Seto landed back on school grounds with Dartz leaning heavier on him, and he decided to levitate the man in front of him instead, wondering why the headmaster was so uncomposed all of a sudden.
Was it another test? Or had it been that long since he'd drank some good elf-made wine?
Shaking his head to himself, he made sure to keep Dartz's body steadily above eye level so that his hair wouldn't touch the dirt. It was eerie, seeing such a large man floating before him in the dark, his teal hair glowing in the moonlight, and just as Seto passed the dorms, he saw many tiny faces peeking out at him before vanishing. Yikes. Better hide the headmaster so the kids wouldn't see—
"What's wrong with him?" Seto heard a familiar voice echo from behind him, and it was the tiger-eared girl standing on the path in her pajamas.
"He's drunk. Go back to bed," Seto replied gruffly, hastily taking longer strides back into the headmaster's office, his ears burning when he noticed Anja peering curiously at them from the field, her eyes glowing in the distance. Yeah this was definitely some sort of sick, twisted test Dartz had concocted for 'his image' or something.
After maneuvering Dartz's tall body in through the narrow door, he swept the clutter of his items back into his bag with another swish of his hand, and plopped Dartz down on the bed unceremoniously.
He drew the blinds on second thought and turned to leave, his heart skipped a terrified beat when Dartz's image flickered, and he watched with fearful trepidation at the way long, curved horns appeared on the headmaster's head, touching the headboard with a slight thunk!
Seto raised his hand and hastily levitated the drunk headmaster lower onto the small bed, noting the way dark claws spouted from his fingertips and the ears moved higher up along the sides of his face and widened. Well….shit. It wasn't permanent. When he slept…his consciousness wouldn't hold the mirage. Or was it because Dartz was drunk and he was showing this as a consequence?
Either way, I'm not safe anywhere other than here, Seto thought dryly as he shut the door, locked it with a level 800 spell and locked the other door connecting the office to a classroom with a spell. Everything was secured. Now he could sleep.
Letting out an irritated sigh, Seto glanced at the small desk and resigned himself to sleeping in it, thinking he always slept sitting upright anyway, doing it again for one night wouldn't faze him.
He sank into the tiny seat and laid his head down in his arms, suddenly exhausted.
What a fucking day…and night.
Hopefully Yami was having a safe night in prison…
Yami was wide awake, fighting the effects of the draining collar while his mind raced. He'd asked the queen spider several cells down if she'd heard of a High Priest Seto from the Forest of Cane, and she said no.
No one had ever heard of this priest.
Which meant the priest was an extremely recluse elf, or was a young elf, newly matured.
But if he was out 'doing good' to earn the title of a crown prince, why hadn't other creatures of the forest heard of him? Surely the queen spider would've heard…something…
I wanted to appraise him so badly! Yami lamented as he rested his head against the wall, pulling out the questing scroll for the Healing Spring and unfurling it with dread.
223/500.
The numbers had jumped up significantly.
If he wasn't pardoned before the quest capped out, he wouldn't be able to withdraw.
I could try deserting the quest in the middle, Yami thought before he changed his mind. That would be a bad idea because it directly violated his mage contract with the districts, and it would land him right back in jail. This was irritating to the highest degree.
He closed his eyes and tried to tell himself that it was fine. Anja was safe. She'd been saved. He needed to hear that irritating elf priest say her name when they met, then he'd truly be at ease.
Seto woke up the next morning to Dartz shaking him and placing a plate of food before him with a wide smile.
"Morning, Seto. Eat up. You'll need it," he said, and he walked out of the room gracefully, his hair floating behind him.
Seto sat up groggily and realized…his feet didn't touch the floor because he'd shrunk back into his child's body. GREAT. That also explained why his hands were swimming in the large sleeves of the kimono he'd made yesterday. The real materials held.
But his own image had faded when he slept. Dammit.
He sat back into the chair and felt a metal necklace thump down around his neck and he lifted it off, annoyed to discover that it was the head circlet he'd been wearing from the ceremony yesterday.
Seto set it aside gently and wiggled out of the large clothes, sitting in his undergarments and eating silently, his mind racing. He needed to trick everyone into thinking Demon Lord Seto was a cool, handsome, tall, threatening, menacing adult.
Where could he do that that wasn't here?!
He popped the last grape in his mouth and climbed off the chair, opening his pack to pull out the contents again, deciding to make himself another set of elf robes so he could travel into the safe town…to buy intimidating clothes for his demon self. Yeah. That would work.
