The sun was rising , shining a brilliance on the city I hadn't seen the previous day. Despite the early hour the streets were crowded, shopkeepers opening their stores, the main gate being opened, children and adults on their way to whatever work or education they had. It was a beautiful sight despite the ever present sense of tension with all the soldiers around.

I walked for about an hour till I was at one of the prominent markets of the city, Seljuk street.

I could have visited one of the many high class districts of the city but imported goods and jewellery didn't interest me. I wanted something traditional, maybe a smaller version of the rug in the governor's house.

Saying that I wasn't exactly at a place without imported goods. Finding anywhere that didn't sell goods from the order would be impossible after all. From jewellery to artisan furniture anything luxurious and expensive came from the Order. Say what you will about their generally backwards society they definitely had very skilled craftsmen, when it came to supplying the rich of course.

As I wandered through the stone paved street a clothing shop aroused my interest. I entered the shop and was immediately called out by the shopkeeper. "Hello! Please take a look around, even brave men like you should treat themselves to something pretty once in a while." Her smile got sultrier as she spoke.

She seemed to have mistaken me for a man… I understood that I didn't look like much of a woman when wearing my armour and helmet, despite my face being supposedly an exact copy of my mothers my body didn't really resemble a womens. Broad shoulders, muscle bound libs, and proportionally small curves caused me to look like a man. Now when compared to my Father and out of armour it is apparent that my hips are wider and my shoulders smaller proportionally then his, but when compared to him everyone looked dainty.

Maybe I should take my helmet off when near other people? I was always told that my face and hair are my most beautiful characteristics. Making my decision I took off my helmet. A moment of shock passed through the woman.

"Oh dear, sorry, didn't realise you were a woman."

"No need to worry, it happens all the time." Throwing a pre prepared line at the woman, who now that I look at her, seemed to be a foreigner with even paler skin than lescatians… Something was weird about this woman, for some reason I felt a sense of… wrongness when I looked at her. As if she didn't belong or wasn't right, my gut was screaming at me 'Kill her! Run! Kill her now!'. I didn't know what was wrong with me or her and I averted my vision to the display cases.

I continued taking a look around the store. The shelves were filled with many traditional and not accessories; there was even a dog collar for some reason. Dresses and jackets were also included but they gave off that same creepy feeling as the shopkeeper so I stood away from those. I finally spotted something which looked interesting, a long drooping necklace made of some silvery metal. It didn't seem to be silver, it was far too dark for that. But it didn't matter, I asked the creepy woman about its price.

"It'll be 45 silver denarius."

"Seems a bit low."

"Someone with such a pretty face shouldn't leave it unadorned, please take it as a sign of my gratitude." Her answer didn't fill me with confidence, especially with that weird smile. I still bought the necklace just to avoid an awkward situation.

After putting on the necklace I picked up my travel pack and started heading out of Salid picking up some quinces from a shop on the way out.

Heading north west after about a week or so the plains of yellow grass started to turn into stormy mountains and hills covered in tiled paths made to transport heavy metals in and out of Stahlstadt.

Stahlstadt, the fortified cities. Until about a 100 years ago they were still a 'barbarian nation'., simply because they didn't really want to give in and become 'civilised' as so many of my countrymen would put it. Eventually after a particularly tumultuous few decades of the Demon Lord's fourth born's assaults they formally joined the republic. Even still they are much less integrated than the rest of the nation still having their own religion, language and customs.

Stahlstadt's folk are hardy, well known for their weaponry, beer, zeal and dedication to defending their province. Considering how they made up almost the entire border to the Demon realms of Royal Makai it was only natural that they would be militant.

My travel was mostly comfortable, even the rain didn't hinder me much thanks to my sabatons having good grip surfaces and the paved stone roads. There was only one problem ever since I left Salid the black stone bracelets father gifted me were heating up and thrumming with power, I didn't bother taking them off since they weren't that hot nor annoying, just kinda distracting.

I was nearing my first destination, Weihenstephan. The famous town of brewing and metallurgy. Weihenstephan is host to one of the oldest breweries in the world despite this they remain a town and not a city. The reason for this is that they never hire outsiders and never let outsiders into their breweries preferring to keep the secrets of their craft to themselves. Every generation off that town is raised as an artisan, it could be the complex alchemy of metallurgy or brewing it matters not. I have heard that even the local school has been altered to better teach their craft.

