Demon Queened

[Krazyfan1]

It first came up in chapter 37 - Breathless in Bed

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ah, neat.

wonder how far down she can swim?

 

[Lain]

ah, neat.

wonder how far down she can swim?

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If we go by her strength, I imagine she's also very, very dense divinely reinforced from pressure. As much as to be completely immune to the natural hazardous environments and could be slain only by other divinely empowered or magically endowed individual after being sufficiently exhausted.

 

[Krazyfan1]

If we go by her strength, I imagine she's also very, very dense divinely reinforced from pressure. As much as to be completely immune to the natural hazardous environments and could be slain only by other divinely empowered or magically endowed individual after being sufficiently exhausted.

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i wonder how many of her enemies could do the same?

also if that means she can go diving for rare fish?

then again, Really deep sea animals apparently taste horrible...

 

[Aquahawk0085]

Let's face it, that was cute.

 

[Angus512]

Awww, sweethearts!

also Chloe is a banger as always - in the sense that all doors (secrets) are slammed wide open as can be by her nature xD

 

[Aranfan]

That was very cute. I hope things work out for Lucy and Devilla.

 

[Lain]

I still don't get it what was funny in my comment, but as long as people are having fun.. 😅🤷‍♀️

Spoiler: P.s.

I think HRT hammers home how (demi*)asexual am with my libido lowered into Mariana trench. I can read smutty parts and this would "affect" me, I just don't wanna.

I simply want to read Lucy and Devilla being cute together for hundred chapters straight gay. It's still not an indictment of the writing or the story focus, just the preference of mine, we definitely get over 9000% wholesome every chapter, anyway.

 

[Terrabrand]

I still don't get it what was funny in my comment, but as long as people are having fun.. 😅🤷‍♀️

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it's the struck through dense, at least for me. Nice little double entendre/pun thing.

 

[Lain]

Oh, that. Well, yeah. 🙂🙃

Although she's not that dense compared to a certain Railgun SI from a fanfiction story I read. *Cough*-roko!

 

[PrincessKay]

Devilla​

The next few days seemed to go by at a crawl, yet looking back it was as if they had passed in the blink of an eye. Traveling by day and dealing with tower politics by night, we managed to collect the healberries we'd officially been there to find while also comforting Araina and assuring her she wasn't in danger of losing her job. Mellany, meanwhile, was promised a special position - it came with a hefty salary, and would show that the ban I'd placed upon her bloodline had been lifted, but had no actual authority or responsibilities whatsoever. Members of her family would be able to take government jobs again. It was a decision that might blow up in my face once Sylvanna vacated her position, but we'd cross that bridge when we came to it.

Speaking of Sylvanna, I'd made a point of gathering up all the petrified bits of inedible flesh the cockatrice had left as stone, and was making… some progress with learning to depetrify them. In theory, all I had to do was to quarantine a bit of the holy magic within my body, shape it into the same form as the cockatrice's wild magic imprint, and then run my arcane magic through the thing. Hardly a difficult task, in theory, what with my perfect recall allowing me to recall the imprint's exact configuration. In practice, however, the slightest deviation could result in a wide range of results. A problem, considering I had absolutely no experience with directly manipulating holy magic.

While I had technically succeeded once, the other twenty or so times I'd tried had varied rather dramatically in their results. I'd done everything from temporarily reducing the stone's weight to outright liquefying it. One memorable attempt had even resulted in a stone claw jumping about in my hand like a living thing, only to break apart under the stress of its own movements. A further complication was that every attempt took a rather significant chunk of arcane magic, enough where even my reserves would risk running empty if I wasn't careful.

"Everything okay, Eena?" Lucy asked from beside me, no doubt noting the morose look upon my face.

"It's nothing," I assured her, only to be met with a frown. "Nothing serious, at least. I'm merely ruminating on my failure to consistently replicate the cockatrice's depetrification ability."

"If it's making you upset then it sounds pretty serious to me," Lucy replied, one hand moving towards her hips. The other probably would have joined it, had it not been occupied with holding my own. "You shouldn't downplay problems just because they're yours."

"...I suppose I do have a bad habit of doing so," I conceded with a frown of my own. "But, really, for all the effort I've put into the matter, it's still nothing more than a contingency plan. With any luck, the church will have replied to your missive with the necessary spell and I can cease experimenting."

Even though I said that, I would likely continue to practice with my holy magic regardless. Manipulating it internally didn't seem to do anything to my magic supply, and the thought of being able to duplicate wild magic at will was a rather tempting one.

"I hope so, too, but I bet that doesn't make it any less frustrating to fail," Lucy rightly pointed out. "You've been trying really hard to do it, too! To the point where you've sort of been ignoring everything while we walk…"

That was true. If not for Lucy's hand to guide me I likely would have been crashing into trees throughout the entire journey. As it was, I was fairly sure there'd been a few close calls.

"Why don't you stop for a while?" Lucy suggested after a moment. "We're almost back to the city and the inn should probably have the church's response by now! Plus…" She hesitated a moment before glancing towards Feyra who was riding a few steps behind us. "I was sort of hoping you could talk to Feyra a little before the adventure ends? I think there's something on her mind…"

I resisted the urge to glance back at Feyra, not wanting her to know she'd become the topic of our conversation. Of course, Lucy's prior glance may have made it a moot point, but I wasn't going to make things worse.

Feyra had been treating me oddly enough as it was. Where once she'd regularly complained about me, now she looked at me with eyes full of uncertainty, and every time I met her gaze she'd hurriedly look away from me. It was perhaps better than the animosity she'd shown previously, but not by much.

"Are you sure that you wouldn't be the better choice to talk to her?" I asked Lucy. "I could give you two some alone time, perhaps make up some excuse about checking in on Bailey?" The horned wolf girl had returned to the tower, now that we were so close to civilization, and I was admittedly a touch concerned about how she was handling the shift back to enclosed spaces. She'd lived her entire life running free, after all, at least up until she'd met me.

"You should probably do that later, anyway," Lucy said, "but maybe talk to Feyra first? I don't really know what's bothering her, but she keeps glancing at you whenever you're looking the other way. I think there's something she wants to say!"

"Something to say, hmm?" I wondered what it could be. An apology for her earliest behavior was probably too much to ask for, but at the same time I didn't foresee her adding any new complaints… At the very least, the looks I'd noticed hadn't held any animosity within them. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

At least, not physically. Emotionally, I was much less sure about, but even then the smile Lucy gave me in response to my reply was surely worth a little pain… Even if Lucy herself would never agree with that.

"Why don't you go ahead for a bit?" I suggested, reluctantly releasing her hand. Her fingers lingered for a moment afterward, as if she too were disinclined to disengage. "I'll be back soon enough."

"I know," Lucy said, yet the nod she gave me had a certain resoluteness about it - as if she were preparing to send me off to a long war, rather than simply relinquishing my company for a few minutes. "I just really like holding your hand…"

"Yes, well… there will be plenty of opportunities for that later," I murmured, embarrassment coloring my cheeks as I looked away from her. "Just wait a moment, alright?"

