"Anything else?" The chubby woman behind the stall asks while holding a bag filled with groceries.

"Hmm, add some potatoes, a set of onions, and radishes. And all of your carrots. " The hooded man responds. The woman looks at him for a couple of seconds, then glances at the carrots on her stall.

"Run out, a group of Demon rabbits chewed through them like snow melting from a scorch spell." The man adds as he folds his arms.

"Uhh, I don't mean to sound ungrateful dear, as your little resort does bring in the occasional adventurer in this remote village, and you have been one of my best customers. But, really. Why make such an establishment in such a remote location? And at the foot of the schism of all locations. Not only do you essentially set up shop at the border between the Demons and humans, but to also openly serve these Demons? I don't need to explain how many tons of crazy that is do I?." The chubby woman frowns slightly, while at the same time she starts packing the carrots.

"Other than the fact that I needed an actual hot spring to build on top of? All locations that are remotely near any of the bigger cities are already taken over. Now as for the Demons, while they are as likely to try and torch the place as they are to sit and order spaghetti with meatballs, or at least, some of them are. They essentially use the same coin as us. The only difference being that it has a different mark on it. Melt it, and it's the same gold. And in difference with monsters, Demons ain't stupid, they are as smart as a normal human. Dare I say some might be smarter too. But, come on now, are you really one to talk? This village is essentially the closest human settlement to the 'schism'..." The man glances behind him as he keeps speaking, the schism being visible from here, in the distance.

Which despite its namesake, is actually a tall mountain range. One that essentially separated the Overworld, which was the human-controlled part of the continent. From the Underworld, the Demon part of the continent. Which again, despite the name, was not really underground, or below sea level for that matter. Rather, it was the name given to it by the high priests in Iero. Meaning that Demons actually had another name for their 'Underworld'. Now, concerning the schism at least. History books do say that the Overworld, which is essentially surrounded by sea if you don't count its north connection to the Underworld via the schism. Used to be an actual island, and that in place of the mountain range we have right now, used to be sea, which had an actual schism at the seafloor. Supposedly, at some point in time, the island for some reason moved up north and collided with the Underworld, essentially lifting up the mountain range from out of the sea.

But, all that is written in history books whose writers have long since passed away, so if it's the truth, or a drunkard's attempt at a fantasy story? Nobody knows. The plain truth right now being, that that mountain range served as the natural border between the Overworld and the Underworld.

"Hah, not going to deny that. This village, along with another handful that run along the schism will probably be the first to go if something happened. But, the common soldiers patrolling the few traversable paths on the schism aren't holy knights dear, they are common folk, common folk with families. These villages consist mostly of people that want to support these soldiers, be it family, loved ones, or friends. And I do not need to mention that transporting goods near the schism is not exactly safe. I'm sure you know by yourself by now since your own place is rather far from here. But Demons and monsters aside, humans ain't exactly known for treating their kin kindly either. And what I mean by that, is bandits." The woman answers, a small hint of displeasure in her voice as she finishes her sentence.

"What? You mean to tell me the shiny shine of the spire and the preachings of the high priests don't have every single human holding hands together while singing lullabies at flowers? The man 'asks' as he folds his arms. An obvious sarcasm in his voice.

The chubby lady laughs lightly before placing some potatoes inside the bag.

"You know if a holy knight heard you say that you'd be hanging upside down on the village square before you could even realize what was happening. And, speaking of it. Aren't worried about the high priests in Iero finding out about your dealings? You know they're more likely to torch your place themself instead of the Demons if they learn of your dealings with them." She adds in a low tone as she glances at me.

"To be honest? Even if they knew, Iero is on the other side of the continent. I find it hard to believe they'd find the resources and time to send a couple of shiny armed knights across the continent just for my little establishment. I mean, other than the low-ranked squires they send to act as spire officials on the schism's outer garrisons? They essentially don't have much of an influence this far out. Reason why Demons seem to occasionally slip by and wander around this side of the mountain range too if you ask me..." The man shrugs casually as he answers.

