The unusual beast of burden, or rather bug of burden, fulfilled its job exactly as its name suggested and raced ahead at incredible speed. After around an hour or two, everyone had finally grown accustomed to the new way of traveling and could relax a little while Svertaniel guided the Centracer by its reins.

As Miria had quickly noticed, they didn’t just rush forward through random forests or plains but followed a clearly busy route, which bore deep traces and signs of many such long and multi-legged entities skittering at a fast pace.

And so, they passed by another driver and their steed now and then, usually heading in the opposite direction. It felt like two magically-enhanced arrows flew right by each other each time Ast’s party stumbled on someone else riding a Centracer.

Since the distance they had to cover was great, everyone started chatting soon after getting used to the speed.

“Where exactly are we heading?” Miria asked the demon man sitting by her side.

“Better watch your mouth or you’ll catch an accidental snack,” Svertaniel replied with a smile and Miria quickly covered her lips. “The rumors lead us to a place called Tri-Valor Valley.”

“Ooooh. That sounds interesting. Is there a reason behind that name?” She made sure to speak with her hand blocking the wind.

“There is. Like with almost every city, town, village in the Demon Continent. Demons love flaunting their creativeness and uniqueness. Naming things certainly falls under that category.”

“Why was Ashen Barrel named Ashen Barrel, then?” Silvia decided to join the conversation. “I saw nothing that would lead me to such a name.”

Svertaniel chuckled. “Ashen’s Barrel name leans more towards the latter—originality. Ashes are often light, silver, gray, while the port town is almost wholly black. Then, barrels are most often made of wood while metal dominates the architecture there. It’s pretty much a play on contradictions.”

Selene shook her head with a soft smile. “Such a roundabout way.”

“What about Tri-Valor Valley, then?” Miria tried bringing the conversation back onto its rightful track.

“The destination of our little journey is located in the middle of a desert. There are many settlements in that region but Tri-Valor Valley stands out the most due to its three massive pyramids built near each other in the pattern of a triangle.”

“I’ve never seen a pyramid! And there will be three! This is so exciting! What do they look like?” Miria buzzed with energy.

“Imagine having a cube-shaped block of stone, marking the very middle of its top edges, and then proceeding to diagonally shave off half of each wall until you get a pointy shape,” Selene explained. “You have seen a few of those in my hometown, in the form of roofs above small, square bowers.”

“Ah. I remember. And that’s it?” Miria asked, a little disappointed.

“Enlarge those to the size of a whole mountain and you get a pyramid.” The fox lady smiled.

“Oh. Ooooh. Ooooooooooooooh.”

Everyone chuckled faintly while observing Miria’s expression quickly turn from slightly let down to a joyful one as she tried to imagine the wonders.

“It must be hard to create something like that. How are they made? No, wait, the name! I’m sure there’s a story behind that! It’s not called that just because there are three of them, right?” She turned her focus back to Svertaniel.

“Indeed. Each pyramid is a tomb for one of the Founding Ancestors of the demon race on this continent—Nyra the Wise, Drahan the Brave, and Eyla the Ingenious. This place was once as uninhabitable as it could get, swarming with powerful beasts and monsters. Settling down here was pretty much suicide.”

“But they did it nevertheless!” Miria exclaimed happily.

Svertaniel nodded. “The combined might of Nyra and Drahan pushed the monstrosities away. She was the strongest magic-wielding demon in our history, and he didn’t fall short with his incredible power and mastery of arms. As the duo gradually conquered these lands, Eyla focused on what she loved the most after Drahan—architecture. Many towns and settlements are her own design, custom-fit to match their surroundings as best as possible and provide the best protection from monsters.”

“Nyra and Eyla were both Drahan’s mates, weren’t they?” Selene asked, getting invested in the story too.

“So they were. The love between all of them was unshakable. Many demons aspire to be like them. Open, passionate, affectionate, caring, proud, protective. But, let’s not get too sidetracked. It’s only half of the name. The valley part comes from how there’s a big empty space between them with slightly lowered elevation. Also, a settlement in the form of a giant ring coils around them on the outside, often unofficially called the Ring City.”

“That sounds delightful,” Silvia commented, trying to visualize the sight in her mind.

“Do we know why Radir spends years' worth of his time there? I would assume the pyramids have either been already explored to the last bone or are a sacred no-entry zone,” Asterios mused.

