Chapter 2: The Land of Beasts

Chapter 2:
The Land of Beasts

 

POV: ODA AKIRA

 

WHILE THE VOYAGE itself was relatively uneventful, true trouble came to greet us the moment we made landfall. Though, in fairness, I might have had a hand in instigating it.

“Hey, shrimp. Leave the elf girl with us and get lost.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Right, I almost forgot that a scrub like me sticks out like a sore thumb next to a bombshell like Amelia. Before long, we were surrounded by beastmen who reeked of booze and had clearly been drinking all day. They were red in the face (or at least I thought they were—hard to tell under all that fur), with yellow Adventurer’s Guild dog tags hanging proudly around their necks. Judging by their equipment, they seemed like a party full of warriors. What rank was yellow, again? The fourth highest? I knew it was the third lowest. Maybe that was a better frame of reference.

Using World Eyes, I determined none of them had any particularly threatening combat abilities. They were just small fry—if this were a manga, the author probably wouldn’t have even bothered to draw faces on such forgettable background characters. I wasn’t sure there was much of a market for big, burly dudes with cat ears and curly tails, and they were kind of creepy. Either get plastic surgery done on that face or get rid of those ears and that tail—one or the other.

The beastmen, having no idea that I was currently roasting them in my mind, took my speechlessness as a sign of fear and let out a collective hearty chortle.

I heaved a quiet sigh. “Welp, there’s another trope I can check off the list, I guess. Yay for me.”

“Want me to squash ’em for you, Akira?”

“Nah, I’ll take care of it.”

I’d somehow completely forgotten about my original concern that having a pretty girl for a party member would draw unwanted attention, but this was also the first time she and I were walking together through a society where humans weren’t considered a novelty.

“Whaddya still hangin’ around for, shrimp? Leave the girl and go. I ain’t interested in dudes,” barked the leader of the pack, now visibly irritated. “I know I’m a fine hunk o’ man, but I don’t swing that way, freak.”

I’d been trying to keep my temper in check, but this pushed me over the edge.

“Who said anything about what way I swing, douchebag?” I snarled.

The corners of my mouth stretched into an evil grin. I could hear Night protesting on my shoulders, begging me to stop, but I wasn’t having any of it. I was too preoccupied with deciding how exactly I was going to punish this asswipe. Calling me gay was one thing, but if he thought I’d let him get away with ogling Amelia like he was, he was dead wrong.

“You wanna go? Fine by me. Which of you kitty cats wants to die first?” I asked, beckoning them with curled fingers. I left my katana in its sheath—I didn’t want to actually kill them, just rough them up a little bit.

“’Scuse me? You think a little hairless brat like you can take on all of us at once?”

“You’re the only one who’s gonna die here, kid. Why don’t you run back to mommy?”

“Yeah, aren’t you late for your daily breastfeeding?”

“Go on, beat it, shrimp. Better start running if you know what’s good for ya.”

The rest of the beastmen joined in with the taunting, and this pushed Amelia over the edge as well. Night simply shook his head disappointedly at the both of us from his perch on my shoulder.

“And what about you, huh?” Amelia said. A crowd of onlookers had gathered around us to see what all the commotion was about. “You’re adventurers, aren’t you? I see those dog tags. I don’t think the Guild would take kindly to its representatives picking fights in the middle of the street.”

Suddenly, the beastmen’s faces went bright red, but not out of rage. They weren’t even paying attention to the words Amelia was saying—they were simply entranced by her beautiful, soothing voice.

“Holy crap, did you guys hear that?”

“Yeah, man. Chick’s got the voice of an angel.”

“Now we definitely can’t let her walk away with a loser like him.”

“How much do you guys think she’d sell for?”

Now I liked to think I had been controlling myself quite well up to that point—the old me certainly wouldn’t have let this go on as long as it had—but every man’s patience had its limits, and these bastards had just crossed mine.

I reached out my hands. Amelia, realizing what I was about to do, reached out her own to try to stop me.

But it was too late.

“Shadow Magic, activate.”

I had no intention of using such a deadly skill to its fullest extent here in the middle of town. While plenty of the ordinary onlookers were gawking at Amelia like she was a fine piece of meat, they at least had the decency to not actually make a pass at her like these jerks had. And now that we’d drawn so much attention to ourselves, I didn’t think we’d be able to keep a low profile anymore, which meant my only option was to send each and every one of these drooling horndogs packing.

“Don’t do it, Master.”

“Gwaaaaaagh!”

“Ugh! What the hell is this?!”

“Crap, crap, crap! It won’t come off!”

I’d sent tiny little shadows hurtling into each of the men’s eyes, rendering them temporarily blind. It was by no means a display of what I was truly capable of, but I thought it would do a decent job of conveying to the crowd that I was a force to be reckoned with and deter at least a few presumptuous brutes from trying to mess with us later.

“Well now. That’s a fancy trick if I’ve ever seen one,” came a voice from the peanut gallery. The sea of onlookers parted, and a tall man sauntered slowly up to us through the murmurs of the crowd. He had the ears and tail of a leopard, was garbed in dark clothes, and carried himself like a wise and eloquent individual. His face, however, was like a mask—expressionless, unfazed.

The beastmen who’d been taunting us panicked at the sight of him.

“Th-that voice…!”

“O-oh, crap!”

“W-we’re in deep trouble now!”

“What the hell is he doing here?!”

Judging by their reactions, as well as the murmurs from the crowd, the man was either highly respected, highly feared, or both—which was impressive, given his apparent youth. The way everyone seemed to crap their collective pants the moment he arrived on the scene was a little cliché for my tastes, and I wished they would all just shut the hell up.

“Now then. I suppose some introductions are in order, hm?” said the man. “I am Lingga, and I am the administrator of the local Adventurer’s Guild branch here in the port city of Ur. It’s a pleasure to meet you, human child.”

“I’m Oda Akira. Nice to meet you too, bud. If you’re the local guildmaster, then I guess you’ve saved me a trip. I’ve got a letter for you here from the king of the elves.”

“Oh? A letter of introduction from His Majesty himself? You must be here on important business indeed; that man deeply abhors all manner of written correspondence.”

The crowd seemed incensed at the idea that anyone would refer to this apparently important man as “bud,” but Lingga didn’t look bothered, so I carried on like normal. I handed him the letter from the elven king, and he broke the seal to start reading it.

“I see, I see… Fascinating stuff, to be sure. Even if the penmanship could use a little work.”

“Careful what you say in front of his daughter, pal,” I said, shooting Amelia a glance. She didn’t seem offended in the least and was still trying to size the guy up for herself.

“His daughter, you say? Then you must be Princess Amelia,” Lingga said, before raising a hand to hide his mouth and lowering his voice to a whisper. “You’re awfully brave to come here at this time of year, when lovely young ladies like yourself are in grave danger.”

“Wait. What’s so different about this time of year?” I asked, genuinely confounded.

“You don’t even know, yet you came here anyway? Oh, never mind. This is hardly the time or place. Let’s head on over to the Guild, shall we?” Lingga turned sharply on his heels and looked with disdain at the beastmen who had accosted us. Then he turned to another young man standing nearby. “Ah, there you are, Yamato. Excellent timing. Would you be a dear and process expulsion paperwork for these ruffians, confiscate their dog tags and other effects, and see that they’re banished from the city? Thank you.”

“As you wish, sir,” said the young man.

As Lingga began to walk back the way he’d come, the crowd parted once more, fear in their eyes as they looked upon him. I wondered what he’d done to deserve such a reputation. Perhaps more surprising was the fact that they seemed equally as scared, or maybe even more so, when they saw Night sitting on my shoulder.

“That was quite the cunning little plan you cooked up, I must admit,” Lingga said to me as we made our way to the Guild down some less-trafficked side streets.

“I’m just glad they fell for it.” I grinned. “Don’t think anyone in this town’s gonna try messing with Amelia again anytime soon.”

“Huh? Akira, what’s he talking about?” asked Amelia as she and Night cocked their heads in confusion.

I wasn’t sure if they were trusting or naive, but they were awfully bad at seeing through traps and schemes. I was about to explain when I realized we were still in public, so I figured I’d fill them in once we were somewhere private. You never knew who might be listening, after all, and I still didn’t know what kind of technology this world had in terms of transferring information quickly. It was equally likely someone had eyes and ears inside the Guild, but I decided to bank on the office of the feared guildmaster being a safer place to have sensitive conversations than the middle of the street.

“And here we are. Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild,” said Lingga, placing his hand on the door to what looked like a shady dive bar.

When we set foot inside, however, I couldn’t help but gasp. Unlike its rough exterior, inside, the building was startlingly clean. The service counter looked like it had been a bar at one point, so I posited the Guild had renovated an old pub. Flyers with various work requests were posted all over the walls, each separated by a rank color based on the expected difficulty of completing each job. It was almost exactly as I’d imagined it.

