“I have the worst luck in the world.” I was moping as we sat at the tables in front of the bakery. The only good thing about this world so far was Dignity. But he was also the reason I couldn’t leave this stupid city. On my own, I could likely cut through the Shadow Demons with raw power. But there was no way to fight them and protect Dignity at the same time.

“What’s luck?” Dignity asked, eating a piece of bread I handed to him. I’d taken out a full meal set to recover from what had just happened.

Food didn’t seem to work quite the same way as in the game, which was unfortunate. I had a pounding headache from hitting that invisible wall and eating wasn’t “healing” it like I’d hoped. I wondered if I needed to use healing potions? But I had a limited supply of those and didn’t want to use them for just anything.

“Luck is… uh…” Actually, I’d never thought of this very deeply so I really had to strain. “It’s when good or bad things happen to you, regardless of your own actions. So, even though I haven’t done anything to deserve it, I keep having bad things happening to me. So that’s “bad luck”. But meeting you, even though I didn’t know you and wasn’t looking for you, is “good luck”.”

“I’m good luck?”

“Yep.”

He looked immensely pleased with himself and I chuckled. But then his brows furrowed and he frowned.

“Bad luck is why we keep getting trapped and chased by demons?”

“Well, sort of. There’s probably some other reason, but the fact that I’m even in this situation is definitely bad luck.”

“Hm, so what you really need is a whole lot of good luck to make up for all the bad luck.”

“If only it was that easy…” I sighed. “Well, it’s not like I have anyway to change my luck, so thinking about it is a waste of time, don’t you think?”

He nibbled on his bread looking thoughtful before finally agreeing, “I guess that’s true.”

“Anyway…” I leaned back. “I don’t think we’re getting out of here by nightfall. We might as well just find a place and hunker down for the night.”

He stopped eating, his eyes growing wide and fearful. “W-what should we do about the demons?”

“Let’s find an empty building with a really sturdy wall. If we lean on the wall and I cast Light Orb, that should keep all the shadows in front of us and prevent the Demons from attacking us from behind. As long as they’re only coming from the front, I can beat them.”

“That’s a good idea!” He seemed relieved and cheered up at my plan, but I was still in pretty low spirits.

I suspected I’d have to stay up all night fighting off Shadow Demons. I was never good at all-nighters, and this body seemed to pass out the moment I closed my eyes. I really hoped I could stay awake long enough but…

We searched around for a building and eventually found one. It turned out this city really was fake: all nice and clean on the outside and empty on the inside, not even furniture.

I sat down and had Dignity sit on my lap, and then placed my shield on top of him as cover. I vainly hoped my light armor would prevent them from using shadows close to my body. It wasn’t a comfortable place for him lay down, or for me to wear while sitting all night, but I wasn’t risking it.

I cast Light Orb. And we waited.

The sun set and darkness fell and the deep night came, but still there were no Shadow Demons. Were they waiting for us? Maybe they were hoping I’d fall asleep and attack us when we were defenseless?

More time passed. My head started nodding. I kept catching myself right before I dosed off. Arg! All that running and fighting had worn me out! I really wanted to sleep.

I screwed my eyes open.

I could do this. I could—

It was morning. I’d fallen asleep! I jumped awake, looking around wildly, before realizing nothing had happened.

We hadn’t been attacked at all. Why!?

I gently shook Dignity awake. He had an amusing habit of never waking up before me, no matter how late I slept in. He yawned and then sat up suddenly, reacting much the same way I had.

“Did they come?” He asked worriedly.

“Nope. And I have no idea why. I mean, I’m glad but…”

He got up from my lap and stretched, then scratched his head. “You know… I’ve been thinking…”

Uh oh. A revelation was about to occur.

“Maybe this city is like the forest.” At my totally blank look, he continued: “The forest was cursed, right? It didn’t want us to leave. Maybe the city is the same way. Maybe it doesn’t want us to leave.”

I covered my face with my hands and groaned.

