ã€ŠPrincess velvetã€‹


 How everything started

    A tale a thousand times told: a hero comes to rescue the damsel in distress. Well, the distress part was real. Oh! Right. A hero comes and screams, "Fear not, princess, I shall save you from this beast!" and draws his sword. The creature¡ªor the demon lord¡ªwell, you can call him a creature. He looks like a wolf walking on two legs, but about the size of a human, just a little bigger. Yet the hero was donning white armor and carrying a sword that, to be honest, was no bigger than a rapier. I thought the legendary sword was supposed to be bigger.

    The demon lord says, "Well, hero, you rushed to rescue the princess quickly and took out most of my guards as well. But hero, a prophecy has been told. You will die this day, and you know prophecies always come true. Well, I don''t need to tell you why, right? Without those prophecies, you wouldn''t even be a hero."

    The hero replies, while pointing his sword at the demon lord, "Well, you did your research, Demon King. But alas, if I were to die, I''ll die taking you down with me."

    Hey, wait, wait! If you die, who''s going to save the damsel in distress here? And as I was thinking that, the hero charged at the demon king. With that, a magic sword appeared in the demon king''s hand, and a fierce battle unfolded.

    Cling clang, cling clang. Sparks were flying as the hero and demon lord clashed.

    And I''m just waiting. I was holed up¡ªwell, literally held up by a chain on the wall. By that, I mean my cage is secured by five, maybe six, iron chains on the ceiling. If those break... well, no need to think negatively, right?

    Did the sound below just stop? Oh, they stopped and are staring at each other.

    Honestly, I don''t get these staring contests. What are they doing? After a few hours¡ªwell, technically, like 10 seconds¡ªthey rushed at each other again. But this time, it was different. The hero pierced the demon lord''s heart. He lost a lot of blood, and the hero was victorious. He went to a lever on the side and lowered my cage. He won. He really won and saved me.

    The hero came to me and said, "Princess... you''re safe now," before he dropped to the ground. I rushed to see what happened to him. His stomach was pierced, and he had lost a lot of blood. He said, "Princess, go outside. Some of my companions are out there. They''ll take you to your family."

    He couldn''t even speak clearly, but still, he tried to calm me down. He spoke like a true hero, to a fault. With that, he lost consciousness.

    But¡­ I''m not that weak. I ripped up my clothes so I could run better and used the torn fabric to tie the hero to my back. I ran. I ran as fast as I could. And the castle began to collapse.

    Meanwhile, outside, a warrior clad in heavy iron armor¡ªshort like a child but looking like a man¡ªslashed a demon soldier with a giant axe and screamed to two more people fighting, "Looks like that''s all of them!" They finished off the last of the demons and finally tried to relax a little.

    The elf, clad in leather armor and carrying a bow bigger than himself, said to the rest, "Well, the hero Leon is taking his time." The girl, wearing a white robe and carrying a staff with a blue gem at the top, replied while approaching the elf, "Well, sir hero went to fight the demon king, not some run-of-the-mill thug."

    The warrior approached them with a smirk. Both of them noticed it and asked at the same time, "WHAT?!"

    The warrior replied, "Oh, nothing. Just nothing," and gave a sly laugh. They could hear the sound of swords clashing even from outside the castle¡ªthough not loud, just a faint sound. The noise stopped, and the warrior said, "Get ready. We don¡¯t know if the hero won or lost."

    The priestess responded, "Honestly, some friend you are. Don¡¯t even trust your friend, huh, Grim?"

    The warrior replied, "Well, it¡¯s never bad to be cautious, huh, Velvet?"

    The elf archer, preparing his bow, let out a sigh and shouted, "Honestly, you two, keep it down! I at least want to die without my ears being filled with your voices!"

    As that happened, the castle began to crumble, cracking and falling to the ground. Still, the hero''s party remained ready for anything. Velvet said, "Well, at least I hope he¡¯ll save my little sister, Charlot. And what a cruel man, destroying his own castle just to get rid of his enemies. But I¡¯ve got to respect him too. No one¡ªdemon nor human¡ªwould do that."

    The elf stared at her, mouth opened.

    Velvet said, "What?" The elf replied, "You really don¡¯t know your own kind, do you?" and sighed.

    A FEW MINUTES BEFORE:

    I got up, tied the hero to my back, and the ground started shaking. Everything around me crumbled, and the roof began crashing down as I ran. The Demon Lord was truly desperate¡ªor really clever. All this just to take down his biggest foe. I have to respect him. I can¡¯t go through with this kind of plan.

    Someone was screaming, "DAMN YOU, HERO! NOT ONLY DID YOU TAKE AWAY EVERYTHING FROM ME, YOU¡¯RE EVEN TAKING AWAY MY LAST HOME, MY CASTLE!" Wait, what? No, no, I must be hearing things.

    "I WILL DIE, BUT MARK MY WORDS, IN MY NEXT LIFE I WILL TAKE YOUR HEAD!" Then I heard a crashing sound.

    I was running faster than the wind. I couldn¡¯t even believe I was carrying someone on my back. This must be what they call fear making you do impossible things to survive.

    I wasn¡¯t out of breath or anything. I saw a light ahead, and without breaking a sweat, I made it to where the light came from and ran outside. There were three people waiting for me. I made my way to them quickly. I was safe, and I made it out alive with the hero. I was lucky. He was alive, and my sister started healing him. I fell down right there.

    Someone caught me and said, "You did well, lass. Rest up."

    AFTER A FEW HOURS:

    It was nightfall when I came to.

    I was sleeping on my sister''s lap. She was smiling when I woke up, and she said instantly, "Well, the damsel in distress has come to. You did save the HERO. Who knew our little tomboy would do something so reckless?" She was glad to see me; she just didn¡¯t want to show it. But the elf next to the campfire noticed and said, "Velvet, you don¡¯t need to hold back, you know."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Then she just hugged me¡ªso, so tight. I thought I was going to die from lack of air. She kept hugging me, and the only thing I felt was trembling. She was trembling and said, "I thought I was going to lose you. I thought I was going to lose my little sister again." I did have a big sister who was two years older than me. She died when a demon attack happened¡ªthe first demon attack that started this whole war five years ago.

    After she calmed down a little, she said, "You know, I can¡¯t show you how I feel because we are royalty. But remember, I will always love you, my little sister." Sister Velvet acts tough, but she cried a lot when my big sis Elsa died. I was sad, but I never cried. I don¡¯t know why. I just don¡¯t cry. But that¡¯s how I¡¯ve always been.

    Grim said, "Take some rest. We men will keep watch, isn¡¯t that right, Elves?"

    "Well, we need to give them some time anyway." And that¡¯s how the day ended¡ªwith an elf and dwarf guarding, talking, and arguing all night, and two sisters catching up on old times and going to sleep.

    NEXT MORNING

    Well, the rocks were pretty comfortable. My body ached, and I didn¡¯t want to move a muscle today. Then I remembered we were in demon territory. The hero was awake, looking at the sun. As I was rising, he kept staring at the sun.

    "Like, won¡¯t you go blind like that?" I tried it out. Well, it wasn¡¯t hard to keep watching, but still, after a few seconds, I averted my gaze. Yet, the hero was doing it just fine. Well, we need to escape. They¡¯ll take care of it at least, and an hour or two passed (about 10 minutes), and the whole party was awake, waiting behind the hero. Well, without me, of course. I was waiting behind the party.

    The hero turned around and said, "Something is wrong. The prophecy did say I would die after I met the demon king. Yet, I¡¯m still alive."

    The thing was, prophecies were never wrong. They always come true. That means either there¡¯s more time for the hero to live, or the demon lord is still alive. The hero said to everyone, "The demon lord is dead. I checked his castle. I saw his corpse, and that just means my death is coming."

    The hero¡¯s party was quiet, and I stepped up and screamed, "You know, if you¡¯re gonna die anyway, at least live it to the fullest or something. If you aren¡¯t dead yet, be happy about it! Like, we don¡¯t even know when we¡¯re gonna die. You¡¯ve got a warning on when you¡¯re gonna die, at least! Just stop moping and live!"

    Everyone looked at me like I was some kind of monster, and the hero just laughed loudly and said, "She isn¡¯t wrong, though."

    "Well, sorry for dragging the mood down, and thank you, Charlot, for saying that. Well, first things first: We defeated the great evil and saved the world. But we can¡¯t celebrate yet. We need to escape the demon territory, and we need to do it fast."

    There was no need to come up with plans or anything. They just needed to go the same way they came in. Everyone got ready, and we headed back. As we approached the human territory, we saw a magic teleporter that would take us to the capital.

    It was a stone circle, a giant circle, with a bent wooden pole placed from the side to the middle of the teleporter. At the end of the pole, a lamp was held. You can place a magic stone with markings similar to the place you want to go. My sister went there first and placed the magic stone. We were slowly making our way when arrows started flying in our direction. The elf must have sensed danger because he used his magic to create a wind barrier. We all started moving backward to where my sister was waiting. She was protected by the barrier that appears when a magic stone is used for the teleportation circle.

    We could hear drums. It must be the famed war drums of the demon army. Even though they lost their leader, they were still willing to fight. This might be their last chance to kill the hero and turn the tide of war in their favor. Everyone knew that. If anyone was to survive, it had to be the hero. Well, we don¡¯t need to think the worst. We all can make it. It isn¡¯t even far.

    As I was thinking that, a wyvern landed between us and the teleportation circle. There were only two fighters: the dwarf and the hero. One was injured¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t show it, but I knew¡ªand the other wouldn¡¯t be the greatest match for a wyvern. The elf was protecting our backs with magic. Without thinking, the dwarf and the hero charged and killed the beast like it was nothing.

    Well, at least it gave me a little assurance. They¡¯re this good, even injured. The foot soldiers of the army were getting closer, and we were one step away from the teleportation circle. The hero got in, the dwarf got in, and then¡ª

    Me and the elf were blown away to the side by a charging beast that looked like a rhino.

    The elf and I got up, and the elf said, "Well, looks like I have to save you. This time, don¡¯t look back. Just run straight and make it back to your sister. I don¡¯t want to see her sad face." It was obvious he loved my sister, and it was mutual. I¡¯d known for a long time. But they wouldn¡¯t just confess to each other either. But this wasn¡¯t the time for romance stories. It was a battle for survival.

    The elf said, "RUN!! NOW!!!" I focused some mana into my arm and said, "Wind Blast!" The elf went flying and landed inside the barrier.

    Well, when it comes down to it, this is a time of war. A princess who can¡¯t fight might be good for political marriage or something, but the whole hero party must survive to strike fear into the demon army. The demon lord may be dead, but he will return. When either a hero or a demon lord dies, they always get reincarnated. Well, it takes about 50 years, but the demon army knows this, and they don¡¯t need to fear. They just need to keep the war going. For that, the hero must die. It¡¯s simple, really. If the hero escapes alive today, they might have to surrender to the human army, and what¡¯s one girl who doesn¡¯t even have enough influence? I can only act as the damsel in distress, and it¡¯s better for them to survive than for me.

    Honestly, if they all survive, we will get peace. At least for 45 years. All of this went through my mind in a second. It was like the whole world slowed down, and I started remembering everything that had happened in my life¡ªhow I grew up. I had two older brothers and one older sister. My brothers were great, but my sister was a genius. I wanted to be like her, Princess Velvet. But I¡¯d always be the tomboy who only made trouble for the rest of them, until the end. It¡¯s better to end this way. This way, I¡¯ll at least die a hero, right?

    Well, time to smile. I gave the biggest smile to the hero¡¯s party, and my sister was screaming and hitting the barrier hard. Even after all that emotional turmoil, she was keeping herself under control, consciously or unconsciously. She knew that if she took out the stone, the barrier could be undone. But it would put her friends in danger, and she was asking me, "WHY?"

    Well, she¡¯ll understand someday. The hero had the face of someone who understood.

    This is the world we live in¡ªa world that is beautiful, yet tragic at the same time. War is happening, and in about 2, 3, maybe 5 years, the war will end and peace will come. But in the end, this is what we got.

    As I was thinking that, the creature hit me so hard that I was thrown into a tree and bled a lot. Anyone who saw me could say, without a doubt, that I was dead. With that, the hero came to my sister and said something to her. She just went back near the lamp, gave a little glance at me, and used the stone.

    It¡¯s a little weird I¡¯m not losing consciousness yet. Oh, it¡¯s coming, little by little. The world is becoming black. I¡¯m happy, actually. I¡­ did¡­ the¡­ right¡­ thing¡­ right?

    ......

 A New start

    I was only seeing darkness. Everywhere I looked, darkness. Is this what death looks like¡ªa sight of darkness as far as the eye can see? I thought it would be brighter and, well, more beautiful. Wait, I feel shaking. And I hear wooden wheels. I can''t move either. What''s going on? The shaking suddenly stopped.

    A bright light came in, blinding my eyes, and a demon entered. A demon with cat ears and a tail, and it had a human face. A half-demon, huh? So that clearly means I¡¯m somehow alive. Then why can''t I move?

    I moved my head and saw no chains, nothing. It''s just that I can''t move my body. WHY?

    I don''t feel my arms. My legs work fine, but my arms won¡¯t move. What happened? How did this happen? Oh right, that rhino beast. That should have killed me. Then I glared at the demon in front of me and asked, ¡°WHY¡ªor to be more specific, HOW AM I ALIVE?¡±

    He replied with silence. You know, to crack one of these types, you just need to keep on talking and talking. I started with how my sister got into a fight a long time ago, then the fight with the hero, and then how my brothers spoil me. I kept going on and on. ¡°Looks like you can talk. Well, this could be the last time you¡¯ll be talking anyway, you scum.¡±

    He finally spoke.

