The Big Reveals that We Already Knew

It was around halfway to the Inn when Kevin had calmed down enough to subconsciously shift back to his Eevee form. The sheer cold surrounding his mind also broke with the transformation, once more returning him to his apathetic, sarcastic self. The timing was perfect, too, as the citizens of Iliasburg were finally realizing that the coast was clear and Granberia was gone.

"Is…is she gone?" am called out. "That monster…did she run away!?"

"Those two over there!" A woman shouted, pointing at their retreating forms. "I don't really get it, but it looks like that woman and that boy drove her away!"

"Thank you! A little bit longer, and this would have been a monster city!"

"Even though you're so young, that was amazing! How they drive away such a strong looking monster?"

Alice and Kevin just ignored them and continued walking. Both were too focused on getting to the Inn to care about gratitude of the city's citizens. Fortunately for them, said civilians quickly realized their saviors weren't paying attention to them. Instead of getting offended, though, they assumed the duo had more important things to worry about, and just returned back to their daily routines.

Some concerned volunteers took it upon themselves to scape up the unconscious, and in same cases frostbitten, bodies of the defeated soldiers and hauled them off to the nearest doctors. None of them were killed by the invading monster, though some of them would wish they were when they were told that a boy shorter than any of them defeated a monster that didn't even put forth any effort to take them out. The shame would last for months.

As for Kevin and Alice, they agreed to save the inevitable discussion of what the hell had just taken place for when they had the privacy of a room at the Inn. The disguised lamia knew multiple spells that would make their conversation inaudible to all but each other, but as long as they were out in the open, they could be subjected to someone who could read lips.

Until then, there were no more words spoken between them. For Alice, it was due a combination of mentally re-assessing the threat level posed by the brown-haired boy walking beside her, and trying to come up with the best way to reveal the fact that she was, indeed, the Monster Lord. The former was significantly quicker than the latter, unsurprisingly.

'He's definitely stronger than the Heavenly Knights, bar Tamamo,' she determined. 'If it weren't for the fact that no matter the form, he's obviously untrained in any combat, Granberia would be a very intimidating ice sculpture right now…or at least fragments of one.'

As she moved on to debating how she present herself as the leader of all monster-kind, Kevin was also having an internal debate. Unlike his companion, though, he wasn't the only one involved in it.

'System.'

[Yes, Host?]

'What in the name of Arceus was that?'

[The System is unable to answer the Host's vague question. The Host should be more specific with future inquiries.]

Kevin internally sighed. 'Alright then: why did I evolve into a Glaceon without consciously triggering it?'

[Subconscious transformations are triggered in the event of emotions resonating with a specific element while in dangerous circumstances. The cold hatred the Host felt toward Granberia for ruining his chocolate resonated with the Ice element, and the threat posed by Granberia to the Host's Eevee form officially activated this hidden function of the Eeveelution System.]

'…you know, the more hidden aspects I learn about you, System, the more I both love and hate your existence.'

It was nice to have insurance that even if he wasn't thinking straight, the System would cover his back with an automatic transformation. On the other hand, the number of hidden aspects of the Eeveelution System he'd discovered so far were getting on his nerves. Why couldn't all of it have been presented up front?

[Message received from the Being: Because that would be boring.]

'Moving along right fucking now!' the Eevee thought, trying not to rage at the fact that not only did the Being who sent him here program the System this way, but was also apparently watching him for its own amusement.

They reached the in within ten minutes, and it was definitely a sight to behold. It was like a mansion, with large double front doors, crystal clear windows, and fancy décor both outside and inside, from what the duo could see. A sign out front read "Sutherland Inn" in fancy cursive writing, so they knew they had the right place.

Walking inside, they were met with a lavish lobby, and a board advertising the nightly prices.

"…Alice."

"Yes, Kevin?"

"I'm not hallucinating, right?"

"That depends. What are you seeing?"

"If my eyes aren't deceiving me, this sign says that a single night here is 2.4 million gold per person, per night."

"Then no, you aren't hallucinating. I'm seeing the same thing."

"…"

"…"

"We're leaving,"

"What?"

"Look, I don't know how much money you have stored in that dimensional pocket of yours, but I doubt that it's enough to spend more than a few seconds in one of these rooms"

That…was unfortunately true. Upon packing for her trip around the world, Alice didn't expect to need millions of gold coins for…anything, really. As much as she wanted to taste the famous Ama-ama Dango, this Inn was just too expensive.

"If I knew this was going to happen, I would have let Granberia take over," she stated.

"And I wouldn't have stopped you," Kevin nodded in agreement.

