Arc 1 Chapter 5 – What more could could an imp ask for?
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"Pick it up and follow me to my office." - Herora ordered Joneta as she elegantly strode back to the brothel, her hips swaying from side to side, emphasizing her ample behind.

"What a captivating ass." - I thought as I gazed at it, almost hypnotized.

As I was distracted, I felt a pair of slender hands pick me up.

"M-Meow!" "W-Woah! Oh, it's Joneta, don't startle me like that!" - I complained.

"Good cat, Barney. Let's go inside." - Joneta said while securely holding me against her chest and petting me.

"Ugh... My fur is getting dirty. Endure, me, endure..."

I felt the dirt and grime on her shirt getting stuck on my fur, some of it likely from questionable sources. It wasn't a good feeling. Still, I had to get used to it. If I was going to act like a cat, getting my fur dirty sometimes was almost mandatory, especially in a slum brothel. Gods know how dirty the place is.

Joneta soon took me through the solid oaken door as we entered the brothel, with Borso closing the door behind us.

As soon as I entered the brothel, I saw a scene that was within my expectations.

It was a large tavern area with a bar, cheap tables, and cheap stools, lit by a few lanterns on the tables and walls. There was also a hearth inside the room, but it remained unlit as it was not cold enough to be lit.

Raucous laughter and lewd moans filled the floor from patrons and accompanying prostitutes. The customers drank from large wooden mugs, chatted, and laughed while groping the sleazily dressed prostitutes beside them. The prostitutes also reciprocated by seducing them and even encouraged the patrons to drink more.

Behind the bar was a female bartender in barmaid clothes, revealing a bit of cleavage and shoulders, but not exaggeratedly. What drew my attention, however, was her hair color and ears. Her hair was emerald, and her ears were short and pointy. However, that was all I could see, as she didn't face my direction.

"Is she related to Herora? Too bad I can't see her face clearly from here. Still, this smell is fantastic! I feel so full, so satisfied here."

While I was smelling the scent like some drug addict who just got his dose, Joneta already took me up the shabby stairs from the ground floor to the first floor.

As we arrived at the floor, my sensitive hearing could hear a mixture of loud voices, moans, and groans from the nearby rooms.

Creak* Creak* Creak* - The sound of a wooden bed shaking sounded.

"Ah! Ah! Ohh! Ah! Harder, daddy! Harder!" - A feminine voice sounded seductive.

"... So, I recently found out that my daughter is a lesbian, but she is engaged to a rich merchant..." - Some depressed guy was telling about his life's dilemma's to a prostitute he hired.

"Mhm Mhm!" - The prostitute's voice replied, all-too-happy to listen while getting paid.

Smack* Smack*

"How do you like that, you man-bitch!" - A harsh female voice sounded, accompanied by smacking sounds.

"Harder, mistress! Slap me harder, please!" - A masculine voice begged.

"Wow, this truly is a brothel. And, was that my imagination, or was that last voice a male one?"

While I was still musing, we kept ascending the stair to the third floor, where there were several rooms. Unlike the first and second floors, there was no sound of sex on this floor.

Joneta took me to the far end of the floor, where a locked door with a wooden plaque stood. The plaque read:

Herora's Office

Herora, who was at the front, took out a keychain from her pocket and opened the door, letting us into her office.

"Come in." - She said as she entered the room, and Joneta silently complied while petting me.

Upon entering the office, I took a curious look around.

Her office was what one would expect from a middle-class merchant's workroom, having a writing desk filled with paper and some loose change, wooden shelves filled with some books and documents, a tall wooden cabinet, and a framed painting on the wall depicting a grove.

From Jacque's memories, he was a rich merchant's son, so he has interacted with many other merchants in his life, both rich and poor. Herora's office could only be ranked as generic and average at best.

"I guess being a brothel madam is more of a managerial position. Makes sense if one thinks about it. A brothel madam is more of a business owner, negotiator, and female pimp, rather than a prostitute herself, although she can prostitute herself if she wants to."1Fact

While I was thinking about it, Herora sat on her chair and ordered Joneta.

"Joneta, place Barney on the chair over there and then leave the room to wash up. I will check it myself."

"Hah?" - I blanked out, surprised.

"Eh? Alright..."

Joneta sounded confused but still complied and placed me on the chair. After that, she excused herself, exited the room, and closed the door, leaving me with the buxom brothel madam.

The room then fell into an odd silence, with only the faint sound of the voices downstairs, my breathing, and Herora puffing her long pipe filling the room.

As I sat there on the chair, shocked at this turn of events, I couldn't help but become nervous.

"What is this situation?! What did I get myself into?! Did she find something odd?"

While I was on pins and needles, Herora was as calm as could be, blowing circles of smoked tobacco.

After a minute of this silence, I started to calm down and think more rationally.

"Calm down, me. Calm down. She can't possibly know that I am an Imp. She is probably just testing her new cat's behavior. Yes, that must be it! Act like a cat, me. What would Ebony do in this situation?"

After thinking for a moment, I acted like an uncomfortable cat and jumped down from the chair, approached the door, and sat in front of it.

