Chapter 785: After Party

Jadis was fairly confident that inviting the judge who had just presided over the trial of one of her friends to a celebratory after-party was the sort of thing that would get her labeled as some kind of villain under most circumstances. At least it read that way to her when she thought about the idea of impartial judgement and unbiased governmental authority. And yet, considering that same judge had been riding her like a cowgirl not five days before the trial, Jadis didn’t see any reason why she should try to take the high road after things had worked out in her favor.

“You’re going to apprentice her to a cordwainer?” Dys snorted at the thought. “For two hours a day? Are you serious?”

“A suitable act of contrition considering the circumstances,” Vraekae replied mildly as she sipped on the extremely sweet juice that she had brought with her to the compound. “Or do you believe Cobbler should be assigned elsewhere for the duration of her penance?”

“No, no, I think that’s a perfect job for her,” Dys shook her head vigorously. “Too perfect, really. I mean, just two hours a day? How are you going to get her to leave?”

“If Cobbler wishes to work for longer than the prescribed two hours, she will be paid appropriate wages for her time,” the elf replied. “I have discussed the matter with Master Cordwainer Mervyn at length, and he is quite open to the idea of a Demon of Cobbler’s skill and disposition lending a hand to his workshop. Of course, Cobbler will need to follow orders from Mervyn the same as any other apprentice. She must learn not to drift off on her own when her fancies strike her, at least not during working hours. I believe she will manage, though.”

“I think she will, too,” Dys nodded as her gaze drifted over to the yellow-eyed Demon. “She’s not the fastest learner, but she has perseverance, and a good moral compass.”

“She is in good company here, then.”

“…I’m just going to shut up and take the compliment.”

The sentence that Vraekae had placed on Cobbler was light, one that Jadis compared to community service back on Earth. The Demon didn’t have to live in a jail or special residence, she had no curfew, and she didn’t even have to wear one of those tracking bracelets like had been put on Sorcha when she had been sentenced back in Weigrun. All she would have to do was work at the position that the empire assigned her to for two hours each day for nine months. And, since it was a limited sentence, that meant that the job would be something that suited Cobbler’s class rather than some drudgery like ditch digging. Naturally, that meant shoes.

Master Cordwainer Mervyn was the owner of Longstrider Boots, a shoemaker workshop that had been in operation in Eldingholt for generations. The shop was geared towards the mass production of solid, long-lasting boots and shoes and during most years, they shipped their products out for sale to farming communities across all the major provinces of the empire. However, as soon as the Demon invasion had started, the cordwainer had shifted all of his production to military boots. While Mervyn and his shop were far from the only supplier, they were one of the largest workshops who crafted footwear for the imperial army, so getting another highly dedicated and invested worker assigned to their shop would be a big benefit.

Jadis wondered if there was some kind of irony at play with the idea that a Demon would be making shoes for a military that was actively fighting Demons.

With the announcement of Cobbler’s punishment, Jadis and all of her companions had returned to the Fortune’s Favored compound with said Demon with the intent to celebrate her freedom. What had at first been conceptualized as no more than a low-key dinner among friends and family had turned into a full-blown festival, with the entirety of the extended family who lived in the compound participating, as well as the various workers employed by the company. It was a pleasant surprise to see everyone come together like a true community, especially considering the party was for someone that most would have considered a mortal enemy only a year past.

“Congratulations, Cobbler,” Nevan said cheerfully. “I must say, I never thought that I would be saying that, or anything at all, to a Demon! But I truly mean it.”

Jay watched as Cobbler signed the words for “thank you” to the gnome. She didn’t bother translating, though, since the pattern was simple enough that even those who had not taken the time to learn the hand-based language knew what those movements meant.

“I know that you are only interested in the noble pursuit of crafting shoes,” Orla picked up where her husband left off, “but if you are interested, my sweetheart and I would be happy to teach you some non-lethal self-defense techniques. They may come in useful in the future. It would be good to have the training, just in case.”

“She’ll consider it,” Jay did translate the next bit for the two gnomes. “And she thanks you both for your kindness.”

As the two smiling lovebirds took their leave and wandered off into the crowded and colorfully festooned work yard where everyone had gathered for the celebration, Alex leaned in close to Jay’s side so that she could whisper in her ear.

“That is… Not what… Cobbler… Said…” the new Demon Lord said quietly. “She said… That she thanks… Them both… For being kind… To their shoes…”

“It’s the same sentiment,” Jay replied with a suppressed grin. “Also, there are some things about social etiquettes that we really need to teach Cobbler.”

“She is… Learning…”

“Yes, she is,” Jay smiled and gave her lover a kiss. “Thanks to you.”

Jadis smiled internally as she watched over Cobbler and the other four Demons who were in attendance for the party. A sort of wood and glass rectangular platform had been set up for the four in a design reminiscent of a large fish tank, though there was no top cover and the walls weren’t all that tall. Oats, Grape, Lapis, and Sunny were all inside, the raised platform giving them the height they needed to be easily seen by others while also making sure that they weren’t stepped on. While some might have thought that the tank was there to keep the Demons contained, that was not its purpose. There wasn’t any worry that the Demons would try to do something hostile towards anyone else.

Ever since Alex had accepted her Demon Lord class, there had been a dramatic shift in attitude from the Demons who Jadis had taken from Glanum. While Alex had not displayed her halo to them, it seemed that the Demons simply recognized her change in status anyway. The first skill of her Demon Lord class did say “all Demons will know you by your aura, your taste, and your Mark” though it had also said that Alex would be able to suppress her aura at will. Alex could conceal her halo and aura, which she always did at all times. Apparently, that concealment didn’t extend to her taste.

