Chapter 16: Mission Briefing on Dragonback

Act 2: Cultural Differences Divide, Shared Plights Unite

“Is there really no other way?”

It’s been almost three days since Kenneth and I last talked about our little prisoner. A lot has changed since then, and many things haven’t. I sigh.

“I’m afraid this is beyond my scope. Sorry, Dave.”

Kenneth and I have to raise our voices to communicate as we’re travelling on dragonback, soon to arrive at the city of Mauer, where I live. We’re going at high speeds, the refreshing air whizzing past us and creating a constant roar in our ears.

Immediately after settling down for the night three days ago, Kenneth had requested immediate aid via a familiar provided by our trusty witch Beatrix. Hardly a day later, a domesticated dragon with its tamer arrived, and a doctor with the skill to cast the spells necessary to repair the grave internal injuries neither I nor the demon kid could fix.

Berserker no longer needs to fear death, but his recovery will take a while. Considering he’s probably sober by now, no one is particularly displeased with the fact that the giant remains out cold.

Thanks to a successful recon mission, meeting no resistance whatsoever, we’ve also been able to recover most of our supplies, and I fixed Lucy’s broken arm, Lance’s concussion, and the numerous injuries I called my own. The brat could have easily fixed them, but my pride demanded I spend my entire mana on the task and do it myself.

Speaking of the kid… she’s been perfectly cooperative ever since we took her captive, causing no trouble whatsoever. Kenneth had relayed to her the situation she finds herself in, yet her tame and obedient behavior doesn’t convince me. Frankly, I don’t trust her. I can’t. She’s a bloody demon after all.

“What do you mean by ‘beyond your scope’?” I inquire as my gaze wanders from my best friend to the demon girl sitting a little further up front on the dragon, studying a book Beatrix managed to summon straight from Kenneth’s personal library in the capital. Things would be awkward if neither side could communicate properly, so Kenneth has her study our language, which she’s done diligently ever since. Fishy if you ask me.

“It means ‘order from the King himself, ’” Kenneth responds as we discuss how to deal with our prisoner for the time being. He must have received further instructions along with the help sent our way. “Naturally, this is a commission. Keeping her safe and captive until negotiations occur will be royally compensated.”

“We won’t need to scrape by doing shitty commissions for the Adventurer’s Guild for a while then?” I double-check. After all, I could hardly run around town rescuing kittens from trees or slaying magical beasts in the countryside while keeping my eyes on the demon brat.

“I surmise you’ll be able to scrape by for a long time with the money the King offers. Your feats weren’t small, Dave. The King recognizes your success.”

“Our success,” I say, overriding his words.

His speech reminds me of the scope of our achievements, yet I don’t really ‘feel’ it when considering the upcoming mission. Not even the prospect of having the money to buy even better equipment or the pride that comes with our feats can cheer me up as my eyes rest on the demon child’s back.

I’ll practically have to live with that brat from now on… In hindsight, I’d prefer taking on another Demon Lord over babysitting her all day…

“Yeah…” is all I mutter in Kenneth’s direction. I can probably do it if I remind myself that it’s work. But still… it doesn’t sit well with me. Absolutely not!

She’s a demon! Her kind is at fault!

At least the kid doesn’t share the ghastly physical appearance her race is known for. If I weren’t already aware of her demonic nature, I could hardly tell as long as her silken, blonde, and wavy hair hides away the two striking differences that set demons and humans apart in their appearance.

Demons have somewhat differently shaped pointy ears, although not pointy to the extent of elves or dwarves, and oriented more inwardly than human ears. And as for the horns, they’re just little stubs that grow out with the onset of puberty in demons. The kid probably still has a couple of years before that would happen. They age roughly the same as we do. She can’t be older than nine or ten with her petite frame.

“Naturally, you’re not on your own, Dave,” Kenneth points out as a gust of wind ruffles the brat’s long hair, briefly revealing the torn state of her dress. While Lucy restored her hair to an acceptable appearance, we couldn’t do anything about the clothes she had on. Neither of us has any child-sized things to donate. “The others will have some time to kill as well.”

My gaze returns to my friend. I’m not sure how much of a relief his words are, considering my assortment of allies.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly entrust Lance with a girl, demon or not,” I mutter so as not to alert our resident pervert to the talk. “And as for Berserker…”

“Well, you also need people for groceries and other errands,” Kenneth points out before his expression shows a hint of cunning. “Besides, you also got me.”

“You’ll be out in the capital to make those deals, won’t you?” I deadpan.

“That as well,” he replies cryptically, not leaving me any wiser as always. “I’ll be around now and then, though. Let’s propose a deal.”

“A deal?” I stare at him.

“Yes, a deal.” He nods. “You help me research her for that demon behavior study I’ve been tinkering with since forever, and in return, I help out whenever I’m here, so you’re not stuck with her the entire time. Deal?”

I’m eyeballing Kenneth critically as I speak. “What would that research of yours entail?”

“Well, wouldn’t you like to find out how a demon child develops far away from the adults that indoctrinate their youth before they have a chance to learn what’s right or wrong on their own?”

“If it means I can pretend to be busy with paperwork rather than dealing with the brat, count me in,” I sigh. Besides, I’m curious as well. It takes only a look at Kenneth and me to spot the impact a good upbringing can have on a person, regardless of race. Had my parents had the money and patience to tutor me from a young age, who knows what might have become of me. Kenneth’s folks certainly had both. And look at what he’s become.

A smartass.

“Excellent! Knew I could count on you, Davie boy!” he exclaims with a cheer, chummily thumping my back.

“Still,” I grunt as I try to dodge his gesture, which is easier said than done when riding a dragon. “You’ll have to provide me with more than that if you want me to do a fair job.”

How I’m looking at the brat while letting my words trail should be enough to indicate what I’m referring to. Kenneth doesn’t seem to catch on, however. A dumbfounded expression adorns his pretty face, so I elaborate on what’s on my mind.

“I know virtually nothing about demons, and I won’t be able to communicate with the kid beyond broken chunks and pieces of her language - and I doubt she’ll learn ours either. It took me years to pick up on demon-speak!”

“Then let me share with you what I know about their race beyond what their appearance implies,” he announces, and before I know it, an hour has passed, my mind is overflowing with too much input, and the town of Mauer comes within view.

In hindsight, I should have asked him how to deal with children instead, but the odd information he shared with me would be more crucial than I would have thought.