She nodded again, this time turning her gaze back to the road and pushing herself to walk a little faster, even as I slowed my own steps. Before I knew it, Feyra and I were side by side. Much to the former's shock, if her wide eyes were anything to go by.

"H-hey… Eena…"

"You seem nervous," I remarked, looking her up and down. Physically, she seemed fine, if a little disheveled, but emotionally… well, as I'd stated, the way she practically flinched when my eyes met her made her seem rather skittish. "I thought you were over your fear of me, what with the way you've been complaining about my every action."

"Yeah, well… I guess it's more like I got overloaded to the point of not caring, anymore," Feyra admitted, citing a reason I was surprisingly familiar with. It was much the same as what Abigail said, back when she stopped hiding her snarky side.

"Am I really that overwhelming?" I questioned, frowning.

"No. Yes! Maybe?" She shook her head. "I don't know. You're nothing like how I thought you'd be… Though I guess that makes sense, if you're… y'know… just a person, not the incarnation of all evil, like I thought… A… sorta… strangely nice person, who puts up with my crap when she could turn me into a smear on the ground the instant it stopped amusing her"

"It was never amusing," I remarked, my frown deepening a little. Feyra seemed to shrink back in response to it - though, considering her height of five foot nine, combined with her current position upon a horse, no amount of mundane shrinkage was going to keep me from having to look up at her. "But it was understandable... At least to some degree. And I suppose I somewhat appreciated your concern for Lucy, at least, no matter how misplaced."

"Yeah, well… I thought… I mean… I grew up my entire life thinking you were… bad? Hell, I thought I was bad just from association with you, and I'd never even met you! Except now I'm finding out you're just a ridiculously powerful person, and my stupid curse is basically just… I don't know… racism? Kinda? Except not really because they don't even know I'm part demon, so… Yeah…"

"I suppose that would be a lot to consider," I conceded. "But I'm not entirely sure what it has to do with me. I've noticed at least a few of the looks you've been throwing my way, you know?"

"Yeah, well… I guess… I sorta wanted to apologize," she admitted, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "...Plus, I wanted to ask you something."

"Let's put the apology aside for a moment," I said, "and start with the request." Part of me wanted to question whether she'd stick to the apology after her request was done with, but I thought it a little unfair. No matter how much she'd feared, or even hated me, she'd never once been insincere with me.

"Right…" Feyra muttered, looking away from me. "It's just… I mean, it's stupid, but… I mean… it's just a thought that got stuck in my head lately, but…" She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and scrunching up her nose as she mustered the courage to continue. "Can you actually turn me into a demon? Like the stories claim?"

I blinked. "A demon?"

"It's a stupid question, right?" She smiled, or attempted one, at least. It was rather obviously forced.

"I wouldn't say it's stupid," I replied, shaking my head. "Merely… unexpected. Why on Solla would you ever wish to become a demon?"

"Maybe because powers like mine are apparently normal for you guys? It would be nice not to be judged based on my bloodline for once. Plus… I mean… Well. You're all… girls, right? Which means, if I was a demon, I'd be a girl, too?"

"Well… yes," I confirmed, hesitantly nodding. "Though I hardly see why that's a draw… Unless you're hoping to widen your dating prospects by removing males from the equation?"

"What? No!" She sounded shocked and shook her head furiously. "I just… think it might be nice not to have to rely on mirror lilies all the time… I'm always worried about missing my next dose, you know? Even if it does take days to wear off, I can't shake the feeling that I'm going to start sprouting beard hair or something the moment it's out of my system."

Beard hair? I mouthed, frowning faintly as I struggled to process her words. "You mean, you're…?"

"Trans?" Feyra shrugged. "Yeah…"

"I see…" I murmured. "Another strike against you, so far as the church and its followers are concerned?"

Feyra gave me a searching look in response. Perhaps she realized I didn't have a negative reaction, at least, because a moment later she looked back towards the road in front of us and shrugged again. "I guess? I mean, they don't really care about the whole 'transforming myself into a woman' thing, in and of itself - it's just when I try to explain why I need to be a woman that they get all offended. The church teaches that our bodies are gifts, so we're free to do what we want with them - just so long as we don't try and say she gave us the wrong one."

"I… see…" I repeated, cursing my sudden lack of words. I really couldn't think of anything more to say on the subject, though. 'Transgender' wasn't really a thing among demons, what with us having no concept of 'male' to begin with. The only reason I was able to follow along as well as I could was because of Jacob's memories - he'd made a few trans friends in his final years of life, largely introduced to him by Alice. In fact, she'd introduced him to quite a few trans girls, thinking back on it…

"Anyway," Feyra continued, forcefully pulling me from my thoughts, "can you help me, or can't you?"

"I'd certainly be happy to try," I replied, trying to shake off the nagging feeling that I was missing something obvious. "But I'm afraid I have no idea how to go about it. If such a spell or ability exists, I have no knowledge of it. I'll keep an ear to the ground, and try to see if I can figure things out?"

It was entirely possible some holy magic existed for this sort of thing - though it seemed more likely to me that there'd be a gender changing spell, if anything at all. Even beyond that, though, there were a myriad of plants, monsters, and of course monster girls out there, each with abilities that defied the laws of reality as I knew them. It was entirely possible there'd be something out there.

"...Thanks…" Feyra muttered, shifting uncomfortably on her horse. "I… uh… I think we're going to be in town soon. So… talk to you later?"

"Later," I agreed with a solemn nod. Then I turned towards Lucy, who was currently engaged in the act of loudly whistling. An attempt to drown out our conversation for the sake of privacy? Or simply a diversion, while she waited for me? Likely it was both, but the only way I'd know was to ask.

Of course, if I happened to take her hand while questioning her, and held it the rest of the way towards the gate… well, a girl could be allowed her indulgences, couldn't she?

***​

Mellany​

***​

"Mellany…" Granny rasped from her throne - and it was a throne, no matter how many times she insisted it was just an 'ornate chair' or whatnot. "You've done well to gain the trust of those fools. Soon you'll be in a prime position to push forward our family's agenda."

"Yes, Granny," I agreed like the good girl I always pretended to be around her. Inside, of course, I was rolling my eyes. Literally - I'd grown a bunch of eyes inside my treasure chest just so that I could roll them!

I mean, seriously? For one thing, I did not have 'the trust of those fools.' Not by a long shot! Sure, they were working with me, but it wasn't like they were dumb enough to treat me like a trusted friend. That was a good way to end up with a knife in your back.

Metaphorically, I mean. Obviously. Though, at the same time, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if someone told me Chloe was secretly an assassin… That girl was way too damn sneaky for my liking.

"To think that horrible child has actually managed to trick people into taking her side…" Granny continued, growling to herself.

I nodded, of course. Like the good girl I was. Definitely not thinking about how I'd love to drag her down from her throne and spit in her face for all the bullshit I'd gone through just to gain her favor and have this chance. I mean, I clipped her fucking toenails! And mimics don't even have toenails in our default form! She literally grew them just to make people cut them as some sort of sick power move!

Which… you know… Respect, I guess? But you should probably make sure you actually have a handle on the one you're trying to crush underfoot.

"Did I ever tell you how many of my bones she broke?" she asked.

