Chapter Nine

  Once Ulbert managed to get his first few words out, the next ones came easier, most notably, Ulbert deflected questions about himself by instead asking Torald questions instead. “I’m the oldest son of my house, m’lord. So of course I had to fight the beastmen on the front lines. But so did my brothers.”

  “How many of those do you have?” Ulbert asked while they meandered on over the long and empty road toward the far horizon.

  “None, now. I am the last. That is why I’m alive.” Torald explained, and at that Ulbert could only scratch his head.

  “I do not understand.” He said.

  “My brothers all died in battle. As the last son of my house, I was sent home two months before your noble self arrived. I was allowed to raise money for the campaigns as my service to the crown instead.” Torald explained, curiously, he didn’t sound as sad about that as Ulbert expected.

  “I’m sorry about your loss.” Ulbert said, though the truth was that he didn’t really feel the pity his old self would have. ‘Could my demon body be influencing me? Probably. I’m feeling less connection to humans all the time… still, there isn’t any hatred there…’

  Torald, unaware of Ulbert’s private thoughts, only bowed his head. “It is how people die in our Kingdom. The old move east to be harvested and buy time. The young bear arms to fight the beastmen off as best we can. But they are bigger and stronger than we, so it is a fight we never really win. We can only minimize our losses.”

  “It is impressive that you have lasted as long as you have.” Ulbert praised the knight, who smiled a little.

  “We have our ways. We raise our young to fight and some of those become talented heroes, adventurers capable of killing the beastmen. I’ve had the misfortune of meeting one of those before I went west to meet with the Slane Theocracy and call for aid.” Torald shivered, and that had Ulbert’s attention.

  “Misfortune? Don’t humans usually want to meet their heroes?” He asked.

  “This one was Cerebrate. And when I ‘met’ him on the front line, it was when a weeping child was leaving his tent while his party waited outside for him to finish. I don’t know about demons, m’lord. But humans find that disgusting.” Torald shuddered as he spoke, and Ulbert could not help but think of his old world again.

  It wasn’t uncommon for such degenerates to rise in power, doing anything for the money to indulge in and escape consequences for their behavior, taking advantage of the poverty of their employees and buying their way out of abusing the children of those who worked for them. All at once, Ulbert felt a burning hatred for Cerebrate.

  But he kept his cool. “If this is so, why not punish him?” Ulbert asked as if he didn’t know, but he felt fairly sure he knew the answer.

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  “Because he is… was necessary to protect the whole Kingdom. He’s one of the strongest in our country, even if we didn’t need him, an adamantite adventurer is worth at least five thousand soldiers. And that’s even if they can win. If someone gets strong enough, who can touch them?” Torald asked as if the question were self explanatory, and when he put it that way, it was.

  That there… that was vital information that Ulbert didn’t previously have. ‘So, some people can get absurdly strong compared to others in their own kind, and be basically a law unto themselves… but that one, this ‘Cerebrate’ could kill Beastmen, however he wasn’t strong enough to drive them all the way back.’

  So that left the question, ‘Is there anyone stronger than me here? Ugh, I really… really wish I had my equipment.’ Ulbert thought as his imagination turned grim.

  “Is there anyone in this kingdom that might be stronger than me?” Ulbert asked the obvious, and Torald gave a vigorous shake of denial.

  “Absolutely not.” He said with finality.

  “How can you be sure?” Ulbert pressed.

  “If there were, then they would have revealed themselves for the wealth of a Kingdom that would come with driving off the beastmen.” Torald emphasized, “M’lord, may I speak freely?”

  “Yes…” Ulbert braced his mind for the unpleasant kind of question or statement that always followed a question like that.

  “Is m’lord not accustomed to being rewarded for his work?” Torald asked, “Forgive me, m’lord but… you saved the Kingdom, and you did it all but alone. There is no reward out of reach for you. Not even the hand of the Queen herself.”

  “You might not have noticed, but I’m not exactly human.” Ulbert said, his voice thick with sarcasm as he drew his hand along the length of his goat face.

  “Neither is she, m’lord.” Torald answered, “She is from a dragon line, diluted somewhat by humans, but she still has transformation magic and access to wild magic.”

  “Even so… I am a demon.” Ulbert pointed out.

  “A demon who saved our Kingdom, m’lord.” Torald retorted, “There are some who insist you are a new god come to us again. They say a new age of gods has begun…”

  “And what do you say, Torald?” Ulbert asked, ‘A god? Me?’ He felt his inner chuunibyou rising in his chest at the very idea.

  “We prayed to the gods for help and got none from them. You’re here and have the power we begged for. That’s god enough for me, m’lord.” Torald answered matter-of-factly.

  It was a very practical answer, one Ulbert could appreciate down to his core. ‘I suppose desperate people will call anything god if it saves them…’ Ulbert pondered that, and pondered too what he meant about that reward.

  ‘You’re a virgin, what the hell do you know about anything… and… of course do I just look like this? Do my other forms work? What if I took one of those? Every time I answer one question, I end up with two more…’ He thought, but one thing he had some confidence in…

  Torald seemed to be trustworthy. ‘I’m not a human, so it would be absurd to expect me to know human standards of social conduct over dinner… but even so I don’t want to look stupid.’ Ulbert then said the only thing he could think of, as there was no round about way to get to the point.

  “When we get to a town, you will show me human dining etiquette so that I behave properly when I meet the Queen.” Ulbert said it as a command, rather than a question, and for a half second of silence, he wondered, ‘Did I go too far?!’

  But Torald nodded. “As you wish, m’lord. I’m not of high rank, but we’re all trained in that from childhood. I can teach you what you want to know.”

  At least that was one thing to be relieved over.

  “The next town is just beyond this hill, so if it please you, m’lord, allow my men to ride ahead to prepare rooms for us all?” He requested permission, rather than informed, and when Ulbert nodded, Torald looked over his shoulder. “Hurry up! You heard the Game Changer! Go get rooms!”

  “Sir!” The escort shouted and spurred their horses to a gallop, passing the pair by just as Ulbert and Torald crested the low hill which brought a small town with a minor stone wall in the distance into view.