Yltris is on the move. Her objective is unknown, but she is moving south with a mixed brigade capable of both ranged and close combat. Squad 2 has been dispatched to scout ahead of the advancing army to determine what it is she’s after. The remainder of us will continue our observation.

- 3rd lieutenant Oliver’s report, to be reviewed by lord Cadius.

“Huh?!” Lloyd and I cried out simultaneously. You can’t just drop something like that so casually! I wanted to scream that out, but I was too stunned.

“Ha-ha!” Cadius was loving our reactions. Wolfram on the other hand was stoic; it was clear he had known about this in advance. At least someone is taking this seriously.

“Hold on! What do you mean by ‘successor’? Is something going to happen to you?” Lloyd asked.

“Hehe, no, I’m perfectly fine. It’s just tradition for a demigod to prepare a successor in case something happens to them. I’ve been without one for so long that my crew is starting to go bald with stress.”

Too many questions. Not enough sanity. “Fuck it!” I shouted, throwing my hands up in surrender. “I accept!”

I knew. I just fucking knew Cadius was going to bug the shit out of me until I accepted. I’d barely known the guy for half a day, and I could tell he was never going to let it go. I might as well just accept it and get it over with.

I looked around. Everyone, including Cadius of all people, were staring at me wide eyed, slack jawed. Lloyd looked so pale I was surprised he was still conscious.

I waited. No one made a sound.

“Hehe, didn’t expect that, did ya?” I was practically giddy. I managed to surprise a demigod. And not just any demigod, I caught the one who ruled over trickery and deceit off guard.

Silence. Ok, this is getting annoying.

I scratched my head. “Well, I see it like this. Cadius here is dead set on me accepting. I’m pretty sure he would have bugged the ever-loving fuck out of me until I took the offer. And, frankly, I’m interested. Being a demigod? Sounds like a pain. But being in the position Cadius is in is quite frankly appealing.” I wasn’t power hungry, but I didn’t want to regret not taking an offer like this just because I was afraid of change. Yes, it was probably something I should take the time to consider, but frankly, I didn’t care to. My gut was telling me to go for it.

“But I do have a question,” I said. I had a feeling Cadius would have brought this up anyways. “What about Lloyd? I’m not going to rule without him being by my side.” I was firm on this point. I couldn’t imagine a life without Lloyd.

Cadius shook himself, regaining his composure. He cleared his throat before answering me. “Fret not. Demigods have the privilege of taking on an Attendant. An attendant is pretty much a retainer; someone who attends to their liege and assists them in any manner of things. They receive similar benefits to the demigod; immortality, an ability similar to the demigod’s power, and a few other minor benefits that I can’t remember off the top of my head. Anyway, I assume you have no issue with this, Lloyd?”

I looked over at him. He was still out of it, so I gave him a slap on the back, returning him to his senses. He shook his head, then turned to face me. “No, I don’t. I’ll follow Von wherever he goes,” he said. I gave him a smile, and he returned it, hugging me.

“I didn’t think we’d actually be together forever,” he said.

“Eheh, better not regret, not even after putting up with me for hundreds or thousands of years,” I said jokingly.

“Never,” he replied seriously.

Cadius cleared his throat, “Ahem.”

I let go of Lloyd, turning to face Cadius.

“Ok, that was pretty cute. But I still have a few more things left to explain. I’ll be as brief as I can be since this is starting to cut into my reading time. First, the proper term is Apostle, and while my power will be transferred in full upon my death, I can also choose to transfer it at any time. As my Apostle, you can create illusions just like I can, but it will take quite a while to master the skill. The power also needs time to grow. There’s also a limit with what you can do with it as an Apostle.

“Lloyd, you will develop shadow manipulation. As an Attendant to the lord of thieves, you will use the very shadows themselves to protect your liege and cut your foes to ribbons. You will become the darkness itself, and your ability to traverse it will be unmatched.

