While flying beyond the Prairies, the first thing I saw was forested areas. These areas seem to have more dry and dead trees than the ones that I had been seeing north of here. Perhaps this place is prone to wildfires? It's kind of gloomy, and there are a lot of swamp type areas that I'm passing by. While flying, I checked over my status and noted that while flying... I am consuming MP slowly. The faster I fly, the more MP I consume. If I slow it down enough, then because of my [Enhanced Meditating] increasing my MP and HP Regen while sitting on my Broom; I can theoretically fly forever. After a few minutes of fiddling around with my flight speed, I managed to settle it at a rate which would not consume MP. It's about half speed, but it's necessary to be at optimal fighting strength in case of emergency.
For the first time since I was reincarnated into this world, I'm actually alone. Aside from Mr Scarecrow, that is. I need to be careful. While looking down, I notice that there are several murky Slime type monsters much larger than the ones that I saw in the Prairies. These ones don't resemble cuteness in any way, and look more like mud-type monsters. I'm definitely staying high in the sky, thanks. The last thing I need is to literally drown in another monster. Those things might even be able to dissolve my Barrier. This one won't be finding out.
Passing over the swamp lands, there was a short mountain and on the other side was a vast, tropical area. I'm stunned. How is it even possible for me to pass all of these different climates in such a short period of time?! Fantasy worlds are unreal… I'm hearing a lot of birds, and I think I might smell the ocean. Is the Demon Kingdom actually at the equator? I'm so jealous. The water here is probably actually swimmable. I'll be able to bathe in comfort! I was seriously not able to withstand the cold water of that other River and could only bare to be knee deep. I was able to hold out long enough to quickly splash my face with water, but I don't feel clean.
Honestly, I'm kind of surprised. This was probably about a 5 hours flight south from the Goblin Village. If it's like that, and I was flying at half speed... Then the distance from the Goblin Village and the Demon Kingdom is actually kind of close. It would probably take about 8 hours to travel by foot if you account for the swamp lands. You would also need to add time for climbing this mountain. I don't know what dangers may threaten you while you do so. I noticed at the bottom of the mountain, there was a chasm. I can't see the bottom of the Chasm, but I get the sneaking suspicion that something is living down there.
After arriving at the top of the Mountain, it's night time. I say that, but I can actually see kind of well. I think it's because I'm a Cat. If I look towards the tropics in the south, I see light in the distance, a set of lights. They are not moving, so it's probably a town of some sort. Feeling quite terrified of what exactly might be lurking beneath the Chasm surrounding the Mountain that I'm currently flying above, I soared off towards the set of lights. Even though I saw them from a distance, they're actually kind of far. This jungle is huge. Following the logic that this is a jungle, maybe the Mountains in the Orc territory which are theoretically somewhere to my west are actually volcanoes? I would have assumed that Dragons would inhabit volcanoes, but maybe the mountains that the Dragons inhabit were volcanoes at one point but have long since become inactive. It's probably for the best if I don't think too deeply about it.
It took me about 2 hours to fly to the lights, and on approach... I understand why. This town is massive. Most of it isn't actually lit up at night, but the Temples are. A lot of the buildings are made of stone, and give off an ancient civilization type of vibe. There's a huge Temple in the middle of the town with torches attached to pillars scattered around it. Moss and vines engulf many of the structures, and there are many cracks among them as well. There's no doubt that this place has been around for a very long time.
It's night, so the streets aren't too crowded. It's certainly still a bustling place, even now. The civilians mostly all have horns, and many people of different skin colors appear within my sight. Reds, Purples, Blues, and Greens. Some people also have the skin colors that I'm more accustomed to as well. There are also people who have wings reminding me of Bats. No matter how I look at it, this place is not predominantly made up of just demons. While I say that, I still don't know exactly what their races are upon first glance.