It seemed the establishment still functioned as a bar as well, as I noticed a few groups of adventurers chatting and drinking at tables set up around the room. The moment Lingga entered the building with us, the whole place went silent. The drunken adventurers seemed to immediately sober up upon seeing him and Night, and all the color drained from their faces. Other than the sudden change in atmosphere, it looked like a fairly cozy establishment.

“G-Guildmaster! What business brings you here today?” asked a flustered guild employee who looked a bit like a puppy.

“Hello, Myle. These people are with me. Be a dear and bring some drinks up to my office, would you?” said Lingga, and the boy dashed back behind the counter.

Using my exceptional listening abilities, I picked up his conversation with the other bartenders.

“Ugh, that Lingga, I tell ya… You never tell what’s really going on in that head of his.”

“Hey, at least he seems to be in a good mood today. Be grateful for that.”

“No kidding. Though I wish he wouldn’t drop in on us out of nowhere like this with unexpected guests and force us to drop everything we’re doing.”

“Yeah, and it’s not like he just brought in one guest either. A human, an elf, and a monster familiar walk into our bar… Sounds like the start of a crummy joke, doesn’t it?”

“I didn’t think familiars were even a real thing. Which one is its master? The boy?”

“Gotta admit the elf girl’s quite the looker… I’d let her walk all over me any day.”

“Oh, shut the hell up. Myle, go deliver these, would you?”

“Whoops… Sorry, will do.”

So they’re afraid of Lingga because they can’t tell what he’s thinking…? That’s dumb. The average person can’t tell what any other person is thinking.

 

“Have a seat wherever you like,” said Lingga once we were all in his office. “Though I suppose there aren’t really a lot of options left with all this paperwork I’ve got piled up.”

The guildmaster’s office was in the hallway behind the bar, first door on the right. The only furniture to speak of was some packed bookshelves, a sofa, a desk, and a couple of chairs. It was certainly not the sort of room that could be used for leisure as well as work, and everything except the sofa and one chair was piled high with documents. Based on that and the conversation I’d overheard between the bartenders, it was plain to see that Lingga didn’t stop by here very often; he probably did most of his work from home or out in the field. Or maybe he just came in through a secret entrance? But why would he need to do such a thing?

“Now then. I believe you were about to say something?” said Lingga after he’d sat behind the desk and Amelia and I had found our own places to sit.

“R-right.” I remembered Amelia’s question from earlier and began explaining my rationale for the actions I’d taken against the ruffians. “So you guys know I have an insane amount of control over my magic, right? Like, I could shoot my shadows through the eye of a needle from a meter away.”

The two of them nodded, both fully aware of how difficult it was to achieve that level of control over one’s magic. I’d condensed my Shadow Magic into tiny beads, shot them into the miscreants’ eyeballs, then commanded the shadows remotely to expand and cover their eye sockets, rendering the ruffians temporarily blind. I was sure Night at least would fully comprehend just how difficult this was, since he knew from experience that it was impossible to properly shapeshift without a clear picture of your goal in your mind. I used my magic in a similar way.

“So basically, I wanted to make my skill clear to everyone watching without being overly showy about it. Amelia, why do you think I did that?” I asked, trying my best to sound like a college professor.

“Uhhh… Because anyone with a modicum of skill can make a big fireworks show out of magic, and it’s the little things that show you’re truly a master of your craft?”

“Correct,” I said, patting her on the head as a reward.

“Yay! Tee hee,” she giggled, her cheeks turning pink.

“Now it’s your turn, Night,” I said. “Why would I ever want to make my abilities known in such a public manner?”

“I assume because it would deter all but the most foolish of challengers from trying to disturb us again?”

“Right you are,” I said, rustling his fur with both hands. “Now, what potential drawbacks might there be to this plan?”

“Well, now the extent of your abilities is out in the open. If there was a witness in that crowd who saw the level of control you have over your magic and still wasn’t impressed, that individual would likely feel even more emboldened to pick a fight with us.”

I lifted Night up off the sofa and buried my face in his fur. Yes, that’s exactly right, my friend. While there was certainly the possibility of a few more overconfident challengers wanting to press their luck after today, especially among a race that had a reputation for being a little hotheaded, I still believed I’d taken the best possible course of action.

“Plus, by giving Lingga the elf king’s letter in front of all those people, we also made sure everyone knows Amelia’s lineage,” I added.

“And you expect that the average citizen will be less likely to interfere with her, knowing she’s royalty?” Lingga chimed in.

“I do. Sorry for not asking permission first, Amelia.”

“No, it’s fine,” she said with a little smile, shaking her head. “You can use me however you want. I don’t mind one bit.”

“Amelia…”

“Shall we give them some privacy, Guildmaster?” asked Night sarcastically, clearly a little bit peeved by our PDA.

“And miss the best part? I think not!” Lingga joked.

“What about Lingga?” Amelia asked me, ignoring those two. “Were you counting on him being there from the start too?”

“Not from the start, no. That was purely coincidence. When my eyes tipped me off to the guildmaster’s attendance, I decided to rope him into my little spectacle,” I said, tapping the corner of one eye, so Amelia would know what I meant.

Lingaa pouted like a child. “Could you please explain that again in a way that all of us can understand?” he asked grumpily, and I gave him an intentionally vague explanation as to what World Eyes did. He might have been the guildmaster, but I wasn’t comfortable revealing everything to him just yet, even if it wasn’t confidential information. Maybe after he’d earned my trust.

“Fine, have it your way,” Lingga relented. “But there are still two things which I’d like to be crystal clear on. Oda Akira, were you summoned here from another world via the recent hero summoning ritual?”

Apparently rumors of the hero summoning ritual’s success had spread even to this continent. Given the way the common folk had greeted my classmates and I like we were in a parade on our first trip to the labyrinth, I supposed it wasn’t too surprising that word had gotten out. I exchanged glances with Night, wondering if it was really a good idea to admit this.

“I see. On to my next question, then.” Lingga nodded, apparently satisfied with what he’d learned from one glance. I really needed to work on my poker face. “Now, this familiar of yours—‘Night,’ as you call him—he wouldn’t also happen to be the Demon Lord’s infamous right-hand monster, would he? The one known as Black Cat?”

Wow. I’d known that Night had been a fairly important servant of the Demon Lord, but his right-hand monster? Why the hell had the Demon Lord let us steal such an important assistant? Maybe he truly hadn’t foreseen the possibility of Night betraying him.

“I was once called that, yes,” Night responded. “But now I answer only to Master. Rest assured, I have no intention of going on another rampage through your country as I once did back in my younger and more mischievous years.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Violent rampage? What?! I was going to need an explanation for such an atomic truth bomb, and fast. Seeing the bewilderment on my and Amelia’s faces, Lingga thankfully obliged.

“It’s true. When that familiar of yours was still the Demon Lord’s right-hand monster, he went on a rampage through this country. The entire continent, in fact. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the hero at the time, we were able to stop him before he had a chance to destroy more than the capital city and a single wing of the royal palace, but the casualties were still immense. We are a resilient people, of course, and we did manage to recover, but to this day you’ll find that most beastfolk fear black cats far more than even the fiercest of beasts.”

I shot Night a look, and he immediately became very interested in the ceiling and started whistling innocently. He had concealed this information on purpose. Now I understood why the people in the city had looked at us the way that they had; perhaps the hoodlums who’d tried to mess with us had been too drunk to notice Night. It wasn’t me the commoners were afraid of—it was the little brat riding on my shoulders.

“I was on orders from His Majesty, okay? And we were at war at the time. I really don’t think what I did was wrong given the circumstances, and I don’t intend to apologize for it,” Night said, puffing out his chest.

“Yes, I assumed not. Just wanted to verify your identity, that’s all,” said Lingga.

Amelia was clearly having a hard time believing our cute and cuddly cat companion was really a mass murderer, as her jaw hung open for quite a while following this revelation.

Guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover. This is the same cat who tried to attack us with dragon breath the first time we met him, remember? I can totally see him being some harbinger of destruction.

“Er, Master? I picked up most of that via Telepathy, you know…” Night said despondently, disappointed to have me think of him in this light. He certainly didn’t look like a convincing right-hand monster when he sulked like that.

“So what they say about a master and familiar being able to communicate via Telepathy is true. We’ve been looking for definitive proof of that for a while now,” Lingga said.

Oh, you have, have you? Suddenly suspicious, I looked around the room and noticed what looked like a camera on the ceiling. It wasn’t quite as conspicuously evil-looking as the ones back in the castle of Retice, which perhaps explained why I’d overlooked it at first.

“Got security cameras in your own office, huh? I take it you’re awfully careful,” I said. Though perhaps it was an understandable security measure, even for a simple branch manager.

“Yes, well. We often have to temporarily store priceless artifacts and treasures here. Can’t be too careful.”

