-Month 1, Day 26-

More than a month had passed since Red Crow's change of plans. Cynwrig had more or less been idle in the city since then, and by god was it a bore. There was nothing to do apart from in-city quests and envoy work for his guild, Caelum.

He was hoping the demon was hostile, but it was quite the opposite. Absolutely nothing happened. An entire month, with a demon not performing a single mischievous action to tell of. What the actual hell? He thought that maybe they mistook the being in question for a young lady who liked dressing up, the whole thing essentially being an elaborate hoax.

But as planned they would now take action. The Red Crow spies had almost all the details logged. It lived in the Dharma mansion, but occasionally stayed on the farm of the Claude family that lived nearby for some reason. Early in the morning it would take a pathway to the farm, and shortly before the sun set walk back.

The demon's abilities were not to be underestimated from the reports he had gotten. It dealt with any who approached the farm with no mercy, flawlessly controlling the shadow beast that was supposed to possess it to a tee. No beast similar to the reported fae moa had since it's defeat been spotted slain, but the assumed difficulty of the demon they were dealing with was of B rank.

Cynwrig, being an A rank himself, should therefore be able to handle it. As insurance, he was being accompanied by two C rank mercenaries that had volunteered for the meager pay Cynwrig presented. A paladin going by the name of Simon, and a young apprentice medic named Tess. Cynwrig himself had a wide array of weapons and decadrons on him. He liked being prepared for most situations. But when push came to shove, he preferred the sword variant named "Glinting Claymore", made exclusively by a blacksmith in his guild's town. He was well equipped despite not thinking he would be needing much for this private request that took place not far from his current home base.

The blacksmith who doubled as a runesmith, was an expert at using fire runes to endow his weapons with powers beyond what a simple sword would be capable of. In this case, it granted the ability to deal further damage to his foes by causing minor explosions on impact. Not only was it satisfying to use this weapon, but it was basic enough to be used for any kind of combat, which Cynwrig liked. Versatility was his A-game.

(Simon) "Sir, I believe this is the spot."

(Cynwrig) "This is it?"

(Simon) "Uhm..."

The young paladin was holding the map and leading the group. He had spent most of his life near the city of Elisande. Lycai Forest, the place they were traversing, was located a hair's breadth outside of the city as a sort of hunting ground, just to the south, but stretched far up the western and eastern sides too. They were looking for a road that Red Crow spies described was the one that the demon commuted twice each day, but it was nothing more than a muddy little path.

(Tess) "This is hardly even a road, more like a natural clearing, isn't it?"

(Cynwrig) "Whatever floats the demon's boat. We'll set up the traps here. Tess, go find some timber while we set up. We might need to wait until next morning in case it's still at the mansion and doesn't come out until tomorrow."

(Tess) "A- aye aye, sir!"

Tess went her way after dropping her bag. Intel told Cynwrig that the demon went along this path each day, morning and evening. They were here mid-day for the purpose of setting up a trap to capture it. Their orders was to restrain it and bring it with them. Killing it was way easier and didn't require much preparation, but bringing it back in one piece would always be more of a challenge.

(Cynwrig) "Simon, take out the ropes. You know how to make strong ties with it?

(Simon) "Of course, sir."

He started rummaging through Tess' bag which has most of the rope. Obviously it had tied itself into what would surely become a nightmare to untie. Simon sure looked depressed when he realized he would need to waste his time on it, but Cynwrig chuckled at how optimistic the young lad was.

Cynwrig himself sat himself down and started to take out some of his equipment. He knew the basis of setting good traps. His traps were nowhere near as intricate as some engineers could make them, but they still worked as basic capture traps nonetheless. At the end of the day, it just had to be restrained with some arcanite cuffs that he always carried around. Arcanite was a special type of alloy that absorbs and releases juice from anything it comes in contact with, essentially stopping a creature from using magic. It was a rare material that was perfect to seal away a shadow beast, and he as a guild hero had access to it in limited quantity.

(Simon) "Huh?"

