"This is the tail of the succubus queen herself! Fans would be ready to pay at least fifty thousand gold coins for this piece!"

In the accessory shop of Grand Noah, an elf was smiling to the strange reverse lamia in front of her. Inwardly, however, she wanted to scream her lungs out while banging her head repeatedly on the counter until she fell into blissful unconsciousness. Still, she still managed to hold her cool and answered with a smile, even as the furniture in front of her had been fully covered by a long, leathery appendage that looked like a smooth tentacle with a mouth that was leaking a corrosive mucus at its extremity.

"I apologize, but even if this is the real deal, this item has little to no value here: Nobody will use it for synthesis as it is too advanced, nobody will consider coming here to purchase it, and with all the monsters already around, nobody will consider buying it for that use. At least not at that price."

"Tch!" The strange, reverse lamia emitted a whistling noise after clicking her tongue. "You do not realize that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"I am terribly sorry, but as I said, I certainly will not consider buying it at that price."

Amira fell silent for a moment as she pondered the situation. "Fourty thousand gold then?"

"The standard for a material of this level is two hundred and fifty gold. I'm ready to raise it to three hundred if it makes you leave faster."

The reverse lamia emitted several indignant noises before being able to articulate a sentence again. "That's all?! Do you have any ideas of the sacrifice I had to make to get my hands on it?"

"I'm pretty sure you didn't have to sacrifice anything to get your hands on that."

"You're so heartless! The funds are to go to the dead family of the young man who courageously offered himself to the succubus queen so that I could cut it with Excalibur! He would have turned thirty if he hadn't tragically accepted to do it!"

The elf looked at the armless lamia. "I have so many questions about what you said you did… But I will just call it nonsensically entertaining."

"Tch." Amira clicked her tongue again, making the elf tick. "Thirty thousand, that's my last offer."

"And I stick to three hundred. Take it or leave."

"Ooh, my…"

A black haired, red eyed succubus without a tail or horns entered the shop. Her outfit looked more noble than sexy, being an elaborate black and red dress rather than the lingerie her kin always favored.

"Oooh, is it my tail? I was looking for it!" Her voice sounded like the one of a debutante wanting to wow some company. In the current circumstances, however, it only made the scam look even more obvious than it already was.

"Yes! And I'm the one who found it! I will give it to you for Sixty thousand gold!"

The succubus brought both of her hands to her face with an exaggeratedly shocked expression. "Oh, really, oh thank you so much! Maybe I will make you feel nice as well as a reward!"

"Well, good!" Amira then turned toward the merchant and shook her head slowly, disapprovingly. "You just lost the occasion of the year."

The elven merchant shook her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You do realize that the succubus queen is a regular at the colosseum, right?"

The pseudo queen sauntered toward the counter. "Yes indeed, I sight regularly in the colosseum! How do you know?"

The elf sighed. "Because I have an agreement with the real one since I provide for the place, and the last person who pretended to be her in front of me got eaten alive by that thing in front of everyone the following day." She pointed at the tail.

Eva and Amira looked at each other before scrambling away in a hurry, accidentally leaving their negotiation product behind.

"We've never been here!"

Once she was sure the duo of scammers wouldn't come back, she placed the tail into a fitting container, and groaned as she realized the fluids had left a stain on her counter. The item's sales would just barely cover it. If she managed to sell it, that is.

Well, if anything, she could still hope to get rid of the monstrous limb by presenting it as colosseum memorabilia.

A few minutes later, Amira and Eva were catching their breath into one of the darker streets of Grand Noah.

"I told you we were aiming too high! If we had stuck to ten or twenty thousand gold, it might have worked just fine!" Eva angrily shook her fist at Amira.

"Tch!" She only caught on because of your poor acting! I almost had her under my thumb!"

The succubus laughed drily. "Who told me to act like a noblewoman? With that dress?" She shook the extremity of her cloth.

"It is only because you refuse to wear a magical bustier! Nobody would take you for a queen if you showed up with your travelling attire! It's so worn out it's a miracle it didn't fall apart yet."

"Maybe, but it's out of question that I show myself in that ridiculous lingerie set!"

"Then stop trying to blame me! You're the one who wasted our money on that fancy restaurant!"

"You took five extra servings of dessert! You're in no position to complain about our situation!"

"I wouldn't have done so if I knew by then that you had lost most of our money by betting on the colosseum!"

"I was just on a cold streak! It can happen! You should know that after your latest failure at the casino of Grandeur! I mean the mafia even seized your manor there!"

Both cronies looked at each other angrily for a minute before calming down.

"How much do we still have on us for now?"

"Around seven hundred coins. Barely enough for one full course at the restaurant."

Amira appraised the current clothing of Eva.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that dress is worth a few thousand gold coins."

Eva's eyes narrowed. "Didn't you criticize my clothes?"

Amira's voice became a whistling murmur. "Think of all the meals we could have…"

Eva nodded distractedly, her mouth already drooling. "Foooood… You're right. Let's sell it."

They exited the street distracted, and nearly collided with Minamo. The red kitsune kunoichi instantly recovered her composure, taking the duo by surprise.

