A Journey Unwanted

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Heart Kingdom]

[Pulchritudo]

If Gretel had been even the slightest bit different—less disciplined and less accustomed to Mikoto’s impossible way of doing things—she might have genuinely found herself cursing his name beneath her breath.

Instead, she merely sighed inwardly.

Her silver eyes remained fixed ahead, carrying the same restrained, almost weary expression they had worn ever since their group had entered Pulchritudo. Somehow, despite the necessity to avoid attracting unnecessary attention, Echidna and Shuten-dōji had managed to accomplish the exact opposite.

Neither of them seemed remotely capable of blending into a crowd.

Shuten-dōji in particular wandered through the streets with open curiosity, her red gaze drifting from one storefront to another with the leisurely interest of someone exploring an entirely foreign world. Every few steps she paused, not because she was uncertain where to go, but because something else had caught her attention.

"Most peculiar," the oni murmured at length, her voice carrying amusement as she stopped before an elegant display window. "Do humans truly find attire such as this desirable? Or perhaps I should ask... do they genuinely enjoy imprisoning themselves inside garments that scarcely appear fit for walking?"

Her scarlet eyes lingered on the row of finely dressed mannequins standing behind the pristine glass.

Layer upon layer of expensive fabric fell from their motionless forms. Tight corsets, elaborate sleeves, glittering jewels, and skirts so wide they looked incapable of passing through an ordinary doorway.

She studied them with sincere curiosity.

"They appear remarkably cumbersome," she continued thoughtfully, tilting her head just enough for a strand of black hair to slip across her shoulder. "Beautiful craftsmanship, perhaps, yet there is little elegance in clothing that robs its wearer of freedom. One strong gust of wind and I suspect the poor woman inside would topple over before she managed a single proper step."

It was, unmistakably, a high-end clothing boutique.

Its clean marble entrance, gold-lettered signage, and immaculate display windows advertised wealth before one ever stepped inside.

Naturally...

Shuten-dōji standing in front of it immediately became more captivating than anything the store itself had to offer.

People slowed; some stopped outright.

Others attempted not to stare, only to fail moments later.

Whispers spread through the passing crowd with all the subtlety of a spark drifting across dry grass.

"Whose demi-human is that...?"

"I’ve never seen one walking around without restraints."

"...She’s gorgeous."

"I didn’t think skin like that even existed."

"I wish I could buy one like her..."

"What an exotic beauty..."

Not every voice carried open hostility. Some were curious, some disgusted, and some disturbingly fascinated. Very few bothered hiding that they were speaking about her as though she were an expensive animal rather than a person.

Gretel’s brows slowly drew together.

Her grip unconsciously shifted against the hilt of the rapier resting at her side.

The weapon remained sheathed.

Even so...

Her fingers tightened around it just enough for the leather wrapping beneath her glove to creak.

("I knew demi-humans were treated poorly...") Her gaze drifted across the gathering crowd. ("...But I didn’t realize it was this blatant.")

No one even attempted to lower their voices, and no one seemed embarrassed. To them, these comments were perfectly ordinary. As though discussing livestock, merchandise, or something that could simply be owned.

"It’s rather heartbreaking..." Echidna’s voice drifted lazily beside her.

The Mother of Monsters stepped forward with graceful movements, emerald eyes sweeping over the street.

"...Truly heartbreaking," she sighed, though the emotion behind the words remained impossible to decipher. "If Mikoto had not gone to such tedious lengths to chain me, I do believe I would have reduced this charming little city to rubble by now."

She smiled; it was a beautiful smile. One that somehow made the statement even more unsettling.

Gretel found herself staring at her for a brief moment.

Strangely...

She felt she ought to have been far more alarmed than she actually was.

Destroying an entire city, taking countless innocent lives. Echidna had spoken of it with the same tone another person might use when mentioning they had grown tired of the scenery.

"I’m guessing," Gretel began carefully, finally breaking the silence, "that this has something to do with how demi-humans are treated here?"

Echidna’s emerald eyes drifted toward her.

"They are, after all, descendants of my children," she replied softly, the corners of her green-painted lips lifting ever so slightly. "However distant the bloodline may have become over countless generations, it remains my blood nonetheless. Watching them reduced to this..." Her gaze wandered toward a beastkin laborer struggling beneath an absurdly heavy crate. "...It is enough to make even a mother grieve."

For the briefest instant...

Something was alight behind those emerald eyes.

Then it vanished.

Gretel quietly observed her; she still did not understand Echidna. Perhaps she never would. Mikoto insisted the Deseruit Beast Progenitor was useful. Useful enough to save and useful enough to keep alive. Yet Gretel had long since begun suspecting that explanation only covered part of the truth.

There had always seemed to be another reason, one Mikoto simply refused to speak aloud.

Still, she voiced the question occupying her thoughts.

"I was always under the impression that demi-humans were only incredibly distant descendants," Gretel said thoughtfully. "Most of them can’t even awaken a Manus Dei. Their bloodlines have become so diluted that they’re practically their own races now. So, I honestly didn’t expect someone like you to care quite this much."

Echidna gave a soft hum.

"Care?" she repeated, almost amused.

Her gaze slowly swept across the bustling street; a rabbit-eared demi-human bowed deeply while carrying a nobleman’s luggage. Further ahead a wolf-eared servant hurried to pull open a carriage door before lowering his head without receiving so much as a word of thanks.

