^^ Hester Tomoi ^^

— Gina —

The migraine continued for what I gathered to be several hours, and trickled off to a blissful basic headache just as sunlight began to pour through the open blinds of whatever room I was in, at which point a door off to the left of the bed opened, and the bratty girl from yesterday stomped her way in while being trailed by two women in French Maid outfits. (The SFW Kind, not the type in my bag currently.) Apparently deciding to be as rude and disruptive as possible, she threw the blinds even wider open, clapping sharply at me where I sat in the bed, staring at her incredulously. "Alright, sleep-time is over, you old hag, get up and get dressed; oh, and try to de-sluttify whatever you're going to wear? I know it's difficult, what with your general demeanor and figure, but this is a proper house, and here we prefer- oh my god what?!? Why are you stripping?!? You crazy whore, I'm still in here!!!"

I ignored her calmly, dismissing her as just another stupid little bitch who wrongfully assumed that she was better than everyone else while I removed the silk pajamas someone had put me in and folded them neatly at the end of the bed before dressing in the spare clothes I'd brought with me yesterday, for what I intended to be the ride home after my shower, so it was just a pair of track shorts that covered basically nothing and a tank-top with a built-in support in place of a sports bra, a very important function of any exercise shirt I wore. Looking at the two blushing maids, I smiled sweetly and sat down on the chest at the end of the bed, turning slightly so my long mane of auburn hair became more readily visible. "I don't suppose either of you would like to help me put my hair up?" One swiftly volunteered while the scandalized young woman between them covered her face and ran from the room, despite the fact that I was already dressed, and I soon had my hair up and ready for the day. "Now, can one of you go see Sir Isaac and tell him I'm awake? I'd like to speak to him whenever he's next available. As for whoever stays, I am in need of sustenance, coffee, and warm companionship; which of those three can you two provide?"

Both women were around twenty-five to thirty, just a bit younger than me, but they both blushed and stuttered their way through a few attempted sentences before one of them, a pretty german girl with trademark blue eyes and platinum hair, managed to find her tongue to answer me. "Well, Miss Candy, Isaac has already been informed that you're awake and is awaiting you in his office. As for breakfast, we can grab you a bagel on the way?"

"And I suppose companionship will have to wait until tonight? Shame, that... but I suppose it's unavoidable; we'd miss the meeting, otherwise." I smirked at their volcanic blushes, kissing their cheeks and sending them both ahead of me with a playful swat on the hip. Once I'd grabbed my duffel bag and checked it's contents, I followed, my phone dialing as we walked. Reception was pretty crappy due to the concrete all around us, but I managed to connect to Desiree with little issue. "Desiree, you can call off the hit squads and swat raids, babe."

"Hmph! Well, if you say so... you're alright, though?"

"Better than, darling; I have a splitting headache, but that's from natural causes, unfortunately, and other than that I'm actually feeling great! Now for more details; I scored a Private contract with that client, Isaac Tomoi, which runs for a period of six months before it's up for renewal. Pay is 50K a day, plus bonuses, and that is subject to increase. There's only one client, so far, so it shouldn't be too rough on my body, and their legal people signed a contract to put John at the top of the Organ Donor List, as well as paying all his medical bills. Isaac is hung like a breeding bull, -which is surprising in an Asian man, but I don't discriminate,- so I'm not saying it'll be easy, but at least it won't be impossible. I'm heading into his office in a few moments, so I'll call back later and you can ask questions then; lemme talk to John, please?"

"Absolutely, babe, gimme a minute to wake him. It's time for breakfast anyway... ... Sweetie? Your mana is callin', you wanna talk to her before breakfast? Aia's got pancakes and eggs on the griddle."

"Thank you, Mrs. Farman."

"Awww, so polite! Here, you take this and run on, I'll feed the puppies and make the bed."

"I can help! Dominic, Zeit! Auf!"

