"We're not here to take you in. We're just here to clarify your position here. As a resident of this town."

All five members of Morbin Ligma sat on a bench outside the house, with a doubtful (braineater-inside-a-)catkin in front of them. The person leading the visit and the talk was, of course, Quill. Her smile which could break even the toughest mountain was now dawning on the poor teenager. Even though Quill was merely sitting down.

Despite the visible nerves, the catkin stared daggers at Pula, perhaps assured of herself that Pula snitched on one of her kind. Pula did not snitch, however. She kept silent throughout the morning except for a few banter with Carl and Kristoffer. But it did not seem like anyone was going to clear up the misunderstanding. Victor would have liked to clarify that part but it would not be good if it derailed their main objective. Especially when the owner of the house looked like she didn't believe a word Quill said. Perhaps that was also their train of thought.

Normally, what the braineaters did could be considered murder. And it would be easy to sentence them to death in this country. However, a technicality prevented Victor and the rest from punishing the braineaters right away.

Braineaters seemed incapable of high-level intelligence in their original form, only the extinct of survival kept them moving to capture a host. After the humanoid host was secured, that was when they showcased the ability to think and communicate. If they were born with that sole purpose, were they truly guilty? 

At least that's as far as Victor read from the rare books he could get his hands on--and Quill reciprocated the idea. "We have decided that we'll give you a second chance," she declared. "Even a creature such as you will be welcome in Arkbay as long as you obey the rules and don't cause any trouble."

Quill mentioned at the meeting last night that it didn't feel right to punish them since braineaters were born with the single mission of attacking the first person they saw. The person they latched onto would not also be saved even after punishing the parasite. Killing the parasite would only kill any semblance left of the host's original self. Taking the punishment route was a lose-lose situation.

Then, why not leave them be for now? That's what they ultimately decided on through a unanimous vote.

"Of course, when the time comes that you commit a crime after this, we'll come for you then," Victor emphasized, his voice lowered to intimidate.

"Just to remind you," Quill continued. "Arkbay was established by the previous King and the Dark Elf Hero to be a place where almost any race can live without fear of racially-motivated terrorism and unfair business practices. A place for orphans and the broken to gather their feet and restart their life."

From what Victor had seen with the treatment of demi-humans, such a town was nothing short of a miracle in this part of the continent. Except for a handful of countries where the population was almost exclusively beastkin or elves, the entire Central Continent was teeming with humans.

Demi-humans normally do not have a country of their own. Halflings could be found in any country on the continent but only in tiny numbers. Lizardmen lived in villages far away from human cities, mostly living near swamps, but still within a territory controlled by human nobles. Dwarves had a country once, but they were defeated in war and their land was taken away.

History dictated that whenever a demi-human race established a nation of their own, humans would swoop in and destroy everything. Sometimes, it was in self-defence, though. Sometimes, just for pure evil.

It was not like the humans were too powerful, either. Elves had long lives. The beastkin had the physical advantage. But humans were just too many since the start. And too creative. There was no lack of leaders willing to sacrifice as many as they need in order to capture a single enemy fortress. There were countless times when those methods were necessary to win the war. But if the commander's objective was only the treasures hoarded inside the walls or the honor of capturing an enemy fortress, then those commanders were just the worst.

Although at the moment, there were three known demi-human countries still standing. Two elven countries to the North and East, and one beastkin empire to the East. The beastkins were all migrating to said empire, and humans were not happy. The humans thought the beastkins were slowly but surely accumulating power, and all the nations around it were skeptical. Would the human nations strike first, or would they let the beastkins give the first blow?

The anxiety gave rise to more persecutions of the beastkins still in the human countries, however. This urged more beastkin to travel to the empire. And this urged more beatings. It was a heartwrenching loop. 

Regardless, if the demi-humans were treated unfairly, just imagine how real non-humans were treated. Most monsters were generally aggressive and would be dealt with accordingly. Victor wondered how many monsters were in his eyesight at the moment. It felt weird to be having such a civil conversation with them. It took a lot of willpower not to react to the thought.

On the first day that Victor arrived at Arkbay, he was overwhelmed by the high number of demi-humans in town. Beastkin, elves, lizardmen, dwarves, halflings, you name it. It was like a dream. Perhaps, that was easily true for the demi-humans who escaped to this town with nothing but their lives and the clothes on their skin. As for the humans, they still accounted for around half of the population. But their eyes also reflected the flames of war and the fog of torment. 

