4. Unwelcome Guests and Bizarre Events"I understand your intentions, and I also think what you have done is right.... However... by doing so you distract him from his goals."

  Ferdinando was having dinner with Agamennone and Vionte's family. In particur, it had come to the first course, for which there were ravioli with butter and sage.

  "I remind you that we have summoned him here without his permission and therefore we must compensate him! And what better compensation than to make him capable of being self-reliant!"

  Vionte looked at the regent with determination in her eyes. The tter, however, lost his own, at least partially.

  'I knew I shouldn't have involved her... I should have involved Valentina directly, instead I preferred to send her daughter because she was hornless and tailless, ignoring that she might have completely different priorities from ours...'

  The anthropomorphic ox sighed.

  "Alright... Volframio and I shall adjust to your willingness to set aside a little sum of money..."

  All those present were interested and actively participated in the topic, only one kept to himself and thought about stuff completely irrelevant to the topic.

  'If only that chick instead of adopting that hideous comet hair style would just leave her hair as she just got up she could have made carnages of men.... Except for the personality...'

  Ferdinando was the first to notice that Agamennone was in his fantasy world.

  "What are you thinking, my lord?"

  Agamennone, still thinking, did not reply.

  'What have i done wrong...'

  Ferdinando got up from his seat, reached Agamennone, and forcefully pinched his cheek.

  "OW! ARE YOU NUTS?"

  "We had lost you, your majesty. Now can you entertain us and tell us what was on your mind that was so important?"

  Ferdinando returned to his seat, never ceasing to look at the lord, who, scratching his cheek, was trying to find the best way to expin his thoughts.

  "I was thinking about the aesthetic and stylistic choices of a fictional character."

  Agamennone said this in a serious tone. Vionte burst out ughing, Valentina sneered, Odoacre looked at the man perplexed while Ferdinando gave himself a facepalm.

  "Always the same, my lord. We discuss what to do with you and you think of completely useless things, as if you don't give a damn about the situation."

  "In fact I don't give a damn! If it were up to me I would still be in my house. I am the victim of a stupid plot organised by you and my idiotic predecessor. I swear i will defile his grave!"

  The situation at the table was becoming more and more tense.

  "You have a duty to perform and you will perform it, whether you like it or not, your majesty!"

  "I will lead you straight to your demise!"

  "I'd rather dispose of you right now, my lord!"

  "I will disembowel you and feed you to your retives!"

  "SILENCE!"

  Valentina emitted a mighty scream that calmed the waters, surprising those present, who were astonished by the force of that shout.

  "You are childish! And to think that you are the ones in power..."

  Agamennone and the regent pointed their fingers towards the other.

  "It's his fault!"

  "It's his fault!"

  Valentina, annoyed by the situation, began to smile in a malicious way.

  "We could use a little punishment..."

  The succubus began to release her aphrodisiac abilities, hoping that by losing control, the ruler and Ferdinando would do something they might regret. The pn was quickly interrupted, however, when Valentina noticed that the person most susceptible to these powers was her daughter, from whose nose blood gushed in profusion as she made puppy eyes and sensuously touched Agamennone's shoulder with her finger, and panicked. She interrupted her own power and immediately went to rescue her daughter, calming her boiling spirit with a motherly embrace. While the succubus cuddled her daughter in apology and to calm her down, Agamennone and Ferdinando continued for the rest of the meal to throw barbs at each other under the satisfied gaze of Odoacre.

  At the end of dinner, Ferdinando left in a hurry, annoyed by Agamennone's presence, bidding farewell to Valentina before leaving.

  "See you next time."

  "See you again soon."

  The monarch, on the other hand, left without a word to the living room, where he picked up the usual random book, this time a magazine that dealt with both spicy topics and agricultural tools and vehicles. Vionte, red with embarrassment due to the incident happened before, was contempting whether or not to follow him, but as soon as she stood up Odoacre made her an offer that changed her mind.

  "My daughter, how about us and your mum pying poker while that one over there stealing my clothes calms down?"

  Vionte sat down again, with a half smile.

  'Perhaps it is better to let him calm down by himself...'

  Valentina, hearing the proposal, put her palms together before fetching a pack of cards from a drawer in the corridor between the living room and the kitchen. She then joined the table and handed the cards to her husband.

  "Isn't it ughable that Ferdinando would insist on remaining 'cordial' to Agamennone after pinching him. Don't you find it ridiculous too, mama?"

  The young woman's expression showed a certain contempt hidden under a forced smile.

  "You're right, but he's even more into etiquette than I am. Still... what's with the forced expression?"

  The girl, seeing her mother slightly confused, giggled.

  "I felt like continuing to smile."

  Valentina sighed.

  "Don't do that again, it's unnerving."

  The girl smiled sweetly. Odoacre meanwhile had shuffled the cards and was ready to distribute them.

  Agamennone awoke in the guest room. He looked around and raised an eyebrow.

  'Am i wrong... or yesterday... I fell asleep... suddenly.... In the living room... Again? Hmm...'