“That makes sense.”

It really did. They hadn’t chased us once. Their initial appearance had scared us into the city. Their second appearance had been when I’d tried to leave. They only tried to block us, and they only attacked when I was being aggressive. Every time I’d stopped, they hadn’t bothered us. Even when I’d totally failed and fallen asleep, they hadn’t come.

All because we weren’t trying to leave.

I felt stupid for not noticing it sooner. I hoped this wasn’t going to be a reoccurring trend with me.

“Well, at least this time we weren’t wandering for weeks.” I muttered to myself, and then more loudly: “If that’s the case we’ve got to out smart the curse that’s on this city.”

“Right. Let’s head to the center.”

I blinked. “The center?”

“Sure, it we can’t leave then the only way to go is in, and that leads to the center.”

Oh, right.

“I wonder what’s in the center of the city?”

I guess we were about to find out.

Turning off the Light Orb, we walked out of the building and into a cool morning sun. The weather was definitely turning cooler as the days passed. Since we weren’t in the forest, I didn’t have to worry about exposure, but in the city there wasn’t any food (I’d checked). It’s not like starvation was an immediate fear, but having it as a possibility weighed heavily on my mind.

Even though the chances of us getting attacked were pretty low, I kept my Quicksilver Armor on just to play it safe. A theory is simply that until you can prove it. And I was thinking of keeping it on even if Dignity was right: those Shadow Demons may have different triggers than just “leaving” or death. I didn’t want them attacking me when I’d let my guard down.

It was an uphill walk. As I said before, the city was layered. It reminded me a bit of a wedding cake. Each “tier” had fancier buildings, indicating that as you went up, so too did the status of the non-existent citizens.

What an odd detail to keep for a fake city, I thought as we passed a mansion.

It became abundantly clear what was at the center of the city by about half way through: an impressive old-style European castle. It had the spiraling towers and tall-thin windows and everything. All it was missing was a moat.

After huffing and puffing our way up (and only getting lost once) for the better part of the day, we finally arrived at the entrance of the castle. Of all the buildings in the city, the castle was the most detailed. It was still in that off-white grayish stone, mind you, but it looked like a building that might actually get used.

“So… should we knock?” I asked aloud, not really expecting an answer.

Sneaking in might be wise. But then, if the Shadow Demons were under a ruler, a Demon Lord perhaps, then the ruler already knew we were here. They probably expected us. They might even be watching us as we speak. Being polite while entering a stranger—who controlled demons—seemed like a good strategy.

On the other hand, if we knocked and it was empty we just looked silly. And I wasn’t terribly worried about any knucklehead Demon Lord who somehow missed that his city’s population of zero had increased by two. Frankly, any being who didn’t notice us at this point wasn’t really worthy to be called a “foe”.

I decided to be polite and knock. The effect was… limited. The door was heavy and thick and my knocking barely made a “thump, thump” sound.

Looking down at Dignity, I said, “Well, they can’t say I didn’t—”

There was a rumble from the door, and we both quickly got distance between it and us. To our surprise it opened… all by itself.

We waited, but nothing happened. We entered because where else was there to go at this point?

“Uh, excuse us for the intrusion!” I said as we entered, to apparently no one. Knocking had let us in, so being polite seemed to be a good idea.

While all the other buildings in the city had been empty, not just of people but furniture, the castle was decked out. It was all white and silver, a lot like my armor. It was weird having armor that matched the furniture.

Anyway, the castle was big as castles tend to be and if left to our own devices I’m pretty sure we would have gotten lost. However, as we walked, a door would open, to which I responded “thanks”. Once I hadn’t shown my appreciation after being let through and the next door didn’t open. When I politely asked for assistance, the door opened again, and I made sure to thank my invisible guide.

The enchantment on the castle reminded me of the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast”. I couldn’t help finding the whole idea amusing. If it was like that, who exactly was the “Beast”? I looked more like a beast than a beauty. Perhaps there was a Beauty in the castle, and I was there to save her!

