Chapter 2 – The Stone

Hello. My name is Lidelle Namanari. Known for my short & petite body and green hair which hides most of my horns. I may look like an innocent 15-year-old girl, but I'm actually a lot more. For I am the Demonic Princess. Daughter of the late & great Demon King Namanari and a member of the Royal Family of Hell.

I would go into more detail about all of that. But currently…

"ARF ARF!"

"*moan* Poochy…"

"ARF ARF!"

"Come on, Poochy. Last night's Mario Kart Tournament tired me out and I just wanna sleep~."

"*whine*" *LICK* *LICK* *LICK*

"O-Okay, Poochy! I'm up! I'm up! Just ease up with the licking, please!" I yelled as my lost soul dog was licking my face repeatedly to get me out of bed. All while trying not to break down laughing. His tongue really tickles.

"*sigh* Geez, Poochy. You're the only one in this house that has so much energy this early in the morning."

"ARF ARF!"

Yeah…this is a normal thing for me. The night before I'm always up until 3:00, 4:00, sometimes 5:00 in the morning participating in Mario Kart tournaments to keep my title as a Mario Kart Elitist. And then a few hours later, Poochy would come in my room and lick me repeatedly until I get up.

This may sound like a pain. But I'm actually used to it. I only ever need about 5-6 hours of sleep every day. So I don't wake up all grouchy or anything.

Although, waking up with a face covered in dead dog drool isn't all that great…

"*giggle* Well, alright. Let's go get something to eat."

"ARF ARF! ARF!" Poochy barked with glee as he left without me for the kitchen. Phasing through the wall in the process.

…

That's also normal. Don't question it too much.

Poochy and I reached the kitchen in our house and I was figuring out what to make for breakfast. I'm in charge of cooking for everyone. So, this was the norm for me.

"*sigh* Now, let's see…bread, eggs, butter…what can I make with these?"

"ARF ARF!"

"French toast? But we had that a few days ago. Plus, it's too simple. I'll never get full from that."

"ARF?"

"Hey, I do get full. It just takes a huge meal for it to happen, that's all."

"ARF ARF ARF…" Poochy shook his head.

"Like you're one to talk, Poochy." I grew insulted. Then went back to looking. "Well, we got hot chocolate, marshmallows, and…a coconut. For some reason."

I don't remember buying this…

"ARF?" Poochy titled his head.

"Well…I can think of something to make with these." I said with a smile.

And so, with the stuff I pointed out earlier, I began making breakfast. Cooking the French toast was a simple thing. Making this hot cocoa ganache thing was the complete opposite. It was so fancy and complicated that I think this is something Raffina would eat.

…

Well…either that, or Raina would just shove it down her throat. That girl just LOVES sweets.

"And…it's done. Breakfast is complete." I said as I proudly stared at 8 plates of my newest food creation.

"ARF! ARF ARF ARF!"

"Okay, boy. Calm down. I'll get yours in a sec."

"ARF ARF!"

"*yawn* Good morning, Sweetie."

"Good morning, Mother." I said with a bow. "Breakfast is ready now."

"It isn't something *yawn* over the top again, is it?"

…

…

…

"Well…" Was all I said.

This is my mother. Yumi Namanari. Unlike my late father, brother, and myself, she's 100% human. But she's just as involved with anything Hell-related as Satan and I are.

It's just the two of us that live in this house. As after my father, the previous demon king, had passed away, we both moved up to the surface while my brother Satan, the current demon king, often switches between living in Hell and living in a castle he built up here.

He does come by to visit. But 9 times out of 10, when he visits…he just talks about Arle. And it gets annoying real fast.

But he's my brother and I love him. So, I just put up with it. As much as I don't want to sometimes.

"Um…Lidelle. What is this?" Mother asked me as she stared at the plate of French toast in front of her.

"My newest food creation, Mother. French toast ganache sandwiches dipped in a hot cocoa mixture, cooked to a golden crisp, and topped with coconut whipped cream, toasted marshmallows, toasted coconut, and a good drizzle of more ganache. I call it…Hot Chocolate French Toast! *giggle*"

"Um…I see." Mother gained a sweatdrop. "You sure are…creative when it comes to cooking, Sweetie."

"*giggle* Thank you, Mother." I smiled.

"By the way…why are there 8 plates of this stuff?"

"Well, that's because…"

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Oh, they're here. I'll get it, Mother. You can start eating my delicious French toast."

"E-Eat it? L-Lidelle, I can't possibly…"

"Coming!" I yelled out as I left Mother alone with her plate of food. I know that there's no way she can possibly eat that much food. I just like to tease her about it sometimes. It's pretty funny.

As for who's at the door…every so often, I have my friends come over for breakfast mainly because it's difficult to get some on their own. N-Not because they don't get fed or anything. It's well…they're complicated people.

You'll see what I mean.

"Good morning, Feli."

"Moring, Lidelle. You're surprisingly up early this morning."

"Hehheh. Yeah…all thanks to Poochy."

"I see."