Using the last roll of robes and the silk blanket to make himself a set of comfortable hakama trousers, matching it with a silvery, light, haori with a ginko pattern, and then he used the mage's robe into a form-fitting turtleneck top for comfort underneath. There.
This was now all of his clothes.
He managed to stretch the cloak out enough to make arm-sleeves that extended into half-gloves, the pointed hood of the cloth connecting at where the center of his palm would be, and Seto shrugged and accepted it.
No waste. Using it all.
Taking a deep breath, he stood in front of the mirror and recited quietly to himself, watching his reflection in the mirror change dramatically. He shot upwards with a growth spurt, his horns only adding to his height, and Seto ducked instinctively, thinking the tips did almost scrape the low ceiling. So he fixated on his naked reflection one last time and grew his hair out after a long moment of staring, hearing Dartz's footsteps coming down the hall, so he threw the clothes on with magic, hastily tying the sash around his waist the moment he heard the door open.
"Ah, and you're all ready again," Dartz said with a pleasant smile, his teeth white, straight, and even. "Did you like the little extra lesson at the end of last night? Careful who you're with when you're at the end of your mana. They might end up turning against you the moment they see your horns."
Seto grit his teeth and said nothing, pulling his boots on over his thighs and inspecting his imposing reflection, flexing his un-clawed hands in the palm-sleeved gloves he'd made to cover his palms and the backs of his hands.
"Hoping to cover the method of your casting?" Dartz said with a gleam in his two-colored eyes, noticing Seto's clever gloves. "Anyone with a trained eye who isn't human can see right through that trick."
"Not trying to trick anyone who isn't human," Seto replied shortly, giving his hair a few tugs and levitating the golden beads up into the loose braids he tied carelessly with magic. Hassle.
Dartz nodded kindly and handed him yet another scroll, and Seto's eyelid twitched, fed up with it, but he accepted it and opened it, his eyes glazing over at the tiny text that looked like…legal script. What the fuck was this?!
"Translate," Seto hissed as Dartz explained happily, "this is for Anja to become an independent creature in the safe town, because she is now capable of 'work', this will grant her a safe stay…at your innkeeper's half-tavern."
Seto nodded and snapped the scroll shut, his heart skipping a beat at the thought of Mai murdering Dartz for saying that her bar was a half-tavern when she cared more for the tavern part than the inn part.
"Good luck," Dartz said quietly, moving to sit at his desk to pull out a mirror and preening himself with an air of indifference. "If you need a safe place to sleep, you may always return here for the night. Otherwise, if you will be at the tavern tomorrow night, I will portal you your Mage's release form. I submitted your petition scroll today. We should hear back soon."
Seto clenched his fists at his sides and steeled himself to ask, "what do you want?"
Dartz didn't look at him and continued to brush his hair. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean!" Seto cried, his chest tightening with irritation. "Why are you helping me so much? You want something in return! And you've let Bakura 'drop out'? Do you want me to check on him in the safe town? Bring him back? What is it?"
Dartz looked thoughtful for a moment before he gave Seto a solemn look and replied with supreme calmness, "I can't say what I want other than to watch you succeed much more than I have. I hope you will grant me some sort of freedom. I'm not sure yet what that entails, but I know that your success will be a good thing indeed."
Seto tried not to let the words affect him as he nodded, and tucked the scroll away in his pockets, pointing at his knapsack with a manicured finger, "I'll leave my stuff here."
Dartz nodded and waved over his shoulder dismissively, "you're fine, Seto. Enjoy your travel."
Seto swept out of the room and felt his head rush at the way his robes wished around his ankles, and he dared to enjoy it as he made his way out to the large field where Anja was sunbathing by herself with her eyes closed and her wings flat at her sides.
"Hey—" Seto checked himself and had to put up the 'elf act', so he bowed deeply and said, "it would be a great honor if you'd allow me to ride with you to the safe town. I have a certificate for you here…" he pulled the scroll out with a flourish and waved it before tucking it away again. "For your safe stay at Mai's Inn."
The dragon opened her eyes and stared at him silently, appraising him, and Seto stood his ground, trying not to sweat, blink, or swallow nervously when he felt it. As a child, he never felt her appraising him, but now…in a larger body, he could feel the warm wind rushing from her, which he assumed was her wings, but they weren't moving.
So it was a silent but powerful appraisal.
Anja stared at the name that came up above the elf's head.
