This girl reminds me of Lenoly; her eyes are horizontal rectangles, too. But she has four horns and is as tall as Vitalis, and her hair is really long and looks so fluffy. It seems that she is the owner of these horses, and she looks really angry that we killed some of them. I glance at the two I felled with my cursed arm, but the one that tripped has already disappeared and the other is still breathing. So she can't blame me, it was all Rolan and the bard.
"How are you going to pay for the damage?" The girl shouts with her hands on her waist, seemingly having forgotten that a crossbow is being aimed at her. But Rolan motions for the bard to lower his weapon, since it seems that she poses no threat to us. I know that Onee-sama would have started flirting with her, since she is quite cute.
... Onee-sama...
We ended up in this unknown place, which seems to be the Demon Continent, where Onee-sama is from. But if I'm not in the city when she returns to get me, what will happen? I was unable to contact Senka, too, who could have told her that I'm safe. This way, she may attack the academy and fight with all those teachers again. Gram said that getting back may take a very long time, maybe more than a month. I can only believe him, when he says that, but there has to be a way to travel faster...
"We are really sorry, young lady, but they attacked us." The bard begins to explain, but she shoots him a glare.
"Nightmares never attack for no reason. You must have attacked them first!" Her unreasonable accusation causes him to exchange an exasperated look with Rolan. The fact that these horses are called Nightmares makes me think that they are actually evil creatures, though. "I know, you must be poachers!"
"Now look her, missy, we were just walking through here and they charged at us." Gram steps in and tries to reason, but she suddenly opens her eyes wide.
"You attacked them because they charged at you?!" The demon girl is growing angrier with every attempt at explaining the situation. She puts two fingers in her mouth and lets out a loud whistle. Only moments later, one of the Nightmares, which have settled with observing us from a distance, gallops towards us and I can feel the group tensing up. But it slows down and comes to a stop next to the girl, who strokes its head softly. "They're highly intelligent but mischievous creatures and just wanted to play with you, but when you started attacking, they retaliated!"
Rolan and the others watch in astonishment when they see how kind these evil-looking horses can be. They look to each other and back to the girl, whose irritated expression is mixed with a hint of triumph at teaching them otherwise. Finally, the tension in the group lightens and the leader steps forward with a bow.
"I am really sorry for what we have done in our ignorance... can you see it in you to forgive us?" He says in an unexpectedly refined manner.
"Rather than thinking about me forgiving you... you should think about how you're going to recompense me." She looks at us with a skeptical eye, scrutinizing our clothes and equipment, which gives her reason to wonder if we are able to pay her anything at all.
"Umm... how much is a... Nightmare?" Rolan asks cautiously, earning him an angry look.
"Two hundred Koura." Her expression makes it clear that she doubts we even have enough to pay for one of them. Turning to count the number of Nightmares Rolan and the bard killed, she calculates for a moment and returns her gaze to the leader, who flinches under its harshness. "That makes two thousand six hundred Koura." She looks at Gram's bags and lifts an eyebrow, suggesting that even if everything inside them were filled with whatever Koura are, it would still not be enough.
"... what are Koura?" Rolan actually asks and even I understand that he just revealed himself to be a human.
"... huh?" She makes and blinks her eyes.
"So you're humans!" The demon girl speaks in astonishment after realization hits her. "I've never seen any of your kind before." Scratching her chin, she examines the men with her horizontal eyes. "But you don't look so much different from us demons?" Then she turns to look at me and I instinctively try to hide my cursed arm behind my back. Of course, due to the size of it, it's impossible to cover with my small body. "But I know you're a dark elf. Is that caused by a curse?"
"You don't fear us?" The leader asks dumbfounded. He isn't trying to keep up appearances and attempting to hide our identity anymore.
"Why would I fear you?" Her expression suggests that the question sounds strange. Then she wrinkles her eyebrows in thought. "Oh, but I heard that humans fear demons... for whatever reason."
At these words, Rolan, Gram and the bard exchange glances and all tension completely disappears as they begin to laugh. I don't really understand what they find so funny, but I guess they came to some sort of realization just now. The girl looks at them dubiously, as if feeling left out from a joke everyone else seems to understand. Finally, they turn to her and the leader smiles in a friendly manner.
"As expected, it all depends on the individual." He says and removes his off-hand from the hilt of his sheathed old sword for the first time since her appearance. "Let's formally introduce ourselves. My name is Rolan, this is Sigurd and the big man is Gram. The dark elf is Kamii."
"I'm Urial." The horned girl responds to the round of introductions. "I have to wonder, what's a group of humans doing in the middle of the Demon Continent? Barely anyone lives around here, it's usually just monsters or herders like me."