    ¡°So¡­ why AM I alive?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well, you were alive when the army made it there¡­¡±

    "So¡­ why AM I alive?" I asked.

    "Well, you were alive when the army made it there. But the commander said to take you prisoner, so we can use you to lure the hero in again. But this time, with a trap that he can''t even try to escape." He smirked after saying that, and there was anger. No, more than anger¡ªhatred.

    "Well, I see no one tried to use me or anything," I said.

    He literally spat when he heard that. "You mean to say that to you, a human scum? It would be better for you to die, drowned in lava." He resented humans. Sure, I understood why he¡¯d be furious. We¡¯d been at war for 10 years now. I hadn¡¯t lost anyone from my family, though. And demons should have families too, right? They¡¯re somewhat similar to humans, I think.

    I don¡¯t know; I¡¯ve only been behind the front lines, never fought. The first time I wanted to leave the castle, it backfired. Can¡¯t blame me¡ªI¡¯d always been confined in that castle, never allowed to leave. But I saw how one of my sisters died at the hands of the demons, and I didn¡¯t hate them for it. Someone else might be furious and want revenge, but my sister and mother just cried. My family and I just watched.

    My father was furious, and that¡¯s what started the whole war. We were at peace¡ªdemons and humans. But every time a demon king emerges, some demons try to take out the humans because they think they have an advantage. The thing is, when a demon lord is born, a hero is always born too¡ªsometimes with the demon lord, sometimes before or after. But always, a hero emerges. This time, the hero came after. The demon king was 20 when the war started, and the hero was just 12 years old when the war began. The hero¡¯s identity was even kept from us¡ªthe royal family¡ªuntil he was ready. Well, of course, the Church of the Gods knew all about it and Handled it.

    But this is a war to see which race comes out on top. Sometimes the humans win, sometimes the demons do. It¡¯s always like this: 10-15 years of war, then peace for about 85 years. That¡¯s a maybe. It¡¯s like a cycle that keeps repeating over and over again.

    The year is 759 AD. And that means AFTER DRAGONS. The last dragon died 759 years ago. Well, that¡¯s what the records say. But most people believe dragons are a myth.

    In the end, it¡¯s all about killing¡ªkilling and more killing. And it really is about power¡ªpower and more power, in reality. The demon king is just a reason for the demons to wage war, while the hero is a reason for the humans to do the same. Every time, whichever side gets their so-called trump card strikes first. If they don¡¯t see their so-called enemy¡¯s trump card, the fight drags on.

    While I was thinking about that, I was dragged outside and taken toward an execution block. WHY?

    Didn¡¯t they say I was supposed to be used as a hostage again? Why?

    Then they turned around and went into a tent. There were lots of tents, of course. It was an army of thousands of demons. Some were half demons, who looked like humans but had animal features, and then there were full demons that looked like real animals, uh... creatures that walked on 2 legs.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The second we were near the entrance to the biggest tent, I was thrown inside. There was a full demon sitting in a chair, speaking.

    "Well, human, you''re going to be good bait again. But this time, we¡¯re going to use you for discussing peace."

    Well, it makes sense.  Now that they¡¯ve lost their trump card, the demon lord, they just need to use something else to get a better deal in the peace talks. Well, that isn¡¯t going to work if I die. And the funny thing is, I¡¯m already dead in the hero¡¯s and my sister''s eyes. No one¡ªnot even the hero¡ªcould survive one of those charges from a rhino beast. If I¡¯m alive, that means they were trying to capture the hero¡¯s party, negotiate peace, and get a better deal.

    Well, I could use this to my advantage somehow.

    "We Captured a human girl just to show hospitality, and we can just keep her in a cage or something, right?" She was glaring daggers at me while saying that.

    Of course, keeping me in a cage was a good idea. It had its own risks, though. I could escape, or a guard could just kill me for some petty revenge against humans or something. Let¡¯s see what this so-called commander does.

    "We could, but it¡¯s a bad idea. It¡¯s better to keep her like a guest rather than a prisoner. That way, we can minimize her escape chances and keep an eye on her too."

    Well, he was thinking like that. I don¡¯t like this anyway. They¡¯re thinking of using me as a political pawn.

    Well, this works for me. I might get thousands of death glares, but at least I don¡¯t have to get tortured or anything like that.

    "Well, can you untie these? Oh, and who used magic on my legs? Can they use healing on my arms too?"

    Well, it could be a fair shot.

    "Girl, you really are pushing your luck, aren¡¯t you? Like, this is enemy territory, you know. And asking your enemy to heal you¡ª"

    "Can you, though?" I cut in the middle.

    "You really got some balls there. Fine. We need to keep her alive, and she won¡¯t do anything funny after we fix your arms, will you?" he asked, looking at the dryad.

    "Well, I can promise that," I replied.

    The commander looked at the dryad, and she nodded to him.

    "Bring on the healer."

    He wasn¡¯t all that enthusiastic about this at all.

    The healer came, and he used healing magic. It looked like dark magic, but it was healing magic. I did get the sensation back in my arms, but I couldn¡¯t move them fully. I could raise them a little, but then they collapsed.

    I can¡¯t move my arms, and I need them fixed. Maybe a high-level healing spell. Well, they aren¡¯t torn off, so they could be fixed. Negotiations could be good.

    "Well, I¡¯m going to be your biggest card to play. So, how about you guys at least treat me a little better? You know, either way, I¡¯m going home, right? And I don¡¯t care about all this political crap. Untie me, and I¡¯ll cooperate."

    This is the better choice anyway. I just need to be a good little princess, and they¡¯ll give me what I want. It would take some time to get home, but it¡¯s better than dying at the hands of thousands of demons. Well, if he even has a single brain cell, he¡¯ll agree.

    "So, did she tell us the truth? Will she cooperate with us?" asked the orc lady behind a curtain. She came out, and she was a dryad. Not a surprise¡ªthey can determine a lie from the truth.

    Well, why is he using a dryad here? A dryad can at least give him an idea of whether to trust me or not, and if he was interrogating me, it could be a good idea to keep someone who can determine lies so easily close by.

    "Yes, she spoke the truth. But not many of the soldiers are going to like this. We just captured a human girl to show hospitality, and we can just keep her in a cage or something."

    I left a sigh and I think I¡¯ll be stuck like this at least until I get home. I need someone who can use high-level healing magic anyway.

    "Looks like we have to send her to the old man, Guyroh," the commander said, as if it were more of a bother.

    "You know, commander, the peace negotiations could take place right now, and we need her, right?" the dryad replied.

    "Well, it¡¯s going to take at least a month to get the fighting to stop, a month to send a messenger to the human capital, another month to prepare for the peace negotiations, and another month for the peace talks themselves. She¡¯ll just need three months at most. We can get her from there and to the human capital in a month anyway." He smiled at the dryad.

    "Wait, wait. Why go this far for a human? Don¡¯t tell me something like, ''We¡¯re good demons'' or something," I said aloud.

    "Of course we are. As far as we¡¯re concerned, you¡¯re the bad guys. Well, think about it this way: the princess returns home without two arms. What do you think your father would do?"

    Oh right. I hadn¡¯t thought of that. It would be a good decision for them to keep me healthy, I guess. Well, it can¡¯t hurt to visit this old Guyroh guy anyway. Whatever I do, it¡¯s going to be a boring room for three months, and this way at least I could see a little bit of the demon territory, I guess.

    "Sure," I replied.

 Are we there yet?

    I woke up in the morning and yup my arms are broken and everything is real.

    Well, The maid was awake already and was writing something and I got up to a sitting position and she noticed it. Sheesh call about being too good at your job.

    "Good morning madam," She said. Well, can''t be bad person right "Good morning" I replied. She got up while folding the paper she was writing on came close to me and asked. "madam, do you wanna have breakfast?" She asked kneeling my bed to, well, to be at my eye level. She is a little taller than me after all."sure" I replied. And she was about to leave and "Oh and can you open the window for me before you leave" she just said. "Madam I don''t think It''s a good idea to let a lot of demons see you" I forgot I was in a little demon town. "Fine, get me some breakfast" She went out of the room closing the door and this was awkward. And I can''t even do anything. Well, we should leave around evening If I guess right. I don''t even know how far this place we''re going to is. Well, I could ask her. And as I was thinking she came in with a tray filled with a tray. That had a bowl of soup and a cup of water. She came near my bed and dragged the chair she was sitting on and then she placed the tray on her knees and got a spoon and then dipped the spoon and got a spoon full of the soup and brought it closer to my mouth and I said " wait, no airplane?" she was pissed. "I know madam I''m supposed to be your maid till you return home. But, I can''t just-" "Ah! Come on" I interrupted. and her face was a volcano that was about to blow. " You do know this isn''t a fun trip right" Well, looks like it blew up.

    "I would have killed you myself if you weren''t someone important" Well, it isn''t surprising at all to hear her say that. "I know I did that but, I am sorry. I know this isn''t easy guarding an enemy and all. But, We need to at least know each other right? I''m chralot btw and you don''t need to call me madam or anything" I said. She looked away. Looks like she doesn''t want to give her name." Terise" She whispered. " well, let''s get along terise" "I don''t want to get along with you. I''ll be your maid and that''s it and no more" she replied. "Ah! We could have done so much, looks like we''re just gonna be like this" I said.

    "Just eat your breakfast and We''re leaving at noon. I bought a robe to hide your face and we''ll get on the carriage and go then." That''s a explosion I didn''t see coming. Well, it would make sense to leave early. This isn''t a vacation after all. "Ok mam" and she just brought the spoon near my mouth and I ate it.

    That''s how the day went. I ate my breakfast. Put on some clothes and a robe and then went outside and got on the carriage that was waiting in front of the inn. It wasn''t the best carriage to ride in. Well, at least it is a good disguise. And I was always carried like a princess into the carriage. Well, I am a princess of course. That dryad is stronger than what she seems. Well, dryads are feared magic users and they are really really strong physically too. The only good part was dryads are rare to meet, for the human army of course. And while leaving I saw from the back of the carriage that the little town was getting smaller and smaller and something I noticed was instead of using wood for the roofs like humans. They''ve used tree branches as a roof and all of the rest were made from clay. Sure the inn was made of wood. But, most of the houses were built using clay and mud. That''s interesting. Too bad I can''t just strawl around. Well, good bye little town. And goodbye fun stuff I couldn''t do and goodbye demon ppl that I never met. We could have been friends.

    My maid is in the don''t talk to me pose a.........nd I''m gonna talk to her. "So¡­¡­, nice weather we''re having" Yup a classic conversation starter. She was unfazed by that or she was and she just hid it. "So, are we there yet?" I asked. "Nope," she replied.

    "How much time till we get there?" "probably a week at most"

    "Can we go any faster?"

    "We''re going the fastest we can"

    "Are you trying to not talk to me?"

    "YES," She replied to that instantly. Maybe I could do this another time. Oh right, we got another companion and I went to the front side of the carriage and. "Hey, so are you only a carriage driver or are you like an assassin or something" I asked bluntly. " well, I''m part of the Elite guard for lord Liroah" he answered.

    "Then why are you here, aren''t you supposed to protect the commander?" I asked.

    "Well, I would love to do that. But, He gave me orders to guard you milady. You may be a human but I will give my life if it comes down to it." He answered.

    "I am a human"

    "That may be so but I''m doing this for Lord Liroah"

    "But, aren''t you angry at humans?"

    "Sure, I''m angry for how my kind has died by human hands. But, nonetheless. If we can stop this war and save more lives. So, I will do it. I will protect you" Now that I look at him, he''s a half-demon that has the features of a dog. Both of them are ready to take or protect my life if the need arises. I know my strengths better than anyone. And I know I can''t win against these 2. Even one-on-one. Because my magic is four basic magic spells and my close-range power is Like non- exsistant.

    Where I''m more useful is my political stuff. Even tho I hate it.

    I can use my silver tongue to survive.

    "One more question for you," I asked Ask away" he replied, "What''s your name?" I asked.

    "Ruffus" he answered Ruffus huh. Well, I''ve seen their resolve. And if the commander choose them that means their skills are top notch too. I hope. Well, if something is going on and Liroah needs to protect me like this. That could only mean 1 thing. Something is going on behind the scenes in this kingdom and for some reason. I''m the deciding factor for the whole thing. Just need to find out who and why or I could just sit around. Because Liroah will just handle the whole thing. Or he''ll fail miserably and That''ll just get me killed. I need an emergency escape plan just in case. That means, 1st fixing my arms.

    We came to a little town as evening came and we again got off and then got us an inn and then stayed and then got up early this time and then left in the morning. We did this for 3 days straight and I felt like dying of boredom. And when the fourth day came we were finally heading to the place we wanted to go. I can feel it. I ate my, well got fed my breakfast. And I got dressed by Terese and we left the town.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report itWe reached a forest by noon and entered it with no surprise. Like, Am I the only one seeing this? The trees aren''t trees. They''re grass. Tall as a normal tress. What is this place? Am dreaming. Oh right, everything makes sense. I was hit by a rhino beast. I''m dead and now I''m going to the afterlife or something and these 2 are my grim reapers. YEAH!!! That explains all of this. AHA AHA.

