Evelyn

  ***

  Wow, everyone is being so nice to me! Maybe I should go around saying, “Don’t you know who I am?” No, I'm just kidding. Apparently the Empire is a lot scarier than I thought. For almost a week after I told Doctor dy about where I was from, everyone was treating me as if I was made of gss. It made me feel really lonely. To make them more rexed, I got up to some mischief. As such, I’m being scolded by Boss man.

  “Do you know how far it is to get back to camp!?” Boss man asked.

  “It’s not even a day’s walk.” I told him.

  “A day’s walk is a long walk for you!” He countered.

  Currently I was on my knees by the side of the river. Today I hid myself in one of the bags on their pack horse as they left camp. Don’t worry, I didn’t empty any supplies that they had, but rather added a bag with myself in it. How did I close the bag from the inside? Magic! No, that’s not me wanting to avoid the question, I actually used magic as part of my practice. You see, I’m slowly getting more powerful and fairly soon, I suspect that I’ll be able to transform into a magical girl again! Uh-oh, he’s gring at me. Let’s act cute.

  “Teehee!” I tilt my head and stuck my tongue out.

  “You’re not even pretending to be sorry!” He said.

  Yeah, I’m definitely going to get in trouble when I get back.

  “Well, since I’m here, we might as well continue to not waste time.” I said.

  “No, we’re going back.” He said.

  Mission failed. We’ll get him next ti- wait what if I bribe him?

  “I could show you where I found the arrow heads, but okay.” I shrugged.

  “…” He gred at me again. “Did you find them nearby?”

  “Near enough.” I smiled.

  “Fine.” He sighed. “But we are heading back before nightfall.”

  “Great!” I smiled, standing up. “Let’s go!”

  Before any of them could protest, I ran down to the river bank and followed it to my fishing spot. Luckily, they followed me without compining too much. Arriving at the spot, I took off my shoes that were made for me, grabbed one of my old walking sticks, and wadded out into ankle deep water.

  “You found them in the river?” Boss man asked.

  “Yep!” I said. “I got lucky!”

  I poked around in the rocks to see if I could find any that may have fallen out of some bodies. Seeing nothing, I looked up the river and was pleasantly surprised.

  “Look there's some right now!” I shouted, pointing at the face down body with at least four arrows in the back of it’s head.

  New loot! As it floated by, I hooked it and pulled it towards the shore. Once I was sure it wouldn’t float away, I started rummaging around it’s pockets. This guy had some money on him, though I couldn’t eat that, so I threw the coins to the side. Oh! This guy has a hatchet on him! I’ll have that! Huh? This guy had his hands bound. The rope looks good, so I started working on the knot.

  “Okay kid, you should step back.” Boss man said, picking me up by my shirt colr.

  “Wait, the rope looks good!” I said, quickly grabbing my hatchet.

  “You do realize that that is a dead body, right?” He asked.

  “Yeah, the others had really good stuff on them!” I said.

  “How many bodies float down here?” One of Boss man’s men asked.

  “Not many.” I admit. “That’s why I need to get the rope!”

  “We have rope.” Boss man said. “You don’t need to grab it. Better yet, put that axe down.”

  “No, it's mine.” I said holding it close.

  “Are all Empire kids like this?” Boss man sighed.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never met any.” I said.

  “I find that hard to believe.” He said.

  “You don’t need to.” The truth is still the truth.

  “Right, well, I’ll just take your word for it.” He sighed.

  “There’s another one!” I pointed out.

  That one had a nice cloak on it! I’ll need that since it’s getting colder.

  “Where are these bodies coming from?” Boss man asked.

  “I don’t know.” I said. “I wanted to go up river to find out, but I figured that they didn’t want to be bothered.”

  “Why is that one missing a leg?” One of Boss man’s men asked.

  “That happens sometimes. Last time, a guy was missing his head.” I said, and then added. “I think they might have eaten it.”

  “Why would you think that?” Boss man asked.

  “Why else would you keep a head?” I asked.

  “As a decoration?” He suggested.

  “It’ll rot and attract demons.” I said.

  “Yeah, well it’s not like you can eat it. There's not even any meat on a-” He paused. “Why are we talking about this? You’re going back to camp.”

  “Can I at least take the cloak?” I asked.

  “No.” He said firmly.

  “Aw…” I pouted.

  “Looting the dead is illegal.” He said.