"We were transported here through some kind of magic and are looking for a way back to the Kingdom of Lares." At the mention of the kingdom, Urial raises an eyebrow in non-understanding. Noticing that fact, Rolan tries a different approach. "Can you tell us where the closest city is?"
"There aren't many cities on the Demon Continent. Usually you can find some wandering tribes like mine, or small permanent settlements in the more fertile south."
"Then who do you trade with?" Sigurd asks in wonder.
"Oh, the members of our tribe are commissioned Nightmare breeders and sell exclusively to the army of the Great Demon Queen." Urial responds nonchalantly. So she has a connection with Onee-sama's mother?
"... demon queen?" Once again, the humans exchange a look. As far as I can remember, they always referred to her as the demon lord, but lord suggests a man. I think that's why they are surprised to hear the 'queen' part. How could they not know that their most hated enemy is a woman? Well, it may be unfair to accuse them of ignorance, since I only learned about it because I know Onee-sama.
"That is not important right now..." The bard finally says, since he sees that Rolan seems to be toying with the idea of using Urial's connections to sneak up on the demon queen to bring her down. "We do not have any money that would be accepted here, and there are no wild animals we could hunt. At this rate, we are going to starve to death before crossing the continent, let alone..." He doesn't continue, but Rolan knows exactly what the bard is trying to say. Even he is painfully aware of his inability to challenge her at this point.
"What kind of money do you have?" The demon girl asks curiously. She hasn't forgotten that we just killed more than a dozen of her prized horses, yet, but there is a hint of pity in her tone. "If it's made of silver or gold, it should be worth something at least."
"This is all we have." Gram is the one responsible for carrying the group's funds, since he is usually the most responsible person. He takes out the leather purse and shows off the gold and silver coins inside. These aren't all the funds the group normally has, as the majority was left at home, but in our current situation it may as well be. Urial takes the purse and holds up one of the gold coins, staring at it closely before testing it with a bite.
"Seems to be real gold." She then proceeds to count the amount inside it, although the number is quite disappointing. "I'll give you one of the horses you killed for this. As a bonus, I'll even butcher it for you." Urial's demeanor becomes completely businesslike as she pats the head of the Nightmare beside her with a little rhythm and it runs off into the distance.
"Two, and we get to choose which." Sigurd immediately begins to bargain for more than she offered.
My interest immediately wanes at what follows and I move away from the group, towards the Nightmare I knocked out earlier. It's still lying on the ground, but I can see its stomach heaving, so it's breathing and alive. The flaming hair isn't burning the grass around it, so that means it isn't hot. Stretching out my left hand, I touch the fire, but rather than burning, it's cold like water.
"Oyy, you called?" An elderly man with a goatee and the same type of horns as Urial, just longer and more impressive, exclaims while riding on the Nightmare she sent away over the hill earlier. Upon seeing the carcasses strewn across the ground, his narrow eyes go wide in shock. "What happened here, Urial!"
"Hey, gramps! They overreacted when the Nightmares came to play with them, and one thing led to another..." The girl explains as her grandfather approaches and jumps off the horse skillfully, despite his apparent age. She holds up the leather purse and rattles its content. "They don't have enough money to pay for the damage, but they're starving travelers, so I'm going to give them one of the carcasses."
"One and a half." I can hear the bard still trying to haggle, but it's clear that Urial is not going to give in at all. In fact, she is giving him a look that suggests he shouldn't be asking for more considering the circumstances. Gram seems to feel the same, as he gestures for Sigurd to stop trying.
"It's not like we can carry even a whole one anyway." The big man says, and considering the fact that he is the one who is most likely going to be carrying the bulk of it, he has a say in the matter, too.
A quiver runs through the unconscious horse's body and I quickly step back, as it wakes up and immediately tries to stand again. Wobbling onto its feet, the Nightmare looks around in confusion, before running away while shaking its head. It seems that my hit didn't leave any lasting effects, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Alright, one it is. But we can choose which one." With one final attempt at getting his way, the bard states with a natural smile. Seeing it, Urial rolls her eyes and shrugs, and a grin of triumph runs away from his face. Her grandfather looks over the mess the humans have caused and shakes his head at Sigurd's audacity to try and bargain despite having no leverage.
"Youngsters these days..."
We are sitting cross-legged in a tent surrounded by Urial's family. Her grandfather's name is Ammon, and her voluptuous and young-looking mother is called Arkali. Hiding behind the latter's back is a small and cute girl by the name of Vicola. She looks to be around nine summers old and has the same set of horizontal slit eyes, but has yet to develop horns. The twins Koria and Korum, a girl and a boy respectively, are playing with Gram, climbing onto his arms and back as he stoically and carefully makes sure that they don't hurt themselves.
