37 Parith

Putting the things she saw at the bandits hideout in the back of her mind Alicia continued on her journey towards the capital. "Loeri how long do you think it will take to get to the capital if I sped things up a bit more?"

"Mmm… Not sure from the map the old man showed me we are still about seven months out. If you speed it up more we can probably get there in six months but that is just an estimate. We are also stopping to get rid of bandits as well. Not to mention you have already helped two merchant wagons that were stuck." Loeri replied.

Alicia thought for a moment and figured it would not be too good to rush right now since they had plenty of time. She was also enjoying the sights as she traveled towards the capital.

Alicia traveled for three months straight. It seemed that the human population was not that big on Phantasia. She had only gone by a few small villages that she saw that were a little bit off to the side of the main road. She had only run into around twenty people who were also traveling the road. Although one thing she did notice was those traveling the road were exceptionally nice. Besides the bandits that is.

Half way through the fourth month Alicia finally arrived at the first major city before the capital. Parith is named after the great hero Parith who fought in the great war against the demonic beasts. Parith was said to have been over two hundred centimeters tall and wielded a large two handed hammer that was three times the size as him. With his large hammer, he smashed thousands of demonic beasts at a time causing the hills and forests to be painted with the crimson color that leaked from their body. It was said that because of him that the demonic beasts were pushed back into the forest.

Alicia listened intently to the young man next to her in line as he told the story of the city of Parith. The boy went on and on with his story. Alicia could tell that he had embellished some parts built, but this was fine as well. Alicia had found the story interesting since it allowed her to learn more about her new world.

After a long wait in line, Alicia's turn was next. The guard looked down at the little girl who had a small creature on top of her head. The guard's eyes flashed with a bit of greed as he asked: "Little girl what kind of creature this?"

"Just a normal demonic beast that I contracted." Alicia felt something was off when she saw the guards look.

"Well, we will need to confirm what kind of demonic beast it is so I will need you to leave it here." The guard said this in a serious tone but the greedy look he had was clearly visible by everyone who took the time to look.

The guar's actions made Alicia's brow furrow. She looked directly at the guard who was about to reach up and grab Loeri off the top of her head. "Sir guard I would suggest that you do not touch the creature on my head or you will lose more than a finger."

The guard humphed and still reached out to grab Loeri. Loeri who was just pretending to be sleeping suddenly opened her eyes, opened her mouth and spit out a large fireball right at the guard's face. That guard was surprised by the sudden attack. He was so angry that he drew out his sword and yelled out: "Enemy attack!"

Many more soldiers suddenly turned up and drew out the swords. Alicia was dumbfounded by what was happening. "Sir guard, what is the meaning of this? Did I not warn you ahead of time not to touch my contracted beast? Why are you calling more guards when it was you who was trying to rob me of my contracted beast."

"You little bitch I did no such thing!" The guard shouted out.

"Oh? Was it not you who just now said I needed to hand over my contracted beast? " Alicia asked, her anger was very apparent. She could not believe this guard went as far as to say that she was the one who was causing an issue here.

"When did I ever say that!? This is slander! Where is your proof? If you have no proof you will be thrown into jail for slandering a city guard!" The guard yelled. All the other guards started to surround Alicia.

Off in a hidden corner Blake was showing Berlin everything that was happening through the small little mirror in his hand. Berlin who was seeing this show being played out, felt anger rise up within him. "Your Majesty, should I step in?"

"No, leave it for now. If she goes to jail make sure she gets plenty of food and the cell is set up to her liking." Berlin felt it was good for Alicia to understand how things worked in the capital. Where death was a normal thing.

Hearing Berlin's answer made Blake feel a bit uneasy. Going to prison was the same as signing your life away. Those places were filled with disease and other heinous crimes. Blake was at a loss of what to do because it seemed Berlin did not know just how bad a prison was! "Your Majesty if I may say, prison is not a place Alicia should be going!"

Berlin thought for a moment and realized he was doing it again. "Alright just sit back and wait. if they decided to arrest her then show yourself if not just sit back and watch."