After sorting out the internal affairs of his domain, Murphy called upon several lords who were momentarily without tasks. He ordered them to keep a strict watch over the entire demon territory, especially along the border. Anyone of the human kind daring to trespass was to be captured first and questioned later.
As Murphy counted on his fingers, ensuring no stone was left unturned, he realized with a hint of exasperation that once again, he was about to enter a period of waiting. But idleness was not an option for him.
"Byron, how do I look?" Murphy, donned in human attire, proudly sat astride a horse in the center of the No-Light Graveyard, awaiting Byron who was coming to greet him after wrapping up some work.
"Your Majesty, your attire is, of course, impeccably perfect."
The unemotional, steady voice of the skeleton marked his words as flattery, but Murphy felt that even if he were in his undergarments, Byron's comments wouldn’t change in the slightest.
The constant solemnity of Byron began to bore Murphy, like now, when he appeared unexpectedly at the No-Light Graveyard. Byron showed no surprise; or at least, he didn’t demonstrate any, ruining Murphy's mischievous plan to catch him off-guard with a jest.
"I'm asking if I pass for a human."
This time, Byron looked up, sizing him up seriously before replying, "Forgive my impertinence, but should you conceal your magical aura, you would appear indistinguishable from a human."
A pleased smile crossed Murphy's face. "Ha, just the effect I was going for. Demon Lord Murphy is off-duty. From here on out, I'm the bestselling author known as 'The Humble Hero.' Byron, let’s visit your hometown, shall we?"
---
In the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Heracles, also known as the Holy City of Meredith under the Patronage of the Goddess of Victory.
"Your Majesty, the suspicious items recently circulating among the nobility in the capital have been identified. They are a new type of magical crystal, whose effect is..."
A cloaked figure knelt on one knee in the king's study, reporting his findings. The man in black robe stretched out his hands and showed a magic crystal to the king - it was indeed the one Murphy sold to the smugglers.
Immovable in expression, the king seated in the high-backed chair uploaded no change in his demeanor, though the air around him turned icy.
"Present it here," came the king's unfeeling command that no one dare disobey.
The cloaked figure stepped forward and respectfully placed the faintly glowing purple crystal on the king's desk. The king took it in hand but seemed indifferent to its delicacy and beauty. Closing his eyes, he probed it with his mind before channeling magical power into the crystal. Instantly, the energy filled the stone and a merry tune filled the air while an image of five succubi gracefully dancing appeared above the crystal.
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Both king and cloaked figure silently watched the display for a full ten minutes before the study was engulfed in silence.
At that moment, the black-robed man wanted nothing more than to depart from the chilling environment. The assignment had seemed simple and would earn him an audience with His Majesty. He spared no effort to secure this investigation. Little did he expect the crystal to contain such imagery. With the mood growing ever more oppressive, silent curses filled his thoughts.
A clear, crisp sound of breaking shattered the somber quiet as the king released his grip; the once delicate pink crystal was now just a glowing powder.
"How audacious! For such vile objects of demon-kind to proliferate within the hallowed walls of our Royal Capital! Investigate! Look into all the nobles who have purchased these and those trafficking these wicked baubles."
"And summon the High Priest from the Cathedral of Holy Light immediately. Convey that I insist on an audience with him, the sooner the better."
"As you command." Grateful for the dismissal, the cloaked figure swiftly retreated from the now frigid study, hastening toward the Cathedral of Holy Light.
---
Murphy and the lifelike Byron rode through the wilderness, skirting the edge of the human kingdom, approaching a familiar landmark—the Viscounty of Baker.
Crossing the Baker's viscounty was the fastest route to the City of Gath, but neither Murphy nor Byron was worried about being recognized. First, they had no plans to enter the White Wolf City, where very few had seen them, and second, their current disguises—a warrior adventurer and a wandering bard—rendered them inconspicuous. No one would link two such unremarkable individuals to the merchants who had rescued the viscount's daughter some time ago.
"Byron, we're not taking the same path you took home last time," Murphy said to the skeleton. Last time, Byron had meandered from village to town to reach the City of Gath in search of his memories, but to Murphy, that was too slow. Taking out a map, Murphy drew a straight line between their current location and the City of Gath, then looked up at Byron. "We'll go this way. Any objections?"
"None at all," replied the skeleton Byron.
"Gurgle gurgle (No objections)," added SlimeBrue.
"Woof!" That was... well, that was Murphy’s favorite chromatic-shifting slime.
It’s a long story. Naming this rare Slime with rainbow gradient colors cost Murphy a lot of brain cells. In the end, this Slime was named “Buster” by Murphy who gave up thinking.
In time, Murphy came to appreciate a certain truth: rarity does not equate to intelligence, for even rarities can be dolts.
Cats and dogs bear notable differences, but in the eyes of slime, particularly a rare dimwit, these creatures seemed quite alike.
To transform "Buster" into a cat, Murphy fed it magical leaves daily. After pruning three trees to their crowns, the slime leveled up to five and gained the ability to shapeshift. Then, following Murphy's cat sketch, it transformed into... a dog, to be generous. What it became more closely resembled a creature of ambiguous heritage, dog-over-cat in likeness. Despite multiple corrections from Murphy, the slime stubbornly became a synthetic dog every time, even resonating with a werewolf on some inexplicable genetic level and learning to wag its tail. The only consolation was that it indeed grew more doglike.
Murphy, familiar with the fairy tales of old, knew that the heroes of such stories often traveled with a variety of odd animals, much like those young adventurers with yellow electric rodents perched on their hats.
For five days, the party trod the rarely-taken paths to reach a point two days' travel from the City of Gath.
During their journey, Murphy noticed that the common folk in the Viscounty of Baker seemed to live a more prosperous life than those in the domain of Count Reed. It appeared the old man Baker had something to show for himself, a considerable improvement over the decayed lineage of Byron's brother.
Traveling through the woods along a narrow path, they came upon a writhing, unidentifiable shape on the ground ahead. Murphy nudged Byron, "Hey, isn’t that a person over there?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, and they seem to be seriously injured," Byron confirmed, unfazed.
Murphy patted his pack as Buster bolted forth with a "Woof!" heading straight toward the shadowy figure in the distance.