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Monster Girl Saga	By : GenocideHeart Category: +M through R > Monster Girl Quest Views: 113526 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 16
Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Girl Quest, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
(A/N: New chapter time! As always, thanks to Toraneko from TFF for misc editing and grammar fixing. Also, thanks to Nanya, also from TFF, for some ideas I implemented in the dialogue. Enjoy!)

CHAPTER 7

Truth can be stranger than fiction

The next day saw Luka up and about shortly after dawn, as usual. He felt refreshed, having slept through most of the evening and all night, only waking up briefly after sundown. By then, Alice had long since returned to the room, but rather than tease him for having essentially passed out naked on the couch, she had been strangely quiet, regarding him with a thoughtful expression. Curious as he had been, Luka still felt too tired to inquire about her behavior, so he simply ate some leftover food, drank some water, and then went back to sleep. By the time he woke up again, Alice had already left the room, and was nowhere to be found. After spending a few minutes looking for her with no success, he shrugged. She was a powerful monster, and was disguised as a human. He was confident she would be fine.

Getting dressed, he readied himself for morning practice. As he grasped his sword, however, he saw the sorry state it was in. It made him wince. A night’s rest may have done wonders for him, but his treasured companion of many a morning wasn’t as fortunate. In its current condition, it would barely be useful for training, and fighting with it was out of the question. He shook his head sadly. He didn’t want to part ways with the sword his mother and Thermidor had gotten custom-made for him, but it didn’t seem like he’d get a choice in the matter. He’d have to hit town later and either get it repaired - and he wasn't at all convinced that this was even possible - or hope he could find a new one for sale that would fit him.

Depressed, Luka cast a quick glance at Thermidor - still fast asleep on her bed - then left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Heading downstairs, he went out of the building and into the courtyard. There was a lot of space there, and it would be ideal for what he had in mind.

For the next few minutes, he proceeded to go through several warm-up exercises, stretching his muscles and checking his overall state of form. He was still a little sore and stiff from the previous day’s exertion while fighting Granberia, but overall, his physical condition satisfied him.

Having concluded his warm-up, he then proceeded to work on the execution of Demon Decapitation. As he began the motions, he made a mental note to thank Alice for teaching him the skill. In all likelihood, it had saved both his and Thermidor’s lives. Then, for the next hour, he practiced the move, focusing on making its execution as smooth and fluid as possible. The skill had allowed him to do what he’d thought to be impossible - letting him score a nearly clean hit against an overwhelmingly superior opponent - but he held no illusion over it working again in the haphazard form he’d used. He needed to refine it to a point where he could land the blow even without the opponent being distracted beforehand.

Over and over, he practiced different methods of delivering the strike, varying the length of the step, the width of the slash and the momentum behind it, and eventually settled on an execution that he felt comfortable with. That, he decided, would be how he’d use it from that day onward. With that settled, he practiced for a few more minutes, then wound down and started on the other training he’d had in mind. He wanted to see whether he could replicate the multi-hitting move Granberia had used on Thermidor: Death Sword Chaos Star.

Unfortunately, that part of the training proved fruitless. His execution of the skill had issues no matter how he performed it. If he focused on speed, the accuracy and power of his blows would take a hit. If he focused on accuracy, then the speed and, to a lesser extent, power would suffer. Focusing on power caused speed to significantly drop. Attempting to execute it at the highest level he could in all three categories also pointed out a different problem - namely, it would be so exhausting, he’d be effectively unable to fight afterwards. The sorry state of his sword was not making things any easier; training had been more difficult overall with the twisted mess it had been reduced to.

After experiencing frustration for a while, Luka decided the skill was simply beyond his current ability. He’d have to be patient and become stronger, faster, and more skilled in order to use it. Eventually, he’d succeed, but clearly, it was not to be today.

As he ended his training and lowered his battered sword, panting and drenched in sweat, he became aware of someone’s gaze on him. Turning around, he saw Alice, in her human form, watching him from the hotel’s entrance with an unreadable expression. He nodded at her, approaching.

“Good morning, Alice,” he greeted her. “I assume you saw my embarrassing attempts to copy Granberia’s skill?”

“I did,” she nodded. “And you didn’t do all that bad, overall. Death Sword Chaos Star is a top-level Cursed Sword skill, something which takes most warriors years to master. While you are far from perfect, you already have a good form while attempting it. All you need to do is polish your technique and improve your physical prowess so you can handle the strain of attacking with such speed and power. Once you achieve that level of expertise, I have no doubt you will master the move in short order.”

“I still find it hard to get used to praise from you,” Luka commented. “Normally, you just point out how dumb I am.”

“When praise is deserved, I'm perfectly willing to give it,” Alice shrugged. “And in the last two days, you have impressed me positively. I have high expectations of you.”

“Now I’m nervous,” Luka grimaced. “Oh, before I forget, thank you for teaching me Demon Decapitation. Thermidor and I may not have survived without it.”

“You’re welcome, although all I did was show you the theory behind it,” she replied. “You are the one who took the theory and made it something practicable. Don’t let this get to your head, but... what you did yesterday was nothing short of amazing. I can count the number of people who landed a hit on Granberia on the fingers of my right hand, and I’d have fingers to spare.”

“Hmm... thank you. And I’ll be careful not to get too cocky,” he smiled. Then, he raised his sword and frowned. “That said, I should probably go into town and look for the blacksmith. With my sword in this condition, I can't practice properly, let alone fight. Hopefully, I can have it repaired.”

“Repaired? From that sorry state?” Alice shook her head. “You’d have more success trying to extract blood from a rock. You’re better off looking for a new one. And you may want some armor, too. We discussed that yesterday, if you recall.”

“Right, then, off to the blacksmith,” Luka decided. “Thermidor is still sleeping, so I’ll leave her be. Are you coming?”

“Why not? There may be something good to eat somewhere,” the Lamia nodded with a faint smile. Luka groaned.

“Should’ve expected that’d be your motivation. Why am I even surprised anymore?” he muttered as he walked off, the monster falling in line behind him.

----

A few minutes later, Luka and Alice strolled down the main road of Iliasburg, looking at the shops lining its sides. There appeared to be a wide variety of services available now that Granberia wasn't scaring all the shops closed, although most of them seemed to relate to food and household items. A little off the plaza further down, there was also a church. Luka noticed with some surprise that it wasn’t especially crowded.

As they walked along the road, heading for the blacksmith’s shop near the town plaza entrance, Luka overheard two women chatting to the side as they browsed a clothing store.

“...tell ya, those bandits to the west attacked another caravan of goods coming in from Iliasport,” he heard one of them say. “It’s been going on for a while now, but what is the Temple doing? Nothing! We asked for help several times already, but no one seems to care!”

“What did you expect from the local Temple Heroes? You saw how they ran and hid yesterday when that monster attacked,” the other replied, shaking her head. “The town guard were the only ones who even attempted to stop that scary dragon lady, besides that cute boy who managed to drive her off. They won’t act, either, but it’s not their job to deal with stuff outside the city, so at least they have an excuse.”

Luka’s interest perked up at that. Bandit troubles were still fairly common, even though the plague was long gone and order had returned to the region. It seemed Iliasburg had fallen on harder times than he thought. Deciding to investigate, he approached the two women. Behind him, he could hear Alice let out an exasperated, theatrical sigh, but she said nothing for the time being.

“Excuse me,” he began in a polite tone as he stopped near the talking women. “I happened to overhear you as I was passing by. What’s this about bandits? Perhaps I could be of assistance...”

“Forget it, kid,” a nearby guard chimed in as he heard him. “Those bandits ain’t your usual two-bit rabble from the sticks. They’re monsters! Dangerous ones, too! I hear there’s four of them, and they have a Vampire and a Dragon among 'em!”

“What? A Vampire and a Dragon?” Luka asked, raising an eyebrow. He’d both read and heard about those monster types, and somehow, the thought of two such high-level monsters stooping so low as to perform petty banditry struck him as odd. He decided more information was needed. “Would you happen to know anything more specific about these monster bandits?”

“The guards from the last robbed caravan are staying at the tavern,” one of the women helpfully provided. “They say they're ‘working up the courage to take revenge’, or something to that effect. More like they’re getting drunk to forget the beating they took, if you ask me.”

“And where is the tavern?” Luka asked. The guard shook his head in disapproval.

“Aren’t you listening to me? They got a Vampire and a Dragon!” he repeated. “Why would you-”

“Hey, aren’t you that boy who drove the dragon woman off yesterday?” the first woman suddenly interrupted the guard. The soldier blinked, then took a closer look at Luka and stared, open-mouthed. Immediately afterwards, he began to bow profusely in apology.

“So sorry, sir, didn’t recognize you there for a second!” he rattled out quickly, sweating a little. “Hope you won’t hold it against me.”

“Why would I? You were just doing your job, warning a citizen that he was sticking his nose in dangerous business,” Luka shrugged. “That said, I may be able to help with this problem, but I need more details. So, about that tavern...”

“Over there, the green and brown building with the ferret insignia outside,” the guard answered. He then took a closer look at Luka and blinked. “Uh, sir, beg your pardon, but you are aware your sword’s kinda...”

“Scrap metal? Yeah, I'm aware,” Luka grunted, frowning as he held the bent sword up. “I need to ask the blacksmith for a new one. After I’m done with that, I’ll hit the tavern, I guess. This bandit business worries me. Something’s off. Anyway, thank you. I’ll be going now.”

“Thank you for concerning yourself with our fair town’s well-being, young Hero,” the women chirped as he left. Luka winced. He could feel their stares drilling holes in his back, and he had a distinct feeling that it’d be best to avoid dark alleys after sundown while he was here. Those women seemed just a little bit too amorous.

“You just have to get involved with every minor thing, don’t you?” Alice grumbled as they walked off, headed for the smithy. Luka gave her a look.

“What’s the hurry? I’m supposed to be a Hero,” he pointed out. “Helping people in need is what Heroes do.”

“It’s what you do,” she corrected him. "I don’t see many other Heroes being eager to solve this situation. Just what fairy tale did you come out of, anyway? Just yesterday you nearly got killed by a powerful opponent, and now you’re already getting yourself in trouble again... oh, whatever. Let’s just get this over with and go back to the hotel. I’m famished.”

Luka briefly considered pointing out that she was always famished, or that the other Heroes clearly sucked bogwater at living up to the title, but decided discretion was the better part of valor and shrugged. There was no point getting in an argument right now.

Finally, the pair reached the blacksmith’s shop. A few pieces of armor were exposed outside, but looked like props. Probably there to attract attention, he thought as he pushed the door open and headed in.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” he called out as he walked up to the shop’s deserted counter. Almost immediately, a shuffling was heard from the back, and a curtain door in the wall behind the counter was pushed open as the owner appeared. Luka couldn’t help but stare at the smith. He was by far the largest man Luka had ever seen, being well over seven feet tall, broader across than the entrance to his own shop, and massively muscled. He had tanned skin, piercing black eyes, and short black hair, and wore blue sweatpants, fingerless black gloves and a sleeveless white shirt.

“Ah, you’re the lad who drove off the dragon knight,” the giant man greeted Luka in an extremely deep and resonant, yet surprisingly soft voice. “That was a good fight you and your companion had back there. Reminded me of my wandering days. Anyway, I assume you are here on business. What can I do for you?”

“Well... I was wondering if you could repair this sword,” he said, holding his damaged blade up for the man to see. “It got damaged pretty badly in yesterday’s fight, and...”

“Now, now, hold it,” the smith interrupted him, waving a huge hand. “That’s not even a sword anymore, my friend. It’s junk. You’d have to have it reforged completely, and at that point, it’d be better to simply buy a new one.”

“I was afraid you’d say that,” the young Hero muttered, his shoulders slumping. The other man gave him a sympathetic look.

“Sentimental value, eh?” he guessed. At Luka’s nod, he shook his head. “I imagined as much. Unfortunately, that’s often what happens with equipment. It’s best not to get too attached to swords or armor, because there’s always the chance they will be irreparably damaged.”

“So there’s nothing I can do, then,” Luka said, resigned. The smith frowned.

“Well... as I said, you could have it reforged,” he explained. “It’d basically cost you as much as buying a new one, maybe more, but you’d have it back good as new. Now, normally, I’d be more than happy to do it for you at discount price... but as you can see, there’s a bit of a snag.”

As he said that, he held his right arm up, and Luka winced as he saw a bandage over what appeared to be a nasty bruise on his wrist. It didn’t look like the arm was broken, but from the looks of it, forging work was out of the question.

“What happened?” the boy asked. The blacksmith sighed.

“That crazy dragon girl happened,” he replied. “I was one of the civilians who joined the effort to try and drive her off. But apparently, I’ve gotten rusty since I retired from adventuring. She whacked me good and messed my work arm up.”

“I see,” Luka nodded. It seemed the town guards hadn’t been the only ones to engage Granberia. “I suppose I’ll just have to get a new one.”

“You know what? Keep that sword,” the smith suggested. “Once my arm is in working order again, I’ll be more than happy to reforge it. In fact, I’ll make it even better than before, you can count on it!”

“Mmmm,” Luka nodded. “I’ll keep your offer in mind, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be here in Iliasburg. I’m on an adventure of my own, you see.”

“Oh? Then maybe I could interest you in some armor?” the smith suggested. “Judging from your body build, you aren’t the type to wear heavy metal armor, so maybe something lighter...”

“Uh, I don’t want to sound rude or anything, but...” Luka said hesitantly, eyeing the armor sets on display in the shop. Several of them looked extremely impractical and uncomfortable to wear, and some were clearly all looks and no substance.

“Ah, ignore that stuff,” the man waved his good hand at him. “Most of it’s just the stuff I sell to those featherless peacocks who call themselves ‘heroes’ and ‘warriors’ nowadays, but can’t tell the difference between a hunk of useless metal and actual honest-to-god armor fit for battle. I mostly keep the quality goods in the back, except for a few scattered across the shop. Anyone with a good eye for armor will spot them instantly.”

“If you know those wares are worthless, why are you selling them in the first place?” Alice inquired, raising an eyebrow. “It seems more than a little dishonest.”

“If someone asks me to forge him junk, and doesn’t listen to my advice when I tell him it’s junk, then he deserves junk,” was the smith’s flat reply. “And believe me, I do try to change their minds. But nowadays, most people who come in here are concerned with appearance over practicality. There’s nothing wrong with applying some spikes in strategic places to your armor if you expect to fight against opponents that can be driven off, or even simply intimidated, by them, but most Temple Heroes don’t seem to understand the concept of ‘not going overboard’. I have better things to do than spend most of my life explaining to those types why they are being idiots.”

“Fair enough,” Alice nodded. “I still don’t see the actual use of spikes, though. For instance, the dragon girl that attacked earlier would break them effortlessly.”

“True, but they can help against weaker monsters whose flesh isn’t too tough, since they hurt them and prevent them from pinning the wearer down,” the blacksmith explained. “But to be fair, the further north you go, the more useless they become. Most monsters up north in Sentora either have skins that are too tough or too elastic to be hurt by them, or else they've got the sheer strength to simply snap them off. And there’s even some monsters who get off on the pain, I hear.”

“I think I heard about those types, too, but they’re supposedly only found in really remote areas,” Luka chimed in. “I couldn’t name one offhand, though.”

“Anyway, just wait here,” the man concluded as he disappeared in the back. “I’ll bring out some of my best wares.”

As the pair waited for the blacksmith’s return, they began to look around the shop, curious about the exposed items. Some of them didn’t look like they were from anywhere in Ilias, and Luka assumed that they were trophies from the smith’s time as a wanderer. In particular, his eyes were attracted by a large circular red-colored device of unknown use, and by what looked to be a pair of massive gauntlets, similarly red-colored. In one corner, there was a bust of a mustachioed, somber-looking man, with the name ‘Gabriel’ etched on its base.