    Anyway, I need to ask my so-called grim reapers. "Do you guys use grass like to build houses?" Am I stupid? "Well, not the whole house. But, the villagers there do use the grass for their roofs." Terese answered. I need to ask something different and something not dumb. I took a breath and "Ok, why are we going into a grass forest why is there a grass forest anyway and why aren''t you guys surprised Am I dead and are you grim reapers by any chance?" I rapid fired. "Because the vilage is after the foreast and It was in there the whole time and why should we be and No and What are grim reapers?" Terese answered Wait, that just went over my head and is that last one a question. "Ok, what was the question again?" I asked. "What are grim reapers?" Terese asked. "Grim repears are like beings that come to take your soul when you die" "Wait, I''ve never seen one of them before" "Sure, because only the dead person can" "Wait, can even dead people see?"

    "good question. IDK" While We were talking Ruffus was grinning outside. And suddenly.

    "I smell some trouble girls" Ruffus whispered to us. And Terese pulled out a dagger from the middle of her boobs. Wait, how does she even keep it hidden there? More importantly "What trouble?" I asked. "Just stay in here, Ruffus will get anyone outside and I''ll take out anyone from inside the carriage" Ruffus jumped down and conjured 2 Blue swords. I saw the demon lord doing that too. I thought maybe it was a power of the demon lord. Well, guess not and Ruffus screamed. "We know you''re hiding between the grasses, GET OUT NOW" did his voice changed a little with that. Like more into the demon lordish tone than the demon lord.

    "how many?" Terese asked. "I smell 25. There may be more."

    And some people who looked like thugs came out. Yeah, they aren''t bandits. They''re cleaner than you''re typical bandit. You know nice hair no injuries and they all got expensive-looking swords too. Almost like something militia-issued. And one of them came in front of the others and he was tall, taller than most had a scimitar for a weapon and wore a scarf around his waist. "Just drop you-" "Yeah yeah I''ve heard all of the we''re badits speeches all I want and You''re not fooling anyone. You''re no bandits and even if you are who cares if some travelers took care of some bandit problem around the area right." Ruffus got ready.

    And the bandits charged. And Terrise yelled "Ice bolt" A little ice twinkle pierced one of the fake bandit''s head" I''ve seen water magic and to be honest I thought Ice magic could be cool to learn. But, Ice magic was always demon territory. Like, they had the knowledge for the magic.

    Ruffus charged in and started cutting them down one by one the blood was all over his body and he didn''t even flinch and took them out. Terese just watched and shot anyone who came behind Ruffus and one guy jumped at her and she just stabbed his head with her dagger. Like she was expecting that. Well, I don''t need to fear about anything. These two can handle it.

    Well, that just means I could learn ice magic from Tersee. IDK if she would teach it to me. Like when it comes to magic anyone can just cast if they know how to do it. Like, feel it.

    Ok, let''s get a fireball spell. You need two things. One you need to pour mana into your hand and then you need air and when you say fire the fire forms in your hand. And when you say ball it turns into a fireball and you give the mana a little bit of force with your mana and it shoots. And most mages don''t have that much control over their mana. So to make it easier the caster just pushes their hand forward and the fireball is launched.

    Then water is the easiest. You just need mana and you can form it easily. Just need to pour the mana into your hand and say water and the water is formed. You can just spray the water like nothing with that but when you add ball into it. It turns into a ball and then you just need to point and push the ball with mana and it goes. Well, most mages are gonna do the motion of just pushing their hand forward really really fast and it goes. I only know the basics when it comes to magic. I used all of the 4 types humans use Earth, fire, water and Wind. All of them are basic. Nothing more. I can use a fireball and fire bolt for fire magic. I can use water ball for water magic earth wall for earth magic and Wind balst for wind magic. I''m not the biggest fan of learning. My sister is the opposite she loves to learn and she''s kind to everyone and I can never be like her. That''s why I never gonna be like her, I''m gonna be my own person. Who can stand up proud in the face of that bright light called Princess Velvet it looks like Ruffus and Terese is done with the so-called bandits.

    Ruffus came back and got on the carriage and "They really had the balls to show up near the village" Terise was getting angry. "Well, we can just tell the village about the whole thing and they''ll clean the mess. Can''t go having those bugs getting a feel for demon flesh.

    And with that, we came out of the grass forest or more like we saw a village surrounded by it and after the village, I could see the sea. Finally, I can rest. We were getting closer to the village and the grass trees looked a little small. Well, a little smaller than before. But, it was still huge and the only thing that was wrong with this village was the big mansion that was next to the Village. Like, what is a big mansion doing near it the road split into two and we took the road to the mansion. Yeah, and we arrived There and finally it ended.

 Waiting and waiting

    We were in front of the big mansion and I was getting ready (mentally) to talk with the lord in the carrage. The lord must be someone similar to a baron. A low-ranking noble. And As I was thinking the lord came out. He wore a black uniform like a gentleman and he was very thin. A half-beast demon with cat ears too, And old and he was carrying a sweater in his hand like a butler would. Yeah, that''s the butler. Then came a Lion beast. Who had black fur. He was wearing what you would expect of a mage. He was dressed more like a mage than a lord. Yeah, he must be one of the lord''s bodyguards and wait, Like high nobles could get their bodyguards and butlers and such. But a low-ranking one. Somethings off. And Terese and Ruffus looked at that mage like they''d seen a ghost or something. I got it. He must be someone impressive who came here to deliver a letter or something. "Master guyroah" yup tereise said it. She said guyroah. So, that mage is guyroah. Is he a a personal tutor or something to this noble and he''s the one who''s gonna help me.

    Well, nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. I gave a knock. Well, a kick to the door, so only Terese would hear and she picked me up from the carriage and put me down on the ground. I did a lady-like bow without the hands of course and said. "Mister guyroah" He looked at me and asked Terese while ignoring me of course "Terese dear, what''s a human doing in my land?"

    "Sir, this letter is from lord Liroah," she said while handing him a letter. He took it and read it and folded it and said. "Oh! That''s what''s going on. Well, princess, I could fix your arms but if you agreed to one small thing?"

    "If I can do it, I can agree. If not, I won''t"

    "Well, you got a good head there, young lady. Well, I won''t waste any time. The thing I''m gonna ask you is¡­¡­" I was waiting for the answer and Terese was hitting her head while whispering "This magic-obsessed fool". Ruffus was watching the sky? And the family staff was nervous. Ok, this is weird. Are they gonna ask me to marry someone or something? Or maybe judging by Terese''s words. It could be. That, he''s asking for some spells from the human kingdom or something. Well, I can''t honestly give him any of that knowledge. Because I don''t even have much knowledge of magic to begin with.

    "Please marry my son" and he bowed his head "Sorry" and I bowed my head.

    Wait, did he say marry? WHAT. Marry, I just met this guy and he just dropped a marriage proposal on me. Why? I''m a human and his son is a demon and why even ask me this? Oh!!! Politics. And the poor guy was knocked out cold. Well, I can at least meet his son.

    I saw some servants carry him into the mansion and Terese said "Well, just ignore that.

    He keeps on trying to marry off his son and don''t worry he''ll heal your arms" Well, that''s a relief to hear and then some severnts came out and showed us to our rooms. And my room was facing the sea and I had no complaints after sleeping around everywhere.

    A few hours passed and I''ve got a big problem. I can''t sleep. Ok, just need to keep calm and close my eyes and¡­., Ok, I got up and sat on my bed. Well, Terese was sleeping next to my bed. She got a little bed and just went to sleep there. Saying she needs to take care of me.

    Well, she''s asleep while I''m here awake. Hey maid, your temporary mistress is awake.

    Oh man, I don''t wanna wake her up either. But, "Hey Terese open the windows for me" and she just got up like she wasn''t even sleeping and went to the window and opened them and then she fell asleep again on the bed. I went near the window and watched the outside. It was quiet, well, I did hear the ocean waves hitting rocks and crickets. Wait, aren''t they suppose to be a little further away? Well, anyway. When I look at this village. It looks like any human village. To my right was a balcony and someone was there. I didn''t see the person because of his fur. It was black as the night. So¡­ Yeah, it''s no surprise.

    He saw me and "Ah!!! Princess. Can''t sleep."

    "yeah. I''m not good at sleeping in new places" Well, I did sleep like a hog at that inn and even on the carriage and even on ground. Well, he doesn''t know it anyway. But, I want to ask him.

    "Why propose a marriage to me, Like I haven''t even seen your son"

    "Wait, those two didn''t tell you"

    "What you''re Liroah''s father" and I laughed.

    "So, they did tell you" Wait what?

    "Why do you even want me to marry your son to someone, he could be seeing someone right?"

    "I wish"

    "That maniac gave his entire life for his people and didn''t even want to find his own happiness. But, if I were to make a marriage proposal or something that could make him do what I want with a proposal that could also help his people while it''s beneficial to him."

    "oh right, I''m a princess of the human kingdom and if someone like the commander of an army marries me from that country this whole war could be ended and both sides don''t even have to suffer much loss. Well, without what''s already lost." That means no more futhur loses and this is a better way for peace and I don''t know. Marrying the enemy or going back home and enjoying life. Well, it''s going to be politics after politics and either way I''m gonna be married for political reasons and I could get a better deal here. Because I have the power here.

    HE HEH.

    "You know what if he agrees, I''ll agree too. But, there''s gonna be some conditions.

    Not from the human kingdom. But, by me" I declared.

    "Name your conditions. You, SLY HUMAN!!!". He wasn''t a bad person. Right, A bad demon. Humans call demons the worst creatures while demons call humans that. But, I always found out that. They''re both bad. Not one even elfs and dwarfs every creature has its fault. But, even after all of that. We can''t judge 1 species from another for 1 reason. There''s always that rare case. That one of them is good and it could almost flip the whole bad parts of a species Almost. But, in the end. The good ones of their species won''t get the power. WHY?

    Because the good ones don''t seek power. And that doesn''t mean oh that all of the normal ppl are good. The thing is the normal ones. You know the ones without power is seeking power too. Consciously or unconsciously. In the end, the good ones are hidden by all of the bad ones.

    Yeah, it''s impossible to find one good apple from a barrel with rotten apples. And this isn''t gonna be easy either. That''s why I can tell. This old demon is a good one. Because my entire life. Well, Twenty years of my life. I''ve seen all of the bad ones. Even my father isn''t immune to this. They all hurt each other without even trying to hurt each other and seeking power all ways doesn''t mean that a person is a bad one. But, the real bad ones are the ones who hurt others without trying and the villaines are the ones who hurt others fully knowing they are hurting someone.

    "I want two things." I decleared

    "Go on" he replyed.

    "Number one, I need freedom to do whatever I want."

    and he asked "question will that be skipping all of your duties as well"

    "Good question Mr.Guyroah. NO! The answer is NO. I''m gonna take my duties seriously. But, when I say freedom. I say the freedom to do what I want. Like, I don''t want to be bound. If it makes any sense" i herd a finger snap "Oh! I got it, Like a wild animal" I really had to ask, so... "don''t know how you came to that conclusion, but, I guess. I Don''t Know?"

    "Ok ok I know what you meant, It''s just. It''s fun teasing ppl" mhmm "2nd " crap crap I didn''t think what to say for the 2nd condition. Uh¡­ Let''s go with........, Right.

    "I want Terese as my maid" Well, keeping her as my maid would be helpful and she wouldn''t be angry about this right. Right?

    "Sure, you can have her. But, I was thinking of doing that. She may not show it. But, she likes you"

    "Why did you say that?"

    "Because you''re alive" Oh! That makes sense. She could have killed me the whole way and, still, I''m alive.

    "Is there anything else you want? Like anything, anything at all. You know you can do more demanding stuff like, I want a castle of my own or I want my army or something like that. If you say that, the new demon king won''t disagree. Because this is gonna be beneficial to him a lot."

    "wait, didn''t the hero already kill the demon king?"

    "Oh! I get why you''re confused. The demon king. Well, the demon king and the demon lord are two different things. It''s like the demon king is elected by all of the demons.While the demon lord is born once every century. Like the hero, the demon king has all of his previous memories and once he''s born. The demon king''s title automatically transfers to him.

    Because most demons believe the most powerful demon should rule and because of that, it makes sense for the demon king title to be transferred to the demon lord. So, every time he gets reborn he''s a king. That''s why lots of humans mistake this simple fact." oh now I get it. So, he''s the demon king and the demon lord. But, the king''s title transferred to the most powerful demon to date in the demon continent.

    "Well, we did get side tracked. But, I need to talk with my father about this and my mother too. For the engagement and the marriage."

    "aren''t you a little sad to leave your home?"

    "well, do I look like, I''m standing on my home country now?"

    "I get your point"

    "and my brothers are gonna be against it, But, this is my decision in the end"

    "You know Charlot, oh right. May I call you charlot?"

    "It''s fine"

    "I was gonna ask. Are you sure about this decision, Like, this isn''t something you can''t take back after you went through with it. You know" The tone of his voice was a little quiet and concerned at the same time. He''s right. This isn''t going to be a picnic and this does condemn the fate of two nations and this will calm down most of the blood-hungry folks for the time being. And I''m gonna be a target for at least a year. Why? Because they could just kill me and say the demons killed me and start another war. When you look at this from a political perspective this is gonna be hell. Most of the old rulers just cared for power and the young die for it, From both sides and in the end. The young has to find a solution for the war problem they caused.

    I did lose my older sister to demons. I was young a lot more younger then, and I can''t even remember most of what happened. But, my father took everything seriously. He was furious With the demons more like he wanted blood and he got blood. Not from one, but both sides.