  Agamennone tried to solve the mystery but his not-so-awake condition did not allow it. He let out a yawn before getting dressed and then he went to have breakfast. In the kitchen he met Vionte, wearing her usual pyjama with her hair tied up in two twintails, eating chocote cream biscuits. Agamennone also started eating them as soon as he reached the table.

  "Oh... Someone's getting accustomed..."

  A small, mischievous smile appeared on Vionte's face. Agamennone did not reply, but Vionte only needed a gnce at his gssy eyes to realise that the lord was still going slowly, so she desisted from picking on him any further, preferring to watch a romantic comedy on the TV. After a couple of minutes the ruler became sufficiently aware. His face suddenly turned dark.

  "I have to work today, don't I?"

  "True. By the way, have you taken the phone?"

  "The... Phone?

  "Papa lent you one st evening, don't you remember?"

  "I remember that... However, I don't remember where I put him..."

  The girl mockingly ughed at him.

  "Go find it and bring it to me, since someone also forgot to exchange contacts with me..."

  Agamennone made sounds of disapproval, but immediately went to look for his mobile phone. The search sted about ten minutes and was unsuccessful. At least until his roommate joined him in his room and decided to help him. She was rather dissatisfied.

  "You still haven't found it?"

  "No, it's nowhere to be found."

  Agamennone huffed with irritation.

  "And we can't even call it..."

  Vionte was thinking of a way to improve the efficiency of the search, but her gaze nded on the bedside table, and there she saw the telephone. The woman took it and showed it to the ruler in an obnoxious manner.

  "Dummy! It was right under your nose."

  Agamennone was annoyed at the girl's cold but nonetheless friendly comment. Vionte at that point added her own contact to the boy's phone, and then took her own phone out of her blue trousers and added Agamennone's contact to her own, finally she returned the phone to her housemate with a sincere smile on her face.

  "So if you have any problems you can contact me."

  Agamennone took the phone and put it in his pocket. He was slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed after receiving the woman's smile and for not seeing the phone on the bedside table, so he was staring at the floor.

  "Anyway... I'm going to see my new workpce ter on... You remember the reason, don't you?"

  The girl headed for the exit, stopping at the doorway, smiling mischievously.

  "I'm able to remember things!"

  The man reacted instinctively with irritation, but the woman's subsequent look of distrust towards him made him desist.

  "Really... A little birdie told me that the time you declined my invitation to accompany you to the training ground you were te because you got lost..."

  At that point Vionte left the room and returned to the kitchen, followed by Agamennone. The two finished breakfast, then Agamennone started to leave the house.

  "Do you want me to accompany you? Or do you want a map?"

  The girl tried to be nice to her housemate, but without concealing a teasing intent. The tter declined the offer.

  "Don't worry, I remember where I have to go."

  The girl looked at the man with her eyes at half-mast.

  "I am certain of it..."

  Agamennone walked out of the house.

  Agamennone wandered sluggishly and tiredly into the guild building, not greeting anyone he passed, let alone being greeted by them. He reached the counter where Timotea was waiting impatiently.

  "Where have you been! Your shift started twenty minutes ago!"

  Agamennone was equally frustrated.

  "I got lost! It's not my fault that this city is a maze!"

  The catwoman huffed.

  "Come on, i have to teach you the basics.... Not that I know much about the subject. But first you have to put on your uniform."

  The girl motioned the man to follow her. She accompanied him to the changing room and waited outside the door for the man to change. The tter came out changed after a few minutes.

  "Anyway, this uniform sucks!"

  "I know, but putting the shirt on backwards certainly doesn't help."

  Agamennone began to look at the jersey, trying to figure out which way he had put it on wrong. Once he spotted it, he turned the shirt around, taking off only the sleeves and then reiputting them after turning the shirt 180°. The girl, whose tail swung rather vigorously, smiled as she saw the man in front of her and his clumsiness.

  The bck-haired girl spent a good part of the morning expining to Agamennone all the various bureaucratic elements such as the forms to be filled out, the various administrative offices within, the selection of assignments, ranks, the formation of groups, the registration of new recruits, the dismissal of dead, discharged or resigning adventurers, the collection of a reward, the verification of the completion of an assignment and much more.

  "Don't worry if you don't grasp everything right away, only by doing these tasks will you be able to memorise everything you need."

  the dark-haired woman tried to be supportive, but was not effective in impressing her colleague.

  "Uh..."

  Timotea was annoyed by her colleague's apathy. Just then Vionte appeared, entering through the main entrance. She immediately headed towards Agamennone in a calm but determined manner.

  "I am here to leave the guild, may I have the necessary forms?"

  Agamennone immediately went in search of the forms, pulling sheet after sheet of paper out of several drawers while Timotea was hesitant.

  "Vionte... I don't know if this idea of yours will work.... What if the boss were to notice the forms you signed? He doesn't normally check the forms he validates, but..."

  "He promised he would hire him if I got hired, he never mentioned that I have to work here for who knows how long. And I hope he realises that forcing the hand with yours truly is never a good idea."

