69 – Democracy. End of Arc 4.

Alyssa stood up and walked to Lapia, then kissed her. “I'm going to need more details,” she said with a serious tone, then caressed Lapia's right cheek with a scaly hand. White light emanated from her fingers and pinched both of the woman's cheeks with her hands. “Better?”

Lapia nodded with a smile, “Thank you.”

A warm feeling spread in my chest at the sight.

“So,” Yolin began, standing up and greeting Lapia with a kiss as well. She turned to me with a raised eyebrow, “A Demon, huh?”

I nodded, “Indeed.”

The Oni walked up to me and crossed her arms, then raised her chin. “Was it strong?”

I shook my head, “Not at all. Anticlimactic would be the best way to describe the whole situation.”

She smacked her lips and gave me a hug, “I'm glad you're okay.”

I returned the hug and kissed her neck. “Thanks.”

“ZZZzz...” Pokora let out a loud snore. “Okay. What was the Demon doing anyway?”

I gave Lapia a glance.

She gave me a nod.

I retold the events, leaving out the Demon's words about Changelings. That held no water until I asked the Gods myself. I also didn't go into too much detail about what the King went through. It was not for me to tell others. 'Mental torment' was how I described it. I also didn't mention my title nor my time in Hell since not everyone was entitled to that information.

After I finished, Bromisnar wrote down a few lines on a thin notebook while nodding to himself.

Maybe a new song was in the making.

I sat down on the table between Pokora and Lapia while chatting about the plans for the day, when Bonte spoke up.

“Natasha,” he looked at me with a nervous smile. “I was thinking we could include Thelea in the party?”

I rested my elbows on the table and gave him a confused look. “And you're asking me, why?”

He shrugged, “You're the party leader.”

My eyebrows almost fused with my hairline. “I'm what?” my voice came out higher pitched than I intended, betraying my limitless confusion.

He nodded, “You're a Halve, so...” he let the sentence float with a gesture towards me.

I rubbed my temples and looked at the catboy, “I learned how to clean fish last week, my dude.”

He gave a slow, conceding nod, “True.”

I leaned back on the chair and raised a hand, “I vote Alyssa to be the leader. She's a healer and has the experience to match the position.”

The Luzo turned to me with wide eyes.

Pokora gave me a grin and raised her hand, “I vote Natasha. She's literally a higher being created by Galeia.”

You bitch, I retorted in my mind and glared at her.

Bromisnar cleared his throat and raised a hand, “I vote Pokh'Orra. She was in the army for twenty five years. I believe that speaks for itself.”

The Elf in question turned to the Satyr with an appalled expression.

I chuckled, “Serves you right.”

Lapia raised a hand, “I vote Pokh'Orra as well.”

Alyssa raised a hand while squinting at me, “I vote Natasha.”

I arched an eyebrow and fought back a smile. Betrayal comes from those we least expect.

Bonte raised a hand, “N... Pokora.”

I nodded.

We turned to Yolin.

She smiled and raised a hand, “Pokora.”

“Argh!” the new leader groaned and covered her face with both hands.

“I love democracy,” I muttered with a smile.

“So, leader?” Bonte sneered at Pokora.

She nodded and sighed, “Sure, we could use a Warrior tank.”

The Goliath sighed in relief and placed a large hand on top of the Tigea's head, then ruffled his hair. Then, she turned to us, “I should tell you about myself, then.”

We all nodded.

“My name is Thelea Vathunith, I'm 122 years old,” she began, waving at us as if we were in a rehab meeting. “I enjoy fighting, eating, and men. Sometimes the three at the same time.” she chuckled as if she said the funniest joke. “I don't really have specific dislikes, besides common sense of course. I would like to die in battle in the future. Even though I'm pretty low on levels, I'll do my best to not drag you all.”

I nodded, “Welcome.” The thing about mixing fighting, eating, and fucking was a bit of a red flag in my eyes but I wasn't going to jump to conclusions.

Welcoming words were exchanged as we officially gained a new member. Bonte was smiling widely.

Despite being early, alcohol was taken out and we toasted for new friendships.

After that was done, Bonte and Thelea went out for a walk.

I cleared my throat and stood up, “I was thinking of going to the market. Who wants to join?”

Lapia yawned, “I'm going to take a nap today.” She turned to Alyssa and gave her a smile, “Do you want to cuddle all day?”

The Luzo blushed and nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”

I smiled and turned to Yolin.

She smiled too and gave me a nod, “Sure, let's go.”

We both turned to Bromisnar.

The Satyr thought for a second and nodded, “I could use a visit to the market.”

I turned to Pokora, “How about you, leader?”

She groaned, and let out a defeated sighed, “Yeah, sounds good.”

Thus, the four of us went out.

After reaching the first floor, we went to fetch our mounts and I asked the staff if they had fed Sonya. They said yes so I missed on that, unfortunately.

We mounted up and left the building towards the market. Yolin was at the front to guide us since she had visited Paarjo before.

We moved through the city's morning streets under the suns' light. The clamor of people, vehicles, animals, and the wind were accompanied by the smell of foods and a bit of animal waste here and there.

Small stalls and shops were open and receiving costumers, shifting the flow of pedestrians on the sidewalk. I observed the variety of species around me, marveling at the sight of Dwarves, Elves, Tigea, and the rare Luzo and Goliath.