“I think that about covers it. Anyways, I just need you to kneel so I can perform the ceremony.”

With that deluge of information overloading my brain, all I could do was just nod and do as I was told. I knelt down on one knee and bowed my head.

Cadius placed his hand on my head. “I, Cadius Katergaris, appoint Von as my Apostle. Let the world recognize him as my rightful heir, the prince of thieves, tricksters, and deception. As my heir, he is given the family name of Katergaris, and therefore shall be known as Von Katergaris.”

A family name, huh. I can’t say I didn’t take some pride in sharing a family name with a demigod.

I felt a warmth spread throughout my body starting from my head down. Like morning sunlight spilling forth from a window. Once it had fully enveloped me, it pulsed ever so faintly before slowly dissipating.

I stood up, not really feeling any different than before.

“Next is the Attendant ceremony. Von must be the one to perform it, as he is picking his attendant. It’s pretty much the same as what I just did with Von, but the words a bit different. So yeah, Lloyd will be appointed as Von’s attendant and serve alongside him for eternity.”

Hm? Together forever? That gave me an idea. I whispered something to Cadius, and he thought it over for a moment, before nodding enthusiastically.

Lloyd looked over at us with a raised eyebrow, to which I said nothing. He shrugged, then got down on one knee, head bowed. I could see that he had a huge smile on his face. I can’t say I didn’t feel the same.

I placed my hand on his head, mussing his black hair a bit.

Cadius gave his instructions. I just had to repeat what he said, nothing too complicated.

“I, Von Katergaris, Apostle of Cadius Katergaris, appoint Lloyd as my Attendant. Let the world recognize him as my shadow, my second in command,” I repeated Cadius’s words.

I took a breath, hesitant. I had already gotten approval from Cadius, and I know Lloyd well enough that he wouldn’t react to this with anything other than joy.

“… and my husband. As such, he is given the family name of Katergaris, and therefore shall be known as Lloyd Katergaris.”

I felt something flow from myself and into Lloyd. It was as if I had simply taken a piece of something separate from me and given it to him, like I was pouring water from a flask. The whole process took only a few moments.

We hadn’t been officialy wed before, on account of us being wanted criminals. Showing up at a government office just to file paperwork wasn’t worth the risk, but we didn’t really mind it not being official. In a way, this was our wedding ceremony, albeit a very unorthodox one.

I knew it was far too sudden, yet another one of my impulsive decisions, but once the idea had popped into my head, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. It was too perfect; using a divine ceremony where I appointed my retainer to also wed said retainer, all while a demigod bears witness. What could be better than that? And it didn’t even cost us a single coin!

He looked up. A tear had streamed down his face. He was smiling, that big goofy grin of his. “Von… you really are an impulsive idiot,” he said fondly.

I pulled him close, and we shared a brief kiss.

There was movement in my peripheral vision, and I thought I heard a high-pitched noise.

Was… was that Cadius? Did he just squeal like a little girl? Ugh. Unbelievable.

Apparently, the lord of thieves was a hopeless romantic.

Things moved rather quickly after that. Wolfram had shown Lloyd and I to our quarters so that we could rest before tonight’s festivities. Cadius said everyone was going to want to celebrate not only gaining two new members, but that Cadius finally took on a new Apostle.

Our residence was pretty luxurious, with quite a few rooms, all with high ceilings despite being underground. All the rooms were illuminated by spheres of light that floated in the air, positioned up against the ceiling in the middle of each room. There was a common area where we could host guests or have meetings, a storage room that doubled as an armory, a bedroom, bath, and study. The common room also had an attached kitchen. Lloyd had asked about ventilation, and Wolfram replied, saying something about that not being an issue.

All of the décor and furniture had a relatively simple style; at first glance they appeared to be cheap and utilitarian, but they were actually of excellent make.

We also had a small number of staff who would help take care of the place. They’d handle cooking, cleaning, and any other requests that they could handle from within the residence.