"Well, don't take it the wrong way dear. But if a couple of spire knights come here asking for you, I'll act like I've never seen you in my life. Your business is appreciated, but life is hard enough as it is, and I have a family to feed." The woman adds as she finishes packing the bag, handing it to the man shortly after.

"Of course." The man responds with a slight chuckle as he tips his hood. And the chubby lady then tilts her head with a slight frown.

"I really don't understand you. How can you be so easygoing about this? Most people see a Demon and will either run for their life, or draw their sword. Not give them cookies and a bath. Let alone the fact that the high priests will have your head for it." The woman adds as she folds her arms.

"Hmm? Maybe they should try to. Most of them seem to mellow out after you give them cookies. Especially the female ones, guess girls like sweets no matter the race." The man chuckles as he gives the woman a pouch full of silver and bronze coins.

"Uhh, just try not to get yourself killed in your sleep you hear. I need your business." The woman lets out a small sigh as she slightly raises the pouch the man gave her, then puts it under her stall. Not opening to count the insides.

And with a nod, the man turns to leave…

The village he was in right now was rather small, so reaching the end of it didn't take more than a couple of minutes.

"Hmm, I'm afraid you just missed the carriage friend. The next carriage will be here in….Oh, it's you." The guard watching one of the village's exit turns his head as he starts speaking, only to stop after seeing the man.

"Going on foot again? Or you'll wait for a carriage this time?" The guard continues.

"Nah, on foot. I spend most of my day sitting behind a counter, gotta walk a bit." The man responds as he lifts his hand slightly.

"And I thought the people guarding the schism were nuts…" The guard whispers as he chuckles slightly.

"Well, watch the roads traveler." He adds as he glances at the man before motioning with his head. The man just nods and starts walking as he slightly raises his hand for a wave.

And so, with his bag full of groceries, he set out on the vast fields, his aim towards the mountain range. The sun still shining brightly above his head.

(Got no reason to take a carriage anyway.)

The man thought as he fixed the bag on his shoulder and picked up the pace.

(Now, let's see, I didn't have any reservations for today. So, if there's nobody waiting for me outside…)

With his head slightly lowered he kept moving forward. Occasionally turning to glance behind him towards the village.

( Hmm, I didn't have any slimes this week, so the slime section does not need any cleaning. The pool the merman and ghost used yesterday doesn't really need any maintenance thanks to the flowing water. So I'll just check the one the bunnies used, just in case their fur ended up clogging anything. After that, I guess I can finish setting up my side project.)

And like that, he kept walking…

After going down the field's road for about half an hour. He stopped, and turned to look behind him.

(That ought to be far enough.)

He then let the bag down and stretched.

"Let's take five before continuing. For all the goods the hot spring got, a wide-open view is sadly not one of them." The man whispered as he sat on a nearby rock, bringing the bag along with him.

As he rested his head on his hands, he gazed at the vast, green, wavelike fields in front of him.

The occasional wildlife, or small monster which was minding its own business, could be seen moving about on said fields.

"Hmm, maybe I should catch something to add some fresh meat to the menu? Maybe a monster rabbit?" The man kept looking at the field as he spoke in a low tone…

After a couple of minutes, he stretches once again, and slaps his knees.

"Alright, let's catch something." And as he started to get up, a sudden rustle from behind him, followed by a brown blur that zipped right past him, grabbing the groceries bag as it kept going forward.

Except, instead of making off with the bag, that blur ended up with one foot in the air as its body got violently bent backward. The reason? A sudden increase of resistance from the bag it just grabbed.

The blur, which turned out to be a brown-furred, skinny Kobolt, quickly turned its head to look at the bag, only to see the man holding it from the other side.

"You want my groceries, dog?" The man asks as he keeps holding the bag.

The kobold snarls at the man as it pulls, and waves a dagger in front of him.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Watch your mouth slowfoot! I am nothing like these disgusting pets of yours!" The Kobolt barks as it violently tugs the bag.

