Royal Princess of Blood

Miyako walked down the street, with Satomi walking beside her. For now, they were to part with Estelia and Nira. They really had no time to stick around together, as Estelia had to go find her friends, while Miyako had to carry out her duty — she was already way late. She was kind of wanting to meet Estelia's friends first, mostly because of curiosity.

If she were strong, then others might be as strong as well. Estelia didn't tell much about her friends, though. She didn't seem to be the type of person who would tell a lot of stories. To be honest, she would have been happy to bring Estelia along to the meeting as well. She was a reliable person after all. But Miyako couldn't bring herself to ask that. It was unnecessary and a bother to Estelia.

There was strength in numbers, and it would have been a real comfort if there were more than two of them.

Miyako looked around. The streets were brimming with activity. This place was way bigger than her own capital city, with more people too, busier. She felt quite astonished that there could be a place like this in the archipelago. Things seemed a bit more prosperous.

Amazing.

"This place looks interesting, don't you think, Satomi?"

"Yes."

"Despite being in enemy territory, it feels nice to be in a new city. I sort of wanted to look around."

There were not many beautiful places to see in this archipelago. Especially considering that most of it was dead, barren wasteland. Perhaps only in civilization could you enjoy pretty scenery or fresh places.

"That would be nice, but I ask you to refrain from doing so. We do not know how dangerous this place could be for us."

Perhaps it would have been different if they still had their entire group from the convoy. Having Satomi alone as a personal guard would make things difficult for her to cover every direction. In short, it wouldn't be possible for Miyako to have a leisurely tour of this city — unless, of course, if the ruler himself offers it. Which Miyako would also have to be wary about.

Miyako briefly chuckled. "I know, I understand. I wouldn't want to trouble you too much."

"... I appreciate it."

Miyako smiled. "So, do you sense anyone following us?"

Miyako had her own sense of danger, but not as much as Satomi. She was trying her best, but she could notice no one at all. To confirm, she decided to ask Satomi about it. She was just way sharper than Miyako.

"None. So I think we're safe."

"Do we take it that the local lord does not want us dead?"

"Could be. But we can't be sure."

Miyako let out a sigh. "I feel so lucky that we're still alive after all that happened. I don't know what my father would do if I didn't come back."

"We avoided a tragedy, that's for sure. By the way, milady, what do you think of Miss Estelia?"

Miyako turned to her with a puzzled look. "What about her? She's a friend." It was a strange question.

"No, I meant…" she paused for a moment, thinking about how to express her thoughts. "Don't you think there's something strange going on with her?"

"... Um, not really. Sure, she does not like to talk much about personal things, but not really."

There was nothing really off about Estelia or anything in her eyes. If there was anything, it was just that she was ‌kind of mysterious, but everyone would be if they didn't talk much about their personal affairs.

"Yes. But there is something strange going on with her. I just couldn't guess it. She's way too strong for her age."

"I guess that is true."

To become strong, you need to train. And training requires time. Estelia just does not fit that logic at all. Unless of course she was someone who aged slowly, like Nira. But Estelia insisted she was human.

"Furthermore, why does she have someone like Nira with her? Someone who's not human."

"... She saved Nira."

"I don't reckon humans normally go along with non-human beings."

"..."

"Furthermore, her interaction with that blind man. It was strange."

"... I did sense that. They kept their conversation a secret."

"Yes. Ultimately, her blood art. Someone from another continent has some sort of blood magic. And yet she does it differently, and more potently. She had that demon at her mercy."

"What are you trying to say?"

"... I'm saying that it feels like there's more to her than meets the eye. Something way more significant than we could ever expect. I would like to suggest that we avoid getting too deeply involved with her. But I know you wouldn't stand for that."

"Of course, I wouldn't stand for that." Estelia was a dear friend. Someone who helped them on their journey. "Besides, aren't you just overthinking things?"

"... Well, it's just that she was never clear about her purpose in coming to Nishinoa."

"To be healed of her condition, right?"

"How could our island have something like that?"

"... I don't know."

