A Useful Demon Clerk (7)
My words made the demons' faces go rigid. Ammugar in particular looked like he might crumble at a touch.
"Pelle..."
"Please... anything but that...!"
Ammugar flattened himself on the floor, pleading desperately. He must've thought I was demanding Pelle's head.
"I'm not done talking yet, Ammugar."
Ammugar's head snapped up. I turned to Pelle and said, "I'm taking Pelle with me."
"Taking her... what do you mean by that, sir...?"
"Back to the inn, to work as staff."
A chill silence settled over the office. Ammugar blinked in confusion, Orkog stared at Pelle, and Pelle stared at me.
To be clear upfront, I harbored no ill will toward them. Whether they buried the dead Demon King's corpse under flowers or stuffed it and stuck it in the town square for all to see, what did I care? Even if it somehow resurrected, I'd just lop its head off again—easy pickings for a punk like that.
Still, a bit of theater was necessary. This woman named Pelle clearly hated my guts. She'd gone to the trouble of recovering the Demon King's body and even laying flowers on it, so naturally, as the guy who'd killed him, I was enemy number one. No way she'd volunteer to follow me just because I asked nicely.
So I had to corner her first—push her right to the edge of the cliff. Then, when you extend a hand to someone with their back against the wall, they'll grab it out of sheer desperation.
Ammugar stammered as he opened his mouth. "What exactly would she be doing at the inn...?"
"Mainly managing the ingredient storeroom. Preservation spells to keep things from rotting, releasing them for cooking."
"Ah...! Well, that does sound perfect for Pelle..."
He sounded impressed, but Ammugar still looked reluctant.
"Worried about losing staff?"
"No, sir... We can always hire more... But they're fellow demons, after all..."
"So you're uneasy about putting her out in the cold."
"Ah... Yes..."
From how he'd stood his ground against the Holy Sword's glow earlier, begging for mercy, it was clear Ammugar cared deeply for these two. Made sense—after betraying the Demon King and fleeing, with nowhere else to turn, these were his only kin left.
But that was their problem, not mine.
"You must've made promises to them, right?"
"Yes, sir... We did..."
Ammugar glanced at Pelle with a heavy heart. She spat at me, "Don't I get a say in this?"
"Doesn't seem like the kind of situation where the party's opinion matters much."
"I'm not going."
Ammugar and Orkog flinched and turned to her. I regarded Pelle with a relaxed expression.
"Fine. Then I'll kill all three of you here and swing by the Demon King's castle on my way out. Ever heard of dismemberment and public display?"
"Don't threaten me. I'm not refusing blindly."
Pelle trembled with fear but held her ground firmly. "Let's make this clear first. Do I get paid for working at the inn?"
"Obviously."
"Good."
Pelle paused, as if organizing her thoughts. "That method you told the boss about earlier? We can't do it."
"Why not? With demon powers, beating up a few humans should be a piece of cake."
"It's not that simple. We can't handle the fallout from causing a scene."
"I already explained that."
"It's not just about avoiding the law."
I shot her a look demanding elaboration.
"Nobody runs a business on pure capital. Most leverage debt."
"And?"
"Even if we wipe out the loan sharks your way and dodge assault charges, we might never borrow again."
"Why?"
"Word'll spread: horned demons showed up, snatched contracts, beat people, and stiffed the debt. As special oversight subjects, we'd get nabbed fast."
Pelle had a point. As special oversight targets, violence itself was a huge risk. And stiffing debts like that? Rumors would spread, making future loans impossible down the line.
"So what do you want?"
Pelle eyed me for a moment before speaking. "Take over our business."
A second icy silence fell. I could guess what she was driving at.
"Put all your debts in my name, then have me smash the loan sharks and wipe the slate clean?"
"Exactly."
"What about the bank loans?"
"You'll handle paying those off."
Ammugar startled and gawked at Pelle.
"How do I know I can trust you lot?"
"You're taking me, right? If the money doesn't come in on time, kill me. Kill the boss and chief too, and dig up the Demon King's grave."
"Haha... that's rich. But if you ditch the business, how the hell do you plan to make money?"
"I'll be working at the inn."
Her sheer audacity cracked me up.
"Loan sharks aren't that sloppy."
"Doesn't matter. We just bolt far away."
"Don't special oversight types need permission to relocate?"
"Only with debts. If you take over, we're debt-free on paper—free to move anywhere."
Pelle finished and stared at me, eyes saying think about my plan.
"What if I say no?"
"I won't go with you. Kill me right here. Then you'll lose your shot at an ever-fresh ingredient storeroom forever."
Her reckless gamble brought a smile to my face. They couldn't flee secretly because of their debts and oversight status. But if I took over the business and the debts, they'd be free to go anywhere, no strings. I'd become the nominal owner, physically negotiate with the sharks to null the loans, leaving only bank debt—which they'd diligently repay, staking their lives as collateral.
In the end, they wanted me as their shield. This Pelle woman... bold, sharp-minded. She'd be very useful.
"Fine. We'll do it that way."
"Uwaaack!"
Ammugar and Orkog, who'd been eavesdropping silently, let out shrieks and hugged each other.
"You cool with that? Your subordinate slaving away unpaid to pay off debts?"
"Ahh... yes... We'll do our utmost..."
"Cut the bullshit. Changing ownership's a hassle, so I'll just pay off the bank loans now."
"I-Is that... okay, sir...? That's a lot of money..."
Of course it was a fortune to them, but pocket change to me. Barely more than a month's pension... Poor demons, trembling over pennies, accomplishing nothing. Kinda pitiful.
I took Ammugar to the bank. Met the loan officer, tossed down some gold, and said I'd issue a payment guarantee.
A payment guarantee's basically a promise to send the cash by a certain date—since I wasn't some nomad hauling my whole fortune around.
But the banker was a stickler. "Hmm... A payment guarantee, you say..."
He eyed me up and down skeptically. Fair enough—a cloaked sword-for-hire bum suddenly promising to pay later? Absurd.
I didn't want delays or hassle, so I went with an effective approach. "Then run a credit check."
I pulled my ID from my pocket and handed it over. The banker sneered, glanced at me dismissively, then snatched it up.
He read it, eyes widening in shock, and dropped it.
The banker scrambled off his chair, scooped it up reverently with both hands. "This should cover the guarantee, right?"
"Y-Yes... Of course... Right away, sir..."
With the partial repayment receipt and guarantee from the bank, I headed to City Hall. Met the jurisdictional clerk and requested business closure.
Handed over the docs; he read them, no questions asked, and processed it. Stamped the closure on the business registry and paid the fee.
Ammugar blinked at how smoothly it went. "It was this quick?"
"They gonna micromanage every pissant outfit like yours?"
"Ahh..."
Then to another department for residence relocation permits for Ammugar and the rest. Submitted the closure cert and bank papers—smooth sailing again.
Ammugar watched the whole thing, dumbfounded. "So... it was that simple..."
"You idiot... You'd never even cross the threshold."
That wrapped all official procedures. Ammugar's business was cleanly closed, debt-free, free to relocate anywhere.
"Now go pack your shit. I'll handle the rest."
"Ah, yes... Understood."
Ammugar headed back to the shop. I sifted through the stack of docs I'd brought—loan contracts from about ten illegal lenders.
Whoever ditched them was a real madman. Pulling shady loans like this, against demons no less... Didn't even consider they'd get hunted down.
Well, that's the kinda brain it takes to pull this crap.
Time to visit each one and settle with polite conversation? As long as the original contracts were with the lenders, they'd track 'em anywhere. Had to snag those to end it.
I headed for the street crawling with loan shark joints.