As we climbed the stairs toward the upper district, I noticed Midori still walking a bit weakly. Seeing her like that made all that we’d been through flash before my eyes, and a wave of guilt washed over me.

  “Hey," I muttered, "I’m sorry for using my domain—”

  “Shh,” Midori hissed, cutting me off. “Don’t even say that name here. And you used its power. If you plan to stay here any longer, you’d better not do that again.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I muttered. “But bers— I mean… when I get angry, I just lose all control over it.”

  “I know. It’s bad,” she said. “But you have to learn how to control it. You just need a little time and maybe some practice…”

  “I hope so..."

  After climbing the stairs, we arrived at a crowded market. Shops lined both sides of the long street, and vendors called out from their stalls. Most of the crowd was human, though a few demi-humans moved among them.

  “I think we should stay close,” I muttered, “don’t want to lose each other in this mess.”

  Aoi linked her arm with mine, then Midori did the same.

  “Not like this,” I hissed. “Could you let go of my arm? I’m less worried about getting lost than I'm about drawing attention, especially like this…”

  Of course, they ignored me. Walking like that, it felt as if I were parading two unreal beauties through the middle of the market. With every step, I wished the ground would just open up and swallow me whole, along with my burning red face.

  “Also,” I snapped under my breath, “let’s clear this up. You’ve taken that partner joke way too far. You’re not my wife, so quit acting like it. I know exactly why you’re doing this, and I have zero interest in being dragged into your ridiculous rivalry.”

  “Too late for that,” Aoi said with a grin. “You already gave me your family name.”

  “I had no choice! And… I said family, not wife. You could have just said you were my sisters.”

  “Sure,” Midori said dryly. “And when they ask where our horns are, what then? That we left them at home because they were too heavy?”

  “Don’t even start with that horn thing! You just called me a mountain goat out of nowhere! I’ve never even seen one in my both lives.”

  “I have,” Midori said, refreshing her memory a bit, then looked at me with narrowed eyes. “They look a lot like you, especially—”

  “Get lost, leech-face,” Aoi cut in. “Don’t even think about insulting my lord with those stupid comparisons. He’s perfectly handsome, if you ask me.”

  “Also” I muttered, thinking back. “Didn’t I already have these horns before I made a soul bond with you two? I still don’t get why they never transferred to you. It would be perfect if you ask!”

  “Oh, don’t say that,” Aoi said, her face twisting. “It would be impossible to comb my hair with those disgusting things.”

  “I’m really curious about them!”

  “Idiot,” Midori said, tapping my head. “You can’t give what you don’t own. Those horns, they’re inherited from… that person.”

  “Oh,” I muttered, eyes lowered. After all, I wasn’t born with horns in this world. They only appeared when the Demon Lord named me his heir. Then I glanced at Midori, giving her a quick once-over.

  “If that’s the case, I don’t have those giant things either!”

  “Don’t be stupid! I mean you’re human. You can’t give someone something that doesn’t belong to your race…” she snapped, then hesitated, her expression tightening as the anger gave way to something far more uneasy.

  “But still… I wouldn’t recommend making another soul bond. Ever.”

  “W-why?” I asked, suddenly tense.

  “Mine’s fine, no problems,” she said, turning to Aoi. “But look at her, obviously a failure. That’s a demi-worm!”

  Midori laughed, and Aoi lunged to grab her hair. I grabbed Aoi’s arm and pulled her back, and somehow we ended up outside the market. In the distance, the palace loomed atop a high hill.

  “I guess,” I said, “that’s the palace up ahead.”

  "Oh, right," Aoi said, "Looks like it." Then, suddenly frowning as if realizing something late, she turned to Midori.

  “And by the way,” she snapped, “if anyone’s a failure here, it’s definitely you. Look at those tiny fruits of yours and be ashamed. You were clearly the first attempt and failed. I’m perfect.”

  “Perfect my butt!”

  “Okay, okay, enough!”

  I broke free from their arm lock, took a step forward, then turned back to face them, dead serious.

  “I know I’m asking a lot,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “But can you at least act like normal people for a while? Especially in there.” I pointed toward the palace ahead.

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  They nodded, but knowing them, it meant nothing. I sighed, turned, and started walking toward the palace. They quickly caught up and walked beside me. For a while, we moved in quiet, almost peaceful silence.

  “Midori,” I said, “you checked that quest paper, right? I didn’t get a chance to read it all… Do you remember the details?”

  “Oh yeah…” she muttered. “They were offering a hundred gold, and it was an unlimited quest. Bring as many flowers as you want—”

  “So you’re simply saying,” I said, glancing at Aoi with a tired look, “that mountain had enough flowers to drain the entire kingdom’s treasury?”

  “More or less,” Midori said. “But then there was that stupid overgrown worm—”

  “Okay, fine! Back on topic. What else did the notice say?”

  “Kingdom guaranteed reward, no time limit, blah blah. Also some optional benefits and stuff.”

  “You didn’t really read it, did you?”

  “No,” she said with a tired sigh. “It’s hard to focus when you’re slamming people’s heads on tables like watermelons. Sorry about that.”

  “Okay, okay,” I said, changing the topic fast. “You’re right. Sorry about that… But bringing the flower was smart. I don’t know how valuable gold is here, but I hope it keeps us going in this city until we find steady income.” I sighed, exhausted. “Damn it, goddess. You dragged me back into money trouble and survival mode again…”

  “Come on, you asked for this too,” Aoi said, gently touching my shoulder. “And we can turn back anytime. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

  “The worm is right.”

  “You’re both right. The goddess too. Everyone seems right…” I said, sighed.

  I looked ahead. We were almost at the palace. But we were tired, hungry, and I wanted to finish this trade quickly. Then a bad feeling hit me, and I stopped. They did too.

