Summoned To Have Tea With The Demon Lord, I Guess I'll Defeat Him

Chapter 16: Astringent

This is a legally-binding Adventuring Party Permit. All members of the party are to adhere to the following guidelines:

1. The party shall remain assembled for a period of no less than six (6) moon cycles.

2. Permission has been granted for members of the party to take on any quests received legally from the Adventurer's Guild, insofar as those quests do not violate the laws of whatever province they may be in.

3. No party member shall take a quest upon themselves alone.

4. There shall be no duels issued between members of the party.

5. As licensed adventurers, the party may request sanctuary in any Adventurer's Guild-affiliated inn for a fair and reasonable price.

6. Damages incurred to any persons or property during any quests will be paid out of the party's reward money.

7. Any spoils must be split fairly: 50% to the party leader and 50% to the other members.

 

 "How is that any fair?" Mamoru crosses his arms and frowns. "Are you sure you didn't have anything to do with writing this?"

  "I'm not so greedy—" I argue. He's not worth the breath it takes. "Keep going, Izumi."

  Her eyes scan the contract and she reads, "The violation of any term of this permit will result in the immediate issuance of a warrant for the arrest of the offending party member or members, and they will be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. As it is written, so it shall be obeyed by the undersigned."

  "And then it's our signatures," she finishes, rolling the scroll up and tying its ribbon back on.

  "You know, I was expecting a lot worse. For demons, they're pretty reasonable," I say.

  "How is forced adventuring reasonable?" Mamoru asks.

  "You two wanted to do it anyway. At least now we'll be doing it legally."

  I take a sip of my tea – an herbal blend that the bartender said was good for boosting your magical abilities. Even if I could replicate the barrier that I produced that one night, that's not my concern. There's a refreshing, minty flavor that makes all of the hearsay irrelevant.

  Izumi, free from her reading duties, has gravitated back to the quest board. There's no trace of breakfast left on her plate. Mamoru is eating more slowly. I can't tell if he's being picky or savoring the food of this new world.

  "It's still here!" Izumi cheers, pulling a familiar sheet of parchment from the wall and taking it back to our table with her.

  "The noble's missing daughter?" Mamoru finally begins to show interest in something, after all.

  "Lilah of House Windwood, age sixteen. Red hair, green eyes. Last seen—"

  "I know that name," I interrupt. "Not Windwood, but Lilah. She's one of the missing girls."

  Just one more after her and we'll have found everyone. I feel a fire ignite within me.

  "It's probably a common name, Hiyori."

  "What if it isn't? What if she's just like us?" I slam my hands down, jostling my mug and splashing tea on the table. "A foreigner named Lilah Murphy went missing, too."

  Now I'm starting to get the appeal of questing. It's like pulling a case file and hitting the pavement for some good, old-fashioned detective work.