"There are just too many strange and suspicious things attached to her. It kind of bothers me. I just want to learn the truth completely. What she truly is."

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"Hmmm…" Miyako casually placed a hand on her chin. "Well, Nira calls her goddess all the time. Maybe Estelia really is one."

The two of them looked at each other before they chuckled.

"There's no way that would ever be possible, milady."

"Hehe, you're right. Even that is too much. What kind of god walks and gets tired so easily, right?"

"That's right."

There was just no way that a god would just walk on their lands like that. Nor were there even gods in the first place. If there were, then they had forsaken this place, so they don't deserve to be revered.

They came across a market. It was a big place that had many things to sell. Food, fruits, accessories, wooden works, even weapons.

"Let's take a brief look around," Miyako said.

Amused by the new things around her, Miyako leisurely looked around. Checked out the nearby stalls and tried to look closely at the various interesting crafts. Miyako noticed her bodyguard seemed a bit too uptight, she would like her to enjoy this time as well. Not always do they get to reach faraway places, best to enjoy the moment.

"You can take it easy, Satomi. There are a lot of interesting things to see here, let loose."

"But…"

"It's fine. I'm sure I can fight off a threat for at least three seconds." Miyako chuckled.

"... Very well…"

Miyako watched with a smile as Satomi checked out some locally made bracelets — some made of wood and bits of metal. Miyako noticed some paintings displayed from a store, which both surprised and puzzled her. She had seen some paintings back home, but she was aware that they were not easy to make. Nor was the talent prominent enough. The paintings here were the same back home, black ink and simplistic.

Miyako walked towards the store of paintings. But then she sensed something crawling on the ground. It didn't feel like a threat of any sort. She looked down to look at it, and it was a small dark creature running on four limbs. It had a long tail, dark fur, and a face with protruding teeth. It squeaked as it moved.

"Get back here!" A man shouted nearby.

"Eh!" Startled by the creature, Miyako quickly stumbled back, because no creatures here were entirely docile or peaceful. All of them were monsters. It startled her to see a monster in the middle of the city, no matter how small it might be.

As her actions seemed frantic, the man who shouted came up to her and caught her in his arms. Miyako‌ blinked in confusion, slowly glancing at the arms on her shoulders, then to the torso she was leaning on. And she slowly looked up.

It was a good looking young man with dark hair and deep dark eyes. His body was firm, the way he held her had a certain strong grip, a hint of his strength. He was wearing casual clothing, and he had a common sword at his waist.

Truth be told, he didn't need to catch her. She would have been completely fine.

Meanwhile, the little creature climbed up a beam of a building, the front limbs were like hands. It then made some mocking noises at them while swinging around a purse in its hand.

"That damn critter," the man muttered, glaring up at the little monster.

"Milady! Who is this man?!" Satomi quickly unsheathed one of her swords.

"Whoa!" The man quickly backed away, letting go of Miyako. "Calm down!"

Miyako stared at the man for a moment before shaking her head and pushing down Satomi's blade. "It's fine. I'm not harmed."

Satomi slowly pulled back her blade, but still a bit cautious.

"You two mean business, huh?" The young man chuckled.

"What's going on?" Miyako asked.

"That critter stole an old woman's purse." He pointed at the dancing little monster. "But it's clever, always going through the small crevices."

"That thing steals?" Which was quite surprising that it had that behavior.

"Yup. Anyway, I'm sorry for bothering you," he said with a smile.

"Wait, let us help."

"Milady?" Satomi directed a baffled look at Miyako.

"That critter stole from an old person. There's no way I'm just going to let it be."

Satomi quietly groaned before letting out a resigned sigh. "... Fine, let's kill it."

"W-Wait!" The young man shook his head. "We best not kill it, it might be someone's pet. Maybe the best we can do is hurt it."

Monsters could only understand violent actions. It could not be scolded or anything. Therefore, if killing it was not an option, then hurting it was certainly one.

"Understood." Miyako nodded. "Understand, Satomi?"

"... Yes."

