My companions and I repeated this pattern over the next several days. We would go into Mirkvale Forest, find a monster to kill, and then return to Mirktown for the bounty. Of course, in public, I made sure to take all the credit while looking as if I had done none of the work.
In private, I made sure to praise my companions and compensate them since they were doing all of the heavy lifting here.
A part of me felt bad for doing this. However, I had to admit, a part of me enjoyed it. There was just something fun about acting like a spoiled House scion, or an arrogant young master as Teacher might say.
At the same time, Aurora spent a lot of her time flying around and searching Mirkvale Forest from above. She kept an eye out for any hints of the Order of the Infernal Star. Odd flows of mana, traces of demonic magic, etc.
During all of this, Cally came up with an interesting idea. The whole reason why I acted like a spoiled House scion was to trick our enemies into thinking that I was an easy target. What if we reinforced that image by having one of my "retainers" complain about me in private? That way, our enemies would approach this "retainer" and use them to get to me.
Everyone thought this was a good idea, so we decided to go with it. Since it was her idea, Cally chose to play turncoat. After we returned from our excursions into Mirkvale Forest, she'd go to one of the nearby taverns and vent her frustrations. Out of curiosity, I watched over her while using one of the invisibility bracelets.
At first Cally just murmured a sentence or two. However, in time, she started to loudly complain about me to anyone who would listen. After all, I was an ass who forced a young girl to fight in my place while I stood back and did nothing.
Cally even weaved a story about how she was a poor orphan girl, struggling to eke out a living in this cruel and harsh world. At the same time, she painted me as a cruel villain who took advantage of her. This earned her a lot of sympathy from the local adventurers, and a lot of hate for me.
Every time, Cally asked everyone to keep what she said to themselves, otherwise she'd lose her position. The local adventurers were more than happy to comply.
As I watched Cally's performance, a part of me thought it a shame that she didn't become an actress. She certainly had the talent and flair for it.
And so the days passed, one after the other. About two weeks after we arrived in Mirktown, our plan succeeded. One of our enemies took the bait and approached Cally.
It was late afternoon, almost evening. The days were growing colder. Despite this, Mirkvale Forest remained the same. None of the leaves changed color and fell off their branches. Mirkvale Forest remained as green and verdant as before.
My companions and I returned to Mirktown not too long ago after dealing with a particularly troublesome monster: a rot pile beast. These monsters were living piles of rotting vegetation. They liked to engulf their prey and swallow it whole.
Most importantly of all, they were Tier Five monsters. However, they were often easy to avoid so they weren't that dangerous if you were careful enough.
In most circumstances, it would be too dangerous for us to fight a rot pile beast. We'd win, but we'd suffer severe damage in return. However, this particular rot pile beast was injured and on the verge of death. It looked like it had gotten into a fight with another monster, and either barely won or fled.
My companions and I decided to take advantage of this and ambushed it. Even I participated, though I made sure to clean myself to make it appear as if I hadn't. It was a tough fight, but we won with minimal injuries.
Afterwards, we returned to Mirktown where I acted like a complete asshole and bragged about my greatness to anyone within earshot. Of course, it was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes and a working brain that the rot pile beast had already been grievously injured before we fought it.
Later on, Cally arrived at the tavern sporting a broken arm. The other adventurers asked about what happened. After all, with Water magic and Holy magic, healing a broken arm wasn't difficult.
Cally spun a tale of how I decided to punish her for an unspecified crime. This riled up the adventurers, and several of them looked ready to give me a beating. So much so that I grew a little worried. I wanted to come across as a jerk, but not a heartless one.
Thankfully, Cally managed to defuse the situation. Afterwards, she sat by herself at the bar, stewing in her own anger. I waited nearby, hidden thanks to the invisibility bracelet.
The tavern was a rough place, with wooden furniture and a dirty floor. So many people had spilled so many liquids, that the floor had become a muddy mess. The stench of sweat, mud, and stale beer filled the air. It amazed me that Cally could endure this place for so long.
Then again, it went with her act. After all, the kind of person I pretended to be would never be caught dead in this kind of place.
As Cally nursed her drink, her expression of mixture of anger and frustration, a familiar figure approached her. A female adventurer, one who looked experienced but was an old veteran. I recognized her right away. She was the one who guided our group to the Mirkvale Adventurers Guild on our first day in town.
What was her name again? Roxie, that was it.
"You mind if I join you?" she asked, gesturing to the bar stool next to Cally's.
Cally nodded, but otherwise didn't respond.
Roxie ordered an ale and sat next to Cally for the next few minutes, not saying a word.
"So, I heard about what happened today," Roxie said in a casual tone. "A rot pile beast, huh? What a big haul. That master of yours sounds rather impressive."
Her words contained a faint hint of contempt.
Cally snorted.
"According to his own words, yes," she said, not even bothering to hide her disdain.
Roxie raised an eyebrow at this.
