"Humans really are strange…"
Necrohamster could only shake his head with a long sigh; one hand was holding his iconic stave while the other held a stick of celery. Freely just taking the occasional bite out of the plant. Obviously uncaring about all the weirded out stares at him for devouring a raw vegetable that was so fresh it glistened.
Though it could hardly be considered surprising when one considered he was literally a hamster. Just because he decided (for once) to take a human form did not mean he suddenly had a completely different set of taste buds. Just like how a, for example, hatchling dragon-fox would prefer raw or charred meat.
While walking through the bustling streets with countless people hawking their wares - he let his gaze wander around the various stalls.
Clearly letting his stomach lead him.
His main focus was those merchants or farmers who were selling various fresh vegetables and some of them not even he recognised. Unfortunately many weren't fit for his refined pallet. Leaning forward he sniffed what looked like a white cabbage with his nose twitching cutely.
A frown formed on his face as he clicked his tongue; instantly recognising signs of parasites freely littering the various products on that stall.
"Are ya buyin' or just gettin' ya sweat all over my produce?!"
The owner of that stall had a toothpick in his mouth as he began to use his superior height & width to intimidate the young mage. Necro couldn't help admiring how stubbornly stupid these mortals were as he just flicked his hand. A bolt of green energy shot out his hand into the man's chest.
At which point that massive body, made from a mixture of both fat & muscle, came crashing down on the unfortunate wooden stall. The crash obviously attracted attention yet Necro didn't even bother turning back around as the veg & fruits began rolling across the floor. Not caring about the situation anymore.
No one even thought to stop him as it literally just appeared like the man abruptly collapsed only to violently shake as if possessed by a demon.
Though the irony was lost on the actual demon.
"It's so hard to find good produce in the demon realm or I wouldn't have sent so many demon incursions to steal from these stupid mortals."
Clicking his tongue in destain as he passed another stall.
"Yet most of the time they can't even handle basic pesticide and if they can their plants end up all full of bloody microplastics due to their shortsightedness!"
He did find it quite amazing that mortals had everything so easy, the Infinite Mother practically flinging blessings at them like it was black friday, yet they somehow ended up being so weak. Although he realised that only proved that his master was indeed correct. His annoyance quickly formed into smugness.
Fortunately the skills granted as "gifts" by the system made these mortals a little more useful than they usually were. While they may usually waste their time discovering magics or weapons to obliterate themselves or slightly different mortals… Gifts essentially forced them to be somewhat productive.
"Only makes sense that that multi-headed lizard sure knows a lot about keeping order; all those heads bumping about should make her at least decent as being the goddess of order."
More heads were always a good thing, afterall.
Soon enough he came up with a good example of the system's smarts; a single twitch of his nose revealed that a barely noticeable amount of magic lay on one of the shown off products.
Of course he also recognised that said magic was a subtle mental magic with the purpose of dissuading common pests from making themselves comfortable. Essentially being the perfect magical pesticide that had no negative effects when one ate it. As such he quickly finished his current snack to get more.
By the time he got back to the in, an hour or so had already passed. He didn't waste time speaking to the person at the front desk as they were merely doing their job and a barely passable job if he was too completely honest. Demons respected strength and he hardly thought her a "powerful" innkeeper.
Pushing his door open only to abruptly become shocked - pointing his staff at the person within the room as he let his senses out to see what he was dealing with…
Only to become calm again.
A calming androgynous voice (not that the hamster could tell male & female humanoids apart too well) called out to him.
"I have been expecting you; destiny is a difficult thing to completely escape, after all..."
The mysterious figure said from behind a book; though not one that suited their appearance as it had a bright childish depiction of a caterpillar on the cover.
Their actual face was just as androgynous as their voice.
With sharp features that tried to hide behind a pair of large circular lensed glasses. a warm smile that would usually seem deceiving. Those glasses appeared rather normal yet there seemed to be a constant glare across them to hide the appearance of their eyes.
Lenses appeared to glow as a trio of faint shadows spun around at slightly different paces.
What helped keep their vibe was shoulder length straight hair. Coming with a curtained style fringe that hid most of their forehead. Their roots appeared to be pure white with the rest being dyed a nice hazel. Using those glasses to help keep the fringe neatly tucked away.
