Chapter Twelve

  Demiurge crouched in front of the ruined stone blocks. The shattered pile hadn’t been moved aside yet. As fortifications went, they were like a child’s efforts at imitating the glory of Nazarick. But by human standards? ‘This is roughly as good as the fortifications I destroyed in the Holy Kingdom. Good enough by this world’s standards.’ More importantly, the scratches were the same as the astral claws of the highest level of demons. Additionally, the acidic streaks on the rocks were of the same sort Lord Ulbert was capable of using.

  ‘The World Disaster, one whose magic bends even the world into a weapon. Whether it be shaking the world or using the very rain to burn flesh from bone… no one is his equal in this. Not even Lord Touch Me could impact such a wide area…’ His hand traced over the rock as if he were touching a sacred relic.

  “That sure is something, isn’t it?” A human voice interrupted his thoughts, but before Demiurge could rebuke the interruption with lethal force, Albedo spoke up from at his side.

  “Yes… I’d heard that this ‘Game Changer’ was here, did he do this, or was this the work of beastmen?” She asked and flashed a charming smile up at the armored human who stood on top of the pile.

  “It had to be.” The human answered.

  “Why is that?” Albedo pressed.

  “I was in this city when it was taken. The beastmen didn’t knock down any walls. And while we were all held captive, the day we were set free, there was a great big crash from the direction of this wall. Him knocking this over,” the human said, then stopped and crouched down to tap the top of the rubble, “must have been what that noise was. Same goes for the gate.”

  The human leaned against his spear, “We got very lucky, they’d already eaten a bunch of us, and sent even more back into their country… nobody ever comes back from there.”

  “Did anyone ever work out why they launched such a large invasion?” Albedo asked with a kind of academic curiosity.

  “Everybody has their thoughts.” The spearman said and rolled the spear back and forth in his palm, “My thinking… When they got here, the first thing they did was start eating. And even strong as they are, they looked hungry. I always guessed they were suffering from food shortages in whatever nightmare world they come from.”

  ‘That would make sense, at least we encountered one human that isn’t a complete idiot.’ Albedo thought with a slight amount of relief. Among the many humans she’d encountered, few were worth mentioning in any way. Renner was a genius, Neia was properly loyal and adoring, Enri obedient and Tuare was hardworking… but most humans' sole virtue was that they were a convenient herd for experiments or use by their betters.

  “Anyway, you folks need to go around. I realize this is something else, lots of people want to look, but to get into the city, you’ve got to go the other way.” He pointed his spear back the way they’d come. “No tax on goods right now, honestly we need all the merchants we can get to come and sell things, especially food and seeds. You should have no problem selling that stuff at least.”

  “I see. Thank you.” Albedo said and then reached over to put her hand on Demiurge’s back. “Beloved, we should get going.” It grated on her to be around even slightly less than useless humans for too long, and she had a distinct feeling that, if not prompted, Demiurge would caress the stone for hours like it was a lover or a holy relic or arguably worse, both.

  “I suppose we should.” He agreed with a lingering look at what he saw as the undeniable proof of his creator’s presence in this world.

  For a moment she wondered if, even having heard him say that, she would have to drag her colleague away. He got moving moments later, walking down the slope of stone and back to their wagon. They were underway again within a minute or two, but only when they were out of sight of the guard did Albedo ask, “what do you think the probability is now?”

  “Eighty-five percent.” Demiurge answered.

  “So low?” Albedo asked, disbelief etched on her face. “Are you sure?” She frowned and looked sideways at him while the mule plodded back onto the road and then along the slow and winding route to the gate.

  “I cannot understand why my creator would rescue humans. That adds doubt, he may have his own reasons, or this could be a trap by someone powerful, we didn’t see the spell that did this, but… it does look like his. Remember, someone out there has a world item. If there is one, there may be more, and we do not know what every item does. They’re not all accounted for, the lost World Items of Yggdrasil. Until they are… then we must be extra cautious.” He cautioned her, but Albedo was still not satisfied with his answer.

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  However, she chose not to press the question further, remaining quiet while their wagon rolled on until they were through the smashed remnants of the gate and the frame that was still being built where the new one would stand.

  Humans worked hard, hammering away with their simple tools, a foreman stood by with plans giving directions to a handful of supervisors who were clearly in charge of different areas.

  They paid no mind to the pair coming in except to give them a glance, though it wasn’t lost on Demiurge or Albedo that the two looked at the wagon full of goods with clear and obvious relief, particularly when seeing the many sacks of grain.