  The young succubus was very determined and belligerent. Agamennone took the forms and had his roommate fill them out and give them back for him to sign.

  "In a while, look for the guildmaster or whoever sobstitutes him and get him to validate these resignation forms."

  Vionte was particurly serious in ordering Agamennone what to do. After informing the ruler of the pn, she left, greeting both Agamennone and the catwoman both verbally and with her hand.

  "Bye..."

  Timotea looked at the scene in astonishment, before letting out a sigh.

  "Vionte is the same as usual."

  As she was leaving, Vionte stopped to look at the vending machine. She went to buy the usual can of strawberry tea, which she then pced on the counter in front of Agamennone.

  "Thanks for your help."

  Vionte smiled, then turned and left.

  "Ah, Timotea, if possible pay him a portion of his sary in advance!"

  The girl did not even turn around to say this. The ruler meanwhile blushed a little. Timotea looked at the man's uncertain expression with interest, and as a grin formed on her face she decided to annoy him.

  "Hey... Do you happen to like Vionte?"

  "Yes, but not in the way you think, I just find her someone I get on quite well with."

  Agamennone remained rather composed to the question, shattering his colleague's pn, disappointed with how the discussion had gone. The ruler then looked at the can in front of it.

  'She thinks I'm a dog? Well... dogs take advantage of that, and so doi.'

  The man, having thought this, took the can and began to drink its contents.

  Meanwhile Ferdinando was walking back and forth inside a church.

  "Your Highness... I personally have never found it a smart thing to talk to statues, but at the moment I prefer to monologue with something non-sentient.... Because your successor is so... He is incompetent, impatient and I don't think he is that interested in our fate. In addition to him, Vionte is also putting her own spin on the matter, giving greater priority to objectives that are sensible, but individualistic and secondary to those of the nation..."

  The anthropomorphic bovine sighed, still pacing back and forth. It turned to a statue of the previous demon king, who had descended about a century and a half earlier.

  "At this rate we will be unprepared for what the other nations have in store for us.... We will have to hope that they have nothing belligerent in mind.... However... The coming of the heroes is not a good sign for us..."

  The bipedal bull walked out of the church without anything coming to mind, massaging his head from exertion.

  'What kind of regent is one who has no idea how to educate an heir to the throne...'

  He began to walk around the city, carefully observing his surroundings as he pondered what to do. He was so immersed in his reasoning and in observing what was around him that he forgot to observe what was in front of him, so he collided with another pedestrian, who fell to the ground.

  "Watch where you're going!"

  "Excuse me, I was absorbed in my thoughts."

  These answers were given almost automatically, before the two saw each other and realised who they had in front of them, being surprised.

  "Volframio!"

  "Ferdinando!"

  Volframio stood up rather quickly.

  "And to think that you are usually a model pedestrian..."

  The anthropomorphic bull raised an eyebrow in confusion, but Volframio continued talking without paying too much attention.

  "Anyway, I have some good news!"

  The bovine was intrigued but did not show it. In the meantime, the couple had started walking down the road again.

  "Which is?"

  "I managed to rent out that house!"

  Ferdinando crossed his arms.

  "The one you haven't been able to rent out for ages?"

  The armour jumped in joy, barely keeping the helmet attached to the rest of the body.

  "Yeah."

  The minotaur sighed.

  "I understand that you've solved a problem that's been pguing you for a while, but given the recent events I found myself into... Who cares if you rented a house or not! A rented or not rented house doesn't change anything about our future ."

  The armour scratched his helmet.

  "You're always so serious. Rex. May i know what is so serious that troubles you?"

  The bovine snorted.

  "You should know better. He is the new ruler... He is completely unsuitable for the role in both ability and aptitude.... And he is also difficult to shape into a good lord!"

  "And what were you going to do with him, get rid of him?"

  Ferdinando became furious, starting to wave his arms.

  "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! FIRST HE IS SUMMONED HERE AND THEN WE GET RID OF HIM? THAT'S UNGRATEFUL!"

  Volframio sneered at the conversation.

  "For that matter, it's also illegal..."

  The anthropomorphic ox looked at him with half-lidded eyes.

  "You're the kind of person who sees a burning ember and says that it's hot... Stop stating the obvious!"

  The armour made the equivalent of a dumbfounded grin, after which he became retively serious again.

  "So... What does the ruler do now?"

  "From what I understand, he works at the adventurer's guild..."

  "An adventurer? Him? He will die as soon as he leaves the city..."

  "That is true, but he found a position in the administration as a receptionist."

  "I think the guild would rather have someone better than him in the administration as well."

  "Yeah, but don't forget that the guildmaster is not a very bright guy. I wouldn't be surprised if Agamennone, or rather, Vionte, tricked him somehow. Knowing the sucker, surely the method of getting tricked must have been handed to them on a silver ptter.... Word of a bureaucrat."

  Volframio returned to his harassment, nudging the Ferdinando's arms with his elbow.

  "You speak from experience, do you?"

  "M-modestly..."

