The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 324: A Miserable Meal - Part 2

Chapter 324: A Miserable Meal - Part 2

Political? Kir bit back the spike of fury he felt at the implication that being forced to "advise" a slaver wasn’t political.

Jeviel continued, "I understand that you, like many in Norneau, have... acquired a certain belligerent quality in believing that the practices of people like Mr. Goldman are unnecessary. I would like to educate you on why you are wrong."

Kir pried his way in before the odious angel could continue. "With all due respect, I would think Heaven’s claim to higher morals would come with more respect for the people they say they protect."

Jeviel plucked a single slice of ham off of his pizza with a fork and chewed it, having used Kir’s interruption as a chance to sample his dish. Then he looked up. "Have you ever had pets, Professor?"

"No."

"Then I can see where you would find your misconceptions." He sampled a slice of pepper next. "Many wolfkin to the south, in the Plains, keep actual wolves. A couple might actually be seen as the leaders of a pack, even if there is no direct communication, there is a natural order that asserts itself. A higher-order being and many lower ones, working for mutual benefit."

"So you assert that the people of the Myriad are wolves as you would be to ’higher-order beings’."

"Exactly!" Jeviel was oblivious to Kir’s statement as a statement, seeming to interpret it as a question. "You are capable of understanding, but possessed of the wrong interpretation about what the truth of the relationship is. Were I not a diplomat, we would be enemies, but I consider myself your teacher more than such a banal simplification."

"And what is it you think you can teach me?" Kir asked, his fist clenching under the table.

"That we can work together for our mutual benefit! Heaven rules, and nothing can challenge that, and amidst rulers, there is some disagreement over how to look after our... packs. There are those in Heaven who see Norneau’s rise as an... anomaly. Something to be wiped off the map. But I see an opportunity. A new symbiosis."

Kir remained silent.

"You are wondering how, yes?"

Kir was not wondering why. He’d been shown the stick quite a few times, so it was time for the proverbial carrot.

"The key to this is to bring Norneau back into the fold. This... Ghostheart phase is simply a pretense, we both know that. By experimenting with abolition, Norneau has managed to absorb quite a population, and these quant little ’Goro factories’ are just a way for the city to benefit from the labor they bring. But you, Professor, have stumbled onto something that by rights would see any... conventional member of the Myriad elevated to Heaven."

"Programmable Magic," Kir said.

"Exactly! What we simply call ’scripting’ in manufacturing circles, you have recreated. And better yet, between your protege and yourself, you have done things with it that approach avenues Heaven doesn’t need, but which can be better used on Ayther. And what benefits Ayther benefits Heaven, one way or another."

Kir leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he linked his hands, his arms resting around his sandwich. "What do you want?"

Jeviel lay his fork aside and sat back. "Aggressive, I see, but that’s just your animal nature asserting itself. What I want is for Norneau to cease its interference in the slave and indenture markets. I will allow for the city to keep what they have already seized, of course, and in exchange I will make the city the next Aaru. It will perform an essential function on behalf of Heaven on the continent, and form the lynchpin of the future of Heaven-Ayther symbiosis."

"What function is that?" Kir asked.

Jeviel smiled. "There’s the person behind the wolf. We can come to an arrangement then?"

"Perhaps," Kir was content to let him think that.

"That, I will reveal in time. But I can personally guarantee your protege, and those who master your version of scripting will receive offers of elevation, once they come into Heaven’s service."

"What does that entail?"

"They’ll be made divine, of course. Less divine than us, but still far more capable than any mere mortal. It is Heaven’s greatest reward for those who provide loyal service, especially against Heaven’s enemies. Sadly, beastkin like yourself are... incompatible with the process... but through the name of your protege and any who come after her, you would live forever."

As a footnote to the type of people you consider more palatable to your control. Kir’s thoughts filled in.

Kir leaned forward just a bit more. "I still disagree."

A thin frown quirked Jeviel’s lips. No doubt he considered himself convincing, but he had nothing Kir wanted. "Disappointing. But we have time. So long as Norneau remains at peace, that is. I can protect this city-state for a while longer."

"Protect from what?" Lumin asked, and Kir heard just a hint of repressed snappiness in her voice.

