She pressed a hand to her face and took several deep breaths. “I would tell you that was incredibly reckless, but I believe you were aware of that when you fought it.”
“I didn’t have much choice,” I admitted with a shrug. “We entered its territory. I doubt it would have let us leave.”
“You do have a point,” Kari admitted.
“There’s not much to be said about Eryk’s battle,” Fay suddenly interjected. “More importantly, we need to discuss the reason those Demon Beasts were all drawn to our camp.”
Kari nodded. “I still find it a little hard to believe that Dyr was somehow responsible, but if what you said is true, then it means the Leucht Family must be plotting something even more nefarious than this.”
“It also seems to me like the reason they attacked us is because of Eryk,” Fay added.
Her words brought me up short, but that was because I saw the logic behind her idea. “You believe they see me as a big enough threat to whatever they’re planning that they decided to remove me. That’s what you are saying, right?”
“Yes.” Fay raised a single hand in the air and extended her index finger. “You won the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, which prevented Grant from marrying Kari, which would have granted his family a lot more power.” She extended her middle finger next. “You then rescued me after I was kidnapped and Grant was killed during the rescue. They probably assume you were the one who finished him off rather than Kari.” She extended her ring finger. “And finally, you are powerful enough that you can defeat even B and A-Rank Demon Beasts on your own. I don’t know what they are planning, but you are clearly their biggest obstacle.”
“The question we should be asking now is: what are they planning?” asked Kari, expression pensive.
Her words made me freeze. I hadn’t been thinking about it at the time because I’d been so busy trying to survive and meet back up with Kari and Lin, but now that I had a moment to think, and now that the question had been brought up, the answer I came up with froze my blood. What the Leucht Family wanted now was all too obvious.
The Demon Beast Invasion.
I had always wondered how and why the Demon Beast Invasion happened in my previous life. Nevaria had existed since before the Great Catastrophe. The Demon Beast Mountain Range had always been a place filled with danger, but the Demon Beasts who made it their home had never once tried to invade the city-state.
Demon Beasts were an interesting collective of monstrous creatures that stuck to specific regions that made up their territory. Barring extreme circumstances like sudden changes in weather patterns and geography, they never left their territory for any reason, so it would take something extreme to cause the Demon Beasts to suddenly invade Nevaria.
Something like a girl who had the power to draw Demon Beasts to her.
“We need to return to Nevaria,” I said. Kari and Fay both stared at me like what I told them was obvious, but I didn’t just mean eventually. “I mean we should leave as soon as possible. We can’t afford to stay here any longer.”
“Ah.” Kari opened her mouth and released a strange sound like she wanted to say something but was stopping herself.
“Now that we know where this place is, we can explore it together later,” I told her, already knowing exactly what she wanted to say. “I think I know what the Leucht Family is planning, and if I’m right, then it could mean Nevaria’s destruction if we let it happen.”
Neither Fay nor Kari could say anything to that. Those words were like the ultimate argument stopper. With Nevaria’s safety on the line, Kari quickly changed from the enthusiastic dungeon explorer to the princess of a city-state. She led us to where her group was currently staying—I didn’t ask about the corpse of Finn—and announced our presence to the Spiritualists who, before our arrival, looked to be on the verge of panic.
“DARLING!!!”
The first one to greet me after our surprise appearance was Lin, whom I sadly did not have the strength to stop. She launched herself at me with her tail acting as a spring. The power behind her surprise attack blasted me off my feet and into the wall of the hallway beyond. While the wall held strong, my back groaned in protest as I slid down it and onto my butt. Despite the pain, I didn’t complain as I wrapped my arms around the crying Lin and hugged her close.
“Darling! Darling! This princess is so glad you’re safe! She felt your presence with her Ring of Marji so suddenly, but she couldn’t find you, and Big Sister disappeared, and then… and then…!”
As I was hugging Lin, who was not only crying into my chest but also rubbing herself against me as if trying to mark her territory, Catalyna and Marko emerged from the hallway alongside Fay and Kari. Marko looked like he wanted to murder me. However, Catalyna was giving me an amused smirk.
“It seems you’re a hard man to kill,” she said.
“I certainly like to think so,” I quipped back, but then I hardened my expression. “We need to talk.”
Catalyna slowly nodded. “Yes, I imagine we do.”
By this point in time, everyone had woken up and was now peeking out of the doorway to see what the commotion was about. Many eyes widened upon seeing me and Fay. However, no one said anything since our group was holding something of an impromptu meeting.
Lin eventually calmed down, but she refused to let me move, so I ended up sitting on the floor with her on my lap as she entwined her tail around my left leg. I thought about just telling her to get off, but I didn’t. It was fine this way. I stroked her left arm in a comforting manner as Fay and I informed Catalyna of what we discovered on the way here. I was sure I looked silly as I sat there snuggling with a Lamia, but that was also okay. I didn’t particularly mind if people thought me queer.
Silly or not, Catalyna took my words at face value. I could sense the concern radiating from her as Kari, Fay, and I informed her of what we’d discussed and the potential ramifications of what it could all mean if true.