  The minotaur was a little hesitant but at the same time proud to admit this.

  "I don't know how good it is to admit such things..."

  Volframio patted the bull again, who did not respond.

  "Rather... what are you going to do with the ruler then..."

  Volframio extended an arm to emphasise the question.

  "Nothing, I'll wait until he finds a bance between himself and his duties and then we'll pick up where we left off."

  Ferdinando put his hands in his pockets automatically after saying this, immediately shrugging. After a few steps, the bipedal bovine snapped his fingers, and then ughed malicious yet restrained way.

  "I am a genius!"

  The armour turned to the man, tilting his head slightly.

  "You think so?"

  Ferdinando became annoyed.

  "I'm not saying that just because!"

  Then he began to gloat.

  "I will send an assignment to the guild through a messenger, who will also act as a front man.... I will ask for Agamennone and so we can continue with our lessons."

  The anthropomorphic bull seemed satisfied with the formuted pn. Volframio was not so much so, however.

  "So you pn to squander public money to speed up the process..."

  "Exact- NO! It's not something I would do for just anyone, but I would remind you that he will have to become our main anchor..."

  "That doesn't sound too promising..."

  "That's exactly why we have to invest a lot in him, because that's the only way for him to be useful to us in the medium to long term."

  The armour did not look too convinced.

  "And how are you going to specifically request Agamennone?"

  "What did you do when I told you he became an adventurer?"

  "I ughed."

  Ferdinando snapped his fingers.

  "Exactly! From what I know, the guild didn't have adventurers of rank H, so we only need to explicitly ask for an adventurer of this rank."

  Volframio analysed the idea in his head for a few seconds.

  "Not a bad idea... But are you sure the guild can afford to employ Agamennone outside the administration?"

  "I know they have enough staff."

  The minotaur was smiling. His pn had no apparent fws. Fws Volframio was looking for.

  'He certainly seems to have thought of everything.... How I enjoy showing him all the various fws if he can make a pn without fws...'

  The armour, thoughtful, scratched the cheek of his helmet. The companion provoked him.

  "You won't find any fws."

  "Oh, yeah? And how do we get the ruler to accept the task?"

  Ferdinando smiled wickedly.

  "We'll force him!"

  "The pn could work..."

  The bull clenched his fists in determination

  "The pn will work! Bureaucrat's word! Now I just have to think about what kind of assignment I can use to disguise our lessons..."

  The armour came to a sudden halt, with Ferdinando stopping short.

  "My break is over. It has been a pleasure talking with you. Until next time."

  "Good day."

  The ox waved goodbye to the armour and headed towards the castle.

  'This time I'm going to ask before I get lost.'

  "Where is someone with administrative responsibility?"

  Agamennone, holding a bunch of forms to be validated, used an uncertain tone and as usual only looked at the interlocutor, Timothy, with peripheral vision. The girl, who was checking some records, turned to answer him.

  "On the second floor, turn right after going up the flight of stairs, then straight to the end of the corridor."

  Agamennone emitted a cry of affirmation, before heading towards the designated pce. As he walked, the man became increasingly anxious.

  'How do I convince the boss to let go of someone he has struggled to aggregate by actually forcing her...? Besides, I can't even act...'

  As he was thinking a sense of frustration joined the anxiety he already was feeling.

  Arriving at the door of the guild master's office, he stiffened, and waited about a minute before knocking on the door, while in his head he had already predicted a couple of negative outcomes.

  "Come in."

  Agamennone entered the office, forms under his arm. He immediately smelled a strong odour of smoke.

  'Did this guy by any chance set himself on fire?'

  "Um... well... There would be some forms to sign..."

  The ruler was tense, and tried to distract himself by looking with a certain curiosity mixed with indifference at the office furnishings.

  'What a ridiculous interior...'

  The man's eyes rested everywhere, especially on a strange forked terracotta pot, on the full ashtray and on the golden neckce around the demon's neck. The guildmaster's face was the only thing the boy's eyes kept away from. The demon was pretending to be busy, but Agamennone noticed a dirty magazine called "Drinks for everyone" and a woodwork magazine called "Look at it snowing!" protruding widely from a drawer, with the title in pin view.

  'Does this guy live here? Why does he bring certain stuff here?'

  "Put them on my desk."

  Agamennone, deep in thought, did not hear.

  The demon cleared his throat.

  "I said put them on the desk."

  The ruler, at that point recalled from the world of fantasy, carried out the request.

  The guildmaster immediately started to sign the various forms, without even reading them, while Agamennone remained standing like a stick in the middle of the office. As he signed the various forms, the guildmaster noticed that the other man had not yet left.

  "I thought it was obvious, but you can go."

  "Uh..."

  Agamennone therefore left the office somewhat quietly while the demon resumed signing the rest of the forms. A few steps away from the door he sighed.

  'I think that went well...'

  The man returned to his workstation. There he took out his phone and texted his roommate:

  'I think everything went well.'

  As he put the phone back in his pocket, his injured colleague approached him in an inquisitive tone.

