Arc 8: Chapter 1
If Bianca hadn’t remembered stepping aboard a ship and descending under the main deck, she would’ve thought she’d fallen asleep and ended up in some other world.
The insides of the vessel were enormous, and the space down there resembled some kind of shopping mall, with an open space in the middle spanning at least a few floors, with all kinds of things on the left and right, as though they were stores back on Orbis. Some looked residential – most did, really – but at least a few were definitely stores, with bright signs outside advertising all sorts of things.
Amusingly, at least one was definitely a sex shop, or one that focused on lewd items in general, as it advertised penis enlargement pills, things to improve ‘performance’, and at least one part of the overly detailed advertisement mentioned butt plugs, though she couldn’t quite read the reason from afar.
Either way, this place seemed rather fun.
“Chang Shuang, you come with me. Xue Yaling and the rest, get me a room, and I’ll find you once I’m done here – I want to look around,” Bianca spoke with her authoritative tone, as they were in the company of plenty of other travellers and likely being watched closely by Li Wusu from above.
The others, fortunately, did as they were told, departing together while Huang Su walked up behind her, being a step away and to her side. Bianca walked, and the Sect Master followed, waiting a while before she spoke up.
“Mistress, is there something specific that you’d like to purchase? I may be able to guide you in the right direction,” she spoke in a servile tone, as though she really was nothing more than Bianca’s servant.
It was rather exciting, if she was to be completely honest, even if Huang Su wasn’t in her typical appearance at the moment. The feeling of power that she got from her and Song Ming and the rest… it was quite something, an addictive sensation that she wanted more of… although she couldn’t do anything about it now. Trying to corrupt the Sect Master any further would also be rather wrong, especially after all the nice things she had done.
And, of course, corrupting people in general wasn’t right. Of course.
“Is there any place that sells shoes? Footwear, heels, that sort of thing,” Bianca responded calmly, walking through the sea of people around her as though she was right at home.
In a way, she was. She’d been in busy malls and streets and other spots, so the closer things got to Orbis, the easier it was to play a part. The Demon Queen was hardly excessive here either, so simply imitating her was simpler than usual.
“A few should be on the third floor. I will be able to verify this once we get closer,” Huang Su said.
“I think I see one already… Let’s see if they have anything worth of me,” Bianca spoke as she walked along, paying little mind to her surroundings.
She had withdrawn most of her energy by now, but her aura was still present, so most of the passengers didn’t dare get in her way. Most weren’t high in realm, clearly using this ship for travel, and the few that were more powerful chose to avoid her anyway, as there was no reason to get into a conflict with her.
Thus, she got to have a nice and relaxing walk along to a store that most definitely sold shoes. They were laid out in a small display at the front, and inside, there were so many that Bianca figured even the most dedicated shoe shopper from Orbis would be content.
She wasn’t quite as interested, so she was most concerned about finding a pair of high heels that would suit her. They wouldn’t need to be especially practical, given that heels were innately rather cumbersome, but she did want to have something to bring out whenever she needs a nicer entrance onto the scene. A nice heel click would do wonders, at least in her mind, which was a good enough reason to waste her time here.
It wasn’t until she stepped inside that she realised that she had no money on her, nor any clue as to how much things here would cost, but luckily the Sect Master was behind her. If anything happened, she’d surely have some spare funds.
‘I should feel bad about using those, but… she’s really not going to be hurt by something this minor, so it should be fine,’ Bianca thought, quickly deciding to proceed in and look around.
Her main focus were high heels, so she looked through the sections of the store until she came across a few. There were some designs that were reminiscent of an Orbis footwear store, but the majority were fashioned with metallic plates to serve as armour or used more local styles and materials, reminding her far more of North Antania and adjacent countries in terms of design.
Soon, her presence scared off most of the people that were also checking out the store, and thus the shop attendant ended up coming to her, clearly a little worried. However, she was rather low in realm, so she must’ve been too scared to outright tell her to leave, and instead had to bow and speak.
“W-Welcome, dear customer… Is there anything we can interest you in?” the shop attendant, a pretty woman in a traditional robe that showed little, though clung tightly to her body, asked.
“I was searching for high heels, something that would suit me… You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas, would you?”
Her aura must’ve done a lot of heavy lifting, or perhaps it was something about the way she stood and talked, as though she was in charge, but the shop attendant didn’t hesitate to search the shelves as well, soon grabbing a pair and displaying it to her with another bow.
“Are these to your liking, u-uh…”
“Use your imagination,” she said simply, her attention focused on the shoes she was given.
