Sometime after keeping a low profile and halting our murder of the city’s forces, I made my way back to the inn. I did notice, though, that the ninjas seemed to have disappeared. Which was surprising that they would just give up…

  Did I kill too many, I wonder?

  Hey now, you can’t blame me. For some reason, I felt motivated to hunt those motherfuckers… And I ended up, to put it simply, lost in the moment. I couldn’t really tell if I killed a lot, or was that just a few? It all depended on how many of them in total. But eh, anyway, I didn’t care. That’s their problem.

  At any rate, now that we have caused quite a bit of trouble, better to leave this place as soon as possible. If we had no choice, I was up for just destroying this city. Miyako and Satomi might have a problem with that, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. Still, I’d leave that as a last resort.

  Before coming close to the inn, I looked around to make sure there was no one following me. And there were none.

  So they just gave up? That’s hilarious.

  I entered the inn, and the only one in the lobby was Hartwin. The moment he saw me, he immediately walked up to me.

  “I heard what happened,” he said. “I never would have expected something like this to happen.”

  Yeah, me neither.

  “Where are they?”

  “In your room.”

  I resisted the urge to frown. Why was it that whenever there was a problem that needed to be discussed, it had to be in my room? A lady had to have her privacy, you know. And ladies do not prefer to have anyone in their rooms without their permission. Especially guys… But whatever, not like the situation had an option for… other options. But it would be nice to have the option.

  Anyhow, we made our way to my room. We entered and locked the door. Velar, Taneva, and Nira were already here, along with Miyako and Satomi. Miyako was sitting on a chair, with Satomi standing beside the closed window.

  “Oh, you’re here,” Taneva said. “We were just getting along. To think that you’d make friends with a lord’s daughter, color me surprised.”

  “Estelia…” Miyako looked at me with a sad expression. I sensed that there was something troubling her deep within. Not just in this situation where they were being hunted. Hmmm…

  I lowered my hood and pulled a chair and sat down, feeling quite tired already. With my weak constitution, having to fight was just not good for me. “I think we spooked them too much. They withdrew their ninjas.”

  “Did you go and hunt ninjas without relent?” Hartwin asked. “I mean, you’ve expressed your baseless disdain for them quite well in the past.”

  “First of all, it’s not baseless. Ninjas are quite annoying as enemies, I’ll have you know. And yes, I might have killed more than I initially intended.”

  “I killed plenty of soldiers too,” Taneva casually remarked.

  I directed a frown at him. “That was far from plenty.” Seriously, it almost looked like he killed an entire army out there. Like, goddamn.

  “You seriously faced that many enemies, just the two of you?” Satomi stared at us with complete surprise. “Just who are you guys…?”

  I glanced at Taneva. “You already know me, but this guy here is a suicidal maniac that cannot die.”

  “Cannot die…?”

  “Like Nira, he is immortal.”

  Satomi’s eyes blinked, for a moment she couldn’t believe it. Then her gaze shifted to Velar and Hartwin. “Are you all not normal…?”

  I briefly chuckled. “No, the rest are human, don’t worry. And with us here, those chasing you won’t get to you.”

  Miyako slowly nodded. “Thank you, Estelia… And I’m sorry to bring you all this trouble. This won’t be a light problem. So if you don’t want to get involved any further, we can go.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Miyako, you act like we’re not friends.”

  She slowly raised her eyes to stare at me. “Huh?”

  “Do you really think I would just let you go that easily? Don’t be absurd.”

  After the effort I spent just to save you? Now, now, I dislike wasted effort. Even more so when I had limited energy to spare.

  “But… if we get caught, they’ll also take you in.”

  “If we get discovered, can a bunch of humans even have a chance of apprehending us?”

  “A bunch of humans…?”

  Taneva casually stepped forward with a grin. “If it makes you feel any better, just know that this city won’t be enough to defeat us.”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You worry about our safety,” I smiled softly. “That’s why you want to drive us away. But there’s no need for that kind of concern. Taneva has lived numerous lifetimes. Nira is a being that also cannot die. We also have an additional two of her kind, keeping watch of the inn outside. They’re our trump cards.”

  I mean, what can a bunch of humans do against them? Taneva would enjoy the carnage, and the Cursed Children would be pleased devouring the blood of everyone in the city. Well, not really everyone, just those that came to fight. But the point still stands.

  As long as no dead angel comes again, we’d be fine. Even demons would be no issue for Taneva.

  “Furthermore, Velar is an exemplary warrior. Hartwin is an excellent wandering bard who has survived countless hurdles. They’re no pushovers.”

  Miyako slowly smiled. “You have amazing friends, Estelia.”

  I shrugged. “Indeed. Now you see why there’s no need to be concerned about our involvement whatsoever. Besides, I could never forsake you.”

  Miyako nodded with a small smile.

  That was not completely the truth, though. Depending on the situation, I would be more than willing to forsake her. But that would be at the point of desperation. I could do essentially whatever I want right now because I could. And I wanted to save Miyako.

  “With that settled, I would like to know what happened.”

  Miyako let out a sigh, rubbing her hands together. “I don’t know where to start…”

  “Just tell us how they ended up going after you.”