"You already know I won't cause trouble," said the catkin. "We don't tend to reveal ourselves." That part was spat in nervous anger towards Pula. "I may be a bit rude to my mother, but I would never be considered a troublemaker in this town."

"It wasn't just a bit, though," Kristoffer whispered in a way that only those sitting next to him could hear. But catkins had a powerful hearing. If she had heard, she did not give away any sign of it.

"Yes, we know that," Quill re-assured with a flick of her wrist. "Braineaters almost always do not cause trouble, since it was their way of survival. However, the same couldn't be said if they were discovered."

That was mostly true. Braineaters gathered memories and always adapted the personality of their host. No one would be able to guess that one of their friends or family has already been taken over by a monster unless they saw it happen. Right now, Victor would bet this braineater in front of them, despite being discovered, was not being aggressive only because it was outnumbered. There were rare records indicating that braineaters also negotiated when it suited them, but this one probably knew that Quill was the sole dictator of this 'negotiation.' 

Quill's reputation truly preceded her. Victor was sure that her confidence stemmed from the fact that people who knew her would not dare cross her.

"What are you trying to say here?" asked the catkin.

"I'm saying that in the off chance that anyone apart from us discovers who you are, I would like you to consider not harming them. Especially if they're from Arkbay."

Quill's proposition was only met with the sounds of the waves hitting the sand and the harbor and the cheerful repartees of the workers at the harbor, while the migrating ducks overhead laughed at them. If blood spilled today, the workers at the harbor would become splendid witnesses, yet at the moment were blissfully ignorant of the troubling atmosphere around this tiny group as they kept hurling crates of seafood and foreign goods into the hands of Arkbayan merchants.

What Quill proposed was indeed more peaceful and sounded morally nice. Yet, even though it was the right thing, Victor did not have the gall to recommend such to a braineater face-to-face.

Quill confidently smiled and continued, "When you find yourself in that situation, come to me. Or, solve the situation yourself."

"You mean I'd have to talk it out?" the catkin blurted. "Sure, that's easy to do." It was easy to tell she was being sarcastic with her tone.

"You should remember something." Quill stood up with a condescending face. Unlike with her halfling form, she now stood a head taller than the catkin and the ominous aura she radiated made the catkin shrink further. "Since you're just a worm inside a humanoid body, I can have you executed from where you're standing right now and no one will bat an eye. Alternatively, even if the host isn't doing anything illegal, all I have to do is expose the worm that you are to the jury and I can bring you down inside my basement where we'll have some bloody fun, day in, day out. For months."

What happened to the town free of racially-motivated harassment?!

The catkin shuddered at the threat. It was no empty threat, either. It was no secret that crates and cages were coming from the land and the sea, containing men and women and taken into the Syndicate's properties. These special deliveries, as they called it in the Syndicate, caused a ruckus most of the time, hurling profanities at Quill and her lackeys whenever they saw one from the tiny slits of their cages. These cages arrived with no fixed schedule. If they were lively during their delivery, then their remaining strength would be drained screaming afterwards. Even last night, Victor heard screams inside one of Quill's properties. The longest record was when an extensively notorious serial killer got delivered. His screams would run every night, for six straight months, and even the people started giving sympathies. But just a little, since they know how awful the things he did were. Although, that guy was now gone from his cell. Probably dead. 

Victor looked at his sadistic boss. Victor was used to seeing her a lot smaller, but now give her a few more inches and she would be as tall as him. If she was intimidating before, then double that now.

"Also, it should be your first option if it's a friend who can keep a secret and won't betray you." Quill turned and left with those words. Victor and the rest naturally followed, leaving the catkin by herself.

"That's it? We're done here?" Victor was expecting the talks to extend far longer than that.

Quill didn't answer immediately--her eyes looking miles away--as if she didn't hear him. "Hmm? Yeah. We've said our piece. It's on her from here on out." Quill's boots sounded heavy as she walked over sand.

"Quill is disappointed that the braineater didn't fight back," Carl quipped. A laugh from Pula and a shrug from Kristoffer quickly followed.

So that was it. Quill didn't get a toy today. Kristoffer and Carl were giving her rubs on the shoulder and telling her that there were still a few targets remaining.