As Luka was looking around, the man came back, carrying several pieces of equipment, and laid his wares down on the counter. Abandoning their exploration of the shop, Luka and Alice came closer, examining the armor the smith had picked. As he had promised, it was functional, high quality light armor, specifically a set of leather brigandine. It was designed for agility first and foremost, thus offering less protection than regular mail-and-plate armor, but that suited Luka perfectly. The boy nodded, impressed. This blacksmith knew his stuff when it came to armor.

As Luka examined the armor, Alice’s attention was drawn by something on a nearby shelf. Walking up to it, she examined it, then brought it back to the counter and held it up.

“Excuse me,” she said, displaying what looked like a plain white shirt. “How much does this cost?”

“Ah, I’d forgotten about that one,” the man said, giving Alice an approving look. “I see you have a keen eye for quality, madam. That’s an Enrikan shirt - it’s a product from an isolated village down south which specializes in clothing articles that offer protection as good as that of any armor. This may look light, but it’s actually tough enough to stop small blades, reduce impact from larger ones, and almost completely block arrows.”

“Really? This thin-looking shirt?” Luka asked, surprised. The smith nodded.

“I don’t know how they make them, but their wares are top-quality, no question about it,” he confirmed. “They’re as good as the armor I showed you, and much lighter... but since they are rare items, they cost an arm and a leg, so not everyone can afford it.”

“Uh, maybe I’d better pass on it, then...” Luka began, but the smith waved a hand dismissively.

“Never mind that, I’ll sell it to you at a discount,” he stated. “You are the town’s Hero, after all. I don’t mind helping you out by lowering prices.” Looking him over critically, he picked a few pieces of equipment up. “Let’s see... besides the Enrikan shirt, I’d say you could use a pair of armguards, so you can at least attempt to parry blows with your forearms if you get disarmed. And, for carrying small items for battle use... how about this leather belt? It should be your size. Hm, I’d offer a pair of boots, but those are best custom-made when it comes to using them for battle. A pair of badly-fitting boots can cause you to stumble in battle, and for someone like you who needs to remain mobile, that’d be a disaster...”

“How much is all this going to cost?” Luka asked, taking his coin purse out. The man looked at him, then at the gathered wares and nodded to himself.

“Hmm... for all this... I’ll make it a special rate. Three gold and it’s all yours,” he replied. Luka blinked.

“Wait... how much does this shirt cost normally? You mentioned it’s awfully expensive...” he asked. The man once again waved his hand.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine,” he stated. “Even if I’m at a net loss, it beats what would've happened if that dragon woman had taken over the town. I’d have lost the whole shop, then. This is nothing, so just take the price, all right?”

“Well, if you’re happy with this, then...” the boy shrugged as he pulled three coins out and handed them over. As he looked at his new equipment, he suddenly remembered the reason he originally came to the blacksmith's. “I can't believe I almost forgot - I came in here because I need a sword! Do you happen to-”

“Sorry, I have nothing that would fit you,” the blacksmith replied with an apologetic look. “All the weapons I have are either too heavy or too long. You’d have to get used to them all over again, and that could take a long time. You might want to go back to wherever you got that sword in the first place and see if they have something like it. I specialize in heavy weapons, mostly.”

“I see. Thank you anyway,” Luka nodded, gathering his purchases. “Well then, time to head for the tavern.”

“Aren’t you a little too young to drink?” the blacksmith asked disapprovingly. Luka shook his head.

“I’m not going there to drink,” he explained. “I'm going there to gather information. I hear the people who were attacked by those bandits are staying at that tavern, so I figured I'd start asking questions.”

“You plan to go after the bandits?” the smith asked, surprised. “That explains why you were looking for a new weapon. Listen, kid, don’t do anything crazy. Hunting down monster bandits with your bare hands isn’t a smart thing to do... well, unless you’re me, anyway. Used to fight with just my fists back in the day. But, well, you aren’t me, so you probably shouldn’t do it.”

“I’ll have to think of something,” Luka agreed as he opened the shop’s door. “Thank you again for your help, Mr...?”

“Call me Po if you want,” the man replied with a friendly smile. “It’s what everybody in town calls me anyway.”

“Right then, goodbye, Mr. Po,” Luka said. Then he and Alice left the smithy.

“Nice kid,” the blacksmith murmured as he returned to the back of his shop. “Here’s hoping he won’t get himself killed, or worse, by some monster... or some human.”

----

A few minutes later, Luka entered the tavern. A little discussion convinced Alice that it would be better if she waited outside. Her attire could attract the wrong kind of attention, and the boy really didn’t feel like having to beat down half the drunks inside when the all-too-likely brawl would break out. The Lamia didn’t complain. She simply stated that she’d keep herself busy sampling local delicacies, and immediately sauntered off towards the food stands. Luka grimaced at that; he was sure she’d make a sizable dent in his travel funds, but it was better than letting her wander around.

As the boy walked in, his gaze was immediately attracted by a bunch of men in cloaks drinking and making noise off in a corner. He approached the counter, keeping his eyes on the drunk patrons, and addressed the bartender.

“I don’t suppose you could tell me which of these fine gentlemen are the caravan guards who got attacked by the bandits?” he inquired. The barman gave him a somewhat amused look.

“You’ve been staring at them since you came in, my friend,” he replied, confirming Luka’s suspicions. “That cloaked bunch over there has been doing nothing but drinking, harassing the waitresses and whining about how the monsters they fought were so powerful even the Temple Heroes would have no chance against them and it was a miracle they got away alive. As if being able to send the Temple’s strutting fools running would be tough... I was about to call my bouncers and throw them out. They may have paid their tabs so far, but frankly, they've overstayed their welcome.”

“Could you hold that thought for a few more minutes?” Luka asked him. “I have a few questions to ask them.”

“Well... say, you’re one of the people who saved our town yesterday, aren’t you?” the bartender asked, interested. “Does that mean you’re going to do something about those bandits?”

“That’s the idea, yes,” he nodded. “Although I’ll have some preparations to take care of beforehand. Anyway, just let me ask those people about the bandits who attacked them. After that, feel free to have them tossed in the nearest river.”

“All right, but be quick about it and try not to start a fight,” the other man nodded, worried. “I’d rather not have my tavern wrecked by that useless bunch.”

“Understood,” Luka replied with a nod as he walked off. Wasting no time, he approached the noisy group - six men, all in their late twenties from what he could tell - just as a clearly annoyed waitress deftly avoided a clumsy grabbing attempt by one of them. The boy grimaced; if they were drunk enough to do that, they might be drunk enough to really start a fight if they got aggravated. He’d have to be careful about what he said. Stopping near their table, he cleared his throat to gain their attention, causing the six caravan guards to turn his way with a confused expression on their faces.

“Excuse me for interrupting your drinking,” he began. “I heard you had a run-in with some monsters, and I couldn’t help but be curious. Where did it happen? And what monsters did you meet? What were they after?”

“Huh, what’s a kid doing in here? They’ll let just anyone in here, won't they...” one of the men spoke up, giving Luka a drunken glare. Another beside him patted him on his arm.

“C'mon, now, this kid obviously wants to hear about our heroic struggle against those powerful enemies,” he chided him, slurring a bit.

“Hah! You’d have peed yourself if you’d been there, boy!” another guard chimed in, his face flushed from too much wine. “It was terrifying, I tell ya! Four mighty monsters, wielding awesome power! We never stood a chance... they ambushed us and demanded we hand over our cargo in booming, dreadful voices. There were a Vampire and a Dragon among them, too! Terrible monsters of myth, capable of crushing even Heroes under their heel as if they were nothing! We fiercely fought to defend ourselves and our cargo, but were overwhelmed, and it was all we could do to flee with our lives!”

“Yeah! The Dragon was especially terrifying!” yet another guard started. “Great claws capable of rending flesh and stone, fiery breath setting ablaze all it touched, scales so hard even the toughest armor could not compete, cute round eyes, soft-looking skin--”

The guard’s rambling was cut off by one of his companions viciously elbowing him in the gut, cutting him off. He then looked at Luka, sweating a little.

“Ahahahaha... dreadful red eyes and skin like sandpaper, he meant,” he hastily amended. “Anyway! It was a Dragon! A crushingly powerful creature of legend! Surely you understand how terrifying its mere presence was, right? It’s only normal to have confused memories of her...”

“The Vampire was also dreadful,” the same guard from before chimed in, undeterred in his drunkenness. “She swept in as a cloud of bloodthirsty bats, clawing and biting at us, and then used her terrible magic to strike fear in our hearts. She laughed at us as we fled, her delicious flat chest heaving as she--”

Another vicious elbow, this time from another guard, reached the man, knocking the wind out of him completely. Luka grimaced, but he’d heard enough. These guards were obviously hiding something, and the description the drunk one gave of the Vampire and Dragon was odd, to say the least. It seemed there was indeed something amiss with the whole thing. Looking over at the guards, he realized they were sobering up, looking at him suspiciously. He smiled and shook his head.

“I see you’re still shaken from the ghastly experience you went through,” he told them, carefully keeping any hint of sarcasm out of his voice as he reached for a few coins he’d kept with him just in case and dropped them on the table. “Here, have another round, on me - call it a gift of sympathy. Just one last thing... you were attacked west of here, correct?”

“Yeah, near the base of the mountains,” one of the guards nodded, greedily eyeing the coins. “You should steer clear of there, though. They even have a Lamia with them! You do know how powerful they are, right?”

“Such a cute tiny tail, though...” the same man from before spoke up. This time, the elbow smash caught him in the face, knocking him backwards on his chair and dazing him into silence. Luka pretended he hadn’t heard him and waved goodbye to the caravan guards. Returning to the bartender, he gave the man a nod.

“Not only are they drunk as sponges, I'll bet my whole wallet they're lying through their rotting teeth,” Luka grunted, frowning. “A dip in that river may be in order.”

“I imagined they were lying,” the man replied. “Their stories kept getting more and more elaborate and flowery as time went on. I’ll have my boys send them packing. Hope you can solve this problem for us, young Hero.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Luka replied. “Can’t promise anything, though. I’m currently weaponless, and it may take a while to get a new one.”

“Ah, yeah. Ol' Po doesn’t really sell weapons made for someone your size, no offense,” the barman said with a knowing look. “He mostly supplies passing heavy knights and Temple Heroes. The former only wield large weapons, and the latter only want flashy junk, not that they ever fight as far as I've seen. I wish a great Hero like Heinrich would appear again. He must be rolling in his grave seeing what has become of the name 'Hero'.”

“You’re probably right,” Luka replied in a sympathetic tone. “Well, good luck handling those guys. I’ll head back to my hotel room and try to plan my next move.”

“Have a nice day, now!” the barman concluded as he waved to a trio of ominous-looking, gigantic, scarred men in a corner and pointed to the guards’ table. Luka winced as he left, seeing the massive bouncers get up and approach the caravaneers. Perhaps not even they deserved what was about to happen.

----

Upon stepping out of the tavern, Luka spotted Alice sitting on a nearby bench, intently eating what appeared to be a slice of fruit pie. He approached her, mulling over what he’d found out in the tavern.

“Ah, I see you are done investigating,” she addressed him as he drew near. “So, what have you found out?”

“Mainly that those guards can’t seem to agree with each other on what the monsters looked like,” he replied in a sarcastic tone. “The only thing they do agree on is that there were a Vampire, a Dragon and a Lamia. Also, apparently the Lamia had a cute, tiny tail, the Dragon had big round eyes and soft skin, and the Vampire had a delectable flat chest.”

“What is this perverted nonsense? What were those worthless morons looking at?” Alice frowned, displeased. “Don’t bother with such idiocy. Let’s think about something important instead, like stocking up on Ama-Ama Dango before we leave town.”

“...Dango is important? Fine, if you say so...” Luka sighed, resigned to Alice’s single-track mind. “I still need a new weapon, too. Otherwise, I won’t even be able to leave town. Fighting bare-handed is suicidal, the blacksmith was right about that.”

“Even if you get another sword, you won’t be able to use it effectively. You'll just keep pulling your swings as long as you find the idea of hurting your enemy distasteful,” Alice pointed out. Luka winced at that remark. She was right, of course. The monster looked at him as he slumped dejectedly, and shook her head in exasperation. “Very well, since you will sulk if I don’t do something about this, I will help you, just this once. Besides, it would be no fun if you got eaten by monsters too quickly. Let’s return to the inn... I may have a weapon that’s just right for you.”

“Eh? Seriously? That’d be a big help!” Luka said, his good mood somewhat returning. Then he thought of something, and his expression darkened again. “But... remember what the blacksmith said? If the weapon has a different balance than I'm used to, I'll have to waste time training with it until I'm familiar with it.”

“That won’t be a problem,” she stated cryptically, and refused to say more. Luka looked at her for a few seconds, then shrugged and picked his purchases up. She was obviously not going to volunteer any more information until they were back at the inn, so he might as well hurry and get it over with. Nodding at her, he began to walk off towards the Sutherland Hotel. Alice followed him leisurely, finishing her fruit pie.

A short while later, the pair were back in their room. Luka proceeded to neatly arrange his new equipment inside the room’s storage chest and checked on Thermidor, who was still asleep. Then, he sat down on the nearest couch and looked at Alice expectantly. The white-haired monster remained silent for a few moments, giving him the same thoughtful look she’d had the previous evening. Eventually, she nodded to herself, as if she had reached a decision. Setting whatever hesitation she may have had aside, she gracefully waved a hand in front of her, her brows furrowing in concentration. Luka heard her mutter what seemed to be a short spell under her breath.

Then, the air before her shimmered and became distorted, as if looking through water. With a fluid motion, Alice swiped her hand across the distorted space, and out of nowhere, an item materialized in her waiting palm. With a sigh, she lowered her hand, and the distortion disappeared. Turning towards Luka, she held the item she had conjured up for him to see. His eyes went to it, and he felt his jaw go slack.

The artifact Alice had conjured was a sword... or at least, something resembling it. The shape was more or less sword-like, and there seemed to be an edge to it. However, that was where the similarities ended. The weapon in Alice’s hand looked nothing like the product of any blacksmith he could think of. Made of an unknown grey metal, it had a longer handle than a regular sword, and sported heavily elaborate carvings on its blade and hilt.

Upon closer inspection, the carvings appeared to be figures of winged humanoids in various uncomfortable poses, and Luka could swear their faces were twisted in agony.. All in all, the sword had a decidedly sinister appearance to it. Luka grimaced. This what was Alice had in mind for him? There was no way anyone would think of him as anything but a villain with such an evil-looking weapon. Suddenly, he felt a lot less confident about the situation.

"This sword is called Angel Halo,” Alice suddenly spoke up, either unaware or, more likely, uninterested in his obvious discomfort towards the blade. “It is a magical sword forged hundreds of years ago by a monster blacksmith through a forbidden ritual, using the bodies of 666 melted angels.”

“M-melted angels?!” Luka stammered, feeling a chill go down his spine. As if on cue, one of the ‘carved figures’ on the sword appeared to move slightly, and a low, bone-chilling moaning sound was heard in the room. Luka stared at the weapon, aghast. “W-wait. Did it just moan?”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s harmless,” Alice replied, apparently missing the point. “Anyway, this sword is special. It cannot kill.”

“...what?” Luka asked, blinking in confusion. “What do you mean, it can’t kill? It’s a weapon, isn’t it?”