  She slowly nodded. “I was framed. They believe I killed the lord’s son.”

  I was dumbfounded upon hearing that. Like, that was one hell of an escalation. Directly killing the lord of the island’s son? Crazy.

  “How?”

  “Yuki and I were just walking together when someone struck him from behind, using my sword.”

  Yuki? Is that the name of the lord’s son?

  For some reason, the way she said his name felt like there was something in there.

  “I realized too late that it was what they were intending to do when milady’s sword went missing,” Satomi said. “I thought it was merely stolen. Framing her for a murder is something I never could have imagined.”

  “You weren’t there with her?” I asked. These two were like glue. I didn’t think they would part in a place like the enemy castle.

  “... Milady ordered me to retrieve our swords. During the lords’ assembly, weapons were not allowed.”

  “Really? So, Miyako and this Yuki were alone together when it happened. And no witnesses? I quite expected that place would be swarmed with watchful eyes.”

  “Yuki ordered them away.” Miyako lowered her head.

  “... I see. And the culprit took the chance to frame you. Who was it?”

  “It was a subordinate of the lord of Tobunoa Island. So they must be the ones scheming behind it all, even my ambush.”

  They really want to mess with her, huh?

  Whatever was going on, those people wanted something out of this. Perhaps they wanted to make it look like Hokunoa ambushed Miyako. But I intervened and ruined their plans. And now they switched to framing Miyako. Wow, what an annoyance.

  “However, I think it’s not so simple,” Miyako added.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I recalled the bandit we faced, who turned out to be a demon. I think the one who killed Yuki is a demon in disguise.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “I recognized those flames…”

  Miyako’s main magical element that she uses in her Armament Magic is fire. Therefore, she could perhaps easily differentiate flames. Well, the ‘hellfire’ that the imps use seemed kind of different from the usual flames.

  “Hm. I see. And you managed to escape. That’s surprising.”

  Escaping from the middle of an enemy castle was no small, easy feat. I couldn’t imagine them overpowering everyone there. You’d expect they’d be dead already.

  “We used a secret passage.”

  How the fuck did they discover a secret passage?

  There was something more to this.

  I nodded. “Got it.”

  “The demons, huh?” Taneva placed a hand under his chin. “Not surprising they’d scheme just about anything. Especially in this land.”

  I glanced at him. “Did they perhaps seek to destabilize the islands? Start a fight?”

  “Demons thrive in discord. My guess is that things have gotten more peaceful in Shinoroa. I did notice that Hokunoa is becoming better. And considering that there is something like an Assembly of Lords, the islands are getting along just fine. Demons might find that quite boring.”

  “The islands being at peace with each other is… boring?” Miyako asked in a small voice. It was as if she had heard something distressing and heartbreaking.

  “I don’t know if you know your history, but that’s how demons are. Even worse is that they are barred from fulfilling their purpose and going out there in the world to wreak havoc for their god. Your islands are their playgrounds. You’re lucky they restrained themselves to manipulating things in the shadows rather than outright taking you all over.”

  “Are… are getting more slaves part of that?”

  “... Not surprising, they must be using them for sports back in their homeland.”

  Miyako’s eyes widened. “That’s s-sick.”

  “You can only get limited entertainment. Humans are most entertaining when put to suffering and other exploits to their being.”

  I raised my hand. “I think that’s enough elaboration.”

  I think he has disturbed Miyako enough.

  “Hm.” He shrugged.

  “Why haven’t they taken full control of Shinoroa, though?” I asked.

  “Taking full control of it would be difficult and annoying, constant resistance. And they knew their nature, they wouldn’t want to erase all the livestock. It is just easier to keep things incognito. Furthermore, if they take Shinoroa, the Holy Orders on the Continent might be compelled to move in and quell their growth. They might take it as a sign that the demons would once again try to invade the world.”

  I nodded. “That is bad news for the demons.”

  Demons were utterly weak against holy magic. Provoking the entire holy orders of the continent would be their undoing, especially that they still lacked their god. And that was why they were after me. If they got me, their god would be freed, and they would once again march onto the world. You could say it was quite heroic of me not to get captured. I was saving the world by saving myself. Hehe.

  “... Why does our home have to suffer as such?” Miyako looked like she was on the brink of tears. “What did we do to deserve all of it?”

  “That’s just how it is,” Taneva answered. “Could be because of fate, or you’re all just unlucky.”

  I noticed Satomi directing a sympathetic look towards her charge. There was something more going on in this.

  “Our lands are dead, and even demons prevent us from ever improving our lives…” Miyako muttered.

  I glanced at Taneva, knowing that I was indirectly connected to what happened to the archipelago. But they had no need to know that. Plus, it would only make things awkward. That aside, there was something I felt that I should know about the situation. What we needed was a conversation with close friends.

  I faced my crew. “Can you please give us a moment? I’d like to speak with them in private.”

  Without any complaints, Velar, Hartwin, Taneva, and even Nira, left the room. Now it was just us three. We could speak freely.

  “Miyako, I sense there is still more to this. Is there something you weren’t comfortable telling with everyone present?”

  Miyako lowered her head and slowly nodded. “... What exactly do you want to know?”