Chapter 6

On the way to the club, I spent the next twenty minutes listening to three vapid girls talk excitedly in the back of my car. Even though I had a passenger seat next to me, all three girls chose to squeeze into the backseat while talking loudly and ignoring me entirely.

I had truly become nothing but a chauffeur for their drunken night of debauchery. Normally, this wouldn’t have bugged me so much. This had always been the way of things. There had even been a time when I would have eagerly taken them, always imagining one of them striking out and deciding to settle on taking me home. However, after seeing the grimoire and their friend status, any hopes of that were immediately buried.

When we reached the club, the girls got out at the front, leaving me to find a parking spot on my own. Of course, parking would cost money as well. I paid for a couple of hours and then headed to the front of the club. The girls had already reached the front of the line. Just as I walked up, the bouncer nodded to them and let them in. I tried to walk in with the girls, but I suddenly felt a hand on my chest. The bouncer was a gorilla of a man. That wasn’t a colloquial. He had more than a little gorilla blood and even had a few gorilla-like features on his face.

“Back of the line.” He shoved me back a few steps.

“Oh, I came with them.” I pointed to the three girls who were still within shouting distance.

Not a single one looked back or seemed to notice me as they entered the club and spoke excitedly among each other.

“Back of the line.” The bouncer repeated, ignoring my words.

“But…” I started to argue but thought better of it. “Fine.”

Bouncers could be bigger assholes to guys in the friendzone than boyfriends. At least the boyfriend had the security of knowing the girl chose him over me. Bouncers placed all their emotional intelligence into pretending to be every girl’s big brother. They were the natural predator of the friendzoner and hated us more than anything.

I stepped back and went to the end of the line to wait my turn. There was already a pretty long line of people already waiting. Maybe, those girls got waved ahead. The line was only for guys and mediocre women. The worst part was that I couldn’t just leave them behind and go somewhere else. Now that I brought those three, they’d be expecting a ride home with me if they didn’t find one with some guy. If I didn’t stay nearby all night just in case, the next morning there would be nasty rumors about how I just abandoned these poor defenseless women.

On my way to the back, I couldn’t help but scan the long line of losers and creepers. Deep down, I despised the lot of them. These were the guys that made it so difficult to get further with a girl. These guys would come out to clubs every weekend, wearing smelly perfumes and trying on random outfits. They all had some cringy line or some lame gimmick that they planned to use to trick the women into sex.

Once they got inside the club, they would proceed the rest of the night hitting on women who wanted to be left alone, all for the hope that just one of them would take them home and sleep with them. If their exploits failed, they would go home, find a new outfit, a new line, or a new gimmick, and they would come the next week to try that one on instead. Even if their exploits succeeded, they would just do it again.

They were all phony, just masks worn to get what they wanted, the female pussy. They would tell any lie and do any act for pussy. The one thing they never acted like was themselves, and it showed. How many women had I comforted after having that dreadful encounter? Every woman was left with unhappiness and regret. The only difference between them was how far they got before the regret set in. Sadly, for many women, it was after he already had gotten what he wanted. However, was it enough? No, he’d just move on to the next girl.

If bouncers were a friend-zoned’s natural adversary, then these losers were our bane. They made things worse for everyone else with the Y chromosome. They’re constant sleazy come-ons and catcalls leaving an entire culture of women who thought nothing of using a man back. After all, if women were just pussy to these men, then men could be used the same way. Except these guys were too tactless to find themselves on that losing end. Instead, they left all the emotional baggage they created on to my kind to clean up.

As I walked by this ugly guy who smelled like a new car slicking back his hair in a mirror, wearing sunglasses despite the night, and a shiny silver shirt with the top unbuttoned, it took everything I had to keep from punching him in the face. If only these simps would die, then maybe genuine guys like me would be respected by the women around us.

“Max? Is that you?”

I frowned when I heard a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. I turned back to see a girl approaching the back of the line with several people around her. When I saw her, my entire body couldn’t help but shake. That’s because I recognized this girl, but it had been a year since I had last seen her.

“Tara…” I spoke the name before I could help myself.

There she was, standing in front of me. This girl had been my childhood friend up until school started. She went to Griffin’s Mage Academy, the top school in our country. Meanwhile, I went to Azazel’s, which was much lower on that list. She looked exactly like I remembered her. She had the same beautiful hazel eyes, and her shiny black hair was just as long. Her breasts were a bit larger now, but they were just as perky. She had grown a few inches too, although she was shorter than me. She was wearing a short dress which was hugging her figure. Her smile was the same, too, and just like I remembered, it made my heart skip a beat.

