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“Oh... umm... hmm...” mumbled Apep “I guess, the first thing would be to find out what happened to Zuhra’s previous love interest, or no, I guess first thing is find out if they are a man or not. That’d be the easiest way to tell if I have a chance at all. Then afterwards... maybe try and sound out Zuhra to see how committed she is to avoiding romance? I mean, while her position is fairly typically taken by individuals who never marry it might just be because she’s about the same age as Jara and I...

“Um... hmm... what else... I guess maybe just some advice on how to approach this mess? I don’t want to pressure anyone with my parents but I can’t exactly move around the city all that freely even if it’s just to visit Jara’s house without my parents asking questions. We already see each other once or twice a week and asking for extra visits without giving a reason would make my parents suspicious and while they might be fine, Jara’s won’t be.”

“Ok that all makes sense... just... is there a reason you haven’t just talked to Jara about all this, both to help with Zuhra and to make sure she’s alright with being a back up plan I suppose?” asked Kat.

“Um... no?” said Apep awkwardly.

Kat groaned internally, *Lily. How should we deal with this? Like do we accept his deal and then start offering advice? Because like... the first thing I want to do is point out that I’M asexual and very happy with my relationship. Pretty sure if you actually got asked out I’d have either been miserable as I tried to be happy for you or actively sabotage their efforts. I’m just not sure how I trust that Jara isn’t interested at all.*

[Well Kat this is more YOUR wheelhouse than mine. If I’d known you were asexual I’m not really sure what would have happened to my crush. Well, if I found out really early on I probably would have tried, and maybe succeeded in stamping it out before it grew but I can’t be certain of that. If I found out later... I’m not sure. It worked out well for us but we got to cheat.]

.....

*Well, this world MUST have magic so they might be able to cheat somehow. Still, I won’t say that Jara’s certainly interested in him. She seems to be rather sure of herself. The only thing I want to know is why she hasn’t tried to steer her parents away from marriage with Apep*

[My guess is that she knows Apep has a crush on Zuhra and is keeping the parents focused on a marriage between their families so that none of them catch on to that little fact. I can’t really think of any other reason. If she was actually interested in Apep just based on what we know she probably would have said something. Especially before Zuhra came into the picture. She had a lot of time to set things up before she got a personal maid. I mean... jealousy is weird and she might not have noticed till he found someone else to love...]

[But I struggle to think Apep could be friends with someone who was that manipulative. Or perhaps, so poor at it. She seems like an intelligent girl and the chance of her not preventing Apep’s crush before it got to the point of summoning demons is unlikely if she was both smart and aware enough of her sexual preferences before she should have. Which is a little weird. I mean, I didn’t know I was gay till I started to crush on my best friend.]

*So we accept the Contract and then we ask him about it right?*

[Is there a reason you don’t just ask first?]

*Sort of. The big one is that I’m pretty sure I’d get in trouble for solving a problem without making a Contract. Not certain, but I think it’s likely enough that I don’t want to risk it. Don’t necessarily want to ask D.E.M.O.N.S for confirmation either because then we it’ll KNOW I’m thinking of working my way around Contracts. The second reason is that I’m interested in this city. I want to take a look around even if we solve things easily.*

[I’m surprised Kat. That’s almost sneaky of you]

*Well... I mean... I’ve never really heard of a city like this. I can’t even imagine what it looks like. On top of that, I want to see how this plays out. Even if Apep just asks Jara and things get solved I want to see the aftermath as well.*

[Well, this is your show Kat]

“I see. So, will that be the Contract then? Determining the gender and status of Zuhra’s previous love, discovering what chances you have with her, and offering advice for resolving the situation?” asked Kat.

“Er... yes... um... I Apep, heir to the 3rd of the Ten do so accept your terms,” said Apep, finally revealing his name to the group. Kat wasn’t surprised at all when an explosion of glowing blue chains that looked to be dripping shot out from Apep and tried to bind her. What was interesting to Kat though, was how they interacted with her. Apep’s chains were like and endless wave, more and more pouring off him with every passing moment.

Despite that, as Kat stood there she could feel they lacked will. Lacked resolve. Perhaps if she was weak willed herself or still Rank 1 there was a chance at a death by a thousand cuts. Instead, she almost felt like the chains were flowing off her as they tried to wrap themselves around her body and soul. Kat could tell that if she really wanted, she could push back these chains so far that the binding on her was practically non-existent.

Kat did honestly contemplate doing so, just to see what would happen. A test of the limits of the Contract. It was a question she hadn’t thought to ask before. Could the binding be nullified? Was there some minimal level of binding required for a Contract? Kat stilled that impulse though, pushing back on the chains only slightly. As interesting a test as it might have been...

She wasn’t willing to make a young boy bear the burden for that testing. Even if he was somewhat close in age to herself. On top of that, Kat was actually quite on board with this particular task. She was interested in the city. Interested in meeting Jara, another asexual if Apep’s words were anything to go by. Interested in finding out more about Zuhra and why she would sign up to be a maid so late in life. Kat could feel her own curiosity burning beside Lily’s and knew that even if Apep’s bindings on her were so weak a slight breeze could break them... it wouldn’t matter.

Much stronger chains were binding her to this task. Those of curiosity. The fact that these chains were entirely self-inflicted making them all the stronger. Kat wasn’t sure what she’d be paid for this, but whatever it was, it was too much. Kat knew she’d be willing to do this job purely for the interest factor even without Lily’s own intrigue being added in. The blue chains sunk in, weak, but powerful in their own way not as a true force, but as a reminder of the greater one.

The lightshow started to die down as Kat breathed out easily, her eyes dancing with delight and the slightest touch of purple flames from her resistance. Apep meanwhile was starring at the open space and patting his chest, as if trying to find where those chains had escaped from. His hands roamed his shirt, carefully looking for holes and finding nothing of course. “Woah...” he whispered.

[He’s a bit like a puppy. So easily fascinated by everything and easily side tracked]

*Well, I’m more of a cat person so...* Lily found herself purring in her response as she pressed herself into Kat.

[I should not be finding that statement so enjoyable. It is also a horrible pun, but I can feel the love behind it.]

“Well, Apep,” said Kat who waited a few moments for the young boys gaze to return to her. When it did, he quickly hid his hands behind his back as if somehow that would obscure his previous actions, “I feel like the first step in this investigation is probably just to talk to Jara. She’d probably know at least some of Zuhra’s past. Have you done that?”

Based on Apep’s shocked expression, Kat was going to go with... ‘no’.