All except for their two centre most hairs which weren't swept to the side; letting them cascade down their own face with the hair strangely not ending up in their mouth as they spoke.
Even when their tan coloured blazer was completely unbuttoned they somehow managed to keep their suave aspect. Although a part of that may have been thanks to them also having a tan & white-lined paisley print waistcoat that was fully buttoned up. But that was also where the person's outfit began becoming a tad more serious.
A pair of leather belts travelled up from their waist to their shoulder in a diangle - with them containing countless flintlock pistols that had become partly hidden under their coat. Each pistol looked exactly the same; an intricate pattern of matte black wood base with silverish-gold detailing & innerworkings making for a very beautiful set of firearms.
Not that Necro particularly cared about such toys as he just tilted his head curiously with his gaze firmly fixed on that non-present chest.
"Something seems wrong here…"
He just couldn't put his paw on it.
"I have come to alert you to the fact that "Navy Indigo" is to be released in seven years time, relative to this world's timescale of course, while also making you well aware that I am well aware of you both."
Their words & tone spoke of the fact they knew exactly who they were speaking to while showcasing none of the fear that was expected when speaking in front of an archdemon. Evidently this came as no surprise to the hamster. Afterall, he knew exactly who he was dealing with so merely crossed his arms with a huff.
"You think we aren't aware that bastard is only caught due to wanting to be caught? You weren't there in the great wars so you may not be aware yet no one is more crafty than the wolf in sheep's clothing. I'm more interested where you got dragged in from-"
That confidence caused the glasses wearing figure to lean forward threateningly with a hand resting upon their glasses as they closed their picture book with one hand. Their smile grow subtly with a mixture between excitement and resignation. Shaking their head at how they underestimated the demon.
"It seems I greatly underestimated your kind; it makes sense you would realise-"
"-Chokin-Bako!"
At that exact moment the dapper figure couldn't help reeling back in a jumbled concoction of befuddlement as well as awe at the sheer conviction that the hamster had.
"You think I wouldn't realise that's you just because you changed your wardrobe a little; I mean no one else has such a unique blend of spiritual & demonic energy!"
Nodding his head in confidence.
Meanwhile his "guest" could only silently stare for a while, their glasses half falling down their face to reveal blood red eyes with an unusual pattern upon them, though they quickly pushed them back up. Hiding their eyes before they were fully revealed. Also managing to reclaim their calm stature.
"...Quite."
"Though I am curious how you managed to come over here as I swear you went back to the demon realm with scales and I haven't managed to contact you…"
Tapping his chin with a bit of cauliflower with the Chokin-Bako's smile twitching as "she" looked at the funny little mammal.
"Well spiders are cunning… Or something like that."
Not exactly putting conviction in their act as they placed the book under the table-lamp they were previously using to read.
"I guess we do rely on your children for information gathering since insects are the only demons able to freely travel between dimensions."
At the mention of Chokin-Bako's "children" the smile slipped from the face of the demonic spirit yet they simply let out a sigh rather than voice whatever caused their shift. Soon regaining full control as they clearly decided to just follow along. Seeing where this would lead them.
"So how is her majesty's recovery going?"
To that he simply shrugged.
"She hasn't really bothered speaking; physically her body is recovered but she needs more blood to recover her reserves while sloth has also appeared to take over. So she will need to readjust the balance of her sin in order to fully recover. It shouldn't take very long though."
"Very useful information indeed…"
"Sadly we I don't know much more as this cursed technique is something I've never seen her use before plus she also gained a load more beforehand… Who knows if she has something that will let her recover faster than when taken out by Pandora during the last invasion. So who knows."
Taking a bite out of his not so sweet treat as that Chokin-Bako slowly massaged their chin as they pondered their next steps.
"Speaking of differences… Something seems odd about your humanoid form… You also seem way less excitable than you usually are; especially when her exaltedness is brought up"
That figure simply offered him another smile.
"Maybe it's that Twilight Camellia tea I had on the ride over?"
…
…
"Never heard of it, is it good?"
"Oh it is very excellent."