I don't see any Skeletons walking around. There may be Vampires hidden amidst the crowd, though. What does catch my eye, is that many people are riding various beasts as mounts and holding whips. Those poor creatures, I would never force an animal to do a job fit for a tool! Utterly shameful, the lot of them; I tell you~ Why else would you carry a Broom, if not to ride it through the night sky? These things are obvious, my people. Pick. Up. The. Pace!
After criticizing the civilians for a good 15 minutes, I decided it would be a better use of my time to figure out where I would be sleeping before dawn comes. I'm quite tired, after all. It was a long flight, I was forced into being awake and on alert the entire time. There's no auto pilot in this day and age, kids. Us grown ups got to actually fly the plane, okay? Like that, I decided to look over my abilities. There was a certain ability that came with my race which came to mind. I haven't needed it yet, but now's the perfect chance. I flew to the outskirts of town, and found a suitable empty area of flat land. Now, [Wailing Keep]!
[Wailing Keep: Not enough MP to summon Wailing Keep. You require at least 500 MP], and like that... I was utterly disappointed. I have freaking 20 MP at Lv1. I would need to reach Lv25 at this rate, give or take a few levels if I invest in better weapons. It's time for a change of plans. Taking in my surroundings, I set down onto the ground of this large city and began searching manually. My mission? To find information regarding Vampires in this city, so that I might be able to skip needing to find a place to stay. My Clansmen would feel obligated to provide me adequate lodgings. Yosh! If I needed to train it out on rogue monsters until I had enough MP to summon the Wailing Keep, I'd be screwed. I'd be forced into living in the wilderness for at least another week and I'm not having any of it. Not when there's the largest city I have bared witness to since reincarnating right in front of my eyes. There are endless possibilities in this city, I must give my all in chasing them! Let's find us a wealthy Vampire!
I walked around the city for 3 hours, talking to anyone who would listen. No one seems to want to let the Cat out of the bag over who is and who isn't a Vampire in this damned city. It might be because I'm a strange child asking about Vampires, but I can't tell. Maybe no one knows who is and who isn't a Vampire? It might be something Vampires choose to hide, if they're bloodthirsty murderers after all. I keep at it, and eventually I notice a small child down the street poking her head out from in between two houses. She's definitely glaring at me. She has light blond hair, and is probably about the same age as me in appearance. She doesn't seem to have any horns, and she's wearing a frilly pink dress. She's way out of the ordinary, but I have witnessed some rather noble looking people since entering this city. I think she noticed that I saw her, because she started ducking back towards the alleyway.
I'm not getting anywhere as it is, so I might as well follow her. She seemed suspicious enough, anyway. When I approached the alleyway, I caught a glimpse of her blonde curly hair for a split second before it disappeared behind the building. She's definitely trying to escape me. Okay~ 6 AGI do your thing! After turning the corner, I don't stop this time and keep on running after her. This kept on for about 20 minutes and evolved into an old fashioned game of tag. To others, this probably seems like two children playing together; but I'm full on in hunt-mode. It seems creepy, for a grown guy to be hunting a little girl, but this girl is fast. She's always one step ahead of me, and there's no doubt that she was the one stalking me first. As I chase her, I hear her giggling and it's honestly creeping me out. She's not normal, okay?! This girl is freaking weird!
Getting tired of the chase, I decided to whip out my good ol' Broom. If I can fly above the building and get her by not needing to conform to the shapes of the buildings, then I might catch her. It's my only hope. Flying above the house that I'm tailing her near, we meet eyes and she lets out a gasp before making a sour face. She brought her finger up to her outer eyelid, and dragged her cheek down while sticking out her tongue with a grin. Not a moment later, her next hop off the ground flew her an incredible distance. She must have flown at least 50 metres from that one jump. That's it. It's on! Ignoring my speed, I flew as fast as I could to catch that girl and simply failed. I ran out of MP, and began recovering it by taking a break while sitting on my Broom.
She seemed to have noticed that I stopped chasing her, and no doubt got upset that the game ended because she approached me to brag that she had won. I have no doubt that this is her intention. She's too simple. Maybe I was mistaken to suspect this girl of knowing something about Vampires? She's definitely strong, I'll give her that. But at heart, she's just a child. Let's pray that she actually has something meaningful to say, and that she isn't just some child looking to play tag.
