Opus and Cayna decided to take the least conspicuous path and use Flight. They knew they’d spark a commotion if spotted and kept as low to the ground as possible. Both initially considered casting magic to summon steeds, but the ruckus from possible witnesses meant Flight was their best option. The group stopped halfway to rest when the speed and height started making Luka dizzy. Meanwhile, Opus received word from Siren that some Helshper knights had come to retrieve Cayna. Of course, those messengers had no idea what fate awaited them. “The knights? Maybe Caerina wants to talk about something?” “Aiding any government authority will not end well.” “The government has nothing to do with it. Caerina is my granddaughter. I’m still not really sure how the family tree works, though.” “Your granddaughter?” “She’s the daughter of my Foster Child Mai-Mai. Caerina is a knight, so maybe she sent these guys.” “Hmm. A Foster Child, you say? I wonder whatever happened to mine.” “You submitted foster kids, too…? I wanna see ’em.” “Ah, who were they again? I don’t recall.” “You’re terrible.” “Never mind all that. What are you going to do about this summons from your granddaughter?” “It’d be bad if I suddenly stopped by the knights’ garrison, and the conversation dragged on, so I want to find us some lodging first. Plus, we’ve got Luka.” “Hmph, very well.” When the group arrived at the inn Cayna had previously stayed at with Elineh’s caravan, they ran into some familiar faces. “Hey there, miss. Fancy meetin’ you here.” “Oh my, if it isn’t Lady Cayna. And Lady Luka is with you as well. How rare.” “Hello, Arbiter, Elineh. It’s been a while.” “Hello…,” Luka said, bowing her head slightly as she held Cayna’s hand. Elineh and Arbiter smiled cheerfully. However, Arbiter’s eyes narrowed suspiciously when he spotted Opus behind Cayna. The unusually tall demon sent him into high alert; the sparks flying between the two men were practically visible to the naked eye. Nevertheless, Opus had more or less heard about Cayna’s acquaintances in this world and showed no hostility. He merely returned a glare for a glare. At the same time, he combined several Active Skills that violently struck Arbiter in lieu of a greeting. Opus just saw it as a practical joke, but Arbiter stood there sweaty and paralyzed as his body reacted to the immense force. “?! Hey, Opus! What’re you doing to Arbiter?” “He was messing with me, so I returned the favor.” “Your idea of returning the favor is seriously terrifying. Cut it out already! Are you okay, Arbiter?” “…Y-yeah.” By the time Cayna realized what was happening and interrupted Opus’s prank, poor Arbiter looked like he had shaved several years off his life. “Geez, Opus. Arbiter and Elineh saved my skin. Don’t be rude!” “All right, all right. No need to fuss over every little thing.” “Let’s all get acquainted. This is Opus, my old friend who hangs around like a bad cold. He’s kind of weird, but I swear he’s not a bad guy. I hope you’ll all get along.” “R-right… I was out of line, too… Sorry.” “I—I see… My name is Elineh. If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask… Um, are you quite all right?” “…Are you okay…Opus?” “…! …?!” After taking an elbow reinforced with STR Up and Power Boost to his unguarded solar plexus, Opus fell to the ground and was out like a light. The kind mercenaries and caravan who had just been overwhelmed and stupefied by the aftermath of his immense pressure instinctively began to fret over the demon’s condition. It was sad, really. Cayna didn’t notice the crowd of people trembling behind her in fear of the elbow jab she’d just unleashed. To them, it probably seemed as if Cayna had prioritized Arbiter over her old friend. Opus, on the other hand, recovered about ten minutes later. “Ugh, cough. That hurt…” “No whining. You got what you deserved.” The attacker had the strength to pull off such a vicious attack, and the victim had the stamina to endure it. The mercenaries watched the pair’s antics with half shock and half envy. Imagine the looks on their faces if they’d been told she was more powerful than when they last met. Elineh’s caravan had finished their business negotiations in town and was preparing to head out. “Our meeting at Sakaiya was quite productive. Yet another result of being acquainted with you, Lady Cayna.” “Glad to hear it. Still, I doubt even I can convince Caerick to compromise.” “It is true the remote village weighs heavy on Sir Caerick’s heart. However, I cannot help but feel I may have taken slight advantage of that sentiment.” “Wow, Elineh. You drive a hard bargain, as usual.” “My merchant nose is always sniffing for potential profit. Do you have business with Sakaiya as well, Lady Cayna?” “No, I’m here for something else. The Helshper knights summoned me apparently.” “You came all the way out here for that? And brought the little lady with ya?” “I figure it’ll help Lu with her social skills. A trip now and then is a great way to gain experience.” “Oh yeah?” “I suppose you are unaware, Sir Arbiter, but expanding one’s worldview is crucial to developing a keen eye.” “Um, I never said I wanted to make Lu a merchant.” Their lively conversation continued, and Cayna arranged to return to the village with Elineh if their schedules lined up. “Well, I’d rather not, but I better get going. Lu, stay with Opus. Kuu, watch over Lu. Elineh, Arbiter, I’m sorry for the trouble. Thanks for your help.” “Not at all. Please leave everything to us.” “Go right ahead. You’ve got nothin’ to worry about, miss. We might be