“Treasure, eh? You sure you should be mentioning that to strangers like us?” After all, we could have been simple burglars who’d only come to scope the place out for our next heist.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Lingga said, shaking his head. “If you were planning on breaking and entering, you wouldn’t have brought a familiar along. That would be too conspicuous, and all the more so given that we’re already cautious around black cats.”

He had a point. If we were truly burglars, then we weren’t making much of an effort to keep a low profile. Especially with a knockout like Amelia tagging along with us. Though on the topic of keeping a low profile…

“Hey, so what does that Extra Skill of yours do?” I asked him. “The Inconspicuous one, I mean. Does it let you waltz right past people without them noticing you?”

“Using those special eyes of yours again, I see…” Lingga sighed. “Yes, that’s what it does, but I’ll remind you that I am nothing more than a simple civil servant at this point. I was never cut out to be an assassin, to be honest with you—I’ve got aichmophobia, a fear of pointed objects. Can’t even look at a butter knife without feeling faint.”

Apparently he couldn’t use forks either, and he had to have chopsticks imported from the country of Yamato just to eat. I looked again at Lingga’s stat page. It did still list his class as an assassin, like me. That shouldn’t have been surprising, since it was one of the more basic classes out there, though very few of us ever went on to do any actual assassinating. Still, I did feel a tiny sense of kinship with him.

He told us about how he’d been using his Inconspicuous skill to sneak into his office each day and take care of his paperwork without causing a stir every time he walked through the bar downstairs, which explained why the bartenders thought of him as some mysterious enigma. I was sure any assassin worth their salt would consider such a powerful Extra Skill wasted on someone like him; even I felt that way for a brief moment. But he’d chosen his path in life, and it was none of my business. If he really did have a fear of sharp objects, then it wasn’t his fault he’d been born into the worst class possible for his condition.

“Now, I think this little tangent’s gone on long enough,” Lingga said, and the mood in the room became tense. “Let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?”

It seemed he was finally ready to talk business, though not before taking a big sip of one of the drinks Myle had brought up for us a moment ago. It was some sort of non-citrus fruit juice—smelled a bit like grape, but I couldn’t say what it tasted like, as I’d opted not to drink mine. Amelia seemed to be enjoying hers quite a bit, though.

Noticing I hadn’t touched my drink, Lingga narrowed his eyes at me. “So what brings you three to our fair continent?”

Maintaining eye contact with him, I walked up to his desk and slammed the Yato-no-Kami down in front of him, sheath and all. He looked up at me, as if asking permission to take a closer look. I nodded, and he drew it about halfway out of its sheath.

“I see. So it’s a blacksmith you’re after,” he said, inspecting the well-worn blade before setting it gently back down. “Quite fine craftsmanship, I must say. How did you ever do such a number on it?”

A well-crafted sword was far sturdier and sharper than a poorly crafted one, and katanas were no exception. Lingga was asking how I’d ever let a blade like this, which was clearly a masterpiece even to the untrained eye, fall into such a state of disrepair.

“I need to get to Level 100 ASAP. I was trying to do that by grinding monsters down in the Great Labyrinth of Kantinen, but I guess I went a little overboard,” I responded.

Lingga froze in place for a moment, just like Night had when I’d first told him the same information. “I’m sorry, did I hear that correctly? It sounded like you were implying you tried to take on the labyrinth of the human continent with only this sword.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Wow. You’re far dumber than you look,” Lingga said, so matter-of-factly that I honestly had no comeback.

Night, up on my shoulders, nodded as if to say “See, I told you so,” and I shot him a spiteful look.

“Please tell me you didn’t delve deep into that particular labyrinth without even knowing it’s designed to be a magic training ground.” Lingga sighed. “Or did you run in with a death wish and somehow miraculously make it out alive?”

“Look, I didn’t know about the magic thing until Night told me, okay? And I dunno if I’d call it a miracle. Sure, luck was on our side a lot of the time, but mostly it was just my own strength and Amelia’s help that got us through,” I said petulantly.

Lingga sighed yet again. “I assume you’re after the Special Skill that people supposedly get upon reaching Level 100, but to put your life on the line over an old wives’ tale is brazen at best and suicidal at worst.”

I grinned. Yup—it was rumored that anyone who managed to reach Level 100 would be rewarded with a so-called “Special Skill,” a type of unique ability far, far stronger than even an Extra Skill. Commander Saran had told me the rumors about these fabled skills during one of our late-night conversations, though I now knew they were more than a mere wives’ tale. I’d sworn to do whatever it took to reach Level 100; it had been my final promise to him.

“Special Skills do exist. I know they do,” I said defiantly.

A brief silence fell over the room as Lingga peered deep into my eyes, sizing me up.

“Judging by your expression, it looks like you truly believe that. Or perhaps you somehow know for a fact? But that can’t be; there are no heroes who’ve reached Level 100 in this world. Certainly not any living ones, at least.”

“Not now, perhaps, but they did exist, and I can assure you people really do receive a Special Skill upon reaching Level 100. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Though where and when I saw this, I wouldn’t say. Not yet, anyway.

“Hmph. Believe what you will, I suppose.” Lingga shrugged. “If you need any assistance while you’re here, you know where to find us. The Guild and I are happy to be of help.”

 

“Akira, is it true what you said in there?” Amelia asked as we made our way through the crowd after leaving the Adventurer’s Guild.

With Night riding on my shoulders, the beastfolk pedestrians were quick to make way for us, and with the news of Amelia being high elf royalty having made its way around town, there wasn’t a single person who dared to mess with us. It was exactly the outcome I had been aiming for, and I patted myself on the back for a job well done. I still wanted to get off the main drag and into an alley or something to get away from all these prying eyes. Amelia’s question was vague, but I was pretty sure I knew what she was referring to.

“Yes, I was about to ask the same thing. I’ve never even heard of there being some sort of bonus for reaching Level 100, Master,” said Night, clinging to my head as he struggled to maintain his balance on my shoulders, his soft tummy fur tickling my ears.

“Yeah, well, you’re a monster, so I’m not too surprised. I’m sure Amelia’s heard the rumors at least a few times before, right?” I asked, turning to her for validation.

“In old fairy tales and stuff, yeah.” She nodded hesitantly. “It’s always presented as something only the best of the best can ever hope to achieve, kinda like how most people can never reach Max Level in a given skill. It’s just not possible for the average person to reach Level 100. Even getting to Level 99 is a massive struggle.”

Yes, that’s how the stories go. But it’s more than just a fairy tale.

“The first person to ever discover the Level 100 bonus was the Hero of Legend. He was on the verge of death, and all his allies had already been wiped out by the Demon Lord. But when all hope seemed lost, he slew the last of the Demon Lord’s minions, and suddenly he awakened to a brand-new ability, which he then used to slay the Demon Lord and get a happy ending…or so I was told. You see it all the time in hero-versus-villain stories, honestly—just when the good guys are about to lose, the hero unlocks some special ability that increases his power tenfold.”

According to the legend, the sheer force of the attack had obliterated the upper half of the demons’ continent too. I could totally believe that, since I’d almost taken out an entire gigantic forest with my Shadow Magic, and that was only an Extra Skill. It wasn’t a quaint little forest like the ones we had in Japan either—this was one of those gigantic forests like they had overseas, the size of a small country. Still, it probably wasn’t comparable to half of an entire continent.

“And you think monsters don’t get these Special Skills?” asked Night, sounding more than a little disappointed. As I patted him on the head reassuringly, Amelia tilted her head in confusion.

“Wait. So if there aren’t even stories about them where Night comes from, could that mean neither monsters nor demons get Level 100 bonuses?” she asked.

“Sure seems that way, yeah. Though I guess there is another possibility,” I mused.

“And what might that be?” asked Night.

“It could be that the demons are concealing the existence of Special Skills on purpose,” I said, stopping dead in my tracks at the entrance to a secluded alleyway. I turned around and saw Lingga staring at us with shrewd eyes from among the crowd of pedestrians. He didn’t seem to be using his Inconspicuous ability at the moment—perhaps there were some limitations on how and when he could use the skill, or perhaps he was just bold enough to believe he could avoid my detection even without it.

“Is something the matter, Master?”

“Nah. Must’ve just been a stray cat,” I said, pretending I hadn’t noticed Lingga tailing us. One thing was for certain: something very fishy was going on here.

 

“All right, Miss Amelia—one deluxe room for you and your party. Will you be needing breakfast in the morning?”

“Oh, no, thank you. We’ll just grab a bite to eat in town, I’m sure.”

“Very well, then. I’ll have someone show you to your room shortly. One moment, please.”

We were standing at the reception desk of a local inn, all breathing a collective sigh of relief upon seeing it did indeed appear to be a reputable establishment.