"Oh?" she said, a trace of amusement in her tone. "You mean to tell me that your master is telling tall tales?"
"I'll just say that the rest of us do all the hard work while he sits back and does nothing." Cally showed off her broken arm. "We take all the risks, suffer all the injuries, yet he reaps all the benefits." She took a deep breath. "It's just not fair."
A sly look flashed across Roxie's face. It appeared and disappeared so fast that if I hadn't been studying her, I would've missed it.
"Why don't you leave then?" Roxie asked. "It's clear that you're talented. Otherwise, you wouldn't have reached Third Circle at such a young age. Why not strike out on your own?"
"You think I haven't considered that?" Cally said, her frustration evident. "It's just…" She stopped midway through her sentence and sighed. "If I tried to leave, he'd punish me. He comes from such a prestigious House and I'm no one. I can't escape him."
Cally sounded so heartbroken that I felt sorry for her, even though I knew this was all an act. God, this version of me was such a dick.
Roxie made a point of looking around, before leaning in to whisper to Cally.
"What if I could help you deal with your problem?" she said.
Cally gave her a wary look.
"What do you mean?"
Roxie put on a nonchalant expression.
"Mirkvale Forest is a dangerous place," she said. "All sorts of things might happen. If something were to befall your master, you'd be free. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
Cally acted as if she didn't understand at first, before it clicked.
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"Are you insane?" she hissed. "He is from House Sturm! If something happens to him, the rest of us will suffer."
Roxie shrugged.
"Unless you made it appear as if you all died with him," she said. "If your entire group disappears, then no one would blame you for anything. You'd be free to start a new life with a new identity."
Cally looked conflicted by this. She looked like she wanted to accept, but was afraid to.
"I don't know," she said with some hesitation. "The others would never go along with it. They remain loyal to him."
Roxie gave her a mirthless smile.
"They wouldn't have any other choice," she said. "Once Lord Gabriel dies…" She spoke name name in a mocking tone. "…they'll have to either play along or be punished for failing their duties."
Cally opened and closed her mouth several times.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked. "What do you get out of it?"
A cold look flashed across Roxie's face.
"Let's just say that I have a grudge against House Sturm," she said with a sneer. "They act all high and mighty, but they're nothing more than a family of glorified thugs. People think they're righteous demon hunters, but that's just the image they've cultivated. In truth, they abuse their power to oppress others and maintain their position."
I clenched my fists.
Was House Sturm perfect? No. Far from it, in fact. However, even at our worst, House Sturm always fought to protect the innocent from demons. Yes, there were those within our ranks that abused their position and power. Whenever people like that popped up, we dealt with them in a swift and decisive manner.
I took a deep breath and unclenched my fists. No. Now was not the time to act.
"So, how about it?" Roxie asked.
She smiled. I guessed she wanted to appear friendly and reassuring, but she came across as sinister instead.
"I…" Cally started to say, before pausing. "I need time to think about it."
Roxie appeared disappointing, but shrugged.
"Fair enough," she said. "It's a big decision. I won't rush you. I can wait. Once you make up your mind, just come find me."
Cally nodded, before she paid for her drink and left the tavern. After a moment, I followed after her. While a part of me wanted to keep an eye on Roxie, I didn't want to risk alerting her. What if she had a way to sense me even though I wore an invisibility bracelet?
After all, the invisibility bracelets came from the Order of the Infernal Star in the first place.
I followed Cally and waited until she returned to the inn before taking off the invisibility bracelet. Together, the two of us entered one of the rooms, where the others waited for us. This had become something of a daily habit for our group, ever since Cally started all this.
Anna leaned against a nearby wall, while the others sat in various places around the room. When Cally and I entered, Anna raised an eyebrow at us.
"How did it go today?" she asked. "Still no luck?"
Cally and I shared a look.
"Not quite," I said.
Cally and I took turns telling the others about her conversation with Roxie. When we finished, Anna frowned at us.
"Why didn't you accept right away?" she asked.
Cally shook her head.
"I think Roxie is suspicious of me," she said. "If I had accepted right away, that might've confirmed her suspicions. I couldn't take that risk, so I decided to delay my decision."
I frowned. While I hadn't noticed anything odd about Roxie's behavior, I trusted Cally's decision. She was right. Now that our prey had taken the bait, we couldn't afford any mistakes. It was better to remain cautious and act with prudence.
"Forgive me for saying this," Priest Jaime said. "But what if this Roxie isn't a part of the Order of the Infernal Star? She could just be someone with a grudge against House Sturm."
I nodded, acknowledging his point.
"You're right," I said. "However, we don't have any other leads right now."
Aurora had searched far and wide for the enemy base, but hadn't found it yet. Even though she could fly, she had a large area to search. Aurora, and the team of adventurers that I hired through Guildmaster Gale, had only managed to search a fraction of Mirkvale Forest. At this rate, it could take months before we found anything, and that was if we got lucky.
