Chapter 1
Chapter 1
So yeah, we ended up home safe and sound from the trip, but...
“Naturally, I fully intend to accompany Rokuko and you all.”
“Yeah, I expected as much.”
Aidy had hosted us at the Demon Realm, so it only stood to reason that we would host her in the empire. That said, we learned about that for the first time at a tea party with Haku.
I took a sip of tea from my mythril teacup.
...Yep, I have no idea what kind of tea this is. But it does have the proper taste of good ol’ black tea. Y’know, the fact I have the leeway to enjoy the flavor of what I’m drinking in front of Haku shows just how far I’ve come.
“And that is that, Keima. Take good care of Core 666 for me,” Haku said. Rokuko was sitting on her lap and Haku was stroking her hair. It was really about time for her to let Rok... Actually, never mind. Headpat her to your heart’s content.
“Alright. It’ll only take a day for us to get back to Goren from here,” I replied, recalling how long it took us to get here in the first place before leaving. We could just use the short cut route between dungeons if Aidy didn’t mind going into my {Storage}.
“About that. I do believe I would like to do a little tourism. The way back is one thing, but on the way there I would at least like to see cities and the like.”
On the way there? Ohhh, right. It’s the way back for us, but not for her.
“I am not so sure about deto—”
“Oh, perfect. I was just thinking I wanted to visit those cities I told you about again.”
“I will assign Dolce to accompany you. It wouldn’t do for your trip to take too many days, so this will have to do,” Haku said, her attempt to reject the idea being shot down by Rokuko’s deft counter.
I had met Dolce before. She was a Wraith serving Haku, one of her so-called Four Heavenly Kings that apparently managed the underground coliseum. Naturally, she could {Teleport} multiple people all on her own.
Having Dolce’s help would be very welcome. She probably had more mana than I did. As expected of the Four Heavenly Kings. I sure respect the Four Heavenly Kings. Except Misha. Because she’s Misha.
“Do put Dolce into {Storage} and carry her through the [Ivory Secret Spot] when you’re returning her, Keima.”
“Right... {Storage} sure is convenient, huh? There are all sorts of things you can do with it.”
“Though really, it’s simply unusual to have a sub-dungeon this far away from your primary dungeon. Not that I’m complaining. Father permitted it himself.”
Incidentally, it turns out that the farther away dungeon territory is from your starting point, the more DP it costs to buy. Mikan’s rabbit dungeon wasn’t too big of a deal since it wasn’t very far from his Core, but it was one of those things with a soft cap and exponential growth once you got too far. Which explains why Haku hadn’t established her own dungeon next to the [Cave of Greed] despite her huge store of DP.
...Oh yeah, we never did expand the dungeon territory for the [Ivory Beach]. Seems like it was just a special case.
“Hm? But wait, don’t they gain and lose dungeon territory in the Demon Realm through Dungeon Battles?”
“Indeed we do. I’ve heard Grandfather personally asked Father to instate those rules for Dungeon Battles exclusively within the Demon Realm.”
“Interesting.”
Aidy’s answer really reminded me just how accommodating Father was.
Anyway, we settled on leaving for the dungeon tomorrow. Why didn’t we leave immediately? Well, so Aidy could tour the imperial capital... or rather, so we could drop by the rabbit dungeon. I needed to pay Mikan some DP, so it seemed wise to meet up with Core 564 for a second.
“You know, I wanna watch Ichigo play live again. Don’t you, Aidy?”
“I certainly wouldn’t mind that, Rokuko.”
And so we headed to the dungeon made specifically for Mikan’s live shows—the [Rabbit Rest Spot]. Meeting up with Dolce would be kept for tomorrow as well.
“...It’s been a long time since I saw the rabbits,” Niku said.
“This will be my first tiiime. I can’t waaaait,” Neruneh added. They were both excited for this too. As for Wataru, he wasn’t here. His long break had come to an end, and he was once again working to protect the empire’s peace as the Hero of Debt. Work hard, my friend, as I will grant you permission to seek Neruneh’s hand in marriage once you’ve paid it all back.
So yeah, I used {Teleport} to teleport into the staff room in the back of the [Rabbit Rest Spot]. Seconds later, Mikan the orange rabbit core placed himself next to us with his dungeon function.
“Keima, at least warn me if you’re gonna come! Heya, by the way.”
“Heya, Mikan. You’re right, I should’ve sent a message.”
“It’s fiiine. Welcome!”