  As he put the phone back in his pocket, his injured colleague approached him in an inquisitive but not hostile tone.

  "Listen, can I know what retionship you and Vionte have exactly?"

  The man looked down at her with half-lidded eyes.

  "The question is mutual."

  The dark-haired woman pointed a finger at the man.

  "Answer my question. I've known Vionte for quite a while, and you don't seem to fit into her circle of acquaintances. Nothing personal, but I would like to shed some light on what is going on."

  The man gred at his colleague.

  "Perhaps we have met recently?"

  "Possible, but I wonder why someone like Vionte would vouch for someone she met recently..."

  "Can't you ask her? why would I know what she thinks..."

  "As if I hadn't thought of that! It's just that I can't extort information from her, but I'm sure I'd be able to do that with you."

  Timothea let out an aggressive look. Agamennone, as a reaction, quickly moved as far away from her as possible. The cat-woman looked at him with annoyance.

  "I don't want to attack you..."

  "It seems fair to expect reactions of a certain kind from someone who talks about extortions, don't you think?"

  The man was alert and rather nervous.

  "Well, I don't bme you.... But back to us... What retionship do you two have?"

  "What's the matter with you? Do you by any chance have a crush on her?"

  "No. I just don't want my friend to get involved with a no-good."

  The man raised an eyebrow.

  "'Do I look like a no-good'?"

  "Yes."

  The man showed his annoyance on his face.

  "... Thank you..."

  "You're welcome..."

  Timotea smiled, managing to annoy and provoke the boy even more.

  Agamennone, instinctively, grabbed the girl by the scruff of her neck.

  "I'll tell you once. She and I are acquaintances. UNDERSTOOD?"

  Despite the man's furious and intimidating gaze, the girl was not scared at all. She grabbed the man's hand, squeezing it tightly enough to hurt him, and pulled it away from her.

  "OUCH!"

  Agamennone waved his wrist in the air. Timotea looked at him with some curiosity.

  "The pain doesn't go away any faster that way..."

  "It's a habit I have, don't nitpick... Anyway... You said you wouldn't attack me!"

  "You started it!"

  The man put his hand to his forehead.

  "Yeah, that's right."

  Timotea sighed.

  "Let's end this discussion... In the end Vionte has the right to hang out with whoever she wants, but just know that these favours are not normal on her part."

  Agamennone did not reply, not knowing how to do so. Agamennone therefore started watching television while the bck-haired girl continued to check the register.

  'My shift should be over soon...'

  Agamennone, despite the fact that he was mainly watching TV rather than working, was getting bored to death. After the discussion earlier, the two stood aside. The man watched a customer walk down the stairs and then posted a paper on the notice board.

  'Why had that guy come up?'

  Once the customer left, the man went to look at the board he had just posted, reading it in his mind.

  'Looking for a H-rank adventurer as a helper for my vegetable garden, reward of 2 silver coins...' Why precisely an adventurer of rank H? Something doesn't seem right to me...'

  The ruler tried to remove the advertisement, being rebuked by his colleague.

  'It is improper to do such things. Besides, there is a register for commissions, so even if you remove the ad, the commission remains...'

  The boy huffed.

  "I'm sorry, but it didn't look like a serious errand to me... It was about helping someone with a vegetable garden...'.

  'I'd rather not tell her about the requirement of being an H-rank andventurer...'.

  Well, there are such commissions. They are, of course, commissions that even beginners have a tendency to avoid...'.

  In the middle of the discussion there was a shout.

  'FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

  Surprised by the expletives, the two stopped talking. Timotea immediately turned towards the stairs, while Agamennone shook his head to see where the shouting was coming from. The Guildmaster quickly descended the stairs and stood in front of them. He held a form in his hand.

  "Timotea... *gasp*... Agamennone... *gasp*... what... *gasp*... does this mean!

  He pointed to the form in his hand.

  "That you ran at breakneck speed with a form in your hand."

  "So funny you two-cents thin boy! I'm talking about the form!

  "You show me a form two metres away, does it look like I can read it?"

  "AAAARGH!"

  Timotea approached her superior, took the form in her hands and read it in her head.

  "The form is a dismissal form, with the subject being Vionte and with your signature, boss."

  "EXACTLY! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!"

  The Guildmaster restlessly ran his hands through his hair.

  "Argh!"

  "Well, Vionte came in this morning and filled out a form."

  Timotea did not react.

  "And you did nothing to stop her?

  The bck-haired woman shrugged.

  "Why should I have done it? Besides, Agamennone took care of it."

  "And why should i have done that?"

  Agamennone smirked.

  "And i'm going to fire you!"

  The demon pointed his finger at the man, who gestured, "What are you talking about?"

  "You can't do that, boss. He has done nothing wrong, whereas yours would be an abuse of power."

  The guildmaster stomped one foot on the floor and then he walked away, continuing to stomp his feet. The form was crumpled up in his tightly clenched hands.

  'One moment...'

