“Ahhh! I lost! Damn it! And here I thought I could finally take my win! Damn it!”

Korwen’s daughter jumped about on the wooden platform, still tangled up and bound in my hair as she shouted out her frustration. But…

“Hahaha! I can’t believe it! I was so…. so sure! And then I mess up like this! I’m so dumb!”

She broke out in laughter. Laughing at her own dumb mistake.

“Haaa… Seriously, I was so close… So damn close! Girl, you sure got me good.”
“... Nn.”

I smiled wryly as she directed the last words at me. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this to work either. It was solely the element of surprise that got her. But… it did get her.

“Never did I expect to get caught in someone’s hair. Ahhh, the world is full of surprises! I guess my training’s been insufficient!”

She beat up all the mercenaries on her own and she still said it wasn’t enough?

“Hey, hey, girl!”
“Nn, yes?”

While I was momentarily distracted, Korwen’s daughter had hopped over to me, looking at me with interest in her eyes.

“I haven’t seen you before, are you new?”
“You could say that.”
“Huh, that’s cool! Having more girls in our line of work is always a good thing!”

Well, it was a job dominated by men… Even though Fenna’s squad was quite sizable, it wasn’t even close to a tenth of the entire band. And all the mercenary women were in her squad, apart from a few exceptions like me, Karen, Lily and Ria.

“You… are a girl, right?”
“Nn? Yes?”

I tilted my head at the admittedly unexpected question.

“... Mm… Mmm…”

Leaving me confused, she leaned left and right, staring at me from top to bottom.

“Something feels weird about you… Are you… a demonkin? No, that girl earlier was a demonkin, right?  Hey, hey, what are you? Are you even a humanoid? Are you maybe a fairykin?!”

She leaned forward, interest pooling in her eyes, making it seem like they were sparkling. In contrast, I was left baffled. As far as I knew, she wasn’t even a magician. Yet, here she was already doubting whether I was a humanoid. How did she even do that?

“Hey, so what is it?”
“Err… I’m not a humanoid, that’s right…”
“Ohhh! I knew it! Is that why you can move your hair like this? It’s seriously cool! And those weird tentacles! They came completely out of nowhere!”

I had to back away because she got closer with every word. What, with her excitement through the roof. Alas, someone forced themselves between us.

“Excuse me!”
“Sis.”
“Huh? Oh, the metal girl from earlier!”
“Meta— What?”

Metal girl? Seriously?

“Mh? Well, when I hit you, it felt like I was striking a block of iron! Sure, I held back, but my hand still went tingling from the impact!”

Ahh, she did say something to that effect earlier, didn’t she? I was so occupied with how to stop her, that I hadn’t paid much attention.

“I… I see.”

Even Karen was taken aback now, glancing over at me and looking for help. Unfortunately, I had no idea what to do either.

“Really, I thought my weapon would break if I tried to fight you with it.”
“Is… Is that so?”
“Yes, it is! It’s amazing! Is that because you are a manakin? Also, that girl called you ‘Sis’ just now, right? Are you two sisters? Ah, but you’re a demonkin, aren’t you? Then, you’re not blood-related? Did you grow up together?”
“Ehhh…”

Karen looked over at me, unable to answer her storm of questions.

“Err, sorry, but could you calm down? Sis can’t answer everything at once.”
“Oh, you’re right. Sorry, I got a little excited there. Ahaha…”

Realising that she was getting a little too close for comfort, she took a step back—or more like hopped back—as she gave us a strained laugh.

“Sorry, sorry, I got a little excited there.”
“Ah, no, it’s fine.”

If anything, I was glad she was still so chipper after losing. Maybe a little too much even. And she was still wrapped up in my hair, too…

“Anyway, anyway, you two are new right?”
“Nn, we are. I’m Yumi.”
“I’m Karen. Pleased to meet you.”
“Ohhh! So polite!”

We introduced ourselves, which was received well.

“And you are…?”
“Mh? Oh, now that you mention it, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I?”
“Nn.”
“I’m Alma! Alma Korwen! Just Alma’s fine, though!”

The young woman—Alma—grinned as she introduced herself. We finally could put a name on Korwen’s mysterious daughter.

“By the way… Could you let me out? I’ve been trying for a while but it’s not budging at all!”
“Nn?”

Alma jumped around on the spot again, emphasising her…. captivating situation. She wanted me to release her, huh?

