Tracy waved it off by saying, "It's expected when fighting demons. Even if the ones we're fighting right now don't have brains, they know to go after the weak. They prefer to hunt prey that they perceive to be weak."
Her callousness disturbed Bobby, but Luke didn't bat an eye. Theodore didn't either, but he was known as a jerk, so there was no surprise there. It was normal for the weak to be trampled on. Healers were unfortunately one of them despite their abilities. Since their skills and abilities revolved around healing people, it was natural that they weren't stronger than the average native.
That was assuming that the healers Tracy was talking about were people with the actual class. The natives liked to call anyone with the capacity to heal a healer, whether or not they had the actual class they were named after, which made things confusing. It was also the reason why the Healer cl
Theodore then said, "We better get moving before more hobgoblins show up."That was probably the longest Luke had ever heard Theodore speak without insulting anyone or acting the slightest bit like a jerk. However, that wasn't what caught his attention. Why wasn't Theodore attacking him or lashing out at him over Grace? It was completely out of character for a guy who had become attached and overly protective of her. Well, he had no right to talk even if their reasons weren't the same.It didn't change that Theodore wasn't doing anything to him. Also, he hadn't mentioned anything about Grace being kidnapped by the prophets. In fact, considering what he said, it sounded like the whole incident had been covered up completely. The prophets would probably want to hide this fact, as they didn't want the heroes attacking them, but what was Grace's excuse?She
Both groups spotted each other as soon as they were within a few yards of each other. Chris stood up and waved at the group, while the knights just stood up. Bobby was the only one to react excitedly on their side, as he also waved back and ran towards the other group. Christ met him halfway as they hugged each other and clapped each other on the back."It's good to see you in one piece," said Chris as they broke apart."I should be the one saying that," said Bobby. "Where did you guys go?"Chris frowned as he looked at Theodore, who had his arms crossed. "Didn't Theodore tell you?"Recalling what Theodore had told them, Bobby sheepishly said, "Yeah, well, I want to hear from you."The story Chris gave was basically the same as Theodore's, except for a few more details. Apparently, th
Once Chris gave them a tour, they returned to their previous spot and saw that the knights had also returned with grim expressions. Given what they must have seen, it was understandable that they would return like that. If they had come back with smiles on their faces, it would either mean that a miracle happened to cure Felipe or that they were sick in the head.While Luke would have loved to say all the natives were messed up in the head, he knew that was only in regards to 'heroes' and his experiences that colored his view of them. Since the prophets were neutral, he couldn't automatically assume they were like the rest. Of course, that wouldn't mean he would automatically trust them or open his arms to them without something in return."How is he?" asked Chris.The knights remained silent until Cedric said, "They were able to stabalize him."
This seemed to get Theodore's attention, as he said, "We should check up on her. It isn't good to leave her constantly healing with her weak abilities."In other words, he was worried about her condition, especially since she had just dealt with an emergency patient. He really wasn't being honest about his concerns, but Luke chose to ignore it for now as it wasn't that important. At least with Theodore quickly agreeing with his plan, it had gotten the ball rolling, and the group set off to find Grace.They found her diligently checking on the injured with a serious expression. She didn't seem to notice them until she happened to look in their direction. Grace took a moment to wave at them before she was drawn away to help another person. Luke couldn't help but marvel at how she was working so hard in the face of so many strangers and gore.Once she was
Rereading the quest descriptions again, he realized that his initial assumption was wrong. While it was true the quests assigned to him seemed to want opposing results, there was a third option. If he could get the prophets to remain neutral, then he would be able to fulfill both quests. He was a bit disappointed that he couldn't have them completely loyal to him, but it was impossible.Since he was the new demon king, making the prophets his allies would mean it counted as them becoming allies with demons. Technically, he could still go through with it and purposely fail the quest assigned to him by the angels' system, but he would rather not go through another punishment so soon. Also, he couldn't be sure how bad the punishment would be, so he wasn't willing to test it.Luke turned his attention back to the elderly woman as she said, "I'm afraid our leader is indisposed. You can't expe
"No, we don't," Luke said.Grace stared at him in shock as the elderly woman asked, "Are you saying you're against the agreement?""Of course. Everything so far has been to your benefit. I practically get nothing out of it," he said."The last demon king agreed to leave us in peace as long as we remain neutral. I don't see why it's any different now," the elderly woman said.Luke heavily doubted that the two situations were remotely the same. While he didn't know exactly how the confrontation and agreement between the two happened, he couldn't imagine it being like this. She was demanding a lot of things from him just so they could reach the exact same agreement the prophets had with the previous demon king.She was basically acting like he was the weaker party in the negotiations whe
"You seem to have a lot on your mind. Would you mind letting this granny know what you're thinking about?" the elderly woman asked, reminding Luke that he wasn't alone."Actually, there's a lot I want to share with you, but first there's something I want to know. What's the real reason you offered Tracy up?" he asked.Instead of answering his question, she asked, "What do you mean?""I don't find your reasons convincing enough," he said as he crossed his arms. "You spoke cruelly to her, but I think you were only doing that to push her away so she would want to leave of her own free will.""She's my granddaughter, so of course I'll be harsh on her. Life as a prophet isn't an easy one, you know," she said."You don't have to pretend. She isn't here to hear what you have to say," he said."I don't know what you're talking about," she said."Let's be honest here. I sent her away with Grace for a reason," he said.The elderly
As soon as Luke exited the tent, he was surrounded by his group, with Chris demanding, "What was taking you so long?"Luke held up his hands as he said, "I was trying to convince her that we needed to work together."This seemed to mollify them slightly, but then Santiago asked, "What's the deal with the girl with Grace? I didn't bring it up before, but who is she?"All eyes turned to Grace and Tracy, who had been talking quietly in their corner, with the latter still looking upset. Luke would have to speak with Tracy later to inform her of her grandmother's decision. He was certain that she would put up a fight and argue with her grandmother to take it back, but the decision had been made. Once she got over it, he was going to officially add her to his harem.He grimaced. This wasn't something he had imagined when he