The Former Demon Queen Gets Ambushed On Her Way To Vacation

"The journey to Sapphire Springs is about two hours by road. So, with any luck, we should arrive before sunset with some daylight to spare."

It was the height of the afternoon, and both Mary and Snowpoppy were now riding in the back of the wagon that the latter had booked.

Mary had her head resting on her knees, her palms covering her face as she hid from embarrassment.

"Mary," Snowpoppy said, reaching over to gently stroke the girl's back, trying to comfort her.

"You really should stop crying. You already apologized, right? It wasn't all that bad. We'll fix it when we get back home."

...

Shortly before they had left:

"Excuse me, sir, but we are in need of transport to ferry us to Sapphire Springs."

Mary and Snowpoppy had left the guild and headed to the carriage park to arrange a ride so they could join up with the rest of the girls.

"Well, it's not where I'm headed, but I've got some cargo to deliver to a town nearby, so I can definitely drop you off."

"Thank you," Snowpoppy responded. "And how much will that be?"

"Six silver. But you can just pay half of the asking price."

"All right, thank you, sir."

Snowpoppy reached into her purse and handed over the coins.

"Okay, Mary, let's enter."

"Miss Snowpoppy, please allow me."

In her eagerness to be helpful, Mary reached for the carriage handle and accidentally yanked the entire door off with a single tug.

"...!"

Expressions of horror spread across both the driver's and Mary's faces at the sight of the damage.

Snowpoppy simply stared at the broken door with indifference, not shocked or surprised in the slightest.

"Oh my goodness, I am so, so sorry!"

Mary immediately began apologizing to the man.

"Crazy woman! You broke my door! Do you know how much that's going to cost to fix?!"

Long story short, the girls had accidentally thrust themselves into an awkward situation.

Surprisingly, though, Snowpoppy handled the issue with ease. She simply reached into her purse again and pulled out a card.

"This shows that I work at the Adventurer's Guild," she explained. "When you get back from your delivery, you can come apply for repair funds. It will be handled. But now, let's just be on our way, all right?"

The man had a mixture of anger and frustration on his face, but he eventually accepted the money and card.

"All right, get in. But she doesn't touch anything else, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Snowpoppy answered. "My sister will keep her hands to herself."

...

Back to the present.

After Snowpoppy had spent a good ten minutes trying to comfort her, Mary finally straightened up and stopped crying.

"I'm sorry again about the door, Miss Snowpoppy," Mary sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her sleeve.

"You really shouldn't keep worrying about that," Snowpoppy replied. "Here, use this instead."

She handed a handkerchief from her purse to Mary.

"Oh, ah... thank you," Mary replied, briefly falling silent as she accepted the piece of cloth and wiped her face.

The sound of the wagon rolling along the road made a clattering noise that Mary found oddly satisfying to listen to. Birds chirped as they hopped along the trees, their songs continuing in the distance.

"How long before we reach the others?" Mary wondered aloud.

Snowpoppy reached into her handbag and pulled out a stone compass.

"About an hour and thirty minutes," she said. "Why, are you getting tired already?"

"No, no, no, I'm fine. I was just curious, that's all."

"Mhm."

"Say, Miss Snowpoppy," Mary continued, "I was wondering, how are you able to use your sewing machine so fast? Is it something only you can do, or is it a family thing? Or maybe it's a natural ability of your species?"

"Actually, it isn't something all Snow Bunnies are capable of," Snowpoppy replied, turning to Mary. "It's a skill I developed on my own back in my village."

"Oh, really?" Mary asked, her face lighting up with curiosity.

Snowpoppy nodded.

"Most Snow Bunnies are able to spend hours doing hard work without getting tired. I'm the opposite, though. As a child, I realized I couldn't really focus on doing anything for very long without getting exhausted and sleepy. I could barely spend ten minutes farming or fishing before I needed to rest."

"Oh," Mary murmured, blinking in realization. "I see."

Snowpoppy continued.

"But even though I couldn't work for long periods like the other Snow Bunnies, I noticed that I had a different kind of ability. I could produce an intense burst of energy for a short period of time. I couldn't keep it up for hours, but when I focused on something, I could work incredibly quickly before needing to rest again."

"So that's why you can use your sewing machine so fast?" Mary asked.

Snowpoppy nodded.

"Exactly. Sewing didn't require much physical activity, and it allowed me to make use of those short bursts of energy. So instead of wasting my time at home, where I was being treated like an outcast, I decided to put my efforts into something I actually enjoyed. I kept practicing and practicing until I finally mastered my craft. That's when I decided to leave my village and come here to Blendingbrook."

"Wow, that's really incredible, Miss Snowpoppy," Mary replied, wide-eyed with glee. "Thank you so much for sharing that story with me."

"Relax, sister. It was just a simple story, okay?" Snowpoppy answered.

Mary froze for a moment.

"Something wrong?" the bunny girl asked.