Oooh, trick question! Saying yes would annoy her for 'interrupting her,' but saying no would result in accusations of not paying enough attention… So the right answer was… "Why don't you tell me again, Granny? All about how awful she is."

There we go! That put a smile on her face, and there's nothing better than a smile from someone who doesn't know they're about to be betrayed…

Unfortunately, I couldn't spring the trap just yet. Chloe wanted to talk to her mom about something, first. I didn't know if she actually thought her mother had information, or if she was just stalling for some reason, but it was fine either way - it gave my little sis more time to gather support on my behalf in preparation for ousting Granny.

…Well, technically it was on her own behalf, seeing how she was totally planning to stab me in the back too, but eh. I didn't really want the job, anyway. Something cushy with no actual responsibilities was more my speed, and that's exactly what Queenie was going to give me.

Honestly, I just wanted to see how little sis managed her coup. Most of the family probably figured they were putting up a puppet leader to control, and I could not wait for her to prove them wrong.

Ah, but first things first - nodding and smiling for Granny! Whilst also plotting her downfall… Heh.

She was going to be pissed at the end of all this, but I couldn't help but wonder… would some small part of her be proud?

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Ugh, this one gave me some real writer's block... Or at least Devilla's side did. Mellany's was surprisingly easy? Which actually caught me off guard, because I was originally worried about my ability to get all the necessary info across while keeping it coherent... but it went rather smoothly. (Assuming I succeeded, at least?) On the bright side, writer's block or no, I managed to produce 3 chapters in 2 weeks so that I could avoid taking a second week break. Patreon is once again ahead by 2 chapters (even if they are currently in rough draft form/awaiting proofreading) so I'm satisfied.

Sorry to anyone/everyone who actually wanted me to write the meeting with Araina and Mellany out, by the way. The truth is, I'm not really confident in my ability to keep things realistic if I actually dive into the nitty gritty bits of tower politics, and I'm even less confident in my ability to make it entertaining.

Honestly, I never really intended to dive too deeply into them - for me, the politics are mostly just another way to keep everyone in motion, and keep the characters bouncing off each other as they each work towards their individual goals. A way to keep them interacting and occasionally put them in conflict with one another.

It's also just a good way for me to explore the tower side a bit, on top of me thinking that politics are rather difficult to avoid when one wants to convince a tower full of people who hate you to make friends with the people who've been trying to drive them to extinction…

By the same token, though, I promise we will see more of Araina and Mellany both as time goes on. It would be rather pointless to introduce the characters for the sake of conflict and then ignore them, after all…

Many thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for helping me with proofreading!

 

[Krazyfan1]

'Transgender' wasn't really a thing among demons, what with us having no concept of 'male' to begin with.

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wonder if there are any transmasc demons?

 

[Angle]

wonder if there are any transmasc demons?

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If so, they're gonna have a real hard time figuring it out, what with the whole 'never seen a masc person before' thing. :/

 

[PrincessKay]

wonder if there are any transmasc demons?

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Don't take this as a 100% canon until it's actually included in the story (assuming it ever comes up in the first place), but as things stand my answer is no. In large part because I don't even want to think about what it would feel like for someone to go through life with that sort of dysphoria, without even a chance at figuring out what's causing it.

 

[BetaKeja]

Don't take this as a 100% canon until it's actually included in the story (assuming it ever comes up in the first place), but as things stand my answer is no. In large part because I don't even want to think about what it would feel like for someone to go through life with that sort of dysphoria, without even a chance at figuring out what's causing it.

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What about transspecies (if that's even the correct word)? There are how many different kinds of "demons" living in the tower? Dozens?

Hopefully shapeshifting magic is common. Or does it require being born with it? Mimic, Kitsune, Angel?

 

[PrincessKay]

What about transspecies (if that's even the correct word)? There are how many different kinds of "demons" living in the tower? Dozens?

Hopefully shapeshifting magic is common. Or does it require being born with it? Mimic, Kitsune, Angel?

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I'm less sure on that one... I don't have any intention of introducing anything like that, though, at least as things stand. I'm sure there's those who envy those born to a different species, or who can't help but imagine what they'd look like if they took after their dam and not their mom. I doubt it reaches the level of dysphoria, though - more like... someone seeing a harpy flying through the sky, and wishing they could do that too. The grass is always greener on the other side and all that. Thankfully, potions exist - though they generally take a lot of magic power to make work, so it's still pretty limited compared to the actual ability holder. (Unless you're Devilla and can just brute force it with huge magic reserves.)

A lot of different species have shape shifting, but far from all of them - and what shifting they have can be rather limited, at times. Kitsune can only turn back and forth between fox and demon form, for example.

 

[Lain]

Thank you for writing this story. Happy Halloween, ya'll!

 

[Krazyfan1]

Don't take this as a 100% canon until it's actually included in the story (assuming it ever comes up in the first place), but as things stand my answer is no. In large part because I don't even want to think about what it would feel like for someone to go through life with that sort of dysphoria, without even a chance at figuring out what's causing it.

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if i remember right, Dysphoria isn't required for someone to be trans.
they could simply feel Better afterwards?

 

[Angle]

if i remember right, Dysphoria isn't required for someone to be trans.
they could simply feel Better afterwards?

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Yeah, but if you have a population of trans people, *some* of them are going to end up dysphoric. :/

 

[PrincessKay]

if i remember right, Dysphoria isn't required for someone to be trans.
they could simply feel Better afterwards?

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It's definitely not. My bad for phrasing that like it was a qualifier. Still, while I think some degree of species envy is going to be inevitable just from having such a melting pot... I'm not sure it's really the same thing. Then again, that sorta envy is so far outside my experience I can't really compare in good faith.

 

[PrincessKay]

Devilla​

Walking back into town with Lucy's hand in mine was an… interesting experience. In some ways, it wasn't that different from when I'd traveled by myself. There were looks of shock and confusion, as if people didn't really know what to make of our presence. There was also a lot more whispering, though, and no matter how much I tried to block it all out, I couldn't help but hear words like 'girlfriends' and 'lovers.'

"Do you want me to cast a privacy spell?" Lucy asked.

I shook my head. "No… It's probably best if I get used to this." I couldn't correct misunderstandings that didn't exist - I really was dating Lucy now, and it was likely only a matter of time before the world knew it.

Then again, considering the amount of time it took information to spread in a world without phones or internet… Well, perhaps I'd be dealing with shocked looks for quite a while yet.

"So we're going to the guild, right?" Feyra asked, glancing at me and then quickly looking away again. Still uncomfortable after our earlier conversation, I suppose. "Have you figured out how much you want to tell them?"

"Well… Everything except Eena's secrets, right?" Lucy replied, tilting her head a little. "I mean, why would I want to hide anything? People should know the monster movements are coming to an end!"

"Probably coming to an end," Feyra countered. "It's not like we know all the inner workings of that place. Something else could be going on, still."

"Well, at the very least things should calm down compared to before," I interceded, hoping to offset Feyra's pessimism.