Hoho! I’d prefer saving a cursed Princess to dealing with a Demon Lord. Of course, I wasn’t a Prince or a Pauper, so if that Princess was hoping to get saved and married to some handsome (human) dude she was in for a major disappointment.

After what seemed like a needlessly long walk, we reached a huge set of doors. This time no amount of “Thanks” and “Please help?” got the doors open. Even when I knocked they didn’t open.

“I guess we’re suppose to do this part ourselves.” I finally concluded, Dignity agreeing at my side.

Huge rings hung from the door, which I grabbed and pulled. The doors slowly, majestically opened. Or in other words they were heavy and required a lot of work for me to open. Thanks for nothing, Enchanted Castle!

We’d been lead to the Throne Room. While the rest of the castle was all in whites and silvers, the thrown room was decked out in gold, reds, and rich woody browns, with only the monotonous off-white stones as accent colors. I gave it a mental thumbs up. Real color after so much white was a visual relief.

Curious but cautious, we entered. We’d gotten about half way through when the hair on my neck stood straight up and I heard Dignity scream “ABOVE YOU!”

I awkwardly jumped backward, grabbing Dignity as I went. Where I’d been standing a huge monster landed, causing the entire floor to shake under it’s weight.

It had the top half of a beautiful well endowed woman, but the bottom half of a scorpion. Her arms were giant snapping claws and her eyes were huge black orbs. Smooth long smooth black hair fell around her dull gold body.

Little known fact: I was terrified of spiders, snakes, and scorpions.

Every strand of fur stood up on my body as terror shot through me. The silent scream burst out of me in a long high pitched squeal.

I immediately cast Greater Rending Light at my new foe.

It gave a strange low-pitched yell of pain as the spell hit it, but it didn’t disappear. Instead, the woman part sizzled and smoked, flailing from the spells power, while the scorpion half remained completely untouched.

No, no, no, no!!!!!

That meant only one thing: this thing was only half demon. And the demon half was strong enough to take a Level 10 Light spell head on and survive. The bottom half was probably just regular monster and completely immune to light spells.

I quickly backed away towards the door, planning to escape, only to hear a ominous THUD behind me. I really wanted to cry just then.

Dignity informed me in a whimper what I already knew: “The door closed.”

Fear and adrenaline coursed through my body. It was a fight to the death then.

“Stay out of my Dignity, got it?” I commanded, too stressed to be kind about it.

“R-right!” Came a squeaky response, and even though I didn’t hear him, I knew he’d run to find a place to hide.

The Demon Scorpion must have sensed a weaker foe, for even in it’s pained throws, it’s tail lashed out toward the small retreating figure.

“No you don’t!” I hissed, a burst of speed pushing me forward, sword and shield out. I collided with the tail, the blunt force of my body knocking it off it’s target. I’d intended to slash with my sword, but it’d retracted before I had a chance.

Arg! That tail was going to be a problem.

Calm down, I fervently begged my mind, let’s think this through! What would be the first thing I need to do to get the upper hand?

I forced myself to look at that ugly horrible thing with a critical eye. I needed to reduce it’s movements. It had too many appendages, and trying to fight them all at once reduced my chances of survival.

Let’s try cutting down the tail first. I jetted to the right, attempting to circle around the monster and get behind it. Unfortunately, unlike the Shadow Demons, it wasn’t stupid or slow: even while injured by my Light Spell, it had the sense to follow my movements and prevent me from getting behind it.

It was also surprisingly fast for something with so many legs.

Just great, fantastic! A smart, fast monster, just what I needed!

I saw a clawed “hand” take a stab at me and I raised my shield and angled my body just in time: the claw’s sharp point slid off the shield with a screech and hit the ground next to me instead. An unnaturally smoky crater was left in the spot where it hit the floor. Poison? Acid? Either way, getting hit by the claws was likely as bad as getting hit by the tail.

