Abigail

Watching Devilla leap from the window and spread her wings wide, I waited until I could barely make out my Queen’s outline before releasing a pent-up sigh. I wouldn’t want to say it in her presence, but I was a bit relieved to have some time to myself. It felt like all I’d done for the past week was worry about Devilla.

To be fair, there was a lot to worry about. The woman had no common sense! Flying to the ocean for salt was one thing, but saving a human town? Befriending the Heroine? She made me want to scream! If it had been anyone else doing these things, I’d have called it treason!

So what did Devilla do to cover her tracks? She told her top-ranking general, the administrator of the entire tower - who had a grudge against her, by the way! - about what she’d been up to. Sure, she pulled it off in the end, but if she hadn’t? The entire tower could have gone into a panic!

Why did I even care so much? I mean, I obviously didn’t want to see our society crumble into chaos or be erased from existence, so helping her was only sensible, but it felt like there was more to it than that. For some reason, I’d actually started to care about her feelings. 

A couple of weeks ago, I’d barely been able to stand her; I had to pretend to be intimidated by her just to keep my job. But she’d changed. She was actually considering others. She listened when I talked, cared about what I had to say, and didn’t treat me like an object to be used, or even a subject to be ruled. She… Hell take me, she treated me like a friend.

...Was that why I was worried about her? Because she was my friend? Holy hell, when did that happen? Was it when she got angry at that rabbit girl for my sake? Or maybe when she saved me from falling down the tower? How the hell had my feelings changed so much?

Letting out another sigh, I shook my head and turned away from Devilla’s retreating figure.

Standing behind me, staring out the window, was Bailey, who’d apparently shifted to her humanoid form at some point. From what Devilla had told me the girl had been skin and bones at their first meeting, but I didn’t see any signs of that now. She was skinny, sure, but not unhealthily so. Looking over her body’s curves, especially her tits and ass, told me she had plenty of fat where it counted, too. And it wasn’t just her figure that had improved. Since Devilla insisted on washing her regularly, Bailey’s bushy tail and triangular ears were far glossier than the first time I’d seen her. Even the curved red horn that protruded from her forehead seemed to shine. She was actually pretty cute, bordering on sexy.

Not that I had any plans to bed her. Bailey might have been a demon, but she still thought like a monster. Devilla and I both agreed that she shouldn’t have sex until she’d adjusted a bit.

Speaking of which…

“If people see you walking around this floor naked, they’re going to get the wrong idea,” I warned her. A lot of demons went without clothes, including quite a few beastfolk who didn’t want to be bothered with carrying such things in their animal forms, but it was a bit different on the 101st floor. A girl walking around naked in the Demon Queen’s personal territory was definitely going to spark rumors, and I didn’t think Devilla would be happy if she came home to that sort of headache.

Bailey didn’t respond to my comment, though. She just stared out the window, her lips set into a frown, her tail drooping behind her. She stood so still that you could almost mistake her for a statue and she stayed that way until the speck that represented Devilla disappeared over the horizon. Then she turned to me.

“Queen go. I follow.”

I closed my eyes and took a slow, deep breath, trying to center myself. How was I even supposed to explain everything wrong with that? 

“Right… First off, you can’t go. Even if it wasn’t a terrible idea, you don’t have wings so you can’t fly after her. Second, how many times has Devilla told you to use her name?” Devilla had been teaching Bailey how to speak, using telepathy to bridge the language gap. The wolf was learning pretty quickly; she still struggled to form proper sentences, but you could pretty much always tell what she wanted to say. That also meant Bailey could respond to Devilla’s verbal commands, and she was usually pretty eager to do so.

She was really stubborn about some things, though.

“Queen is Queen. But Queen not here. Follow Maid.”

“Follow ‘Maid’? You mean me!? No way! Devilla gave me a mission. I can babysit you when it’s over.”

“Follow Maid,” Bailey repeated, her brown eyes locked stubbornly on mine. “Keep Maid safe.”

“I’m perfectly safe!” I protested, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “I’m just going to the kitchen for some peppermint oil. Whatever that is…”

“Okay.” Bailey nodded, looking for all the world like she was agreeing with me. I wasn’t fooled, though! I knew her tricks. An uneasy silence dragged on for one second...two….three... 