“Say… We’ve won, right?”
“Yes, you have. I lost.”
“Nn…”

I glanced around the mini-fort. Mercenaries lay flat on the ground, some of them groaning, others forcing themselves to sit up and lament their loss. The man who had fallen into the pitfall was still trying to get out… with no success.

All things said, Alma had caused quite some havoc among the mercenaries. Sure, this was a match… but she lost.

“Sis, can you get me my flag?”
“Sure.”

Karen picked up the flag that had been abandoned in the corner of the fort and gave it to me. After making sure I got a good grip on it, I turned to Alma, smiling at her. Her expression was one full of worry.

“Hey… Hey, hey, hey, what are you planning to do? I got a bad feeling about this. Like, a seriously bad one!”
“We’re not going to do anything that bad.”

She would only have to suffer a small bit of embarrassment for the next while.

I faced towards the front, looking at the beaten mercenaries.

“Everyone! Listen up!”

Dozens of pairs of eyes were gazing in our direction, some filled with surprise, others with amusement. They eyed Alma next to me, as slowly realisation hit them. A few of them scrambled to stand up, grinning at the view.

“The match is over! We have caught her! The Dragon Knights have won the game! We won! Did you hear that?! We won!”

Silence followed my declaration as the mercenaries looked toward us. Then, slowly realisation set in. They had won. They might have taken a thrashing, but they won in the end.

“””Ohhh!!!”””

They cheered, some laughed, and others silently pumped their fists. The few that could still stand helped the ones that couldn’t up, only to break out in laughter.

“Nn, this is good.”
“Uhh, did you really have to do that?”
“Well, we won, didn’t we?”
“Yes. Yes, you did… Ahh, they’re not going to live this down, are they?”

Next to me, Alma squirmed in discomfort. Whether that was because she was still tied up or because she was embarrassed by her loss, I couldn’t say. Either way, she had to live with that for now.

But for now, there was a more pressing matter to take care of.

“Now then, what should we do with this prisoner of ours…”
“Prisoner?! I’m your prisoner?!”
“Of course, you are.”

Oh, she slumped down to the ground, groaning. This was pretty fun… but maybe I should stop teasing her. After all, her parent was closing in on us.

“Seriously, didn’t expect that outcome.”
“Captain.”
“Mr Captain.”
“Ahh, Yumi, Karen, good job out there.”

Korwen climbed up the platform, a wry smile on his face. He stopped in front of us, praising us for a job well done. Then, he turned around, looking straight at his wrapped-up daughter, his smile replaced by a scowl.

“Oh! Hey, Dad! I’m back!”
“Yeah… I can see that…”

Korwen sighed as he watched Alma, still wrapped up in my hair, jumping about.

“Haa… Whatever, first things first… Welcome back, Alma. It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah! Glad to be back as well, Dad!”

They smiled at each other, both happy about their reunion.

“I am very much looking forward to your explanation about that ruckus in town, too.”
“Ah. I just remembered I had somewhere to be. See you later, Dad!”

Alma turned around and tried to run away… and then tripped and faceplanted on the ground.

“Ah, damn, I’m still tied up! Hey, girl… Err, Yumi, was it?! Please, release me!”
“Yumi, keep her tied up! Captain’s orders!”
“Hey, Dad, that’s unfair! An abuse of authority!”

Well…

“Nn, sorry, the captain’s orders are absolute.”
“No! Please! Release me!”

Alas, Korwen’s smile only widened as he approached his daughter, still flailing around on the ground in a desperate attempt to flee.

“You heard her, Alma. There’s no escape for you this time. So you better prepare yourself.”
“Do I have to?”
“You do. You owe me a lot of explanations.”
“Ahahaha…”

How to say it… Did I have to sit through that scolding as well, seeing how I had her tied up in my hair?

“Really, just who did you take after.”
“Dad, obviously.”
“As if.”

Korwen sighed yet again, before bending down and pulling Alma up on her feet. Once she was back on the ground, he planted his hand on her head.

“I’m glad you’re all right. Your mother and I were worried about you. Welcome back.”
“... Mm, I’m back, Dad!”

They smiled at each other. The very picture of a father with his daughter. If only the daughter wasn’t tied up…

“Let’s go, your mother’s already waiting for you.”
“Ohh! I’m coming, I’m coming. But, err, can you please release me? Like, pretty please?”
“Yumi, keep her tied up.”
“Nn, got it.”
“Ehh?!”

Alma’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

“Seriously? I have to go like this?”
“Maybe you’ll finally learn from it then.”
“Never!”
“Don’t sound so confident about that! Ugh, you’re giving me headaches…”
“Hahaha!”