I hopped back to get some distance between us.

Ok, direct attacks weren’t going to work. Even hurt it wasn’t going to let me get close if it could help it.

My mind ran through a list of spells I had that might work for a boss level monster. I finally settled on one that seemed effective. I pointed my sword at it and chanted:

“Finger of God, Winds of Heavenly Wrath, crush the enemy before me!”

This was a level 10 single target attack spell that summoned what amounted to a magical tornado. Besides being a fantastic damage dealer, it also had a high chance of causing confusion. It could even work on bosses, depending on their type.

I struggled not to be too caught up in the spell. I’d not used any wind magic up until now and it was pretty cool watching a tornado form out of the ceiling like that.

The Demon Scorpion sensibly tried to dodge. I guess even a monster of it’s caliber understood getting hit point blank on the back was likely an insta-kill. I was disappointed the spell missed a back shot, but it wasn’t over yet:

As you might guess, the spell could move just like a real tornado. And it would follow an enemy around until it caught it and then spin it around in the air with debris and slam it to the ground before finally dissipating. The spinning was what caused the confusion.

A tiny thin wail caught my ears. Startled, I looked around and found Dignity being slowly sucked into the tornado. Oh no! I hadn’t considered collateral damage! In the game it only hurt the enemy you targeted, but if you thought about it sensibly, where else could the debris come from but the surrounding area?

I sprinted over to Dignity, just managing to catch him before he lost what little hold he had on the ground. I pulled him into a tight embrace, yelling my apology over the wind. I wouldn’t be able to cast this spell again without risking Dignity’s life.

The Demon Scorpion, meanwhile, discovered the drawbacks of being overly large: even in a huge room like this there just wasn’t space to run away. It had only gotten a few steps before the Tornado caught it, lifting it heavily in the air, smacking it around like some kind of ugly doll.

This went on for a few seconds before the spell lifted the monster all the way to the ceiling and hurtled it to the ground. There was a loud “crack” from the impact, breaking the floor underneath us into huge pieces. The tornado disappeared, dropping the furniture and random objects it had collected on the monster for extra damage.

I unceremoniously dumped Dignity on the ground and ran towards the monster. I’d apologize for the rough treatment later, this was my chance.

The spell had worked! The monster was not only severely dizzy and confused, portions of it’s legs had been crushed under it’s own weight and one arm was completely broke in two. This time it couldn’t dodge.

“Gale SLICE!” I cried, simultaneously putting a spell on my sword as I slashed down on the tail. My sword was already imbued with light and powerful on it’s own, but the Gale Slice was an attack used against enemy with heavy armor.

I felt my sword hit the plated scorpion tail and felt a flicker of fear at the resistance. Maybe it wouldn’t go through.

But it was only a moment. The sword pushed through the armor, and once it hit the flesh underneath, I might as well have been cutting cold butter with a hot knife.

The screech of agony I heard from the monster as I sliced into it’s tail ran a shiver up my spine. As I landed, I did a heavy spin on my feet, turning myself around to face it.

It was slashing about wildly, pain and fury twisting on it’s monstrous but beautiful face. If it hadn’t been half scorpion and hadn’t attempted to kill Dignity, I might have felt a little bad for it. As it was, I was just relieved I’d dealt it a crushing blow.

It either didn’t have self-healing powers or I was hitting it so hard that it didn’t have time to heal, because it wasn’t recovering. I wasn’t going to wait and find out which it was: I pressed my attack.

The monster half of it’s body had been rendered useless. It didn’t have enough legs to lift itself and it’s tail was out of the way. That left only the demon body.

Enough time had passed, so I cast Greater Rending Light again (seeing as that was fairly effective last time). It’s female top shuddered and sizzled under the spell, it’s gold body turning a dark burnt brown.

I couldn’t be sure, but I suspected it was almost dead. I cast Shining Light as an immediate follow up.

The Demon Scorpion gave one great convulsion and fell limp.

