*Ring*

“Freaking massive…” I muttered seeing the massive interior full of well-polished furniture and the counter filled with all kinds of tools and beverages like it’s a fancy bar more than anything.

Also what the hell are these lightings… glowing signs of pink and blue decorating the walls of this place. It’s not exactly irritatingly bright but the color definitely stands out.

As for the bartender… Well… “What the hell is that walking pile of muscles with a bull head?”

“Oh you mean Mint? She’s the bartender, very good at her job and real friendly, why?” The fox girl answered, sounding oblivious to my horror.

“I can tell that but why is she a bipedal bull built like she could crush a boulder with her bare hands!?” I asked the real question. She has human arms from what I can tell but her head is literally a bull head, wouldn’t be surprised if she has bull feet or something as well. Compared to the one next to me who merely has fox ears and a tail, that thing just flat out looks like a bull standing upright!

“Eh? She’s just like that. She trains a lot, you know.” …I give up, I just have to accept it I guess… It’s really hard to ignore…

Aside from having a gigantic muscled-up body and bull head she seems to wear a loose white suit with a black shirt underneath along with a red necktie. Honestly it looks completely ridiculous, the fact that her ‘proportions’ are massive too just makes it even more unsettling.

“She sure talks a lot of bull.” Huh? Wait, when did she hear all of that!?

“Oh don’t mind her, she’s new here.” The fox girl covers for me while gesturing at me to sit at the counter… where this bull person is working, are you kidding me.

I can only hold in my protest and just sit down and try to not freak the fuck out. I haven’t even got a look at the other people here since I was so preoccupied…

“You came here early Mani, also, what’s her story?” The bull woman said as she’s free at the moment, probably because there’s only a few people here right now.

“It’s complicated. Let’s just say she’s new here and leaves it at that. Like. NEW. new.” The fox girl continues to converse with her while I look elsewhere.

“Huh… Those are real rare. Guess you’re here early to give her a tour?” They continued talking while I saw what seemed to be staff members organizing the larger tables. Some have animal heads and promident animal features while others look normal for the most part.

“Basically, but today I’m just gonna chill out in this tavern with her for most of it. My friends will come at some point too.” She keeps talking to her. The atmosphere is quiet and she is seated next to mine so I can hear the conversation clearly.

“Jeez. Wanna go sleep on the couch while you’re at it?” The bull woman sarcastically said.

“Nah. Well. Maybe if I start to feel a little sour. I’ll think about it.” She said, sounding indecisive.

“Heh. Don’t sweat it. We have more than enough couches to go around.” She boasted, and looking around the massive tavern there’s definitely a lot of places to sit and rest. There’s also a second floor as well. Two sets of stairs on each side of the tavern with railings to stop people from falling down onto the counter, which is really freaking wide just due to how large this place is.

“Yeah I can easily tell. I mean you of all people should know how many people just ended up sleeping here. Tired workers and all that.” The fox girl pointed out. Must’ve been real generous especially with how fancy this place is.

“Tell me about it.” She replied with a chuckle. “Anyway, want to order anything right now?”

“Rabbit stew please, and lemonade.” The fox girl answered without pause, then turned to look at me. “What about you?”

“...Surprise me.” I replied quietly. I don’t really have any favorites as far as I recall.

“Uhhh… One breakfast set?” She turned around and said so, sounding unsure.

“Style?” The bartender asked, having a pen and paper in her hands.

“...German?” She gave out a random answer.

“Coming right up.” The bartender said before opening a small window in the wall and inserted the listed order. Seems pretty convenient.

Looks like we just have to wait for the food, guess I’ll just wander my eyes around the place. I can see a large black square of glass hanging from the wall, similar to the one back at the house, just hanging instead of placed.

“Wanna talk?” The bull woman asked as she looked straight at me. I feel a lot less nervous now that I’m forced to sit around and hear them talk, but I can’t say my composure isn’t shaking like hell right now.

“Don’t feel like it.” I said firmly trying to not stir anything up. Seriously it looks like she could demolish the place.

“Fine then, just make yourself comfortable.” She said leaving me alone pretty easily. I thought it would be more problematic than that, but I guess not.

*Ring*

Ah right, there’s a bell attached to the entrance so it always rang when people got in. Also why does it feel like something terrifying is happening right now.

“Oh! Surprised to see you this early, or today for that matter.” The bull woman commented, seeing the customer besides us at the moment. She wore a red dress with long curly blonde hair with a red ribbon tied to her left side, with matching yellow eyes. Her eyes look sharp, in a focused, sinister manner. There’s also the slightly pointed ears too. Overall she just looks like a human, but this sinister aura I’m feeling really doesn’t help matter.

“It’s hard to rest when there’s an important matter coming up soon after all.” The woman in question replied, sitting at the counter on an empty spot next to the fox girl. “This place is pretty good for that.”
“Thought you’d be training or something for tomorrow.” The bull woman mentioned.

“Relaxing is always part of training, best to not tire myself out if I can help it.” She replied, before taking a glance at us. “Hm? Ah, one of the quartet girls. Unusual for you to appear here without your gang, and so early as well.”