An hour or two earlier, Amelia had mentioned she was feeling a bit peckish, so we settled on a random restaurant nearby to have our first meal in Brute. The beastfolk proprietor who greeted us looked like a calico cat, and the interior of his establishment resembled a posh English-style café. They served some beastfolk favorites (like catnip, for example) in addition to more traditional fare. There were a few human adventurers seated at a corner table, but it seemed the lunch rush hadn’t quite hit yet. As Amelia stuffed her face ordering plate after plate of food—hey, who was the guy here?—I got to talking with the owner and asked him if he knew of any good inns in the area he could recommend.

Apparently, he’d already heard the rumors about us and knew of Amelia’s noble status, so he let us in on a bit of insider information. He told us that you should never judge a beastfolk establishment by its exterior, as many of the nicest-looking buildings were notorious for having terrible service and being run-down on the inside, but there were plenty of nicer places hidden in plain sight, like the Adventurer’s Guild. The owner suggested an inn not too far from his establishment known simply as The Coop.

It turned out to be a combination establishment with a nice bar on the bottom floor. The innkeeper was a kind avian beastman with slumped shoulders who didn’t flinch at the sight of Night and treated Amelia with a suitable level of respect.

“Hi there! I’m Haru, and I’ll be showing you to your room,” said the spry female attendant who dashed out to greet us. She was a cute human girl with prominent upper canines and deep black hair. If her eyes had been black instead of green, I might have been fooled into thinking she was a Japanese person just like me. Even her name sounded Japanese. Maybe she’d come here from the Japan-inspired country of Yamato.

“Hey! That’s the elven princess you’re talking to, girl!” the innkeeper yelped, reprimanding Haru for greeting us so casually. The innkeeper bowed his head to beg our forgiveness, but Amelia stopped him.

“Please, there’s no need for special treatment,” she assured them. “We’re traveling here in secret at the moment, and we haven’t even gone to pay our respects to the king of the beastfolk yet.”

“But, milady…” he sputtered incredulously.

A lightbulb seemed to go off in Amelia’s head. “If you want to be of help, then why don’t you tell us some of your favorite restaurants in the area?”

“Why, of course! I’ll write up a list of a few choice establishments and have it brought straight to your room.”

Amelia nodded at the innkeeper, then indicated for Haru to lead the way.

The poor girl had done a complete about-face, her peppy demeanor dissolving into something appropriately serious. “If you’d just follow me right this way, madam,” Haru said, guiding us through the dining area before stopping in front of a room clearly reserved for only the most esteemed guests. “Here is your room, Madam Amelia. In case of emergency, you’ll find an exit right over there. If you need anything—anything at all—just ring that bell there, and we’ll be right over to serve you.”

One look inside, and I could tell it was probably the nicest room in the building by far. Maybe not quite as luxurious as the rooms in Retice Castle, but fancy nonetheless. There were two large beds situated in the center of the room. God, how long has it been since I slept in a real bed?

“Oh, and the walls are completely soundproof, so feel free to be as loud as you like tonight, byeee!” Haru added quickly before leaving us alone in the room.

So much for her fake formality act.

“Don’t worry, Master. I can take a hint,” Night whispered in my ear. “I’ll be sure to go out on the town alone tonight so you two can have some privacy. I won’t even use Telepathy to listen in, I promise!”

“C’mon, Night. You don’t really think I’m that type of guy, do you?”

“I don’t, but you know what they say: when a fine piece of tail presents itself on a silver platter, it’s only good manners to at least take a bite.”

“I beg your pardon? Where the hell did you learn to talk like that?”

“It’s something His Majesty always used to say.”

“Oh, great. I haven’t even met the guy yet, and I can already tell he’s a prick.”

Night seemed a bit too pleased with himself for having scandalized me. Man, I’m too old for this crap. I grabbed him by the cheeks and started wrestling with him on the floor.

“What are you two whispering about over here?” Amelia asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

“Nothing!” we said in unison.

Amelia squinted at us, unconvinced, but ultimately gave up and went back to unpacking her luggage. Night and I let out sighs of relief. We made an unspoken agreement then and there to keep such topics to Telepathy, then I went over to unpack my own luggage beside Amelia (not that I had much to speak of).

“I wouldn’t mind Akira taking a bite of me,” Amelia mumbled grumpily, but I pretended not to hear it.

 

“How do you like it, Amelia? Is it good?”

“Mmfhm!”

“Good, good. I’m glad.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile at the sight of Amelia stuffing her face and talking with her mouth full. Back in my world, I’d often heard people say there was no sight more beautiful than watching the one you love eat their fill. I’d always thought the saying was a little weird, but once I met Amelia, I finally understood.

Of course, I was making a total pig of myself too. I didn’t even know what kind of meat I was eating—the texture was a bit like chicken—but I couldn’t have cared less. It was far better than anything I’d eaten down in the labyrinth, and the special sauce it came with was to die for. Night was munching on some purple leafy vegetables beside me, and while they certainly didn’t look appetizing to me, he seemed to be enjoying them well enough. After filling our bellies, we decided to walk off a few calories as we made our way back to the inn.

When we returned to our room, I crashed on the bed and finally began to feel the weariness of our long journey starting to abate. This was the first time I’d truly taken a load off since I was summoned to this world—hell, maybe even in years. I did a quick inspection of the room to make sure no mana-based surveillance devices had been installed while we were away, but I didn’t find anything. Perhaps I’d become a little too paranoid after the many betrayals and close encounters with death I’d had since arriving in this world. It did seem like the sort of world in which you had to generally be on your guard at all times, but even so…

“Man, I can’t stop thinking about that guildmaster’s Extra Skill,” I muttered to myself. “Sure wouldn’t want to have someone like that turn out to be our enemy.”

Hell, he could have been listening in on us right then and none of us would know. It felt almost like cheating for someone to have an ability that made everyone around them utterly oblivious to their presence.

I say as someone at Max Level in Conceal Presence…

Apparently Night had somewhere he wanted to go alone, so he left us immediately after dinner; maybe he had an old acquaintance somewhere in the city.

The beds in our room were fit for a king—so soft and comfy it was hard to do much thinking without accidentally drifting off to sleep, especially after all those nights sleeping on the cold, hard ground in the labyrinth. I could see Amelia was starting to nod off in her bed too. Not that there was any reason we shouldn’t have fallen asleep—we’d both already changed into our pajamas and were fully ready for bed.

I was suddenly reminded of the thumbs-up Night had given me as he went off on his own after dinner. Did he really believe I had any intention of making a move on Amelia tonight?

Granted, I didn’t think there was a man alive who wouldn’t kill to sleep with a girl like her, but she was way too far out of my league, and I didn’t have any sexual experience to speak of. I’d never had time for dating back in my world—I’d been too focused on working all night, every night, trying to make ends meet for my family to have any social life to speak of. Besides, even if I’d had a girlfriend, it wasn’t like we would’ve ever had the chance to do anything, since my sickly mother never left the house. Though I guess the bigger problem would have been finding any self-respecting girl who would ever date, let alone sleep with, me.

So transfixed was I on this train of thought that I didn’t even notice when Amelia got up off her bed and came over to lie down next to me. She certainly felt at ease around me, that was for sure.

“What’s wrong, Akira? Something on your mind?” she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Y-yeah, sort of. Just thinking about that guildmaster again,” I said, trying to play it cool even though my heart was skipping beats left and right.

“What was that skill of his, again? Noncontiguous?” she asked, nuzzling up to me like a cat. When I petted her on the head, I almost expected her to start purring.

“Inconspicuous. And yeah, that’s the one that worries me.”

“So, hey, not to change the subject, but…don’t I look pretty enticing right now?”

My thoughts ground to a halt. Sorry, what?

“What are you trying to say?” I asked, propping myself up on my elbows so I could look down at Amelia, who was now pouting.

“I mean, I’m right here, y’know. But you don’t seem interested in doing anything with me at all. Maybe I’m just not sexy enough…” she said dejectedly, and I went slack-jawed in disbelief. I couldn’t believe the words coming out of Amelia’s mouth.

I placed my hand softly on her cheek and let out a sigh. “Not sexy enough? Please. You’re way too sexy. It’s honestly hard to control myself around you sometimes,” I admitted at last. At this, her eyes widened ever so slightly. Man, what the hell am I doing? I could feel the heat gathering in my cheeks, and I didn’t think I was coming down with a fever. I turned my back to Amelia, unable to maintain eye contact any longer.

“Tee hee. Well, okay. If you say so,” she giggled, wrapping her arms around me from behind. I could feel two soft mounds pressing up against my back as she whispered seductively in my ear. “There’s no rush. Feel free to take a bite of me whenever you like.”

“Hnnngh…!”

Damn it. She had me right in the palm of her hand, and she knew it, but I couldn’t give in to her feminine wiles just yet. I twisted around and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“Better watch out, ’cause as soon as we take care of business with the Demon Lord, I’m gonna rail you like there’s no tomorrow,” I whispered back. “So get ready.”