I stood there, tense, waiting, but when nothing happened I started to relax.

The body then began to, for a lack of better word, melt. It was really gross to watch, because it started from the outside and worked it’s way in. I got to see way more of the inner workings of that thing then I ever wanted, and suspected it’d be haunting me in my dreams for the rest of my life in revenge for it’s death.

Dignity ran over to me, face stained with tears, crying with relief. I knelt down and hugged him, careful not to squeeze too hard with my armor on.

I wanted to cry too, and I was just beginning to feel it might be alright to do so, when I heard a voice say:

“A most excellent battle! Very well done!”

We both stiffened. It had come from the direction of the throne, which had been empty when we arrive but was now occupied.

There was a man sitting on it, clapping his hands in congratulations. He wasn’t human.

His skin was a deep, dark red, and two thin horns grew out of his forehead. He had long, straight black hair, with bangs covering his narrow yellow eyes. His smile, if you wanted to call it that, showed off long fanged teeth. And thrown over his arm, like a shawl, was a classic devil’s tail: long and arrow pointed at the end. He wore something that looked like a cross between a King’s outfit from the 1800s and a Mafia bosses suite, all in the color black. (I’m no expert at clothing so that’s as good as you’re getting from me.)

If he didn’t have such a haughty look about him, I’d have laughed. He was as stereo-typical as you could get design wise for a demon. No creativity at all. Red, horned, with a tail. Jeesh!

He stood up in one smooth, regal motion and bowed.

“Welcome, Champion, to my home!” He stood straight as a rod. “I see that you are alone. Truly I mourn with you over the death of your companions.”

It was fortunate he couldn’t see my face, which was hidden by my helmet. I was thoroughly confused and it probably showed. Why did he assume I’d come here with a party?

“Still, fear not, if you wish it, I can bring them back to life… Or not. Whatever you wish, from selfish to selfless, I will grant you. But only once!” He held up one finger. “For though my powers are great, I can only bestow one wish to the Champion who passes the tests and stands before me.”

Uh, what? He would grant me a wish, any I wanted? And what’s this about tests? Is that what was going on? Had I accidentally been on some kind of quest without realizing?

“…any wish you say?” I responded slowly, thinking carefully.

“Anything your heart desires!” His response was far too eager. I just couldn’t help thinking there was a catch. Demons were notorious for their crooked deals, after all.

But, well, I was pretty sure there was one wish he could grant that wouldn’t backfire on me.

“I would like Dignity and I to go to my home.”

The Demon blinked, genuinely surprised. “Is that all? Are you sure?”

“Yes.” After all this, I wasn’t leaving Dignity behind.

“If that’s the case…” He chuckled and lifted his right hand. “Granted!” He snapped his fingers, a sound much like a matching being lit coming from them.

We stared at him. He stared at us.

Nothing had happened.

He snapped his fingers again.

Again nothing.

His eyes narrowed. “What riddle have you given me to solve? Do you not actually have a home?”

“Excuse me, I do so have a home! I’ve even got a contract and pay rent and everything.” Though I wondered a bit as I thought about it. Even if I’d been gone for weeks, and my rent payment was late, I don’t think my stuff would have repossessed yet. And I was fairly certain I hadn’t died or anything like that either. So, technically, legally, it should still be my home.

Perhaps because he was a Demon, he could tell see I was being truthful. He frowned deeply, more confused than I was by his inability to grant my wish.

Finally, he huffily admitted: “I am not able to grant your wish. You may ask for something else instead.”

I sighed. That was all I’d really wanted, to go home. My lovely little apartment, with my comfy bed and pillow. Running water, a shower, and (gasp) a toilet. Even my old job, which I had no deep love for, was sounding really good now.

I pushed aside my homesickness. Focus! What else could I wish for!

Demons were tricksters. Even if he was telling the truth about his ability to grant wishes, he likely intended on doing something devious through any wish I granted.

