Chapter 94: The Hangover (Not Really)

- Crossroads, Back Alley - An Hour Later - Rose's POV -

[Can we help you gentlemen?] - Malaise

After leaving the rest of the group we had decided to tour the town and see the sights, Annabelle in tow as a bodyguard. At first it had been fun, our excursion mostly taking us to the various entertainment venues scattered around the area of the hotel we were staying at. Annabelle, being wary of danger, had forbade us from wandering away from the relatively safe section of the city adjacent to the Upper Class Merchant Area. Our hotel, one of the higher end places within the city, was nestled in an area with plentiful guard patrols and private mercenary groups. Basically, unless you were targeted by one of the Merchant Lords specifically, it was the safest place in the city.

Which is why the current situation was completely unexpected. 6 senior classmates, all humans, had cornered us in one of the many alleyways around the main road. The men, obviously confident in their superiority had apparently been covertly tailing us for nearly the entire hour. Or at least they thought that it was- unfortunately for them not only had Annabelle noticed immediately, but Shade also picked up on  their stalking, so we had all decided to draw them out.

Cutting into a deep alleyway as we passed we immediately took up stances as the iZmmature brats rounded the corner, the surprise at coming face-to-face with us evident on their shocked faces.

[You're that chick, right? The one that beat up the Hero?] - Tweedle-Dee

[Well we all did ,yes. Why?] - Rose

[...! So you were the one! In that case-!] - Tweedle-Dee

[W-Wha?!?] - Rose

[Please go out with me!] - Tweedle-Dee

On guard as the tall senior classmate approached slowly, his face red with... anger? I only now realized how scary it was to be up close and personal with someone so much older than my current body. ,It’s not as if I hadn’t been threatened by older persons already, but the pressure coming from the man in front of me was somehow different and, in a way... a bit scarier. Although I'm sure it only seems that way since I'm actually much taller than all but the largest humans because of my tail.

Regardless I unconsciously tensed up as the human man looked at me with what seemed like crazed eyes, his steps slowly approaching as the rest of his group spread out around us. Briefly noting the readied looks on the rest of the groups faces and their tensed battle stances I hesitantly answered the man's question about the events of yesterday. I didn't know any of them by appearance but maybe they'd heard about me from rumors? Either way I needed to be on guard for an attack considering that I didn't know whether they were connected with the Church of Light.

What actually occurred was so far outside my expectations that I didn't know how to react beyond just staring in confusion. The group of older boys , the ones surrounding us, suddenly all bowed their heads while holding out flowers to each of us, their sudden confession exactly the opposite of what I had thought was about to happen.

[Huh?] - Malaise

[Ohh!] - Veronica

[...surprised.] - Shade

[Eww, so desperate.] - Karen

And apparently my friends were the same, their exclamations of surprise being our groups only response as even Shade let out her own rare response. The only one who was silent was the oldest of us, my personal maid, and she seemed... scared? Actually now that I looked at her she seemed to be shaking in fear while covering her mouth?

[Ara ara? Any of you think you're man enough for us? What immature brats.] - Annabelle

[...!?!] - Everyone

[Only a bunch of virgin, limp-dick, bedwetters would do something as stupid as scaring the ones they are trying to woo. Shouldn't you try coming back after you've matured a few years? Although I doubt that small dicks like you that would corner women in an alleyway will ever be up to snuff. Trash.] - Annabelle

Nevermind. Letting out a tirade of verbal abuse my maid absolutely tore into the group of boys, tearing down their self-esteem in a rapid-fire stream of insults that seemed custom tailored to break down anyone caught in the crossfire. I'd misunderstood. She wasn't scared, no. Quite the contrary, she was laughing.

[S-So harsh.] - Veronica

[Oof, yeah that hit even me a little bit.] - Karen

[So...!] - Tweedle-Dumb

[So?] - Our Group Minus Annabelle

My gaze, once one of surprise, instead became one of sympathy. Sure they had cornered us, which isn't okay. And sure they'd followed us like creepers. But, did they truly deserve to be verbally berated like this?