Naturally their culture has evolved to produce the best craftsmen as well, whether that's a good thing… I can not say. The constant pressure and unerring work ethic does produce the best brewers and steelworkers possibly in the entire republic, but it also causes extreme stress and general competitive aggression. The weihenstephanians or weihenstephaner to use the Stahlstadt manner of speaking are blunt, rude and often arrogant. Some might say they have the right to be arrogant, some might not. I'll decide on my own whether they deserve to be arrogant or not.

Soon I came upon the tall stone walls of the rich town. At the gates I was stopped by some of the local legionnaires. After another showing of my ring they let me through easily however they did arrange a guide for me, this time it wasn't one of the guards but a young woman of fair skin. She was maybe 16 or 17? It was a bit harder to tell for me since I hadn't seen many Stahlstadner before, despite the rail network and many important cities here Father and I didn't visit much. I do wonder why he avoided this place like the plague, even if we did visit we would stay tops a day or two.

"Ah miss Eques, I apologise for interrupting your thoughts however is there a place you would like me to take you to?" The shy voice broke me out of my thoughts, she spoke low gothic well for someone who had it as a second language.

As my stare deepened she seemed to curl into herself more and more. I would stay here for some time just so I could try everything this place could offer, so it wouldn't hurt to get to know her a bit.

"Girl, what is your name?"

"H-huh?"

"Your name, I don't want to refer to you as 'girl' the entire time."

"It… it is Sonya my lady, Sonya Schröder."

"Very well, my name is Naotora. You may refer to me by my title or my name, it matters not to me."

"Yes, Eques."

With that tidbit out of the way I decided to start this day by trying out the highest quality drink this town had to offer, maybe something would be able to affect me at least a little bit.

"Can you take me to a pub with a wide selection of alcohol?"

Her answer came immediately albeit with some hesitation in her voice.

"I know of one called 'Qualität', it offers a wide variety of drinks and a comfortable sitting place. It is a bit of a walk from here so we'll need to walk for about 15 minutes or so."

We had a bit of time before we arrived at the pub so I decided I'd make some small talk with the girl I was going to drag along with me for a while. And maybe it'd help me tolerate other people easier?

"That'll be alright. What's it like living in this town?"

"Ah, our town is quite well liked and I am usually by the Gates to help my cousin out when possible, so I am not that closely associated with anybody in town. Not like they would want to associate with a failure like me." The last part was so low I doubted even I would have heard had I not been so close.

"A-ah! But I'm sure you'll like what the town has to offer my lady." She managed to try to reassure me.

"I have no doubt about that, but what were you doing by the gates?" It had seemed a bit odd that a girl of apprenticeship age was just standing around the gates doing nothing.

" I am… in between apprenticeships so to say, I don't have much to do during the day, so when I am not doing chores in the house I usually just wander around the steps and occasionally guide tourists like you." 'In between apprenticeships', can you even be 'in between apprenticeships'? I thought it was more like once you are in you don't get out till you finish sort of thing.

"Hmm, anything you do besides wander around the steps?"

"I sometimes… paint my lady." She said paint as if she was speaking of something shameful. Her face framed by dirty blond hair set in an almost fearful and …expectant impression, was art not an accepted profession here? No, I had seen musicians and statues around so maybe it was just the act of painting they found shameful.

"Are such hobbies not accepted in this town?"

"Not so much as not accepted as, everyone is expected to better their families' craft. And my family are one of the founders of this town and thus associated with brewing, though I don't seem to have much talent for any of the family's crafts. On top of that, my brother ran away and thus I am the only suitable heir left. If I can't inherit the craft it will die out."

"Why does it matter? So long as records are well kept any generation after you should be able to pick up where you left off with the help of relatives." I don't think Father had any expectations from me like 'learn how to manipulate the political climate to best suit your needs'. He just taught me all that I wanted to learn and left me to pursue whatever interest I had.