"Haaaah!~ Giving up already? You'll never catch me with that attitude!" [Blond Loli in Pink Dress]
Dang. I was really hoping that she'd be more helpful than she looks.
"Yeah, you're too fast. I'm just going to give up now~" [Nero]
"HUM! That's what you get for trying to catch the great Lily~" [Lily the Loli]
So her name is Lily, huh? A monster with a name. This place definitely has a different tone to it than the Lost Kingdom. I'm pleasantly surprised. I wonder if I can gain a name. I would like it to reclaim the name of my past life, if at all possible.
"You have a name? Where did you get it?" [Nero]
"Thinking about getting one yourself, huh? Well I would just go ahead and give up. Only the strongest of monsters can gain names, and you're definitely weak!" [Lily the Loli]
Oi! I get it. You're a brat. Chill.
"Nah, I was just wondering who would go about and sully themselves by giving a monster like you a name; is all~" [Nero]
I had to.
"You say that, but you couldn't beat me in 100 years!" [Lily the Loli]
Nailed it.
"I accept that challenge." [Nero]
"EH?! You dare to challenge me?!" [Lily the Loli]
"Yes. However, I will not fight you now. You said that I could not beat you even in 100 years, correct? Well then, because I am so beyond help, I have the following requests. For the next 100 years, you will allow me a room to safely stay in at your home. During my stay, I will train myself hard to become capable of challenging you. And if in 100 years, I can still not beat you... I promise that I will forevermore swear my loyalty to you, and you alone. However if I win, then you will forevermore swear your loyalty to me, and only me alone. Sound like a deal?" [Nero]
Like this, I will have secured a place to stay while I explore the Demon Kingdom. It might even be a high class living arrangement. Of course, I don't intend to stay here for 100 years. Nor do I intend to actually challenge her. It's a farce. I wonder what my life expectancy even is as a Halloween Cat?
"Hmph. To demand such a challenge of me, it's irredeemable... If you lose. Very well, I accept your challenge. I can't wait to see you fail!" [Lily the Loli]
Yup. Simple minded. She's too simple.
"Now then, I will take you to my home. It's one of the most wondrous of Mansions in the Demon Capital City of Orpia-" [Lily the Loli] proudly began to talk about her home, but I honestly started to tune her out while I once again became immersed with the beauty of this city. The architecture used to make these stone structures is simply phenomenal. The engravings on the side of the walls are beautiful and unique everywhere that you go. It's like a never ending doodle on all the homes that must have taken a century to complete.
We walked for about 30 minutes until we finally reached her home. It was gigantic. Though it had the same architectural style of the other stone buildings, this one was a freaking Temple. There were guards stationed around the perimeter, giving off a safe yet strict vibe. It was almost dawn, and I'm exhausted. With that in mind, I inquired to Lily about where I might be able to cook my Fish. Her answer to that was to bring me to the Dining Room, where a meal was quite literally pre-served for when we were to arrive. I'm flabbergasted because there was no time for any of this to be prepared, and I don't understand how the staff knew when she would arrive.
In front of me, lay three whole cooked chickens; served one per plate. In addition, there are another 3 bowls filled with some sort of soup. It's brown and looks like it may be filled with beef and vegetables of some sort. There are even 3 glasses of red wine poured. It seems that this is a meal for 3. I only see Lily and I, however. The dinner table is massively long and fancy. There's fabric covering the whole table, and a candle-lit chandelier hanging from the ceiling above. This room itself is actually huge in comparison to the table set in the center of it. There are paintings on the walls depicting landscapes of fields, and lakes. Even though the table is huge, all three of the meals have been prepared to sit together at one of the ends of the table. So Lily and I sat on opposite ends of the table, leaving the middle seat open. It's clearly the master seat, I wouldn't dare.