We exchanged a fluffy handshake, with me taking that opportunity to pay back the DP I had borrowed from him. I still had plenty on me and we were on our way home, so no reason to put it off. It was hard to sleep when I knew I was in debt to someone.
“Yup, it’s all there! So, Keima, I’m guessing you’re not just here to pay me back? I see Rokuko and Aidy’re with you, so. What’re you planning?”
“We’re just sightseeing.”
“Sightseeing...? You guys, of all people...?”
It was true that we had all made this dungeon together, so there wasn’t much that was exactly new to us. That went for Aidy too. The only one visiting this dungeon for the first time was Neruneh.
“Well, it is about time for a live show! Wanna watch? The front row’s already packed, but I can get you some comfy staff seats!”
“Oh, perfect,” Rokuko interjected. “Let’s go, Aidy.”
“Indeed.”
And off they went, getting tickets from Mikan and heading to the plaza where live shows were held. Apparently they would just need to hand those tickets to one of the Ichigo Fan Club’s staff members.
As for me? I’m tired, so I’m just gonna watch through the dungeon monitor. Oh, Niku, thanks for the tea.
“By the way, there’s actually a lotta customers that wanna bring their glow sticks home with them! I was gonna ask for some more of them to build up our stock.”
“Oh, wow. Your stock is already running low? Neruneh, could you start producing more once we get home?”
“Okaaay. I’ll just make some more of the same desiiign,” Neruneh replied, which made Mikan’s ears perk up.
“Oooh! You’re the mage who made them?! We’ve made tons of money since we can just take them back, change the magic stone, and sell them again! Thanks a ton!”
“I’m not the one one you should thaaank; it was Master who said having exchangeable magic stones would be the key to them being successfuuuul.”
Mikan gave Neruneh a fluffy hug of thanks.
Yeah, though it’s less a key and more a screwdriver. It’s just a simple system for casually making money. I can see why Mikan would be so happy about it. It’s pretty heartwarming to see all the soft Soldier Rabbits swapping out the magic stones.
“Wanna see us selling them?” Mikan asked, directing his monitor to the stores by the dungeon. The glow sticks were right in the middle of being sold.
“Thanks for the business! You wanted five glow sticks, right?”
“Yup. Sure is nice that they’re such a cheap light source, and you can dump them once you’re done. Though I am gonna use two of them for the live show.”
...Hm. So some people are using them as flashlights, huh?
“As the person who made theeem, it’s really nice to see people so happy to buy theeem.”
“We can check out people actually using them too,” Mikan replied, flipping the monitor to the stage. It was an environmental room set to night regardless of what time it was outside, and all the customers were eagerly awaiting the live show’s start. Rokuko and Aidy were sitting in staff seats near the middle.
“Hi everyooone! It’s time for the live show to start! We’re starting off this time with ‘A Loving Rabbit’s Always Straightforward’!”
And so began the live show. Stage lights lit up Ichigo in her idol outfit, and musical Golems placed beneath the stage began to sing along with the song. The front row of customers all readied their giant fans and glow sticks.
“I want these feelings to reach you you yooou!”
“You you yooou!”
Whoa, the “wotagei” I taught them for the Dungeon Battle has gotten even more advanced... They’re using arrow and wing formations on top of the phalanx formation. Their glow sticks are really swinging all over the place. Really, they’re so in sync with each other it’s kind of crazy. It’s like they literally won’t let anyone be even a step out of place. They’re shining with their devoted radiance.
“Eeee! Ichigo is so cuuute! I desire her to be my betrothed!” cried an aqua-haired girl in the middle of the glow stick-swinging fans. It seemed that Emmymephy the Imperial Princess was now a regular visitor to the live shows. Apparently she was the honorary boss of the Ichigo Fan Club, with approval from the empire itself.
“Everyooone! Thank youuu! Next up is ‘A Sleepy Rabbit’s Rampage’!”
Rokuko and Aidy were both standing up and swinging their glow sticks too, having tons of fun. Good.
“Watching people actually use the glow sticks is nice tooooo, don’t you thiiink?”
“Yeah, as the one who invented them, I have to agree.”
I watched the video of the live show while sipping tea prepared by Niku.
“By the way, how’d all that about you getting a Dungeon Master go, Mikan?”
“S-Still working on it. I do have Rinnew on our side now, but, y’know...”
“The sooner you make her your Master, the better. Your lives and fates will end up intertwined forever, so yeah.”
Why isn’t she his Master yet when, supposedly, Father manipulates fate to put these things into place? Could it be that Father doesn’t have as much influence in the physical world as I thought? Nah, it’s probably just that Mikan’s incompetent.