a bunch of bumpkins, but my men can babysit like pros.” “““Think again, boss!””” Arbiter’s joke sparked protests from his men, which soon turned into howls of laughter. “See you later…Mommy Cayna.” “Leave it to Kuu!” “I doubt things will come to this, but let me know if you run into any trouble,” said Opus. “Depending on how the situation plays out, I can blast away the castle and buy you time to escape.” “Are you insane?!” Leaving Luka with Opus and Kuu, Cayna headed out with a sigh. “Why’s she so bummed?” Arbiter asked curiously. “Let’s just say this isn’t the first time she’s been reluctant to accept a political quest,” Opus answered, speaking as Cayna’s longtime companion. Back when Leadale was still a game, quests solicited by aristocratic NPCs often rubbed players the wrong way. They led to unsettling discoveries like the real reason some people ended up in servitude or how the aristocracy viewed dissidents. Such quests were meant to limit the number of Skill Masters since the Admins had been concerned that they were getting preferential treatment. Given the exorbitant number of quests, some were bound to deliver a harsh dose of reality. Even Opus didn’t have a hand in every single one. By the time the game ceased operation, that number had reached over 4,500. Once he saw Cayna off, Opus had his own plans in mind. “I suppose I’d better get going.” “Okay…” “Oh, are you leaving as well, Sir Opus?” “I’m going to the Adventurers Guild to get my registration card.” “You still ain’t a guild member?! Cayna’s friends sure love the quiet life!” “I had no need for it before. I’ll likely be traveling internationally from now on instead of holing up somewhere, so I’ve decided to register just in case.” The registration card was a form of identification. Since Opus didn’t plan on participating in the guild anyway, he saw it more like a student ID. He was here now. As long as his friends and acquaintances knew this, he was satisfied. Still, Opus couldn’t say what might happen in the future, so registering was a form of insurance. Cayna would be mad if he didn’t take advantage of half the card’s purpose, though… “Oh yeah? Go ahead and mention the Flame Spears. It’ll spare you the paperwork and havin’ to explain yourself.” “Thanks. Are you sure, though? We’ve only just met.” “You’re old friends with her, so she must like ya well enough. Don’t sweat it!” Even if Cayna was the primary reason, Opus was glad Arbiter trusted him so much. He was equally thrilled she’d made such good friends. In any case, just as Opus went to leave the inn, something tugged the hem of his clothes and made him stumble. When he turned around, the demon found Luka staring up at him like an abandoned puppy. “Where are…you going?” “Just to the Adventurers Guild. I’ll be back soon, okay?” “I’ll…come, too…” “Kuu, too! Kuu’s gonna come, too!” It wasn’t like Opus could brush off Cayna’s request to watch her, but he felt bad for Elineh, who had been given the same responsibility. Just as he was wondering what to do, Elineh and Arbiter smiled cheerfully and showed her out the door. “You’d feel better with someone more familiar. Right, little miss?” “Yes, although Lady Cayna requested our aid, we are not so small-minded that we would take offense over a matter like this.” “Right. Sorry for the trouble.” Anyone who knew Opus would be dumbfounded by such docility. He bowed to Elineh and Arbiter, hoisted Luka onto his shoulders, and left the lodging. Kuu flew in front of Luka and pointed at Opus’s horns. “You can grab these!” “Huh…?” Luka’s eyes darted between Kuu’s outstretched finger and Opus’s horns. “You’re Cayna’s, all right…,” he murmured in reply to the fairy’s brazen instructions as he gave Luka permission to grab his horns. “It doesn’t…hurt?” “Not if you don’t deliberately twist them. Just be careful if I turn around to look behind me.” “…O-okay.” She timidly grabbed his horns, and Opus smirked. The size, height, and curve of a demon’s horns were determined in Character Creation mode. Of course, these settings were permanent and could not be edited later on. Opus’s horns were straight and extended behind his temples at a diagonal. In the Game Era, demon players sported a variety of styles such spiral sheep horns, goat horns, or deer antlers. However, these numbers dwindled over time. Despite a demon’s incredible stats, there were also terrible drawbacks. Mindful of Luka, Opus limited his head movements as he searched for the trio of white towers that made up the Adventurers Guild. According to Arbiter, they just had to head straight down the main avenue from the lodging and continue west. Sure enough, the guild was easy enough to find. Opus effortlessly weaved between foot traffic and entered the building. They found themselves in a spacious, empty room. Employees stood behind the counter, but neither hide nor hair of any adventurer was to be seen. “Guess it doesn’t matter,” Opus muttered to himself as he set Luka down. He approached the counter. “Welcome to the Helshper Adventurers Guild. How may I help you?” “I want to register as an adventurer. The leader of the Flame Spears already told me what to expect.” Arbiter hadn’t explained anything, but Opus knew the rules from his visits to the Adventurers Guild in the dungeon town. “Oh, an acquaintance of Mr. Arbiter. Well then, please fill out the necessary information on this form,” she said, handing him a pencil and paper. He was relieved to cut through the needless tutorial as expected and get straight to the point, but why did she immediately