“Mr. Overseer.”

“Yes, Auto?”

“It appears that you are approaching an important decision that will influence you for the rest of eternity.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to choose a new name.”

“...”

I honestly hadn’t even thought about it, but it’s true. I remember that I had a name before, but I can’t quite seem to remember it. Everything else about my previous life is crystal clear but it seems I won’t be allowed to claim that I’m the same person here.

Even so, I had no idea what to call myself.

“Hmm… Lord of Darkness, King of Vampires, His Almighty Spirit-ness… but nah, those are all titles. I need a name.”

“If you so desire, I can run a Name Generator to give you ideas.”

“Sure...” What could go wrong?

Apparently, a lot.

“Calculating… complete. I will now read the generated options.”

The voice paused for a moment before taking on a slightly different tone. It was still metallic, but this time it sounded almost… amused.

“Sugar Fruit, Sunshine Zephyr, Snow Music, Juicy Firefly, Amethyst Poser…

“STOP! Stop, right now!”

Auto’s voice cut off. After a brief lull, he spoke again. “Objection, I was nearing the more creative ones.”

I don’t even want to know. What the hell kind of name generator did he just use?

“Sir, are you absolutely sure you don’t want to be known for eternity as ‘Coco Velvet’?”

“Yes. I have absolutely no doubt.”

“Noted. Shall I use a different generator?”

“No, I think I’ll brainstorm a bit more on my own.”

“May I address another topic then?”

If I had eyebrows, I’d probably be raising them now. “Sure, what’s up?”

“Despite Raymond’s experiences with the adventurers, you are still sending her to the human city. You know the task you have given her is impossible - why do you still persist?”

“I could ask you another question back - You claimed Jonathan was the third strongest adventurer in the region. Why were he and his party just defeated so easily by a low-level True Vampire?”

“I stretched the truth to manipulate you.”

Huh. Though I’d suspected as much, I did not expect such a forthcoming reply.

“Why?”

“You are an anomaly. There were only four Overseer’s given free rein over this world and then you suddenly appeared. My master grew concerned and sent me to observe and manipulate you into choosing a less-than-promising Tether.”

“And yet you are very honest in all your appraisals.”

“Naturally. I have taken an interest in you. Your decisions do not follow established protocols and I wish to see interesting things.”

“Hmm, so basically if your master orders you to screw me over you’ll do it with no hesitation. Otherwise, you’ll help me ‘cause it’s interesting?”

“Affirmative.”

“And I don’t suppose you’ll tell me who your master is?”

“Do not ask inane questions.”

I let out a sigh.

“To answer your original question, I’ll let you in on a piece of wisdom from my world.”

“Oh?”

“There is a universal law in fantasy stories that states that the main character will follow the plot created by a greater being and accomplish their role no matter how difficult the opposition. I am a greater being, therefore Raymond, the main character, has plot armor.”

“...” Auto did not reply.

Despite my previous, semi-joking comment, I was pretty nervous about what would happen. Raymond would need to lie low if she wanted to accomplish her quest but that red eye was an immediate giveaway that she was not a human.

An idea started forming in my mind and I glanced at my ever so slowly filling Holy Power bar.

It’s time I did something to help her out.

***

The remainder of Raymond’s trip to Cairel was uneventful. Given her track record, it was the longest stretch of waking time she’d experienced without conflict.

While on the trail, she’d scanned the contents of Suzy’s bag and found that it contained a few useful items.

Suzy’s Bag of Holding

Gold Coin x4

Silver Coin x15

Bronze Coin x21

Adventurer’s Rations x5

Cleric’s White Robe

Dark Traveling Cloak

Red Cotton T-shirt

Black Pants

Underwear

Strips of Fabric

Book of Holy (Return within 237 hours)

Raymond had taken out the underwear, t-shirt and pants and changed from her previous torn up, blood stained outfit. She also had taken out the dark traveling cloak and wrapped it around her small frame. The clothes were all just a bit too big but, luckily, Suzy had been on the smaller side so they were still wearable.

As Raymond neared the city, she passed by more than a couple of farms. The outermost farms seemed to be in disrepair, the wooden fences rotted and collapsed, the fields desolate and the houses falling apart.

However, the closer she moved towards the city, the more signs of civilization she noticed. The fields were relatively desolate still, being covered in snow and ice. On the other hand, the fences and the houses were well kept. Smoke came from the chimneys of several of the homes and more than a few human children ran and played. The occasional canine creature whimpered in fear as they sensed Raymond passing by their homes.

Raymond kept her head down, hiding her silvery hair and red eye behind the dark cowl of her cloak. She simply continued moving down the worn, dirt road.

She moved past the farms and found herself approaching a large gate in the side of the wall. When she was in the mountains, she’d been too far away to appreciate exactly how large these walls were. They were huge. Each side was approximately fifty feet high and twenty feet wide.

Yet, more than wondering how they had built such a big structure, Raymond was more concerned about why.

What were they defending against that required these kinds of walls?

Outside the gate was a small line of people waiting to talk to a couple of guards that looked to control entry to the city. Raymond groaned inwardly. She wasn’t confident in her ability to fool humans up close.

*ring, ring* *ring, ring*

Raymond opened the connection from her side.

“Yo, How’s my little juggernaut doing?”

“I’m standing in front of a city of people that want to enslave me.”

“So… same as usual?”

“Yup.” Raymond snickered.

“I’ve been thinking, you need to cover that red eye. You can probably just say the hair is due to a unique trait or something but the eye is a problem.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Raymond sighed.

“I’ve got just the thing for you, though.”

