Clyde failed to shake away his distractions as Harumi beat him thrice with ease. She would’ve done so anyway, regardless of the young man’s mind location.

“You’re terrible at this,” Chika said. “Move.”

He moved to the next chair nearly automatically. The young man felt like he was missing something plain, dumb, and obvious. First, why in the hell does Melody’s charisma stat function like mind control. No game alive worked that way—neither did real life. Well, it did if one counted the media and politics, but Clyde doubted the redhead did any of the sorts. Second, the way she demanded things in the beginning. Her attitude. Mind controlling men to do her bidding. And why didn’t Alice harm her? She sure as shit was ready to kill his friends but didn’t so much as scratch Melody. Third, that sword. Blade of the Red Souls. His mind raced a thousand miles per hour as he wondered what a mere girl would be doing with a sword like that.

“Are you okay?” Harumi said. Clyde flinched at the pull back into reality.

“Sorry,” he said. “Question. Do you any of you feel strange around Melody?”

Chika turned to glare at him.

“What are you getting at?” she asked.

Clyde couldn’t put this off, not like a dumbass main character. Those who said, “never mind,” always end of regretting it. Besides, this mystery ate him up like a mosquito attack.

“Something’s off with Melody,” Clyde said," and I’m going to figure this out. Well, Alice is going to tell me.”

“Please tell me you’re not going to waste your last summon,” Chika said. “We may need that.”

“Oh, there’s no need. She’ll be here in about an hour with the cake.”

“That girl’s got a sugar problem,” Harumi said. “I’d like to force something healthy into her, but—”

“You’re terrified of her?” Chika finished, distaste in her voice.

“I don’t know,” Harumi said. “I mean she fought with us. She’s good friends with Clyde, but I can’t help but feel like she could just kill us any time, if ordered by her father. What if he compels her or something.”

“Pssh, my father has no control over me.”

Clyde, Harumi, and Chika nearly jumped out of their skins as Alice simply appeared, unconcerned look on her face. She placed a white box on the table, being careful not to shake the chess board. “I understand it’s a human thing to be stuck in constant paranoia, but do not ever imply that I’ll betray my Clyde or his friends. Ugh, especially for my sleezy father of all people. If had the power, I would’ve killed him myself and avenged Mother a long time ago.”

She turned a twinkling gaze on Clyde and spoke in an excited voice.

“I brought the kind you suggested. Red velvet. I can’t wait to taste it.”

A moment of silence struck the room before everyone erupted into laughter at Alice’s expense. The demoness looked confused.

“What?”

“You’re just too cute,” Clyde said. “I’ve never seen someone so happy for cake.”

“Pssh—Cake provides meaning to life,” Alice said, folding her arms. “One day I’ll write a book about the philosophy of sweets and how the body cannot live without them.”

“So, Alice, if you don’t mind me asking, what can you tell me about Melody?” Clyde said.

Alice’s eye twitched and her cocky, but playful smile dropped.

“Who?”

“Melody. The redhead we fought off the other day. She used mind-controlled dudes to attack us. Do you sense anything from her?”

“I…don’t remember,” Alice said, but Clyde could see through her like a fish in clear water. Her eyes didn’t meet his.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Clyde said. He almost reached out to pull her closer but decided against it at the last second. Somehow, he couldn’t picture this going right at all with the yandere and Harumi glaring at him. “Alice, what aren’t you telling me? I should’ve thought about it back then, but why didn’t you go all bloodlust devil-may-cry on Melody? She was clearly attacking us.”

Alice still didn’t meet the young man’s eyes.

“I told you, I don’t remember. Now who wants cake?”

“Alice, please. This is important.”

Alice bit her lip, eyes meeting Clyde’s, twinkling. Abruptly, she waved a hand.

The door locked, windows clicked, and the lights dimmed.

“I risk a great deal speaking of this,” Alice said softly. “So, nothing leaves this room or you’re dying with me. As much as I hate my father, there is one thing that not a single demon would cross him on and that’s revealing his hidden eye, his eye which hides in plain sight. Melody, whose real name I can’t speak, is a trickster. Daughter of the trickster demon god, whose name I won’t speak as it would draw his attention here. I do not interfere with her, she does not with me. The other day, my attack was exclusively for the human puppets. To free them.”

Clyde’s mouth went dry.

“Okay, what the fuck,” he said. “So many questions. But I’ll start with the one that’s been gnawing at me. Why didn’t she defend herself against the demon girl attackers yesterday? Fuck, I’m so confused. I lost sleep over that.”

“She was there huh,” Alice said. “And just happened to be gone when I arrived. The trickster played you like a fiddle.”

“Why did those demons attack her? Isn’t she a leader?”

“Melody, we’ll keep calling her that,” Alice said, “is pretty good at trickery, mind control and sometimes illusions. What you saw was exactly what she wanted. And she’s the reason why my father’s female troops have been sex-crazed lately. But…there’s no reason why you should run into her, right? So, you’ll be fine.”

“Alice, she’s a student at our school,” Clyde said. “At least I think she is.”

Alice paled.

“You must stay away from her,” the demoness said softly. “She’s dangerous. She’ll do anything for entertainment. Anything. Honestly, no one at home feels at ease with a Trickster bonded to my idiot father’s service, especially as a favor from one of the most notorious demon trickster gods in existence.”

“Well, aren’t we fucked,” Clyde said with a little anger in his voice.

“How’d you catch onto this?” Harumi said.

“Well for one, Melody slipped this morning,” he replied. “I never once gave that girl my name. At least I don’t remember doing so.” He explained the other deductions to the young women.

“Well, at least you’re not tied to her, right?” Alice said. “No ties to her, no problems.”

Clyde said nothing.

“Right?” Alice’s eye twitched.

Clyde said nothing. He also decided to leave out the “absolute endearment” relationship status with Melody, not that he’d explain system notifications to them. It reminded him of Selkie’s relationship, “supreme neutrality.” Could this be an entity-only thing? Fuck, if only he knew!

“Clyde!”

“We swapped phone numbers earlier,” he admitted. “And like some guilt-filled idiot, I told her if she needed anything, I’m her man.”

Rage briefly filled Alice’s pink eyes. When she spoke, her voice was deadly calm.

“It could be worse,” Alice said. “That’s not an oath, but now she has an excuse to trouble you.”

Clyde shook his head.

“All of the trouble I went through to keep her from nightmarish tentacle abyss monsters and rapey monster girls…. was her doing the entire time.”

“I know it’s a hard pill to swallow,” Alice said. “As you humans would say, ‘I call bullshit.’ But it’s the truth. Her mind control ability isn’t something a mere human can pick up and learn. The illusions she probably implanted, ones that would make her seem defenseless and weak—that’s classic trickster magic.”

“I really don’t need this,” Clyde said. “Is there anyway I can avoid her? Also, can you ward my apartment?”

Alice nodded.

“I can ward your place against all intruders, but it’s going to cost a little of your spirit energy.”

“Okay, easy enough, let’s get this over with,” Clyde said.

“Come my Clyde, kiss me. Spirit energy can only be transferred by the lips.”

Alice looked at Harumi and Clyde. “This will be a great lesson for you humans. In case you pick up the skill one day.”

The bafflement in the eyes of the young women made Clyde’s stomach drop. But now really wasn’t the time to care for such trivial things.