The young paladin looked up as if he noticed something off. He was just about to finish preparing the rope.

(Simon) "Sir..."

(Cynwrig) "What?"

(Simon) "...Nevermind, I could have sworn I just heard someone say something."

(Cynwrig) "Say what?"

(Simon) "It's... uh, nevermind."

Cynwrig raised a brow in suspicion, if anything it was probably Tess fighting off some wolf. C ranked medics should be able to easily fend off whatever roamed in this forest as long as it's not a superior fae, so he wasn't very worried.

(Jack) "...shee!"

Huh? Cynwrig heard something now too. He looked into the trees to figure out if something was here, but didn't see anything.

(Simon) "Did you...?"

(Cynwrig) "Yes, probably just some bird."

He looked down at his juice compass. Another piece of equipment that could detect quantities of living juice from monsters by reacting to it, but only a few very weak signals were popping up on it. Likely burrowed monsters in the earth.

(Saria) "Mooshee!"

This time the sound was right next to them. Him and Simon immediately flung themselves on their feet and saw something walking towards them. It was speed-walking of all things and seemed like it was looking for something.

(Simon) "Wa-wait, isn't this?!"

(Cynwrig) "Yeah..."

...

What the hell, does she not see those two extremely armored humans she is walking right up to?! It's fine to be focused on the task but pay a little attention to your surroundings, you moron!

(Saria) "Mooshee! Where are you?!"

Two men, one younger and one in the middle-aged category like Jack, were just standing there with their weapons out. One with a big hammer, another with a really cool looking sword. Saria didn't really pay them any mind though. I knew she saw them, but she completely decided to ignore them. And ignore them she did, she practically walked straight past them. The two probably expected some sort of conflict to arise but she was calm as a peanut. Nobody expected for her to walk past them like they weren't even there.

(Cynwrig) "Hey! What are you doing here?!"

Man, that old guy was easy to read. He looked annoyed. And he only got even more pissed when Saria briefly stopped, looked over her shoulder, threw out a short arrogant "Hmph" and then kept walking while shouting for Mooshee to come back.

(Cynwrig) "You freakin' brat, don't just walk away!"

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

(Saria) "Huuh? Brat? I think you're talking to the wrong mirror."

As unnecessary as it was, she replied, full of herself with arrogance. Saria let off a pretentious giggle with her hand in front of her mouth when she saw the guy getting really pissed.

(Cynwrig) "You... what? You're the demon, right?!"

(Saria) "Hm? The demon?"

The demon? So people around here do know about her existence after all. I found it weird how we had nobody except the Claudes really pay Saria any mind since I arrived here. You would think that if a demon was around, people would start noticing.

(Cynwrig) "Don't play stupid! The description we have of you matches your dumb looking face."

(Saria) "Wha- dumb?! Who are you calling dumb?!"

(Draven) «Hey, hey... Saria, they are armed...»

(Saria) "What do I care if they have some stupid toys? He called me dumb!"

(Draven) «Sigh... So what...»

(Cynwrig) "What are you even saying?"

(Draven) "Shut up! I'm talking with mister shadow!"

(Cynwrig) "Mister who-now?"

Ugh, this feaking peabrain. I already told her when we met Jack that she shouldn't just willy-nilly spill the beans about me...

(Simon) "Uh... sir, what do we do?"

(Cynwrig) "We... Uh... Demon! Surrender yourself right now! You-"

(Saria) "Tch, like I'd surrender myself to a plebeian like you."

Hey, hey...

(Cynwrig) "Kch- That's it! We're tying you up right this insta-"

(Jack) "Ah, there you are Saria."

As if appearing out of the blue, Jack appeared right behind those two guys. With him was a younger looking lady with long maple-colored hair. I questioned why Jack was suddenly accompanied by someone I had never seen before, until I realized she was likely to be with the two other guys.

Jack's sudden arrival caused them both to fumble. The guy with the sword even managing to drop it, that's how surprised he got at the man suddenly standing behind him.

(Jack) "We should look more to the south, she isn't anywhere here."