Crown Prince [title pending] High Elf Priest Seto
"Congratulations on your crowning, Prince," Anja said emptily, glancing at the buildings over the elf's shoulders, wondering if she could see her Seto and this Seto standing together, just to make absolutely sure they were different creatures. Demons were known to be expert shapeshifters, but no one could change official statuses in a…night, could they?!
"If I'm not allowed to ride on your back," Seto's eyelid twitched as he realized she still didn't fully trust him. "I will gladly meet you there. I am, after all, your way in."
To his relief, the dragon nodded with regal resignation and lowered her head, allowing him to climb up and swing his long leg over the saddle and sink into the seat, levitating the buckles around him and smiling when he noticed the children had braided her hair neatly and had added strips of cloth ribbons to extend the tufts that had been cut. It was sweet.
"They did an amazing job. You're very pretty," Seto praised, giving her neck a pat and feeling her freeze in distrust again.
Shit. Of course the dragon couldn't be fooled.
"I am pretty, thank you," she replied fluidly as she took flight with a magnificent beat of her wings, and Seto's head rushed again when the wind whipped his hair around, and he had to cast a stilling spell around himself to prevent his hair from going everywhere. This hair was a waste of fucking magic. If his level wasn't so high, he'd be pissed about it.
Anja flew silently into the clouds, her neck tingling with a familiar warmth from the touch, and she kept her thoughts to herself. When Seto returned from his quest, she would know. After all, Mage Atem had changed his name too and behaved similarly, insisting his name was Yami in the past few centuries.
Spotting a familiar dirt path and the outskirts of the safe town, Anja landed with a quiet swish of her wings at the edge of the trees and let the elf lead her by the reins, gently walking her to the line where all the creatures were standing in to go inside, and immediately, they caught the attention of a burly half-ogre.
"Pretty dragon," the creature grunted, his eyes gleaming in the harsh afternoon sun. "What's her name?"
"She'll tell you…if she wants," Seto replied calmly, but inside, he was irritated. Could they please fucking go in without being harassed, or commented on? That would be a miracle.
The half-ogre grunted at him and the line moved up a few paces before the creature turned around to ask with another glint in his eye, "Is she an Ancient Fairy Dragon?"
Seto clenched his jaw and mustered up a kind smile. "Yes."
"Mount of the Demon Lord?" The half-ogre pressed, and Seto's heart skipped a solid beat.
Um. N…o?
"I know nothing of her mount status," Seto replied evenly, keeping his voice polite. "But I loyally serve…the Demon Lord."
The line inched forward and the ogre stayed standing in his spot, gaping at the dragon and the High Elf, raising his voice to declare, "I am here to sign up for the Demon Lord's army. Seeing the dragon for myself and knowing he has a High Elf's support makes me happy!" He grinned a wide, toothy grin and turned around to lumber forward, joining his group of travelers to let the hybrid creature guards run the magical wand over his body.
Stunned, Seto snapped out of it and strode forward to raise his arms gracefully, feeling Anja tense behind him in anxiety.
"High Elf…?" The guard with a kangaroo head bowed, his eyes beady as he waited for the elf to produce a safe town ID, but instead, a scroll for the dragon appeared, and the elf didn't even introduce himself.
"I'm here for her," Seto said earnestly, listening to their thoughts and knowing they were sizing him up. "I was told another Ancient Fairy Dragon was allowed to stay here, so please grant this one asylum too."
The guards shared a nervous look and held their hands up defensively, the one on the left nearly dropping his security wand as he stammered, "w-we don't know anything about granting asylum. You must submit the scroll in at the Town Hall."
And Seto caught their frantic thoughts leaking.
"….HUGE! The other one was way smaller I think! And that one left!"
"At least this one isn't damaged like the other one, but this elf wants to take it inside instead of leaving her in the waiting area by the outskirts?"
"Town Hall, thank you." Seto said easily, slipping the scroll back into his sleeve and carefully tugging Anja's reins with a gentle smile. "What should I do…? I can't leave her unattended outside…she's been on the back of too many smugglers carts. Could you allow us in together? I'll personally accept responsibility for anything that might go wrong—not that anything will."
And Seto lowered his head respectfully, knowing this would freak them out.
Not many high elves entered this safe town based on his own memory, and when they did, they arrived in big groups, in pairs, or riding in carriages. They were never alone. Damn it.
Dartz was actually good for his image. He was breaking the elves-always-travel-in-pairs rule.