"You called me your sister just now. A-and... back there, too? When I accidentally pulled the door, you told the driver that I was your sister."

"Yeah. Aren't you? The girls at the Adventurer's Guild are all my sisters, including you."

Mary was suddenly filled with an intense, overwhelming joy. She was about to respond when...

The wagon suddenly came to a stop.

"What's the problem, driver?" Snowpoppy called out.

"My apologies, ma'am," the man replied. "But it appears we have a situation on the road. A very concerning situation."

Snowpoppy gently pushed her head out the window, and Mary could see the moment a scowl formed on the Snow Bunny's face, her eyes also turning a darker shade.

Whatever she might have been looking at really made her angry, it seemed.

"Demons," the girl muttered with contempt.

Mary felt a sudden shiver roll down her back. She knew Snowpoppy wasn't referring to her, but wondered who, or what, had blocked the road.

When the former Demon Queen pushed her head out as well, she was briefly struck by fear.

Not because of the ten or so demons gathered just ahead of the carriage, armed with spears, swords, and all manner of grotesque weapons.

No, not a single bone in her body was afraid that the group might harm her or her traveling companion, because they wouldn't be able to as long as she was present.

Instead, she was worried for an entirely different reason.

She was pretty sure she knew why these idiots were even here in the first place.

Because of her.

Because of who she used to be.

Her former status as the Demon Queen was now putting the people around her in danger.

That is what she was scared of.

At the center of the road stood a bounty hunter and his hound. The rest of the demons had gathered around him, making it impossible for the wagon to pass.

Mary's eyes narrowed.

After she had left the Demon Realm the previous night, following her return from dropping Kokomeen off, the bounty hunter must have used his hound to pick up her scent and track her all the way here.

They must have paid for some kind of teleportation service from within the Demon Realm to get here faster. Which meant they must have known to use Blendingbrook as their precise destination. One of them, most likely the one with the hound, must have overheard Kokomeen mentioning the name of the town.

The bounty hunter stepped forward.

"We are here for Empress Vesperia. Hand her over, and the rest of you might be spared."

Mary instantly felt insulted.

Who was this low-life to be making ultimatums? Treating her, the former Queen, like some kind of common item to be passed around? Calling her by name as though she were nothing more than a bounty to collect?

Mary had never really cared much for titles, but this was different. These demons had come barging into her new, peaceful life, inconveniencing the people around her, and now this man was openly disrespecting her.

Something in her blood began to boil.

The driver started panicking, quickly looking from the bounty hunter to the wagon, clearly unsure of what to do.

Mary, however, simply smiled.

"Excuse me. Let me speak with these individuals. I believe I can convince them to let us pass."

Mary stepped out through the open door, or rather, the space where the door had once been before she'd pulled it off with her overwhelming strength.

"Crazy woman!" the driver cried out. "You can't convince them! They're demons! They want to kill us!"

Mary turned toward him with the overly enthusiastic smile still plastered across her face. It wasn't polite at all. It was the kind of smile that seemed to hide a malicious intent behind it. Those demons were going to pay for interrupting her peaceful afternoon.

"Don't worry, sir. I'm very good at negotiations."

Mary began walking forward.

"Mary."

Snowpoppy's voice made her stop and glance back.

The bunny girl still had her head poking out of the wagon window, her expression completely serious.

"Be careful."

A little surprised, Mary nodded.

Why wasn't Snowpoppy trying to stop her at all, though?

She was walking toward a group of demons to negotiate with them. Was this something the bunny girl considered normal?

If it were Lydia, Mary could already imagine the elvin girl shouting at her to stop and quickly trying to come up with another plan.

But Snowpoppy didn't seem worried in the slightest.

Mary simply nodded. Then, she turned around and continued toward the demons.

When she finally reached them, her demeanor changed. The cheerful smile she had been wearing instantly evaporated, replaced by an annoyed scowl. Her eyes narrowed, and when she spoke, her voice was noticeably deeper and heavier.

"What do you all think you're doing?"

Her angry gaze swept over each and every one of them.

"I am the former Demon Queen. I am carrying out my exile. What right did any of you have to come here and disturb my peace?"

Now that she was up close, Mary could see that each and every one of them was a mercenary.

"What? My head? You came all this way for my head? Are you all seriously this stupid?"

Following Mary's speech, subtle, faint traces of intense demonic aura began rising from her skin. At the sight of this, the demons, each belonging to a different species, slowly began stepping back. One by one, they began voluntarily setting their weapons on the floor, their earlier confidence now replaced with fear.

Mary's eyes instantly widened with horror.

No, no, no, no.

Snowpoppy could see this.

The driver would also see this.

"What are you all doing?" Mary suddenly snapped. "Get back up and pick up your weapons!" she ordered.

The demons exchanged bewildered glances among themselves.

"My Queen?" one of them asked.

"Just do it!" Mary ordered.

The mercenaries quickly scrambled to their feet and retrieved their weapons.

