Robert’s hands tightened on the edge of the desk with his throat being dry like a desert as he forced himself to speak. “G-Good afternoon…” he stammered with his unease bleeding through his attempt at politeness. “Welcome to the-”
However, seeing his frightened attention the woman’s eyes lightened up for a brief moment as if coming to a sudden realization. “Oh, my most sincere apologies. I was approached by a couple of thugs on the way here who were adamant about hitting on me, so my mood got soured.”
As she spoke, the tension in the room seemed to dissolve, evaporating as if it never existed. Robert blinked rapidly while feeling a strange, almost surreal shift in his perception of the woman before him. The invisible pressure he had sensed was gone, replaced by an aura of delicacy that made her appear vulnerable, fragile even. Her face took on an innocent look, and her posture softened with shoulders relaxing, her chin lowering slightly, and her eyes now a bit downcast as if she was embarrassed by her own behavior.
The change was instant, and it was so incredibly startling. Suddenly, she didn’t seem dangerous at all. Instead, she looked like nothing more than a fragile young mistress- someone from high society who was unfamiliar with the roughness of the life common folk lead. Robert felt his tension drain away with his shoulders loosening as he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
He even began thinking that his previous perception was nothing but his senses playing a joke on him.
“No need to apologize, young lady.” He responded quickly with his tone shifting from fear to sympathy in an instant. “We don’t get a lot of trouble here, but it’s not uncommon to have a few unsavory types wandering the streets.” He forced a reassuring smile as his earlier anxiety was replaced by a feeling of wishing to protect this feeble, fragile woman. He couldn’t quite explain it all.
The woman returned his smile with one of her own. She looked completely harmless now, like a gentle noblewoman who had strayed too far from the safety of her estate.
“Thank you, kind sir,” she said with a grateful nod. “It’s reassuring to meet someone kind after what happened. I was wondering if you could help me with something.” Read new chapters at
“But of course, young lady! I’m just a humble innkeeper, but if you’re on the run or something like that feel free to stay a while!”
She giggled cutely under her breath before shaking her head. “No, I’m not looking for a place to rest. Instead, I am gathering information. You see, a brave hero and his harem had saved my life and I wanted to thank them personally, but they wore masks and left before I could speak to them. I don’t even know their names!” She whined in a high-pitched tone as if she was angry at the injustice committed against her.
“A hero and his harem? I know no such people personally, save for those in bard’s tales…” He responded sadly. Robert really wanted to help her but it seemed he wouldn’t be able to.
“Maybe something will come to your mind once I describe their physical proportions. I’ve been told that they were staying here for a bit when I asked around in Braedon.”
“Oh? A hero sleeping under my roof? I seriously doubt that.”
“Indeed. He was tall, incredibly so. He had a black saber and could cast magic spells of all four basic elements. He was accompanied by a harem of women. A Fujimori Samurai, a dog-kin Assassin, an elf Healer, an Enchanter, and an axe-wielding female in heavy armor.” As the woman detailed her descriptions she was staring deep into his eyes, giving the innkeeper an impression as if she were looking straight into his soul.
Robert’s blood ran cold. He was hoping to maybe score a good point with such a pretty young lady. He was already even thinking about their future marriage which saw him being lifted from the ranks of common folk to that of a noble, but alas the bastard was the target of her adoration all along. “Quinlan!” He scoffed angrily.
“Excuse me?” The woman asked curiously.
“His name is Quinlan. The Samurai is Hana, the dog is Luna. I don’t know who the Enchanter and Healer are, but he was going around with two more women, named Aurora and I don’t know the last one. However… The axe-wielder is my ex-wife who the bastard stole from me, Lucille.”
The beautiful young maiden’s eyes fluttered wide open at his words, and she visibly became hungry for more information. She grabbed a pouch and handed it to him. Robert opened it and his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets at the sight. A hundred silver coins… that’s a gold coin’s equivalent!!! He’s never ever seen an amount even half as much as this in one place.
“Tell me all you know, and that pouch is yours.”
Robert was brought out of his daydreaming due to her smooth, serene voice. It was just as beautiful as the woman herself.
“But of course, young lady. They came to my building more than a month ago. At first it was just Quinlan and Luna, his much cherished dog-kin girlfriend who is his first mate. The fucker shagged Luna until my inn nearly came apart at the seams! What’s more, I had to clean their fluids from the mattress for hours on end! … Anyhow, soon after he started living in my inn exclusively…”
Robert continued his detailing for a few more minutes before he ran out of tales to sing.
To his surprise the woman nodded and turned around, ready to leave. “Young lady, won’t you wait for your saviors here? I’m sure they will return soon enough.”
She got all she wanted, so she didn’t even consider him to be amongst the ranks of humanity any more. Naturally, no answer was given to his question as she left without a word.
As soon as she stepped outside the inn, her features hardened. She was about to call her savior and master. “Vex.” Black Fang’s voice greeted her.
“I found Devil, master.”