They were preparing to vacate the building, when some rude asshole in a guard's uniform pushed them both out of the way. "Oi, oi. Step aside," he grunted at them. Kevin vaguely recognized him as one of the bodies that had been littering the ground in the plaza. "Hey Owner, I'm a Hero. Give me the Hero rate to stay here."

The owner, a strong looking woman with chin-length blond hair and unamused blue eyes, stepped through a door behind the counter and raised an eyebrow at the guard. "What stupidity is that!? What kind of Hero gets knocked out instantly by a monster like that?" She shouted at him.

The man stumbled, caught off-guard by the blatant refusal. "But…but I've been baptized as a Hero!"

"Someone like you calling himself a Hero?" the owner huffed. "Get out of here before I throw you out!"

Kevin assumed that this woman must have a reputation for being rough with unwanted guests, because at the idea of being 'thrown out' by her, the guard bolted out the door in fear.

With him gone, the woman turned to Kevin and Alice, putting on a winning smile that almost made them think that the scary look she had given the so-called 'Hero' had been an illusion. "Oh! You two are the ones who saved the city!"

"How could you possibly recognize us that fast?" Kevin asked, genuinely curious. "It hasn't even been half an hour yet."

"News travels fast in a small city like this," the owner replied, as if that explained everything. "Never mind that. Would you like to stay the night here?"

The Eevee shook his head. "I don't think so. The place looks nice and all, but neither of us have over two million gold just lying around, you know?"

"Don't worry about it," the woman laughed. "I'll give you the Hero rate. Two gold per person. I'll bill the other 4,799.996 gold to the Ilias Temple,"

Both Alice and Kevin looked each other and grinned with malicious satisfaction. At this point, neither of them had a good opinion of Ilias, so screwing over the followers in her temple would be the icing on the cake for the long day they'd experienced.

"That sounds perfect," Alice practically purred. "Send them our regards along with the bill."

***

<A few minutes later>

The room the duo found themselves in was on the third floor of the inn. The combination room, kitchen, and bathroom provided were larger than the apartment Kevin lived in with his parents before he died, and was filled with lavish furnishings. The bed alone would've cost more than the average small business owner would make in a year. While to Alice it was like coming home again, to Kevin it was uncomfortably 'extra.'

"No wonder the price is so damn expensive," he grumbled. "Do we really need all of this space? I mean, we're just staying the night?"

If Alice heard him, then she didn't show it. Instead, the entirety of her attention was focused on the complimentary treat she was snacking on. The flavor that the honey added to the sweet Ama-ama Dango sent her taste buds to heaven, a pleased smile appearing on her face. There wasn't enough for her to be satisfied and share with Kevin, so the disguised lamia took it all for herself. He wasn't a fan of Honey, anyway, so he let her have it.

"It's so sweet!" she exclaimed in joy, having subconsciously shifted back to her lamia form and wagging the tip of her tail back and forth. "I think I'll order some more."

"I bet it is. Just be sure to shift again if anyone comes by," the Eevee idly advised, setting his bag down and sitting on the bed.

Following his advice, she donned her disguise again before ringing the service bell. The owner opened the door within a minute, grabbing the dishes the gluttonous lamia left behind.

"How did you like this hotel's Ama-ama Dango?" she asked conversationally.

"Even though it's incredibly sweet, it doesn't overpower the flavor of the dango. Absolutely delicious," Alice complimented. "If you were a monster, I'd make you a duchess."

Her last comment caused Kevin to turn and look at her as if she was an idiot. All the effort they took to make everyone think she was a human, and she just says something like that? Granted, the nobody in the city could throw either of them out, no matter how hard they tried. Still, it was a waste of effort if she just blurts out things like that.

Contrary to his expectations, the owner just laughed. "Hahaha! What a strange remark, young woman."

'She's either an idiot, or turning a blind eye because we saved the city,' he concluded in his head. 'And considering the level of education present in most medieval worlds, there's a fifty-fifty chance for either.'

"Unfortunately," the woman continued. "We haven't been able to get enough Happiness Honey, so I can't make any more Ama-ama Dango. Since Happiness Village doesn't have enough men anymore, I guess there's no helping it."

From the context clues, the teenager could deduce that this Happiness Village must've been a beekeeping village. If they didn't have enough workers to harvest the honey, then logic would dictate their exports would drop like flies.

"Any particular reason for the shortage of manpower," he asked.

"Well, apparently the Harpies from the nearby Harpy village have been kidnapping every able-bodied man living there. Even Heroes sent to rescue them are never heard from again."

'Note to self: avoid Happiness Village,' Kevin thought to himself.

