Chapter 94: Mini-mage duo at large

By the time the mini-mage duo had exited the guild their leader, Eel, had long since disappeared into the distance making Promicarus frown.

“Jeez why is that plump titted prince in such a hurry. It was almost as if they’re running away from me… Though I too would run away in fear at this one's greatness!” <Promicarus>

Unlike the arrogant appearance Promicarus professed Emily looked far more melodic while silently looking down at her little hands. There wasn’t a single blemish on her body, though that wasn’t always the case, since her potent bloodline was at the same level as the ancestors of all succubus who were birthed from {The Dreamer}’s very own womb. With such a powerful bloodline focused on ‘life’ it was not surprising that old scars that reminded her of her time with Eric had been overwritten.

None of that was the reason for her melancholy - her reasoning was far easier to understand and relate to than that - for her reason was understandable to all. In truth there couldn’t possibly be a greater reason for why she was standing in the middle of the street with a frown on her plump little cheeks. Looking at her hands which she groped the air with.

<The floof is gone… Didn’t even get to play with her ears…>

It almost looked as if Emily would break out into tears at any moment and the silence she was receiving made Promicarus finally turn to look at her companion. Seeing her face she couldn’t help frowning, looking around as if to find something only to find nothing. Upon finding nothing she circled around Emily who was still distracted by her loss only to then get more annoyed.

Eventually the self-proclaimed demon lord lost her interest in it so turned to look towards the western side to see any trace of that chaotic little fox. Of course there was no hope in that as it wasn’t as if the streets were barren - children even younger than themselves were actually wandering around without care. This alone showed ironically that the city filled with unruly people who made a living hunting monsters was safer than Shanta.

Didn’t stop Promicarus from getting more annoyed since she had no idea how to go about this while her ally was being weird with no clear source for information.

This was the first time she had ever needed to gather information from people (without making use of black magic in a torturous fashion) so had no idea where to start. Why would a demon lord negotiate with people for information after all - she knew how to take from her enemies not request stuff from mere mortals. Her purpose may not actually be to gather information yet she wouldn’t be pleased if her true intentions were revealed due to rushing into it.

Around this time Emily finally managed to recover from her pain thus casted a gaze towards her irritable companion as Promicarus did the exact same. Both spent a second looking at one another to see that each of them seemed to be competent enough - thus they both nodded while opening their mouths. Asking a single question to each other in unison.

“What do we do?” <Emily + Promicarus>

Unlike Emily who just tilted her head curiously, letting her cow-ears flop, Promicarus clearly wasn’t quite sure what to think. Obviously it fed her arrogance that the cowcubus relied on her for guidance despite being nearly as smart as herself… Yet it also was immensely embarrassing since she herself had no clue on how to proceed.

Then again it was only in times of crisis where a ruler truly proved themselves to be above their superiors so she didn’t falter. Lifting her head in the air as if trying to catch air with her nose, her gaze turned towards the inside of the city, while she moved a closed first up to clear her throat while she was thinking about what to do.  Thankfully for her bottomless self-esteem the puppet master soon had a light bulb flash.

“Thou has an ally within the bounds of this city, a merchant who arrived before thine did, is this not the truth?” <Promicarus>

Although clearly not understanding what Promicarus was getting at Emily softly nodded her head while rubbing her sleepy eyes and letting out a yawn. From behind the cute little cow a tail slovenly waved just above the ground - batting away the occasional insect. Hearing the positive reply was all Promicarus cared for.

“Kekeke~ a merchant is a disgusting creature who feeds off the weak through a cult currently referred to as ‘capitalism’ - one which worships the primordial serpent. They are also a cult which greatly relies upon information to conduct their schemes. As a result there would be little chance that the merchant has no idea about what is going on around the city~!” <Promicarus>

Despite the confidence of the plastic princess, who pushed her large chest out proudly, Emily looked at her a little strangely. While she certainly agreed with the fact Tom had likely gathered some information - she had a strong suspicion the one who was more akin to a cult follower wasn’t the merchant but the one who literally claimed to be a demon lord. Regardless of that she just nodded her head softly while following behind Promicarus who began to storm through the streets with her nose pointed up high.

Emily’s suspicions in the ‘demon lord’ grew stronger as they didn’t head towards where they first found Tom but instead occasionally stopped with Promicarus looking off to Tom. That direction she was staring towards just happened to be through several buildings - the pair heading through several backallies and getting lost as a result. Still when they finally got out the surprisingly clean backallies Emily could also finally see a familiar heavy carriage making her turn towards Promicarus with an obvious question in her eyes.

“Obviously I used the simple magic spell [Dark Mark] upon the underside of thy merchant allies' carriage in order to keep track of him. A spell anyone can use which allows tracking while not becoming visual unless natural light is shone upon it - the regular variant would dissipate quite loudly like the sound of glass breaking. With my magic it wouldn’t break nor would it be so obvious even under the light muhahaha~!” <Promicarus>

“Why though…” <Emily>

Promicarus merely shrugged.