“I follow.”

There it was! Just because she understood didn’t mean she was going to go along with it! How many times had I watched Devilla struggle with this? And now it was my turn…

“Fine,” I conceded, letting my arms drop as I walked past Bailey, heading toward the door. “I’ll keep you company, but only during work hours. Devilla isn’t paying me nearly enough to take you home with me.”

“I follow.”

“Look here, you…!” I growled, turning around, but my words died in my throat when I found that Bailey had already sunk down to her hands and knees. Her limbs started to shrink in on themselves, as her mouth pushed its way out into a snout. Within seconds she was back in wolf form, looking up at me with soft brown eyes, her tongue lolling out. I knew she was just panting, but I couldn’t help but think that I was being teased.

Fighting off the urge to groan, I turned toward the door. Bailey followed me out, padding along on all fours. Thankfully, Devilla had been walking around with Bailey a lot lately, so the maids were getting used to the sight of a horned wolf walking down the hall. A few of them still let out muffled squeaks when they saw us, but most just squeezed against the wall and let us pass.

We reached the kitchen without any major incidents. Breakfast had been over for quite a while, and Devilla had canceled lunch, so most of the staff had long since cleared out. Thankfully there was one familiar figure still present, sweeping the floor.

“Cleanup duty again, huh? I thought you’d be above that by now. Didn’t I hear you’d been made the Official Potato Chef?”

Lenora’s head snapped up, her red eyes widened in surprise, but she relaxed when she saw it was just me. She gave me a quick smile before standing on her clawed toes to try and to look over my shoulder.

“Devilla’s not here, if that’s who you’re looking for. She just sent me to get something.”

“Oh…” I couldn’t tell if the dragon girl was saddened or relieved. Maybe both? Devilla would probably be a lot happier if Lenora stopped putting her on a pedestal, but I doubted that was going to happen any time soon.

“So why are you sweeping?” I pressed. “Don’t tell me you’re still stuck on the lowest rung?”

“I-It’s not that,” Lenora said, shaking her head. “It’s just that I’m only really good with potatoes right now, so one of the senior chefs said I should keep sweeping while I learn how to cook other dishes. Everyone else thought it was a good idea, too…”

“Uh-huh…” I didn’t even try to hide the doubt in my voice or on my face. I’d seen firsthand how excited Lenora could get about cooking, and I was pretty sure she knew how to make a lot more than fries. The other chefs were probably just dumping their chores on her, but I didn’t think she’d want me interfering - and she definitely wouldn’t want me going to Devilla over it.

I was going to bring it up with Devilla anyway, of course, but telling Lenora that would just make her worry.

“S-So what are you doing here?” Lenora asked, her tail twitching nervously.

“Nothing big,” I assured her. “I just promised Devilla I’d get her some peppermint oil. She said it would act as spider repellant, somehow? She didn’t seem too sure of the details…” Devilla knew a lot of different things these days, but while her newfound wisdom seemed to be as broad as the ocean, it was only as deep as a puddle. If I poked her for specifics on anything she’d get all flustered. 

“Pepper-mint oil?” Lenora echoed, frowning in thought. “Is that...Maybe… A cross between pepper and mint? Distilled into oil?”

“You’ve never heard of it either, huh? Guessing it’s not something we have in the tower…” If I passed that info on to Devilla, she’d probably go looking for it elsewhere. Who knew how that would go? With her luck, she’d probably end up fighting an actual dragon… Though, if anyone could beat the King of Monsters, it was probably the Demon Queen.

“Sorry…” Lenora murmured, furrowing her brow. I thought maybe she was disappointed in herself, but the crease in her forehead disappeared before I could tell her not to worry about it. “We do have mint, though? And pepper? Maybe if you asked the Mistress of Agriculture she could crossbreed them or something. I mean, I know how to make oil with spearmint and the like, so I can probably do it with this ‘pepper-mint’ too.”

