He Who Fights With Monsters 7 (He Who Fights with Monsters, #7)

by Shirtaloon

“Being royalty means we should be more fastidious about the rules, Vesper, not less. We have to be examples.”

I saw his certification from the Church of Death and it said he's died four times. So far. It actually said ‘so far’ on the certification. I've never seen that before.”

“Somewhere along the way, I forgot that magic wasn't all misery, danger and death. It's good to be home.”

It’s boldness to act in the right moment and recklessness to act in the wrong one. I need to stop being the latter and aim for the former.”

“It’s me. What could possibly go wrong?” “You’re really going to tempt fate like that?” “Fate tempted me first. If I can fight the Builder, I can bloody well fight her.”

“You realise there’s no actual god of fate, right? It’s just a metaphor.” “Good, because I'm pretty sure I couldn't take her.”

“Things take me seriously,” Jason said with a smile not quite as light-hearted as he intended. “I try not to encourage them.”

“Ancestral Majesty,” Vesper said. “You are so far above him that there is no etiquette you owe him.” “This, Vesper, is your flaw. You assume knowledge before seeking it out.

I suspect him to be a remarkable young man, which is why I want to put him to the test. I believe him to be the kind who finds himself in the centre of things over and over. A pawn of fate. A common destiny for outworlders, although the boy does seem to especially excel in this regard.”

“Why do I get the impression that you’re never quite telling the truth, even when you aren’t lying?”

Jason had spent some of his darkest days alone but for the three lovable death machines he carried inside him.

If you can’t afford trouble, you shouldn’t borrow it. If you don’t trust anything else I have to say, trust me on that.”

“A person who’s tired of dealing with people more powerful than himself. I’m just a guy looking to be an ordinary adventurer of his own damn rank. I want to take some contracts, help some people. Dashing heroics and witty banter; maybe a monologuing villain or two. I have no political ambitions and I do not appreciate being dragged into someone else’s.”

“You tell those people who sent you that this puppet likes to strangle the puppet master with his strings.”

“I’ve found it’s often better strange than scary,”

“This is the life,” Jason said. “Setting out together to have some adventures. No worlds to save, no gold-rankers to fight and no vampire uprisings.”

“People like that are essentially high-maintenance pets. If you feed them a biscuit and leave them to their handlers, they’re simple creatures and will wander off on their own. If you try to discipline them yourself, they won’t stop barking and, sooner or later, you’ll have to deal with the owner.”

“Making too many assumptions on not enough information is a poor pathway to knowledge,”

“I like the hitting-it-a-bunch plan.”

“I’ve been taken prisoner and I’ve fought and died,” Jason said as he conjured a dagger into his hand. “I liked the fighting better.”

“Respect is earned,” Jason said wearily. “And lost.”

“But I won’t claim to be innocent of using others without thinking of the consequences.”

People the Builder wants to kill personally don’t get nice and quiet, Mr Asano.”

He’s already killed me personally and it didn’t take. Now he’s sending henchmen. He has no idea how to dark lord properly; he’s doing it all backwards.”

“An organisation key to orchestrating an interdimensional invasion is targeting you specifically for death. You barely survived their ambush and you’re just going to what? Go about your day?”

“I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention for the last few years, but if you bet on things not getting worse, it won’t be your money you lose. It’ll be your head.”

He had to be quiet; to listen more than he spoke and to learn more than he revealed. It was a far cry from his strong suit, but if he wanted things to go better than they had in the past, he needed to be better himself. The question was whether he could, given his historical inability to rein himself in.

She is sorry that she used you.” “Everybody’s sorry. Never seems to stop them, though, does it?”

“You’re not completely an idiot, then,” Vesper said. “I do my best, but the occasional bit of competence slips through.”

Never lie when the truth can lie for you, and don't do things for one reason if you can do them for two.

“I have an object lesson in foolish risks running around with me. I leave that sort of thing to him now.”

“Better to invoke the dead than hurt the living.”

“Tell your boss,” he muttered, “the next time she wants me to dance, if she doesn’t tell me before the music starts, I’ll be stomping on her feet.”

“You said it was normal for outworlders to get caught up in stuff. You told me that the day we met.”

“if you refuse to cooperate, I will insist. You aren’t going to make me insist, are you?”

If you want to know if he can handle a contract, give him one. And I’d recommend that you take one or two yourself. There’s a monster surge on, and I think you could use the perspective.”

“I wasn’t trying to make a pun. If I was, I’d have done better.” “There is no better with puns, Mr Asano. There is only worse.”

“It's a funny thing, respect. It's a word that a lot of people—people on the higher end of the social strata—use because it sounds better than subservience. Even when you're talking about actual respect, why do you get to tell me what's respectful? I come from a whole other world and a much lower social class. In my culture, friendliness is respectful and being impersonal is cold and hostile. I get it; this is your town, so your rules. But if you and Soramir came to my town, would you follow my rules? My etiquette?”

“I wasn't meant to be who I am. I was meant to be better, but they won't…” He ran a hand over his face. “It wasn't meant to be like this,” he said. “It can't just be Earth all over again. Not here.” His voiced cracked, coming out as almost a sob. “I won’t make it through that again, Farrah.”

“When I met Jason, he was doing something insane to help a bunch of strangers, because that’s what he does. Jason has god-awful flaws, makes god-awful mistakes and is way too slow to learn from either. But from the day we met, he’s been putting everything on the line to protect people who have no power from people with who do. To protect those your political messes will hurt from people like you.

“They don’t write songs about sensible,

“Colin, watch the packaged meat,” Jason instructed. “If it starts going bad, eat it fast.”

“Then I will ask you not to do what you were about to do. Ever. Because—” “Why doesn’t matter,” Jason cut in, his voice soft. “If you want it, that’s all the why I need.” “It matters, Mr Asano. I know that you worry about what the actions you take are turning you into. You always wonder where the line is, and fear that you crossed it long ago without ever seeing it. You did not. This is the line, Mr Asano. If you do this, there is no coming back. Not all the way.”

“And where is home, Shade? I don’t think I know anymore.” “It’s the same place it’s always been, Mr Asano. The place where people are waiting for you.”

Jason didn’t think he could be surprised anymore, only to be proven immediately wrong.

“Asano might be an overbearing asshole that takes himself way too seriously, but he's our asshole, and we don't turn on our own assholes.”

“Who was that guy and what happened to the other guy?” “Same guy,” Vesper said happily as she set off after Jason. “He just put the mask back on.”

“Maybe we can talk about this when I’m not hanging from the underside of a skyship.” “Why are you doing that?” “Why isn’t everyone? It’s awesome. I just… I needed something fun, Farrah. Something simple and joyous. It’s easy to forget that’s a thing, you know?”

“At least we won't need to double-check who they are,” Trenchant said. “They're obviously the companions of Jason Asano.”

“Perhaps before doing anything drastic,” Shade suggested, “you could try asking them where they are.”