"V-Very well…I need your ID," the guard with the pig's head said quietly, holding his hooved hand out for a card, and Seto panicked for one second before he realized he could do magic. So he reached into his pocket for the location card Dartz had handed him last night and cast a high-level illusion on it, making sure to include his Crown Prince title.
Sure enough, the two guards fell to their knees the second they read his card and shakily handed it back to him with two hands respectfully held over their heads.
"No need for that," Seto said with a smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "You've been so kind already." He stepped past them and heard their frantic thoughts echoing behind him as he led Anja into the main road, their shouting all blending together in his mind so much that it made him wince.
"A crown prince is entering our town! He might leave us money!
"Did I bow correctly?"
"A HIGH ELF PRINCE with an Ancient Dragon Fairy mount?!"
"Whoa, dragon coming through….!"
"ANJA?! THAT'S NOT—WHO IS THAT?!"
Seto heard Mai's voice shrieking distinctly in the din, and he blinked rapidly, scanning the busy street and seeing no one that looked like her. Weird.
MAI! …MISS MAI! Anja cried in her mind and tugged to the left, nearly tearing the reins out of Seto's hand, so he followed her down a narrow alleyway with people beginning to part for them.
Anja was cramming herself into the tiny space, folding her wings up and delicately stepping around the stands that were at her knees, and people were running for cover, cowering and yelling, "Mai! Your dragon! Get it out of here!"
MISS MAI! I've returned! Anja exclaimed joyfully as she stopped with an earth-shaking crash in the middle of the stony alleyway, her wings knocking into some people's open windows as she craned her neck down to smile at the elf who was working at a stand, holding two meat skewers, gazing up at her with tearful, violet eyes.
"A-Anja…is that you?!" Mai whispered, tossing the skewers aside to climb over the grill to give the dragon an enormous hug, sobbing and apologizing. "I stink! I'm sorry! I know you hate this smell! Oh my baby girl! I missed you too! How did—"
Mai saw the High Elf standing stoically by Anja's tail, loosely holding reins that were attached to a beautiful riding seat on Anja's back that had clearly been custom dwarf-designed especially for her, and her swelling relief turned into cold fear.
Based on this guy's elegant, neat robes that might be pure spider's silk worth more than one of Anja's claw clippings…he looked like he'd be a prick.
Seto blinked and hoped he'd receive a better welcome than a wash of cold disdain and suspicion from Mai. They were now both the same species… Should she trust him more? And deep down, Seto knew it didn't work like that.
"Let's get you…back to your bed, hm?" Mai decided to ignore the High Elf and talked telepathically to Anja instead, "baby girl, is this guy dangerous? Has he been riding you? Did he register you as his mount against your will? Come, this way! Follow me!"
"Watch my station!" Mai shouted to the chubby gnomes behind her who were still peeking up from underneath their tables at the dragon, and they nodded weakly.
The dragon lumbered through the tiny alleyway and around a corner, across another wide street, drawing more stares, gasps and even friendly waves, to which Anja raised a claw back at the creatures who looked relieved to see her.
Seto followed with as much distance as he could manage, dropping the reins to avoid more attention, but a small lion-headed girl ran forward to pick it up for him and smiled shyly before running away to her mother at the curbside.
Wh-What the fuck….
It was only two months ago when he was being trampled by people in these streets, and now they were treating him like royalty.
Mai grit her teeth and rubbed Anja's arm repeatedly for her own comfort, her heart pounding with nervous fear as she dared to peek at the High Elf in one of the store window reflections.
He was wearing a polished, golden circlet with a flat, rectangular embellishment off to one side, indicating royalty–Crown Prince to be exact, and that terrified her even more. Those elves were notoriously snobby, priding themselves on 'doing good' and needing to be validated for it at every turn.
The main challenge was getting him to leave Anja here and unregister her as his mount.
At least she was safe. Yami would be happy to know this in the next letter she'd write.
They walked in through another alleyway beside the tavern which looked empty, and Mai shoved the back fence open with her shoulder, feeling Anja stepping gracefully over the bevel which she usually tripped on, and went straight to the giant shed to inspect the door that had been splintered to shreds.
Seto stood in the gateway of the wooden fence, horrified by the scenes of violence scattered all over the usually neat yard.
The clay pots that held her herbs had been smashed, with little attempt made to clean up.
There was a blood stain on the fence beside Anja's shed, and the lush grass that Mai so lovingly kept watered for Anja to lay on was patchy, dark, and dried.