believe him without a shred of proof? Opus sensed the employee was a bit naive, but saying so would only bring the issue to her attention. Since none of it was really any of his concern, Opus quickly abandoned the thought. He entered his name (the whole thing) and his race. He marked his occupation as “warrior” since it was a safe choice and submitted the form. The girl behind the counter briefly checked his paperwork, then handed him a number placard. “Please wait just a moment. I will create your identification card,” she said before taking the document and disappearing into the back room. Cayna had to wait an entire day for hers, but the process was brief here. Maybe the employees just didn’t have much else to do. While Opus was at the front desk, Luka and Kuu stared blankly at the wall of requests. Since the fairy didn’t have to worry about unwanted attention, she fluttered and danced around Luka. As the girl skimmed over any sentences and letters she couldn’t read with the occasional puzzled gesture, she felt a hand on her head. Opus approached Luka from behind and lightly put her on his shoulders so she could see the endless wall of requests at eye level. “Find anything interesting?” “…I can’t…read that one…” “Hmm.” Opus followed Luka’s finger to one request in particular. Perhaps due to the game’s influence, the local language used hiragana, katakana, and occasionally kanji. Kanji was often used in the guilds, but since the literacy rate wasn’t very high, you could bring a request to the reception desk and have it read to you. Hiragana and katakana were no issue for Luka thanks to Roxilius’s lessons. The request in question included kanji. “Read it to her,” Opus told Kuu, who was close enough to lick the paper. “Got it!” she replied before peeling herself away to carry out his command. As ditzy as she appeared, Kuu was integrated with the subsystem. The fairy was by no means stupid. However, Luka grew visibly depressed as Kuu read to her. She must have felt like she lost somehow since the tiny fairy could read so much faster than her. “Keep at it,” Opus mumbled as he patted her head. After that, Kuu taught Luka every character she didn’t know. For a while, the pair’s question-and-answer session was the only sound in the empty guild. However, a sudden noise from the open doorway cut through the silence. “Agh, geez. That was awful… Huh…?” “…Oh.” The newcomer was a fiery woman in light leather armor who had exhaustion written all over her face. She carried a saber at her waist and a whip around her arm. And most importantly, she was one of the few people Luka knew. At the same time, Opus and the others were hard to miss since they were standing right in the middle of the guild. Quolkeh looked momentarily surprised and cheerfully waved to Luka. “Hey there, if it isn’t Luka. It’s been a while. How’ve ya been?” “…Good.” “Looks like you’re not with Cayna today. Who’s your demon friend?” “…This is…Opus. He’s…Mommy Cayna’s…friend.” Quolkeh’s eyes narrowed at first, but Luka’s stilted speech softened her expression. Cayna had given Opus a basic rundown of all the players she’d met in this world so far, so he had no intention of criticizing Quolkeh’s reaction. He was aware he might be treated with suspicion. However, Luka spared him any roundabout explanations. Opus zeroed in on Quolkeh and used Search to confirm her level and other data. This went smoothly enough, but problems arose when Quolkeh called to her friend outside. “Hey, Exis, what’s the holdup?! Luka’s here.” “You’re the one who went runnin’ on ahead. I’m not as fast as you. Think about how I feel for a second.” A grumbling gray dragoid soon appeared beside his partner and went to greet the little friend he hadn’t seen in so long. The instant he laid eyes on the tall demon with her… Whoosh!! Clang!! …he crashed to the floor. The whoosh was the sound of his legs slipping out from under him, and the clang was his armor slamming into the ground. The whole sequence was incredibly fluid, and it wouldn’t be strange at all to find out this living person was actually a puppet whose strings had just been cut. Quolkeh and Luka were dumbfounded. “Exis?!” “…?!” Quolkeh crouched down to check if Exis was still breathing. Frozen solid by this unexpected development, Luka clung to Opus’s horns. Meanwhile, the demon calmly strode over to Exis and called out to him from overhead. “You alive, Tartaroast?” “……Dammit, O-Opus… Why are you here?” “For the same reasons as you two, I’d imagine. I’m shocked the possibility didn’t even occur to you, Tartaroast.” “…I keep tellin’ ya, it’s Tartarus, not Tartaroast! Anyway, that ain’t me anymore!” Exis was lying flat on the ground but nimbly jumped up and tried to snap at Opus. Of course, Opus predicted the dragoid’s movements and was already a safe distance away by the time Exis sprang into action. Besides, Opus couldn’t risk exposing Luka to danger. It was clear he had no idea what Cayna’s rage entailed. …Exis, that is. “I see, so you’re ‘Exis’ now. Very well, then. By the way, how long do you intend to remain hostile? I don’t appreciate you worrying Luka unnecessarily.” “Ngh, that’s dirty. How dare you kidnap Luka!” Exis growled threateningly as Opus stood there with his arms crossed. The demon shrugged and let the intimidation roll right off him. Nevertheless, he noticed the petrified Luka on his shoulders and glowered at Exis. Sensing something perilous in that calm and collected stare, the dragoid backed off. The alarm bells in his head soon went silent.
Chapter 109
15 min read