Arc 2- Chapter 16: The Calm Before The Storm
After walking for more than half an hour, the King hunt finally arrived at her base.
Many of the hunts looked on in surprise and relief at their leader's return. Though, most of them grew confused as to the person laying in her arms.
She walks past them, ignoring the growing confusion.
In the time it took for her to walk away from the demon, YunYun had fallen asleep due to the tiredness of it all. Honestly, she felt kinda jealous. She too wanted to rest after this hellish day.
As she walked, a person came running up to her.
"Boss, you're back." He wore a capelet and greeted her, sounding relieved at his boss's return. It seems that he was one of her underlings.
"Good to see ya, Let."
"Honestly, we thought you were a goner earlier. Most of us were too tired to search for you, and we also wanted to focus more on the many that were injured."
"Good to hear." It was to be expected. The integrity of the organization took upmost priority. A leader like her, while important, could easily be replaced. So she understood why they took more care of the members than searching for their lost leader.
"Anyways, what happened? We got separated after we fell back." He asked.
"A lot happened. I'll spare you the details later. For now, I have some errands to run."
"Don't you want to rest?"
"Not right now at least." It was clear that their leader wasn't backing down. So Capelet just opted to dismiss himself and focus more on other pressing matters.
"Right, then I'll leave you be." He walked away soon after.
"Wait, before you go."
"Hmm? What is it boss?"
"Take her."
"Her? Wasn't she one of the people who we tried to capture?" He looked at YunYun with slight distrust. Actually no, full distrust.
"I know, but could you take her and put her on some blankets or something? She needs some rest." The King looked down at the girl in her arms. YunYun still hadn't awoken from her slumber, clear to the eye as to why that is.
"Alright then. I don't know why, but if you're asking then I'll do it." Reluctant, Capelet walked towards her and grabbed the girl from her arms, he too carried her like a princess. "I'll put her in the infirmary okay."
"Good. I'll see you then."
The King continued on her journey to her temporary room. It was just a shed that was made in a day. Nothing too shabby.
"A lot has happened today. We successfully infiltrated the crimson demon village and got a huge sum of money from them. But apparently, we were getting tailgated. When he showed his identity, I was so ready to capture and kill him."
"And yet, you somehow always got away. You and your little miracles..."
"I got so angry, so annoyed. And yet..."
"I feel sorry for you."
"I feel sorry for YunYun."
The king walked closer to her abode, before stopping to grab her door handle. "I failed you, Kaz-"
"-zuma." She opened the door, only to see a fully alive Kazuma, standing on both his legs. His face held no expression. Just a blank canvas. But the most important detail of all, he wasn't wearing his pants nor his undies.
"..."
"..."
"Uh, hey."
"AAAGGGHHH!!!"
Okay so that happened.
Somehow, someway, Kazuma had miraculously healed his legs.
And the weirder part? He doesn't know how.
"Hey uh..."
The King looked at Kazuma with no expression on her face. He didn't know if she was mad, confused, happy or amused. She looked indecipherable.
"Can we... forget what happened earlier?" Kazuma was now wearing his pants again thankfully. He had dawned it after the King closed the door in fright, which prompted him to do it immediately.
Now, they were both sitting on her bed. One person looked composed yet disappointed, while the other was looking at the ground in embarrassment.
"Kazuma, I still can't believe you don't know how you got your legs healed." Finally, after a moment of silence, the King was the one to break it.
"Listen alright, I was having a bad dream and I woke up. When I did, I saw my legs were now back to normal. That's all I know okay."
"But still." She huffed. Truly, this man had many surprises for her. "Did you see anything when you woke up?"
Kazuma thought for a moment, before speaking up again. "No. There wasn't anyone nor anything here."
He decided that it was best to disclose the crucial detail that he saw earlier. He didn't want them to know about Chris. For some reason, it would just complicate things further and possibly cause trouble later down the line. He didn't want that to happen.
He was sure that he saw Chris at that door. It was the only explanation as to how he got his legs healed. His theory is that Eris came down as Chris and went to heal him just like how she did it back in the basement. If so, then he truly has a debt to pay towards the goddess, he thought. Maybe he should join her church or something.
Until further notice, he would keep this as a secret. He's sure Chris would agree as well.
The king huffed again. "Then, I guess it doesn't matter anymore."
Kazuma looks up from the floor to look at her. "What do you mean?"
"As long as you're alive, is all that matters. Especially to YunYun."
"Right! YunYun." Kazuma got up from the bed in a flash. "Where is she?"
"She's resting near the infirmary."
"Is she okay?"
"She's doing fine. She's just tired."
Kazuma let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god..."
Sensing that there was no reason to stay here any longer, the King asked if Kazuma wanted to meet her. Who answered with an obvious yes.
She got up as well, and they both walked towards the door. But before the King would open it, she stopped at the door handle.
"Before that. Kazuma, why weren't you wearing your pants?"
Kazuma took a deep breath, before answering. "I took off my pants because I wanted to check if my legs were still frozen."
"..."
"And because I wanted to know if my dick was still okay."
She hummed, before opening the door and walking out.
Kazuma was about to do the same as well, that is before the door slammed towards his face by her.
Some time passed and both the King and Kazuma were walking together. One had his face slightly bruised up while the other looked perfectly fine.
"... You know, you didn't have to slam the door at me." Grumbling a bit, Kazuma let out his frustration.
"It was a necessary procedure okay."