“It is you…” She smiled.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I said, suddenly becoming self-conscious of how I looked.

“Who is this?” A woman next to her gave me a quick look up and down.

Besides the two of them, there were two boys as well. Both of them were taller than me and appeared fit. I could tell just by a look that they were both knights.

“Oh, this is my friend, Max. We knew each other when we were younger.” Tara spoke excitedly.

“Oh?” The other woman appeared to have some cat Animalia, her hair was orange-striped as was her tail. “It’s nice getting to meet another mage.”

“Uh… no, he’s not…” Tara shook her head.

“I’m a knight,” I told her.

She blinked, looking me up and down again. “A knight? Really?”

The two boys behind her also exchanged a look and wore sneers. I was quite scrawny compared to those two.

“You did end up going to an academy after all?” Tara voiced, only partly asking.

“I’m going to Azazel’s School of Magic.”

“That trash school?” One of the guys stated immediately until Tara shot him a glare.

“What brings you this far away from Griffin?” I couldn’t help but a bit of ice filling my tone. “Isn’t this area outside of your zone?”

“What else? A joint mission.” He scoffed.

“We just finished our mission, so we decided to go out to celebrate. I haven’t been to Zone 9 since…” Tara stopped what she was going to say, but I already knew.

The last time she visited Zone 9 was with me, back when she was still trying to decide where she wanted to go. Although Griffin was considered one of the top academies, it was in Zone 1, which was very far away from home. She had been nervous about going that far away, so she applied to the second-best academy, Williams Institute of Sorcery. I had brought her to the main city.

It was also how I ended up hearing about Azazel. There were three schools in Zone 9, so Williams could be considered our opponent, but that would be assuming we were even considered good enough to oppose them. That didn’t mean Azazel was an awful school. It was just lacking compared to the top three of the nation.

“This line is so long, let’s go up front.” The cat girl spoke up as the group descended into an awkward silence.

“Ah!” Tara shook her head. “Amelia, we can’t just skip, it’d be rude.”

“Nonsense… they let people in based on preferences. Once they see what school we come from, they’ll let us in right away.”

“Good luck, the bouncers are a bit strict,” I told her, trying to discourage them from leaving.

“It’s fine.” The girl named Amelia waved her hand dismissively. “Why wait if we can avoid it?”

She immediately left the line and the two male knights followed her. She stopped though when she noticed Tara still staying behind. Tara glanced over at me.

“Why don’t you come with us? Maybe, we’ll have luck.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to spoil your celebration. I’d be a fifth wheel.”

One of the men knights nodded as if this was the appropriate response, but I didn’t say it for his benefit.

“Come on, he doesn’t want to come.” Amelia encouraged her.

She bit her lip, and then she suddenly reached and grabbed my hand and pulled. “You’re coming!”

I was surprised as I was yanked out of line, but I wasn’t the only one. Amelia and the two knights also looked bewildered as the two of us ran passed them. My eyes couldn’t help but fall on the back of Tara’s head as she ran up the side of the line as fast as her high heels allowed, which wasn’t much faster than a brisk pace.

That was right. Tara had always been like that. She was a stubborn girl who often acted selfishly, especially when it came to what she wanted. It was that exact behavior that had caused me to fall in love with her back then. I felt my heart beating quickly as I followed her, my hand growing sweaty within hers. Damn it. I thought I had gotten over her. I had even moved on with a new crush, but after only a brief interaction I found myself missing her again.

We reached the front of the line and the gorilla bouncer. He narrowed his eyes when he saw me, but when he looked at Tara, his expression softened. Amelia came up from behind us, breathing slightly hard, while the knights’ expressions were just as stony as before.

“Can we come in?” Tara asked in a sweet voice.

“Ah, if I show this, will it mean anything? Mission leader said to show it if we needed anything special.” Amelia lifted a card.

I didn’t recognize it, but as soon as the bouncer saw it, he immediately stiffened to attention. “Active heroes? Of course, you are welcome. It’d be our honor.”

He all but saluted before pulling back the velvet rope.

“Is that our mission plaque?” Tara asked.

Amelia put it away with a smug expression on her face. “I heard from a few of the seniors that most businesses will give free stuff once they learn you’re actively fighting the devils.”

“Ahem, M’lady, you shouldn’t abuse such perks too much, or it will look bad for the association if we members act too greedy.” One of the knights told her.

“I know my limits.” She let out a giggle. “But it had to be done.”