Perhaps I needn't have bothered, though, as Lucy's smile didn't budge a whit. "I still want to tell the guild so that other people can check our work and make sure! It might end up with someone at the church trying to lecture me, though…"

"Lecture you?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have thought there was anyone brave enough to face the Heroine's potential ire." My voice was teasing, but my curiosity was real. The way Lucy was treated by those we'd come across… Well, perhaps it was different in the church where everyone served the goddess?

"Well… most people don't," Lucy admitted, shattering my fragile hope that others treated her like a regular person. "They tend to talk to me really respectfully, but it doesn't stop them from also sounding really disappointed in me sometimes… But it's Father Tuffel who lives at the local church here, and he really will lecture me when he finds out!"

"Oh?" I smiled. "Is it odd I think that's a good thing?"

"Nope!" Lucy cheerfully replied. "I think everyone needs someone in their life who cares enough to lecture them when they do something dangerous!"

"...I suppose for me that would be Abigail," I confided, frowning a little. "Though… it somehow feels like a while since she's given me a proper scolding. I suppose with me being on the road so much she hasn't had a chance to give me more than the occasional exasperated glare."

"Maybe you should go see her sometime?" Lucy suggested. "We could stay in town an extra day or two so you'd have time to visit!"

"I… suppose that might be a decent idea," I admitted. "I'm surprised to hear you're so enthusiastic about it, though. Have you already tired of my company?"

Though I meant it as a joke, the glare Lucy gave me was far too real - and quite startling, at that. "Don't even joke about that! I'd never get tired of you, Eena! Never ever!"

"I… well… I didn't mean to imply… it was merely an attempt at humor, Lucy," I muttered, shrinking back a little.

"You say that, but I'm pretty sure you'd start to believe it if I'm not careful!" Lucy replied, frowning at me. "So I'm going to deliver a lecture on Abigail's behalf and remind you that I do really like you! That I want to be with you! That I don't want to ever stop being with you! And telling you to go spend time with Abigail is actually maybe a little scary, but also I care about you and I think it would lead to happier things for everyone if you did!"

"Yes, well…" My cheeks flushed bright red. "Perhaps I should avoid self-deprecating humor in the future." At least in her presence. "For now, though, would an embrace perhaps serve to quell your anger?"

"I didn't think you'd want me to hug you in public," Lucy said, her ire disappearing as quickly as it came. "People are going to stare."

"We're already getting as many stares as we possibly can," I replied, glancing at our fellow travelers who had slowed to a crawl in favor of gawking at us. "But even beyond that, I'm trying not to let the opinions of others get to me so much. At least in regards to how it affects my time with you…"

Lucy smiled, turning around on the street and wrapping her arms about me tightly for a long moment.

"I'm definitely not going to miss watching you two lovebirds flirt," Feyra grumbled from astride her horse. "Also, maybe you two don't care about all the fucking stares, but they're really getting to me. Could we maybe hurry it up a little?"

"Apologies," I murmured, reluctantly parting from Lucy - though I still refused to relinquish her hand, of course.

"Wait!" Lucy exclaimed. "You're not going to miss it? Does that mean you don't want to join us for our next adventure?"

"Your adventure to dig into the fundamental truths of our religion and take on the whole world to end a two thousand year war?" Feyra replied, her voice lowered to a whisper. "Yeah, no, I think I'll leave that for the absurdly powerful among us. Besides… I've got too much shit to sort through in my brain already, and something tells me hanging out with you two will only make it worse. Hit me up after you've saved the world, though, okay?"

"Aw! It's not going to be the same without you," Lucy said, frowning. "...Though maybe it wouldn't be the worst time if I got to spend some one-on-one time with Eena, too? It has been a few days!"

"What? You planning to act even more lovesick in my absence?" Feyra asked before shaking her head. "You know what? Don't tell me. I don't need to know what you two, of all people, are getting up to in your alone time. Let's just… get to the guild so we can say our goodbyes, alright?"

"I know I was just told not to even joke about this, but you're making it sound like you truly have grown tired of us," I remarked. A quick glance cast Lucy's way didn't reveal any fresh anger on her features, thankfully. Rather, she was coiling a few strands of hair around her fingers in what I was pretty sure was an anxious gesture.

"What? No!" Feyra denied, shaking her head. "I'm just not into big goodbyes. Plus, I'm sort of a third wheel around here, and… Look. It was… an experience traveling with you, alright? One that shook my whole worldview… multiple times. Maybe for the better, but I need some alone time to work through it, alright?"

"If that's what you require," I agreed, a soft smile touching my lips. "Then let us carry on, so that we may part ways."

"Yeah…" Feyra agreed, narrowing her eyes at me in suspicion. "Sure…"

I waited until she'd ridden off a few steps before leaning in to whisper in Lucy's ear. "We are going to have a goodbye dinner, at the very least, are we not?"

"Of course!"

***​

My reception at the guild was perhaps to be expected. A lot of shocked looks, a lot of whispers, a lot of people moving out of my way in a hurry. Really, it wasn't so different from the first time I'd entered. Just replace some of the fear with awe - the end results were more or less the same, regardless. Up to and including the secretary we visited freaking out, and the guild master himself descending to sort things.

Which was how I found myself standing in the man's office once more. This time, however, the man had his head in his hands as he let out a sound that sounded somewhere between a strained laugh and a sigh.

"So let me get this straight," he said, not even bothering to raise his head. "You, the Heroine, formed a team with your girlfriend Lady Eena and your friend Feyra, before taking steps to solve issues with the monster movement… as part of Lady Eena's rookie request?"

"That's more or less the case, yes," I agreed, as Lucy nodded happily alongside me.

"You do realize there wasn't even an open request for that, right? Which means the adventurers guild can't pay you for your efforts?"

"That's fine!" Lucy replied with a beaming smile. "That's why we brought back healberries, too! There's a standing request for those, right? And since it's a gathering request, it should work for Eena's first rookie request, too!"

"That is… technically correct, yes," Denden replied. "Though it's really not the sort of request we recommend letting rookies in on, considering the monster movement."

"Which we solved!" Lucy reminded him.

"By killing a cockatrice in an abandoned building," Denden said, his eyes finally lifting up to look at us. "One where religious fanatics experimented on monsters?"

"I'm sure you wouldn't dare to doubt the Heroine on that, would you?" Feyra replied. Perhaps there was some history between the two of them, because she sounded almost sadistic when she said it. "Not like when you're getting requests filled by someone cursed."

"...I'll talk to the secretaries about that," Denden muttered while Feyra rolled her eyes. "And I'll see about harsher punishment if they ever do it again, alright?"

Lucy looked like she wanted to protest - and I certainly knew how she felt - but a nod from Feyra and a glare in our direction put the matter to bed then and there.

"Alright," Denden continued after letting out a sigh of relief. "Then I guess the next step is your membership card, Lady Eena."

"Membership?" I questioned. "I thought one had to complete two rookie requests to join? Not to mention earning the money for registration."

"Yeah, well, you should have thought about that before you started dating the Heroine," Denden replied before grimacing. "No offense, your ladyships, but there's a certain degree of politics even in the adventuring world and letting the Heroine's girlfriend stay a rookie would get me chewed out by the big wigs. Only the best and brightest for our Heroine, you know?"

"...Should you really be saying all that with her right here?" I questioned, glancing Lucy's way.