Clicking his tongue, Kazuma moved on from the recent interaction. "Anyways, are we close?" Kazuma looked around his surroundings and saw a lot of glares and side eyes coming his way. "And why are people looking at me weirdly."
"Well that's because a certain someone decided to poke the bee's nest and got the whole hive to swarm at them." She answered it rather swiftly.
"Oh come on! You guys stole most of the money from the village. We had to get it back eventually."
"Right, the money." The King honestly forgot about that whole thing. She was so busy dealing with Kazuma and the demon that she forgot the sole reason for both of those things to happen. "At this point, I don't think it's even worth keeping it now."
"Soooo that means we can take it back right?"
Huffing a bit, the king answered. "Yeah, sure."
"Hell yeah! Looks like all that trouble was worth it after all."
"Don't get your hopes up. Just because you've gotten on my good side, doesn't mean I forgot all the trouble you've caused us."
The King suddenly stops walking and points a finger at him. "My comrades have gotten hurt, some have met an unlucky end. You think that just because we defeated a demon together, means that we'll be best friends forever?"
Kazuma heard her tone of voice, and it sounded like she wasn't joking. Not at all.
Taking it seriously, Kazuma doesn't let out any quirky remarks and answers respectfully.
"Of course, I did cause injuries towards your comrades and ruined most of your morale. With that, I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon even if I repay my debt to you."
"So that's why..."
"I'M SORRY!" Kazuma screamed as loudly as he could and placed his forehead on the ground, japanese style. Sobs could be heard as waterfalls fell down from his eyes.
"PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR ALL THE MISDEEDS THAT I MADE! I'LL DO ANYTHING TO MAKE UP FOR IT! I'M SORRY! I TRULY AM SORRY!"
Obviously, the King was flabbergasted when she saw this, and immediately felt guilt arise from within her. "Ok ok you don't have to kneel! Stand up straight!"
Kazuma did as he was told. His face looked miserable. Red was all over and snot came out from his nose. He sucked it back up and said, "Do you forgive me?"
"I- I guess." She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.
"T-thank you." Kazuma wiped off the tears and snot quickly and his face looked normal again.
"Hah! I knew that would work! The Japanese way for apologies always puts a lot of guilt towards the one you're apologising to, and they would have no choice but to forgive you. Now I don't have to pay anything at all."
Kazuma truly was a mastermind.
"A-anyways, don't apologise like that alright? It feels weird." Kazuma only gave a nice thumbs up.
"Now then, we're close to the infirmary." She said. "Hopefully YunYun will be awake by now."
"Right, YunYun..." They both then started to walk together and head towards their destination.
A few moments passed, and they were finally here. From the looks of it, it just looked like a shabby hut. Apparently, this was the infirmary she talked about.
"Let's head inside."
Opening the door, they saw just how packed the place is. Both of them saw the many injured Hunts. Kazuma cringed as he saw many of the injuries were caused by both him and YunYun. Burn marks, bandaged legs and arms, scuffed faces, you name it.
The King ignored the scene and walked straight forward, Kazuma following suit.
Soon after, the king met Capelet again. "Hey Let, where's the girl I told you to put?"
"Ah, right. She's right over there." He says as he pointed towards a bed way at the back. The bed itself was occupied with a certain demon sitting on it.
"Thank you."
"No worries. Anything for you boss." She and Kazuma quickly dismissed themselves.
Their boots tapped on the ground as they soon approached the girl. YunYun, who was now awake, heard their stride and looked upwards. "K-Kazuma-san?"
Both of them could see that she just woke up, the tears she shed before now dry. "Hey there YunYun." He smiled.
"KAZUMA-SAN!"
"WHOA HEY-!" He was cut off as YunYun suddenly hugged him out of the blue. Both of them fell on the ground as YunYun hugged him tightly, sobs could be heard as Kazuma felt his shirt getting wet.
"K-Kazuma-san! I'm so sorry! I- I thought I lost you!"
"W-well good news! I'm fine YunYun." He decided to comfort the girl by gently patting her head. "God this girl is so cute!"
The king just observed the scene with a tiny smile etched in her face. "Guess she really was really worried about you huh?"
"Hah, yeah..." Kazuma, didn't really know how to respond. It reminded him a bit of his old party. That time with the winter shogun, they hugged him for dear life after he was resurrected from the dead. At that moment, he had no words to say other than to smile.
It felt comforting to know that someone out there, even if they didn't show it, truly cared about you.
And the girl that is hugging him right now proves that.
Kazuma just lets her hug him for a while. One so that she can be content with herself, the other being that it just felt really nice and squishy. Way to ruin the moment Kazuma.
Eventually, YunYun lets go of him. "I'm so glad you're okay Kazuma-san." She says as she wipes her tears off.
"Was I really in bad condition?"
The king stepped in. "You were. Your entire legs were frozen to the core. You fell unconscious for hours and you also sweated a lot. It's still a miracle you even survived and still have both functioning normal legs."
"How were you healed Kazuma-san?"
"I don't know."
"What? You don't know?"
"Tch." The King clicked her tongue and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, even I'm confused with that as well." YunYun couldn't believe it. The condition she saw Kazuma was in looked horrible. She also kept in mind that he was unconscious the entire time. While yes, it is a good thing now that he is okay, the more pressing matter is how he even recovered. All three of them, including the other hunts, had no clue on who or what did it.
"So that means, you woke up with your legs back to normal?" He nodded at YunYun's question. "Well ... it doesn't matter. You're okay now, that's all that matters to me."
"Hmm, déjà vu." "Right."
"YunYun, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine Kazuma-san. I just feel really tired."