The four of them went past the velvet rope. I was almost left out again but Tara still had a grip on my hand. She pulled me past. The gorilla narrowed his eyes once, but he didn’t say anything as I was pulled into the club. As soon as we entered though, she let go of my hand.

“Tara…” I didn’t know what to say.

“It’s fine.” She responded, blushing slightly. “I wouldn’t have brought you along if I didn’t want you here.”

It was already difficult to hear her. As soon as we entered the club, the music became the predominant noise. The club was dark, with laser lights and strobe lights flashing over the crowd. The bar was at the far side of the club. The dance floor was filled with people, and I could see a staircase to the second floor.

The knights took the lead, pushing their way through the crowd until they found a table near the stairs. I couldn’t help but look around for the three girls I had brought here, but I wasn’t sure if they were still downstairs or had moved upstairs. If they were downstairs, they had long become swallowed by the crowds. If they went up, they’d eventually have to come down. The stairs were a good spot to wait for them.

The music was so loud, I didn’t realize that Tara was trying to say something until she touched my arm. I looked at her, and she leaned close to my ear. I couldn’t help but feel my entire body tingle as she spoke in my ear. I could feel her breath, and it reminded me of long ago when it wasn’t weird for us to be this close.

“Can you get us drinks?”

I blinked and then noticed all four of them were watching me. Tara looked slightly embarrassed, but Amelia looked like it was a given, and the two knights with them were still wearing sneers as if they were looking down on me. I agreed and got everyone’s drink order before heading over to the bar. It wasn’t until I was there that I realized that none of them had given me any money. Grumbling, I went into my wallet, mostly empty, and pulled out my card.

“Aren’t you going to buy a girl a drink?” A female voice came from next to me at the bar.

I looked up in surprise, seeing an unexpected face. “Andromeda? What are you doing here?”

Andromeda, the very demoness I signed a pact with, was sitting at the bar like it was expected. She no longer had red skin or the horns of a demoness. Instead, she looked like a beautiful human woman. She wore a tight black dress that accentuated her curvaceous body.

“Didn’t I say we’d keep in touch?” She responded, looking out onto the floor. “Did you think I’d just abandon my charge like this? We have an arrangement, after all.”

I looked around, lowering my voice. “We’re in public! Can we talk about such things here?”

“Do you think anyone is listening?” She laughed. “Bartender! One dragon’s breath, please. He’s paying!”

I cringed. “I can barely afford myself!”

“Oh?” She looked over at me in amusement as she picked up a glass that released a red mist that the bartender just poured. “Aren’t you filling an entire table of orders? I thought you could afford one more drink.

My expression turned bitter, but I placed the other four orders. I decided to forgo ordering any drinks for myself just in case.

“What do you want, Andromeda?” I finally asked as he started preparing my drinks.

“We have an agreement.” She looked at me with a tilted expression. “You promised me you’d defile five virgins. I need five minions. At the moment, I’m at zero.”

“It’s only been a day!” I hissed.

“And? Is there no time like the present? Didn’t you already blow two opportunities? Why don’t you go up to that knight you drove here and bang her.”

“Her?” I leaned forward. “She’s a fucking hoe. I wouldn’t fuck her with your dick!”

Andromeda let out a sweet laugh. “I admit, I’m a bit surprised. You have standards?”

“You don’t know anything about me” I responded. “Wait, if you’re advising me to fuck her, does that mean she’s a virgin?”

“Who knows?” She shrugged. “You won’t know for certain unless she has a better impression of you. Although, I’m more surprised by this new girl…”

My expression turned sour. “Tara is off limits!”

“Oh? Well, that is a shame then. You know, although I said I’ll take any minions, I naturally do prefer better ones. Griffin is a top school. She’s even already doing missions. She will likely be a top heroine one day. If I was able to corrupt her early on, do you know how much that would help me gain power?”

“She’s… not interested.” I looked away, feeling a bit of shame and frustration.

“Yeah? Is any girl? I mean, not every slut is just going to throw herself at you like that Sophie girl. I mean it when I say this one might be too good for you.”

The bartender finally pushed all four drinks on me. There was no tray though, so I had to awkwardly figure out a way to carry them all. As I picked them all up and turned away from Andromeda, she spoke again.

“You shouldn’t sell yourself short. You may think everyone has you in the friend zone, but that’s partially because you allow them to put you there. You might want to check my grimoire before the night is over. You might find something interesting there.”

“What?” I looked back, but Andromeda was already gone.

All I could do was deliver the drinks to the four. They let out cheers when I arrived, although Amelia complained that I took too long. However, I was too lost in thought to get offended. Was there a new entry in her book? What could I learn about Tara that I didn’t already know?