Demon Queened Ch 73

Lucy

Going outside without my armor was... weird. It wasn't a

bad

'weird' though! It was actually kind of nice to just blend in with the crowd. Usually I wanted people to know the Heroine was there to represent hope and to potentially solve any problems they might have, but right now we were going incognito. It was actually sort of neat!

I mean, we were still drawing a

little

attention, I guess. Abigail's 'costume' looked really elaborate, which was probably part of it? Plus, Eena and I were in pretty fine-looking clothes, even if they weren't elaborate dresses or anything... add in Eena's way of speaking, and the fact that none of us really had any blemishes... Well, I guess it was basically guaranteed we'd draw attention, wasn't it?

Thankfully nobody was raising a fuss, though! Maybe because they were all in too good a mood? The festival was in full swing despite the earlier evacuation, and everyone was busy drinking and celebrating life. I don't think they really cared if there was a highborn in their midst. Though I guess they probably wouldn't be as accepting of Abigail if they knew...

"You doing okay?" Abigail asked me with a frown. "You keep glancing at me."

"I just... think it's a shame that people can't get to know the real you," I admitted.

"Don't be. The real me isn't all it's cracked up to be... I tend to drive people off just by being myself."

"You haven't driven Eena off yet," I pointed out. "And I don't intend to go anywhere, either! Not without learning a lot more about you."

"Yeah, well... you're the weird ones here. You do know that right?"

"I know! Sometimes people don't want to give prickly people a chance because they don't like what they see on the surface and it's not their job to dig deep... I can understand it, but I don't think I can ever accept it for myself! There's more to you than what's on the surface, and I'm sure Eena's seen it! I want to see it too!"

"Everyone

has more going on inside then they let on," Abigail said, shaking her head. "Are you going to take the time to learn every jerk's story?"

"Maybe not

every

story," I admitted, "but I'd like to think I could get close! Getting to know people better before making your mind up about them is something to aspire to, don't you think?"

"I think it sounds like a lot of effort for people who might not even be worth it," Abigail said. "But fine. Get to know me. I'll... try and get to know you, I guess. That's how this whole relationship thing works, right?"

"Uh-huh!" I agreed with a bright smile. One that Abigail actually started to return before suddenly flattening her lips.

It was clear I still had a long way to go to really earn Abigail's trust, let alone her affection... but that was fine! I knew her prickles concealed a tender heart from what I'd seen of her with Eena. I just needed to give her time to open up to me!

***

Abigail

***

Ugh. What was wrong with me?! One smile from Lucy and I almost caved in? Even started to smile back?! Started to

trust

her?! Even though she was the Heroine...

...Except she wasn't, was she? At least not in the traditional sense. She wasn't slaughtering my people or anything, anyhow. She was just... living her life next to the girl I maybe sort of kinda loved. And she was even willing to share... Yet here I was, acting like an asshole because I couldn't get past her being a human.

So, again -

Ugh

. What the

hell

was wrong with me? Couldn't I at least

try

and give her a chance? Especially knowing she was just another pawn in this stupid game of Luci's... she even got named after the bitch. How messed up was

that

?

No way she was over it, either. I mean,

I

sure as hell wasn't, and I wasn't even a direct part of her schemes... Yet here she was, trying to have a good time with me and Devilla. All because I insisted they needed some down time, and they actually took me seriously.

So the least I could do was give this a serious effort in turn, right?

"Are those

nachos

I see? And... pizza bread? Or something similar to it in any case. That's got to be the fifth place I've seen serving stew, too, but the last four were delicious so I see no reason why this one wouldn't be as well."

"What the hell, Devilla? It's been, like, five minutes since we went out the inn's front door! Why do you have

five

bowls floating in front of you already?"

"Well, I considered making an ice platter instead - it would certainly be more stable - but it might very well have chilled the food. That's why I'm simply trying to keep a sort of air-driven levitation effect going in front of me. I'm not entirely sure how it works, myself, but the concept seems sound enough for magic to do the rest."

"I don't think that's what she meant, Eena," Lucy giggled, shooting me a look I didn't quite know how to process. Something like, "Look at this girl we both love? Isn't she cute?" except, y'know, in look form.