"Yeah, me too." Now that the adrenaline rush has died down, their bodies have returned to normal operating procedures. Which means, they feel tired AF. Kazuma could now feel how sluggish his arms and especially his legs are, same goes for YunYun.
"Hmm, how about you two stay here for a while." Both Kazuma and YunYun looked up at her.
"It wouldn't hurt to stay here for the night right? Plus, I guess it's a compensation for all the trouble that I've done to your village YunYun."
"That does sound nice if you, but my father would get worried if I don't return to the village by sundown."
"Then... how about staying a little longer?" The king proposed. Honestly, she just wanted to get to know these two after the intense trouble that all three of them went through.
"Come on YunYun. We should rest a bit longer." Kazuma also agreed with the proposal.
"Hmm, I guess we should."
"Good to hear." The king smiled with her mouth closed. She looked around the room and saw a few of her hunts. "Hunters, bring me some tea." They looked at her and nodded. They then scurried off to make the best tea they could.
"She really does have a reach of power when it comes to commanding these guys." Kazuma thought. "Let's sit on the bed YunYun." He also realised that they were still sitting on the ground.
After sitting on the bed, The King grabbed a nearby stool and sat down as well. "Well, this is the perfect time to introduce ourselves right?"
Right. After all this time, all three of them hadn't even made a proper introduction. They all just met, fought each other, worked together and are now sitting in a circle.
Kazuma heard it and opted to be the first. "I'm Satou Kazuma, an adventurer."
"Really? That's all you have to say?"
"Well yeah. I mean, what else do you need to know about me?"
"You know, where you come from, your occupation, why you are even here?"
"Oh uh, I came from Axel. Like I said, I'm an adventurer. Specifically, I'm in the adventurer class. And I'm here to accompany YunYun." He said. No extra words, just straight to the point.
The King sighs. "What about you YunYun?"
"Oh! Um... W-well, you already know that my name is YunYun." She nodded. "T-then, I'm a mage, specializing in the electric and fire class. I-I'm also a crimson demon. I-If you couldn't tell..."
"Huh. I heard crimson demons usually have a very... 'eccentric' way of introducing themselves. And yet..." The king quietly observes her. "You seem pretty shy."
"U-um, sorry. I didn't really notice." She says, her face a bit red.
"Heh, you don't have to apologise." She shook her head. "Well then, that just leaves me right?"
"I'm King Hunt, the leader of the Hunts. We are a group of thieves and mercenaries who go on heists. We steal mainly from nobles and kings all around Belzerg. We have done many successful heists, stolen a lot of precious goods, and are on track to speed across multiple kingdoms." She said with a lot of pride.
"... You probably shouldn't be saying this type of stuff." Kazuma commented.
"It doesn't matter. We're pretty infamous now, especially with the royal police and military."
"Right. And I'm guessing that stealing the money from the village is your most recent one?"
"Correct. We just so happen to stumble upon your little village when we set up camp here a week ago, and it just so happens that we were low on cash." She said without a hint of guilt. It was clear to the eye that she truly was a masterful thief, a cunning one at that.
"Hmph. That's not very nice." YunYun, who heard her talk, stepped in to oppose. But the way she did it sounded a bit too cute to be taken seriously.
"If you all wanted money, then ask for it. Don't steal it."
"Really?" Both Kazuma and The King said simultaneously. "YunYun, you're literally talking to a criminal. You think she's just gonna waltz into a noble's house and just ask?"
"I should take offence, but I have to agree." The King said, not that bothered.
"W-well, I mean, it's not wrong to try, right?"
"She's too innocent." They both thought.
Suddenly, a person with a hijab came into their little circle with a tray. The tray itself had glasses filled with the finest tea the Hunts could serve. "Your tea, boss."
"Thank you. Just set it down on the bed." She pointed to the free spot besides Kazuma. The person then set it down like she suggested, and soon went off to do other things.
Kazuma took a cup and gave it to YunYun, who gladly accepted it. He then did the same with the King, who said she was fine and declined the offer. "More for me I guess." He then took a sip of it.
"Um, Ms King, I'd like to ask..." YunYun said after she took a sip of the tea as well.
"What is it?"
"I-I know I asked you before, but I just wanted to confirm it. D-Do you really not have a name?"
"..." The King paused for a moment, before speaking up again. "Yeah, it's true. I don't have a name."
"Wait really? I thought everyone called you 'King' out of respect." Kazuma was a bit shocked to say the least. Well, it didn't really cause a turning point in him, but it still felt surprising.
"That's mostly true. But the truth is, I just don't have a name. Ever since I became the leader, everyone called me King after my father died."
"Your father?" YunYun said, a bit curious. The same goes for Kazuma.
"My father was the previous leader of the Hunts. But, he died years ago. I was only 10 at the time." She paused, before continuing. "I don't remember much before he died. All I knew is that, when I stepped up to become the leader, everyone around me called me 'The King'."
"What about before?" YunYun asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Before he died. What did they call you?"
The King paused again. It seemed she was in deep thought. She was in this state for only a moment before answering. "Prince."
Both Kazuma and YunYun were taken back. Really? She really didn't have a proper name, even when she was little? Unless 'Prince' and 'King' were considered proper names here, though it is highly unlikely. It just seems more like a nickname or is said out of respect. Maybe her father didn't know what to name her and decided that 'Prince' was okay, but that seems far fetched.
"So you really don't have a name..." YunYun ushered, but was heard from The King.
"Yup."
"Then, how about we give you one?" The crimson demon proposed.
