Prickly

  Plotting against the emperor? That is very daring, but do we stand a ce? With all the resources from our... beors, we might stand a ce. That is of course, if what you say is true. There are also still plenty of obstacles to remove.-
  The st week passed in ease, there were a few more hiccups in the form of people wanting me dead or locked up. Some assassi by svers, who very much did not appreciate me going around turning their employers into Christmas decorations. There was also a group of adventures who tried to apprehend me for 'pirad es with the bck market'. Those pints fell on deaf ears, as there is no proof of me having itted pira the Empire, and the mermaid in the bck market was wearing a mask. They wao cim that it was obviously me, until I pointed out I am not the only mermaid with blue hair and blue eyes in the capital. They know it was me, but nobody cares enough when I get away on a teicality rather easily.

  Using magic, I 'swim' into the ball. This even will be the first time I will be trying out airswimming for aended period of time. Before entering, I spot Cathy at the entrance, waiting for something. She is dressed in a fancy maid outfit, something no servant nor noble would wear.

  "Привет Cathy, you dider yet?" She shifts some eyes around, and blinks slowly before answering.

  "No, is it fine if we eogether/unionized/as one]?" Teag Cathy about Russia was one of the more fun things to do. She already speak the nguage fine, and seems very excited to hear of 'extradimensional space'.

  "Of course it's fine rade. Having yht behio scare all those pansies will be fun!" Showing our ID's to security gains us a quitrahe moment I enter with Cathy right on my tail, the attending nobles close to the door already flinch away, muy eai.

  Urist quickly spots me entering, he thunders over to me as quick as his legs take him. What is real surprising is that he's in full metal pte, if I knew I was allowed to e i armor, I would have!

  "Esstrey ya gotta save Eden!" Fants is in trouble? I reach for one of my hidden ons, security didn't even check if we had these.

  "Who? Where?" I quickly s the room, ahe trouble Urist was talking about just as he says what the problem is.

  "Vile creatures assault our boy! They are attempting ta capture and devour him before we have a proppa drinkoff!" I spot Eden, surrounded by noblespawn vying for his attention. I should have known that medieval European politics would revolve around selling off your kids to the highest bidder, but Eden is my oppoo drink uhe table. Thus, I refuse to surrender him to the piranha's.

  Approag Eden at a suspiciously quick pace, my prey don't notice me until it is too te.

  "Hey Eddy! Who are your friends?" I lock arms around two of the girls harassing him, much to their horror, I am only getting started.

  "By the Goddess Esstrey! You look like you killed an imperial admiral and redecorated his suit before promptly wearing it yourself!" Before I tinue my assault, he ents on my outfit. This is an admiral outfit? Looks more like something a British ial-era captain would wear, tri included, of course.

  "I mean, I might have killed an imperial admiral at one point, but all the meat kind of looks the same to me." Most of the creatures start bag off at my words, the rest soon follow as Cathy stalks right behind me. I release the horrified brats from my arms, and they quickly run off as well.

  "Did you really?" I simply chuckle and shake my head. I'm pretty sure my memory is still good enough that I would remember doing something like that. He sighs in relief upon that.

  "e boy! Ya have been evadiempts at getting ye absolutely wasted long enough!" He sches his nose in displeasure for a bit, before looking back to his previous pany, and feeling more certain.

  "Alright, it would be bad if I went bay wainst a dwarf at this point." He says it like he is resigned, but a man of his status never n himself to anything.

  Urist leads us to a table on the side, he somehht along a rge keg of dwarven beer. Eden brought some bottles of whiskey, and I brought a few fsks of rum. "Alright boozelets, tha rules be simple. If I take a swig, ye take a swig. Ta make it more fair, I'll be takin bigga swigs."

  As we start on the sed swig, Ky fast walks over to us, hounded by a surprisingly rge amount of imperial nobles.

  "And this is my good frierey! She is more only known as Esstrey the mad, because she has suteresting views on svery." Ky introduces me in a way she never introduces me.

  "There ain't nothing iing about my opinions on svery. It is perfectly normal to want to nail them all to a cross. Now what do you shrimps want? I am in a drinking test here with some rookie alcoholics." Eden may be a rookie alcoholic, but Urist scoffs and takes another swig.

  "Weren't there a lot of sver murdered tely in particurly gruesome ways? Like they were found o a cross?" Eden says it like some very funny joke, but svers dying horribly is my bread and butter, so who am I to judge?

  "Yeah crazy right? I wonder who would be nuts enough to do that?" Ky is trying to stop herself from giggling while saying it. The parasites ging trow pale as they watch me. I simply give a smile that sends them running.

  "Fuck was that about? I thought humans were more scared of the great demon lord." Ky sits dowo me, looking as relieved as Eden did a moment ago.

