Tenebrous Wolf

Klaus dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the ground in a deep bow, arms stretched forward like a samurai seeking forgiveness.

And with a loud voice, he declared—

"I sincerely apologize for my misconduct! So please, have mercy on this lowly soul!"

"Wh-what..."

Briar blinked.

For a moment, she simply sat there, stunned. Perhaps it was the sheer absurdity of his gesture, or maybe the fact that he was apologizing at all. Either way, her brain momentarily stalled, struggling to process the sight before her.

Then, with a bitter scoff, she said,

"What are you doing? Are you seriously apologizing right now? Did you think I'd just say, 'Oh, it's fine, I forgive you' and pretend everything's okay?"

"I understand that you're upset. I won't make excuses. I'll take responsibility for my actions however I can. If you want to hit me, go ahead. I won't resist."

"You make it sound like I'm some violent brute."

Despite her words, a mischievous grin had already appeared at the corners of her lips. Then, without warning, she stood up from the floor then rushed and kicked Klaus square in the shoulder.

It wasn't enough to seriously hurt or deliver lasting damage, but the impact sent him stumbling onto his side.

"Ow!" Klaus groaned, rubbing the sore spot. "I said you could hit me, not that you had to!"

"I just took you up on your offer. What, did you seriously think I'd hesitate?"

"No, not really."

Klaus stood up with a sigh. Then, he met her gaze, his expression became more serious this time.

"But, for what it's worth… I do mean it. I screwed up, and I don't expect you to just forgive me. But since we're stuck with each other, I'd rather not spend every second at each other's throats."

"Tch. You're so annoying." Briar clicked her tongue and averted her gaze.

Even so, she didn't seem quite as hostile as before. Instead of throwing another kick, she flopped onto the bed, hugging a pillow to her chest.

Then, after a brief silence, she let out a sigh and muttered,

"Fine. Given the circumstances, cooperating is the best choice. But don't get the wrong idea this doesn't mean I've forgiven you. You still owe me a thousand hits! I've only hit you once, which means there are still nine hundred and ninety-nine to go!"

"...A thousand hits? Where the hell did that number come from?"

"Do I really need to spell it out?"

"..."

Klaus fell silent as he realised the situation . Of course, she was still talking about that incident.

He understood that she would hold some level of resentment against him because of 'that', but one thousand hits was too unreasonable.

If he calculated it then that means she would have to… hit him at least three times a day for nearly a year.

That was borderline torture!

Klaus sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Hey, let's be realistic here. Even if you were serious about this, do you really have the stamina to land nine hundred and ninety-nine more hits?"

Briar shot him a glare. "Are you questioning my endurance?"

"I'm questioning your sanity," Klaus muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately for him, she heard that.

With a sharp glint in her eyes, Briar suddenly cracked her knuckles.

"Oh? Would you like to test that theory right now?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Klaus quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Come on, I already admitted I was wrong! You even kicked me just now! Isn't that enough?"

"Not even close."

Klaus groaned and slumped onto the floor. "Great. So, what, are you going to keep a tally every time you hit me?"

Perhaps he shouldn't have said that because Briar smirked wickedly. "That's not a bad idea."

Klaus turned pale. "I was joking."

"I'm not."

A deep sense of impending doom settled over Klaus as he stared at the grin stretching across Briar's face.

This succubus was really going to do it!

"Alright, fine!" Klaus sighed in defeat. "Just… at least spread them out. I don't want to die before we even solve this mess."

Briar scoffed. "Please, as if I'd let you die that easily. You're stuck with me, so you better get used to it."

"Oh, lucky me."

The only response he received was an alarm clock flying at him.

"Eeek!" Klaus shrieked, dodging just in time, only for a giant pillow to be thrown at him as well.

To make matters ever more ridiculous, a school bag and small radio came went his way as well.

"Gah! Damnit! What the hell was that for?!"

"Why are you looking at me like that for?" Briar said smugly. "I just used this opportunity to get in a few hits! Now it's nine hundred and ninety-eight remaining!"

"Ahhh! That's not how it works! And why are you acting like you were the only one affected? That whole thing was a life-changing event for this old man too! But I guess that is youth for you!"

Briar's eye twitched. "Are you seriously making jokes right now?"

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Hey, hey, hey! Let's not be rash! Put the laptop down—!"

Klaus's expression shifted from panic to pure horror as Briar grabbed his laptop and raised it into the air.

In order to save his laptop which had been taken hostage by the cheeky demoness, he shot up from the floor and frantically waved his hands.

"Wait! Wait! Briar, let's be reasonable—!"