"Even if my family did allow it, the rest of the town wouldn't. Developing the family craft is seen as the most important thing in one's life." She spoke with absolute certainty, as if she knew that she wouldn't be allowed to be free no matter what. "I have taken up these tours and I stay near the gate just to avoid the humiliation of being kicked out yet again." She suddenly jerked up. "A-Ah! I have overshared, have I not?" To be truthful, yes. But…

"It's fine, I was the one I asked. And it's interesting to hear the troubles of others. It assures that having problems in one's life is normal. It certainly feels better when you know there are others like you."

We were arriving at the Pub. I could already see the name 'Qualität' carved into a stone sign hanging on the brickwork building. Around the pub a small garden was set up with cushioned seats and light wooden tables. Miss Schröder and I were just past the gates when a Waiter descended upon us. Quickly taking us to one of the better looking tables and handing us menus to choose our drinks and some snacks from. I simply decided to order half a mug of everything they had, some potato fries and nuts. Miss Schröder was quite intent on playing for her beer but I wasn't going to let her.

"How about while we wait for our drinks I tell you why I decided to leave home?"

"You really would?"

"It's only fair." I started telling her who I was , why I was wandering throughout the country. About how I had felt stifled and how my emotions dimmed everyday. I truly did start to feel more each day. I kept my doubts about the monsters to myself, since even if she did seem nice she was still a Stahlstadner. The very county was famous for its fanatics after all. My journey so far was not that interesting. I had only visited 4 or so places yet despite this I had noticed things I never had about my own country. How much more would I learn once I was in the Order?

After my rant was done she seemed to have something to say. I motioned for her to ask and after a moment of preparation her question came out.

"How? How did you manage to leave behind everyone you know for who knows how many years? Were you not afraid?"

"Oh I was afraid alright, I am fairly sure my hands were trembling when I reached fathers room. But I had made up my mind. Once I was sure, even if I was afraid or uncertain I told myself 'I must' or 'I will'. I had to get out, if I stayed in my home for the rest of eternity I feared I could never truly understand neither myself nor humanity."

"So your motivation came from fear itself?"

Why hadn't I summed it up like that? God I feel stupid.

"Yes, fear itself motivated me. I am sure you have heard of what they say about bravery. Without fear it isn't bravery it's stupidity. Father always says that when motivated by fear and purpose humans can do truly incredible things."

She was interested in my rant. Was she perhaps considering leaving herself? As I was about to ask her, our drinks arrived. There were 3 waiters just to carry my drinks. It was kind of funny seeing them try to not spill them. I got to work tasting each of them. It was a unique experience, the alcohol content of these beers was something else. They were even harder than I expected, they did burn quite good, but the taste seemed kinda repetitive. They all tasted very similar, oh they were all very good but they were also all similar. I guess they didn't want to stray from their traditions.

Her flabbergasted expression at me drinking beer like water is really amusing. She is cute really, kind of like a small animal. Ah! Just like that dire wolf pup Father had brought back home. Squishable cheeks combined with wide eyes were really too much for this world.

I guess even if she knew I was beyond human, she still thought that I would at least be affected by this weak stuff. Hah, even psychedelic mushrooms do nothing to me. Mere alcohol would of course not be able to do anything, even if I hoped it would.

"Eques, after you are done here where would you like to go?" Not the question I expected but very well.

"Hmmm, how about you show me some of your paintings? I would like to see what you have drawn." Suddenly her face was flush with red, looking like she had something to be embarrassed of. Well, too bad for her, that only made me more interested.

"Tha-That wouldn't be po-posible I am a-afraid…" Oh she was way too cute. I couldn't keep the smile off my face when I said

"Oh, but I insist! Surely I would be honoured to see your artwork." My smirk grew and grew.

She sputtered a bit and tried to find a retort but my honest curiosity and polite insistence forced her hand. "If that is your wish, Eques." Her subservient reply and blush were cute beyond belief. If this was what religion offered I would become a monk in a second.

"Hmm, I'll pay the bill then we will head off then."

After quickly paying the bill we got back on Weihenstephan's paved stone roads and headed towards her home. It was a small thing and in bad shape too. Cracked stones, shattered roof tiles. Well being an artist and being disdained by most of the town probably wasn't good for making money.

We entered her house… It was a mess. There were papers everywhere, sketches on each of them, some had combinations for different colours written on them. This wasn't even the workshop.