"It actually took a lot of effort to get Denden to say what he really means in front of me!" Lucy answered, smiling brightly. "Though it's true I don't really like the reasons, it's also true that you're strong enough to be a real adventurer! So I don't think there's any problem with promoting you, at least."

"Great," Denden said, opening a drawer. "Because I already prepped all the paperwork. If I can just get you to sign this new card here, and put your print there…"

Saying so, he brought forth a small paper card, not too different from what I'd received after joining as a rookie. Except this card, when I held it, was far stiffer than the last. Though I made no serious attempt to bend it, I judged it to be as least as firm as cardboard despite its thinness.

"That's ironwood," Denden informed me. "Hard as iron, like the name implies. Pretty much flameproof, too. It's rare stuff - and very hard to process, from what I'm told. Keeps most people from trying to copy membership cards, all willy-nilly."

"I see…" I replied, following his instructions and signing the card before marking it with my thumbprint.

"Now if you'll just hand over the rookie card…?" he asked, prompting me to reach into my bag and withdraw it. "Good."

He then pulled out three golden saints and a few silver crosses, splitting them evenly between us. "And that's for the healberries."

"Thanks!" Lucy said, giving him a bright smile. "Now we have money for Feyra's parting party!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Feyra protested, even as Lucy began to pull me towards the door. "You aren't serious, right? This is way too much money to blow on food! I don't even know anywhere fancy enough to take any of these coins!"

"I know a few really expensive places," Lucy replied. "Though… they aren't really my style, usually… Maybe we could just all eat Eena's food instead? It's usually pretty good!"

"That's because I have people to cook it for me," I remarked, lowering my voice so that Denden wouldn't hear. "But I might have a few things on hand…"

"On hand?" Lucy asked, turning to face me as we reached the end of the stairs and the end of the lobby. "Don't you need to go back to… you know?"

"Well… about that…" I gave her a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of my head. "There's something I should probably show you when we get where we're going…"

***​

Lucy​

***​

The dinner with Eena and Feyra went well! Even if Feyra complained a lot, I'm pretty sure it was mostly just to hide how sad she was about us leaving… She never stopped eating even as she griped at us!

Afterwards, I made a point of hugging her - in the privacy of her own home, where nobody else could see, so she couldn't complain that much! I think she maybe cried a little on my shoulder, too? But I thought it was nicer not to check, so I didn't.

It was a happy dinner, for the most part! As for the walk back to the inn with Eena… well, it was a bit weird. Normally, when I walked away from Feyra's house - or 'Eff's house' I guess - I always felt a little down, and lonely. With Eena, though, it was a lot easier to keep my smile! It really felt that so long as her hand was in mine, I'd never feel lonely again…

"Hey, Eena?" I whispered, turning to my girlfriend. "Do you think you could fly me somewhere special?"

"Somewhere special?" she asked, tilting her head a little to the side. She was seriously cute! "So long as your privacy spell can stop anyone from noting our ascent, I wouldn't mind. Where did you wish me to take you, though?"

"It's a surprise!" I replied, giving her my cheekiest grin. Which maybe wasn't very cheeky? But I really tried!

"A surprise, then…" Eena chuckled for a moment before taking her hand off mine. Then she slid one hand behind my back and pushed the other against my knees, scooping me up in a princess carry.

Wait. Eena was a queen, wasn't she? So maybe it was more of a queen carry? Or was it more about the person who got carried than the person who did the carrying?

It didn't really matter. I think I was mostly trying to distract myself, honestly, even as I spoke the words of my holy privacy spell. Even as her wings sprouted, we ascended to the air, and I started giving her directions to our destination.

The truth is… I was actually a little scared to think about where we were going. It was somewhere I hadn't been in a very long time. Somewhere I was always scared to go, to be honest.

Having Eena with me made me feel like I could handle it, though…

"We're looking for a small village," I told Eena, directing her flight first above the major roads, and then a well trodden side path, before finally shifting to what looked like little more than a game trail from the air, leading to a small village.

"Is this it?" Eena asked me, and I nodded, but then shook my head.

"It's the right place, but it's not where we're going! It's just my best landmark! The next part might actually take a bit, but… I think if we go left… We're looking for a small clearing!"

Eena banked left, looking over the forest as I craned my own neck to look down a bit. I don't know how long it took, but Eena was incredibly patient with me as we crossed over the trees again and again, until she finally found the right clearing. One I confirmed was right with a single look.

It wasn't much to look at, really. Just a small clearing, with a little cottage in it, somewhere near the edge of the forest. A few hours walk from the village. I asked Eena to bring us down.

"Is this place somewhere important to you?" Eena asked, her brow furrowed with curiosity. Or maybe worry, considering how somber I was acting? Maybe both.

I nodded. "Could you take me down?"

"Of course," she said, her worry still evident in her voice.

I wanted to comfort her, but… I couldn't. Not this time. Actually, I could feel tears forming in my eyes as she set me down and I walked towards the door. The plain wooden door on the plain wooden cottage.

It was clearly falling apart. There were some holes in the roof, and I was pretty sure there'd be a draft if I went inside. Also dust, probably. Lots and lots of it.

"This is where I grew up," I told Eena, placing a hand on the doorknob. "Until Mom died when I was thirteen…"

"Here?" Eena questioned, looking around. She was curious, I could tell, but also sort of confused? "I don't imagine the church priests were very happy to make the trek here whenever they had to reach you…"

I shook my head. "The church didn't know we were here. Mom… ran away to hide me here…"

"She fled?" Eena asked. "From the church?"

"From everyone," I told her. "Father Tuffel told me she used to live on the local church's grounds as a priestess, but on the night I was born monsters attacked the church… He thinks they must have been after me. And Mom didn't feel safe anymore, so she took me here and hid me."

"Does that fit with what your mother told you?" Eena asked. I could tell she was suspicious of the story - maybe because it came from the church? Or maybe because it was a bit of a big coincidence… I mean, everyone always said the Demon Queen must have sent the monsters, but she obviously hadn't. Still…

"Mom never told me anything," I told her. "Not about the church, not about my destiny. I didn't even know I was the Heroine until after she died…"

"Was your strength not a clue?" Eena asked. "Or were you isolated here the entire time…?"

"I went into the village, sometimes!" I told her. "But Mom always just said I was stronger than the other kids and needed to be careful with them… I guess I kind of took it for granted? I mean, Mom was strong too, so I figured I must have gotten it from her… I guess she had actually been training really hard to get that strong, though?"

I smiled faintly, before turning my eyes to my hand on the door. It took more effort than it should have to make the door turn.

The inside was just like I expected - full of dust… but otherwise, the same as it had been when Father Tuffel and the others took me from this place. I could even see the wooden cup I used to drink from laying on the kitchen counter from where I was standing.

"I think Mom was going to tell me, eventually," I added after a moment. "Maybe even when I turned thirteen? She did say she had something big to tell me, but… Well, she never got the chance, I guess…"

I started to walk inside, only to stop when Eena wrapped her arms against me. Her warm chest pressed into my back, her arms gently wrapped under my own, I leaned back against her to just appreciate her warmth.

