“Whoa! A big city!” Kino cheered, eyes wide. He bounced in place, standing on his tiptoes to see a little further.

“It’s a resort town, it’s not a big city,” Gale corrected him, pushing him down by the shoulder.

Kino bounced under his hand, fighting his hold. “Big, big, it’s big. Will they have candy?”

“Er… probably? But you’ve had plenty of sugar lately. You don’t want to get cavities, do you?”

“Cavities?” Kino tilted his head.

“Your teeth turn black, then fall out,” Gale explained.

Kino clasped his hands over his mouth. His eyes grew huge. “I need my teeth for hunting!”

Gale chuckled. “Let’s go check it out, then. There’s a Legendary Hero here for sure, and… I’m not expecting much, but we might as well stop by on the way to the capital. After all, what’s the worst thing we can be told? No?”

“No blackmail,” Kino said firmly.

“No, no blackmail this time,” Gale agreed. Especially since Sarah said he had an odd personality. And this is Sarah saying that, too! If she thinks so, he’s gotta be weird.

The two strode into town. All around them, people chatted happily. A festival attitude prevailed, with people wandering the streets at a slow pace, enjoying the day. Roadside stalls sold sweet and savory treats, or peddled toys and trinkets. A few larger restaurants catered to the classier crowd or offered open-air drinking venues.

Gale sighed. So nice. It feels like I’m on vacation.

Kino bounced around, taking in the sights. He chirped happily to himself, eyes sparkling. “Look, Gale, they have everything!”

“They do. Let’s head to the hot springs to meet the Hero and get this over with. If we don’t have a reason to stay, we should move on.”

Pouting, Kino stared at him. “Why?”

Gale shook his head. “Resort towns are expensive. We don’t have much money, we can’t afford to stay here.”

“But… it’s so exciting!” Kino insisted.

“It is, but exciting is expensive,” Gale replied.

Kino frowned. He crossed his arms and turned away from Gale with a harrumph. “Maybe I’ll stay on my own.”

“Sure. With what gold?” Gale asked.

Kino hesitated. “Give me half!”

“I will, I will. If you really want to stay… then I guess this is goodbye.” Gale drew out the bag of gold with a sigh, shaking his head at it.

A green-cloaked girl bumped into him. Gale stumbled and dropped the bag.

Kino threw himself on top of it. “It’s mine now! We stay!”

Gale turned after the girl, scowling. “Hey, you! That hurt!”

The girl jolted, then ran, weaving through the crowds and out of sight. Her green cloak fluttered after her, lightweight and flowing. It only reached her hips, and had a scalloped edge, almost reminiscent of feathers.

Frowning, Gale patted himself down. I don’t think I’m missing anything, and Kino has the money. Guess she’s just a weird kid.

Kino darted to a food stall serving delectable meat kebabs, holding the gold pouch in front of him in both hands. “What can I get?”

The salesman chuckled. “For that much? Almost anything!”

Gale ran over behind Kino. Dammit, I can’t leave this kid alone for a second! He snatched back the money and tucked it away. “Hey, hey, Kino, come on. We’ll take two sticks of beef, please!”

“I want the chicken!”

“Two sticks of chicken, then.”

The man handed over the kebabs, and Gale flicked him a couple of coins. Kino pouted at the money pouch stuck on Gale’s waist, but didn’t say anything. When Gale tossed him a beef stick, his eyes lit up, but quickly faded. “Gale, you’re so stingy.”

“Stingy—? If I gave you this money, you’d use it all up today!” Gale said, shaking his head.

“So?” Kino asked.

“So? We don’t have jobs! We’re destitute! Once we spend this, that’s it! I want to at least get to the city before we stop to earn—” Gale stumbled. The world blurred before his eyes.

“Gale!” Kino grabbed his arm.

Warning: Low Mana.

“I’m just… a bit anemic,” Gale excused himself, pushing off Kino. He reached for a potion.

His hand found nothing. The bandolier sat empty, all the potions gone.

“Shit,” he mumbled to himself. A potion shop, a potion shop…

“What’s wrong? No potions? No potions!” Kino glanced around, startled.

Gale waved his hand. “No need to panic. Let’s just…”

Black. He blinked, and woke up with his cheek pressed against the ground.

Concerned, Kino grabbed Gale and carried him to the side of the road, out of the way. He took the money bag again. “Wait here. I’ll be right back!”

“Kino…”

Before Gale could grab Kino’s sleeve, the boy ran off again. The crowds closed in around him, leaving Gale sitting there alone. Some of the passerby shot him glances, but Gale lowered his head and avoided their eyes. He tugged at the brim of his hat. If they see I’m a Blood Mage… right now, I can’t even defend myself. A stray dog could kill me.