“The Mistress of Agriculture, huh?” Now it was my turn to frown. Lenora was talking about Yara, the general of the tenth floor. I didn’t know a lot about her, but what I’d heard was mostly positive. She was straightforward, hard-working, and honest, on top of being a strong warrior. She didn’t think too highly of Devilla, though. Since I was now associated with the Demon Queen, it didn’t take much imagination to picture what sort of welcome I’d receive.

I considered leaving it to Devilla. She could probably just order Yara to grow some “peppermint” for her and it would be over and done with. If I went, I’d be taking the full brunt of Yara’s distaste with no guarantee of results. Normally, I’d call the choice obvious. Even Devilla would probably say waiting for her was the right call.

But that was exactly why I had to try. My Queen was doing her best to secure a future for our people. It was going to take at least a day for her to come back to the tower, and when she did she’d probably be exhausted, mentally if not physically. Despite that, I knew she’d insist on handling things herself once she found out how much work getting peppermint oil entailed. As if she wasn’t already pushing herself harder than she should…

“Alright, I’ll get Denna to help me send down an official request.” Being the head of Devilla’s household, Denna was technically even busier than the Demon Queen. The fate of our entire species didn’t rest on her shoulders though, so the pressure was probably a little bit less. If I used Devilla’s name right, she’d do pretty much anything I asked.

That still left me with one problem; the four-legged beast who was sitting patiently behind me, with her tongue lolling out and her eyes practically glued to my ass.

Walking with Bailey about the 101st floor was one thing, since the maids already knew about her, but taking what looked like a monster to another part of the tower was just asking for trouble. I doubted Bailey could be convinced not to follow me though, and ditching her via flight would cause more problems than it solved. I could have her shift into humanoid form, but I wasn’t really sure how she’d react to complete strangers staring at her naked body. Not to mention the rumors that would spread if the Demon Queen’s personal maid was seen escorting a naked demon down from the 101st floor. So far as I could figure, there was only one real option.

“Hey Bailey, how’d you like to raid your Queen’s closet?”

***

Devilla

My wings beat lazily, magically propelling me through the air. The sun was high in the sky, evidence of how late I had slept in. It barely counted as an inconvenience for me, but Lissera had been quite upset about missing ‘peak work hours’. She hadn’t even waited for me to take off, running back to the village as fast as her slender legs could carry her.

After an hour of monotonous flying, the gray walls of Rendra city were finally coming into view. Rising a bit higher into the sky, I was able to see over the circular fortifications that surrounded the city. The sheer number of buildings crammed so tightly together struck me as impressive. In terms of population, Dimona Tower doubtlessly held more people. Its architecture was more impressive - though, considering it had been built by magic, that was a little like comparing apples to… Well, magically enhanced apples. Still, there was something impressive about seeing my first real city. Jacob’s memories contained far greater metropolises, of course, but no matter how clearly I remembered living on Earth I had quite literally been a different person at the time. My current self had never seen so many buildings packed together, or so many humans crowding around each other. It felt like I had reached a milestone.

Despite being oddly touched by the sight, I still remembered to cover myself with an illusion to match the empty sky as I flew closer. 

There were two openings in the wall, so far as I could tell, one on either side. The opening closest to me was blocked by an iron portcullis; although I couldn’t see it from my current position, it seemed a safe assumption that the other one would be similarly defended. A long line of humans stretched from the gate closest to me; a similar procession could be seen on the other side.

As I flew closer, the gray walls loomed larger. Soon I could no longer see above them, and my focus shifted from the buildings within to the people lined up outside. From the bored expression they wore, I could guess that most of them had been waiting quite a while. If I took the time to wait my turn night would probably fall before I could get in. I was hardly phased by darkness, but if I couldn’t find a place to trade my jewels for coins after arriving in the city I was going to have trouble finding an inn. 

And that wasn’t my only concern. When I focused my gaze on the front of the line, I noticed that every person who passed through stopped a moment to speak to the guards. They would then show the guards a slip of paper or hand over a few bronze coins. It seemed that if you wanted to enter the city legally you needed to either provide proper identification or pay a toll. Lacking either, I saw little choice but to sneak my way inside.

