Surprise After the Fight - Part 3

After a few seconds of silence, processing what stood before us—with only the sounds of people and wooden carts filling the air—we finally spoke following our last, troublesome encounter.

“What the hell are you doing here!?” we both shouted at the same time.

People nearby began to look at us curiously, drawn by our careless outburst. Kara and I quickly noticed and stopped. Even so, she seemed to want answers, so she grabbed my arm and dragged me into a nearby alley where we could speak more calmly.

“Why are you here!?” Or perhaps not so calmly.

“Is that not what I should be asking you!? Why has the Demon Queen returned to this place!?”

“W-what? Well… because I am a woman of my word! All right!? I only came because I wanted to fulfill that stupid promise… but I did not expect you to be there.”

Because of the promise? Then she had come for the same reason I had, had she? Realizing that unsettled me a little, and I could not say anything, which seemed to irritate her somewhat.

“Whatever, I am leaving! I was foolish to worry about that…”

“Wait! Wait!”

“What!?”

“…Since we are here for the same reason, why not fulfill the promise properly?”

If we both wished to honor it regardless of whether the other showed up, then this should be the best possible outcome, since in the end we had both come. Even so, after my proposal, Kara showed evident distrust toward me. I could understand it—after all, I was part of the hero’s party.

“You are only playing with me. You will try to capture me the moment I lower my guard.”

“If I wanted to do that, we would have already started fighting the moment we saw each other, would we not?”

“Well, yes, but…” Finally, after thinking for a few moments, she relented. “Fine. But if you try anything, I will undoubtedly kill you.”

“I will keep that in mind…”

And so, in the strangest way possible, we were both able to fulfill our promise.

***

“What can I get you?”

“A sweet wine,” I replied.

“So you really liked that thing, huh?”

“And what will you have, then?”

“…The same,” she said in a somewhat embarrassed tone.

The atmosphere between us was still somewhat tense. The battle we had fought was still quite recent, and although we had gotten along a little before, things were completely different now, since, technically, we were mortal enemies. Even so, taking advantage of the occasion, there were things I wanted to speak with her about.

“By the way… how are the demon children?”

Changing her expression from a serious one to a more curious look, Kara finally lifted her gaze to meet mine. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, likely because of my status as a member of the hero’s party, but it did not take her long to answer—perhaps because she decided she could trust me after our first encounter that night.

“They are well. I was able to return them to their families in time to evacuate them all from Ral’gan.”

Ral’gan—the demon territory. As far as I know, it was once part of the Duchy of Beaufort, but after the demons appeared, they managed to invade that region, turning it into what is now their domain.

“So that is why the place was empty.”

“Yes. I knew you were incredibly strong. Had they stayed, they would have only suffered in vain, so I decided to face you myself.”

“I see.”

Strategically, it might not have been the best move, but as a ruler, it spoke volumes about her. She preferred to confront things directly rather than delay the inevitable and make her people suffer in the process—and that was without mentioning that she herself had helped the slaves firsthand that night.

She was a leader deeply connected to her people, yet also highly competent. It was no coincidence that, thanks to her and her leadership, they had managed to dominate the entire country. And had it not been for the existence of the hero, they likely would have gone on to conquer the Kingdom of Viryana and the rest of the world as well.

“Now I have something to ask you,” she said in a cold tone.

The atmosphere instantly grew far more tense, and Kara emanated an intimidating aura. Whatever she was about to ask was important.

“What happened to my generals?”

Her generals… the pillars of the demon army. I understood. She wanted to confirm whether they were safe or whether we had already dealt with them. Normally, that would be confidential information reserved for high-ranking individuals or the hero’s companions, but at this moment, that did not matter.

“They are alive.”

“You are not lying to me?”

“Not at all.”

Kara continued to press me to ensure I was telling the truth, and fortunately for me, I was. Had we accepted the nobles’ demands, it was quite likely she would have attacked the city in fury upon learning of her comrades’ deaths. It had been a wise decision to keep them alive.

“I see… I see…” she murmured softly before releasing a long sigh. “…What a relief.”

All the threatening aura she had been emanating vanished. In its place was nothing more than a relieved girl, happy that her most loyal companions were still alive. Her expression—even if concealed by illusion magic—was charming enough to make me blush slightly.

“T-tavern keeper, bring us another glass, please,” I ordered, trying to conceal the flush on my face.

After that turbulent beginning, the conversation began to flow without issue. We spoke about a little of everything, mainly about some of the strategies and maneuvers we had used during our battle.

“Yes, the mana explosion was something I came up with thanks to the way you used it the other night.”

“I knew it!”

“By the way, that explosive technique of yours is incredibly deceptive… you are twisted.”

“Yes, I have been told that quite often…”

“And what in the world is wrong with that saint in your group? She is unbelievably irritating!”

“I can imagine…”

Kara turned out to be quite talkative—perhaps because of the alcohol, or simply because she let herself get carried away by the conversation. Without a doubt, we both spent a pleasant afternoon. I was glad to have been able to fulfill my promise together with her.

“Ah! I almost forgot!” Kara suddenly exclaimed. “What about the cookies?”

“Cookies?”

“Yes! You said you would bring more when we met again!”

That was true—I had said that. However, between the complete lack of time I had to make them, the obvious complications regarding our identities, and not even knowing whether we would meet again like this, I had ended up forgetting about them entirely.

“I do not have any. I was unable to make more, and I did not even know we would end up meeting again.”

“That cannot be… And I was so eager to eat them…” she replied, burying her face in her arms, her eyes brimming with tears.

Were my cookies truly that good?

Garrik and the others often told me so, but for the Demon Queen herself to agree with them was, at the very least, impressive.

Seeing her so disappointed made my chest ache, so I came up with a somewhat reckless idea.

“If you want them that badly, how about we meet tomorrow? There will be a festival held in celebration of our victory, so we can take the opportunity to look around a little as well.”

“Quite bold of you to invite me to a festival celebrating my defeat… But it will be worth it if I can eat more of those cookies. You had better prepare more than last time!”

“Then it is a deal.”

After sealing our agreement and finishing our drinks, we arranged to meet at the main square in the afternoon, and finally went our separate ways.

“See you tomorrow, Kris!”

“Yes! Until tomorrow!”

I still had to return to the inn to inform Aurelia and Tyra about the situation with the nobles, but I decided to take my time and instead made a detour to the commercial district, where I purchased the necessary ingredients to prepare the cookies. Most likely, the rest of my party will want some as well, so I will bring extra ingredients just in case.

And so, in a way I had never expected, I managed to fulfill my promise to meet once more with Kara, the Demon Queen, to share a drink.