Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 93
Chapter 93: Satanas and the Inn
After a while, the people who had taken shelter inside the buildings came back outside, and the town regained its usual liveliness.
The alleyways were brimming with energy, and the loud voices of street vendors echoed from both sides.
Sora, not wanting to draw attention, hid her silver hair completely by pulling the hood of her black coat over her head.
For now, we took the girl with us, moving a little and settling in a less conspicuous back alley.
All three of us focused our gazes on the girl.
The girl, Satanas, with red hair, golden eyes, tanned skin, and dressed in a bright red dress.
Even with Sora’s ?Insight? skill, she was a special girl whose details couldn’t be fully seen, and she still looked a bit scared as she stared at us.
To show we had no intention of harming her, we had disarmed ourselves, but seeing her so frightened made my chest ache.
When Kuro, who was closest in age, tried to speak to her, she flinched and took a step back.
If we provoked her the wrong way, I had a feeling she might try to run away.
Alice, arms crossed, was deep in thought, so it seemed like I, the one with the power of the Archangel, would have to handle this.
So, representing the three of us, Sora stepped forward. First, she crouched down to meet her gaze and carefully asked a question, trying not to scare the small girl.
“Where did the woman who came with you go?”
“I don’t know. She said she had something to do and apologized…”
“…Was that woman your sister, Satanas?”
“No, I don’t know her. But she said that if I stayed here, I’d be able to meet the Angel.”
Even though she didn’t know the woman, she had brought her here and even predicted that I would come.
She’s probably some sort of helper character.
Maybe we’ll meet her if we progress the quest.
It was an interesting story, but when I tried asking more about the woman, Satanas just kept saying she didn’t know, and I couldn’t get any more information out of her.
“Got it. Let’s change the question. Did you wake up in a different town, Satanas?”
“No, that’s not it. I woke up in front of a big crater.”
“A big crater?”
“In this lava zone, there’s only one large crater. It’s said to be the place where the Demon Dragon King was once sealed — ?Eli Volcano?.”
“The… the volcano where the Demon Dragon King was sealed…”
Alice’s words made sweat bead up on my forehead.
Just from putting the information together, I started to think that this girl might be something extraordinary.
The mysterious girl, Satanas, appeared at this exact moment.
She has no parents, was brought here by a mysterious woman, and that woman even knew that I would come here.
Satanas woke up near the great volcano where the Demon Dragon King was sealed. And based on how the Lesser Dragons that attacked us seemed to be searching for something, it’s safe to assume they were definitely after her.
It’s not confirmed yet, but at worst, she could be the Demon Dragon King, or at least something related to the seal.
Either way, it’s clear that Satanas will play a key role in the upcoming Demon Dragon King quest.
The best choice for now is to keep her close and ensure her safety.
Sora, hiding the part about the Demon Dragon King and the seal, explained to the others that he couldn’t just leave a little girl like her alone.
Kuro nodded in agreement, and Alice, though she seemed reluctant, also gave her approval.
“That settles it. If you’re okay with it, Satanas, how about joining us?”
“Is that okay? If you’re with me, the dragons will attack you.”
Dragons, huh…
I had thought she wasn’t aware of the attacks, but despite her young appearance, she seems pretty smart.
Seeing the worried look on her face, Sora lightly tapped her chest with her right hand and answered confidently.
“Don’t worry. I may not look it, but I’m known as the world’s strongest adventurer.”
“And as Sora’s partner, I’m the second strongest adventurer in the world.”
“Adventurers…?”
The girl looked back and forth between Sora and Kuro, then smiled and nodded.
“Okay, I understand. Satanas will stay with you, big brother!”
“!? ”
Sora couldn’t believe what she just heard from Satanas.
“Big brother…!?”
“Is that wrong?”
“No, it’s right… But, do I really look like a man to you, Satanas?”
“Yes, I can see the same blue magic as other men around you.”
Blue magic?
I can’t see anything like that, even with my enhanced ?Insight II? skill that lets me detect MP.
Maybe it’s some kind of unique skill that only Satanas has.
While Sora was thinking, a unique side quest appeared before his eyes.
Its title was ?The Dragon Girl and the Crimson Ring?.
It’s clearly connected to the ongoing quest I’ve been doing since the Forest of Spirits, ?The Four Star of the Lord of the Rings?.