    I was a tomboy. no one could tell, I''m sure. Because I didn''t have the freedom to move around in my life. After my sister''s death, my father became overprotective of me and I started sneaking away to one place and always ran to that place. The library. I read and read. But, when I got older, I had to learn politics and etiquette and dancing and, and lots of lady stuff. I just wanted to read my books in peace. But, the princess should know this stuff. Because don''t know when a princess is gonna be sent away for marriage for the gains of the kingdom. Yeah, right. More like the noble''s gains. This way I''ll get my freedom. Well, some of it at least and get rid of the corrupt nobles too. "I wouldn''t say Yes without knowing the risks, lord guyroah" guyroah said while giving a little smile "Oh! Why the sudden ''lord'' part"

    With a bussiness smile I said"Well, you will be my father if this plan goes according to our plan right"

    "Why the lord part then?"

    "I can''t call you father now, right?"

    he replyed "Oh! Makes sense" Wait, is he not that good at picking on the little details? Well, that''s good information to know. Or is he acting?

    I asked "Anyway, lord guyroah. We need to make this a success, so what''s the plan on your part?"

    he replyed "I''m gonna talk about the marriage with his highness and then going to announce it once we get the approval from both sides" "Aren''t you going to, talk to your son about it?"

    "Just tell him yourself, he''s going to be surprised a lot and he''s not going to disagree either for this"

    "Well, you are his father. I will take your word on it. When is Liroah coming back anyway?"

    "Oh, a week from now."

    "I thought it would take him more time to get here"

    he asked giving me a questioning look "Why?"

    I asked with genuine curiosity "With an army that massive he can''t travel fast right?"

    "you don''t need to worry about that, He''s traveling with a mage by his side right?"

    "Oh the dryad. What about her?"

    He said while giving a smile "Well, you see, she can use teleportation magic"

    "AH! Teleportation. W-w-wait, you''re not lying here are you, I thought every mage known to use that magic was long dead."

    "Well, it isn''t a surprise. You see the dryad race is split into two groups. Pure dryads and high dryads. Pure dryads are born of nature while high dryads are born from the mating of dryads and other species. So, Pure dryads have a life span of about, 400 Years and while a high dryad takes the lifespan of the species that the dryad mated with. So, the high dryads are the ones who''re humans familiar with."

    Isn''t weird if a high dryad was serving someone so I asked" Wait, then why a pure dryad is serving Lord Liroah then?"

    "you mean then you understand why she knows teleportation magic?"

    I wanted know something else. Well, if it''s about this it''s obviously

    "Well, if a being has a life span as long as that, It''s not surprising and just answer my question without dodging it this time"

    "Hey! I wasn''t even trying to do that. Anyway, You need to ask it from them not me. I really don'' t know why either"

    "Fine then" This was a pleasant conversation. I really liked talking with lord guyroah. Well, almost.

    He feels like the father I never had, almost. I did love my father. But, he wasn''t spoiling me or anything. I didn''t even get to talk with him because of his duties. I just met him on an important occasion. Well, that isn''t the best father-daughter bonding time and he was more concerned with my brothers and my sister Velvet, It''s not surprising. Well, I did love him. But, I never had the chance to receive any love from him. I know he loves me. But, I don''t understand it. And it''s so¡­ Confusing that because. I don''t understand what I don''t even suppose to understand.

    Emotions are weird. I just want them to be happy. My father, My mother, My sister and My brothers. I know this isn''t the best way. But, this is something I can do. But the funny thing is I got kidnapped by demons and yet. I''m willing to do something like this. Well, they didn''t treat me poorly. They just put me in a cage. Yeah, The cage is bad treatment. But, they did give me food and did nothing else. I''m honestly surprised.

    "Lord guyroah, I''m going to ask you something" "Well, go on."

    "What kind of person was the Demon lord?"

    "He was the kindest and most loyal person I knew. He never did wrong by his power, cared deeply for his ppl and didn''t even hate the humans. It''s just that. When he grew up. He was given a warring nation to rule over and nothing else and he didn''t have a choice in the matter."

    "Choices huh. Well, we''ve all got choices to make. For us or for someone else. It won''t matter in the end. Because the card dealt to us is the card we got. Nothing more, nothing less" like mine. "Honestly, How old are you, young lady?"

    "20"

    "That''s too young to be like this."

    "wait, do I look more older than I am?" I mean I should look more younger than my current age. It''s what a lady wants.

    "IDK, I mean most of the humans look the same to me. It''s just that I get told I''ve got a good eye for people. Honestly, I don''t think so. Like, look at you. Already trying to manipulate people into your schemes and trying to be selfish and everything"

    "Oh! And what else please do tell"

    "Well, you could say. You''re too good for my son" he was sweating he knew he screwed up somewhere seeing my face. Well, I can''t let him be scared. So,

    "Oh! You got that right" he was wiping away his sweat. Well, I''ll let him only this time.

    Well, he do got a good eye for people, and a yawn left my mouth.

    "Oh, sorry for keeping you from your beauty sleep, your highness"

    This old man. I left a sigh "Well, I''ll be off to bed. Good night lord guyroah"

    "GN princess Charlot" And with that I was off to sleep.

    And the next day. I got up and then was dressed up and was taken to get breakfast and yeah, I got black circles around my eyes and met Guyroah who also got the same problem as I do that day and "Meet me at noon at the alchemy room" and he stood up and left. Surprisingly we just had breakfast without 1 word and I was fed my breakfast and I stood up and went to my room. Of course, where could I go in this mansion, I can''t even use my hands. Once it''s fixed I''m gonna stroll around here and there. Could be fun too. I was thinking and thinking and noon came and Teress opened the door to my room and

    "Madam time to meet his lordship" and I was picked up and was carried like a bag or something till "Put me down" my complaint ofcourse and she did just that.

    I don''t even know why she listens to me, honestly. Well, anyway time to meet lord guyroah. We went to his alchemy lab. Well, it was his basement. Where he made potions and such and he took a closer look at my arms for some time. Just got some mana to his arm and just was dragging it through out my arm. Well, it was a magic. That''s used by alchemists to determine something about the ingredients from creatures. It''s actually a useful trick to learn if you don''t want to get swindled as an alchemist as every alchemist says. But, in human countries, Alchemists mostly do research on many stuff actually. Let''s say perfumes are made by them and some potions that actually cure some diseases and of course poison cleansing and sometimes they make fertilizers. Yup, a lot of stuff and he said.

    "Well, this isn''t really good" That''s concerning. A lot.

    "Well, it''s healed. But, the problem lies with the bones. Right around near the shoulder part. You can lift it a little right?"

    "Yup"

    "Well, we could use something like demi healing. But, we won''t know the effect it might have on a human. Well, we could¡­.. Oh right" He was excited for something and

    "You 2 come back here around evening and you can use a little bit of healing magic right terese.

    "Of course sir."

    "just drop the whole sir part and call me Uncle" Wait wait what?

    "Oh, right madam don''t get it wrong. You see. Lord guyroah is the one who raised me and you don''t need to worry much" That''s a big explosion.

    "Yup, you don''t need to be concerned about it, for now," said the old geezer with a smirk.

    Terese was confused. Well, she''ll know it in the future anyway and lord guyroah is right here. I just need to worry about fixing my arms. Well, I could ask about this while we wait for whatever he''s going to do anyway.

    "Ok, ok fine. Lord guyroah. I''ll leave you to your work, Terese let''s leave for now and I need to talk to you about something in my room" He was smiling while we were leaving and waving with that smirk on his face. Yup, he''s giving me a ''You''re gonna ask her that'' smile. I gave him my angriest face That I could make and left. Well, won''t this make her like my sister then. Well, I''m gonna ask this. I don''t know if she would talk about it. Like this is a personal question. Well, you can''t find the results without walking on a path sometimes right?

    She and I made it to my room and I asked. "Terise would you like to tell me about the whole lord guroah raising you part?" I was blunt. No nonsense and nothing. Just asked away.

    "For all due respect princess, I won''t talk about it and I got no reason to reveal it to you"

    "Sure. That''s why I asked it first"

    "Is that all princess?" she changed her tone to Princess huh. I can tell she was angry. Well, "by the way, I wanted you to know something beforehand" I took a deep breath, let it out and "I''m going to marry sir Liroah. That''s why I wanted you to know"

    "So, does he know about it? And it''s lord guyroah isn''t it? He talked you into this, didn''t he? He''s been like this all the time. Trying to marry Big Brother and this time he can''t even refuse and didn''t you say no already"

    "Well, we kind of talked last night"

    "AH! Makes sense all the black circles around your eyes and I''m going to tell you this once. Don''t make my brother sad."

    "Well, this isn''t set in stone yet. But, when I heard that you were like lord guyroahs daughter. I thought you should know about this"

    "Well, I''ll tell you another time. The whole thing. But, not now. Not after that explosion that just dropped on me."

    "Well, one did drop on me too."

    "Ok, bye miss charlot. I''ll call you when lunch is ready" With that she left and my last hope of some time killing. I want to just do something.

    Well, time went on and I had my breakfast and evening came and Terese came and we went to see guyroah.

    We knocked at the door and we got a reply "Come in"

    I asked as I entered "Honestly, why are we even taking this long to do this?"

    "Well, show me your hand Charlot" and he grabbed my hand up and locked it in a metal kind of thing. Like it was completely sealed. "What''s going on? Why is one of my hands sealed off like this?"

    "you see we need to remove your hands and I''m going to remove it using this machine" I ran away fast like I never done in my life. But, the door kept me traped on this prison.

    "calm down, charlot. He''s just joking" terese said.

    Wait what? He was joking.

    "You don''t need to scare her like that you know" "haha my bad. You see, that device ampifies magic that''s casted on it and. The spell used on it will be 10 times more effective than when it'' casted normally and the best part is it''s the same mana and energy consumtion for the device." wait this kind of device could have been really handy for the war for them. Like making a spell 10 times more effective.

    "oh, you maybe thinking why didn''t we use it for war" he kept a eye closed while saying this and it made it seem like he was almost winking. And he continued "Simple. We used magic ore and coal for it. You know that magic ore abosourbs mana right?"

    Ok this could be interesting. So¡­

    "yeah"

    "well, coal didn''t have a use for anyone so far. But, I found out that when you put a magic ore piece near a coal around the same size. The mana that got abosorbed into it just gets tranfered to the coal and then it just burst the energy out wards. With the added benifit of the energy been 10 times stronger"

    "wait, wait, that dosne''t explain the whole why not use it for war part and you just added a new question. Why does it get 10 time stronger?" "well, you see, for coal to absorb mana a simple codition should be met"

    " The condition was?"

    "The coal should not have any contact with Air when it''s touched by the magic ore"

    "Oh! That makes sense. So the thing I''m seeing around my arm is made of magic ore.

    Well, the visible part and the inside is coal and it''s surrounding the my arm. So, air couldn''t get throught to the coal"

    "You are a cleaver girl. Can''t wait till you marry my son" Ignoring that comment. This is clearly a great invention by him. Well, I need to see if this works. "Let''s get on with what we came for then"

    "Right right terese. Healing magic please" She just put her arm on the device and used a healing spell on it and they removed it and my arm was healed and we did the other as well and "Oh right and I need to check up on your arms again" and he did appraisal magic again and I had to ask "So, when did you make that device?"

    "Just toady"

    "wait, wait, Today?"

    "Well, I''ve had the plan for long and I just needed to add the finishing toches today. Well, all of the ones before was a failure and most of them just blew up and I thought this would go off too and you know it didn''t, hooray us"

    "Oh! So you''ve not only made me your gunie pig. But, also you were using a device that could have been unstable on the already broken arm"

    "Well, aren''t you glad it didn''t blow up"

    "sure, I am and I would really love to give a firebolt to your the face"

    "Miss he''s just joking again"

    "Oh thank god. For a second there I was thinking he was crazy"

    "well, the blowing part was real" the culprit replied.

    "So, you''re going to blow off your future daughter to be" screemed terese? I''ve never seen terese look that angry. Well, in my defence I met her litirelly like a week ago. And my arms did got fixed.

    He isn''t a bad person like I thought and terese is givin him a lecture.

    This is what a family feels like huh. Well, a weird family. But, a family non the less.

    Well, with that I''m officially healed and I can move my arms again. I can feel them. I can touch stuff and I can even hold stuff. Oh how I missed my hands. Guess, they were right about saying. Someone only understands the importance of what a person got only when they lost it. And now I can go into the small village and see. Well, I need to ask terese if it''s ok.

    And I''ll need a disguise too. Wait, won''t that make me more suspisious. I can finally go. But, can I even go there.

    I''ll come up with an idea. Well, need to go off to bed. But, before that I need to stop her. And "terese It''s fine. Well, I get he was just joking around"

    "No no charlot, If you forgive him now, he''ll just keep doing this over and over" Well, rest in peace you poor man. Oh right poor demon. And she killed the demon(metally ofcourse)she kept up that scolding part for hours and I just asked and went to bed.

    THE NEXT DAY

    I woke up and was a little suprised to see a my hands were working again. Like, I thought it was a dream and was thinking like that till my face got drenched . I was taken to get breakfast by terese and had a nice breakfast. Well, it was some kind of white grain I never had before. It''s was eaten with soups and other dishes and It wasn''t half bad.

    After breakfast I wanted to go into the village. I need to know about the risks. So, I called terese saying I need some help and I asked.

    "Terese, I want to go into that village, May I go?"

    "You may."

    "wait, I can?"

    "Yes"

    "Shoud I cover my head before I go into the village then?"

    "well. you don''t need to cover your face or the head. Because the villagers won''t even lay a finger on you because they know. You''re the lords guest. So, no need to worry."

    "Then I''ll leave right away."