When I looked up at her, though, I was surprised to find that my vision was blurry. I was crying.

"I just… after going to the Tower, and hearing that maybe Mom kept even more secrets from me than I thought… it's really hard to hear… If she knew the Demon Queen, then shouldn't she have told me? Shouldn't she have helped me prepare? If she knew my destiny, then I could have been learning to fight all along… then maybe I'd have been able to… to protect her…"

But I wouldn't have been able to, and I knew it. For one thing, she'd asked me to stay home that night. She'd been shopping for my birthday, after all, but… it was hard to let go of the thought…

"I think your mother wanted you to have a normal childhood," Eena said after a moment. "Or as normal as you could have… I doubt she intended to hide everything from you forever, at the very least."

I nodded. I knew what she was saying was probably true. My Mom loved me, after all, so she probably didn't like the idea of me having to fight in a war… especially if she knew that the Demon Queens weren't evil… but still…

"It still hurts, sometimes… knowing everything she kept from me…"

"I can't imagine," Eena whispered, tightening her arms around me. I leaned against her, just enjoying her warmth for a while. "Would it help if I promised not to keep anything from you?"

I shook my head. "That's not realistic, Eena… Everyone has secret,. and that's okay! But… maybe… if it's something that affects me, try not to hide it from me then?"

"Then I suppose I should tell you something, right now…" Eena whispered, releasing me so that she could instead grip my side and gently turn me towards her.

"Something you should tell me?" I asked, looking up at her with teary eyes.

She nodded. "I'm not sure it's the right time… or if the urge is even coming from the right place… but seeing you like this? I… really want to kiss you."

I… laughed. I couldn't help it. I mean, it was so badly timed! We were standing in my old home, talking about my old memories, and I was crying… and vulnerable… and all Eena wanted to do was kiss me.

To comfort me.

"I think I'd like that," I whispered.

Even though Eena was probably the toughest, strongest person on the planet, all I could think when her lips touched mine was… 'Soft…'

***​

It was late at night when we finally came home. In the end, I'd ended up giving Eena a tour of my old cottage. I'd shown her where I'd slept, and where Mom had been… and I'd maybe sneakily looked to see if there were any letters she'd left for me, but if there were I didn't find any. That was fine, though! Or at least it would be fine? Because I had Eena with me, and that made me feel like I could get through anything!

…It was still a relief to leave, though. Despite also being sad? Like I was waving goodbye to my childhood innocence all over again… but the world needed me and Eena! We couldn't just stay in the past like that…

Well, even though I say that, it's not like I wasn't still thinking about it. It's just that I was also thinking about the future! Which was why, despite how late it was, I still ended up asking the clerk at the desk if there was a letter for me. I felt kind of bad about it, since he was obviously hoping to nap at the desk again once we left, but he did get it for me all the same!

It was from the church, of course, and in it was hopefully the answer to Eena's depetrification problems. Which is why I took a deep breath before pulling the envelope open and pulling the letter out.

But when I read it… "They… want to meet you?"

Spoiler: Author's Notes

So, this almost ended up as two chapters - one to end the last arc, one to start the new... but it would have been two very short chapters, with the second not even breaking 2,000 words. So, I decided to combine them! A decision I hopefully won't come to regret when I'm hurrying to make another chapter before next Weds....

In other news, Lucy now knows about the 'empty bag'! And we now know what makes Lucy so different than the other Heroines... Or rather, why her views differ so dramatically from others in general. She wasn't given quite the same religious upbringing as other Heroines have.

We'll be getting more info on Devilla's take on that kiss next chapter, by the way~!

PS: There might be another one week break coming up... I'm gonna try and avoid it, but depression is kicking my ass and I've only got Patreon up to chapter 53.

 

[LocalCatHybrid]

Nothing can possibly go wrong with that

 

[Lain]

I guess there will be shotgun talk, after all.

 

[PrincessKay]

Devilla​

Lucy's lips were warm. Warm, soft, and sweet. It was all that I could think about as we flew back to the inn. My first kiss, discounting the time I'd brazenly stolen Abigail's lips during sex. That had been 'during sex,' though, so it didn't quite count. No… as far as my true first kiss went, I'd pledged it and my commitment both to Lucy. Told her that I would be here, next to her, for as long as she would have me.

That's what a kiss meant - to me, at least. To demons in general, really, if the stories I'd read and the gossip I'd overhead was anything to go off of. It was a commitment. Not on the level of a wedding ring, by any means, but it was essentially the first step towards that path. If I had to quantify it… half a step before 'I love you'? A declaration that you were at least starting to fall for someone. That if things continued the way they were going, you'd be happy to stay with her forevermore.

That was why I'd been so nervous about giving Lucy my first… but seeing her so vulnerable, so in need… Well. It wasn't as if I'd ever intended to abandon her. Rather, I'd always been convinced - was still convinced, really - that she'd be the one to tire of me, long before I'd even have the chance. Yet for now, until the day she left me, I wanted her to know that I'd be there for her. That I cared for her. That I was falling for her - and hard, at that.

It was a rather all-consuming thought. Which was why I could hardly focus on Lucy in the present - why my mind kept drifting back to that oh-so-sweet kiss, even as she read the church's response to her missive.

"They…. want to meet you?"

At least until she said that.

"They what?!" I was aware that I was gawking at her in surprise, but hardly capable of doing more than gaping at her.

"I mean, they don't specifically say that," Lucy informed me, before handing the letter over. "But they make a point of mentioning rumors about me picking up a companion and they want me to come to the holy capital in person to pick up the spell. They say it's because writing holy words on a plain letter would be sacrilegious, but I'm pretty sure that's just an excuse to get us over there."

"You sound almost suspicious of them," I remarked, blinking from surprise. "I thought you were more the sort to take things at face value?"

"Well, I like to!" Lucy confirmed with a smile. "I mean, I'd rather believe someone and be wrong than not believe someone when they really need my help… but that only lasts until I know for sure they're lying to me, you know? And the church… I mean, I do think most people in the clergy mean well, but… a lot of the higher ups get involved in politics. If someone sent them a letter about me being all close to you, then they'll probably want to talk to me about it… Especially since they're really focused on you, without a word about Feyra!"

I let out a noncommittal grunt, too focused on the letter to immediately respond. There was nothing particularly egregious written in it. A flowery greeting, followed by talk of her escapades reaching the church, and a 'rumor' about her 'growing close' to an 'unknown highborn.' Only the last paragraph actually mentioned her request for the depetrification spell, and even then it read almost as an afterthought. It was clearly an attempt to bring her to their capital, where they'd hold all the power.

"What do you wish to do about it?" I inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, I'd like to go," Lucy confessed, frowning. "I mean, I have a lot of questions, and I think the holy capital might have answers! What about you, though? I could probably get the spell even if you don't come… I mean, it is sort of enemy territory for you, isn't it?"

"And in what world would I let my girlfriend go into enemy territory undefended?!" I demanded, giving her a frown of my own. "You might be on their side for the moment, but I don't want to imagine what they'd do to you if they somehow found out who I really am…"

"I am pretty good at protecting myself, Eena," Lucy countered, actually sounding a little annoyed. Any trace of that annoyance disappeared a moment later, though, when she gave me a bright smile. "I'm really glad you care, though! And there's a lot of places I'd love to show you!"