The quest was automatically accepted, and after reading through the details, Sora made a grim face.
That’s because the quest was one of the ones I’m worst at: ?Satanas’ Escort?.
The duration was set for 20 days.
And thus began the trial of escorting her while simultaneously completing the Dragon King quest.
……………………………….
After deciding to log out for a while, Sora and the others planned to stay at an inn with the intention of protecting Satanas.
The reason being, private rooms in inns are the safest areas in this world. Once you’ve paid the fee in ?El?, not even the NPC owner of the inn can enter the room until the designated date.
With that settled, the scene shifts to a luxury inn, favored by royalty, located right in the heart of the Euclia City, complete with hot springs.
The exterior looked more like a grand hotel than an inn, with an entrance wide enough for about five people to walk through side by side.
Only those who regularly use the inn owned by the Dragon race and have earned a Gold Card, or members of the royal family, are allowed to stay there.
Because of this rule, Sora and Kuro, who usually don’t use inns, wouldn’t be allowed to enter.
However, Alice, who possessed a Gold Card engraved with the dragon crest—something only members of the royal family can hold—spoke to the Dragon guards at the entrance and passed by them.
Was it okay for us to follow?
As Sora and Kuro hesitated for a moment, Alice turned back and beckoned them to come along.
Exchanging glances with Kuro, I took Satanas’s small hand and followed her past the guards.
The guard smiled at Kuro, who passed first, but when her eyes landed on the small Satanas, her expression soured.
It was as if she were looking at something that annoyed her.
That gaze, filled with hostility, was exactly the same as what I had felt many times before—directed toward something harmful.
As Sora and Satanas tried to pass by, the guard said,
“Excuse me, but could you please remove your hood before entering?”
He blocked their way.
Having no choice, Sora removed her hood, revealing his face. The soldier’s eyes widened in shock as he saw Sora’s silver hair gleaming in the sunlight.
“Th-the Archangel…!?”
Just like most of the NPCs in this world, he gave the standard reaction upon seeing me. Flustered, the guard hurriedly apologized, almost ready to bow down in prostration.
“I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed, quickly stepping aside to let them pass.
Without acknowledging the guard, Sora placed her hand on Satanas’s shoulder and walked inside, heading to the counter with Alice and Kuro.
The price for the best room was an outrageous 1,000,000 El per person, per night, clearly catering to those with extravagant tastes.
Alice paid for all four of them, and once they received the keys, they headed up the spiral staircase to the suite on the top floor.
“It’s… it’s scary…”
Peeking down through the gaps in the staircase railing, the girl clung to Sora’s waist, frightened.
I patted her head and said, “It’s okay,” while holding her hand firmly.
After walking for a bit, we finally reached our room. Alice unlocked the door and went inside, with Sora and the others following behind.
The room was impressive, big enough to justify its hefty price. Even Kuro, who had initially been shocked by the cost, looked around with curiosity once she stepped in.
“The baths here are pretty special too. The large bath on the first floor is one of the continent’s most famous spots,” Alice explained.
“Sora, let’s check it out later!” Kuro said excitedly.
“Hey, don’t just casually invite me like that. Besides, didn’t you just take a bath in real life?”
“But it’s a hot spring!”
“We’re not here to soak in the hot springs. We’re here to log out,” I said, opening the menu screen. But as I did, Satanas and Alice chimed in, supporting Kuro’s request.
“Satanas wants to go to the hot springs with Angel-sama!”
“W-well, why don’t we all go together? I think the hot spring at this time has a limited-time effect for increasing financial luck.”
“I-Increasing financial luck…?!”
Sora, drawn in by the tempting words, hesitated, while Alice smirked knowingly.
“With the Lesser Dragons you often run into, you can get about 100,000 El for each one you defeat.”
“100,000?!”
“But too bad Sora can’t join us. If there were more people at the party, the number of times our luck with money would increase, wouldn’t it?”
“Ugh…!”
In other words, with this party size, we can do it up to four times.
Calculating it in terms of ?Lesser Dragons?, that would be 400,000 El.
With a devilish grin, Alice, along with Kuro and Satanas, tries to leave the room.
After a moment of hesitation, Sora blurted out,
“P-Please, allow me to accompany you, ladies!”
It was a rather pitiful request, even by my standards.