The Incubus System

I turned to Jenny who was standing with her back facing the crowd at the corner of the entrance as if she was trying to hide herself from the crowd. Even though I couldn't see her face and didn't check it with my observation skill, I could tell she was panicked, sad and lost, from how her hand swiped her cellphone's screen.

"At least we have to tell her that her prom date is gone," said Celia worriedly.

"But how?" I asked.

"Just say you saw him get out of here in a hurry," she suggested.

"Are you sure it will work without making any scene?" I made sure. If Celia didn't have a problem with her, I would have done it a long time ago. Jenny was in a bad mood. There was a high chance she would spit fire on us since she needed someone to blame for. I even had thought of manipulating someone to tell her. But, if she asked that person after I cancelled my manipulation skill, it would bring new problems. Coupled with the broken Demon Detector, Jenny might assume that her prom date was eaten by a demon.

After a moment of silence, Celia shook her head from side to side in a gloomy face.

"But . . . We can't just leave her alone," she said again.

I turned my gaze back to Jenny and stared at her lonely back. I could remember how confidently she came to this party. Now... Her confidence was gone and she looked like a lost little girl who was too afraid to ask for help.

"Can you help her?" Celia said.

I wasn't sure about that and was just about to say it, but then, I saw Larry in his demon hunter uniform. His attention was not on me, but his Demon Compass. It seemed he wanted to make sure there wasn't a single demon left here.

An idea crossed my head. It would demean Jenny's pride for sure. Still, I decided to give it a try.

"I have an idea, but I need to borrow your name so she can come with us. Are you okay with that?" I made sure.

"It's fine. Tonight is already bad for her. I don't want to make it worse. Besides, it wasn't me who wanted this competition from the start," she replied.

"Okay. Let's see if she will accept our help or not. Wait here." I released my hand from Celia and walked towards Jenny. In the end, all decisions would depend on Jenny.

As my steps stopped near her, my eyes stole a glance at her cellphone's screen.

'Guberr?' I thought with a frown. Guberr was Aeros mobility as a service (MaaS) application that provided transportation services.

Unaware of my presence, her fingers kept moving on the screen, trying to order a car in the luxury car section yet no one took her order since the maps show how crowded the street around here was.

"Oh C'mon... I just want to go home..." she muttered in panic. I quickly caught it, her previous car wasn't her real car.

Since she wasn't aware of my presence, I decided to inform her.

"Ehem..." It managed to startle her and made her turn to me. Which I answered with a smile.

Quickly, she hid her cellphone and tried to show confidence on her face.

"Aren't you Celia's prom date? Is there something you need from me?" Even with her expression, her stammering voice couldn't hide her panic.

"I just wonder if you don't mind having a little talk with us," I said politely.

"I don't mean to offend you or try to cause trouble. This is really just a small talk," I added.

As I expected, she showed her refusal clearly by folding her arms across her chest and raising her chin a bit.

"What do you want to talk about? Just say it here. My prom date is coming to pick me up."

I looked from side to side briefly to make sure no one was near us before I got close to her.

"I don't think you will be happy to hear this. But I know your prom real identity is," I said in a low voice.

Instead, she replied to me with a glare.

"Do you think I will buy your trick?" she said in displeasure.

Seriously, if it wasn't for Celia's request, I would have left her alone and let her experience this on her own. I was sure this would make her a bit mature.

"I don't know if you will believe me or not. But your prom is a con artist. His hobby is playing around with women's feelings. A friend of mine is one of his victims. Three months ago, he promised to marry her but he didn't show up on their wedding day. My friend almost suicided because of it," I said in serious tone.

My made-up story made her expression change. Her worries began to show and her confidence cracked.

"Think again. He left you without a word and didn't show up again, right? Isn't that the same as what happened to my friend?" I convinced her.

That managed to make her lower her hands and look around to make sure no one heard us, especially her friends.

"I think you're wrong. He already told me he has some urgent business and will be back to pick me up soon," she reasoned.

I took a deep breath. She was more stubborn than I thought so I decided to use my last resort. If this didn't work either, I would go back to Celia and let Jenny eat her own pride.

"Stop fooling yourself. You already know he won't be back and you'll be a laughing stock if you keep waiting for him here. Besides..." I shifted my gaze to the row of cars moving slowly near us to pick up the guests. It was quite crowded because another party in the building next door had just finished as well.

"The Guberr application also can't help you in this traffic. And one more thing..." I switched my gaze to Larry who was walking across the street.

"If we let our guard down, who knows when the demons will attack us? Harming yourself just to defend an empty pride is stupid," I said.

Jenny pressed her lips and fell silent. From the look in her eyes and her face, her arrogance and confidence began to disappear. But she quickly tried to regain her composure.

"Fine, let's see what Celia wants to say." She tried to collect the remnants of her pride.

"Thank you," I said with a smile.

"But do you mind if we talk on the way home?" This time I turned to a long luxury car that had just arrived.

"My car has arrived," I said in a casual tone.

Jenny looked at the car with wide eyes in shock. I was sure she knew I wasn't lying since the chauffeur quickly came down and opened the door for Celia. While Celia turned to me, asking us to move faster.