Chapter 328 (Patreon)

Chapter 328

The group had finished all their matches with the demons and returned to the beach, where everyone got cozy at a bar there while enjoying some snacks and drinks. While they were relaxing there, the demons told them more about the mainland, how to find elves, and provided various other details about the continent's rather peculiar biomes.

“By the way, how much do you all hate taking a boat to the mainland whenever you want or need to go there?” Sophia and the others had spent the night on the islands in one of the empty huts and met up with Igis and Errol again on the following morning.

“Well, let me put it that way, I’m quite pleased that we only need to make the trip a few times a year.” The demon man scratched his cheek. “Sometimes, we head over for private matters or satisfy some cravings, but we avoid it most of the time. We live a comfortable life on this island after all.”

“Most of us used to enjoy being on a boat for a long time. I mean, we came here to study the abyss trench.” Igis had the same reaction. “However, we ended up settling down here because we grew tired of it.”

“Wouldn’t settling down on the mainland be a better alternative there?” The blonde tilted her head. “I mean, you wouldn’t ever need a boat again then.”

“We wouldn’t get to live on an island retreat while still receiving funding that way, either, though.” The demon woman replied with a smug smile on her lips.

“I respect that.” Sophia gave her a thumbs-up in return. “So, I assume there’s no interest for me to give you a way to travel to the mainland in an instant?”

“Huh?” Both demons immediately couldn't keep up with her.

“Remember the portal stuff I talked about during our match yesterday?” Sophia looked at Igis. “How I switched places between them and how they’re used all over the place on our continent?”

“It’s hard to forget something like that.” She shook her head a couple of times. “Especially not after a day.”

“Good~.” The blonde reacted with a small smile. "I had a lot of fun chatting with you all here, and we learned so many useful things about how to continue our exploration. That’s why I thought it would be nice to help you out with a quicker way to get to the mainland.”

“Wait, how far do these portal things reach?!” Igis looked confused. “We mentioned that it’s a day trip away, right? One way, that is."

“And?” The tiger cutely tilted her head as she created a new portal with a diameter of roughly two meters. Afterward, she revealed the area it was connecting to by making the portal see-through. Through it, they saw a massive city in the distance, with an enormous castle right in the middle. “Can I interest you in a quick trip to the beastfolk capital on our continent? Just step through it, and you're there~.”

“WHO ARE YOU?!”

“WHAT ARE YOU?!” Errol and Igis had some rather intense reactions to that.

“Just your friendly neighborhood tiger~.”

“Ah, right, you want to keep that part a secret.” The demon woman shrugged. “Still, are you actually trying to tell us right now that this thing lets us go to a different continent in an instant?!”

“Yup~.” Her smile only grew even more.

“You’re way too overpowered!” Both demons got loud.

“Nah, I’m quite weak all things considered.” The blonde shook her head. “I can’t wait to actually get strong!”

“…” The two had no idea how to react to that.

“Anyway,” Sophia closed the portal again and looked towards the open sea. “So, what about it? A portal between here and the mainland would make things a lot easier. Personally, I’m all about convenience, but I can see why you’d rather continue to have this place secluded. It probably would get more eyes on this island after all.”

“Mhm…” Igis and Errol both sounded grumbly over it.

“It’s just an offer, don’t worry.” The tiger thought their reaction was rather telling.

“No, it’s a generous and enticing offer.” The demon woman shook her head. “Not that I’m going to pretend that I understand your portal things.”

“I thought it was just me who couldn’t follow, besides the general gist of it!” Errol was relieved that he wasn't the only one confused.

“Don't worry about it.” Maya smiled at him. “None of us really get it, either.”

“Same.” Sophia nodded a couple of times.

“That’s quite relieving.” The demon man let out a sigh. “Or not relieving at all, actually.” He had some mixed feelings about her not understanding it, either.

“It’s fine~.” Sophia just dismissively waved her hand. “I know that it works, and that’s all that matters.”

“Fair enough.” Errol could get behind her logic. “That’s actually quite normal, I guess. We, too, often just care that it works.”

“I’ll get along so great with the demons~.” She liked the sound of that.

“Though, again, we’re an inquisitive bunch, so you’ll be met with curiosity about your everything many more times in the future.” Igis scratched her cheek while looking at the tiger.