“And you are right. It’s the first option. Demons are quite open, remember?” the demon chauffeur replied. “I only managed to learn that he is walking between them every day. Radir is a very secretive man, until what he is working on is finished and ready to be announced to the world as his next grand achievement. If it’s him, there’s a huge chance something others have missed might still exist in the Tri-Valor Valley.”

“He must be super famous, then!” Miria beamed a smile at the backseat. “What’s the thing he is the most known for?”

Svertaniel coughed awkwardly as a wry smile made it onto his lips. “Yeah… You can say that he’s quite… famous…”

“Right? So?” Miria urged.

“Uhhh… The thing he is most known for is… attending a grand banquet hosted by the previous Demon King for the most prominent magic masters… having a lot of fun interacting with a beautiful woman there… seeing that the king is showing interest in her too… watching her realize it and leave with the man to have some fun together… then proceeding to seduce all six of the man’s wives and sleeping with them all at once… additionally placing unbelievably complex magic on the nether regions of one of them in the process… which then seals the king’s member in another dimension after he tries to make love to her again… and then sneaking into the castle a few more times at night to satisfy those women in the king’s stead until caught and forced to undo the spell.”

Silence fell onto the passengers, broken only by the continuous thudding and skittering of tens if not hundreds of sharp legs belonging to the creature carrying them.

“Right…” Asterios chuckled softly. “Grea did mention something about sealing.”

Svertaniel nodded. “He used that trick to the point where people started referring to him as the Chastity Enforcer. That name came up more often than his own when I was asking around. Many would recognize it over Radir.”

“Fufufu~ Looks like we are heading towards a very peculiar individual.” Selene chuckled lightly with a mischievous smile.

Asterios sighed. “Demons. No offense.”

“None taken.” Svertaniel smiled. “Our kind can be very… eccentric.”

“We noticed.” Miria giggled.

“Could you tell us more about that Ring City?” Silvia asked after a few long seconds of awkward silence.

“But of course. For some reason which has been lost to our people, it was constructed in the form of circles with an empty middle, where the pyramids are. Split into districts, it’s very easy to navigate. There are around fifteen rings on the current day. The innermost circles have been built from reinforced earth and sand while the newer ones use more wood since there’s no need for as much defense now as before. You will be able to spot the original Ring City instantly.”

“We should save some of the visual little details. It will be much more fun to just witness it ourselves. Right, Miria?” Asterios suggested.

“Yep! But I’d still love to hear some stories about it!”

And so, they continued listening to Svertaniel’s tales until they reached their night stop at some random village which served pretty much only as a station for the Centracers and their passengers to rest before continuing their journey. You could find a simple inn, a bar, a restaurant, and a shop with souvenirs around.

The next two days passed quickly. They switched seats each morning to change their daily conversation partners while Svertaniel stayed at the front to guide their steed, from time to time switched by Miria, who gradually learned how to handle a Centracer.

Asterios mostly focused on reading more about the Dragon’s research unless Silvia or Selene wanted to talk a little. He enjoyed chatting with the princess. Most of their topics revolved around their fiery affinities, but both of them liked listening about each other’s very different lives.

On the fourth day, they began seeing the change in the environment. The sky was still as crimson as always, but the rocky hills and plains were replaced by dried-up earth at first, and then joined by lots of sand, which, under the red sun, assumed a similar shade too.

Near the late evening, Miria was the first one to spot a myriad of little lights and three giant fires ahead. The smaller, regular glows came obviously from the buildings set in controlled arcs but no one expected the tips of the pyramids to be finished with giant braziers, each shooting impressive blazes of different colors into the sky.

The arrangement caused the monumental structures and the city under them to be lit up in green, yellow, and blue shades. It was certainly a unique sight. Each side of the desert was illuminated in a different hue while the rings basked in the mixed tri-colored light. No one in Ast’s party had ever seen something like that. Except for Svertaniel, of course.

And, as they arrived closer to one of the wooden gates leading into the outermost ring, they learned that the city was bustling with life at this late hour. Plenty of demons walked around in pairs or bigger groups, with easily discernible harems belonging to either gender strolling through the streets in a giggly manner.

Svertaniel led their Centracer through the middle of the road as slowly as he could. Other carriages, carts, and monsters or animals with cargo moved in a steady stream, going both ways.

