Begins With Becoming A Hero

"Oh my gosh, she's so heavy!"

Maria complained as the girls helped carry Emilia's unconscious body outside the house for some fresh air. Mary would have joined them, but after just dismembering her own right arm, she could only watch.

"There we go," Lydia said as they finally set the blonde-haired girl down on the mat beside the cabin.

"And you're sure you're okay with this?" Lydia asked, coming to stand beside Mary as the two of them gazed down at the blonde girl. "She did try to kill you and destroy the town."

"Yes," Mary finally responded. She clenched her one good hand into a fist while the other slowly regenerated at the stump. It would take about a week before it was fully formed again. They planned to tell Miss Eleanor Mary had been attacked by a demon during the invasion, but had survived, only losing her right arm.

"She's my little sister," Mary continued. "I wasn't there for her growing up. I left her alone in the Demon Castle, only occasionally going back for brief visitations without ever bothering to seek her out, or staying permanently. I'm not going to make that same mistake twice. Besides, Someone's coming to help take care of her, especially when I'm not around."

"Really? Who?"

As if on cue, a bright, circular portal appeared in the middle of the compound. A familiar brown-haired girl with medium-sized horns, amber-colored eyes, and a formal blouse worn under a large skirt came riding out from within it. The girls were instantly on guard, worried by the arrival of the newcomer, while Mary casually strolled forward to meet her.

"Hey, Kokomeen."

"Greetings, Lady Vesperia."

Kokomeen bowed her head as the portal beneath her disappeared.

"Just as you ordered, I have brought forth many supplies from my sovereign's room."

She carried a large bag slung across her shoulder.

"I also stood in for my sovereign during her bi-weekly meeting yesterday. I told them that the attack Emilia carried out on Blendingbrook was simply an excursion to clean out the town, which had been secretly supplying the humans on the Eastern Front with weapons."

"Very good, Kokomeen," Mary said.

Kokomeen smiled.

"Also, the lady Emilia is on a daring mission to hunt down the humans that stole her honor by dismembering her arm. But she wanted me to ask the council to appoint someone in her place. That is the reason I gave for her absence during the meeting, as well as any subsequent ones. So now, you don't have to worry about them coming to poke around this place. At least not for a while."

"Thank you," Mary responded.

Mary noticed the girls were still standing on guard in a corner of the compound.

"Oh, you don't have to threat. She's friendly." Mary gestured toward the brown-haired girl.

"This is Kokomeen. She's my sister's personal assistant."

Kokomeen lowered her head and spread the edge of her skirt in a formal bow, her one-eyed raven still resting on her shoulder.

"It's wonderful to make your acquaintance."

"It's wonderful to make your acquaintance as well," Lydia replied.

"What's with the freaky bird?" Maria asked.

"Shush." Lydia lightly smacked Maria on the head.

"Anyway, we really need to get going," Leafy said as she stepped forward and began walking toward Mary. "Miss Eleanor is going to be worried by now, and I'm sure she'll be excited to see you again."

Mary nodded.

"Okay."

She turned to address Kokomeen, only to find the brown-haired girl already making her way toward Emilia.

"My sovereign."

Setting the large bag of items on the ground, Kokomeen then crouched beside Emilia and carefully checked on her.

"Are you okay? Are you all right? Hopefully, Lady Vesperia did not manhandle you too much."

"Hey, bird girl," Maria called out.

Kokomeen looked toward her.

"She's in a coma. She can't hear you," Maria said.

"Actually, she can," Kokomeen replied.

The girls looked at her in surprise.

"My sovereign's rapid regeneration allows her to maintain a keen awareness of her surroundings, even while unconscious."

Mary was slightly taken aback. She hadn't known that.

"So does that mean she must have heard everything we said?" Mary asked.

"Precisely. So while you are gone for the day, I will remain here with my sovereign. I will read her several stories from her favorite book and keep her company until she wakes up."

At that, Kokomeen pulled out a small pot of freshly made broth from her bag. She gently lifted Emilia's head and began feeding her.

Mary was pleased to hear that Emilia had heard everything she had said to her while she was unconscious. Because she meant every single one.

At that moment, a massive lion-cat with gleaming red eyes emerged from the forest, returning after having caught a few fish from a nearby river.

"My lady. My ladies. Mistresses," Gustav said in greeting.

At the sight of him, almost all of the guild girls, except Leafy, rushed forward to wrap their arms around him in a hug, with Lydia, the most enthusiastic of the bunch, in front.

"Humans and demons living together in harmony. Never thought I'd see the day," Leafy muttered softly as she gazed at the others, who were wrapped around Gustav.

"Miss Leafy? Did you say something?" Mary asked, turning to face the girl.

Leafy turned toward her with a smile.

"Oh, it's nothing. And what did I tell you? It's Leafy. Just Leafy. Can't you get that through that thick queen skull of yours?" Leafy added playfully, tapping Mary on the side of her head.

The former demon queen quickly covered her face in embarrassment.

"But I'm really glad you're coming back with us," Leafy continued.

"Me too!" Mary answered excitedly, uncovering her face.

"Now, what do you say, assistant? Shall we head back to town and help Miss Eleanor with the food rush?"

"Yes, let's do that!"

...

"All right, ready!" Leafy called as they prepared to race down the mountain toward town. The girls had separated themselves into three groups.

Snowpoppy, Maria, Minimo, and Lydia would ride upon Gustav, while Chanchan would fly on her own. Normally, the two-hour journey down the mountain would take the former queen and her familiar mere minutes to complete, but they would deliberately slow their pace so the girls wouldn't get injured along the way, and so Chanchan could keep up with them.

"Get set!" Leafy called.

Gustav increased his body mass enough for all four girls to ride upon him. They quickly climbed onto his back, with Lydia taking the front.

At the same time, Chanchan spread her wings and prepared to fly on her own, while Mary briefly tapped into her demonic abilities, sprouting a pair of ethereal wings from her back before carrying Leafy in her arms.

"Ready or not!" Leafy announced as she smiled up at Mary, with the former demon queen smiling back. She then briefly glanced over her shoulder at Kokomeen, who astill seated beside the unconscious Emilia, reading to the blonde girl while feeding her.

"I'll see you when I get back, sister," Mary whispered in her head.

"And... Go!"

With that, Gustav instantly burst into motion down the mountain. At the same time, Mary and Chanchan took to the skies, keeping their pace slow enough for everyone to stay together, and in one piece.

The girls began whooping and hollering with excitement as the wind rushed past their faces.

For a moment, the recent events of Blendingbrook flashed through Mary's mind, along with everything that had happened to those around her, all because she had decided to be a good person.

But she wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

She couldn't fundamentally change who she was. Her mother had raised her to be kind, helpful, and selfless, and Mary knew she would never stop being the person she was at heart. She would simply have to be more careful from now on.

Because now, she had the family and friends she had always wanted. And she wasn't going to give them up anytime soon.

A former Empress of the Underworld turned commoner among the other races, Mary thought as she flew alongside her new people.

And that's fine by me.

Because, just like my quest for a peaceful life had begun, it shall continue.

With becoming a hero.