It turned out, Alexia didn’t like haggling. If possible, she wouldn’t want to do it again for a second time.

And for that, she had a few reasons for her claim.

First would be how it had to be conducted with another person—strangers mostly—by talkative speech. That was the very reason why it was impossible for her. Naturally, she would be stuttering before she could even haggle. Luckily, Ennario was the one who did the haggling.

Second was definitely because the process dragged too long than she could ever imagine. It was only a few hours after morning when they arrived at Zalende, but when the price was finally agreed between both parties, it had already past lunch time. She felt so hungry that she almost drooled over Zefrael’s potato chips eating antics (he actually ate some during the haggling). Fortunately, it was only almost, and clearly didn't happen.

Still, both of the guys had found out that she was actually hungry. Her stomach was to be blamed because it was too noisy. Really, such disgrace was definitely needed to be kicked far away into the oblivion and wiped clean from everyone’s memory for eternity, but her hope wasn’t granted.

As expected for the shitlord, he had teased her with his evil-but-happy grin, while offering some of his potato chips he’d been eating. In anger and embarrassment, Alexia had curtly declined him with a short resentful no. She actually didn’t hate potato chips, she had also eaten some in the past, but accepting them from the demon lord was an unacceptable deed for her—and she already sick of them because she saw him eating them every time.

So yes, the girl had successfully defended her pride, but as the consequence, her stomach stayed hungry as ever.

In the dire predicament, Ennario came as the savior. With a nonchalant gesture, he suggested to have some lunch before the departure by coach. Thank god.

Finally, they had some lunch in the open-terrace café in the center part of Zalende. The food was very delicious. It tasted heavenly for Alexia who had been starved for some time. Both of the guys also ate while adding some of their weird and problematic preference. Zefrael was doing it with his chips as usual, but the real problem lies in Ennario.

His preference was vinegar. Alexia knew them already, but what she didn’t know was the fact that he poured them to everything he eats or drinks. His savory meal, his soda drink, even his sweet chocolate cake dessert, everything was vinegar-styled. Yuck!

Alexia didn’t want to guess the taste, or even tried to imagine. It was clearly too disgusting, scary, and horrendous at the same time. She really questioned the credibility of the taste bud of his. Her conjecture, it was probably broken beyond repair.

Anyways, during the short lunch, they had some trifling conversations. After Alexia finally satisfied her fussy stomach, they left the city to the east by the hired coach, without any further problem.

Everything supposed to end well, but—

That was before she heard the ‘agreed price’ between Ennario and the coach driver. That would be her third reason to say no for another haggle.

“Saving a village? Seriously??”

Alexia exclaimed in surprise while throwing a bothersome look towards the guys who sat across of her inside the coach, especially to the one who gazed at her with a hopeful look in his silver eyes.

“Yes,” Ennario mumbled while scratching his vibrant blue hair around his bandana knot, “you’re willing to do it, right, Alexia?”

Honestly, she wanted to say no, as it only sounded nothing but a bother to her. Yet, the other stare—from the one who kept munching his potato chips—stopped the thoughtless answer which had almost blurted out from her mouth.

He wasn’t saying a word. He was only munching his chips—munch, munch, munch—noisily-but-deliciously, while keeping his violet purple eyes locked at her. Seriously, she couldn't even begin to imagine how bottomless this stomach pit was. Chips before, during, and after lunch!? Is there a black hole inside his stomach or something??

Well, nonetheless, Zefrael’s silent—not exactly if she counted his munching—gaze involuntarily reminded her about the true purpose of the journey. This—if she had to borrow the demon lord’s word—was probably the dawn of a new quest.

As much she wanted to say no, she couldn’t, because her necklace's safety was depended on it.

Alexia threw her gaze outside, beyond the coach’s glass window to escape the stare at her. A perfectly lined wide brick road actually came to her view. The road was stretching over a fertile steppe with thick trees and small flower bushes which rested on the varied sized slopes. At the end of the road, was the capital of Regalia Kingdom, but obviously, it wasn’t where she was headed this time.

