“Names are important for witches and demons. Whether cursing someone, giving power, or forming a pact, nothing is more important than names, names, names. If you get the demon’s true name wrong during a contract, then you’ll incur a huge penalty. That’s how important it is.”
“Uh-huh... I see?”
“That’s why demons have difficult names to pronounce. It’s to trip you up.”
“Why are they so sneaky?!”
“Ask the demons, not me!”
Leen cleared her throat and returned to the napkin.
“Each demon has a unique stigma. Of course, each lineage has its own features, so if you can find the inverta, then you’ll be able to work out the demon’s true name. Or you should, at least...”
Leen had been talking so quickly, but now she slumped her shoulders. It almost seemed like her bouncy hair slumped in response too.
“The lower the rank of the demon, the lesser their strength and the fewer defining features in the stigma, making it harder to identify them! If she’d formed a pact with a higher rank demon, this would have been far easier!”
“So there is some benefit to making a contract with a weak demon...”
This witch must have realized that even after cursing Erifell and leaving an inverta on her, it would be fine as the demon wouldn’t be able to be identified. That or they hadn’t had enough knowledge or awareness and had simply used their powers without thinking while we were running in circles completely by chance. They’d be evil if it was the first, but it would be terrible if it were the second.
“Hmm... A witch will do her best to make sure that no one finds out the name of the demon with which she forms a pact. It would be disadvantageous to cast a curse on the one that suspects them...”
Leen had touched on something I’d been thinking about myself. She continued to write on the napkin.
“Is that right?”
“If another witch comes along who’s formed a pact with a demon that was a higher rank than hers, then the other witch can completely take over her contract.”
Was this the reason Leen had been so damn hesitant to give her name when we’d first met?
“Would the witch be in trouble if people found out her name too?” I asked.
“Yes. A witch’s name is a necessary element when dealing with the authority she possesses. Even I, descendant of the first Lingreen, am no exception.”
Leen’s pen came to a stop with a scratchy flourish. I saw that the napkin was completely covered in small letters. She was pretty dexterous to write all this without ripping the napkin.
“Leen Stonabel, the name that I signed up to the guild with, isn’t my real name, obviously. I chose the name of a village near my hometown. Are you happy now?”
Fine—I was satisfied with her reason for giving this name when talking to Derg. It was a logical, adventurer-like thing to do if you had a name you didn’t want known. But still...
“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t use this fake name when you first met me,” I said.
After a few seconds of silence, Leen giggled, tilting her head as she stuck out her tongue.
“Sorry. My desire to tease you just won out.”
“I’m totally gonna indict you as a witch!”
“Well, you’ll be the one executed, Hakura!”
“Why’s that?”
“Because a stigma only appears on the body of the witch who formed the pact. I inherited my contract, so I don’t have one! You can even strip me to check. I won’t mind.”
“I would mind!”
We found ourselves in another little spat. Did she hear herself? I’d like to believe that the loudness of the room was drowning out our conversation. I had this concern earlier, but this really wasn’t the sort of conversation to be having out in the open.
“Anyway, what’s the difference between forming the pact and inheriting it?” I said, lowering my voice. The fact that Leen had noted the distinction meant that there was a difference. I’d come this far, so might as well see the journey through.
Leen sighed. “There are a number of benefits to being the one to form the pact. For example, as a successor to the Lingreen line, I cannot use curses. I know how though.”
“Is that right?”
“Part of the reason is because in order to inflict a curse, you need to use your own body, which you used in the contract, as a catalyst. What I inherited was the right to tame all monsters.”
Leen didn’t even bother asking for permission anymore and stole my bread. Whatever...
“For a demon, when the witch uses a curse, they are able to affect this world from the hinterworld. Stuff about a successor has no benefit to demons. That was why it was dealt with first and foremost. It was truly a witch from long ago that put this into the contract.”
In contrast to her never-ending appetite, Leen paused and groaned after her long speech. She then picked up the napkin and waved it in front of me.
“Back to the topic, I think it’s one of these demons that made the contract with our witch. If we can work out their true name, then we can undo the curse, but...”
“But?”
“Erifell’s body won’t survive if we try them all. It’s a violent method.”
“What the hell does this involve?”
I imagined it would cause pain to Erifell, but who knew what actually happened.
“By the way, how many possible names do you have?” I went on.
“About three hundred. Want me to go through them?”
“N-No thanks.”
How many demons were there for her to have narrowed the list down to three hundred? Just like how I’d been practicing the sword since I was a kid, Leen must have been stockpiling her knowledge since she was young.
“Oh, there’s something I’ve been wondering,” I said.
There was no point in imagining someone else’s childhood. I changed the topic; Leen looked at me, wondering what I was about to ask.
“Is it not possible...for a guy to form a pact with a demon?”
People told tales of witches that were exclusively women. It would sound strange, but I’d never heard of a “male witch” and, obviously, a wizard referred to something else entirely. I hadn’t really given much thought to it, but I wondered why this gendered word was used when referring to “someone” who had formed a pact with a demon. Was there a reason only a woman could do this?
“Oh...” Leen looked away and made a confused sound, as if to avoid the topic. “Yeah... Only women can.”
“Why’s that? Is there some kinda special reason?”
Suddenly Leen became awfully evasive. Why was she acting so shifty now?
“It’s, um, well, something only women can do.”
“I get that, but I wanna know why.”
Her face turned redder and redder. I heard a groan from her throat.
“Because in order to form a pact with a demon, you have to share your body and mix your thoughts together, becoming one...”
“Yeah, you said that...”
“Well, that’s why.”
“Huh?”
I raised my eyebrows, wondering why her voice had gotten so quiet—and that’s when she suddenly slammed both hands to the table and stood up, her ears beet red.
“Because only women who are virgins can form a contract with a demon! You can’t do anything naughty!”
“Whoa, keep your voice down!”
I suddenly felt stares from every direction. Most of them returned to their meals, but we’d been the center of attention and pegged as weirdos. This was not pragmatic.
“Hakura, you pervert! Making me say that! You’re gross! Disgusting!”
“How the hell am I the bad guy? And, uh...why?”
“Don’t ask me! I said this before, but it was the first Lingreen who made the pact, not me!”
I felt awkward and turned away. Leen, blushing profusely, had managed to skillfully shout at me without raising her voice. After some deep breaths, she grabbed my cup and downed the water.
“Hey, get your own!”
“It’s punishment for embarrassing me!”
What stupid logic... Was Leen’s ancestor really a witch or actually some kind of thief?
“That’s why I said the chief way of forming a pact is by momentarily fusing with them.”
“And I didn’t think that you’d be implying that stuff with that wording!”
Man, that was something I definitely didn’t know. I guess that was reason enough for them to be called witches.
“So if we can’t work out the true name of the demon from the stigma, then we need to find the witch.”
“Exactly.”
If that was the case, then there was something I needed to check.
“Hey, Leen?”
“What is it?”
“Is the witch Cormeca?”
At this point, the most suspicious character was definitely her. She had a personal connection with Erifell, and the symptoms of the curse got worse the moment she touched Erifell. It didn’t answer the question of why she would’ve been so brazen in front of us, but there was probably a reason.
Leen fell silent at my question. She looked down and covered her mouth with her hand. Probably so that I couldn’t read her expression.
“She is suspicious, but I have no evidence one way or the other.”
That wasn’t enough to check for a stigma on her, then.
“I see.”
By the time both our plates were clean, the restaurant had gotten even busier. The waitstaff who had brought over the food for Derg gave us a look that silently said, “Get out,” so we stood up, paid the bill (or Leen did), and left the restaurant.