“…Swear to the Saint of Words. Then I will trust you.”
Marmanna nodded and borrowed the power of the Spirit of Words. The little sphere appeared and disappeared into Tgurneu’s body.
“This I swear: I will not lie to Mora. If I do, then may the core in my chest shatter to pieces, while at the same time, I kill the parasite in Shenira’s chest.” Tgurneu’s body sparkled. The covenant was made. “Is that enough for you? Good grief. Now we can finally start negotiating,” said the fiend, shrugging. “Now then, I’ll make my demand once more. I want you to kill one of the Braves of the Six Flowers.”
“I will not accept that demand. I offer my life instead. You should be satisfied with that,” Mora said resolutely.
But Tgurneu shook its head. “I refuse. If you die, someone else would simply be chosen as a Brave.”
“I’ll offer you the life of one Saint who will eventually be chosen as a Brave, in addition to my own: Athlay, Willone, or Nashetania. How about that?”
“What?!” Marmanna, who had been listening beside them, shrieked. “What are you thinking?! Do you intend to become a murderer?!”
“Did I not make that clear?” said Mora. “Yes, I do.”
“You’re not in your right mind.”
You’re absolutely correct, thought Mora. A mother whose daughter had been taken hostage could never be in her right mind.
“That won’t work. The only life I want is that of a Brave of the Six Flowers. No matter how many candidates you kill, I won’t release your daughter. My demand is for you to kill a Brave. That is all.” Tgurneu rejected her offer.
Left with no choice, Mora made another concession. “I will be chosen as a Brave. When I receive the crest, I’ll kill myself then. How about that?”
“No.”
“What?!”
“If you aren’t chosen, then taking a hostage as I have done will have entirely been a waste. And besides, do you think the Spirit of Fate would anoint someone who intends suicide as one of the Braves? My demand won’t change. Kill one of the Braves of the Six Flowers. That is all.” For a long while, Mora and Tgurneu glared at each other. There was no sign that Tgurneu would give in. “Do you understand that if we fail to negotiate a deal, then there’s no reason for me to let your daughter live?”
“…”
“Oh, well,” said Tgurneu, beginning to stand up.
“Wait. I have one condition.” If the negotiations broke down, then Shenira would die. Mora had no choice but to meet Tgurneu’s demands. “If you die, you must release my daughter immediately, even if I haven’t killed a Brave.”
“Sorry, but I can’t accept that condition. If I did accept it, you’d just use all your power to try to kill me.” Tgurneu shook its head.
“Then let’s set a time limit. I’ll promise to kill a Brave of the Six Flowers before a certain deadline, but if you die before then, then that promise will be void. I will not under any circumstances withdraw this condition.”
“I see.” Tgurneu put a hand to its slim jaw and considered for a while. “And when is this deadline?”
“Twenty-two days after the Evil God has awakened. If you’re alive, I promise I will kill one of the Braves of the Six Flowers by that date.”
Hand still on its jaw, Tgurneu continued to ponder. “That sounds reasonable. Fine. I accept your condition.” They had finally settled on something. Now Mora had found a way she could save Shenira. “Twenty-two days after the awakening of the Evil God. You will kill one of the Braves by then. But if I die before the deadline, the contract will be null and void, and I’ll release your daughter. You’re fine with that?”
Mora nodded. “And I’ll add one more condition. Do not touch my daughter before then.”
“Of course. I promise. And the fiends under my command will not touch your daughter until twenty-two days have passed after the Evil God’s awakening. I will also not let any other fiends not under my command touch her.” Somehow, they had managed to reach an agreement, and Mora had settled a way to save Shenira without killing any of the Braves of the Six Flowers. All she had to do was kill Tgurneu before the twenty-second day after the Evil God’s revival.
“I’d like to add two more conditions of my own,” said Tgurneu. “In the case that you are no longer capable of fulfilling your promise, I will take your daughter’s life. In other words, if you die before you kill a Brave. My other condition is that if you kill yourself after being chosen, I will not accept that as a fulfillment of your promise.”
The first condition made sense to Mora, but the latter half seemed to her an odd proposal. If Tgurneu’s goal was to kill a Brave, then why would it care if Mora killed herself? Her intention had been to kill Tgurneu before the time limit defined in their agreement was up, and if she could not kill it by then, to end her own life to protect Shenira. But now that was not an option. She could attempt to stick to her guns, but if Tgurneu ended the negotiation, her daughter would die. “I accept your conditions,” said Mora.
“Then I suppose the contract is made,” said Tgurneu.
“Let me confirm one more thing. What will happen if we kill each other?”
“In that case, you win. Your daughter will be freed.”
“Then fine.” Mora prompted Marmanna. The contract could not be complete without the Saint of Words guaranteeing the contract. Marmanna’s little ball of light vanished Tgurneu’s body.
“Tgurneu so swears: If I should die, I will force the parasite in Shenira’s chest to die with me, even in the case that Mora and I kill each other. If I break this oath, may all the fiends that