"P…please excuse the mess, I haven't had guests in a while."

"The fault is mine,I gave you no time to prepare."

She led me into her workshop and the moment I entered I was stunned by the sheer amount of paintings and pencil drawing and the much more surprising fact that most of the drawings were scandalous! The raunchiest art I had seen! Sure there were normal artwork such as panorama paintings, the popular scenes about discovery, the value of knowledge but still the vast majority was smut!

"...ow that my art is deviant and it might be shocking but please don't think badly of me. I beg you please."

Had I blacked out? I came back to her explaining with a really fast voice. She was extremely embarrassed.

"N-no it's fine I just wasn't expecting something like this." I wasn't expecting this kind of emotion but this is fine too. I still avoided staring at the paintings, because they made me feel …a certain kind of way.

After this incident we continued spending time together. For three days we toured the town, and I like to think a friendship bloomed. On the fourth day she suddenly disappeared, her home was empty, oddly clean. Her personal belongings were missing but most of the paintings were still there. The place looked cleaner than it usually did. She had simply cleaned up and left without telling anyone. The only clue was the note on the kitchen table.

"Naotora,

This note is only meant for you. I wanted to write to you just to thank you for giving me the courage to leave. I couldn't take it anymore, the days I spent with you however short they may be were inspiring and genuinely fun. I am leaving, finally I am going to escape those bastards, who see me as only a disappointment. I will finally be my true self. Don't worry I know someone who can get me out of the Republic safely. Where I am going I won't need those kinds of stuff anymore.

Please take care of yourself,

Sonya Schröder.

Now I got the distinct impression that she didn't want me to look for her, but there is no way I am going to be satisfied with such a half assed goodbye.

Now where did she go?.

Naturally I headed to the gate and one of the guards there informed me that she had left with a large bag supposedly for a camping trip. I headed out, I was already going to leave today so I had gathered all of my things.

Finding her wasn't going to be as much of a problem as I thought. She hadn't gotten very far and her smell was fresh enough that my superhuman senses could pick them up. Following my nose I headed deeper into the forest covered mountains, she wasn't heading south to the Order. She was heading west towards the Demon Realms. Are you fucking serious? That's her idea, becoming a fucking sex obsessed dipshit? God damn it.

Her scent led me directly to a cliff, a sheer cliff she couldn't have climbed. I was searching around and racking my brain, when I noticed a slight breeze coming from a solid stone wall.

Testing my theory I gathered my strength and threw a rock-shattering haymaker at the wall. Instead of the fake wall I was expecting, a force field met my hand and promptly shattered into a million pieces. I think I put a bit too much power into that punch, because I saw some pieces of rubble fall from the ceiling of the tunnel. Whatever I left my travel pack and Mortality Clarified outside. The halberd wouldn't do me much good other than make the tunnel cave in on me.

Pulling Oracle's Torch and cocking it I started dashing through the winding tunnels of the secret path. The foul and musky smell of intercourse blew away any doubts as to this tunnels owner's identity. Despite the distracting smell I could still track her down the only problem being that the rooms I encountered were almost all empty. They were evacuating this tunnel. It wasn't a hurried thing either, maybe the added security spooked them out. Wait, if Sonya knew of this place was she being used as an informant too?

Finally figuring out the labyrinthine path I noticed something. The tunnels were carved out in a complex but exact pattern meaning if I started busting through certain non-load-bearing walls I could traverse much faster.

I readied myself and started sprinting towards one of the theoretically thin walls and punched straight through with a thunderous crack. Keeping the momentum going I continued breaking apart walls and heading towards Sonya. My shoulder was getting stiff but I started hearing loud voices. After bashing apart one last wall I came upon a scandalous scene. Clothes thrown everywhere, Sonya still human entangled in the arms of a succubus and her back arched. She was in ecstasy I could tell. Then the shocked succubus turned her head towards me. I could see her try to form words, but I was too transfixed by what was happening to Sonya to even try to parse what she wanted to say. She was transforming, I was seeing monsterization. Her brown hair lengthened, her once subtle curves bloomed out, horns grew from her head and small pink hairs grew on the ends of her limbs. She became a lesser succubus, an abomination, an enemy of humanity.