“Yes... but it was designed so that it would cause no harm to its victims’ bodies,” she explained. “Instead, it drains the innate energy within them, robbing them of their power and causing the body to be sealed into a harmless form. For instance, a Slug Girl like the one you met last time would become a common slug.”

“I-I see. An amazing power,” Luka nodded, beginning to see the potential in such a weapon. If what Alice said was true, he could use it to disable enemies without killing them. It’d let him fight to the full extent of his abilities without worry, thus representing a tremendous advantage for him. Then he frowned. “But you said they’d become sealed. Will they be forced to stay in that form for the rest of their lives? That sounds a bit cruel...”

“That’s considerate of you, to think of the consequences. But there’s no need to worry. The seal’s effectiveness wears off after a while, depending on various factors like the monster’s power, ambient energy available to absorb, and how determined they are to recover their former body,” Alice replied. “Additionally, even if they may look like a regular animal, they still retain their mind and intelligence, and their bodies are still monster bodies... harmless, perhaps, but still very tough. Short of other monsters and exceptional humans attacking them, they won’t be in danger of death while in that form.”

“Mmmm... that’s good to know,” Luka commented, relief evident in his voice. “At least they'll be relatively safe until the seal comes undone. And being stuck in a weak body may make the more aggressive monsters see things from the point of view of the humans they attack. With any luck, they may realize that being powerless is not fun, and reform their ways... Or maybe I’m being too optimistic.”

“Who knows? It just might go that way. It’s worth a try, anyway,” Alice shrugged as she presented the sword to him. “So, then... I will lend this sword to you. Using it, you will be able to fight using your full power, without being impeded by worries about killing an opponent. That should be of great help to you in your future battles. And don’t worry about having it repaired, either. There’s more or less nothing in this world that can damage it. Even the Monster Lord would be unable to destroy it.”

“An indestructible, non-lethal sword... It's almost too good to be true,” Luka murmured as his hand reached for the handle Alice was offering him. “Here’s hoping it’s not too unbalanced for me to use...”

As his hand closed around Angel Halo’s handle, he felt as if a slight jolt went through his body. He shivered and looked at the sword, puzzled. It didn’t seem to be doing anything. Tentatively, he lifted it, and blinked. Angel Halo was not nearly as heavy as he’d expected from its size. In fact, it felt as if he was holding his old sword in hand! Puzzled, he shot a questioning look at Alice, and she gave him a thin smile in return.

“It is as you think,” she said, as if reading his mind. “This sword’s magic allows it to adapt itself to its wielder’s needs. In your case, it adapted itself to be balanced in the same way as your old blade. Using it will be no different than using your iron sword. There will be no need to get used to it. Just be mindful of its greater width, and you will be fine. Also, take this,” she added, producing a scabbard out of nowhere. “Humans tend to judge based on looks alone, and while I find that sword to be a work of art, others may not agree. You will want to keep it concealed from less discerning eyes to avoid trouble.”

“Amazing... This is a priceless treasure for someone like me,” Luka breathed, staring at the sword in awe. It may have had a sinister appearance, but its properties were nothing short of wondrous. Looking at Alice, his face broke out in a warm, grateful smile as he accepted the scabbard as well. “Thank you for lending this to me. I’m indebted to you. I’ll be sure to repay you for your generosity someday.”

Alice blinked at that, then blushed slightly, looking away with a slightly embarrassed expression on her face. “Don’t get ideas now, you idiot,” she replied haughtily. “I’m only lending this to you so you don’t get gobbled up by the first monster right out of town. That’s all there is to it, do you understand?”

“I understand,” Luka nodded, still smiling. “Even so, I’m grateful. If you don't mind, I'd like to practice a bit with this sword, see if there’s any perceivable differences... I’ll be back in half an hour or so.”

With those words, Luka left the room, leaving Alice behind. The Lamia frowned, looking at the door the boy had just disappeared through, then sighed. I wonder if I did the right thing, she thought. Well, what is done is done. Now, all that’s left to do is see how he performs in the future...

Sighing, she walked over to her bed and dropped down on it, relaxing. For the time being, she would rest a little. Then, she would go find some more Ama-Ama Dango. After all, a job well done deserved a reward.

----

Half an hour later, as promised, Luka returned, sweaty and tired, but in good spirits. Having practiced with Angel Halo, he was now confident that the new sword would serve him as well as the old one, in spite of its strange, unnerving appearance. Now all that was left was to test whether Alice was correct in her assessment of its properties, but Luka was confident it would perform as expected. After all, Alice had no reason to trick him over that, as far as he knew.

Setting the magical weapon down, he looked around the room and spotted Alice napping on her bed. His gaze lingered on her for a few moments. He was unsure how much of her current form was real and how much was illusion, but either way, her allure was undeniable. He briefly wondered about the odd shape that appeared to be dyed into the hair covering her forehead. Could the eye-shape be not just for show? Deciding he’d have to ask her someday, he set his thoughts on his odd traveling companion aside and stripped down, heading in the room’s private bath. His skin was itching from the sweat covering it, and he was overdue for a decent scrubbing anyway.

Sometime later, a refreshed Luka left the bathroom, humming an upbeat tune as he dried himself with a large towel. Fetching a pair of pants from his traveling bag, he put them on, then his eyes fell on the newly-purchased Enrikan shirt, and he decided it was as good a time as any to try it on. Quickly, he slipped into the fabric, and as he smoothed it over his torso, he blinked. The blacksmith hadn’t been kidding when he said that shirt was top-level quality. It had a soft, smooth texture, yet there was an underlying toughness and heft to it that left him with no doubt that the innocent-looking shirt would prove to be protection as valid as a suit of leather armor.

He admired the shirt for a little while longer, and suddenly decided that a visit to Enrika Village was in order. If they could craft such fine wares, then perhaps he would find some more high quality equipment to complement the shirt. Having decided, he took out his world map and began examining it.

Predictably, Enrika Village wasn’t marked on it. He’d have known of it otherwise. However, he remembered Milia and Wriph mentioning an Elf village nearby. He had no idea where either place was, but the Elves clearly knew their positions. He decided the most sensible course of action would be to temporarily go back to Ilias Village and ask them. He’d also take the chance to drop his damaged sword off at the ruins for safekeeping. Broken or not, it still held good memories, and it had served him faithfully against a powerful opponent.

With that settled, his eyes turned to the western part of the map - towards the Irina Mountains, where the monster bandits were supposed to live. Now that he had a sword again, he could go and see what the situation was over there. His gaze briefly turned to Thermidor on the bed. She’d been sleeping ever since she’d last fed. Alice had mentioned that she’d need complete rest, but Luka wasn’t sure whether she was supposed to sleep this much or not. Then again, Alice seemed unconcerned. He made a mental note to ask her later.

As he turned back to the map, he heard a shuffling behind him. Turning around, he saw Alice had woken up and was looking at him from where she was standing. He nodded at her as she approached him.

“Good afternoon. Did you have a good rest?” he greeted her. “I’m looking over the map to decide what to do next...”

“Huh. You still intend to go after those bandits?” Alice scoffed. “You do realize Thermidor won’t be in any shape to move for a while, don’t you? Are you going to just leave her behind while you go be a Hero all over the place?”

“Well...” Luka began, some of his enthusiasm faltering. Just then, there was a knock at the room’s door. Luka guessed it had to be the innkeeper, probably carrying even more dango for Alice. He wondered how high the food tab was running by now, and almost found himself pitying the Temple for having to pay it. Almost. “Come in!”

As he’d guessed, the newcomer was the innkeeper, carrying a tray of Ama-Ama Dango. Alice gave a delighted cry as she ran up to the middle-aged woman, accepting the plate with a happy smile. As she sat down and began to wolf the sweet treats down, the innkeeper approached Luka, curiously peering over his shoulder at the map.

“I hear you’re goin’ after the monster bandits in the mountains, lad,” she said, giving him an inquisitive look. “You sure you’re up to it? I hear there’s a Dragon an’ a Vampire with ‘em. Wasn’t even yesterday that you drove off that other one, an’ you got roughed up but good...”

“Hmm... Well, it's my intention to go after them, but...” he replied, trailing off and giving Thermidor a worried look. “I can’t very well leave Thermidor alone here in the state she’s in. I’ll have to wait until she’s back on her feet again.”

“Why not leave her here in my care?” the innkeeper suggested. “I’d be more ‘n happy to assist the town’s Heroes. Then you can go an’ beat them bandits up with no worries.”

“Ah... I don’t think I can do that. I’d rather stay here with her myself...” he said, struggling to find the right words to explain without revealing too much. The woman looked at him, then sighed as she laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Is it because your companion on the bed over there is a monster?” she asked as delicately as possible. At that, Alice’s head shot up and Luka froze in a panic. The innkeeper merely chuckled. “Her headband slipped when she came in the other day, an’ she took it off in here. I had a good look at her ears when I brought you food. Ain’t no human with pointed ones like that.”

“If you knew she was a monster, why didn’t you...?” Luka asked hesitantly, unsure of what to do. He hadn’t expected he’d be exposed in such a fashion, and was at a loss for what to do. To his surprise, the older woman patted him amicably on the shoulder.

“Report you to the Temple? Why would I? You’re the saviors of this town,” she pointed out matter-of-factly. “Whether she’s a human or a monster makes no difference. She fought to protect us, an’ got injured because of it. Selling 'er out after that would be just plain unthinkable.” Turning around, she smiled to Alice, who had gotten up and quietly taken a guarded stance. “You’ll find that this town’s view on monsters is pretty relaxed for a place so close to Ilias’ Temple. I’m not the only one who’d cover for you like this. The vast majority of us are grateful to you. We wouldn’t dream of ratting you out to those clowns.”

“Oh... I see,” Luka replied, sighing in relief. The woman’s manner didn’t suggest deception, and seeing how she’d known about Thermidor’s nature since she first laid eyes on her, she had abundant chances to turn them in to the local Temple Heroes. The fact she hadn’t seemed to point to her being truthful about being on their side. As the boy considered the development, a noise came from the bed Thermidor was resting on. Turning around, he saw the fencer was awake, had pulled herself up, and was regarding the innkeeper with an unreadable gaze. The matronly woman merely smiled back, holding eye contact.

“Come closer, please,” the monster swordswoman invited the human woman. The innkeeper complied without hesitation, walking up to her in quick, short steps. Thermidor looked in her eyes again, and raised her right arm. “Take my hand.”

“Wait a minute--” Luka began to protest, knowing that while he was resistant to contact with Thermidor, it could be fairly uncomfortable to humans. Before he could continue, however, the innkeeper had extended her hand and grasped the fencer’s outstretched fingers. A brief expression of puzzlement appeared on the human woman’s face, but it quickly went away as she relaxed, looking at Thermidor as she remained still and held her hand.

The swordswoman held contact for a few seconds, looking straight in the other woman’s eyes, then broke off contact and sighed, smiling slightly.

“No hesitation, no fear, and even after you realized I was draining your energy, you didn’t break contact with me, even though you began to feel a tiny bit of worry,” she murmured, looking at the innkeeper appreciatively. “I am impressed. I will trust you as you trusted me.”

With that, she turned to Luka, and her smile was replaced by a frown.

“That said, I am concerned about your plans, Luka,” she continued. “Are you really planning to go after a band of monster bandits without me? Supposedly powerful monsters, at that?”

“I intend to scout the area, at least,” Luka replied. “There’s something seriously off in those caravaneers’ story of how it went. At times I couldn’t tell whether they were talking about scary monsters or fluffy pets. I’m thinking there’s more to it than they're letting on. My guess is, they're covering up the truth for some reason... possibly out of shame.”

“Even so... a Vampire and a Dragon are no laughing matter,” Thermidor stated. “You felt the power of the Dragon Knight on your own skin. Going after another Dragon, and other monsters along with her, is very reckless.”

“If I see danger, I will withdraw,” he reassured her. “I may be a bit impulsive, but I’m not stupid enough to leap into a hopeless fight without lives being at stake. If the situation calls for it, retreating is acceptable in this case.”

“I don’t suppose I can persuade you to wait until I’m in fighting shape again?” Thermidor asked with a resigned look. Luka shook his head.

“I want to try and do this alone, Thermidor,” he stated. “I can’t live forever under your protection. At the very least, I need to be able to do something as simple as scouting on my own. I know you have misgivings, but your support would mean a lot to me. So...”

“...Very well. You have my blessing,” the fencer reluctantly nodded. “Just, please... try not to get yourself killed, all right? If things look bad, run. There’s no shame in living to fight another day.”

“I will, don’t worry,” Luka nodded, smiling at her. “Meanwhile, you should go back to sleep. You need rest.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her whenever you have to leave,” the innkeeper announced. “Is there anything I should know?”

“Two things, actually,” Alice interjected. “First, don’t touch her while she sleeps. You’d run the risk of getting your lifeforce drained. It wouldn’t normally be an issue, but in her current injured state, her body takes in all the energy it can to heal itself.”

“Got it,” the woman nodded. “And the second thing?”

“I’m all out of Ama-Ama Dango,” Alice stated with a solemn face, holding the empty plate up. “Could I have some more?”

A thud echoed across the room as Luka’s forehead slammed against the table. The boy groaned. Figures Alice would think of her food as something critically important, he thought dejectedly. For her part, the innkeeper hesitated upon hearing the request.

“Ah... I would love to give you as much as you want, but...” she began to explain. “The truth is, I was already runnin’ low on my stock of Happiness Honey, an’ it's finally run dry. Without it, I’m afraid I can’t make any more dango.”

“What?!” Alice asked, her voice rising. “No more honey? Can’t you simply have it delivered?”

“I would if I could, but... lately there’s been no contact from Happiness Village to the east, which is where the honey is produced,” she explained. “Contact with the village's dried up a bit over the last few months, come to think of it, but this is the first time it stopped entirely. And without that contact...”

“...no honey. I see,” Luka nodded. “Do you have any idea what happened?”

“None. A few adventurers went to Happiness Village, but so far they haven’t returned,” the woman replied. “We were thinkin’ of askin’ the Temple for help...”

“That’d be a pointless waste of time,” Alice scoffed. “Especially since you have a gallant fairytale Hero right there, ready to help you for the sake of peace, love and justice. Right, Luka?”

“...you’re just interested in the dango,” he said accusingly, glaring at the white-haired woman. Alice’s answer was a ‘Yes, and your point is?’ look. Luka groaned. He could see that he wasn’t going to win this particular argument. “Ugh, whatever... fine, I’ll look into this as well. Something serious may actually have happened. Are you happy now?”

“Excellent!” Alice clapped her hands with a large smile. “Now that’s how a Hero should act!”

Luka’s only answer was a glare. Turning towards the innkeeper, he showed her the map. “Could you please mark Happiness Village’s position here, ma’am?” he asked. The woman nodded and, producing a pencil followed an imaginary line to the east and drew a X on a spot in the woods.

“Should be right there,” she said, checking the map. With a nod, she put her pencil away and looked out of the window. “My, look at the time! I got to get the laundry done. If you don't need anything else, I’ll take my leave now...”

“Nothing else comes to mind, ma’am. Thank you for your help,” Luka reassured her. The innkeeper nodded.

“Well then, I’ll be goin’,” she stated as she began to walk off. Then, remembering something, she stopped and turned around. “Oh, and my name is Ilsa. Ilsa Sutherland. Bein’ called 'ma’am' makes me feel old, so just call me Ms. Sutherland. Or even just Ilsa, if you prefer.”

“Alright, Ms. Sutherland,” Luka nodded. “Have a good day.”

“Same to you, lad!” was her cheerful reply as she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Luka stared at the spot the human woman had been standing in thoughtfully, then sighed and turned around, looking at Thermidor.

“Well, I can’t say that my life is boring,” he joked. Behind him, Alice snorted.