Korwen held his head as he sighed for the third time already.

“Haaa… Let’s go. Yumi, Karen, you come along as well.”
“Nn, will do, Captain..”
“Yes, Mr Captain.”

With Korwen taking the lead, we climbed down the platform and made our way through the barricades and past the traps.

“Hey, hey, Dad. Where did you pick up those girls? They weren’t here last time.”
“In Arkesta, around two months ago or so.”
“Ohh! No wonder I haven’t seen them before then! Also, I feel like I’ve seen a few faces from the Black Guards here, as well.”
“They joined up with us. It’s a bit of a long story, though.”
“Seriously? So, Lil’ Lily’s here, too?”
“She sure is.”
“Ohhh! Then, then… Her father is here as well?!”

Korwen stopped in his tracks. I couldn’t see his expression from behind, but I had the feeling it wasn’t a good one by any means.

“... Yes, he is.”
“Ohhhh!”

Somehow, her excitement only grew with each question.

As Korwen picked up the pace again, we finally got out from between barricades, the border of the camp coming into view. And right there was a familiar woman waiting for us.

“Mom!”
“Woah?!”

Alma dashed… hopped forward, pulling me behind her without any regard. Thankfully, it was only a short distance, so I didn’t fall. It was close, though.

“Mom! I’m back!”

When I looked up again, I saw Alma having jumped into the arms of her mother, Mrs Korwen.

“My, welcome back, sweetie! It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“It sure has!”

I couldn’t help but smile at their reunion. They embraced each other and laughed, happy about seeing each other again after so long.

Well, I don’t know how long it has been for them but seeing their reactions, it had to be quite some time.

Next to us, Korwen watched his wife and daughter as well, a gentle smile on his face.

“I’m glad to have you back, sweetie. We were really worried about you.”
“I’m happy to be back as well, Mom.”
“How long are you going to stay this time? I hope you’ll be with us for a while.”
“Mmm… I’m not sure yet. That depends on my companions.”
“Oh, that sweet couple you came with?”
“Yes, them!”

Speaking of which, she came with two others. I looked around and found the two a little to the side, watching Alma and her parents.

“But you’ll at least stay for a few days, will you?”
“Sure will! Don’t worry about that.”
“I’m glad.”

Mrs Korwen let her daughter go and took a step back, looking at Alma from top to bottom.

“I have to say, though… I knew your tastes were a little… out there… but I didn’t think…”
“Wrong! You got it wrong, Mom! I’m not like this because I want to! It’s Dad’s fault!”
“Oh my.”
“Hey, now, Alma, don’t slander your father like that. You only got yourself to blame for getting caught like that.”
“I know! I know… Ugh…”

Alma’s shoulders slumped again and Mrs Korwen chuckled at the sight.

“Now, now, don’t be like that, you two. We finally got the family together again.”
“Say that to Dad.”
“Now, now.”

Mrs Korwen pat Alma on her head as if she was calming her down.

“Hey, Mom, stop that! I’m not a kid anymore.”
“What are you talking about, you’ll always be my little sweetie.”
“Ugh…”

Alma gave up and let her mother have her way, letting her ruffle her hair.

“Now then, how about you have breakfast with us, sweetie?”
“Mm, sure!”
“Great! Dear, you’re coming as well, of course, right?”
“Do you have to ask?”
“Hehe, it’s been a long time since we all sat together, didn’t we? And we got a lot to tell each other!“

Mrs Korwen smiled, clearly looking forward to it.

“Oh, I have a lot I want to tell you, Mom! But, but… could we maybe untie me first?”
“Already? I heard from Emily and the girls that it’s comfortable, though…”
“What?!”

Alma turned around, staring at me aghast.

“You tied up the little ones?!”
“I didn’t! Well, okay, maybe, kind of? But we were only playing around!”

Her eyes narrowed as she watched me. It was obvious that she wasn’t quite trusting me…

“Dad, tell me the truth! Did she do anything bad to them?”
“She didn’t, so calm down. They’re friends.”
“... I’ll trust you this one time.”

Sheesh, hopefully, Mrs Korwen wouldn’t make any other easy-to-misunderstand statements… I wondered what she would have done if Korwen hadn’t backed me up there…

“Anyway, let me out now!”
“... Captain?”
“Mh? Well now, let’s see…”

Korwen scratched his chin as he eyed his daughter. As he was pondering what to do, Mrs Korwen interrupted him in his thoughts.

