Chapter 171: Vol 3.5 Chapter 7: Sherry’s Tale — Homecoming

ForestDweller

"So, where are the two of you traveling to?" Tira smiled, still letting her son sit on her lap. By this point, he had fallen asleep, using his lovely mother as his pillow. “We’re heading to the Demon Continent. To be more accurate, we're going to Tierza. I have a letter of recommendation for a job there. It supposedly pays quite well so I can finally provide Theo the life he deserves."

"You're not an adventurer?" Sherry tilted her head.

"Well, I am for now,” The elf smiled bitterly. “Just so I can earn enough money for our travels. But I don't want to stay as one. I'm not as strong as you or Miss Myrilla. I can't even stand the sight of blood." A forlorn look swept over her face. "So that's why I'm willing to take the job, even if it meant going to a different continent entirely.”

“What kind of job is it anyway?”

“Oh, just being a maid in a wealthy merchant’s estate, nothing special.” The elf beamed bashfully. “I met one of his colleagues on our way here and he told me his friend was always looking for an earnest worker at his estate. He even gave me a letter of recommendation! Isn’t it wonderful?!” She clasped her hands together.

“I… guess so.” Somehow, Sherry couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something suspicious going on with the whole arrangement.

“So, I presume the two of you won’t be staying for the night?” Their conversation was then interrupted by the sudden return of Myrilla, who seemed to be finished with her “taking some fresh air” walk. “I suggest returning promptly then. I believe they’re going to close the gates to the village soon.”

“A-ah, you’re right. Come, Theo, we have to go back now.” She shook her sleeping boy, who promptly responded by sitting up and groggily releasing a loud yawn. “Thank you once again for saving me, Miss Sherry.” She bowed. She then took her son's hand before walking away.

"W-wait!" Sherry yelled.

The elf turned. "Is something the matter?"

"You should come with us! We're going to the Demon Continent too!"

Myrilla sent a questioning look at her companion.

“It’ll be fine!” Sherry smiled. “The more the merrier, right? And she can cook for us! You know for a fact that her cooking beats mine and yours!”

The demoness scowled. She did not appreciate her cooking being badmouthed like that. Sure, she couldn’t cook meat even if her life depended on it, but there was no need for her to say it so blatantly like that.

She turned to face the elf. “Would you be fine traveling with us? With me, especially? You know how much my features draw unkind attention.” Her feelers lit up, and before the elf could answer, she already replied, “I see. So you really are fine with it. Then it’s fine with me as well.”

The elf sent a confused look at Sherry.

“Oh, she can read minds, that’s all.” She grinned. “See how those two antennas on the top of her head light up? That happens whenever she uses her psychic ability. As a Nerthusian, she can do stuff like that. Feel free to tell her to stop if you don’t want your minds to be read though. She can be quite uncaring to people’s privacy at times.” Having traveled for quite some time with the demoness, Sherry had grown comfortable with her companion’s uncanny demonic quirk.

“I-I see. Then, of course we would! It would be an honor to travel with great adventurers like the two of you!” She bowed once more, this time as deeply as she could. Her son showed zero interest in the conversation though, likely being far too drowsy to care.

Myrilla moved closer to Sherry and whispered, "You know they would slow us down, right? And I thought you wanted to go to your homeland as quickly as you could."

"It's fine." Sherry reassured as she gazed at the mother-son pair walking towards the village. "Looking at them, it just feels wrong to abandon them. If I weren't up there on the mountain, Tira would've died, and Theo would have no one else to take care of it. He would be an orphan, just like me."

"Ah, I see. Camaraderie."

"Not to mention that, if he was here, he would do the same." As her lips blossomed into the beautiful smile of a young girl. 

"Hmph, you really like that kid, do you?"

"I do." Crimson now spread through her cheeks. "He's a… he's like a prince from the story books."

A disgusted look flashed through the demoness’ face. “Remember this. Not all stories end in a fairy tale. Especially when the princess is a demon.”

Sherry didn’t say anything back as Myrilla returned to their tent.

To her, Hugo could do nothing wrong. He will grant her the happy ending, she’s sure of that.

She just has to be the princess who’s worthy of his affection.

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“Uwaaah, it’s the sea! It’s the sea! Look, Mother, the sea!”

Funded by the coin purse of Myrillia, ever diminishing due to extra fees for her appearance, they arrived after weeks of traveling by carriage at Vermouth, the port town at the northeastern end of the Holy Continent. It was the one and only port town that could take you to the Demon Continent, as any other route is forbidden by the sea race who ruled over the oceans. As you would expect, it was a vibrant and beautiful town, filled with adventurers ,sailors, fishermens, merchants and numerous other occupations. And not only that, one could also find pretty much any race in the world represented by the populace, from elves, dwarves, and gnomes to those of the demonic kind like lamias, centaurs and ogres. Most of them, however, weren’t natives of the region. They were simple travelers, passing through to and from the port town.