W-Wow… Hellish.
"Okay thanks. You can go now," she turned to face the High Elf with her arms crossed defensively, hating how much he looked like the rich and delicate Fae that was born and raised in the branches of Yggdrasil.
"I can't leave her yet," Seto nodded at the yard, but Mai misunderstood him and went hostile immediately.
"She doesn't belong to you…or me," Mai snapped, moving to stand protectively in front of Anja, casting an appraisal before the High Elf could act. "Appraise!"
Oh shit, Seto clenched his fist lightly before relaxing it, feeling a hot wind blast him in the face, and Mai's eyes widened as she read his name.
"High Priest…Seto?" She tilted her head suspiciously and took a step back towards Anja to cover her. "And a Crown Prince? Well, Mr. Fancy, since you have so much money, you can leave her here with me."
"That's the plan. She misses you," Seto said stiffly, reaching into his sleeve to pull out the scroll but she held her hand up warningly with a ball of fire glowing in her palm, "don't even think about it! I'll burn you!"
Seto blinked slowly and retracted his hand from his sleeve, holding the scroll defensively in one hand, aware that his struggle to earn her trust was another uphill climb.
"These are registration papers," he said softly, wishing he could snap and curse in his head the way he usually did, but he couldn't, knowing she might read his mind. "I need your seal of approval as her registered guardian, and the address of…this place." He nodded at the tavern's crumbling roof, eyeing the upstairs window for a brief second before turning back to her with a tense smile.
She glared at him and materialized a pen in her free hand, holding her fireball in the other, still distrustful as she nodded and yanked the scroll out of his hand with magic, levitating it in front of her face while reading the fine print. Her heart calmed down a bit when she noticed the scroll had been stamped with two other seals belonging to one Crown Princess Kisara, and a High Elf Headmaster Dartz. It looked…legit.
How did this guy do it? Also, he shared the name of a certain bratty demon.
Mai lowered her pen and didn't sign it yet, staring into the High Elf's face, taking in his sloping cheekbones, his handsome jaw and his narrowed, almond-shaped eyes, framed nicely with one thick braid hanging down to his shoulder while the rest of his light brown hair flowed gracefully down his shoulders and back, sweeping the very tops of his knee-high boots, secured at the end with a tasseled leather tie and three golden beads.
There was no way this was that Seto.
But his eyes were clear blue, the same icy color Seto had…
She knows. I'm fucked. She knows, Seto thought frantically as he mustered up the most professional smile he could and even shut his eyes while smiling. "Please. I'll even add my seal on there if you're hesitant. She's a tame dragon, I assure you—"
"You don't have to tell me that, jerk. She's mine!" Mai insisted, her cheeks pink as she felt Anja rustling behind her silently, listening to them fight. "What do you want? Guys like you don't do things for free."
She's right, Seto replied mildly as he said, "Let me clean up your yard. That bloodstain is really putting me off." And he didn't wait for permission before he raised two fingers up to cast a well-aimed cleaning spell on the fence, melting the dark stain off the wood. There. Holy fuck. And these herb pots too.
He stepped aside to piece them together with magic, slowly pulling the shards together and sweeping the contents back inside with a swish of his arm. Done. Kinda clean.
"Oh, the grass," Seto said conversationally, and was about to cast another regeneration spell when Mai blocked him firmly, her magic seal flooding the feet beneath her and even giving him a tiny headache. Oh shit. She was really powerful…
"Okay, show off," Mai said icily, deciding to test the elf. "Where did you find my dragon and why did she let you ride her? She hates strangers."
Seto opened his mouth to explain that she was healed, completely, but Mai barreled over him, sounding hysterical now, and he even caught a tiny tear curling down her cheek before she brushed it away to continue ranting at him, "and who do you think you are, barging in here as a-a…Crown Prince while pulling her along on a leash?! Why do you look exactly like a little baby demon I know who is also named Seto? Explain that, you…prick!"
"I'm not sure which question I should answer first," Seto said conversationally, mimicking Dartz's noncommittal tone as he passed his hand down his braid with a casual air. "But yes, I gladly serve Demon Lord Seto as I told the half-ogre outside. Now please sign the form. I must be on my way—"
Mai, Miss Mai, Anja spoke up quietly behind the elf, and Mai waved her hand behind her, "not now darling. Mommy's busy. I'll hug you again when this guy leaves with his seal on the paper."