"Reasonable? You think I'm the unreasonable one here?"

"Yes! You're about to murder my laptop! That thing has my entire life in it! Ahhh—!"

Klaus immediately regretted his words when Briar glanced at the laptop, then back at him, as if she had just discovered his greatest weakness and then smirked.

She twirled the laptop in her hands like a villain considering whether to press the big red button.

"Oh? This little device is important to you? I don't know much about these strange human contraptions, but judging by your pathetic look on your face... it must be something of great value to you, yes?"

There was a sound of a 'gulp', but Briar continued speaking as if disregarding his feelings.

"It would be a shame if I were to, say… accidentally drop it."

"Hey now, that's not even remotely funny." Klaus took a cautious step forward and stretched both hands in a placating manner. "Just… put it down carefully, alright?"

But Briar only grinned, clearly relishing the desperation on his face.

Then, she made a show of pretending to lose her grip.

"Oops."

Klaus's soul nearly left his body. "NOOOOOO—!"

At the last second, Briar caught the laptop again and rolled her eyes.

"Relax, I'm not that heartless. But you are really fun to mess with."

Hearing that nonchalant response, Klaus finally lost all the strength in his legs and collapsed on his butt.

For a split second, it felt like his heart jumped into his throat.

If thr laptop he had painstakingly built from scratch, filled with years of memories, had shattered in front of him…

He wasn't sure he would have survived the emotional damage!

Klaus looked at Briar with teary eyes, clutching his chest like a man who just got dumped by his girlfriend of fifteen years.

"Damn you! How could you toy with a young man's heart like this?! I swear, you're actually a demon!"

"Hmm. Well, I am a succubus. Succubus, demon, there's no difference, right? After all, a succubus is an existence that preys on young men!"

"Ohhh! I take it back. You're a menace! A true enemy of the human race!"

"Hehehe!"

That mischievous smile told him that the demoness was simply messing with him. From the start, this has always been her goal.

With a heavy sigh, Klaus slumped his shoulders.

There was no winning against this demoness.

"So, you're not going to destroy my laptop, right?"

"Don't worry, I'm not a bad succubus~"

"... You lie..."

"Look, how about this?"

As if to prove her innocence, Briar tossed his laptop on the bed.

"As you see, I have no intentions of carelessly antagonising you. Although, you would still need to take responsibility for me."

"When you say 'take responsibility,' you mean—"

"Exactly. As my summoner, it's only natural that you take proper care of me, yes?"

Klaus had no response to that. In the end, as her master, it was his duty to keep her existence a secret.

And if she was ever discovered, It wouldn't matter if he killed her on the spot, he'd still be branded an enemy of humanity.

He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"That's fine I guess. I was planning on taking responsibility over you from the get-go."

"Ah, don't say it like that! You'll make it sound weird..."

"I don't see how that's my fault."

"You humans always have such misleading ways of phrasing things. In the demon realm, 'taking responsibility' usually means something much more serious."

"…I'm afraid to ask."

"Oh, are you interested about that?"

"Not in the slightest. Anyway, since we've established that we need to work together, we should exchange information. Have you heard of Three Questions and Answers?"

Briar tilted her head. "Three Questions and Answers?"

"You don't know? I thought demons would be familiar with it, but I guess I misjudged."

She frowned. "What is that? Is it another strange terminology created by humans?"

"Kind of. It's a game where two people take turns asking three questions each, and both have to answer honestly. Of course, you should avoid asking something too sensitive, otherwise, the other party might lie or give a half-truth. Apparently, it's a game used by the gods in myth to exchange information, we just used that as a reference and created something similar."

Klaus explained the rules with a visible lack of enthusiasm.

The demoness could only nod her head thoughtfully as she processed the information.

"I see. So, it's basically a trust exercise. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right," Klaus confirmed, taking a seat on the floor. "Since we don't completely trust each other yet, this should help us understand where we stand."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we can continue playing this game where you throw things at me and I keep dodging." Klaus gestured vaguely at the scattered objects around the room which included an alarm clock, a radio, and a school bag that had all been used as projectiles. "Honestly, I'd prefer the questions."

"Hmph. Fine, I'll play along. But since you suggested it, you go first."

Klaus crossed his arms, carefully considering his options. If he asked the wrong question, Briar might refuse to answer, so he had to be strategic.

There were plenty of things he wanted to ask, like the mysticism of the demon race, but those could wait. Right now, he needed answers that actually mattered.

After a brief moment of thought, he clapped his hands together.

"Alright! First question, why were you summoned here?"