  The demon, still angry, looked at the signed form in his hand. He tore it into small pieces and dropped them on the stairs, ughing heartily. Meanwhile, the two adventurers below were still reeling from the encounter.

  "How can you tolerate him?"

  "Just know that if it weren't for my injury, I'd be outside... Also, he fortunately spends most of his time in his office."

  The man sighed, but soon his gaze grew visibly. He looked at the clock.

  "See you tomorrow."

  Agamennone was about to leave when he was called by his colleague.

  "The uniform belongs to the guild, you have to change first..."

  The lord huffed before heading off with his colleague to the changing room.

  "See you tomorrow then, Agamennone."

  "Yes, Bye."

  The catwoman and the human greeted each other, even waving their hands, before parting. The man looked around.

  'I think I was wrong to tell Vionte not to pick me up.... I haven't the faintest idea where I have to go...'

  The man headed off in a random direction. As he walked, at one point he felt himself being grabbed on the back of the colr before being dragged into a dark alley. The man was dropped onto the ground.

  "Agamennone, My Lord!"

  The ruler recognised the voice. The man got up and turned around, finding himself facing a bck bovine in a short-sleeved checkered shirt. Agamennone was not at all happy to see him again.

  "What do you want!"

  The bull assumed an authoritative pose.

  "I am here to tell you good news."

  "Are you resigning?"

  Agamennone sneered, infuriating Ferdinand.

  "Unfortunately for you, no. I am here to talk to you about a commission."

  The ruler pointed his finger at the regent.

  "You were behind it then!"

  "You don't seem surprised, Your Grace."

  "Of course not! That commission seemed tailor-made for me!"

  The man was annoyed, while Ferdinando grinned in satisfaction.

  "I'm gd you noticed. Because you will be the one to accept the commission."

  Agamennone clenched his fists.

  "What if I refuse?"

  Ferdinando prepared to unsheathe his axe. Agamennone panicked.

  'He is mad!'

  And he replied in a shrill voice.

  'Alright! Alright!"

  The bull id down his axe and walked away satisfied.

  "I will wait for you tomorrow at the pace, Then I will inform you of everything else there is to know."

  Agamennone gritted his teeth, then sighed, bowing his head.

  'Perhaps I'd better ask Vionte for informations to return home.'

  Agamennone knocked on the door of the house where he was staying. It was Valentina who opened the door.

  "Your Majesty, you have returned at st..."

  The woman started to embrace the boy, who was negatively surprised. In addition, the right horn lightly wounded the man on the temple. The young man tried to wriggle out immediately, with the woman giving up after a short while.

  "What's gotten into you?"

  "Excuse me, but you know... With you living with us, I consider you a bit like an adopted son..."

  The man calmed down, assuming a neutral expression

  "Thank you..."

  "Plus... Being an adopted son there is no incest problem, am I right?"

  Agamennone gasped in shock.

  "Aren't you married?"

  "So what?"

  The man put his hand to his forehead. On the other hand, the woman ughed, pcing one hand in front of her mouth.

  "You still don't understand that I'm just teasing you?"

  "No, because I still don't understand whether you are harmless or not."

  The woman ughed again.

  "'You also know that if I wanted to take advantage of you I could do it just fine. Yet I'm making you dinner..."

  the man sighed.

  'She has a point...'

  "Still... couldn't you retract your horns when you want to hug me? I feel a burn on my temple..."

  Valentina was astonished.

  "Did I hurt you?"

  Agamennone ran his hand over where he felt the burn. When he put it in front of his eyes, he noticed the absence of blood.

  "You scratched me..."

  The woman, meanwhile, had taken some of the sauce she was cooking.

  "To make it up to you, I'll let you taste the sauce for the beans, tell me if it is to your liking."

  The ruler tasted the sauce.

  "It is not bad, it is tasty- OW! OW! OW!"

  The man rushed towards the fridge. Reaching it, he opened the door.

  "Where is... Where is..."

  The man observed the inside of the appliance, having spotted the bottles of milk, he turned to Valentina.

  "What was the normal milk?"

  The man, in order to curb the stinging he felt, began to breathe through his mouth.

  Valentina went to join him, but stopped halfway, her eyes wide open.

  "Your Majesty... You're spitting fmes..."

  "My mouth is on fire, of course I'm spitting fmes! Now give me the milk. Not yours though."

  "No... I mean... Watch when you breathe through your mouth."

  Agamennone looked at her grimly, then checked, as far as possible, the lower part of his own face. He was lost for words. Every time he exhaled a small orange fme came out of his mouth. These fmes gradually lost their intensity at the same pace as the stinging decayed.

  'Am i in a cartoon!?'

  The man's surprise soon changed form from astonishment to curiosity.

  'Why don't I feel pain when I emit these fmes?'

  Valentina began to ugh elegantly.

  'You know, my lord... I believe that, for some reason unknown to us, the paprika I put in the sauce has temporarily activated your magical potential... If you want to try drinking my mi-"

  "ENOUGH WITH YOUR MILK!"

  The demoness was astonished.