I noticed there were no Oni around other than Yolin. The woman being the only red person in my field of view. The blue and white races of her species were similarly nowhere to be seen.

It made sense considering their home countries were far, far to the north in the middle of the sea.

I caught a glimpse of very small people similar to the Tiny Laple that sold me the pocket watches in Mountroad. The few I saw sat on people's shoulders, funnily enough.

We rode our mounts for a while, chatting and looking around. After around fifteen minutes we reached a large plaza where a large amount of stores dotted the place. People walked back and forth, entering the stores with empty hands or leaving them with boxes.

I guessed not everyone owned a storage item considering the price, Pokora's salary while being in the army, and the King's words about need and luxury.

We searched for a spot to leave our mounts and I ignored the people looking at me. We walked out of the rest post and into the plaza.

“What are you looking for?” Yolin asked me while we walked.

“Colored pencils,” I replied, taking her hand and locking fingers. “Also a new book. My journal is about to run out of pages.”

Pokora turned to me with a surprised expression, “You're writing a journal?”

I nodded, “That's right.”

Bromisnar turned to us and joined the conversation, “Could I see it one day?”

“Sure,” I gave him a nod. “When the time comes.”

He smile and looked ahead, “I'll patiently wait, then.”

We continued walking, checking different stores and stalls.

I bought a kilogram of almonds for twenty copper coins from a young Tigea, which was the best deal in the history of deals even if I was taxed more.

Pokora bought two basketball-sized avocados for fifteen copper coins a unit from a Faeton Elf. The Archer was pretty satisfied with the purchase, showing it off to me before storing it.

I tried buying them all but the Merchant refused, explaining that he'd be left with no products for his usual customers. It was a fair explanation so I bought just one for twenty copper coins. The food tax wasn't as extreme as with the dungeon which was nice.

Bromisnar bought a bottle of wine from a store ran by an old Dwarf for a silver coin. The man was pretty excited about the purchase, sharing his knowledge of the alcoholic beverage.

After lubricating the cogs of the local economy for a while, we found a store that sold what I was looking for.

I went in and explored the wide variety of art supplies available.

The clerk, a taller than average Dwarf, was excited to have a Halve customer interested in the pursuit of the arts. She guided me through the store and showed me a medium-sized box that had 300 colored pencils that covered almost every color possible.

“These can be used on paper, parchment, wood, and textiles,” she explained, giving the metallic box a few taps.

I nodded, “What's it made of? Is it water resistant?”

She gave me a knowing smile. “The pencils are hexagon-shaped with soft and comfortable curves, made of galadar wood with a break-resistant 3 millimeter core. The outside is lacquered to prevent water damage and degradation of time. Depending on the usage, they can give your drawings vibrant and robust atmosphere, or a more subdued and exquisitely dim mood.” She took the box and walked to the counter.

I followed closely behind.

She set the box on the table and opened it, then took one and offered me it.

I took it and gave it a close examination. The thing was a light brown with a turquoise/aquamarine line across the body. It was of pretty decent quality.

“The soft, rounded tip you can see now guarantees a smooth experience accompanied by an easy-to-blend process thanks to the oil-based mixture that makes the core,” she pitched the pencils with certainty and confidence. “The set includes three brushes, two kneadable erasers, one sandpaper block, one knife, and one sharpener that I strongly recommend you use for a high quality creation.”

I held the pencil between my fingers. Instead of forcing it, I let it find its own place in my hand. The surface was pretty comfortable and the shape fit nicely.

“Hmmm...” I turned to the Dwarf, returned the pencil and gave her a nod. “I'll take it.”

She smiled and pulled out a sheet of paper where she wrote down a few lines, “Anything else?”

I nodded, “Do you have graphite pencils?”

Her smile widened even more, “We'll be good friends for a while, Señorita Natasha.”

I chuckled, “That would be fantastic.”

Forty minutes later and fifty gold coins lighter, I left the store with a wide smile on my face.

The three were waiting outside, sitting on a bench and chatting.

Pokora noticed me and threw her hands up in the air. “Finally!” she exclaimed with relief. “I was getting old!”

Yolin looked up at me and gave me a smile, “What did you get?”

I smiled, “A lot of good stuff.”

Bromisnar stretched and stood up. “Where to now?”

“I was thinking of buying a piano,” I told him. “Alastor mentioned I could buy one at the Performer School of the Arts around our place.”

The man shook his head, “They close down on weekends. Maybe tomorrow after your fight I could accompany you.”

I blinked a few times, a little confused. Ah! I remembered. My fight against Yolin and Thelea. I nodded, “That'd be pretty nice. Thanks.”

“Not a problem,” the Satyr smiled politely.

“How about we check out sex toys?” Yolin asked out loud with no care.

I discreetly looked around to see if people around heard us, then slowly turned to her and raised my eyebrows, “Just like that? For everyone to hear?”

She shrugged, “It's normal.”

Pokora shook her head and sighed, “I'm not interested in that, to be honest.”

Brominar scratched his chin and turned to her, “How about we go and check out other stores in the meantime? I need to buy a new shaving blade.”

The Elf nodded, “Sure, sounds good.” She turned to me and Yolin, “Meet up here at one? It'll be lunchtime”

We agreed and parted ways.