With the realisation that Xiang was not only an idiot who thought minor genocide was a good idea, but that he didn't even know where he was going or what towns might or might not be on the way, Kat decided to stop engaging him in conversation. It was just easier and less taxing on her mind to realise how woefully unprepared Xiang was. Kat also had to bite back her curses towards the system. She appreciated what it had done, enough to not believe she was specifically targeted for this pain, but she certainly wasn't enjoying herself.
She considered sending some messages off to everyone back on Earth, but she didn't have a lot to say. She could rant about Xiang perhaps, but it felt wrong to just send complaints back to them. During her walk she did get a message from Sylvie and Lily, but all it said was they understood that the message function was too slow to hold conversations, alongside the more general well wishes.
As she walked Kat could occasionally hear the sounds of animals but she couldn't identify any of them. It wasn't her hearing that was lacking but her knowledge. It is one thing to recognise speech or even Xiang's breathing. This was because voices are easy to differentiate even at a distance, and in the case of the breathing, she could tell where it was coming from, and was clear enough.
The various animal sounds far off though… well, without Kat having seen or heard anything truly similar since becoming a demon she had no real way to tell if they were being stalked by evil dragons or squirrels.
Nonetheless, nothing came close to approaching them before the road came into view. Kat nearly took a short fall, as she was unprepared for it. The forest just ended for a short while to allow for carts to pass. The road was a simple thing, it looked to be made of very heavily compressed stone, or maybe packed dirt to an absurd degree. It cut into the landscape slightly. It was cut around half a metre deep into the ground, and Kat thought it likely that the depth was where most of the material for its construction came from.
Hopping down to the road Kat looked back at Xiang to see how he was doing. They had been walking at a rather sedate pace for the past six hours. Kat was completely fine and didn't feel even the slightest bit tired.
Xiang looked mostly the same. He had a slight shine of sweat, mostly around the areas where his outfit met the open air, and likely much more underneath it. However, aside for a line of sweat around his hair Xiang seemed to be fine. His breathing was even, and his face had only the slightest red tinge to it… but Kat wasn't sure if that was the sunburn or not.
"So which way do we go?" asked Kat
"Um… right?" said Xiang
Kat sighed and said, "I've never been here, so I NEED you to tell me which way, otherwise it's a fifty-fifty chance"
"I ugh… don't really remember?" said Xiang slowly.
Kat looked to the sky for inspiration, hoping to find some answer to the question of how to deal with Xiang. She actually managed to find the next best thing. The sun was staring back at her, with a slight tilt to it. It seemed that the sun actually followed the path of the road close enough.
"Ok, how about this. Did you set out in the morning or afternoon?" asked Kat
"Early morning of course" said Xiang like it was obvious.
*If it was obvious I wouldn't have asked dammit. Don't sound like I should know the answer when you are the one forgetting simple things.* "Right, and in the morning, was the sun in your eyes, or to your back?" asked Kat.
"Oh, yeah, it was right in my face. I remember being rather irritated about that fact when I was trying to get started" said Xiang.
Kat looked up at the sun, and found that she was actually able to stare at it without hurting her eyes with just the thinnest film of demonic energy over them. Her improved vision also let her see what direction the sun was moving. It was extremely slight, but when you knew it roughly followed the road and could narrow down the directions it was easy to figure out.
"This way then" said Kat pointing to the right.
As Kat headed off, she asked Xiang another question "So, is it likely that we will run into anyone along this stretch of road?"
"No, not really. I mean, the only thing at the other end is my village. We are backed into a mountain so we have a very defensible position. That also means that traders only come irregularly because we are the only things down the road" said Xiang
"So… any idea how long we have to walk?" asked Kat
"Oh, at least a few days. Especially if that's all we are doing, walking" said Xiang.
*Now… do I want to brag about the fact I could run for days and not get tired, or do I want to keep this really slow pace. I'm not sure I can really afford to waste a tonne of time… but then again, what else am I going to do.*
*Hey system, how long have I been paid for? You seem to always know that somehow.*
User Kat does not have access to that information. It was found providing the estimated time to complete the provided request resulted in rushed Contracts and more demons Failing. Thus it was decided to prevent the any demon from finding the answer to that question.
D.E.M.O.N.S encourages User Kat to work on User Kat's own estimating ability and hone it. This is the best way to find the requested information.
*Well, self-improvement is good and all, but I really did want to know. Wait is that why we don't know how much we've been paid till the end either?*
Incorrect. Demons are not provided that information because it is considered one of the Summoners' Rights.
*Wait Summoners have rights?*
Of course. Demons have Rights as well.
*Huh, I feel like I should know what they are. Can you give me the list?*
Kat was prepared for a few entries, maybe a ten commandments sort of thing. Instead, Kat's entire vision was filled with exceptionally small text that read more like a legal document than a handy bit of information usually provided by the system.
An example of one is 'Any Demon has the right to complete the contract they have been assigned by the Summoner. If the Summoner wishes to cancel the contract, but the demon does not, the Summoner can in no way hamper the completion of the contract, unless otherwise specified when the initial contract has been drawn up. Exceptions are also allowed, if any of the following are met…'
Where it just devolved into increasingly bizarre and specific exceptions, such as mind control, an overabundance of something called an Overlord Duck, or, even, an overabundance of mind-controlled Overlord Ducks.
Kat simply dismissed the rest of it. She didn't want to be absorbed in reading it while she was on the road. *Maybe it could be worth checking out while I'm guarding or something but it all just seems overly specific. System do you have a simplified version of that list?*
Not prepared. However, the most basic rights that have no exceptions, are that Demons retain the right to leave the Dimension at any time, and Summoners always have the right to try defend themselves from mortal danger.
*Seems reasonable enough I suppose.* Kat pushed aside her thoughts on the demon's rights. She was finding herself more and more distracted since she entered this dimension… and something about it was starting to feel unnatural.
*Sure I've found out about some valuable stuff, but it's… just not relevant right now most of the time. I mean, why did I end up so far off from what I was considering before? Is this a function of being rank 2? Maybe I have more mental processing and thus I'm more prone to distractions?*
Kat got a strange mental image of her tail whirring about behind her looking for shiny objects and people of interest. She almost laughed at the image before remembering that Xiang was walking behind her.
She might not have minded the fact she laughed, but she certainly didn't want to be questioned on what was so funny.. Kat glanced back at Xiang and it hit her. *I was trying to decide if I should run faster or not wasn't I? Damn my suspicions about getting side tracked in this dimension or because I'm rank 2 might not be as crazy as I first thought… Is that why Xiang is an idiot?*