Quill perked up a bit and thanked them for the concern. It was uncommon to see people concerned about the torturer not catching anyone to torture. Granted, Victor was not one to talk. It was bizarre to think that Victor from two days ago despised Quill and now he was mentally tolerating this. It felt really weird why Victor was even all right with all that just because they were friends. But were they truly friends? While Victor cooperated with the Hero Lime in the past, the mission only took one year, and that's about how long they got to know each other.

That said, while it was mostly unconfirmed, everyone detained in the dungeons was convicted and under the death penalty. That was perhaps Victor's excuse for tolerating this. The kingdom's royal dungeons were almost empty thanks to her.

Did Quill have connections with wardens? Perhaps it would not be strange if she still had contact with this kingdom's royalty. Did the King know her identity? Victor could not help but think of these things since he was here to monitor Quill and the Syndicate, after all.

One of the things he gathered was that even though Quill was notorious for her cruelty to her enemies—since they either disappeared or stopped breathing as soon as they confronted her—Quill was also incredibly tolerant of her subordinates' mistakes. Not to mention that she acted like she highly respected her allies.

Victor couldn't disagree with what Kristoffer said because he has seen it for himself. The trustworthiness. Victor, however, only came to this realization after the fact that Kristoffer mentioned it. Not to mention that upon learning her identity, he started being tolerant of her hobby. Victor was aware it was peculiar to do so, but he also started tolerating his wife's hobbies and quirks after they got close to each other.

Victor sighed. Meeting the catkin earlier made him miss his wife. What would Victoria think of all of this? He even borrowed her name as his fake name. And Quill knew his real name. Thankfully, Quill did not know anything about his wife, since he was still single ten years ago. And that almost no one knew he was married now. Otherwise, Quill would probably laugh at his naming sense.

"But that's not the reason I'm quiet," Quill laughed, then fell silent again. "I'm just wondering. Maybe we should have told the mother even if it will hurt."

Victor also wondered about that. He thought that was what they were going to do in the first place.

"We could have told her mother, but that would only make things more complicated," Carl explained. "It's better to watch her first before we take action and destroy a family. Keeping it a secret for a while may take some load off the mother's chest. Especially since her husband has been gone for only two years."

"I heard you were flirting with her whenever you buy fish there." Quill slapped Carl on the arm and the two shared a laugh.

"You really do know everything that happens in this town," Carl's smile turned into a frown quickly. "I got sad when I realized that was the house we were going to. The lady already has a lot on her plate. She couldn't bear to hear another sad news."

Quill nodded.

"What matters is that braineater is aware that we are aware," Kristoffer yawned as Quill rubbed his back, as the latter inquired whether he had enough sleep. Probably not. Not even Victor could sleep more than three hours these past couple of days.

Victor was dragged around town because of those monsters. After returning, he'd be told by one of Quill's deputies to fetch things or process a few transactions. Too hectic. It wasn't like this last year.

"Hey, Pula. Why did you guys come here by the way?" Victor could not help asking. No one's around them, at least. The vampire, the succubus, the minotaur, and the braineaters. What were they planning to do in Arkbay?

"That's a secret. Quill has an idea, though, because of that thing I did." She was probably referring to that time when the succubus (now Pula's host) tried to take control of Quill's body. Kristoffer explained some time before the mock battle that Pula received some of Quill's memories in the process so it would not be surprising if the same thing occurred the other way around.

"Oh?" Carl wrapped an arm around Pula's shoulder. "Come on, tell me instead. It's a small price in exchange for all the secrets you gained from me."

"Should I? Quill, what do you think?"

Quill acted like she did not hear her. Was Quill giving her the silent treatment? Quill had not talked to Pula at all today.

See this, Kristoffer? Victor mentally waved at the situation. It was surreal to see Quill flashing a bright smile to Carl, then acting concerned with Kristoffer, and then ignoring a lady all in the last ten seconds. Victor got goosebumps when Quill shyly smiled at him next.

"Do you not trust Pula?" Kristoffer asked.

Quill sighed. "Of course, I don't trust her. She knew some of my secrets. Although I don't hate her, I hate the idea that I won't know when she'll share it or how that I can't do anything about it until after the fact."

"Hm, I see." Kristoffer inquired no further.

No, you definitely hate her.