  “I won’t tell if you won’t.” I said.

  “That’s it, you’re going back in the bag.” He said.

  I thought about protesting, but decided against it. I’ll be right next to the food, so I’ll be fine. With my head and arms sticking out of the bag, they took my hatchet, I waited as they investigated the bodies. I’ll make sure to tell everyone back at camp that they took the money that the guy carried if I don’t get my hatchet back.

  Reani

  ***

  Eating beside the kid, I couldn’t help but wonder who gave her a hatchet. As her self procimed personal doctor, I could take it away, but she looked so proud of it when I asked about it, so I decided to let it slide this once. That being said, she seems odd. Normally someone in her situation would have asked to be taken home, but she hasn’t even mentioned it. What was her home like?

  “Hey ki-” I hesitated. “Evelyn?”

  “Yes!” She seemed excited that someone used her name.

  “What is your home like?” I asked curiously.

  “Oh it’s nice! It’s got a good firepce and a nice nest, although its a bit dark so I need leave the door open to let in some light.” She began.

  “No, I mean back in The Empire.” I said.

  “Oh.” She sounded a bit disappointed. “It was alright. We had a big garden but I wasn’t allowed to do anything by myself. My tutors were nice and so were the servants.”

  “You had servants?” I asked.

  Given how she acts, you can forgive me for forgetting that she was- rather is a noble.

  “What was it like?” I asked.

  “It’s okay.” She seemed disinterested. “They are always keeping watch over me, to make sure that I walk right and speak right and eat right.”

  “Is that so?” I muttered.

  Is that because she’s the daughter of a duke, or because she’s from The Empire? Chief Aura knows more about nobles than I do, so I should ask her. But from the way that she’s talking, I can’t exactly tell how she thinks about going home. There's no point in skirting around the issue, especially after we already sent out messengers to our contact in the kingdom’s nobility.

  “How do you feel about going home?” I asked her, and remembering her attitude, added. “To The Empire I mean?”

  “…” She was quiet for several minutes, staring bnkly at her food.

  I suppose I was a bit too blunt for her. After what happened to her parents, I doubt she can remember her home without them. Seeing tears form in her eyes, I gently pat her back. This seemed to bring her out of her thoughts. She took another bite of the soup soaked bread.

  “They won’t be there…” She muttered.

  “Do you have any retives?” As hard as it is to ask these questions, I had to know that she was going to be treated well. Given her rank, I can’t imagine she would be treated poorly or that she would have no family left. As cold as it is to think this, she’s far too valuable to The Empire to just be left by herself.

  “I haven’t met them.” She wiped her eyes.

  I can’t help but worry about that statement. I don’t know about The Empire’s politics, so I can’t possibly know if her family had good retions with each other. I can only hope for the best.

  Evelyn

  ***

  “You get down from there right now!” Boss Lady Aura shouted at me.

  “No!” I replied.

  I’m SO getting in trouble for this. Sitting at the top of a tree, I banced on the high up branches. The good news is that I’m feeling a lot better and my limp has gone away. The bad news is that I’m currently trapped.

  “If I have to climb up there to get you, you’re in for a world of hurt!” Aura shouted.

  “I’d like to see you try!” I challenged.

  How did I get into this mess? Well it’s simple. She didn’t like the fact that I had three knives and a hatchet under my pillow and tried to take them. As a result, I ran off and ended up here. So, how should I avoid capture? Well, there are nearby trees, so I can always jump to them but I feel like I’ll get into even more trouble if I try it.

  “I’m going to give you till the count to five!” She said. “One…”

  Does she honestly think that’ll convince me?

  “Two…” She said.

  I don’t like how she said that…

  “Three…” She said.

  Okay, I’m starting to get worried.

  “Four…” She said.

  “Okay I’ll come down!” I shouted in a panic.

  In desperation, I started to climb down rather carelessly. In my haste, I grabbed a rather thin and weak branch. With a snap, gravity said hello.

  “Ah?” I asked as I was falling.

  Okay, this isn’t looking too good. Let’s grab a branch. Gravity however worked faster than my brain, and the branches flew past me. Well, at least I’ll be able to nd on my feet. And just like that, my legs went on either side of a thick branch where I suddenly came to a stop, maybe around twenty feet from where I started. Luckily I wasn’t a guy, so it just hurt instead of really hurt. But, this pain was nothing compared to what I’ve grown used to. Looking down, I saw many of the mercenaries who were watching wince in pain with a few of them holding their lower parts. Not daring to look at Aura’s expression, I once more grabbed some sturdy looking branches and climbed down with a bit more care. Once my feet were on the floor, my head felt a firm sp.

