Chapter 4

  Stats don't lie

  “What do the kids in Snowhaven think of the Diablo?”

  “Something tells me Snowhaven probably thinks the least badly of us.”

  It made sense—they were on opposite ends of the world. Snowhaven was the farthest kingdom to the north, while Diablo sat deep in the south.

  Sure, a Diablo army could reach Snowhaven by circumnavigating the globe, but the cold would likely cut their forces in half along the way.

  “We don’t think you’re demons from hell… but we do stay cautious.”

  “See? Told you,” Dan said, slapping his knee and pointing at Zeedee.

  “If we’re gonna start making allies, we have to start with the ones who hate us the least.”

  “What exactly are you planning to do, Mr. Fury?”

  “Other than searching for my wife? This is my side quest.”

  Now that Nora had learned about this rebranding plan—royalty to royalty—it challenged everything she'd been taught over the last ten years. At the very least, it showed that they were trying. The Diablo were trying to make peace with humankind.

  Fury handed her a brown envelope. Inside was a survey conducted in a diverse academic district—one of the most multicultural on the continent. The result? 96% of respondents considered the Diablo a dangerous race.

  Today, Fury got something he never had before—a human perspective spoken honestly, face to face. From Nora, he finally understood why the Diablo were so feared and hated.

  Stories.

  The media was the main culprit, shaping the narrative against the Diablo. In the past ten years, how many people besides Casca, Nora, and a handful of friends of the Demon Prince had actually heard both sides?

  Almost none.

  “These stories that’ve been circulating for the past decade… who started them?”

  “I’m not sure who wrote them,” Nora replied. “But the paintings we all grew up seeing? They all came from the same place.”

  War records from the Kingdom of Luminus.

  “Luminus again, huh…”

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Fury let out a heavy sigh. Figures. A kingdom that served God would naturally see the Diablo as the enemy of the divine. There was no need to guess how they would portray him in their records.

  Now that her eyes were open, Nora understood the prince. All the clergymen she’d ever met in Luminus were the same…

  Her intellect and quick wit helped her keep pace with the prince’s thoughts—even when it came to Diablo’s economy. He admitted candidly that, although Diablo had vast wealth from mana crystal exports, that money just sat there, frozen in place, unused due to the Non-Interference Pact.

  Unlike the humans' free trade system, always driven by innovation, the Diablo merely imported resources. Everton, his brother, managed their massive wealth like a Saudi prince with no way to spend it. Diablo was stagnating. They needed innovation, and to get that, they needed humans—who were better at it.

  But Luminus had made sure none of the other four kingdoms interacted with Diablo at all.

  It was all because of their religion.

  At least if Nora survived long enough, Snowhaven—when she took the throne in 20 or 30 years—would likely be one of the first to formally open relations with Diablo.

  “At the very least, I’m buying time for the future. It doesn’t hurt.”

  “But Snowhaven alone won’t be enough to change anything if the other four kingdoms won’t budge.”

  Nora’s voice was measured.

  “If we cut out Luminus and convince three out of five, the rest will follow.”

  “True… hmm… Mathema or Velmount would be the best bets, then.”

  “This is a side quest, Mr. Fury? It sounds like a full-on world mission.”

  “Just helping out my people. If I don’t do it, one of my younger siblings will have to. My duty ended when the war did. I’m just here looking for my wife. Once I find her, I’m out.”

  And then, about Casca—

  “I’m not expecting much… but is there any chance someone of your standing might know something about her?”

  “She didn’t tell you anything before she left?”

  “Not a word. She just… disappeared.”

  Fury wasn’t expecting much from Nora, but—

  “Three months before the semester started, she came to Snowhaven.”

  “…What?”

  Dan jolted upright, no longer lounging.

  “Three months ago?”

  “I was getting ready to transfer here at the time, but I overheard it from some soldiers—Casca Saint-Maximin came to Snowhaven.”

  “Did you meet her?”

  “No. I was elsewhere. The Empress would probably know more.”

  Dan and Zeedee exchanged looks. Zeedee’s face said, Told you so.

  In any case—

  “Three months before school started… that’s right when we got these human forms,” Dan muttered, turning to Zeedee.

  “Could Casca be… in Snowhaven?”

  “That’s way up north, Your Majesty.”

  “She said she was in a human city… never said which. Could be anywhere.”

  As they considered the possibilities, Nora Ophilis spoke up.

  “...During the two-week break, I have to return to Snowhaven anyway. If I can help you, Mr. Fury, you’re welcome to come as my guest.”

  “!”

  Dan’s eyes widened. He propped his chin on his hand.

  “You’re inviting me to Snowhaven? To go back with you??”

  “We have to return to school after the break anyway, right, Your Majesty?” Zeedee chimed in, arms crossed.

  “Two weeks isn’t that long. And our departments won’t start making real use of scholarship students until the end of the term… so yeah, worth a shot.”

  “I’ve never set foot in Snowhaven before… is it really cold?”

  “You’ll need a thick coat, Mr. Fury.”

  “You’d really let me come with you?”

  “Yes… because, well… I have to go back and deal with something my mother left for me.”

  Nora’s face visibly dimmed… as if something serious awaited her return.

  “Then good. I’ll spend those two weeks searching for Casca… if I go all in, I should manage.”

  “I’m scheduled to depart tomorrow,” Nora said.

  “That’s… awfully sudden, isn’t it?”

  “It’s the Empress’s order.”

  “Strict mother, huh.”

  “Your Majesty, shall we head back to Sweet Home and start packing?”

  “Absolutely, Zeedee.”