  "Always with the milk... Do you only have one joke in your repertoire? You're annoying, you know? And then... The paprika has worn off..."

  "Forgive me, Your Grace, I have exaggerated..."

  The woman prostrated herself at the man's feet, with the tter putting his hand to his forehead, accidentally putting a finger in his own eye.

  "OUCH!"

  The woman looked the lord from below. She then got up, shifting to a kneeling position as an intermediate pose, before heading for the sink.

  "Why don't you go to my daughter and tell her the news while you warn her that dinner is ready?"

  "I don't see the point..."

  The man spoke through his teeth, annoyed by the tone of Valentina's defiant and provocative voice.

  "You know, either you tell her, or I'll tell her when she comes down. Your choice..."

  The ruler huffed, annoyed by the demoness' threatening tone. Stamping his feet he went upstairs and reached the girl's room. In the doorway he saw that the girl was quietly pying a video game sitting at her desk. Agamennone began to smile wickedly. Quietly he approached the girl.

  "What is it now?"

  The boy suddenly weakened in disappointment. He was still far away from the half-demon. The girl paused the game and turned around. She smiled.

  "So, what's up?

  "Well... dinner's ready."

  The girl got up and walked towards the kitchen, then gestured for Agamennone to follow her.

  "Anyway, you're not stealthy at all..."

  "Thank you..."

  The man looked at the woman with half-lidded eyes, then he assumed an unsure expression.

  "Listen... Your mother told me to tell you that I had a bizarre reaction to the paprika."

  Vionte stopped suddenly and turned around with a worried look.

  "Are you alright?"

  "No, I died..."

  "Then send me an invitation to your funeral."

  The girl started walking again, but her movements became more stiff. Agamennone instead stood still for a moment before following her.

  'Damn me!'

  Once in the kitchen, the young people sat down at the table.

  "Mama, what's for dinner?"

  "There's risotto with tomato sauce and beans with tomato sauce, daughter."

  The woman turned off the burners and sat down at the table.

  "Listen, did Agamennone say anything to you?"

  The woman grinned and looked into the boy's eyes.

  "He hinted at a reaction to the paprika, but then he brilliantly ruined the discussion with a 'clever' use of sarcasm."

  Vionte also gred at the boy, who rested his chin on one hand. Agamennone huffed.

  "After eating some spicy sauce, our ruler began to spit fire out of his mouth."

  The young woman was stunned.

  "B-but... That doesn't make any sense..."

  "I know, dear Violetta, but it's certainly a signal, isn't it?"

  Vionte scratched her chin.

  "It's certainly something worth investigating."

  Valentina began gently stroking her daughter's head as she closed her eyes. The dispy of affection sted about twenty seconds. In the meantime, Agamennone had grabbed a bottle of water and was reading the chemical and physico-chemical analysis of it.

  'Total dissolved solids at 180°C: 177.24 mg/l, electrical conductivity at 20°C: -'

  His reading was interrupted by a voice. He turned towards the source of the noise.

  "After dinner, we'll investigate this mysterious phenomenon together. Fortunately, we have a lot of hot peppers..."

  "N-no, not hot peppers! NO! NO!"

  Agamennone looked in horror at his housemate, whose face showed an eerie smile and a piercing stare.

  "Consider it a little lecture for answering me so harshly... I was worried!"

  Vionte smiled as she saw Agamennone on the defensive.

  "I-I was wrong, I-I'm sorry i answered you in a bad way."

  "I was joking... I'm not mad at you, even if I didn't like the way you answered me."

  Agamennone blew and rexed abruptly.

  "But you know better than I do that the phenomenon that affected you needs to be studied properly..."

  "Aaargh!"

  The man banged his head on the table, causing the two women to ugh.

  "Again."

  Vionte, with a notebook in her hand, watched from a chair in the garden as the ruler had to repeatedly ingest a chilli pepper after a certain amount of time. Agamennone ate a piece of a chilli and, immediately afterwards, started shooting fire from his mouth again.

  "Try to control the fmes."

  "*fme*... I'm... *fme*... trying!"

  The girl's tone softened.

  "I don't doubt it."

  The ruler continued to search for a way to control the fmes produced with each exhation, but failed. Once the capsaicin had worn off, the man sat down next to the woman by a wall mp.

  "I've been eating twenty chillies, can we stop here?"

  "Persevere a little longer, come on. Maybe I can finally teach you how to control magic. "

  Vionte, who was holding the container of chillies between her legs, adopted a calm tone. Agamennone looked at her with half-lidded eyes.

  "Listen... Why are you acting like this? You can see from a mile away that you're up to something."

  "Do you mean to ask me why I am very avaible to you?"

  "Yeah..."

  Agamennone turned in the opposite direction to the interlocutor. For a few seconds there was silence, which was then interrupted by the girl.

  "Because you are our ruler, you are the one who was summoned to save us from ruin.... And even though, personally, I am quite skeptical about prophecies and simir things, part of me was still afraid. So I tried to keep you good by treating you well."

  Agamennone, his head resting on one hand, his elbows in turn resting on the armrest of the chair, did not immediately respond.

