The World Tales - Twisted Story of a Hero and a Demon Lord

CHAPTER 8

Is this how deep regret feels like?

Alexia couldn't help herself to have the negative feeling. She finally realized that her short thought on accepting Ennario's offer was probably the reason she had fallen into the darkest depths she couldn't climb out.

Regret.

How painful that word felt to her ears right now, er—no, she probably should say nostrils, not ears.

Right, her nostril was being tortured, so hard. She had led herself to this shithole and she didn't have a way out. The thing she wanted to say the most was 'Holy shit it stinks!!', high note.

But she held back.

Alexia didn't want the demon lord to know her predicament, not after what she did back there in the cavern. She had accepted the dragon boy confidently into her ranks, regardless of what he said. She clearly didn't want him to know that she was facing a problem right now. Even in regret, she still had her pride.

Still, when Alexia took a glance towards Zefrael who walked by her side, she immediately felt her pride crumbled into pieces. The demon lord was casting a disdainful gaze towards her, a gaze that said, 'your fault, I've told you'.

Alexia felt so embarrassed. She hurriedly turned her face away from the demon lord, escaping his silent accusation.

It was really hard to admit, but the demon lord was actually right. She wasn't supposed to accept Ennario to be one of her party member. Not because he was a dragon that wasn't included in the Zefrael's nonsensical list, but because he stank as hell.

Of course, the one that stank wasn't the dragon boy himself (if he was, it would be horrible beyond words), but his stash that was hanging by his hips.

Alexia didn't need to ask anymore. She could guess the source of the stinky smell which was wafting from inside the dangling pouch. It was the very same ingredient of the stinky potion which had changed his form.

Zefrael had said once, that it was rice vinegar.

Tortured by rice vinegar, a mere cooking ingredient, it sounded so ridiculous she would laugh herself if she wasn't the one experiencing it. But she did, and it was so excruciating.

Now that she thought of it, everything had gone wrong since then.

As they left the cavern, they had stopped by the town (Alexia finally heard the town name, it's Kieln). Night had fallen, and resuming the journey immediately wasn't exactly proper. Without the light from the sun, it was too dark to see. So, they had spent the night at the town's inn.

As gratitude for slaying the dragon, and saving the missing item merchant (sometimes truths were better not told), the group got the inn's two nicest rooms at the second floor for free. One for Alexia, and the others were provided for her supposed party members. From her room window, she had seen the golden bell—hanging inside Kieln's bell tower—illuminated by the starry sky. It was beautiful, and she quite liked her room.

Then a night passed.

It passed with—no, she probably mean without. Yeah, definitely without!

Nevertheless, WITHOUT notable problem, the night had passed very quickly as she slept. The bed was really comfortable. That was one of things she rarely experienced in her first journey to the demon lord's castle. At the time, to keep her contact to strangers minimal, Alexia oftentimes slept outside with grass as her bed and sky as her roof. Of course, it had its own comfort, seeing the world as it is, vast and beautiful, but to be honest, nothing beat snuggling inside a warm and comfy bed.