I glanced back at the monitor while wondering if there was anything I could do to help out.
“Ichigoooo! I love yoooou! I saaaay, I love yoooou!” cried the imperial princess, boldly standing in the front row and screaming her heart out.
“That was a great live show! You should’ve been there watching with us, Keima.”
“It certainly was a different experience when seen from up close. I felt similar exhilaration to observing death matches in the coliseum.”
Rokuko and Aidy came walking back. Niku served them both tea, which they gulped down all at once.
“And that was Mephy in the front row, wasn’t it?”
“Seems like she’s a regular here.”
“I wonder if imperial princesses have that much spare time.”
We glanced at the monitor and saw Emmymephy lined up for a post-show handshake with Ichigo. She was happily gripping her glow stick and raving about the show to a nearby imperial guard. “Today was incredible once again! Also, we made eye contact! That certainly means that Ichigo is in love with me as well!”
I’m pretty sure she’s keeping up with her actual work. Though that includes “observing” this dungeon.
“So, wanna go home now that the show’s over?” I asked.
“You know, there’s something called mood and lingering excitement. You should value those kinds of things more, Keima. Like saying hi to Ichigo after her handshakes and praising her for working so hard.”
That makes it sound like I’m her sponsor, but you know, I guess I kind of am.
“Should I get a bundle of flowers to give her?”
“I think she’d like carrots and strawberries way more than flowers! They taste better,” Mikan chimed in.
Oh, he’s thinking about this purely in the realm of eating them. I guess they are rabbits...
“By the way, where’s Core 564?”
“Aaah, he’s in the middle of making a boss right now. We’re gonna start the raid events back up soon, so he’s all about making a boss we can be proud of! He’s also refilling the mobs with the {Create Golem} skill you gave us.”
Apparently Core 564 was digging up the ground and making Golems with {Create Golem} while grumbling about how he had to make monsters that served no purpose except to be defeated. That was the same two-birds-with-one-stone process for growing the dungeon while producing enemies at the same time. According to Mikan, there weren’t any adventurers who were pushing past the staff-only areas to explore deeper.
“Rokuko, Aidy! Th-Thank you for watching today!” Ichigo exclaimed after getting back and seeing both Rokuko and Aidy. Her frightened, quaky nature was a reminder that she was indeed a War Rabbit.
“Oh, welcome back, Ichigo. That was a good show!”
“Indeed. The fan club’s wotagei has become much more trained as well. They will be fine generals, all of them.”
“R-Right! Thankshu very mwuch!!!” Ichigo said, so frightened she kept biting her tongue mid-sentence.
“A singing voice so beautiful it shocks listeners like lightning, beauty so bewitching even the imperial princess finds herself enraptured, and dancing more skilled than anyone else in the empire... You’ve grown so much, Ichigo!”
“Oh my, Rokuko. Is that your appraisal of this little rabbit? She truly is something else, then.”
“Th-Th-Th-Thank you!”
If there was such a thing as killing someone with praise, that was it.
“...Praising her too much will actually stress her out, y’know?”
“Oh, we don’t want that,” Rokuko said with a nod. She and Aidy left it at that. Anyway...
“Hey, king. Who’re all these people?” asked none other than Rinnew, the adventurer who didn’t know about dungeon secrets yet but was nonetheless Mikan’s potential Dungeon Master. At the moment she managed the adventurers who regularly came to the rabbit dungeon. Mikan had said that she was his ally now, and apparently that meant she was allowed back here.
“Errm. How do I say this...” Mikan trailed off, scratching his furry cheek while glancing toward me.
“Let’s just say I’m a staff member too.”
“He’s a staff member!”
“Y-Yeah? Alright, then. I’m Rinnew. Nice to meet you, yeah?”
Mikan repeated what I’d said with such energy that Rinnew faltered a bit and just went with it.
“The truth is, Keima is my producer,” Ichigo said. “He taught me to sing and dance.”
“Whoa, that was you? Uh... You wrote those lyrics? Really? Like, for real?”
Rinnew looked between the two of us in disbelief. It was actually Succuma who’d written the lyrics, but Succuma was also me, so technically that was true.
“I visualized Ichigo while writing them. Got a problem?”
“Nah, you’re the best!”
She slapped me on the back enthusiastically. I knew she meant it in a good way, but it actually hurt. Ow, ow.
I avoided Rinnew’s attacks and whispered into Mikan’s ear. “By the way, Mikan. Why don’t you try calling Rinnew ‘Master,’ just to see how it feels?”