"We normally don't get any guests out here, so excuse us for having only so little to offer." Arkali says and hands each of us a wooden bowl filled with Nightmare stew. She sees the apprehension in Rolan and Sigurd's expression at eating something that looks clearly demonic, but I don't have any such sentiments. I have been with Onee-sama for a long time, and I have already been corrupted, so I'm sure there are no problems with a little more. And it seems that Gram has overcome that fear, or is no longer mindful of it, as he takes the offered food with gratefulness and begins to eat unhesitatingly, the same way as I am.
"Ma, they killed a dozen of our Nightmares, you don't need to show so much- ouch!" Urial begins, but Arkali pinches her fur-covered, pointy ear, all the while keeping the hospitable smile on her lips unchanged.
"Have you forgotten the hospitality taught in our traditions, Urial?" She reprimands her daughter in a calm tone. Letting go, the punished girl pouts but doesn't dare to talk back. "Excuse my daughter, she hasn't had many opportunities to learn manners in front of guests."
"Don't worry, madam. Your daughter is right. We should be the ones compensating you for your loss, instead we receive your kindness." Rolan responds and looks down at the stew in his hands, before gathering his resolve and digging in. After the first bite, his expression fills with surprise. "This is delicious!"
"I'm glad to hear that, Sir Rolan." Giving him a charming smile, Arkali signals for Vicola to come forward. She does so reluctantly, and plops down in her mother's lap, staring at our group with big eyes and a hint of apprehension. "Koria, Korum! Leave Sir Gram alone and sit down for your meal, or you'll go without."
"Wha? Nooo!" The two children blubber in unison and separate from the big man immediately. He watches them warmly, before his gaze shifts to me. Oh no, I'm not such a child that I would climb all over him. And I would be scared to hurt him with my cursed arm... But I have to admit, it was really fun riding on his shoulders. That was a completely new experience, seeing the world from so high up, while it almost felt like I was standing on my own feet, even if I was a little scared of falling.
"Hey, big sis. Why is your arm like that?" Koria asks innocently while receiving her bowl of stew from her mother, who looks at her blunt question in shock. Rolan coughs and the bard looks at her with an uneasy expression. Gram does not show any of his thoughts, but his eyes are fixated on me. "It looks strong!" She continues, and Korum nods in agreement while shoveling down his food.
My heart skips a beat. In all my life, there have been only three people to ever look at my curse in a positive light. Before these two, it has only been Onee-sama, who openly stated that she liked it. Even though I think that Hestia, Vitalis and Lenoly aren't bothered by it, they also tried to avoid talking about it, as if it's a taboo. Yet, these children, in their innocent honesty, have brought me much joy with their show of admiration. I feel a smile breaking out on my lips, as I lift the arm and move the claw, producing a clicking sound. Their amazement blows away many bad memories I made due to it before Onee-sama freed me.
"A curse did this." I explain quietly. I'm still not good at talking with strangers, but I can feel my resistance melting away with these two. "A curse caused by corruption."
"Corruption?" Urial asks in skepticism. "I've never heard anything about corruption."
"Ahhh, I see. That is what they teach you, huh?" Ammon comments with a chuckle as he strokes his goatee. "The so-called corruption that you humans perceive is a blessing to us demons and it is what gives us our longevity."
"That's impossible?!" Rolan interjects with unexpected vehemence and everyone gathered looks at him in surprise.
"I can understand your disbelief, young man." Producing a pipe from one of his jacket pockets and lighting it with a burning stick from the fireplace, Ammon takes a puff. With this action, the tension in the room seems drop once again.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled... Please explain." The leader apologizes in slight dejection.
"Don't worry, I should have expected such a response, since I denied everything you must have been taught about us demons." With a nod, the old man continues. "I have lived through fifty winters. That is a number humans might consider to be of a solid age, right? But would you believe me if I told you that my natural lifespan should have run out nearly twenty years ago? That my youngest daughter, Arkali, would normally be dying of old age before the next summer? Are you able to tell that little Vicola over here has barely seen four winters?" He pets his youngest granddaughter's hair at these words. "At her age, I was considered a young adult. Our lives used to be much faster, our time in this world much shorter... before the demon queen appeared in this world, that is."
I turn to look at Rolan, who stares at the old man in silence, before his eyes move across the other demons gathered in the room and stops on the little child. He lowers his gaze to contemplate what he just heard. But something is clearly beginning to change inside his mind, as he comes to a realization.