Exiting the coach house, they made their way to one of the many adventurer-oriented inns in the city. It was only after putting their luggage down in the inn that they began sightseeing around the city, with the exception of Myrilla, who would rather take a nap instead.

"I assume I can trust you to not do something foolish in my absence, right?" Myrilla spoke to Sherry.

"Don't worry!" Sherry grinned. "I'll be a good girl, I promise!"

"No punching strangers just because you don't like them?"

"No punching, got it!"

"No walking down shady alleyways?"

"No walking down alleyways!"

"No talking to strangers?"

"Geez, I'm already eleven, you know! You can't treat me like a kid anymore!” On their travels, the girl already had her birthday.

Myrilla sighed. “Alright then. But if anything happens, you come back here at once.”

The demoness knew her companion was right. Even though she was her charge, that didn’t mean it was good for her growth to always be with her all the time. She was growing up, and she needed to learn how to be independent. Better to start the learning process now instead of later.

And thus, Sherry was given the pass to explore the city to her heart’s wishes.

------------

Sherry did her exploration on her own, letting Tira and Theo go their own way. The latter two were heading to the markets, situated closely by the port, while Sherry preferred to go straight to the port itself. Using her naturally strong legs, she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, until she found the perfect vantage point from where she could see the entire coastline. The port itself was located on the lowest point of the city, so if she were to reach a place high enough, there would be nothing that could obstruct her sight.

The sea was bright blue, almost the same color as the sky. Large ships, far larger than the ones she had seen before when she crossed the ocean to the Holy Continent, were moored in a neatly ordered row. She could see birds going to and fro around the masts of the ship. Seagulls, if she remembered correctly. Down below, inside the port itself, there were numerous people wandering around back and forth, almost like scurrying ants. A particular activity took her notice; barely-dressed, well-muscled men and women would lift up heavy boxes from land to the ship or vice versa. Porters, if she was not mistaken. One of them seemed to have made a mistake. She had dropped the cargo, and now she was being yelled at by her superior. Something else about her caught her eye, however, as her skin was bright red and she had a singular horn jutting out from the middle of her forehead. A demon, an ogre to be precise. Myrilla had bought her a book about demonic races for her to study. Along with a language book on demonic tongue, which would be the main language used by the demons on the continent they were going, the two were forced onto her by Myrilla. She never liked studying, but she did her best anyway. She wouldn’t want to be lazy. If it was Hugo, he would surely absorb those two books like a sponge in an instant.

That’s right! Maybe I should try conversing in Demon Tongue! Just to see if I’m already good enough at it!

All this time, she had only been using it with Myrilla, but now, she had an urge to test it against a complete stranger. If she were to go to the markets, there should be one or two demon merchants there that she could speak with! She might even get a discount from it!

With a confident grin, she leaped off the rooftop she was on, making her way there as quickly as she could.

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As one would expect, the market was bustling with activity. The streets were crowded from top to bottom, with merchants shouting over each other, trying to attract customers to their wares. Sherry had to weave in and out the crowds in order to even move around. Thanks to her small size, some didn't even notice her until it was already too late. Thankfully, she could easily dodge any clumsy adult who would've crashed on her nonetheless, thanks to her speed and positional awareness that far surpassed the average folk.

There!

In the distance, she saw her target—a lamia—selling what seemed to be all sorts of gems and jewelry. She didn't waste any time to make way to her stall.

"G-good afternoon!" She greeted. In Demon Tongue, of course.

"What's this? A human child understanding our tongue? Call me impressed," the lamia replied with the same tongue, all with a curious look. "Do you understand what I'm saying, girl?"

"Y-yeah!" Sherry beamed. "I-I'm still not that good at it though so I can't speak any of the difficult stuff. A-also, I'm a demon, just like you."

"You? A demon?" The lamia raised her eyebrows. "I don't see any tails or horns or wings. Or are you one of those shapeshifters?"

"No! I'm a—"

Do not speak of your Izurdian heritage to other demons, especially when they hail from the Demon Continent.

She stopped herself. She nearly just broke her promise to Myrilla.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Well, it doesn't matter either way. I don't care whether you're a human or a demon or even a goblin. As long as you buy my wares, that is," she lightly smirked.

The lamia then explained—in Human Tongue, since Sherry's vocabulary didn't reach that far yet—all about the gems she was selling. Apparently they were magical gems, each imbued with special properties. For example, the ruby gems held the power of fire, thus you could use it to spark flames. There were also enchanted pendants and amulets, giving blessings like enchanting your strength, improving your accuracy, or even just increasing your luck in general.