“This is a really good sweet bun, Oats!” Sabina chatted with the red-eyed Demon on one side of the tank. “You have such a great talent for baking! Sometimes, I wish you liked smithing, because then I would have someone I could teach smithing to who would be really good at the way you are so good with baking, but also I do have someone to teach so it’s okay. Violetta has made so much progress with enchanting! But I still like the idea of teaching a Demon how to enchant, too. Do you think any of the other Demons are interested?”

Oats stared blankly at Sabina, clearly not comprehending the majority of what the smith had said. Sunny and Lapis, the two only half the size of the larger Demon, rested behind her and made confused and curious signals to each other as they watched the half-elf talk at Oats. While Jadis still didn’t have a perfect grasp of the demonic language, she had reached a point where she was fluent enough to tell that the two were discussing whether or not the noises coming out of Sabina counted as an attempt at communication or were instead some kind of ineffectual range-finding system. Sonar was the word Jadis would translate their meaning to, though she didn’t think that Lapis and Sunny had a firm understanding of the concept themselves.

“I know you have a possession class and so you can’t possess something that I constructed,” Sabina continued, completely oblivious to Lapis and Sunny’s argument and Oats’ confusion, “but maybe if we can get you to CLR twenty and you unlock a secondary class we can do something like what I made for Grape! Or you might end up not needing me to craft you anything because of how Greater Demons work, presuming the class that Alex got is a good representation of how all Greater Demon classes work, but since I don’t know that for sure I think I’ll still make a body for you that you can hopefully use in some way. Would you want to have hands made out of iron so that you don’t have to worry about them burning when you take things out of the oven?”

Listening to Sabina ramble reminded Jadis of how completely dependent Demons were on the class system. Yes, they were functionally ageless entities that did not need to eat or sleep, apparently subsisting entirely on the magic that they generated from what Jadis could tell, yet they were still ultimately just grapefruit-sized squidballs. A species that was vulnerable to being accidentally stepped on by careless ten-year-olds wasn’t exactly a threat. Except, with the System, Demons could gain Strength, and Speed, and Vitality. They could unlock classes with skills and spells. They could even obtain whole new bodies with the right class, turning them into bizarre abominations like strangling crawlers, or exotic beauties like Bonded Alex. Without the System, Demons were small and weak. With the System, they could be anything.

Almost anything.

“Oats does not… Know… But she… Thanks you… For your… Attempt…” Alex translated for the Demon. “Oats wants… Her own… Body… And she hopes… That you… Will be able to… Make her… One…”

“Of course she is very welcome!” Sabina chirped as she patted the Demon familiarly on top of her central orb. “It’s the least I can do for her considering all the good food that she makes all the time! When Grape picks her class later, we’ll see how well the selection goes with the body that I made her, and then we can make adjustments to what I do for you in the future. Or for other Demons like Sunny. I mean, I don’t know how all of that body transformation stuff works when a class is selected, but I’ve got Maeve and Ammy to help me figure things out, so we’ll definitely come up with something!”

Indeed, they would, Jadis agreed. Turning her gaze to look at Cobbler and Grape, she smiled as she watched the two communicate their interests. Cobbler was satisfied with her body, an amalgamation of furniture twisted into a vaguely humanoid shape, but there was no guarantee that Grape would have the same outcome when she accepted her primary class. However, Sabina had put a lot of work into making a body for the Demon that would hopefully incorporate well when she did gain her first level. Even if it didn’t go the way that they expected, there was still hope. Jadis was confident that they could figure some kind of transformation out. They would have to no matter what. They couldn’t rely on leveling Demons like Oats and Lapis up to twenty to unlock secondary classes, so some other method would have to be developed. Not an easy task, but they did have a resident expert when it came to shapeshifting among their group in the form of Maeve. Not to mention Ammy—

“Oh my fucking gods.”

“You okay?”

“What is wrong?”

“Are you… Alright…?”

The multitude of questions that came from the people around her went ignored as Jadis clutched her foreheads with her hands, a look of completely disbelief on her features. How could she have overlooked the obvious for so long? Was she a complete idiot? Apparently so. How else could she explain not noticing the easy and readily available solution to Oats’ problem that had been dangling before her for so long? The fact that no one else had suggested the idea didn’t matter. Jadis should have seen it. Now that she had, she felt like a complete moron for not seeing it sooner.

“I’m a giant fucking tool,” Syd cursed, causing Aila and Kerr to tilt their heads at her while Aila’s parents gave her disapproving frowns.

“Hope has already started repeating everything she hears,” Senta admonished as she put a hand on the head of the baby that Aila was holding. “If you don’t want her to become as foul-mouthed as a mercenary before she can even walk, you need to watch your tongue!”

“Sh—oot, yes, you’re right,” Syd stumbled over her words as she gave an apologetic kiss on top of the shocked woman’s head. “You’re very right and I’ve got to go!”

“What are you—” Aila tried to ask before Syd kissed the top of her head, too.

“I figured out how to help the Demons!” Syd rushed her explanation, the wings of her Succubus spell erupting from her back. “I’ve got to go!”

“Go where!?” Kerr grabbed hold of Syd’s hand. “What the fuck are you doing!?”

“I’ve got to go get Ammy!” Syd called out as she and her other three selves lifted into the air with Alex in tow. “We’ll be back tonight!”