"Huh?" She didn't sound taken a back, more confused really.
"Doesn't sound like a terrible plan. I mean, it gets pretty tiring calling you 'The King' all the time." Kazuma agreed.
"T-Then, what name would you give me?" She asked, rather shyly. Even stuttering a bit. Something very 'unlike' her.
"Hmm..." YunYun thought about it for a moment, before answering. "I know, how about Ali-"
"Bitch."
.
.
.
.
.
"BIND!"
Kazuma was now sitting with his entire body tied down.
"Jesus Christ what kind of rope is this?! Why's it so hard?" He struggled trying to get out of his hopeless situation. He could feel the rope ever tightening as he wriggled around.
"U-um, Ms. King, could you please let him go?" YunYun saw how his comrade was failing to get out of her trap, and decided to plead to his captor to release him.
"... Fine. Release." She reluctantly agreed. She lifted her hand and when she said it, the rope untangled itself and went back to her palm.
"Ugh! Thank you YunYun..." Kazuma took a breather as he was finally released.
"A-anyways, back to what I was saying. I think a good name for you is Alice." YunYun suggested.
The King, didn't really change her look. She still held confusion in both her face and mind. "Why would you name me that?"
"W-well, it seems to fit you. A-Alice is considered a noble name, and since you have blonde hair, I-I thought it'd work."
Kazuma seemed to agree as well. "Yeah, I'd say it fits perfectly. It's a heck of a lot better than what I suggested." He crossed his arms as he said so.
"S-so what do you think? You don't have to accept it right away. W-we're only giving a suggestion."
"U-umm. Let me think." She looked reluctant, a bit nervous too. Both YunYun and Kazuma nodded in response.
They waited. They waited some more. It wasn't really that long, only took like a minute or two, but Kazuma could already feel the awkwardness kicking in. He decided to drink some more tea to quench his thirst. YunYun did the same as well.
Kazuma decided to look around the room while he waited. He didn't get up or anything and only stayed sitting on the bed. He saw a man with a scarf wrapped around his nose and mouth looking down on a woman who is comatose on the bed.
"This looks familiar..." Hopefully he doesn't do anything abnormal like sniffing out white snot on his hand.
YunYun on the other hand reached down into her pocket and took out her adventurer card. She read the contents of which housed her level, current spells, skill points and spells that could be learned.
"Hmm, maybe I should upgrade 'Cursed lightning' some more." As she was about to do so however, she then saw just how much her skill points had increased. Which surprised her to say the least.
"W-Where did I get all of this from? Wait, maybe it was from the demon we killed earlier..." She did help, or rather, was the one who killed it. Kazuma was only there to help.
She now felt giddy about having this much skill points, and decided to upgrade all her current spells in her arsenal. After having an upgrade spree, she still had some leftover skill points. She concluded that she'll save that for later.
"Ok."
"Hmm?" "Huh?" Both Kazuma and YunYun were cut off guard and turned back their attention towards The King.
"It's decided. I'll tell my fellow hunts later. But from this day onwards, my name is-"
"Alice."
"Didn't take that much convincing eh?"
Kazuma then got 'binded' again.
"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT IT TOOK ME A LOT OF TIME AND THOUGHT TO MAKE THIS DECISION ALRIGHT!"
"JESUS CHRIST I GET IT YOU CRAZY LUNATIC! NOW UNBIND ME ALREADY!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
Kazuma then felt a lot of stares pointing directly at him, and their stares weren't friendly.
"What did you say to King?"
"Crazy Lunatic?"
"You've got some nerve to bad mouth her after everything she's done."
He then quickly realised just how big of a mistake that was. "Shit."
"Alright Alright that's enough! No one is cutting off any heads, especially in the infirmary got it?" The King, or rather, Alice, stood up and shouted to stop the ensuing fight that was about to start. "Now put away your weapons. That is an order."
The hunters soon calmed down and went back to do their usual business. "Unbind."
Kazuma let out a breath of relief. "Thank you."
"Don't do anything like that again. You're gonna lose your head if you're not careful." She sat down.
"Anyways, like I said, deciding on this name took a lot of thought. Hell, I'm not so sure now. But..."
"Alice. I don't know, but it fits me so well." She said as she looked down on the ground.
"See? I told you it'd suit you well." YunYun said rather happily. "I'm still surprised by how quick you adopted the name but oh well." Kazuma commented.
"Heh. Yeah, guess so."
"BOSS!"
Suddenly, the entire room could hear a frantic shout from the entrance. Everyone looked at where that voice came from and saw a man with a green mask come running towards the trio. "Boss we have an emergency!"
Alice immediately stood up from where she sat. "What's the emergency?" She asked with sheer authority.
The masked man took a breather for a second before speaking up. "The crimson demons! They've found where we are and are attacking our base!"
Everyone in the room went wide eyed. "ALL HUNTERS! HALF OF YOU TREAT THE WOUNDED! EVERYBODY ELSE WILL ASSIST THE FRONT LINES!"
"YES KING!" After hearing her thunderous shout, half of the Hunts in the room immediately ran outside.
"You two stay here. We'll deal with them." Alice turned around and ordered them to stay put. She knows why the crimson demons are here, but she can't let them go out again after dealing with an actual demon. She then turned around again to go.
"W-wait Alice!" But before she could do so, YunYun stopped her.
"Please, let us help. They're my family. We have to negotiate before any of us shed blood." With no stutters whatsoever, YunYun spoke up like a true leader.