“Dear, we can feed her. Just like we used to.”
“Mom?!”
“Oh, that might not be such a bad idea.”
“Dad?! Please spare me from that! I’m going to die from embarrassment.”
“Maybe that death will finally teach you something.”
“It won’t so release me!”

Seeing her so stubborn, Korwen shook his head while smiling wryly.

“I guess it wouldn’t... Okay, Yumi, let her go.”
“Nn, sure.”

I released my hair, returning Alma her freedom. She immediately lifted her arms in triumph.

“I’m free!”

The question was… for how long, though? Her parents weren’t going to let her go anytime soon, were they?

“Haaa… So energetic… That aside, maybe you should introduce your companions before we do anything else.”
“Oh, right, I nearly forgot about that.”
“Alma, you…”

Korwen rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was a little hard to believe, yeah… But then again, she also forgot to introduce herself to us in the first place.

“Right, right. Aryn, Irwin!”

Alma called for her companions that had been watching from a little away. The two looked a little bewildered at first but a moment later, the beastkin woman pulled the demonkin man’s hand and they came over.

“Dad, may I introduce you: These two are Aryn and Irwin. Aryn, Irwin, this is my dad! And this here is my mom!”
“Hello, sir. We’ve been in the care of your daughter.”

The beastkin woman, Aryn, curtsied in front of Korwen. None of us expected that, so we went a little wide-eyed. Korwen quickly recovered from his surprise, though.

“No need to stand on ceremony. I’m Korwen, the captain of the Lomerian Dragon Knights. I guess my daughter caused all sorts of trouble for you, please forgive her.”
“Dad?!”

Aryn’s eyes went wide at his response before she broke out in laughter.

“She sure caused us trouble! But before that, we are deeply indebted to her. Alma has helped us a lot. We owe her our lives.”
“Is that so?”

Korwen glanced over to Alma, who averted her eyes, probably out of embarrassment.

“I just happened to be there. No need to thank me for that.”

There was probably quite the story behind their meeting…

“Mmm… I think I get the gist. Well then, may I ask what your plans are? You’ve come with my daughter so I don’t mind if you stay with us for a short while.”
“We’re very thankful for your hospitality, sir. And rest assured, we are not planning on staying long.”
“Do you have plans for where you intend to go?”
“We plan to cross the Wooden Sea.”

At those words, he raised an eyebrow.

“The Wooden Sea? Are you serious?”
“Yes.”

Korwen now shifted his attention to his daughter, staring at her as if he wanted an explanation.

“Err, well, you see… They’re kind of on the run and I promised I’d bring them at least to the western border.”
“I see. So they’re serious.”
“We are, sir.”

On the run, huh…

“Mind asking me why you are on the run?”
“... To put it simply, my father is not very… happy with my choice of partner.”
“Ahhh… And now you’re telling me the Phantom Ship was his work?”
“That is very likely.”
“Of course, it’s like that.”

Aryn only gave him a strained smile as he groaned. She might have expected this reaction.

“Well, that’s Alma’s problem to deal with. However, I hope you understand that I don’t want any… extra trouble brought to my band.”
“Of course not, sir. We’ll leave before it could become a problem.”
“Good, as long as you understand that.”

He nodded, satisfied with her reply.

“Now then, with the important parts sorted out, let’s go and get breakfast. Miss Aryn, Mister Irwin, do you want to join us?”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, sir, but I think we will refrain. Please spend the time with Alma.”
“Hmm… Very well. If you want something to eat or need anything else, just ask someone and they’ll help you.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Mm, now then…”

Korwen turned to Alma once again, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Let’s get something to eat and hear all about your little adventures, shall we?”
“Ahh… Sure…”
“Good. Let’s go.”

Despite the harsh words, Korwen was smiling gently at her. Maybe she sensed that as well, as Alma didn’t refuse and simply followed him and Mrs Korwen. The small family disappeared between the tents a short while later.

So that was Alma, Korwen’s daughter, huh?

Quite the energetic one.

“Nn… Oh well… What should we do now, Sis?”
“I wonder…”

Korwen didn’t leave us with any instructions, so we were basically free for now. We had already eaten a quick breakfast earlier as well…

“That reminds me, Wormaz wanted you to go to him, didn’t he?” I asked.
“Yes, he did.”
“Nn… Guess we could go to him then…”

Not like we had anything else to do.

Just as I wondered about that, though, a voice came from behind me.

“Excuse me.”
“Nn?”

When I turned around, the beastkin woman, Aryn, stood there, a smile on her face.