“This is definitely serious,” she said at last. “But it’s not like we can just leave yet either. Let’s wait until tomorrow, at least, before packing up and heading back.” She paused. “Do you think it will be safe to leave by then?”
I moved my hand down until it was resting on the junction of Lin’s hips where skin shifted to scales. There was something pleasant about the sudden difference in texture, an exotic quality that made Lin’s attractiveness unique among the people I knew. As Lin released several soft hissing noises that were like a Lamia’s version of a purr, I came up with my answer.
“It should be safe,” I replied. “From what I’ve seen, all that power does is attract the Demon Beasts to a specific location. If you still have the map, I can plot us a route that will take us around the jungle we passed through to get here, which is where the ritual was enacted. It might take a bit longer, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I doubt the Leucht Family will do anything right away anyway. I suspect that ritual of theirs takes a lot of time to prepare.”
Perhaps it was in response to my stroking, but Lin’s tail had curled around my legs almost completely now. It wasn’t cutting off the circulation just yet, but I really hoped it didn’t get much tighter. Lin’s tail was strong enough to crush rocks, and while my body had been strengthened by a lot of alchemy pills, I had no desire to test how it compared to a Lamia’s tail.
“I suppose that means we should plot out a route now,” Catalyna muttered. “I’ll get out the map.”
Catalyna started talking to herself as she wandered back into the room. The people who’d been listening in backed away so she could travel to her bag. Marko glared at me one more time before following his sister.
“We should follow her,” Fay said.
“Agreed.” I nodded, but then I paused and gave her and Kari a helpless smile. “Ah, but before that, could you help get this girl off me? She fell asleep.”
As I pointed to the sleeping Lin, tail now thoroughly wrapped around my legs, Kari and Fay giggled at my plight.
>
Plotting a new route took most of the night. The course we would take was one that swerved around far to the east, bypassing both the Vapid Jungle and Pteranodon Valley, which was where the Demon Beasts had gathered. I did need to change the route several times when I learned about a large group of dangerous B-Rank Demon Beasts making their home in one territory or another. I didn’t want to deal with those right now. Killing Demon Beasts took time, and even if the Leucht Family couldn’t enact their plan right away, that didn’t mean we had time to waste.
The sooner Empress Hilda knew what we did, the better.
The next morning, our group packed up whatever meager supplies we had left. Most of it was just weapons, as we’d not been able to grab much of anything else. We had left almost everything in the Vapid Jungle. The only thing Catalyna had now was the bag of alchemy pills that I had given to her, and it looked like they’d already consumed a third of them just to reach these ruins.
Kari was disappointed to be leaving the ruins, which she had expressed several times by looking back at them with an expression of such longing it made me think of a woman who was leaving her lover, but she also understood why we couldn’t stay and explore. I promised her that after the matter with the Leucht Family was settled, we would eventually return. That seemed to cheer her up a little. Fay and Lin also agreed to come back when that happened, which further improved her mood.
After leaving the mountain range, we traveled east. Nevaria was located in a valley southwest of our current position, so we’d be moving further away from our home at first, but we needed to move around the Vapid Jungle. I wasn’t sure how Dyr’s power worked, but going on what I knew from the Demon Beast Invasion in my previous life and what I had discovered from my time with her, it was likely Dyr released pheromones into the air that drew Demon Beasts to her location. She was long gone now, but I imagine some residue remained. After all, several Demon Beasts had made Nevaria their territory even after the invasion.
The area past the jungle was a mostly dry and arid landscape with little in the way of food and water, which meant it had very few Demon Beasts as well. I called it a no-man zone. While the lack of anything edible made traveling through the rugged terrain difficult, I taught the Spiritualists journeying with me a trick to dealing with heat and hunger. I also made liberal use of my Spiritual Power to draw moisture from the air to create water for people to drink. Heat and hunger could be ignored to some degree. Dehydration could not.
There were a few animals that we managed to catch and cook. Arid lands like this might have been dry, lacking in water and vegetation, and generally inhospitable, but that didn’t mean they were completely without life. We occasionally uncovered an oasis that several animals had made their home. Of course, we cooked and ate all of them. The only thing I refused to let people eat were the snakes. I kept picturing Lin every time we came across one and couldn’t bring myself to kill it, or let others kill it.
Despite my no-killing-snakes policy, we managed to reach the end of the desert without anyone dying, and then we passed the backyard that made up the eastern half of the Pteranodon Valley before curving our way back onto the original route that Catalyna had plotted. The entire journey had taken twelve days, which was five days longer than the original estimated length. Despite this, we hadn’t lost a single person and were able to return to Nevaria a day later.
The guards at the gate looked shocked to see us. I didn’t know if it was our ragged and dirty appearance or something else. The woman on our left gawked like she’d seen a ghost.
“P-Princess Kari! Lady Catalyna! What happened to you?!” she asked.
Kari smiled, looking every bit the princess despite her ragged appearance. “We ran into some trouble while on our expedition.”
“I-I will inform the commander of your return,” the man on the other side of the gate said.
“Oh, there’s no need to worry about—” Kari began, but the man quickly dashed away and disappeared into the crowd.