"We need some way to lower Roxie's suspicions," I said, pinching my chin between my index finger and thumb.
"You could always slap Lady Calla in public," Priestess Natille suggested.
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
"Excuse me?" Leroy said with a frown.
"No, wait," Cally said. "She might have a point."
That caught me off guard.
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"Think about it," Cally said. "The whole reason why Roxie approached me is because I made it obvious that I'm unhappy with 'serving' Gabriel. If he were to publicly humiliate me, that might alleviate her suspicions."
I gestured to her broken arm.
"I already 'forbade' you from healing your arm," I said. "Do I really need to act like a complete villain at this point?"
Cally raised an eyebrow at me.
"What?" she asked. "Do you care about others' opinions that much?"
"What? No. It's because you're my friend and I don't want to hurt you."
Cally gave me a brief smile.
"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I'm not going to let that get in the way of our mission," she said. "Besides, I can handle a little pain and humiliation."
I grimaced.
"I still feel uncomfortable doing this," I said.
Anna shrugged.
"I could always slap Cally for you." Anna grinned. "In fact, I think it might be fun."
Cally snorted.
"Try it and I'll freeze all your hair off," she said. "Let's see how much Gabriel likes you when you're bald."
Anna narrowed her eyes at Cally. Meanwhile, I stood there and imagined Anna with no hair.
Would that diminish my love for her? Not in the slightest. In fact, rubbing her bald head might make for an interesting tactile experience.
"To get back on point," Cally said, pulling me back to the present. "We have a way to gain Roxie's trust. Why not just go ahead with it?"
"Wait a moment," Leroy said. "We already know that Roxie is involved with the Order of the Infernal Star, or at least we suspect it. Why not just capture her? Why make things more complicated?"
I shook my head.
"We don't know if there are any others like her here in town," I said. "I'd rather deal with them all at once, instead of letting them remain in hiding. What if they attack us at an inopportune moment?"
Priest Jaime and Priestess Natille nodded in agreement.
"We don't know if Roxie knows anything useful," Priest Jaime said. "She could be a disposable pawn."
Leroy raised a hand, conceding the point.
"Well?" Cally asked, looking right at me. "What do you think?"
I sighed.
"Fine," I said. "Let's go with your plan."
Cally grinned.
"Excellent."
Cally and I put on our little performance the very next day. We decided to keep things simple and make it appear as if I decided to punish Cally for a minor transgression.
During breakfast, I ate at a restaurant near the inn and "forced" Cally to serve me despite her broken arm. Leroy stood nearby, acting as my bodyguard.
Wait a moment. Wasn't he just doing his job, since he was my actual bodyguard?
Regardless, forcing a young girl to serve me, one with a broken arm at that, earned me a lot of dirty looks from the other patrons. I sighed internally and made a point to never return to this place after we dealt with everything.
As Cally poured me some tea, she "accidentally" spilled it on me.
"You clumsy fool!" I shouted. "Look at what you've done!"
"I'm sorry, Lord Gabriel!" Cally said with a frightened expression on her face. "I didn't mean to!"
I backhanded her, knocking her away. Earlier, when we discussed the details of this plan, I offered to hold back. However, Cally told me to use as much strength as I needed. The more authentic, the better.
Cally stumbled to the ground, taking care not to land on her broken arm. Several of the other patrons stood up, ready to intervene.
"What?" I asked with a sneer. "You want to help her?"
Leroy drew his greatsword and glared at them. The patrons who stood up froze. Only a few of them were Third Ranked Awakened, and none of them matched Leroy in size.
Once again, his bulk proved useful.
"That's what I thought." I looked down at Cally, who hadn't moved since I backhanded her. "As for you, don't come back until you've reflected on your mistake."
With that, I tossed some gold sols onto the table and returned to the inn. Once we were in our rooms, I turned to Leroy.
"I didn't hit her too hard, did I?" I asked, a little worried.
Leroy shook his head.
"She'll be fine," he said.
I gave him a questioning look.
"I'm surprised," I said. "I thought you'd be more upset with me, considering your feelings for her."
Leroy blanched at this, before he turned away.
"I…" he started to say before pausing. "I apologize, my lord. As your bodyguard, I know I'm supposed to serve you wholeheartedly, but…"
Leroy trailed off.
"Don't worry," I said. "It's natural to fall in love with someone as amazing as Cally. You're fine." I paused. "But are you really okay with this?"
Leroy nodded.
"I trust that she knows what she's doing," he said.
I glanced down and noticed that he was clenching his fists.
Ah. It appeared that he wasn't as calm as he pretended. Well, let's hope this wasn't all in vain.
After I finished changing my clothes, my companions and I ventured into Mirkvale Forest without Cally. As before, we fought a monster and killed it, before bringing its corpse back to the Mirkvale Adventurers Guild.
Afterwards, we returned to the inn. There, we found Cally waiting for us. The moment she saw us, she grinned.
"I did it," she said. "Roxie wants me to lure you into an ambush."