The Former Demon Queen Meets Her New Coworkers: The Guild Girls

Mary sat alone at a table tucked away in the corner, furthest from the counter where Leafy worked. The young girl was busy scribbling furiously in a small notebook as more and more adventurers came to the guild for one reason or another.

"How many? ... Five devil crabs? That's ten silver per monster? ... So altogether that's fifty silver. Here you go, this is your receipt. Please give it to the teller over there and receive your money, okay?"

Mary watched the girl, fascinated by how she easily handled all of the chaos of accounting and simultaneous requests flooding in all at once. It was awe-inspiring. She wanted to become exactly like her. Just your average hard worker. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Mary shifted restlessly in her seat, unsure what to do with herself. Leafy had told her to wait while she finished up all the urgent tasks. "Just sit tight," the girl had said with a wink. "I'll come get you soon and show you around."

Sighing from exhaustion, Mary glanced over her shoulder to gaze around the hall. Adventurers came and went—mages, knights from the local militia, and even merchants too.

Even as the morning gradually made way for the afternoon, the atmosphere was still peaceful. Everybody was going about their day as usual, unaware of the former Demon Queen sitting in the corner, absolutely bored out of her mind.

Slumping her head on the table, Mary soon overheard a man at a nearby booth talking to his party. Her ears perked up at the sound of their conversation, and she slowly sat up straight, tilting her head slightly to listen in.

"Yeah, it's getting bad. At this point, the demons might as well be winning the war. Some of the holy knights retreated from the eastern frontier yesterday. Surprisingly, many of them were able to get out, but the demon general over there has basically captured most of the region and is still pressing deeper into the nearby towns and cities."

Mary's heart sank at the news. So Emilia had continued her campaign overnight, even after Mary had left.

What was wrong with that girl? Granted, Emilia hadn't received the same exposure to humans as Mary had when she was a kid. Emilia's mother, Valocora, was fiercely protective of her daughter, always keeping her close to the castle and never allowing her to branch out and see the rest of the world.

Mary's mother, on the other hand—Malacora—was the opposite. She was never fond of the war, the messy politics of the empire, any of it. And because she was the first wife of the Demon King, she had free rein to go wherever she wanted for long periods of time. That's why, at the age of one, not long after she was born, her mother took Mary outside. She spent the next ten years of her life mostly growing up among humans. Meanwhile, Emilia stayed behind, never given the opportunity to come to understand the compassion of the world, or the innocence of the other races.

"And when were you going to tell me about your run-in with your sister, my lady?"

Mary looked up from her thoughts. Gustav had jumped onto the table and was now walking toward her, his tail flicking side to side.

"Wait," she whispered in shock. "How did you...?"

"How did I correctly guess about your run-in with your sister without you telling me?" Gustav said in an unamused tone as he proceeded to sit down in the middle of the table.

"Simple. I have my nose, you know. You may have shrunk my physical form down to this, but you haven't diminished all of my power. I was able to smell Lady Emilia on your clothes when you got home last night."

Mary sighed and fell back in her seat. She saw no reason to lie to her familiar. Also, she was pretty sure a strong sense of smell was already part of a cat's natural abilities. So Gustav thinking it was remnants of his demonic power was kind of funny.

"Emilia is a general now," Mary finally said, her voice nearly quiet as she relaxed in her seat.

Gustav's ears straightened. "What are you saying?"

"She's in charge of leading the war effort on the eastern front," Mary continued.

"What might your uncle be thinking?"

"I don't know," Mary replied. "But whatever it is, it can't be good."

Gustav sat silent for a moment, deliberating.

"Could he be perhaps training Lady Emilia to take your place on the throne?"

Mary paused, taking a moment to ponder the likelihood of his words.

The succession wasn't that simple though. The throne wasn't just handed over to the next person. There was usually a fair contest among candidates from other noble houses. Tradition stated, if the King or Queen was absent for any reason, the other houses get a chance to compete for the crown.