However, the stupidest of them all, the same one who had given the ultimatum earlier, stepped forward alongside his hound.

"Empress Vesperia," the man said, daring to step a little closer while keeping his eyes level with hers from the short distance.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Mary's red eyes only intensified as she stared him down, her demonic instincts ready to break the man's neck in an instant if he didn't choose his next words very carefully.

But after several seconds of silence, the man suddenly dropped to one knee and lowered his head.

"Oh, please, my Queen! Please forgive me! I don't know what came over me!"

"...!"

"Oh, for crying out loud."

A flustered Mary quickly glanced over her shoulder.

Snowpoppy was still watching from the wagon.

The driver looked equally confused.

Mary turned back toward the mercenaries.

"Get up," she whispered to the man in front of her through clenched teeth. "Now."

The man immediately did as she ordered.

Mary's intense determination wavered for a moment, but her expression remained cold.

What was he talking about all of a sudden? Weren't they here to pick a fight?

"These people forced me to come here and track you down, my Queen! They offered me money, but I refused. But then they threatened me! They threatened me and forced me to come find you!"

Almost all of the other mercenaries stared at him with growing disbelief.

"I swear, my Queen!" the man continued, still trembling at her feet. "I never wanted to come here! They forced me!"

"Liar!" one of the mercenaries behind him shouted.

The others exchanged confused glances, clearly trying to make sense of what was happening.

"My Queen, he's the one who brought us here!" another mercenary shouted. "He told us where you were and promised we'd split the reward if we captured you and brought you back!"

"Check his satchel!" another one yelled. "He's got holy oil in there!"

"What?!"

The man's head snapped around as he quickly turned toward his companions.

"Don't you dare lie to our Queen! I told you where she was, and you were the ones who came up with this plan! You forced me to lead you here!"

The mercenaries immediately began arguing with him.

Mary could only sigh as she watched the entire group turn on one another. They had come all this way to capture her, and now they were fighting among themselves.

"Honestly," Mary muttered under her breath.

"Your mother is a whore, Rizer! I swear, this is the last time you try to deceive and double-cross us like this! We're killing you right now!"

That was it.

Mary was starting to get fed up.

She needed to stop them before they could seriously hurt one another. Even though they were mercenaries who killed for money, they were still former subjects of hers. She couldn't simply stand by and let them tear each other apart.

Mary spread her feet slightly, lifted her right leg, and slammed it into the ground. A small, localized quake rippled through the earth beneath the mercenaries.

"Whoa!"

"Ahh!"

"Wha?!"

All of them stumbled, lost their balance, and fell to the ground.

Thanks to the fact that she briefly tapped into her demonic abilities and carefully controlled the force, Mary was able to keep the tremor confined to the patch of land directly in front of her, rather than letting it spread behind her, where she hoped Snowpoppy wouldn't fully understand what was going on.

She could hopefully tell the bunny girl later that it was just a weird, bizarre tremor that had come out of nowhere.

To sell the act even further, Mary quickly plopped to the ground alongside them.

"My Queen! Are you okay?!" Rizer shouted, pretending to care in an attempt to win the sympathy of his former empress.

"Shut up!" Mary barked.

The mercenary immediately fell silent.

The others began laughing at him.

"All of you too," Mary growled.

The rest soon joined in and kept quiet.

"Now listen to me very carefully," Mary began, half of her face still pressed into the dirt as she spoke to them. "I don't care who came up with this ridiculous plan to put a bounty on my head."

"It was Rizer..."

"Shut up!" Mary barked again.

The demon who had spoken quickly lowered his head in fear.

"Like I was saying, I don't care who put the bounty on my head. What I need all of you to do now is go back to your homes in the Demon Realm and swear off killing for money, whether it's humans or members of the other races. All of you. I don't want to catch you harming any more innocent people. Is that understood?"

"But, my lady, how are we going to make our livelihood?"

"Idiot!"

The mercenary closest to them immediately slapped the back of his companion's head.

"Just shut up. Yes, my Queen!" he shouted. "We understand! We will swear off killing!"

"Good," Mary replied, nodding her head. "If you need work, go to the Demon Castle and apply to the crown for labor that doesn't involve killing other people or participating in the war," she said. "Am I clear?"

"Yes, my Queen."

"Now get out of here and never come back."

As the mercenary group began getting back on their feet and preparing to leave, Mary stood up as well, brushing the dirt from her dress.

"Actually, wait."

The group immediately stopped.

Mary briefly glanced over her shoulder and found both the driver and Snowpoppy gazing at them obliviously from the comfort of the carriage.

From the distance, Mary was certain the duo couldn't hear her entire discussion with the mercenaries. Still, she hoped that both the plan she was about to put into action and the excuse she would come up with later to explain everything away wouldn't come across as too convenient or suspicious.

Either way, she had no other choice.

She turned back toward the group of mercenaries.

"Before you go, listen very carefully, and do exactly as I tell you."