"What a nostalgic atmosphere."
Nikita stood at Wusa's city gate, gazing at the bustling crowds and lively streets on either side. She drew in a deep breath and sighed with heartfelt nostalgia.
A very, very long time ago, after she had fallen to demonic corruption when monsters attacked her in the Silent Forest, she had never again seen a scene like this.
During her brief yet seemingly endless life as a demon, she had either been fleeing or on the road to flee. Even with Sir Ulrich's help halfway through, and even after resting for a time in the Withered Land, she could not recover the feeling of being human. The liches of the Withered Land had markets and bustle of their own, but they rejected clamor. The entire marketplace was always steeped in a repressed, sinister atmosphere.
"We're subordinates of the Demon King!"
Faceless paid no attention to the banshee's sentimentality. It was still indignant over the treatment their group had received, pouting as it complained without end. "Doesn't the Illusory Dream Realm boast of absolute neutrality? Is this how they treat emissaries of His Majesty the Sea Demon King?!"
Nikita raised a hand and patted the hair of the "little girl" beside her, comforting her. "But we entered Wusa City under the name of a tribute mission from the Zoog tribe. Their actions are understandable."
The enormous group that had departed from the Bewitching Forest had been stopped by Wusa City's guards before the massive stone bridge spanning the River of Sky. They claimed that the Wusa City Council had issued orders forbidding the entire party from entering the city.
The Zoog elders stood at the bridgehead, looking at the various cat statues carved atop the stone pillars and railings on both sides. Their legs had long since