"Oh! Lord have mercy, you trained your dog to help you make your bed... holy hell what can't you do, little baby John?"

"It's not that hard, they're all very smart... ... ... alright! Hi mama!"

"Hey, baby. You're behaving over there I see?"

"No, we're at home; Mrs. Farman and Miss Aia are here with me until I go to Doctor Goodwin's today! How did your work go?"

"You know... it went pretty damned well, baby. I talked to the hospital people, and they said the List might have opened up a Slot, so I'm not getting my hopes up too high just yet, but this day has a bit of sunshine to it, I think. Oh, and tell Aia that the good syrup is hidden in the top shelf of the pantry, but that if she uses all my good syrup she's buying me more."

"We have Good Syrup?!? Why wasn't I informed?!? I protest!!! I protest most severely!!!"

I laughed out loud, shaking my head at the ridiculous and adorable little boy I couldn't believe I raised, some days. "Yes, well, your protest has been noted. I have to go for now, but I might call again in a little bit. I love you, Johnathon."

"I love you too, Mama... though I'm still mad about the syrup."

"Well good, tell Aia that it's behind the alcohol which is also mine and also none of your business. Now go on and hand the phone back to Desiree."

"Yes ma'am. Mrs. Farman, mama says she has good syrup hidden behind the alcohol in the top of the pantry, and she wants to talk to you because I disapprove most severely at the hiding of sugary goodness from my tender nine-year-old eyes."

"Ha! Is that so? Well go on and tell Aia, and maybe you can have some? I won't tell if you won't. Now, final word, Angelina Chamberlain; you're sure this is a good deal? No funny business?"

"I'm quite positive there's an uncomfortable amount of funny business, but I think I've found a way to make myself... quite indispensable. Just enough so that they want to use me, instead of... anything else. Now I'm about to go see my new 'Boss', so I'll call you later, and I'll send pings every few hours to let you know I'm alright." We reached a familiar door, and the maids knocked on it politely, handing me the bagel one of them had snuck off to grab from a lounge or something along the way, so I accepted it and kissed their cheeks politely. "Thanks, babes, I'll see you later; you know where I sleep, apparently."

They blushed and shuffled off into the hall primly, keeping their strides even and controlled to show the best decorum possible. It also wiggled their asses hypnotically, but I was immune to such things, as the owner of an awe-inspiring and sometimes hypnotic ass myself, but my thoughts were interrupted by Desiree sighing. "Good, I can deal with that... are you staying for an expended period of time?"

"Yes, I think I am... I may have to move our apartment a bit, but I think a spot closer to Doctor Goodwin would be fine; maybe a Townhouse? John will like the bigger room... I'll think about it later; for now, yes, I'll be gone all day today, and I'll be home tonight."

"Good... we'll talk more when you've got time. Good luck, stay safe, baby girl."

"Yes ma'am..." I tucked the phone away after a simple text to Vincent, stating I was alright and he had permission for the Smithsonian today, then walked into the office, munching on my slightly-stale bagel.

Isaac looked up from his paperwork at my entry, and glanced at the two women on the couch I'd been seated at yesterday; the steely-Grey haired Amazon and the tiny bitch who'd woken me up so rudely just minutes ago, who couldn't even look at me properly. "I was under the impression you were still getting ready... alright, well, let's get to business, then; what Gift did you ask of the Contract?"

I sat down on the other couch, sighing and cracking my neck. "Before I signed, I asked you what the most expensive things in the Waking World were; you answered 'Enchanted Items and Daemon Servants'. I at the time didn't know what the difference was between Demons and Daemons and Devils, so I asked for the ability to Enchant things, and Summon Demon Servants. The Devil in the Void was amused by my Greed, but instead of saying No, it said that I could summon demons if I wished, but so could anyone else with the right knowledge; Enchanting Items, however, was something it could give. So, I want to test it out, gimme something to enchant and an enchanted item to compare it to so I have a starting position."

