35 – Let’s meet the Queen

All sorts of races were mixed here. Humans, elves, warbeasts… even a few old demons with white long beards. And of course, owl people too, although they mostly just looked like harpies. A small village if you may. Some houses were on the ground, some were tree houses and some were outright carved into the trees. Children were playing around, others were fishing by a river and some were just relaxing with the owls.

"Oh! What do we have here? New guests? Welcome to the owl sanctuary."

A cheerful girl with long blonde twintails approached us. She was short but still taller than me, and kind of flat like me, with blue eyes and a single piece green dress. Judging by her pointy ears she's obviously an elf.

Rena tried sniffing her a bit and then she was the one that spoke:

"You're acting very friendly towards strangers. Aren't you afraid we're bad people?"

The elf girl displayed a big smile and shook her head in a negative manner. Then she pointed at the owl on my head.

"Owls are pretty good at judging character. The fact that the little one is sitting on your head is proof that you are a good person. We always welcome people that the owls approve of."

If that's the case I guess I don't mind if this guy is sitting on my head. But it better not get too attached and call me mama.

"My name is Tiki. May I ask for your names and what brings you here?"

"I'm Ayaka. And from left to right these are Lina, Shera, Nier and Rena. We're looking for a peaceful place to live in. More exactly, I am looking for a place to call home and live a slow and lazy life."

"That's… a weird goal to have in life, but I guess we each have our own tastes. In that regards, because of the magic barrier that conceals this place, unless uninvited by the owls, it's impossible to find this place. And this place is indeed peaceful. Most of us came here just to escape the harsher world and live in peace. We can prove that all races can coexist here."

"Sounds like this place really would suit me. So… can me and my friends live here?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the authority to decide that. You'll need to talk to our Queen. She has the final word. I can guide you to her. But be warned, she can be a little scary."

Scary? Please. The only thing I am scared of is having to work for a living. I think I can handle whatever Queen these guys have.

"Okay, then take us to her."

"Very well. Please follow me."

We followed Tiki around a dirt trail. This place really seems like the perfect place. But something is bothering me.

"Hey, Tiki, pardon the question, but if we are going to see this Queen, shouldn't we see a castle or some guards or something?"

"Fufu! I can understand why you would think like that. We don't have guards. Everyone here is like family and knows a form of combat. If needed, everyone will jump and help others in need. If you do any evil things, the punishment is simple. You get exiled forever.

As for our Queen, she doesn't need a castle. She has a small shrine. Also if there is an emergency, the Queen won't hesitate to step in herself. She's absurdly strong and is considered the owl sanctuary's protector."

Kinda reminds me of how I was for Poena village. But I can't get emotional now….

"You saying she's strong?"

"Yup. Probably one of the strongest people in this world! She's simply amazing and beautiful, although scary. Did you know she's actually level 90? There are people that never reach that level during their life.

She's smart too and always guides us with the wisdom of an owl. There's nothing she can't do if she puts her mind to it."

Level 90, huh? I'm intrigued. So far this is the highest level I heard of other than my own. I always wondered why am I this strong. Even against that demon general. Maybe I'll get a different feeling from this Queen.

Tiki went on and on and kept praising the Queen until we reached our destination. She kinda got boring after a while. But more important… shrine my ass! When we reached the so called shrine we just saw some stone ruins and in the middle there was a tree with a door in it. Well… half a tree. The top seemed like it got cut off. And no houses around here either. No matter how you look at it, this can't be called a shrine, but I don't want to be rude at this point.

Tiki knocked a few times on the door and then waited.

"Who is it?"

The voice that responded was heavy. Don't get me wrong, it was still a feminine voice, but it had a powerful impact behind it.

"It's me, Tiki, Your Majesty. The owls have shown favor towards some travelers. Would you be willing to have an audience with them and hear them out?"

"Very well. I will be out shortly. You may leave. I shall speak with them alone."

This Queen really sounds scary. With those words Tiki said her goodbye and wished us luck. I feel very uncomfortable at this point. I think we waited for 10 minutes, but eventually the door opened and the Queen emerged.

Is this… really a Queen? She's literally wearing a 2 piece bikini swimsuit, has some torn clothes and long opera gloves and thigh highs. Long grey hair, deep blue eyes and dark skin like a tan. She did have a crown but… she also had chains wrapped around her body. Is she a pervert like Nier? What kind of royalty is she?

I tried saying something but…

"Don't waste your breath."

With a dignified and cold voice she walked past us, snapped her fingers and a tree trunk chair emerged from the ground. She sat on it crossed legged.

"I am Queen Edelweiss Liebenfrau! You're probably mesmerized by my beauty, but flattery will get you nowhere."

That's not it at all. But dang. She probably has a maxed Charisma skill which gives her such a powerful authority. What should we do at this point? Words don't even want to come out of my mouth. Oof, but I gotta snap out of it. Don't think that just because of that I will back off. I'm still gonna say what I want to say.

"Is she mad at us?"

"State your business. What do you desire from this place?"

Perfect timing. Here I go!