"We're back!" Helena announced as she and Roland returned to their inn with groceries, "We should be all stocked up now!"
"Good work." Kaguya said as she checked their new supplies, "Some of these seem hard to find. I didn't think you could get saffron in a small town like this."
"You can get anything if you know the right connections." Helena smiled, "I got that mostly as a treat for buying some other stuff. The black market can be pretty generous if they think you're a returning customer."
"The what?"
"Anyway, I'm probably going to go walk around the town a bit more." Helena quickly said, "See some more of the town before we leave. Roko, you wanna come along?"
"Sure, I've got nothing better to do." Roko said as he stood up.
As the three were about to leave they ran into the innkeeper's wife who was just returning with her own groceries, "Oh! Are you going out now?"
"Yep!" Helena replied, "Just for a little bit. We'll be back in time for dinner."
"Do be careful out there." Barbara said solemnly, "There are rumors of some kind of monsters coming out in the middle of the night."
"Really?!" Helena and Roko's heads immediately turned around, "Tell me more!"
"Oh dear." Kaguya stood up, "Seems like we better learn more about this."
"There are tales of this slick oily creatures that attack people in the middle of the night. No one knows where they're coming from and why they're attacking but they seem to disappear after attacking seemingly random people. No one's died quite yet but there are several victims that are now stuck in the hospital. It's been a pretty scary few nights. Most people start heading home when the sun goes down so there hasn't been too many victims nowadays except for the occasional drunk. But they're probably still out there and who knows when they'll leave."
"Is what the inn lady said so now we're here!" Helena shouted in the middle of the street, "What do we do?!"
"Well the sun's already pretty low in the sky." Momo said as she looked towards the falling twilight, "So we could just wait here until the monsters show up."
"Well it's still civil twilight right now." Roko noted, "Almost nautical twilight. There's still a bit to wait until actual night shows up and even then, I doubt they will show up until like the witching hour so we could do some investigating before we go hunting."
"...How do you know so much about the time of day?" Helena asked.
"I watched a video on it once." Roko sighed, "At any rate, we've time to look around."
"Where are you suggesting?"
"The graveyard." Roko nodded, "From what I've seen, these creatures all start by turning dead matter into monsters. Not just the Paramnesia monsters but Cordis and Fuyuki had bases centered in graveyards. So if we go there we have a good chance of identifying what kind of monster we're dealing with."
"Assuming it's not yet another new type of monster." Kaguya sighed, "But you're right, the graveyard would be a good start."
"Amazing! You know so much about the monsters already!"
"Naturally, we've been fighting them for a while no-"
Everyone turned to look at a very excited Vera.
"Let me come with!" Vera cried.
"No." Everyone replied immediately except for Helena who said "Sure." but was drowned out by everyone else.
"But this is my only chance to have an adventure!" Vera yelped, "Nothing else ever happens in this village."
"Adventure comes with danger. And we can't just expose you to danger like that." Kaguya replied.
"But do you even know where the graveyard is?"
Everyone looked at each other for confirmation and once it was clear none of them knew the location, they just looked down silently.
"I'll show you where it is so let me come along!" Vera pushed.
"Okay but once we return, you're to stay in the inn and go to sleep." Kaguya insisted.
"Deal! Let's go!"
A few paces away from the village, a small graveyard was sitting in the middle of the woods. The sun had dipped below the horizon by the time they arrived but thankfully, it wasn't a sizable field so there wasn't much of a need for an in depth investigation. Small wooden graves sat next to headstones in neat, separate plots. There were so signs of any tentacles marking and nests nor did the graves seem disturbed at all. Everyone did a simple search nonetheless but no one was able to discover anything.
"So what does that mean?" Helena asked.
"It means that of the monsters I know about, Paramnesia, Cordis and Fuyuki can be excluded for now." Roko replied, "Of the remaining types, Momokami was a tree and since these monsters have been described as monsters, we can assume it's not a tree. So that leaves-"
"Me right?!" Helena bursted, "The only one left are the ones we saw in Aporia right?!"
"Yes." Roko confirmed as Helena began to do a little excited dance, "The Aporia monsters had a den but they used living hosts instead of turning the dead. The pattern fits. As well as the description though now I suppose we can be assured it's only this one type of monster we're dealing with."