Remembering all of this, Mary summarized it to her familiar.

"I understand that, my lady. I don't necessarily mean he wants to forcefully put her on the throne in your absence. I meant simply that he wants to give her the necessary experience to be able to successfully compete during the next candidate battles."

"That might very well be what is happening," Mary agreed, reaching over to pet Gustav's head and rub his ears. "Thank you, Gustav. You remain a very good friend, and I always value your council."

"I live to serve my queen."

A few moments of silence passed between the two, and Mary was just about ready to slap her head back on the table to rest while waiting for the human girl. However, as she began doing that, a man in patchwork armor with a small knife clipped to his hip stepped towards her, a medium-sized bag draped over his arm.

"Hey there, excuse me, but I don't often see you in these parts. Are you new by any chance?"

Straightening up, Mary lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "Ah, yes, I'm new. I just started today," she answered.

She noticed the man had dirty blonde hair, cropped short, and an overly eager smile plastered across his face.

"Oh, well here," he then said, handing her a piece of something pulled from his bag. "It's dried giant lizard jerky. Caught and cured it myself. I just brought some to sell to the guild, and then I saw you, and I thought—a pretty girl like you definitely deserves a first taste."

"Oh. Okay."

Mary hesitantly reached for the piece of dried meat, brought it to her nose, and nearly gagged when the smell hit her. She quickly pulled it back, holding it away from her face.

"Hey, are you alright?" the man asked.

"No," Mary said, instinctively jerking to her feet. "This is disgusting. How dare you bring this to me? What even is this? It smells like—"

She only stopped talking when she realized Gustav had jumped down from on top of the table and was now on the floor, biting the bottom of her trousers. She glanced down and found him staring up at her.

"My lady," he whispered in her mind, "remember what I said about social etiquette. Just say thank you to the man."

Mary's face instantly flushed with embarrassment. She had accidentally let her former self slip out again. She quickly looked around to see if anybody had caught her act in such a way, other than the man in front of her, of course. Luckily, everybody was too busy to have noticed.

"Ah, I get it. If you don't like lizard jerky, it's fine," the man said, looking a little deflated.

"No, no, no, no, please don't be offended."

Mary turned her attention back to the adventurer and shoved the entire piece of meat into her mouth.

"Whoa!" the man's eyes went wide. "Careful, there's like bones and stuff in there."

Mary just smiled as she chewed. "It's alright," she said. "There are no bones." She lied. "It's delicious." She lied again. "Nothing but good stuff here."

She forced herself to swallow, then, still smiling, flashed a thumbs up. "Thank you. Thank you for this kind gesture."

"Okay?" the man said, appearing slightly baffled but ultimately satisfied with her reply as he moved on.

At the sight of him leaving, Mary nearly heaved up everything she had just eaten, but she managed to keep it all in as she sank back into her seat.

Gustav flicked his tail as he spoke up. "One day, my lady, you will learn to think before you speak."

Mary groaned as she slumped her head back on the table.

"I really hope so, Gustav," she muttered. "I really hope so."

...

(About an hour later.)

...

"I see someone went out partying last night."

Mary instantly shot upright from her half-sleep state at Leafy's words.

"N-no, no, it wasn't that at all," the former Demon Queen corrected, raising her hands defensively.

Although she technically hadn't gone out partying, she had spent a good portion of the night carrying out her nightly duties. And if she had simply remained in her demon form through to the following day, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But ever since arriving in the human realm, she was actively suppressing her demonic energy, which, when compounded with her human form, left her in a slight perpetual state of exhaustion.

She still had her hands lifted up as if she were surrendering, and she soon noticed the girl's gaze lingering on the gesture.

"Huh, that's strange," Leafy said, her eyes fixed on Mary's raised hands. "I could swear I have seen that exact posture before."

Mary quickly lowered her palms, hiding them behind her back before she even knew what she was doing. It was a suspicious reaction, but her mind was racing too fast to think clearly.