“Will do!” she nodded enthusiastically, her cheeks flushed bright red.

Damn, that wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. I was hoping to make her knees quake a little.

“Okay, we’d better hit the sack. Tomorrow, we’ll start looking for a blacksmith who can repair the Yato-no-Kami,” I said, turning to face Amelia again.

I discovered she was already drifting off to sleep, though she still clung to me like her life depended on it. I guess she did seem pretty sleepy earlier. The two of us sank deep into the pillowy mattress, wrapped up in each other’s arms. In my drowsy and uninhibited state, I placed yet another gentle kiss on her peaceful, angelic face.

“G’night, Amelia.”

 

POV: NIGHT

 

“MASTER? I’m baaack…”

Upon returning from my little errand a few hours later, I noticed a large bulge under the covers in Master’s bed, while Amelia’s bed lay vacant. Lights out had long since passed, and the room was pitch-black, but thankfully I could still see just fine with my feline eyes. I slowly made my way over to the bed, peeled back the covers, and let out a silent chuckle.

“Well, would you look at that… Good for you, Lady Amelia.”

There Master and Lady Amelia were locked firmly in each other’s embrace. I could tell from the way their clothes weren’t rumpled or askew that they hadn’t actually done anything, but seeing the satisfied smile on Amelia’s face warmed my heart nonetheless. I knew she’d been feeling anxious about Master and his feelings lately. I gently tucked them back under the covers, then made myself comfortable on the empty bed. It felt like a waste to enjoy only a small portion of such a fine bed, however, so I made myself large enough to fill it.

“Good night, Master. Good night, Lady Amelia. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow,” I whispered, my thoughts drifting back to the man I’d just gone to visit as I closed my eyes.

 

POV: ODA AKIRA

 

WHEN I AWOKE the next morning, I found myself lying next to a beautiful girl. After a few moments’ confusion, I wrapped my head around the situation. Right, Amelia and I fell asleep in each other’s arms last night.

Lying in a soft and sumptuous bed against the skin of a veritable goddess… Had I died and gone to heaven? Or was this a hell designed to keep me from ever accomplishing my assigned tasks? As I mulled this conundrum over in my head, I heard a creak from the bed next to ours. I lifted myself up to look over Amelia’s shoulder to discover an embiggened Night waking up. I watched as his cheeks wrinkled with a massive yawn—he wasn’t much of a morning person. But then he got up and circled around behind me, bit my pajamas, and dragged me out of bed.

“Whoa, hey! Night?! What’s the big idea?!” I hissed, releasing Amelia from my arms so as not to wake her up. As soon as Night got me on the ground, he set about pulling my pajamas off without a word. I shook my head violently but begrudgingly got myself changed at his insistence. Then he went and woke up Amelia and made her get dressed as well.

“What’s gotten into you, Night?” I asked, averting my eyes from Amelia as she changed clothes.

The cat let out another big yawn, then finally began to explain. “Last night, I went and visited an acquaintance of mine. A blacksmith. He’ll be dropping by shortly,” Night said, then sauntered lethargically back to his bed.

Amelia and I looked at each other, utterly perplexed.

“How do you know he’ll be here so soon?” Amelia asked, but just then, there was a rather loud knock on the door.

“Come in,” I replied, hiding a throwing knife behind my back just to be safe.

Haru opened the door and entered the room, followed by a feline beastman with deep black fur. I knew I wasn’t one to talk, but he didn’t look very friendly—there was something in his eyes that made him intimidating and unapproachable. I didn’t know what typical blacksmith attire consisted of, but he was wearing a sleeveless version of what I’d seen many of the male beastfolk wearing.

“This is Crow the blacksmith,” said Haru. “He claims to be an acquaintance of your familiar, so I gave him a quick pat-down and let him in.”

The beastman named Crow glanced over at Night lounging on the bed before sizing me and Amelia up from head to toe. I sensed no negative intent or distrust behind his gaze, weirdly enough.

“C-cool. Thanks, Haru,” I said, and she bowed and left the room.

After waiting a while to make sure she was truly gone, Crow finally spoke. “Well, I can already tell you’ve got some skill, but in terms of mentality, you’re still just a kid. And don’t even get me started on the elf chick. Hard to believe the two of you somehow managed to bumble your way into taming the Nightmare of Adorea.”

Jeez, this guy’s a real charmer. He had an awful lot of gall to start spouting cutting remarks before we’d even introduced ourselves. Though more than anything, I was just curious about that last thing he’d said. Nightmare of Adorea? Isn’t Adorea the capital of the whole beastfolk continent?

“Master, I know he’s not the friendliest man, but I daresay he is the finest blacksmith in all the world. His skills are second to none, even if his personality drives away the vast majority of his clients,” Night murmured to me from his sprawled-out position on the bed.

“Why, thank you for the introduction,” Crow said. “Coming from the Nightmare of Adorea, I take that as quite the compliment. In fact, I think I feel a blush coming on.”

While he certainly didn’t blush, he did seem genuinely flattered by Night’s evaluation of him, as he raised his tail ever so slightly.

I see how it is. This guy’s got a rough exterior, but he’s probably a total softie on the inside. “Nice to meet you, Crow. I’m Oda Akira, and this is my high elf companion, Amelia.”

Crow gave us a little nod and extended his hand. When I reached out to shake it, he pulled it back and raised his voice in frustration.

“No, you idiot. Show me the weapon you want me to fix.”

I nodded and pulled out the Yato-no-Kami. When Crow laid eyes on the blade, his eyes widened for a brief instant. I barely noticed this—just handed him the sword, sheath and all.

“Humph. Well, it’s certainly seen better days. I assume you took it dungeon-diving down in the Great Labyrinth of Kantinen? You should’ve brought it to me sooner.”

“Whoa,” Amelia murmured, clearly amazed he could tell that much from a cursory glance.

“Can you fix it?” I asked.

Crow smiled and shook his head in amusement. “Just who do you think I am? I can repair a blade like this, no problem. The hard part’s gonna be gathering the materials I need to do the job.” Crow ran his eyes down the length of the blade, gave it a good flick, then held it up to the sunlight to examine it closer.

“He only does the repair work himself,” Night explained. “It’s up to us to provide the materials he needs as well as recompense for his labor. We can probably scrounge up enough cash just hunting monsters, but getting the materials could be a bit tricky.”

I nodded, then turned back to Crow, who was still scanning the blade up and down.

He popped the hilt and handguard off the sword and returned them to me. “I won’t be needing those. But the blade itself stays with me. That monster of yours has the list of materials I’ll need,” he said, then left the room without another word.

A moment later, Amelia chased after him.

 

POV: AMELIA ROSEQUARTZ

 

“WAIT A MINUTE!” I cried, grabbing Crow by the arm after chasing him down outside the inn.

He stopped walking and let out a heavy sigh. “What do you want, little elf princess?”

He looked down at me, and my breath caught in my throat. His piercing gaze cut right through me. These were not the eyes of a simple blacksmith—these were the eyes of a man who’d narrowly escaped death’s grasp time and time again, just like Akira.

“I have a feeling I know who you are,” I said, and Crow tilted his head curiously. Averting my gaze, I looked down at the Yato-no-Kami he clutched in his hand, its deep black blade forming a stark contrast with the white cloth in which it was wrapped. “You were one of the previous hero’s party members, weren’t you?” I asked, trepidation seeping into my voice.

The previous generation’s heroes had failed in their quest to defeat the Demon Lord, and it was said that only the hero and his lone beastfolk companion had made it out with their lives. The other humans and elves in his party had been slain just when it seemed like they had the Demon Lord on the ropes.

I was about to say more when Crow squinted down at me with contempt and I froze in place.

“Yeah? And what of it?” he snarled.

I couldn’t give up now. I mustered all my remaining courage and forced myself to look him straight in the eye.

“I want you to teach me how to fight.”

 

POV: ODA AKIRA

 

AS SOON AS AMELIA dashed out of the room, Night hopped down from the bed.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go after her, Master?”

I tucked the bladeless hilt and handguard of the Yato-no-Kami into my shirt. That way, I knew I wouldn’t lose or misplace them, barring an encounter with a pickpocket—not that they were of any value to a thief without the sword itself.

“I’m sure Amelia has her reasons. She can take care of herself,” I replied at last, counting up my remaining throwing knives and checking their sharpness before hiding them in various folds and pockets of my clothes. Night shrank himself down and leapt up onto my shoulders, dropping a single sheet of paper into the palm of my hand. It was the list of materials we needed to gather in order to get my sword repaired.

“We all have our own tasks we need to focus on right now,” I continued. “I’m gonna focus on gathering up the money and the materials… Maybe you should go after Amelia.”

“But, Master! Isn’t this the perfect opportunity for the two of us to go on a little adventure together?! A master and familiar, setting off on a journey to deepen their bond?!”