As she breathed a short sigh, the girl returned her sight back to the coach's inside. The constant rattling of the coach's tires was sounding in the back of her mind as she faced the two guys who sat side by side on the leather cushion with carved ornamental wooden walls as their background.

“Yeah…well, if I must…” she muttered, regretfully realizing that she had no other choice but to comply.

“I knew you would understand, Alexia!” Ennario vigorously replied. Raising his two fingers with a sign of peace, he winked happily, “That way, the cost for hiring this great coach would be free.” Turning his head front, he loudly added to the coach driver who was holding the reins of his horses outside, “Isn’t that right, Mister?”

From outside, a deep and low voice of a man replied, “Yes, of course. If my request is complete, I’ll bring you wherever you want with my coach.” Then, he continued with sheepish voice, “Haha, how lucky I am to be helped by the Hero herself.”

Right, that was the very reason which had started the request. The coach driver had found out that Alexia was the Hero and then, it came down to this. Honestly, she was annoyed back there. To her frustration, he also surmised wrongly about her gender—following Zefrael and Ennario’s example—but she had no other choice but to help him. Helping people in need was actually listed within her duty as the Hero.

Alexia had already crossed the line she couldn’t turn back anymore when she agreed, so she better readied herself to face the inevitable. Still, the ‘quest’ did sound pretty bothersome—more than the one about slaying the dragon.

As she shifted her gaze back to the moving scenery outside the window, the girl recalled Ennario's explanation about the details of the quest.

The coach driver was a man in his forties, his name was Karlan. His hometown was a small settlement in the southeastern part of the Kingdom territory. Karlan said that his village was built around the Salen Gulf, the mountainous reef at the edge of the continent. It was famous with the beautiful beaches and the ample sea products, from seafoods to decorations and accessories.

The village had been prospering all year straight with their nature tourism and renowned products, but lately, it was getting desolate. Everything changed because of one scary rumor.

They said ‘ghosts’ kept appearing at unexpected places, and scaring the hell out of the people. Karlan even said that his ten-years-old daughter was claiming that she could see this ghost, and sometimes was seen talking to herself and later, conveying the said ghost’s words. It was really appalling, the coach driver had said.

Karlan's request was none other than the investigation of the ghost rumor, whether it was true or not, and followed with an extermination—if the ghost was a real deal. He was hoping to return his village back to its glory, and also, saving his little girl from the ghost's bound.

In a way, it was a preposterous kind of quest, which was kind of in tune with this insane and f*cked-up journey.

“Haa…”

Unconsciously, Alexia let out a weary sigh. She, for one, didn’t like the sound of this quest.

“A long sigh,” Ennario muttered quietly, and wrinkled his eyebrows, “Are you unsatisfied with the price, Alexia?” Throwing a hopeful look towards the girl, he tried to persuade her, “Didn’t you hear him? It’s free! Isn’t that wonderful?? Nothing beats free things.”

Alexia sighed again in his vigorous inquiring words. It's not like she hated the freebies. The pocket money she got from the Kingdom for the journey's expenses was on the verge of running out. It was about time she acted economically, and accepting free things when she got the chance. Yet, there was a probability that the situation wouldn’t need to arrive at this bothersome quest.

“Well,” the girl started, before she suddenly swallowed back her word, realizing the not-really-good situation around her.

The coach wasn’t big, it had a limited space, enough to accommodate maximum of four persons—and five for the driver outside. Alexia and her party member's place were separated from the driver's seat by a thin wooden plank which acted as a sliding door. Considering that, it was only natural if Karlan who was outside, could hear almost everything which was happening inside.

That was the not-really-good thing that she had realized. Whatever said, in her opinion, the coach driver shouldn’t hear about the thing she was about to say.

Having no other choice, Alexia picked the last remaining option. Bending her body forward, she gestured towards Zefrael and Ennario to come closer with her hand.

The demon lord followed her wish immediately. He stopped his chips-eating mode, and bended his body forwards with an amusing look in his face. Beside him, the dragon boy looks confused, but he actually followed without saying a word.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Whispering time?” asked Zefrael with quiet voice. His expression gleamed vibrantly with excitement, “What are we gonna talk about now?? I’m sooo thrilled!!”

