The siblings were prostrating themselves towards Maldi now sitting in the throne, I’m just standing in pce as always.

  “Ok Marisa, you’re gonna go get the ring now right?”

  “Unfortunately”

  “There’s no rush- Actually I’ll just stop asking, the ring is currently stored within the sacred forest, do you know where that is?”

  “Not at all”

  “Here”

  Shaking his hand, a map of the nd appeared from thin air. The ability to create things from thin air is cool. It's probably in the notebook that Maldi gave me, I’ll check it ter.

  “Have you seen a map of the world before baby?”

  “I’m going to rip your tongue off if you keep calling me that, and yes. I’ve seen one before, but I never paid much attention to it”

  It’s the truth, sure knowing the nd could be useful, but nds and names are pretty pointless to me at the moment, since most of the reason I looked at the map was checking the neighbors to my town. Which outside of towns from the same kingdom, we only neighbor the empire, and maybe eventually, Dagdar.

  “This saves time then, here’s the location of the sacred forest, which it’s inside Atrille, the country of elves”

  He mentioned, pointing to the southwest part of the continent, it’s kinda funny since it looks like a sort of half moon pointing downwards, and it’s the corner of the ‘moon’, it is indeed part of the country, mentioned before, but also.

  “The elves neighbor the empire as well, are they not in trouble with war as well?”

  “Not really, the elves are very shut to strangers, and possess the greatest might in terms of magical armament, attacking them is suicide, even I could not enter without resistance, which is why going directly would be impossible”

  “So we need a way to access the country? Can’t we teleport to the pce and be done with it?”

  “To the country itself, yes. But teleporting into the town would alert everyone of your presence, and teleporting to the sacred forest is also impossible. Much like my castle, it’s protected to these sort of things”

  “Great, then?”

  “This is where Aaron and Hope come in”

  ““At your service Milord!””

  “You two have your orders”

  He said, swinging his hand once again, only for two pitch bck cubes to appear in front of them, they looked at them and after picking up the small silver handle, they looked closer to suitcases now that I got a good look. They’re simply carrying them as such.

  “We will carry your orders dutifully!”

  “Great, Marisa, accompany these two, they’re going to go to two different towns, both under their direct influence”

  “Why do I have to take a detour?”

  “You don’t if you don’t want to, next steps are entirely up to you, my recommendation is to gather troops in those two towns. But not to overpower Atrille, these troops will be a distraction for you to enter without getting noticed”

  “So you’re gonna use your people as bait?”

  “They’re disposable, plus they’re not my people, not anymore”

  I mean, the elves do have another country as neighbors, I’m gonna guess it’s the demonfolk, given the pces he’s pointing on the map while expining.

  “I’m not really in the mood for a mass genocide at the moment”

  “The decision is all on your shoulders. you can also use Aaron and Hope to bruteforce your way in, but I don’t recommend it since you will have troubles but maybe it can work somehow, but in case you don’t”

  Maldi then made a swinging motion, and an object was hurled towards me, the same object that I caught for inspection, it seems to be a coin of some sorts.

  “If you’re in a pinch, break that coin, and I will personally appear to aid you, regardless of their military might, no army in the world can stop me”

  “How magnanimous, take your filthy thing back! I don’t need it”

  Tossing the coin to the ground at the foot of the throne, he just smiled.

  “Bold. Very well, find a way in however you want, you are technically their rightful princess after all, though don’t bet on them bowing down to you, they have never kneeled for impure elven breeds as rulers”

  “Weren’t all their rulers part of my family?”

  “They were, now they don’t work as a monarchy, but also, all your ancestors were elves, you’re the first half breed in your family tree”

  “I know I’m one of a kind”

  “Once in, the sacred forest only allows those whose destiny to it are intertwined, not a lot I can give you since navigation is pretty impossible, and even looking at it through space yields nothing, as it’s covered by the canopy of the trees. I doubt this will be the case, but if for whatever reason the forest itself rejects your entry, burn it to the ground, enough to get in. It’s doable I have brute forced my way in before”

  “If you know how to break in and where it is, why don’t you get the ring?”

