What is love? It is war.
Following Sebas’s advice, I decided to invite both Alicia and Mariana to join me for the demon summoning.
Tell me, are you familiar with the "suspension bridge effect"?
It’s a psychological phenomenon where someone experiencing a racing heart due to fear or anxiety mistakenly attributes that physical thrill to romantic attraction toward the person they’re with at the time.
Demon summoning was an inherently dangerous undertaking. Consequently, I figured it would serve as a perfectly effective "one-summer experience" to deepen our bonds.
"What do you think of my plan, Sebas?"
"An excellent idea, Young Master."
He called it an excellent idea! Success!
Having secured Sebas’s approval, I immediately went to fetch the two girls, who were in the middle of tea. Before long, we were gathered in the mansion’s basement to perform the ritual.
"I wondered what was happening when you suddenly dragged us down here, but a demon summoning...?" Alicia muttered, holding her head in her hands.
"D-D-Demon summoning? Hwaaa..." Mariana adjusted her glasses with a trembling finger, though her eyes betrayed a certain scholarly spark. Alicia let out an even deeper sigh when she noticed Mariana’s burgeoning interest.
"This magic is practically taboo, isn't it? It’s fascinating, but is it really okay? Won't we be charged with a crime for doing something like this?" Mariana asked.
"There is no issue here in the Brave Territory," Sebas chimed in with a helpful clarification.
He was right. Since even enemy nations practiced it, there was no specific ban. In fact, most countries didn't bother forbidding it.
"Demons never listen to a word you say anyway," I added. "The only thing they ever achieve is their own self-destruction."
A demon was a demon through and through; they were fundamentally incapable of obedience. They acted solely on their own whims—pleasure or displeasure—and thus, their paths always led to ruin.
The same applied to Jelasis. He would self-destruct eventually. If he had the mental fortitude to endure the constant demonic whispers in his ears, he might last a while, but based on his recent state, I doubted it. His mind was already so fractured that the demon’s voice probably just felt like a pleasant melody to him.
Good grief. A person who refuses to listen to reason is more of a monster than any demon.
"And you want us to experience this because...?" Alicia asked, her voice trailing off.
"The goal isn't to summon one and make a contract. It's to learn how to kill them."
"Hoh-hoh. The one being summoned won't be very pleased about that," Sebas chuckled.
Alicia let out another small sigh at the casual banter between Sebas and me.
"It’s incredible that you can perform a demon summoning so nonchalantly..." Mariana observed.
"That is the nature of the Brave Territory," Alicia replied. "I suppose I’d forgotten that for a moment."
Since Mariana seemed more intrigued than terrified, she clearly had a high aptitude for life in the Brave Territory.
"You two, please take these," Sebas said, handing something to Alicia and Mariana. They were smooth, white, polished stones.
"What are these?"
"They’re beautiful. They have a strange texture to them."
"They are called White Agate. They will protect your minds from a demon's temptations."
I see. Since I couldn't protect them if a demon invaded their mental worlds, Sebas had provided insurance.
"Nice work, Sebas. Where's mine?"
"Hoh-hoh. There isn't one for you, Young Master."
"I had a feeling you'd say that, but did you have to be so blunt?"
"Considering this serves as your demon-slaying training, do you really wish to fight while relying on such a crutch?"
"Fair enough. I don't need it."
I already knew how to handle things once they entered my mental world. All I needed was a definitive way to kill them in the physical one.
"These stones were specifically crafted for the wives of House Brave, given our many enemies, to be used only in the event of an emergency," Sebas explained.
"Is that so?" I hadn't spent much time with my mother, so I was in the dark about family heirlooms like that.
"It happened long ago," Sebas said, his eyes drifting toward the past. "There was a time when the Lord of that era was murdered by his own wife after she was seduced by a demon."
"Sebas... just how old are you?" Alicia asked tentatively.
"Hoh-hoh. Having served this family for generations, I have simply become privy to such historical matters."
He spoke of the distant past with such nostalgia that I couldn't help but wonder about his age as well. Had he really been serving House Brave for that long? I’d have to remember to thank him properly later.
"Well then, shall we begin the summoning? Miss Mariana, do you know what is required for such a ritual?" Sebas asked.
"Oh! Um... an offering!" Mariana replied, looking like a student in the middle of a pop quiz. She pushed up her glasses and continued. "Specifically, blood and organs are required! Human parts are preferred. I’ve read that if one attempts to use animal parts instead, the demon becomes enraged. There are records of incidents where everyone present was slaughtered because they tried to cut corners with the sacrifice!"
"A perfect answer."
"Ehehe... Fuhehe... Alicia, did you hear? Sebas-san praised me!"
"That’s nice, Mariana... Wait, so if we want to make it angry, we should just use an animal sacrifice?" Alicia asked, catching on quickly.
"Lady Alicia is also correct. My, you are both quite brilliant."
Being praised by Sebas actually seemed to make Alicia look a bit happy.
"But a demon that appears for a simple animal sacrifice probably won't be much of a challenge," I mused.
If the demon got angry and lashed out at its surroundings, it wouldn't be good, but I figured using my own blood would call forth something much more substantial.
"Let’s use my blood—"
"Absolutely not, Ragna."
Alicia grabbed my shoulder with a vice-like grip, and before I knew it, her taming collar had manifested around my neck. Whimper.
I was genuinely curious to see what kind of demon would respond to my blood, but given how dangerous it was, I supposed I’d have to yield.
"In that case, I have the fresh carcass of a monster caught just this morning," Sebas said.
He produced a massive body from his storage space with a heavy thud. It was an Orc Lord, the creature that stood at the very top of the hierarchy of Orcs inhabiting the Yudaina Mountain Range.
"It’s... it’s huge," Alicia stammered, looking up at the three-meter-tall giant.
"It’s an Orc Lord, after all."
"Even without human blood, this is an incredible sacrifice..."
"You think so?" I asked.
The Orc Lord was certainly a threat, but in the Yudaina Mountain Range, it was only a mid-tier creature in the ecosystem. There were far more horrific predators lurking in the deeper regions.
"Hwaa... it’s my first time seeing one. It really is enormous. If I remember correctly, the testicles from one of these can be traded for an incredibly high price, right?"
"Mariana! Don't say things like that! ...Good grief." Alicia looked off into the distance and sighed as Mariana adjusted her glasses to get a better look at the Orc Lord’s crotch. Alicia was sighing an awful lot today.
"Now, Young Master. Please summon it."
"Roger that."
I stepped in front of the magic circle. If I recalled correctly, the incantation was: Come, dweller of the otherworld who desires this realm; I shall now offer a portion of the world you seek... or something like that.
I decided to see if I could do it without the chant.
I funneled my magic power into the circle, saturating the Orc Lord at its center. The magic circle began to pulse with a sickly reddish-black light.
"Oh!"
The Orc Lord's carcass began to liquefy, dissolving and being sucked into the center of the ritual. The magic power within the circle churned violently, and I felt the reality of the space being replaced by something else. A faint, humanoid figure appeared in the center.
It was a man with green hair, dressed in a formal tailcoat.
"Hmm. To summon me with chantless magic... you are quite the— Now, state your wish. What do you seek from me, this Amaimo— Gack! Farewell!"
The demon vanished instantly.
Wait... Amaimo? Like a sweet potato?