Supreme Monarch

After traveling through the Sentro region for almost the entire day, the party finally decided to set up camp for the night. This trip was originally supposed to take only a single day with the help of the magic carriage but thanks to the frost salamanders fiasco, the group had decided to be extra careful the remainder of the trip.

With their minds made up, they had decided to take several detours so they could avoid as many monsters as could in the high-risk areas, which was actually a bummer for Tyler as the trip had suddenly become a whole less interesting.

Although the group planned on sleeping inside the carriage due to the insanely cold weather at night. They still had to set up a perimeter around a campfire that they would then use in making their dinner. 

Aine and Anne had cast a combination of the detect spell and the alarm spell over a 20-meter radius but the group had also set up a physical alarm system as a precaution against unknown elements. They had brought out four metal poles from their storage box and set them up around the camp.

The poles went into four points around the campsite, and then thin, blackened silk-like threads that looked like spider threads were tied around the poles, forming a perimeter. They then tied a knot in one of the threads and pulled it over to the side of the carriage, where they attached a small magic bell to it.

This was their alarm system and the bell would not make any actual noise when rang as it would immediately force anyone under its influence awake and into a forced state of alertness.

Tyler had offered to help out with setting up the campsite as it interested him but the party had not agreed to his proposal saying something along the lines of: 'This was their duties as the Hunters amongst them.'

He was indeed just a merchant on this trip so he could not overstep his bounds. Nadine seemed to please that the group was showing him respect or something but Tyler just felt bored again as he watched the group busily go about their duties.

He decided not to get in their way anymore and since standing there was kinda stupid, he told the group that he would be going to take a look around and scout their surroundings, and of course, Nadine had insisted and tagged along.

While Larut had wanted to discourage him about taking on such a dangerous job. He couldn't imagine there was any creature in this place that would be a threat to this cloaked man and with him scouting their surroundings, they would have nothing to fear this night.

The group had decided to set up camp at the base of two steep hills as a precaution against being surrounded by monsters at any given time so only two paths were leading in and out of the camp.

Tyler thought about where he should go for a moment before he quickly decided to head to the top of one of these hills so he would get a better view of their current location. While he could easily scale up the 9-meter tall hill, he opted not to and went around slowly as Nadine followed quietly behind.

Tyler didn't feel comfortable in any type of awkward silence so he decided to spark a conversation, perhaps get to know this young beastgirl better as the only thing he knew about her was what was written in her file.

"Say, Nadine."

"Yes my Lord."

...Sigh..." what do you think of this Hunter party."

Nadine was quiet for some time, making Tyler feel like he had asked the wrong question. Thinking about it now she didn't seem to have taken an interest in the party at all and had barely spoken to any of them. Hell, Dohel was practically the only one she had spoken to and that was in disdain.

"I haven't met any other Hunting parties so I don't have a frame of reference to compare them with but from what I have observed. They are nothing but a group of weaklings that have lost touch with reality and probably have slight delusions of grandeur. Their party is also badly constructed and they seem to rarely make rational decisions. They are also quite stupid seeing as they have constantly failed to notice your greatness and show you the respect you deserve."

Tyler was just about to think of something else to ask Nadine when he heard her sudden reply which took him by surprise as he hadn't expected it to be so detailed. It seems she hadn't just been ignoring the group but had also been observing them, but her conclusions seems a bit too harsh for some reason.

'What the hell does she mean by respect I deserve. What would be the point of a new name and a hood if I go around looking for people to show me respect.'

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Tyler momentarily couldn't think of any way to respond to Nadine. He wanted to scratch his head but held himself back as he said the first thing that came to mind.

"I-Is that so."

"I'm sorry if I said something out of line."

"Huh! no... it's fine, I don't want you to feel like you can't speak your mind around me so please don't mind it."

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't worry about it. Hmmm... It is one thing to observe and also another to get along with the people you're traveling with. I noticed you haven't even spoken to any of the girls, do you not like them or something?"

"Hmm... I don't have an opinion on them. I'll do my best to get along with them if that's what Lord Ty wishes."

"That was not what I asked you."

Nadine lowered her head slightly at Tyler's sudden change of tone. She thought about the question for a moment before opening her mouth again to speak:

"I've met several demons when I was younger. The settlement was still in captain Cronoff's region at the time and most of them would usually discriminate against us demi-humans. Even lesser demons like them were no exception, actually, they were usually the worst."

"They would visit our settlement most of the time and harass us. Some even assaulted women and children and although the captain did not tolerate such things, there wasn't much he could do as most of the neighboring regions had been keeping an eye on him, looking for any excuse or opportunity to attack. That meant they would usually get away with it and some would even do it again as there were no laws that protected demi-humans nor deter anyone from trying to take advantage of us."

