‘Ugh… I feel like I’m going to explode…’

In troll language, Thragnuk had said ‘DROK’ which meant ‘Feast’, and he hadn’t used the words lightly. Mere minutes after placing the spell on Verity, he had brought the two humans to a grand dining hall where what seemed to be all of the town’s trolls had gathered. Upon Thragnuk’s signal, dozens of plates had been brought out, all holding items of food that Verity had never seen before.

Now through the mystical gates of the town, he stifled a burp as he recalled the scene.

As it turned out, trolls were vegetarian. Not because of some respect for nature, but simply because they could not digest meat.

‘Well, that makes them more herbivore than vegetarian, I guess…’ Verity mused.

In any case, this meant that all the food present was foreign to Verity, as he had never even considered the vegetarian lifestyle, and even more so because he knew nothing of this world. Seeing only greens, beans, and fruits come out, he had been disappointed at first, but soon, a plate with a cube-shaped, chewy food was brought out. It was unlike anything on the other plates, and even the smell was totally different.

Of course, Verity had been drawn to it, and as soon as he had put one of the cubes in his mouth, an explosion of flavor took him by surprise. The food, with a name he found difficult to pronounce, had the texture of tofu, but the taste was incomparable. It wasn’t trying to replicate meat, but instead, it was meant to be something more, something better. It was everything tofu tried to be, amplified ten times.

To put it simply, it was… ‘So damn good..!’

Verity licked his lips as he reminisced the flavor. It was to such a point that before leaving, he’d asked if he could have some more for the road, and Thragnuk had gladly agreed, pleased that Verity had enjoyed their culinary staple.

Verity reached into a pouch attached to the belt around his waist, and flicked one of the cubes in his mouth, avidly submerging his taste buds in its juices.

“Shank yew for the food, Thragnuk!” He exclaimed, forgetting to finish chewing before speaking.

“Haha! Come back anytime if you’d like some more!”

Swallowing with a gulp, Verity gave Thragnuk a wide smile. “Oh, trust me, I will.”

Considering he’d been eating instant ramen and frozen pizza in his apartment for who knows how long, the chances of him returning for such a delicacy were sky high. Truth be told, he was tempted to learn how to make it himself.

Internally condemning her student’s gluttony, Evangelina sighed. She rubbed her palm over her face, and she glanced at Thragnuk over her shoulder. “Yeah… thanks for everything, old friend. Give Grukla my regards as well.”

As per the tradition, the chief of the tribe was the sole individual who could bring in and send off visitors, so Grukla could not be there, even if she was his wife.

“I will! I will! Make sure to visit her soon! She’ll know more words by then!” Thragnuk said, speaking from the other side of the magical ripple in space.

Evangelina scoffed. “Sure, I’ll think about it.”

All appeared fine, and they seemed on the verge of departing, but as he ate another cube, Verity noticed a strange shift in his master’s mood.

The air around her changed, and before Thragnuk could close the gate, her lips parted. “One more thing before I leave….”

Her gaze grew cold, and her tone menacing. She was not emitting any bloodlust, but the casual air that usually surrounded her completely disappeared. “...I trust your character, so I’ve been polite until now but…” Her fist clenched, and the soil beneath her feet seemed to sink. “For the next time, you better have gotten rid of that disgusting thing you’re hiding…or I can’t promise I’ll be able to keep my composure.”

Reality still rippled before the two humans, meaning that Thragnuk was still there, listening, but he took a moment to reply. Since they could not see him, it was impossible to know what kind of expression he was making, yet, Verity could definitely feel an ominous aura oozing from the other side of the gate.

Eventually, Thragnuk chuckled, a low, bestial cackle. “....I’ll keep that in mind, old friend.” And as soon as he uttered the words, the gate disappeared, returning the forest back to its natural state.

This last moment had been especially eerie. The way Thragnuk had said those last words were unlike anything he’d said before, which had made even Verity uneasy. Plus, sensing just how enraged his master seemed, Verity couldn’t help but ask. “...What exactly is this disgusting thing you’re talking about…?”

Evangelina turned around, her cloak fluttering in the wind, and she clenched her fist harder as she began walking. “...I don’t know what he’s up to, but that place…it reeked of demons.”

He wanted to ask what exactly that meant, but he felt it wasn’t the right time. His master was furious, and she was already using everything she had to hold back. Verity thought it best to at least not bother her with questions.

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The rest of the way to the nearest human town was done in silence. If they ran into a hostile beast, Evangelina would destroy it, and if they ran into a ‘monster’ she’d try to dissuade it, and then destroyed it if that didn’t work.

She was really, really angry. ‘She must hate demons…’ Verity thought. He wondered if the demon king curse Midnight and Ash had mentioned had anything to do with it.

After an hour or two traversing the forest, the city gates finally came within view. Upon seeing them, Evangelina abruptly stopped, and took a deep breath. “Alright, I’m over it.”

Just like that, she’d forced herself to move on. Thinking any further about what Thragnuk was up to wouldn’t solve anything, and she could always go back if it really bothered her that much. Now though, she had other matters to take care of.

Quickly, she removed her pitch black cloak, stuffing it in her dimensional storage bag, and for the first time, Verity was able to see her in full.