"Meow." - I let out a meek meowl, signaling that I wanted to go out. A very normal housecat behavior that won't anger all but the cruelest of owners.

Much to my despair, however, Herora ignored my existence and kept puffing her pipe, staring at the ceiling in thought.

"Well, this isn't working. Should I simulate Ebony starting to panic? Yeah, that should do the trick."

Thinking up to that point, I decided to act like how Ebony acts when it was ignored for too long and wanted to go out.

Scratch* Scratch*

"Meow. Meow! Meow! Meow!"

I lightly scratched the opening crack of the door with my paw while letting out gradually louder and more panicked meowls.

"You can stop pretending now, little Imp. Go back to your seat." - Herora's lazy voice sounded from behind.

My body automatically paused when I heard her words. Non-existent cold sweat covered my body as a shuddered.

"What did she just call me...?" - My mind and body froze, unable to get over the shock.

"You heard what I said. Now, get back to your seat obediently. I won't repeat myself a third time, little Imp. If you don't do as I say, I will kill you here and now."

Although Herora's voice sounded as lazy as before, I somehow felt a hint of bloodlust coming from her voice, sending chills down my spine. At that moment, I knew that Herora was a dangerous person.

"M-Meow!!!" "She's not bluffing! She really will kill me if I don't listen to her!"

Realizing that my newborn hide was on the line, I rushed back to the chair and sat down obediently while staring in fear at the scary brothel owner before me.

"Good, you're sensible." - Herora commented after blowing another cloud of smoke.

"You must be wondering why I can tell you're an Imp, right?" - She lazily asked while staring at the ceiling.

"Meow." "Yes." - I nodded with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

"Well, let's just say that I have my ways." - She said, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"...Meow mew." "Fuck you."

"I'll take that as a compliment." - She replied with a smirk.

"Meow?!" "What?! She can read my mind?!"

"Yes, I can read your surface thoughts. What a captivating ass. Perverted little Imp."

"...Fuck..."

Sss* Puff*

"As for how I knew what you are, you said it yourself, didn't you?" - She said teasingly.

"Oh, shit. I did think about that, didn't I? Still, how can you detect my thoughts so easily?"

"As I said before, I have my ways. What you should be worrying more about is how to survive this situation, not asking me irrelevant questions. I only have so much patience, you see." - Herora leaned back on her chair and took another puff, her eyes narrowed at me.

As I saw her look, any thoughts about resistance or escape were immediately abandoned. I knew on an instinctive level that Herora could kill me at a whim. The memories that I inherited from Jacque also supported this.

"Dammit, your right. Fine. You kept me alive until this point, so there should be a reason for it. What do you want from me?" - I said in defeat.

"First, how about you show me your true form, yeah?" - She pointed at me with her pipe.

"The door is still unlocked." - I pointed out, afraid that someone will enter while I was in my Impish form.

"Fair point." - Herora said as she lightly waved her pipe at the closed door.

Kacha*

The sound of the door being locked sounded in the room.

"Done, now show your true form already." - She urged.

"... Fine." - I spat in my mind as I soundlessly reverted to my true and glorious form.

Within seconds, where once stood a white cat, now stood a pale white and butt-naked Imp.

"A newborn lesser Imp, hah? It amazes me that you have human-level intelligence at such a young age. Also, it appears that you are a variant of some kind? What type are you?" - Herora casually analyzed and then asked.

"I am not sure, but I can absorb Lust energies." - I honestly replied.

"Ah, of course. A Lust variant. That explains why you were attracted to my humble establishment." - Herora nodded understandingly while taking another puff from her pipe.

"So, what else do you want from me?" - I asked, a bit anxiously. Herora held my life in her hands, and she could take it on a whim.

"Magical contract." - She said plainly.

"Magical contract? What are the conditions? Do you want me to serve you as a familiar?" - I asked with mixed feelings.

Familiar contracts are contracts that are mutually beneficial for both parties, and can only be formed with a single individual at a time. The summoner gets the services and part of the power of the familiar, and the familiar gets something it wants in return. It can be things as simple as good food, shelter, and mana, and could be as complicated and eccentric as giving a living baby that has yet to be weened as a sacrifice to the familiar on every lunar eclipse. Some powerful ones even demanded the summoner's soul when they die.

What's more, such contracts were very binding, oftentimes forming a sort of soul or mental link. Once formed, it is hard to break, and even if it is broken, both sides will suffer a backlash from the severing of the link, damage that can take months and years to recover from.

Sure, I had the impression that she was strong enough. However, I would be on the losing end of such a contract if we formed one now, as she held my life by the neck, therefore I wasn't eager to do so.

"Familiar contract? You're not worthy of someone of my standing. No, I want you to sign a magic contract." - Herora shook her head and said.

"Magic contract? What are the terms?" - I asked warily.

Magic contracts are different from familiar contracts. Unlike familiar contracts, magic contracts do not require a link to be formed between the two parties in question. Instead, magically-enforced rules and conditions would be branded on all parties involved through a linked contract, forcing them to follow the contract to the letter, or be magically penalized by a specified punishment, sometimes death. This allows one to forge multiple contracts at a time as long as they do not conflict with one another.