Raymond perked up. “What?” she asked excitedly

“Do you have any spare cloth or leather between those bags you looted?”

Raymond nodded, reaching into Suzy’s bag to pull out the ‘strips of cloth’. They looked like thick, stretched oval discs. She had no idea what they were used for.

“Don’t worry about it. Someone will tell ya when you’re ready.”

Raymond felt the slightest bit of irritation but she shrugged it off.

“What are you going to do with them?”

“Just give me a moment. This should count as a lesser miracle…”

Raymond watched the small pieces of cloth, gasping as they started to levitate. Then, before her eyes, they molded and changed shape. The layers of cloth separated and recombined into a small squarish shape with rounded edges. Thin strands of cloth extended from opposite sides of the square, completing the shape. A moment later, the color seemed to fade out of the cloth as it turned black.

Raymond examined the item curiously.

Overseer’s Hygienic Eyepatch (Black)

An item bestowed upon Evelyn Raymond by the grace of The Great One.

“Eyepatch,” she muttered, “Not a bad idea.” She put the eyepatch on, covering her red eye. The limitation on her vision was annoying but she accepted it on the assumption that getting cut to pieces and then enslaved would be somewhat more annoying.

She started walking forwards, noting that her pause had garnered some attention. A few of the guards were watching her now, but they were definitely still too far away to have seen exactly what she had been doing.

She got into the line and waited. There were only three people ahead of her. One of them was a merchant guiding a cart covered in a white tarp while the other two looked like farmers carrying sacks. The merchant was busy arguing with the guard.

“I daresay you have no right to steal my merchandise! I do not serve this Kingdom and will not support you by paying your absurd ‘tolls’.”

“Sir, I will have to ask you to step away from the cart.”

“You are but thieves and brigands! This is robbery, I say! Robbery!”

The guard motioned with his hand and two of the guards behind him leveled their spears at the complaining merchant. He stepped away from his cart with a grumble as the first guard walked over to it. He pulled on the white tarp, revealing what was hidden underneath.

Raymond gasped and she noticed more than one pair of eyes turn in her direction. She quickly fixed her expression, donning one that she hoped looked uninterested. The soldiers’ attention returned to the cart.

The tarp had covered a large cage. Inside were several children that looked like they were in various stages of a cross between beast and human. One boy had wolf ears and a tail while a girl had brown fur all across her body and a canine nose. Those two were glaring at each other and didn’t seem to even notice the change in their surroundings.

There were five children in all - two wolf-human hybrids, a cat girl and two fox kids, one boy and one girl. The catgirl had black ears and a long, black tail. Her claws were silver and reflected the light. The two fox kids looked terrified and were huddling together in the corner, making it difficult for Raymond to make out any details.

She felt a surge of overwhelming rage and fury run through her. She struggled to push it down. She knew that the emotion hadn’t come from her. What…?

“Hoh, what have we here?” the guard wondered aloud, “Smuggling, perhaps?”

“You bandit! If I wanted to smuggle I wouldn’t have used the main gate. These are legal goods. I showed you the papers!”

The guard smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes. “You know what happens when you break the law?”

The slave trading merchant went still.

The guard snapped his fingers and the two spear-wielding guards stepped forward, stabbing with their weapons.

“St..stop!” the slave merchant yelled, but they didn’t stop.

The spears pierced him almost simultaneously, one entering his heart and the other into his chest, piercing his lung. The man crumpled to the ground and was still.

“You can respawn in Atlantia, where you belong!” the guard declared as the remaining guards at the gate roared with laughter.

A few of them came over and began wheeling the cart into the city.

Raymond felt the rage growing inside of her and she tried to push it down. With a start, she realized where it was coming from.

“Hey, Overseer! Stop it!”

His voice was fuzzy and indistinct at first as if coming from very far away. Suddenly, Raymond could hear him clearly.

“-cruel and evil bastards! That’s a catgirl! How can you live with yourselves keeping a catgirl as a slave! Heresy! It’s heresy I say! You don’t have the right to call yourselves men!”

Raymond quivered slightly as she felt the Overseer’s anger rolling through her body. She resisted an urge to attack the guards.

“Dude, SHUT UP!” Raymond shouted in her mind.

The voice went quiet.

“We’ll deal with this later. I can’t focus while you're having a temper tantrum over there.” she continued.

“Sorry,” the voice said sheepishly, “Lost my cool there. I just don’t like that the first catgirl I saw was a slave.”

“Sure, sure… but I need you to stay calm. I’m here as a favor for you, remember? Don’t screw this up for both of us!”

“Right…” the voice responded.

Raymond relaxed as she felt the anger dissipate. While she had been talking with the Overseer, the two farmers had passed the checkpoint and now it was Raymond’s turn.

She approached the guard.

“Name, Occupation and Reason for Visit?” the guard asked.

“My name is Raymond and I want to visit the Temple.”

“Occupation?”

“Uhhh, my class is Fighter.”

“Low-level adventurer then? Aren’t you a little young for that?”

Raymond shrugged. “Tell that to the monsters I killed. I don’t think they cared how old I was.”

“Ha!” The guard grinned widely, “I like your spirit. Welcome to Cairel.” he said with a laugh as he stepped aside and waved his arm towards the city, ushering her through the checkpoint.

Raymond stepped forward confidently, a euphoric sense of triumph erasing any nervousness remaining.

She was in Cairel and nobody knew who or what she really was.

Raymond started whistling to herself as she skipped through the gate.

Now she just had to find the Temple, register a new Overseer and escape without getting butchered or enslaved.

Sounds easy enough.