After some thought, I made a decision:

“Very well then, I think my next wish you can definitely grant. I wish for you to be my best friend on my terms.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Best friend?”

“Yes.”

“And what were the specific terms?”

“As with all friendships, you find those out over time.”

His eyes narrowed again and I saw his jaw clench. I was almost positive he was on to me and would refuse. If he meant to do mischief, I’d put a severe restriction on what he could do with this wish.

After a tense moment, he said, practically hissing, “…fine.”

He snapped his fingers again.

This time something happened.

A red thread, like a flame, appeared over his hand and sizzled toward his chest and then mine. I jumped back, away from it, but all that did was cause it to shoot right at me faster. It was so fast I couldn’t dodge it, and it struck my chest. My hand moved to where it had pierced, but I felt nothing. There was no pain at all.

I looked up at the Demon, the same thing had happened to him. Unlike me, he hadn’t moved an inch. He just stared at the red flaming thread with cool indifference.

Then, it was gone.

“What was that?” I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

“I believe I have been bound to you.”

“Bound?”

“Yes, my fate is now directly tied into yours. Where you go, I must go. And whatever your terms are, I must obey them.” He still kept a cool expression on his face, but I thought I saw his jaw twitch.

He really didn’t like this wish.

I gave a polite cough. “Well then, as my best friend, my first term is that you look out for my wellbeing. It wouldn’t do for you, if through negligence or malice, you allowed something bad to happen to me.”

“Easily done, Champion.” He then paused. “Calling you Champion seems a bit… cold, perhaps. What is your name, oh dearest friend of mine?”

“Ah, Angela. Since we’re friends, Angie would be—”

“You mean you are a Messenger of God?!” He almost spat the words out, his smooth fast twisted into an ugly rage.

“Uh, not literally. It’s just the name my parents gave me.”

“Tch!” He settled down a bit at this, but still look disturbed. He mumbled, more to himself than anything, “Still, a name such as that…” Before saying aloud: “You were saying something about Angie?”

“Right. You can call me Angie since we’re friends.”

He noticeably relaxed. “I will do that, thank you.”

“And what’s your name?”

“Surely you jest?” He waved his hands animatedly, shocked at my ignorance. “You traveled through my lands, my city, my castle, and yet you don’t know my name?”

I wrinkled my nose under my helmet. “A Demon Lord’s lands, huh? That explains all the curses.”

He pursed his lips, as if he’d eaten something sour.

“Demon Prince.” He emphasized. “And my name is Solomon. Demon Prince Solomon.” He pointedly repeated his title, offended by my ignorance.

“Alright, alright, it was an honest mistake on my part.” I waved my hands, as if to ward off his anger.

“Mistake—?!” Any pretense of cool disinterest was now gone. His tail was off his arm, whipping about his legs like an angry bee. “Surely I haven’t been trap—I mean, resting—for so long that my name and reputation have whittled away into obscurity?!”

Hoho, what was that about being trapped? Hhhhhmmmmm? He’d let slip something good. But I wasn’t going to bother him now about it. I was pretty sure I had plenty of time to ask later.

“Calm down, Solomon! I’m not from around here.”

“I have a world wide reputation!” His indignation was almost comical.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m literally not from around here: I’m from another world!”

He stared at me, speechless. “You’re what?”

“I’m not from this world. I come from a different place. The only Solomon I know is from the Bible, and he’s definitely not a Demon Prince.”

He was rendered speechless. His tail had gone completely still and his yellow eyes had widened.

Suddenly, he came to himself, pointing a finger at me, shouting accusingly. “Well, no wonder I couldn’t get you home! I can’t grant wishes involving other worlds!”

“How was I suppose to know that though? You said you’d grant me any wish!”

“You—but—That didn’t—ARG!” In a fit of rage, he walked over to his castle chair, picked it up, and threw it at a nearby window. Glass scattered every where as it crashed through.

“What are you, two?” He’d just thrown the kind of tantrum you’d expect from a toddler.