“Shut up, shitlord!” Alexia hissed, forcing her voice to come out as quiet as possible as she brushed off her irritation. This obviously wasn’t the time to be angry at small things. Even if she was astonished much on how the shitlord could voice out an excitement without raising his whispering voice, she wasn’t bothering to show it on her face.

Instead, she glanced towards both of the guys. She warned Zefrael with a look, before she darted her eyes towards Ennario, “You see, in my opinion, we don’t even need this coach.”

“Huh!?” Zefrael raised his voice in surprise, but then, he promptly closed his mouth with his hand. A second later, he lowered his hand and continued with happy screaming whisper in front of Alexia’s annoyed glare, “You do think adventure is done by walking!! I think so too!!”

“No! Stop jumping to conclusion!” she instantly protested while keeping her voice to stay at low tone, and glared the grinning demon lord with a peevish look. Regardless of what he said, walking was a super duper bad idea, and more importantly, she didn’t like agreeing with her enemy unnecessarily. “And stop showing that grin before I plaster your mouth!”

“Ugh…so savage…” Zefrael muttered with a pout. He turned his eyes away and drilling them into the opened potato chips bag in his hand, “I thought you’re finally approve my idea, and—”

Alexia promptly glared him without saying a word. Luckily, he got her point clear enough as he immediately showed a gesture to zip his mouth with his finger.

As soon as he did it, the demon lord returned to his chips and started consuming them again. Of course, his munching sound was still noisy, but in one way or another, he was being quiet enough as she had wished.

“Okay, back to the topic,” Alexia finally said and turned her eyes back to the dragon boy, “What I mean is, we don’t even need coaches for our transportation.”

With an expression dyed with confusion, Ennario tilted his head. “Not walking, no coach, huh??” he mumbled, crossing his hands in front of his chest in a thinking gesture, “What do you propose then, Alexia?”

“We have you, right, Ennario?”

Alexia voiced out the obvious conclusion which she’d got during the journey, but the dragon boy’s vertical slit pupils only went bigger in complete confusion, as if he was puzzled beyond any words could say.

“Me??” he asked.

“Hello?? Dragon Ennario??” Alexia impatiently scoffed. Really, had she needed to explain things very slowly in a more detailed way to this idiot??

“Uh, yes??”

Alexia immediately rolled her eyes in his innocently stupid reply. Again, he was unable to catch her point directly, even if it was so obvious already. She was so vexed. This was really the first time she talked with someone so stupid and idiotic.

“Alex probably meant your dragon form, Enna!”

Zefrael suddenly raised his voice from the side. He finished the last of his chips, ditching the empty bag into thin air and licked his crumby fingers.

After Ennario’s complain, the demon lord did flash the empty bag away after he ate his chips. Probably, he was doing his best to be more eco-friendly by throwing them into his personal trash can, but in the end, his gesture was still filthy. Couldn't he normally wipe the oily crumbs rather than licking them off like that??

"Look, Enna,"

Zefrael's voice immediately called Alexia's thought from her contempt about his filthiness.

“As a dragon, you’re big enough to carry few people on your back, and plus, you can fly through the air!" he said with a slight grin on his face, "You're obviously faster than walking, and naturally, faster than the coach."

The demon lord darted his purple eyes towards Alexia as his grin deepened, “Right, Alex?”

Honestly, Alexia hated his grin, but she couldn't find any words to retaliate. The shitlord understood her point without any detailed explanation, and he had conveyed them in an easy to digest way. It was kind of frustrating, but actually, it was relieving at the same time. She didn’t like to be understood by her sworn enemy, but she didn’t like it more if she had to do the bothersome long-winded explanation by herself.

A win-win solution, then?

It was regrettable, but she finally chose to nod towards the demon lord, and closing the curtain of her discontentment.

The girl seriously thought that everything would be a breeze after that, but clearly, she was wrong.

“No.”

Ennario stared the girl with a stern expression and puckered his mouth. There was no sign of concede within his silver draconic eyes.