“I hope I am not bothering you but might I ask where we could set down our belongings?”
“Ahh… Nn…”

I peeked behind her, looking at their luggage. Well, if you could call it that. They didn’t exactly carry a lot.

“I think Merim can help you with that… or Fenna, I guess.”
“Where might I find them?”
“Err, I wonder… I’ve seen them earlier, though…”
“Maybe they went to check up on the others?”
“Ahh, that might be.”

Alma did give them a thrashing. There was a good chance that Merim or Fenna were there.

“Should we take a look then? We can accompany you.”
“Oh, that would be incredibly helpful. Thank you very much… Err, might I have your name?”
“I’m Yumi and this is my sister Karen.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Yumi and Karen, is it? You might have heard it earlier already but let me introduce ourselves once more. I am Aryn and this is Irwin. It’s nice to meet you.”

She curtsied again. Aryn probably came from a pretty wealthy house, huh? Well, her father was powerful enough to have a Phantom Ship chase after these two.

“Nn, shall we look for Merim then?”
“That would be very welcome. Thank you.”
“No problem.”

Karen and I led the couple back to the grounds where we held the match with Alma. And just as we expected, the mercenaries had gathered around to celebrate their little victory. It didn’t take them long to spot us.

“Guys, look who is coming back! Everyone, look here, our girl of the day is here!”
“Ohh, the little princess is back! Or should I say our little hero!”
“You sure did a number on the Lil’ Miss! Gahaha!”

This was… a little embarrassing. Sure, I tried my best but…

“Hey, guys, don’t embarrass her now!”
“Ahh, ya right! Sorry, girly!”
“Sorry!”

Apologising wasn’t going to make it better…

Thankfully, Karen stepped forward, saving me from any further comments.

“Sorry, but we’re looking for Mr Vice-Captain.”
“The vice-cap? He’s over there!”

Just as we thought, he’s here…

Having heard his name being called, Merim looked up and faced us.

“Someone needs me? Oh, it’s Yumi and Karen.”
“Nn, it’s about these two…”

I gestured behind me, prompting Merim to take a look at the couple.

“These two came with the captain’s daughter, didn’t they?”
“Nn.”
“I see. What can I do for you?”
“We would like to put away our belongings but we don’t know where we can do so.”
“Ah, I see.”

Merim nodded in understanding to her words.

“If that’s the case, we have a few spare tents. As long as you don’t mind that you have to set it up yourself, you can take one.”
“Oh, that would be very welcome. Thank you very much.”
“No problem, you’re our guests.”

One problem less to resolve. Glad we sorted that out.

“Yumi, Karen, show them where they can find the tents, will you?”
“Nn, no problem.”
“Understood, Mr Vice-Captain.”
“I’ll leave it to you then.”
“Nn.”

After leaving those words behind, Merim returned to the other mercenaries.

“Then, shall we?”
“Yes. Thank you, Miss Yumi. We’re sorry to bother you so much.”
“Nn, you’re welcome.”

Really, this wasn’t much of a problem.

“Let’s go then.”

Karen and I led the couple back to the camp on the way to the supply wagons. It was a bit of walk, since the supply wagons were on the other side of the camp…

“By the way, Miss Yumi.”
“Nn?”
“Are you perchance a demonkin?”
“Huh? Err… I’m…”

Wait, what should I say here? They didn’t belong to the band, they were just temporary visitors… I couldn’t tell them that I wasn’t even a humanoid in the first place, could I?

“Well, you could say so.”
“That’s a very odd way of answering…”
“Ahhh…”

There wasn’t anything I could do about it right now…

“Err, rather than that, why are you asking?”
“I noticed Miss Karen has a demonkin’s tail and you mentioned you were sisters. I don’t see anything that would mark you as a demonkin, though, so I was a little confused. I apologise if this was too private a question.”
“Ah, I see. Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

That’s how it would seem to outsiders, huh?

“Speaking of which, Mister Irwin is a demonkin too, isn’t he?”

I glanced beside Aryn at the man who hadn’t said a single word until now.

“He is. Sorry, he’s a little shy. He doesn’t talk a lot.”
“No problem.”

Considering he hadn’t said anything until now, I already guessed that much anyway.

“Yumi, we’re here.”
“Nn? Oh, already?”

Karen pulled our attention back. We had arrived faster than I thought at the supply wagon.

“Well then…  Let’s get those tents.”
“Thank you very much.”

I was a little curious about these two but I could always ask them later. For now, we had to make sure they had a place to put down their luggage. And one that served as a place to sleep, of course.

Okay, let’s do this.