I frowned at where the man disappeared. Something felt off about that man’s reaction just now. A strange feeling had settled within my gut and refused to leave, but I put the worry out of my mind for now as Catalyna began speaking once more.
“I think we’re going to hurry back to the Kriger Family mansion and let our family know what we discovered,” Catalyna said as she turned to us. “I’m sure they will get in contact with Empress Hilda soon. If what you say is true, then all of Nevaria is in great danger.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” I said.
“Be sure to let your mother know that she should keep an eye on the Leucht Family mansion,” Kari added.
“We will,” Catalyna said before walking off.
“Don’t think this is over yet,” Marko said to me. “I haven’t given up on Lin.”
“This princess doesn’t understand what you mean,” Lin said before I could respond. “What about her haven’t you given up on?”
I almost snorted at the innocent words. Lin knew this man wanted her, but she wasn’t giving him a single chance to get closer.
“N-nothing!” Marko shouted with a blush before pointing at me. “Anyway, be prepared to settle the score later!”
Marko turned on his heel and hurried to catch up with his sister. I felt like massaging my temple as a slight headache pounded my skull. Thinking about that man and his infatuation with Lin irritated me.
“It seems someone has a huge crush,” Kari said with a giggle. “It’s too bad he has no hope of convincing Lin to ever consider him marriage material.”
“Why would this princess ever marry someone like Marko?” asked the confused Lamia, who I could have sworn had several question marks hovering over her head. She seemed genuinely baffled by the idea of marrying Marko.
“No reason.” Kari giggled some more.
“We should head to the northern Nevarian Spiritualist barracks,” Fay suggested. “I would like to rest, but I believe we should inform Lord Dante and Lord Rainer about what happened before doing anything else.”
“You’re right,” I agreed.
“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Kari. “The sooner we talk to my dads, the sooner we can wash up and rest.”
All of us were tired, but we agreed that we couldn’t let this matter rest until we’d done everything we could to prevent the Leucht Family from going through with their plan. That was why we headed to the barracks where Dante was normally stationed. I was sure we looked like crap. Heck, the two Nevarian Spiritualists guarding the gate to the headquarters gawked at us like they couldn’t believe a group of half-naked Spiritualists covered in grime, blood, and dirt was knocking on their front door.
“P-Princess Kari!” one of them shouted when he realized who was standing before him. “W-what happened to you?! Your clothes! They’re—”
“Would you mind if we met with my fathers?” Kari asked, too tired to let them continue. Her voice was firm and commanding. “We have urgent news for them.”
“Of course!” Both Nevarian Spiritualists snapped off a salute as the spokesperson shouted in a high-pitched voice. “Commander Dante is not here right now, but we will inform Commander Rainer that you have returned and would like to speak with him. Please wait inside the entrance hall. We’ll also get all of you something to wear.”
“Thank you very much.” Kari bowed as one of the Nevarian Spiritualists rushed in through the door.
Our group was directed inside of the Nevarian Spiritualist barracks, where all of us were given some basic cloaks to put on over our clothes. Considering we were practically naked with our naughty bits barely concealed by torn fabric, I couldn’t necessarily blame them for responding so quickly to protect our modesty. I felt a little bad. These three girls had been walking through Nevaria practically nude. The number of looks we’d gotten on the way here was enough to make even me self-conscious.
We stood off to the side so as not to disrupt the flow of traffic. Our group drew many stares, but at least wit
h our cloaks covering us, no one outright gawked. Most looked at us as though unsure of our purpose for being there, but that was all.
Rainer came walking down the stairs about ten minutes after we were given the cloaks, coming to stand beside us and frowning as he observed our no-doubt exhausted expressions.
“I am glad to see you four have made it back safely from the Demon Beast Mountain Range,” he said as an opening line. “It looks like you have been through a lot. Perhaps we should head to the Imperial Royal Palace where you can freshen up?”
“Thank you, but no,” I said, raising my hand to forestall his argument. He looked like he was about to say something anyway, then he saw that I was only wearing torn pants under the cloak and closed his mouth. “We do want to freshen up and relax, but there’s something important that we have to tell you first.”
Rainer looked like he was debating with himself, but he eventually sighed and gestured for us to follow him. “When Edgard told me about the state you four were in, I had planned on taking you back to the palace, but if you insist, then we should head to the commander’s office. I assume what you have to say isn’t something you want to be overheard by others.”
“That’s correct,” Kari said with a tiny smile. “Thank you for understanding, Father.”
Rainer returned the smile before gesturing for us to follow him.
The commander’s office looked the same as always, though it seemed a little weird without Dante lackadaisically sitting behind the desk. Rainer moved behind the desk instead. Once he sat down, he clasped his hands together and gestured for us to relax.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened? Please start from the beginning.”
This would be the third time I’d spoken of this matter, but that just meant I was an old hand at explaining the situation. The four of us tried to make as detailed a report as possible. We told him about our journey, about how I found Torgny Leucht and a man in a cloak enacting a ritual with Dyr, how we were attacked by Demon Beasts, and everything I could think of. Fay, Kari, and even Lin offered their own experiences as well. Kari also informed Rainer about Finn.
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