“Ahaha… Well what can I say Miss Erillie, something just changes I suppose.” She said, sounding a bit nervous. Whoever she is, she's definitely a big shot of some kind.

“So it seems.” She dismissively replied before looking at the bartender again. “Anyhow, an apple pie will do, and black tea.”

“Order received!” The bartender said, sounding her positivity.

“Hmm.” This woman, Erillie, mumbled to herself while taking an occasional glance at us. “An undead… Certainly a rare sight in such a lively place with few sins among its populace.”

The hell!? She figured it out so quickly!
“Are you… interested?” The fox girl asked, sounding about as confused as I am.

“Just a little bit. Necromancy is a dubious practice after all, and the results were often a large bundle of mediocrity.” She said, staring more intensely at me. “No screams, no pain, no agony, no struggle, all so boring. Same reason why fighting automatons aren’t exactly fun.”

“A-And?” The fox girl asked to further elaborate.

“Well she is a greater undead so I was interested for a moment but… so weak, it won’t really be fun.” Did she just insult my strength just from taking a glance!?

“Don’t you already have a duel coming up soon? Also please put it nicely if you’re gonna say it.” She said as if to be offended on my behalf.

“Diversifying your options is a good thing isn’t it? I can’t bother her all day and night lest she actually contemplates murdering me outright, not that it’d be easy for her.” She replied, not even acknowledging her demand. The way she talks about such violent topics so casually is just unsettling.

“Still… Anyway, please don’t harass her, she’s NEW. new.” She uses that term to describe me again…

“I see. Well I won’t pry on that particular business further.” She said before looking away, stopping the conversation short.

Considering she’s obviously a dangerous character I’m surprised everyone is relatively relaxed around her. She’s pretty and all yet I sure as hell don’t wanna talk to her.

“As for you yourself. Not what I’d called impressive. If my memories serve, that wolf and bunny girl far exceeds you in combat, it seems like that hasn’t changed.” She then changed the topic to be about this girl I’m stuck with in particular. “Well, that bull girl is also no different. She’s suited for the role of a powerhouse but that wolf girl basically invalidates her on all fronts. Meanwhile that bunny girl was talented in both that aspect and mastery over spells, something you seem to pride yourself in.”

“...Can’t really deny that, but I’m trying.” The fox girl said in a tired tone. Seems like a sore spot for her. At this point their drinks were quietly served, so she took a sip to refresh herself.

“That I can tell, though it’s not exactly an impressive progress so far.” She replied, which seemed to get to her a little. “Well, perhaps that’ll change in the future, but it’s not something I’m counting on.”
Certainly a rather nasty personality from this woman. It seems like she’s a respected figure too, so no one really wants to confront her.

“You sure love talking trash and provoking people.” The bartender nonchalantly said, suddenly easing up the tension created by this person.

“What did you expect? As a demon of bloodshed I thrive on confrontation, it’s how I live and continue to live.” She said with a smirk… So she’s also a demon. Despite looking more human than the rest she’s one huh… Really makes you think who else is one… 

“Haah, talk about a bad influence.” The bartender muttered.

“I can’t really deny a fact can I. Well I was just planning on motivating her to be more active in a journey for strength and nothing more. Regardless of my nature I know better than to start anything severe in this place, this is a property of the Demon Lord after all, I’d be dead in seconds trying anything funny.” It feels like this demon lady just said something really dangerous right now… Should I ask her to repeat that? “Of course, this place has high quality service and food. I might not really require it like mortals do, but who doesn’t love a good place to eat and relax, to indulge.”

“Do you really need to go on that tangent again? Hm?” The bartender exasperatedly replied before noticing the voice from the room in the back, going to check it and came back with a tray of food. “Miss… Uhh…”
“Just call me Maxi…” I said seeing that she’s referring to me.

“Miss Maxi. Here’s your morning breakfast.” She finished saying as a few plates of food were served. There’s cheese, sausages, fresh bread, and a few more items, but those were the first I noticed. There’s also a cup of coffee too.

“Seems like a lot…” I muttered. Not a lot individually but there’s many kinds of food around so… Why is the fox girl staring at me? “Why are you looking at me like that? I’ll eat it.”

Hmmhmm… Weird that I can taste when my other senses are still numb or are just not there. Still these taste great so I’m not gonna complain.

“Say, why did you create a greater undead familiar? Two is better than one, but she doesn’t look very cooperative.” The demon lady asked the fox girl. Somehow she managed to tell right away that I’m glued to her.

“Eh? How did… nevermind. Well my teacher said that a mage always needs an extra muscle to protect me so she suggested undead to me, for some reason…” She explained. I don’t think I ever heard that particular reason yesterday.

“Your teacher… Hmm… Whoever it was must’ve been quite a dubious character. I’m surprised you let this person teach you.” The demon lady commented. Yeah no kidding. “Still, the fact that the greater undead… Maxi was it? Is hard to distinguish from the living shows that whoever is teaching you knows their stuff.”

Now she’s praising her? Why the… Right, demon, twisted personality.

*Sip*