  “The elves, and the forest are not the problem, it’s the chamber where the seal itself is resting, a spell to protect it was pced by your mother, tailor made for me specifically. Breaking it would take time and the elves would be on my heels, if I get rid of the elves, the world will be at my throat again, it’s just more problems than it’s worth, brute force is my st resort, as is yours I’m sure”

  “And if I can’t enter?”

  “No shot Hestia locked it for the entire world, she always believed in preservation for the future, and no one can enter as far as I know, that means that only her own bloodline can”

  “Sounds about right, how dull”

  “Did you catch all of that?”

  “Yep, essentially ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ had a divorce and are fighting over property, so you left your kid as intermediary”

  A deadbeat dad, and a paranoid mother, give it up for parents of the ages. I’m getting tired of these clowns and their mess!

  “Let’s just get this over with, so we just hit towns and get the stupid ring, let’s go”

  And like that, I walked out of the throne room, as did the two siblings, I can’t teleport here, so my pn was to wait for them outside if they didn’t come. Fortunately, they seem to be complying properly, as they just walked behind me to the outside.

  “Here princess”

  “Hmm?”

  Hope handed me a loose hood connected to sleeves and a small cape.

  “This?”

  “For covering your identity Midy”

  It’s the same, or extremely simir to the one they use constantly.

  “Yeah, I’m not wearing this”

  “We advise you to do it, or do you want the world to know of your activities? We’re going to meetings for the cult of the demon lord. Would it be ok for the ruler of Welst to participate in such a shady pce, with btant disregard for her image?”

  “Hmm... I hope you die in a ditch~”

  Heh, that pun was unintentional, either way she’s right, I guess covering my identity wouldn’t hurt in the slightest.

  For now we reached the ruins of the town that once stood here, and then another portal.

  “Let’s go princess~”

  “Yeah yeah, you don’t have to tell me twice, where are we going anyways?”

  I said, heading through the portal with my trusty backpack on my, well, back.

  What greeted me was, rather me to be honest, it looks just as decrepit as the ruins from the town in the tundra. At least it is not snowing right here.

  I can’t even qualify the construction of the ‘building’, it doesn’t look like stone bricks like the houses of my town, it definitely leaves a lot to be desired.

  That’s the functional ones, there’s a bunch of colpsed houses, they literally have palm tree tops as roofs! Primitive doesn’t even come close to what this pce is!

  Ok, they’re not thatch huts, but are not exactly durable either, I can’t put it into words, and I have no clue what the materials are.

  “This is Yrea, a somewhat small town where Lamia’s live”

  “Lamia’s you say!?”

  The lizard people! The reptilians who run the government! I have to admit that when I heard that my seriousness went out of the window. I heard they exist, but I’ve never seen one with my own two different colored eyes!

  It only took 5 seconds, before one came out of a door in a building, holding what seems to be a bucket and throwing the content into the floor.

  They really are half snake people! Bro has no legs, just a long reptilian tail! It kinda reminds me of Lassie’s tail in appearance, unlike mine that is smoother and not scaly.

  Why the disdainful look though?

  “Princess, there should be a meeting in 30 minutes, allow us to escort you to an inn in the meantime”

  “Nah, you guys do what you have to do, I’ll just meander in the town!”

  “But, what about troops and organization?”

  “I said I’m not fighting, besides I have always found my allies by myself, just look for me whenever it’s time to go to the next town”

  “But M-”

  Aaron was about to retort but Hope hit him with her elbow.

  “As you wish princess, but it might be a couple of days, look for the only decent building if you need a pce to rest”

  “Yeah yeah, now get lost!”

  And just like that, we parted ways.

  Freedom at st! I was getting suffocated by my ‘family’, they’re a bunch of stuck up people! Did Maldi pnned the whole trip so I had to rely on the pair and not kill them? Seems unlikely I doubt he cares about those two.