"Great!" Momo grinned, "Knowing what we're up against is a big help!"
"There are a few concerns." Roko muttered, "And if it does turn out to be the Aporia monsters, that means we might have to deal with some extra problems."
"Roko!" Helena shouted, already several paces back towards the village, "Let's get back quickly! I can't wait to hand these monsters their asses!"
"Well, we'll deal with it when it comes." Roko sighed as he followed everyone back towards the village.
In the dark of night, long after everyone in the village had long gone asleep, the shadows began moving. Black oily creatures emerged from between the cracks between the houses, stumbling into the moonlit road with ominous moans. Three of them shambled out into the open, looking around with eyeless heads.
"There they are!"
"Helena, keep it down or you'll wake up the entire village." Kaguya sighed.
The monsters turned around as Roko and company strolled down the street towards the monsters.
"Can you blame me?" Helena grinned, "I've been waiting for a rematch against these guys! You all have been planning how you'd beat your respective city's monsters if you ever came across them again right?! Right, Corissa?! You were super excited to see those blob things again right?!"
"I don't remember seeing them at all!" Corissa yelped, "And even if I did, I certainly would not be happy to see them!"
"Well I can't be the only one."
"I'm pretty sure you're the only one! Right girls?! ...Girls?"
Kaguya and Momo looked away, unable to look Corissa in the eyes.
"Can we just fight them?" Roland called, "Before they just shamble off in boredom?"
"Well, there's three of them." Momo said as she drew her sword, "How do we divide them up?"
"Leave one for me and Roland!" Helena grinned, "I've got plans!"
"Me and Varis can probably take one each." Momo nodded, "What do you and Mikado want to do?"
"Backing up each of you is important as well." Roko replied, "I'll help you out. Mikado, provide support for Varis."
"Understood." Mikado nodded as he drew his sword and readied his shield.
"I want to help too!" Corissa cried, "I want to try using holy on them!"
"Well, I guess that's fine." Roko shrugged, "Stick to Varis then."
"Oh, then you should probably help out Varis then." Momo smiled, "For reasons."
"Sure, whatever." Roko rolled his eyes.
Sensing the coming conflict, the oil monsters let out a frightening screech and charged at them. Breaking into their respective groups, everyone isolated their targets and began combat. Roko could barely remember what fighting these creatures were like after everything that's happened since. But as soon as he began swinging his sword, the memories came flooding back. These things were as sturdy as a normal human but with bodies made of fluid, they could change their shapes to fit different weapons. There were ones with bladed arms and hammer arms but these seemed like basic ones that only had a basic glob as a mimicry of a hand. Still, Roko could feel the force behind them, the air whistling as he dodged around their attacks. Varis on the other hand probably could have fought the creature one on one and won. In fact, the only reason they were still fighting was because Corissa kept trying to get close and use holy. However, her attempts didn't seem to be working well, Varis continually coming in to pull her away from the monster's attacks as Roko dove back in to distract the oil monster.
"It's not working..." Corissa sniffed, "I can't use holy at all!"
"There's always next time." Roko scowled as he pushed the oil monster back, "For now we have to just get rid of them!"
"Varis, why isn't my spell working?" Corissa looked up at her black knight who looked back at her, "Am I missing something? What should I do?"
Varis looked confused and shrugged.
"Hmmm..." Corissa frowned, "This isn't good...how can I figure this out?"
"How about you help me kill this monster first!" Roko shouted as he dodged the oil creature's swing.
"What am I doing wrong?!" Corissa moaned as she flailed her arms and legs around in a frustrated manner, "I want to be useful in battle too!"
Varis looked surprised as he tried to keep hold onto his princess and calm her down as she continued to throw a tantrum.
"Oh for crying out loud." Roko scowled as he pushed the monster away from him. The oil monster slid back a few steps before it lunged forward again, reaching out to grab or punch Roko with its amorphous arm. Roko kicked his leg up, deflecting the attack away from him, stabbing his sword into the creature in one smooth motion. Shoving the monster back, Roko stepped up onto the creature's knee, using it to jump up and rip his sword up through the monster's body. As he fell back down, Roko used the momentum to slash down and completely bisect the monster. The monster began to groan as its body began to fall apart but Roko did a spin and slashed the monster horizontally cutting it into fourths as it finally died.
