Chapter 8: 8 – Old Habits Work Well in this World

Prince Kain is despondent the entire way, muttering to himself while a shadow hangs over his eyes. You would think the guy who just got his sword repaired would be in a happier mood, but it looks like he's got other things on his mind.

On the other hand, Loraine is as giddy as she can be in her new clothes. She probably wore those rags for years for all I know. Despite how revealing the new outfit is— and I won't be complaining one bit seeing her in that from now on— she seems more than fine with it. Judging by the prince's reaction, he paid a hefty sum for it even though he's got the wealth of royalty.

"How are you liking your new digs, Loraine?" I ask, trying to keep from checking her out too much.

Loraine glances at the ground confused. "My digs?"

"Ahh, my bad. I meant clothes. In my world, digs is slang for clothes," I explain.

"They're wonderful! I absolutely love it." She clings to my arm, squeezing it between her breasts. "I can tell you like it, too."

"Er, well… they do look nice on you…"

This dark elf isn't good for my health.

"It was pretty expensive, though." I shift the conversation back to her robes before she can tease me any further. "Is it supposed to help you with your magic?"

Loraine lets go of my arm and runs head to twirl in front of me. Whatever she's doing is causing visible magic to travel from her body, to the sleeves, and into her hands.

"Lars told me it was enchanted to allow me to better conjure magic, but I don't feel too different. I'm by no means a master mage, but these robes might have once belonged to one," she says.

"Huh. Still, that means you're stronger with it, right?"

"Very much so! More importantly…" Loraine throws a worried look over to Kain whose face is wrinkled up in thought. "Is Prince Kain going to be okay?"

"Dunno," I say, shrugging. "He's been like that ever since Lars told us the name of the enchanter. Gofer said the person is an acquaintance."

Kain bumps into a group of people and falls on his ass. "Ow… Pardon me, I should have been watching where I was—"

"Oi, oi… we got some fancy pants knight walking into us everyday citizens. Not very chivalric of you, huh?" 

A group of thugs surrounds him as he gets back to his feet. 

"Now, now. There's no need to get violent. It was my fault. I apologize!"

One of the larger thugs, a half-orc, shoves Prince Kain into another man, who then pushes him back into the center of their ring. 

The half-orc grabs Kain by the shoulders and says, "If you're sorry, you can pay up for the trouble you caused us."

"Looks like gofer boy found trouble," I remark.

"Shall I disperse them with a warning shot?" Loraine asks, her finger igniting with fire.

"Nah, I got this." 

I hand Sacchan over to Loraine and tap one of the thugs on the shoulder. A hairy-faced man with cat ears turns to me with a scowl. "The fuck do you want, girlie?"

A single punch to his gut puts him on his knees, puking up breakfast. The other thugs sees the commotion I've caused and abandons Kain to surround me. This is the perfect chance to see how strong I am without Sacchan.

"You got some nerve," the half-orc growls. "We aren't letting you get away with an apology. First we beat you and the fancy knight up, then we take you and the dark elf bitch back to our place for some fun."

"I choose the second option," I say, cracking my fists.

"What second option option?" 

He launches a large green fist, but I stop it in midair with a one hand. The half-orc gawks in disbelief, as do the rest of his group. 

That confirms it. Sacchan isn't the only one that's strong. I'm a lot stronger, too.

I stomp down on his foot and bury a fist into his gut. The half-orc goes down. His gang charges in at once, but my blows aren't just strong, they're fast. I throw out enough punches to knock all six of them to the ground without taking a single hit.

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All of them clutch various parts of their bodies, groaning in pain. I grab the half-orc by the collar of his shirt and lift him up to my face. 

"If you know what's good for you, drop all the money you got in your pockets and scram."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

Every single one of them empties their pockets into a pile of gold and high tail it out of here. As I'm collecting my earnings, Kain recovers from his shock and panics.

"You just shook down a bunch of miscreants for their gold!" He remarks, chewing on his thumb.

"Yeah? What about it?" I pocket half of the pile, and give the other half to Loraine.

"Are you supposed to be a hero or a bandit?!" Kain asks, throwing glances around the avenue of people who have gathered to watch.

"I get it. You want your cut, too." I drop a handful of gold into his palm. He stares at it incredulously.

"That's not the point! My family can give you all the gold you need. You don't need to extort the citizenry."

"Oh, shit." I scratch my head realizing what he means. "Couldn't help it. Shaking people down after beating them up is an old habit."

Kain narrows his eyes at me. "Right...'"

"Forget about me. What's eating you? You've been out of it since we left Lars."

Unable to look at the gold any longer he stuffs them into his pocket and fesses up. "The enchanter we're meeting is Mildred Weizel, and she… may be madly in love with me."

"Pfft." I cover my mouth.

Kain raises a brow, eyes becoming as narrow as slits now. "Hey. You just laughed, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't." I look away and hide my face behind Loraine's shoulder.

"You don't believe that a prince as handsome and strong as myself can find love!"

"Look, man. I'm sure you—"

"Watch out!" Loraine erects a barrier in time to block a barrage of fireballs and icicles.

Thick smoke burns my eyes. The three of us are coughing out our lungs.

The crowd disperses in a panic. I can barely make out the sight of a young woman skipping into view. She wears a blue and white robe adorned with ribbons that run up the length of the dress. Light brown hair curled into drills frame a displeased demeanor.

"I was so excited to see my adorable Kain. But it seems there are unwanted vermin around you…" The girl's hands clench around her staff. "Allow me to rid you of them so that we may have our alone time."

I take Sacchan back from Loraine and swing hard. The force stirs up enough wind to blow the smoke away.

"Who the fuck do you think you're aiming at, bitch?" Sacchan ignites with flames in my hand.

I can tell she's a mage like Loraine. But something about her screams to me she's on a whole other level of strong. Maybe even stronger than the demon giant.

"You shall be dead soon. No need to introduce myself," she remarks. Our aggressor channels magic into her staff, summoning a fireball as large as a house. I take a batting stance.

"WAIT!" Kain jumps between us, surprising both me and the mage girl. The fire extinguishes on both sides at his sudden intervention. He turns to face me and Loraine. "This woman is Mildred, the enchanter Lars told you about. And my…"

He's tackled to the ground by Mildred. She wraps her arms around him, rubbing her cheek on his chest. I can hardly believe the squealing mage on top of Kain is the same one who was about to incinerate us. 

"Oh, Kain! I've missed you so much, my dearest betrothed!"