  Then again, loyal minions are always useful to have, so I can see him protecting them out of pure convenience.

  Let us explore the town! It’s for demonfolk and I will one day rule this pce as well~

  Hmm, that might take time, I need to get rid of the empire first, to get a good grasp on the town, we are far too apart at the moment.

  Actually, taking Arthur down might be a good first step. I don’t think Celestial will stop me anymore, or at least I hope not.

  Oh look, they use the same nguage and alphabet as back at my town, this makes things easier, not only that but not everyone is a snake person, there’s some other people with horns! I guess they’re the closest to what my actual species is meant to be.

  Hmm... I am pretty hybridized though, the first strangers with horns! They don’t have goat legs as Elizabeth however.

  The more I think about the species, the more confusing I get. Also why is it that some races are welcomed somewhere and others are not?

  I’ll just chalk it up to fantasy racism! It is a dream after all!

  Now that I think about it, I don’t need to wear this stupid hood, who’s gonna point fingers at me in here, plus I don’t pn on doing anything shady to begin with, why would I fear for my image if I haven’t done anything wrong?

  For now I pced the weird hood into my backpack, I hate things with tight neck openings, they get caught up in my horns and make my hair all static.

  I’ll keep it for now, and toss it in the trash ter!

  Since I’m gonna be wasting time in the town, I might as well go sightseeing! Although usually the pces to visit are not that interesting, more so in this rundown town. I guess I’ll go check the markets to begin with, that is a good way to learn of a pce right?

  I walk across the town, getting completely ignored by all of its inhabitants, which is great! I don’t have to put up with stares or finger pointing. Just another demon walking by~

  These must be the markets and-

  What are those!? I approach the snake old dy tending a store for what appears to be weird raisins, they weren’t, they are in fact insects in a basket, these people eat insects? I guess any food source is appreciated, I know I can’t compin given my diet to be honest.

  “You have a good eye for quality sweetie, can I offer you something?”

  “Ah, I’m just looking around thanks”

  What a nice old dy, still, I’m not gonna be consuming insects, for now I continued walking and the next shop that caught my attention was a bakery, it smells nice inside and the idea of having cake is too alluring. Elizabeth broke my taste buds, it’s her fault for being so good at confectionery! You can imagine my disappointment when it was bread and the like, but no sweets, what a shame!

  “Welcome cutie, what can I get you?”

  “C-Cutie!?”

  That’s a first! Is he being flirty or something? Maybe it’s the pce, or maybe the fact I’m used to just being called ‘demon’ or the like! It also caught me off guard because he’s being genuine about it!

  “That’s right cutie, we have the best bread in town, why don’t you try it?”

  A free sample? He poisoned it right? It must be poisoned. No one has ever given me a free sample in this world, and seeing this pce seems to be doing even worse than my town, he must be pnning something!

  And yet I feel no malice in his words, are my senses failing me again?

  “Thanks, but I can’t possibly accept it”

  “Aww, don’t be shy, it’s on the house really”

  “No no, it’s fine really!”

  ...now he seems disappointed? These snake people are kinda weird, they slither around with their venomous pns! Either that or I’m a huge jerk, honestly I can’t really tell.

  “Hmm...”

  I just look at the different breads lined up in the store. Some of them caught my attention given that they seem to be ft and with things baked into the dough, what are they raisins? A closer inspection tells me they’re not, but I rather not think too much about their true ingredients...

  Honestly, the appeal to try them just went out of the window. Elizabeth's bakery is the only one for me. I'll ask her to make us some actual not sweet bread for a change when I go back home.

  “Are you new in town missy?”

  “Eh? Ah! Yes, I just arrived”

  “I see, makes sense I never saw you in town”

  “Yeah, what do you recommend?”

  “Oh, we just got fresh loaves out of the oven, sometimes simple is the best to try! Do you want some pretty?”