    "No, you won''t. you can go after, noon has come"

    "fine..... " I said dejected. Well, she says to go in the noon. So I will. It''s just like a 3-4 hours of waiting. oh I forgot the worse part. The bordom.

    Well, I was rolling on my bed, Staring at the ocean sometimes and looking at the wardrobe before me. It felt like months went by and finally terese came in and "is lunch ready?"

    "honestly miss, only like a hour went by judging by the clouds on the sky and you''re hungry already" I just asked her is it noon, in a indirect way and I turned into a gluton or something on her head.

    "I''m not hungry, It''s just I''m bored"

    "Oh! is that it. Do you read books charlot?"

    "Yes, why do you ask?"

    "We have a library and if you like to I can ask-" "I''ll get permission myself" I went out of the room and was walking strait and I suddenly realized. I don''t know where he is now and I don''t even know where anything is in this house. I ran back to my room and "Terese can you point me to lord guyroah"

    "He''s most likely in the alchemy room now, You know the way right, We did go there just yeasterday"

    "Well¡­¡­."

    "You forgot, honestly" she let out a sight and "Just follow me, Oh! forgetful one" she''s enjoying this. I want to get there fast.

    We went strait, then took a right and there was the stairs and then we went down took a left and went strait and then there was a stair case leading down to the basement area and after a second the stairs ended we could see 2 doors. The right one went to the alchemy lab and the other I don''t know. Maybe a storage room.

    And I was infront of the So, called door of dispair. No no, dosen''t sound right. The door of permission or The door of uncertainty. It fits in a way actually. And terse just pushed it open and then pushed me in and closed it.

    So, I''m alone here and I''m gulping my saliva and It felt creepy without anyone around and I saw a eye. Eeeeee.

    It''s creepy in here. And I don''t think mr.guyroah is here. Well, time to leave and I turned around and "what are you a coward Ms.charlot highgar silver. You''re suppose to be a proud human royalty and one meassily. Gloomy room can''t scare you right. RIGHT?" I turned around and saw a weird creature standing before me and it licked my face and Everything went blank.

    And I was hearing a some laughter coming behind the door.

    I woke up in my room and the evening orange lights was coming throught the windows. yup, It''s the evening, and this time a prank was done to me by terese, Not, lord guyroah. Like father like daughter it seems and I was thinking terese was the rational one here. I''ll get my revenge terese. "MARK MY WORDS. I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE, TERESE!!!"

    And terese was just right to me watching me. was sitting on the chair next to my bed.

    "So, what did I do to incur your wrath, Your magesty"

    "uh¡­¡­.ha ha ha ha ha ha"

    "Go one, miss charlot"

    "You did that prank right?"

    "You see I haven''t done any prank to you, I was genuinly guiding you to see the lord and I heard a bark and you were Unconscious there lying down on the ground."

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!"wait, wait, who was laughing back there then?"

    "Mr.Guyroah."

    "wait, shouldn''t he suppose to be in the room?"

    "He was acutally looking for our guard dog. Archer"

    "wait, Archer?"

    "It was big brothers idea naming him archer" "Why, archer?"

    "Don''t know, ask him yourself" So, they''re guard dog was named Archer. Hmm. Wait wait wait, I''m here to learn what happend.

    "So terese, what happend exactly to me?"

    "You were spooked by Archer" Oh! That explains the whole licking part.

    "wait tho, A huge wolf licked me not a dog"

    "It''s a warg, I mean it does look a little like a wolf. But a warg is a dog. But, a little bigger that avarage" Wait, she calls that human sized thing bigger than avarage. What more surprises await me in this house anyway.

    "Still, I need to get permission from mr.guyroah" I flung up from the bed while saying that.

    "Well, I asked him"

    "So, what did he say" I was glad I could count on her

    "He said only to touch the bottom part of the library books. The rest is private stuff and alchemy books" She said while touching her lip with her index finger and looking up.

    "Fine fine. Then show me to the library" I was touching her soulders while saying that.

    And we went strait, took the stairs to the floor below, then took a right and- Wait didn''t we already go through this route and as I was thinking that we were in the bastment and we took the left door this time.

    "Ta-Da! We''re at the library of the Vivel house." she was doing this weird pose. Like her entire body was a ''X'' shape and that shape was wearing a maid uniform. And why is she even waering that uniform. If she''s like a daughter to Lord guyraoh.

    And as for me the important thing is "BOOKS!!!" and I was like in heaven. So¡­¡­, so many books. 2 floors of them too. So, I just need to stay in the 1st floor and I''ll be fine. I ran fast to the nearest bookshelf I could find and the bookshelf had so¡­ Many books That I just wanted to read them all.

    I did like to read books when I was kid. It''s just I didn''t do it all the time and I found a book named. "That time I got reincarnated as a human" Wait, what? This could be a great read right, I got the book and was thinking about reading it right then and there. But, terese "Looks like it''s time for dinner charlot" and she dragged me out of the library.

    I had dinner and ran back to my room and I started reading the book and before I know it. I dosed off.

    THE NEXT DAY

    Is it still dark or, oh right a little light is coming through the sides and feels like something is on my face. So, I touched it and removed the thing on my face and it was the book I was reading last night. I got to the part where the human becomes a huge deal in the human kingdom and then he''s rushing to kill the demon kind. And I fell a sleep.

    Today I''m gonna find a another book that''s not this story. Clearly the author was a demon. who hated his own kind or someone who was writting a what if senerio. And I got up and then terese came in with another morning and she said with the maid "good morning miss" and She was here to get me dressed up and everything today. But, I can do most of it now Easily.

    "Miss, I came to help you get dressed." she said bowing.

    "Uh¡­.., you know I can handel that myself right?"

    "No no, we can''t have you, a princess doing all of these alone right" oh! The princess treatment. And my arms did get fixed faster Than I hoped it would. I got ready and went down and had breakfast and then went to the library to pick a book and found a book. Named, ''2 of a kind'' Hmm. That name actually got me intrested for the story and I got the book and went to my room. After putting back that generic power fantasy book ofcourse.

    I ran to my room and I started reading the story.

    Once upon a time there lived 2 brothers. They were both human twins and were living great lives. But, one day a really weird lady. Came into the village where these 2 brothers were living. And this lady really took an intrest in the 2 brothers. Because, they had the rare gift of mana. Mana was inside everyone. But, only some can control it willingly and these 2 brohters not only possesed it. They both were loved by mana. So much so, they both were like 2 bright suns shining side by side. So, The lady, started teaching them magic. Which was powers that was used by using the mana inside your body. And for the 2 who was loved by it.

    Basically, can cast spells near to infinity. But, one of the brothers had a talent to creat spells and the other to learning quickly. The one with the talent to create spells created and casted 1 spell to the both brothers and it was a spell that bound their souls. To each other. Even in death. The brothers did love each other and they didn''t want to be seperated by each other.

    When they were adults they both went to war with the demons and were named the 1st human heros. They were powerful and with both of them. They''ve beaten the demon army with a few forces countless times.

    Like, humans may have the wit. But, when it comes to everything else demons had it.

    The brute strength , agility, instict. You name it they had it and these two heros not only beat the demons on their own terms. They actually out-witted them. And these 2, Went and lived a happily ever after.

    Wait, this story is, actually a little weird. Like, shouden''t this be written by a demon.

    If it''s in this library and why would a demon write a story about 2 human heros. Hmm. Weird.

    And with that the day came to an end. Just 3 days have passed and I haven''t even tried visiting the village. Maybe I''ll visit there tommrow and who know I might find true love. Well this is gonna be a fun. Well'' I''ll just have to look around the village and find something interesting to see or do. And maybe, I will find a reason to visit there often. Maybe. And with that I went to sleep.

    THE NEXT DAY

    I got up, changed my cloths and got ready. I saw terese and said "bye, bye terese"

    She came runing to me fast and "So miss, where are you going?" she asked. "The village" I answered.

    She just left a sigh and "wait, here?" said that to me and went somewhere. Probably her room and "hold your hand" she said. And I held my hand while saying "like this" confused. Then she slipped a bracelet to my arm and said "Never take this off when you''re outside the mansion" and I can see from her face This isn''t asking. I gave a gulp while answering "S-sure"

    And again I turned around saying "bye terese" and replied with "Be safe out there miss" I still don''t get why she works as a maid in her own mansion and like they can''t be poor like her brother is like the commander of the demon army. Well, ignoring that. This bracelet is really really pretty. Everything was made from wood. A really good kind of wood and it looked like a ring that had a gem on it. But, instade of the gem. It was a flower. Ah well, this could be a protective charm or something like that too. And why didn''t she come with me, like she could have shown me around the village too. And I was thinking these things as I made into the village

    The peopls in the village was half demons and full demons Obiviously. Some female demons were putting their clothes to dry and some were talking and some were getting water inside their houses using big pots whule carrying them on their heads. And men weren''t around. Well, I can hear them A little but, Like, small voices And when I turned to where the sound was coming from, it was the beach. Looks like the men were getting ready for fishing.

    I could see some children helping too. Well, some girls were helping the women. Some drying the cloths, some carrying tiny pots with water and some were collecting water from the well, in the middle of the vilage. The boys were. Well, some of them were playing and some were helping and..., well, looks like some of the girls are playing with them too.

    Honestly, you can''t even feel like a war was happening. Well, if you look at the closely like. Most of the men are 40+ and the ones are who''re here, are injured. Well, some of them looked fine. Looks like this was a lucky place in a way to be uneffected by the war to atleast to this degree. In a war even the children are taken to war and not only by demons. Even elves, dawarfs and even the humans are doing this. Women are the only ones who gets left out. Well, if you''re not a mage or a healer that is.

    War is good buisness for well, the elves and the dawarfs. Both countries make wepons and sure, elves make the better long range wepons while the dawarfs better close range ones. But still they both make better wepons than any other country. Sure, we humans or demons have our smiths and everything. But, they mostly are there for helping out the farmers with their tools or in war times to make fast repairs for wepons.

    Well, this village looks peaceful. Well, it isn''t suprising to see a village without any people at all and I think the reason for a village like to have minimum damge is because this village is at the furthest part from the war.

    In a way. We aren''t so different. Us humans and demons. Well, I may get it. But, convincing the people. That''s another story. Because in a war, the ones to suffer the most is the people. And One of the reasons I agreed to that marriage proposal is this. Well, I''m no saint either. And I''m not gonna lie about me not having a alterior motive here. And a old man who looked like a sheep approached me while using a cane. "Miss, drayad. What maybe the guest of lord guyroah want with our little village" he asked. "Nothing really, I was inside the mansion for these few days and came to check the village." I replyed and why miss dryad. Well, I can guess why. I just need to confirm that with terese. "Ah! Miss I can get you someone to show you around here. May I call her miss?" he asked. Well, won''t hurt me. Is there anything much to see around here anyway. Well, I don''t got much to do anyway and who I can already tell whats to see around here just by turning my head." Sure" I answered.

    "Maple!!!" the old man screemed. And with that something fell on the old man. No, no it''s someone. She looked like a human. Well, that means a half-demon. And she had those curly horns for a sheep and she was beautiful. By human strandeds ofcourse. Idk what strandreds are there for demons anyway. Wait, now that I think about it. I do need to know them. Like aren''t I going to marry one.

    Ok, ignoring that crisis in my head. The old man was furious. Like, I can even feel the hot temperature. The girl got up and "You Fool!!! We have someone important here and this is how you act" the old man was scolding her while she''s"I''m sorry" repeating that while keeping her head lowered. So, this is how a normal father daughter relationship looks like. I only talked with my father at the dinner table and we need to behave too and it was rare seeing him too.

    I had a little smile on my face seeing this and "It''s fine, It''s fine, Mr. ?" I didn''t know his name now That I think about it. "Maynor, miss, maynor syrup" he answered. " he said after clearing his throat. Maynor huh. Then who might this be?

    "I asked pointing at the girl right next to him. And the old man gave a glare to her "M-maypel miss." she answered. Terrified.

    "you don''t need to scare her Mister maynor." I was all smiles. This so..., wholesome seeing these 2. "I don''t know where I went wrong raising her, I told pelsy to stop spoiling you" he was looking dissapointed and leaving sigh. "F-Father?" she said worried. "Fine, fine mr. Maynor. I''ll take her as my guide." I said. I Can''t just keep on watching this father daughter drama. Just need to see around the village.

    "B-But" he''s still worried. "It''s ok, Mr. Maynor. Let''s go miss mayple" and I walked towards the beach and maple followed me.

    As we were nearing the beach she came infront and said "I''ll give you a tour from here And after that she got a burst of energy. And we arrived at the beach.

    One of the men there was covered by the net. I mean completely tied or covered and he was running to the water. He didn''t stop, just ran and ran and ran and the second his foot hit the water, he threw the net as far away as he can and as the end of the net came. I could see the end was tied to a rope and he pulled it with his dominant left hand and the men around ran to the rope which was long. I mean really really long enough for a lots of ppl to hold on to it. Then, everyone waited for sometime and guy who threw the rope screemed "Pull!!!" and every person there pulled it. They kept on pulling it to gather with screeming "pull" and kept on reapeating it till the net was fully on the beach. And I had to ask the local lady next to me "I can see boats every where, why aren''t they just useing the boats for this?" And she started answering with a little faint smile "Well, you see miss. Some of the people there could tell that there''s gonna be a storm and everyone desided to fish in the morning"

    "how can they tell about the storm?" she started awnsering "Well, we can determing a storm or something by the smell in the air and how the clouds move. It''s like we feel nature telling us. What''s nature gonna do next." and that didn''t answer why they didn''t use the boats anyway" I was a little bit curious. " well, you could say. We don''t know when the storm would hit and we ran out of fish and the people in the village decided to get some before the storm and It''s safer to fish around the morning when the fish are nearer to the beach and the strom is gonna drive away the fish anyway" she answered. Wait, that just went throught my head. "can you repeat that again maple?" I asked. She didn''t even show like she was annoyed or anything. She just answered my questions honestly " You see, when there''s a sign of an strom. The people in the village. Prepare for the worse" she answered. "Like what?" I needed to know. Like, I maybe here for atleast for more 2 weeks right. "There could be large waves. And sometimes they do get near to the village" Oh! The village location makes sense a little now. The mansion is on higher ground and the village is actually a little higher from the sea level too. And not to mension futhur too. But, I can see if a big enough wave hits. Yup, it will need some repairs. Wait, then" where do you guys keep all of the rations stored then? " I asked.

