Grunting, Elenia recomposed herself. 'No, I already told you. I cannot do any of that. My father will be furious to know that I'm speaking with you. If I do anything else, then I'll be in even deeper trouble.'
'Then how about a bet involving this weak-ass seal you used?' Rizz snickered.
'Excuse me, but this is my father's very own seal!' Elenia blurted out. 'It's one of the strongest in all of Wassek. And it earned him one of the best familiars in the city!'
Shrugging, Rizz didn't hide his laugh. 'Good for him! I'm sure he's proud of it, especially since it allowed you to summon the strongest familiar in history.'
'... Which familiar are you talking about?'
'Duh! You're talking to him now!' Rizz mentally proclaimed.
Elenia narrowed her eyes and frowned. 'I'm being serious! This is his creation. It has to be one of the strongest.'
Rizz rubbed his finger across the stone floor in boredom. 'Hmm… I'm sure that's the case. All the more reason for us to work together and break the curse.'
… K-thunk.
Turning his attention elsewhere, Rizz watched two more guards come down the stairs. Neither of them paid the goblin any attention. They marched past him and opened the ninth cell on the right.
'... Are you there? Are you not listening to me?'
Rizz realized that she was still talking. 'I'm still listening. Hey, why are they taking a man away?'
Her cadence flattened instantly. 'Oh. They're probably just taking him to my dad.'
"P-please… have mercy…"
The hungry, dehydrated man was being dragged by his shackles. He tried to shout but could barely speak. "Have mercy… please… H-have mercy… on me…"
Not caring, the guards ignored the cries and took the prisoner upstairs, slamming the door behind them.
'What does your old man do for work?' Rizz asked, adjusting his loincloth.
'Sometimes he works for the church. Other times for the city. It depends on the day,' answered Elenia.
Wanting more information, Rizz questioned, 'But what does he do? If he made this crappy seal, then is he an enchanter?'
Elenia was nodding proudly on her bed. 'Yup. Father works with all kinds of seals, that's why his work changes every day.'
'So, where am I? Under his laboratory?'
'It's not a laboratory. It's his work compound at the side of our estate,' corrected the noblewoman. 'If he didn't put it so close to home, we would never get to see him.'
*And it conveniently lets him work with no public supervisors,* Rizz thought to himself, deactivating the familiar crest for a moment.
The next second, Rizz asked her, 'Where does he get all these people, anyway?'
'They're all criminals,' Elenia answered with pride. 'They were all sentenced to death. But Father is allowed to pick some of them to develop new seals to help more people.'
Again, Rizz kept his crest inactive while thinking, *Right. They're all convicts. And it's all for the greater good. That's why he does it from the privacy of his personal dungeon.*
Elenia kept talking, letting her pride gradually swell, 'It's thanks to Father that Wassek can stand strong against our enemies. Without him, the wars would be a lot harder. He's saving hundreds, or thousands of lives!'
'Yeah, the guy's a real saint–'
'No, he's not!' Elenia scoffed and tilted her nose to the ceiling. 'That's very disrespectful!'
Rizz laid on his back. 'Why's that? It means he's a good guy, and that he does a lot for other people.'
'... I appreciate the sentiment. But it's still disrespectful to the Crystalline Saints.'
'Oh, my bad! I forgot about them,' Rizz chuckled, enjoying the cold feeling on his back. He was just happy to be feeling anything at all. 'So, Wassek is going to war huh? How many enemies and how many allies?'
'Just one enemy and neutral trading partners.' Elenia chatted and followed the flow of the conversation, solving some of her boredom.
'I see, I see. So, what are the trading partners like? Are they all as strict as Wassek with that Crystal Church?'
Elenia rolled her eyes. 'It's the Crystalline Church. And no, not every country has adopted it as their national religion. People from Posnea usually worship the Saint Sage. And I don't think Mroebo has declared a national religion.'
'Are they far from here, or have you never visited?' Rizz asked with a friendly chuckle, digging for intel.