Honestly, Alexia was taken aback. "Why?" she asked with a quiet voice, tried to ask, “Don’t you think it could be a costless transportation, better than a hired coach?”

Ennario promptly shook his head, “No, I'm sorry.” He seemed guilty for a second, before his expression became stern, “This time I can’t give in to you, Alexia.”

The girl immediately wrinkled her eyebrows, perplexed. Her profound theory should've been correct.

“But—”

Suddenly, a quiet giggle interrupted her words. As she turned her attention to the source of the voice, she caught the demon lord’s amused glance.

“That’s out of the option, Alex,” he said amusingly while pointing his finger—which was already cleaned from the remaining chip crumbs—towards Ennario, “this dragon here doesn’t like being a dragon.”

“Eh?”

“Who would?? That form is a big waste of space!” Ennario instantly blurted out in his defense, “Look what happened in the last incident! I accidentally tore up the house I’ve been living for some time.” Looking very sulky, he snapped towards the amused demon lord, “And it will be my loss if you’re the only one who could understand what I said!”

“But, you ARE a dragon!”

Alexia promptly raised her whispering voice. She couldn’t comprehend Ennario’s hesitation for being a dragon.

Dragons were said to be a legendary creature, with unimaginable power. It had been said that they were able to crush a mountain flat, or even wiping out one or two hills from existence.

She, for one, wasn’t refusing if she could be a dragon. It would be easier for her to stomp the shitty demon lord dead without even agreeing to his stupid proposition of a journey. Also, if she was a dragon, she could soar high in the sky, and tasting freedom as she flew. Wasn't that a great thing??

Still, it was pretty much impossible as she was one hundred percent human, moreover without a magic power inside her. Dream could only stay as a dream, fleeting as it is.

“Being dragon isn’t fun, you see…” Ennario dejectedly muttered with a quiet voice, “…destiny, rules, responsibilities, role, everything! That’s why…”

His voice soon trailed off into nothingness, and Alexia couldn't hear him anymore. There was actually one thing she could surmise from his near-extinct voice. It was the fact that he really didn’t like his dragon form. Unbelievable, but it was the truth.

“More importantly!”

As if his glum expression a minute ago was only a mirage, Ennario suddenly showed a smile. With his usual carefree face, he said, “You see, Alexia, I can’t talk properly in my dragon form. It'll be impossible for me to haggle to my heart content!!”

“That’s where it matters!?”

Being too surprised, Alexia forgot they were still in the middle of the sneaky-sneaky time behind Karlan’s back. She unconsciously let her voice raised too high, almost into a sharp yell.

And of course, the coach driver finally heard it.

“You okay in there, Miss?” Karlan asked with worried tone.

“Errr…”

Alexia struggled to find some words to reply, but Ennario actually gone before her.

“No problem, Mister!” he assuredly said with a cheerful tone, “We were just talking about my haggling hobby.”

A modest laugh promptly resounded from beyond the sliding door. “I have to admit, you’re really good at it, kid! Never in my life, I thought I could give my service for free!”

“You flatter me too much, Mister,” replied Ennario with sheepish laugh.

As the sneaky time struck its end, everyone moved to sit back properly on their cushion, Alexia was included. Still, she couldn't help to let out a protest.

“And saving a village as an exchange payment, where is the free in it??” she sarcastically said with a very low voice. As she dejectedly stared at the smiling dragon boy, she snapped, “I dare you! Back there, you’re probably just haggling for your own amusement, nothing less.”

“Hmm,” Ennario promptly wiped his smile. He seemed like he was lost in thought as his hand rubbing on his bandana tassel. “I don’t really have problem with money, so yeah," he mumbled, "You’re probably right, Alexia. But, haggling is the real pleasure of a trade, right?”

The dragon boy winked at her, but Alexia curtly answered him with an unwavering no.

She didn’t feel any of the ‘pleasure’ that Ennario was talking about, only the alternative. His sociability, courtesy and his supple way to deal people are definitely things which she couldn’t apply to herself. On the top of that, his hobby was haggling, the very thing that she didn’t want to experience for a second time. He was indeed the polar opposite of her.