I knew I should have killed them, my friend was no more, she was just a beast now. But still My hands shook, my breath hitched and my heartbeat got faster and faster.

So I stood there stuck in indecision, unable to even move. The small bond I had with the woman established in a mere four days stopped me from doing my duty. Sonya awoke. I didn't know what to say and then suddenly something came out.

"You know, originally I just thought you were running to the Order or something. So I was hoping to just say goodbye. Now I am not sure what I should do. Father would tell me to kill you and forget about it. But I always did wonder just why he so hated monsters. So I guess you have 10 minutes to convince me not to kill you. Let's start."

"Nao, please don't be rash. I know how this must seem to you, but believe me I have known Tanya since childhood. She has always been a pillar for me to rely on, now that you showed me I could live outside of that town I couldn't just pass the chance up."

"Doesn't explain why you are going to the Demon realms, why not go to Carthage or Salid?"

"We, I mean Tanya and I are afraid that we would get caught by someone. People have been radicalising, a war is brewing. We wanted to escape from that. She wants to find a husband and I just want to paint in peace, please let us go, you won't hear nor see us ever again unless you want to ."

I had to give it to her she didn't sound like a sex crased cultist. She seemed almost just like normal. Maybe it was the fear of death keeping the hornyness away. Although, she did seem a little flush and she was breathing heavily. Was… Was she getting off to this? What in the Emperor's name? I don't even know what to think about this.

"Then I need to ask, how much information have you been giving them? For how long have you betrayed your nation and humanity? Remember, don't lie. I can tell." Truth be told I probably couldn't, but she doesn't know that.

"Ever since I was 12. When I was wandering around the forest at night, I came across Tanya. She and her parents were running away from the Order. They saved me from a Bear on the steppes. I was indebted to them so I snuck tools, food and information on patrols to them. They just wanted a safe path to the Demon Realms for those running from the Order. The things they do to mamono over there… are terrible. Mamaono even with the beastly instincts are more human than those bastards. Please Nao, try to understand us. We aren't only the sex crazed psycho's propaganda paint us as. Mamono may be different from humans, but they still have the most important parts of humanity intact."

"I wouldn't consider the constant urge to rape humans and a culture that supports such actions 'a part of humanity. You are acting with a considerable amount of reason, but that might just be the fear of death acting up." I really wasn't sure what to do, she was a traitor, something that could never be excused. But she hasn't really caused any damage to others. She just… gave up her own soul. This tunnel was supposedly just meant to be an escape path. I could collapse it from both ends to close it a simple job.

"You are seeing a loud group as the majority. The radical faction are beasts I won't deny that but the rest aren't so monstrous. Did you not admit to feeling isolated and empty? That kind of feeling isn't rare, but for most who feel it, unlike you can't go on an endless quest just to find yourself. For us the mamono open their arms and give us a place to belong. Even if we aren't the 'humans' you have sworn to protect can't you simply let us be?"

She was manipulating me, bringing my own emotions and my philosophy as a guardian and guide to bear against me. Playing off of my own doubts regarding my Father's idea's. Emperor damn it. I was actually going to let her go.

"Tch, very well. Go leave the Republic and never come back. If you do, I will hang your head as an example. GO! Never let me see your traitorous face ever again! Not even a miracle will save you if I ever see you again."

The two succubi quickly scampered, their faces stretched in fear. My booming voice had instilled a kind of terror so rarely seen.

If Father could see me now, he would be so disappointed.

I quickly followed after them and once they got to the exit Sonya turned towards me and bowed her head.

"Nao, even if you hate me, let me thank you one last time. You gave me courage and hope, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whatever you may do, whatever you may feel I don't care. You inspired loyalty from me simply because you were so different from all others. You didn't say 'it's your duty', 'such is right' or other nonsense. You answered all my questions with reason and explanations instead of blind propaganda. Thank you, and may you find what you seek."

She turned and walked away. What was I even supposed to say? My emotions in turmoil I got to work, maybe I could set everything in order once I finished destroying this tunnel…

AN:

This shouldn't have stretched this long. I was originally gonna write about the university and arrival at Mount Unbesiegbar, but it just stretched on and on. Hope you still enjoy it.