The older woman's eyes gleamed slightly as she pulled a longsword out of thin air, placing it on the table between us with no hesitation. "Be very careful; it's quite sharp."

"I imagine it is, yes... and a non-magical version for me to test this 'Magic' that I sold my fucking soul for?"

The younger woman scoffed rudely under her breath. "As if a hooker's soul was worth much in the first place..."

The older woman's gaze sharpened at her instantly, making her look away, but she didn't release her stubborn stance with crossed arms, even under prolonged exposure, making me click my tongue disapprovingly. "Your daughter isn't scared of you, nor does she respect you. Glaring at her does nothing, it would seem, as she has never received proper punishments for anything in her short and lavish little life, and therefore has nothing to fear and nothing to gain. Also, I don't need you to defend my honor, Mrs. Tomoi; her apparent disdain for all women and pathetic capitulation to Misogyny and the Patriarchy are apparently set in stone, immutable and unshakable. She's irrevocably spoiled, darling, I'd give up and make a new one at this point; it'll be an order of magnitude cuter, that's for damned sure. At least for about twelve years."

Both women stared at me in shock, but I couldn't care less about them, currently; the guard from yesterday had just arrived and placed a silver kukri of some kind on the table in front of me, smiling pleasantly. "This was the blade easiest to procure, Lord and Ladies Tomoi, Miss Candy."

"Ms. Chamberlain, actually; Candy is a Pseudonym I use for safety during my work, but thank you all the same."

He bowed deeply, his pleasant smile never disappearing. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Chamberlain, and I am deeply sorry for your loss."

"... that's kind of you. A pleasure to meet you as well, Mr...?"

"Avid Tellurium; I am the head of security in this facility. I hope we get along, Ms. Chamberlain."

"I as well, Mr. Tellurium. Thank you kindly for the lending of this Kukri, I'll do my best to return it in better shape than I received it."

He glanced at Isaac and Lady Tomoi, who both nodded, and then he quietly backed out of the room, closing the door without a sound.

Now I turned towards the longsword and began inspecting it, looking for runes or inscriptions along the way, but finding only one, hidden in the hand guard of the silver hilt. "That's interesting..." With a silver quill that came from somewhere, but where exactly I wasn't sure, I drew that same rune in the guard of the Kukri, then another along the spine, and finally a third where the hand of the weirder would grip, all on instinct, and I seemed to know their meanings, even though they weren't in any language I knew. They meant 'Destroy', 'Cleanse', and 'Bind', in that order. Once I leaned back, the quill disappeared, and the Kukri gained the same sub-visual luminance that the longsword had, a sort of glow that wasn't visible, but more... tactile. "Well, I believe that's properly enchanted, then! Now, Miss Woman-Hater Brat, if you'll do us the honor of being useful in this meeting by swinging it a few times, that'd be great."

She glared at me poisonously, but my cold, indifferent expression quickly made her back off, wordlessly picking up the weapon and swinging it a few times at the air. After that, she stabbed it into the table experimentally, and it sliced right through with a sharp, almost grating sound, like breaking glass, but it definitely wasn't even slowed down by the thick hardwood, making her yelp as her fist cracked into the table after the curved dagger had gone all the way through in one movement.

I smiled and summoned it to my hand, setting it down on the table carefully, so that the blade didn't touch anything. "Mm... definitely Enchanted Properly... how much is that worth now, do you think? It's enchanted with three Runes, each with a different effect. The 'Destroy' Rune removes obstacles to the blade's progress, simulating a cutting motion, the 'Cleanse' Rune adds in an extra mode of damage to 'Unclean' Entities, as well as keeping the owner and blade itself free of any impurities, and the 'Bind' Rune does what you already know, allowing the weapon to be summoned to its Enchantress, Owner, or Mistress, in that order. Now; what is its Value?"

The longsword disappeared from the table as the silver-fox across from me flicked her hand at it distractedly, and then she chuckled softly. "Your Value just went from, generously, Middling, all the way to Astronomical, in one ten-minute meeting."