"Word of warning. You rip my bag, and I'm going to make a new one with whatever I can find around here. Including you…" The man calmly responds as he keeps staring at the kobold.

"Don't push your luck human! Give me everything you have! Before I use 'you' for my next lunch!" The kobold barks again as it makes a couple of quick half crouches, giving off the idea that it could not really hold itself still for more than a few seconds...

"I don't think that's a good idea, I'm probably really hard to chew…" The man answers casually with a slight shrug.

"Urgghh! You think I'm playing! Die slowfoot!" The kobold's eye twitched slightly as it let go of the bag and rushed forward towards the man.

Yet, the moment the kobold extended its arm for a stab, the man slapped the kobold's hand, making its whole body tilt sideways as the knife went flying off to the side. And before it could even whimper in surprise as it lifted its head to look at the man, the same hand got planted right at the side of its face, sending the hyperactive creature barreling towards the opposite side of where the knife fell.

"..." The man, without saying a word, walked up to the knife. And picked it up.

"I guess I could sell this for a few silvers…" He shrugged slightly again as he looked at the dagger the kobold was using a second ago.

"That's mine slowfoot!" The kobold snarls as it tries to get up, with no success. Probably still being dizzy from that slap.

"You want me to cut off your tail then? Kobolt fur goes for a few silvers as well." The man 'ask' as he points the tip of the dagger at the Kobolt with a calm expression…

The Kobolt then stares at the man for a few seconds with a dizzy, yet still snarling face. Before turning it's head to trot away with very unsteady steps. Occasionally turning to look at the man as it kept picking up distance…

"I can bet my carrots he's going to call his friends now…" The man sighs as he looks at the plain dagger in his hand.

"Well, better get out of here then." He lifts his head and turns to look towards the mountain range as he shoved the knife in the bag…

"Let's see, it should be around, there…." He focuses his sight as he whispers, before closing his eyes completely.

And, with the flick of the wrist, for a few seconds. The birds stopped chirping, the wind stopped blowing, and the sun's heat turned cold…

Until, he opened his eyes again. The fields, gone, replaced by a thick forest. Upon looking up through the tree's foliage, you could also see part of a mountain. Except now, it was closer, much closer.

"Hmm? Did I mess it up?" The man tilts his head as he looks around, only to spot a pathway made of stone slabs a few meters behind him.

"Oh, never mind…" He blinks a couple of times as he turns around, taking down his hood as he walks up to the pathway, then turning to walk down to it.

"Good thing I didn't end up into a tree. That would have been, inconvenient…" The man whispers as he opens the bag to pick the dagger he just relieved from the hyperactive kobold.

"Hmm, looks like plain iron. Unenchanted, but I didn't expect anything more from Kobalt weapons to be honest…" He adds.

And as he kept walking down the path, it slowly started to open up, revealing an open space he got used to seeing every day by now, the small grassy field, in front of his hot spring. And….

"I'm going to feed you your tail you damn lizard monster!" An angry shout...

In front of the building's porch. A brown, short-haired human adventurer, judging from his gear at least. An angry expression on his face, and a sword in his hand.

Facing a fuming, black-haired lizard girl, her hair wrapped in two thick twintails that were abruptly cut on shoulder height. Wearing light scale armor to cover her scaly body. Her shortsword still sheathed, her claws on the ready and with an angry scowl on her face.

"Demon! I'm a lizard Demon you stupid pile of soft flesh!" The Lizard girl shouted as she lunged at the adventurer. Both of them were essentially trading blows, while bad-mouthing each other.…

(...Give me a frigging break…)

The man sighs as he picks up the pace towards the two fighting individuals.

"Oi! Either you two stop killing other. Or I'm kicking you both out of my spring." The man speaks up as he fixes the bag on his shoulder. His voice drawing the attention of the two angry fighters.

"Hey! Help me out! This monster was trying to ambush me!" The adventurer shouts as he glances at the man.

