Chapter 3: Chapter 1

In hindsight, I should have been kinder to the guy. But who can blame me for being wary of some kid popping up out of nowhere like that? In the middle of town, too. Nobody but me seemed to see or care.  He looked like a ghost with how pale he was, as if he’d never stepped out into the sunlight. His hair was dark and limp as he hid his eyes behind his bangs. His strange garb was baggy, but it was clear that he was thin beneath them.

And when he showed up, he was babbling like a lunatic about going outside to buy some exclusive figurine—whatever that meant—and getting hit by a truck—whatever that was.

I should have ignored him, but I didn’t. No, I had to be a noble prince and take pity on him. And all I got for my trouble was rank body odor and an earful of how he dropped his precious figurine before he died.

Well, I put an end to that immediately and left him groveling in the dirt.

I should have been kinder.

I should have granted him mercy and killed him there and then.

But to my greatest shame, I did not. And now our world is in dire straits from this pest who somehow got his hands on such incredible power. And my retainer, Silva.

 I still don’t know why she decided to follow him; they barely spoke two words to each other! I can certainly say it wasn’t because of his personality. But on she went, without a reason or even letting me know she was leaving. She was just gone.

That aside, I took responsibility for my lack of foresight. The boy—rather, the worm—was said to have started causing trouble for the towns around the Demon Kings’ Palace. Rumors, that’s all they were. But if they’ve managed to reach me at Cross, it was probably best to take action as soon as possible.

This is why I now wander the streets of Pleasance, far from my home in the kingdom of Cross, searching for a way to end the wrath of the so-called hero of our land.

So far, my luck has been—poor, to put it lightly. All the supplies and animals I had started this trip with had all vanished as I camped on the third night, including my sword. Home was now too far to return to on foot. So, forward it was in hopes of resupplying.

Upon first laying eyes on Pleasence, my first impression was that the name was false advertising.

As I squelched along the path in the center of town, I kept my eyes sharp and ears pricked for any conversation relating to a mysterious and obnoxious presence. The boy had set off from Cross and traveled to Pleasance, or so the rumors went.

It had been almost two months since the boy had left my kingdom, which meant I was probably following a cold trail, but it was worth sniffing out any information. If the worm was as powerful as claimed, I had to get every scrap of intel I could, even if it meant interacting with unsavory types.

I’d heard my family had connections to the black market. I only heard as I had never desired to interact with such distasteful sorts, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

To be honest, I had no idea where to start. Did one call out and say, “Who can tell me where the scum of the earth resides?” or “Excuse me, sir, would you be so kind as to tell me if you are a member of the black market? I’d very much appreciate it if you exposed your diseased morality in front of me.”

 I wasn’t even sure if Pleasance even had a black market. At least, I saw no benefit from it. Every person I passed looked mangy, flea-bitten, and tired. Anyone with a modicum of self-respect would stand out from this heap of a town.

For sure, Silva would catch any man's attention with eyes—and even the blind seemed to have a sense for her beauty. Even if it had been several weeks since she and the boy had passed through, I was sure their presence lingered somewhere within this town.

Sure enough, as I passed the inn, I heard a snatch of conversation drifting through the window, “—she was a real beauty, I’ll tell you. Though there seemed to be something… not quite fixed down in that head of hers.”

“I know what you mean,” said a second man, “the minute I laid eyes on her, I got the impression that she lacked sense.”

I knew what he meant as well. Silva was the type of woman to interrogate a dog if she thought it was conspiring to eat from her plate. But that’s what made her such a reliable protector.

The first man continued, “You’re right about that. She had no idea where she was. She actually thought she was in Grenna, of all places! How does someone mistake this dung heap for Grenna? I think all her brains were allocated somewhere else if you catch my drift.” A chorus of laughter rang out from the inn.

Charming. But what did I expect from commoners?

But whomever they were discussing did not sound like Silva. So, I moved on, my spirits as wet and cold as the mud that caked my good traveling boots.

I took a moment to scrape a particularly nasty glob of what I prayed was mud from my sole when another set of voices drifted on the wind.

“—oh, you don’t have to worry about a thing. We’d be happy to show you around the place.” A man’s voice.

“Really? That would be a big help!” The voice of a cheerful woman. “I’ve been searching everywhere for a bag of rice. It’s my darling’s favorite, but nobody seems to have any.”

I finished scraping my boot on a pig trough—disgusting commoners—and dismissed the conversation as I turned to continue my search. Everything seemed on the up and up until I heard:

“Say, that’s a nice dress you’ve got there. How much do you think it’s worth?”

“Oh, this?” said the woman, her voice still bright, “I’d say about 30,000G.”

My ears pricked. I couldn’t say that I liked the sound of this conversation. Upon turning to look at the source of the voices, I spied two men, arms ladened with bags, standing beside a woman with long rose-colored hair and an even redder dress. All three had their backs to me.

“Really?” said another man, “and how much do you think you’re worth? We’ll show you a good time if you —”

“You there! Yes, you with the intellect of an inebriated swine.”

To my surprise, the woman turned to look. “Yes?”

I blinked. “I wasn’t—I didn’t mean—” The woman’s face was admittedly beautiful, as her red eyes glittered like rubies, but her expression did not reflect that she had taken my remark as an insult. Instead, she smiled at me as if I had complimented her.

The other two rounded on me, “Hey. That’s not a nice thing to call a lady. Now, is it?” said one, cracking his knuckles.

The other followed suit as he said, “You’ll get your nose out of our business if you know what’s good for you.”

“N-now, hold on,” I sputtered. “You’re the ones with the ill intentions. Don’t turn this on me.”