"Well then, have a nice rest," the Owner said, carrying the dirty dishes out of the room and closing the door behind her.

Alice made sure to lock the door, before transforming back again. With her stomach satisfied, there was nothing left to get in the way of the serious discussion her and Kevin needed to have. She then slithered over to the bed and maneuvered her upper body into a sitting position a few feet away from him.

"So," Kevin began. "Do you want to start, or should I?"

Alice sighed. "I'll go first. I'm the one following you around after all."

Taking a deep breath, she donned a serious expression. "As you probably noticed from my interaction with Granberia, I'm not a normal monster. I am actually the Monster Lord, Alipheese Fateburn the Sixteenth."

A moment of silence hanged in the air, before Kevin broke it. "…is…is that it?"

Alice was stumped by his reply. "What do you mean 'Is that it!?' I just told you that I'm the Monster Lord!"

"I mean, it would probably have more impact if I understood the way the monster hierarchy works," he shrugged. "I'm just gonna go out ono a limb and assume that you're pretty high up?"

Until that moment, it hadn't really sunk in how little Alice's chosen traveling companion knew about the world. Now, though, things were starting to add up. He didn't know where he was when they met; he denied knowing about the Four Spirits; he admitted to telling Ilias to fuck off when she visited him in a dream, then asked her who the goddess was in the first place; and he showed no recognition of Alice's title as the Monster Lord.

Just where was he from that he wasn't aware of such common knowledge? As much as she wanted to ask, it wasn't her turn to pose questions. Thus, she decided to throw him a bone and explain.

"The Monster Lord is the strongest monster in the world," she began. "I have complete authority over every monster on all three continents, including ones that have their own kingdoms. Beneath me, there are four monster generals known as the Heavenly Knights, each one with power corresponding to the four basic elements."

"And below them is basically everyone else, right?" Kevin concluded for her.

"Exactly," Alice nodded. "The only other notable high-ranking monsters are Queen-Class monsters, who are essentially the strongest members of their respective species."

"So, what was the deal with that Grand Berry woman?" the Eevee asked with a tilted head.

The Monster Lord had to hold back a snort of laughter. "It's Granberia. She's the Heavenly Knight of Fire, and probably the strongest dragonkin I've ever met. I recommend against making fun of her name to her face, as she'll likely take offense and challenge you to a rematch."

Silence was her only answer as Kevin seemed to sink deep into thought. She didn't blame him, though. It wasn't every day that the leader of an entire race, or rather group of races, just falls out of the sky and starts following a person around. It sounded like the kind of plot she'd find in some of the many books in the castle's library.

After about five minutes, he came out of his thoughts and gave her challenging look. "I hope you don't think this will suddenly make me show more respect for you. You're still the same annoying snake who won't stop following me around."

Alice smirked at that. "I wouldn't expect anything else from a brat like you."

"Hey! I'll have you know that despite my youthful appearance, I'm actually seventeen years old."

"And I'm twenty-one. You're still younger than me." They both got a chuckle out of that. The laughter died down, though, when the next order of business came up. "It's your turn."

He couldn't exactly back down now that she had spilled her guts to him. Well, he could, but that would make him look like even more of an asshole than he already was, and he worked hard to maintain an equilibrium with that.

"I'm willing to tell you some things, but not everything," he admitted to her. "Mainly because I'm not sure how much I can trust you. You've been annoying so far, but you don't seem to be that bad of a person."

"…I'm still waiting for the explanation," she deadpanned.

"I'm getting to it," he said placatingly. "What I was getting at was that I'm just going to summarize everything, just like you did. I reserve the rights to refuse to answer any questions you may have, though."

"If you keep stalling, I will throw you out the window."

"Fine. The first thing you need to know is what I am. Where I come from, there are creatures that are like known as Pokemon. Unlike the monsters around here, Pokemon are neither an all-female race, nor are they all humanoid. They don't try to breed with humans, but are able to do so with each other, and all of them have an attunement to up to two out of eighteen elemental energies."

Alice's mind ground to a halt. "Did…did you just say eighteen?"

Kevin nodded. "Yes. Why?"

"There have only been six pure elements categorized by the scholars of the three continents, human and monsters alike," she informed him. "They are Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Darkness, and Light. Everything else is a combination of two or more of them."

"Well, I think your definition of 'pure elements' is a bit different than ours," the Eevee conceded. "The elemental energies Pokemon can be attuned to are referred to as Types, and while some of share similarities with your elements, they can also be completely different.

"The eighteen pokemon types are Normal, Fire, Water, Electric, Grass, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Ground, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, Steel, and Fairy. Are you following me so far?"