“But mind you, I’m not rich!” the dragon boy suddenly said while pointing his finger upwards with a reprimanding look, “So haggling is indispensable!”

“Ha…”

Alexia really had enough. She wasn’t interested in dragging the topic any longer. Anyways, it was pretty impossible to change the dragon boy’s opinion about the importance of his hobby. She rather struck the last note of this topic, but her wish wasn’t easily granted.

“Talking about rich,” murmured Ennario while taking a short glance to his side, “No one beats Zef here, Alexia. Can you believe it?? He paid things I delivered to his castle with big gold chunks!”

Unable to contain her doubt and astonishment, Alexia widened her eyes. “Gold chunks?” She darted her eyes towards the supposed rich demon lord, “Really??”

Zefrael nonchalantly shrugged. “Well, it’s the only thing I have.”

Ugh!

Alexia was so envious. First magic, and then, the richness. Why the shitlord kept having things she couldn’t have?? It was so vexing.

Still, it was to be expected. As the demon lord, magic was supposed to be a part in him. And he had a castle, a big and luxurious castle. Even if he was using it wrongly to be his personal trash can, that castle was more than enough to signify the richness he was having.

Alexia knew that she shouldn't even feel envious, as it was a disgrace to her dignified Hero title. Still, ignoring them was hard.

As she diverted her attention towards other things, she actually found something to immediately cloud her envy.

“If you guys are really rich, why being so stingy??” the girl promptly snorted with disdain, “Just pay the full hiring fee, so we won't be going to that ghost village.”

Zefrael promptly widened his eyes in silence and stared Alexia with reluctant eyes. “You know,” he started with a soft mutter, “I felt that you’re more prickly than usual about the quest, Alex. Do you, by any chance, are scared of ghost?”

“I’m not!!” Alexia instantly refuted.

“Then, why so thorny?” The demon lord glanced to his side—towards his dragon friend, as to demand an agreement, “Your guess, Enna?”

Ennario contemplated for a second. “Because she was scared of ghost??”

“I’M NOT!!” she yelled again.

Ignoring her irk, Zefrael cheerfully continued, “For example, Alex, the ghost will surprise you with a ‘Boo!’, and you’ll run away in panic.” Then, he took a glance towards Ennario who sat by his side, “Don’t you also want to see that kind of interesting development, Enna?”

The shitlord's annoying actions promptly angered the girl. Furiously, she stomped her feet to the coach’s wooden floor, “Grr!! Don’t use me for your stupid example!! And don’t ask for an agreement from Ennario!!”

“Whoawhoa! Easy, Alex!” Zefrael exclaimed with a cringe, “Surely you don’t want the coach to fell and bring us with it, do you??”

Alexia immediately stopped her stomping feet in embarrassment. “I didn’t shake it too hard!!”

“Really? I thought it was an earthquake.”

“Earthquake your ass!! You just—”

“Hey, hey, Zef, stop teasing her!” Ennario intruded, and peered into Alexia with a regretful look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that you’re scared of ghost, Alexia. You’re probably just bad with them, right?”

“NO!!” she yelled again indignantly.

Ennario was probably trying to appease her, but he failed terribly with his choice of words. As the matter of fact, Alexia didn’t feel scared, of even feel bad of ghost even for a grain. Instead, she would want to meet one if they're really existed.

The main reason of her dissatisfaction wasn't the ghost itself, but rather the request which had been stuck on it. Saving a village sounded too high and exaggerating, even for a Hero. In her opinion, the seaside village would really be saved if the people who live there were making some efforts on restoring the village as it was. They shouldn't have been dependent on a hero and her f*cked-up party member to appear and save the day.

Still, Alexia was already stuck inside the ghastly quest without having a way out.

Now that the situation had turned out like this, she should just see for herself to make sure, whether if the ghost was real, or it was only a baseless rumor. If she really could meet those rumored spectral beings called as ghost, maybe everything could be paid off.

Honestly, Alexia was longing to see one. And hopefully, her blade could send a requiem to lead them into the afterlife.