“Are you… Miss Salvos and Miss Rachel?”
“It’s Princess Salvos and princess Rachel.”
I spoke haughtily as I walked forward, chin up and back straight. Rachel strutted alongside me, her nose held high and a light smile plastered on her face.
“And princess Princess too!”
I eyed the doll in her hand with a disdainful look and huffed.
undefined“Very well, and princess Princess too.”
The carriage driver raised a brow and slowly nodded.
“Uh, right. Well, just hop on in and we’ll be good to go…?”
He seemed uncertain— unsure of his station. Of course he would be; when faced with such majesty, one couldn’t help but tremble in awe before my presence!
Rachel and I entered the coach as our servant stopped and began conversing with the carriage driver.
“Yeah, I’m not with them. Yes, Daniel— thanks for doing this. I know it was a favor from the guard captain, but we really appreciate it...”
The two Human men paused and eyed us with envious looks from the outside. Daniel sighed wistfully, shaking his head— obviously entranced by the rich garments I adorned.
“Right, I know they’re a bit dirty, but we’re a bit low on money right now. We’ll try not to leave a mess. Thanks.”
With that said, our servant finally decided to step into the carriage and join us. He sunk into the seat opposite Rachel and I, his presence actually shrinking from being before us. Averting his gaze in reverence, he spoke softly.
“Salvos, you’re embarrassing.”
“Wha—”
I sputtered and leaned forward.
“What did I do?”
“The way you were acting. That’s going a little bit too far.”
“What do you mean? I was just behaving the way a Princess would!”
“But you’re not a Princess. And you’re being rude to the carriage driver. It was kind of embarrassing.”
Daniel sighed again, rubbing at his temples. I protested as the carriage began to get moving.
“I didn’t do anything Rachel wasn’t doing. Why am I the embarrassing one?!”
“Rachel is a child. You’re a Greater Demon. There’s a difference.”
I harrumphed and crossed my arms.
“At least I’m not being a grumpy Human man.”
“I’m not being grumpy— just look at yourself, Salvos.”
I glanced down at my regal dress: the tattered cloak, the torn and cut pants, and the Blue Jacket that did not exist anywhere else in this world. I shrugged.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“You look like a beggar.”
I pouted and turned my head to the side, facing away from Daniel.
“Hmph, it is expected of the common folk to lack the same pristine taste of the nobility. I think I look wonderful.”
“You don’t even understand how fashion here works.”
“Neither do you!”
I pointed an accusing finger at him. He opened his mouth to retort, but bit back his tongue. I grinned triumphantly.
“See, you know I’m right—”
Something cut me off. I felt a light tug and turned to face the little girl staring up at me with wet eyes.
“Salvos… Mr Daniel… please don’t fight. I-I’m sorry—”
Rachel sniffled, wiping at her face with her doll. I blinked and Daniel bit his lower lip.
“We— we weren’t actually mad at each other, Rachel. Look, it’s fine.”
He reached over and patted her on the shoulder. Rachel sniffed, but more tears ran down her cheeks; her face was entirely red, and snot and saliva was eeking out of her nose and mouth. I grimaced, however Daniel whispered to me.
“Salvos, help me comfort her!”
“What do I do? I don’t know what to do!”
“Just… do something!”
I hesitated. And then picked Rachel up and hugged her. I said nothing, just holding her crying continued. Daniel opened his mouth but I placed a finger on my lip.
“Sh.”
He slowly nodded and sat back down. The carriage ran into a bump as we finally left Warrington, and I continued to hug Rachel for a while longer. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. This was what Edithe did to me to make me feel better when she told me she was going to leave. It made me feel better for some reason, and for some reason now, I wanted to make the girl feel better too.
And eventually, she did. Rachel stopped crying and began giggling when I took Princess from her.
“She’s mine now!”
“Stop! The Demon has taken Princess! Do something, [Hero]!”
“Wait, you want me to join in?”
I laughed, holding the doll up to the ceiling of the coach.
“Of course… if you dare.”
I gave him a dangerous smile and he gulped. It was meant to be a joke, however he quickly looked out the window of the carriage and firmly planted himself onto his seat.
“I’m good here, thanks.”
—--
The ride was fun, with Rachel and I playing with each other, and Daniel and I engaging in some harmless jokes. In other words, it was relatively uneventful, and one week flew by before I knew it.
“We’re here.”
I glanced out the window, staring ahead at the city before us. Rachel was excitedly trying to sneak a peek behind me, however I was blocking her way since she took Princess back from me.
“Let me see!”
“There’s nothing for you to see. It looks just like any other city.”
Indeed, the Sunmere Republic had been no different from Nixa. When we crossed the border, I was expecting some kind of change of landscape, or a change to the sky. However, the sun remained up above, the night was still dark, and the stars remained twinkling, unmoving in dome overhead.
“I still want to see!”
Rachel protested, crossing her arms with a pout. I sighed and picked her up.
“Fine, if you want to see the city— here!”
“Woah.”
The walls of Viechester lay ahead of us— a pristine, white barrier that separated the settlement inside from the world of monsters beyond. I saw nothing special about it, and yet both Rachel and Daniel gaped at the sight before us.
“What’s so ‘woah’ about it?”
“That’s… banclite.”
“Ban...clite?”
I cocked my head and Daniel turned back to me, nodding.
“A rare mineral found only in the Motharis Mountain Range in the Human Lands. It’s like marble in its texture, but stone in how durable it is. But most importantly, it has powerful anti magic properties. Meaning that having a wall built out of it renders any magical siege nearly useless. Even a Level 100 [Mage] would have some difficulty tearing down that wall.”
“What about 150? Would a Level 150 [Mage] be able to destroy it easily?”
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