The three of them made their way to the critter, glaring at it closely. Sensing the danger and them closing in, the critter quickly ran away, jumping between the beams and jumping back to the ground. It ran fast.

Miyako, Satomi, and the young man gave chase. They spread out, attempting to block off all its paths. Miyako was coming in close, but then the critter dove into a small crack of a building floor. The young man rushed to the end, expecting the monster to pop out of it. However, the critter got out of another hole, and jumped in the air, then ran into a small pathway.

Satomi was there though, and she pulled out her sheathed katana. She took a step forward and swung her weapon; the scabbard hitting the monster and sending it flying backward. Miyako and the young man glanced at each other and nodded.

The moment the critter landed on the ground with a cry, the young man pounced on it and pinned it down to the ground. Miyako took the chance to step in to grab the purse. In defense, the monster tried to shake her off, holding out its hands to scratch her. Miyako couldn't help but wince in annoyance.

She slapped its hand and swiftly snatched the purse. The moment the item it stole was out of its hand, the critter hissed violently.

"Got it."

"Nice. Now what do I do with this thing?" the young man asked.

"That's right, it might just go and steal things again."

Satomi walked up to them and raised an eyebrow. "Then let's teach it a lesson."

"Huh?" Satomi urged the young man to move aside.

Afterward, and before the monster could move away, she pinned it down with the tip of her sheathed weapon. Satomi slowly pushed without a shred of mercy. The monster cried and cried, enduring the pain and trying to escape — but it couldn't at all.

The young man stared with a surprised expression, and glanced at Miyako. The latter could only wryly smile as her bodyguard made the little monster suffer.

"I think that's enough," Miyako said, to keep the air from becoming awkward.

Satomi stopped and violently kicked the creature, sending it flying. After it painfully landed back on the ground, it quickly fled.

"Wow, you two are interesting." The young man ‌smiled, it would seem he wasn't bothered by it that much.

Miyako presented the purse in her hand to him. "Here."

"Thanks for the help." As he retrieved the purse, their hands lightly grazed each other.

Miyako glanced at his hand for a second before nodding. "You're welcome."

"I see that you two wield katanas. You must be important. Not from around here?"

"... No."

"I see."

They made their way back to the street when the young man noticed an old woman looking around. He raised his hands, calling to the old woman.

"Hey, grannie! Over here!"

The old woman noticed him, and she rushed over. The young man handed out the purse.

"We got it."

"Oh my," the old woman said as she received the purse. "Thank you so much, young man." She smiled with gratitude.

"These two helped me."

"Ah, are these your friends?"

"No, we just met."

"Is that so? In any case, thank you all for your help. It would have been a big problem if I had lost it all."

Miyako smiled with a short chuckle. "Don't mention it. We're glad to help."

A moment later, they waved the old woman goodbye as she left, happy that her coins were back.

"So you saw that critter steal from her, huh?" Miyako asked.

"Yeah. I just couldn't stand by. There's no way she could chase it down."

"That's very kind and sweet of you. Not everyone would do that."

Miyako would have also done the same if she could. As a leader of a nation, she had to have compassion for her people. If one of her people got stolen from, if it was before her, she would help.

"Well, we need people to do a good thing or two, right?" said the young man.

"Huh… You're quite right." She had heard those types of words before. "We should get going now."

"Really? Oh okay. Well, stay safe. Thank you for the help!"

The young man waved his hands as Miyako and Satomi walked away.

"Looks like even the tallest walls cannot keep small monsters away," Satomi said.

"Well, it won't be surprising if someone keeps that kind of pet here. And not like it was too dangerous."

"Hm. I'm glad you like to do some good deeds, milady. But please refrain from doing so here."

"... Come on, Satomi. No harm in helping some people, right?"

"... Yes, but I am constantly on edge in this place."

Miyako let out a sigh. "Very well."

They pass a bridge, with a river flowing down beneath it. Miyako watched with amusement for a while, and they headed straight to the fortress at the center of the city. The guards approached them, and Miyako introduced herself.