Maintaining my illusion, I flew above the city, searching for a good place to land. I decided on a low, squat building that had been built against the interior of the wall, some distance from the gate, in an area that seemed almost devoid of guards. The buildings in that area were covered in dirt, and several of the structures were crumbling if not already collapsed. The building I chose had several cracks running through its roof; the whole thing would likely fall apart if I were to stomp too hard. It wasn’t the sort of building anyone would pay attention to, which made it perfect for my purposes. 

Gently landing on the rooftop, I dismissed both my spell and my wings, then walked to the edge of the building to peer out onto the streets. This particular structure was off the main road, hidden behind several other buildings, which meant you’d have to go through a veritable maze of sideroads and alleyways to even see it. Even still, there were a few people wandering the tiny street that ran in front of it. Likely they were people like me, trying to avoid notice. To look at them, they were fairing no better than the local buildings; their clothes ragged, their faces dirty, and their expressions grim. This area was well suited to my purposes, but looking out upon the poverty-stricken citizenry… it made me uncomfortable. I had to wonder if there were places like this in Dimona Tower, where my people starved and basic necessities went unmet, and whether I could do anything to fix that.

That question would have to wait until my next check-in, however. For now, I needed to get out of there without being seen. I moved over to the rightmost edge of the building and scouted the alley below. Seeing nothing but an empty street, I hopped over the side and let gravity take me. My feet struck the ground, my legs not even bending, the shock of impact not so much as phasing me. Alas, my divine resilience did nothing for my balance. My heeled foot slipped as it hit the ground, sending me tumbling onto my ass. 

I stood back up quickly, glad nobody had seen that, and was in the middle of dusting myself off when a figure darted into the alleyway. She was panting heavily, her eyes wide and full of fear, her body half doubled over as she barreled down the street. She didn’t seem to notice me, perhaps because of the dimness of the alley, but more likely because she was so preoccupied with glancing back the way she’d come. All of a sudden, she plastered herself against the alley wall and stared intently out into the open street she’d left behind.

I was still deciding whether or not I should speak up when another figure strode into the alley, followed by two more. The apparent leader was another woman, with shiny blonde hair and bright orange eyes that were narrowed in irritation. Her well-groomed form made her seem like a completely different species than the first girl, whose green hair was covered in dirt and grease. The blonde’s skin was clear and unblemished, her cheeks round and well-fed. Her clothes seemed well made, even to my untrained eye; while I couldn’t say anything about the materials from sight alone, I could tell that the outfit had been tailored to fit her form.

As for the men who followed her, I could only see them as thugs. Their faces were nearly identical, from their squashed noses to their beady little eyes. They had arms like tree trunks and legs thick enough around that they wouldn’t have been out of place on an elephant. Both of them were wearing brown shirts with short cut sleeves that showed off their muscles, and similarly colored pants. The one on the right had a small green flower embroidered on one side of his britches, which was practically his sole defining feature. Perhaps they were identical twins? The similarity of their clothes made me wonder if it was some sort of uniform, or if they were purposefully leaning into the stereotype of interchangeable goons.

The twins kept a few feet back from the girl, standing side by side so as to completely block the alley’s exit. Since this path led to a dead-end, it didn’t seem like I’d be able to leave without engaging them.

The blonde woman’s lips thinned in displeasure as she looked about the dirty alleyway, her eyes sliding right past the first woman to settle on me.

“You there!” she called in an imperial tone, striding past the other woman and walking right up to me. “Have you seen a green-haired girl? A raggedy little thing. There’s a shiny cross in it for you if you can tell me where she is.”

My eyes darted to the aforementioned figure, whose eyes were now focused entirely on me. She was pale and trembling, perhaps due to noticing me for the first time. Perhaps she was worried that I’d turn her in? From the way the blonde ignored her, I could only assume she was wielding some sort of magic to avoid detection, but for some reason it was having no effect on me.

The blonde girl turned to track my gaze. Slowly, her irritated expression morphed into a smirk. “Is it just me, or is that part of the alley unnaturally dark?”