  "I don't understand one thing though. Normally when people have ulterior motives they hide it. Instead, your kindness has always been btantly conditional."

  The girl put her arms behind her head and crossed her legs.

  "It's simple. I didn't want to hide this fact. I wanted to be honest with you. And I would really like to be your friend, by the way. But... Time is important in these situations, so I decided to take a shortcut. I have never acted against your interests. I swear."

  The man sighed.

  "I know, and for that I am grateful.... You were there for me when it mattered. Plus I wanted to take advantage of your kindness too, actually.... So let's just say I'm not here to lecture you."

  "And I would have let you do that, at least to a certain extent. I wanted to spoil you a little, given your situation. Had I been in your pce, I wouldn't have reacted well to what happened to you..."

  The pair remained silent for a few seconds.

  "You know Agamennone... Kindness, affection... They are very effective weapons in the hands of those who know how to use them to their advantage."

  The ruler was slightly disturbed by the calmness with which the girl said that sentence.

  'And I thought the cynical one was me.'

  'I know, I'm not dumb. I'm just not someone who can put on an act. By the way... Never mind..."

  The girl let out a ugh before turning towards the man. The interruption of the interlocutor intrigued her. This curiosity of hers was clearly visible in the way she stared at Agamennone, with a mischievous smile and a penetrating gaze, although she refrained from asking him anything else.

  "Are you ready to resume the experiment? So far we haven't got a thing out of it, but maybe by continuing we might have better luck..."

  Agamennone stood up without saying anything. Facing Vionte, he tried to stroke her head, but his arm was blocked by the succubus, who looked away from the man and blushed.

  "Please don't pat me on the head.... It's true that at times I've pyed tricks on you that were a bit naughty.... I'll sound hypocritical but... please don't do that.... That's where I get caressed by my parents..."

  Agamennone let his arm drop as Vionte let go of him. Then he took a chilli from the jar and returned to his experimental position.

  "Thank you..."

  The woman smiled kindly at the man, then returned to a neutral expression.

  "Attempt number 21, ready?"

  Agamennone sighed, then he ate the chili pepper.

  "AAARGH! If I just think back to what happened to me.... I feel like smashing everything!"

  A red-haired woman was putting her hands in her hair, disheveling it. After which she stood up abruptly and picked up the chair she was previously sitting on.

  "'Stand still! Or that knight will evict us!"

  The woman sighed, then put the chair back down.

  "You're right Heinz, excuse me."

  "Hey *hic*... Fr?nze, did you *hic*... Drink by any chance?"

  "DO YOU THINK I DRINK BEFORE AN URGENT MEETING? THINK ABOUT YOU INSTEAD, THAT IF I BRING A FLAME CLOSE TO YOU YOU'LL CATCH FIRE IMMEDIATELY!"

  The woman had instinctively grabbed a bottle from the table and was swinging it violently at her housemate.

  "Calm down Fr?nze, don't get so worked up."

  The woman sat back down, resting her arms on the table and putting her head between them.

  "I envy you Heinz... I am unable to remain so calm. How do you do it?"

  "I can't tell you. I can only tell you that I envy your hair," the man replied, stroking his bald head.

  "Still... Oktavian, just go to sleep since you are currently useless."

  Oktavian slowly rose from his chair.

  "Yes Heinz."

  He started to head towards the bedroom, but he passed out after only a couple of steps, attracting the attention of Fr?nze, who raised her head again.

  "Well, he'll sleep here. Serves him right."

  "I fully support you this time. Rather, aren't you feeling hot with your armour on?"

  "I'm used to it by now, don't worry."

  The woman sighed again.

  "What options do we have, given our situation?"

  "We can probably just be adventurers. From what I understand, people here are mainly looking for skilled manpower. However... I'm a good strategist, and you a skilled fighter, we could also try to become instructors, but don't get your hopes up."

  The woman rolled her eyes.

  "Look... How about we have a treat while we watch some light tv shows and leave our bad thoughts until tomorrow."

  "Alright Fr?nze, it's also only fair that you rex after what happened to us. Plus you can teach me how to use that thing."

  The redhead looked at the bald man with half-lidded eyes, while the tter pointed at the television set.

  "The way you talk makes it seem like you're rexing..."

  "I'm not rexing, I'm not experiencing sudden outbursts of anger, though."

  The man pced a hand on the woman's shoulder. he then walked over to the fridge, deftly evading his companion's body on the floor, while the woman went to sit on the sofa.

  "I wish I had no such thing. In battle an anger outburst can be lethal..."

  Heinz returned with two puddings and two teaspoons and sat down next to Fr?nze, who had meanwhile switched on the television. The woman, before opening the dessert, made a sort of toast with her colleague's pudding.

  "I want to vent a little Heinz, I hope you understand me."

  The woman lifted the pudding.

  "Death to the baroness!"

  "Death to the baroness!"

  The man went after her, before starting to eat the pudding with his colleague as together they began to watch a romantic comedy with erotic overtones.