They were one of the more armoured pieces, resembling something from a fantasy movie. Thin metal formed the outside, the shape mostly matching a standard knee-high pair of heels, and the inside appeared to be lined with a thin but soft black fabric. From a quick glance, it appeared that the shoes were sufficiently flexible despite the metal, as they were made with quite a few metal plates that allowed it to bend exactly where they needed to.
‘Good start… though it clashes with my current outfit. If I decide to get this, I would need to find something a bit more armoured and… practical than the crop top and shorts. Hm…’ she considered the shoes for a while and eventually handed them back, “Not bad, but I’d like to review a few more options. Something that covers less, perhaps.”
The woman seemed to let out a relieved breath as she put the shoes aside and looked for another pair, now being more relaxed and casual.
‘Was she assuming that I’d kill her if I was unhappy with her selection? I’d… I’d never do that, not even as the Demon Queen,’ Bianca thought, looking around on her own as well.
It wasn’t that she distrusted the attendant’s judgement, but she had the feeling that she’d be able to find more things more easily if there were two people looking at once. She’d ask Huang Su to join her, but she wasn’t sure that the older woman would have quite the right fashion sense for what she was going for.
Soon, both of them had found something. Bianca reached for a pair of more traditional high heels, which were only as large as they needed to be to fit her feet, whereas the shop attendant seemed to prefer high-heeled boots instead, as she selected a pair that would go up around half-way up her lower leg. It was also in a more armoured style, though Bianca doubted that these flimsy plates would be of much use without some of the world’s magic to enhance them, an inscription or what not, which she could not perceive within the pair.
‘Perhaps I could get Han Rushu to do something with it, especially after I, uh, suck her cock, I guess…’ Bianca forced the thought from her mind before it affected her ability to present herself as the Demon Queen.
“So, my lady… if you wish to try any of these on, there’s a room in the back-”
“That would be a waste of time,” Bianca said, kicking off her shoes right there, going to put on the heels she’d picked out, “The fit looks to be good. Are all of them this size?”
“Y-Yes, but… um… never mind…” whatever the attendant wanted to say, she ended up swallowing and watching on in silence.
Bianca chose to ignore whatever issues she might cause and wore both heeled shoes, quickly stabilising her footing – oddly quickly. So oddly that she nearly broke her current act and began asking questions, though she kept it to herself for the moment and instead took a few steps around, finding that the oddity continued.
She hadn’t worn heels too often in the past, and when she had, they were relatively small, barely deviating from a heel on a normal shoe. Here, she had at least six centimetres of heel, and it felt like she was walking around barefoot.
‘… Okay, I understood when my body stopped producing waste and my hair went all nice, but how the fuck does this happen?’ Bianca stopped herself from frowning and also held back the impulse to try some kind of martial art move in order to test her ability, ‘I shouldn’t play around like that, but I now have no reason not to buy some of these… If I can wear them out and about no matter the occasion, then I’ve added one more piece to complete my outfit.’
Back when she’d sought out her top and shorts, she didn’t find shoes that were ideal, so she always felt like she was short a piece or two. Now that she also wanted something that better fit the world, and her Demon Queen persona, there was all the more reason for her to search out a few more pieces for her outfits.
“This is good. I will try on the others… and find a pair that only goes up to the ankles,” Bianca said, quickly removing the shoes she’d put on and switching to the longer boots, quickly determining how to put them on and going along with it.
They were far too long for her current casual outfit, but if she happened to get something a little more covering and proper, they wouldn’t be too bad.
Naturally, she attempted to walk around in these as well, and it proved no more difficult than if she was barefoot. She tried to discern what was happening in the few steps that she could take around the place, and felt a faint… something, an energy, travelling from her foot and through the heel, almost melding the two together. Focusing her attention there, she confirmed that it had a purple hue, and belonged to her, though she couldn’t say for sure what part of her skills and techniques contributed it.
‘Still, if this is actually my own ability, then I won’t need to worry about footwear at all,’ she confirmed as she removed these shoes as well, laying them beside the previous pair.
Both appealed to her enough for now, so she was content to buy them after she was done looking around – and by buying them, she obvious meant getting Huang Su to do it for her.
“My lady, does this pair satisfy you?” the shop attendant finally came over and brought another pair of shoes, which were still armoured and clearly designed to at least look defensive, but only went up to the ankles, perfect for covering her feet without going overboard.
Hence, Bianca tried these on right away, grabbing the shoes and getting them on in record time. The heel size on all of them was about the same, so she almost didn’t need to test how comfortable it would be to walk, but did so regardless. Naturally, the shoes proved comfortable, and thanks to the decent craftsmanship, there wasn’t any spot where her feet could touch the bare metal, making them significantly better to wear than they looked.
“Yes, good choice. Chang Shuang, have we brought enough?” Bianca asked, looking over casually to the Sect Master, who managed to not show any expression underneath her veil.