“There are some places where having an eventful life is considered a sign that someone’s cursed, you know,” she pointed out. “I believe the curse itself goes, ‘May you live in interesting times’.”

“Ahahahah...” Luka chuckled nervously. “Do you really think I’m cursed?”

"Yes, you are cursed,” she stated in an ominous tone. “You'll die a horrible and ironic death sometime in the near future when, just after defeating a major enemy, some minor thug will come up behind you and stab you through the heart before you realize what's going on. All of it because he wanted your boots."

"...Seriously?"

“No, you idiot. I can’t see the future,” Alice replied, rolling her eyes. “Monsters who can do that haven’t existed since the time of the Third Monster Lord. You’re just a gullible fool who can’t keep his nose out of other people’s business.”

“Hey!” Luka protested. Alice gave him a look that plainly challenged him to prove her wrong. Spluttering, Luka looked indignant for a few seconds, then sighed and gave up. Arguing with Alice was largely pointless, and only succeeded in giving him headaches. Turning back to the map, he examined it, thinking.

“Hmmm... I should probably handle the bandits first,” he decided, tracing the route to the Irina Mountains. “They are the closest problem, and could be a threat if left alone.”

“You should start from Happiness Village,” Alice chimed in. “What could be more important than ensuring the wellbeing of the Happiness Honey?”

“I’m not even answering that question,” Luka muttered. “I’ll go to the Irina Mountains first, and see what the situation is. Something stinks in this whole thing--”

“Handling those bandits won’t get us any food,” Alice insisted. “You should start by going east.”

“Look, will you stop thinking with your stomach for a second?” Luka snapped, exasperated, causing Alice to blink in surprise. “Aren’t you the least bit suspicious? The only thing all the reports of the bandits have in common is that there’s a Vampire and a Dragon. Those are not monsters that like going around in groups, if I remember my lessons on monster habits correctly. In fact, Vampires are loners, and Dragons only care about their treasure and don’t like to share. This whole thing is just weird.”

“Well, those monsters may be stealing out of hunger...” Alice began tentatively. Luka could see, however, that there was doubt in her eyes. His words were getting through to her. Encouraged, he pressed his verbal assault.

“If it was just that, don’t you think the situation would be a lot more serious?” he pointed out. “Vampires are supposed to be a calamity on the land when they start hunting for humans to feed on, and Dragons are known to torch the countryside into nothing but ash and cinders in their search for treasure. Yet there is no widespread destruction, and there are no victims. Something doesn’t add up here, and I want to find out what's really going on.”

“...you have a point,” Alice reluctantly agreed. “We should probably check the mountains first.” Her gaze then hardened. “But as soon as we’re done, we’re heading for Happiness Village. Understood?”

“That’s fine with me,” Luka nodded. “So then, we have a plan of action. First, we scout the Irina Mountains area. While there, I’ll try to find out what really is going on with these mysterious monster bandits and whether they're an actual threat or not. After that, I’ll handle the situation there as best as I can within the limits of my ability.”

“That sounds acceptable,” Thermidor said approvingly. Luka nodded.

“Then, after I’m done there, one way or the other, I’ll return here, check on you, stock up on any missing supplies, and move out towards Happiness Village,” he continued, pointing to the spot the innkeeper had marked on the map. “Once there, I’ll investigate the reason for the lack of contact between there and Iliasburg, and if possible, I’ll see what I can do to solve the problem.”

“And hopefully we’ll get that done as soon as we can,” Alice needled him. Luka nodded with a sigh before continuing.

“After I do what I can at Happiness Village, I’ll return here and wait for you to recover,” he told Thermidor. “Then, before moving onward to Iliasport, I’d like to go back south towards Ilias Village.”

“Why is that?” Thermidor asked curiously.

“I want to drop off my damaged sword at the ruins, and while there, ask Milia and Wriph about Enrika Village,” he explained. “They sell incredibly high-quality wares, and I’d like to see this mysterious village with my own eyes if at all possible. It may be worth the trip.”

“Well... if that’s what you want, then I have no objection,” Thermidor stated. Nodding, Luka looked at Alice. The other monster shrugged.

“So long as we take care of Happiness Village before that, I don’t mind,” she stated. “Truthfully, I’m curious myself.”

“Alright. For now, we should all eat and recuperate,” Luka decided as he closed the map. “Thermidor, you get as much rest as you can while I’m away. Alice... I assume you’ll come along with me, right?”

“Of course,” she nodded. “I’m observing you, remember?”

“Alright, then. We’ll leave tomorrow morning, right after dawn,” he informed her. “Is that alright with you?”

“I see no problem with that,” she confirmed.

“Good. Then, I think I’ll go downstairs and ask Ms. Sutherland to bring us dinner early and care for Thermidor while we are away,” he concluded. “I don’t know about you, but all this planning has left me hungry.”

With that, he got up from his seat, walked to the door and left the room.

----

The next morning, Luka and Alice set out early. As they left Iliasburg through the western gate, Luka spotted the town guards waving cordially at him and waved back, smiling. He’d become somewhat of a celebrity among the town militia following the battle with Granberia, and he found that rather than envying him, most of Iliasburg’s guards had been deeply impressed by his performance, crude and unsatisfactory as Luka himself considered it.

Stopping shortly after the gate, Luka adjusted Angel Halo’s scabbard so it wouldn’t impede him and looked ahead. This would be the first time he'd be willingly going into a potentially dangerous situation of such magnitude, and the thought made him anxious. Looking at his side, he saw Alice waiting for him with a somewhat impatient look on her face, and nodded. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he turned towards the road and began walking towards the mountains in the distance.

The pair didn’t make it very far. Shortly after leaving the town gate, as they were walking past a small rise in the ground, Luka became aware of a faint tremor under his feet. The tremor quickly rose in intensity, and the soil before him began to rise up, as if something was surging forward from down under.

“Well, this is convenient,” Alice commented as Luka stared in alarm at the rising mound. “Let us see how well you perform when you don’t have to worry about killing your opponent...”

Turning his head around, Luka managed to catch the serpentine monster just as she vanished into thin air. That must be magic, he realized. So this is how she was able to disappear so quickly whenever monsters appeared.

Turning back towards the moving earth, he frowned. He was still too close to the city walls, and likely within view of any sentries that bothered looking in his direction, so his options were limited. Indulging a request for semen was right out of the question, as it would make it very difficult for him to explain himself back in town, and it looked like it was too late to avoid the encounter. His frown deepening, Luka rested his hand on Angel Halo’s pommel, ready to draw the magical weapon at a moment’s notice. With any luck, he might be able to persuade whatever monster was about to appear to just let him through, but he wasn’t counting on it.

As he watched, the earth finally gave way to the creature moving under it. From the ground, a female face erupted, followed by a long, sinuous body, slick with what appeared to be mucus. He suddenly realized what he was looking at. An Earthworm Girl, he thought. This may be a problem. They tend to not take ‘no’ for an answer.

As the monster completely emerged from the ground, she cast a speculative look at him. Luka’s frown deepened. The way she was looking at him was like someone evaluating a particularly tasty piece of meat. He got the feeling he’d be unable to reason with this monster. Nevertheless, he decided to make an attempt.

“Ah, hello,” he began. “I’m a traveler going towards the Irina Mountains. I don’t suppose you’d let me through?”

“Eh? Why would I do that?” the monster replied matter-of-factly. “I’m hungry, and you happen to be here. Come on, gimme a snack.”

“I really must decline,” Luka replied. “I'm on a mission, and I'd rather not be delayed...”

“Stingy,” the Earthworm Girl interrupted him. “Well, if you won’t offer me your semen, I’ll just help myself to it!”

“Tch, figures,” Luka muttered as he drew Angel Halo. “Well, I tried to be reasonable. Don’t blame me for what happens next.”

“Hahaha, are you going to fight?” the Earthworm Girl giggled. “A weak-looking boy like you? Don’t be silly. Come on, you’ll like it.”

“Sorry, but no,” Luka replied dryly as he fell into a stance. Deciding that the early bird caught the worm, so to speak, he chose to make the first move. With a deep breath, he aimed carefully and swung his sword at a section on the monster’s tail, hard.

As the sword sliced across the Earthworm Girl’s body, a strange purple glow swept over the area it cut into. What seemed to be a wound appeared, but no blood came out. Instead, a mist-like cloud of what seemed to be energy began to disperse from it, vanishing into thin air, and the ‘wound’ appeared to close up before his eyes. The monster stopped, confused.

“Eh...? What’s going on? My body...” she muttered, not understanding what was happening. For his part, Luka breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently, Alice had been truthful, and the sword really couldn’t inflict physical wounds. Feeling energized, he shifted his stance to a more aggressive one. He’d never been able to go all out before, and was looking forward to it. As he prepared, the worm girl shook her confusion off, and glared at him.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I don’t like it,” she complained. “I’ll have to stop you from moving around now.”

With that, she suddenly attacked, and attempted to coil around Luka. The boy was caught by surprise by the monster’s unexpected speed, and ended up tangled in her slimy body. Muttering a curse under his breath, he managed to avoid getting both arms pinned down, and began pushing against the coiling body trapping him.

For a few seconds a brief struggle occurred, with the Earthworm Girl attempting to squeeze the resistance out of Luka, and the boy responding by violently pushing her away with all his strength. Finally, the monster was forced to let go, and a slightly sticky, but overall healthy Luka backed away hastily, keeping a wary eye on his opponent as he reevaluated the danger she posed.

“Aw, you got away,” the Earthworm Girl muttered, frustrated. “And I was squeezing so hard, too...”

“That’s not nearly enough to take me down,” Luka replied. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

“Oooh, is that a challenge?” the monster replied with a smile as she licked her lips. Luka tensed up as he saw an odd orifice open on the end of her tail. Once again, he elected to attack rather than stand there and see what his opponent would do, and with a quick step, he moved in and slashed diagonally across the monster’s upper body. Once again, the wound inflicted by the sword did not bleed, and instead energy oozed out as it closed.

“What... what is that sword doing?” the worm girl said, now clearly unnerved as she felt her strength further wane. “Stop it! I’ll make you stop doing whatever it is you’re doing...!”

With those words, she pointed the opening in her tail at Luka, and the next instant, a glob of a sticky substance shot out. Caught off guard by the sudden projectile attack, Luka was unable to avoid it completely, and it splashed against the right side of his torso. Almost immediately, he felt his body go hot, and his thoughts became hazy. An aphrodisiac?! he thought. This isn’t good. I have to defeat her before she hits me with even more of this, or I’ll lose all my will to fight!

With that, he brought his sword back to a neutral position, and tensed up. Then, stepping in quickly, he swung it around, aiming for the Earthworm Girl’s neck as he unleashed his Demon Decapitation skill. This time, the move was delivered much more smoothly than before, thanks to the practice he had, and he effortlessly sliced through the monster’s soft flesh. As he did, more of her energy dispersed, and she shrank back in fear.

“W... what's happening?!” she cried, alarmed. “My body...! What’s going on here?! Waaaaa-!”

With a final scream of fright, the Earthworm Girl’s body suddenly broke into a cloud of energy, and vanished. Luka blinked, looking at the spot she’d been standing on with alarm. He hadn’t expected this to happen, and was suddenly worried he might have killed her by accident. As he looked around, however, he spotted something wriggling on the ground, and when he bent over to take a closer look to it, he realized it was a common earthworm.

“Do you understand now?” Alice’s voice was heard as she reappeared while he examined the worm. “When you use Angel Halo, it disrupts the energy that gives monsters their form. Losing that energy causes them to be sealed into harmless forms like that. This way, you can avoid killing any monsters, and can fight at full power without worry.”

“I see... so it really does work,” Luka murmured, looking at Angel Halo in amazement. He then looked at the earthworm. “...Will she really be able to regain her natural form? I feel guilty leaving her like that.”

“I still can’t figure out which fairy tale you came out from,” Alice sighed. “You get attacked out of the blue, win a fight, and worry about your opponent instead of feeling good about having won. If it’s going to make you feel better, then yes, I can assure you she will be fine. She’s still a monster, even in that form, and eventually the seal will break and release her. Although, I cannot guarantee she will have learned a positive lesson from this experience. Her hatred might just grow, instead.”

“I’m going to hope she’ll see the error of her ways instead,” Luka commented as he watched the earthworm burrow back underground, apparently having accepted defeat. “I have to have faith and hope for the best. Otherwise, this whole journey will be pointless.”

“Hm... well, at least I saw you fight for real this time,” Alice commented. “You were caught off guard a couple times, but your movements were a lot more determined than before, and the lack of hesitation in your strikes made them much more effective. You were actually attacking smoothly and with confidence.”

“It’s all thanks to this sword,” Luka replied. “Without it, I wouldn’t be able to just let loose like this. Thanks again for lending it to me.”

“Hm... if you really are this grateful, I might just have an idea on how you can repay me,” Alice replied with an odd smile as she looked at him.

Luka groaned. “Let me guess, it has to do with food again?” he ventured.

Alice’s answer was a chuckle that, for some reason, caused a chill to run up his spine. “Something like that.”

----

One day later, the pair reached the base of the Irina Mountains. As he looked up to the distant peaks, Luka couldn’t help but admire their imposing beauty. He’d never really seen a mountain before, let alone up close like this, and the sight admittedly made him feel small.

“This is a mountain, huh,” he murmured. “It certainly gives off a sensation of great strength, doesn’t it?”

“Now that’s an interesting statement. What makes you say that?” Alice asked curiously. Luka paused for a second, then shrugged.

“Well... they’ve been here for longer than any of us has been alive, enduring,” he explained. “It’s something that should be respected. That’s the kind of strength I was talking about. The mountains move for no one, after all.”

“So that’s what you think, eh?” Alice chuckled. “You’d be surprised...”

“Eh? What do you mean?” Luka asked, confused. The white-haired monster waved her hand dismissively.

“Never mind. It’s another thing you will learn, eventually. If you survive that long, anyway,” she stated. “Which may not be at all likely if you keep getting distracted. Vampire and Dragon, remember?”

“You’re right,” Luka nodded as he turned his attention back to the mountains looming ahead. He took a few steps towards them, then stopped and looked around. “...Actually, I’m not sure where I should start searching...”

“You’re kidding, right?” Alice asked incredulously. “You came here without any idea where exactly you had to look?”

“I was more thinking that if I made myself an obvious target, the bandits would pop out...” he commented. Alice shot a dry look at him.

“What happened to ‘I’ll be careful’? I’m pretty sure Thermidor wouldn’t approve of this plan,” the snakewoman commented. Luka shrugged.

“I know, but as they say, ‘No pain, no gain’, right?” he replied. Alice shook her head and appeared to be about to say something else, then perked up, suddenly alert, and in the next instant vanished right under Luka’s eyes. The boy immediately became tense, reaching for Angel Halo as he scanned his surroundings. Moments later, a shadow appeared on the ground before the closest rocky cliff, growing larger, and shortly afterwards, a figure landed in front of him, kicking up a cloud of sand as it hit the ground. As Luka backed away and drew his blade, the figure walked out of the sand cloud, a dragging sound following it. When it came into view, he blinked.

“Yai! Give me your money!” the figure yelled in a high pitched voice. It turned out to be a small humanoid monster, smaller than Luka himself. She had short blond hair and big round aqua-green eyes, and wore a horned helmet, light clothing mixed with leather strips and a pair of boots, all sand-colored. She had a peculiar brown tinge to her skin which appeared to be a tan rather than her natural skin color. The dragging sound, as it turned out, was caused by an enormous hammer she was carrying. It appeared to be far too large for her, yet she had been able to bring it with her all the way to this point, so Luka decided to err on the side of caution and assume she could actually use it.

