I never ask for trouble. An obvious statement, one might say. No one wants trouble in their lives. But is that true? Have you never prayed for excitement? For one day to stick out above the rest? Not me. I’ve never asked for an adventure, or for mystery. In fact, I assumed I was exempt from such things. Living where I am and all.

“What happened to you?” I cried out, rushing across my field toward a collapsed stranger.

“…I’m…fine.” He wrung the words out with a prideful force. Then he immediately fell unconscious. I was afraid he’d die right then and there so I dragged him into my home. That was where I ran into my first dilemma: where do I store him?

“I can’t put him on my bed…what if he’s about to die.” I muttered to myself. “That’s bad luck right? Another person dying on your bed.”

Pacing back and forth, I considered my options.

“I could throw some towels on the floor…but then it’ll look like I brought in a sick animal. He’d be offended if he woke up, wouldn’t he? How about a chair? No, he’s slumping over and I don’t have any adhesive. I could get some paste from the swamp but the smell would be…”

Suddenly, a simpler idea dawned on me.

“Why don’t I just eat him?” I clapped my hands together. Why did I not consider this sooner? From a glance I could tell he had quite a decent amount of life-force left. I wasn’t in danger of starving, but after months without a real meal he seemed very appealing.

“No, no, no.” I shook my head violently. “Why did he come here in the first place? If I eat him then I’ll never know.”

I stood over the man who lay on my floor. He looked to be in his early thirties. His equipment was nothing special, practically the standard fare for travelers. However, man himself was quite the opposite. He was tall enough to stand a full two heads above me (and I’m not exactly short, even for a woman). His muscular frame told me that he did more than just carry his gargantuan body around.

My mouth watered but for the sake of my curiosity I pried my eyes away. In the end, I risked placing him on my bed. His temperature felt normal and his breathing was calm so he probably wouldn’t give me bad luck. To my credit, I managed to keep myself away from him until three days later. That’s where my troubles began.

“Uugh…” I heard a noise from upstairs and rushed into his room. “Where…am I?” He immediately broke down in a coughing fit. I handed him a bowl of water and he drank it all in one gulp. “Thank you, miss. I hate to admit it but you may have saved my life.”

“Um, really? I didn’t do much at all.” I gave a short bow instinctively.

“I didn’t think there would be anyone to help me in this ghost town. I- *urp*”. He doubled over, clutching his stomach.

“You haven’t eaten in days. It’s no wonder you feel terrible.” I handed him an apple that I’d brought with the water. He put the apple to his mouth and after a couple of seconds there was nothing left but the core. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t worry, I have more.”

I jumped up to grab some and tripped over nothing, falling flat on my face.

“Sorry, give me a second!” I picked myself up and ran out. Moments later I returned with a handful of apples. “Take as much as you like. They’re in season.”

“You’re *crunch* too *slurp* kind.” He managed a thank-you in between bites. Once he had surely become more apple than human, he smiled and thanked me again. “Really, I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Well…would you mind telling me what you were doing when I found you?” I was glad I’d spared him. Although, the more he ate the hungrier I felt. “You said it yourself; this is a ghost town. There must be some reason for you to come here.”

“Hmm…You may not believe me, but I’m here chasing a rumor.”

“Why wouldn’t I believe that?”

“Because the rumor is about demons.”

“…Demons you say?” I forced a smile. “What are they doing in a place like this?”

“That’s what I want to know. I heard that there’s a bunch of demons migrating here. It sounds like the precursor to a grim festival.”

“A what?”

“A ritual of sorts. Demons gather and eat each other until only one remains. These festivals have created some of the most dangerous monsters in history and I’m here to prevent it.”

An ugly realization dawned on me. I’d never heard of such a ritual and one certainly isn’t going on here. However, all of that was irrelevant.

“Then you’re a…”

“Demon hunter.”

Fuck. I should have eaten him when I had the chance.

“Ah, a demon hunter…h-how unique.” I tried my best to sound casual.

“No, I understand. Most people are scared of the occult.” Fortunately, he misunderstood me flawlessly.

At this point there was no going back. I resigned myself to my role as a helpful girl living in a ghost town. With any luck he’ll fall asleep soon and then I’d be able to get rid of him.

“Don’t take it too hard, I was just surprised. I’ve been living here for years, couldn’t bear to leave when everyone else did. Feel free to rest here until you recover. There haven’t been any clients for a long time but this building is technically an inn.”

He suddenly stood up and grabbed my hands. I watched in stunned silence as he shook my them vigorously.

“Oh, thank you! I’ll never forget this debt! My name is Howes, Howes Lacer.”

“I’m Sera…just Sera.” I hadn’t talked to anyone in so long that I’d almost forgotten my name.

~ ~ ~

After spending an afternoon with Howes I learned two things. One, this man is an idiot. Not just because he never suspected me. Though, a single woman living in a ghost town would be something to doubt or at least ask about. No, the issue here was that Howes had nearly killed himself by travelling here as fast as he could. The rumor he’d heard was dubious at best and certainly not something you’d drop everything for. From this I could only conclude that he was even dumber than I was.

Oh yea, the second thing was that he’s really strong. If even half the stories he told me were true, then I’m probably dead even with the element of surprise. The third thing, I forgot there were three, is that he’s a perpetual optimist. Howes could have a leaky roof in the middle of a typhoon and he’d still be looking forward to seeing a rainbow after it passes.

