Clyde let the clues bubble in his mind. She had minions at her control. She was able to return to the palace at any time, according to her bad-mouthers and housed amazing, broken powers.

And of course, this being anime and all—the trope slipped under his nose. But for the demon lord’s daughter to give him a favor without a price—Clyde was either super lucky or in danger. It’s got to be the danger. Still, she didn’t seem so bad.

When the duo entered the taco establishment, a waitress sat them down at a table. She served them tea and took their orders. Clyde gave Alice a brief wry look at the amount of sweets she ordered. The demoness shrugged.

“You’re the demon lord’s daughter, aren’t you?” Clyde said.

Alice stayed silent for nearly a minute, expressionless. It made him nervous, but Clyde held her gaze.

“I am heir to a certain throne, one which is rooted to my home world,” Alice said, her voice calm, reminiscing. “My dad’s a jerk and hates humans. I…don’t mind them so much—I lived here my entire life. You see, my mother was a good demon, not well-liked by others, but a peaceful woman. She helped others a lot, especially homeless humans. You may even saw her as a well-respected human world politician. Then one day she simply vanished without a trace. I try to be like her. It’s not so hard to deny my hidden nature—it’s just a matter of being myself.”

Clyde nodded, respect for the demoness slinking through his veins.

“I like the way you are,” Clyde said. “There’s no need to be like the others. Oh, and thanks for saving my ass back there. They would’ve monkey-stomped me into oblivion.”

Alice looked surprised, as if being thanked was the oddest thing to her.

“Why do…you thank me? I tried to hurt your friends. Do you not hold that against me?”

“First of all, they attacked first like idiots,” Clyde said. “That was a clusterfuck of misunderstanding and self-defense. Second, it’s courteous to give thanks for a helpful deed. In your case, you saved me from dying.”

[Your relationship with Alice has changed from friend-teasing and sexually intense craving, to friend- closer level 1, sexually intense craving. Her demoness nature will continue to radiate a sexual craving around you due to compatibility.]

[You have earned 1 additional summon. Number of summons left: 2.]

“I think I like this human way of thinking, “Alice said, nodding to herself.

The waitress appeared with their food and the two wasted no time devouring the meal. Clyde paid the bill, though to his surprise, Alice said, “next time, food is on me. I’ll sneak the money from my dad’s stash.”

“No need to do that,” Clyde said then chuckled, “but I do have a question.”

She looked at him with glistening red eyes of pure innocence. “Do you think you’ll be able to convince your dad not to spawn his army in this city.”

“Nope,” Alice said simply. “In our world, if you have a disagreement with someone, you challenge them. You and your party will have to rip the pride out of him. That or kill him.”

“You’re just okay with us fighting him?” Clyde said, skeptical.

“Yep. Don’t mistake my heart as human. We don’t have attachments to fathers. That being said, demons find it honorable to die to a worthy foe. If you somehow best my father, I will see true strength. I may even fall for you.” She giggled. “Good luck getting as strong as him. I can’t help you there.”

“I see,” Clyde said. “I’d like to know more about demons later. Where I’m from, they are nothing more than an ancient myth.”

“How rude,” Alice said then smiled.

“Well, I’d better get going,” Clyde said. “Class and all.”

Alice nodded then cheerfully started off in the opposite direction. Clyde turned around for the bus stop and bumped into Chika. He noticed a glow around her. An aura. The anger aura, purple, and could put even some Dragon Ball characters to shame.

“Who’s she?” Chika said, her voice eerily calm. Somehow, that made Clyde feel awkward.

“A friend of mine, Alice,” he answered, somehow managing to tune out the aura. Chika gave him a skeptical look then shrugged. The aura vanished.

“Want to come over to my place tomorrow?” she said. “I could use some company. And I have chocolate fudge sundaes.”

“You’ve won me over already,” he said. His analyze suddenly triggered without his conscious command.

Chika

Level: 18.

Type: *%&d##%%%

Relationship: Friend- closer level 1,???.

HP: 100%

MP: 100%

Stats: Chika’s erected barrier prevents you from seeing her stats.

Special abilities: Overwhelming intimidation level 10. Sway.

Skills: Deep Slash level 15. Triple thrust. Speed burst.

Magic abilities: none.

Secrets: your relationship isn’t high enough for you to pierce her veil; however, she can reveal secrets to you on her own.

Clyde tried to will his mind to show Chika’s type, but it continued to glitch. What was going on? Her skillset seemed normal, but that level. Did she know about the gifts? If so, why didn’t Harumi say anything? Something felt off, but he believed in Chika...kind of. This glitch stood beyond her control. He hoped so. He’d have to bring her up to the others just in case. To be honest, he just wanted to feel optimistic.

[Quest: Go to Chika’s place tomorrow. You have already accepted this quest. Reward: 400 EXP. 30 dollars.]

When the two made it back to campus, Clyde spotted Niaomi and waved. The green-haired anime girl smiled then returned the gesture. She also added a wink. He felt Chika’s anger aura…or…jealousy aura, briefly flare. That almost made him laugh, but feel a bit hollow inside. He wasn’t native to this world. Relationships could never happen. Well, maybe so. He’d take some time to consider it before taking the risk. The Viper could show up abruptly and home, he’d go, if he lived.

He re-checked her relationship level. It was still closer level one, yet strings of jealousy around other women showed. Maybe the heart just couldn’t be tracked by some looming system.

“See you later,” Clyde said after walking the silver-haired girl to class. Chika looked as if she wanted to kiss him.

“See you,” she said, face flushed then entered her classroom.

As Clyde walked into Sciences class, a ranting from a young man named Seth caught his attention. He took his seat, listening.

“I’m telling you, I saw something unnatural in my damn backyard dude! I’m not making it up.” His voice had a hint of surfer in it, which solicited an internal chuckle from Clyde. “The shadow was too big to vanish that fast.”

“You sure you aren’t drinking too much,” a girl seated behind him said.

“I don’t drink,” Seth said then he looked at Clyde. “You believe me, right, dude? No one else will. You’re my only hope, dude.”

This is what I get for half-listening, Clyde thought.

[Quest: Investigate the strange sighting in Seth’s backyard. Accept? Reward: 1400 EXP, $250.]

Clyde selected yes, a little surprised by the larger reward. The other students laughed and made jokes, but Clyde held Seth’s gaze.

“Just show me tonight,” he said. “I’d like to see if this thing exists or not.”

Seth nodded.

“Come on by,” he said. “I’m sure nothing will stop it from coming again, dude. Like a whole week in a row. It’s freaking nerve-wracking. Cops can’t seem to find anything.”

Clyde nodded, a chill tickling the edges of his spine. Something about this possible monster spawning felt wrong. Very wrong.