As he and the monster stared at each other, he wondered. Was this girl part of the bandit gang? Perhaps a flunky, he thought. Deciding to see whether he could strike up a dialogue, he adopted a slightly less threatening stance and addressed the monster girl before him.

“Hey... are you one of the monster bandits of the mountain?” he asked cautiously. The girl perked up at that.

“That’s right! I’m Goblin Bandit of the Four Bandits!” she announced in a boastful tone. “If you understand what that means, then gimme all your money now!”

No way, Luka thought. This little girl is one of the monster bandits? No wonder those clowns at the tavern weren’t saying a word. I’d be embarrassed too if I got my ass kicked by a tiny girl like this, monster or not!

“Um... I’m Luka, a Hero who came here to stop the bandit attacks...” Luka tentatively stated. The Goblin girl gave him an incredulous look.

“Whaaaaat? A weak-looking guy like you? No way!” she said in a mocking sing-song tone. “Heroes aren’t that puny-looking!”

“Hey! You aren’t all that fearsome-looking, either, you know that?” Luka retorted, his pride stung by the remark. “Anyway, I really need you to stop attacking human caravans. You’re all causing a lot of trouble in this area, and it may have effects on other monsters too...”

“...Eeeeeew! That sword! It looks so gross!” the Goblin girl suddenly exclaimed, not having listened to a word Luka said. Luka looked down at the sword in his hand. Well, I can't deny that, he thought with a sigh as he winced at the warped, agonized figures of the tangled angels. He wondered if perhaps wielding such a villainous-looking sword was really a good idea. It seemed like it might attract trouble at some point. Looking up, he saw the little Goblin’s eyes go from his sword to his face, and back again.

“Hmmm, what to do...” she wondered aloud. “That sword looks gross, but I want to play with the owner...” Looking back and forth a few more times, she seemed to have reached a decision and smiled, pointing challengingly at Luka. “All right! I’ve decided! I’ll play with you!”

“...what’s this all of a sudden?” the boy Hero sighed. “Fine, but if I win, you’re going to stop attacking human caravans, all right?”

“Sure, I’m not going to lose anyway!” the Goblin girl boasted confidently. “Prepare yourself! Goblin Bandit of the Earth of the Four Bandits will be your opponent!”

She added ‘of the Earth’, now? Luka thought, feeling the situation get weirder and weirder. Are these Four Bandits imitating the Four Heavenly Knights, perhaps? If so, can she use Earth-based skills...?

As Luka got briefly distracted by his thoughts, the Goblin girl saw an opportunity. “An opening!” she shouted as she picked some sand up and threw it at Luka. The boy immediately reacted by shielding himself as he realized the situation and managed to cover his eyes, but some sand got through and into his nose and mouth. He began spitting and sneezing, attempting to free himself of the offensive substance. The Goblin girl giggled at that and brandished her hammer with both hands.

“I’ve got you now!” she shouted cheerfully. “Feel the power of the Earth bandit! Earth Crashing Goblin!”

With those words, she heaved, lifting the huge hammer above her head, and began to advance on Luka... slowly. Very slowly. Ever so slowly. Luka blinked, having long since freed himself of the sand, and groaned at the almost insulting speed at which the small Goblin advanced on him. What in blazes is this attack? The setup is way too long! he thought, involuntarily entering his analytical mode as he examined the monster girl’s battle prowess. And that name... ‘Earth Crashing Goblin’? It sounds more like she's the one who’s going to crash to the Earth.

The Goblin girl took one more slow, unsteady step towards him, and at that point Luka couldn’t bear the spectacle anymore. In two quick steps, he walked right into the monster’s personal space, and using the flat of Angel Halo, he thumped her on her helmeted head, hard. With a startled cry, the young monster let go of her massive hammer and fell down on her backside, holding her aching head with both hands. After whining pitifully in pain for a few seconds, she looks up at Luka with an accusing stare.

“Hey! You were supposed to just stand there and get hit!” she protested. “That’s cheating! And you hurt me! You meanie!”

“You do realize anyone who has any sort of respectable skill can just waltz in and smack you while you waste time on that painfully slow setup, don’t you?” Luka replied dryly, unconsciously adopting Thermidor’s mannerism as he fell into a teaching role. “No one’s going to get hit by that unless they're either dumb or cocky. The first competent opponent you meet will stab you while you struggle with your weapon, and getting stabbed will hurt a lot more than the smack I gave you! You need to make your offense quicker!”

“Eeeh? But it always worked so far!” the Goblin girl protested. Luka snorted.

“I can imagine why,” he commented. “I bet most of the people who faced you either underestimated you, not thinking how if you can lift a hammer that huge, it’s gonna hurt if it hits, or else they were just plain morons who couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag. Or maybe they’re the types who get their jollies on being molested by a little girl,” he added in a much lower tone of voice, which went unheard by the young Goblin.

“Well... then what should I do?” the monster girl asked, annoyed. “If you’ve got a better idea, then tell me already instead of being so mean!”

“Hmmm... fair enough. I should offer alternatives,” Luka murmured as he regarded her thoughtfully, scratching his cheek in thought. He looked back and forth from the Goblin girl to her hammer, contemplating any available strategies, then nodded decisively and offered his hand to the small monster. She blinked, looking at it for a second and suspiciously peering at him, then, not seeing any sign of malevolence on Luka’s face, she hesitantly accepted his help, and was pulled back on her feet by the boy Hero.

“Take your hammer,” he instructed her. “I’m going to teach you a simple, but effective followup to that sand-throwing maneuver, which can also be used from a relaxed stance as a sudden blow. It’s not perfect, but will be much better than what you have.”

“You’re gonna teach me a secret skill? Yay!” the Goblin cheered, her good humor returning. “Okay, okay! What do I do? Come on!”

“Hey, hold your horses,” Luka chided her. “Patience is always a good thing when it comes to learning how to fight.” Taking a stance before her, he drew his sword. “Now, watch carefully how I do it.”

The Goblin girl nodded eagerly and sat down, her eyes intently on Luka. The boy made sure he had her full attention, then shifted his grip on his sword so that its tip pointed to the ground, slightly behind him, and firmly grasped it with both hands.

“First, you take this stance. Since you always seem to drag that hammer around, it should be easy to get into,” he explained. “Be sure to keep your hammer to your stronger side... do you commonly use your left or right hand the most?”

“Uh... right?” the monster girl answered. Luka nodded.

“Then, keep it to your right side. Next, firmly grasp its handle with both hands, and take half a step forward so that your left foot is slightly ahead of the rest of your body,” he continued. “This will put you in the prime position to attack. And now, all that’s left to do...” he concluded with a dramatic pause, “...is this.”

With that, Luka exerted himself, pushing forward as he took a step ahead with his right leg, and swung his sword upwards in an arc with all his strength, cutting through the air as the sudden movement whipped sand up all around him. With a satisfying hiss, the blade completed a circular motion in front of and above him, and came to rest to his left side as he finished stepping forward. The monster blinked as the sand kicked up by the slash fell down slowly, then smiled and clapped.

“Hey, that was cool!” she laughed happily. “I’m gonna try it now! Watch me!”

“Wait. You should try it against something you can hit,” he advised her. “If you just swing that hammer without hitting anything the first few times, it may fly out of your hands with unpleasant results. Let me see...” he murmured as he examined his surroundings. Spotting a moss-covered, half-fallen tree trunk, he walked near it and patted it. “Here. Try it on this. It’s old wood, so it shouldn’t damage your hammer or anything, and you should be strong enough that the backlash from the impact won’t do a thing to you.”

“Okay!” the Goblin girl nodded as she pumped her fists up. Grabbing her hammer, she dragged it to the tree trunk, then fell in a position very similar to what Luka had been in. Luka examined her stance approvingly. She’s leaning a little too much forward, but it should work nonetheless, he thought.

“Watch this now!” the monster girl called out to him as she tightly grabbed her hammer and tensed up. A look of intense concentration appeared on her face as she stared challengingly at the unfortunate tree. Taking a deep breath, she shifted her hands to more comfortably hold her hammer. “Yaaaaaaaaiiiiii...” she began shouting as a war cry. Then, she leaned even further forward and swung the hammer upwards towards the tree, her voice raising as her war cry became louder. “...iiiiiiiiiiyaaaaaaaaaah!!”

The next instant, the tree literally exploded in a shower of wooden fragments as the hammer’s head violently impacted with it. Several large chunks of wood were hurled high enough that they became barely more than specks of blackness in the sky, and a large chunk of tree trunk was pounded cleanly over the treetop line and lost into the distance. The small Goblin’s hammer, carried by its still tremendous momentum, made an arc over her head and she shouted, feeling it drag her back as it began to fall behind her. With a yell, she fell on her tiny backside, and the hammer’s head struck the dirt behind her, causing a huge cloud of sand to be kicked up by the impact, covering both her and Luka’s view and causing them to start coughing and sneezing.

For the next few minutes, Luka and the Goblin girl frantically tried to clean their mouths, faces, and bodies in general of the large amounts of sand that had fallen on them, moving away from the small monster’s hammer and the miniature sandstorm it had created. Finally, when they stopped sneezing, they calmed down, and sat on the ground, looking at the huge hammer with an awed expression.

“Well, that was something else,” Luka finally spoke up after a brief silence. “If I’d gotten hit by that, it’d be lights out for me. You’re amazingly strong, you know?”

“Hahaha, I’m awesome, aren’t I?” the Goblin chuckled, her pride swelling. Luka nodded in agreement. It was simply the truth. He then looked at her thoughtfully.

“You know, someone like you is wasted as a bandit,” he said. “With all that strength, you could be a successful adventurer, a bodyguard or an Arena fighter. You’d need training, of course, but with such amazing strength... who knows, I may be talking to one of the future Heavenly Knights!”

“Heh heh, yeah, I wanna become a Heavenly Knight when I get strong enough,” the monster girl nodded. “I’ll be stronger than Granberia! I’ll beat anyone who challenges me!”

“But Granberia would frown on thieving activities like these, you know,” he pointed out. “I only met her once, but she struck me as a honorable fighter, all things said. Do you really think petty banditry will help you become one of the revered Heavenly Knights?”

“Ummm...” the Goblin girl frowned, her face scrunching up cutely. Then, her shoulders drooped as she sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. We’re not being very awesome, beating up weak random humans and stealing their stuff, huh? But we need to eat...”

“...You know, I think I have an idea,” Luka said as he regarded her thoughtfully. “But it may require you to swallow your pride a little and apologize for all the thieving and robbing. Can you do that?”

“Eh, I haven’t really done anything wrong if you ask me, but sure,” the monster shrugged. “What do you have in mind?”

“First, I’ll need the cooperation of all four of you,” Luka replied. “Where can I find the other three of the Four Bandits?”

“Hm? You wanna talk to them?” she said, puzzled, then shrugged. “Well, okay, I like you so I’ll tell you where our hideout is. See that cave over there?” she continued, pointing at a cave entrance a little ways off. “That’s it. The others’re in there.”

“Thank you. I’ll be going then,” Luka nodded. “Wait here until I am done, okay?”

“Hey, hey, the others are stronger than me, you know?” the monstergirl warned him. “We got a Dragon, you know, and she’s reeeeally tough! And Vampy, she’s got awesome magic!”

“...even so, I have to proceed,” Luka shook his head. “But thanks for the concern. Well, here goes nothing...”

With that, he walked off, heading towards the cave. The young Goblin watched him walk away, curious. Then she got up and took a few quick steps towards him.

“Don’t lose now, ya hear?!” she shouted after him. “Oh, and my name’s Sawako! Sawako the Goblin Girl of the Earth!”

Luka’s answer was a wave of his hand as he kept walking. The monster watched him disappear into the mouth of the cave, then sighed and shrugged, heading to her hammer and sitting down on its head. Whether he won or lost, she’d be seeing more of him soon enough, she was sure of it. After all, the Four Bandits always shared the spoils of war.

----

A little ways off, behind some trees, Alice shook her head as she cupped her forehead with her hand. What is that idiot doing? she thought, feeling a headache coming on. Not only does he end up chatting amiably with the bandit he’d come to hunt, but he even taught her how to fight more effectively. I can’t think of any fairy tale crazy enough to have someone like him in it!

Sighing, she straightened up and slithered off towards the waiting Goblin girl. She might as well have a chat with the child while she waited.

----

Stepping into the cave, Luka noticed the overall lack of space within it and winced, briefly questioning the wisdom of his current action plan. If there really was a Dragon in there, he’d never be able to avoid their flame in such a cramped space. Then again, if a Dragon was in there, it looked to him as if she’d likely get stuck as well. Such a tiny cave was simply an odd place for a mighty creature like that to nest in - or, for that matter, for any adult monsters to live in. A sneaking suspicion began to worm its way in his mind, but he dismissed it.

As Luka walked deeper in the cave, a haughty laugh suddenly filled it, startling him out of his thoughts and causing him to reach for his sword. A slithering sound was heard, and a figure came out from behind a nearby rocky outcropping, still chuckling.

Luka stared. And stared. And stared some more at the small figure before him. Well, it’s a Lamia, he thought. A very tiny one. With purple hair, a cute, tiny, striped tail, a flat chest, and cute, big, round, green eyes. So that drunk man was telling the truth after all.

“Hohohohoho!” the tiny Lamia laughed, giving him a look of superiority. “So you defeated the Goblin girl. But she was the weakest of us all! You won’t find us as easy as she was! I, Lamia Bandit of the Water of the Four Bandits, will be your next opponent!”

“...I’m not sure if I should be relieved or disappointed,” Luka muttered under his breath as he shook his head. Seeing his distraction, the tiny Lamia seized the opportunity, and quickly moved over to him, attempting to coil around him with her tail. Luka blinked at her actions.

“Hehehe, now you’re trapped by my powerful tail,” she claimed confidently as she attempted to squeeze him. “How’s this? It hurts, does it not? Cry and beg for mercy, and maybe I’ll take pity on you!”

Well, at least she’s trying, Luka thought as the tiny Lamia strained cutely to try and constrict him. But... this doesn’t hurt at all. In fact, it feels more like a pleasant massage. Is this girl really one of the feared Four Bandits? Sheesh.

With a shrug and a resigned look, Luka suddenly reached down, grabbed the tiny Lamia under her armpits, and effortlessly lifted her off him, holding her before his eyes and regarding her with a curious look. For a while, the awkward scene held, with boy and monster staring at each other. Then, the tiny Lamia’s face scrunched up, and tears appeared at the corners of her eyes.

“Waaaaaah! Why didn’t it work?” she cried, dejected. Luka winced. He’d always hated seeing cute girls cry, and especially hated it when it appeared he was the cause of their tears. Setting the tiny Lamia down, he attempted to comfort her by patting her on the head encouragingly.

“Hey, don’t cry,” he said in his best soothing tone. “You’re still young, that’s all. Give it a bit more time and I’m sure you’ll grow into a powerful and beautiful Lamia. You’re already cute as you are now; it’s just a matter of time before your adult charm comes out, and when it does, men will be scrambling over each other to gain your attention.”

“Y-you really think so?” the small Lamia sniffled, looking at him. Luka nodded.

“Of course I think so,” he nodded. “But first, you need to grow up properly. The life you’re leading now is no good. You want to become a refined lady who merely has to wave her hand to have men ready to serve her any way she sees fit, don’t you? Then you really shouldn’t live in this dark, cramped cave full of dust and mushrooms and moss and other nasty stuff that’s bad for your health. The first step to getting a healthy, developed body is to treat it well. You’ll want a roof above your head, a good bed, and good food. Where’s your mother, anyway?”

