We all stood in silence as one side waited for the other to make the first move, it's either they agree to my terms or they don't. I, of course, refuse to speak any more, adding unnecessary details to what I just proposed is blatantly pointless and counterproductive.

  Whatever is going on in the minds of the four people in front of me is a mystery, but my best guess is that they're thinking I'm not bluffing and will take action once things get out of hand. Which I will.

  "How about we all just calm down for the time being?" Flutt suggested with a small smile, is he the neutral party in all of this? It would make sense if he is, he's one of the better priests in this village and is definitely feeling empathetic towards everything that's happened so far.

  And yes, that includes all the adventurers that I killed.

  A part of me understands why he would feel pity— they were just doing their job or something. — but the larger parts refuse to give in to the guilt, those adventurers were going to do worse things than just killing to my entire family.

  Am I supposed to feel bad for those same people? Mercy and empathy has its place, but so does violence.

  Flutt wasn't the neutral party, he was the guy who tries to convince everyone that we should all be peaceful and not hurt each other, which means that anyone stupid enough to listen to him will lose the upcoming fight.

  Was this what Folsan was betting on? That I would somehow reminisce about my connection with Flutt and have a change of heart halfway through the negotiations? What a complete and utter dumbass. I'm starting to actually believe that the guy might actually be insane.

  Which he is, he definitely is. Yes. Definitely.

  "Yes, let's calm down." I say with the casualness and confidence of a tiger tracking prey, Flutt's argument works to my benefit.

  See, the problem with having people like Flutt on your side is that he will side with the enemy if they agree with him, which I just did. Now? The other three would be forced to do two things: continue "pestering" me and possibly lose an ally and ruin their image of being the good guys in all this, or they can agree and we all negotiate on even grounds.

  Both outcomes worked for me, which is why I waited for Folsan to start talking. Any second now, he's gonna pick one of the two options.

  "Calm down? Flutt, do you not see that there's a demon in our midst?!" The head priest pointed at me, as attention dawned, I tried my best to keep my face stoic.

  What a persistent bastard, guess I should have expected that he'd pick the third option, and that's to get Flutt back to their side by arguing with something a priest could never bend against: their own religion.

  Of course he'd call me a demon, of course he'd tell Flutt to be more vigilant, effectively making the priest biased against us, even if it's just subconscious, the fact of the matter is, Flutt's usefulness is starting to change.

  And so, this means I need to tread with caution.

  "Okay, demon, I said as much." Lowering myself should make Flutt pity me right? I mean, Folsan expected me to go to their side and listen to their arguments because of the time I spent with Flutt, so what if I do the same? "Flutt, you don't have to defend me, I'm a demon, evil incarnate—"

  "YOU'RE NOT!"

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  Holding back my growing grin took a lot out of me, heh, this guy watched me grow and basically kept himself by my side during my entire training as an acolyte, so why would he believe Folsan's claims of me being a demon? Our connection goes both ways, and now, he's getting back to our side.

  My glare meet's the head priest's and we both lock into a heated staring contest for a single moment before it breaks apart and we focused on getting Flutt to sway to our side again.

  Flutt being the first thing we fight on is kinda ironic in my opinion, I mean, these guys expected the priest to make things easier for them! Not the opposite! Who would have expected that he's actually the weakest link?!

  "Flutt, do not let your emotions sway you." Folsan, ever the hypocrite, warned his most loyal, pure, and devoted priest of emotional instability. "I understand that you have raised her, which is why I feel your pain, as I was also there."

  Nope. False. Nada. Is he just pulling lies out of his ass? Seriously? He was never there for anyone.

  "But Flutt, you shouldn't let your time together cloud your judgement." The head priest continued, pretty much revealing his plans to everyone in the room.

  Laself realized it, Wardcruncha realized it, and the other two people on Folsan's side realized it, their expressions revealed this much.

  The only one who didn't realize why he's here in the first place is Flutt himself, who is, of course, still trying to get everybody to calm down. Will it ever work? No, not really, but I can play along when doing so gets me what I want in the end.

  "She..." Hesitation? Flutt? Really? We just started! Don't sway now!

  "He's right, Flutt." I smile lightly. "There's nothing wrong with admitting it." Hopefully his feelings do the opposite?

  "No. It is wrong."

  Yayyy...

  This back and forth is gonna be exhausting, isn't it? You know what? I'm ending this, I'm placing a card on the table and forcing these guys to defend this early.

  "Then what about Folsan's words? He knows better than anyone doesn't he?" I smirked when I saw his face morph into something ugly. Did it hit your ego? I hope so. Asshole know-it-all. "And he's the head priest, you should be following him, are you saying that he's wrong?"

  "Flutt, she's whispering things to you—"

  "YES, and no..." Flutt said weakly, he looked at me with such a soft gaze for a moment that I almost felt bad for using him like this. "We don't know the whole truth!"

  Andddd now I don't feel bad, oh Flutt! You pure little thing! Thank you!

  "Then that should be our next step forward isn't it? To know who between us is telling the truth, who's lying? Me or these guys? As far as I'm aware I was away, I don't know what my family did to make them attack us like this." My words were finished by a casual shrug.

  "They..." Aldalama, the village chief, started talking but I cut him off.

  "They? I thought I was the demon!" I fake a glare at him, so that's how this all works huh? Aldalama and Nadoson focus on my family with their army of guards and hired adventurers combined while Folsan attacks me through social pressure?

  Did they know they couldn't fight me head on? And yet they still decided to do this? Really?

  "Don't drag my family into this." Well, now at least I know who's responsible for all those adventurers. The fake glare that I'm giving Aldalama is pretty tame compared to what I'm currently thinking, once I get my hands on him...

  "R-right! You're the demon!" The village chief pointed at me, did he think he was intimidating? I just want to pummel his face into a pulp, more than anything. "Flutt! Don't listen to her words!"

  "Yes, Flutt. Don't listen." My voice has turned cold, monotone. I smiled at Flutt, why did he flinch? "I think it's best that we talk about this another day, you know, give you all some time to prepare, who knows? Maybe one of your strategies will work?"

  My eyes travel to Ogarez, I realize now that the executioner isn't here for negotiations, but protection. He can't really fight me though. "Maybe you'll be able to beat me by then?"

  "You—"

  "[Wind Blast]!" The spell didn't act as fuel for my dagger nor was it meant to be some kind of threat, I simply cast it.

  I didn't react even as the powerful gust of wind I just unleashed threw Ogarez to the wall, the man struck the wall and fell to the floor, he's getting up slowly, which I guess is proof of just how tough executioners are.

  "And you, maybe you'll actually put up a decent argument this time?" My eyes meet with Folsan's. "You know, like you expected, you were like a fish out of water earlier, hope it gets better soon?"

  "You bitch!" Folsan screamed, what an idiot, did he just let his pride get the better of him? Just from the way Flutt is looking at him, it's clear that he just made a big mistake.

  "Yes, whatever." I wave my hand back and forth, the dismissal in my tone crystal clear. "See you soon."

  Wardcruncha and Laself followed me out of the church.