I plumbed the depths of my creativity and pushed my ‘quick thinking’ muscles to the limit. I even dragged my feet to give myself more time. But a few minutes later, when I rounded a corner and saw the Apple Infernal inn only a short stroll away, no convenient solution had occurred to me.

Even though the city had been taken over only a few hours ago, the streets were busy. All around me, civilians darted back and forth, scrambling to set up their temporary lives. Well, I called them ‘civilians,’ but demons are demons. I sincerely doubted there was a single defenseless soul out there on those streets.

Regardless, the crowds and the exacting nature of the city’s layout conspired against me. There simply weren’t any dark abandoned alleys for me to slip into and lure my stalker to her death.

Trying to fight her openly was also not a good idea. Sure, our higher-ups were content to let us kill each other out of sight, and it wasn’t like they’d lose sleep over the death of some mortals, but even they’d probably react if we flaunted the rules so brazenly in the middle of the city.

IS there a specific rule that forbids me from just killing her, though?

The question was surprisingly valid. This was a demonic legion, after all. But a quick sifting through Hayden’s memories provided the answer, and it wasn’t in my favor.

Technically, anything that might ‘impede or hinder the invasion efforts of the legion’ was a crime, to be punished swiftly and thoroughly. And, according to the exhaustive list of actions Hayden had been forced to memorize, ‘murdering a soldier’ was among the things that could be interpreted against him.

Unfortunately.

The list also included such gems as ‘murdering the pet of the commanding officer’ and ‘sleeping with your commanding officer’s mother, spouse, and/or siblings to send them into a blind rage.’ The overabundance of detail was both funny and sobering. Apparently, unless an action was specified as a crime, demons thought it was on the table.

I absolutely loathed how much demons focused on appearances. Sending an assassin after someone? All good, you’re clear. Killing someone under the chaos of battle? Go for it. Shank a fellow soldier sent to kill you in the streets? That’s horrible, definitely not, and off with your head! Of course, if you managed to do it stealthily and bragged about it after, they’d probably buy you a drink.

Nope. Killing my stalker out in the open wasn’t an option.

So, with great reluctance, I led her right to the place where I was planning to sleep.

At least the inn was just as nice as the other branch I visited. In fact, as soon as I stepped inside, my muscles began to relax. The air of the Apple Infernal was full of some soothing aroma that pulled negative emotions right out of me.

Thanks to this scent, I was able to approach the reception counter calmly. I even returned the pretty receptionist’s smile.

“Welcome, dear customer,” she said. “How may I help you today?”

Both she and her colleague were the same type of demon as the receptionists at the other branch. Pink skin, small horns, long sinuous tails… maybe the chain was family-owned?

“Hi. I need a room for…” I paused, suddenly realizing I had no clue how long we’d stick around. “Um, odd question, but do you happen to know when the local troops under Sergeant Glaustro are set to leave?”

The demoness beamed and leaned towards me. For some reason, I felt myself blushing.

“Of course, dear customer. The troops are set to leave four days from now. They’re expected to meet in the morning in front of the city walls, where they camped out while breaching the barrier. An impressive story that, dear customer!”

“Th-thank you. I’d like a room for four nights, then,” I managed to stammer with some semblance of dignity.

Why was this woman’s presence doing all sorts of odd things to me? I didn’t have this issue with the receptionist at the other Apple Infernal. Even when I was dealing with Yules, my heart hadn’t pounded so intensely. I felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. It was all I could do to thank the receptionist politely and then scramble up the spiral staircase in the center of the room.

I could swear I heard light giggling as I left, but I refused to turn around. I was too busy trying to get myself in check. Thankfully, I remembered to glance at my key, so I knew to look for room 311.

311?

Curiosity rose up, strong enough to knock me out of my embarrassment. Sure, the inn was tall, but it wasn’t a very large building otherwise. The outside didn’t look big enough to hold that many rooms.

I hadn’t noticed it last time, but as I slowly climbed the stairs up through the middle of the hotel and snuck glances down the many hallways, I realized some sort of dimensional-magic shenanigans were going on. The hotel was definitely larger on the inside than it should have been.

My lack of reaction to this made me pause.

It was an impressive feat, sure. But after all my recent experiences, I just couldn’t get excited about it. And that was depressing.

The first time I saw a demonic city, I had been dazzled. Now it had all lost a lot of its charm. Somewhere along the line, magic went from being… magical to ‘that thing I need to study so I can kill people better.’ The revelation made me surprisingly sad.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Of all the things I expected to mourn, I didn’t think my loss of wonder at casual magic would hit so hard.

So, I wasn’t exactly in the best mood when I happened to glance down and spotted a set of furry ears climbing the stairs after me.

Anger, hot and powerful, replaced my sadness. There I was, mourning the loss of an essential piece of me, and this stalking asshole had actually followed me into what was supposed to be a safe haven.

My eyes sharpened as I began paying close attention to the hotel’s layout. Just like all demonic architecture, it was orderly and efficient. The overall design was grand and impressive like an old cathedral, but the floors themselves were carbon copies of each other, just like any ordinary hotel back in my old life.

All room numbers on the first floor started with the number 1, and began with 101. The second floor rooms started off with room 201. Logic would dictate, then, that 311 was the eleventh room on the third floor. Conveniently, all odd-numbered rooms were located on the left side of the hallway, and all even numbers on the right. Room 311 was directly opposite room 312.

So, assuming my stalker had managed to rent the room across from mine as an excuse to follow me, I had my plan.

I sped up, not caring if the cat-woman noticed. It wasn’t like she could do anything about it, and if she was under orders to kill me, she couldn’t back out now. As I already noted, demons hate failure.

