"Taking…vitality?"Just the notion of what the man had just mentioned left Daneel speechless. He glanced at the succubus, lying motionless at a corner of the room, discarded, forgotten… pitiful. He had been convinced that it was a one-way street, but just like so many things in recent days, he had been wrong.
However… it wasn"t important, right now, as he had a certain goal that he wanted to accomplish here. Hence, he kept quiet and waited for the enforcers to speak.
"B-b-boss! This guy… saw us eating the food we stole! We didn"t know what to do with him, so we brought him here!"
In the light of the chandelier hanging in the room, Daneel observed the man clearly for the first time. He had grey, rumpled hair that had been fas.h.i.+onably styled into spikes before it had been disturbed in his recent act of exertion. His eyes were also a deathly grey, their intensity such that they would make anyone feel pressure and look away. Not an ounce of fat could be seen all over his body, and it was mostly blemishless, except for a single, long scar that ran down his right leg, from hip to foot.
He had a long nose, high cheekbones, and a very sharp jaw. The smile from the pleasure he had just taken so violently faded as he heard the enforcer, and frowned.
Daneel saw both the men in front of him shake as they saw this. They were much, much more afraid now than they had ever been in their house below, and in a moment, the reason behind this became clear.
"You do know how much I hate incompetence, right? Did you forget what happened to the last two enforcers who worked with me and were lax in their duties?"
"Y-y-yes, sir! We"ve been most diligent, Sir! We do not want to end up in pieces like them, Sir! We have kept that sack at home as a reminder of what awaits us if we are even a little lazy, Sir! It"s just that…"
Daneel suddenly felt sick. He now wished that he had searched around more for something else to store the food in, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
The old man waved his hand, making the enforcer stop.
"Alright, alright, enough. I guess this is an exception. This one is like no other slave, of course. I"ll deal with him myself. You can leave. But remember… if something even remotely like this happens again, there will be two sacks in that house, and two new enforcers in your place."
With a gulp, both the men saluted and almost ran out of the house.
Finding himself alone with his target, Daneel was blank, at first. His plan had revolved around getting to know the man, somehow, and going back after getting whipped, if that was what it took. The pain would be worth it, as he would have clarity regarding what he could do next.
Now, he could tell that he would be able to call it a good day if left with all of his limbs. This man was far, far crueler than he had imagined, and just a single misstep might lead him into much, much more danger than he had reckoned for.
Lord Burrow just stared and stared for an entire minute. Daneel held his gaze, but with every moment, it began to get more and more difficult. Doubts began to pop into his mind, and panic was only close behind. His gaze was such that he even forgot everything else in the room; in the world, it was as if there were only the two of them.
It wasn"t normal. It wasn"t natural. So, with a hunch, he asked the system, "Is something… Being done to me?"
[Utilising body scan skill. Host is being subjected to a minor hallucination. Strength of hallucination is such that it would have worked on anyone that host has come into contact with, yet, except for the target known as "Madeira". Hallucination will not work in host due to the strength of mind granted from host"s locked consciousness.]
He couldn"t make any sense of that last part, and he resolved to ask the system about it later, but for now, the rest of what it had said was worrying.
Finally, after 30 more seconds pa.s.sed, the old man… smiled.
"It"s been a long time since this petty trick hasn"t worked on someone, so I guess I should thank you. Motivation is such a frail thing. I was once very motivated to grow powerful enough to be able to bring anyone under my grasp, but after seeing that that little trick was enough for almost everyone in this town… I gave up. Well, now, it"s back. Come on. Let us speak inside the house proper."
The man began to get dressed, then, picking up the clothes that were strewn around the room. In just a few seconds, he was ready, garbed in long, flowing purple robes of the same color as the guards outside.
He swept towards the door, but just as they were about to leave… they heard a whimper behind them that made them look back.
The succubus had woken up. She looked around dazed, at first, before latching on to Daneel. Her eyes widened as she recognized him, but before she could say anything, Lord Burrow said, "Same time next month."
He left, then, and Daneel had no option but to follow. The image of the woman brought down to such a deplorable state lingered on his mind for a few moments, though, at least until they reached the main doors of the house, which opened to reveal a large, empty s.p.a.ce.
Daneel was so taken aback by the oddness of it all that he didn"t step inside for a second. When he did, he looked around to confirm that what he was seeing was real.
The large house was modeled the same way as his former residence. A large s.p.a.ce was present in the middle of it, with rooms to both sides. Typically, it would be filled with furniture of all sorts, and even split into multiple areas so that the Lords and Ladies of the house could entertain their guests.
Here, there was nothing. Right in the middle of it, there was only a single table with two chairs around it, but apart from that… Ii was desolate.
Soon, the Lord sat in one of the chairs. It was high-backed, with comfortable cus.h.i.+ons, but it wasn"t very deserving of a man who was supposed to be so well to do. Daneel had expected the same opulence outside here, too. After all, that was what anyone who stole away so much money was supposed to do, right?
For some reason, he was wrong. Seeing his puzzled expression, the Lord rested both his hands on his legs and said, "It is strange, isn"t it? You must be wondering why the famous Lord Burrow, richest of all the Lords except for the Master, himself, has nothing of value in his own house. It"s simple. I just don"t believe in squandering wealth."
Daneel fumbled for something to say. While he did so, his host studied him, tapping his fingers on his legs thoughtfully with his brow furrowed, making his bushy eyebrows turn into a "V".
Finally, it was he who broke the silence, again.
"Daneel, son of the Master. In all these years, you"ve never seen me… because I only go where I am absolutely needed. I never paid much attention to you, either, after judging you for who you are. But… something has changed since you became a slave. You, who were used to a life of such luxury, adjusted yourself so quickly that you even made a plan to find out the one responsible for your empty stomach. You found my name. He found the enforcers under my thumb. You reached me, finally, so… now what?"
Daneel felt sweat beading on his brow. The cat was out of the bag. Ever since he had seen that woman on top of this man, he had been hoping that she must not have told him about how he had found out his name from the fear that it would harm her, too, but alas, things hadn"t turned out that way.
He had planned out all sorts of scenarios, but they all went out the window, now. He had planned on giving up a few more fake locations of treasures that his father had hidden away, or even a few secrets about that household that many didn"t know. He needed something new, but for that, he needed time… of which he had none.
Desperate, he turned to the system, but for a moment, he didn"t even know what to ask. Then… a certain idea came to him.
" You"ve been watching, right? Can you scan him, in any way? I need to know something about him. Anything that will help me."
[Responding to host. Progress of mission so far is enough to unlock a minor skill.
Minor Skill: Micro-expression a.n.a.lysis unlocked and deployed.
a.s.sessing micro-expressions of target in front of host.
Micro-expression: disgust was shown when speaking about host.
Micro-expression: nonchalance was shown when speaking to the target known as "Madeira".
Micro-expression: intense hate was shown when the word "master" was uttered.]
Daneel listened to the answer while holding his breath. The first two things that it said didn"t help him… but he grabbed onto the last one, identifying its significance immediately.
His mind worked quickly, and in a moment, he knew what to do.
Letting out a deep breath, he leaned forward… and rolled the dice.
"I want to join you. I want to bring down the man who did this to me. I want…the world, and for that, I need your help."