The Demon Saint is Missing, so I Ran to Another World

The Secret of House Usarved (Part 1)

**Greg**

After spending a few hours at the checkpoint, we were finally allowed inside the city of Darkmoor. As Lady Noir had told me before, Prince Hurion Devras instructed his army to check everyone coming in and out of his stronghold—including his blood relatives, like his sister.

"..."

Well, learning how their society worked gave sense to the measure. I mean, while demons came from the same parents, familial ties were nothing to them. It's immediately thrown out of the window once they were born.

And, of course, there's no such thing as 'family' and 'friends' in politics, not even human ones.

"..."

In any case, so much for that. If I may comment on this city, I'd say Darkmoor was a well-managed, and disciplined, place. The roads were made of cobblestones, similar to the ones found in Chersean cities and towns. However, in contrast to the latter, demon thoroughfares were wider and well-maintained. Although it was on the 'night' region of Cherflammen, you would never lose your way since lampposts were installed at the sidewalks for every few meters of interval. And what's even better, was the street signs were clear and visible to anyone passing by.

"..."

There's also a touch of 'modern Earth' in this setting. Paper advertisements encouraging people to buy their products could be seen posted on every brick wall available, sometimes deliberately covering the older ones. Young demon children peddling newspapers on the streets. I also passed several pedestrian crossings, with a demon 'traffic officer' on duty to guide people and carriages of when and where they should cross. Of course, there were no traffic lights, for this world was still yet to discover electricity. But the systems in place reminded me of Earth's early 20th century metropolises.

"My parents say that it is a system introduced to us by Lady Cassandra David," Lady Noir told me. "Probably it came from your world, Sir?"

"Yep, that's why it caught my attention." Ah, that explains the similarities.

If I could describe Darkmoor, its huge size, the prevalence of paper ads and newspapers everywhere could compare it to a mix of modern and early 20th century New York, or Tokyo. Only that it was illuminated by primitive lighting, like candles, and lampposts, instead of neon lights. The 'biggest' cities of Chersea and Cherwind paled against this demon city, and I heard Lady Noir say that Helfan to the north was even bigger.

"Of course," she puffed her chest, as she proudly declared, "it's the capital of my brother's holdings. There can be no fitting center to display his glory and power other than Helfan!"

"And Darkmoor is...?"

"This is the stronghold of House Usarved, milord," it was Shevaun who replied. "We have our biggest supporters here, from the richest merchant down to the simplest peasant."

"So, uh, based on what you said, House Usarved and House Devras are two separate but allied demon noble houses?"

"It's 'clan', milord," the chamberlain corrected me. "And there's no 'House Devras', too. His Highness the Prince Hurion belongs to House Usarved like Lady Noir."

"But where does his name come from?"

"Err...milord, please don't—ow!" Shevaun was interrupted in her explanation by Lady Noir, who suddenly kicked her chamberlain's shin lightly.

"Is that a matter we should avoid to discuss?"

"Your eyes are quick to notice, Sir."

Don't state the obvious, Lady Noir! "Alright, I'll keep myself from bringing that up from now on."