She had also raised her arms in a similar fashion two nights ago, when the guards traveling with the wagons had tried to attack her after she had saved them. And if memory was serving her correctly, Leafy was there that night during the fight.

That's why she had recognized the girl when she entered the guild looking for work yesterday. Leafy was among the travelers she had rescued, one of the very few people that bore witness to her demonic form.

Oh gosh. Had she figured out her true identity?

"I-is everything okay, Miss Leafy?" Mary asked hesitantly, worried, but trying to pretend things were normal.

Leafy shook her head. "Yeah, everything is fine. Sorry about that. Just lost focus for a second. Anyway, come along. I want to introduce you to the girls as well as give you a little tour of the guild."

Still a little nervous but mostly calm, Mary breathed out a sigh of relief before getting up and following, with Gustav trotting along behind them. When they approached one of the doors leading to the back, Leafy momentarily stopped and turned around.

"First off, as you already know, this is the main hall," she said, spreading her arms wide. "This is where adventurers come to collect jobs and requests. Over there is where people eat. As you can see, Minimo, who you've already met, is our head waitress."

Minimo briefly stopped and waved at both Mary and Leafy. Mary waved back. It looked like the girl was doing just fine despite the incident from last night. She seemed happy enough.

"And over back here..." Leafy said as she trailed off, pushing open the door.

Mary followed her into the room and was shocked to find another larger area. It wasn't filled with desks and chairs like out in the main hall. There were just a few tables, stools for sitting, and some large and small feather pillows and mattresses, also a fireplace. It looked like a spot people came to rest.

"This is what we call our break room," Leafy said, stepping inside. "Where guild staff can come to hang out and relax during the day, from the stress of work, like in between shifts."

She gestured around, a warm smile on her face.

"It's not much, but it's cozy," she added.

"It's beautiful," Mary said, marveling at the simplicity of the place. At the moment, there were two inhabitants: a younger bunny girl lying down on a cot in the corner, and what looked like a human-sized bat hanging upside down from the ceiling.

Mary nearly jumped back at the sight of the creature up by the roof.

It stirred. Something underneath the bundle of wings was moving. Gentle mumbling and soft giggling sounds could be heard. Its leathery limbs, folded around it like a blanket, rustled as it shifted. Only tiny ears were peeking out from the bundle.

"Umm..." Mary began, continuing to look up. Leafy noticed and followed her gaze.

"Oh, that's just Chanchan," Leafy said. "Our messenger and delivery specialist."

In that moment, hearing the mention of her name, the wings of the bat person opened with a sudden flap. Underneath was revealed to be the face of a little girl holding a book, staring back at Mary through a pair of large, dark blue eyes.

"Chanchan says hello to the new member," the girl said.

Mary was taken aback by the little girl's manner of speaking.

"That's just how she talks," Leafy quickly clarified. "She says hello."

"I'm so sorry. Hello to you as well."

"Chanchan thinks you are very pretty."

"Umm... thank you?" Mary replied, a little flustered. "You are also very cute yourself."

"Chanchan knows this. Yes. Currently reading about a book about two lovers who want to end everything, their lives, for love, and their whole family is trying to separate them, and they're planning to run away and join the circus. It's a very good book."

"Oh," Mary responded, lost at what the girl was saying.

"Yeah, Chanchan is always reading. She likes to talk about her stories, don't you?" Leafy asked up at the batgirl, and she nodded in reply.

Leafy then gestured toward the other occupant. "And that person over there, currently sleeping, is our in-house fashion designer and seamstress, Snow Poppy."

Mary looked over at the one on the mattress in the corner, the one occupied by the bunny girl. She looked older than both Leafy and Chanchan, maybe as old as Minimo, which Mary guessed might not be far from her own age of nineteen. She possessed skin the color of snow, and so were her ears. She was sleeping peacefully, snoring softly.

