[ Sebastian nods agreeably, since truly, in this circumstance, he doesn’t mind. When establishing most of his Covenants, there was a bit of urgency to them. For one, just summoning him was a traumatic event for most humans, and it was an ideal time to prey upon that weakness and trick his masters into agreeing to less-than-ideal terms. But more practically than that, he truly wasn’t allowed to exist in the human realm untethered. It wasn’t as strict as having a timer or anything like that, but there wasn’t time to let them deliberate. ]
Take as long as you would like. To be completely honest, as Lady Yima did not ask for one herself, there is no one else I am currently considering offering this to.
[ Or more accurately, there’s no one else he thinks would take it as-is. He’d run into a few people where he could imagine a spark of interest, but he also imagines they would all balk at the price. ]
But I do understand perfectly, yes. Even I have my own principles, but the assurance of my word is not so strong as a contractual obligation, yes? [ He laughs playfully, but continues smoothly after a beat, ] It is worth noting that a Covenant with me is far more than a legal document. It is a kind of curse that binds me to my master, and vice versa. It is a contract enforced by magic, so violating any of its terms immediately makes the agreement null and void. That is, I may have my free will, but to go against the terms would make my efforts for naught.
[ It’s a bit of a preamble, but it helps make the weight of those terms clearer. Sebastian holds up three fingers as he continues. ]
And so, my masters may set three terms for our contract. And indeed, you may have one of them be that I cannot betray you. It was in fact a term of my previous contract. [ In his actual opinion, it’s a waste, but if it essentially takes away one of those binding terms, he won’t complain for it. ] And I suppose to give you an idea of the sort of thing you may demand… His other two terms were that I must obey any order directly given and that I could not lie.
no subject
Take as long as you would like. To be completely honest, as Lady Yima did not ask for one herself, there is no one else I am currently considering offering this to.
[ Or more accurately, there’s no one else he thinks would take it as-is. He’d run into a few people where he could imagine a spark of interest, but he also imagines they would all balk at the price. ]
But I do understand perfectly, yes. Even I have my own principles, but the assurance of my word is not so strong as a contractual obligation, yes? [ He laughs playfully, but continues smoothly after a beat, ] It is worth noting that a Covenant with me is far more than a legal document. It is a kind of curse that binds me to my master, and vice versa. It is a contract enforced by magic, so violating any of its terms immediately makes the agreement null and void. That is, I may have my free will, but to go against the terms would make my efforts for naught.
[ It’s a bit of a preamble, but it helps make the weight of those terms clearer. Sebastian holds up three fingers as he continues. ]
And so, my masters may set three terms for our contract. And indeed, you may have one of them be that I cannot betray you. It was in fact a term of my previous contract. [ In his actual opinion, it’s a waste, but if it essentially takes away one of those binding terms, he won’t complain for it. ] And I suppose to give you an idea of the sort of thing you may demand… His other two terms were that I must obey any order directly given and that I could not lie.