“… Yes, Mistress, a few pairs of shoes won’t be an issue,” Huang Su spoke after a pause, nodding, “Are these all you wish to purchase?”
“Mhm, no point in buying out the whole store. We’ll be here a while, so in the case I need more, I’ll just pay another visit,” she said, giving the shop attendant a warm smile.
Of course, the attendant didn’t see it in the same way, but that was her problem. Whatever she read from Bianca’s expression was on her alone, and thus she didn’t need to worry about it, whether she viewed it from her own perspective, or that of the Demon Queen. It was almost nice to have no dispute between the two selves, if a little concerning.
How much of her was the Demon Queen, how much of the Demon Queen was her, and was it always the same?
“Y-Yes, my lady, I’ll be ready for your return…” she said, and then looked to the three pairs of shoes that remained, “Should I package these for you, or would you prefer taking these as is?”
“Package them, Chang Shuang will handle them,” Bianca said offhandedly, grabbing one of the pairs of heels and throwing off her old shoes, “I’ll wear these out personally, so no need to worry about them.”
She chose the shortest of the bunch, as they would suit her best in her current outfit, and tossed the old shoes to the Sect Master, giving her the briefest apologetic look she could without making it obvious to other observers. Fortunately, the shoes weren’t especially sweaty or dirty, so she wasn’t burdening Huang Su too much.
Meanwhile, the shop attendant quickly packed the other two pairs up in boxes and handed them over to the Sect Master, who put everything away into her storage method and returned to Bianca’s back, awaiting her next instructions.
‘It feels good to order her around like this, I have to admit…’ Bianca thought to herself, while she settled into her new footwear, “Then, we’ll depart. Give my thanks to the owner.”
She turned and walked out, strutting out like she really was a model before a crowd. The heels made her motions naturally sexy, letting her ass sway more, inevitably drawing eyes from men and women alike – and if her spiritual perception was to be believed, even Huang Su glanced down a few times as they walked.
‘If she… if she is into me like that, whether from my corruption or not – if I can even affect her with it – then it shouldn’t be too difficult to persuade her to…’ Bianca tried to stop herself when she understood where her train of thought was going, but couldn’t, ‘To persuade her to do it again, to let me cum with her involvement, and then… Perhaps I wouldn’t ever need to worry about losing a powerful supporter. She wouldn’t need to know.’
Almost instantly, she tried to retort to herself, ‘No, what are you thinking? This is a horrible thing to do… are those the Demon Queen’s thoughts?’
Typically, her other side was more than happy to reply, but this time she was met with silence, forcing her to question whether this was some new tactic from her other side… or if it was her own mind that was creating such notions. Either way, it should’ve been her own thoughts, but separating the two had been so easy that she had gotten used to it.
If those lines continued to be blurry…
‘No, not the time. I can’t exactly play my part if I’m questioning myself this much,’ Bianca pushed the thoughts aside, just far enough to let her focus, and spoke without turning around, “Is there a place here that sells robes or dresses?”
“Yes, Mistress, upstairs and on the right,” Huang Su replied, though she also sent in a thread of her mental energy, ‘Are you planning something specific, Bianca? The amount of money I’m spending isn’t significant to me, but I am curious as to what the purpose of this is.’
‘It’s… I felt the need to look around and refresh my wardrobe a little bit. My look hardly fits what I claim to be to others, and I imagine that someone would eventually point it out.’
‘That’s… true enough. Please act in moderation, Bianca, especially once we get to our cabin. I’ll be able to shield us from prying eyes, so you won’t need to pay attention to such things,’ the Sect Master’s voice entered her mind, ‘Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. If you need a reason to leave at any point-’
‘I’ll handle it if it happens,’ Bianca retorted a little tersely, though Huang Su luckily didn’t appear to take offence.
She walked on, and the Sect Master followed, continuing to effectively cut their way through the sea of people, going from store to store, and slowly filling up Huang Su’s storage method.
In the cabin deck, Bianca’s companions were standing in the doorway with their energy ready and covering the opening, so that nobody could get in through a gap. When the Sect Master and their Sect Mistress arrived, they found this scene and about a dozen groups standing on the other side, all of them clearly wanting the opportunity to get into the room.
“What is going on here?” Bianca called out the moment that she saw this, finding her voice emerging with the sternness she would’ve expected from the Demon Queen self, instantly prompting everyone to turn – although most couldn’t see her due to the relatively cramped space within the corridor – and then gasp.
For those that knew her, they were amazed at her changed appearance, and for those that didn’t know her, they feared her sudden presence. A true Demon Queen stepped onto the stage, and her killing intent was overwhelming.