"Perhaps ’care’ is not the word I would choose," Echidna murmured. "What I possess is pride." Her pupils narrowed slightly. "If my descendants possessed strength enough to rule themselves, then I would gladly leave them to whatever fate they carved with their own claws." Her expression cooled. "But this..." Her eyes lingered on the bowed servants. "...This is not survival. It is degradation, and I find it..." Her voice became almost frighteningly calm. "...disgusting."

("So... pride.") Gretel let the thought settle quietly in the back of her mind. ("I suppose I’m wasting my time trying to understand the mind of a Deseruit Beast Progenitor.") Her fingers lightly brushed the hilt of her rapier as she exhaled through her nose. ("They’re older than kingdoms, older than most civilizations. Whatever morals or sentiments they possess probably stopped resembling ours ages ago.")

She spared Echidna one last sideways glance.

The Mother of Monsters had already lost interest in the conversation, her emerald eyes lazily roaming over the bustling streets as though she were inspecting an ant colony from above.

Gretel found herself looking away.

Trying to make sense of a creature like that truly felt impossible.

Fortunately...

Something else pulled her attention away.

Shuten-dōji approached at an unhurried pace, her steps light despite her height; the oni’s gaze still wandered from storefront to storefront, lingering upon signs she could not read, strange contraptions displayed behind windows, unfamiliar foods whose scents drifted into the crowded streets, and fashions unlike anything from her homeland.

Every sight seemed to earn her curiosity rather than excitement.

"This city truly is expansive," Shuten-dōji mused softly as she came to a stop before Gretel, red eyes still wandering beyond her shoulder toward the endless streets stretching deeper into Pulchritudo. "There is scarcely a direction I can look without discovering something entirely foreign. I admit, there is a certain charm in witnessing a civilization so unlike my own." A small smile touched her lips. "It is simply unfortunate that our purpose here leaves so little room for appreciating any of it properly. Had circumstances been kinder, sightseeing might have proven rather enjoyable."

Gretel returned the smile, though hers remained much smaller.

"I don’t think finding reliable information about the dragons is going to be easy," she admitted. "We’ll probably have to search through a good portion of the city before anyone knows anything useful. So..." she glanced down another bustling avenue lined with unfamiliar architecture and countless businesses. "...I suppose, whether we intend to or not, we’ll end up seeing far more of Pulchritudo than we originally planned."

Shuten-dōji gave a small nod.

"So it would seem."

"Hmph."

Echidna’s dismissive voice drifted between them.

The Mother of Monsters folded her arms beneath her chest before slowly shaking her head.

"But is there truly anything here worth seeing?" she asked, genuine disinterest coloring every word. "To my eyes this city is little more than stone piled atop stone. It is crowded with mewling humans forever chasing comforts they cannot create themselves, endlessly convincing one another that their tiny accomplishments possess meaning." Her emerald gaze swept lazily over the passing crowds before returning just as quickly. "Frankly, I find the entire place rather dull."

Gretel was hardly surprised.

She doubted Echidna had ever viewed ordinary settlements as anything more than temporary collections of fragile lives.

Shuten-dōji, however, simply smiled.

"I cannot quite agree with you," she replied gently, her tone carrying neither offense nor challenge. "The larger a city grows, the greater the number of lives that gather within it. And where lives gather..." Her red eyes drifted across the passing crowds, calmly studying faces rather than buildings. "...there are stories. There are ambitions, regrets, triumphs, failures, and countless paths crossing one another."

She looked toward one of the towering buildings nearby before letting her gaze fall back to the people walking beneath it.

"Architecture is pleasant enough," she continued thoughtfully. "It speaks of a nation’s craftsmanship, its history, and its priorities." Her smile deepened ever so slightly. "But buildings remain where they are placed. It is people who surprise you. They are the ones capable of changing without warning. They are the ones who truly capture my interest."

Echidna regarded her for several quiet moments before tilting her head a fraction.

"A spirit such as yourself finds mere humans interesting?" There was no mockery in the question.

It genuinely seemed to puzzle her.

Shuten-dōji answered with a soft laugh. It was quiet and warm.

A sliver of sharp canine briefly caught the afternoon light as her smile widened.

"Dearest Yuki once shared a rather fascinating story with me," she said pleasantly. "Unless my memory fails me, was it not a single human who came remarkably close to ending your existence?"

Her red eyes met Echidna’s emerald ones without the slightest hesitation.

"So tell me..." she continued. "Would it truly be wise for someone with that particular history to dismiss humanity as merely ’mere humans?’"

Silence settled between them.

Gretel’s eyes instinctively moved toward Echidna.

Had anyone else spoken so casually to the being known throughout history as the Mother of Monsters, Gretel imagined she would already be preparing herself for bloodshed.

Questioning Echidna was one thing.

Reminding her of one of the greatest humiliations of her impossibly long life was something else entirely.

Yet...

This was Shuten-dōji.

Gretel had not travelled beside the oni for very long. Nor had she witnessed enough of her strength to truly grasp its limits. Even so, there was something that stood out about the way Shuten-dōji acted.

She neither flaunted confidence nor attempted to intimidate those around her.

Rather, she possessed the assurance of someone who had never needed to prove herself in the first place. It was a confidence so deeply rooted that it became almost serene.

Her posture never seemed to change.

And so Gretel’s attention settled upon Echidna.

Curious about whether the Mother of Monsters had been insulted.