“My, my, Miss Aspara, why do you have to leave those three behind together with Princess Meriyal?” Mika teasingly said towards Aspara who marches in the middle of the city with loud, thumping stomps.

“There’s someone who is after her life, I can’t ignore that. If she dies, the very bridge of the Kerias and Breille’s treaty will crumble together with my plans.” Aspara said without turning her head towards Mika.

“However, you looked pretty concerned. Have you taken a liking of her company?” He asked with a soft and gentle smile. “Perhaps, you just cared for her.” he added.

“…Don’t be ridiculous, Madam. I’ve met tons of people in my life and she is just one of those people that will come and go.” Aspara said with a low tone that seems cold but at the same time, very sad.

“Does she…remind you of someone you knew in the past?” Mika asked with timidity as to not delve deeper than what he can bite.

“…I’m sorry. I am uncomfortable with this talk…let’s stop please.” She said with a voice that sounded like crumbling with a cry.

Mika didn’t say anything after that. He just followed Aspara’s figure within the crowd of people. He knew that pursuing the topic further is not the right time and won’t benefit their situation. Not to mention that it may agitate her right now.

“Anyway, Madam, where’s Eiru?” Aspara asked as she remembers about him.

“Eh? Now that you mentioned it…” Mika said with a troubled smile as he turns his head around trying to look for Eiru. “Did he perhaps…gotten lost?” he added

“That’s not good. Shall we search for him? I can use my magic but not here. We are going to stand out.” Aspara suggested as she starts walking away.

“I think you stand out pretty much enough.” Like what Mika said, Aspara stands out even among the crowd as her appearance alone allures men and women alike. Every single time she passed by someone, their heads will sway to her direction.

However, as Mika said that, they also noticed that the crowd’s attention was parted from them and from an afar distance, the people also made a way. From a distance, Mika and Aspara immediately noticed a group of people walking towards them.

Among those group of people includes a short figure wearing a completely shaded armor, a black knight, a man wearing a hood but the shine on his eyes illuminates a velvet color, a normal guard, and lastly, a girl.

The girl has two different eye colors which compose of red right eyes and green left eyes. Her silky and long blond hair sways beautifully and her clothes are noticeably flashy and if not, attractive. The atmosphere around her can be said to be of arrogance. Her breasts are almost on par with Aspara and a little taller than her.

“Oh? Mika! We’ve found you!” said by the hooded man who approached Mika.

“Ah, is that you Falikh?!” Mika exclaimed.

“Shhh! We are trying to cover ourselves. Don’t say my name aloud like that.” Falikh said with a gesture as he looks around.

“Okay…are you serious?” Mika asked with raised eyebrows as he turns his head towards the watching crowd. “You guys stand out more necessary than you think.” He added.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Hey, this black knight over here…don’t tell me…” Aspara said as she pointed at the menacing knight that stares at her. “Is this that shorty Reysha…?” she frankly inquires.

“You don’t fail on being rude every single damn time we meet.” Reysha just said with a tired sigh.

“Another Einhart to ruin my day!” Aspara said like she was cussing.

“Another? You mean my sisters are here?!” Reysha exclaimed and asked with a panicking tone.

“Yeah, Ersha Einhart and Yrsha Einhart. Those two are here to act as Arytorio’s escorts. Anyway, who is this girl with you?! She gives off an annoying aura!” Aspara said as she eyes on Ivy.

“Me? Kukuku, that’s a good question.” Ivy said as she put her hand on her hips and smiled at Aspara, no, to the whole audience with a smug. “Rejoice human, for I, Ivy Hellbeing, the dem--!” however, before she could finish her words, Reysha covers her lips with her hand.

“Are you an idiot!? You are going to get stoned here! You know that this is a city that dearly hates demons!” Reysha angrily whispers at Ivy.

“Before anything else, we are disturbing the public peace. We should move somewhere else please.” The guard said as he started pointing somewhere where they can talk in private, an empty alleyway large enough for them.

The guard, Gard, beckons everyone as they are distracting the traffic in the road. He is also aware that this is going to put them all at risk so he took the initiative to steer them away from trouble. Gard is an excellent guard.

With his smart suggestion, the group moves into a single place where they can talk privately and upon moving to a place where they are out of the public’s earshot.

“Kukuku! It is I, Ivy Hellbeing, the Demon Lord who descend from the land of the powerful!” Ivy then continued her speech with her arrogant posture.

Meanwhile, Aspara looks at her suspiciously with doubt in mind.

“Hey…is this brat serious?”  She simply said as she points at Ivy while looking for confirmation from Reysha.

“…She’s just delusional.” Reysha blatantly lied.

“No way! Hey, I am the demon lord, right, right?! Sir Falikh, say something! Believe me!” Ivy said as she starts panicking. “If you don’t believe me, I can summon meteor or something!” she added.

“Stop right there you idiot. Fine, she is the demon lord.” Reysha complied to Ivy’s pleading and puppy eyes.

“I see…this brat is then…” Aspara muttered as she stares at Ivy. “Anyway, let’s discuss the problem at hand then.” She shifted the matter to the much pressing situation.

“Miss Aspara is right. I do want to know why the demon lord is with the two of you but, right now, we have more problems to take care of.” Mika said as he leans on a stone wall.

As the situation gets even more serious, Falikh then raises his hand.

“Hey, is it true that they summoned a hero?” He asked with a serious countenance. Mika felt unfamiliar chill crawling in his spine. Reysha knows that there’s something off and Aspara tries to read the mood.

“It is true. That’s the reason I am here. I want to see for myself who this hero is.” Aspara directly said with a raised eyebrow as she looks at Falikh with a confused gaze.

“I see…so, still no signs of that woman huh…” Falikh sighs to himself. “Anyway, where are the others?” he added.

“First of, Princess Meriyal is here too but earlier, we discovered that she was being tailed by unknown people. Probably wants her dead. So we left Sod, Med, and Reld with her despite having two escorts.” Mika explained the situation.

“That Princess Meriyal? What business could she have here?” Reysha asked.

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell us. Though, we find this a serious case. We gave up pursuing Prince Arytorio as he is being escorted by your damn sisters.” Cussed by Aspara as she mentions about the Einharts…again.

“And then there’s Eiru…who is missing right now.” Mika supplemented Aspara’s information.

“EIRU!? EIRU IS HERE?! KYAA! HEY, HEY, LET’S GO!” ivy squeals upon hearing about Eiru and her eyes started to become lovestruck maiden.

Things got heated and the group started discussing further on what to do despite they are only doing this in an alley.

Meanwhile, the bystander, Gard, only watches from a distance.

“I wonder what my wife will cook for me in dinner. Ah, I miss daughter too.” He thought as he thought of how peaceful the day is as the snow falls gently, unknowing of the brewing storm to come.

And apparently, Gard is a loving husband to his wife and a loving father to his daughter. Gard is not only an excellent guard but also an excellent man.