Night had evidently been looking forward to tagging along with me more than I realized, and he sounded utterly crestfallen. I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and held him in front of my face. I’d learned recently that grabbing him in such a way when he was house cat size rendered him completely powerless. The fierce dragon inside him was nowhere to be found.

“Listen, bub. You and I are connected by our bond no matter where we go, but Amelia doesn’t have that luxury. If all we have to do is hunt some monsters, I can just pop down into the Great Labyrinth of Brute and slay a few by myself, no sweat. Lucky for us, that labyrinth just so happens to be right here in this town,” I said. Night pouted, but he seemed to understand the point I was trying to make. “Now you be a good boy and go stay by Amelia’s side while she does whatever it is she’s trying to do… I dunno what it is about this place, but I’ve got a feeling something bad might happen to her if we’re not careful. Be sure to tell her to be back here by nightfall, okay?”

Night stared at me with his little golden eyes for a while, then closed them in resignation. “As you wish, Master.”

I set Night down, and the two of us left the inn. I headed off toward the Adventurer’s Guild, while Night followed Amelia’s scent in the opposite direction. Apparently in Brute, you needed permission from the Guild to even enter the labyrinth, and in order to get that, you had to prove you had a certain level of skill—or so the avian innkeeper had claimed. It made sense, though, and I had to wonder why there weren’t similar restrictions back in Kantinen.

Without Amelia and Night tagging along, I didn’t stand out from the crowd very much at all, and I was able to move through the city without drawing any unwanted attention…but I had to admit, it felt a little lonely being all by myself again. Even if keeping a low profile was undeniably a good thing.

 

I couldn’t remember exactly where in the city the Adventurer’s Guild was, so I decided to follow a group of armored fellows who thankfully led me straight to it; perhaps I had my Luck skill to thank for that.

When I walked inside, the bar was far busier than when we’d come with Lingga the day before. Countless adventurers crowded around, drinking and arguing over job postings. The place stank of booze.

“Hi, where do I go to register as a new adventurer?” I asked at the counter, trying to be as polite as I could as I addressed Myle, the young boy who’d brought us drinks yesterday. We’d been told to go directly to Lingga if we needed anything, but I didn’t trust that guy one bit, and I certainly didn’t want to end up indebted to him.

“Oh, you wanna register? Sure, I can help you take care of that,” said the boy.

Judging by his lack of reaction, it seemed he didn’t remember my face. As an assassin, being forgettable should have been a point of pride for me, but as an individual I couldn’t help but feel just a little bit miffed—especially since you’d think we would have left a bigger impression, having been brought in by the guildmaster himself. But Myle really seemed to have no memory of me. Great. Just great.

“Are you able to write? I can fill it out for you, if not,” said Myle, holding out a pen and a piece of paper, unaware of my internal woes.

“No, I can do it. I just have to fill out my name, race, and class, right?” I asked. Myle nodded, and I quickly scribbled down the necessary information.

“Great, you’re all set. You’re now officially a gray-rank starter adventurer. The ranks are, in order: gray, blue, yellow, red, silver, and gold. Here are your gray dog tags; they also act as a form of identification, so try to wear them at all times and be careful not to lose them.”

“Cool, thanks,” I said, sliding the tags onto the chain and fastening it around my neck before tucking them in my shirt. “Any advice on how I can go about increasing my rank as quickly as possible?” I’d been told that access to the labyrinth was restricted by rank and that you needed to be at least yellow rank if you wanted to enter, which meant I needed to be two whole ranks higher than I was now.

“Hoping to do some dungeon diving, eh? Just to warn you, there’s no clear-cut strategy that works best in our labyrinth like there is for the human and elven ones. There’re all sorts of different enemies, some weak to physical attacks, some weak to magic.”

So it was a good place to do some all-around training, but it was far more suited for well-balanced classes than specialized ones.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m pretty sure I can handle it,” I boasted.

Myle sized me up for a minute, then let out a heavy sigh. “Can’t tell you how many newbie adventurers have told me that and then lost their lives… In any case, we need to start by giving you a primer on guild rules and etiquette. We can talk more about the fun stuff after that.”

This sucks. I just wanna go into the damn labyrinth already, I thought, even as I nodded reluctantly.

 

POV: AMELIA ROSEQUARTZ

 

THE THREE OF US walked in silence down the street, the fallen red leaves spread out under our feet like a fancy carpet. Though one of the three of us wasn’t actually walking and was hitching a ride on my shoulders.

“So how long are you planning to stalk me, anyway?” Crow finally asked.

“Until you agree to teach me,” I replied, and he snorted.

“Then I suggest you give up. I don’t have any room in my life for an apprentice, nor do I have any intention of teaching others my secrets. Besides, they’re not the kinds of skills a pretty little princess like you could ever hope to grasp.”

I wouldn’t be discouraged so easily. As the people who knew me liked to say, I was a lot more stubborn than I looked. “I know it’ll be hard,” I said, “and I’m prepared for that, but I’m gonna have to put in the effort if I ever hope to measure up to Akira.”

Crow shook his head and marched off at a faster gait. Naturally, I picked up my own pace to match.

After a while, he got frustrated and turned to address Night. “Hey, furball. How do I get this chick to leave me alone?” he asked.

Night snorted out a chuckle. “I suggest you give up on that idea. Lady Amelia might just be the most bullheaded person I’ve ever met.”

Finally, Crow stopped in his tracks. “You know, I did take on apprentices, once upon a time, until every single one of them left because my training was so brutal it destroyed them mentally.”

I tilted my head as if to say: And you think that’ll happen to me? “I’m not just some weakling. Even if I might be weaker than a chosen race representative like you, I’m still a silver-rank adventurer,” I said in a disaffected murmur, looking down at the ground.

Crow turned his head and glared at me. “Of course you’re weaker than me. Only the strongest of the strong make it in this world. It’s survival of the fittest, and you could never survive the sorts of things I’ve lived through. You need to learn that there are some things you just aren’t cut out for, Princess.”

The wind picked up, sending a flurry of red leaves fluttering along with my silver hair. Night was spellbound by the sight. I knew he was following me because Akira had told him to, and that he had no intention of trying to help me plead my case.

“Maybe so, but you don’t have to be the strongest to survive if you’ve got allies that can save you from the brink of death. Akira’s done that for me, and now it’s my turn to return the favor. I want to be strong enough to fight shoulder to shoulder with him—so that we can work together to make sure we both survive. So please,” I said, clenching my fists, “I need you to teach me your secrets. No, teach me the secrets passed down by the Hero of Legend.”

 

POV: ODA AKIRA

 

“AND, WELL, I suppose that about covers it!” Myle said, looking up from his book as he finished his long-winded lecture about guild rules and etiquette. It was pretty much the most basic, banal stuff you could possibly imagine—guild members should apologize when they recognize they’ve done something wrong, guild members should never dine and dash, yadda yadda yadda.

There was one little detail that interested me, though.

“So there’s a guild-sanctioned dueling system, eh?” I asked.

Myle gave me an awkward smile. “Yes, that’s right. We’ve actually had so many duels in recent years that they’ve become a form of public entertainment. The common folk can’t get enough of them, and I hear many will bet away their life savings on specific contenders.”

I could understand the appeal, especially given that beastfolk were, on average, far more competitive and bloodthirsty than the other races. There were no such duels held by the human and elven branches of the Adventurer’s Guild. It sounded like the Guild only sanctioned them here so people wouldn’t hold their own private duels with unregulated bets.

“Why, just the other day, we had an incident where a party of yellow-rank adventurers got into an unsanctioned tussle with a group of unregistered humans out on the main drag. Even though they got their butts kicked, when the guildmaster found out about it, he stripped them of their ranks and banished them from the city, still blinded by whatever black magic the human boy had cursed them with.”

Huh, that sounds familiar. Must’ve been some random assassin trying to make a statement by showing off what he could do.

“Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure the guildmaster brought those humans here right after the fact, and one of them was an assassin just like you…” Myle looked me over again, then suddenly froze up.

“What’s wrong? You don’t look so good,” I teased. His jaw dropped, and he lifted a trembling finger to point at me. “Hey, it’s not polite to point, you know.”

As Myle stood there, frozen in place, a few other employees came out from the back room. They looked me over then cocked their heads as though they couldn’t quite place where they’d seen me before.

“Wait, aren’t you…” one of them began. I recognized this one, but before I could remember where from, a lightbulb went off over his head. “Right, you’re the assassin who showed those yellow ranks what for out on the main drag.”

At the same time, I snapped my fingers, suddenly remembering where I’d seen him before as well. “Right, you’re the Guild employee Lingga asked to file their expulsion paperwork!”

There was a brief pause, as we both gave each other a puzzled look while Myle struggled to hold back a snicker at our comedic timing.