    " The mansion. There''s a storage build in the mansion and lord guyroah built it for the villagers" well, the more I learn about this guy. The more I like him.

    He really cares about his people. Or just want to use them. Who knows, like I can read his mind anyway.

    "Maypel, well, don''t you need to help the villagers for the preparations too?"

    "Don''t worry miss. Well, others already got most of it done and fishing part is the only thing left to do anyway" ah.... Shy the villagers been a little calm actually makes sense and now that I look at the village from the beach. I can see some broken wood n'' stuff from the beach to the village. There''s more of them near to the village and there''s less and less the more the nearer to the beach it gets and the more moss I can see. So, this tells me this is something that happens often. It''s not suprising that these people are used to these storms.

    "well, maypel. where are the other places to see around here?" I asked.

    "The forest fields are the only other thing you can see here, miss" she awnswered.

    "Can you take me there?"I asked.

    "It isn''t really far away from the village, Let''s go miss" she said.

    "Like, I asked call me charlot" I said.

    "But, I can''t go on and call a dryad as your self by your name"

    "Just call me charlot."

    "ok, how about miss charlot"

    "Ok, miss charlot, call me miss charlot"

    With that we arrived and near the grass trees. Wait, is even calling them grass trees correct. Like, it''s some giant grass. Not a tree.

    "Well, here we are miss charlot. Well, we need to take that small path you see there" I didn''t see the little path from the villaige. Well, it is covered by the grasses around here. And we enetered the forest and it didn''t even take long and we emerged out side and it was a field. A long field. Well, it isn''t long exactly. But, I think maybe the food produced from the field would be enought for the masion plus the village. IDK. I''m not an expert. Wait, I can just maypel. "So, maypel what do you do with all of the produce from the field?" I asked.

    "Well, miss chralot. We eat most of it and send rest to the storage"

    "wait, is the produce enough for the village?"

    "Yes, plus the mansion too. We do got some people from the village taking care of these fields"

    "what do you grow around here"

    "we divide the field in to two and grow 1 crop on 1 part of the field while the other part is left to rest. Well, the crop we grow now is cabbage and after the cabbages, we''re thinking carrots. Well, the village elders decide which crop to grow next and sometimes we save the best seeds from the best crops and use them for the next harvets as well. Well, we haven''t done anything like that in some time. We just get the seeds from a merchent that visits the village monthly. They actually exchange stuff that the village need for the fish we provide and she does do buissness with the lord too." Wait wait wait. this is like more knowlege than necessery and well, this makes sense a little because of she''s the village chiefs daughter. But, being this knowlageble on these things. I think she could be useful. Well, in the future. I just need to keep her as a friend and telling her to call my name wasn''t a bad idea either. Wait, why AM I like ploting something. ????????

    "Well, mayple. I think I''ve seen enough, let''s go back"

    "S-sure miss chralot" she was a little suprised. I think.

    well, we went back to the village the same way we came back and as we were leaving some of the men who was fishing went past us. And we made to the beach and the only thing I saw was all of the equipment they were using to fish was gone. Well, if a storm is coming that makes sense and we made to the village and some of the men were fixing their houses and reinforcing some like using new planks and I need to ask this too.

    "Mayple, what about that grass roofs?"

    "What do you mean miss charlot?"

    "I mean won''t they get blown off by the storm"

    "Ah! You see. villagers add extra layers to that and tie them to the roofs. Like let''s say one layer is blown off and the 2nd layer will still be there and sometimes the other layers help the others layer in a storm too and that won''t mean it''s completly safe either. The walls are made of mud and clay. Those will hold up. But, the roofs is the only worry. Well, we don''t need to fear because the lord actually has given the villagers who has a crisis like this a entire room. It''s behind the house and it provides good cover till the storm passes." She said.

    "You really have a great lord, don''t you?" I asked.

    "YES" she answered with a smile.

    guyroah does love his people. Well, I''m impressed with the father. But, I''m marrying his son. Well, it''s not official anyway and I thought I''m not gonna have any freedom either. Atleast till the whole peace talks.

    I asked"mayple is this the end of the tour then?" And she answered me saying "Yes miss charlot."

    I replyed with"Then mayple, help the villagers, I''ll be heading back to the mansion and I walked away and mayple was waving while saying "Goodbye, miss chralot"

    It was noon and I could see some dark clouds approching in the distance in the ocean and after like 10 mins, I arrived at the mansion. The servents were getting ready for something. Well, it was obviously the storm. Terese was on the 2nd floor and she approached me and said "Welcome back, charlot" I had a smile on my face and I said "I''m back terese and you finally took my advice too, I see". She just bowed and said "should I call you miss, charlot" and I joked "Aren''t we gonna be sisters tho, just call me chralot" she replyed "Isn''t there more important things to worry about miss?" She was looking at me funny. Like, she could murder me anytime sort of look. It was really scary. Like, is terese the real head of this household. Like, that''s a briliant idea. Like, like, she''s controlling everything from the shadows. Just imagine my darline cute litte sister to be. Green hair, green eyes, a maid uniform and the cutest face. I really love her. Well, It could be because I was actually the youngest on my family and I was doted on. And I always wanted to have a liitle sister. And I said "Is there?" I had to ask. Well, my body instinctively just bend my neck a little while asking that. "Honestly, charlot" she had a expression of, dissapointment. why? I really don''t know why she''s making that face. And she srarted speaking "Just go into your room miss" and I replyed with "Sure thing, mother" and she looked at me funny like and said "Just go already" and I started climing the stares "Sure, sure madam" I actually got a little used to all of these people too. I went to my room , picked up a book and a heavy rain started, heavy rain.

    The down pour is like some angry animal and we had dinner like nothing happened and no one said a word. Just had their dinner and went to do their own thing. Well, ofcourse. It was sleep for me.

    The next day

    I slept like a hog and the 1st thing I''ve noticed was heavy rain, worse than yeasterday night. It was coming down hard and I just had nothing to do and I was thinking about visiting the village again and It was weird how the rain isn''t letting up and It''s getting worse.

    I got out of my bed and I can see the ocean. The waves are crashing harder than normal and I can see lighting in the distance. If Everyone is lucky this storm may end today. And with that I could visit the village too. Well, if it survives this storm.

    My schedual is gonna be the same. Just gonna read some novels and relax. I went about the day same way.

    Had breakfast, read a book, had lunch, read a book, and dinner and finally I slept. Well, all that time I was seeing worry on the maids faces. Terese didn''t react, neither guyroah. I was doing the same old, same old.

    The next day

    I got up and the rain hasn''t died down a little. Well, now I can see why the villagers were gathering all that food. And I got up and just had breakfast and read a book and was going to have lunch and someone wearing a hood came near the entrance and fell down. Well, something must have happened and I just screemed "Terese!!!"

    She and some maids came running and I pointed to the entrance and said "Someone is there" everyone looked at the entrance and then a maid ran outside. And the maid held her hand upward while running and she shot a water stream upward and It gave her cover from the rain. She got there and dragged the person in.

    I was more suprised by how much strength this maid had. Like, dragging a person with one arm. A human couldn''t do that, that''s for sure. The maids will take care of her and I got a glimps of her face. It was maple.

    Terese was near the maid and maple open her eyes and said "H.E.L.P t-the vil-llage. Some m-men ca-" she lost consiouness.

    Wait, is it badits? Wait, those men That tried to kill us. Must be their friends. True friendship indeed.

    Terse looked at 3 maids and said "You thress stay here and the others just come with me. Looks like we got some guests. Let''s surve them with out outmost ability" and they went. I''ve been noticing there''s like 10 maids in this house, terese took 7 and she kept 3 here. They''re all half demons ofcourse. One had rabbit ears, one had dog ears and one looked a little like a cheetah. Wait, now that I think about it. These maids don''t look like maids atall. They''re more like warriors that''s trying look like maids.

    The rabbit maid is beatiful and slim and dosn''t look like she''s strong. I''m sure, she''s a mage. And cheetha and the dog ears looks like they''re close range fighters. And I didn''t notice this. Well, I don''t need to worry about anything if they''re good warriors.

    and half way climbing through the stairs, I saw a demon carrying a big sword on his shoulder while holding it on 1 hand approched the entrance. And he gave a sadistic smirk that actually gave me the creeps. A chill ran through my body. And he wasn''t alone either. He had 8 maybe 10 more demons with him. They''re full demons. All of them.

    The thing that seperated full and half demons was not only their appearnce. Full demons had their strength while half demons had the mana. sure, Even if you had strength and mana, if you don''t polish your skill that strength is gonna go to waste. but, that dosen''t mean a half demon is weak when it comes to close combat either. There are times when a half demon became the biggest thorn for the humans in the war. And even I could tell just by looking that demon, I''m seeing is no joke.

    The sword can''t even be called a sword. It''s like a big giant hunk of metal and he''s carrying it in one hand. The rest of the warriors behind him isn''t a joke either. I just hope the maids can handel these intruders.

    That demon looked a little like a hyena. He and his men was waiting and my maids didn''t move either.

    He raised his arm and slowly got it down from there while pointing and then it stopped the sec he was pointing at me.

    his men infront of him started charging in.

    A purpal bow appeared on the cheata maids hand and when she pulled the bow a arrow appeared and she shot one of the charging demons head and screammed "Princess upstaries, Now!!!"

    I started running up the stares and I stopped at the 2nd floor when I had a clear view on the situation. The rabbit maid conjured two swords and the dog eared maid got a bow too. 1 by 1 was taken out by the archers while the rabbit maid was covering the two archers and they took out demons till 3 were left. Well, they were carrying shields. And they made it near the maid and the archers conjured swords and blocked their attacks. It''s a 3v3 and the maid were holding on, on their own. And a giant swaord was stabbed into the wall and it cut through the 3 demons and the 3 maids like nothing. I had no words. Just didn''t look back, just ran, ran for my life.

    Hiding was the only choice left for me. I ran to my room. Closed the door and the looked around. I can''t even think for a place to hide and jumped in the wardrobe.

    The sec I close the door. I felt like someone was with me. I felt breathing and someone whispered "sh....." my heart almost jumped out of my body. And the same whispering voice said "It''s guyroah" I was pissed off and I whispered "Aren''t you a man" and he replyed "I''m a lover not a fighter" oh man this coward. I was getting more and more angry while I heared foot steps.

    step

    step

    step

    step

    It was getting louder and louder and I heard cutting something. Then-,

    something got slashed. Then another thing. Then another. He Isn''t even gonna look just gonna slash everything till he sees blood.

    I was getting scared but the one next to me is shivering . Like, is this really a Lion? And the sound stopped. Then I heard more foot steps getting near. And then- a sound smilar to swords clashing. I knew someone came to rescue us. And the man next to was quite. I mean too quite. And I opened the door and I saw Liroah and that demon on a blade lock and guyroah knocked out next to me.

    Liroah pushed the demon and then he asked "What do you want? Ah, That''s right. Your lord cuts your tounges to keep you quite on these things. Let''s just end this"

    The demon charged forward, liroah took his stance and instade of blocking that giant sword, it slid through his sword and liroah used that opening to piearce the demon''s heart and then he swung his sword to the side ways and the unsheathed his sword. And he turned around and "My hero!!!" Said guyroah and hugged him. I was lose for words. And I left a sigh.

    Then liroah said "Father" guyroah replyed "Yes, my saviour" Liroah said "your dead" and guyroah replyed "Why?" Then liroah said "why like ? WHY!!! You could have fought instade of hidding like that, like you could have atleast delayed him a little right" and guyroah said "are you trying to kill me son. I knew you were only here for my land, boo hoo" uh huh. Good comedic duo indeed.

    Liroah started speaking "Well, father. This isn''t the best time for this. But, I''m back"

    And guyroah said "So, when are you leaving?" And someone smaked guyroah''s head from behind. "Honestly, father can''t you alteast act happy for your son" it was terese. "Terese!!!" Said liroah and hugged her. "I''m glad you''re back brother" and I just said "I''ll give you guys sometime to catch up" and tried to sneak away. "Just stay here, you''re gonna be part of the family anyway" said guyroah. "Wait, wait. You''re not doing what I''m thinking right? Father? Terese?" Said liroah while Terese looked away. And guyroah just said "No need to worry son. I''m fully in a agreement to this relasionship" with a smile. "WHAT''S GOING ON HERE?!!!" Well, this is awkward .

 Hero

    My body felt as it was light as a feather. A bright light surrounded me. and it was as we were just suddenly on 1 place and the next second another. I''ve felt this thousends of times and I still don''t hate it. I don''t love it either and the lantern in the middel was glowing in a blue light and I heard crackling noices. It just means the teleportation stone was broken. The teleportation stone that was used on teleportation circles can only be used once and thanks to that stone we made it out alive of that horrible event.