“We got separated when some nasty humans attacked us up north in Sentora,” the tiny Lamia explained in a depressed tone. “She distracted them so I could run away, and I haven’t seen her since. I was scared and ran far away, and then I met Vampy and the others, and we all decided to travel together, far away from there.”

“Nasty humans up north... probably Ilias Kreuz. Those are their stomping grounds,” Luka muttered, a flash of anger passing through his eyes. “I’ll have to do something about them eventually. Things can’t go on like this much longer.”

“Are those humans your enemies also?” the little monster asked, curious. “You look really angry all of a sudden.”

“Yeah, you could say they’re my enemies,” Luka nodded. “They’re miserable bastards who make the world exponentially worse just by existing, too, but that’s to be expected given who founded and leads them. So you and your mother got separated, eh?”

At the Lamia’s nod, Luka fell silent, thinking. It was likely that the tiny Lamia’s mother had been killed, but there was still the off chance she had survived and was still roaming northern Sentora, looking for her daughter. He’d have to keep his eyes open if he ever visited that area - which he would have to do, if he planned to go to Hellgondo. Looking at the small monster again, he nodded, reaching a decision.

“Listen, I want to help you,” he told her as he crouched and looked her in the eyes. “I plan to travel to north Sentora. If I get there, I'll be sure to ask about your mother, and see if I can find her and let her know where you are. But, in exchange, I want you to stop this bandit life and take care of yourself. Find a real house, eat decent food, and grow up into a beautiful lady. Then, when your mother comes around and sees you, you can stand up and tell her, ‘Look! I’ve become strong and beautiful like you!’. Can you do that?”

“Um... why would you want to help me?” she asked suspiciously. “I heard the others say you’re a Hero, and you’re a human...”

“I want to help you because it’s the right thing to do, and I’m not the bad kind of Hero,” Luka replied. “And also... I know how it feels to be separated from your mother. If I can bring her back to you, you have my word I’ll do everything in my power to do it.”

“...You’re a nice human,” the tiny Lamia said, smiling slightly. “Okay then, I’ll do it. What do you want me to do?”

“For now, go outside,” he instructed her. “Your Goblin friend - I think she said her name was Sawako - also agreed to this, and she's waiting there. Stay with her until I return, okay?”

“Okay!” the Lamia nodded. Turning around, she hesitated briefly, then turned to Luka again. “Ummm... Gobly, Draggy, Vampy and I have been friends since the first day. I don’t wanna get separated from them. Could you-”

“Persuade them to join you? That’s what I plan to do, so don’t worry,” Luka replied with a smile. “Now go on and wait outside. Ah... if you see another, really strong-looking Lamia with white hair, don’t be scared. She’s... uh... shall we say, a traveling companion of mine. She can be mean sometimes, but she's a good person. I think.” he added under his breath.

“Um, okay. I’ll wait outside, then,” the tiny Lamia nodded. “Oh, by the way, what’s your name? I’m Serine!”

“Serine? That’s a nice name,” Luka smiled. “I’m Luka... the Fairytale Hero, as that companion of mine would call me.”

“Fairytale? I don’t really understand, but okay,” she said with a confused expression. She then smiled and waved as she turned back and slithered off. “See ya outside!”

Luka watched the tiny Lamia’s small frame disappear into the darkness, then sighed. I managed to avoid a fight, he thought. But it was so awkward when she started crying. I can’t stand seeing girls cry... Well, no use feeling guilty about it anymore. She seems happy now, and I’ll make that up to her somehow. Now, to find the remaining two... although I’m starting to have a good idea of what awaits me. I’m seeing a pattern here...

Still thinking about the situation at hand, Luka turned around as well and walked off, heading deeper in the cave.

A few minutes later, he turned a corner to find what appeared to be a dead end. Frowning, he turned around and prepared to backtrack, but before he could do anything, a shuffling sound like that of flapping wings was heard, and was quickly followed by a voice chuckling. He immediately became alert, attempting to pinpoint the source of the noise. As he examined his surroundings, he saw a figure come out from behind a rocky outcropping he’d passed earlier. He frowned. How did I miss someone tailing me? he thought, displeased. Then the figure fully came into view, and he sighed as he took his newest opponent in.

...It’s a vampire, all right. But she’s a little one. Again. Why am I not surprised anymore?, he thought as he looked at the small monster that now stood before him. It was a cute girl with blond hair, red eyes and very little on her in the way of clothing besides a pair of white panties and a black cloak. She was looking at him with a smug, confident expression. Her ego was clearly much, much larger than her body.

“I am the terror that flaps in the night!” she declared in an attempt to sound ominous and threatening, but only succeeding in sounding even cuter. “Kukuku, I shall feast on you tonight!”

“Umm, it’s still daytime,” Luka began, unsure of what to say when faced with the ridiculousness of the situation. The Vampire Girl gave him another smug look.

“Hahaha, are you paralyzed with fear? You should be!” she boasted, apparently uninterested in what he had to say. “I am the Vampire Bandit of the Wind of the Four Bandits! Prepare yourself! I will suck out all your blood!”

“This is getting more ridiculous by the minute,” Luka muttered under his breath as he reluctantly reached for Angel Halo. Seeing his apparent hesitation, the Vampire Girl grinned.

“Ha-ha! Behold my awesome power!” she cried as she took a step forward. The next instant, she suddenly broke apart in a cloud of bats. Luka stared in surprise, then shouted in alarm as the bats assaulted him, pulling at his hair and clothes and tickling him with their wings.

“Uwaaa?! Bats?!” he cried out, frantically waving his arms around. Guh, how careless of me, he thought as he attempted to repel the flying pests. She may be tiny, but she’s still a Vampire! So that’s how she tracked me without being seen - she was in bat form!

As he ducked to try and protect his hair from the assault, the bats suddenly flew off and vanished in the darkness. Straightening up, Luka looked around, drawing his sword and falling in a guarded position. Where...? he thought, nervously looking at the surroundings.

“Kukuku, I’m over here!” the Vampire Girl’s voice was suddenly heard, and immediately afterwards Luka staggered as a weight fell on his back. Turning his head around, he saw the little Vampire hanging from his back, a smile intended to be wicked adorning her lips. It succeeded only in making her look adorably mischievous.

“Would you get off me?!” Luka said as he shook his back. The Vampire Girl clung to his Enrikan shirt, shaking her head and chuckling.

“Nuh-uh! I’m going to bite you, now!” she announced, before opening her mouth and clamping down on Luka’s neck.

“Whaaa-huh?!” Luka began shouting, only to fall silent in confusion as he noticed there seemed to be no pain from the bite. Belatedly, he realized the truth: this tiny Vampire’s fangs weren’t developed yet! As a result, all she really did was nibble and chew on his skin. The boy found himself unsure whether to be relieved or disappointed - his first solo mission was turning out to be underwhelming, to say the least.

As the Vampire Girl kept chewing on his neck, he decided he’d had enough of the whole situation, and shook his back harshly. The tiny monster shouted in surprise as she stopped nibbling and clung to him, nearly getting thrown off by his sudden movement.

“Hey! I’m not done here! Stand still!” she protested, attempting to go back to her nibbling. Luka sighed, and shrugged even harder, causing the small Vampire to lose her grip on him and fall to the ground, hitting her small rump against the cavern’s mossy floor with a cry of dismay. Turning around, he stared at her and she stared right back with an offended look on her face. Then, her eyes teared up and she started crying. Luka flinched. No, no, no, not again! he thought. I’m not a bully, I’m not!

“Waaaaah! Why are you being so mean?” she cried, frustrated. Luka attempted to calm her down, his hands defensively raised in front of him. The Vampire Girl’s answer was to glare at him and get up slowly, rubbing her tiny backside where it had hit the ground with a wince. Then, she took an aggressive stance again.

“You’re a bad person! I won’t forgive you!” she declared. “I’ll beat you with my all-powerful hypnosis magic! Now just wait a second and be sure to look at me when it’s ready!”

“...Are you serious?” Luka murmured incredulously under his breath. The Vampire Girl ignored him and began to concentrate, her face cutely scrunching up with effort. Luka couldn’t help but smile at how she looked cute even when straining.

“Ha! Now it’s ready! Look this way!” the Vampire Girl suddenly declared. Raising her head, she opened her eyes and an ominous (and cute) flash suddenly emanated from them. Unfortunately, Luka had long since decided to examine the ceiling for interesting rock formations, and the hypnotic flash had absolutely no effect on him.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” the Vampire Girl protested, seeing he hadn’t fallen prey to her attack. “You were supposed to look at me! You cheater!”

“Look, I know where you're coming from here, but you can’t expect people to do what you want just because you tell them,” Luka pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “And if you warn others of what you’re going to do next, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of using a gaze attack like that. Anyway, why didn’t you just use wind magic on me? You’re the Bandit of the Wind, aren’t you?”

The monster girl huffed, pouting adorably as she did so, then hung her head low. “I can’t,” she admitted. “We imitate the Four Heavenly Knights, but none of us know magic like theirs...”

“Then why are you holed up in a place like this?” Luka asked her. “I’m no wizard myself, but if magic is anything like swordplay, it doesn’t just come to you on its own. You gotta head out, find someone who knows magic, and do your best to impress them so that they take you as an apprentice. Although, most wizards probably won’t take an apprentice unless she can at least make a potion or two... have you considered becoming an apothecary’s student? You could learn how to mix together powerful potions, recognize herbs and other ingredients used in magic rituals, all kinds of stuff like that.”

“Umm... you think I should go out and find someone to train me?” the Vampire Girl said, sounding unsure. “But all the strong monsters who use magic are in Hellgondo. It’s a scary place. I don’t wanna go there.”

“I actually know a very strong monster who might be able to give you some instructions to start out,” Luka declared. “At the very least, she'll probably point you in the right direction. The rest, however, that’s entirely up to you, and how determined you are to learn. And I think I could pull some strings and arrange for you to get a job with a local apothecary... you wouldn’t mind learning from a human to start with, would you? It’s less than ideal, but better than nothing.”

“But all the humans around here must be mad at me,” she pointed out, a little dejected. “I don’t think they’ll teach me anything after I stole from them...”

“Leave that to me,” Luka assured her. “I’ll handle all the persuasion. Let’s just say a lot of people owe me a big favor at the moment. I’ll find a solution, I promise.”

“Um... Okay!” the Vampire Girl nodded. “You seem like a nice human, so I’ll trust you! But... what about Draggy and the others?”

“I already spoke with your Goblin and Lamia friends, and they agreed to give my plan a chance,” Luka said. “All that’s left is convince your Dragon friend.”

“Ah, that won't be easy,” the small monster informed him. “Draggy is really tough, the toughest of us all, and she doesn’t really like to think about hard things. I don’t think you can talk her into doing what you want.”

“I won’t know unless I try,” Luka pointed out with a smile. “And besides, I promised I’d keep the four of you together, so I can’t fail. I can only do what I promised!”

“Okay then, what do you want me to do now?” the Vampire Girl asked. Luka looked at her and paused.

“Huh... right, you’re a vampire. Can you go outside in the sun?” he asked. It was midday now, after all, and he really didn’t want to accidentally kill this little girl by forcing her to walk in broad daylight.

“Oh, sure, we all can,” the Vampire waved his concerns away. “It’s just really hot for us, and it hurts our eyes, so we like to stay inside, or come out when it’s cloudy or the sun went down. You didn’t really think that stuff about the sun burning us was true, right?”

“Er, well, I was worried you’d get hurt, and wanted to be sure,” Luka hastily replied, trying to cover the fact that he did, indeed, think that to be true. “Well, if you'll be all right outside, go join your friends. They should be waiting just out of the cave. If the sun annoys you, go in the shade. Don’t get hurt for no good reason, okay?

“Okay, sure!” the Vampire Girl nodded with a cute grin, showing her tiny fangs. Turning around, she skipped off, heading for the exit. Luka watched her go for a few seconds, then called out after her.

“I almost forgot! My name is Luka! What’s yours?” he asked.

“I’m Viran of the Four Bandits! Nice to meetcha!” her voice came back from the dark tunnel ahead. Then the noise of her footsteps was replaced by the flutter of wings, and her presence was gone.

Luka paused briefly, then crossed his arms, pondering the situation. So three of the bandits were children, he thought. The fourth might be the exception, but somehow I doubt it. I suppose I should be glad it wasn’t a bunch of adult monsters, but something still feels strangely disappointing about all of this.

Placing his disappointment out of his mind, the boy Hero retraced his steps out of the dead end, and took the only path remaining. It was time to end this whole mess.

A few minutes later, Luka saw a light ahead, and turning a corner, he blinked as he was presented with an unexpected sight: within the cavern was a makeshift cabin - its outer wall, really - and in front of the cabin was a small bonfire. As he looked at the slightly surreal scene, he felt a draft, and looked up. There was an opening in the cavern ceiling, and he could see the sky through it. Rope ladders were set up so that the opening could be reached from the ground. He guessed that had been how the Goblin girl managed to attack him from above, and how the bandits had known he was coming. He couldn’t help but be impressed; these children were better organized than most adults he could think of.

As he looked around, there was a noise from the cabin, and a figure walked out of it. Turning towards the newcomer and taking it in, Luka sighed.

“I knew it,” he muttered as he watched a small Dragon pup come out of the structure. She was noticeably taller than her companions, though still smaller than Luka. She had blue hair and gold eyes, much like Alice’s, and her scales were a striking bluish-grey color. He noticed with surprise that this Dragon pup looked different from Granberia: she had a pair of small, cute wings, where the Heavenly Knight had none, and while Granberia’s legs and feet appeared human, aside from the scales and talons, the Dragon pup’s were bent backwards like those of quadruped animals. What did mother and Thermidor call these kinds of legs? Di-gi-ti-grade, or something like that, he thought, remembering his lessons regarding monsters. I seem to recall they're usually seen on particularly wild monsters...

“Raaaawr!” the Dragon pup exclaimed, leveling a fierce stare at Luka as she raised her clawed hands. Luka frowned as he drew Angel Halo. The Dragon girl’s body language was extremely aggressive, and it was plain even to him that, whether he liked it or not, there was no avoiding a fight this time.

“I don’t suppose you want to talk?” he tried nonetheless, not expecting a positive response. As he had guessed, the Dragon pup shook her head negatively.

“No! You tricked all my friends, but I’m going to beat you up and save them!” she said, appearing angry. “I won’t show any mercy! My claws, my teeth - I will use everything I have to beat you! I am the Dragon Bandit of Flame!”

Crap, she thinks I deceived her friends, Luka thought as he fell in a guarded stance. I’ll have to smack her around a bit, even if I really don’t like the idea... Ugh, how troublesome.

As he thought, the Dragon girl inhaled sharply. Luka’s curious stare turned to alarm as she exhaled, and a gout of intense flames escaped her lips, setting his pants on fire! Panicking, Luka began running around the small cave clearing, frantically swatting at the flames running up his pants.

“Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow!” he yelled, wincing as the flames scalded his skin. “Hot! Too hot! Water, where’s water!”

After running around for a few moments, Luka remembered Liese’s instructions for cases like these, quickly walked up to a sandy spot on the cave floor, stopped, dropped and started rolling. As he did so, the flames flickered down and were put out. Rolling a couple more times to be sure, he sighed and got up, relieved. Grabbing Angel Halo again, he began to turn around, when he felt someone jump on his back and grab him tightly.

Realizing the Dragon girl had taken advantage of his distraction to sneak attack him, he began shaking around, but the small monster’s grip proved far stronger than that of the Vampire earlier. Then, he felt a very sharp pain on the top of his head - the tiny dragon was biting his skull!

