The three of us spent half the morning trying to figure out if I still had access to Mr. Asshole's magic or not, and if so how I could tap into it. Both Avril and Clara offered several suggestions as we continued our trek northward, but after a few hours I'd all but given up on the idea of having fabulous magical powers.

Avril seemed to agree with me, after all my failed attempts to access it she'd become convinced that Roderick's magic must have died with him.

I was a little surprised that Clara disagreed with the two of us. She seemed convinced that the magic should still be within me, since I was in possession of it when Roderick kicked the bucket. For that matter it was his own magic that killed him, which Clara argued couldn't have happened if control of it returned to him while he was dying.

On the other hand she was forced to concede that if I still had the magic it must now be locked or dormant within me for some reason. She theorized that maybe I could only access it during moments of extreme duress, like if the three of us were in a life-and-death situation or something along those lines. The other option she suggested was maybe the Gods had sealed it for now, since Mr. Asshole got it from them in the first place.

If that was the case, then it probably wouldn't be unsealed until we reached a temple and officially reported that I was the one who destroyed the Demon Queen. Then we'd get our reward and maybe I'd get the powerful magic again.

Now it was mid-morning, we were walking north along an obvious path or trail, and I couldn't help noticing that the forest was beginning to look different. It felt like there was less underbrush, the trees felt further apart, and the over-all impression I got was that the forest was opening up and getting more sparse. It also looked like there was a lot less potential firewood about.

"Are we getting close to that village?" I finally asked.

Clara nodded, "Very close. It probably won't be long before these woods give way to cleared fields."

Avril added, "We should reach the outpost by mid-day, I think."

"Time to be on our guard again," the tall strong ranger decided. She added quietly, "Keep an eye out for trouble, of the human kind. Less chance of monsters here, but more chance of bandits and cutthroats."

I grimaced but kept my mouth shut. Instead I focused on my tall fuzzy ears, which were twitching around this way and that trying to pick up any hints of danger or trouble.

Fortunately we didn't run into any, and like Clara predicted we emerged from the woods after about a half hour. The trail we were following continued northward between what were obviously farmed fields, to our left was some sort of grain crop while the land to our right was growing what looked like corn. The landscape wasn't flat, there were gentle hills so I couldn't see too far ahead, but my companions assured me we were very close to the outpost now.

During the next fifteen or twenty minutes of walking I finally caught sight of a few more people, out in the fields. I had no idea what farmers did back on Earth and I was even more clueless about what it'd be like here, but I assumed they were tending the crops. Whatever that meant. Maybe they were pulling up weeds or something.

Nobody waved at us, but I could tell they were staring. Pretty much like I was staring back at them. Through the next half hour of walking I spotted men women and children, both human and beastkin. Most of the women and children I'd seen were beastkin I noticed, the humans were invariably men. Everyone was dressed in simple handmade clothes, a lot like the tunic and trousers I had when I first appeared on this world. And a couple of the people were armed, usually with knives on their belts but one or two also carried bows.

We also spotted a handful of isolated structures, that I assumed were this world's version of farmhouses. They looked a little like if you merged a small shack with a small hand-made barn.

Around mid-day we finally reached the village. Except it was way too small to call it a village, it was more like a hamlet. Or an outpost, which is what my companions called it. To me it looked like something out of a medieval movie set.

A couple dozen little ramshackle buildings were scattered around a relatively flat part of the landscape. Most of the structures looked like one-room shacks, which I assumed were people's homes. There were a couple larger structures, but nothing was big enough to have an upstairs to it. Almost everything was made of wood, and the only exceptions were places that looked to be made of dried mud. Most of the buildings had thatched roofs, while a couple had wood shingles. And one or two had actual green grass growing on them, like a living roof. About half of them had chimneys made from mud bricks, and of those a handful had wisps of smoke rising up.

Along with the buildings were the people, and pretty much all of them were staring at the three of us. Many looked at us with suspicion or distrust, but a number of the men also looked a little hungry. We were three attractive young women after all.

"That one there is the tavern," Clara commented as she gestured towards one of the larger buildings. Then she indicated the largest building, "That's the actual trading outpost."

Avril nodded towards another two of the larger structures and added, "That one is the smithy, and a woodworker lives there. There's also a local leather-maker, but his place isn't in town. He's just past that hill to the east."

I looked around as I tried to take it all in, then asked "You two have been here before then?"

"Yes," the gorgeous druid replied. "We stopped here with Roderick, on our way south after the Demon Queen."

Clara added softly, "Don't speak of the queen here, and don't mention demons. Roderick's quest was secret, most people knew nothing of the queen's treachery or that she even existed. Mentioning any of that will have us branded as heretics or shunned as madwomen."

"Awesome," I frowned.

Although to be fair, if I hadn't seen the Demon Queen myself I'd probably have a hard time believing such a thing existed. On the other hand it was a bit of a let-down to realize we weren't going to get any respect from people for our heroism. According to my companions we saved the world, but now it seemed like nobody would believe us since they didn't know the world was in jeopardy in the first place.

I forced myself to let that go for now and instead asked, "So where's our first stop? Actually is there an inn or something, can we rent a room here?"

"Tavern first," Clara replied. "They might have a back room we can use. If not, they should be able to tell us where we can stay the night."

We were nearly at the tavern when a local man stepped into our path to block us. The man looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He had a bushy beard and unkempt hair, and judging by the overripe aroma he hadn't been near a bath in ages.

To be fair I hadn't seen a bath either since coming to this world, but Avril had been making use of her cleansing magic to keep the three of us looking and smelling our best.