(Saria) "Okay."

(Cynwrig) "Who- who are you now? And Tess, what the hell are you doing with him?!"

(Tess) "I just met him. And oh! Watch out, the demon is right around here!"

(Cynwrig) "The demon is standing right in front of you you idiot!"

(Tess) "Huh? That's her?"

She pointed at Saria who waved her hand. The woman waved back at Saria with a soft smile.

Jack managed to diffuse the situation. He explained how one of his faun had escaped from the field. Mooshee was one of those cow-sheep hybrid animals that he kept as cattle, one that he recently purchased from a farmer on the other side of the nearby city. They were expensive and we'd been looking for an hour for her now without luck.

For some reasons those three humans offered to help if they would be allowed to visit the Claude's home. The two guys kept looking at Saria with puzzled eyes, as if expecting a backstab any minute now, but the woman got along with Jack very well. It was obvious she was raised on a farm herself and they chatted about the harvest and stuff while we were looking for Mooshee.

We eventually figure out their names. Cynwrig, Simon and Tess. Simon and Tess in specific were twins that had been working together for their entire life. Cynwrig seemed to be the leader of the three as they often asked him questions of authority. He looked like a collected man when he wasn't having a tantrum at Saria, or the other way around. Those two barely managed to get along, always feeling the need to throw a jab at each other. His grey hair was indicative that the guy was old, but he looked really well built, to the point where it almost looked unrealistic. But one would assume that such a form is needed if he were to travel around with all of the equipment he had with him. A big-ass sword on his back was one thing, but there were a couple small daggers and hammers around his waist, and loads of pouches as well. There was so much equipment it almost made it hard to see the good looking leather armor underneath, which looked like it had gemstones all over it. No doubt about it, he was equipped to fight. So maybe that was his job.

The other two weren't even close to being as geared as he was. The young guy with blonde hair who called himself Simon just had a big hammer on his back and what looked like chain-mail, like the ones you would use in medieval fights. Apart from that, there were only another two or three pouches that looked filled. And the maple-haired girl looked pretty good as well, but looked to be carrying most of the essentials like tents and food. So seeing her walk around with a massive rucksack really startled me, since I expected Simon to pick it up. He had his hands full himself though.

We eventually had to cut off our search without finding the poor faun. Cynwrig stated that it was likely that it had been taken down by some bigger animal or monster by now, so Jack's mood wasn't very good. He wanted to thank them by inviting them for dinner, and they courteously accepted since they would want to go to the farm anyways.

When we came back to the farm, we found out Mooshee gleefully had returned to her stable, making this entire day pointless in a sense. Erin had noticed her walking around outside the house and hurried out to let her in before Myles started making a fuss in the kitchen.

(Erin) "Oh my, you're bringing more people home than expected. Did you meet some nice travelers, honey?"

(Saria) "They are just some crude humans who can't stop following us."

(Cynwrig) "You sure have a dirty mouth, don't you, Piggy?"

(Saria) "What? Piggy?"

(Cynwrig) "Because you look like one."

(Saria) "Oh, wow, a lower being like you trying to play smart?"

(Cynwrig) "I could kick your ass any day, kid."

(Saria) "I'd like to see you try when you lose your grip on your weapon just because you get surprised."

The two were literally butting heads. They had only known each other for a an hour or two and already it felt like some sort of fucked up friendship.

(Erin) "Oh, perhaps a friend of yours, Saria?"

(Saria) "Not my friend!"

(Cynwrig) "As if."

(Simon) "Sigh... sir, I'm tired and hungry from looking for that faun all day..."

(Erin) "Why don't you come in? I was about to start making dinner. Would you like some as well?"

(Cynwrig) "Yes, please. We will pay you for it if it is required."

(Erin) "Oh, don't you worry about something like that. Saria and Jack have given us one of the best harvesting seasons so far, it's only natural to give back to the world. Isn't that right you two?"

(Saria) "Bwah, just let them starve."

(Cynwrig) "You having issues with us being here?"

(Saria) "I have issues with your ugly face."