“Gwaaa?! Stop! Ow, it hurts!” Luka panicked again. The fight was not going at all how he’d hoped, though admittedly it was largely his fault for underestimating the girl. Struggling, he attempted to get the Dragon pup off him, but she was holding on tightly with her clawed hands, and the claw tips were beginning to sting, as well. Grunting with frustration, he suddenly remembered a move Wriph had taught him for cases like these. Deciding it was worth a try, he abruptly stopped moving, planted Angel Halo in the sand to have both hands free, reached up to grab the Dragon pup, and heaved his upper body forward. He, and the Dragon girl clinging to him, tumbled forward, rolling across the sandy floor. Luka hoped to disorient her enough to loosen her grip and allow him to disengage.

It worked. With her world suddenly turned upside down and spinning, the Dragon girl let go of him, and was promptly thrown off and sent sprawling in the sand. Luka rubbed his stinging scalp and picked up Angel Halo again, never taking his eyes off the Dragon pup. She’d proved she was dangerous enough, and while he’d have to make sure not to seal her so that the other monster girls wouldn’t get angry at him and ruin all his hard work, he wasn’t about to let her beat him up even more. This time, he’d take her seriously.

Falling in a stance, Luka watched the Dragon pup’s moves intently. The little monster stared right back, in a crouching position. Suddenly, she tensed, and Luka realized she was about to pounce. Acting fast, he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding an unexpectedly fast swipe of her claws. He then countered with a swing to her extended arm, but was taken aback when the sword impacted on her scales and bounced off.

“What the hell...? Her skin’s nearly as tough as Granberia’s,” he muttered incredulously. This small Dragon was proving formidable enough. Certainly, Dragons deserved their reputation. A few more attacks aimed for her legs also proved completely fruitless. He frowned as he shifted his hold on his weapon. He didn’t like aiming for a normally vital point, but the only thing he could do at this point seemed to be an attack to the head. Brandishing his sword so that the flat of his blade would be used, he lunged forward at the unsuspecting Dragon pup, and brought his sword down with all his strength.

As he expected, the monster’s skull proved to be just as tough as her scales, and his sword bounced off again, causing his sword arm to rattle violently. He winced in pain at the backlash. However, the attack appeared to have worked. The Dragon pup shouted in pain as she staggered back, holding her head as she gave him an accusing glare. Then, her eyes filled with tears, and she began to cry.

“Waaaaaa! That hurt! You meanie!” she cried, rubbing her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Why’d you hit me that hard?!”

“Because otherwise nothing I did would’ve worked,” Luka answered honestly. “You’re too tough. I had to take you seriously or I’d have lost. Sorry about that. Now will you please listen to me? I swear I didn’t deceive your friends.”

“Liar! I heard you talk to them about going away from here!” she accused him. “If they go away, I’ll be all alone! I won’t let you do it!”

“It was never my intention to separate the four of you,” Luka answered, shaking his head. “If I’m going to find an arrangement for you, it’s going to be for all of you. If I can't, I’ll call the whole thing off and think of something else. I promise you that. Can you believe me?”

The Dragon pup sniffled, then stared intensely in his eyes. Luka stared back, not looking away. For a few seconds, the Dragon girl kept looking in his eyes, searching for something. Finally, she appeared to find it and relaxed, still rubbing her head.

“Hum, your eyes aren’t those of a liar,” she said, sounding like she’d calmed down. “Do you really mean it when you say you’ll keep us together?”

“Yeah, I mean it,” Luka nodded in return. The small monster thought for a few seconds, then looked up again.

“Well, okay!” she nodded. “If Vampy and the others are all right with this, then so am I! What do you want me to do?”

“Hmmm... well, first...” Luka began, somewhat surprised by the Dragon pup’s sudden mood swing, but was interrupted by a new voice coming from behind him.

“I can’t believe you actually managed to get through to all four of them,” Alice said as she slithered into view, followed closely by the other three monster bandits, who looked oddly subdued. “You’re pretty good at negotiating. If you were a monster, I’d make you handle my business while I am away.”

“What you mean is, you’d leave me to do all the hard, more or less thankless work while you kick back and relax,” Luka replied in a sarcastic tone. “Why am I not surprised?”

“You should be honored that I’d trust you so much,” Alice retorted, appearing as if she meant every word of it. “Isn’t it good for a Hero to be trusted?”

“There’s a difference between ‘trusted’ and ‘exploited’,” Luka pointed out. Then he looked at the three monster children next to her and raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, why did you come here? And what’s with the girls? You didn’t threaten to eat them or anything, did you?”

“Hm? What are you talking about? I just educated them a bit,” she replied nonchalantly, then blinked as the girls bolted from her side and quickly hid behind Luka.

“Big brother, that lady is scary!” the Goblin girl cried.

“Yeah! She threatened to whip us with her tail if we stole stuff again!” the Vampire girl continued.

“And she made that really, really scary face when I called her old lady!” the tiny Lamia finished, her words causing Alice to twitch visibly. “It’s true, though! She has white hair and all!”

“You disrespectful little brat!” Alice yelled, making a scary face exactly as the small Lamia had claimed. “I’m only 22 years old! How dare you call me old lady!”

“You’re what?! I thought you were way older than-” Luka asked incredulously, then hastily shut up as Alice shot a murderous look his way. “-Uh, nothing! Nothing! Forget I said anything! Just a slip of the tongue!”

“That tongue of yours will be my dinner if you keep this up, idiot,” she threatened him. “Anyway, what’s wrong with promising a spanking to children who don’t behave?”

“I think it’s more the way you promised it that was the problem,” Luka replied, having no trouble imagining the scene. “If you scare these girls out of their wits, then naturally they’ll act like this.”

“Ugh, why are you taking only their side? Do you like little girls or something?” Alice complained. Then, not waiting for an answer from the outraged Luka, she waved a hand dismissively and turned around, slithering away. “Enough of this. I’m bored and hungry, and this cave is cramped and full of dust. Let’s go outside and get a breath of fresh air. I’ll be waiting, so don’t take all day. You can be a pervert all you want after we’re back at the hotel.”

“Hey-!” Luka began to protest, but before he could say anything, the older monster was gone. Luka frowned, then sighed. He supposed he’d first have to arrange things in town before he could ask the white-haired Lamia for assistance in giving Viran, the Vampire girl, some pointers. Hopefully she would at least be willing to do so. If all else failed, he could always blackmail her with food.

Looking back at the four monster girls crowding around him, his eyes fell on the Dragon pup, and he began thinking. There had to be something he could arrange for her, but she was a little too volatile for guard duty, and he didn’t think more relaxed activities would interest her. Viran also had mentioned she didn’t like overthinking things, so intellectual venues were probably off-limits as well.

“Hey, what’s your name, Dragon?” he addressed her. “I can’t keep calling you ‘Dragon girl’. You have a name, right?”

“Yeah! I’m Tyris! Tyris Bloodbane!” she replied with a smile and an out-thrust chest. She looked as if she were saying, 'hey, I just said something awesome! Praise me, praise me!' It made Luka want to pat her head. “You’re Luka, right? I heard you say your name earlier.”

“Yeah, I’m Luka,” the boy nodded. “I suppose I was being just a bit too loud back there, eh? Anyway... I need to find something for you to do. Hmmm... say, you aren’t against physically demanding jobs, right?”

“I’m strong! I can do anything!” she boasted proudly. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well... how would you like to learn how to forge weapons, armor, and such?” he asked her. “I know a blacksmith in town, and he’s a bit indisposed at the moment - busted his arm up pretty badly. He could certainly use help from someone strong like you, especially since you can also breathe fire, so the forge would never go cold. And I hear that goods forged with dragonfire are the best in the world. You could gain a reputation from that alone.”

“Ummm... that doesn’t sound so tough,” Tyris commented. “Sure, I’ll do it! You promise you’ll keep us all together, right?”

“Of course, I’ll find a way,” Luka assured her. “I’ll just have to work on persuading the right people. Well... the scary lady’s waiting for us. Shall we go, as well?”

“Ew, do we have to? She’s really scary!” Serine, the tiny Lamia, complained. Luka sighed.

“Yeah, I know she can be, uh... how can I put it... complicated,” he told her. “But she really isn’t a bad person. Just difficult to get along with. And besides, how can we get things done if we stay here all day?”

“Umm, that’s true,” Sawako, the Goblin girl, agreed. “Okay! Let’s go! I’m gonna be a Heavenly Knight one day! I can’t be scared of anything!”

“I’m not so sure about that. I find her plenty scary,” Luka muttered inaudibly as the small group headed out of the bandits’ cave. It was time to return to Iliasburg, and there was still work to be done ahead.

----

The journey back was uneventful. Luka wasn’t sure if it was because it was a large group traveling together, or because there were monsters with him, but he wasn’t bothered at all on the way back to Iliasburg. Aside, of course, from Alice nagging him for food and the four bandits being, as with all children, overly excitable. The only odd moment turned out to be when he caught the Vampire girl creeping up on him when he was about to fall asleep. She had dismissed her actions as ‘vampire training’, but Luka wasn’t too sure she had been entirely honest about it.

Eventually, Iliasburg’s walls came into view. As the group approached the city, Alice stopped Luka, eyeing him speculatively.

“What do you intend to do now?” she asked him. “If you just waltz in with monsters in tow, these girls will be lynched, you know.”

The four girls looked alarmed at that, and appeared to be on the verge of crying again from fright. Luka gave them a reassuring look, then his gaze hardened as he turned back to Alice.

“I promised them I’d keep them safe, too,” he stated in no uncertain terms. “If that means having to bash a few heads, then I’ll bash a few heads until less aggressive thoughts fill them. I’m going to have them listen, one way or the other.”

“Now that’s pretty brutal,” she commented. “So kind to monsters, yet so ready to dole out violence on humans? What an odd Hero.”

“These are children,” Luka pointed out. “Human or monster, I’m not going to tolerate anyone trying to cause children harm. End of story.”

“Mmmm... yes, I suppose that does fit your personality,” Alice nodded. “Very well, then, give me a second to disguise myself again, then we can go and see what happens. If nothing else, it could get entertaining.”

“I could comment on your definition of ‘entertainment’, but I’m pretty sure I can’t do it with child-friendly words,” Luka muttered. “At the very least, can I count on you to get these girls away from danger if things get out of hand?”

“I’ll do that. And I’ll add this debt to the rest of your tab,” she said with a faint smile. “Remember, I could cash in anytime.”

“Fine, whatever,” the boy replied sourly. “Just keep them safe, please.” With that, the group resumed marching towards the town gates. As they approached, a commotion could be seen forming on the ramparts, and when they reached the gate, they found three town guards nervously leveling spears at them.

“H-h-hero, is that you? What’s going on?” one asked Luka. “W-why are you bringing m-monsters in town? You haven’t betrayed us, have you?”

“Calm down, now,” Luka commanded in his best confident tone. He needed to make it look like the situation was in control, lest panic take root and explode. “I know what I'm doing. Would you gather the townspeople who were robbed by the bandits in the town plaza? I have an announcement to make.”

“Uh... but...” another guard began hesitantly, still eyeing the monsters behind him. Luka sighed in exasperation.

“I said everything is under control,” he repeated a little more forcefully. “And besides, look at these monsters! They’re children! Are you going to hide and cower in fear from children, now?”

“Errm... you’re right,” the guards nodded as they lowered their weapons and relaxed. “You do seem to have everything under control. Very well, then. Proceed inside. But, please, Hero... don’t let anything bad happen.”

“I don’t intend to,” was Luka’s reply as he marched past them. The four little monsters followed, looking at the town guards with suspicion, and Alice closed the procession, coming in last. Quickly, they made their way to the town plaza, drawing some alarmed stares as the townspeople saw monsters walking among them, but mostly just attracting curious looks. When they reached the plaza, a small crowd had already formed out of the people who had followed them. Looking around, Luka determined the situation didn’t seem dangerous yet, and instructed the monster girls to sit on the edge of the fountain and wait. They looked a little anxious, but ultimately trusted the boy enough to comply.

Eventually, the town guards returned with a few private citizens and a handful of shopkeepers. Po the blacksmith and Ilsa the hotel owner were among them, as was the local apothecary - a thin, wiry man with an oddly cadaverous face - and a few other shop owners Luka had spotted when he had visited town before leaving. He looked around, and waited until the murmuring in the crowd subsided, then cleared his throat, carefully selecting his next words.

“Ahem. People of Iliasburg,” he began slowly. He was not used to speaking so formally, but decided now was a good time to do so. “As you may recall, I left a few days ago on a mission to find and defeat the bandits who had taken refuge in the Irina Mountains. I have done so... but as you can plainly see, the bandits were not what any of us, me included, expected. Behold, the Four Bandits of the Irina Mountains!”

With that, he waved a hand at the four monsters sitting on the edge of the fountain. The girls fidgeted, feeling nervous under all the stares. Silence followed Luka’s declaration, then all of a sudden several voices spoke up at once.

“No way! They’re just kids!”

“Are you serious? There's gotta be some mistake here...”

“But that one’s a Dragon, isn’t she? And the other looks like a Vampire, just like those caravan guards said.”

“Aren’t they dangerous? But they’re all so tiny...”

“All this time, we were being terrorized by four monster children...?”

“Those worthless caravan guards! They lost to these cute girls? I bet they’re all perverts and enjoyed being beat up by them! Next time I see them...!”

Luka allowed the cacophony of voices to go on for a little longer, gauging the reactions. There was some apprehension, and a bit of anger, but overall, the reception of the town towards the little monsters had been fairly peaceful. He decided it was best to strike while the iron was hot, and coughed loudly to gain the crowd’s attention again. Slowly, silence returned. Nodding at the crowd, he continued.

“Now that you know the identity of the Irina Mountains’ bandits, I have another statement to make,” he said. “These girls have agreed to apologize for their actions, return whatever leftover merchandise is left that they stole, and work to pay off what they used up. In exchange, all they ask for is food and a ceiling under which to stay. Since they have no parents to look after them, I want to negotiate an arrangement on their behalf. If at all possible, as a personal favor to me for saving this town... would you consider offering shelter to these children?” He made a point to emphasize the word "children."

Silence reigned after Luka concluded his appeal, the people around looking at each other uncertainly. Luka tensed up. Now, it all depended on the townspeople’s good hearts.

“Well... it’s not that I wouldn’t want to help the Hero, but... allowing monsters to live in town?” a young woman began, doubt filling her words. Some heads in the crowd nodded at that.

“Ah, don’t be ridiculous now!” a deep voice bellowed, and Luka recognized it as belonging to Po the blacksmith. As if on cue, the huge man advanced out of the crowd and walked up to Luka and his companions. “They’re just kids, no different from our own in the end! And besides, they haven’t done much damage to me. Just a few odds and ends, mostly boots and the like.”

“Yes, and they ain’t killed nobody, have they?” the innkeeper’s voice spoke up as she also emerged from the crowd. “These kids, they ain’t like the one from the other day. I reckon we could learn to live with ‘em. And besides, I needed a receptionist... I could get one of these girls to help me out at the hotel.”

“I need an assistant, too,” Po remarked, holding up his injured arm. “And I see a Dragon girl over there. Dragonfire goods are supposed to be the best there is. I sure could use her as an apprentice!”

“Come to think of it, I need someone to help out in the shop, too,” the apothecary spoke as well, his voice as thin and sickly-sounding as his body. “My health’s a bit... you know. And no one in this town,” he added, pointedly glaring at the crowd behind him, “wants to be near me 'cause they think they’ll get sick too. Monsters don’t get sick from human illnesses, so any of those kids will be fine. Or is anyone here gonna volunteer?”

