“How are you liking those clothes?” Beldo asked. “They fit all right? You look good in them.”

Aboki looked down at his clothes, giving a slight tug at his shirt’s collar. The clothes Beldo had bought for him were quite basic. Lusya supposed Aboki did look fine in them, though the clothes themselves were unremarkable. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and brown pants, and Beldo had bought him two others of each, all plain, neutral colors. Beldo had also bought Aboki the pack slung over the latter’s back, along with the maps and food it contained. While Aboki did not need to eat, even if he chose not to do so for pleasure, carrying food would help him avoid suspicion.

“Yeah, they’re okay,” Aboki said. “I don’t think I’m much of a fashion guy, but it’s nice to be wearing something of my own. Your stuff didn’t quite fit.”

Beldo nodded. “That’s not surprising. You’re taller than me, among other things.”

“Right.” Aboki looked to Lusya. “What do you think, princess?”

There was no trace of sarcasm when he used that title. He took the idea that she was the Demon King’s daughter surprisingly seriously and seemed to think it endowed her with an authority it never had. It served her purposes well enough, so she was not going to correct him.

“They are simple clothes,” she replied. “They would look acceptable on just about anybody. Including you.”

Aboki frowned and looked down at himself again. “Acceptable, huh?”

“Are you sure you’re not a fashion person?” Ariya asked.

Beldo chuckled. “He asked for a compliment from a pretty girl and got told he looks ‘acceptable.’ Any guy would second guess himself after that.”

If he had been seeking a compliment, Aboki should not have asked for Lusya’s opinion. He should have said what he wanted. Not that she would have complimented him just because he asked, but she would at least have appreciated the honesty.

Ariya frowned. “I don’t really get it, but I think he was asking the wrong person if that’s what he wanted.”

“Indeed,” Lusya said.

“Cut him some slack,” Beldo said. “He’s a day old.”

Ariya giggled, while Aboki scowled. “Can you guys not talk about me like I’m not here?”

“Sorry,” Ariya said.

“I’ll be more careful,” Beldo said. “Now that we’ve gotten you some clothes, what do you say we have a hot meal at the inn before we go our separate ways?”

Aboki pursed his lips. “I get that food tastes good and all, but do we really have to eat three meals a day like mortals?”

“We don’t have to, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t,” Beldo said. “‘Taste’s good’ is an understatement. A warm meal is one of life’s great pleasures, doubly so with good company.”

“I did enjoy dinner and breakfast, but I’m not sure I’d go that far. I guess I wouldn’t mind having more, though, since I’ve got the opportunity.”

“Then let’s head on over.”

Beldo began leading the way toward the village’s inn, with the others following. Aboki made a point of keeping pace with Lusya, and leaned in to whisper to her.

“Are we good company?” he asked. “Or was that just an example? I mean, at least one of us is, I guess, but…”

“Indeed,” Lusya said. Seeing no reason this conversation needed to be a secret, she made no similar attempt to lower her voice “Ariya would likely be considered good company. We would not.”

“I meant you…I don’t think kids are really who you want to hang out with.”

“Hey!” Ariya exclaimed.

Lusya blinked and cocked her head. “Many would consider me good company simply by virtue of being attractive, but I do not think Beldo is concerned with that, and my personality is not suited to socializing.”

“…Oh.”

“Don’t say that,” Beldo said. “You might not be the friendliest person around, but you’re still plenty fun to spend time with. Besides, when it comes to sharing a meal, it’s not about who’s the best conversationalist or the best at making friends.”

Lusya cocked her head farther and blinked twice. “Then what is it about?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s something ephemeral that I can’t put my finger on. But it’s something special too. I’m sure you’ve experienced it during your journey, right?”

After a moment of thought, she decided that was true. While everyone she had shared a meal with thus far had been quite talkative, and she remembered many of their conversations, it was not necessarily what they had spoken about that made her think of some of those memories fondly. True to Beldo’s words, she could not identify what, exactly, did.