A heavy thump. A man sat beside him, cloaked in a ragged brown robe. Gale glanced at him, then away.

“What’d you do?” the man grumbled, annoyed.

Gale ignored him.

“Hey, kid. What’d you do to that damn body of yours?”

Gale whipped around, eyes wide.

The man shifted his robes slightly, giving Gale a glimpse under the hood.

“The Demon K—”

The man snapped his fingers. Gale fell silent. Something blocked up his throat. He clutched his throat and tried to speak, but no words came out.

Warning! You’ve been Silenced. You will be unable to use magic.

Note: As a Blood Mage, you can spill twice the usual amount of blood to forcibly use spells.

Silence isn’t effective on Blood Mages? What a nice class. A second later, Gale shook his head. No, no. This guy is the Demon King! Now isn’t the time to get distracted by prompts.

The Demon King snorted. “If you shout, I’ll kill you. Understood?”

Gale nodded.

He snapped his fingers. Gale’s throat cleared. He coughed and rubbed his throat.

“So… what did you do to your body?”

“Nothing. You stole it! I haven’t done anything since then. If something happened, it’s your fault,” Gale accused him.

The Demon King shook his head. “You don’t have Holy immunity. It’s useless.”

Gale looked up and met his eyes. “How do you think I survived?”

The Demon King scowled. “A Dark class? Dammit. I thought Legendary Heroes had to wish themselves into Dark classes.”

Scratching the back of his head, Gale smiled awkwardly. “I uh, I wished to choose my own destiny. I was able to survive because I could pick my own class.”

“You—argh. Didn’t even have the good graces to die a hero, huh?” the Demon King asked.

Gale shrugged. “Sorry my body wasn’t convenient to you. If you don’t want it, give it back.”

“Why should I? I’m so damn bored. I came here and thought I’d have a good time being the Demon King, yukking it up, fighting noobs. But here I am, sitting alone in a shitty, dark castle, bored out of my damn mind. I went and got your body in the hopes I could at least get Holy immunity and challenge the Goddess, but nothing doing!”

Gale blinked. “Er, are you…”

“A Legendary Hero? Yeah. I was, like, ‘Make me the Demon King, I want a challenge!’ and then… what happened? Where’d all the damn Heroes go?”

“I, er, I think they’re making ice cream and running farms, mostly,” Gale said, shrugging.

“Right? I’d feel bad just up and attacking them out of nowhere. I mean, what if they give up? At least for now I can pretend like they might attack me one day. If I go kill them all, then what’s left to do? This life is even more boring than my first one, somehow!” The Demon King shook his head, displeased.

“I see…” Gale said slowly.

“Anyways. Sucks about that body. Any chance I can get you to… rethink your choice?”

Gale stared at him.

The Demon King sighed. “I didn’t think so.”

“Hey, give my body back,” Gale snapped.

Twisting his lips, the Demon King tapped a finger against his lips. “But I put in so much effort to find that body. And I went out and collected it personally… I mean, in some circles, getting touched by the Demon King is a huge accolade, I…”

“Touched? You touched it?” Gale asked, horrified.

“Of course I—” The Demon King glared at him. “Not like that. Don’t be stupid. You know what, ten more gold.”

“Ten more… what?” Gale asked.

The Demon King nodded. “It’s expensive being a Demon King. You’ve got to build fortresses, pay your armies, healthcare, pensions, this and that and everything else… look, I need money. Ten thousand and ten gold, and I’ll sell your body back to you.”

“Ten thousand and ten?” Gale murmured. That sounds like a surprisingly reasonable number.

“Yeah, I mean, I had to pick a reasonable number. Something I thought a level four like you could repay,” the Demon King sighed, disappointed.

“That’s…” Gale paused. “Surprisingly… not evil of you?”

“I need money. The demon lands don’t make a lot of money. We can’t sell or export almost anything, and the internal economy is in shambles. It’s brutal, being the Demon King. I’ve spent all my time doing paperwork and trying to salvage our shit finances. Going out and stealing your body is the one fun thing I’ve done this whole time,” the Demon King said.

“This world is a mess,” Gale said, shaking his head.

“I know, right?” the Demon King agreed.

Gale looked at him from the corner of his eye. “You’re half the problem.”

“Come on. Cut a guy some slack.”

“What was with that edgelord bullshit when you stole my body?”

“A guy gets bored, okay? Sometimes I get carried away, role-play a little. I’m just so damn bored, man. I don’t even have any video games to play here.”

Gale nodded. “Yeah, that sucks.”

