“Go on. Take it.”

Eric smiled widely as he encouraged me. I looked around, seeing that all the demons were smiling at me the same way. Liri was the only one who was as surprised as I was.

“Is it … ok?” I asked, “I don’t think I did anything to earn it.”

“This is your weapon. It will help you do well. It is not a gift but an investment.”

“It also shows we trust you enough to spend that much coin on it,” Ira said.

“But it is your,” Jens added, “and you not have to return it.”

Although it was packed in a squary case, I knew what it was right away. I picked its top up gingerly, making the rest of it unfold.

“It’s … it’s a wonderful dress …”

“We do not know how to make dress that is good for timkik body, so we haved a timkik tailor make it for us. Do you remember when Mun-Hee haved measured you? It should suit you well. She also telled us deep blue is your favorite color.”

“It … it is, but … I’m not worthy of it …”

“You can not go with Jens on gatherings with no good dress. It is up to us to provide it for you.”

“No, it’s … it’s not about the dress … it’s about the color.”

“What about it?”

“Blue is reserved for the royalty only.”

“That is even better!” Ira sounded way more optimistic about it than he should.

“Is that some … cultural thing? Or religious?” Eric asked.

“No, it’s … it’s just that blue color is extremely rare. As I understand, it’s very hard to make. Therefore, only royalty can afford it.”

The demons looked at each other in surprise. Ira’s eyes went wide open as he grinned predatorily.

“Jeans!” That was all he said. I have no idea what it had to do with Jens, but ok. Maybe there’s an article of clothing named after him?

“Is that true … Liri?” Eric was still in shock, unwilling to accept it.

“Yes, it is. The blue color is very rare on clothes. On the paintings too! That’s why water has the color of vine on the paintings while the sky is white. And that’s also why so few paintings show an open landscape.”

Ira kept getting increasingly energized with each passing moment, clasping his hands loudly: “Get the dwarves, and have them bring coin!”

“But not right now.”

“You should all go in jeans next time!”

“No need to get so excited Ira. We will talk about this in detail. Today is for Snirba. Let us not take that away from her. By the way, Snirba, you missed something.”

“What?”

“You did not take everything from the case.”

Looking back at it, I saw a bunch of jewelry sitting there. A pearl necklace, golden rings, and a white tiara decorated with shiny rubies. There was even more golden jewelry I’d never seen before and had no idea what it was for.

“I’ll just leave it here,” he said while putting the case on the small table, “Now, we males will leave for a while. You will need some time to put all of this on. Mun-Hee and Liri can help you.”

“Liri not have to …” Ira tried saying something but stopped as soon as he heard Liri buzzing past his head, going straight for the riches-filled case, “You cheating bug!”

“Wow! Look at all of this!” Her eyes bulged out in amazement, “And you’re giving all of it to a slave?”

“No,” Jens responded instead of Eric, “We are giving this to a friend.”

“A friend? A friend! If that’s the case, can I be your friend too?”

“You already are,” Eric said with a sly smile.

“Well, where’s mine?” Liri’s wings never stooped buzzing as she flew around the open case in circles.

“In due time.”

“By the way, she do sound like a mosquito,” Booker noticed.

“What’s with you guys and that mosqu … whatever that is,” Liri said while landing in the middle of the jewelry.

“It is just a common bug in our world,” Booker responded.

“And why is that so interesting? If I were to be a skeptical person, I’d think you’re making fun of me!”

“No, we are not,” Ira said, “we are just scared of you. It is a blood-drinking bug. That bug killed more humans than any beast in our world. That is why I have hit you the first time. I thinked I was attacked.”

“What? Ira, you hited her?” Eric looked at him suspiciously.

“I defended myself in dark! It is her fault for coming unnoticed!”

“No. It is your fault for sleeping with open windows in alien world,” Jens said.

“I thinked this is a paradise. Until the gremlin comed.”

“Anyway, we need to go and give ladies some time. At least now we have something to talk about.”

The males walked away, closing the door. As soon as they did, Liri started buzzing again.

“Ohh, this is heavyy …” She struggled to lift the necklace up, trying to put it around her own neck, even though it was as big as her.

“While she is playing, let us get you in that dress,” Mun-Hee said, “I am not familiar with timkik dress, so you need to tell me how I can help.

Thump!

“Ouch!”

Turning around, we saw Liri face down, bottom-up.

“Are you sure she will be fine?”

---

“All right boys, come on in!”

The males returned, looking visibly pleased.

“Ohh!”

“Nice.”

Jens said nothing, but he nodded his head in appreciation. I must say, that was the first time I felt like a female ever since I came here. Finally, someone was reacting to my feminine charms. I started worrying I didn’t have what it takes to please these demons. Such thoughts can harm a female’s self-confidence quite a lot, you know.

“Good investment,” Eric said while rubbing his chin, “It looks great on you. And you carry that jewelry like a proper lady already.”

“That is because she already is one,” Liri pointed out.

“Still, a pearl necklace … really? I know that is her job, but still …”

For some reason, Ira’s jealous words made Booker burst out laughing. The others just stared at him in disappointment.

“Anyway, everything suits you great, Snirba. You are a perfect person for the job. You will be invaluable addition to our team. Welcome on board.”

Eric extended his hand so we could do their handshake thing. I obliged.

“You will make a perfect partner for our hero Jens.”

“Partner?”

“Yes. You two will work close together from now on. I am getting ahead of myself now, but I want you to understand that we see you as our equal, enough to entrust Jens to you. He is very important to us so, please, take good care of him. As I understand, you are born as a noble, right?”

“There’s no point hiding it now, when the blathering fairy revealed everything.”

“Yes.”

“Jens is not. He is born as a commoner. He lacks understanding of noble customs and, most importantly, he lacks the will to adhere to those. That is your role, to make sure he does not make a fool out of himself or provoke someone. With someone like you by his side, I am certain that he will be more mindful of his manners.”

“That makes sense. They can’t have anyone following their hero around. They must think of his honor and prestige. And, since he is not a noble, and they are in a foreign land, it makes sense to have a noble of the land escorting him. Finally, things are starting to make some sense here.”

“But that means they saw through my cover right away and knew what I was from the start. Also, I wonder …”

“I thought that he’s a scholar?” Liri said, visibly confused, “How is he a scholar if he’s not a noble?”

Eric smiled in response: “In our nations, commoners can become scholars too. Education is not a privilege of the nobles. In fact, that is how commoners can become nobles. Those who show extraordinary skills and help advance our nations get high social status as a reward. That is how all of us rose in our ranks. All of us are birthed as commoners but rised to nobility through great effort.”

That came as a huge surprise to me, and it must’ve shown since he gave me a wide, toothy smile. If that’s true, then these demons don’t care about blood that much, and it plays no role in their social status. Just when I started thinking I got the hang of it and started understanding them, they threw something outlandish at me once again, to make me realize how little I know.

“None of you were born as nobles?”

Eric shook his head left to right: “Not a single one of us. However, you will meet one who is soon enough. That should make you understand the difference.”

“You are not to wear that dress and jewelry constantly,” Mun-Hee approached me, “It is just for special happenings. It would look strange in this place.”

“Yes, I’ve … never seen someone dressed like this in your castle.”

Eric took my hands in his all of a sudden. His hands were really, really warm.

“Once again, welcome to the team! We are waiting for one more important person to come, and then we will explain everything to you: why you are here, what your role is, what is expected of you. I understand your arrival here is chaotic and disorganized, but I promise everything will start making sense in a week or two.”