[So good!!!! Abuse us more!] - Tweedle-Dumb

[Yes! That's exactly what we were looking for! Human girls are too timid to really put us in our place so we thought...] - Tweedle-Dee

[Right! We thought the ones that beat that Hero within an inch of his life would be perfect!] - King of the Perverts/Annabelle's Fan

[Ahh! Perverts!] - Malaise

[Wait not me too! Ahhh! Not the book!] - Veronica

[...s-so good.] - King of the Perverts/Annabelle's Fan

YES! Yes they did! The group of perverts, trembling with what I assumed was fear and sadness at first, suddenly revealed their true color. M. They were massive M's!

Twisting their bodies in what I now realized was ecstasy the group of perverts kneeled down in front of my maid as if she were their Queen, their reverent eyes basking in her disgusted gaze. Their words, already disgusting, became even more frenzied as the M's suddenly closed in on us while giving us those same perverted gazes.

Luckily one of us was able to react in time, our bodies about to be tainted by their greasy palms. The only one of us that had a massive amount of experience with perverts like this. Malaise.

Suddenly summoning an endless stream of miscellaneous books from thin air the only thing I could think of was an attack from a certain archer in an old anime from my childhood. And just like that attack it was indiscriminate with its assault on all people considered an enemy. Including the pervert in our own group.

- Dwarven City of Kel, Eryx Spine Entrance - The Next Day - Rose's POV -

[Uwah!] - Rose

Last night had been a nightmare. First was the encounter with that group of perverts and their subsequent wipeout by our nerdy foxgirl (with 1 person following as collateral damage) and then, when we had finally escaped from the M's, we had also been attacked by a group of thieves. Luckily we hadn't lost anything due to the quick reflexes of our bodyguard and my maid, Annabelle, but we had decided to call it a night regardless and hope for a better tomorrow.

Unfortunately my night had been just as hectic as the one before it as I had been forced to weather another night of mischief from my new resident unruly child. Logic, by the way, seemed strangely unaffected by the excessive amount of pranks. Only commenting that she seemed to be letting off a bit of steam and that it would most likely calm down within a few days. Of course he said this while completely covered in pie filling while more and more of said pies continued to be flung at him from seemingly out of nowhere. Poor man was probably tortured even while I wasn't present.

Either way the night passed in much the same way as before with Wrath's pranks getting less and less creative as she seemed to run out of ideas. If Logic was right she'd naturally just quiet down as she realized that we weren't reacting. Although I wasn't sure if I could hold on that long or if I would blow up long before we reached that point. Regardless I found myself understanding my Hatred of Myself as my resentment  only continued to climb higher.

And so came the next day, exhausted from a lack of rest I found myself boarding the next train heading for a land I'd never been before but because of my tiredness I was unable to truly react in any meaningful way. The next few hours passed in much the same way as I dozed on and off until, with a loud blast of our train's whistle, we finally came within sight on the Dwarven City Gate.

Built into the side of the Eryx Spine, the entrance to the Dwarven City of Kel was an absolutely massive fortress. Carved out of what looked like marble the entrance itself was stocky and wide while still being tall. These characteristics only emphasizing its enormous scale. Styled as if merging medieval architecture with modern techniques and styles the building itself seemed to be directly carved out of the mountain it was jutting from. The massive towers and ramparts topped with ballistae and a strangely shaped weapon that seemed to be a cross between a crossbow and a catapult.

And Dwarves. Dwarves were everywhere. Before the gate a medium-sized city had sprung up and hurrying to and fro in every direction were the tiny forms of Dwarven men and women, a lot of them with similar body types to our own teacher but many instead shaped like typical fantasy-type Dwarves.

[It's Dwarves Austin Sauce! Dwarves!!!] - Karen

[I-I know Kare Kare! So cool!!!] - Rose

[Calm down you two, also be careful using Rose's old name. You never know who might be listening...] - Malaise

[Hahaha! You guys look like a bunch of tourists! Hahahaha!] - Veronica

[...so big.] - Shade

Freaking out from the fantasy-esque setting in front of me I wondered how strong this place was, it looked completely invincible to my untrained eye and the sheer coolness of it overwhelmed me. Karen too, as she slipped back into her nerd personality and gawked at our surroundings the same way I was, some of the surrounding Dwarves glancing at her rare form as they passed before hurrying on to their destinations.

Malaise, shaking her head at our shenanigans whispered into our ears a warning about using my old name, something that I'd been too caught up in the excitement to notice as our resident pervert Succubi laughed her ass off. I even caught a slight blush on Shade's face as even she stared at the fortress with her eyes seeming to sparkle.