Before long, they had reached the inn, known as the Whippin’ Willow. Many inns in rural villages were simply named after their village. It was a simple, descriptive approach, and there was no need to differentiate it from competitors. Although, Lusya had encountered one village where a feuding family ran two competing inns. The village had in no way been large enough or seen enough foot traffic to support two inns, but the villagers had all taken sides and were quite passionate about which inn they supported. They had almost come to blows over it, at one point. Ariya had found the situation amusing, but Lusya had seen it as little more than an irritating inconvenience. The owner—and patrons—of the inn she had settled on had been too busy trying to verbally convince her of its superiority to do so through food, accommodations, or service. It had been a subpar experience, all things considered.

Regardless, she could appreciate when a proprietor of a lone village inn like this went through the effort of giving it a proper name. She had to wonder where such names came from, though she knew there was often no real reason. There were no willow trees to be seen in or around the village. It was possible the owner had simply thought the name sounded good—correctly, as the alliteration was quite pleasing—but it was also possible there was more to it. Perhaps she would ask about it, if she got the chance.

They entered, paid for their meals, and sat down. There was no menu to speak of, and when the serving girl passed by their table, she simply informed them that they would be having pork stew. Typical for a rural inn. They did at least have a few options for drinks. Beldo, of course, ordered himself an ale. When Ariya heard that fresh apple juice was available, she was quick to ask for that. Apple season had just passed, and the inn had plenty of apples from which to squeeze juice. Lusya had that as well. Drinking water in rural inns was unreliable, and fruit juice was quite pleasant. Aboki initially asked for what Beldo was having, but quickly changed his mind after Lusya ordered. The serving girl gave him a knowing smile before leaving to fetch the drinks.

Aboki idly looked around as they waited, his expression somewhere between curious and confused.

“Something wrong?” Beldo asked.

“This is so weird,” Aboki said. “I’ve never been in one of these before. For that matter, this is only the second time I’ve been inside. But none of it is new to me.”

“So, that’s how you see it? When you think about it, it is pretty strange, but I can’t say it ever bothered me.”

Aboki nodded. “When you think about it, isn’t it weird that I think it’s weird? This is all I’ve ever known. It should be normal to me.”

“You are much more thoughtful than our initial encounter suggested,” Lusya said.

“Yeah,” Ariya said. “I kind of thought you were a dummy, but you’re not.”

He clicked his tongue. “Thanks. I’m kind of trying to distract myself.” He looked at Lusya. “I still want to rip this place and everyone in it apart, but I don’t feel like getting my head cut off. So, I’m trying to think of other things instead.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“That’s great!” Beldo said. “I’m glad you’re learning to control yourself. So early, too.”

“You can be a good demon, like Lusya,” Ariya said.

“Maybe,” Aboki replied. “I’m still not promising anything.”

In short order, the serving girl returned with their food and drinks. A shared basket of bread and butter accompanied the four bowls of stew. After confirming everybody had what they wanted, she left to speak to a young man at another table. He had finished his meal, and neither of them seemed to have any interest in clearing his table or getting him more food. The girl twirled her hair and giggled while the man regaled her with some anecdote about his farm from yesterday.

Lusya and the others set about eating their own food. It was nothing extraordinary, but it was good, and the warmth of the stew and the bread was quite satisfying after the cold of the outdoors.

“So, what do you think?” Beldo asked. “Worth it?”

Aboki shrugged. “It’s good. I don’t have a lot of reference to say more than that.” He waved his spoon at Lusya. “It’s not as good as her food.”

“This is much better than my cooking,” Lusya said. “The taste of food is ultimately subjective, but I find it difficult to believe you genuinely prefer what I make to this stew.”

He blinked. “Uh…”

Beldo reached over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, that wasn’t bad for a one-day-old with no experience. You just had the wrong partner.”

“Right.”

It had not escaped Lusya’s notice that he had been trying to flatter her. She did not care for flattery. Compliments and praise, she did not mind, but empty flattery was nothing but annoying. People spent enough time dancing around what they wanted to say. She would appreciate if they did not direct their dishonesty at her on purpose.