Lifting a hand, Jeviel beckoned to the side of the room, and Kir looked to find that several individuals in stiff, black uniforms had accumulated at the door to the kitchens. They walked confidently to stand behind Jeviel on both sides, and one green-haired angel stowed his wings to sit next to Jeviel.

Several of the angels that remained standing - and all of them kept their wings out - had limbs covered in white material laced with gold... no, not covered. Made of. But if Heaven was so plentiful of power and resources, why not simply restore the limbs of those who lost them? Surely they had a corner of the production of ankhestis potions, which were more than capable of restoring limbs...

"Allow me to introduce Jassiel Eros. He is a new Executioner, and leader of the inspection team. They will be responsible for monitoring the Academy’s curriculum and ensuring its orthodoxy. Under my direction of course."

Jassiel said nothing, his face was a mask of stern disdain, and his eyes said he’d rather be anywhere but here.

"Come, nephew, don’t be unpleasant," Jeviel said with a bemused chuckle. "Try the food."

"I would hardly call anything here ’food,’" Jassiel said.

"You must excuse him. This was not his first choice of assignment, and diplomacy is not his strong suit."

"It’s not your strong suit either," Kir thought.

"There’s no mana in it," Jassiel said. "I would gain nothing."

That statement told Kir almost everything he needed to know about Jassiel.

Jeviel shrugged. "Do as you wish. But I for one find the textures... worthy of remark." He awkwardly forked a slice apart and lifted it with a bit of magic, dangling the slice over the empty plate where Tohn had been before landing it.

Jassiel let out a disgusted sneer as Jeviel turned back to Lumin and Kir.

"One day he will understand that the greatest victory one can achieve is avoiding the need for conflict... even if it’s difficult. To take those who are strong but misguided" he gestured at Kir "and lead them back to the light."

"The greatest victory one can achieve is to make your enemy regret ever challenging you at all; after she acknowledges your greatness," Jassiel countered.

She? That sounded specific.

Kir glanced at Lumin and saw that she was entirely calm in demeanor, but by the way her mana was practically still, she had to be furious. After all, a petulant brat was being put in charge of determining the fate of her Academy and by extension her city. And as she’d said before, she was the city.

In the contest of her hubris against Heaven’s, she was nothing. That left her a feeling Kir knew well. Wrath.

Thinking of a wrathful Lumin made Kir think of Amarena. He hoped she was alright... She’d helped him master his war form, only to disappear on her own quest for strength after the Siege of Norneau. He wondered if she still considered herself his lover like he did for her...

The rest of the miserable meal consisted of Jeviel patronizingly advising Jassiel while intermittently asking minor questions to others at the table. Largely there for show, Michelle took advantage of the situation to indulge in a half dozen glasses of different wines, while Jassiel picked at the slice that had been placed before him.

The two seemed like a perfectly paired match of hateful curmudgeons, and if not for Jeviel between them, Kir could imagine they’d be getting along famously.

Or as famously as "higher-order" and "lesser" beings could, to use Jeviel’s logic.

Kir sipped his water and looked over to find Kordia and Kassin deep in conversation. He wanted to reach out and touch her. To thank her just for being with him through this unpleasant encounter... but he couldn’t risk it.

The prospect of having to do this again next month... and the month after that... and for as many times as he needed to get Jeviel off his case, was sickening to him. Not because he hated angels for being what they were, but because he hated the idea that they thought he would ever become a cog in their order. An order that refused to see its own contradictions by thinking it was above them. An order that saw him as less than a person, even if he didn’t appear as his true self right now.

Two years of leaving his mark on Norneau had given him a lot more that was at risk than just his life. And as he remembered Tohn’s question, he knew that by introducing the concept of a firearm to the world, he’d let loose something that his enemies were seeing the advantage of. Even if his enemy didn’t state it, having a simple weapon that required only mana to use would be a way to rapidly create entire armies...

But if they were just now realizing that, then he had the advantage of still being ahead when it came to knowing exactly where that path could lead.

He leaned over to Lumin.

"I would like to discuss expanding the steel mill," he whispered, "When we’re alone."

"You and I are of a mind then. This cannot continue."

With those statements, they agreed.

It was time to arm the city.

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