  "I thought so too, but I guess they have some skewed expectations when they saw me. Thanks for the save Esstrey, you are really great at sg annoying people away." She looks at Eden while she says that, like he's in on some inside joke. The fuck does she mean by that?

  Urist takes out cards to enhance our alcohol petition. However, before he has even finished dealing our cards, Carmil and Xygar show up.

  "Hey guys! Mind if I sit here?" Carmil says it with a clearly faked smile. Looks like she had a rough time as well.

  "Sure ss, as long as ye don't mind the smell of booze." Carmil looks around at Urists statement before answering, or more correctly venting.

  "It beats the stant smell ant noble blood. I far prefer the cattle bae that are bred to perfe, but my nation demands that as a vampire I get along with the rot of the Empire. No offense Eden." Eden zily waves it away like he is used to people calling his vassals rot.

  "Oh Xygar! Did you receive the resources for g growths?" Ky has actually mao remember something for ohis being the cure for cer expert being Xygar who is handling the practical area of what he insisted is my theory.

  "Oh yes! They were quite cooperative, and Jaha has been of great assistao me. I should also be able to easily expand the researt the hardier parasitic diseases as well." Xygar 't smile because he's a skeleton, but from his voice I certainly tell he's trying.

  It doesn't take long for the visitor to join us as well. Myrdria, princess of the city state Alnab, and one of the sver scum twins, joins us, followed by ae of older nobles.

  "And this is my css, they are the future, and I do reend trying to build trade retions with these people. Lady Ky'th is the sitting demon lord, and the only one so far to have decided to make tact with those outside Mazurio. Xygar is a death magic major, and will be able to tell you exactly how goods expire. Urist is a mayor of a magib factory, this all makes him a great tact if you have too mupetition. There is also Esstrey, she is a leading expert irade of people." She introduces us in a very specifiner, Ky gives a meek wave, Xygar is trying his hardest to blush at being called a death magic major, Urist is sending a death gre her way for exposing his business, and I simply send a big smile in the dire of the sver scum.

  Sadly, my smile misses, and hits the noble merts behind her instead as they all quickly make excuses to leave. The eable sends a look in the dire of Myrdria that screams 'you too, huh?'.

  "Esstrey dear, lovely w with you, you make for perfetimidation. I have to say, really picked the right job with your skill set." She says it like everything that just happened was a fone clusion.

  "I 't be that scary, they are probably just running away from Cathy, who is always close to me. Besides, I would NEVER work for rat bastard sver s-" Before I finish, I am interrupted by Myrdria.

  "One-hundred gold if you punch Urist in the face." I reach across the table, and soe of the ale kegs present in the face. Specifically, the ohat was still sending a death gre to my paycheck. The punch makes his helmet give off a gong-like noise, and he falls to the ground moaning, more from the fact he is now dizzy, and will have a hard time getting up. Sihe booze numbed his sense.

  "See? You didn't eveate. Cathy may look scary as a species, but ahat looks for lohan five seds will notice a diminutive servant. Whereas you represent a very real, and a very present threat. Someohat and would kill for unperceived slights." She monologues it like she's saying some grand fact of life. I simply gesture for her to pay up.

  "Esstrey! Why did you punch Urist? That's just cruel!" Ky is fih me killing sors in general, but it seems even she 't resist Urists... 'charms'.

  "O rex! He barely felt it, and he's also now fifty gold richer! It was a team effort, after all." The real cruelty would be not sharing with a rade after all.

  Our banter is interrupted as Alicia stomps over, with her brother in tow. The nobles following them quickly taper off, as it bees clear her destination is the fa of freaks.

  "Thank the fug Goddess, some pany that isn't liable to poison me." I would correct her on that, as I have poisoned plenty of people during these occasions, but realize that I really wouldn't use poison to kill anyone here. I have a message that needs sending, after all.

  "It ain't tha bad." Eden mao barely slur iween sips of whiskey. Alicia simply scowls iurn.

  "Holy, I'm surprised no one has fallen over dead yet. If my mother were here, we would be attending a funeral, rather than a ball." siderione, she is most definitely a the cheery situation.

  "Not to [worry/fret/anguish] Lady Alicia. Lady Esstrey has proven [invaluable/indispensable/uerred] in finding things to kill." ing from literally anyone else that might have bee as an insult, however just this once I feel like proving Cathy right, and give Ky a poke.

  "Is there anyone where there isn't meant to be anyht now?" Ky narrows her eyes at me, but her focus lies elsewhere.

  "There is someone in the rafters under cover of shad-" I spot the trespasser iion, and shoot him down with my crossbow, which I had hidden under my coat. The bolt nds in his neck, and he falls down in the middle of the dance hall, crossbow ctterio him. People scream as a corpse nds, which quickly morphs into the realization that he was an assassin who was bad at his job.

  "Damn, I wao prove dad wrong so badly." Eden pukes, and falls to the floor unscious. It seems he lost the drinking game.