    I wasn''t in the best shape to defend my companions and one of my friends ended up defending me instead.

    I was frustrated. So, so, frustrated I was biting my lip to calm down. I wanted to save everyone and, and, yet I couldn''t protect 1 person. Someone who was presious. Not for me. But, for the women I love.

    A hero they call me. A protector? A saviour? I coulden''t even save or even protect 1 girl. And and. I just had to say "Don''t let her death be in vain" to her sister of all the people. I was weak. Why? Because, if I wasn''t everyone will be here. Even princess charlot.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    A hero, don''t make me laugh. The demon lord was right. I died that day. The hero who protected all, the hero who saved all. And I didn''t want to face my companions.

    I felt the fresh air of the capital city of the humans. It was close to the teleporter.

    The teleporter stopped glowing and the lamp that was in the middle of the teleporter retracted to it''s original place.

    and we were home and exsausted and even frustrated, and I can''t be the leader If I won''t look at my companions. And I raised my head to see my friends.

    One of them had the face of frustration, the other sadness and the last just stayed quite looking at the other two. And I had to say something, I can''t just stay quite. So, I said "We lost this day friends and we won something too. I can feel your frustration. But, we can''t just be sulking either. We need to tell her family of how she died, isn''t that right velvet?" She just noded and she held her mouth and started crying looking away. I don''t wanna see her sad and I reached out to her only to be beaten to it by my friend elves. He held her tightly, so tight. I put down my hand and I was glad elves was here for her. She needs someone like him and I said "We can''t just stay here mopping right? Let''s go into the city" we saw the city walls from the place we teleportated to. My friends didn''t talk, didn''t say a word. But, we were on the same page today and we all took our first step towards the city.

 The hero

    We made it to the west gate of highgar city. The biggest city and also the human capital of the world of endsri. We could see a flame moving on the wall of the city. We could tell it was the lookout. We approched the city. 1 carrying a sleeping damsel and another carrying a axe and the last wearing white armor. We were exsusted, beaten and we just needed some rest. We made it to the gate slowly and we heard "SOMEONE IS APROCHING THE GATE!!!" a guard screamed and we could here some more foot steps on the wall.

    we made it to the gate and the guard asked, screaming "STATE YOUR BUSSINESS?" he was taking to us as commoners. Then velvet who was suppose to be unconsious screamed "I am velvet highgar silver, 1st princess of highgar, Let us pass" she was exsusted, sad, beaten and yet. She spoke. Well, screamed like nothing happened and the guards reply was "SURE, AND I''M THE KING OF HIGHGAR" And we heard some laughter. Elves got mad, he was looking up making a face. Well, a one that isn''t suited for a elf, that''s for sure. The dwarf had the same face, just looking strait at the gate. Just no expression at all, Just waiting. We just wanted to rest. We just, just.. Needed some rest and sometime to process what happened. And this guard is just making fun of us, glad elves had the energy to be angry. If he didn''t I would have slashed that bastered myself for disrespecting velvet. Ok, 1st let''s calm down.

    "Guys, let''s just rest outside today. His head will roll tomorrow anyway" why did I say this. Well, they disrespected a royal.

    It''s no suprise at all. That idiot just had to open his big mouth. "why are you all looking at me like that?" elves was making a weird face and

    "Leon you''re clearly exhausted, let''s just find a place to rest" it was grim. He was patting my back while saying that. I didn''t expect to say something like that. I took up his offer and looks like everyone did too.

    All of us went back the road till we saw a tree and it was the only tree there. We can see the forest a little futhure away and behind us the city gates and I said pointing there "Looks like we all can rest there" no reply. Just a nod when I saw them. We all went there and we all seated our backs to the tree.

    Few minutes passed and no sleep came when I turned my head I can see I''m not the only one suffering from this disease. Everyone just smiled at each other and elves was the 1st to break the silence. "It''s been a long time hasn''t it"

    "If you''re saying that we must be corpses by now" said grim with a smirk.

    "You two are the same as always, still reminds me how we met" added velvet.

    I was just staring at the night sky and I can felt their gazes on me. They''re waiting for something from me too.

    "so....., the sky is nice tonight, isn''t it? "

    Everyone just left a sigh.

    "He hasn''t changed much either" grim added.

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    "we went thorough a lot and, and. Yet" velvet started crying with that. Elves hugged her tightly. We couldn''t hear her crying but we can tell her tears are rolling down like a waterfall without drying up.

    Grim and me gave them a little privacy and went near a rock we can see a little further. It wasn''t far.

    The second we made it there grim asked "We did accomplish our goal of defeating the demon lord, but it did come with a death. I think we got lucky. We only lost 1 life to deafeat him I know velvet is sad but her sister saved elves before her sacrifice."

    "But, that won''t change the sacrifice. Velvet lost her one and only sister"

    "True but it''s only 1 life. If it weren''t for her sacrafice. We all would''ve been dead."

    "Grim, just don''t say this infront of velvet alright. She already lost both of her sisters to demons"

    "I won''t. I know how to read the atmosphere, ok."

    "Good. Let''s just sleep alright" and we both turned around to see my heart break. It was shattered into million pieces. Velvet and elves was kissing each other.

    "Yup, we''ll be giving both of them more privacy it seems"

    "y-yeah" I forced out the word and we both went and restead behind the rock. What a day it was. You could say it was a nightmare and I just need to wake up from it.

    The next day.

    I awoke behind a rock, a sour back and a broken heart. So....., not a dream? And instade of the girl I love, I got a old dwarf next to me. Where did I go wrong?

    It was 15 years ago. When It was around 7 years ago, in a village in the middle of nowhere. I was born and raised in a village called yormsvill. It was a small village. Had like 3 guards, a knight to protect it. People were mostly farming. We weren''t a rich village. But, we were well off than most. We had everything we needed there to live. There was a blacksmith for fixing farm tools and such. A healer to take care of the sick and little scratches and wounds. Even a alchemist who concocted medicine.

    Everyone helped each other in the village. If someone needed to collect the produce from their farm, the villagers would help them. If someone needed a tool for something everyone shared it. Well, like. If someone needed a sickle, they traded something they had with a person who had the sickel with something they would need.

    But, like I said. It was when I was 7 everything changed the day. I heard the word "Hero".

    From The church of phos. They worshipped the god leben. They found that the hero was reincarnated in this small village and it was me. How did they find out? My sword. They call it the holy sword excril. I call it my partner excril. It changes to a proper sword when in my hand.

    It looks like a rapier. But, it can change in to 2 more forms. 1 into a sword that dosn''t look like much but is powerful and next to a shield that is green and can defend against magic. Well, physical attacks just phaze through it.

    Idk how but the church always finds me before I''m 10 years old in every life time.

    Then I was taken into their church for protection. Yeah, right.

    I don''t actually go against them because of the benifits they give me. But, they aren''t the holy people they claim to be.

    They''re twisting their gods teachings to their benifit and made the demon-human war into a good vs bad battle. I leave my parents and then train for until I''m 21. Then go and slay the demon lord. And this was my life everytime I gets reincarnated. Well, for the first time I was looking at the rising sun to greeting my 23rd bithdate for once.

    I don''t really have my knowledge of my previous lives like ppl assume them to be there. It''s just that knowledge comes to my head when I need it. When someone else needs to know something from my past self. It''s like my body is moving on it''s own and saying what it wants and I have all of the memories but didn''t know what exactly happened.

    Leaving that. I didn''t approach velvet with my feelings because I was thinking of my death. And even a prophecy was told this time. I survived. The 1st time to ever happen something like this. And the sun looks pretty. In the end I''m glad I survived.

 City gates

    "Sir, I saw some people and one of them claimed, she was princess velvet" I was talking about the incident that happened last night. I was talking to our guard captain, vel. Who had lost a eye protecting the 2nd princess and because of his failure he was demoted to a captain. He had silver hair and brown eyes and was always dressed light. The captain wanted to know what happened last night, well, I was more sleepy because of my night duty and wanted to go home to my wife and just sleep the day away today. Well, I saw 4 people came near the west gate of the city last night and I couldn''t make out any detail because it was night. But, I can''t just let in some people because they claimed they were someone without any proof. "SOMEONE IS APPROCHING THE GATE!!!" with that screem we heard a bell. and the captain just stood up and said something to a guard outside his office and went down to the gate and I followed behind. The gate opened and the captain and me and some soilders were waiting there. Some of them holding healberds, some just watching the gates open. And weren''t even moving a muscle, Just waiting. The gate opened and the knight commader went out throught the gates first and bowed to the person outside. He was bowing while one of his knees was hittimg the ground and the person infront of him had blond hair, blue eyes and her dress had some tered parts. But you can tell it was a white priestess robe and it matched her perfectly. The captain just said "Welcome back princess velvet" with that every soilder there to defend the gate just, just mimicked the captain. "You may rise vel" she replied. I looked up just to see no expression on her face. The captain stood up and "well, just go back to your duties too gentlemen" she was speaking to us this time. The captain looked behind and nodded to us. Everyone got up to leave and "Not you tho, roy"it seems I''m going to meet my grandmother today in heaven. Sorry, my beloved rose, we got married just a year ago and I''ll be leaving you already. I slowly made my way near to the captain and "Who might this be? " "The king of highgar" I gulped. "Oh!" the elf replyed. The elf had silver hair, long ears of the elves and was wearing leather armor. Which was typically worn by archers and like what his armor would say. He was carrying a bow. Well, a bow bigger than him. Death is a Everywhere I looked. Well, this is my last day on earth it seems. Uh..., mondays. "Well, it isn''t much. But, can we remove his tongue?" said the man who had brown hair. He was waering what looked like white armour. But, was scratched and damaged on some places. He looked like the typical village boy In his 20s. He had the face of a boy but, also a body of an man. "Are you all really gonna kill this poor man?" Interrupted the dwarf. He was wearing drawen armor. He had a beard, carried a big axe, had a scar on his left cheek. Just by looking at him I could tell he was an experienced warrior. Then the dwarf continued "atleast he needs to pay for all the trouble he caused us yesterday, right?" said looking at me. "I haven''t had used my bow in sometime, hmm. Maybe I can use something" then he looked at me "or someone, to see if my skills have dulled" well, atleast I''ll meet my gradpa in hell. And finally the princess interfered "knock it off guys" with that everyone just stopped and she turned her head to my side and "I don''t want to punish someone for doing thier job" Oh thank god! atleast the princess isn''t crazy. "Just let him suffer the consequences of making a lady sleep outside" There goes my last hope. "ok, ok, please just don''t kill my subordinate" interfered the captain. "sure, he wasn''t the brightest person around, but, atleast he, uh...., he" "wait, captain atleast say something" I was desperate. Ney, in dispair. "Just joking, just joking." the captain looked at the princess and her group "Stop trying to murder the guy before his execution" "wait, what?" Aren''t I suprised. "well, if the king hears about this, well..., let''s just say the wise king is gonna be the mad king" I gulped. I mean death comes with my job. But, to die dishonored, even your family will be scorned with a execution by the royal family. "We won''t say anything, if you agree to something" the princess said to the captain obviously. He was scraching his head and replyed with "Fine, let me hear your demands" "Just don''t inform the castle about our arrival" Wait, is something going on here? I mean the princess saying not to inform the castle on something this important. "Let''s discuss the details inside my office princess" he said that and called a guard and said to escort the princess and her bodyguards to his office and the 2nd they were out of sight "well, ray. If you ever want to do something like that again. You know, NOT LETTING THE PRINCESS INTO HER OWN CITY. Well, atleast check weather that person is the real deal or not" "Y-yes, sir" "I know you''ve had a rought day, just remember. Next time it''s gonna be your head, Alright" "y-yes" "Go home and take 2 days off." I said my farewells, I left my workplace. Almost like a drunk person went home, slept, woke up the next day. The whole thing must have been a nightmare or something. I mean, me not granting permission to enter, to the princess. Ha! What a joke. I opened the window and saw the house that was aboundened wasn''t abounden today. I mean the front door was open, the windows too. I mean the house looked nice. It was kept in good condition and I thought it was for sale or something by the owner and I saw a girl with blond hair, a beautiful face and a nice dress. Well, by my strandreds. Walk outside from the front door. It was the princess from my dreams.

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 The elf

    Everyone in this world has a purpose, a goal they''re striving to or it could even be a destiny they were forced into. For me, I was granted the freedom. My mother was a brilliant women who knew how to control people. My father was someone who had the experience to rule, and most of all, they were great parents. That''s how I saw them. A lot of expectation was set on me and I was sent on a journey to discover myself. After a year of travling from one kingdom to the next for 10 years, I came to highgar. The capital of humans. This is when I found something, Love. A women who was pretty by even my strandeds. Was kind, caring and brave.

    At the same time, varnable, fragile and cute. She was what pushed me to help the humans on their foolish war. In a way, I get this whole human-demon war thing. Because of the whole elf-dwarf thing. But, I think these wars are just foolish squabble by these 2 races. We elfs and dwarfs, we aren''t enemies per say, We''re more of rivals. Who''s trying to one up each other. We both are trying to make our craft better and better and, because of that we''re both something of rivals now. I met her when she was crying, all alone, under a sakura tree.

    The sakura tree was my relaxing place. It was outside the city, aren''t far away from the city. But, is hidden in a way. It looks like any normal tree from the city wall or even anywhere in the forest. It''s like the trees are covering this beautiful spot and I found it when I was hunting a deer. I missed every arrow I shot and the deer ran here and that''s how I found it.