His face scrunched up at my insult before he sat down with a thump, as if all the strength had drained from him. Solomon had a decided flair for the dramatic, I was noticing.

“I’ve waited for over 200 years.” He suddenly began, sounding miserable: “Two. Hundred. Years. For someone, anyone, to get through those trials and make a wish.”

Baffled, I asked, “Why?”

He held his head in his hands, squeezing. “Because I can’t leave this place if I didn’t grant a wish.”

I cocked my head, clearly not understanding.

“I’m cursed, you idiot.” He spat out at me.

My mouth opened in a silent “Oh” of understanding. Of course he didn’t see that so I asked:

“But how’d a Demon Prince get himself cursed?”

“I lost a battle with the wrong person. In exchange for my life, I was put under a curse: My lands were sealed and I had to wait in my castle for Champions. The Champions would pass through a series of tests and if they succeeded, I must grant them one wish without deceit or malice. If I granted them just one wish, myself and my land would be free of the curse.”

“So you’re free now then? That’s good news!”

“Ha!” He glared at me. “How am I free? I’m your “best friend” now, and you—a being from another world—desire more than anything to return home. Knowing this, I must help you with that task before all else.”

Well, uh, oops? Sorry, dude? Actions have consequences? Don’t be a sketchy demon?

“Don’t be like that. Look, you’ve been stuck in a castle for 200 years right?”

“Right.”

“You must have been bored out of your mind. You might not want me as your bestie, but at least you can leave now. And I don’t know how far I’ll have to go to find a way home. So most likely, you’ll get to travel all over the place. I’m sure the world has changed in 200 years, so it’ll be like experiencing everything new again.”

He dropped his hands from his head and raised an eyebrow at me.

“…I suppose you’re correct.” He stood up again, dusting himself off in the process. “But having such a truth come from you doesn’t help my ego much.”

“Well good. It’s not like I was trying to help your ego out anyway.”

He chuckled at that. “A true friend indeed.”

“Well then,” His tail gently placed itself back over his arm. “Where shall we go, dearest Angie?”

“Er. Right. I was trying to find a city, a real one with actual people in it. If I could find someone well-informed maybe I could get some idea what I’m doing here and how to get home.”

“Hm… There use to be a Kingdom to the south of here. If it still exists and things are generally in the same place, a few days travel should get us to a city.”

“Really? Did you hear that Dignity, a city!” I looked down at my little companion, only to see him scowling.

He hadn’t said a word through the entire interaction.

The Demon Solomon took notice of my companion for the first time.

“Ah, a Kobold. What a quaint servant you have there.”

He bristled and practically barked out: “I’m her friend, her FIRST one.”

Solomon’s smooth smile froze on his face.

“How cute, he talks.”

“I can do more than that!” Came an angry retort.

“Hoho, is that so? What else can you do!”

Dignity’s face went dark: “Not tellin’ you nothing, stupid.”

The demon’s face twisted angrily and he raised his hands threateningly.

“Alright,” I interjected hastily. “Let’s not be needlessly hostile. You are both my friends, alright? You both bring something different to the table.”

“He’s just… just a… stupid evil demon!” Protested Dignity, apparently upset that I’d put them on the same level.

“That may be—”

“Hey!” Solomon huffed in offense.

“—but since I’ve wished him as a friend, I’ve got to treat him like one. Friendship is a two way street. As he looks out for me, I’ll look out for him. And if you do the same, perhaps we’ll be able to reform him into a good demon.”

Dignity looked doubtful and Solomon more so.

“It can’t hurt to try. Having a Demon Prince on our side will be useful anyway.”

“Oh alright...” Dignity conceded, quietly muttering to himself. “He better not try anything or else…”

I clapped my hands in false cheerfulness. “ANYWAY. How about we leave this castle and head south?”

“Toward civilization?” My Kobold friend added.

“Toward civilization!” I repeated enthusiastically, pumping my fist in the air.

Solomon, however, only shrugged in depressed resignation.