“Well, anyways. Nice meeting ya. I’ll see you on the other side of that ten thousand gold.” The Demon King stood and stretched, then snapped his fingers. He vanished.

What an asshole. Just give me my body back, if you don’t want it. Gale sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Gale!” Kino shouted. He rushed over, potions spilling over his arms. “I bought a whole bunch, I hope one helps!”

Gale snorted. He nodded and took a potion. “Thanks, Kino.”

Kino nodded, nervously.

Gale tossed back the potion. He waited a few seconds, until his head grew clear, then climbed to his feet. He stretched, leaning left and right. “That hit the spot.”

He took the rest and slotted them one by one into the bandolier. Halfway through, he paused. “Er, Kino, what happened to the gold?”

“I bought potions!” Kino replied.

“Bought… potions? With all the gold?” Gale asked, flabbergasted.

Kino bobbed his head. “I can’t have you die on me.”

Gale opened his mouth, then shut it. We need to save our gold… but if I die, there’s no use for gold, after all. Besides, for Kino… this gold was for his snacks. He gave it all up for me… how could I be mad? “Thanks, Kino.”

Kino beamed.

Above all the other buildings stood a tall, wooden hotel. Unlike the rest of the buildings, it had a second floor. Steam rose from behind it, and wooden fences blocked off the back. Gale led the way there. People passed in and out of the hotel, laughing and chatting. Some wore loose, relaxed clothes, their cheeks flushed from steam.

Gale checked his map. A gold arrow hovered above the hotel, indicating a Legendary Hero nearby. Sarah said he runs the hot spring, so this must be the hot spring. Decisively, he strode forward and threw the door open.

People stood around in the lobby. Some lounged near the bar, while others sat down at the restaurant. In the rear, a bored-looking attendant stood behind the counter. Gale nodded, smiling a bit. Exactly as I remember hotels. How familiar.

Kino glanced around, wide-eyed. “Is this a hotel?”

“Yep. Do beastfolk not have hotels?”

Kino shook his head. “We can sleep outside. We don’t need hotels.”

Gale nodded. “Fair enough.”

He walked up to the counter, Kino in tow. The bored attendant sat up straight and rubbed her eyes, letting out a yawn. “Can I help you?”

Clearing his throat, Gale pulled himself to his full height. “We’d like to speak to a manager.”

“You’d like to… what?”

“Speak to a manager. We need to speak to one, right now.”

She frowned at him. “How old are you?”

“Old enough to speak to a manager.”

“Right. Where’s your parents?”

Gale scowled. Dammit, it isn’t working! Back in my home world, that was the magic phrase to get anything done!

A goblin wandered through the back of the lobby. Gale jolted, startled. He reached for his sword.

“Hold up, hold up. It’s a bit startling, but don’t worry, Tim’s tamed the monsters around here. They help run the hotel. Helps take a load off the rest of us,” the receptionist explained.

Gale squinted at the goblin. On closer examination, it hoisted a bucket of dirty laundry around with it. Straining, it dragged the bucket, then paused for breath. Wiping its brow, it braced itself on its knees.

“Hey! Get a move on! Remember, no one wants to see monsters!” the receptionist shouted.

The goblin startled. It grabbed the bucket and ran on, pulling the bucket along as hard as it could. Its back bent almost in two, but it managed to slowly yank the bucket out of the lobby and into a hallway.

“O…oh,” Gale said. That goblin looked exhausted, but it’s got a job now, a purpose. It’s better than raiding random towns.

He turned back to the receptionist. “So… about that manager?”

“What was that about a manager?” a man asked. Yawning, he wandered around the corner. Dressed in soft, loose clothes, he shuffled along in slippers, half awake.

The receptionist jumped to attention. “Sir Tim! It’s nothing. This boy was asking for you, but he’s just a boy, he’s…”

Gale looked up at Tim. “You’re a Legendary Hero?”

Tim nodded, yawning again. “That’s me. What can I do ya for?”

“I…” Damn, my goal feels so hollow now that the Demon King showed up and only wants ten thousand for my body.

But even so, we should take him down! No one has the right to come across from the other world and start a war for fun!

“I need help to take down the Demon King. Will you help me?” Gale asked firmly.

Tim waved his hand. “I already took down one dungeon, isn’t that enough?”

“You… what?”

Lazily, Tim flapped a hand at the hotel, the hot springs, the whole area. “This place was once a wasteland of a dungeon. I rolled in, cleared it out, built the hot springs, employed the monsters… I’ve done my due diligence. Go find someone else.”

“This is exactly why the Demon King is running around and stealing random bodies—” Gale sighed. “Thank you. We’ll move along.”

