from the Altmar Empire,” Duskleaf answered. “Honestly, above the standard of party I would expect her to join. I believe the primary reason the Altmar Empire approached us was as a way to try and get to you through her, and I saw no reason not to take advantage. One of the best ways to improve is to be surrounded by your betters, and given how much she still has to learn, I hope her trip will be valuable.”
“Let’s hope so,” Jake smiled and nodded, glad to hear that Meira was doing well for herself and even having some Nevermore fun. As for himself... “Say, can you give me a token so I can check out the rest of the tower?”
“No,” Duskleaf responded bluntly. “This tower belongs to Meira, so you’ll have to ask her when she returns.”
“Fair enough,” Jake shrugged, not wanting to push it. If Meira didn’t want him in the tower, who was he to try and force himself in? Yeah, best to just respect her privacy.
“Ree?” Sylphie suddenly asked, having seen her opportunity to ask.
The old alchemist looked at her for a moment before nodding. “I do have an ingredient I found no need for, but that may prove useful to a creature of your disposition and power level.”
Duskleaf proceeded to take out what looked like a small bundle of sticks rolled up into a ball, and before Jake even had time to use Identify, Sylphie swooped over and gulped the thing down before letting out a delighted screech.
Jake looked at Duskleaf with some concern, but the alchemist shook his head. “It’s perfectly safe.”
“Ree!” Sylphie confirmed, happy to have gotten a snack.
“You little glutton,” Jake shook his head and smiled before looking back at Duskleaf. “What are you up to recently? And has anything interesting happened recently that you think I should know?”
“I’m working on my projects as always, and no, outside of what happened with Meira, nothing new,” Duskleaf said. “Though I will say things are way less stressful now that Master finally killed Yip of Yore.”
“Yeah, I can imagine,” Jake nodded.
“Speaking of projects... I see no reason to keep this clone here with Meira gone, so I shall put it to work,” Duskleaf said and, without any further warning, teleported away.
“Well, I guess that was it for our tower exploration,” Jake said nonchalantly as he walked out of the tower again. Shortly after, he and Sylphie were back at the mansion, waiting for Irin to return with Sylphie’s snacks.
Jake considered whether he should maybe do a concoction or two while waiting, but just then, he had a figure teleport in from out of nowhere for the second time that day. This second newcomer was different from the first in one fundamental way, though...
Because he’d brought beer.