I Only Summon Villainesses

That was all Cressida had said to make the man believe me. But to me it had felt like so much more. I knew I was strong, but it was easy for people to look down on me. First of all, I was an F rank, and that meant I was weak. Incredibly weak.

So no one would be willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Yes, being a Spirit Summoner did help my portfolio a bit, but that was just all it did… a bit.

Eventually, it all still depended on what was available. Nobody would pick me over a C rank Regular Summoner. The look of being F rank was simply bad enough, and I had seen it play out especially well in this criminal city.

So Cressida standing up for me meant a lot.

At the end of the day, we settled for one hundred and fifty silver talents each, and the man was willing to let us use his Inn until night fell. So we were both escorted into a high-end room.

The room itself was as wide as the lounge had been. It had a king-sized bed in the center and a cluster of chairs arranged around a wooden table, the kind of setup that could pass for a formal meeting. I sat on one side while Cressida finally put down the weight of her long bag and threw it onto the table between us. She fell lazily into the chair opposite mine and placed her legs up on the table, crossing them.

“Wow… today has been interesting.” She tilted her head toward me. “Don’t you think so too, Cade?”

I lingered for a moment, leaning back into the chair.

“Well… I don’t know if interesting is the word. But it sure has been unexpected…”

I raised my head and regarded her with seriousness.

“So… you killed that man like that? Just like that?”

She looked at me curiously, but that curiosity, it looked broken. Like someone examining a reaction they’d stopped having a long time ago.

“Does it bother you?”

“Bother me?” I chuckled. “What bothers me isn’t you killing the man. What actually bothers me is the response of the guards and that innkeeper to you killing the man. Don’t people usually get arrested for things like this? I know this is a criminal city and all…”

Cressida cut my flow with her response.

“No.”

She sat up, the laziness draining from her posture.

“This is a criminal city indeed. You can get away with doing anything…”

She pointed her index finger up.

“But only if you’re strong.”

Cressida continued, and there was something almost academic about the way she said it, like she was reciting a law of nature rather than justifying murder.

“If the guards had wanted to kill me, I would have enjoyed killing every single one of them. I think killing the entire city might satisfy me a little.” She paused, tilting her head as though genuinely weighing it. “But I do have a little sentimentalism towards this city, so it’s going to be a bit difficult to kill everyone.” She shook her head slowly. To her, it truly was a heavy dilemma.

“I can do all of that, and the only time it would stop is if someone strong enough to destroy me comes out and does so in the name of justice.”

My gaze stayed on her for a few moments.

“And there are no such persons in Recimiras…”

Cressida looked at me with something cunning behind her smile.

“Well, there’s you, for example?” She shrugged. “Something tells me you’ve not entirely given up on justice.”

I was silent for a moment, looking inward. Then I chuckled.

“I am justice… to the unjust, I am hope.” I let that sit for a beat, then felt my own mouth curve. “Well, that hope is drenched in bloodshed and sexual perversion, but what does it matter, as long as I’m able to get the job done.”

Cressida laughed and shook her head.

“See?! We all have it in us. Unhinged and existential, regardless of laws or lawlessness. The church, me, you, the thug that died. I will enjoy killing anyone because it makes me feel like I am doing something good.” Her eyes brightened, which was the wrong word for someone talking about killing, but it was the only one that fit. “And I especially enjoy killing weak people with lots of ego and boastful mouths. It’s very refreshing…”

I stared at her for a few moments again.

’She is very unhealthy.’

Then I shifted the topic to something that I had been curious about.

“Right! Cress, what is the Night Auction?”

I froze for a moment after my question.

’I am underestimating this young lady’s speed.’

Cressida already had the rest of the bread in hand and was guiding it to her mouth. I wanted to say something, but what was the point? My mouth only opened and closed back.

Meanwhile, Cressida sat straight, chewing with the calm authority of someone who knew exactly how long she intended to make me wait.

“Hmm, the Night Auction, hmmmmm…”

She rubbed her chin like some guru deliberating the mysteries of the universe.

“The Night Auction is the gathering of the world’s most deadliest, strongest, weakest, richest and poorest people. It is a black market auction hosted by the Valatian House. The most illegal place to find everything you want to find.”

I nodded as the understanding set in.

“Ah… I see, I see…” I chuckled afterwards. “Can it even be considered illegal? I mean, there are no laws guiding against it.”

Cressida’s expression shifted. She looked at me darkly.

“You underestimate Recimiras too much, Cade. Way too much.”

I looked confused at this point. This was a city that didn’t care about the lives being lost, and somehow they cared about an auction?

Cressida giggled, and the sound carried the particular delight of someone about to explain how something ugly actually worked.

“Who wants to lose an opportunity to make far more money than the richest and deadliest moguls in the world? And the only way to do that is to catch them doing something deadly.” She leaned forward slightly. “Well, at least that was what it used to be about, until the Night Fall Order existed. And then in order to repel the Night Fall Order, the Night Guards were established and funded by powerful people who want to protect themselves.”

I digested this with discipline and diligence. The logic of it was ugly but airtight. Law in a lawless city wasn’t about morality. It was about leverage.

“If the Night Guards exist, why does he need us again?”

Cressida answered after eating a mouthful of bread. Then she chuckled.

“The night battle is a very herculean and bloody one. Even though the Night Guard exist, the battle transpires for twelve hours while the moguls are bidding…” She smiled, and it was the kind of smile that told me she already knew exactly what they were signing us up for. “They need a lot of meat shields to waste time, don’t you think?”