D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

“The view is great but the mark is dumber than a bag of rocks. I can only hope that all the blood that should’ve been devoted to intelligence made it somewhere useful,” responded Sue as she gazed out at the ocean of clouds. Only the largest groups of clouds stayed in view long, they were rushing past everything at a rather impressive speed. It let them all appreciate the fact that, while this was a wooden boat, it was a FAST wooden boat.

Kat just let Sue’s comment wash over her. Honestly, Kat had expected something along those lines. “Yeah but… why did you seem so unbothered by the fact he wanted me to be his date? Isn’t that… kind of insulting to you? I mean… no I don’t think I want to say anything else. Just in case,”

Sue giggled, “Oh Kat. Remember, I like to keep my sex life interesting. It’s my primary motivation. He clearly doesn’t have the brain power to suggest anything unique for any night-time activities… but the fact that I need to work a bit to get into his pants is at least something to keep myself occupied. Though… it would be a big disappointment if he was actually gay,”

“I’M NOT GAY!” shouted Bodeir.

Kat and Sue turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He’d been ranting for a bit now… but apparently he was really sensitive about his sexuality. “Bodeir, just… laugh it off in the future. People keep saying it because you keep giving them ammunition. If you laughed instead you’d be signalling that you found the idea so hilarious they’ll put it out of their mind,”

Bodeir continued to grumbled, not really listening to Kat’s well meaning advice, all “Not listening to you after denying my reasonable request” and “why should I listen to my father’s pet demon” and a few other unflattering things Kat was trying not to think about lest she punch the idiot.

Letting out a sigh, Kat turned back to Sue. “Right… I guess I can understand the idea for a challenge but like…” Kat looked over at Bodeir again, “Is it really worth it? Like… at all?”

Sue shrugged, “It’s not so much the destination but the journey in this case Kat. I’m not sure I’ve ever had to seduce someone so dumb AND stubborn. One or the other? Yup. Both… don’t think so. Plus, I was pleasantly surprised with the last idiot I seduced. He didn’t really need to think in bed. All instincts. Good instincts too. I was so impressed with him I cooked him something as a gift. It wasn’t… great but I did try!”

.....

“How is your cooking?” asked Kat.

“Eh… it’s not horrible but it’s nothing fancy either. I know a few recipes and mostly just stick to those. Cobbler, meat loaf, salad I guess? But that’s more ingredient prep, I’ve got no idea what it takes to make a good salad. I just throw in the ingredients my Mum usually uses… or whatever I have on hand and deal with the results. Honestly, I think it’s all in the dressing but that tends to be the least available ingredient,” answered Sue.

“That’s… fair…” said Kat with a nod of understanding, “I didn’t get to cook too much but my knew strength and muscle control means that I can be pretty fancy with it when I want to. That being said… for proper meals? I’m more inclined to cook for large groups. Growing up in the orphanage meant there was no such thing as wasted leftovers so the more food you could make at one time the better,”

“Yeah I can’t understand that. I’ve only ever cooked for myself, my Mum and Dad, a few lovers and that’s it. Anytime it was my turn to supply food for my slutty ‘friends’ meetings I’d just take everyone somewhere to eat out or get my Mum to help. A bit lazy perhaps… but as I said I’m not a fantastic cook,” continued Sue.

Kat and Sue watched the clouds pass for a little while before the door opened and a servant stepped out with a bowl of water, and three cups of tea. The servant first stopped over at Kat and Sue, clearly offering the tea. Kat grabbed one to try and Sue did the same… then the servant bent down and handed the third cup of tea to Lily before walking over to Bodeir and dropping the bowl of water just out or reach and walking away. “What. The. Fuck,” said Kat in shock.

“I… no I have no idea, what the fuck?” mirrored Sue. “I… if they thought Lily was a person they’d just bring tea for everyone right? Or… no well… but she got tea? Is it good tea? Is it cat edible tea?”

“It tastes nice,” said ‘Lily’ “So I’m going to say yes it is good tea?”

Sue just stared down at Lily happily lapping and her tea, and then over at Bodeir who just glared at the bowl. He wasn’t thirsty yet… but everyone was guessing he would be thirsty long before he got free of the rope. “I… are his servants normally this mean to him?”

“Nope,” Kat, Lily and Sue, all jumped in sync with each other. Kat had moved to protect Lily and Sue with her fans out. Sue had summoned up her hammer, and Lily jumped into Kat’s sleeve. The servant who just spoke had been the same one that delivered the drinks earlier. But… *didn’t I see this guy leave through the door to the lower decks?*

“How did you get back here?” asked Sue.

It’s really not that hard. There are plenty of windows in the side of the ship, and quite a few cannon emplacements. It’s not hard to sneak out of one, and it’s a then a simple matter of jumping back onto the deck,” said the servant.

“Right… um… are you that spy Bodeir was meant to find?” asked Kat.

The man shook his head. He was the oldest looking mountain elf Kat had seen. His skin no longer brown but grey instead, though his hair still looked rather luscious. His skin actually seemed to have tightened up over time, instead of getting droopy like a human. “No. My name is Hromdir and I was the personal servant of Patriarch Bodeir until he tasked me with watching over his son to the best of my abilities. I treat him much like my grandson, and as an infertile old man, I’m happy with that. Well… I share similar thoughts to Bodeir the elder in regards to his attitude… but still, he’s like a grandson to me… so…” Hromdir shrugged in a ‘what can you do’ sort of way.

“Yeah but… isn’t it a bit cruel to give him a pet bowl for water?” asked Kat.

“Eh, the lesson wouldn’t really stick otherwise. Servants can still be petty, and Bodeir the elder doesn’t really know how to punish his son properly. One thing the younger Bodeir managed to inherit is stubbornness. He has rather high pride and is actually quite accomplished as a cultivator despite his… lacking mental aspects. If he was just a bit more intelligent he’d be far and away the best cultivator of his generation…

“Alas, his extreme talent can only make up for so much of his mental deficiencies. Mountain elves can’t begin cultivating till they least fifty, and even then it is somewhat risky till they approach 100. The fact that Bodeir Jr can cultivate well is a showcase of great talent… and the fact he’s an idiot means that in a few decades he’ll fall behind. Sadly,” said Hromdir.

“Right… but what’s with the bowl?” asked Kat again.

“Ah, well, dehydration is a great humbling tool. Bodeir needs to either escape his father’s rope, or accept my mercy in offering him water by drinking from a pet bowl, as you said. He won’t just spill it to reduce the temptation, water is much to precious a resource to us as a people, it is nearly ingrained in our bodies, and certainly ingrained in our culture. That means he must stare at it. Constantly nearby, constantly tempting. His pride, or his thirst. I know which well break,” said Hromdir confidently.

“Ok… so is this… a lesson or something?” asked Kat.

“Indeed. He neglected to inform the servants about this trip, for obvious reasons. He ordered us to prepare different lodgings despite having one prepared for him, with food and everything. He defied his father’s orders, despite still being under his father’s command. These all show signs of a weak master, and as Bodeir says… Bodeir needs to learn. His freedom has come to an end… and if I can help get those lessons to sink in… well… I can discipline an unruly grandchild,” explained Hromdir.