Demon Empress

Chapter 10 - The Fourth Ring

Qaen did as he said he would: he guarded over her throughout the journey to the Fourth Ring. Although Iara was sleeping, she had felt that statue-like human thing of hers silently watching over her slumbering figure.

She rose when they pulled into the Fourth Ring platforms, and she was still groggy when she got off the train. Qaen very patiently assisted her off, passing their tickets to the agent at the door.

“Will your no-identification-papers-needed trick work a second time?” he asked quietly.

His question made her laugh.

Qaen rolled his eyes at her amusement. “I was just checking.”

Like this, they got through the Fourth Ring Gate without fuss.

Upon entry, the economic difference between the Fifth and Fourth Rings were immediately visible. The roads in the Fifth Ring were cleanly paved and decorated with various Hell flora. Horse-drawn carriages peacefully rolled by, their large, wooden wheels quietly clattering against the brick and cobblestones.

Unlike the hut-stalls lining the main, dirt road in the Fourth Ring, the Fifth Ring shops and eateries were roofed and tiled, and fluorescent banners and tapestries hung artistically from their ceilings and over their banisters. The women on the streets wore silks and carried lace parasols, accompanied by their maids or human slaves, and the men openly carried their weapons in a show of pride and power.

In the wealthy Fourth Ring, slave collars could be seen extremely commonly. Here, Qaen without his collar stood out like a sore thumb. Iara could feel the passers-by glancing curiously at him; demonesses’ eyes filled with greed and wanting as they eyed the pair of them up.

Dressed as she was, Iara could hardly pose as a threat to anyone in the Fourth Ring, but these demons let them be. An uncollared human slave in the Fourth Ring was highly likely to be very old, and very powerful when unrestrained by a collar. Nobody wanted to risk duelling a free human to claim him, even if the demon at his side was shabbily-dressed and looked as if she had just arrived from a lower Ring.

“What are your plans?” Qaen asked calmly, ignoring the predatory gazes on him.

“Check into an inn,” Iara replied with a small yawn. “Find a place to sleep in for the night. We’ll have to go somewhere cheap. After the train tickets, I don’t have a lot of money left, and some will need to be saved for us to take a train back home.”

He nodded as if he understood. She sighed. Out of all his masters, of all the demons who could have afforded a slave of his quality, would she not be the poorest?

But Qaen spoke as if it was natural. “Do you want to go look for a Job Board? If Master is unable to—“ he looked doubtful — “I am able to go run some bounties for you.”

Her mouth turned dry. “Do you feel that your master is so incompetent that she is unable to even to run some Fourth Ring bounties?”

He cracked a smile. “No. It’s just that I am competent enough to run some bounties on my own. How could I let my master dirty her hands?”

She felt as if he was making fun of her, but decided to haughtily ignore it. “Be useful and quickly look for a place we can stay in. It would be nice if it was less than 300 eos a night.”

Qaen’s jaw dropped. “300 eos? Did Master come to the Fourth Ring so she could tour the Fourth Ring slums? And you put on such a grand air in front of the ticket agent!”

Iara scoffed. “Of course not. Quickly, go look. I will wait here.”

He stared at her. “You want to split up?”

She rolled her eyes angrily. “Well, it’s not like you’re going to run away, are you? And surely, Qaen, what with your age, you must be able to handle some unwelcome attention on your own?”

Qaen didn’t question his own abilities; but this was the Fourth Ring. It was a Ring whose society included both nobles of the First Ring and lesser demons of great power. There were some classes of demons he had no confidence against. Besides, what he was worried about was not himself, but… “What about you?”

She scoffed. “Could I be harmed by a measly Fourth Ring demon? Quickly, go. I’m going to sit for a bit.”

Qaen’s face darkened. “We haven’t even walked that long.”

“Your master is tired,” Iara said haughtily.

He sighed. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, assume I’ve been stolen.” Like this, he stalked off, annoyance raiding from his lean figure.

She watched him leave, bringing her feet up onto the bench and leaning on her knees, hunching in on herself. Tilting her head to the side slightly, she smiled, musing. Someone like Qaen was valuable. He was old, powerful, and with a grudge against the demon nobility. A human that dared to take on the bounty quests that lesser demons didn’t dare to would have spent time longer in Hell than a demon’s entire life span.

She had stumbled into a treasure thanks to Rona Aluva’s arrogance. Sighing, she bit her lip. It was really very lonely in her palace. Company like Qaen’s was good.

Feeling the weight of a prolonged stare, she pulled away from her thoughts and raised her head to locate the observer.

She saw a young demon looking over from under the clock tower across the square. His cornflower-blue eyes were fixed on her, a greedy smile playing across his handsome features. Seeing her meet his gaze, his smile widened. In large, confident strides, he quickly approached her lazy figure.

As to why this demon was so confident, his clothes told it all. He was dressed in a deep, expensive green, and his long coat was lined with gold. A blue sapphire ring sparkled on his fingers like a house jewel.

“Why were you staring?” Iara asked fearlessly, her words tinted with boredom and annoyance.

He curled his lips at her, completely unaffected by her unwelcoming words. “You’re not a local. Fair demoness, where did you climb from?”