Underworldly Dealings III

The next morning came and the skies cleared up. It was almost like the storm never happened. The floor was still a little wet and there were a few puddles here and there, but the aftermath was quite light even though the storm hit like a... well, like a storm.

Kies really expected the entire place to be flooded or something. It rained throughout the entire night and he had done nothing but sat there and shot wind at the raindrops. He told himself that it was to practice his magic and his aim, but in reality, he was just bored and it didn't really improve either skill at all.

Ammine and Falte decided that it was best to take today off while they wait for supplies to come later tonight and for their clothes to dry. And according to Ammine's medical skills, he hypothesized that Messa will soon have recovered enough for her to join them on their mission. Kies was curious about what kind of magic she used as every demon had unique magic and according to the demons, she fought like a stereotypical mage. That meant that she fought from long range and used magic to blast her enemies while standing still, as one would usually expect from a mage.

This really didn't apply to their group since everyone here typically used magic on the go. Ammine's magic enhanced her physical abilities and she fought with her fists which was not what was expected from a mage usually. Falte used some kind of illusion magic that only revolved around him disguising their appearance and not changing their surroundings or whatever. Overall, no one here fought like an actual mage and Kies thought that he was the one with the closest fighting style, but according to Falte, he was not.

Because of this, Kies really wanted to see what the two demons meant. Soon they will have an 'actual' mage fighting with them. "She's trained to be able to take on multiple opponents by herself and control the fight with her magic all while standing in one place and not moving and defending herself with magic," Ammine explained to him.

"Yes. Though it might not sound like a good idea when you put it on paper, fighting in a single spot is actually very effective. You get to pay more attention to your surroundings," Falte added.

Kies really didn't know if they would ever come into a situation where they would have to fight again so it was unlikely that he would ever see Messa fight. Since there was nothing else to do, Kies decided to go into town and get some food for the demons. The cheaper the better, but it had to be at least of decent quality. While he was at it, he was to get them some new clothes as well because their previous ones were all ruined by that dragon. Kies was the only one who didn't look like he just came back from a battlefield so he was the one assigned to do this.

After grabbing a handful of coins, Kies set off and went into town. There were still many stalls in the middle of getting set up because they had to wait for some of the puddles to dry up before they could put their stuff down. There weren't many people outside yet and Kies went to a random stall that was set up and was about to buy some loaves of bread but changed his mind. It was probably a better idea to get clothes first and then buy food after. It was more awkward to go into a store to buy clothes while carrying food than it was the other way around.

So Kies did just that and came back to the stall and got some bread and went back to the slums. But instead of taking the alleys like he normally did, Kies decided to use the streets this time. Since there weren't many people outside, he might as well take this opportunity to walk around and look for an orphanage.

A couple of soldiers questioned him about his clothes, specifically why he was covering his face and why there were so many holes in them, and Kies had to find an excuse to get rid of them. After following the road for some time and almost getting run over by a carriage, he made it back to the slums unseen by anyone and dropped off the goods. It was a shame but he wasn't able to find any building that looked like an orphanage on his way back.

"I'm back," Kies said as he entered his house. There was no one inside of it. Kies went to the other house where Messa was recovering inside and checked there instead. He knocked on the door and it opened up to reveal all four demons sitting inside. Just as Kies expected.

"Perfect timing, we just finished," Falte said as he walked up to him and took one of the bags off him.

"Finished what?"

"Finished playing a game," Falte pointed at the stones on the wooden floor that was stacked neatly in a tower. "I won of course," he proudly said, as if it wasn't obvious enough looking at the other three's faces. Ammine looked like she was about to get up and punch the smug look off Falte's face.

Jasyeu looked quite sad that she lost the game and was trying her hardest to pile up the rocks but they kept falling after she placed her third one. Messa didn't seem like she cared at all. She had a blank look on her face and Kies couldn't tell if she was angry or depressed that she lost to Falte.

Anyhow, this was Kies' first time actually seeing Messa's face and she looked very young. Almost as young as him in fact. But he wasn't sure if they were the same age. As far as he knew, demons could live for a long time, and even though she looks the human equivalent of sixteen. She had a childlike appearance and was fairly pretty. The most notable thing about her was that she had long silver hair and purple eyes. Both were very rare and it was Kies' first time seeing someone with that. It was weird to

Messa caught Kies staring at her and stared back at him with an empty expression. "Is there something you want?" she asked. Her voice was smooth and delicate. She was definitely very young. Of course, not as young as Jasyeu, but it was hard for him to imagine someone like her out here already fighting against the humans. The demons must really be desperate for them to send someone who barely looked like they were above ten years old. It was that, or they didn't care about age. Though, it could be both.

"No, it's nothing." Kies apologized and looked away. He turned his attention back to the other demons who were going through the bag that Falte took.

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