"Ah, there you are. I was looking for you. Mephisto told me she had a special mission just in your domain." She handed down a letter to Eva, who took it, still slightly stupefied.

"Tch! Always demanded, never able to rest! Did she give you any details?"

Minamo shrugged. "It's something about a treasure near the Natalia Coast if I understood correctly. I would have gone there myself, but she told me you were the most fitting for this mission, and besides, I already must support Tsubaki in a socialite event organized this evening." She pointed at Eva. "By the way, can I get the dress you're currently wearing? Since you'll be on the road, you won't need it, and it appears we're short in high class clothes back at the Pocket Castle."

"Sure…" Eva took off the dress and handed it, afraid of the kitsune's reaction should the latter learn of their initial plan for the precious item.

"Thank you." She bowed. "I wish you luck in your endeavor."

Minamo took off and disappeared into the blink of an eye.

The duo awkwardly looked at each other.

"So do we use a harpy feather or do we go there on foot?"

Amira clicked her tongue. "On foot, we can still try to do business in Finoa and in Port Marle before finally taking a final break in Port Natalia. Then we'll go look for that treasure."

Eva grimaced. "You'll be alone fort Port Marle. I'm actively searched by the Marine there. They didn't like it when I blew up their potatoes stockpile."

"Tch. A reliable one you are."

"I was trying to make them a solid. They're the ones who reacted negatively."

Minamo turned into one of the city's darker alleyway, far from the more frequented streets. She saw a human sized pile of hair wriggling, informing her that Tsubaki had been waiting impatiently.

"You got it?"

The kitsune showed the kejourou the large dress. "Those idiots wanted to sell it for a few thousand gold coins…"

Under her hair, Tsubaki went wide eyed. "It's a perfect replica of one of the favorite Monster Lord's dress. It's worth exactly seventy two thousand gold."

"Go tell them that if you want, but I think we have something more productive to do than chasing those two snake oil salesmonster." She handed down the dress to her partner, who changed into a corner in the blink of an eye. "So what are tonight's deals?"

Tsubaki came out, the dress perfectly fit around her. With her hair arranged into a bun held by a pin, she looked like a high class geisha from Yamatai. Which she actually was, all things considered.

"Five thousand gold for information on the latest suitor for the Grand Noah queen, two thousand gold for information on the development of a mermaid pub in this city, and whatever we can get for additional services provided to customers."

Minamo licked her lips. "I'll make sure we get a few extra thousand gold coins that way."

Barely a few hours later, Amira and Eva had the small village of Finoa in sight.

"Right, so…" Eva scratched her back awkwardly. "We left the tail in Grand Noah."

Amira cursed loudly. "Then how are we supposed to earn money for our travel?!"

The succubus checked her pockets. "We don't need to, we still have enough to pay us a few good meals. Now where is it…"

Amira haughtily turned away. "If you can't keep track of our hard earned money, any problem that happens with it is your own responsibility!"

Eva snarled at the reverse lamia as she nervously checked her outfit before she suddenly stopped. "Wait… You didn't do anything stupid with it, did you?"

Amira didn't answer, but Eva could see a smudge on her partner's face. She rubbed it with a finger and licked it.

"Hey! What is wrong with you?"

"Sukiyaki… How did you even manage to snatch the money and spend it? I always had my eyes on you!"

"A magician never reveals its secrets."

Eva sighed. "Great. What do we have to sell them then?"

"Your body."

Eva glared at Amira. "No. But I wouldn't mind squeezing snake oil out of you if you keep on that way." The succubus put a backpack on the ground and ruffled inside.

"An iron sword used by the Great Hero Luka?"

"It will only have value when he's dead."

"A jewel made of condensed chaos?"

"Knowledge about their use in crafting has become too widespread. We will have the same issue than with the tail."

"A Heaven Stone that comes from that weird place?"

Eva showed an orb that was barely filling her palm, and was sparkling like a rainbow. She didn't even know what it could be useful for, but she had grabbed it from the castle's chest with several other items nonetheless.

"Mmmh, if we sell it as a gift from Ilias… I think we can get four or five thousand for this one."

"If we do act like an auction, I'm sure we can do better…" Eva was already drooling as she imagined money flowing.

"Tch! This is not San Ilia! People won't care as much."

Eva just shrugged. "We'll see how it goes. I'll try to sell it, then you come and play the unfortunate victim."

Amira emitted an indignant whistling noise, but Eva just ignored her and entered the village, not sparing a glance to an unusually large statue present on the central plaza on her way in. When she entered the shop, the shopkeeper, a strong man in his forties was happily chatting with a purple haired villager. Eva carefully looked at said peasant, and while she looked familiar, she could say the woman was definitively not a succubus.

The shopkeeper pulled her out of her inspection mission. "May I help you?"

Eva proudly pulled the orb from her bag and showed it as it sparkled and projected light around. "This is a gift of the Goddess Ilias. Unfortunately, as a mere succubus, I cannot use it."

The shopkeeper put on glasses and examined the item. "I have no idea what it can do. You should bring it to our priest instead."

