Editor(s): Joker

  “Woo! We made it!” I cheered and raised both arms in excitement as Nell, Lefi, and I closed in on the city’s gates. “Hell yeah, it’s time for some city life! I can’t wait!”


  The people around us stared and giggled in response to my antics. They seemed to think that I was a crazy hillbilly from some random village in the middle of nowhere.

  “U-Uhm… C-Could you please be a bit quieter? You’re being really embarrassing.” Likewise, the hero didn’t think my behaviour was quite appropriate. She tried calming me down with a shy whisper of a complaint, but I shrugged it off.

  “Embarrassment? Feh! A mere bit of embarrassment is nothing in the face of the fiery emotions bursting out from within my heart!”


  “Yeah, but what about us…?” Dismayed and shocked, the hero groaned and drooped her shoulders.

  “You’ve little choice but to give up, He-Nell.” Lefi spoke to the other girl and offered her condolences. She was about to refer to her as the hero, but stopped herself short and corrected herself before she did. “It is not possible for an outside influence to wrench him from his current state. Waiting for it to pass is the only option.”


  Unlike the hero, the dragon girl’s tone carried no shame. The only emotion it contained was exasperation. See, Lefi understands me. I mean, how the hell am I supposed to stay calm. I’m visiting a city in another world. Like, holy sh*t! That’s an event to get excited about if I’ve ever seen one.

  It was technically my second time visiting the city, but I’d been too angry and fired up the first time to really examine the environment and take in everything the city had to offer. The one thing I did note back then was that the city’s walls were impressive, even from all the way up in the air. Seeing them again, but on the ground, only furthered my impression of it.

  ‘Course, it still loses out to my castle and whatnot, but I really gotta say. It’s pretty damn impressive.

  “Alright, enough chit-chatting. Let’s go!”


  “Huh? W-Wait, hold on!” The hero took a second to react and pull herself out of her daze. She tried to stop me as soon as she did, but I didn’t listen. I simply continued marching onwards as per my declaration, only to be stopped by a spear. The guard standing at the gate lowered his weapon and refused to let me pass.

  “What the hell?” I groaned. “Dude, you mind moving that weapon of yours? I’ve got places to be and it’s in my way.”


  “Your papers?” The man replied with a gruff, grumpy groan. He was an older man, likely in his late thirties or early forties.

  “My what?” I heard him loud and clear, but I didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me.

  “Show me your papers if you want to pass. I’m not letting you in unless you’ve got valid ID.”


  …


  Seriously? Is he seriously trying to ID me? Isn’t this supposed to be another world, an undeveloped fantastical land? Why the hell do they use IDs? Isn’t that something only more developed societies bother with?

  “What the hell, old-timer? Didn’t you just let another group walk right by you?”


  “I did, but that was only because I recognized their faces. They use this gate often. You, on the other hand, I don’t recognize. You look suspicious.” The guard glared at me through the narrow slit in his helmet. “And I’m not old! I’m still in my prime!”


  The old man followed up his accusation with a shout, but I’d long stopped paying attention. He lost me the moment he made me realize that I wasn’t going to be allowed into town.

  What the hell!? Talk about game-breaking. Why the hell do I have to get hard stopped here of all times?

  “What a shame… To think that the path to achieving my ambitions would already be forced to a close…” I groaned and began speaking as would a character from a historical drama as I fell limp.

  “Geez, that’s why I told you to wait.” The hero ran over and pulled what looked to be some sort of seal out from her bag. “I’m with the church,” she said, as she showed it to the guard. “These two are my companions. I met them on my journey. Could you please issue them some temporary ID and let them through?”


  “That sigil… so you are a holy knight?” The guard’s eyes widened when he saw the crest embedded into the hero’s seal. “I understand, ma’am. I will have their IDs ready immediately.”


  He took off in hot haste and rushed into the station. His attitude had taken a full 180. Holy Knight? Oh, wait, duh. He means the Hero. Yeah, I guess it does make sense for her to be a part of the faction she was trained by.

  “The hell did you just show him He-Nell?” I raised an eyebrow as I referred to the hero in the exact same awkward way that Lefi had just a bit earlier.

  “One of the church’s travel permits. As the hero, I kinda need to be able to get around, so…”


  “Huh. You sure do have a lot of power for someone totally ignorant of the ways of the world.”


  “I really don’t want to hear that from you, especially after what you just did!” cried the hero, indignantly. “Oh and can you guys please be more careful about the whole hero thing?”


  “Yeah, yeah, we know.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Indeed. Altering the manner in which we refer to you is but a simple matter,” added Lefi.

  The hero, or rather, Nell, had asked us to refer to her by name rather than her title. She was so vehement about it, in fact, that she refused to take us along until after we agreed to the condition. It’s kind of a pain in the ass but whatever. I’m sure she’s got her reasons, and it’s still totally worth it.

  The guard returned after several minutes. In his hands were a pair of wooden plates each about the size of a credit card.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting, ma’am.” The old man nodded to Nell before turning to Lefi and I and handing us our cards. “And as for you lot, you better not cause any trouble. I’m letting you through this time ‘cause you’re with a holy knight, but that’s the only reason. If not for her, you’d be stuck at the gates at best. Your IDs are temporary, which means we’ll be hauling you out of town if you start anything.”


  His tone shifted the moment he started speaking to us. He was obviously acting much less politely.

  “Yeah yeah, I know. Thanks, old man.”


  “Middle aged as you are, we owe you our gratitude,” said Lefi.

  “I’m definitely not letting you assholes in next time you stop by…” The guard’s veins started bulging out of his forehead as he grumbled.

  Huh. That’s weird. Why’s he so angry?