Roko took a deep sigh as he sheathed his sword, believing the combat was over until he remembered there were two other monsters. But as he turned to check on everyone else, he found that everyone else had already finished their fights and were watching him with an amused smile.
"You could have helped." Roko growled.
"You finished it before we could come in to help." Momo smiled, "And we're not kidding this time."
"Well, we're lucky these were so easy to kill." Roko sighed.
"Yeah, even I'm a bit disappointed." Helena crossed her arms, "I didn't get to pull off any of the special plans I had in mind."
"That's probably because they haven't managed to parasitize anyone yet." Roko explained, "Remember how they acted back in Aporia? These are probably meant to be the first step of an invasion."
"But from what I could tell, these monsters were supposed to be around for a while now." Helena frowned, "How have they not gotten a host yet?"
"Maybe they've just been unlucky?" Roko shrugged, "Who knows?"
"Hey..." Corissa sniffed as she finally joined the group.
"Hey, Corissa." Helena smirked, "Good job out there."
"Sorry..." Corissa looked down, "I'll try to be more helpful next time."
"It's fine if you can't fight but please don't cause a problem for those who can fight." Roko frowned.
"Yes..." Corissa said, tears close to breaking, "I'm sorry."
"Come on, let's go sleep now." Kaguya laughed, "The night's still young and we still have a ton to do tomorrow."
"Kaguya's right!" Helena stretched, "That seems to be all the monsters, at least for tonight so let's hit the bricks so we can hit the beds!"
The following day was supposed to be the day they left but everyone agreed to spend one more day making sure there was definitely no monsters left. That meant making a trip to the hospital and interviewing some of the victims and then going on even more shopping for the later part of their plan.
"We're throwing a party!" Helena announced.
"Are you sure?" Barbara said concerned, "I know you defeated those monsters but there could be more of them."
"That's the point." Momo explained, "We throw a party at night to celebrate our victory but also to draw out any more monsters and take care of them all at once!"
"That sounds awesome!" Vera cried, enthusiastically, "Can I help?!"
"We're planning on throwing the party at this inn so you will certainly be a big help." Kaguya nodded, "We'll be taking care of the catering so if you don't mind, we could use someone to help spread the word."
"Really?! I'll go and tell everyone right away! No, I'll make fliers!"
"Vera!" Her mother called out but her daughter was already running off. With a sigh she turned back to the princesses, "If you think this is a good idea, then we'd be happy to help. But please, let us provide the catering. You've done so much for us already."
"We'll need your help for sure." Helena smiled, "But we have certain plans we want to implement. Trust us, this will be a real event!"
"I can't believe I have to do this again." Roko growled.
"Oh it's not that bad is it?" Corissa giggled, "You trained so hard, it's great to be able to use those skills again isn't it?"
"Tch." Roko scowled as he compared two green melons from the fruit stand, "Nobody in the hospital seemed to remember anything in detail either so we really don't have a lead on the monsters."
"That's what the party is for isn't it?" Corissa said as she took one of the melons from Roko's hands and nodded contently, "We'll be leaving early tomorrow so need to make this count."
"I know." Roko sighed as he put down the other melon, "Still, we've been burning through a lot of money."
"We have four princesses. There really isn't a problem with money."
"Still, I feel like this isn't good to get used to this..." Roko muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
In short time, the word of an extravagant party spread throughout town and people were abuzz with excitement. It seemed like the entire town was anticipating this party, the especially eager ones waiting outside the inn for the promised time of 8 P.M. And once the doors to the inn opened, excited folks rushed into the inn to find tables of food prepared all across the lobby.
"Hello everyone!" Helena called from the inn's balcony, her voice magically amplified, "Welcome to the first Princess Party: Victoria! Tonight, just eat and drink all you want! Let's make this a night to remember!"
The people cheered and ran into the inn, quickly seating themselves and eating anything they could find.
"We've got plenty of food in stock!" Momo called as she brought out more dishes from the kitchen, "Don't worry about running out for the time being, just have fun!"
"Weehaha!" One of the ecstatic men cried as he slid into one of the seats at the bar, "Wait a minute. Bro aren't you friends with these royal folks?! What are you doing here?!"