  Ok, his excessive ‘affection’ is starting to creep me out. He's just pointing to the freshly baked bread, 10 a piece is a bit expensive, at least in Nars, probably copper coins right? The monetary system is a mess, he should put the currency on the little sign.

  “10 a piece right, give me 2 please”

  I said pcing two silver coins on the counter, he just looked weirdly at the coin.

  “Ah! Foreign exchange, is this not what they use at the empire? Do you come from there!?”

  Errm? Ok, now I can feel the aggression now, so my senses work? It’s just he’s a weirdo!

  “Not really, I come from Welst. Uh... from Aldrid, I took a ship up north to get here”

  Not really, I teleported, but it’s the only believable way that I reached this country without crossing the empire.

  “Ah, I see! Sorry for that missy, makes sense, I’m sure you hate the empire as much as we do”

  “You have no idea! A pain in the behind those people are!”

  I feel like our hatred is for different reasons, but it’s a good compromise with my fellow demonkin. He counts as demonfolk? Are Lamias counted as a demonic race? Why are centaurs not? Weird.

  “I can’t accept that money, sorry”

  “That’s a problem then, all my currency is in this, is there a currency exchange business around here?”

  “Umm... I don’t think you’ll be able to swap your money around these parts”

  “Well shit, I’m in trouble then”

  I said crossing my arms, the store clerk was taken aback by my swear word, for now I left before he could retort, simply waving a ‘thanks’ and leaving the establishment.

  If I’m not a client, better not get in the way of actual customers.

  This is bad though, no money means no food, although food is pointless to me, but it also means no inn to stay the night or anything to be honest, and that’s not good.

  Push comes to shove, I can teleport back to the pace, then again is on the other side of the continent. I don’t know how far my teleportation abilities are, but let’s leave that as our st option.

  There’s also going back to Maldi’s castle, or looking for the siblings, but the idea of requesting more of their help is asinine to me.

  Now I wander the town, like a hobo, carrying a backpack with my belongings and without a pce to stay. Under normal circumstances this would be worrying, but I’m surprisingly calm all things considered, it’s almost poetic when I think about it!

  I am now one with my destiny like those wandering troubadours of fantasy~

  Hey! Now that I think about it, there’s no professional singer or performer that I’ve seen in this world! Do they exist? Now I’m kinda curious about arts, street performers do exist but I wouldn’t consider them ‘profesional’, what would a concert in this pce look like?

  I didn’t find any stage or stadium for these things, but the logo of the building in front of me I’ve seen a few times! It’s a guild! They did mention it to be an international organization after all.

  Whatever, I entered like I own the pce, it will be mine one of these days after all, I was just gonna get one of the requests from the board, but since it’s next to the receptionists, they called me out before I could pick one.

  “Welcome, are you new here dear?”

  The receptionist is not a Lamia like 90% of the popution, simply another demon with horns and tail, like mine, I realize how little my physical traits differ from normal demons. I guess it’s good that no one knows I’m demon royalty.

  ...or elven royalty, I am the only one with long ears after all.

  “To the town yeah, not so much the guild”

  “I can see that in the way you carry yourself, can I bother you with your licence for a quick moment? Just to register you quickly”

  “Sure thing”

  I rummaged through my backpack, I know it’s here somewhere. Fortunately my rank was restored so I’m a silver star rank. Maybe it’s a good opportunity to increase my rank here!

  “Oh! A silver rank! You’re pretty strong huh? Yikes that religion, this was issued in Aldrid, did they force you to pick a religion?”

  “Yes! I put none, how did you know?”

  “The visitors from there are very rare, and no demon would choose the church of light as their religion, everything is ok dear, want me to edit your card?”

  “Please do, And if you can increase my rank while we’re at it~”

  I said jokingly, I have to say. I’ve felt more at ease in this town all things considered.

  “Haha, maybe we can, let’s see how you perform, but I can see at a gnce the rank is definitely a bit low for you, still, welcome to the guild, if there’s anything we can do to help, we’re at your service!”