“Don't worry.” Maya smiled at the demon woman this time. “Sophia loves being in the center of attention, so you’re threatening her with a good time right now.”

“Ohh!” Her face lit up. “Never mind, then. You’ll really get along with our fellow demons.”

“…” Sophia stared at her cat-girl for a moment before shaking her head. “So, portal, yay or nay?”

“This is selfish, but is there a way to hide the portal on the mainland?” Igis sounded a little awkward. “We certainly would appreciate it and be thankful for the opportunity to instantly traverse those places, but I doubt any of us would like it if new people would constantly come to this island. Don't get me wrong, we love the occasional visitor, but the emphasis lies on the occasional part. We love this place because it’s not easy to reach.”

“That is indeed the case.” Errol agreed with her. “For us, it definitely would be amazing, though. Quite the dilemma indeed.”

“Not a dilemma at all~.” The blonde just gave them a thumbs-up. “If you have some sort of hidden place on the way, I can put it there, sure. If any of you has a house or something like that in the city near the shore you mentioned, I can put it in there, too. I can also set it up in a way that only people coming through the portal from this side can use the one on the mainland to return. That way, no one will ever accidentally end up here.”

“How versatile are those things?!” The demons kept getting surprised by her.

“I just keep coming up with new ways of using them like every other week~.”

“Wow.” Igis had no better words.

“In addition to that,” Errol was just as amazed. “I would greatly appreciate it if we actually could arrange something like that. Is that really okay to do us such a massive favor just because we had a simple chat about some stuff yesterday?”

“We only met, so you might not know yet, but I’m a little whimsical.” Sophia smiled at him before shrugging. “I don’t really need a profound reason to do anything.”

“A little, yes.” Everyone in her group of friends had the exact same reaction.

“I see.” The demon man decided against adding anything there. “If you’re really okay with that, we’d gladly accept the offer of fast travel between our island and the mainland.”

“Great!” Sophia happily clapped her hands. “Just tell me where the other portal should be, and explain to everyone else how to find it.”

“Sure thing, thank you so much.” He nodded once before thinking about the thing for a moment. “We own a small house a little outside the city that we used as a base of operations quite a while ago before relocating to this place. It’s a bit rundown, but I think it should be perfect for something like this.”

“Sounds good!”

“Great, I’ll prepare a map with instructions on how to reach it for you all.”

“Seems like a plan to me.”

"By the way, how do these portal things work together anyway?" Igis wanted to know a little more about the technical side. “Do you create them in pairs and they always talk with each other?”

“No, I create them individually.” Sophia shook her head. “I’ll be placing a portal frame here on this island and a second one in that house once we get there. Afterward, I'll link them together."

“That’s handy.”

“Sure is~.”

Afterward, they chatted a little longer while Errol prepared the map for the group, but once he finished, Sophia and the others decided it was time to head out. They returned to their boat and set sail towards the mainland while waving the demons goodbye. At least until Sophia comes for another visit after activating the portals.

"Even for overseer standards, she was a weird one." As they were watching the boat become smaller while waving back, Errol tilted his head while looking at Igis next to her.

“Yes!” She reacted with a big nod. “Also, since when do overseers hide their powers? They’re usually pretty open about it.”

“Well, judging by how bad she’s at hiding it, it’s probably a recent thing.” He scratched his cheek. “It was beyond obvious that her authority and type of magic usage were more than the eye could see and fundamentally different."

“That’s true.” Igis could follow his reasoning. “Maybe she’s a new one? That would explain why she doesn’t seem to know about our continent and why we have no idea who she is. Maybe it’s too early for her to reveal herself? Not that she’s doing a good job there.”

“Seems plausible.” He agreed with her. “I wonder what she oversees.”

“That’s a great question!” She also seemed curious about that. “Judging by how impossibly nimble she was during our fight, and the whole portal things story, maybe something like ‘Overseer of Movement’ or something like that?” Igis paused for a second. “They’re all kinda weird when it comes to their repertoire, so it could be something else entirely, too.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “All I know is that things will be interesting~.”

"Oh, for sure!" She thought so, too. "Once our fellow demons realize the same thing that we did, the arrival of a new and unknown overseer, they’ll be all over her.”

“I think I want to visit the mainland more often in the future because I don’t want to miss out on the news.”

“Same!”

The two continued their chat for a little while longer as they watched the little boat slowly disappear behind the horizon.