Novel aromas aside, the man before us was very tall, but then again everyone was tall compared to me. This guy was even taller than Clara though, maybe as tall as I used to be. Unlike my old body this guy was also muscular, with broad shoulders and a sturdy build. He wore what looked like a chest-plate of hardened leather armour, and thick leather pants protected his strong legs. He had black leather boots on his feet, and leather gloves on his hands. His arms were bare, apart from sturdy leather bracers on his forearms.

The guy was also pretty well armed, with an assortment of daggers and knives hanging from his belt. More worrying was the large axe he was holding. It looked hand-made, with a rough hewn blade on one side and a big blunt hammer-like head on the other. The whole thing was mounted on a meter-long hardwood handle, and I was positive I'd have trouble lifting the thing let along trying to swing it.

"Didn't reckon we'd see you little ladies back around these parts any time soon," the guy commented as he looked over my companions. "Especially not without your master around. You girls oughta know this place ain't safe for runaway slaves. Cute that you've found yourselves a little pet though."

I could tell my companions were both very wary of this guy, and needless to say so was I. Neither Clara or I were ready for a fight either. My dagger was still in the sheath, while the ranger's sword was tucked in her belt and her bow was over her shoulder. At least Avril was holding her staff, she'd been using it like a hiking staff.

The druid scowled at the stranger, "Slavery is outlawed in every civilized realm in the world."

"This ain't a realm and it ain't civilized," the man shrugged. "And it looks to me like you pretty young things are in need of a new master."

There was a warning tone in Clara's voice as she stated, "I'll make this easy for you. We've survived weeks travelling in monster-infested woods, and emerged without a scratch. After all that, do you really think you're any match for us? And are you willing to bet your life to find out?"

As bad-ass as that sounded it left me with quite a few more questions. Like apart from the Demon Queen, I hadn't seen anything in the woods bigger than a squirrel. It was hardly monster-infested, it actually seemed more like a walk in the park. Literally.

Meanwhile the brute scowled at the three of us, then sniffed and spat something unpleasant off to the side. Finally he moved out of our way, but he grumbled "Runaway slaves don't stay free for long around here."

My companions ignored him, or pretended to anyways. We moved through the open doorway and into the tavern, which was pretty much exactly what I'd envisioned based on what I'd seen outside plus all the countless isekai stories I'd read in my last life.

The interior was dark and a little smoky, and countless scents assaulted my nose. Wood smoke and stale beer were the strongest smells, but cooked food and unwashed humans were also unmistakable. There were only four tables, plus a bar along the back, with seating for about fifteen in all. To the left of the bar was a good-sized fireplace, made of stones and mud bricks. There was some meat roasting above it that got my mouth watering, along with a large pot that smelled of stew. And a couple cubbyholes in the bricks to either side of the fire smelled of baked bread. Finally a wall separated the front of the building from the back half, where I assumed the owner lived. And maybe there'd be a spare room we could use.

There were a few people already inside, one man sat at the bar while two more were at one of the tables. All had drinks in hand, although the guy at the bar was slumped forward like he'd maybe had too much already despite it only being midday. The other two were talking quietly, but that conversation stopped abruptly as they turned to look at the three of us.

None of them seemed like the barkeep, but a second or two after we entered one more guy emerged from the back. He looked to be in his thirties, a bit taller than Clara, and slim but sort of wiry looking. He had messy brown hair and squinted at us like he had trouble with his right eye. I realized a moment later he was actually missing that eye completely, which made my stomach a bit queasy.

"What can I do fer ya?" he asked.

Clara spoke for the three of us, "We're three weary travellers looking for a room to rent. Do you have someplace here we can stay?"

He looked all three of us up and down with his one squinty eye, then gestured at me as he said "I got a room in back, but I ain't having no wild or untamed beastkin in my establishment. You girls best put a collar on that there fox, then we can talk."

Both my companions gave the guy an angry look, while I felt another lurch in my gut.

I'd witnessed prejudice and bigotry in my past life, but as a white middle-class guy I'd never been the target of it. This was my first experience being on the receiving end of that kind of bigotry, and it definitely sucked.

On the other hand, now I had the mental image of Clara or Avril putting a collar on me, and that left me feeling a little more excited than I wanted to admit.

Rather than argue the three of us just turned and left the place. Then once we were back outside Clara said quietly, "We'll find someplace else. Maybe we can talk to some of the beastkin farmers, I'm sure one of them will rent us a place to stay for the night."

"Or we could just stock up on supplies and gear then continue on our way north," Avril suggested. "We don't need to stay here at all."

I looked back and forth between them then with my cheeks starting to colour I asked quietly, "Or um, maybe we could just get a collar like the guy said?"

"Just for while we're here I mean," I added quickly. "It's not a big deal right? For the sake of a good meal and a good night's sleep?"

Clara and Avril glanced at each other, then the gorgeous druid looked back at me with a knowing smile. Like somehow she realized I was a little excited by the idea. Only 'somehow' wasn't that hard to guess, when I realized my tail had betrayed me once again with its happy wagging.

"Ok cutie," Avril responded. "Why don't I go visit the leather-maker, I think the smell there will be too unpleasant for you. I'll see if I can't get you a cute collar, and while I'm doing that why don't you two visit the trading post and see what you can find in the way of new gear and supplies?"

The tall strong ranger agreed, "Sounds like a plan. We'll meet up again afterwards on the eastern edge of the village."

"Be careful," I told the druid as she headed off to the east.

She smiled back, "You too cutie. See you both later."

"Come along Fiona," Clara said as she led the way towards the outpost. "Let's see if we can't find you some proper equipment."

"Right," I nodded as I hurried after her.

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