"If we were ever to retaliate, the other regions would bring their forces into captain Cronoff's region and try to subjugate us while also attempting to take over his region from him. I was quite young at the time so I don't really know the details but the captain still lost his region after he help us move into the Darknar region."

Tyler hadn't expected his simple question to spark such an intense memory and as he turned his head around to look at her face. He instantly regretted why he had brought up such a topic in the first place.

Her eyes seem to have swollen a little and although she seems to be holding herself back. Tyler could feel the intense emotions that were swelling up inside of her. 

He had no idea what he should do to defuse this situation and he could not simply just dismiss it but, what exactly could he say to prevent this girl from crying in front of him.

However, before Tyler could even think anymore about her. Nadine suddenly clenched her fist and raised her head with a smile. Her clear as the night sky.

"I still don't remember most of what happened back then but for some reason, I still can't stand lesser demons and I don't think they are worth any more than the magots in this world."

Tyler's mouth almost went agape from the harsh words that had come out of such an adorable looking face as well as the gentle smile she had on her right now. He could tell that her emotions had been genuine but she had forced them under control in an instant, perhaps trying not to show him such a weak side of her.

Tyler couldn't help but sigh... He knew most of the history of the red ogre settlement and how they had moved to the Darknar region five years ago. 

He was also aware that Nadine right now was 17 years old based on her file, which meant she would've had to experience those things at the young age of 11 or 12. Such a thing would've surely shaped her personality to this point.

"I see..."

Tyler said those simple words as he walked over to the young girl and patted her on the head.

"It's fine if you don't like them, however, do try to get along while on this trip okay?"

"Yes sir."

"Good girl."

"Hehe..."

For some reason, him patting her head while saying the words 'good girl' had made her giggle a little as her fluffy tail gently wagged behind her.

Tyler couldn't help but chuckle softly as he walked up the hill slowly with the now energetic Nadine in tow. They didn't speak any further after that and soon arrived at the top of the hill. 

The sight before him was that of countless hills lined up on the uneven plains as far as the eyes could see. The sky was still a bit clouded so one could not see the stars that decorated the skies as the moonless night stole away the beauty from the scene before him.

Tyler was still impressed by the sight before him as while he did not yet possess Darkvision, his eyes were not what they used to be and he could now see quite clearly at night.

As Nadine stood beside him and also admired the sight, Tyler spoke without even turning his head:

"So, were you able to locate it."

Nadine felt a little confused by his question as she didn't know what he was talking about. However, as she was about to ask about it, a female voice that sounded both enticing and ghastly came from directly behind her.

"Yes my Lord."

Nadine reflexively drew out both halves of her Bo staff and turned around as she was about to lunge at the intruder when she suddenly paused. A shadowy figure had suddenly appeared behind them and took a knee before Tyler.

Nadine had never been this close to this person but she was aware of who she was. It was Zelda, lord Ty's undead rogue, and his second bodyguard since she was obviously the first.

Nadine was not a rogue but she was quite the skilled fighter herself and was also a mage. She was amongst the strongest members of the red ogre settlement Even though she was only 17. However, she had completely failed to notice the approach of this undead even with her magic sense constantly active.

She quickly returned the Bo staff to the straps on her waist and apologized instinctively.

"Sorry, I didn't notice your approach."

The words had already left her mouth when Nadine suddenly wondered why she was apologizing to an undead creature. As far as she knew they were mindless immortal monsters that hate the living and while this one was under lord Ty's complete control, she had not seen anything different from it.

"The fault lies with me, please do not worry about it."

Nadine's eyes widened. An undead creature had just responded to her apologies with words that did not sound like it had escaped the mouth of a monster that hated the living.

Tyler, being unaware of his partner's surprised expression moved his conversation along as they could not stay up here for too long.

"I see, that is good then... As I said, there is no longer any need to send any more monsters our way. The frost things had been more than enough and I don't want this trip to take any longer than it has to be. If I need anymore monster cores I can just Teleport here from here on out."

Tyler thought paused for a second as he contemplated something before addressing Zelda again.

"Hmm... Now then, there's something else I'd like you to do for me."

"I am at your command, my Lord."

"Locate this King of the Pass and report its location back to me. You don't have to engage it, I just need its location."

"Understood."

"By the way, did anyone follow us up here?"

"I did as you commanded and swept through the surroundings twice. No one had dared to do such a thing."

"I see... Alright, you can leave now."

"Yes my Lord."

As those words left her deathly pale lips, the hauntingly beautiful undead shadow rogue, gently disappeared into the shadows, and get presence was soon erased from the hills.