Too bad Sherry's coin purse was nowhere near heavy enough to afford any of them.

"Really? So you're just a window shopper?" The lamia's eyes narrowed.

"S-sorry! I-I just wanted to test my Demon Tongue, that's all…"

"Oh great." She rolled her eyes. "Leave then. Shoo. I don't need any unpaying customers."

Sherry did as the lamia told, feeling bad that she might have disturbed the woman's business. Deciding that she had enough of the city for now, she headed back to the inn.

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The pair stayed in the port city for a while, as they needed to either obtain enough coins to buy tickets to board a passenger ship to the Demon Continent, or to obtain a quest acting as bodyguards for a voyage there. Even though the route was technically safe, away from the monster-infested regions that the rest of the ocean belonged to, sometimes, strays would still come and threaten ships from time to time, necessitating the employment of adventurers as guards.

The two managed to obtain the latter. They were lucky enough that A-rank and S-rank adventurers were in short supply, so Sherry managed to get a spot, even though she was just a B-rank.

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As for Tira and Theo, the only recourse they had was to do the former, and so, to Sherry’s remorse, she and Myrilla would have to leave them behind.

“It’s alright.” Tira smiled. “We’ll manage on our own. Thank you for everything you’ve done. And I hope that one day, we’ll meet again.”

“And when we do, I’ll be a proper adventurer!” Theo’s eyes glimmered. “I’ll be just as strong as you are!”

Sherry didn’t say anything other than giving him a smile. After all, she couldn’t just tell him that his promise could never happen, since she would be a much stronger adventurer too when they meet again.

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Once the pair crossed the ocean, taking care of a kraken midway through—where Sherry nearly drowned after being pulled down by one of its tentacles, if not for Myrilla’s telekinesis—they arrived at Ul'nemo, the port town on the northwesternmost point of the Demon Continent. Its full name was The Free City of Ul'nemo. Like the name suggested, it was a city-state, run by a group of wealthy merchant families who had built the city from the ground up since hundreds of years ago. For simplicity, people just started to call them the Syndicate.

The port city itself was larger than Vermouth, though not much. Tall stone walls surrounded the sides of the city not connected to the ocean, a necessity on the monster-infested Demon Continent. And, just like its neighbor across the ocean, you could find all sorts of races in its streets, especially demonic one. But, unlike Vermouth, a sizable chunk of those demons were actually citizens. The Free City welcomed any demons to stay within its walls, as long as they could bring profit to the town.

"Here we are. Home."

The moment Sherry took her first step on the continent, something clicked inside her mind, as a warm and pleasant feeling filled her chest.

It was the feeling of homecoming.

"Can you feel it? The Demon Mana permeating in the air? On the very ground you stand on? If you're a demon, you should feel welcomed. As opposed to a non demon, who would feel a sense of unbelonging instead."

"I-I feel it. So this is—this is the Demon Continent, the place where my father and mother came from."

"We don't know that. For all we know, only one of your parents was an Izurd."

If a non-demon was to procreate with a demon, then their offspring should be a demon. It was another reason why demons received prejudice from non-demons. If demons were allowed to procreate with non-demons, they would eventually outnumber the latter, until eventually, everyone was a demon. Genocide through procreation.

"Your village is located in the far southeastern part of the continent.” Myrilla changed the topic. “From here, give or take, it would take us about a year of travel.”

“A-a year?” Sherry’s eyes widened.

“The Demon Continent is bigger than the Holy Continent. Not to mention it’s more perilous as well. A year isn’t that strange, if you take all those factors into account.”

Seeing the unhappy expression on Sherry’s face, the demoness put her hand on her shoulder. “That’s why you have to work hard once you arrive at your village, if you want to meet your dear Hugo again as quickly as you could. Though if you were to ask for my recommendation, I suggest you forget about him entirely, and live there instead, with your true family.”

“I’m not going to betray my promise to him!” Sherry barked, throwing Myrilla’s hand away, causing her to flinch. “After I become strong and know the truth about Father and Mother, I’ll go back to him! Then we’ll have our adventures together! And there’s nothing you can do to stop it!”

Myrilla could only reply with her usual sigh.

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A year has passed since then.

After many months of grueling travels through the continent, they finally made it to their destination.

Sherry had grown older for another year, making her twelve. Her adventurer rank had increased as well, resting at a comfortable A. As for her swordsmanship, she had improved in that department as well, just by natural experience. She could now comfortably beat A-rank monsters on her own, at least, if she fought them one by one.

“Here we are. The Valley of Eternal Summer.”

They were now on a tall cliff, overlooking a forest down below, who was drowned in white. It was akin to watching the clouds themselves, as not even a single foliage could escape the obviously unnatural fog covering the place.

“Eternal Summer?” Sherry raised her eyebrows. “I don’t see any summer down there.”