"Yet from what I heard, they're attacking my men and women as we speak." Alice spoke back, She wanted to deal with her people by herself.
"Dude, I know for sure some of you are gonna get killed." It was Kazuma's turn to speak. He too stood up as well. "Just let her out. She can say to her people that she's fine, and that you guys aren't our enemies."
"That's not the way of the Hunts."
"That's the way for a leader." He said.
"RAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!"
Alice huffed a bit. "... Fine." Good thing she didn't take a lot of convincing, Kazuma thought.
YunYun let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"But, if your people start attacking us, we'll have no choice but to fire back. Got it?"
With a look of determination, YunYun nodded.
"Then let's go."
"Make sure to check every crevice! Every nook and cranny! Check everywhere!"
"Yes boss!"
The crimson demons. A race that has withstood the test of time. This race of humans are highly regarded for their exceptional ability in magic. They are highly trained, highly seasoned mages that everyone would fear standing up against. Of course, everyone would want one in their party.
Though, it is very rare for a crimson demon to be in one. Not because they are rare, but because of... other reasons.
"Hah! Let the lightning god from above let ablaze on you! For I, Icuckooyu, am his disciple that shall bring pain upon you! Cursed lightning!" Multiple lightning bolts struck on the ground near the Hunt's base. Many of the Hunts who heard and saw it were both terrified and slightly holding in their laughs.
"We are the crimson demon! Show us where comrade YunYun and Kazuma are! And maybe, we will bring mercy upon you." Some of the 'demons' found the base of operations, and are now standing on the ground near the entrance.
The Hunts, were ready to attack. They waited for their moment. They saw many of the crimson demons run in towards their base, and commenced their assault.
*Psh*
"Huh?" Many of the crimson demons looked around at where the sound was coming from, and saw many grappling hooks with rope attached to them shooting down towards the bottom of the trees. They looked up at where it led to and saw a swarm of green hooded people coming down from above.
Panicking a bit, they collected their cool and shouted. "Throughout heaven and the land, I alone am the- WAAH-" The majority of them, who were in the middle of casting their spells, were quickly tied up in a simple bind spell.
When the hunters landed on the ground and saw their simple plans had worked, they said, "Huh. That was easy."
"CRIMSON DEMONS! DON'T LET THEM THINK WE ARE WEAK! CHARGE IN AND SAVE OUR FALLEN COMRADES! AAAHHH!" The hunters quickly got serious when they saw a bunch of them with magic swirling around them running in.
"Hunters! Don't let them overwhelm you! Protect the goods! Protect the King!" The impromptu leader of the Hunts shouted in vigor. Soon enough they too were running in. "AAAHHH!"
"AAAHHH!"
"RAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!"
BOTH PARTIES WERE SCREAMING IN ABSOLUTE PRIDE FOR THEIR PEOPLE! THEIR FALLEN COMRADES! - Wait why is this screaming as well?-
Just before they were about to crash, with the Hunters already in the air and crimson demons about to shoot their spells, a large shout came from nowhere.
"SSSTTTOOOOOOPPP!!!"
"HUH?" "HMM?" Everyone who heard this was distracted for a second, before they all stumbled and tumbled after hitting each other. Like a car crashing into another vehicle in the streets.
"A-oww..."
"That's gonna leave a mark."
"I think I broke my pelvis."
Everyone was now preoccupied with their own injuries, completely forgetting the ensuing fight they were about to do. Of course, only the vanguard got heavily injured. While the people at the back were perfectly fine, and went to help their fallen comrades. But before they could, some familiar faces came running in.
"King?"
"YunYun?"
"Who the fuck is that guy?"
Yes, they have arrived just in time. Just before they could all kill each other.
As they all collected their breaths, YunYun could see in the corner of her eye that many of her people were looking at her. They didn't say anything, nor did they seem surprised or happy to see her. It just looks like they were waiting for something, even if they were all battered up.
"Erm, u-uh..." The crimson demons all silently observed her, while the Hunts, who were now getting up, looked at them confused.
"H-Hello! M-my name is YunYun! Proud crimson demon and future leader of the village!" She ended her introduction with a very striking pose. (She just stood there with her finger pointing upwards.)
The crimson demons, all groaned.
"Oh come on! That's the best you could do?"
"Really YunYun? I thought better of you."
"Don't disappoint us YunYun! Do it again! Better this time!"
"W-What?!" YunYun, didn't know how to react.
"Hey! She's trying her best okay!" Kazuma decided to barge in and defend her.
"Again, who the fuck are you?"
He gritted his teeth. "I'm Satou Kazuma! A level 22 adventurer! Aaannnddd that's pretty much it..." The Hunts and crimson demons were not impressed.
"Enough of this nonsense!" Alice got fed up with the whole introduction thingy and wanted to end it now. "Hunters! Stand up and put down your weapons!"
They all got serious and immediately followed her orders. Standing up and putting back their weapons to where it belongs.
"Now, I ask you crimson demons, where is your leader?"
"Hah! Like we'll ever tell you! Right guys?"
"YEAH!" It seems that these guys were a lot tougher than they seem. Sticking together? Or just that their heads were so far up their arse that they're not even willing to negotiate.
Alice just sighs. She wonders if the people she is talking to are actually adults or just overgrown children. "YunYun, can I get a little help over here?"
"O-Oh! Right." She then steps forward a bit. "U-Um, where is Crimson Demon leader DanDan?"
Silence was met. Every crimson demon all looked around their surroundings, before one man stood amongst them. "Heh, that's the 'Crimson Demon leader of the 7th god' daughter of mine." He let out a chuckle afterwards.
