"Hi! My name is Karl," the little monkey said immediately, sensing an opportunity. "I am a Doom Monkey, native to the Curious Groves and can serve as your tour guide in the region! Unfortunately," he continued, "this rude guy over here bullies —"
Karl put both hands on his face as he shrieked.
"Ouch! I mean, this distinguished gentleman here is my master."
A slap from Eve on his left and a slap from Jason on his right had caused significant swelling and redness, leaving pink handprints all over his cheeks.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Karl," Alea said with a grin. "So, you're the loud one that woke us up earlier, hmm?"
"S-S-Sorry Princess," the Doom Monkey stammered. He had never been so polite in his life before he met Jason, but something about the Princess scared him a little.
"Worry not, Alea," Jason replied with a smile, going next. "Karl's punishment is long overdue, and well…I'm going to beat some manners into him soon."
The hate reader continued, "My name is Jason, and I was born with the power of thunder. My little sister Eve and I are heading south to look for her father, and we ran into this stupid Doom Monkey along the way. Long story short, he tried to kill us, and we made him sign a contract, so now he just follows us and makes snarky comments every day."
"It's lovely to meet you, Jason. I am grateful for your previous speech, and I apologize for pointing my arrow at you earlier. I was a bit untrusting, but since it appears that we will be traveling in the same direction, I would like to travel with you all if you don't mind. I have decided to return home and support my father against the revolt."
"Sure. Don't worry about the arrow; stuff like that happens to me more often than you'd think," Jason said with a painful laugh, causing Alea to raise her eyebrows.
Beads of sweat dropped from Karl's face as he heard Jason's comment. 'Wait a second. Master wields the power of thunder?!? Why hasn't he used it yet? Is he actually hiding his final move because everyone has been too weak so far?'
Before Karl could ask his follow-up questions, Eve waved excitedly and shouted, "Hello pretty sister! It's my turn, I think." Though she was a bit confused by everything that she had seen in the Spirit King's memories, she knew that the Empire of Arwen had its own problems and felt that the princess didn't mean any harm.
"My name is Eve," she began, deep in thought, "and I'm a fifteen-year-old vampire. Big Brother saved my life in an alleyway not too long ago and has made life a lot more fun for me! He angered the God of Skin Lotion, created his own clan, and has been helping me find my father! Mhm yep!"
However, just to be safe, Eve's eyes turned blood red as she summoned her sanguine claws and bared her fangs. "I don't care what you do so long as you don't hurt my Big Brother," the young vampire said threateningly before showing a small smile. "If you can promise me that, then I don't mind having a pretty sister like you travel with us."
"Wow, you must love your brother a lot, much unlike me," the princess said as she laughed for the first time since she had fled her kingdom. "I promise not to harm your Big Brother. After all, he appears to be quite reliable and has even earned the trust of the Spirit King. But…tell me more about this new clan and the God of Skin Lotion…"
The two girls quickly hit it off and ran to the other side of the clearing to continue chatting. Karl turned to face Jason, and Jason did the same, knowing that they were left alone together once more.
"Wait! Master. Let me tell you something!" Karl shouted as he watched Jason clench his fists, staring down at him. Seeing his master's fist get closer to his face, Karl closed his eyes and accepted his punishment. Jason immediately pulled back and sat down, remembering his original intention.
Within a few minutes, Jason heard a loud gasp of surprise, followed by bits of conversation:
"No way! Really?"
"Ya ya!...Pimple Clan…mushrooms…monkey"
"Hahaha…so funny."
"Oh! And then Jason…funny actor…can't possibly be that slow."
"Can you believe…?!? Arranged marriage…I would never!"
The two girls continued to whisper, occasionally glancing at the black-haired teenager before returning to their gossip.
Jason reddened internally with embarrassment and shook his head with a sigh. Looking over at the pitiful monkey who still had swollen cheeks, Jason said in a solemn voice, "Karl…"
"W-What is it, Master? OHHH! I GET IT! Did you finally realize your love for me? Sorry, but I don't swing that way teehee."
Another slap resounded through the forest as the Doom Monkey rubbed his right cheek.
"I'm being serious right now. Don't be stupid," Jason continued. "I no longer need the mushrooms anymore, so we can remove that line from our contract now."
"I-I don't understand, Master. Can you tell me more clearly?"
"Karl, I'm thinking of letting you go," he said with a sigh. "Sure, we've had our fun together the past month, but since I no longer need you to bring me mushrooms every day, I don't think it's right to hold you by my side forever. You will still be my servant in name, but you can go back to living your normal life."
As Jason's words reached Karl's ears, his heart sank instantly. He had plotted for weeks to regain his freedom, but having earned it just like that left a bitter taste in his mouth. Truth be told, he thought he would've been ecstatic to be free again, jumping for joy and dancing for days on end, but all that remained for him was emptiness. His home tribe would no longer accept him because of his beast servant status, and he no longer had a home to return to since Eve had already destroyed it.
In fact, he had actually enjoyed joking around with the human-vampire duo and wanted to be a part of their adventures across the Isles for many years to come. But after only a little more than a month, the servant monkey had already been fired.
As Jason turned around to leave the Doom Monkey for good, anxiety and a sense of abandonment grabbed Karl by the throat, forcing him to ask something that he never would have imagined before.
"And if I stay with you, Master? Is that a problem?"
Jason turned around in surprise before grinning widely.
"No problem at all. But…just prepare for more beatings, you little rascal!"
The sun finally began to set, and Jason called the girls over for dinner. Alea and Eve slowly returned to the center of the clearing, still whispering, with radiant smiles plastered all over their faces. After only two hours, they now looked like true sisters, and Jason was happy to see that Eve had made a new friend.
"Princess, I hope you don't mind our more humble living conditions," Jason said, gesturing to the berries he had prepared. "We ran out of meat a few weeks ago and have been too busy training to find any recently," he explained.
"No mushrooms today?" jested the dark brown haired princess as she pat Eve on the head happily.
"No…not today. I've…I've decided to stop that diet actually."
"I see. I see. Well, don't worry, the food looks great," she said laughing heartily. "We can go hunting for meat tomorrow after your morning workout routine. I told Eve about this already but tracking and hunting is an Elven specialty," she said with a smirk.
"Yeah, let's do it Big Brother! Doesn't it sound so fun?" supported Eve beside her.
Just as Jason nodded in approval, the princess shot a glare at the Doom Monkey, who was happily humming his favorite song in a nearby Elderwood Oak.
"I hope Karl doesn't wake me up again tomorrow morning though," she said with an evil grin, loud enough for the monkey to hear. "…Or he might become our main course for the evening."
The Doom Monkey shuddered, cursing his decision to stay with the group. "These people and their damn anger management issues!" he screamed aloud before climbing higher to safety.
Everyone let out a final laugh and prepared for bed. Karl plucked a few leaves and branches, making a mini sofa bed in his Elderwood Oak branch; Eve snuggled next to her pretty sister as the two girls laid on the luscious forest grass under the shade of the night; and Jason's heart warmed as he saw the tired princess smile gently and wrap her arms around the young vampire.
Jason closed his eyes and rested his back against the trunk of Karl's Elderwood. It had been a long day for the teenager, and within minutes, he was fast asleep, causing him to ignore the gentle notification ring in his ear.
Ding!
"New Quest Received: ??? ????? ?? ? Death ???
Progress: 0%"