"Demon Lord?" Mai repeated icily, vanishing the scroll and crossing her arms with a huff. "This isn't funny. Close the gate."
Seto shrugged delicately and tucked his arm behind him to levitate the gate closed while Mai wove an impressive barrier spell around them before she talked again.
"Who are you really? And what's this nonsense about Demon Lords?" Mai asked, her eyes slightly fearful. "I heard… I heard things…"
Unsure if he should be surprised, Seto asked genuinely while Anja eyed him beadily from behind Mai, "What have you heard?"
"That …a couple of creatures…" Mai hesitated before spilling in a rush, "are recruiting for a Demon Lord's army. No one took them seriously until a band of mute smugglers arrived in town to beg someone to unweave a muffling spell which, by the way, took me three days to pick apart! And the first thing they said was … the Demon Lord had stolen their entire cargo train!"
Seto dared to feel a twinge of pride. Three days huh?
"Yeah, focus here, pretty boy! Away from castwork and at the main problem. A Demon Lord," Mai said frostily, keeping her arms tightly crossed while she observed the elegant elf. "Which you apparently serve. Traitor. Or not. I'm still trying to decide."
"Yes." Seto replied calmly, hoping he didn't have to elaborate further, but Mai pushed, as she always did.
"What did he look like?" She asked in a dangerously sweet voice. "Little baby demon with shattered horns? Blue eyes? Brown hair? Is he…you?"
Seto smiled triumphantly. Dartz had prepared him for this.
He threw his head back and laughed loudly, even clutching his sides to sell the act and even stumbling back a bit, gasping and daring to act a bit uncomposed while he kept forcing laughter out of his throat until it burned.
Mai frowned sourly, her heart sticking to the back of her throat. Yeah, this was not…her Seto. This was definitely a High Elf raised in the branches of Yggdrasil and had never seen a slum before in his life, because he was wearing dragonhide riding boots while riding a dragon.
Talk about the tone deaf rich.
"I-I…can't…believe…!" Seto gasped and tapped a finger to the corner of his eye, covering his face politely with his other hand as he choked back another laugh. "S-Sorry…maiden, I apologize for… Well, that is the funniest thing I have heard this millennia."
He composed himself to his full height and said proudly, "The Demon Lord is a foreboding but kind man, with the features you described, yes. He towers over me, with horns about this high," Seto made a flat gesture with his hand over his own head, ducking up to look at the invisible figure and nodded. "I could even make a mirage of him for you if you'd like to see him."
"Please," Mai said icily, having found a modicum of manners after politely being addressed as a maiden.
Seto nodded and conjured up the image of himself he'd seen in the mirror and added the plain black shirt he'd worn the other night, combining the images and stepping back to cast the illusion of himself.
A man almost 203cm towered in the space before them, grinning handsomely and reaching his hand out for a friendly shake before backing away respectfully with his palms outstretched, and Seto even made his mirage sit down on the ground and begin eating a bowl of soup he'd remembered having back at camp.
The expression on Mai's face was priceless.
She was gaping at the adult-sized Seto, laughing, talking to invisible people, holding a bowl of soup at a camp establishment somewhere, smiling handsomely, showing off his fully grown fangs, and horns! His horns were so large, sweeping back over his short brown hair, they looked terrifying. But it was definitely her Seto…in the mirage.
"You met him…" Mai gasped, unable to stomach the image and she looked away, wondering what she would tell Yami. "How did he… I mean, where?! Where was that? You ate together?! You made camp together?!"
"Forest of Cane, I'll pinpoint on a map if you'd like," Seto said with a delicate shrug and then nodding, stealing Kisara's story, "I was helping relocate a few displaced gnome camps after cleaning up the River of Arcana with a couple of friends—oh, the Crown Princess, Kisara. She was there with me, it was her idea after all."
Speechless, Mai could only nod, and nod again. She could feel Anja nudging her elbow insistently, but she couldn't react. Yami would be heartbroken to find out that Seto had managed to age himself up. Well, not a surprise. That little brat was tenacious…
But now she had a face to the name. The Demon Lord army recruiting in soft whispers around town was actually an army Seto was building… For what though?
Mai cleared her throat and pulled the scroll out to sign it with a shaky hand, levitating it back to the High Elf and finally finding her voice.
"What's he fighting against?" She asked, hoping the answer wasn't 'humans', because they didn't need another world war. "And why is he recruiting in this town? Are you a general then? Or aiming to be one?"