The crowd shuffled, still unsure. At that point, the four girls decided to do something on their own, and all four got up at once. The townspeople shrank back, alarmed, but stopped in surprise as the girls bowed to them in apology.

“We’re sorry...” Tyris said quietly. “We won’t cause trouble again, and we wanna stay together, so please don’t chase us off.”

“We have nowhere else to go,” Viran added. “Can’t we stay here? We’ll behave and help out.”

“I’ll bring back all the stuff we took from our cave,” Sawako continued. “So don’t be mad, okay?”

“Umm... we didn’t know what else to do...” Serine concluded, unsure.

The crowd shifted again, but this time Luka could detect a visible change in attitude. Apparently, the four girls’ sincere apologies had gotten through, and the general disposition towards them had improved considerably as a result. Already he could pick up positive remarks from the crowd here and there. He remained silent, allowing the situation to play out.

Eventually, the moderate side won out, and an agreement was reached to allow the monster girls to stay. In exchange, they would be taken in, cared for, and put to work helping people in town. There was a brief moment when it looked like things would fall apart when the topic of food was brought up, but as it turned out, all but the Vampire could eat anything a human could, and the Vampire could make due with blood from any animal, so long as it was fresh.

Luka watched the four girls go off with their new caretakers - Tyris with Po, Serine with Ilsa, Viran with the sickly-looking apothecary, whose name turned out to be Jean, and Sawako with a member of the town militia, who mentioned she would be useful for keeping drunks under control and delivering packages when needed due to her strength and speed. As the four girls left and the crowd dispersed, Serine turned towards Alice and made a face at her, sticking her tongue out. Alice’s answer was merely a smile, but Luka could clearly see a vein throbbing under the bangs covering her forehead. He sighed.

“Oi, oi, she’s just a kid,” he said. “Don’t take her too seriously. Besides, you’re both Lamia. Shouldn’t you get along instead of being like oil and water?”

“What are you saying, idiot,” Alice answered with a glare. “Don’t lump me in with that little brat. I’m not a Lamia.”

“What...?” Luka asked, puzzled. “But you have a tail like her, and can use magic, right?”

“I’m an Echidna, idiot,” she retorted. “It’s not the same thing at all. Can’t you see I’m much more refined and good-looking than any Lamia could ever hope to be?”

“Huh? You’re a rare one, then. Wow,” the boy said, surprised. “Echidnas are supposed to be among the rarest monsters of them all, aren’t they?”

“That’s right,” she nodded proudly. “Next time, don’t be so hasty in judging someone by their looks.”

“I just saw the tail and assumed you were a Lamia. Sorry about that. I’ll keep that in mind from now on.” Turning around, he yawned. “Man, I’m beat. Let’s head back to the hotel. I'm getting tired, and I'll bet you're hungry, right?”

As Luka walked off, he missed the mischievous, calculating light that appeared in Alice’s eyes. “Assumed, indeed,” she murmured with a wicked smirk. “It seems I must teach you the difference between me and common peons.”

----

As they returned to the Sutherland Hotel, Luka spotted the innkeeper, Ilsa, talking with the small Lamia. Apparently, she was showing her the premises. Alice excused herself and walked off at that point, heading towards the innkeeper and the smaller monster. Luka observed her with concern for a few seconds, but when it became evident that she wasn’t there to pick a fight with the small monster, he sighed in relief and headed in the inn. Hopefully, Serine would keep her mouth shut about Alice’s identity - a point they had insisted on during the trip back - but the apparent dislike between the two was worrisome.

Deciding he felt like eating something, he headed for the kitchen and placed an order to be delivered at his room. He considered ordering for Alice, as well, but decided against it, figuring she had gone off to ask Ilsa for her own food. Stretching, he paused for a few seconds, then decided to return to his room and check on Thermidor.

As he climbed the stairs up to the second floor, he spotted the innkeeper and the tiny Lamia coming in, but Alice seemed to not be with them. He shrugged, figuring she’d return when it was dinnertime.

While walking down the corridor leading to his room, he began thinking about the day’s events. Everything had gone better than he’d expected. It seemed that the town had accepted the four monster girls, and things would be fine for them. He felt satisfied with a job well done.

Distracted as he was, he didn’t notice a large snake tail slip out of a door until it wrapped around his neck and forcefully dragged him off his feet and into a previously closed room. A strangled gasp escaped his lips as he was unceremoniously pulled inside and the room’s door slammed shut. As he struggled, the tail further coiled around him, pinning him down. He blinked and slowed his struggling as he realized the tail looked awfully familiar. Looking up, he realized why: it was Alice’s.

“Wha-- Alice?” he said, confused. “What are you doing? You nearly gave me a heart attack...”

“Quiet, you,” the serpentine monster glared at him as she dragged him away from the door. With a flick of her tail, she lifted him off the ground and threw him onto the lone bed in the room. Luka landed on the soft mattress with a surprised gasp. As he tried to get his bearing again, Alice’s tail coiled around him again, and when he looked at her, he saw a strange light in her eyes - one he did not find the slightest bit reassuring.

“Uh. What do you think you’re doing?” he asked her again, getting more than a bit nervous. Receiving no answer, his alarm increased. “Come on, this isn’t-- waaa?!”

His protests were cut off as Alice deftly undid his pants and took them off, exposing his dick to the cool air in the room. Now definitely agitated, he looked at her in confusion. The mischievous look he got in response did nothing to calm him down.

“Hey now, this really isn’t funny, you know?” he said, attempting to slip out of her coils. However, Alice’s grip on him was more than firm enough, and the attempt failed miserably. “What did I do to you, anyway?!”

“You need to learn the difference between me and common monsters,” she stated with a smirk. “And as far as I know, the best way to teach to men is through their other head.”

“Oh, come on!” Luka protested. “Are you still mad at me because of that?”

“I said, be quiet!” Alice said as she reached down and grasped his penis with her fingers, eliciting a gasp from him. “First I get called an old lady, then I get confused for a garden variety Lamia, and through all this, I get no respect at all! I’m going to teach you a lesson now. Let’s see whether this ‘old lady’ has an effect on you or not, shall we?”

“Wa-wait! I didn’t mean to offend you-- ah!” Luka attempted to say, his justifications cut off as Alice’s gloved hands began to softly stroke his penis. “Wait a minute! That’s...”

“Oh, be quiet,” Alice chided him as she kept stroking. “You had sex with monsters all over the place. How is this any more terrible than everything else you've done so far?”

“That’s not what I-- ah, that feels good...” Luka tried again, only to be cut off by the pleasant feeling of Alice’s agile fingers caressing his dick. The serpentine monster looked up with a triumphant smirk.

“What’s that? Getting excited by an old woman?” she taunted him as she presented his erect penis to him. “I had no idea you had such tastes. What a shameless Hero...”

“...That’s not fair,” Luka managed to get out, gritting his teeth. “You know that’s not what I meant... when I said that back then...!”

“Oh? Then what did you mean?” Alice kept needling him on as her ministrations increased. “Let’s hear it. I’m curious to hear your honest thoughts.”

“What I meant... ah... was that I thought you looked more mature than your age,” Luka admitted, realizing what she wanted him to say, yet finding it hard to focus as she kept caressing and massaging him. “You have a mature woman’s charm about you, rather than a youthful, immature one’s... and I do find that attractive.”

“Hmm, is that so...” Alice murmured, giving him an impish look. “I wonder... are you telling the truth now? Or are you just trying to flatter me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! How can-- ah, wait, don’t rub there!” he gasped and squirmed as her fingers began to move around his glans. “How can I lie in this situation?!”

“Hahaha... well, at least you’re being honest,” Alice laughed. “Well, I suppose I can forgive you just this once. And, as a reward for being honest... I’ll show you something good.”

“What...? Ahhh?!” Luka shouted as suddenly, the feeling around his penis changed. Looking down, his eyes widened as he saw Alice’s fingers had changed, looking almost like tiny tentacles, and had wrapped tightly around his shaft.

“Hehehe... this isn’t something a common Lamia can do,” she informed him proudly. “I did tell you I’d show you the difference, didn’t I? Let’s start by squeezing your semen out once...”

“Wa-wai-- aaahhh!!” Luka protested, only to be cut off as Alice’s wriggling appendixes began to move forcefully around his dick. He gritted his teeth, incredulous at how intense the sensation was. It felt as if he was imprisoned by numerous hungry snakes, yet the softness of the tentacles enveloping him was completely different from that of a snake’s body or anything else similar he could think of. And the way she moved them was also unlike anything else he’d experienced before, save perhaps for the time when he’d had sex with the Slime Girl. The way her body could shift was similar to how Alice’s fingers were moving now.

“Hora hora... what’s this pathetic voice?” Alice taunted him as he squirmed under her ministrations. “You should be used to monsters doing these things to you by now... or does my technique just feel that good?”

“Aaahhh...” was Luka’s only answer as he felt his legs go weak. Alice’s tentacles were attacking every single weak and sensitive spot on his penis, and the sensation was overwhelming. Tightly wrapped within her fingers, she kept stroking him, varying between a slow, sensual rhythm and sudden bursts of speed, and shifting the tentacles’ position so that every inch of his shaft would be stimulated at any given time. He groaned as he felt the familiar sensation of a climax build up.

Alice apparently picked up on his rising excitement, because she chuckled softly and increased the speed and intensity of her ministrations, licking her lips in anticipation. It was obvious she intended to force him to come right away, likely as a way to prove her superiority. But in his current helpless state, there was nothing he could realistically do: the Echidna’s coils were tremendously strong, and even if he hadn’t been distracted by the pleasure, there was no way he’d be able to power out of them, no matter how much he struggled. Right now, he was at her mercy.

“Hmm? Not even trying to fight back? How pitiful,” she commented as she noticed he’d stopped his struggling. “Where’s your male pride? Or... perhaps you like being forced into submission?”

Not waiting for an answer, Alice decided to finish this particular game. Shifting her grip on Luka’s penis, she squeezed firmly, and began to rub intensely with her tentacle-fingers, paying special attention to the tip. Luka let out a strangled gasp at the sudden intensity of her handjob, and the increased stimulation finally drove him over the edge. With a cry, he came, his seed violently spurting out of his tip, arching in the air and falling back down on Alice’s still-moving hands. The monster, however, kept stroking and milking him through his orgasm, the intensity of the sensations magnified by the sensitivity caused by his climax. He savagely clenched his teeth; the pleasure was so intense it was almost painful.

Finally, after several long seconds of orgasm, the last of Luka’s load dribbled out, oozing over Alice’s hands, and he relaxed with a sigh, spent. She chuckled as she admired her handiwork, lifting one hand so that he could see his semen dribbling off it - as proof of her victory over him. Then, she brought her semen-covered hands to her mouth, parted her lips, and began to lick his seed off of them with wanton relish.

Luka could do nothing but stare transfixed at the intensely erotic scene. As she licked his come up with her surprisingly long tongue, she made sure to make small noises, showing off as much as possible. Predictably, the spectacle had the inevitable consequences, and before she had finished cleaning her hands up, Luka’s penis had regained its vitality and hardness. She looked at it and smirked triumphantly.

“Oh? It seems this shameless penis of yours still hasn’t had enough,” she chuckled. “Well then, I’m still hungry, so I’ll help myself to a bit more of your semen. You taste delicious, by the way... I could make a habit of this.”

“W-wait! It’s still too sensi-- aaagh!” Luka attempted to stop her. Alice, however, ignored him and grasped his penis again tightly, her tentacle-like fingers snaking around it again. Moving swiftly, she began rubbing the sensitive shaft once more, drawing strangled moans and gasps from Luka as the extreme sensitivity of his dick caused unbearably intense sensations to lance through his body.

Alice laughed merrily as she began squeezing and milking him again in earnest. She liked seeing him writhe in almost painful ecstasy under her hands, and could see why Thermidor enjoyed his company so much: the young boy seemed to react strongly to pleasure, and could make his partner feel very powerful from how intensely he felt their ministrations.

For his part, Luka’s mind was going blank from the intense squeezing and stroking Alice was subjecting him to. She was rough - rougher than Thermidor, and almost as rough as the elves had been - and she seemed to know where to rub and caress to get the most intense reactions out of him. Struggling to remain lucid, he wondered where she’d found out about his weak points. Milia and Wriph, he realized, knowing Thermidor would never have volunteered such information.

As he thought to himself, Alice noticed his distraction and frowned. “Diverting your attention is not allowed!” she chided him, suddenly increasing the speed and strength of her movements. Luka could only let out a weak cry as he was suddenly assaulted by pleasure, and in a flash, Alice’s skilled fingers brought him to the brink again - and then over it. His mind going blank, he seized up as he came again.

Alice looked on in delight as his seed was once again coaxed out by her hands, licking her lips in appreciation at the amount he was still able to shoot out. Mercilessly, she milked as much of his semen out as possible, watching him with a satisfied expression as he writhed and moaned, trapped in her coils and powerless against her as his come splattered on her hands. When he finally came down from his orgasm, he once again went limp in her hold, and she quickly gathered his semen, greedily lapping it up. This time, she didn’t make a show of it, instead simply gulping it down like a tasty treat.

Once she was done, she looked at Luka for a brief instant, and smirked. Reaching out again, she once more grasped his penis with one of her hands, and reached down with the other to take hold of his balls. The boy let out a weak moan of protest.

“Stop... no more...” he pleaded. “ Too sensitive...”

“Don’t be so weak-willed, now,” Alice reproached him with a wicked smile as she began her fondling motions again. “Aren’t you the Hero who intends to bring peace to this world? Something as minor as this should be a small matter for you.”

“Ah! S-stop...!” Luka repeated, tensing up with a grimace between pain and pleasure as her slippery fingers teased and caressed his shaft and his balls at the same time. “Can’t take this... anymore!”

“So pitiful. Can’t you do any better? Hora, hora...” Alice taunted him, mercilessly continuing her activity. While she was careful not to exert too much pressure, she still applied as much stimulation to the boy’s dick as she deemed safe to. Watching him writhe helplessly, she smiled as she coaxed a series of gasps and moans out of his lips.

“Ahhh... this is too much!” Luka cried out, no longer sure whether he was in ecstasy or agony from the constant stimulation he was being subjected to while still being sensitive from his previous orgasms. “Stop... I’m going to...!”

“Oh? Are you going to come again?” Alice asked with a grin. “I thought you said you didn’t want any more?”

With a small laugh, she promptly intensified her ministrations, running her tentacled fingers up and down his shaft and lightly massaging his balls as well. Then she began to shift the appendages in a rubbing motion, going as fast as she could. Unable to take the intense sensation, Luka cried out and arched his back so violently it almost looked like he was going to break, coming once more under the stimulation of Alice’s hands. The white-haired monster watched smugly as spurt after spurt of semen shot out, landing on her hands and coating them in white. All the while, she rubbed and pumped Luka’s dick, attempting to wring out every last remaining drop of his seed.

When his climax finally subsided and he relaxed once again in her coils, she gathered up all the semen she had milked out of him, and leisurely lapped it up with an appreciative noise. She lightly brushed his spent member with her fingers to get any traces of the precious substance off of it, eliciting a weak moan of protest from a tired Luka, and licked them clean, then finally decided she had enough and uncoiled from around him, letting his sweat-covered body lie on the bed. She looked down at him with an air of superiority.

“Mmm... Spent after only three times, and I just had to use my hands?” she smirked, taunting him as he drifted off into unconsciousness. “How disappointing. Well, I suppose it is to be expected, since I was your partner. And I did need to take it somewhat seriously. Thanks for the meal, by the way. It was delicious.”

Those words accompanied him in a fitful sleep, his dreams populated by beautiful, demanding snakewomen.
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Monster Girl Saga