  “Thanks, I’ll take a look at the requests”

  And so I did, at least my guild certificate works here, unlike my money.

  I need to earn some here to at least get a pce to sleep, maybe the receptionist can point me to an inn? I’ll ask once I’m done with a request.

  Although everything seems kinda dull... and not very high paying.

  The biggest request is a 3 bronze one, and seems to be gathering herbs. For much that it’s a staple of the genre, the idea of going to a random forest to collect weeds is not my idea of adventurer work.

  Well it’s either that or finding a lost cat, hmm...

  “Excuse me, are these all the requests you have at the moment? I’m looking for something with a bit more oomph, if you know what I mean”

  “Ah, of course! We simply hid the high ranked requests because-”

  “WE HAVE RETURNED OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ARMS!”

  The poor guild receptionist was interrupted by two mias entering the building. I like their style, did almost the same thing the first time I entered a guild after all.

  Hey, they look almost identical! Same dark red hair, bck eyes, and dark tan skin! The only thing that differentiate them is their hairstyle, their faces almost look the same as well.

  ...And both inherited the unfortunate chest department, although most mias I’ve seen are pretty ft chested. Honestly, maybe it’s the fact they’re reptiles that they don’t need mammaries.

  “You twins again! Are you here to make a mess again!?”

  The kind receptionist that was helping me is now yelling. Receptionist work is soul draining huh? I still won’t cut Delia any sck back home!

  “Curve your tongue! We simply arrived to inquire for proper employment!”

  “You two always fail miserably and give us more headaches! Take one off the board and stop pestering!”

  “Tasks of this magnitude are inconsequential for champions of our caliber! We demand to see the greater requests”

  The one with hair swept to the right is the one doing all the talking, the left swept hair twin looks like she’s feeling the shame of her sister, but it’s still sticking close to her.

  “So umm, are these two the reasons the higher requests are not public?”

  “Unfortunately, sorry for the inconvenience, here you go”

  The receptionist handed me a book with sheets of paper loosely cobbled together.

  “Aha! Let us see!”

  The moment the twins approached me to see the book, the receptionist straight up hit them with a cane on the head.

  “You two back off, Marisa is an ACTUAL silver rank adventurer, unlike you two failures! I won’t let you pick off any of these requests!”

  How did the receptionist know my name? Ah right the licence!

  “What rude behaviour to your peers! Have it your way then!”

  The twins went defeated to sit down at a table, probably waiting for me to be done to either pester the receptionist again, or pester me once I’m done picking a quest.

  “Hmm... An orc group subjugation quest? Seems interesting, I’ll pick this one”

  Mostly because it’s the highest rank one there is, and the best paying one.

  “Ah! It’s a two silver star rank, it should be fine if you take it, but consider forming a party for backup just in case”

  “I’ll be fine, I’m pretty strong after all!”

  “If you say so”

  “Did my ears deceive me, do you need companions for this quest?”

  “Not you two siblings! You’re barely a bronze star, sit down!”

  “It’s ok, They don’t bother me”

  I cut the receptionist that’s telling the twins to fuck off. they fascinate me, plus I need to kill time anyways.

  “You will not regret our ensemble! We are formidable warriors!”

  “Umm... Marisa...”

  “I don’t mind babysitting”

  “We require no such sympathy! We are steeled champions through and through”

  “Is that so?”

  I look at the pair top to bottom, they don’t seem that strong to me.

  “You don’t believe our cims?”

  “Well...”

  “Foolish adventurer! Incapable of seeing our might! Let this be etched in your mind! We carry the blood of the true ruler of the demons, descendants of Maldi himself!”

  ...What!?

  Ok, shock factor aside, this is a lie. My senses picked it up as one, which tells me they also know it is a lie, I even looked at the receptionist and she gestured to me that it’s a lie as well.

  I came looking for performers and found two mias with eighth grade syndrome! These are not clowns, they’re the entire circus! This oughta be fun!

  Joanne_carper