Dark? It didn’t look that way to me. Then again, with night vision as good as mine, even night and day were sometimes difficult to tell apart. Perhaps the girl was manipulating light to surround herself with shadows?

The blonde woman glanced over her shoulder at the thugs who, as if on cue, stepped toward the supposedly dark space. The green-haired girl’s eyes were now flitting about frantically. I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. My glance hadled the blonde straight to her, and it didn’t seem like they were friends. In fact, one of the men was drawing his arm back as I watched, while the hidden girl was trembling so much was honestly surprised that she could remain upright. It was possible that the thug would miss, since he couldn’t see his prey, but I didn’t think it would take many swings for him to find her. If she dropped the spell and ran she’d be found out all the faster. Even moving about within the shadows might reveal her location if her opponent had good hearing. No matter what choice she made, I didn’t think the girl would escape these three unscathed.

“Excuse me,” I called out before the man could complete his swing. “Can you tell me why you’re after her?”

“Huh?” The blonde glanced at me, then snarled. The thug paused midswing, turning his gaze to her as if seeking additional instructions, but the blonde ignored him. “What’s it to you? You stick your nose into every stranger’s business? Get out of here, unless you’re offering to pay her dues.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of money, other than perhaps that ‘shiny cross’ you mentioned, but-”

“Then get going,” the blonde growled, pointing toward the entrance of the alley with her thumb. Both men pressed themselves against the wall, giving me a clear path. “This isn’t any of your business.”

I stared at the blonde for a moment, unsure what to say. She was right. This was none of my concern. I wasn’t a resident of these slums, a citizen of this city, or even a member of their species. I had no ties whatsoever to this green-haired girl, who could be in trouble for any number of reasons. Perhaps the actions of this woman and her thugs were even justified. Sticking around and getting into trouble would only cause me to break my promise to Abigail, and draw unnecessary attention to myself. 

By all rights, the proper move was to extricate myself. That was the right move. 

It was…

My gaze shifted to the girl they were targeting. Her eyes kept flicking between me and her assailants, wide with terror. I was still in the midst of my hesitation when the blonde began to speak again.

“Looks like we have a new obstacle, boys. You two start punching the shadows, I’ll take care of Miss Goody Two Shoes.” Even as she spoke, the blonde casually withdrew a dagger from her belt. Its simple leather handle was well worn, and the confidence with which she held it made me think that she was well used to wielding it. While it was doubtful she’d be able to do any real damage to me with such a thing, I eyed it warily all the same. I didn’t need rumors spreading of a woman whose skin couldn’t be pierced by blades.

“W-Wait!” the green-haired woman shouted, raising her hands to guard her face. “You don’t want to-ack!” The girl was forced to duck; her words were cut off as one of the men slammed a fist against the wall, hard enough to make it tremble, causing the brick he’d hit to crumble into pebbles.

“Do you really have time to be paying attention to someone else!?” the blonde demanded. I shifted focus back to my own fight to find the woman running toward me with her dagger out front. It looked as if she intended to ram the blade into my stomach; a simple, but effective strategy, especially if your opponent was distracted.

I didn’t even try to dodge. Instead, I reached for my magic, allowing the familiar warmth of its energy to rise from within me, and then pushed the power down from the soles of my feet, through the heels of my shoes, and into the earth. I drew moisture from deep within the ground up into the earth beneath the blonde’s feet, turning the tamped down dirt into far softer mud. My attacker’s feet slid out from under her; she likely would have fallen onto her own dagger, had I not caused a tendril of mud to shoot out and slap it free of her grip. As it was, she ended up flopping face-first into the wet soil, with nothing injured but her pride.

The thugs had thankfully stopped their attack on the green-haired girl and were now coming toward me. Seeing little choice but to fight at this point, I hopped over the blonde and calmly walked forward. Avoiding the first attack was as simple as tilting my head to the right. The second blow was aimed at my stomach, meant to catch me off guard, but I blocked this one with my arm, catching the meaty fist with my relatively slender limb. I could feel strength behind the punch, but I might as well have been hit with a feather for all the good it did the thug. I turned his blow aside, then grabbed hold of his arm and swept him sideways into his brother. There was a solid thwack as one dense body met another, and I felt the force of the impact running through me. Completely unaffected, I repeated my trick of turning dirt into mud. The earth trembled beneath my feet as the thugs were reduced to a tangle of limbs on the ground.