"Then it sounds like our next destination is set," I declared, privately relieved that I hadn't upset Lucy too much. I was likely being overprotective… but at the same time, if anything were to befall Lucy due to my own cowardice, my own unwillingness to step into that enemy territory - even knowing nobody there could harm me… The very thought of it felt like a dagger through the heart. "It shouldn't take us long at all to reach there going at full speed…"

"About that," Lucy murmured, curling a strand of red hair about her fingers. "I think you might actually be too fast. I mean, I can get anywhere pretty quickly, if I run at top speed, but your flying is a bit… no, way faster than anything I can manage! There'd definitely be questions if we went there at full speed!"

"I suppose that is true," I conceded, running a hand through my own hair. I was in a bit of a hurry to get the depetrification spell, what with Sylvanna's time limit taking up space in the back of my mind, but… well, making the church suspicious of Lucy in any way would be akin to putting the cart before the horse. "It would seem we have little choice but to take things at a slower pace, then…"

"Well, actually…" Lucy hesitated. "I was thinking that maybe we could take a detour? There's a place I really want to show you! And as long as we don't raise too much of a ruckus, the church won't send a letter to alert the holy city, so as far as they'll know any time we spend there is just time we spent traveling!"

Her plan made sense - at least so long as she was right about the church only reporting her presence if she made a ruckus. Honestly, I wasn't entirely confident in our ability to not cause a ruckus, but if Lucy thought it would help…

"Is it at least somewhat on the way to the church?"

"In the same general direction!" Lucy confirmed. "Though it's not the most direct route, I guess… If you want to hurry we can, but I really do want to show you this place!"

"What sort of place…" is it. Those were the words I meant to speak, and yet they never left my lips, for even as I began to form them I heard it. A squeak. My eyes darted around, seeking out its source, but there was nothing. Yet I heard it again - another squeak, coming from the direction of the wall.

It could have been a chair moved improperly. Or a mouse, for that matter, happily squealing over a bit of cheese. Neither would bother me, even if the latter did seem slightly unhygienic. Yet if it was what I feared… if it was what I dreaded…

Straining my ears, I could hear something suspiciously like scurrying.

"I have to get out of here," I whispered.

"Eena? Is something wrong?"

I nodded, eyes flicking to Lucy. I couldn't just leave her here, with that… that thing. Even if I knew it likely wouldn't be able to hurt her. Its teeth probably couldn't even pierce her flesh, let alone mine. Assuming it was even real to begin with. Yet…

"We need to get out of here," I corrected myself. "This place might have rats!"

"I mean… maybe?" Lucy agreed, frowning. "The inn probably has cats to deal with them, though!"

"You don't understand, Lucy… I… If I see a rat, I… I'm not certain of my ability to control myself. I might very well do something I'll regret…" Like incinerate this entire building.

"Do you hate rats that much?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide with innocent curiosity - and perhaps a touch of worry.

More than a touch, actually. Which was fair, considering the fact that I was practically trembling. "Hate them? No. That, I could at least attempt to suppress… I fear them, Lucy. With a terror as deep as it is irrational. The last time I saw one… the mere touch of it across my foot… it caused me to black out. And that was likely one of the better possibilities that could have resulted from such an encounter. I'm honestly just glad I didn't blow up Lissera's house…"

"It's that bad?!" Lucy asked, her eyes wide now as understanding began to dawn. As she began to realize the troubles I could bring upon this inn, should a rat appear within this room. "...I'll tell the innkeeper that we're checking out in the morning. And I'll do a really thorough sweep of the room for rats! Maybe you should spend the night at the tower while I do that, though?"

I hesitated a moment, reluctant to let Lucy face this threat on her own - as unthreatening as it may have been to her. Another little squeak made up my mind for me, though, as I soon nodded. "Just make sure not to move the teleportation circle, or put anything on it," I warned her. "That's all that it'd take to keep me from teleporting back."

"Got it!" she agreed as I took the teleportation circle in question out from my Empty Bag and placed it in a corner of the room. Quickly feeding it with my holy magic, I closed my eyes and focused on the circle's twin, safely located in my tower room.

When I opened my eyes again, I was there - in my nice, safe, and most importantly rat-free tower room - faced with Abigail, who was currently holding a forkful of eggs and gawking at my sudden appearance.

The only thing I could think to say?

"...Isn't it a little too late at night to be eating breakfast?"

***​

Abigail​

***​

So, there I was, bored out of my skull after another day of doing nothing in Devilla's absence - seriously, I almost considered actually asking the other maids if they needed help cleaning anything - when suddenly Devilla was there. Judging my choice of late night snack.

"...The kitchen was closed, alright! And eggs are really simple to make." Not that I couldn't have made anything more complex, but… come on, it was a late night snack! And I liked eggs!

"If you say so…" Devilla muttered, clearly judging me a little but too polite to say anything about it.

Which was just… "Ugh, you're worse than Mom! Can't a girl enjoy her choice of bedtime snacks in peace?!"

"Sorry," Devilla replied, looking a little flustered. Then she paused. "Wait… why in the world are you having a late time snack in my room? Aren't you usually home by now?"

"Usually, yeah, but Mom's got company over tonight and that gets… loud. Annoyingly so. And a little icky? I mean, some of the excess lust always ends up wafting my way, and I really don't wanna get my Mom's leftovers."

Even if I was feeling more hungry for lust than regular food, anyways… I'd been spending way too much time in Devilla's room of late, and not nearly enough time soaking up lust at the brothel. Devilla hadn't exactly been keeping up with her promise to feed me, either - not that I blamed her, with how busy she was… and besides, her lust was weird. Tasty, but weird - it never seemed to fill me up the way it should. Not that I wouldn't feel full in the moment, but an hour later…? Famished. The only exception had been when Mifa was going at it with her, but even then it was more like the harpy general was pulling her weight and then some… Maybe it had something to do with the whole 'angel' thing? Like even her lust was different than everyone else's.

"I see," Devilla murmured, blissfully unaware of everything going through my mind. "So you came here… Well, I won't say that you aren't welcome, but I should mention that I'm planning to spend the night."

"Does that mean you're actually going to feed me again?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Mostly just to see her squirm a little. It was kinda… cute. The way her cheeks flushed red.

"Right… I've been rather lackluster in terms of that responsibility, haven't I?"

"It's fine," I told her. "I never intended to rely on you for all my lust, anyway."

"Still," Devilla pressed, "if you wish for me to fulfill my duties in bed-"

"Thanks, but no thanks," I interrupted. "At least not if you're going to refer to it as a duty anyhow. I prefer my bedmates to be a bit more appreciative, you know?"

"That's… I didn't mean to imply… I mean…"

A small smile tugged at my lips. It was actually sort of fun to tease Devilla like this. For all her power, political, physical, and magical alike, she was so quick to turn into a flustered mess when you pushed her buttons just right. "It's fine, Devilla. Seriously. You've been busy."

"Business is a poor excuse for ignoring someone so dear to my heart," Devilla protested and suddenly it was my turn to fight off a blush.

