"Why are you here, Belian? I know we requested support and all that, but did you really need to come in particular? Aren't there more pressing matters for you to take care of or something?"
The red skinned man frowned as he looked at Jahi, who was leaning against the table and watching as the various Demons he brought with him began to disperse slowly, making their ways around the hall to inspect it and talk to their fellows who had been here longer than them, wanting to catch up and learn everything they can before we went back out.
"Ooh... that's cold, my dear niece~! Can I not just be a concerned man worried for the safety of his charges?"
"Sure, but it'd be more honest to say you're worried about your skin than ours, isn't that right?"
Chuckling mirthlessly, the man rolled his eyes and turned towards Mary, who was still looking around in awe at all of the new Demons here, as well as being captivated by the rather tall, handsome, dangerous man in front of her... though I was thankful to see that there was just respect in her eyes, and not hopeful lust like she thought she was in some book...
"Mary Ixan, correct? The woman acting as Custodian for this once... prosperous city?"
"Ah? Oh, um... yes, that is correct Lord Belian..!"
Startled, she looked up into this brown eyes before blinking a few times as he said "Well, you've done an excellent job so far, Custodian Mary. I do believe many of your fellows would have either given up or lost control of their people early on, and yet you've managed to keep them all together and hopeful this entire time. It's commendable."
"Uh... I-It was nothing much, my Lord, just... w-what I was supposed to do..?"
He chuckled again before adding "You went above and beyond, Custodian Mary, truly you did. But for now, might I have a moment alone with my nieces and the others?"
Mary nodded and bowed, taking a few steps back still facing us before turning and retreating away, her curiosity apparent but not overriding her manners as she gave us the space that was requested.
"Now, to start, I think I should begin with the obvious. Of course I am here, because in your letter you informed me that there was not one, but two Fiends within this Dungeon. I am NOT going to tell Chordeva OR the Empress that I let you go alone whilst I knew of that information. Wait...
let me correct myself and say I am NOT going to tell Ria or Lorelei that I let their daughters go into a dangerous situation that I knew about. I personally like my skin where it is, my blood in a liquid state, and my organs working properly. So... yes, I am here, and no, there is not anything more important than that."
His voice was quiet enough that the humans who were trying to eavesdrop couldn't, but still audible to us with heightened hearing, something that made it clear that there was going to be some important things to discuss soon enough, but for now...
"Is it too late to remind you that we took care of a Fiend on our own without your help before? Does that not qualify us to do this on our own? And besides, do I also need to remind you that Kat has an Arch Fiend on a leash following her around?"
Belian opened his mouth to reply, only to pause as Cali's voice filled the air, the seductive twinge making it hard to ignore as she said "Ooh, that's kinky~! The puppy walking me like a puppy..?"
Exchanging glances, we all decided that we needed to ignore her instead, with me receiving most of the looks as they silently asked 'are you going to say something?', which caused me to just wave my hand for Belian to continue.
"That is something I took into consideration, yes, and decided that I still like my skin where it is. I... don't think YOU all understand how terrifying Ria and Lorelei are, or how swiftly a single word from them causes both Chordeva AND the Empress to deliver me to them on a golden, bejeweled platter. So... that is amazing that you've done that, however I will be your chaperone going forwards."
Jahi just groaned and rolled her eyes, while Satanya pursed her lips and stared at Belian with a slightly irritated expression, both Demonesses making their dislike of that statement known at the same time.
"Besides that, you have only fought Fiends one at a time before, and while Ka and Nua Fiends despise one another, all Fiends will work together to continue living; they might not always be the brightest, but they will fight for survival no matter what. So this is going to be an entirely different battle if they decide to fight together against you all. That is why I am here... primarily.
My other reason is a simple one; the Empress wants you all back by the end of a week. Well, you four. I would say why exactly, but..."
His lips curled into a wide grin as the man donned an expression that only seemed to personify his race entirely; something that was extremely demonic and rather creepy as he leaned down and continued speaking, his voice taking an excited, yet conspiratorial tone as he said "That would ruin the fun, now wouldn't it~?"
That grin disappeared as quickly as it arrived when he stood back up to his full height and donned his usual mask, his tone switching as well, acting like he hadn't just done that.
"So that means you girls have a full week ahead of you to do as much as you can before you have to return, so make the most of it, hm? Whatever you don't harvest will be harvested by us after you leave, and if you want it, well, you'll just have to buy it from us~! Until then though, whatever you lot find is yours to keep; a gift from me to you."
"And what does it cost, hm? I find it hard to believe a Beliali gives something away for free."
Belian and Satanya both gave Jahi a half glare before sighing, not disputing that claim at all when Belian answered "Not much, just that you don't mention any of what I just said to the people I said those things about? That's all, really."
His words made all four of us grin at one another before we looked back at the poor red skinned man, unable to help ourselves as we spoke in unison, causing his eyes to go wide when he heard """"We'll think about it~!""""