"That... doesn't exist." YunYun felt a bit embarrassed, but he was her father damn it! Of course he's gonna be like that.
Anyways, DanDan walked towards them while the other crimson demons got up and made way for their leader. DanDan, while striking a smirk, looked serious. It was a reminder that the reason why they were even here was because of YunYun and Kazuma not returning to their village. Which, made them cautious and went out to find them.
Finally, DanDan had reached them. In front of him, was his daughter. Beside her, was Kazuma and what he assumed was the leader of this entire thieving group, the King Hunt.
"Father!" YunYun was the first to react by hugging him immediately. DanDan accepted the hug by embracing her. Kazuma remembered that while they both held high positions of power in the crimson demon hierarchy, they were still both father and daughter.
YunYun let go of the hug, and now stood beside him, facing towards Kazuma and Alice.
"So, you are the leader of the Hunts, are you?" DanDan said.
"Indeed I am."
"What did you do to my daughter?" His signature smirk is now gone, and is replaced with a stern glare.
"I didn't do anything to her. In fact, she had helped me in defeating a powerful foe earlier."
"She's right DanDan-san." Kazuma spoke up to back her up. "Me and YunYun were both fine while we were searching for the money."
"Then what about this powerful foe she speaks of?"
"A demon. Larger than any of us has ever seen." Alice spoke.
"We don't know how it got here, why it was here, but me, YunYun, and the king, all took it down together." Kazuma said. "At the end, it was all thanks to YunYun. She was the one who dealt the final blow." He knew he also had a hand in it, but decided to not add in that detail.
"YunYun, is that true?" DanDan now faced his daughter who was beside him. She looked up towards him and said "Y-Yes. It's all true."
DanDan took a deep breath through his nose. "AHH! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU DAUGHTER OF MINE!" Before completely gushing over her.
"Aaaaahhhhh!!!" YunYun was then flayed around by her father's big arms. "Father! Stop!"
"I Knew you could be a cool crimson demon like your old man! Well done on keeping the village pride alive! Ha Ha Ha!"
Alice and Kazuma both sweat dropped at the scene. Though, they couldn't lie, it was nice seeing them bond over together. Very sweet.
"Okay enough of this, let's get to negotiating." Alice was the one to break their moment.
"Oh come on! Don't you see I'm appreciating my daughter with affectionate fatherly love?" DanDan practically screamed at her while hugging his daughter.
"Y-Yes, I can see that. But you probably have a lot more questions than answers, so I'm gonna be here to provide them to you."
"Right." He quickly let go of her, YunYun looked like a stiff piece of wood after getting out of her father's grasp. "Let's get back to business."
"First, let's go somewhere more private, shall we?"
"Here's some tea, boss."
"Thank you." Alice grabbed the cup and took a sip of the tea. Kazuma took a cup as well and drank some of it. "At least it tastes like tea, unlike a certain goddess who makes it..."
Currently, the King Hunt, Kazuma, YunYun, DanDan and his secretary FuQing decided to go to Alice's makeshift house where the perpetrators were sitting on chairs while Alice and the gang sat on her bed. "We really could've picked somewhere better." Kazuma commented.
"It's the only private place I know." Alice answered back.
"It's fine really. Though, I would've preferred much better chairs suited for a powerful crimson demon like me."
"Don't embarrass us father." YunYun said with a bead of sweat already trickling down her cheek.
"Anyways, let's get this out of the way. First, your money." DanDan and FuQing, who held casual smiles before, now turned serious.
"Let me remind you, King Hunt. You have stolen nearly 80% of our money from our coffers, which was kept to spend on economic and social goods. Our deposits held nearly 237 million Eris in total, which means you have stolen roughly 204 million Eris." FuQing took the lead to talk. Kazuma felt absolutely impressed by how articulate the secretary talked, even more so by her huge assets. Though, he remembered the true nature of these crimson demons and opted to back out a bit.
"Where is our money?" DanDan said, his tone wasn't the one where you would want to joke around with.
Alice let out a small sigh. "It's currently held within our cart. Don't worry, it's safely guarded. So no thieves aside from us could steal it."
"Of course, we'll return the money to you. No Eris will be in our hands." Alice continued.
"Heh, why are you so willing now? I thought you were notorious for stealing from the nobility and slicing off the throats of guards." DanDan quipped.
It's no lie, Alice knew it too. That was the hunters way after all. "That is true. But, after working with your daughter," She looks at YunYun for a moment before turning back to face them, "I changed my mind. Without her, myself and my comrades would've died a painful death."
"Us giving you back your money, is the best apology we could give."
DanDan closed his eyes, seemingly in thought. Before speaking up again. "Then... We'll gladly take our money back. That's all we really need."
"It's not the crimson demon way, but for such a fine fellow like me, I'll forgive you. Only this time." He ended by giving her a half smirk.
Kazuma rolled his eyes while Alice held a crooked smile. "Thank you. Is there anymore you would like to ask?"
"We will be taking our leave." DanDan said as he stood up. It was clear to Kazuma that this man didn't like extending things as long as he could, and just wanted things to end quickly.
"Then it was a pleasure working with you, DanDan." Alice stood up as well.
"Come on YunYun, let's go home." FuQing went to open the door while DanDan looked at his daughter.
"O-Oh, um, before we go, could I talk to Al- I-I mean, King Hunt for a moment?" YunYun stood up as well.