  Through most of the trip, Demiurge wore a serious expression on his face, but as they reached the city center and began to set up shop out of the back of their wagon, ready to gather rumors and stories from their patrons, he wore a clever smile on his face.

  While he could have compelled people to buy from him, dominated their minds, and convinced them to say whatever he wanted… or Albedo could have simply used her succubus skills to charm them with a lover’s trust… any use of skills risked exposure to an unknown talent.

  But more importantly, there was a peculiar delight in them both in this kind of game.

  Demiurge stood up in his cart and held up a vial of dark purple liquid and shouted, “Step right up folks, have I got a perfect potion for perfect performance, guaranteed to perk up the performance of passionate people! Behold the wonder of Malesen Carnate’s magnificent marvel! How did I get such a beautiful wife? How do I keep her happy despite traveling on the road with no home to settle down in? I’ll tell you!” He thrust out his hand and pointed to the growing crowd of people, while Albedo gave a deep, phony blush.

  “Why it’s this! Yes, this! Essence of basilisk, one swig and you’ll be so full of vitality and vigor that even the most virginal woman will be a wanton vixen!” He paused and cleared his throat, “Of course… it isn’t cheap. Basilisk are dangerous creatures, so I can’t let this go for less than ten gold coins.” The crowd gasped, but Demiurge was not through.

  “But never fear, Malesen Carnate’s has never forgotten even the less fortunate souls. Far from it! Thanks to the recent rescue by the Game Changer, there’s an abundance of beastmen blood available!” He set the vial down and picked up a red one instead. “And thanks to a secret formula passed down through my family, I have in my hands the secret of unleashing the animal within! Yes, one drop in a cup of wine is all it takes and even the most mediocre man may make his woman wail with wanton pleasure.” He bowed his head in apology.

  “However, there is one down side to this otherwise revolutionizing tantalizing and surprising potion… and that is that it will not work on a man whose manhood is smaller than a newborn babe’s pinky. So please, if those among you with that affliction would step back and allow the others forward…”

  Nobody stepped back, they lined up, waving coins in the air and eagerly chatted up the seller of these marvels, and his beautiful wife.

  And it was during these chats, and listening to the people talk among themselves while they waited for their chance to buy Demiurge’s snake oil, that she heard something useful.

  “...Yes, I’m going to pay my respects to the relic as soon as I’m done shopping for the day…”

  She pounced on the words, and as soon as she got the opportunity asked, “I’ve heard this city has a sacred relic… can you tell me about it?”

  The one to answer was a middle aged woman more interested in the grain supplies, which Albedo happily handed over in exchange for a single silver coin.

  “Oh my yes,” the pudgy faced woman answered, “after the Game Changer came through and melted the bodies of the beastmen, Katli came out…” Albedo cocked her head.

  “Who?” She asked.

  “Katli,” the middle aged woman answered, “she’s the captain of the guard here… she has a tracking talent, she was able to follow the path the demon walked, and with her sharp eyes found the stray hairs he left behind, it’s not much, just a tuft all gathered together, but it’s now in the temple… we think it’ll be a tourist attraction one day, but for now, we all go and venerate it in the morning and evening.” She said and hefted the sack of grain. Albedo’s measuring cup was, in fact, a little bit smaller than it should have been, though it wasn’t obvious to look at it, causing the woman to overpay relative to what she received.

  And that might have been where it ended, but Albedo recalled one of her lord’s guiding principles. ‘Return evil for evil, and good for good.’ And so she held up one hand to stop the woman from withdrawing. “Here.” She said, and swiftly scooped two more heaping cup fulls into the woman’s sack. “A bonus, for the chance to ‘revere’ the demon savior.”

  From a loss she didn’t see, to a bonus she didn’t expect, the woman’s face flushed red, “Thank you, Lady Carnate!” The woman added a needless title and withdrew, making way for the next person in line.

  Between the two of them, by the time the wagon was entirely empty, Albedo reckoned that Demiurge had made more money… but the true gain was an unexpected clue that might finally be enough to wipe away Demiurge’s doubts.

  He knew it too, so as the little mob of buyers diminished to nothing, he said at once, “We should head to the temple… now, wouldn’t you agree?”

  It was as good as saying their ‘cover’ was no longer really necessary, as much fun as it had been in its own way.

  Albedo wasted no time in answering, “Yes, if this is it… from here, we will track… your creator, down.”