'I've been to Posnea. It seemed nice.' The young noblewoman put a finger to her chin while recounting a few memories. 'We almost went to Mroebo last year. But Father said it was full of monster worshippers. I guess they've got multiple sects there due to not having one nationally declared.'
'Oh, well that's too bad,' Rizz replied with an encouraging sigh. 'That's why your dad's so busy, right? Cause he's trying to do a lot for the entire country?'
'Yeah! That's right!' Elenia's smile was almost audible. 'He works so hard and never gets any breaks. I wish he could just relax sometimes… but that's just how his work is. It's really important and someone has to do it.'
'Mmhmm…' Rizz bobbed his head up and down. He let the young noblewoman get comfortable. She blathered on for a while as Rizz sifted the few nuggets of intelligence from the useless chitchat.
*********
Unlike the dungeons, the floor above the iron cells was well-lit. And just a few doors down from the room with a faded summoning circle, two men were profusely washing their hands.
They adjusted their aprons and readied thin leather gloves. One man clasped his pendant for a moment before tucking it under his shirt.
"My Lord, I'm sorry I wasn't already prepared," one man spoke, wearing a pair of thick glasses. He tried to slick back his uncombed grey hair with some water. "Given the summoning, I assumed that you'd be too busy to finish up today."
"There's no need to apologize." Teward steeled his gaze and approached an operating table. "Let's finish today's batch a bit quickly. I'd prefer to get some sleep before tomorrow."
The other man walked to Teward's side. He giggled while cozying up to the prisoner strapped to the operating table, face down. Patting the prisoner's cheek, the man continued the small talk with his boss.
"Does this involve the summoning of that fiend?"
Teward glanced at the instruments on the nearby workbench. "Yes. I refuse to let my daughter remain a victim to the devil's curse… Scalpel."
"Yes, My Lord." The assistant handed over a silver scalpel. Embedded at the rear of the shaft was a vibrant red crystal emitting warmth.
Taking the instrument, Teward lowered it to the prisoner's exposed, restrained back. He worked fast. Each incision was a single stroke, gradually coming together at the end to eventually form a symmetrical pattern.
"... hrrrmmm, hrrm…" Tears dribbled down the weak man's face as the hot blade opened his back, again and again. All he could do was cry through the gag. Until…
"HRRMM?!" The prisoner's entire body convulsed at once. "HUURRMmmmm..."
Teward shook his head. "Damn the devil. Another failure…"
"Shall we try it again, My Lord?" asked the old but lively assistant. "Or shall we make more adjustments to the seal?"
"Let us try a couple more like this. If they do not work, then after my return we shall resume matching the seals to the subjects' affinities," Teward sighed, pulling the dull red gem out of the scalpel. "This is still progress. But we have a way to go before our tests can show worthwhile results."
"Of course, My Lord," the assistant remarked with a bow, slapping the dead body on the table. "I'll have a fresh subject ready in five minutes."
Nodding, Teward turned toward a locked cabinet. He unlocked and opened it to find various jars of vibrant gems lining two of the shelves. Grabbing the jar of brownish-yellow crystals, Teward spoke pensively, "We'll test earth gems for those that remain. I'll restock during my leave. As for our next batch of subjects, I'll leave them to you."
Suddenly, a cheerful smile was painted across the assistant's face. As if staring at a present he wasn't allowed to open, the assistant begged, "Can we please test out a few things on the new monster? It's such a rare opportunity–"
Thud, Thud!
"NO!" Teward slammed the cabinet doors and turned around in the same motion. His crooked brow was peering down at the assistant, looming over the man with an unforgiving leer. "We shan't touch that fiend. Not until my daughter's safety is secured.
"Should you so much as visit the fiend during my leave, I'll have you strapped and stretched across this very table. Is that clear?"
"Y-yes, My Lord!" the assistant nervously smiled and bowed. "I shall not touch or visit the fiend while you're away. You have my word, under the light of His Perfection."
Putting his gloves in a chemical wash, Teward put on a fresh pair. "... Very good. Now, bring in the next subject."