    I always took time to rest here after a day or two of work. I loved the place and someone invaded that place and was sleeping that

    She looked more gorgeous than a elf. More fragile than a flower and I approched her slowly to only see her wake up and cry.

    I didn''t know how to react and panicked. It was funny thinking back. I slayed thousends of beasts and seeing a crying girl was my weakness. For once I didn''t know what to do.

    And seeing me panicking, she just laughed. That laughter was the blow that made me fall in love. Seeing that, I joined her too. A princess and a elf laughing away thier worries. After laughing for few minutes she asked "what is a elf doing in the human kingdom?"

    "searching for himself"

    "oh!!!, That makes no sense"

    "That''s the hardest part of the journey"

    And our coversation was paused. I didn''t know a good topic to start a coversation. Ok, maybe the weather. Fuck I don''t know what to say. Oh right.

    "what is a girl like you doing in this forest?"

    "This is my secret place"

    "what a coincidence, mine too"

    Another pause. Then this time it was her who broke the silence.

    "Are you an adventurer"

    "Yes!"

    "oh! can you tell me some stories about your adventures then?"

    "sure" "ofcourse not right?"

    "wait, what?" both of us replyed.

    This is how we met. Then I met grim while adventuring and leon when, well, belive it or not while I was in the market, getting some food. Just stumbled on him and we didn''t talk just saw each other passing by. Then after a year I was known through out the kingdom as the dead shot, and then the king was creating a small team who would sneak up and would take the demon lords head. This was a secreat mission, the public didn''t know about it. I was summoned as the archer and I recommended grim as the warrior for the team. Funny how the king only people who he could trust and half of the team was not-humans. Then the healer was a saintest, who was ofcourse velvet, who was also the 1st princess of the kingdom and finally, leon the hero. The humans didn''t have a so called hero. Well, a well known one and I was seeing him for the 1st time. The supprising thing was, I''ve already seen him once.

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    We both were pointing at each other when we saw each other. Then 2 years of training, going and killing monsters and then slaying demons. We were getting the job done and the king was happy with our progress. We weren''t the only people who was preparing for a sneak attack tho. The demon king kidnapped the princess, the 2nd princess to be exact. We weren''t ready but we had to make it to the demon continent.

    It took us a whole month to get there and then. The reason being, we were sneaking through the demon continent unnoticed and we got there and thousands of soilders were placed outside the castle and me, velvet and grim decided to clear out the demons while leon rescued the princess. And instead of a hero carrying a princess we got a princess carrying a hero. We eascaped. Well, almost escaped, but the princess decided to sacrafice herself to protect us. We won and lost at the same time that day.

    Her magic was amtuarish, yet she threw me to her target. She was brave, I saw it in her eyes. As she was using her magic.

    Then we arrived near highgar. With victory and defeat and velvet 1st acted like she should in that situation. Then she was smiling and just acting normal and only 2 days passed. I was suprised?

    I don''t know , well it all happend after we talked with the guard captain. He sent us to his office and we were waiting there.

    It was just office. Well, what I was used to as a adventurer at least. A old desk, a room that isn''t the best place to talk privatly. Leon was looking around touching everything, I just leaned to a wall and acted natural and grim just sat down leaning to a wall and startrd cleaning his axe, And velvet was waiting, patiently? Near his desk.

    Then the captain arrived. He came in and bowed to the princess, his hand to his stomach. A bow, someone would make as a guesture of respect. Then the princess nodded and "shall we start discussing the details, captain" velvet asked. She wasn''t showing any emotion. Any at all.

    The captain asked "May I be blunt princess?"

    "Just act normal vel, these are my friends after all. But, what about the guard outside?" she let her guard down a little and had a smile on her face.

    "He is trust worthy princess. Well, If he isn''t he knows what would happen anyway" he had a little smile saying that, Not a heroic one tho.

    "Well, shall we get on to the point vel" her face changed to a serious one.

    "ofcourse princess" he had a serious expression aswell.

    "Don''t report my arrival to the castle"

    Wait what?

    "wait what?"

    So the captain and me was on the same page.

    The hero was ignoring us and looking at everything he saw in here. Grim was actually listening to the conversation and he had no reaction to this whole conversation.

    So the conversation was between the captain and velvet and I was just listening.

    "Well, just trust me and just don''t send a massage about our arrival here"

    "But... B-but, princess"

    "Just do it vel, but, you can guess why I''m asking you this right?

    " F-Fine, I never saw you go through this gate"

    "Then, we''ll take our leave vel" princess said.

    Grim got up and put his axe on the sheath and the hero was doing his thing I just straightened up and grim said "Let''s go leon" and he just came near grim with a sad expression.

    And 1st leon and grim went outside and vel asked velvet before she left "So, our 3rd- I ment the 2nd princess didn''t make it this time"

    Velvet just frooze. And vel just said"well, I can tell. Sure, the king may have sent you saying it was some kind of visit to a church and they were your bodyguards. But, princess. I was your fathers best friend and I was also your and then your little sisters body guard while you both were growing up. Just don''t- " he paused took a breath and then "don''t let them get you as well princess"

    She turned her head and replyed "Ofcourse I won''t" her eyes were ready to start the waterworks any time. But, despite that she was giving the captain a bright smile when she said that"

    She then bowed to the captain, He didn''t know how to react. He kept saying "no need to do that princess" and after all of that we left captain vel''s office. Then we went to our base of operations, a house in the city. It was given to us by the king. Well, it belong to all 4 of us. Each one of us has the ownership of that house. It seemed like a normal house for any ordinary person. Well, it is ordinary. It''s just a house we use and we meet here to celebrate something or sometimes to gossip or even talk about something. In a way, we''re more like a family. Our eldest is grim. He''s about 35.... , I don''t know, maybe older? . I''m 27, well, in human years I may as well be 16 or something or younger. When it comes to leon and the princess, leon is 21 while the princess is 23. Well, leon is our youngest. He''s been spoiled everytime by velvet. Well, we all were actually more tired today than anything. So we all made into the house and we all went down to our rooms and slept.

 Caught red handed

    Sunrays were coming through the window and it was on my eyes. I wanted to sleep more and Get more sleep. I stood up and I think, maybe I''m drunk today. Like, why is the world spining. I went outside and splashed some water on my face and the whole spining thing went away. Then I washed myself by the well outside the house and then opened the door to only be greeted by a, pouting face? Yes, my love is giving me a dissapointed look. Must be that time of the month for her. She was glaring daggers through me, alas I was no feeble, heavly armoured leon. I''m but a lowly archer wearing some feeble armour. So these invicible daggers do pierce my heart.

    She was angry and I did something wrong. Ok, "Good morning velvet"

    "Good morning? It''s noon for crying out loud" she shot down my advance

    "Then, good afternoon" I came up with a comback.

    "Too late!!!" that reply was fast.

    I can''t give up tho. Then

    "Ok, velvet. What''s wrong?" a women is a mysterious creature. But, we need to learn about this new found creature too.

    "hmmm......"

    She was clearly angry and not gonna give me a reply and turned away from me hugging her legs on the chair. So...

    "come on, you know I won''t know what I did wrong unless you tell me right?"

    She just gave me a glance. Oh! It might be working.

    "I know I did something wrong and I''m sorry velvet"

    She looked at me this time. One more push and

    "whatever it is, I will make up for it"

    "Really?"

    "Really"

    I got up and gave her a gentlemen-ish bow and raised my hand to her and said "Fair lady, will you do me the hourner of going on a date with me tonight?"

    She just covered her mouth with her hands and just replyed "I will"

    "Then I will announce you husband and wife" it was leon

    "You may kiss the bride" it was grim.

    And then they both just ran away. I was about to chase after them but, velvet stopped me.

    Well, I think I know why velvet requested that from the captain. It''s just, we all need a break desperately and now that I think about it. We didn''t even had a proper break all this time. Or I maybe reading into it more than necessary. Either way, I''ll enjoy this time.

    So... it was night after few hours.

    I was all dressed up. In a fine brown tunic and a green trouser. It was finely washed and it was brought recently and most of the common people wear clothes like these.

    I was standing infront of the door. Yes, it was the secreat special team base. I knocked on the door and a old grumpy dwarf opened the door and said "so, you''re him?"

    "uh..., Yes? "

    "You may have stolen my daughter''s heart, but you will never have my daughter, you WILD ANIMAL!!! " is this a new comdey routine.

    Oh and here comes the next fool. Yes, it was leon.

    And leo- oh right, her acting younger brother came from behind and he said

    "If you don''t make her happy, I''m goona kill you"

    Then they both said, "We''ll call velvet" and turned around and screamed "VELVET!!!" like, one of those human women that screamed on a stage.

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    "Fine, fine I''m coming down" then velvet came down the stairs. She was wearing a red kirtle, a apron, a head covering to cover her hair and some footware that''s used by common people. she was gorgeous. I couldn''t speak a word. Even if I tried saying something, I don''t think any words will leave my lips. Then leon stomped my feet. That made me come to my senses.

    "You look gorgeous today, velvet. I mean you always do but today speacially"

    She just came nearer and nearer, didn''t say a word. I just,

    "You''re so pretty, I ment to say beautiful, I mean gorgeous"

    Yup.

    She just came near me, expressionless and, when she was near me

    "why aren''t you saying something?" I asked, nervously and she

    "pfft-" yup laughed, She was laughing soo hard.

    And grim and leon joined her.

    "Gotta see his face" leon added

    "A man who was just making a fool out of himself" grim added.

    "his face was priceless" velvet added.

    This was infuriating, I mean laughing at my nervousness. They made me mad. They''re gonna witness the wrath of elves elkwood, the one to purify them all of laughter . Hehe

    I went into my room and got my bow, the elven bow. The forest guardian.

    I took it, ran outside and readied a arrow to only see empty air.

    I screamed "COWARDS!!!"

    I summoned my spirit, sylfa.

    She was a sprit good at using the wind, so I sent her up, where she could see my prey. This was how I hunted in my adventuring days. She found one unfortunate runner to the east and she used the wind to singnal me the direction of my pray. I could feel a small breeze on me towards a paticular direction and I aimed towards it. The futhur my prey the stronger the wind and I aimed according to the wind strength and direction. And released a arrow. The wind stopped.

    Meaning it was right on target. Well, the arrows were actually made out of sand bags. Which is really really strong with the right strength, when realsed and depending on where it hits.

    If the hero was an close range expert I was a long range one. I actually worked better solo than the others in this party. And looks like my parner found my next target, I did the same thing and my final target was somewhere to the area of the east tower of the city. I ordered my spirit to bring my two throphys and then I wanted to get up and personal to finish off my last prey. I ran towards the tower, and I saw red clothes and I knew, it was velvet.

    I approached her and she was looking far away to the distant mountains and she turned her head when she heard my footsteps and said

    "Elves, what brings you here?" oh! she has the forgetful sickness now. Then I''ll say

    "No reason, just saw a beautiful lady here and came to see her"

    "Who is this lucky beautiful lady then?"

    "You"

    "oh elves"

    Yeah, enough of this comedic routine. I pulled my bow and readied a arrow to shoot. Then velvet said

    "I though you loved me"

    "I''m doing this because I love you"

    Then I saw some shadowy figuere jumping out a castle window. Like, they were sneaking out.

    Noticing it, I aimed at that shadowy figuer and realeased the arrow. And velvet said

    "Mother, father I will meet you in heaven"

    I screamed "Now, know the the reason I was called ''dead shot''" and the arrow went past velvets shoulder and went straight for my target and it was a perfect shot.

    One of them fell down and I started running in that direction.

    And velvet was still frozon there, must be shock or something. I made there, the one who got hit was lying near the outer wall of the castle and I was near to only get surrounded by soilders and a familiar man came near me. It was vel and I didn''t notice the man who approched from behind him. He was short, he had more of an old human look, had a white beard, was wearing white and

    "Oh! Elevs didn''t know you came back" said the man unsurprised.

    I bowed right there and said "Greetings your magesty"

    Hearing that all of the soilders bowed and he said

    "You all may rise, and elevs and vel can you both explain to me about what is going on here?"

    With that, vel answered

    "We noticed some theifs and they were running away and we were giving chase your magesty"

    And I answered "I saw some shadowy figures escaping and shot them"

    The king asked "Oh! And what were they trying to steal? Oh and some soilders get that unconscious man to the dungeons"

    Vel answered " We don''t know, a guard saw one of them trying to sneak to your room, your magesty"

    "Oh my, vel be sure get every info you can out of that man"

    "Yes, your highness"

    "You may return to your duties vel"

    The king turned his head towards me with a look, a one I didn''t wanna see.

    "So, elves you were back and you forgot all about me"

    "No, I would never your magesty"

    "So, where is my daughter elves? "

    "She''s, to the east your magesty"

    "Well, I know you must already know, vel told me everything and...." he was hesitant, but, he continued

    "I know about charlot, I''ll pretend like I didn''t saw you but, I''ll be only be giving my idiot of an daughter 2 days"

    "Your-" he raised his hand signaling me to stop.

    "Elevs, so much happened and I lost my daughter again, the whole royal family is sad but, we''ll only announce it when velvet returns to the castle" he took a breather and continued.

    "Just give her sometime. She''s my daughter after all, it''s hard pretending to be fine and elevs do me one favour"

    "what your magesty? "

    "If something happens take her and leave this kingdom, don''t trust anyone specially the hero and protect her at all cost"

    "I will your magesty"

    "Then you may leave, we never met tonight and even the moon is spy to the sun"

    "But, without the sun, the moon can not be called special"

    "oh and your magesty, be safe" I said as I stood up

    "I should be saying that to you, you thief"

    Well, we never met.