I must say that getting those presents boosted my confidence a lot. They certainly wouldn’t give such expensive gifts to someone replaceable, they counted on me. I was taken by surprise with how logical their decision was though. Instead of having some succubus escort their hero, they decided to give that role to me. And that shows these demons appreciate skill much more than looks.

Well, actually, they got both in me! It’s not bragging if it’s true! What is surprising though, is that they’ve realized it right away. They never pointed it out, but I’m sure they knew I was a noble’s daughter right away, even though none of them are mages.

Or is that the case …

The point is, even though I’ve seen only a few of their females, I’m certain they have some good-looking ones. After all, our female scholars aren’t famous for their looks either. However, regardless of how attractive a demoness can be, even if she’s the sexiest being in existence, she still lacks the knowledge of timkik customs and etiquette. And when dealing with nobility, that’s all that matters.

I don’t think our Emperor realizes just how much he has helped these demons. I bet he thought they’ll just use me and throw me away. He took a huge gamble with me, and it paid off. Still, I don’t appreciate the intent. I’m tired of being treated as a commodity and, if these demons prove they’ll treat me right, honestly, I wouldn’t mind working for them.

Would that be wrong? Would it be a sin to abandon those who have abandoned you? Or even worse, used you for their own gain?

I can’t say about the gods, but your family would suffer for sure.

They didn’t mind having me suffer just to fix their mistakes!

You digress. I’m not interested in your family. I’m much more interested in this.

Oh, that day! As I’ve said, I got more confident after receiving those pearls and golden jewelry. So I was thinking of getting closer to Ira. He isn’t my type, but I realized his family is extremely wealthy, he appears to be somewhat influential, and now he even had a fairy on his side. So I figured that getting close to him couldn’t hurt.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple. Mun-Hee, my caretaker at the time, had some serious rivalry with him. They even had a habit of offending each other on a regular basis. Therefore, I knew she wouldn’t appreciate me getting closer to him.

Not unless it happened by accident. So, I did my best to arrange that. I started taking regular walks in the garden, if you can call it that way. The patch of land with plenty of paths, benches, and poorly kept flowers describes it better. I expected the demons to frequent that place. Who knows, maybe I’d even meet some new, interesting ones? But, surprisingly, it was empty most of the time. I don’t know why, but most demons prefer staying indoors, which explains why that excuse for a garden is so poorly maintained.

Ira was nowhere to be found but, after a few days, I finally met someone interesting. It was three people, in fact. A demon, a timkik, and a dwarf. The demon was middle-aged, but noticeably older than Eric. He had a very confident and experienced look about him, while small wrinkles showed that, while older than Eric, he wasn’t too old. His nonchalant mannerisms showed he didn’t care for what the others think, making me realize he was some kind of a noble. I pretended to go my way as I approached them and, as soon as he had seen me, he motioned for me to join them. He did it with a calculated smile on his face.

These demons sure smile a lot, don’t they?

Next to the demon sat a fellow timkik. A noble female. And not just any kind of noble, she was clearly from a very wealthy and influential family, her dress and garments were as costly as the ones I’ve received from the demons. She was pretty, but unusually slender for a timkik noble. She pushed her tail through the gap in the bench, but it still swooshed excitedly for everyone to see.

As for the dwarf, I can’t say much. He was the first one I’ve ever seen. I’ve heard that they can be found anywhere in the empire, but I’ve never dealt with the artisans before.

“Hello Snirba! Care to join us?” The demon asked.

I bowed slightly: “I don’t want to be a bother you your, umm … how should I call you?”

“You should’ve realized we don’t care about honorifics by now, so just Francisco will do.”

“Fran … sisko?”

“Close enough. Do you have some time to join us? We won’t stay here for long.”

“I don’t want to be a bother but, if you insist, sure. I don’t have any responsibilities at the moment.”

“Then please, take a seat,” He stood up from the bench, motioning for me to take his place.

“It’s fine, I can stand.”

“Nonsense! It is a gentleman’s duty to be considerate towards the ladies! My honor will be tarnished if you refuse!”

That sounded strange, so I looked at the noble lady, hoping for some explanation.

“It’s a cultural thing,” she said, “Humans are strange, but not malicious. Just play along.”

“Besides,” the demon continued, “I stopped you from visiting Jens at his workplace before. You can consider this gesture to be an apology, if you will.”

“Oh, yes! I had a feeling I knew him from before, but most of these demons look the same to me.”

Remembering our short encounter, I did as I was told, pushing my tail through the gap in the bench. Considering he was one of few … if not the only person who can make Mun-Hee back down, I figured that going against him would be unwise.