With that sorted, I turned my attention to the green-haired girl. She was staring at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. Rather than trying to speak, it almost seemed as if she were trying not to scream.

“...You do realize I just saved you, yes?” I didn’t think I’d gone particularly overboard while taking care of her assailants. I’d certainly done nothing to warrant this sort of reaction.

“S-Saved me…?” The girl’s eyes darted to the blonde, who was slowly managing to get back on her feet, before shifting to the two thugs who were pushing against each other as they attempted to rise up from the muck.

“Perhaps I spoke too soon…” I tapped my foot against the ground, transmitting a stream of magic down into the earth. A massive hand emerged from the street, its fingers grasping hold of the blonde and slamming her against the wall, where it kept her pinned. She responded with an ungraceful squawk and began to hammer at it with her fists. Although the blonde’s prison was constructed from nothing but dirt, my magic had compressed it to such a point that there was little difference between it and solid rock. All the same, flakes of it were coming off with each punch, and I was sure she’d be able to work her way out of it eventually.

I left her to work on her prison, turning my attention back to the thugs only to discover that they were already upright and booking it out of the alley as fast as their stocky legs could carry them. Perhaps they intended to report this to their boss? That would likely come back to bite me if I didn’t take care of things here and now.

I turned back to the woman I had trapped. She was still pounding on her prison, her face twisted with anger as she let loose a stream of curses. She was making steady progress, but she was still at least an hour from her freedom, assuming she could keep up the pace. As I hardly had time for that, I walked forward to touch the hand that held her, forcibly loosening the dirt and allowing it to crumble. Unprepared for sudden freedom the blonde toppled, landing on her hands and knees.

“May I ask for your name?” I gave my former prisoner a polite smile, crouching down next to her.

The blonde glared at me, her green eyes narrowed in anger. “Look, I don’t know what sob story Feyra hooked you with, but we’re not the bad guys here - we’re just collecting the money she owes.”

“I already paid you back,” the green-haired girl - Feyra? - sulkily protested from behind me. “The money I have left is for my medicine.”

“You mean that nasty potion habit?” The blonde spat. “I don’t care what you do to your body with that junk, but you forgot to pay the interest. It’s up to three saints.”

“Three saints!? There’s no way I owe that much! I only borrowed five crosses…” 

I cleared my throat, drawing the attention of both women back to myself. “I’m not entirely sure as to the circumstances but, if I understand correctly, the issue can be resolved by a payment of money?”

“Hey, if you wanna claim that girl’s debt, it’s all yours, but I’m going to have to insist on payment upfront - Mama Marion doesn’t take kindly to people reneging on what they owe. Understand?”

I nodded with deliberate slowness, trying to buy myself time to piece everything together. Crosses and saints were apparently a form of currency. From the sounds of it, this Feyra had borrowed a small amount and ended up owing a much larger sum. In other words, she’d probably gone to a loan shark to pay for her “potion habit”.

This really wasn’t my concern, then. Whatever trouble Feyra was in, she’d gotten into it on her own. Besides which, disputes involving money and debts weren’t the sort of thing that could be resolved purely through brute force or magic power.

That said, if all the girl needed was money...

“Very well,” I declared. “She will have what she owes by tomorrow, if not tonight. For now, I ask that you leave her in my care.”

“Excuse me, I saidI needed payment upfront?” the blonde snapped, standing upright to glare at me.

I tapped the toe of my shoe against the ground. This time I drew up so much water that the blonde’s feet and ankles sank into the muck. She squeaked, and fell forward, fear momentarily flickering across her features. I hardened the earth directly below her feet and placed a hand under her shoulder, pushing her upright.

“You…” The blonde trailed off, glaring up at me and gritting her teeth. After a moment of this, however, she reluctantly nodded her assent. “Alright. She has until tomorrow. But after that, I’m gathering all Mama’s forces, understand? It doesn’t matter how strong you are, you’ll go down under the weight of our numbers.”

