The Former Demon Queen Wants To Find Work

Passing through the front gates of Blendingbrook soon revealed the small town bustling with activity. Merchants were busy advertising and selling goods by the roadside, customers wandered about, checking out the nearby stalls. Children ran back and forth, laughing and playing, and Mary could barely contain her excitement at the sight of it all. There were people everywhere, not just humans, but elves, dwarves, beastfolk, fairies, and many other races too. No demons, or demon kind.

She wasn't surprised. It was for the best.

Anyway, how many other peaceful creatures were there? She couldn't tell. The crowd seemed to stretch in every direction, a vibrant mix of colors, shapes, and sizes.

Mary nearly took off running down the street in excitement, ready to explore, but as she pressed one foot forward, she tripped and face-planted onto the cobblestone. She looked over her shoulder to see what had happened. Gustav had the hem of her white dress in his mouth, shaking his head side to side.

"My lady? Remember who you are now. Control your impulses, or risk revealing your true identity."

"Right."

Mary gradually got to her feet, dusting herself. "Thank you, Gustav," she whispered, leaning down to pat the little cat's head.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves as she stood back up. What was wrong with her? At this rate, through overexcitement, she'd expose herself and her powers before anyone even got suspicious of her.

With that thought, Mary began walking through the crowd slowly, carefully, at the speed she assumed was normal for a regular person. She was taking in the sights, the smells, the whole scenery.

She saw a merchant advertising his wares of pots and pans, and another one showing off his collection of delicate and fresh fruits stacked neatly in wooden crates.

Everything she was looking at caused her eyes to widen in amazement and excitement, and it also reminded her of the very first time she had ever visited with her mother back when she was little.

Come on, don't be shy. Look upon them, Vesperia, her mother had said. See the truth for yourself. They are all normal people just going about their day.

More kids ran past her, their noise snapping her out of her brief reminiscing and back to the present. So far, everything about the town seemed peaceful, and she couldn't wait to fully integrate as a member of society.

"All right, Gustav," she said, spinning around to speak to the cat at her feet. "It's time for us to find a job."

The little black cat looked up at her, unimpressed.

"I don't know, my lady," he said flatly. "I am still of the notion that this seems like a bad idea."

Mary smiled, standing up straight with one hand on her hip. She tapped her chin thoughtfully with the other.

"Wonder if I can just ask around for work," she mused.

"My lady, looks like your mind is set in stone and you wouldn't listen no matter what I say, so please be careful," Gustav said.

"Oh, you worry too much, Gustav."

Mary ignored him as she approached a nearby food vendor.

"Excuse me, kind merchant! Fellow human!"

Behind her, Gustav slapped his tiny paw against his forehead.

"Yes, what would you like, young lady? Can I interest you in some freshly smoked fish?" the merchant asked, welcoming her with a warm smile.

The former Queen's expression instantly turned sour as she scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"No, I don't like fish," she said. "It's disgusting and gross and slimy, and it smells weird."

Gustav slapped his forehead again.

"I personally prefer dragon eggs," she continued, oblivious to the fact that she had just insulted the man's business. "Fried dragon eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love them dearly."

The merchant frowned.

Mary blinked in confusion.

She was unsure why he suddenly looked so put off. She had only been honest about her preferences. Why did he look so displeased?

"Anyway," Mary said, continuing as if she hadn't just offended him. "Do you know where I can find a job? I mean, a normal human job. Something I can do. I'm looking for work here in town, among all of you. I-I mean among all of us. I-I mean among all the people, because I'm also normal like them. I-I mean you. I-I mean..."

The merchant grumbled under his breath, clearly annoyed, but he seemed like he wanted to be a good host despite his irritation.

"Just check the Adventurer's Guild," he said flatly. "They'll have all sorts of job postings. They would be bound to be some people looking for work today, I'm sure."

Mary's face lit up with joy. "Thank you! I'll go check right now!"

With that, she hurried off, leaving the merchant shaking his head.

"My queen, I believe you might benefit from a brief lesson in social etiquette," Gustav said as he trotted beside her.

"Huh? What are you talking about? What do you mean, Gustav?"

The duo conversed as they made their way to the Adventurer's Guild.

"Just now, my lady, you spoke with the merchant. You told him that his goods are repulsive, then proceeded to ask him for a favor."

"Okay?" Mary responded, listening. "What's wrong with that?"

"My lady, that is hardly the method in which one procures assistance."

Mary blinked in confusion, trying to understand what her familiar was telling her.

"But I was just being honest," she said.

"And honesty is a virtue, my queen," Gustav replied, "but you must understand to show restraint and courtesy. Otherwise, people will be less inclined to assist you. They won't take kindly to you making jest of their livelihood or insulting them indirectly, just like you have done with the fish merchant a moment ago."

