"You can't be acting like that around her, Marie. If her mental state falls any further, we won't be able to put on good fights for the public," Roderick scolds from behind his desk in his office, accompanied by Marie and his secretary.
"But sir! She scares the hell out of me!" the maid looks up at him nervously.
"If you don't want to lose your job, I suggest you keep quiet about how scared you are of her. I understand why you're scared of demons, but you're going to need to tone it down a bit. I'm not asking you to like her, just to act normal around her."
"Y...yes sir," Marie nods.
Roderick pours himself another cup of tea and finishes it in one gulp.
"Now go to work and do your job. You're dismissed."
"Yes sir!" Marie bows her head and leaves the room.
After she left, Roderick leans back into his chair and sighs.
"Damn, I know she's always been a nervous wreck, but I never expected things to turn out like this." He looks at the clock again. "It's way too late for this."
"Sir, if I may be so inclined as to ask: Why did you purchase that demon? What kind of plan did you have in mind when you bought her?" His secretary inquires.
"Well, I wanted to add a stronger fighter to my roster. I figured she'd be perfect for a few years." He takes another sip of tea.
"Only a few years, sir?"
"Oh, you didn't know? Laura is only a fledgling demon. While I've never seen a half-demon before, it's said that demons grow in strength as they age, with more of their demonic power manifesting itself in their body. The lifespan of a demon is usually hundreds of years. So unless something happens to her, she'll continue to grow strong until she reaches full maturity. At that point, she won't even provide any entertainment for the spectators—just mindless one-sided beatdowns. In fact, whoever purchases her when I'm done with her will be getting a really scary force of nature."
"But sir..."
Roderick cuts her off.
"That's enough. I don't care what you think about it; you're just my secretary. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm tired and need to sleep." He stands up and heads towards the door.
"If there's nothing else to discuss, I'll see you later," he says over his shoulder. "Tomorrow we find her an opponent to fight. We'll ease her into this and slowly build her reputation."
"But sir, what about the church?"
"Don't worry about the church. I'll handle them. All I have to do is make a nice donation to the bishop here, and nothing will happen. Just focus on your job, Olivia."
"But sir, word will spread that you're using a demon for fights. You could end up in a lot of trouble."
"You think I don't know that? I know the risk. This isn't something I did on a whim."
Olivia looks at Roderick with a conflicted expression.
"Laura is a rare half-demon. Do you know how much buzz I can stir up with that as a headline if I time it correctly?"
"I would say quite a lot, sir."
"Exactly! Come hell or high water, I'm going to profit exponentially and bring the loyal fans of this colosseum some downright amazing fights. That's all I want to see. Now we just need to find Laura the perfect first opponent. She won't be the main event but rather a nice warmup for the Battle of the Top."
"The Battle of the Top, sir?"
"Oh right, I didn't tell you. I came up with the Battle of the Top last night. The Battle of the Top is basically where all the well-known fighters are placed into a tournament-style bracket over a few days of fighting until one is left standing as the new number one. Ever since Raul got his contract bought out, I've been looking for ways to spice things up."
"Why are you talking like this is already implemented?"
"Because it is. Now all we need to do is advertise. This is going to be amazing."
Olivia rubs both her temples in exasperation while heaving a long sigh.
"Eccentric as always, sir."
"Eccentric? Me?! What about you, Olivia, ever heard of the term 'stick in the mud?"
"I am familiar with the term, yes, but I would like to ask you not to interpret careful planning as me being a stick in the mud."
"Whatever." Roderick throws his hands up. "I'm leaving now. If anything comes up, give me a call."
"Yes sir. Have a good night, sir." Olivia replies.
Roderick turns and walks out of the office.
Olivia stares out the window at the bright lights of the city illuminating the night.
"What was I thinking when I took this job?" She mutters to herself.
"You can't be acting like that around her, Marie. If her mental state falls any further, we won't be able to put on good fights for the public," Roderick scolds from behind his desk in his office, accompanied by Marie and his secretary.
"But sir! She scares the hell out of me!" the maid looks up at him nervously.
"If you don't want to lose your job, I suggest you keep quiet about how scared you are of her. I understand why you're scared of demons, but you're going to need to tone it down a bit. I'm not asking you to like her, just to act normal around her."
"Y...yes sir," Marie nods.
Roderick pours himself another cup of tea and finishes it in one gulp.
"Now go to work and do your job. You're dismissed."
"Yes sir!" Marie bows her head and leaves the room.
After she left, Roderick leans back into his chair and sighs.
"Damn, I know she's always been a nervous wreck, but I never expected things to turn out like this." He looks at the clock again. "It's way too late for this."
"Sir, if I may be so inclined as to ask: Why did you purchase that demon? What kind of plan did you have in mind when you bought her?" His secretary inquires.
"Well, I wanted to add a stronger fighter to my roster. I figured she'd be perfect for a few years." He takes another sip of tea.
"Only a few years, sir?"
"Oh, you didn't know? Laura is only a fledgling demon. While I've never seen a half-demon before, it's said that demons grow in strength as they age, with more of their demonic power manifesting itself in their body. The lifespan of a demon is usually hundreds of years. So unless something happens to her, she'll continue to grow strong until she reaches full maturity. At that point, she won't even provide any entertainment for the spectators—just mindless one-sided beatdowns. In fact, whoever purchases her when I'm done with her will be getting a really scary force of nature."
"But sir..."
Roderick cuts her off.
"That's enough. I don't care what you think about it; you're just my secretary. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm tired and need to sleep." He stands up and heads towards the door.
"If there's nothing else to discuss, I'll see you later," he says over his shoulder. "Tomorrow we find her an opponent to fight. We'll ease her into this and slowly build her reputation."
"But sir, what about the church?"
"Don't worry about the church. I'll handle them. All I have to do is make a nice donation to the bishop here, and nothing will happen. Just focus on your job, Olivia."
"But sir, word will spread that you're using a demon for fights. You could end up in a lot of trouble."
"You think I don't know that? I know the risk. This isn't something I did on a whim."
Olivia looks at Roderick with a conflicted expression.
"Laura is a rare half-demon. Do you know how much buzz I can stir up with that as a headline if I time it correctly?"
"I would say quite a lot, sir."
"Exactly! Come hell or high water, I'm going to profit exponentially and bring the loyal fans of this colosseum some downright amazing fights. That's all I want to see. Now we just need to find Laura the perfect first opponent. She won't be the main event but rather a nice warmup for the Battle of the Top."
"The Battle of the Top, sir?"
"Oh right, I didn't tell you. I came up with the Battle of the Top last night. The Battle of the Top is basically where all the well-known fighters are placed into a tournament-style bracket over a few days of fighting until one is left standing as the new number one. Ever since Raul got his contract bought out, I've been looking for ways to spice things up."
"Why are you talking like this is already implemented?"
"Because it is. Now all we need to do is advertise. This is going to be amazing."
Olivia rubs both her temples in exasperation while heaving a long sigh.
"Eccentric as always, sir."
"Eccentric? Me?! What about you, Olivia, ever heard of the term 'stick in the mud?"
"I am familiar with the term, yes, but I would like to ask you not to interpret careful planning as me being a stick in the mud."
"Whatever." Roderick throws his hands up. "I'm leaving now. If anything comes up, give me a call."
"Yes sir. Have a good night, sir." Olivia replies.
Roderick turns and walks out of the office.
Olivia stares out the window at the bright lights of the city illuminating the night.
"What was I thinking when I took this job?" She mutters to herself.