He turned to leave. Kino glanced around the hotel one last time, then reluctantly followed him out.

“Wait.”

Gale paused. He glanced back.

Tim nodded. “You’re new to this world, right? A fellow Legendary Hero, just getting started. Stay the night. Let me show you the finer things in life. Maybe one day, you can find a dungeon of your own and stake it out, build a nice resort for yourself.”

“Thank you,” Gale said, surprised. Even though they haven’t helped me with my goal, the Legendary Heroes are good people. They’ll at least help out a fellow Hero.

“Wow. We can stay here?” Kino breathed, eyes wide.

“Paisley, give them the keys. A decent room, one with direct access to the baths,” Tim ordered casually, wiping his eyes.

Paisley bowed and turned to the board of keys behind her. She selected one of the sets, then handed it to Gale.

“Let me show you around,” Tim offered. He strode off, his slippers dragging along the floor.

Kino raced off after him. Gale hesitated, then followed.

Through the hotel. All the employees they passed bowed and moved out of their way. A few more demons and monsters appeared as they passed through the hotel. A wolf beastfolk folded bedding. A pair of kobolds made a bed. Out the window, a harpy with wings for arms fluttered around. She swooped toward the roof, then darted away, a handful of sticks and leaves clutched in her bird claws. In the distance, up against the forest line, a huge giant with blue skin chopped wood.

“Monsters and humans, living in harmony,” Gale murmured to himself.

Tim shrugged. “Not quite harmony. I’ve got to be a bit strict with them. There were a few incidents early on with guests, ah… going missing, but we’ve ironed out the kinks. They understand what their role is now. Once they understood that they die if they hurt the guests, they were more than happy to fall in line.”

Beside Gale, Kino tensed. Leaning in, he whispered, “Gale… I don’t like this.”

Gale took a deep breath. He smiled stiffly at Tim, then leaned toward Kino. “It’s just one night. We don’t have any money. We might as well enjoy the hotel while we can.”

Kino hesitated. After a moment, he nodded.

“Do you pay the monsters?” Gale asked casually.

Tim shrugged. “I feed them. They’re monsters. It’s pretty much the same thing. After all, what would they do with money? It’s not like anyone’s going to sell things to a monster.”

Is that it, or have you just not tried? Gale thought, suspicious.

“Don’t worry about it. It might be a bit weird to outsiders, but trust me, this is the best compromise. Go relax, and let me worry about the problems,” Tim said, waving a hand dismissively. He walked away, clasping his hands behind his back as he went.

Gale hesitated, then nodded. Kino glanced at him. He opened his mouth. Before he could speak, Gale shook his head and lifted a finger to his lips.

Tim vanished around the corner.

Gale smiled and checked the key tag on their room key. “201? We’re almost there! Come on, Kino. This is going to be a real treat. I didn’t even get to do this in my original world.”

“Gale…”

Gale shook his head, expression somber. In a cheerful voice, he continued, “I can’t wait! Let’s go!”

Kino blinked. He tipped his head. After a second, his eyes lit up. “Oh, yes! Baths, baths, baths… we just had a bath last week, though?”

“That’s—I used to bathe every day, you know that?” Gale said.

“Every day? How did you survive?” Kino asked, horrified.

“I—” Gale sighed and shook his head. “Oh, our room!”

He unlocked the door and stepped inside. Despite his hurry, he gazed around at the interior in amazement. Two king beds sat side by side, dressed in the most luxurious sheets he’d ever seen. Fresh flowers sat in a vase in the corner. Two robes laid out, one on each bed, ready and waiting for them.

Kino jumped and threw himself on one of the beds. He rolled around on the mattress happily, squirming over the comforter. “So soft…”

“There’s something strange going on here,” Gale said, sitting on the opposite bed. He crossed his arms. Conquered a dungeon? The monsters work in the inn? None of those monsters looked happy. He doesn’t pay them. I know it’s legal to keep ‘monster pets’ in this world, but I don’t agree with it. If Tim uses that as an excuse…

He sighed. “I don’t know. What should we do?”

“We should talk to the monsters. See what they think,” Kino insisted.

Gale pointed at him. “Great idea. And to that end, should we go investigate the hot springs?”

Kino tilted his head. “Investigate the hot springs?”

“There’s bound to be lots of monsters working the hot springs. It should be the easiest place to encounter monster workers,” Gale said, nodding to himself.

“You just want to go to the hot springs,” Kino accused him.

Gale scratched the back of his head. “I wouldn’t say that… We don’t want to arouse anyone’s suspicion, right? So we should act like tourist kids.”

Kino laughed. “It’s fine. Let’s do it!”