“Well, in any event,” the man said, clearing his throat and extending his right hand. “The name’s Yamato. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“I’m Oda Akira,” I said as I reached out to shake it. “Nice to meet you too.”

He reminded me of Kyousuke a little bit.

 

Back at our room at The Coop, a very peculiar scene was taking place. I stood above Amelia and Night, who were both prostrating themselves before me. Night, being a cat, just looked like he was stretching, so he didn’t appear particularly guilty next to Amelia, who was trembling either out of fear or extreme discomfort from having to hold this position for so long.

“Now, do either of you have anything to say for yourselves?” I asked, with just the slightest hint of a villainous smile. When she trembled this time, I knew for sure it was out of fear.

“M-Master, please. Look at Amelia’s legs—she’s clearly at her limit.”

I shot Night an icy glare as he attempted to reason with me, and he shut right up. There would be no mercy for the silver-rank adventurer and the Demon Lord’s ex-right-hand monster. “What do you mean, Night? Limits only exist to be broken, didn’t you know?” I asked, referencing a line I’d read in some manga once (albeit in a totally different context).

“P-please, Akira… I—I can’t take any more…” Amelia pleaded with tears in her eyes as she gazed up at me, and my heart finally caved.

“Well, it seems you’ve realized the error of your ways, so I suppose you can stand up now—if you promise it won’t ever happen again.”

“I promise!” Amelia said with a twinkle in her eyes, relieved to have finally been freed from the hellish torture.

But what she didn’t know was that the true hell was only just beginning.

 

Flash back to two hours prior. After spending the entire afternoon trying and failing to convince Crow to teach her the secret techniques he’d learned as a member of the previous generation of heroes, Amelia had completely lost track of time. Unwilling to give in, she marched over to Crow’s house and started pestering him yet again. His house was attached to a grand smithy, as befit a blacksmith of his caliber. The house itself was a simple, single-story wooden abode with no real furnishings aside from a bed, a desk, and a kitchen. Given the raging flames required by his line of work and the smithy being next door, the house was built from a type of wood that didn’t catch fire easily—something not even Night’s observant eyes picked up on.

“We really should head back soon, Lady Amelia… Master’s going to start getting worried,” warned the cat.

Amelia simply stood there motionless, her head hung, at Crow’s side.

“You can bow to me all you want, Princess. I’m not teaching you a damn thing,” Crow said from his seated position. He elegantly sipped his tea, not even looking up at her when he took a break to eat one of the fine-looking pastries he had arranged on a plate.

“You have to! Please!” Amelia begged, lowering her head even further.

“You really won’t even consider it, eh?” said Night, shooting Crow an annoyed look.

“Sorry, but my training could very well kill her, and I refuse to have royal blood on my hands,” Crow said, twisting to face Night. “Besides, didn’t you say you two needed to be home by suppertime anyway? Better run along now.”

Crow’s dismissive response made Amelia twitch, though she pursed her lips tightly to try to contain her frustration. Night, too, was getting awfully pissed off, as evidenced by the veins bulging out of his forehead.

“Come on, Lady Amelia. Let’s just go home, shall we? You know how Master can be when we break curfew—he turns into a veritable demon. Though I suppose we’re already too late to avoid his wrath…”

At last, Amelia raised her head, her face deathly pale from the lack of blood flow. “I’ll be back again tomorrow,” she said as they were on their way out the door, at which Crow grimaced and waved his arms wildly in protest.

“Will it really take us that long to make it back to the inn, Night?” Amelia asked as they sprinted.

But her feline companion wouldn’t even slow down enough to catch his breath and give her an answer, which told her all she needed to know. The two of them were greeted by a very frazzled innkeeper as they crashed through the doors of the inn, haggard and out of breath. They gave a quick apology before dashing off to the room where the horrible demon was waiting to dole out their punishment.

 

“Okay, Amelia. You can stand up now.”

As anyone who had ever had their legs fall asleep after sitting in an awkward position (read: everyone in the entire world) could tell you, the pain of trying to walk on numb legs was not to be underestimated. To avoid the pain, Amelia remained on the floor, trembling on all fours like a newborn fawn. One did not simply “stand up” after prostrating oneself for so long.

“Lady Amelia…” said Night in sympathy.

I’d thought it might be a fun punishment to try, since I assumed she’d never experienced the pain of having to prostrate yourself for so long, given her royal upbringing, but it seemed it had been even more effective than I could have hoped. I decided this would be the standard punishment for her being late going forward.

“Next time, when I tell you to be home in time for supper, you do it. Are we clear?” I asked with a sadistic smile, and the two of them nodded several times.

 

Once Amelia’s legs had a chance to recover, we had ourselves a late dinner. We could have had room service bring us something, but food wasn’t included in our nightly rate, and Amelia preferred the local street food anyway, so we’d been eating out for every meal. There were so many options to choose from that there was no risk of ever getting sick of things, which Night seemed to appreciate, and I could tell Amelia had made it her secret goal to try food from each and every street vendor in town. After we settled on what to eat, we told one another about our days over dinner.

“So, yeah. It sounds like I’m gonna have to earn the Guild’s trust and prove my skills are the real deal if I wanna reach yellow rank any time soon. What was it like when you were working your way up the ranks, Amelia?” I asked the princess, who had to gulp down the absolute shovelful of food she’d crammed into her hamster-like cheeks before she could answer.

“Hard to say,” she finally responded. “The Guild branches in the elven domain are pretty sleepy in comparison to the ones here. There aren’t really many quests to speak of, so most people just use ’em as places to sell off raw materials and mana stones they collect from the monsters they slay. Though honestly, yellow rank was so long ago for me that I don’t even remember it… All I remember is going in one day and being surprised when they promoted me to silver rank.”

Given how long elven lifespans generally were, I could totally understand how she’d forgotten something that had happened so long ago. Hell, she’d probably been at silver rank for hundreds of years.

“Well, it sounds like I’m gonna need to collect a lot of monster pelts and raw materials to get bumped up to yellow rank, so you

two are probably gonna be on your own for a while yet,” I said, at which point Amelia shot Night a wary look.

Now I trusted the two of them completely, which was why I hadn’t asked what made them so late for dinner. However, I could tell from the way Amelia was signaling to him with her eyes that there was something she didn’t want Night to tell me. He nodded to show he had received the message loud and clear.

 

POV: NIGHT

 

“BACK AGAIN, EH?” said Crow, with a cold glare and an irritated tone we’d already grown accustomed to.

Lady Amelia walked up to him and bowed her head, picking up right where she’d left off yesterday. I was hoping her efforts to degrade herself might finally get through to him, but I was immediately let down by the first thing he said.

“Sorry, but I’ve got some smithing work I need to do, so I’ll be in the workshop all day. If you’ve got nothing better to do than just stare at the ground, why don’t you make me some lunch and bring it over there? Got plenty of ingredients in the house you can work with.”

So you intend to make her your personal maid now, is that it?

Crow noticed my scathing look and grinned sadistically. “Well, I figured if she’s just gonna be getting in the way regardless, I might as well put her to work. I think it’s a pretty swell idea, if I do say so myself,” he said before grabbing a pile of metal hunks and monster parts and heading off to his workshop.

I let out a deep, deep sigh. “What now, Lady Amelia?” I asked, looking up at her only to find she was already holding purple leafy vegetables in one hand and a knife in the other. My eyes went wide. “W-wait a minute. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m chopping up some vegetables while I try to figure out what I’m gonna make,” she replied, shrugging as though I were a fool for asking something so obvious and nearly dropping the knife in the process.

I snatched it out of her hands for fear she might accidentally break something and incur Crow’s wrath—or injure herself, at which point I’d probably be the one to incur Master’s wrath for not being a better supervisor.

“Shouldn’t you at least rinse those first, Lady Amelia? Look, they’ve still got dirt on them. And we need to peel them too,” I said, realizing that letting Amelia cook was probably a bad idea. Then I considered the possibility of letting her cook something that would turn out so vile, it might even poison the disrespectful oaf. I quickly shook the idea from my mind, remembering we needed Crow alive to fix Master’s sword.

“So, hey, how do you and Crow know each other, anyway?” Lady Amelia asked as I balanced myself atop her head to monitor her washing the vegetables. She tried to look up at me as she did this, which almost made me tumble to the floor, but I clung to her hair.

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story, and probably not all that interesting to you, but I can tell you if you like,” I said. After Amelia finished washing the vegetables and I made an executive decision on what we were going to cook, I began to tell her the tale in between cooking instructions. “It must have been, oh, about a hundred years ago now, perhaps? I went on a rampage through the beastfolk domain at His Majesty’s behest—I may have gotten a little carried away with it. There was no need to turn it into such a massacre that I gained the nickname ‘The Nightmare of Adorea,’ at the very least. After a while, I started to truly regret my actions.”

 

And so I went to pay my respects at the victims’ memorial, disguised as a simple house cat. I wasn’t sure what I was planning to do once I got there—I just knew I felt horrible for what I had done and all the lives I had needlessly taken. It was there that I first met Crow.

