[Give me power stones!!]
The door of a dungeon opened and a putrid smell reached my nose.
I covered my nose with one hand and held back my urge to vomit.
Inside this place were hundreds of corpses, bones and imprisoned people, I had no idea how many there were but I didn't want to find out why either.
[Come on, come in! She's in the back!] Atofe said grumpily behind me.
After having regenerated she remained as if she were a monk but now after a couple of hours her volatile attitude returned.
[I'm coming] I muttered and went down the stairs of the place, this area was obviously prohibited to the public for obvious reasons and I didn't even know why there was a dungeon in the middle of the city.
[Atofe!!!, let me out you damn bitch!!, you lying bitch!, you promised me candy!! A shrill voice echoed from the end of the hallway and I raised an eyebrow.
[What's up? Did you forget something?] Atofe asked, crossing his arms.
[No, but...is it her?] I asked confused.
[Yeah, duh, why the question? Come on, hurry up!] She said, pushing me from behind, and I continued walking to the end of the hallway.
And how did I get to this point? Well, I'll summarize it for you.
After Atofe admitted defeat she gave me special permission to see Kishirika as I requested, but I also asked permission to go get some food and so I did and now we are here.
[Damn bitch! This is no way to treat your sister-in-law!!] A girl screamed inside a cell and...started biting the bars?!
[tch!, shut up already!!, you have someone who wants to see you!] Atofe shouted impatiently while hitting the bars of the cell.
[grrr...Atofe...] The girl hissed and retreated to the back of the cell as if she were a rabid dog.
[Yes, yes, save your insults, this kid wants to talk to you about something important] to Atofe said while crossing her arms.
[Hah! Do you think I'm stupid? Why would I want to talk to someone now?!] The girl asked as I looked at her confused.
She was wearing what appeared to be a typical prison uniform and even had a steel ball chained to her leg.
Her hair was purple and she has two black crescent-shaped horns that seem to form a crown on her head and her eyes are different colors.
[Excuse me miss... are you the great Kishirika Kishirisu?...] I asked while taking out the food box I had brought.
[Oh?!...Hahaha! Of course, of course it's me! Finally, someone is showing me some of the respect I deserve!!] The girl screamed and laughed while looking sideways at Atofe who just gritted her teeth with anger behind me.
Hey? Is this a girl? The great demon empress? Is this a girl?!...
[W-well...in that case, nice to meet you Lady Kishirika, my name is Paul and I brought you a small gift...] I muttered as I passed her the food box.
Kishirika just raised an eyebrow as she looked at the box with suspicion, then she took it, put it on the floor and when she opened it she froze.
Huh? She won't like this food? I bought a little bit of everything at the market in this city, so I don't know if she'll like it.
[Y-you...brought this...f-for me?!] Kishirika muttered in shock as her gaze alternated from me to the food.
[Yes of course, it's not food poisoning in case you're wondering] I said with a smile.
Kishirika continued to look at me silently and then looked at the food and a huge smile formed on her face and she started stuffing herself with food.
[Haha!!, how delicious!, how delicious!!] She screamed while she ate, it seemed incredible to me how she couldn't even choke.
[tch...This damn] Atofe muttered behind me with her arms crossed but nothing more.
[Delicious...delicious!!...delicious!!!!] Kishirika screamed and looked like a child had eaten chocolate because even with the metal ball on her leg she did a somersault in the air.
[Hahaha! Thank you very much Paul! With this I can live another few years!!] She said with a smile while rubbing her belly [and I must emphasize that your food was very tasty [Therefore...you deserve a reward!!] She said and crossed her arms with a confident posture despite being imprisoned.
[T-thank you very much... many reliable sources told me that you can see anyone with your demonic eyes... is that true?] I asked him feeling anxiety growing inside me.
[Hmmm...Of course it's true! I can see anyone, as long as there isn't too much mana around!] She said with a smile as she opened her eyelids.
"Fuuuu..." I let out an involuntary sigh of relief, with this I'll be able to find Philemon.
[very well...I would like my reward to be that you look for or you tell me the exact location of a person please] I murmured while bowing slightly.
[Hahaha!! Don't be so humble with me! Tell me who it is and this servant will tell you his exact location!!] Kishirika said with a smile and...her right eye began to change from a green color to a yellow one.
[Come on! Tell me the name of the person you're looking for and I'll find them!] She said with a smile and I nodded.
[W-well...his name is Philemon Notos Greyrat, he's four years old, do you know where he is?] I asked her and she started scratching her chin and started looking at the ceiling of her cell.
[Philemon... Philemon...Greyrat...ha?!, haha!, I found him!!] She announced and I sighed in relief once again.
[Did you find him? Where is he?] I asked her and she nodded.
[Philemon Notos Greyrat, he is currently heading to the city of Lakatia, the capital of Shirone and is accompanied by a Hobit!] She said with a smile.
A Hobbit?...
[Lady Kishirika...one last favor, could you tell me the description of that Hobit please?] I asked her with slight desperation while looking at her.