"Hmm, well, if that's what you want, then I won't interfere." He said, closing his eyes. "But do remember YunYun, Be careful when you talk to someone so nonchalantly. Because you are the daughter of the mighty crimson demon DanDan! The son of the glorious- Okay okay I'll leave!" Sadly, he was cut off as YunYun shoved him out of the door.
She let out a sigh. "Sorry about that." She then closed the door behind her.
Alice ignored it and went straight to the point. "Why did you want to talk to me YunYun?"
"This might be the last time we meet. After this, you'll leave towards Elroad right?"
"Yeah, that's true."
"Thank you." She bowed, her eyes closed.
"Where the hell is this coming from?" Alice was taken back. She couldn't really think of a reason why YunYun was thanking her for.
"This, is for helping us kill the demon earlier. Without you, I don't think me and Kazuma-san would be alive by now." She then stood straight up again, her crimson eyes glistening.
"I-It's no big deal, really. I mean, I was trying to kill you two earlier so..." She didn't think she deserved it, for the reason earlier.
"No, it's fine. At least, I think it is." She scratched her head, even she's not convinced that what Alice did was good. "I appreciate how you've changed your mind about us and gave our money back."
Kazuma smiled. He's very impressed by how formal and articulate YunYun sounded, she's a lot more confident now than what she used to be. "Good job YunYun."
"Um, if it's too much to ask, would you like to come to our village? T-That is if you're not busy!"
Alice chuckled a bit. This girl really was too sweet. "Eh, I guess my team will be fine without me for a couple of hours, so why not." She smiled.
"T-That's great. U-Um, how about we go now? My father is waiting outside."
"Sure." She smiled
They did as she said so. Alice, YunYun and Kazuma all got out of her little shed and we're now in the open. There, DanDan was talking to his secretary. Seems they did so while waiting for his daughter. "Hello father." She greeted.
"Ah, YunYun, you're finally finished."
"YunYun-sama, what took you so long? Your poor father has been waiting for eons. We could've defeated the powerful demon king while we waited for you." FuQing exaggerated. Looks like she too isn't immune to the crimson demon way as well.
"I'm sorry father, I had to talk with the leader."
"What were you two talking about?" He asked.
"If it's no trouble, could she join us in returning to the village? I-I hope it's fine since I really want her to explore our place."
"Are you perhaps inviting her to seek the sacred vows of the crimson demon way?"
"YunYun-sama, our culture is incomprehensible towards simpletons such as her. It would be dangerous to expose her to our secrets."
YunYun, got kinda fed up with this. "I just want her to come with me." Is that too much to ask for?
"Why of course my daughter, it's just that she is the leader of a notorious criminal organisation. Do remember that she and her crew stole nearly all of our money for the village." DanDan, FuQing and the rest of the crimson demons still held negative images towards the Hunts for valid reasons, so YunYun couldn't really fire back.
"I know that, but still..."
"DanDan-san, I promise you I won't do anything rash. It will only be me who is going to your village. My comrades won't be coming with."
"And if you do?" FuQing said cautiously.
"Then you all have every right to attack me."
With a promise like that, it really did seem like she could be trusted. Of course, it didn't completely buy them, they were still skeptical.
"Hmm..." YunYun held her breath in while Alice looked on in contempt
"Fine, you can come with." YunYun let out a sigh of relief, while Alice stayed the same.
"Damn, I really haven't talked a whole lot these past few moments." Kazuma thought.
"Anyways, I believe we should get going. Our people are probably dying of boredom waiting." DanDan suggested.
"We should." YunYun agreed. "Come on, Alice." She whispered to her while holding out her hand.
Alice, was caught off guard by this, but took it anyway. She smiled. "Let's go."
The moment was cut short with FuQing suddenly coming in, "Before we actually do, where is the money?"
Right, Alice forgot to say where it actually was.
To be continued...
Side story 4 : Ferdinand Medium/ Rosalina Alford Part 2
"Ferdinand?" Rose stood there in shock.
"R-Rose... It's really you." He stuttered. "I can't believe it, after so long..." He looked like he was on the verge of tears, clear to everyone that their separation must've been years apart.
Rosalina slowly walked towards him, now ignoring Luna who was still confused by all of this. But decided to stay out of it. "W-Where have you been?"
She asked as she stopped right in front of him.
"I-I've been travelling all over the kingdom, ever since... that day." He slowly drifted off, his eyes closed. Seemingly to not let out any tears that may have formed.
"Oh Ferdinand..." Rosalina then quickly hugged him, she didn't hold back her tears as they slowly fell down.
Ferdinand embraced the hug by wrapping his arms around her body, he too cried as well.
"Uuhhh, who is he?"
Aqua, with Darkness and Megumin, went back to check up on Rosalina who was apparently taking her sweet time paying and couldn't wait for her outside any longer. So they went back in and saw her hugging another man, prompting the question above.
"That's the man who asked us earlier." Darkness immediately recognised his attire that matched the person who asked them earlier about the reception desk. "I'm guessing they're old friends."
"And it looks like they haven't met in a long time." Megumin commented.
All three left the two alone, same goes for the other adventures who oversaw this. Didn't want to bother a sweet moment y'know.
They embraced each other, their tears flowed like a calm river.
Shortly afterwards, Rosalina and Ferdinand were now separated. They wiped away the tears on their cheeks. "Hey uh, wanna grab a drink?" The swordsman asked.
"Hmm? I thought you didn't drink."
"C'mon Rose, that was like, 10 years ago. Times have changed."