How the hell did visible pupils let people convey so much?

"Well, if you

must

know, I'm taste testing," Devilla declared, while clearly eyeing yet another stall. "It's not like I'm going to eat

everything

right now."

"But you

are

going to eat it all in the end, aren't you?" I accused. I was tempted to bring up her spell-form, too, but...well, it had been my idea to act like they were

normal,

right? A magical body that allowed you to consume all the food you wanted without ever changing sounded nice, but it wasn't exactly

normal.

"As if I'd let such delicacies go to waste," Devilla scoffed - though I couldn't help but notice that her smile flickered for a moment. Maybe because she'd been having the same thoughts as me?

Shit.

"Oh look!" Lucy said, drawing our attention towards a particular stall, which featured a rather large jug on a platform with several small balls lined up in front. "It's a game stall! Can we go?"

"Wouldn't it be a bit unfair?" Devilla asked. "Considering our abilities and all?"

"Well, maybe if we went all out," Lucy said, "but you should be fine if you tone down your abilities, right? And I might be strong, but it's not like that means I can automatically aim or anything... it's actually really hard to measure my strength for more delicate stuff!"

I expected Devilla's emotions to take another dip at the mention of her lowered abilities, but surprisingly she barely seemed to notice. She was too focused on the game, frowning.

"I suppose that makes sense..." she agreed. "We

are

supposed to be normal people today, are we not? So perhaps it would be best if I lowered everything except my defense down to a more mortal level..."

"You don't have to go

that

far," Lucy said.

"Do you even know what normal

is

?

"

I asked.

"I can use my past life as a base comparison," she pointed out. "Though it's not like I have exact figures to work with or anything..."

"I don't think we need to worry about it too much," Lucy said. "You should just do what you think is best for today!"

"What I think is best..." Devilla mused, frowning. "I'm afraid I don't really know what that is anymore. I thought I knew everything - everything that truly

mattered

for my quest - but now... now I'm not so sure."

"Why does anything have to change?" I asked. "Pretty sure your base plan was pretty much on point, right? Bringing about peace still sounds like a good idea, no matter who might object."

"I suppose," Devilla agreed. "I just... dislike the idea of my ancestor lurking around upstairs, waiting for a chance to pull the rug out from under our feet."

"Didn't we agree not to think about that?" Lucy asked, curling a bit of hair around her finger. "We're supposed to just be having fun, right?"

"I don't think we can get away from it," Devilla said, sighing. "Not completely at least... And I have no intention of running from the truth in any case. The information I've gained... changes things."

"But it doesn't change

you,"

Lucy argued. "You're still Eena! The same girl I fell in love with! Someone who's too kind for her own good, even if she can't see it, and who I can always trust to be by my side when I need her!"

"Well... the second part, I won't argue with, at least," Devilla murmured, her cheeks turning faintly red.

"Don't forget about me," I chimed in, not wanting to be left out. "I fell for you too, you know. You're patient and caring, and you make me feel like I'm... important. Not to the world, but to

you."

"That's because you

are

important," Devilla replied. "To me

and

the world, so far as I'm concerned. I don't know if I'd be here, trying to save it from this endless cycle of carnage, if not for your presence in my life."

"If it wasn't me, it would have been some other maid," I replied, rolling my eyes despite my smile.

Devilla shook her head, though.

"Someone

certainly would have been posted by my side, but if not you? There's no telling who. There's no telling whether they could have given me the same advice you did, let alone with enough force and passion to get me to accept it. There's no guarantee they would have had my best interests at heart, either, let alone that of the world as a whole..."

"You're giving me too much credit. I only said all that stuff because it annoyed me that you were giving up instead of fighting... it's not like I treasure the world as a whole or anything, you know?"

"But you treasure the ones in front of you," Devilla replied. "You treasure

me.

If that's... not too much to say?"

"No," I said, quickly shaking my head. "I mean... maybe? I treasure you, and all that crap. But still, the world as a whole..."

"It's hard to care about the whole world," Lucy volunteered. "There's a lot of people in it, for one thing, and you're never going to meet them all. Of the ones you meet, some might not be nice and even more of them might just give you a bad first impression. If your luck's bad enough it can seem like the world itself is against you, too..."