[Hmmm...Let me see, aha!, the hobbit is wearing a very shiny silver armor and a sword at his waist, Philemon is sitting on his lap and they are in a carriage!] She declared and the pieces fell into place in my mind.
"My master..." I muttered.
"Ah?! You speak the human language? And here I am, looking like an idiot!!" Kishirika complained as I processed everything.
My master is escorting Philemon to Millis...but why?!
Wasn't he loyal to our family? Or unless he's protecting him simply because he thinks I'm already dead? I don't know.
"I'm sorry Lady Kishirika...but didn't you see how far they are from the city?" I asked her and she pouted.
"They'll arrive in two days..." She muttered with her arms crossed and I sighed in relief.
"Okay, I understand, thank you very much for your help Lady Kishirika!" I said and gave her a small bow.
"Well...is that all? It's time to go back" Atofe said as she started walking and so I followed her.
"Hey!! You can't leave me here!!,.I'm rotting in this cell!" Kishirika screamed loudly, Atofe turned around to confront her but I stopped her.
"What?! Don't you want that damn thing to shut up?!" Atofe screamed as she stared at me but never tried to get out of my grip
After all the positions of power had changed.
"It's not that, she has information that could be very useful to me and I can't leave her locked up here" I said to her
"It's not that, she has information that could be very useful to me and I can't leave her locked up here," I told Atofe while she looked at me with hostility.
I stared at her in the same way, since I defeated her a couple of hours ago she has been walking behind me, apparently being defeated hurt his ego.
"So you're saying you want to get her out of here?" She asked while narrowing her eyes.
"First answer me something, why did you have her locked up here in the first place?"
"That's none of your business, I'll just say that we've had a feud for ages," Atofe grumbled as I stared at her.
"Well, if their feud has been going on for centuries, then you wouldn't mind waiting one more day, would you?"
"grrr..." Atofe literally growled as she looked at me but I put my hand on my sword and she stopped making any sound.
"Good! Take her!" She screamed, turned around and started walking towards the dungeon exit.
I just stood there looking at Kishirika who was looking at us with her face between the bars.
[Hahaha!!!, it seems someone has dominated you huh?, Atofe!!] Kishirika laughed.
[Don't push your luck!!] Atofe responded followed by a slam of the door.
"Hahaha...I never get tired of this...hey! Get me out of here already then!" Kishirika muttered as she looked me up and down.
Hee left eye changed and started spinning like a gambling machine until it turned green.
"Oh? Wow! You have a good amount of mana in there, kid! I've seen very few with such a large amount! You are definitely special!" Kishirika said with a smile while nodding her head.
"Hmm? My mana? Well, thank you very much. I've never found a way to measure my reserves, but thank you...Please walk back," I said.
"Of course! I can count on the fingers of one hand the people with an amount of mana equal to yours, kid!" Kishirika said and pressed her back against the wall while looking at me.
"Hmm...cover your eyes, I can kick up dust with this" I said, I aimed at the cell lock and conjured a stone bullet directly towards it.
(zoom!!)
The lock was broken in an instant and even the stone bullet smashed the wall leaving a considerable crater.
"Hahaha! Incredible! Magic without enchantment!! You are definitely a special case, Paul!" Kishirika said, laughing out loud, and I looked at her in astonishment.
"I'll get you out of here Kishirika, with that would you give me another reward please?" I asked her while looking at her.
"Hmm...sure, why not!" She said and immediately began to take off her prison clothes until she was...
Well, how do I put it... a minishort and a black leather bra?.
God, what's up with the sense of dress in this world!
"Now then! Just take this thing off my leg!" She said and with a quick movement I broke the chains on her leg which held her to the metal ball.
"Fuuahahah!!!, now!!, get me out of this dump Paul!, I want a beer!" She said while I held back a sigh.
Not in a million years would I have believed that the "Great Demon Empress" which had put humanity in check for hundreds of years...now she was a noisy girl at the mercy of a prison.
But aren't all demons like that? Even Atofe commands more respect than her, despite not being as powerful...
"Yes, yes, let's go now before Atofe changes his mind," I said as I took her hand and we walked out of the dungeon.
"Hey kid! What's up with Atofe? I've never seen her act like that before after Kallman the First and his son, What did you do to her?" She asked suddenly as she looked me in the eyes.
"I only defeated her in "fight, that's how she's been ever since" I replied and Atofe froze in place.
"Hmm?, Is something wrong?" I asked as I looked at her.
"W-well...how do I explain it to you? The last person who defeated her in combat, well...was Kallman, and later they got married, so..."
I didn't even let Kishirika finish, I carried her like a sack of potatoes and when we left I used gravity magic to lift us through the sand into the sky.
I could see Atofe looking at me from the sand with a complicated expression which made me shudder.
"Paul! Put me down! Put me down! What kind of magic is this?!, "At least let me know!!" Kishirika screamed while kicking so I started flying away with gravity magic until we reached a remote area of the city.