So many questions, again, Seto thought sourly as he gripped the scroll and stuck it back in his sleeve with a faint headshake, feeling his hair swishing around his cheeks.
"I couldn't tell you. But I'm devoted to him and when he calls on me, I will assist," Seto said firmly, nodding formally at Mai and edging to the gate exit, hoping to leave. "I didn't know they were recruiting in this town. I'll ask him if I see him again. I'm God's messenger, not the Demon Lord's, unless he wishes it…of course."
I'm full of contradictions! Shut up! Seto lowered his head in a bow and turned to push the fence open, breaking through her barrier spell with ease and hearing her gasp in surprise, but he swept his robes up around his legs and hurried out of the alleyway, running right into a creature by the entrance, and he had to catch himself from falling over.
"S-Sorry!" The half-ogre squeaked, backing away from the High Elf and bowing, surprised to receive one in return, the elf didn't seem to mind having gotten the bottom of his robes dirty with a large footprint he'd made by accidentally stepping on him… Oops.
Seto cast a cleaning spell across the lower hem of his robes, glancing up to see that it was the half-ogre from the smugglers camp, and his eyes widened, seeing flyers in his knobbly hands. Hey… A familiar face. He glanced at the flyers again, seeing horns drawn over an Elvish character, and his blood boiled.
The culprit for recruiting!
The half-ogre turned to dash away, and Seto called out after him, "wait! Are you… You serve the Demon Lord, don't you?" And his voice drew many, many…many stares. Everyone stopped in their walking to stare. He was fucked.
Raising his hand awkwardly to wave, Seto smiled and walked down the sidewalk to catch the half-ogre who was gaping at him with his mouth open, shaking his head furiously and shoving the flyers messily behind his back, stammering, "I dunno! I dunno what you're talking about!"
"Come here! We need to talk somewhere private!" Seto snarled, grabbing the half-ogre by the hand and pulling him back up the street into Mai's tavern. The door was locked, and he rattled it, giving it a few knocks before another familiar face opened it, and Bakura gaped at him, at his hair hanging artfully down from the sides of his face, also fixed with the same, golden beads. His eyes darted to the matching beads in their hair, and whispered, "S…SETO?!"
The half-ogre sensed an opening pried his hand out of the elf's grip to run away, disappearing through the crowd and dropping a flyer behind him in his haste.
Shocked, Seto picked up the flyer and waved it in Bakura's face, "what is the meaning of this?! Are you behind it?!"
Bakura's brown eyes widened in terror as he tried to shut the door in his face, but Seto stuck his foot in and barged inside, meeting a tight, security barrier, but the moment it flashed across his eyes, constricting his breath, he remembered Mai's password.
"Imei" or something. And a moon cat?
"Imei," Seto growled, and the crushing feeling vanished, followed by a bright spot of lights shining harshly down on him from above, and he added, "moon cat." And the light faded, revealing to him the inside of a deserted, dark inn that looked like it hadn't seen a customer in a long time.
Uh oh. Was business bad?
Bakura merely stood there gaping at him, shaking his head and pushing him back out, "you are not allowed in here without a warrant! MAI! COME QUICK! ….Marik, HIDE! It's a High official—"
"It's me, you idiot!" Seto clamped a hand down on Bakura's mouth to shut him up, his hands shaking when he heard footsteps rushing from the back garden, followed by the door being thrown open, and Mai appeared behind the bar, disheveled with her cheeks oddly wet, looking like she'd been crying.
She glared at the High Elf who was obviously fighting Bakura, and raised her hand furiously to cast in his direction and shouted, "Get…Out!" But Bakura turned around frantically to shake his head, making a dramatic X across his chest, "He's a friend! He was with us at the smugglers camp! I told you someone would bring Anja back…? Is she…back?"
"ANJA'S BACK?!" Marik raced down the steps and skidded to a halt when he noticed a District High Elf in an aggressive pose, with his hand wrapped around Bakura's wrist while Bakura's fist was tucked weakly underneath the man's sharp chin, and he blinked fearfully. What was happening…?
"You didn't mention a High Elf Priest traveling with you," Mai said icily, narrowing her eyes prettily, "and I only let you two goons stay because you said she'd be back. She's back now. You guys can leave."
"The camp was…full of so many injured creatures, why would I mention someone healthy?!" Bakura insisted, realizing he had to cover for Seto in order for him to keep his high status, otherwise Mai recognizing him would shatter it, wasting all his hard work.
