My Demon Pet System

"He called the imperial guards back to the capital? This is ridiculous!" Yoichi exclaimed. "How could he ignore the needs of an entire city like Oakenfair? I'm sure the Emperor knew that this place would sink into chaos without anyone to enforce the rules," he added, publicly complaining about Shinzo Nishiyama. 

Unlike Goldhaven, the city that housed the Imperial Palace, the Emperor could be named and even despised publicly in North Tentochu. Distant and desolate towns like Grimbrook or Oakenfair gathered thousands and thousands of people who would kill the Emperor with their own hands if they had the chance.

Yoichi thought that those who had never left Goldhaven would never know that a good chunk of the faction's population despised Shinzo. However, spreading the word of the northern peoples to the south would be a fool's errand. 

Indeed, speaking ill of the Emperor in Goldhaven County was considered a crime punishable by death through public execution. 

"Emperor Shinzo knows everything, boy, but what difference does it make?" the old man spoke in response to his earlier comment. "No one has ever cared about us citizens of Oakenfair. Those, like me, who are too old to leave, just don't interact with the Demon Hunters and trust only their fellow citizens," he explained, sliding the bottom tip of his staff on the rocky floor.

"I'm very sorry," Yoichi replied, genuinely displeased with that story. "Even if we are only staying in Oakenfair for a short time, know that I am at your service. Should any Demon Hunters threaten you, I will swat them away like flies" - raising his fist forward as if to grasp something invisible, Yoichi tried to instill courage in the locals. 

"An experienced Demon Hunter would tear you apart in minutes, kids. They are armed to the hilt, while you are barely wearing armor!" - A voice from behind them intruded on the speech. "Do what you must and flee this place. Believe me. It's for the best," the voice continued. 

A woman in her fifties, dressed as a typical country housewife, had opened the door to her home. Intrigued by the conversation between the adventurers and the elderly couple, she had thought to add something. 

"Maybe the lady is right, Yoichi. Maybe we should just hurry up. If the group of Demon Hunters were to find us, we'd be in deep shit," Takuma interrupted, touching Yoichi's shoulder with his hand not busy holding the reins of his horse. 

Yoichi nodded affirmatively, but before he left, he started talking again. "Who is the Tezuka Clan?" he asked. Thinking and rethinking the name written in the corner of the wooden plaque held up by the skeleton, he couldn't stop himself from asking that question. 

His words chilled the air, and a deep silence enveloped the square, reducing its noises to zero. The lady who had just spoken from behind the door of her house closed the door again. *boom* - The wooden door slammed against the rock wall violently. 

"You're really looking for trouble, aren't you?" the white-haired old man inquired. His eyes were so thin that Yoichi could barely detect the direction of his gaze. "Who told you that name?" 

"Yoichi..." Takuma whispered, trying in vain to get his teammate's attention. In his voice lurked the classic fear of someone who doesn't know the limits of a conversation. 

"I read it on a wooden sign. There's a skeleton that..."

"Ah, that's right," the older woman interrupted. "The plaque on the skeleton. They must have left it as a warning to anyone wandering the city streets.

"That's right, that's the one," Yoichi confirmed, waiting for a response from the old man, who seemed to be the most talkative of the two. 

"The Tezuka Clan rule this place. As I was telling you just now, when most of the Imperial guards abandoned Oakenfair, our city was the scene of violent rebellions, so violent that they seemed like real civil wars," the old man in the rocking chair recounted. "The few remaining guards didn't have the strength to fight off the enraged villagers, so they tried to escape. Some of them managed to leave the city and return to the capital, but others did not. The skeleton you found along the road was one of them."

"So the men of the Tezuka Clan are against Emperor Shinzo Nishiyama?" Takuma asked. Realizing that there was no way to dissuade Yoichi from the conversation, the red-haired warrior tried nor took the opportunity to enrich his knowledge. 

"They hate the Emperor more than anything else and have wiped all traces of the Nishiyama family from this place. Every tabard, drape, or object symbolizing the Emperor has been destroyed. However, I must make a correction to you, barefoot boy," the old man said. "The leaders of the Tezuka Clan are not men, but women," he specified, considering that detail important enough to make it explicit. 

A clan made of women? They must be formidable warriors! Yoichi thought, marveling at the old man's words. Maybe if I tell these people why I'm really looking for Shusaku, they'll help me out. Inwardly, Yoichi reflected on that detail: what would happen if he tried to gather all those who hated Shinzo and lived north of Tentochu? 

"Never underestimate a warrior's strength based on his gender. The Tezuka Vipers are known for their cunning and the cruelty with which they kill their enemies in cold blood," the man continued, emphasizing the protagonists of his tale as if they were demi-gods. "They are not evil women, but they dislike those who linger in Oakenfair too long without their permission," he emphasized.

"No problem, we'll leave as soon as we've achieved our mission. I will follow that road until I reach the square with the statue you described to me, kind sir. A woman with two swords" Yoichi replied. "She will lead me to Kinnojo". 

"So be it. Be careful of the narrow streets of Oakenfair. They can be very dangerous at night," the old man added, closing his eyes and beginning to rock back in his wooden chair. Above their heads, the afternoon light could not make it over the mountain peaks, and the city's interior was already plunged into darkness.