  “What now?” Midori asked.

  I looked around, found a quiet spot, grabbed them by the arms. “Come here,” I said, pulling them along.

  “Let’s do a status check.”

  “For what exactly?” Aoi asked.

  “For trouble. You know how it goes. When you two are around, trouble shows up with no effort.”

  “Come on, you’re overthinking again,” Midori said, rolling her eyes.

  “I am, and I have my reasons! Anyway,” I said, “I’ve got enough mana from the guild for one teleport or two summons… I guess.” I looked at Midori. “You’ve got almost none.” Then at Aoi. “And you?”

  “One summon. I used one at the guild to pull you back.”

  “It was two steps away. You could’ve just walked!”

  “I—” Aoi started, then stopped, suddenly fixating on an ant dragging something across the ground.

  “Well, anyway,” I said. “Listen. If something goes wrong and we have to run, I’ll teleport with Aoi somewhere safe, and then she’ll summon Midori. Agreed?”

  “Uh-huh,” Aoi muttered reluctantly, almost whispering.

  “That doesn’t inspire any confidence,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

  “Okay, fine!”

  “Then let’s get this done fast, and preferably without any trouble.”

  We started walking toward the palace. The sun was high, it was midday, and we were tired. Our steps slowed, shoulders sagging.

  “Aoi,” I called.

  “Mmm,” she hummed, half tired, half resting on my arm.

  “That summon power of yours… we never really talked about it, right? I mean, I figured out how to use it, but does it have any limits?”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, Midori can’t teleport somewhere she’s never seen.”

  “That’s her weakness—” Aoi started, then swallowed her words at my look. She suddenly grew serious. “Yes. I also can’t summon someone I’ve never seen.”

  “I see,” I murmured, staring ahead. Then I frowned and looked back at her. “But wait… when you summoned me and Midori to the mountain peak, you hadn’t even seen us before, had you?”

  “You’re right,” she said. “You weren’t in my line of sight, but if you use mana observation, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Mana observation? What’s that?”

  “There’s no such thing,” Midori said.

  “Shut up, snail!” Aoi scolded. “It’s a high-level spell. It’s normal a peaseant like you don’t even know it.”

  “Okay, okay… so how does it work?” I asked.

  “You expand your mana and can see others' mana it touches. But it’s a very difficult spell, it takes a long time and requires strong mental control,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.

  “All right,” I muttered. “I suddenly lost all interest after hearing the long time part, thanks.”

  Finally, we reached the palace. Its grand design and massive gold-and-white structure stood like the greatest monument to how effectively the people’s taxes were used. After recovering from the shock, we showed our cards to the guards and explained why we had come.

  The moment they heard the edelweiss, they directed us straight to the relevant department, even sending a guard to escort us so we wouldn’t get lost. We entered a room that looked like an office. Behind a desk, surrounded by hundreds of papers, sat a short demi-human.

  With his pointed ears, wrinkled face, half-bald hair, hooked nose, long nails, and knee-high stature, he looked strange but still human-shaped. I guessed he was part goblin, pushed the thought aside, and didn’t ask.

  “Did you check them?” the demi-goblin asked the guard. “I don’t have time for more frauds. I have a whole world to run.”

  “Y-yes, sir. This time it looks real.”

  “Fine then. You can leave,” he said, lazily waving his hand. Then he studied us, narrowing his yellow eyes. “Bring the flower. Put it on the table,” he demanded.

  Midori took off her bag, carried it over, and opened it wide. Inside, in a small pot, stood a straight, healthy edelweiss. The man’s pupils widened the moment he saw it. He checked the leaves carefully and examined the stem through a small lens. After a long, thorough inspection, he finally nodded.

  “All right,” he muttered, lifting his head to look at us. “This looks real. May I ask where you found it?”

  We exchanged uneasy glances. We couldn’t tell him the truth. The mountain we found it at was right next to demon lands. Somehow, that felt like a bigger problem than telling this man I was the demon lord. Before Midori or Aoi could slip, I stepped in.

  “Sorry, but… we can’t share that.”

  “I see…” He scratched his head, then leaned over and opened a drawer. He took out a pouch and placed it on the table. “Here. Your reward. One hundred gold.”

  Aoi lunged forward, grabbed the pouch, and started counting the coins with shining eyes, shamelessly excited. I snatched it from her before we embarrassed ourselves more.

  “Rrr-acho!”

  The moment she got that close to the flower, her allergy kicked in again. She let out a sneeze so violently that her spit sprayed everywhere. The demi-goblin reacted fast. He bent forward and shielded the flower with his hands, arms, chest, his whole body. The flower survived. His face didn't.

  Then, like this was totally normal, Aoi grabbed my arm, pulled it to her face, and used me as a personal tissue. Wiped her nose left and right, very thoroughly. After that, she calmly stepped back and parked herself next to Midori. I just stared at her. Disgusted.

  “Lady, if she’s sick, it’s better if she steps outside,” the demi-goblin said calmly, pulling out an expensive handkerchief and wiping his face. “Just in case it’s contagious.”

  “Oh, no, she’s not sick,” I said, waving my hands. “She’s just allergic to flowers. That’s all.”

  He lifted his head and looked at Aoi. Then he looked back at me and nodded, as if everything made perfect sense. “I see… So you use her as a sort of flower detector,” he muttered.

  He had completely misunderstood the whole thing. But I had no intention of correcting him. All I wanted was to take the reward and leave before he asked more questions. My eyes drifted to the door on their own.

  “Well, uh… if we’re done here, we should probably go,” I said, already heading to the door. “We’re tired, and it’s been a long trip, you know—”

  “I’m afraid you can’t leave like that,” the demi-goblin said, narrowing his eyes. His wrinkled, unreadable face unsettled us. “We’re not done here yet.”