Asterios and the crew admired the sight of the similarly-sized buildings constructed out of sandstone and light brown wood. As their demon friend had mentioned, the latter dominated the view. Passing through intersections, they could see the change in the ratio of those materials the closer to the core of the massive Ring City.

Leaving their means of transport at the stables, they started walking around together. Svertaniel led the group through a few different rings and districts, not wanting to overload everyone with too much information after four days of travel. He underestimated Miria’s thirst for new experiences, though.

They decided to start their search for the man in the morning and shared a meal in one of the restaurants Svertaniel recommended to them. There was no desert of this size in the region of the girls’ world where they lived so both Miria and Selene enjoyed the local cuisine a lot, which consisted mostly of various little beasts and bugs living in the sands.

~Master. May I join you and the others?~ Bryn’s voice resounded in Ast’s head during their late dinner.

~Of course. Whenever you are willing and have some spare time on your hands,~ he replied.

Soon after, a dark crimson gate arose from the ground by their table and the golden-haired Valkyrie stepped into the small dining hall. The moment she did so, her white, feathery wings spread wide to the sides, knocking someone’s cup off their table. Fortunately, it was wooden so it didn’t shatter.

Hearing the thud and noticing what she had done, Bryn hastily folded her wings back behind her, squeezing them as close to her body as possible. A brief silence fell onto the room as almost everyone looked her way.

“Sorry.” Bryn smiled anxiously with a faint blush covering her cheeks. “It’s almost instinctual. Very hard to keep in mind. Each time a valkyrja walks through a door, into an open space, her wings make a few flaps to flex the contracted muscles.”

Asterios stood up and crossed the wooden bench he had been sitting on. He picked up the dropped mug.

“Boss! Two more of these here! On my tab!” he shouted towards the counter, setting it back on the table and nodding at the owner in apology.

A wave of mild cheers followed from every patron and the chatting resumed. Only a few people still kept their attention on Bryn and their party, most likely out of curiosity.

“Is your wing okay?” Asterios asked, stepping closer to the Valkyrie.

She expected to get admonished for causing a commotion and drawing people’s attention, not to be asked about her well-being, and Bryn’s eyes widened slightly. She quickly shook her head, slowly unfurling her right wing and bringing it to the front.

“Yes, thank you. I apologize for my blunder again,” she answered, showing it to Asterios.

A little bit of dark beer dripped off a few feathers at its tip and Asterios summoned a small, clean rag from his ring, stepping closer to wipe them off.

She watched his actions trying not to show her embarrassment, looking at the others at the table. But, she noticed Miria giggling quietly while elbowing Selene and pointing at her and it didn’t help to stop the warmth spreading over her cheeks.

“Done.” Asterios stepped back and smiled. “Still, better check them yourself later. You surely know much more about how to properly take care of your feathers. Now, come, sit with us.”

Bryn nodded and sat down between Asterios and Miria, who moved a little to make some space for the Valkyrie. Since she was new, Miria wanted to make it more comfortable for their friend by not having to sit somewhere on the side.

“How are things going on your side?” Asterios asked as they started eating again.

Bryn received a plate from Selene, graciously nodding at the fox lady. “Very good. Everything is proceeding smoothly. You have given my people hope. I will never forget that.”

“And he will give them much more than just that in a few days, fufufu~” Selene chuckled softly. “The preparations are in full swing.”

“You have my utmost gratitude.” Bryn bowed deeply.

Miria placed her hands on the Valkyrie’s shoulders and pulled the woman up.

“The earlier you stop that the better,” the panthergirl explained with a wide smile. “It took weeks for Selene to finally stop addressing Master with all the uber respect and formalities.”

“But—”

“No butts. You are now Master’s familiar, our companion, friend. Master is a very kind person and he already said he wants everyone to feel comfortable.”

“Miria is right,” Asterios confirmed. “And it’s part of our contract so you don’t need to thank me every time it’s brought up. It’s my obligation.”

“I see. I’ll try my best, then.” Bryn nodded and smiled.

Then, they chatted for a bit while enjoying the food together. The others finished not that long after Bryn had joined but everyone stayed behind until she got her fill too. Both Miria and Selene made sure that their new friend didn’t hold herself back from tasting the dishes just because they had already stopped.

After she too was done, they left the restaurant in search of an inn. Again, Svertaniel led them to a place he knew and everyone checked in like usual, taking three rooms.