"Oh, Gustav, really," Mary said, her shoulders slumping as they walked. "I feel terrible. I'll have to apologize to him afterwards. But first, I need to find this job before they all run out. Besides, how do you know all this anyway? Were you secretly a human in a past life or something?"

Gustav shook his head. "No, my queen. It is simply common courtesy. It is also how things operate among demon kind in the lower ranks. Families and communities do tend to bear such morals."

Mary fell silent for a moment, pondering the words of her familiar. She was trying to make friends with people, not drive them away. If she had hurt the fish merchant's feelings and might, in future, potentially make other people feel bad, then she would just have to be more cautious with what she said, henceforth.

"Oh, and one more thing, my lady. I would strongly advise against mentioning your preference for fried dragon eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Such delicacies are typically reserved for individuals of high status within the demon realm, and I suspect the same holds true among humans."

"But I hunt them myself," Mary said.

"Which is only possible given your capabilities as a high ranking demon, my queen. The humans, I imagine, would need entire armies of professional dragon hunters to even be capable of capturing a single dragon egg. So if you want to minimize suspicion, I advise you refrain from mentioning it."

Mary nodded slowly. "Right. I'll keep that in mind."

"Oh look, Gustav. We're here."

They had arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. Mary hadn't needed to ask for directions—she already knew where the building was located from her nightly fly-bys. However, observing the building up close gave her a nervous twist in the pit of her stomach.

What if she messed this up too? She had just nearly done so with the fish merchant, and if it wasn't for Gustav, she might never have even known that she had made a mistake.

But she couldn't back out now. This was what she wanted. To learn to live alongside humans. And if she was going to do that, she just had to deal with it through all the awkwardness and mistakes.

Through wobbly legs, Mary resolved herself, took a deep breath, and stepped forward through the open doors.

The cozy interior welcomed her with chatter and laughter echoing throughout the hall, as people ate and conversed at scattered tables. The mood of the place appeared festive and inviting.

She briefly froze in place, nervous and worried. What if someone recognized who or what she really was? But as she looked around, she realized nobody was really paying attention to her. Everyone was too caught up in their own conversations and meals.

"Oh, hi there! Hello!"

From behind the counter, someone was waving her over.

It was a young human girl with a mop of brown, messy hair and a friendly, approachable smile on her face.

Somehow, the girl looked familiar to Mary for some reason.

Mary glanced nervously around, both to her left and right, checking to see if the girl was waving at someone behind her. But there was no one else there. She was definitely the one being summoned.

"Yes, you, silly! Come on over!" the girl called, smiling.

Mary hesitated for a moment, quickly stopping to make sure she looked presentable. She patted down her dress, smoothed her hair, then crossed her arms in front of her lower stomach in an elegant, princess-like manner before beginning to make her way toward the front counter.

She only walked forward a few steps when she noticed someone approaching from the right. It was a guild employee, and she appeared to have stepped out from the kitchen as her hands were full—all sorts of items, cups, bowls, jugs, stacked high up on wooden trays.

Mary saw her approaching. She could have easily moved aside. But in that brief moment of hesitation, she overheard a few people at a nearby table talking.

"Yeah, something about a demon killing a bunch of abominations last night, to save a bunch of travelers," one of the men said.

"Wait, that actually happened? I can't believe it," the other replied.

"Yep," the man answered. "Even Leafy, the current receptionist over there, was among the people stuck in the wagons at the time. She said the demon moved so fast they couldn't see it until it stopped."

"Damn, really?" the other man exclaimed in worry. "With that kind of power, that had to have been some kind of super level demon, right? Like maybe a general or something."

Mary was briefly distracted. They were talking about her.

"Coming through! Coming through!"

Oh no. The serving girl.

Before Mary could successfully jump out of the way, they collided. The waitress fell back, and her serving boards went flying.

In that moment, time appeared to slow to a gradual halt. Mary stood watching in horror as everything the guild employee had been carrying fell—the dishes, the cups, the bowls, the jugs.

Some of the contents looked hot, scalding even. Soup splashed toward the floor, toward the nearby tables, toward the serving girl, and toward herself. Entire loaves of bread went scattering about, and drinks slowly tumbled, threatening to splatter.

Seeing this, Mary didn't think. She just moved.

She activated her speed, reaching out and catching everything she could—the dishes, the hot food, the scattered utensils. She collected it all back into the plates and cups, reassembling the stack as if nothing had happened. She moved faster than anyone could see, fixing everything before it could hit the ground or burn anyone.

She even had time to catch the waitress, setting the girl back upright. And by the time the world returned to normal speed, Mary was standing there, holding the fully reassembled serving boards, looking mildly flustered but composed.

Then she realized something that made her stomach tighten.

Everyone was staring at her. The whole hall had gone quiet. Shock and confusion painted their faces.

Uh-oh.

What was happening?

Had she exposed herself already?