The Monster Lord's eyes were wide. She expected a few of those, like Ice, Water, and Fire, but the majority of them? They sounded ridiculous! How was Fighting an element? Why wasn't Dragon just put under Fire? What was that about Ghosts?

Shaking her head, she made eye contact with him again. "Given the fact that you are bringing this up, I assume you are one of these 'Pokemon?'"

"Yes, and no," he replied. "I'm what known as an Eevee, which is called the Evolution Pokemon. Typical examples of my species only take the small foxlike form you saw me transform into last night, and are capable of undergoing an evolution into one of eight other forms due to the instability of their DNA, but only once.

"I, on the other hand, have multiple steps up from my brethren," he stated proudly. "Not only do I have a humanoid form, my DNA has been altered even further to not only allow me to reverse any evolution I take on, but also bump those eight evolutions up to seventeen, if my assumptions are correct. I still only have the basic eight for now, though."

He decided to leave out the Abilities. There was no needed to overload her with information.

"So, those other forms you took before-"

"Were the evolutions, yes. The one I used to fight the slime was Leafeon, the Verdant Pokemon; for the Slug I used Flareon, the Flame Pokemon; and I tried to violently murder Granberia as Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokemon."

With the pieces of the puzzle that was Kevin sliding into place, Alice only had one last question. Actually, she had tons more, but she knew she could get more answers out of him at a later date, once she'd earned his trust. "Where are you from?"

Kevin to a few seconds to formulate an answer. "Most likely further than anyone around here could travel. I was sent here through a portal, against my will, so it's not like I was given a map telling me how to get back home."

As unsatisfying as that response was, Alice knew he wasn't lying. This made her a little sad on the inside, though. Even though she didn't really have any blood relatives left, at least she still had her home in Hellgondo to return to. Kevin, on the other hand, had nothing and nobody.

The silence that pervaded the room stretched on for almost half an hour, neither one of them willing to break it. It was somehow both comforting, and incredibly stifling at the same time.

Unsurprisingly, the one to break it was once again Kevin. "So…you still going to follow me around like a lost animal?"

A tic-mark appeared on Alice's forehead. "Is that what you think of me? Even after I promised to pay for your food from now on?"

He shrugged. "I would've made do, one way or another.

"Yeah…sure." Needless to say, she wasn't convinced. "Your childish remarks aside, I have decided to continue traveling with you. After what happened in the plaza, I fear that you might go too far and kill every monster that tries to harvest your semen if I don't"

"It's not my fault if they have no sense of self preservation," he defended himself.

A loud growl echoed through the room, interrupting their verbal tennis match. It came from Alice's stomach, but was different than it was yesterday in the forest. This time, it was quieter and seemed to only come from her torso.

"I'm hungry," she said, frowning at the source of the sound.

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Really? You ate ten plates worth of food half an hour ago, and you're already hungry again? You really are a bottomless pit."

"All of that food went to a different stomach," the lamia stated, before not-so-subtly eying the teenager's crotch. "The craving I'm having is for something a little more…creamy."

It took all of one second for him to realize what she meant, causing multiple red flags to go off in his head. For most teens his age, and actually just men in general, this would be the perfect opportunity to get some sexual relief from a very sexy woman; but, for the host of the Eeveelution System, it was a cause for unwanted flashbacks.

"I know what you want, and the answer is no," he rejected her outright.

The mischievous glint in her eye faded, replaced by confusion. "What? Why?"

Instead of answering, the boy simply shapeshifted into his full Eevee form and jumped off the bed. A few minutes later, he had comfortably settled himself in the main compartment of his backpack again, certain that the newly-revealed Monster Lord wouldn't try to violate a small animal in its sleep.

Said Monster Lord was more than confused now. Not only had she been rejected, but the Eevee had gone so far as to fully transform and hide away in his backpack. Before he had shifted, though, she was able to see his expression morph into one of pure discomfort, as if he mere idea of her touching him made his skin crawl.

Alice spread her body out across the bed, trying to contemplate what kind of past the boy must have for the mere idea of her 'relieving' him to give him such a reaction. It was then that she realized that while she had an idea of the type of person he was, there were still plenty more pieces of the puzzle that were level to uncover.

'It's a good thing I like puzzles,' she thought to herself as she drifted off, intent of ignoring her craving for semen…

…for now

***

{Author's Note}

To those of you expecting a Lemon or a Lime in this chapter, I will refer you to the first chapter in which the Being told Kevin that he took his 'personal trauma and aversion to physical contact' in to account when choosing the world to send him to. There will be both Lemons and Limes down the road, but I can guarantee they won't be until the duo leave Ilias Continent.