“It’s called that way because its ruler, the Archfey, holds the Ministry of Summer in the Fey Court. I’ve told you before, haven’t I, how your people made a bargain with the Fey so they would be protected from the outside world? That is the Fey they made a pact with.”

Sherry nodded. She still remembered her words clearly. “So, all of this is Fey territory?”

“Indeed. And we are about to enter it. You should already know how dangerous it would be, so stay with me and never, ever let go of my hand, no matter what you see or hear.”

“Now come. We go down the valley from there. Leave our Scarabs here. They can go back to their masters on their own.”

The two were sitting on one of the more common methods of transportation in the Demon Continent—giant, cockroach-like bugs who were capable of traversing any kinds of terrains no matter how rocky or rough it might be. They were even able to jump and fly short distances by using their wings. Compared to horses, they were pretty much superior in every way.

They dismounted from their Scarabs, which Sherry had grown accustomed to riding on her own, before sending them off, back to where they had rented them from. They then made their way down the cliff, entering the foggy forest and into the Feyland. The moment they stepped in, immediately Sherry could feel the change in atmosphere, as if she just stepped into a different world completely.

“Stay with me.” Myrilla whispered. “Do not let go of my hand. Pay no heed to the voices.”

“Voices?”

The demoness didn’t answer.

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Half an hour later, at least according to Sherry’s estimate, they were still walking inside the foggy forest with no end in sight. Everything was white and they could barely see ten steps ahead from where they were. She wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up that they were walking in circles all this time. Everything looked the same.

And the voices, Sherry finally started to hear them—giggles from seemingly just beyond her sight, coming from all directions. They were female in nature, almost like the giggles of young girls around her age.

“M-Myrilla, those voices… they’re fairies, are they not?”

“Yes. Pay them no heed. They will not harm us as long as we remain on the path." Unlike her companion, the demoness kept her composure completely.

And then, all of a sudden, the fog cleared, revealing a scenery that was far detached from how a forest was supposed to look.

"W-what?! W-where did the trees go?"

They were now standing on top of a rolling hill, with green meadows as far as the eyes could see. Trees? There were only a handful. And their leaves were an unnatural bright pink.

And then, they heard it—a female voice much louder than the others.

"What's this? Mortals entering my domain?"

"We came here as a friend." Myrilla spoke. "And I give you this offering, so you may let us pass in peace."

She took out what looked out like a rose from her bag, only it was made out of crystal. It was aptly named Crystal Rose, a rare species of plant one could only find on the Demon Continent.

“Ooh, how lovely!”

A warm breeze blew out of thin air, followed by a figure manifesting right in front of their very eyes.

To describe her with words would do her injustice. If a poet were to write a ballad about the incarnation of summer, then she would be their very inspiration. Crimson hair as warm as the midday sun perfectly accompanied her sun-kissed light brown skin. A blue dress adorned with flowers and leaves that showed just enough skin to make things interesting, along with a crown sitting neatly on top of her head. Size-wise, she was bigger than the two, though not by much. It was enough, however, to make her feel intimidating for them.

Another breeze blew, making the Crystal Rose fly off Myrilla's hand right into hers.

"I am also a friend of Quella The Heartbroken, and I came here to soothe her heartache."

Sherry sent a confused look at her companion. What is she talking about?

"Hmm… ah!" The archfey clapped her hands. "You're that Myrilla girl, aren't you? It's been a while! Was it yesterday or tomorrow that I last met you? How is it? Have you filled the emptiness in your heart yet?”

The demoness chose not to answer.

“No? Ah, what a shame. What a shame indeed.” She giggled. “But how about you, little blossom? Ooh, this one’s heart actually beats with life!”

Sherry took a step backwards. “W-what are you talking about?”

“Don’t be silly! I’m, of course, talking about what you mortals call your ‘significant other’! You have one, don’t you! Tell me all about him!”

The fairy was now hovering horizontally right in front of Sherry—her jovial face looking right at the little demoness, making Sherry take a couple more backwards steps, just so she could have some distance from her.

“Your Majesty, if you would, we would very much like to be on our way.” Myrilla sent a glare towards Sherry. Don’t tell her.

The fey turned her attention back towards Myrilla. “Aaw, you’re no fun! Fine! I’ll send you two on your way!” She snapped her finger, causing a burst of wind to explode between the two, making Sherry close her eyes out of reflex.

When she opened them, her surroundings had changed yet again. She was now on top of a large green hill. And, down below, after the numerous farmlands, she could see what looked to be a village.

“I-is this?” She looked towards her companion.

“Yes, this is it. This is your village. The last village of the Izurd.”

Sherry’s heart skipped a beat.

She could scarcely believe it.

At last, after nearly two years of travel, she finally made it.

Home.

ForestDwelle

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