Morning and hunting

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I waited a couple seconds before moving one hand down as I grabbed the glass and sipped on the water with my thoughts swirling. It wasn't until a couple minutes later that I finally heard footsteps coming from the stairs. My gaze moved over and my heart raced as I saw the Duchess. She was already dressed wearing a short cut black dress that exposed her muscular thighs, She walked with noble grace despite the events of the previous night. Her eyes landed on me and a rare look of embarrassment crossed her face with her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"H~hero good morning" The duchess greeted as her voice tinged with unease.

"Good morning Duchess," I replied instantly standing up and pulling out a seat for her.

"How are you?" I asked immediately not bothering with small talk as I looked at her with a small forced smile.

"I'm fine I just feel... weird after everything that happened," The duchess sighed searching for the right words.

"If anything…" She continued as the tips of her ears turning red.

"I'm just embarrassed that you saw me in such a state." She looked down with her discomfort clear as she fiddled with the end of her dress that laid over her crossed thigh's.

"I hope you don't think any less of me" Her words were nothing more than a mumble but I managed to hear them.

"Of course not" I said shaking my head although the images from last night were still burned into my mind.

"Do you feel different?" I asked and the Duchess finally smiled clenching her hands.

"Yes the changes to my body were substantial It feels as if I passed a wall that was stuck in my way," She said with a rare trace of excitement in her tone and I wasn't sure if I should be happy or not.

"It's very... exhilarating" The duchess added with her words making me feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Shall we test it?" I suggested trying to focus on the practical aspects and not what I had witnessed.

"Actually I was planning to tell you after we ate but..." She trailed off her expression turning serious making me narrow my eyes as I leaned forward.

"We have a new mission from the guild" The duchess said and I couldn't help but sigh realizing it was time to get back to work.

"I see" I replied feeling the weight of our responsibilities settle back onto my shoulders.

We finished our breakfast in relative silence, each of us lost in our thoughts. The new mission awaited and with the newfound abilities and challenges that came of both the duchesses and Ella's sacrifice.

********

The forest around us was dense and a thick canopy of green above barley letting slivers of sunlight through. The air was thick with the scent of pine and earth and the occasional rustle of leaves was the only sound aside from our footsteps.

'I hate the forest' I sighed looking around wondering why half of our missions seemed to take us deep in different forests.

It had even three days since the duchess had told us about a new request which had brought us here where rumors of a possible demon lurking in the area needed investigating.

The real question to me is why is it that the hero party seemed to need to investigate everything that is reported.

Ella walked slightly ahead of me with her eyes scanning the surroundings, her hand always near her weapon ready for action within a seconds notice. The Duchess followed behind both of us keeping guard maintaining a vigilant stance and lastly was Nessa who walked beside me, her presence a comforting constant.

"Keep your guards up" I commanded even though I knew it wasn't needed as I kept my hand resting on the hilt of my sword.

The responsibility of leadership came naturally to me or so I liked to think.

"Go over the information once more" I sighed in my head before glancing back toward the Duchess who nodded.

"All the wildlife in the area has been hunted down to the point only insects are left" Her steps steady as she kept her eyes in the surroundings making sure nothing was lurking.

"Hunters from a nearby village were the first to notice and reported it to the guild." The duchesses expression was calm as she recounted.

"The guild marked it as a tier D thinking it was just a new beast but soon reports of missing villagers started to pop up" Her words made me narrow my eyes.

"They think it's a demon?" I asked receiving a nod in return.

"How many missing?" I asked stepping over a sharp rock as my foot crunched against the fallen leafs.

"Fifteen so far" The duchess responded before Ella spoke out.

"Is it gathering food?" Ella speculated with her eyes never ceasing their survey of the environment.

"Perhaps" The Duchess responded with a thoughtful voice.

As we moved deeper into the forest to the point sunlight could barely get through the thick trees the eerie absence of animal life became more apparent. Not a single creature crossed our path and the silence only grew more unsettling.

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