I doubted that. Still, while I would remain unscathed, I couldn’t be certain that those around me would fare so well. If Feyra was to survive this, she was going to need to pay back the money she owed.

“Three saints, correct? If you try to claim more, in the name of a day’s delay I will be… displeased.” I mimicked her glare, trying to add weight to my words. The bluff seemed to work, as the blonde flinched beneath my gaze. 

“Fine,” she muttered, turning her head away as if to hide her expression from me. “As long as she can pay the full amount by tomorrow’s end, we’ll call it done and everyone can go their merry way. But if she’s even one virtue short…”

“I understand completely.” I didn’t even try to keep the irritation from my voice as I held out my hand. “I will get her the coin she needs. If she fails to pay you back despite my funding, it will have nothing to do with me. Agreed?”

The blonde studied my proffered hand for a long moment. The look upon her face, as if someone had forced her to suck upon a lemon, spoke to her distaste, but in the end she slowly reached out to shake my hand. The blonde’s white knuckles made me think she was putting everything she had into her grip, but her valiant efforts brought me far closer to amusement than discomfort. 

“Fine,” she muttered afterward. “But don’t think I’ll forget the humiliation you’ve dealt me today.”

Spouting lines more fit for a cartoon villain than an actual person, the disheveled blonde yanked herself from the mud, marching past Feyra and out of the alley. It was only then that I realized she had never responded to my request for her name. Not that I particularly cared to learn it.

With that bit of unpleasantness taken care of, I at last turned my attention to Feyra, whose back was literally against the wall. I had made a deal on her behalf, but it wasn’t out of the kindness of my heart. It was time to extract compensation.

***

Feyra

I stared after Kalice as she marched from the alley, silently wishing that I could follow. She might have been a bitch who treated me like I was worth less than the mud on her shoes, but even getting beaten seemed far better than being left alone with my ‘savior’. As a fellow adventurer, Kalice must have had some idea of her opponent's terrifying power; otherwise she’d never have accepted such a one-sided offer. I doubted she realized the full truth, though. There was no way she’d be so calm if she knew that the brunette hadn’t used even a fraction of her true strength. From my perspective, it was obvious that she’d been toying with them from the start. Making them fall over each other, pinning them against the wall… If she’d been serious about fighting them, she could have reduced them all to ash.

And that monster was looking at me now, with a horrible smile on her lips. I swallowed hard and pressed my back against the wall. Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to flee, but I forced myself to remain in place. Just like Kalice had sensed that it was impossible to fight this creature, I knew that running from her would be useless. She wouldn’t even need to chase me. She could just wave her hand in my general direction and I’d explode. Or maybe I’d dissolve into the darkness, and be reborn as one of her minions; a fitting end for someone with cursed blood like mine. 

I was a little surprised she hadn’t done it preemptively. I mean, she was the Demon Queen. She had to be! Sure, she looked human enough. Her single most distinctive feature, her snow-white hair, had been disguised, probably with some sort of dye. With her soft hands, which didn’t look like they’d ever seen a day’s work, and her finely crafted clothes, made of who knew what material, she could probably pass as a noble’s daughter. At the very least, you wouldn’t think she was the harbinger of all evil. I was likely one of the few people in all the world who could see her true nature.

“Is everything okay?” the monster asked. The softness in her expression, the way her shoulders had relaxed since Kalice left the alley… She clearly didn’t see me as a threat. Why would she? She could end me with a flick of her finger. “You’re trembling.”

“I’m fine,” I lied. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t keep my body from shaking. “Just a little freaked out by… uh… the whole situation.”

The monster seemed to think her disguise was intact. That was good. There was no telling what she’d do if she knew I’d seen through her disguise. What was the Demon Queen even doing here!? Was she here to take the Heroine's head? There were tales of her showing up on the battlefield, but nothing about her just walking around like a normal person! If I told anyone about it, they’d think I was crazy just for suggesting it.