This is one of my friends, Feli Kuromi. She's the same age as me and…well, she's pretty much short and petite like me, too. Although, she hates it whenever it's brought up to her.

Unlike me, however, Feli is purely human. But that doesn't exactly make her normal. She's a master of a set of charms called the Occult Art of Divination. And use them a lot for either Puyo battles or some miscellaneous stuff.

…

The miscellaneous stuff you gotta watch out for. Take it from me.

"So, is breakfast ready yet?" Feli asked.

"Yeah, it's done. I've got something truly delicious in store this morning."

"Aw, geez." Feli gained a sweatdrop. "Sounds like you created a new breakfast type again."

"*giggle* Yep. Sure did."

"*sigh* I hope it's not over the top again. Three bites of that last one and both Amitie and I were already full."

"Oh, come on. You two are just too worried about getting fat."

"No. It's because we don't have black holes for a stomach." Feli retorted with a pissed off look.

"*sigh* Whatever." I said. "Where is Amitie, anyway?"

"Oh, yeah. She said to just bring her plate over to her house. She's apparently busy with something."

"Busy with what?"

"I'm…not sure. The text she sent me said something about…saving Minia from the Mukadensus."

"What the hell is a Mukadensu?" I gained a highly confused look.

"I have no idea, Lidelle…" Feli said with an exasperated look and tone.

"Right…Well…Mother, I'm heading over to Amitie's."

"You mean you're not eating?" Mother asked.

"I didn't say that." I rushed over to the kitchen, grabbed my plate of Hot Chocolate French Toast, and snarfed it down in one bite. Not even a single struggle when chewing or swallowing.

"Ah~. Delicious."

"L-Lidelle…" Mother said with a huge sweatdrop.

"S-Seriously! Do you even HAVE a stomach?!" Feli yelled.

"*giggle* Maybe…" I teased with a smile on my stuffed face.

Minutes later, Feli and I were heading over to Amitie's house to deliver her plate of food.

…

And to see what she meant by "saving Minia from the Mukadensus". It may make no sense, but it also piqued my interest a little.

I mean, who wouldn't get interested over something as random as that?

"Today sure seems peaceful." I said.

"Yeah…" Feli agreed. "…But knowing this town, it won't be long until something weird happens."

"Yeah, that's true. We are famous for being "that town in which a normal day doesn't exist". Speaking of which, is Mao still over in Toyama?"

"Yeah, she is. Though, she did call me this morning before I left. She said that they're just about to wrap up the last bit of filming and that she'll be back tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, that's nice."

Mao Kuromi is Feli's older sister. The two live together in a house not that far from mine. And, like her younger sister, Mao is a master at the Occult Art of Divination (the same warning applies, too).

The only thing that's different between the two is that Mao is some sort of a TV star. Going by the allies "Erica-chan" and currently stars in a TV show called "Magical Girl Sweetie Pie Monica's Heart-Filed Miracle Cure Deluxe".

…

Yes, I know. The name is absolutely ridiculous.

Anyway…Mao occasionally goes over to a separate world known as Toyama to participate in these filming sessions. Leaving Feli here alone most of the time. So, that's why she often comes over to my place for breakfast.

I don't mind, really. It gives me a chance to show off my creative cooking skills. *giggle*

"So, what do you think Amitie's doing over there?" Feli asked me. "Based on that text she sent me, it must be something weird."

"Minia…Mukadensus…yeah, sounds weird to me." I then went silent for a bit. "Although…it kinda sounds like something you would hear in a fantasy game of sorts."

"A video game? What video game would have that kind of non…"

*BAM*

"Ow! Hey, watch where you're going, you blind idiot!" Feli yelled after she had bumped into a girl with dark marron-like hair with a long braid. Causing them both to fall to the floor.

"Ah! I-I'm so sorry! I-I wasn't paying attention! Please excuse me!" The girl was the first to get up. She panickily bowed before running off in the opposite direction of where we were coming from.

"Geez, Feli. That wasn't a bit much?" I asked.

"What? It's not my fault she bumped into me. She was lucky I wasn't in a bad mood or else I've would've…Kieeeeeeeeeee!"

"Wh-What?"

"Can you feel it, Lidelle~?! I sense a great power coming from a short distance~! The level of it all is surging electricity down my spine~! It is so…so…exhilarating~! Fufufufu~!"

"What?" I gained a sweatdrop. Then at the corner of my eye, I saw something shiny on the ground. It was a weird orange-like trigonal stone with an even weirder symbol engraved on it. "Huh? What's this thing?"

"*gasp* That is it~! That is the source of power, Lidelle~! We have found the power jackpot~! Give it to me~! I must have it~! Fufufufu~!"

"Calm down, you power-hungry loli."

"I-I'm not a loli!" Feli whined. Letting her second personality kick in.

"And besides. I think that girl dropped it when she bumped into you."

"Huh? You think it's hers? Why would she have something containing this much power?"

"As if I know." I then took a second look at the weird stone. "Hey, Feli. This black symbol…do you know what this means?"

"Symbol?" Feli then looked at the stone with me. "Hey, wait. That's a Zodiac sign. Specifically, the one for Scorpio."