The woman smiled, “These two gentlemen offered to carry my groceries. I was surprised they were this eager, but they’ve been so kind.”

“Yeah. We’re just here to ensure our lady is properly…taken care of,” said the goon on the left with a rather unpleasant sneer to his equally boorish companion that gave away his true intentions.

“Is that so?” said I as I adjusted my footing. “I apologize. If you would, please allow me to respond with the following.” And with that, I kicked the left man square in the face with my muddy boot.

“ARGH!” He reeled back and dropped his shopping to clutch at his face. “I can’t see!”

For anyone else, it might have been a bit tricky without a sword. But for me? I wouldn’t break a sweat.

As I thought this, I was met with a hammy fist to the face. The force of the blow caused me to spin in place and fall to the muddy ground.

A sucker punch?! That oaf would pay for ruining my beautiful cotton shirt.

“Let’s try this again. I wasn’t ready!”

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I took the chance to leap up, only to be met with the same fist.

I fell again.

Blood trickled from my lip. “Fool me once….”

If he didn’t want to fight like a gentleman, then neither would I.

I stood again, only this time, I aimed my head at the man’s chin.

It connected with a crack, which sent the man staggering.

I looked down at my clothing, which was soaked with multicolored mud. My nose curled. I hate this town.

The man gained his footing and rushed forward, hands raised like a bear to grab me, but I did not hesitate to move. I was ready.

As the oaf’s arms hugged the air, I maneuvered to his right and lifted a leg so that my knee connected with his stomach.

My opponent doubled over, his attempted grab at me morphing into holding his bruised abdomen. I took the opportunity to land a precise blow to his jaw, after which the man crumpled face down in the mud.

I then turned my attention to the other, who was still trying to wipe the mud from his eyes. The man was yelling and cursing as he stomped his feet. I took a moment to decide how best to finish this scrap. But then my opponent grabbed the woman by the shoulder of her dress and dragged her towards him.

I cursed myself for my indecisiveness, now at a loss as to what I could do to help this poor girl. Although, she did not seem bothered by it as her smile remained.

Then something happened that I did not expect.

As the brute’s arm wrapped around the woman, his foot gave out from beneath him. Whether his foot slipped on the mud beneath it or his knees simply buckled, I did not know. I watched the man push the woman away, arms windmilling to keep his balance. It was in vain, however, as he fell on his back and began to slide along the ground.

The woman stepped out of the way of his trajectory, her eyes watching in surprise as the man tried to stand up, only to fall back into the mud with a squelchy splash.

“H-help me…” he said thickly.

It was like the man had no sense of balance. I spared a glance at the woman, whose face gave no sign of being the one behind this sudden turn of events.

Honestly, I pitied the man. Not enough to help him, of course, but I felt bad. Eventually, the man resigned to lying on his back, staring at the sky. He panted and shot venomous looks at both the woman and me.

“What did you do to me?”

I had no answer. I could only stare at him for a moment longer.

“Come, ma’am. Let him be.”

“But what about my shopping?”

I was taken aback by her lack of concern for her companions. All I could answer was, “I’ll take care of it.” I brushed the mud from my clothes, bent down, and gathered as many bags as possible.

“Here.” I shoved each bag into her hand, which she took with a smile. After I had grabbed the last bag I could see, I stood. “Come, let’s get away from here.”

She nodded, and we began walking together toward the town center.

When we were a reasonable distance away, I said, “Well, then. I bit you a fond farewell, Lady—erm—forgive my manners, my name is Anno, third prince of Cross. What is yours?”

The woman smiled again, “It’s Lina. Just Lina. It’s not every day you get to meet a prince!”

I smiled. Finally, someone with a good head on their shoulders!

“I never knew Grenna had such charming people!” She smiled down at the two men on the ground.

Or maybe not. I remembered the conversation I’d overheard in the bar.

“You know you’re not in Grenna, don’t you?”

It took her eyes a moment to register what I said, then her jaw dropped. “I’m not?!” She looked around. “Where am I?”

“This is Pleasance.”

“Oh, no! My darling’s going to be so worried! Stupid, Lina! You should have asked for directions.” Lina writhed as she fretted, clutching her shopping bags to her chest.

I caught myself as I realized I was staring in a most unprincely fashion. I looked away and cleared my throat. “Erm, forgive me, Miss Lina, but I must be going.”

I tried to walk away in hopes of finding a bath but found myself stopped as Lina clutched my arm with muddy hands. “Please, don’t leave me, Prince Anno! I have no idea where Pleasence is. I thought I could make it to Grenna, but my companions were right. I really do have a terrible sense of direction.”

Obviously. Lina somehow had traveled to the opposite part of the continent.

Grenna was on the way to my destination. Perhaps I could... I shook myself—bad idea. Just spending a few minutes with this girl—who looked to be a few years younger than me—made it clear that she was trouble. I still had a sneaking suspicion that she had made that man lose control. And if she wasn’t aware of that power, then that made her all the more dangerous.

I looked down at her pouting face as she gently tugged on my sleeve. Her begging fell on deaf ears.

“I’m terribly sorry, dear Lina. But I’m in a hurry.” It wasn’t a lie. My quest could not be delayed any further. For all I knew, the boy could be getting stronger as I wasted air on this conversation. “’Til we meet again.”

With one last look at Lina, I turned on my heel and began to walk away. Lina’s fingers slipped from my arm.

“Oh no. What am I to do? If I’m gone for too long, Silva and the others will swoop in and snatch my darling from me… Stupid, Lina!”

And right back around I went to fix my gaze upon a teary Lina. “Did you say ‘Silva’?”

Lina nodded. “She’s been my traveling companion for a while.”

I sighed. Perhaps I could tolerate a bit of trouble for a spell.

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