“Well, it was great to talking with you but I’m exhausted.” He released a lion-like yawn. “This is an inn, right? I’ll take one of the spare rooms if you don’t mind.”

“No problem, just sit tight for a while and I’ll set one up for you.”

I left with a smile and then dashed down the hall. There was a reason why I never considered putting him on the guest beds: those rooms are filled with my master’s belongings.

Ah, I’m so sorry master. I offered my silent apologies while hurridly tossing everything into a chest in the basement. When he returns he’ll be so mad at me.

After a solid hour and a half of housekeeping I showed Howes to his new room and left him to rest. I sighed, now it was only a matter of time. It might be tough, but killing him now would be better than waiting for him to leave. If he discovers my true identity, then I’ll die without even putting up a fight.

I waited for him to fall into a deep sleep and mentally prepared myself. Just as I put my hand on his door knob I heard a knock at the main door.

Nooooo… I wrenched myself away from my best chance at killing Howes and answered the door.

“Oh, hello.” The man at the door was clearly taken aback. “I’d gotten used to no one answering. Didn’t think anyone still lived here but manners are manners.”

“And you would be…?” Fearing the worst, I got straight to the point.

“My name is Dain Surt. I understand this sounds strange but I’ve come here to investigate a rumor concerning demons. Rest assured though, I’ve made quite the name for myself by hunting these monsters.”

My legs suddenly couldn’t support me. I gripped the door frame for strength and prayed I was making a somewhat respectable face.

“That’s…unique.”

“Indeed. This might be troubling for you but may I please come in?”

I nodded and pried myself away from the door. It hardly needed to be stated that my chances of survival were now sitting at zero percent. Howes wore reinforced leather and carried only the essentials for travel. Dain, however, wore a sinister black robe and toted a large backpack. If Howes was prepared to fight me upfront, then it was clear that this guy had a more underhanded approach to demon hunting.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your role here?”

“M-my what?”

“I thought this town was abandoned.” He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you living here?”

I began to stammer out an excuse but then I heard another door open.

“Dain? Is that you?” Howes was out of bed. I guess he’d heard Dain come in.

“Howes? You’re here too, then.” Dain smiled wryly. “And I thought there wouldn’t be any competition.”

The two of them forgot about me, thank god, and went into Howes’ room to talk. I used my brief reprieve to consider my options. The one thing I can’t do is leave town. Therefore, getting the two of them to leave is my best option. I began to concoct a plan when I heard another knock at the main door.

“Hello~?” I said in the cheeriest voice I could muster.

“Hello, hello! I heard people talking inside. Have the other hunters gathered here?”

Before me stood a fairly round gentleman in a brown silk robe. He wore a smile that reached all the way to his ears and clapped his hands in joy when I confirmed his suspicions.

“Wonderful! I’ll go up and meet them.” He stopped halfway through the threshold. “Oh, my name is Bismarck Vole. Do you work for a demon hunter?”

“Ah, no. I live here.”

“How interesting.” He said without a shred of sarcasm. “You may call me whatever you like. My friend here is named Edward Teach but he prefers Sir Teach.”

I blinked. I hadn’t even noticed anyone behind him. The man in question stepped out from behind Vole’s wide figure and bowed.

“Well met.” He spat out the words like a child reciting an apology. Then Vole went upstairs with Teach following close behind.

I shuddered. Vole seemed relatively harmless. He wasn’t carrying anything besides a travelling pack. Teach, however, was armed to the teeth. He wore a chainmail vest over his shirt and a pair of dueling gauntlets hung at his side. Teach had one overt weapon in the form of a polished longsword but I noticed many smaller knives strapped to his legs.

Well that’s two more… I hung my head. Something told me these people weren’t going to leave so easily. An hour passed and then I heard the final knock of the evening.

“H-hello~.” I exhaled the words as though they were my last. “If you’re looking for the others they’re…”

I stopped speaking. To be accurate I was too terrified to continue. Two men stood at the door.

“Oh, there are others?” One of them said. He wore a blank expression and I couldn’t read him. “I already met one person on my way here so it makes sense that there’d be more.”

“I’m not surprised in the least.” The other one scoffed. “Demon hunters chase rumors by trade. If the rumor spreads fast enough, then of course there would be competition.”

“S-so then you’re both hunters…right?” I wrung the words from my throat. No matter how insane it seemed, I needed to ask.

“Correct.” The first one bowed. “My name is Ten, nice to meet you.”

“That’s right.” The second one followed. “You can call me Rowan.”

The group had gotten too big for Howes’ bedroom so everyone moved into the main floor of the inn. They began a heated discussion but I was too stunned to hear a word.

How is that even possible!? I thought in dismay. A demon that hunts other demons!? I smelled it on him the moment I opened the door. That emotionless one, Ten, had waltzed in like any other hunter but I knew it was a lie. He was a demon, just like me.

“Excuse me! This is an inn right?” Dain yelled, interrupting my panicked thoughts. “Do you have any food to serve?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll prepare some immediately!” I rushed into the kitchen.

It was so sudden. My solitary days had disappeared in an instant. While, somewhere deep inside, I may have longed for some company, this certainly wasn’t what I had in mind.

Master…I may not be able to greet you when you return.

---

When writing this chapter I had to double-check what dueling gauntlets were. A certain search made me second-guess myself: Dueling_Gauntlets