"Haa...ha...d-don't do that again!" She whined and lightly punched my chest as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
I don't even want to imagine what it's like to be married to that crazy bitch...
"Hah...well! Now that you've rescued me from Atofe's filthy clutches!!, you're entitled to a reward!!" Kishirika announced as she crossed her arms and raised her chin at me.
She barely reached my shoulder, so she has to look up and I have to look down.
"W-well...I didn't really think about it, I just did it in the heat of the moment" I mutured.
"Hmm...that's a problem...oh maybe not! Sit on the floor!" She announced and I blinked in confusion.
"eh?..." The words came out of my mouth involuntarily, we were on the outskirts of the city and it was already deserted so it wouldn't be pleasant at all.
"You heard me! Sit on the floor! I'll give you your reward!" She declared while staring at me.
"...okay" I mumbled as I sat down on the floor and Kishirika smiled again.
"Okay...let's see" she murmured as she approached me and her fingers approached my left eye until...she stabbed my eye with her fingers.
"nngh!!!" The pain was immediate and immense, I tried to get up but with her free hand Kishirika held me in place, she is stronger than she looks.
"Now, don't be such a crybaby," she murmured, and I could feel her fingers moving up and down in my eye socket.
The pain was so immense that I couldn't even concentrate properly on conjuring mana in my hand to attack her.
I held her by her horns trying to pull her away from me but she stayed stuck in place.
"Okay, done!" She announced, removing her fingers from my eye socket.
"aaagh!! Damn you! You busted my eye! What the hell is wrong with you!!" I screamed as I writhed on the ground but the pain began to decrease quickly until it was zero, all in less than ten seconds
"huh?..." A murmur escaped my lips when I saw that the pain was gone as if it had never existed, I opened my healthy eye and everything was fine, I hesitated for a few seconds and opened the other eye and...
"Ugh! What is this?" I screamed in pain as I covered my eye with my hands.
The moment I opened my eyes, a huge layer of yellow covered everything around me and gave me an intense headache.
"Hehe! That's your reward Paul! One of my demonic eyes! The mana eye! With it you'll be able to see all the mana around you!" She advertised as if she were an appliance saleswoman.
"Huh?!...a demonic eye?!...wasn't there a less agonizing way to give it to me?!" I protested as I struggled to get up.
"Of course not! I had to replace your entire old eye and there's no way to do it other than destroy it!" She said indignantly and I clenched my free fist in anger.
"tch...at least...at least this thing can be controlled?" I asked with resignation.
"Of course! You just have to know how to supply the amount of mana you want to put into your eye and that's it!!" She said while looking at me.
"Okay..." I muttered as I concentrated on my own mana.
I tried to imagine the feeling of supplying less mana to a part of my body and so I did.
Immediately the yellow film on my eye began to become less dense until it became invisible and then nonexistent.
"Wow wait...really?!, I've never seen someone control a Demon Eye so quickly hahaha!!, You are definitely someone amazing Paul!" She said while patting me on the back.
I still kept covering my eye with one hand just in case, but I had already gotten a general idea of what to do.
"Good! Then my debts are settled!! Fuajajajaja! See you Paul, enjoy your Demonic eye!!" She said and started walking towards the desert with a maniacal laugh but I could hear her cough for air soon after.
"...okay, let's go," I muttered to myself as I headed back to town.
Philemon is with Wii Taa and they head towards Shirone...
While walking through the streets of the city I opened Nanahoshi's notebook and started searching for nearby teleportation circles.
"Here!" I stopped in the middle of the street when I spotted one.
According to the map, it was about a three-day journey south from here, and it would take me to an area far from the capital of Shirone...
It was my fastest route.
"Okay, let's do this," I said as I closed the notebook with a thud and rose into the air, not caring if I drew attention.
I rose to about a hundred meters in less than ten seconds.
If he really wanted to be on time then he would have to go fast and without rest.
Wind magic to propel me and cancel out wind resistance and my barrier aura to protect me from whatever was flying around here.
(krooom!!)
A booming sound was heard behind me and I suddenly couldn't hear what was around me as I flew.
"Wow...really?" I muttered to myself but I shook my head quickly avoiding distractions.
Philemon was still two days away by carriage to Shirone but I must not get too confident, I must arrive immediately if I want to be truly prepared.
I didn't mind the waste of mana, if I arrived on time I could recover.
But where I ended up was not where I expected.
Afternoon flying for about 8 hours and I arrived at what seemed to be a mountain range and in the middle of these was a nest of dragons or some similar species.
But I didn't care, if I wanted to get to my brother then I would have to make my way through whatever I could.
But first...
"Uugh...I overdid it a little" I muttered as I felt myself losing altitude.
(Thuuump!!)
A thick cloud of sand rose up as I fell.
I landed on my feet and with a tired posture, my barrier aura absorbed all the impact so I was unharmed.
If there was anyone here, they might have been terrified to see me fall like that without a scratch.
"I guess I'll get some sleep," I said as I lay down on the sand after creating an earth igloo and falling fast asleep.