“Felt like it.” <Promicarus>

That anticlimactic response made Emily pause slightly allowing Promicarus to fully take the lead towards the carriage. Tom who was in front of a building that was similar in design to the adventurers guild if with far more flourish than their neighbour - not to mention they had an abacus symbol beside their name of {The Merchants Guild Branch}. The merchant was at one of the collection points which was similar in it’s duty as the dismantling hall of the adventurers guild; Promicarus didn’t care as she stormed up and pointed towards him.

“Where art thou holding in thine carriage you cur!” <Promicarus>

“... Pardon?” <Tom>

The merchant who was just about to actually unlock his carriage to bring his merchandise in was taken by surprise at the harsh yell of the little girl. He clearly wasn’t the only one as he quickly felt the gaze of several other merchants - some even looked rather suspicious as they saw a cute(?) girl pointed towards him wrathfully. Soon enough Emily approached from behind to bow slightly at Tom.

“Sorry about not controlling her…” <Emily>

It wasn’t as if he was particularly angry so Tom just smiled, as frightening as that image may be for many, while shaking his head. He raised his hands as if to pacify Promicarus while stepping back so that everyone could look into his carriage. Honestly he was used to many people assuming he was doing something shady so was an expert in handling these situations.

“It’s fine if you want to take a look since I was about to prepare them for sale anyway; though try not to take anything into the light or handle carelessly since it can affect their efficiency.” <Tom>

“Hmpf!” <Promicarus>

After snorting in mock disdain Promicarus stepped back while Emily stepped up to where she once stood in order to see what was inside the carriage. With no intention of making them wait the merchant grabbed his keys off his belt, leaning forward and a few seconds of rattling later he pulled off the padlock. His other hand pulled the door open to reveal a completely padded room with little padded ‘shelfs’ that had held endless amounts of herbs Emily instantly recognised.

“These are all [Three Leafed Nerns] who’s parts are often used as a primary ingredient in various ranks of healing potions…” <Emily>

“Indeed, a commodity which is never not welcome in a place filled with adventurers, though also has some healing effects just by chewing on a bit of leaf or making a tea. This batch has been expertly gathered with the roots intact. With this amount a lot of people are going to be recovering from the recent growth of injuries due to the golems.” <Tom>

For fairly understandable reasons Tom seemed quite proud of himself as he had a bit (scary) smile on his face. This type of commodity was indeed quite hard to deliver since not only was it easily damaged yet it was also of great interest - that meant both bandits and government officials would likely try their hand at stealing this stuff. Despite all the odds Tom had managed to bring them when they were most needed, one could also argue only he could manage it since his appearance certainly didn’t give the idea he was going anything for the betterment of his fellow man.

“As I thought; this will do quite nicely.” <Promicarus>

His cheery attitude soon changed however as Promicarus spoke in a cold tone with none of the cute fumbling arrogance that was her trademark. From behind an Emily whose eyes were gleaming at studying the new - the demon lord rose her hand to place upon the cowcubus head where a terrifying aura rose. Her aura was nowhere near mere ‘darkness’ but instead an gluttonous abyss that seemed to absorb everything greedily with envy.

“[Curse of Sleep].” <Promicarus>

Due to being distracted Emily, almost as if perfectly planned, wasn’t able to defend herself as she normally would be able to and could merely turn. Her sleepy eyes widened in surprise at the cold face of the ‘bright’ Promicarus who was very similar to her own girlfriend. Just before sleep overcame her she only had one thought.

<So this is why Beth was so excited and thus violent today… Ah I wish they didn’t have to…>

Immediately upon seeing this all the fear in Tom vanished while he exploded out with a yell which would surprise even the observant Fuka.

“What did you do to Emily!” <Tom>

Like a bear unleashed he removed the dagger from his belt while charging towards Promicarus without any care for his life. Just like Fuka he knew he stood no chance against the little monster who called herself a demon lord - yet additionally just like Fuka he didn’t care in seeing a friend harmed. Thus he charged towards the girl while biting his lip hoping that he would at least be able to live until someone more competent could protect Emily.

“Hmpf I’ll give thou an E for execution but S for spirit!” <Promicarus>

A voice was still cold yet it had no effect on Tom now that something was at stake which brought a little twitch to the corner of her lips. She knew something which would have an effect anyway thus made full use of it - pushing on the back of Emily’s head to have her fall towards him. His reaction was as expected as he fumbled backwards to capture the girl.

“Take care of her… [Abyssal Cloak].” <Promicarus>

It appeared as if her own abyssal magic consumed her from the ground up while she felt the prickling cold of the black magic crawl up her skin. She offered no weakness though as she merely closed her eyes - letting out a sigh before vanishing from sight. By the time Tom realised she was already gone with no tracks.

“What the Violet is happening…” <Tom>