Even though this home is huge, I haven't witnessed many staff actually working inside of it. No one accompanied Lily and I when we arrived at the Dining Room. We just walked wherever we desired, which also aided in confusing me about why and how there was Dinner prepared. We were playing our tag for a considerable amount of time in the city, so how did they know that we had been on our way back, or that Lily was indeed bringing a guest...? Lily and I began to eat, without sharing any words. I was honestly too frightened to mention my confusion. She didn't seem to mind, and was casually humming the entire time.
The chicken tasted like chicken, and the soup was indeed beef mixed with various vegetables. After about 5 minutes of eating, someone appeared in the room. He's wearing black, and even has black hair. He might be a demon. I don't see horns, so I'm thinking that he's Lilys father. It would make sense, anyways. He's tall, but I'm a child and I can't comprehend just how tall. He has a stern looking face, and dark brown eyes similar to Lily. After approaching the table, he began to introduce himself in a rather friendly manner.
"Hello, my name is Victor. I am the master of this Temple, and Lily here is my daughter." [Victor] said while gesturing to Lily before continuing.
"I would like to welcome you to our home, and inquire as to whom you might be?" [Victor] finished.
"I am called Nero. I am a travelling Cat~" [Nero] stated while hiding his true intentions.
"Nero, huh?" [Lily] blurted, to which Nero simply nodded and removed his straw hat. Both Lily and Victor gasped at the sight.
Despite their appearance, I don't see any notifiers that would lead me to believe they're Halloween Clansmen... There is no symbol.
"Cat Beastkin are quite rare in the Demon Kingdom. You should probably not reveal your identity as much as possible." [Victor] spat out in a serious tone of voice.
"Hmm? Is it a problem for a Cat Beastkin to be in the Demon Kingdom?" [Nero] inquired.
"Indeed. Cat Beastkin normally belongs to the Beastkin Kingdom. The Beastkin have been known to side with Humans or Orcs from time to time in order to bring war to the Demon Kingdom. If it becomes known that Beastkin are capable of entering the Demon Kingdom and are doing it in secret, then it may cause national uproar." [Victor] said matter of factly.
Oh. So it's like that, huh? One potential spy gets caught and all of a sudden, rumors of war break out. This is dangerous. I'd do well to find my Clansmen and get out. I didn't see any Skeletons in the city, though. Nor did I see Zombies. Maybe I can ask this to Victor? He seems knowledgeable enough... But can I trust him? Maybe it'd be better to sleep and ask him tomorrow night, when I'm more equipt to handle problems. Yeah. We'll play it safe. If I enrage him, I'll lose my bed for the day. That'd be a problem.
"I see. I'll make sure to keep my ears hidden from now on. Thank you for your warning! I promise that I'm not a representative of the Beastkin Kingdom though~ I hail from the Lost Kingdom!" [Nero] said to calm down Victor, yet only received another set of gasps.
"The Lost Kingdom?! The Lost Kingdom can't have unified to stand against the Demon Kingdom, could they? To think that they would send individuals to our lands after all this time…" [Victor] murmured.
"Haaah! No, sir. You have been mistaken. The Lost Kingdom is quite certainly not unified, whatsoever. I can assure you that! I just happened to be born in the Lost Kingdom and wanted to travel to the Demon Kingdom of my own free will, is all." [Nero] clarified. At that, Victor and Lily seemed to regain composure.
"Very well, if that is what you say then I have very little reason to doubt you. I suppose that creatures of all kinds may be found in the Lost Kingdom." [Victor] proclaimed.
I seem to have convinced him that I'm of no threat for the time being, but that was too close. Thankfully, I didn't even need to lie. Just conceal! After dinner, Lily showed me to my room and left to go sleep as well. That's fine. It's a decently sized room, and it's all made of stone aside from a rug. There's a bed, and a bookshelf filled with books. Aside from that, this room is empty. I set down my Candy, before casting [Daily Candy]. Placing my new Candy with the rest, I begin to undress and place my clothes on my bed to use as additional blankets. My lab coat smells of Fish. Transforming into my Cat form, I fell asleep on an actual bed. Wondrous.