She valued honesty, she had decided. Remembering her childhood had dispelled her illusions about her ability to lie. While she still did not understand the finer points of skilled deception, childhood-Lusya had put far less thought into the matter and lied regardless to get out of trouble. As it turned out, Lusya’s demeanor being difficult to read for most also meant most could not discern when she was lying. Only Mother had been able to tell. It had only been later, after forgetting much of her time with Mother, that Lusya had started overthinking deception. Still, even after regaining those memories, she had maintained her earlier policy of avoiding direct lies thus far, for no other reason than that she found them distasteful. Accordingly, she found much of the dishonesty and roundabout speaking people employed as “courtesy,” rather annoying.

Of course, she would not have been quite so blunt if Aboki had been staying with them. His attraction to her would have been a useful tool to control him, and she would have been more apt to encourage it. But he was leaving soon enough, so there was no need for that.

They finished their meals quickly enough and sat at their table.

“That was good,” Ariya said. “They gave a lot of it too.” She yawned. “I’m a little sleepy.”

“You may take a brief nap, if you wish,” Lusya said. “It is early enough that it should not interfere with your sleep tonight. No more than one hour, however.”

Ariya shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I can stay awake.”

“You will not have another chance.”

“I know. I’m sure.”

“Very well.”

Aboki stared at her with a similar expression to that he had looked around the inn with, though he quickly tried to clear it when he noticed she was looking back at him.

“So, Aboki,” Beldo said, “what’s the plan? Are you gonna spend the night? We’ll go our separate ways tomorrow, but you can share a room with me, if you want.”

“Do not decide we are staying here on your own,” Lusya replied.

They had arrived in town rather early, and shopping for Aboki had not taken long. It was only slightly past their typical lunchtime. Slightly enough that Ariya had not complained of hunger due to the delay. Considering they had lost so much time the previous day, Lusya would have liked to continue traveling.

“Sorry,” Beldo said. “But I’d really feel better spending an extra day together before leaving him on his own. Would you mind indulging me? I made a commitment, so I’ll move on if you insist, but…” He glanced at Aboki. “…I’d rather not.”

Lusya didn’t particularly care for Beldo’s preferences, but, while she didn’t share his goals for Aboki, it would also benefit her if he was at least well-adjusted enough not to get himself killed immediately. Losing time was always frustrating, and she wasn’t sure how much good one day would do him, but they would still be well within the margin of error for her estimated arrival, so she supposed they might as well do what they can.

“Very well,” she said.

Beldo smiled. “Thanks.” He returned his attention to Aboki. “So, what do you say?”

Aboki scowled. “Why do I have to share with you?”

“Because Lusya is going to share with Ariya,” Beldo said. “There’s no changing that. I’m sorry, but it’s not happening.”

“Then why can’t I stay by myself?”

“You know why,” Beldo said. “At least while we’re together, I’m not leaving you unsupervised.”

Aboki sighed. “Might as well, I guess. Honestly, I have no idea what to do here.”

“If you do anything that causes trouble for us, I will kill you,” Lusya said.

“I know,” he said. “That’s why I’m lost. If I didn’t have you looming over me, I’d just have some fun, starting with this village. But I can’t do that, so I don’t know where to go or what to do.”

“Remember what we discussed last night,” Beldo said. “There’s a lot of better ways to have fun. Trust me, you’ll get a lot more out of life controlling yourself than not.”

Aboki grunted but said nothing.

“You could hang around here,” Beldo said. “Get a job or an apprenticeship, help some people out. Or you could go to a city. I’m sure you could find an art teacher, or at least a book to learn from. Plus, it’ll make controlling your urges easier because of how monumentally stupid not doing it would be. But that’s just a temporary fix. You’ll have to learn to control yourself properly, not lean on the threat of consequences. Luckily, you do seem to be finding some proper coping mechanisms of your own already, and the trip itself could be helpful. You seem to do well with novelty, and you might even find a place to settle down on the way. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll give you some money before we leave. You can buy what you need and set off down your path. Figuratively, if you decide to stay here.”

Aboki shrugged. “I’ll say what I said before: I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Beldo said. “In the meantime, there’s still plenty of time left in today. We might as well figure out something to do. I know a great hill for sledding down.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Ariya exclaimed. “Can we go sledding Lusya, please?”

