A few miles away from Duke Rowan's Castle, after one of the greatest heists in the history of the Azureflask Empire.
"We made it out, good sir!" Aflon exclaimed in excitement. "I can't believe we actually did it!"
"Yep," Azmodeus nodded his head. "Now it's time to head on over to the next Duke's castle and do a thorough inspection of their goods as well."
"???" "???"
"We're going to the other Dukes as well??" The Merchant asked with his mouth agape.
Azmodeus stuck up a thumb, which then turned into him sticking out his index finger. "Yes, that is correct," he said. "How else are we expected to know which one of the Dukes hired the Sand Scorpion Thieves and is planning to overthrow the Emperor??"
He made it seem as if the merchant was the one speaking nonsense, while he was the only one with a good head on his shoulders. This momentarily stunned the experienced merchant, just enough to allow the wiggly snake-like man to persuade him into continuing to serve as his in-live map. To which he had no choice but to agree.
As the Merchant, his son, and Astaroth toured the vast and beautiful territory of the Azureflask Empire, an uproar happened in each one of the Duke's castles. One by one, they were infiltrated in the dead of night and had their most precious Treasuries wiped clean of everything within them. Having no idea who did this dastardly thing, they opted to blame each other.
Then came time for the last and final Duke's castle to be inspected. The home of Duke Ashford, otherwise known as the Duke of the Eastern Border. The one who quelled all rebellions whenever he was requested from the front lines, the one who served his Empire like a fiercely loyal lapdog. Out of all the Dukes, he was the least likely to be the one trying to become a usurper. But just to be sure, Azmodeus forced himself to inspect their Treasury and look for any suspicious goods.
Of course, he didn't actually care about inspecting or whatever. Yet, when he came across a grouping of especially shiny spherical objects in the depths of the Treasury, his ears perked up, and he went full-on detective mode. After cleaning up the rest of the Treasury, he lifted up the shiny spheres with his telekinesis and brought them to the vault door. Outside the door were Aflon and his father, both of whom had been standing guard.
He walked up to the disbelieving middle-aged man and laid a hand on his shoulder. "They say that the deadliest of snakes pretends to be harmless," he lectured. "Even the mightiest and most powerful animals, such as polar bears, act as cute and cuddly as the friendliest of puppy dogs."
Azmodeus slithered around to the other side of the Merchant. "However, when least you expect it," he turned his soft hands into razor-sharp fangs. "They strike!"
"Ahhh!!"
For a moment, the Merchant felt as if the largest and most terrifying serpent in existence had clasped him within its jaws. Yet before he spiraled down a pit of fear, Azmodeus patted him one more time on the shoulder before walking away.
"Go-Good sir," the Merchant gasped for breath. "I understand now... As a merchant, I should've already understood it. But I was foolish... I was foolish to believe that the human heart and demeanor were anything less than fickle or a facade..."
He steadied his breathing before getting up off the floor with the help of his son. As he realized another existential part of humanity, the way he looked at Azmodeus's broad back changed. His suspiciousness had all but transformed into an everlasting reference.
In both his mind and the mind of his son, the Good Sir had to be a respectable senior that kept his identity hidden from the masses. As a supreme senior, his might was certainly insurmountable, and his knowledge unquestionable!
"Wait for us, good sir!"
Aflon and his father chased after the man who looked like nothing short of an otherworldly god that descended to the Immortal Realm to grace everyone with his presence. They wished to spend more time in his presence. Even if it were for merely a moment, they wanted to better understand what separated people like them from people like him.
....