(Cynwrig) "You little-"

Sigh... I tell her to treat them as guests but she really can't stop herself from being a moron.

(Erin) "You two really are close already, oh my."

(Saria) I'm not his stupid friend!"

(Erin) "Oh, honey, that's what they all say, heehee."

While the pretty much self-invited guests were here, I learnt a couple of things while Jack was talking with them. First off, why they were here. Turns out they weren't being secretive at all. Their job was to capture Saria and bring her to the city. The guy who summoned me to this world, some guy called "Maximillian Fenton", apparently turned himself in for illegally doing the summon. He, and many others, were afraid that a roaming shadow beast could cost hundreds of lives if not contained. But it turns out they were really shit at their job and didn't evacuate the Claude family because, well, the city council forgot the Claude family even lived here.

How they managed to get the information that we were living with them was another thing entirely. I didn't really know how. Maybe some idiot saw Saria helping Jack out and decided to tell everyone. Either way, chances were that Saria and I would be getting into some political debacle because it was an anomaly that a demon, slash shadow beast, was helping out some common farmers.

And secondly, what they also talked about was where they came from. Cynwrig himself works at a "guild" called Caelum. Apparently he was some guild hero, which Jack noted was a very high ranking. So as I guessed, he was a big-shot. Guilds do requests from whoever might have it and work as a sort of mercenary-explorer-substitute-workers. This world is according to them infested with all kinds of monsters that threaten humanity, so they put their combat to use for pay. Caelum's HQ itself is located in another city, but Simon and Tess were part of Proudthrone, the local guild from the nearby city Elisande that also covers it's influence in this area. All of them are associates of the National Guild Association, or NGA for short, which is like the mother company for all guilds in this kingdom, named Mondrassia.

As I listened to them, this world I was stuck in now sounded more and more like some of those fantasy worlds that I have heard about. Magic, monsters, all of that stuff. Not to mention, me being something that shouldn't be able to exist in the first place. And, I mean, this had dawned on me before, but learning this stuff just made me realize that there is an entire world out there that I only could've dreamed of before.

(Cynwrig) "Anyway, you're coming with us tomorrow. Ah, excuse us but we are going to stay the night over."

(Saria) "I'm what?"

(Cynwrig) "You heard me. We're taking you to Elisande on orders from the Association."

(Saria) "Hell no."

(Jack) "The Association has ordered this?"

(Cynwrig) "Yep. To hell if I know what they want with this annoying demon kid if they know she's just wasting her days picking fruit on some crappy orchard- Ah, excuse me for my language."

(Jack) "Uhm... none taken."

(Cynwrig) "But they want her alive, so that's the plan. We'll be meeting with the head of the Association soon, since he'll be in Elisande."

(Jack) "Saria, if the Association wants it then I think it would be best..."

(Saria) "What? Why? I don't want to go with this loser."

(Jack) "The Association has a lot of power, they work as a mother company for all the guilds in the kingdom, and to be honest... I really don't want them against any of us..."

(Cynwrig) "See? The old guy knows what's up."

(Jack) "But at the same time, Saria is the only guard around here! For months we haven't felt any sort of protection against the fae that have appeared all over this forest."

(Cynwrig) "Oh, right, she actually does something here... Then how about I let these two guys work here per request for a while?"

(Simon) "Wait, what?"

Simon looked a bit offended that he was being used as a bargaining chip here. He even said it while he had a mouth full of food.

(Jack) "That would be fine, but I want Saria back in one piece. She has become like a daughter to me and Erin by now. If you're bringing her in to kill her, then don't expect to be forgiven."

(Cynwrig) "A demon?"

(Jack) "Yes, one who thinks of our well being more than the guards who forgot about us when we needed them."

(Cynwrig) "And why should I care about what you want?"

(Jack) "With all due respect, you are currently in our house for the night and my wife is cooking for you, is that really the words to respond with? We've proven to you that she means no harm, what else could you possibly want from her?"

(Cynwrig) "Sigh... Fine, sure, I'll do what I can."