Bryn excused herself shortly after entering the sleeping quarters with Asterios and the girls, not wanting to intrude on their privacy, even though the beastfolk duo tried to convince her that she could stay if she wanted. In the end, Asterios admonished them for their nagging and the Valkyrie returned home.

In the morning, everyone met in front of the inn, except for Bryn, who had some things to do at her ARK. Being one of the leaders of such a settlement came with a lot of responsibilities. Asterios made sure to convince her that she wasn’t disrespectful to her master by prioritizing her life on the other side. He had enough companions who could accompany him at all times.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Miria asked after they gathered.

“Well. What else can we do besides asking around?” Svertaniel shrugged. “And maybe checking the entrances to the pyramids.”

“Let’s first see if anyone knows anything. They should if he really spent a few years here,” Asterios suggested.

The cheerful panthergirl nodded and trotted away, walking up to a random group of people. A blue-skinned demon woman paraded with two green-skinned demon men by her sides. A common sight there.

“Excuse me!” Miria called to them politely, showing a friendly smile.

The trio stopped and glanced at her. Their eyes were instantly drawn to her adorable, twitching ears. The men looked almost stunned. They were brought back to reality by a slap on the backs of their heads coming from the woman.

“Yes? How can we help you, cutie?” She smiled at Miria.

“Hi! Sorry for interrupting you! I just wanted to ask if you know of a demon man with the name Radir Asgeir. He’s supposedly been researching something here for the last few years.”

“Radir, huh? Doesn’t ring any bells…” the man on the left replied.

“Same here. And there are plenty of these archeologist-types around,” the one on the right added.

“Ummm… Chastity Enforcer neither? No?” Miria made a hopeful expression.

Both men instantly groaned while rolling their eyes as the woman chuckled.

“Ah, yes. If you are looking for him, he spends all his days either in the middle between the three pyramids or inside one of them,” she instructed her. “Just wait for him there. Not many people care about the empty space so he and his little camp stick out like a sore thumb.”

Miria beamed a smile at her, almost jumping in place from joy.

“Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!”

The woman smiled, shaking her head. “If you are coming after him for a supposed unforgettable experience, do yourself a favor and forget about it. He is not as good as the rumors make it sound.”

“Oh. No worries, then! It’s impossible for him to be even half as good as Master is! Thank you again and I hope you three have a great day!”

With a quick bow, Miria sped away from them, rushing back to Asterios and the others while repeatedly calling him in an excited voice, sounding like a kid wanting to tell something amazing to their parents.

The woman’s group watched the panthergirl lunge into the embrace of a human in black-red clothes and with white hair, nuzzling her cheek into his with a lot of affection. He scratched behind the snuggly girl’s ears and glanced their way.

Her mouth fell agape when their gazes met, and a shudder passed through the demon woman’s body after he nodded at her with a soft, charming smile. She couldn’t stop staring into his ferocious eyes. Before she noticed, she was taking a step forward, which, unfortunately, was halted by one of her companions grabbing her arm.

“As you said yourself, forget it,” he said with a sigh.

“But…”

“He has three exotic, beautiful women around him. There’s no chance he will join,” the other added, shaking his head.

“My prince…” the woman whimpered as they started dragging her the opposite way.

“You will find another,” they replied together.

She sniffled with a heartbroken expression and soon disappeared behind a corner.

Asterios returned his attention to Miria’s report of what she had managed to find out with an awkward smile on his lips. He reminded himself he had to be careful in the Demon Continent.

Just as instructed, Ast’s party moved through all the rings and exited the city through the innermost one, which was made completely of reinforced sandstone and sand brick. Those few circles were heavily fortified, with many towers overlooking the districts. The now gate-less keeps spanned over their whole length.

Stepping into the open, they felt as if they had entered a grand arena of incredible size. Hundreds of meters of empty space spanned in front of them, with three giant pyramids on the edges of three directions. Their tremendous size only increased the impression of massive distance.

Besides them, though, not much else could be found in the area. Sand covered most of the flat surface close to the Ring City and under the pyramids. Around two hundred meters from their position, the ground gradually descended at a mild angle towards the center in the shape of a cone. Then, it became flat again, creating a disc around three hundred meters in diameter.

Squinting his eyes, Asterios sent some more mana into them to enhance his sight, without turning it into the magic-seeing one. He spotted a small hut on the lower level and assumed it was Radir’s, the one the woman had mentioned.

“Alright. Let’s see if daddy’s home.”