"Yes, I gathered, so what's the Kukri worth?" I nodded seriously.

Isaac answered while she remained silent, a reversal of their roles as he was now in his element. "It must be in the Dozens, I'd say. I'd be insulted with an offer for less."

"Like, enough to cover my Daily Pay of 50,000$?"

"What? No, that's barely a Cliffnote, Ms. Chamberlain. The Weapon you just crafted is worth more than the building you are sitting in. Thirty Million would be my starting Bid."

I blinked slowly, processing, and then smiled. "So I just secured my daily pay for two whole years?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, trying to do the math in his head and failing, instead using a calculator on his phone, then nodding. "Yes, that's right. 50K a Day, 365 a Year, 18.25M a year, doubled to 36.5M for two years. Shall I write you a check, or would you like to auction it?"

"I'll keep it, actually. It's the first thing I ever enchanted, and maybe in fifty years it'll have some sentimental value to me. I can make others, apparently. Though the rules of it are a bit vague, and a guide would be-" that heavy, human-leather tome slammed into the table in front of me, making everyone flinch at its sudden appearance, and I hummed at the Rune carved into the cover, which I instinctually knew to be 'Bind', like on the Dagger, but different... After a moment, the translations came to me, and I knew that the dagger was 'Bind: Summon', and this one was 'Bind: Enslave'. Opening it to the first page, I realized it was written entirely in Runes that had no categorical or alphabetical meaning, but simply existed to convey abstract concepts, like how often I could Enchant things, and how much of my soul each enchantment would require, as well as how long my Soul took to regrow the lost parts, which generally was no more than twelve to twenty four hours.

"Find anything useful in your... Necronomicon?" Isaac had walked over while I was reading, and tilted his head to read the indecipherable runes over my shoulder.

"Yes and no... firstly, it's a Demonomicon, as it doesn't deal in Necromancy, and secondly yes; I can only make a few Runic Enchantments a Day, or I'll probably die as my soul is sucked into the artifact to pay the price for the Magic. I'm essentially making Contracts with the Item, like I did with the Void Devil bound to the Devil Contract you gave me yesterday. Still a bit iffy about that portion, by the way, selling my soul was a bit of a no-brainer at the time, but seeing this book and what it contains, I can't help but second-guess myself a little..."

"That is a completely valid and understandable point... so, good news; you'll likely only need to auction off five or so Enchanted Items of that type to pay for your Son's Healing in its entirety. And I don't mean to pay us back for our investment, I mean to pay for it... entirely. There's a woman in a clan we're friendly with who can regrow body parts that've been lost or organs that are failing, and she's understandably in great demand, but with a minimum of 150 Million Dollars to your name, you could get a session with her for your son within about two months time. Before this, my offer to heal your son was based entirely in modern medicine, but with this new font of wealth, you've just opened doors for yourself that aren't even open for me, and my family has been amassing wealth and prestige for six generations. You are mightily impressive, Lady Chamberlain, mightily impressive indeed."

"Are you stroking your own ego at having chosen me as your protege?" I asked blandly, causing him to cough and hide his steadily growing smirk behind his hand.

"Ah, not at all, I'd never do something so tasteless as congratulating myself for the Gifts you earned by pawning your own soul."

"Mm, just twist that knife, why don't you?" I grimaced at the reminder, then leaned back into the couch with a groan, holding my freshly-pounding headache. "At least I have an idea for my Shop, now... Gym on the Main Floor, Sex Club in the First Basement, and Weapons Shop on the Second Basement, with their own separate entrances and exits... Nice loft apartments on the other Above-Ground Floors, and a rooftop garden, John'll love that... access to our park for the dogs and their Service Dog Training... Doctor Goodwin somewhere nearby for John... sounds nice..." my eyesight darkened, a week of sleep deprivation and a migraine both driving me to pass out on the sinfully comfortable couch.