"But aren't you interested in acquiring it? I can sell it to you for two thousand coins, but I'm sure it's worth way more…"

The merchant glanced at Eva over his glasses. "Can you tell me where you got it? Because I certainly will not purchase an unidentified magic item from an unknown source. It is a recipe for a disaster."

"But it comes from Mt Amos! It is likely a gift from the Goddess of Light! How bad can it be!"

"Really bad, and allow me to doubt your claim."

At that precise moment, Amira entered the shop while complaining. "I need help! I've been cursed into this form!"

The purple haired villager smiled at the newcomer. "Oh, greetings Amira, how have you been doing since we've last seen each other?"

The reverse lamia instantly froze. "Do I know you?"

The villager sighed. "First, it's me, Lara, I joined Luka here several months ago in case you couldn't remember. We travelled together a bit in Yamatai and in Lady's Village, and we even fought monsters in the Scenic Mountains. I decided that, after so many adventures, I wanted to take a small break and share my stories with my fellow Finoans and get the latest news around. And secondly…"

She walked outside and pointed at the gold statue that Amira had initially ignored. A house-sized representation of the reverse lamia was occupying most of the central plaza. It was only at that precise moment that the monster really noticed the piece.

"Pyhar came and paid the mayor an impressive amount of money if the village displayed it here."

"Oh, so that was where that one ended…"

Eva glared at Amira. "It looks like you're quite the celebrity."

"Tch!" The reverse lamia clicked her tongue. She then turned toward the merchant. "Anyway, I came here to collect royalties from the traffic it brought you."

Lara sighed. "Amira… This statue didn't bring anything. The only reason it's still there is because your partner brought the threat of your network of monsters. I'll make sure someone back at the castle gets informed about the statue, so if you would both please kindly leave this place before you start a conflict, I'd be extremely grateful."

Under the judging gaze of the villagers, Amira and Eva silently and awkwardly shuffled away.

In the late hours of the afternoon, they managed to get on a boat to lead them to Port Marle. Their trip was extremely uncomfortable, as the duo had decided to hide to avoid the seahorse girls guarding the boat. Eva was still afraid that she was searched for her past history with the town's stock of potatoes.

Once they landed in the harbor, Amira and Eva snuck around, disguised as a reverse lamiataur whose lower body was covered with empty sacks. This clever disguise worked for the whole length of a minute, as Eva couldn't help herself and stole a few fishes from a crate. The additional limb had been noticed by one of the marine, who tried to call out the creature who instantly fell apart in a panic. The marine had just shrugged before moving on, deciding that if those people couldn't be bothered to just ask, they didn't deserve to be told where they could get more.

When they reached Port Natalia, the sun was already setting down. As they had no money, they were forced to haggle with the owner of the inn. After much time, the owner relented and accepted the orb offered by the duo to pay for their room.

Once they were done setting inside the room, Eva finally opened the letter and read it aloud.

"Eva, Amira.

We managed to gather information about a treasure that belonged to the legendary queen Roza, and which could be hidden buried somewhere on the Natalia coast. Because of her resurrection, her memory is hazy and she only remembers the emergency instructions to find it. As the two best treasure hunters we have, I hope you can make sense of the present indications.

One step twenty times from the lone life to the mother.

When you embrace her turn toward the way to Heaven.

Seven steps of a crab where the tragedy happened before one final step back.

I wish you luck. We could definitively use any funds you get there.

Mephisto."

The duo remained silent for a moment, thinking about what they just read.

"Mmmh, it looks our skills have been recognized."

Eva grimaced. "Heurgh, it sounds so boring, and once we find the treasure we'll have to dig it out…"

"Maybe… But if the legendary treasure of Selene the hero got is any indication, this could brings us a fortune. We'll just have to give them ten percent- no wait five percent and keep the rest to ourselves. We'll finally be able to build our palaces and be treated as lords!"

Eva nodded distractedly as she envisioned herself gorging on a buffet with servants tending to her, while that potato mayor remained stuck with her pathetic farms.

"Yeah, you're right…"

In the next room, a trio of thugs had been carefully listening to the conversation between both monsters. One of them nodded as he mentally took note of what the monsters were not so closely discussing.

"Mmmh. It looks like we found ourselves another opportunity boys."

The men had been frustrated by their latest attempt to get some cold cash. They had attempted to follow a bunch of imps to the infamous cave of treasures after hearing rumors of monsters there, hoping that they would get scraps after both groups fought each other. The men waited at the entrance to get in once the monsters were weakened by their fight, but when they entered to finish who was left alive, they realized that, even as much wounded as they were, those monsters were foes too formidable for them. Then they fled in a panic back to where they came from, and hadn'tt even noticed the presence of another explorer entering on their way out. Disheartened, they came back to the city empty handed.

Fortunately, they managed to come back to the harbor just on time to see the imps climb on a boat. The three men took the next one, and decided that they would wreck those three little idiots the next time they met them. However, they realized they had no idea where they went once they landed, and found themselves at a loss for a goal. That is, until those two idiots next door talked about a treasure…

"Damn right! They find the treasure and then we punch them out!"

"And then, we find back those imps and kill them too…"