When I arrived at the hill where the monument stood, there was another person already paying their respects: a black feline beastman, kneeling before the monument with empty eyes, muttering someone’s name over and over. Suddenly, to my surprise, he addressed me directly.

“Hey. I know you’re there. You’re the Nightmare of Adorea, aren’t you?”

Frantic, I hid behind a nearby tree, thinking he was a relative of one of the many people I had killed. I peeked out from behind the tree to find him staring straight at me.

“Long time no see, kitty cat. You gave us a hell of a time back at the Demon Lord’s castle. Don’t think you can use your magic to hide from me.”

It was then that I finally recognized him as one of the hero’s party members, who’d made it all the way to the Demon Lord’s throne before being done in by his own cockiness and barely escaping with his life.

“Don’t worry,” he muttered. “I’ve got no bone to pick with you. I know you’re not the one who killed my little sister.”

His eyes were red and damp with tears as he turned back to the monument. Sensing he truly didn’t bear me any ill will, I walked over to sit beside him.

“What do you mean? Your sister died that day, but not because of me?” I asked.

“She was murdered by her own kin—by a member of the beastfolk royal family, no less,” he explained in a monotone. I had no words, so I waited for him to continue. “In the midst of all the pandemonium that day, they were scrambling to get as many citizens as they could into ships and carriages to flee the capital. My sister just barely made it onto the last ship leaving the harbor.” Crow clenched his fists, digging his sharp claws into his palms deep enough to draw blood. “But then this asshole from the royal family recognized her as my sister and said ‘Why don’t you just let your oh-so-heroic brother save you?’ before pushing her off the ship just as it set sail, leaving her with nowhere to go.”

His voice was spiteful as he spat the words from between his gritted teeth. The look in his eyes was not one I had seen back at the Demon Lord’s castle, but one of deep despair and desire for revenge.

“I was in Ur at the time, so I was in no position to come to her rescue. She ended up being crushed under the rubble of a collapsing building, but I don’t blame you for that. She’d still be alive today if it hadn’t been for that bastard—that pathetic excuse for a man who still dares to claim he’s a champion of the people.”

One by one, the teardrops fell, forming trails along his cheeks. I looked up at the monument, motionless. At the end of the day, that building wouldn’t have fallen on her if it hadn’t been for my wanton rampage. My lack of self-control had still been the cause of her death, and the death of many others.

“But I’ll avenge her yet,” Crow muttered under his breath. “It might take some time, but I’ll make him pay. I swear it.”

“I see. Good luck.”

I’d suffered grievous wounds at the hands of Crow and the hero back at His Majesty’s castle. I probably could have taken Crow by myself right then and there, had I wanted to. But his lust for revenge was clearly far, far deeper than mine, and I could sense that nothing good would come of trying to fight him. So I offered him my condolences, then sat there looking up at the memorial for a while.

The next time I looked over, Crow was gone.

 

“What happened after that?” Lady Amelia asked as she fried the chopped vegetables. Master usually handled most of the cooking, so I’d never realized Amelia had some natural talent. If she kept learning at this rate, she’d be a fine chef before we knew it.

“I never saw him again. In fact, I completely forgot about him until we arrived here in town and I sensed his mana.”

The day we first came into port, I felt a blast of harmless wind magic come shooting my way, so small most would have assumed it a simple breeze. I felt it at the exact moment Master activated his Shadow Magic. Crow timed his gust so it would be concealed by the overwhelming force of Master’s mana, ensuring his message reached only me. Master was too focused on controlling his mana to notice, so Lingga was the only other person there who might have picked up Crow’s mana.

“Come to think of it,” said Amelia, “my father did tell me once that one of the previous hero’s party knew how to use and control his magic almost as well as a demon. He was probably talking about Crow, wasn’t he?”

I nodded. In order to be chosen to join the hero’s party as a race representative, one needed to not only be exceptionally talented in either physical combat or magic, but also boast extraordinary skills no other member of said race could hold a candle to. In Crow’s case, it had been his incredible mana control that helped him edge out the competition.

“When you and Master went back to the inn after dinner that first day, I went off on my own to meet with him.”

 

“Well, if it isn’t the Nightmare of Adorea.”

As I had suspected, Crow was waiting for me on the same hill where we’d first met.

I scrunched my brow, annoyed by this snarky greeting. “That’s not how I generally greet a guest when they take time out of their day to answer my summons. And my name is Night now, for your information, so stop calling me that. It’s been over a hundred years.”

“It’s been only a hundred years, I think you mean,” Crow said with a mocking laugh as he twisted my words. “That’s barely even the blink of an eye for a monster like you, isn’t it? Are you even capable of dying of natural causes? I honestly don’t know.”

It was true. Beastfolk generally only lived about a hundred years more than the average human, while monsters generally didn’t die unless they were slain.

“Enough semantics. What did you call me here for? Why did you feel the need to send me a covert signal hidden by Master’s magic?”

Crow’s ears perked up. “Master, eh? I was wondering what seemed different about you. So the great and powerful Nightmare of Adorea has been reduced to nothing more than a pet for a weak little human child? Maybe the Demon Lord ordered you to do it?”

I flicked my tail angrily. This wasn’t at all what I’d come to talk about; I wanted to scream at this man. This was only the second time we’d met—what could he possibly know about me? Where did he get off acting like he knew what was going through His Majesty’s head?

“State your business,” I said again.

Crow sighed. “That boy with the unbelievable amount of mana is your master, I take it? I’ve got some questions I wanna ask him, so why don’t you bring him with you next time? Heck, I’ll even fix that broken sword of his—how’s that sound?”

I said nothing, just glared at Crow. Not like I occasionally glared at Master or Lady Amelia, mind you—this was a death glare that could have killed a lesser man.

But Crow simply shrugged and shook his head. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? That sword was forged by the Hero of Legend’s own hand. It has more mana embedded in it than your average human has in their entire body, and whoever wields it will have their own mana amplified to be on par with even the most powerful of demons. His mana signature’s so great, I can tell exactly what he’s doing, even from here. Right now, it looks like he’s about to get it on with that elf princess.”

My jaw dropped in awe—not at Crow being capable of such a feat, mind you, but at Master finally making a move on Lady Amelia. Crow interpreted my amazement as being directed at the former, and he looked rather pleased with himself as a result. I decided not to burst his bubble.

“But you wouldn’t have called me here just because you want to fix his sword out of the goodness of your heart, would you? What do you want?” I asked.

Crow wagged his finger at me like a misbehaving pet, which annoyed me to no end. “If I told you that, you’d just run off and tell your master, now wouldn’t you? Why don’t you try doing a little critical thinking? Here, I’ll give you a hint: that master of yours has something no other human has.”

I tilted my head, my curiosity piqued. What could Master have that no other human had? I couldn’t think of anything.

“Oh, and here’s a list of raw materials I’ll need to fix that sword of his,” Crow said, using wind magic to send a single sheet of paper flying over to me. On it was a list of parts that could only be obtained from fearsome high-level monsters. “I’ll need you to bring me them within the next few days.”

“Isn’t this a bit much?” I asked.

“No. In fact, it’s the bare minimum for a sword like that. Best of luck!” said Crow, trying not to snicker.

I looked him straight in the eye. This was the first time I’d ever heard him laugh. In that moment, I saw no lust for vengeance in his eyes, but it wasn’t my place to ask if he’d managed to exact his revenge on the royal family member who’d killed his sister. Especially not when I’d had an indirect hand in her death.

 

“So that’s where you ran off to. I thought something seemed off about you that night,” Lady Amelia said as she plated the finished meal and hand-squeezed some fresh fruit juice into a cup.

“You noticed, eh?” I asked, pleased to know she paid such close attention to me.

“Well, it was Akira who noticed first, actually.” She chuckled as she picked up the plate and cup and headed to the workshop. It was just about lunchtime, and we found Crow waiting for us inside, having taken a break from his work.

“Hey, thanks. I appreciate it. I know cooking’s probably outside your usual wheelhouse,” he said.

Amelia and I exchanged a wide-eyed look, unable to believe we’d just received a genuine thank-you from Crow of all people. He didn’t seem to notice however, as he’d already begun digging into his food. He didn’t say he liked it, but he didn’t insult it either, which meant he probably found it to his liking.

“Hey, so Night was telling me about your little sister who died,” Amelia said nonchalantly. “Did you end up getting revenge for her after all?”

Crow’s hand froze as he was about to take another bite. I looked up at Amelia in horror, wondering what possibly could have possessed her to broach such a topic.

“Not yet. The royal bastard who killed my sister is still alive and kicking. In fact, he’s the current king’s nephew, if you can believe that,” Crow replied with an exhausted laugh. There was a pain in his expression that I knew I couldn’t possibly fathom.