"But you care all the same," Devilla pointed out.

"I do," she agreed, smiling. "I care about the world, and I want to make it a better one! One where differences can be put aside, and wars of extermination aren't needed... I want a world where nobody is ever born fated to die in battle from the very start! A world that isn't built on predestined sacrifices, but on the hard work of everyone involved!"

"That's going to be pretty hard," I pointed out. "There's always going to be people who have to deal with more crap than they deserve."

"I know," Lucy said. "And I know I can't save

everyone.

But I'll try to save the people in front of me!"

"Because of your title?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "Because no offense, but we all know that's crap."

"No... I mean, sure, maybe it started that way, to some extent? Mom always raised me to care about others, but it wasn't until after I left our home that I realized just how big the world was and how many people there were in need. Now that I know there's no way I can just put that burden down! Or the title! It doesn't matter who gave it to me, or why - I'm going to put it to good use, and make the world a better place!"

"Well said," Devilla murmured. "Though, with it said... we're

normal

today, are we not?"

"Right! Normal..." Lucy grinned.

"Yeah... normal," I replied, rolling my eyes.

Normal? In this group? No way. But that didn't mean for a day they couldn't try - or that I couldn't help.

***

Devilla

***

Normal, to my disappointment, was somewhat overrated.

Normal

people couldn't keep a dozen plates of food floating in front of them, according to Abigail - she limited me to three, claiming it was still in excess but that if it was necessary to my enjoyment... Well, suffice it to say we were still getting looks, but sometimes compromises such as this were simply necessary.

Normal

also

meant that I actually had to

try

and win at games. Not that it was very hard, to be fair... Just because I couldn't enhance my vision to see through every trick didn't mean that mere carnival games were a match for me. My hand-eye coordination was top notch, after all. Whether it was getting a ball into a milk jug, or hitting a star with a dart there was no stopping me.

Lucy fared a little worse. She tended to throw either too hard, or too soft, always struggling to get it just right. She and Abigail - who was somewhere between the two of us - would generally try to win a game several times before bringing me in to claim whatever prize we were after.

I'd gained no less than three stuffed dragons in this well, as well as a handful of ribbons and hair pins and other minor prizes that had caught the girls' eyes. Thankfully, the stall runners were fairly good natured about my skill. In fact, a couple were downright appreciative that I'd at least allowed my girlfriends to 'waste some coin' before joining in.

Putting aside the indignant cries from Abigail, as well as the laughter from Lucy - who seemed to almost enjoy being overlooked for once in her life - things were going pretty well for the three of us.

Less well for the stall a little ways in front of me, where a shopkeep was in the midst of letting out a cry about the thief who'd just stolen his profits. I was on the case before he could even get the words out, though - a simple application of magic sent down my leg and into the ground was enough to create a bump in front of the thief, causing him to fall.

The thief cursed, moving quickly back to his feet - only to fall over when another, orange-haired figure bumped into him before running off again.

"Something tells me that thief is going to find himself with empty pockets," Abigail muttered, causing me to arch an eyebrow. "Chloe related. I'll tell you later."

"No need... I think I can put the rest together myself," I replied, shaking my head. "For now, it looks like the stall runner has caught up to the thief. Shall we let them sort it out for themselves?"

"Can we wait a little?" Lucy asked. "We don't need to tell anyone it was us who stopped him, but I do want to make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble for the stall owner..."

"I don't think we need to," Abigail replied. "Looks like the stall's owner is content with just giving them a talking to... Maybe they're still riding high from the whole surviving a dragon attack thing?"

"If only they knew Jahara's true nature..." I let out a sigh. "Regardless, as it seems to be over... shall we retire to our rooms? I'm fairly sure we're good on stuffed toys at this point, and - as much as I'd love to visit some more stalls - it

is

getting rather late..."

"Very late," Abigail agreed, glancing up at the sky. "Weird being able to tell just from looking up, though... Usually we've got to rely on the clocktowers."

"We have clocktowers?" I asked, frowning. "Odd. I would think that beyond our current capabilities..."