The seat was incredibly warm for some reason.

“You are the girl who was given to the humans as the gift, are you not?” The lady asked me, but she didn’t wait for an answer, “I was there, so I remember you. It is reassuring to see that Jens is taking good care of you.”

“Oh, she knows him!”

“Yes, he has been very generous with me.”

“By the way, my name is Hazelmere. I was there when the first contact with the humans happened. The dwarf right here is Wyvernshield, he was with me back then.”

“Brarhumir Wyvernshield, at your service,” The dwarf said in his grunty voice.

Hazelmere continued: “We are here as … it is another strange, human concept. Strange, but useful.”

“Like everything else about them,” the dwarf added.

“Humans call it an ambassador. We are here to represent our people. Humans believe it will get our races closer together. And, truth be told, we do learn a lot about each other with each passing day.”

“Like what?”

“Just recently, we have learned that human skin is leaking water when they hot. And guess what? The water they leak is salty!”

“Salty?”

“I am not kidding.”

“How do you know it’s salty? Did you … try it?”

Hazelmere stared at me in bewilderment, while the standing demon grinned from ear to ear.

“No, I … they say it is salty.”

“Ho, ho, ho. This lass is more reasonable than the mage,” the dwarf gloated.

“Why would they lie about it? I mean, we have seen the humans leaking water through their skin with our own eyes!”

I knew I shouldn’t mess with a mage, so I did my best to change the subject: “Please, forgive me. I was just curious, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“No it is a … a valid question,” Hazelmere responded, “But it is also a very … troubling idea, is it not? I guess …” she looked up, at the demon, “what do the humans think about drinking this water? Is it something reserved for people who are close, or …”

“We don’t drink it. It’s considered dirty.”

“But it is … it is just salty water, right? It’s not like …”

“Salty things are much more common in our world, as you’ve seen and tasted for yourself. We can satisfy our craving for saltness with many different foods. We don’t have to lick each other. Although, that being said, some humans are real salt mines.”

Seeing that Hazelmere didn’t take any offense, I got curious myself: “Is it a weird topic among the humans?”

“Yes, you could say so. It’s everyday reality to us, so we pay no mind to it. I don’t think any human ever got the idea you ladies got.”

“Is it a personal thing? Would talking about it be considered intrusive or disrespectful?”

“No, not at all. In fact, seeing that happening to a human is often taken as a sign of hard work. They will often be asked to take some rest, since that usually happens as a result of too much work.  By the way, I have to point something out. Out of all the strange things you’ve discovered about humans, this one got your attention the most?”

The demon stared Hazelmere with a sleazy smile, making her tail go wild.

“It is just … the newest information, so it stuck in my head. Maybe it sounds strange to you, but think about it from our perspective. In a land where salty foods are seen as a rare, luxurious commodity, you people are literal, walking, salty sticks.”

“Please don’t say that to a human, they’ll take it the wrong way. The hilarity would be awesome, but not now when we’re bridging a huge gap between our people.”

“So, we should avoid talking about it with the other humans?”

“At the moment, that would be for the best. They’d probably get some strange ideas.”

“Speaking of salty sticks, I could use some of that unhealthy food of yours. I’m starving,” the dwarf said.

“I understand that you have your responsibilities,” the demon responded, “and Jens is probably waiting for you, miss mage. As much as I enjoy messing with him, I shouldn’t bring you in our little games. I’ve promised him that I won’t get in between the two of you.”

“How am I to understand that?”

“However you want. You can ask him if you’re that curious. He promised me something in return, so I do intend to keep my end of the bargain, as lovely as you are.”

“He really is right about you. You do think all the females are simple-minded.”

“But is it working though?”

Instead of getting angry at him, she stood up with a smile.

“I think I am starting to understand this ‘pretend’ humor you humans have. Having seen it in action so many times, I understand you are not actually trying to offend me.”

“I’m glad you understand, even though you started with the insults first.”

“I’m just trying my hand at it.”

“That’s a smart decision. I’m far more suitable to be a test subject than Jens is.”

“I am glad to hear that. Does that mean you will not mind if I do it again?”

“Not at all. But don’t think I won’t respond in kind.”

“Come on lass, enough with your flirting!” The dwarf sounded angrier than before, “You don’t have to strike a long conversation with every human you see!”

“We should really get going. See you again!”

“Good tidings.”

I stood up to leave too, but the demon grabbed my arm.

“Hold on, miss Snirba. Our conversation is just starting.”