“So, Enika, where is it you’re taking us?”

“I suppose I no longer need to keep it a secret, now that we’ve come this far. I heard rumors about a goblin tribe living nearby that may be willing to let us stay with them if we reveal that we’re with the demon lord. They love having someone more powerful to serve. We’ll be able to get them to do anything we want, fufu.”

“Lei-Lei, the elf is scaring me. I don’t like the look on her face when she’s talking about servitude. And, is that … drool? Arileia? Wait, why’d you stop moving?”

“That’s why I didn’t mention our destination until now. The lizard has a certain … trauma.”

“Do we really need to rely on those … things?”

Wow, I’ve never seen Arileia’s face take on an expression like that. Are the goblins in this world really that bad to deal with?

“You’re going to have to face your demons eventually, Arileia. Better to just get it over with, right?”

Arileia shudders.

“Question.”

“What’s on your mind, Master?”

“How do we know that these goblins will even be willing to listen to us?”

“I’ve already said that they seek more powerful beings to serve, did I not? Besides they’ve already bent their knee to you once before, so I wouldn’t be a surprise if they threw you a party and begged to be allowed to follow you.”

“Cool.”

It’s like I’m on my way to get my only little mischievous army! I’m really starting to feel like I might be able to pull off this whole demon lord thing. I’m still not used to being so top heavy, but even that comes with its own benefits, of course. It’s like having a bag of holding attached to my chest; my very own legendary boob pocket!

“By the way, Master, where were you hiding that biscuit?”

“That, my dear elf, is a trade secret.”

Note to self: Boob pocket; not food friendly. This must be what they mean by learning curves.

Still, it’s been a long time since we entered this forest. Are there really goblins here somewhere? I wonder what a goblin part would actually be like. Goblin’s don’t really bring the idea of festivities to mind when thinking about them.

“You goes no further, elf.”

Speaking of goblins …

“We don’t mean to trespass, but I have someone with me now that I believe your chief would be interested in speaking to.”

“Speaks.”

“I have the demon lord here with me and--”

“No interested.”

Wait, what happened to throwing us a party? When the little green beasty revealed itself and spoke with the voice of a demon-possessed child, I was terrified … I mean excited. Weren’t they supposed to lead us to their village so we could all celebrate my greatness?

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“Goes away. Not wants no demon lord.”

“Excuse me, you slimy little rodent! We did not come all this way for you to turn us away at your doorstep. Don’t you know that we can crush your pathetic little army on a whim? We’re going to enter your village whether you like it or not. You should be thankful we don’t push past you by force!”

“Okay, okay. We brings chief to see you. Waits here.”

“See? I told you they like being pushed around a little.”

“A little? Don’t you think that was kind of overkill?”

“No, for Enika, that was actually fairly mild.”

“Thank you, Arileia. I’m glad at least one of you understands.”

That was mild? What would her serious anger look like? That’s not something I want to think about.

“What do you think he meant by not wanting to see me?”

“Who knows. He was probably just having a bad day and taking it out on his guests. He should choose who he speaks to more wisely next time though.”

“Indeed.”

“You too, Lei-Lei?”

“Of course. Out of all the beings I’ve spent time with, goblins are by far the hardest to deal with, and I’ve had to attend a feast with the king of trolls before.”

My god. What are we getting ourselves into?

“So it’s true that you’ve brought the demon lord with you. I was told that she had perished,” an old goblin holding a fancy stick approaches with an unnecessarily large entourage. “What right do you feel you have to bring yourself before me?”

“Aba? I’m sure I requested to speak to the chief, not some witchdoctor.”

“Unfortunately, our chief is in poor health and must remain in bed. I am now acting chief.”

“If that’s true, then all the more reason for you to let us see him. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten the power our master holds. There are no illnesses that she cannot cure.”

Really? I have that kind of power too?

“I remember clear enough, dark ears. I remember how we let our tribe-daughter live in your castle with half our tribesmen because it was a safe place for her to learn and become ready to be our next leader. And here you are before us again with no Rana.”

“That’s … there was no way for us to know that the humans had created such a powerful force that--”

“But you are still here, and she is not. You abandoned her and our tribesmen to escape. We have no need for someone who cannot protect what she has. We have a new master now who will not abandon us.”

“A new master? Who could possibly be so powerful that you would cast aside the demon lord for a single mistake in judgement?”

“The forest queen cannot be compared to some disgraced demon lord.”

“Forest queen? You can’t possibly mean … That witch is going to lead your whole village toward destruction. How could you possibly let yourself fall for her twisted smile and empty words?”

“Goodbye, dark ears, scaly one.”

Huh? What about me?

“Damn it!”

“So what happened? I couldn’t really understand what was going on. Are we still having a welcome party?”

“I can’t believe she would be willing to take even goblins under her wing. I didn’t foresee this outcome at all.”

“Weren’t we just trying to do the same thing though?”

“Enika, who is this forest queen? I’ve never heard of such a person before.”

“Someone I know all too well. I thought I had rid myself of her, but she always seems to crop back up like a weed. She’s an elf that goes by the name of Eloria. She’s mostly delusional, but that doesn’t mean that she’s not powerful. She’s not someone I want to see again, but it would be best if I were to speak to her alone.”

“So … no party then?”

“Haah … no, no party.”

“That’s a shame. I was kind of looking forward to it. So where to next?”

“Nowhere. This was it. How was I supposed to know they wouldn’t let us in.”

“So … what? We don’t have anywhere to stay for the night?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Arileia will take care of you just fine. Just as she’s done for the last two years. Right, Arileia?”

“Don’t worry, Milady, the nights are warm this time of year.”

“Who knows? Maybe we’ll find another hunter’s shack to bed down in.”

Enika’s wry smile isn’t very soothing at all.

This has got to be some kind of joke. Aren’t I supposed to be some kind of all powerful demon lord? Who ever heard of a homeless demon lord?