"They're built into the tower," Abigail replied. "Nobody knows how they work. Magic, I guess? Either way, they tell time well enough. You'll find a few on any city-based floor."

"Noted," I murmured, before shaking my head. "But back to the original point - I was wondering if we all wished to stay at the inn tonight or if we'd be heading back to the tower?"

"I think the tower," Abigail said. "Your room has a nicer bed. Also a bigger one, which we're

probably

going to need."

"Wait, do you mean we're going to..." Lucy trailed off, looking around us at all the people.

"Have sex?" Abigail finished for her. "We're normal people, remember? It's fine to say it."

"The church still teaches that non-reproductive sex is a sin," Lucy reminded us. "Even if most people do just make a small donation at the church to get an indulgence for the Goddess's forgiveness..."

"Yet nobody seems to object to me having two girlfriends," I pointed out.

"Well, polygamy is allowed," Lucy said.

"Even between women?"

"And polyandry! Though all the women involved will probably be expected to carry a baby to term, at some point, while the men would have to adopt... Every married couple is expected to do their part to increase the population."

"Right. Because that's just what the world needs..." Abigail griped. "

More

humans."

"How does pregnancy between women work, anyhow?" I asked, hoping to direct the conversation in a more informative and less divisive direction. "Is there a plant for it, like the mirror lilies? Or are the mirror lilies themselves the solution?"

"Well, I guess that's

one

way to do it," Lucy agreed. "But most people just use angel's tears!"

"Angel's tears?"

"Yeah, they're... uh..." Lucy frowned. "Actually, I guess it's sort of a really problematic thing, now that I'm thinking about it. Not that it was ever anything but worrisome."

"What do you mean?" Abigail asked. "Don't tell me they use demon blood or something?"

"Nothing that bad!" Lucy hurriedly assured us. "It's just... well, there's this flower. Mom said it used to be called Dawn's Blossom, once upon a time, but these days everyone knows it as Demon's Blossom. It lets two women get pregnant, like monster girls and demons can... but because it's so similar the church banned its use, saying it came from the demons and was meant to corrupt our souls."

"Right..." Abigail said. "And let me guess - angel's tears is the church's alternative?"

Lucy nodded. "It's said that the angels grieved at seeing women so unfairly tempted like that, and that when one of their tears hit a demon's blossom, something miraculous occurred. It was purified... These days, supposedly the clergy are supposed to be able to purify dawn's blossoms with help from the angels. It's nothing flashy - just a prayer to the angels for one of their tears."

"But the clergy controls it," I remarked, frowning.

"They give it out for free," Lucy added. "But... only to people who get married at an official church."

There was a moment of silence, eventually punctured by a sigh.

"Look," Abigail said. "The world's messed up. It seems like almost everything everyone's ever been taught has been a lie, and the only question left is who knew what, right?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah... I know most people who work in the church truly believe in what they're doing! But there's definitely some who don't... I just don't know about the Grand Patriarch."

"Well, one way or another, that religion of yours needs reforms," Abigail said.

"Serious

reforms. I mean, ours too I guess, considering we've been practically worshiping the monster who set this all up, but at least we aren't out killing people in her name."

"I agree," Lucy said with a determined nod. "I don't know what I can do by myself, but I'll use all my influence as the Heroine to figure stuff out! I just... want to talk to the Grand Patriarch first and see what he knows..."

"Well, then I suppose it's a good thing that we've more or less been invited to their capital," I pointed out. "So long as we get there before any undue word of my identity reaches them, we should be able to find quite a bit out."

"Assuming anyone actually figured out who you are, or what you did," Abigail said. "Are you sure anyone even saw you?"

"No. But it's best to err on the side of caution... At the very least, people are likely to be suspicious as to why we stopped air traffic from leaving here for so long."

"Why don't we worry about it later?" Lucy suggested. "We're almost back to the inn, after all!"

"Right... I guess there's going to be other stuff to keep us occupied soon enough," Abigail remarked, eyeing me and then Lucy. "Hey, what do you think about pairing up this time? I bet if we gang up we could make Devilla feel better than ever."