  “What the hell is wrong with you!?” Aura raged. “You could have been hurt!”

  “I’ve had worse.” I said, rubbing my head.

  “It doesn't matter if you’ve had worse!” She said. “You still got hurt!”

  “I’m not hurt.” I said. “I’m fine.”

  “Like hell you aren’t!” She said picking me up. “You’re going to the doctors!”

  “That’s where I sleep.” I pointed out.

  Once more, I find myself being carried like luggage. Not uncomfortable yet not rexing. More fun than anything. Knowing that I can’t possibly get Aura more upset, I decided to practice my swimming techniques. Ah, I was scolded.

  Lloyd

  ***

  Sitting in a gently rocking carriage, I looked out the window as my sister Lna struggled to keep her eyes open. Having been here for some hours, it would be obvious that children of our age would get tired. Sitting opposite of us, Mom and Dad were taking turns looking out the windows.

  Currently the four of us, along with a sizable retinue of both servants and guards, were heading towards the outskirts of the Empire. Invited by a group of nobles from the outer territories for a “Royal Hunt” in a managed forest. There wasn’t anything dangerous in the area like demons, but regardless, every precaution was taken. Recently there have been several nobles and travelers that have been attacked by demons. Though people don’t know it yet, this is one of the signs of the Demon Lord’s revival. Maybe soon, the viliness will be attacked. Or maybe she already was? To be honest, I’m not so sure. No matter how much I think back to the game, it’s getting harder and harder to remember.

  If I want to prevent the Demon Lord from taking over, there are a few things I need to prevent. Firstly, the viliness. I need to prevent the attack on her parents. Should I fail that, I need to ensure that she dies. As cold as it may sound, she is one of the biggest threats to The Empire. Regardless of what you do, she lets in demon spies that cause serious damage to the capital and even attempts to assassinate the heroine. In the few endings that I remember, she suffers from one of three fates. Firstly should we win, she would be either exiled or executed for treason against the Empire. If we lose, she becomes a mindless puppet under the Demon Lord. So, given that two of her fates end with her dying, she might as well die before she can cause any damage.

  That being said, how would I, a five year old, kill a noble's child and either get away with it, or not get caught at all? As I currently am, I can’t do it, and I’m not sure if I can even do it. Even if it’s for the good of the world, how can I kill anyone, let alone a kid? With these disturbing thoughts floating in my mind, I felt a sudden weight on my arm. Looking over, I saw that Lna had finally drifted off to sleep, using my arm as a pillow. This world didn’t have anything like seat belts so I worried about her falling over should we hit an unexpected bump. I gently moved her so that she would y across my p, careful that I didn’t wake her. Seeing her carefree face, I decided that I should follow her example and closed my eyes.

  Though if I’m being honest, it was also partially to try and ignore our parents' reactions. It seems that with all of our bickering, rumors had reached them that we weren’t on good terms. It’s not like we hated each other, but given the fact that we were reincarnated, we can’t help but not act like normal siblings. Many of our “fights” as some may call them, were nothing but us joking around. That being said, we don’t always get along. One real fight that we had was when I took an extra slice of cake that Lna wanted. It didn’t matter that she could have asked the cooks to make another one, her three hit combo acted faster than her brain, and I ended up on the floor before anyone could even see what happened. Ever since that day, I always offered the st of any sweets to her.

  I needed to be careful of her. In the game, she became a powerhouse. Although she wasn’t buff she, if properly equipped, could knock out a demon with a single punch. I could only hope that those fists wouldn’t target me in the future.

  As the sun set over the dark forest, a shadowy figure wanted as smoke rose into the sky. More intruders had entered the forest. The stench of humans was unmistakable. Though it was a bit early, according to their lord, the humans needed to be dealt with. Rising from all fours to stand tall in a shape which was only vaguely human-like, stood above the other cursed creatures of the forest.

  “GaTHer…” It uttered. “sOoN ATtaCk… FOr oUr LOrD…”

  As if to answer, cursed creatures pawed at the floor, cws tearing through the dirt and roots.

  Grayburne