"Heh, I guess." She smiled a bit. "Let's go. But before that..." Rosalina then moved past him and went to walk towards the three main girls who were still waiting for her.
"Took you long enough! What's taking you so long?" Aqua asked, rather loudly. She was promptly kicked in the leg by Megumin. "Hey! That was uncalled for you know!"
"What's the matter Rose?" Darkness asked.
"Listen, I'm gonna stay behind for a bit. I'll probably be at the mansion by midnight." She said as she scratched the back of her head. "I need to reconnect with a certain old friend of mine..." She turned her head around to look at him.
Darkness only smiled. "Of course, we understand. Take as much time as you want."
"But, we won't be staying here for too long. So goodbye for now." Darkness finished.
"Yeah don't take too long okay? There's some creeps out here who lurk around late at night so be careful." The mage suggested, probably talking from experience sadly.
"Don't worry Megumin, I'm a tough woman." She smiled confidently.
"Good, then we'll be going now." Darkness, Megumin and Aqua then went on their merry way towards the mansion. "Don't forget to bring back some bubbly!"
Rosalina turned around to look at him. "So, about that drink."
"Heh, show me the place. I just got here."
Right. It must've been the first time he was here in Axel, Rosalina thought. "I know a place."
Now, Ferdinand was sipping down the ale that was given to him by the bartender. Rosalina didn't take her shot yet as she really didn't have the mood to.
Rose saw his adam's apple going up and down as he gulped his beverage. Wait, do they even call it that? Pretty sure Adam and Eve weren't a thing here...
"Wow. Never thought I'd see the day of you downing some ale." She said rather amazed.
He set down the mug on the table. "Well, life takes you places." He responded. "Though, I rarely drink for your information."
"Thought so."
"Anyways, Rose, we've got a lot of catching up to do. I mean, what have you been doing ever since we disbanded?"
Rose turned her head to look at the bottles of alcohol laid on the shelves, her eyes gave a solemn look. "Nothing, really." She sighed.
"When we got separated, I didn't know what to do. Without a proper party, I couldn't do 90% of the quests we usually do. That's when I left Davidson and travelled elsewhere."
"A freelancer I assume."
"Kinda. I still wanted to be in a full party."
Ferdinand sighed as well. "Well, I'm somewhat different."
"What do you mean?"
"Right after that, I decided to freelance. Travelling all over the kingdom, joining a party temporarily if they ever need a vanguard." He took a break by continuing to drink his ale. "Met a lot of good people along the way, and joined a lot of good parties. But I knew in the back of my head that I'll eventually leave them."
"You really stuck to the freelancing deal huh." She commented.
"Heh, guess so."
"Why?"
"Because... Nothing could ever replace our team." He then looked at her with a look that told you he was sad but still happy. Bittersweet really.
Rose gave the same look as well. "Yeah..." Finally, she took a shot of her drink, which was liquor by the way.
"Laurence, Jimmy..."
"Justin." The two began listing off names. "I just wished, I could've spent more time with them..." Ferdinand said.
"Me too."
"Especially Jimmy. He was the one that really brought us all together." Ferdinand smiled a bit, but it quickly turned into a frown. "I still remember that day."
Rose was silent. Her movement suddenly became stiff.
"I remember it so well. How happy we all were in the campfire, laughing. I remember..."
"That day in the dungeon."
To be continued...
Author's note:
Alright, it's been like 2 -3 months now? Can't really remember. Anyways, writing is mega tough now. I really can't find the motivation to write multiple paragraphs in a single day. Like, I have so many ideas, I envision the day where I finally get to write the climax of this arc and other arcs as well. I really really do want to finish this story, But I just couldn't find the motivation to do it.
Now, that is not to say that I'm abandoning it. That is far from the truth. It's just that, if you're waiting for months on a new release, just know that I'm a lazy fuck who couldn't find his motivation to write something down.
Anywho, this chapter isn't really all that exciting. I mean, it is the calm before the storm, so yeah. The next chapter, which is where King Hunt, now Alice, will tour around the village while two new characters will pop up. Trust me, they'll be essential once the climax of this arc hits in the next next chapter.
The chapters will probably be a bit shorter as well, maybe like 6k words or something since I'm planning on doing some cliffhangers. How fun.
Finally, Happy 2nd year anniversary to this book. Never thought it'd be going on for that long but I'm proud of myself.
That's it from me, see you in the next year probably lol.
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps echoed as a person walked down a hallway, the walls were heavily guarded by countless knights. All of whom looked lifeless and cold, their bodies, not even their fingers, moved a single millimeter.
Suddenly, the atmosphere began to dim. It felt hot, but most of all, heavy. It felt like something was pressing down on the person's shoulders.
"Your excellence." They kneeled down, the robe they wore covering their face.
"What is it that brings you here?"
"Our warrior, Lux, succumbed to his demise just earlier."
The person continued. "He had detected a large dose of holy energy near the crimson demon village. Somewhere along the way, he had fought a mysterious foe and died soon after."
"Who killed him?"
"We do not know, your excellence. What we do know is that, a warrior has emerged in the crimson demon village, and is powerful enough to kill one of our finest warriors."
"...Hmm... "
"...Has the hero arrived?" The cloaked person look at his leader in confusion. He too didn't understand what he was saying.
"Tell the other demons to get ready. We will be launching a swift attack soon on the village..."
"I will bring forth the order, your excellence." The person stood on their feet and quickly walked away, their face dripped with sweat.
"So it isn't a coincidence, a hero has finally come to the world."
"I hope that you don't disappoint me, Hero."