The first thing he noticed was her cape which rippled behind her. It was of an emerald blue, with inscriptions he could not read written in gold around its edges. Over her cape, she wore armor, and a full set at that, which was surprising since Verity had never heard the clinking of metal until now. Perhaps that was another property of the mysterious cloak.

The armor, which left nothing but the back of her joints, her head, and a portion of her thighs, uncovered, was of a silver which complemented her hair, and gold that accentuated the whole. A dragon-like emblem was engraved into the steel of the breastplate, and her imposing shoulder guards were clearly made in the image of one.

If her armor was the sun given form, then her spear was the darkness that swallowed it whole. Made of obsidian, its impenetrable hue greatly contrasted the luminescent steel. Staring at the entrancing image of his master, Verity felt as though an impossible union between the divine and the profane was before him.

It was as though she had stepped out from legend itself.

With a swift motion of her arm, she brushed her hair aside. “You follow behind me, and you don’t say a word unless I tell you to, got it?” She told Verity firmly.

Still in a daze, Verity stumbled over his own words. “G-got it!”

With a measured step, both of them walked toward the city gates, and they quickly reached them.

“Halt!” A spear stood in Evangelina’s path, its polished steel glinting in the harsh midday sun.

It belonged to a gate guardian, who was preventing them from passing through.

“Identify yourself!” The guard demanded.

Evangelina lifted her hand, and revealed the back of her palm, earning herself a gasp of disbelief from the guard.

“The D-Dreadmoore family!?” He stammered

His eyes then darted between her silver hair, silver eyes, and flowing blue cape. He paled. “D-Duchess Dreadmoore!!! Forgive my rudeness! Please, proceed!” He exclaimed as he lowered his spear and opened the gates.

With a grunt, Evangelina walked forward, and Verity followed closely behind. Of course, Verity was promptly stopped by the guard before he could enter the city.

‘Yeah, I figured it wouldn’t be that easy.’

“He’s with me.” Evangelina growled, expecting this outcome.

The guard could barely string together a sentence but he still managed to retort. “E-even then..” He mumbled. “W-we can’t let him in without proper identification…”

Evangelina sighed, which caused cold sweat to roll down the guard’s temple, and she recited the scenario she had prepared. “He’s a relative of a good friend, but he was a slave of the Empire until now, so he has no proper identification.”

Verity raised an eyebrow. He was not aware that this was the story they were going for. ‘I wish we’d discussed my origins a bit more…’

Evangelina then glared daggers at the guard. She leaned in slightly, and made it clear that her patience was running thin. “And as I’ve said already… he’s with me, so it’s fine.”

The guard could clearly see the Spear of Hell’s irritation growing, but he was new to this job, and he was afraid that he’d lose it if he let her through so easily. His hands shaking, barely holding onto his spear, he protested. “S-Still, Duchess D-Dreadmoore, we have to go through the proper procedure…”

Evangelina raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. She had not expected the guard to resist this much. “....Seriously? What’s your name, guard?”

The guard felt his knees grow weak. “It’s R-Regias…” He winced with every word, feeling that he was cutting his own lifespan short. “N-new orders… No one gets in without proper identification. No exceptions…”

Frankly, Verity was impressed by the guard’s courage. In his place, he would have already backed off. His master was terrifying, even if he wasn’t the target of her anger, so he couldn’t imagine what it felt like on the other side.

Still, the guard was pushing it. ‘I just hope he drops it before she gets angry…’

Being denied access for the third time now, Evangelina’s gaze sharpened. “So you’re saying my word isn’t reliable enough? Is that it, Regias?”

The guard stiffened. “N-no! It’s ju-”

Evangelina raised her palm, interrupting him. “That’s the same as calling me a liar, isn’t it?” She said as she looked at Verity for approval.

‘She wants me to back her up?’

Verity coughed, clearing his throat. “A-ah yes Mas- Lady... Dreadmoore. If this guard says your word isn’t enough, then… well… he’s essentially calling you a liar.”

Evangelina hummed in agreement, her gaze weighing down on the guard. “Then you’re insulting me. Tell me, what’s the punishment for insulting a noble?”

Verity thought of many options. “...Flogging? A public apology? Something…unpleasant?”

The question hadn’t been directed to Verity, but Evangelina smiled faintly, forcing herself not to break character. “Yeah…something like that.”

By that point, Regias was barely holding onto his spear. He’d heard that this job was easy, had good benefits, and was relatively safe — nothing like this. This was a nightmare. What was he meant to do in front of a Duchess? He was just a low ranking knight from a poor baron household, and this whole thing was way above his pay grade.

So, Regias went with the safest option, and he closed his eyes. This job wasn’t worth his life, or worse, angering Duchess Dreadmoore. ‘Damn it all…’ He thought.

Feeling that he had no other choice, he lowered his head, and turned around, facing away from Evangelina. He then glanced at Verity, and stepped out of the way. “You may pass… sorry for the inconve-”

Stopping Regias mid sentence, a slow clap echoed form beyond the gate. “Now, now. This is most unbecoming of a Duchess, don’t you think?”

The guard immediately straightened, and showed a level of fear comparable to what he had felt in front of Evangelina. “C-Cardinal Farey!!”

Verity did not know who that was, but he could only imagine that it he was bad news. He had barely managed to catch his master's expression before she masked it, and from a simple glance, whoever this Cardinal Farey was, Evangelina did not like him.