There was no doubting it, though; not for me. My bloodline had the unique ability to see magic energy, and the sheer amount of it flowing through this woman was insane. Looking at her with my Sight active was like staring directly into the sun. I’d always wondered if the tales I’d heard about the Demon Queen’s power were exaggerated, but if anything they weren’t giving her enough credit. I was pretty sure every adventurer in the city could attack her at the same time, and they wouldn’t even leave a scratch. Hell, the army could go after her, and it wouldn’t do any good! 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” the Demon Queen pressed, reaching out to touch my forehead, as if she was concerned that I was sick. “You’ve been staring at me for a while…”

“I-I’m fine!” I reassured her, forcing a smile. “See? Cheery, even! I mean, you’re going to pay my debts, right?” I couldn’t imagine what might have driven her to say such things, but I’d have to act like everything was fine if I wanted to survive the night.

“...If you’re sure.” The Demon Queen shook her head, folding her arms across her admittedly impressive chest. “Well then. I suppose we can discuss how you’re to earn your three saints.”

Three saints. Did this monster even know human money? Did she not realize how much that was!? Or wait… there were rumors, among the adventurers, that the Demon Queen was sitting on a great deal of wealth. It wasn’t worth storming the tower over, so far as I was concerned, but I had met quite a few adventurers who were willing to sign up for the invasion force, in return for a share of that theoretical treasure.

“W-What do I need to do?” I asked, unable to keep my voice from trembling. I didn’t want blood money. If I was willing to hurt people, I would have been able to cut a deal with Mama Marion on my own. But I didn’t want to die, either…

“Simple.” The monster gave me a small smile, as if trying to reassure me. “I require a guide. First, you will take me to a jewelry store, then to the adventurer's guild, and finally you will show me to an inn. After that, you will be paid, enough to free yourself of your debts. A good deal for both of us, is it not?”

I couldn’t stop my mouth from dropping open in surprise. A good deal? Three saints for showing her to three places!? It was ludicrously one-sided! Assuming she kept her word, at least.

“Alright,” I replied, after pretending to think about it. Being a good guide was my one and only chance at survival. That meant taking her to a trustworthy jeweler. Someone who wouldn’t cheat her, or otherwise anger her enough to go on a rampage…

As it happened Amessa, my potion contact, worked from the back of her father’s jewelry shop. The old man was always giving me dirty looks over my choice of potions, but from what I knew he was serious about his work, and so far as I knew he wasn’t in the habit of cheating his customers. Hopefully, he could be trusted not to send the Demon Queen into a rage.

Sending a silent prayer to the Goddess, I turned toward the alley’s exit. “I think I know the perfect place…”

Author's Notes:

First off, I'd like to apologize for disappearing for so long. All I can say is that I never expected this hiatus to happen, and I certainly never thought I’d be gone for so long.

To be honest, I burnt out due to putting myself under too much pressure. I had this voice in the back of my head, telling me that I had to make every chapter perfect, because a single mistake would drive all my fans away. I knew it was irrational, but I just couldn’t shake it. I also felt like I was updating too slowly, while simultaneously fearing that I would upset fans of my other works if I focused too much on Demon Queened. Eventually it reached the point where I couldn’t seem to write – and the longer I went without writing, the more anxious I became at the prospect of writing again. It was another irrational fear, this time claiming that the words wouldn’t come even if I tried.

Thankfully, I seem to have recovered. I’ve also created a new writing schedule, designed to prioritize consistency over speed. I’m hoping that regular effort – and scheduled breaks – will result in more chapters and stories with less pressure and no burnout.

I know this chapter is short – I wrote it right before burning out, which is part of the reason. It should have been released far sooner, but I didn’t even have the energy for approving edits by the end. Chapter 13 will be a lot longer, though – I’m currently about halfway through it. When I’ve finished the first draft, post it to Patreon, where it’ll remain for two weeks. I’m hoping to get it edited and proofread during that time, so thv at I can release the finalized version once the two weeks are over.

On a final note, I want to say a few words of thanks - Not only to my editor (paradoxicalWitchling) and my proofreader (FallingLeaf)but to all of you who patiently waited for so long. I hope that you’ll continue to read, and enjoy, Devilla’s adventures.

I’ll see you again soon :)