A magical contract could be anything from a simple business transaction contract, a bet, an employer-employee contract to virtually a slave contract. Contracts can only be signed by a sober and magically uninfluenced mind, however, and the contents must be fully known and understood by both parties, or it will not work. If a creature is too dim or does not understand your language, it is impossible to form a contract.

However, magical contracts that are used to bind the innocent at sword-point, drugs, and torture and affect the normal running of society is not only outlawed but are also taboo. Such acts are comparable to first-degree murders and are punished with life imprisonment or execution in most of the continent. 

Naturally, there is an exception to every rule. Regulated contracts that are supervised by a certified organization are allowed. For example, the merchants guild and the temples can oversee large business transactions and make them more binding to make sure that both parties fulfill their ends of the bargain. Criminal and debt slavery are also possible and regulated by the slaver's guild. Outside the city walls, capturing and enslaving hostile bandits is legal, too.

But first, one needs to fulfill the first prerequisite, and that is the ability to form such a contract. [Magic Contract], unlike the 1st-circle ritual [Familiar Contract], is a magic ritual of the 3rd-circle at the very least. The number of people that can cast such a ritual once a day is barely around one in a thousand, and due to it being a regulated spell, only one in a few thousand get to study it and even less use it to make a profit at the merchant guild, slavers guild, adventurer's guild, or temples.

However, considering that the average price of a fit regular labor slave is around 3.6 gp2Around $2,700, the price of hiring a magic-user to cast the spell outweighs the worth of the slave, so most slaves are branded or shackled, and only high-value slaves are worth of a contract.

As it is so tightly monitored and regulated, the punishment is so severe, and the worth is limited, few have both the motivation and means to start abusing this magic.

 

All that said, I am a demonic entity, and a weak one at that, a lesser Imp. Demons don't have any rights in the material world and can be killed or enslaved on sight. If she decides on enslaving me via a contract, I can only attempt to bargain for better terms.

 

Herora took a puff from her pipe and plainly said.

"I want you to be my brothel's pet cat."

"Hah? What do you mean?" - I asked with narrow eyes.

"I want you to continue disguising as a housecat, and do what any normal housecat does, kill mice and act cute. I have a horrible mice infestation downstairs, you see, and I am too lazy to take care of it myself, and I don't want to waste money on hiring someone who would do a half-assed job. You can hunt mice and act docile and cute in front of my girls, right?"

"Yeah, I can. What are the other terms of the contract? For how long is it?"

"The terms are simple. You become our brothels cat, as I said before. You will be disallowed to intentionally harm me, my girls, or my clients, directly or indirectly, unless the clients attack you or my girls. You will actively hunt pests that infest my brothel. You will act like a cute cat and soothe the stress of my girls. You will refrain from telling anyone information about me being a spellcaster. We shall both be unable to lie to one another. In exchange, I will not intentionally harm you, directly or indirectly, I will not be able to ask for your true name, and you can stay here in this safe brothel full of yummy lust energies and mice, and enjoy all the cuddling and petting any cat could ever wish for. If you are discovered by someone, we shall both pretend that we don't know each other. As for the duration... It is until you evolve into an adult imp, or my little brothel goes bankrupt. When that time comes, you will be free from this contract, and the only thing that will remain is that we will both be unable to harm each other directly or indirectly, and we shall forever be unable to tell each other's secrets to others. The one who breaches this contract shall lose his life. Sounds fair?"

"Fair! Very fair!" - I replied, my head nodding repeatedly.

Her conditions were abusive and were almost tantamount to a temporary slave contract, a very shameful contract, but for me, it was the best outcome I could have asked for, and in fact, it was in line with what I was hoping for. If it was anyone else, they might not be able to tolerate these conditions, but for me, it was like heaven. I get to stay inside this brothel full of lust energy, and all I needed to do was safely hunt mice(A boon) and act like a spoiled cat (Also a boon). She even included favorable mutual non-aggression and secrecy conditions, and even allows me to defend myself.

All I needed to do was stay in this brothel until I evolved, which takes five years in unfavorable conditions, to a few short months in very favorable conditions. That means, even if it is slow, I will only be stuck in this brothel for a few years at most, and if it is fast, only a few months.

For a demon with an infinite lifespan, a few years is like the time it takes to take a short nap, an insignificant breeze, let alone a few months.

What more can an Imp ask for?

Hey guys, sorry for the late release, but my sister came back to visit two days ago from abroad with her boyfriend, and I also have to study for a test in tandem, so I had few times to dedicate myself to writing.

Oh, right. I saw the pole from the last chapter... 5 of you are REALLY greedy, aren't you? (Definitely not trolls!)

 

Now, question time!

Do you think the contract magic I placed in this world is balanced considering all the restrictions and lack of motivation?

Do you think contract magic is balanced considering all the restrictions and lack of motivation?
  • yes, it has been properly balanced Votes: 20 71.4%
  • No, it isnt balanced... And that makes it all the more fun to abuse! Votes: 7 25.0%
  • Nope, it isn't. It might serve as a convenient and broken plot device. Votes: 1 3.6%
Total voters: 28
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