"AAArgg! For crying out! I'm a Demon! A Demon damit! And I was not trying to ambush you, you stupid ass! I just wanted to use the hot springs! You just turned around and started screaming like a little girl the moment you saw me! Then started waving your damn sword at me!" The lizard girl shouts back, the veins on her smooth forehead being visible from all the way where the man was standing at.

"Uhh, for starters, back off from each other…" The man sighs as he closes in. Until he finally got next to the two fighting people.

"Second…" He turns to glance at the lizard girl. Who then turned to also look at him, her face still visibly frustrated…

"She's a Demon." He adds flatly as he turns to look at the adventurer.

"Thank you!" The lizard girl shouts as she exaggeratedly lifts both hands.

"Demon, monster, big deal. They're the one and the same" The adventurer replies, causing the lizard girl to pull her hair with an angry groan before trying to lunge at the adventurer again. Only to end up slightly folding over as her belly met against the man's arm.

"Ughh, I don't know how many times I had this conversation till now. I ought to write it on a board and put it in front of the building." The man sighs as the lizard girl backs off again.

"You know what monkey is?" The man asks as he turns to look at the adventurer.

"Uhh, yea? Who doesn't know what a monkey is?" The adventurer answers, his face slightly perplexed from the question.

"Well, what a monkey is to a human, a monster is to a Demon." The man answers, the adventurer still looking as perplexed...

(...Great, uptake is the speed of a snail I see…)

"Uhh, ok. A Demon lizard would be a human-like lizard with features and attributes of a lizard, some having more pronounced features compared to others, like more scales, or a more reptilian face. But if you could see them as a silhouette, they would look like a human. A monster lizard is more like a normal lizard, except they are much larger compared to a normal one, much more aggressive, and usually look overly more menacing than a normal one. Also, they can't speak." The man then folds his arms as he keeps talking.

"Normally I'd feel insulted to be compared to a human. But right now I will take anything I can get in order to make this thick-skulled buffoon understand." The lizard girl lets out a huge sigh as she starts to visibly calm down.

"Ok, sure. But both are our enemies, why should I even care about all that." The adventurer shrugs slightly, his sword still brandished.

"Uhh, look to your right." The man points past the adventurer, towards the building's front sign. The adventurer glances at the sign for a second, then back at the man.

"It's a sign, what about it?" He asks.

(...Please kill me…)

"Read it…" The man replies with a slight sigh, the lizard girl letting out a slight, muffled chuckle as she turns her face away.

The adventurer throws a quick glare at the lizard girl, before turning to look at the sign again.

"A hero's Resort. Humans, Monsters, and Demons are all welcome. -No pets-..." The adventurer then pretty much spells out what the sign said.

...And a few seconds later…

"Wait what?! You serve monsters here?!" The adventurer shouts.

(Really slow on the uptake this one)

"I'm willing to be civil to whoever is being civil. So, are 'you' going to be civil? Or I gotta bring out the broom?" The man asks as he backs off.

The adventurer glanced at the man, then at the lizard girl, until he let out a small scoff as he sheathed his sword…

"Though, now that you mention it, monsters? How do you even serve monsters? Most of them are as smart as…" The lizard girl glances at the adventurer as she speaks…

"A sack of potatoes." She continues.

"A normal dragon is considered to be a monster. And so is a leviathan or a treant. I wouldn't call them exactly stupid." The man replies.

"You'd also be surprised how many monsters can learn to understand basic speech after spending too much time near humans or Demons. I have an actual slime that comes over occasionally to trade coins for anything edible." He adds as he folds his arms.

"What…" The adventurer blinks blankly a couple of times, looking all stupefied…

"Hm, I got to see that. Uhh, by the way. Who are you?" The lizard girl asks as she tilts her head, seemingly having completely calmed down.

"I'm the owner." The man responds.

"Yea we figured as much, don't you have a normal name?" The adventurer asks back. And the man turns to look at the adventurer…

"I'm, the owner." The owner answered flatly. And the adventurer just kept staring blankly.