  Putting the gate and its guard behind me, I entered the town. The sight that greeted me left me speechless. It was fascinating. It looked like a scene ripped straight out of a JPRG; everything had a clear high fantasy feel to it. The buildings themselves were all made of similar materials and bore similar shapes, but not to the point of excess. The streets were wide, and the denizens that wandered them wore typical fantasy like clothes. There were even a couple carriages here and there.

  Seeing it all left me unbearably excited. I couldn’t sit still. I needed to explore.

  “‘Kay, first things first, let’s find ourselves some food!”


  ***

  “Woah, you see that? It looks super tasty.”


  “That it does, and as does this.”


  “I know, right? Let’s get both.”


  A few minutes was all it took for Lefi and I to get into tourist mode. We wandered the streets and bought a bunch of different stuff from the food stalls around us as we did.

  “Urrgnnggh…” The hero let out a sound that sounded half like a cry and half like a moan. “My money’s being used up so quickly that it’s practically vanishing into thin air…”


  Neither the dragon nor I, the demon lord, possessed any sort of human currency. We were mooching off the hero and having her buy us everything we wanted. Though it was just street food, the stuff we were eating was genuinely delicious. Most of it was monster meat, but it was much more delicious than the stuff I made.

  Right. Of course it is. They’ve actually got chefs. Me, I’m just an amateur.

  The magical energy within the meat had been evenly dispersed throughout. Both the feel and taste were consistent. The light seasoning merged with the meat’s natural juicy flavour to create a combination that was simply irresistible.

  Man, this is delicious. It’s just as good as the stuff Leila makes. Actually, now that I think about it, just who is Leila anyway? And why’s she so competent?

  The maid in question was capable of accomplishing any task assigned to her with undeniable proficiency. She could cook as well as a chef, clean as well as a housekeeper, and handle every other task that came up regardless of what it was. I’d even caught her teaching Illuna from time to time, and the only thing I could possibly say about her explanations were that they made perfect sense despite being concise.

  Unable to withstand the urge, I’d asked Leila if she happened to have any relevant experience. Much to my surprise, the answer was a firm no. But either way, it didn’t really matter.

  She made my life easier, so I was just glad to have her on board. I didn’t care who or what she was, nor did I need to know her past. All that mattered to me was that she was so competent that she made my life a helluva lot easier.

  Lyuu, on the other hand… well, let’s just say she’s been… improving. Yeah, let’s go with that.

  I directed my thoughts away from the maids in my employ and focused on my surroundings. Though I’d attacked the city once in the past, none of its citizens had recognized me. A part of it was likely due to my attitude. I was boldly walking around town like it was nobody’s business, and because I was acting so casually, no one paid me any extra attention. Besides, last time I was here, I was blasting off magical energy and intimidating everyone I came across. There were only two humans that’d ever gotten a good look at my face: this city’s lord and that relatively strong commander affiliated with the army.

  Likewise, Lefi was also blending in. She’d retracted both her horns and tail, so she looked no different from any other human. The person in question, however, apparently felt rather uncomfortable. She thought it weird to be missing parts of her body that were normally there. Yeah, I can see that. I’d feel weird too if I suddenly found myself missing an arm.

  “Could the two of you please be a little more considerate…?” The hero was practically sobbing as she followed behind us, but we didn’t mind her and continued buying everything that caught our eye.

  “Woah, what’s that?” I noticed that there was a crowd gathered around something, making a commotion as it did, so I stopped binge eating and headed over in order to figure out what was going on. Is that… a magic show?

  At the crowd’s centre was a group of mages, or more accurately, street performers. They were casting elaborate flashy spells to entertain the people around them.

  Huh, that’s different. I’d learned my magic from Lefi, so I’d ended up emulating her style. All my spells centered around brute force. They were completely unlike the precise constructions that the mages hosting the local event were executing. The way they’re using their magic makes for a pretty good reference. I should probably try it myself sometime.

  “Mmrph. Yuki, I require your assistance.” Lefi interrupted my thoughts with an angry groan.

  “What’s up?”


  “I cannot see.” The dragon girl was too short to see through the shoulders of the people gathered in front of her.

  “Alright, I gotchu.”


  I bent over, stuck my head between her legs, and stood back up with her mounted on my shoulders.

  “That any better?”


  “It is.”


  “‘Kay, that’s taken care of then.”


  “Indeed it is,” Lefi agreed. The fact that her voice was coming from right above my head was a bit weird.

  “You two sure do get along…” The hero rolled her eyes. “We should probably get you guys registered at the Adventurers’ Guild. L-”


  “There’s an Adventurers’ Guild!?” It seemed like the hero was going to continue her explanation, but I cut her off. I was too excited not to.

  “Yeah, it’s an organisation that helps people find work, you know, like exterminating monsters and stuff. Registering as an adventurer is the best way to get you guys some ID, because they don’t really do background checks.”


  “Interesting.” So the Adventurers’ Guild really does exist. Of course it does, I’m not sure why I’d ever expect otherwise. Tropes ahoy! And as for registering? Hell yeah, I’m down. Feels more like a typical reincarnation plot that way.

  “Why do you appear so excited?” Lefi raised her brows as she looked at the silly grin stuck to my face.

  “How can I not? There’s an Adventurers’ Guild! A god damned Adventurers’ Guild!!”


  “Adventurers? You mean the individuals that profit from the murder of monsters and non-humans? Are they not your enemies?”


  “I mean, technically, yeah, you’re right. But becoming an adventurer is just something that all men gotta do.”


  “I am not sure that I follow.” Lefi forced a bit of a smile. It seemed that she decided that there was no point in questioning me further.

  I guess it’s a bit of a weird concept to grasp if you’re not a guy. Oh well.

  Either way, I was planning to enjoy the overly tropey scenario for as long as it kept me entertained.

  ***