Yep. Cadius would have kept asking until I accepted the offer to become his Apostle. No doubt about it. He had all of this prepared in advance, knowing that he would eventually get his way.

“Things sure are moving fast,” I commented. Lloyd snorted at that.

“Hm, I wonder why. I don’t think you suddenly adding a marriage proposal to that ceremony had anything to do with it. Nope,” replied Lloyd, his voice dripping with a jovial sarcasm.

Lloyd and I were able to get in a brief rest before we were summoned for the party. We found a set of nicer looking clothes in the wardrobe in our bedroom and changed into those. Nothing fancy, just something clean and presentable.

We stepped into the room, hand in hand. My first thought was about the sheer number of people. It wasn’t a small room by any stretch, but there had to be at least a hundred people in here. They were dressed in both formal wear and work clothes. I saw quite a few people in leather armor and cloaks, while some wore dresses and suits. But what they did have in common was their joy. They were all a rowdy bunch. They were laughing, playing cards, holding drinking contests and arm wrestling, sharing stories, and even dancing.

I spotted Cadius near the center of the room, waving his arms around. He was shooting out beams of light, creating swarms of creatures, fire, massive blobs of water, all sorts of things. The crowd was cheering at each new sight or motion.

“I guess Cadius really does love to entertain,” I commented.

Lloyd looked over at me, “Really? When did you figure that out?”

“He really enjoyed getting a reaction out of us, but he never did it to be rude. I figured that he was the type who enjoyed making others laugh,” I said.

“Huh,” was Lloyd’s response.

When Cadius saw us enter, he stopped his stage show, letting all the objects he had conjured up vanish. He then waved his arms, and the room grew dim, just enough to where people wouldn’t have trouble getting around. Then a pillar of light illuminated Cadius.

“Good evening,” he began. His voice had been amplified so that the entire room could comfortably hear it. “We are here tonight to celebrate not only the addition of two new members, but also the appointment of my new Apostle and his Attendant!” The crowd erupted in cheers.

Cadius waved a hand, and a similar pillar of light shown down on us. All eyes were now on us.

Not good! I’m not good with crowds! I was frozen stiff.

Thankfully, Cadius was the one doing the introductions. “Please welcome my Apostle, Von Katergaris, and his Attendant, Lloyd Katergaris!” As he called our names, Cadius used his illusions to add a floating label next to each of us with our names and titles.

Lloyd waved to the crowd. I still couldn’t move. Lloyd elbowed me in the side, causing me to grunt. That was enough to knock some sense into me, and I found the courage to wave.

Cadius continued his speech. “Now, let’s eat, drink, and be merry!” Cadius returned the room to its normal state while the crowd cheered and made all kinds of racket. Wolfram came over and guided us towards the center of the room where Cadius was, to what apparently was the seats of honor; a table and set of chairs, same as all the others in the room. Lloyd sat to my right while Cadius sat to my left, and there were several open seats in front of us. He explained that everyone was going to want to meet us, so we could use this party to say hello and answer questions.

People began milling around, most heading towards our table. A line quickly formed, and it ended up being that those who came in groups had one person take a seat while the rest stood behind them. While we talked, food was brought out to the tables scattered throughout the room.

We spent the evening enjoying good food and even better company. People of all sorts came to greet us, from high-ranking officers to support staff. I came to learn of the Vagabond’s command structure and their key members. We were technically outside of the command structure, being under command by Cadius himself.

There were quite a few people who, after asking about our relationship, commented on Cadius’s apparent soft spot for romantic tales, much to his chagrin. Apparently, Cadius being a hopeless romantic was a poorly kept secret among the Vagabonds.

As the night wound down to a close, Cadius must have noticed how exhausted we were, and he suggested we retire for the night. I wanted to stay long into the night and get black-out drunk, but I knew Lloyd wouldn’t enjoy having to take care of me the next morning. We agreed and were led back to our residence, where we soon settled into bed.