"She exerts a lot of energy when sewing, so she takes frequent naps to recharge," Leafy explained. "She also makes a lot of our uniforms. Including mine. Alright, let's go. There's more to show you."

Leafy led Mary further down the hall, eventually pushing open another entrance. The sudden warmth of several stoves coupled with the aroma of spices and the distinct clatter of pots and pans greeted them.

"And this is the kitchen," Leafy said, gesturing inside. "Managed by our head cook, Miss Hilda, and her subordinate Maria—that redhead girl over there."

Mary peeked in. A shorter, larger woman wearing a bonnet and an apron held an oversized wooden spoon as she barked orders at another person—a slender girl standing in front of her, stirring a large pot. The girl had red hair and normal ears. She must be Maria, another human working here in the guild.

"And this is your last warning, Maria!" the woman said, slapping her wooden spoon against her open palm menacingly. "You forgot your bonnet at home today because you wanted to show off your beautiful hair in here, right? Well, you come here tomorrow without your bonnet, and I will shave that beautiful hair off. Is that understood?"

"Yes, madam."

Looked like they were in the middle of something, Mary thought. They hadn't even noticed the trio, Gustav included, standing by the entryway.

Leafy awkwardly closed the entrance before moving on. "And this is the head mistress's office, Miss Eleanor"

She pushed open the door. The room was filled with papers stacked neatly on shelves, and even in boxes on the ground. A steaming cup of tea sat on the desk beside a few more papers and a feather pen.

"Looks like she stepped out for a bit," Leafy said, pulling it closed. "She'll be back soon."

Then she pointed to a closed room at the end of the hall. "That's Gregor's. He's the one who really runs things around here. He owns the place. He's hardly ever here though, that's why Mistress Eleanor helps him manage the rest of us girls."

After that, the duo stopped by a decently sized, walking closet at the back. Leafy opened it briefly to reveal cleaning supplies and other assorted items in reserve. Mary recognized the place from earlier, it was where they had both entered to gather up the brooms, mop, and buckets. It was the storage room.

The last thing shown to her was the backyard. It was big, spacious, and possessed a very gorgeous view of the distant mountains in the vast fields of Blendingbrook.

"And that's about it," Leafy said, closing the door as they stepped back inside. "The guild's not huge, but it's got everything we need."

Mary nodded, taking it all in.

"Alright, let's head back," Leafy said.

"Umm... Miss Leafy, could I please have a moment of your time?" Mary asked nervously, putting her hands together.

The human girl stopped and turned around.

"Ah, sure. What's up? And you really need to drop the whole 'Miss Leafy' thing. Just call me Leafy."

"Okay," Mary nodded. "It's nothing serious, really. I just wanted to ask you... yesterday, the reason you hired me. You said you were going to tell me today."

"Oh, that," Leafy answered, twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers and suddenly looking off to the side while smiling bashfully.

"Well, the truth is," she continued, "I have a dream. I've been trying to achieve it for so long on my own, and it has not been easy. I was starting to think it was never going to happen. But when I saw you yesterday—when I saw you catch all of that food so fast before any of it could even touch the ground—I thought maybe... maybe it's not too late."

Mary had no idea what Leafy was talking about. She was naturally worried the girl might have figured out her secret somehow. But Leafy didn't look suspicious. She just appeared thoughtful as she spoke, telling Mary about this dream of hers. The former Demon Queen wasn't quite sure how she was meant to understand what the girl was getting at.

"Oh, shoot," Leafy said, glancing at her compass watch. "My break is almost over."

The girl then waved a hand dismissively at Mary. "You know what? You've done enough today. I'm giving you permission to go home early."

Mary blinked. "Huh? Are you sure, Miss Leafy? I could do more work, you know?"

"Yep, I'm sure," the girl said. "Go home. That's an order. Besides, tomorrow you're going to have a very long day. I'm going to take you somewhere. I will tell you everything later."

She turned and ran off, waving over her shoulder.

"Okay, bye! See you later, Mary!"