387. To The Royal Capital

The Steel Horse was already on the brink of death from Volk’s one sidesword swing, but with Partner’s〖High Rest〗, she was able to recover.
After looking around some more, we captured another Steel Horse.
And with this, we can finally set off to the Alban capital.

I can’t afford to stay there too long due to my MP constantly depleting from〖Human Transformation〗.
I’ll go there quickly, and leave just as quickly.
Too bad I won’t be able to find the luxury to do sightseeing, eating delicious food, seeing interesting things, and even just relaxing or having a stroll around town since my humanization won’t last. Besides, Treant will get lonely if we take too long.
I can only do those things after this whole Demon King fiasco is resolved and the Saint gets to put in a good word for me.

Well, at least we now have two Steel Horses.
We’ll ride in pairs on our way to Alban.
Alo and Humanized Nightmare (who shall go by the alias “Naiko”) are both little girls, so it should be alright.

The pairs are…… me and Alo, and Volk and Naiko.
Using〖Human Transformation〗, I transform into a male human body, wearing ragged Lithuvar clothes, while Partner shrinks and disappears to my shoulder.
I move the part of my shoulder where Partner disappeared. Maybe because this used to Partner’s head that I find it uncomfortable to move with.

I look at the Steel Horses.
Both of them face each other and bend their bodies down, allowing us to ride them.

“Kay, let’s do this…… since my transformation has a time limit, let’s set off right away”

I place a saddle on its back before getting on.
I asked Partner to tell Nightmare to make this saddle using her webs.
…… It’s not perfect, but it’s better than riding bareback. Or in this case, steel back.

I turn and face Alo.

“Hop on. We’re sharing the same ride”

Alo nods.
But, just as Alo walks towards me, Naiko comes along too.
The two stopped and looked at each other.

After all that hate you used to give me…… Naiko, you still wanted to share a ride with me.
Does this mean you like me, even if it’s just a little?
Aw, so you can act cute to me sometimes.

…… But, just when I was thinking that, Naiko silently turns away and walks to Volk.

“I’m fine with just running on my own two feet, but…… I can settle with riding horseback. I’ve ridden Steel Horses before, so I can show you how it’s done, Ouroboros. They’re tough to handle, but your strength should be more than capable enough”

Ah…… so basically, this musclehead is just gonna skip the explanation then.

“Alo, what’s wrong? Let’s go already”

“Yes! Ryujin-sama!”

When I called Alo, she immediately comes rushing to me.

“Spider girl, you’re with me”

Volk grabs Naiko by the collar from her robe and lifts her up to ride with him.
As I saw Naiko’s feet leave the ground, I could briefly see her eyes looking at me from under her mask.

Huhu, let this be a lesson to you, Nightmare, that you should share at least one-tenth of your affection to me as you would to Partner.
Revel in the society that you shall soon be a part of. I for one am glad that you’ll be learning this.
Depending on your behavior in the royal capital, I could ask Volk to carry the supplies so I could let you join me and Alo for a ride on our way back.

Then, as Alo got on behind me, Volk spoke.

“Ah…… I should tell you this beforehand. Don’t approach anyone with affiliations to the Church. Some of them can identify undeads and monsters. Disguises only cover the surface…… the instant you show even a small hint of evidence that you’re all a group of monsters, it’s over. There are also rare adventurers who can tell the difference”

Hmm…… so there’s a skill that can do that.
Well, so long as we cover up our tracks, we should be fine.
Guess this means I’ll have to check the status of random people to see if they have the skill that can sniff out our identities.

“Oh, and…… stay away from the Alban Knights too. If your story is true, then we may need to watch our backs from them as well. Especially the three head knights who serve the royal family. I did hear that the princess replaced them recently”

…… So the Demon King has his own personal trio of guards.
I wonder if they’re also monsters pretending to be human? No, for all I know, they could just be humans who decided to serve the Demon King.
After all, there’s just no way three monsters who can humanize would just be directly serving the Demon King when human transformation is already a rare enough skill to have.

…… Although, there’s a chance that they could have chosen their evolutions carefully in order to get the〖Human Transformation〗skill or something that looks close to a human…… like an undead evolution similar to Alo.
We can’t let our guard down at all, can we. There’s not enough information to act if we’re only left with guesses.

“Anyway, I recommend that you avoid the three knights entirely. I heard that they’re pretty skilled…… and that each of them possess a special power. They could end up revealing your true identity”

…… Hmm, if possible, I would like to check the status of those three knights…… but, if they discover me and figure out my plan, everything will backfire.
I’d lose the element of surprise against the Demon King.
More than that, they might even end up fortifying their defenses.

“But, no need to worry about them too much. Even if they find us and expose your secret, we just need to silence them. In fact, let’s just do that. I’ve always wanted to fight them myself”

No, no, silencing them is out of the question, if they find out one of them is missing, it’ll only arouse suspicion!
And besides, fighting inside the city is dangerous, and we won’t get to gather information anymore!
Keep your dream fights to yourself!

“…… Thanks for the warning. Let’s take a path that avoids an encounter with them as much as possible. And on the way, you can tell me more about them, like what they look like and where they like to go to. For now, we need to get going”

“Right. Kick the side of the Steel Horse to move them. It’ll make them run. If you want to stop or change directions, just yell or navigate its neck”

Another vague explanation from Volk!
Yeah, maybe we should’ve made some reins first……
…… Uhm, Nightmare, sorry about before. Can you make some quick reins first before we go……?

“Now, watch as I show you how it’s done. Hiyahh! Don’t kick too hard or they’ll faint!”

Volk raises his legs and kicks the side of the Steel Horse with great force that made it look like his heels were about to sink into the metal skin and a loud clang is heard.
The Steel Horse cries out and dashes into the horizon.