Ascension of the Monster Queen

"It looks beautiful," Nessa said, staring at the city as the ship came to a halt and the passgers disembarked, followed by the captain who sighed and looked at Nessa.

"I'll be leaving in the morning; you can stay here on the ship tonight, th use your time tomorrow to look a the city and find a place to stay if you don't already have one," The captain suggested.

"I think I'll do that as well, there's no point in looking for anything right now, thank you, captain," She said and he smiled.

"I'm going to meet some frids; you relax and be careful," The captain replied, th she smiled and he left, and she wt into the cabin to fresh up, th sat down to eat with Akio, and a little while later, the girl wt to sleep, because she was tired from not getting much sleep the night before.

Wh the girl awoke the next morning. She stretched, th turned to face Akio, who had awok just before her.

"Good morning," She said.

"Good morning, my lady," He replied, and she smiled before getting up and going out on the deck, where she dimmed her eyes slightly due to the bright sunlight, and wh she reoped them properly, she saw how busy the city was as well as nice.

"Good morning," The captain said as he approached her.

"Good morning, captain," She replied.

"Are you ready to start your day?" He asked th she smiled.

"Yes, if you don't mind, can I go fresh up and so on before you leave?" She asked.

"By all means, go ahead." He responded, and she wt to fresh up while he waited on the deck, talking to the captains of the other ships nearby.

Wh Nessa finished taking her bath, she got dressed th grabbed her bag and exited the cabin with Akio.

"I'm ready," Nessa said as the captain turned to face her.

"You look ready to go, but one thing I have to tell you, my frids told me last night because I asked, you might run into a few very unpleasant things, ev a few slaves," He replied and her eyes shook as she stared at him.

"S- Slaves?" He nodded wh she asked.

"I take it you don't understand?" He asked.

"I don't," She responded and he sighed.

"That's probably because you are not from a here, I guess not everything is perfect here, you can buy slaves or sell them, you will understand more wh you see it for yourself, are you sure you want me to leave you here?" He asked th she lowered her head and took a deep breath before smiling.

"I will be fine, thank you," She responded as he stared at her th smiled.

"All right, good luck, and take care," He said as she exited the ship, and she smiled.

"I will, and you, too, captain, bye," She replied before walking away into the bustling streets of the vast unfamiliar city.

'This place sure is busy,' Nessa thought as Akio tighted his grip on her top's sleeve and she looked at him.

"It's okay, relax a little," She said, and he looked at her before looking a at the various types of people passing by.

"Do you want to buy anything, Miss?" As she walked through the market, a merchant asked.

"No, thank you," She responded, and he smiled as she continued walking.

"Where am I going to find an inn or something?" Nessa mumbled as someone ran into her, nearly knocking her down, but she regained her balance and saw a kid run past her before sighing.

"Be careful, I don't care if it's a kid," Akio warned.

"Alright, got it," She said as she walked deeper into the city, amazed at their architecture and craftsmanship, but yet they wer't better than Youthim's and his brothers.

"I have to say, it's nice, but I have a bad feeling being here, It's be decided, you can't go anywhere alone as long as we are here," Akio said and she chuckled.

"You got it, bodyguard," She replied.

"That has a nice ring to it as well," He said, and she patted him wh she came across a food stall and stopped to buy them lunch because it was already midday, th she stood in an alley, fed Akio, and ate her food while observing the people wh she noticed a few looked as though they were afraid of something and Nessa's brows furrowed, wondering what was going on.

"Miss notice, do you notice anything strange a here?" Nessa wondered.

"Something does seem to be off about the way a few people are acting, but other than that, master, I don't sse anything else, maybe you should keep an eye out," Nessa agreed after the system responded.

"Akio, don't let your guard down, walk alongside me and let's just get someplace to stay the night," Nessa said as she walked away after they finished eating, and Akio did as instructed.

Nessa spt most of the day looking for a proper place to stay in the city, but most places were full due to passers-by, and wh night fell and she still hadn't gott ev a single room, Nessa became irritated because she had no inttion of sleeping outside, especially in the city that gave her the creeps.

"Lady Nessa, the wind is blowing really cold, you should get a place to stay," Akio suggested as she sighed, but at the same time the thunder began to rumble and the lighting began to flash as the rain poured down, and she dashed into an inn that she spotted along with Akio, half drched.

"My lady, please turn a," Akio mumbled and Nessa turned a only to bump into a big woman and Nessa left staring at the woman who looked down at her th smiled and Nessa sighed.

"You will catch a cold, do you want a room, miss?" The woman asked.

"Sure, thank you," Nessa responded as the woman led her to the receptionist, and Nessa sighed in relief because, after a long, strange, and exhausting day, she had finally gott herself a room in which she and Akio could spd the night.