I rushed down the third floor hallway and let myself into room 311 as quickly as I could, closing the door behind me. Then, sword in hand, I knelt down and tried to look through the nonexistent keyhole.

Only darkness greeted me.

I cursed. Sure, I could appreciate the extra security this offered, but since the door didn’t have a functioning spyhole, I was flying blind.

Thankfully, pressing my ear against the wood of the door got better results. Whether it was so room service could announce themselves or whatever, the door didn’t magically block out sound. In fact, the noise of my stalker’s footsteps thundering down the hallway was quite clear.

She paused right outside my door. For a moment, I wondered if she would try to force it open. The silence stretched on and on. I held my breath.

Eventually, I heard some shuffling, and the sound of a key being inserted into a lock across the hall.

This is it.

I didn’t give myself time to hesitate. In one fluid motion, I tore my door open and slammed it shut behind me. The cat-woman whirled around in her own doorway, her face startled.

It was almost shameful how thoroughly off-guard I caught her. She didn’t even go for her daggers as I barreled into her, launching us both onto the floor of her room. Rather than stabbing her immediately, I drove the pommel of my sword into her stomach. She lost her breath in a wheeze of pain.

I used the distraction to kick her room’s door close. The hallway was empty, but I didn’t want any casual passersby witnessing whatever was about to happen.

This did, however, give her enough time to start scrambling away from me. Her hands were finally reaching for those wickedly sharp daggers. I dropped my knee onto her left hand, pinning it in place, and snatched at her right wrist. She fought to buck me off, but I was both heavier and working with mana-reinforced strength. It was easy to keep her pinned and shove the blade of my sword under her chin.

That got her to freeze up nicely.

“I have no clue who sent you. Or maybe you’re doing this on your own initiative. What I want to know is how. You. Knew.”

I ground my teeth with every word, barely able to spit it all out. If I could discover who was leaking this kind of information, maybe I could get Glaustro to do something about it. He didn’t seem like the type to approve of such things.

To my surprise, the woman gave me a look of pure confusion. “What? What are you talking about? Knew what?”

Her voice was surprisingly soft. It could have belonged to a sophisticated young lady, the kind that ran in circles I could never afford to join.

Something ugly reared its head in me, and I snarled, “Don’t give me that. You’re here because of the souls, aren’t you?”

“What souls?” If anything, she sounded even more confused.

I grit my teeth again. “The mana crystals, then. Great. Same question. Who told you? Who sent you here?”

“Mana crystals? What are you even talking about?” Oddly, the woman seemed to be upset, rather than afraid or worried. In fact, she made another attempt to buck me off, her claws trying and failing to pierce the leather of my pants.

I brought my weight down on her hand a little more roughly.

“Do you think I’m stupid? Then why are you trying to kill me then, huh? Or are you stalking me because you fell madly in love with my amazing body and incredible personality?” I taunted.

Instead of retaliating, she flushed. That was when I started to feel confused.

“Wait.” I blinked. “Are you telling me you’re not here to kill me?”

The cat lady opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, there was a knock at her door.

“Dear customer? We saw a minor ping on your wards. May I ask if everything is all right? Do you require assistance?”

My eyes widened, snapping from her to the door and back. I almost shoved my hand over her mouth, but I guessed the hotel personnel wouldn’t just leave if they received no answer. And when they did enter the room, since they were guaranteed to be a demon, there was absolutely no way I could handle them. The only thing I could do was stare at the cat lady blankly, fear and indecision locking me in place.

To my utter shock, she called, “I’m fine.” Her voice was calm and confident, not even shaking. “Just… a small incident.”

“Dear customer, I really do apologize for the inconvenience, but I’m going to have to ask you to open the door. We’ve had incidents before when our guests were ordered by their attackers to reassure us.”

I swallowed thickly. Then my would-be victim arched her brow imperiously at me. Numbly, I released her and got to my feet. But after sheathing my sword, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Perhaps I didn’t think through this plan enough.

The cat-woman stood up fluidly and pulled the door wide open. A pink-skinned demoness was waiting politely on the other side. She looked like the receptionists, but instead of their navy-blue suits, she wore a crimson suit of impeccable make. There was also a club hanging from her waist. A very fancy club, but I sincerely doubted the golden highlights pressed into the ebony wood would hurt any less than a regular old tree branch.

“Sorry for the wait,” the cat lady said smoothly. “My companion and I got… a bit enthusiastic.”

It took me a moment to process her statement, but then the demoness giggled. Considering the rumpled state of our clothes… I flushed scarlet and turned away.

At least we gave the staff something to gossip about.

“Very good, dear customer. Since we know you are safe, I will leave you and your companion to your… relaxation. Enjoy your stay!”

The demoness bowed and departed, stealing glances over her shoulder that made me want to crawl under a rock and hide. I was glad when the cat lady closed the doors quickly.

I was not so glad to find us alone again, eyeing each other awkwardly.

“Okay. So.” I coughed, trying to hide my discomfort and failing miserably. “Not trying to kill and rob me. Good to know.” Maybe, just maybe, I was acting a little paranoid? “So… why follow me, then? And don’t tell me you weren’t doing it.”

She winced at that, finally breaking eye contact. “Very well. Since my subtle approach didn’t work, allow me to be blunt. I’d like to make a trade with you.”

Of all the things I thought she might say, that wasn’t it.

What do I even have to trade? She clearly doesn’t know about the souls, or the mana crystals.

“Trade what, exactly?” I asked, making no effort to hide my confusion.

My stalker took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She looked like she was preparing to go to war.

What the hell do I have that’s worth such a reaction?