"Yeah…" Marik chorused, wondering why Bakura was lying for the official, but he'd learned to ask the questions later. "Don't kick us out. We only just got here."
Mai ground her teeth and watched the High Elf release Bakura and wave a dirt-covered flyer in his face. "What the hell is this?!"
"You're not a priest! You just cursed!" Mai said triumphantly, eager to pick the Elf apart, but the man shot back with supreme ease and a sharp look through clear blue eyes, "I'm already saved. It's not my cursing or any sin I may commit that will damn me when God already has my soul."
Okay, script fanatic, Mai thought anxiously as she fanned herself, feeling herself sweat.
This guy was so…irritating!
"Does he now?" Bakura jeered, poking Seto in the chest but getting a fistful of flyer under his nose.
"Are you recruiting for this so-called Demon Lord's army?!" Seto cried, on the brink of losing it. Why were people going around forming an army under his name? That wasn't the fucking plan!
"No. Look at us. Do we look like recruiters?" Bakura huffed, gesturing at the dark, dusty tables in the tavern. "It's that moth-headed man and the half-ogre. They're bringing their friends into town too, waiting for the Demon Lord to come in and give them orders. Read the flyer before you come shouting at me, you pompous ass."
Seto swallowed thinly and translated the flyer with a glance, his anxiety rising.
[RECRUTTING -for the DEMON LORD army-]
THE DEMON LORD IS KIND AND POWERFUL. (crude horns drawing)
He will protect you and provide for you if you serve under him.
He has gold and will pay you a wage! You will live well!
2 members already have 15 gold for pledging their service! And you can too!
Live safely with us in the Town of Lepidoptera!
COME TO :cart number 120-Z, row 16 at double sunset to receive more details!
Seto shook as he gripped the flyer harder and resisted the urge to burn it to a crisp.
This sounded like a scam, and people were falling for it?!
And they'd spelled recruiting wrong.
Did they want to add the number 666 after the drawing of horns to sell it some more?!
Fucking A…
"See? Not us," Bakura waved over his shoulder with a shrug. "Are you staying the night, Crown Prince? How's headmaster Dartz? Is he angry with me?"
Mai watched this interaction with a sharp eye, trying to decipher the power imbalance, the trick, the twist, and why would the headmaster elf be angry with Bakura, a human?
"No, he didn't ask about you at all, so you're off the hook," Seto said flatly, sighing and folding the flyer into his pocket to deal with it later. "Yes. I'd like a room. Innkeeper." He turned to give her a smile and saw her tense defensively.
"We only house non-magic-performing creatures in this establishment," she said coolly, pointing at the door. "Go sleep in a silk bed somewhere else. Mine are all infested."
"Then I can help clean, for a fee of course," Seto replied calmly, knowing this was the way to deal with Mai. "You are putting a guest at work. What kind of cruel establishment are you running here?"
Mai set her jaw and felt a rush of…something hot bubble up and make her ears burn. This guy…! He sounded so high and mighty. He needed to be knocked off his high branch—literally.
"Good. Then you can sweep, take out the garbage, cook for Anja, and clean all the upstairs rooms, and this room," she said, nodding at the empty tables covered with layers of dust. "For one night's stay. Only. Roll your sleeves up, Prince. Get ready to get dirt under your fingernails."
Knew it, Seto growled as he smiled widely and replied, "As long as your signature clears on the scroll, I will be on my way faster than an exorcised Kamaitachi."
What the fuck? Bakura snickered, but Mai remained mildly shocked, hiding it well as she circled around the bar and held her hand out for the scroll.
"I'll submit it, and because I'll be faster. You clean. I'll stand in line," she said sweetly, and Seto smiled back with equal sweetness as he pressed the scroll into her palm, watching her float out the door, only to slam it behind her loudly while the wards knitted together back in place.
He stood there in the awkward silence with Marik and Bakura gazing at him listlessly before Bakura broke the silence first and said, "well. Thanks for bringing breakfast up for me tomorrow, housekeeping. Oh, there's a nasty bunch of rotten herbs in the pantry. Go fix that!"
He walked up the steps and Marik gave him a nervous grimace before following, and Seto bit back a sigh, preparing himself to use up all his magic to clean up the tavern.
Shaking his sleeves back, he pulled the leather tie up from the bottom of his ponytail and bunched his hair up high, ready to slave away for Mai. Again.
Nothing had changed, really.
Author's note:
Seto returns anja to the safe town and receives surprises in many forms.