Where the hell did she get off spouting lines like that?!

"Dear to your heart, huh?" I teased, determined to get the upper hand. "Bold words from someone who's only known me for a couple weeks… I know we're friends, and all, but are you sure you wouldn't be saying this exact same thing if it had been another maid in my spot after the coronation?"

"Perhaps," Devilla confirmed. To my surprise the words sent a stinging pain through my heart. Then she continued. "But it wasn't just any maid who appeared next to me in that state, it was you. By fate or fortune, it was you who stood by me, both physically and metaphorically, as time went by. You who kept me from giving up on myself and simply shoving this mess onto the shoulders of others. You who made me believe it possible that I could make a difference… who made me think I could, perhaps, at least by some be forgiven, no matter how little I deserve it. So while it's certainly possible that another maid could have worked her way into my heart, I must say all the same - I'm glad it was you."

"Y-yeah, well… Sappy much?" I grumbled, shoving another bite of egg into my mouth and trying really hard not to blush. "What are you even here for, anyway? I thought Lucy was keeping your nights busy."

"She was," Devilla confirmed with a nod. Again there was that sharp pain in my chest, but I pushed it away. I had an unsettling suspicion as to what it might mean, but… well, now wasn't really the time to delve into all that, was it? "I… had to leave her for the night. The inn was… possibly… infested. With rats."

"With rats?" I questioned, hardly able to believe my ears. I mean… rats…? Really? "As in the small rodents that squeak?"

"Y-you know what they are?" Devilla asked, seemingly surprised. "You… we… wait-the tower doesn't have rats, does it?!"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "But we do have rat girls."

"Rat girls I can deal with," Devilla announced, letting out a sigh of relief. "But rats… actual rats…. They terrify me, to be honest…"

"Wait," I said, holding up a hand. "Wait, wait, wait…. You're afraid…. Of rats? You? The most powerful person on the planet?"

"Laugh if you must," she grumbled, "but it's a relic of my past life that I can't seem to shake. Perhaps because I never had any strong feelings about rats, one way or another, in this world… or indeed, any interactions with them. That void of feeling was vulnerable to being filled."

"Right… I'll just pretend that makes sense to me then," I declared with a shrug before popping another bite of egg in my mouth. "Well, this place is rat-free, at least. Your room especially, probably, seeing as how it's got all those fancy protections on it. You know, like the whole being 'spy proof' thing?"

"Ah! Right…" And we were back to flustered Devilla! Which was just the way things should be - me, calm and collected with my nearly-emptied plate of eggs, and her shifting from foot to foot with a very red face. "I suppose I still need to properly apologize for that… I swear I wasn't aware the room had such a feature. Much of what the tower can do has caught me off guard, actually… it makes me wonder how the whole thing is powered."

"By magic?" I suggested, rolling my eyes. "I mean, it seems pretty obvious to me anyways."

"Well, yes, but… how?" Devilla asked. "How does the tower have such a supply of holy magic? How have things kept running for two thousand years? Just how much power is packed into these stone walls? And how much of it is left?"

"You'd have to ask your ancestors," I pointed out with a shrug. Honestly, I don't really want to think about the tower running out. I don't think it would be a good day for anyone if that sorta thing happened, but it hadn't happened so far, and it wasn't like there was anything I could do to change things if it did, so…

"I think I missed my chance for that when I messed up the Rite," Devilla sighed, settling down on the bed beside me. "Not that I'm terribly upset about how all that ended up… it most certainly saved my life and hopefully helped to better the lives of others as well. But at the same time…"

"Yeah. It sucks to imagine - two thousand years of history coming to a halt because we ran out of power… But there's not exactly much point in worrying about what you can't change, you know?"

"I suppose…" Devilla murmured, sighing again.

I shifted a little, bumping my shoulder against hers. "Come on. It's lasted two thousand years without anything going wrong. It'll be fine for another year or two while you resolve things with Lucy."

"And if it isn't?" Devilla questioned me, turning to look at me with eyes full of… something. Yearning, maybe? For comfort, specifically. For someone to tell her that it would be okay.

Lately that had been Lucy's job. Lucy wasn't here, though, so… I put an arm around her.

"Then we'll face it together," I said with more confidence than I felt. "Now come on. Let's get some sleep."

"Together?" Devilla asked, a teasing smirk on her lips. "I thought you were opposed to us bedding one another tonight."

"Not opposed," I corrected, putting my plate on the nightstand. "Just not that interested. Maybe in the morning…"

"In the morning," Devilla confirmed, clearly deciding not to give it any more thought as she began to shuck her clothing, starting with the heels and moving onto her shirt, skirt, and underwear.

She really was gorgeous underneath it all. With her hair cascading down her back, a few strands falling against her breasts, as if trying to draw attention to the pert little nipples - one of which was currently peeking between two strands.

Before I knew what I was doing, I'd already leaned down to place a kiss on it.

"Goodnight," I murmured, turning my face away from Devilla so she wouldn't see that my cheeks were aflame.

"...Goodnight," she repeated, apparently deciding to shrug the action off as she laid down. Maybe she just thought it was a succubus thing… either way, it didn't seem to bug her for long, since she was asleep just half a moment later.

Me? I was up for a while longer than that. Just thinking about those pangs of pain in my heart, and what they might mean…

It was best not to worry about things one couldn't do anything about, though. Devilla was already with Lucy, and while there was a chance she'd be willing to share… I wasn't sure if I was… Not with the Heroine, of all people.

Maybe… Maybe Lucy and I should have a talk about it at some point, though.

Maybe.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter, to be honest. The first half... I felt a little stuck. I wasn't entirely sure where I wanted it to go, and it felt like I was wading through mud just to get from one sentence to the next. Then I switched over to Abigail, and everything just flowed so smoothly...

At the same time, while I'm pretty happy with Abigail's part, I'm a little worried she might be putting things together a little too quickly? Like she went from zero to a hundred - no idea what she felt for Devilla, to every idea.

At the same time, she's not exactly a dense character. She was blind to what she felt for Devilla due to a mixture of inexperience and a part of her still stubbornly viewing Devilla as "The Queen" - an entity that's simultaneously been synonymous with "brat" for most of her life, and also a position that's somewhat beyond her imagining.

Once she started feeling those pangs of jealousy, though? She's not dumb enough to ignore them. She might try and convince herself it's not what she thinks it is, but that's about it.

Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for the amazing job at proofreading!

PS: Depression has been a bit easier to deal with of late, but I'm still only up to chapter 54 on Patreon. Depending on how much I get done, next week might still be a skip week. Sorry in advance!

 

[Nuew]

The bit with Abigail was definitely very cute. And sure, Lucy's section isn't full of fluff, but it's pushing the plot forward perfectly well, and we get introduced to Devilla's adorable fear of rats! Good chappy.

 

[dhasenan]

Not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter, to be honest. The first half... I felt a little stuck. I wasn't entirely sure where I wanted it to go, and it felt like I was wading through mud just to get from one sentence to the next.

Click to shrink...

But you got through it! And we can't exactly tell which parts were easy and which were hard — it all worked well!