"Zodiac?" I sounded confused.

"The Zodiac is a group of constellations in space that lie near the ecliptic, or the path of the Sun, across over the course of the year. It's divided into 12 signs, one for each month, and is now commonly used for horoscopic astrology."

"Wow…you sure know a lot about this, Feli." I was truly amazed by her explanation.

"When you're a master at the Occult Art of Divination, stuff like this is simply common knowledge." Feli chuckled to herself due to the praise I gave her.

"Right…" I then looked at the stone one last time. Thinking of what to do with it. "So, should we go return it to that girl?"

"No point in doing it now. She's long gone. Maybe after we see Amitie we'll go look for her and see what's up with this thing."

"Eh. Fair enough."

And so, with the stone in my pocket, the two of us continued our walk to Amitie's. Our list of curiosity now bigger thanks to this mysterious stone.

…

Still doesn't beat the Mukadensu, though. I really want to know what that is.

Resta's POV

"Man, that girl was scary. I seriously felt something when I bumped into her. Not to mention that she was rather hostile after the fact. It really sent a chill down my spine."

I just hope that not everyone in this Primp place isn't like that.

"*sigh* Anyway. I should get back to figuring out how to fix this…" I then began to frantically pat myself all over my body. And when I couldn't feel anything, my face went completely pale.

"A-A-Aw, crap…I LOST THE CITRINE!"

Then, still in panic mode, I began searching the floor to see if I dropped it somewhere. With no luck, I got back up in a depressed state of mind.

"Aw, damn. I can't believe I lost it. The source of my power and I lost it so carelessly. How can I be so freaking stupid?!" I yelled in anger as I punched a nearby tree.

…

"Ow!" And instantly regretted it after the pain it gave my hand.

"Hey, I wouldn't punch that tree if I were you."

"Huh?" I turned to see a girl with blue hair made into a ponytail and had two average-sized horns coming out of her head. She wore a white t-shirt underneath a light-blue short-sleeved jacket with gold bracelets on both arms, blue shorts, and a pair of turquoise rainboots.

There was also a bunch of smoke coming out of her. I'm not entirely sure how that's possible. But I guess I'll let that go for now.

"I said you really shouldn't punch this tree." The girl said as she walked up to me. "This is one of the hardest trees in town. Unless you got some real strength, it'll probably break your hand."

"S-Seriously? That hard?"

"Yeah. But few are able to withstand the hardness of it. Me, this other girl I know…and from the looks of it, you look pretty fine yourself."

"Huh." I said while looking at my slightly swollen hand. "I guess I just got lucky, then."

"Why were you punching it, anyway? Something on your mind?"

"Why was I…" I then remembered why I have this slightly swollen hand in the first place. "Gah! That's right! The citrine!"

"The what?" The girl looked confused.

"H-Hey. Have you seen this orange-like trigonal stone with a black symbol engraved on it? I dropped it somewhere."

"No, sorry. Never saw it."

"Aw, man. I'm so screwed." I grumbled to myself.

"Whatever it is, it sounds important to you."

"Yeah, it is. I have these…special powers and that stone is the source of it. Without it, I'm powerless."

"I see. So, do you remember where you dropped it?"

"Uh…let me think…" I thought to myself for a bit.

Then…

W-Wait a second! Could it be that I dropped it when I bumped into that girl earlier?! If that's the case, then she must've found it! H-Hopefully.

"I remember bumping into this girl earlier. She was kinda short, long purple hair, gave a chill down my spine…"

"Hmm…Hey, wait that's Feli."

"Feri?"

"Feli. With an "L". She's this girl who does these occult charms and stuff. You probably dropped this stone thing when you bumped into her. She probably might have it, too."

"I see. So, it is possible. Can you take me to her?! Please?!" I begged.

"W-Well, I'm not exactly sure where she is right now. Though, we could go check her house. It shouldn't be that far from here."

"*sigh* Well, it's a start. Thanks for helping me out, uh…wait, we don't know each other, do we?"

"Oh, yeah. We don't." The girl rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I'm Jarne. The Super Djinn. Nice to meet ya."

"And my name is Resta. It's nice to meet you, Jarne." I said with a bow.

I should probably hold off on telling people that I'm a princess from a different world. At least, for now.

"Same here, Resta. Now, let's go find that stone of yours! Ja-ja-ja-jaan!" Jarne then grabbed my arm and dragged me along as we looked for the citrine. It's safe to say that I've made my first friend since coming to this parallel world.

Although…Jarne does remind me of Sagey a lot. Their personalities are near identical.

…

Just how "parallel" is this world?

Author's Note: Not even a few hours after finding Primp Town and Resta already gets herself in trouble. And Lidelle deals with Feli's split personality as they find a mysterious stone on the floor. Are these incidents related?

…

Yes. Yes, they are. I mean, it's pretty obvious that they are. Otherwise, I wouldn't have written it. Duh.

Next chapter is when the Neptunia side gets introduced. And I'll explain why & how I'm doing this story. Plus, a few differences for each series.

Thanks for reading. Later.