The Villain Wants to Quit

A journey

Theo received the next mission from Dullahan the day after his blood was drawn.

"You will find this." Dullahan made a brief but firm statement as he handed Theo a parchment map. Dullahan's words left no option for failure.

Tucked in the map was a detailed drawing of a ring. It had a black stone similar to the earring Theo had already retrieved. It seemed like they were a set.

Theo's gaze moved to the map. He would have to travel far south.

"How long do I have to accomplish this mission?"

"Two months," Dullahan replied.

Theo almost winced.

Two months might sound like a long time for a mission, but traveling down to the region on the map would take that long. Much less the trip back.

He had to wonder if he was doomed for failure from the start.

"You will use a portal to get closer." Dullahan looked at Theo like he was an idiot.

He must have been in a good mood, though, because he didn't hit Theo.

Portals were a convenient mode of transportation, but they were also costly.

They also had insanely strict security. There was a reason Theo didn't usually use them.

Dullahan handed Theo a small pouch.

"Eating one of these an hour before using the portal will disguise your magic." There was no further explanation.

"I understand," Theo responded.

Theo wasn't looking forward to the trip, but he was relieved that he had been put on fetching errands lately. It was much preferable to-

"There's also a young, little country who pledged to help Lyresis should I attack, Dullahan cut off Theo's thoughts. "Make sure they don't dare to raise their heads."

A red circle marred the map. Theo assumed this was the country Dullahan was talking about.

"How do I punish them?"

"Surprise me," Dullahan said. "But make sure it is satisfactory. You know what will happen if it is not."

Theo's head nodded on its own.

Great. Now Theo would have to plan a theatrical act of terrorism while trying to minimize human damage. No big deal.

He was going to cry to Carrot and Scourge later.

Maybe Theo would complain to Marc, too.

"You are dismissed." Dullahan waved Theo away. "Leave this afternoon."

Theo managed to hide his frustration until he left Dullahan's presence and returned to Carrot.

"We have another go-and-fetch mission, but we have to throw in some terrorism," Theo said.

Carrot whickered in displeasure.

"Where and when?" Carrot asked.

"It's in Sanain. We leave tonight." Theo had stopped to grab rations on his way back and was already moving to pack Carrot's saddle bags and his own bag.

"I can't believe I have to carry you all the way to Sanain." Carrot acted as if he was ready to cry tears of blood.

"We're using a portal," Theo said. "We just have to get to the capital. Once we're in Sanain, we will have to move around a lot, but it won't be anything too different than usual."

"I am happy to see a new place." Scourge stretched on Carrot's back. "I want to see all of Mortal Theo's realm."

"Don't make it sound like I'm the evil overlord. Honestly, calling it my realm." Theo looked at his arms. He might have goosebumps from Scourge's statement.

"Are we going to meet Marc while we are in the capital?" Scourge asked.

"Yeah, we might as well." Theo nodded. "It would be good to let him know I will be out of touch for a while, too."

"I wonder if Giselle will be there." Scourge fluttered his wings. "Giselle is nice. She feeds me lots of food."

"Giselle?" Theo asked.

"She's the witch with blue hair," Carrot said. "You saw her at the hospital."

"Ah, yes, I remember. The one restraining Marie."

"Giselle is very sensible," Carrot said. "She's the most tolerable human I've met."

"What about me?"

"You will drive me to an early grave," Carrot said, rolling his eyes. "I swear my coat is going grey because of you."

After Theo packed, he tapped the ring on his hand four times.

Since the mission was so lengthy, the oath around his neck probably wouldn't pester him about time, so he could afford to travel to the capital more slowly than usual.

Soon Marc's reply came. Thankfully he would meet Theo.

***

Despite traveling leisurely, Theo and Carrot arrived at the capital one day early.

The trio decided to fill their extra time with some sightseeing. Theo felt a little guilty for playing around and enjoying himself, but – he smiled as Scourge peeped out of a pocket – some sightseeing was good for the little kid.

Mortal Theo! Scourge was communicating with Theo telepathically like he did when he was first summoned. It was an excellent way to avoid too much attention. Can we get some of that candy?

Theo followed Scourge's gaze. There was a woman selling sugar candies.

Scourge was enthralled with watching the woman sculpt cute candy from sugar.

Yes. Theo looked at the candies. All of them were too big for Scourge to handle.

"Excuse me," Theo said, "would you be able to make one of these dragons but a bit smaller?"

"Of course." The woman smiled.

Theo handed over the amount of money posted on the woman's sign, and she began to deftly sculpt a tiny candy dragon from molten sugar.

Scourge squirmed in Theo's pocked from sheer excitement.

When the woman was done, she wrapped the candy dragon in waxed paper and tied it close with a bit of twine. Theo gave his thanks and tucked the candy in his pockets.

It is amazing. It looks like me. Scourge unwrapped the candy before wrapping it back up, only to unwrap it again. I cannot decide if I should eat this.

I'm glad you're happy with it. Theo smiled before placing a hand on Carrot's neck. "Let me know if there's something you want to see, too."

Mortal Theo's realm is too fabulous! I am never leaving this realm. Scourge had already given in to temptation and loudly crunched on the candy.

Theo raised an eyebrow at the tiny dragon's words.

Surely the dragon didn't actually mean that. He wasn't going to babysit the dragon forever, was he?

Now that Theo thought about it, Scourge had never mentioned anything about his home.