"So, owner. When are you going to open? I'm dying to take a bath, and that buffoon here made me all worked up, now I need one even more…" The lizard girl then butts in as she points at the door.

"Yes of course." The owner nods and walks up to the door. He then lifts his hand and runs it down the door, a thin shiny line trailing behind his finger. And after a few seconds, the door started to open.

"Ohh, fancy." The lizard girl chimes as the owner walks inside.

"Ehh, magic is overrated…" The adventurer adds right after.

(Of course you'd say that…)

After getting behind the counter, he leaves the bag of groceries down, and places the dagger under the counter, before grabbing the thick attendance book.

"Alright, let's see…" He runs his finger along the letters, until reaching H. Then opens the book on that page, a number of names already written on it.

"Write your name here please." The owner adds as he takes out the usual pen from under the counter, and points it at the adventurer. Who picks it up, and writes down the name 'Lui'.

"Alright, the spring is through the doorless frame then to the open door to your right, you can find the towels and accessories you might need inside the room that the spring is located in. Also, no weapons. You'll have to leave 'em here.

"What? Why?" The adventurer asks as he leaves his steel sword on the counter nonetheless.

"Because I don't want to have to bust into the spring if somebody decides to go vengeance mode while being butt naked." The owner responds.

"And what if somebody can use magic? Or you know, has claws." He glances at the lizard girl as he frowns.

(...Can I teleport you into the sun? No? Ok...)

"This establishment has a magic dampening ward, if you can use attack magic in here, then you'd probably also be able to blow up a couple of cities while yawning. As for the claws, nothing I can do about that. You can't expect me to pull people's teeth claws out now, do you? If it makes you feel better, the spring has healing abilities, so trust me, if somebody attacks you, you won't die. Can't say the same about the assailant though. Also, for weary people, they can always use a different room…" The owner answers as he folds his arms.

"Uhh, fine." The adventurer sighs as he leaves towards the door frame that led to the springs.

And as the owner took the steel sword and hid it under the counter, the lizard girl walked up to the counter next.

The owner then looked back at the book, before stopping at L. And after he turned the book on that page, he looked at the lizard girl.

"Name here please." He said as he pointed under an already written name. The lizard girl nodded and took the pen. Then wrote the name 'Gradia'.

"Uhh, you're not going to ask me why you can't have your poking stick in the shower room too are you?" The owner 'asks' as he glances at the lizard girl.

"Ohh, no need. I got my claws." The lizard girl responds with a slight chuckle as she leaves her iron sword on the counter, making a cat scratch gesture with her free hand.

She then walks up to the spring door frame, only to stop next to it.

"By the way, you said something about a slime ordering food here right?" She asks. The owner just nods.

"So, can I make an order?" She asks again.

"Uhh, sure. What'll be?" He asks back.

"Anything with meat." She replies with a slight shrug.

"Alright, though it might take some time. I didn't manage to catch anything fresh because of an annoying dog. And everything I have is frozen solid right now." The owner replies as he glances at the dagger under the counter.

"Oh, that's alright. I'll probably be in there for some time anyway." The lizard girl replies as she glances through the door frame.

"Very well then. Your room is to your left." The owner nods slightly. And as the lizard girl walked through the door frame, he picked the bag full of groceries and headed towards the door to his right, the one behind the counter.

(…Still, I have been getting quite a lot of Demons lately. Rabbits, Mermen, the ghost from yesterday, and now a lizard. I'm not complaining but, Demons are not this common on the Overworld, even at the border. No, something's weird. I mean, I didn't exactly advertise this place to the Underworld, and that ghost was definitely not something you can find on the Overworld. And that lizard girl, lizard Demons usually live in mountains or deserts. The Overworld has no deserts, and while it has some mountains, they are all near Iero. So fat chance Demons live there. Meaning, word about this place got into the Underworld somehow. One of the Overworld Demons returned and spread the word? But still, how influential can a damn merman or Demon bunny be to spread the word this quickly over there?...)