"Well, we're the sponsors for this event so we can't just sit around and eat." Roko sighed, "At any rate, I'm here in my capacity as a bartender so If you're here you mind as well make an order. I still remember most of the cocktail recipes."
"WHOA, are you serious?! We have a fancy bartender now?! But bro are you sure? There's a lot of us here." The man said as the bar seats began to fill up with elated people.
"Well, I do have an assistant..." Roko scowled.
"Here I am!" Corissa cried as she popped out from behind the bar, "I'm here to mix drink and change lives!"
A chorus of overjoyed men resounded throughout the entire inn, overpowering even the general chatter, as the bar became even more crowed with people piling on top of each other.
"It's Princess Corissa!"
"Oh my god, what's that little suit she's wearing?! She's so cute!"
"Sexy! So sexy!"
"Ponytail! She has a ponytail!"
"Uooooooh! SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEGGGGGGGG-"
"H-Hello..." Corissa waved timidly, completely taken aback by the reaction her appearance caused.
"We're lucky there's a bar in between you and them." Roko sighed, "Anyway, might I remind you that we have a bouncer."
Roko pointed off to the side where Varis was sitting there, watching with crossed arm and sword by his side. Upon realizing the bouncer, most of the men slid away back to the party grumbling a little quietly. With the situation deescalated, Roko began taking orders and the two worked away on the drinks. Some of it was relatively easy with a good portion of their drinks being simple beer. Most of these village folks didn't seem to be well versed in cocktails but after a few drinks, they were more than willing to experiment. There was only one problem.
"I'll take a sidecar!"
"Again?!" Corissa yelped, "O-okay!"
Corissa hurriedly placed the ingredients into a shaker and capped it. The men leered in obvious perversion as Corissa lifted the shaker and began to shake it.
"Shake harder!" Someone shouted from the back.
"Huh?! O-okay!" Corissa said and began to shake harder, giving the onlookers an eyeful of her bountiful bouncing breasts as she did.
"Corissa." Roko said as he held out a hand to stop her, "I'll do the shaking from now on. You work on some other drinks."
"Huh?" Corissa gasped, a little tired from all the shaking she's had to do, "Are you sure?"
"We can't tire ourselves out so soon. Take a break."
"Oh...okay..."
"Boooooo!"
"If you have a problem you can leave." Roko retorted, "Or do you need help with that?"
Roko gestured towards Varis again and the men just looked away, sour but still drinking.
The party continued on for hours until the night finally grew old and people were returning to their homes. Party died down, tables began to empty and soon the only ones left were the few stubborn drunks left at the bar and scattered around the food tables.
"Looks like things finally calmed down." Roko sighed as he finally had free time to begin cleaning glasses, "Good work tonight, Corissa."
"I didn't think it would be this hard." Corissa moaned as she sat down on the floor, "How do you have the energy to do this all night?"
"Work at your own pace, don't worry about when the work gets done or how much is still left." Roko replied, "That said, even I'm a bit tired."
"You don't want to take a break? You've been on your feet all night."
"We still have customers."
"I'll have...a mati...a gin an...I'll have a beer." One of the deeply drunken lingerers lifted his head as he slammed his empty mug on the bar.
"I'm going to have to cut you off here." Roko said, "This inn is going to close soon anyway."
"Awww..."
"Hand me a glass." Corissa called from the floor, "I'll clean it from down here."
"It's fine. I can handle it. If you want, you can go check up on Kaguya. She and Mikado have been keeping watch all night for those creatures to show up."
"Okay..." Corissa said as she pushed herself up and walked off. Varis looked at Roko and from one nod from him, the black knight left to follow his princess.
"Monsters huh?" The drunk in front of Roko said, "I remember those. My brother got attacked by one a few nights ago."
"Really? Well, the good news is that they all seem to be gone now."
"Ain't that a relief? You folk sure are helpful."
"We've had experience dealing with creatures like this before." Roko nodded. "We're lucky we got here before these black monsters started propagating."
"Black monsters?" The drunk looked up confused.
"Yeah. The black oily creatures?"
"No no no. My brother was one of the earliest victims and he said he saw a white fleshy creature."
"...What?"