Lusya considered for a moment. Injury was possible, but she would likely be able to prevent it if it seemed imminent. She nodded.

“Very well.”

“Yay! Let’s go right now!”

#

“Well, I guess this is goodbye,” Beldo said as he stood outside the inn with the others the next morning. “Have you decided what you want to do yet? Still leaning toward art?”

“Yeah, but I haven’t decided for sure yet,” Aboki replied. He looked around at the village, frowning. “But I’m not gonna hang around here. I’ve only been here for a day, but it seems boring. I’ll lose my mind trying to restrain myself around here.”

“You should learn to deal with boredom, but that can come with time. For now, keeping yourself stimulated is probably the right call.” Beldo fished a handful of coins out of his purse and held them out toward Aboki, who stared at the hand, brow furrowed in confusion. “Go on, take it.” Aboki slowly extended his hand, and Beldo deposited the coins in them. “To get you started on your journey. Use it for whatever you need.”

Aboki clinked the coins in his hand and nodded. “Right. Thanks.”

“That should last you for a little while, if you’re smart with it,” Beldo said. “I’m sure you can get yourself more if you need it. And I don’t mean by stealing. There’s always someone who’ll pay you for a day’s work, if you need it.”

“Sounds like a pain,” Aboki said. He glanced at Lusya. “But I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, you’re on your own, now,” Beldo said. “Goodbye, and good luck, son.”

“Yeah, thanks. Bye.”

Aboki glanced at Lusya again.

“Farewell,” she said. “Remember at least to wait until you have left this region to cause trouble.”

“But not causing trouble at all is better!” Ariya added.

“Indeed.”

“Right. See you around.”

He turned and walked off toward the general store, while Lusya and the others made their way out of the village. She very much doubted she would be seeing him around.

“I have a good feeling about that one,” Beldo said. “I think he might manage, at least for a little while.” He grinned. “Maybe we should make sure you’re around for more demon births.”

“I doubt we would be lucky enough that they would all be male demons who are both frightened of me and seek my approval due to being attracted to me.”

“I think none of those things are as rare as you make them sound,” Beldo said.

“True, but it is doubtful our success rate would exceed fifty percent,” she replied.

Despite the relative rarity of natural births among demons, they did not particularly lack for sexual desires. Given her Paladin-level strength and attractiveness, most male demons and some female would likely share Aboki’s feelings to some extent, though she doubted they would all be quite so pliable.

During the war, many demons had taken countermeasures to avoid conceiving. She did not know why natural births were so rare outside of that. The fact that demons did not group up often was likely a factor, but it was possible something else was at play as well. Perhaps a generally low fertility, though Lusya being conceived in a single night was a counterpoint to that. But then, the Demon King was exceptional in many ways.

“That would be a whole lot better than now,” Beldo said. “Speaking of which, you noticed?”

“It was rather obvious,” Lusya said. “I simply did not return his affections and saw no other reason to entertain them. If he had traveled with us for longer, I may have used them to control him, but that did not happen. It is probably fortunate. I am not skilled in seduction, and sex would likely become a bargaining chip at some point, while I do not want to risk a pregnancy.”

“You’ve…put a lot of thought into this.”

“Not particularly,” Lusya said. “Most of that was obvious at a moment’s consideration. The latter part is something I decided before setting out.”

“Right,” Beldo said. “Well, the point is that I’m confident and hopeful that he can control his urges for the time being.”

“Most likely.”

“That aside,” he said, “can you feel that?”

Lusya nodded. “Indeed. I sense something strange.”

“What is it?” Ariya asked. “Is it another demon?”

“No. I do not know what it is.”

Lusya sensed something odd about the Malice in the area, but the anomaly was unfamiliar to her. It bore some resemblance to the gathering Malice of a demon’s birth, but it was distinct from that. She could not even begin to say what this sensation might be.

She fixed her gaze on Beldo. “But I suspect you do.”

There had been no confusion or uncertainty in his tone. It had been a matter-of-fact question, confirming that she was aware of the irregularity. Whatever it was, it was not unfamiliar to him, and, if he did not know what it was, he at least knew something about it.

Beldo simply nodded. “It’s a sign that we’re on the right path.”