“Hrm?” Mikan looked up, confused.
“She won’t notice anything off. You’ll be calling her Master soon enough, so this is just practice. Okay? You just gotta say it once.”
“Hrm... Okay?”
At my encouragement, Mikan glanced at Rinnew.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Errm, well... I-I can’t say it! It’s too embarrassing!”
Mikan turned his head away after Rinnew looked at him.
“Just say it, man. Let it out. Go, go, go.”
Mikan glanced at Rinnew with his paws covering his face. Rinnew just looked back at him, confused, her hand resting on her leg.
“Erm, ngh, hrm... M-Masteeer? Eep! I said it!” Mikan squealed, sounding like a middle school girl who’d just confessed. And an instant later, a transparent window appeared in the air.
“Hm? What’s this thing?”
“Wha?!”
Oh wow, we can see that too. “Rinnew has been recognized as Dungeon Master.” Yep, yep. Exactly as planned. This feels pretty nostalgic, honestly. And the fact that there’s “Good job, Keima” written in tiny letters on the bottom right shows that Father is clearly watching this and interfering.
“Well, there you have it, Mikan. Good luck!”
“Whaaaat?! This is so mean! Keima, why would you do this?! AAAH!”
“Shut it. If I’d left this to you, I know you would’ve put it off forever. It’s the first step that always matters the most in these matters.”
There was the saying that acting was better than thinking. Their lives were going to be intertwined and all that, so the sooner it happened, the better.
“Er, king? What’s all this about being a Master?”
“Welcome to the underground side of the world. Don’t tell anyone about us; Absolute Authority is a pain in the ass, so turn it off fast, and that’s all I’ve got to say on the matter. Rokuko, retreat!”
“Er, um, okay?”
I speedily activated {Teleport} and left with Rokuko and the others. Niku had extra tea prepared for just this moment.
Later on, both Rokuko and Aidy chastised me for being so pushy, saying that I “didn’t understand the hearts of Dungeon Cores,” but, well, that’s another story.
Anyway. With Rinnew successfully turned into Mikan’s Dungeon Master, it was finally the next day and time for us to leave. We would be heading back to Goren with Dolce accompanying us.
We all gathered in a room of the castle to teleport. Haku’s party and I could just teleport as we pleased, but it was actually a spell that normally took an entire group of mages working together to cast. There was an entire room just for it. After meeting up with Rokuko (who had slept next to Haku the night before), we found Dolce floating in the air while waiting for us. Aaand she was the only one there.
“...Where’s Haku? I thought for sure she would be seeing us off.”
“Oh, Haku’s still sleeping. We talked for so long yesterday that I told Chloe we should just let her sleep in this morning,” Rokuko said, then put a finger on her lip and giggled. “I stocked up on a lot of them this time,” she continued proudly. She was probably talking about Haku stocking up on her Rokuko time. I couldn’t imagine what else she would be talking about.
“Oh my. You forced me to sleep on my lonesome just for that?” Aidy said.
“What can I say? It’s just that important to me.”
“I suppose I can’t protest, then.”
She really went far just to help protect me. Thanks, Rokuko.
“So with that settled, we’re all good to leave, Dolce.”
“Understood, Lady Rokuko. If you discussed this with Chloe, then it must be fine... Oh, nobody is forgetting anything, right? Is everyone here?”
Dolce looked us over while floating. Me, Rokuko, Aidy, Niku, Neruneh. Yeah, we’re all here.
“So, Keima. Could you put that pup and maid into {Storage} to lessen the mana costs?” Dolce asked, pointing at Niku and Neruneh.
“Wha?” I replied, confused. I thought that putting living things into {Storage} didn’t impact the cost of {Teleport}.
“Oh yes, I do recall Rokuko’s Master putting Core 564 into his {Storage}. That didn’t lessen the cost at all, I believe?”
“Right, right. What does it change?”
“...Ah, I understand. I cannot blame you for misunderstanding this, but Dungeon Cores are demigods, so their time is not stopped within {Storage}, and the mana cost doesn’t change.”
“Uh.”
Dolce explained to me how {Storage} and {Teleport} worked together. Now that she mentioned it, given that the Dungeon Cores considered the Darkness God their Father, they were logically his children. They could completely be classified as gods. In a way, it made total sense that their time didn’t stop inside {Storage}, which would mean I was just carrying them around normally, which in turn meant the mana cost wouldn’t go down.
“So that explains why Core 564 was all teary-eyed... I feel kinda bad now.”
“Fear not, Rokuko’s Master. Core 564 lost to you, and thus you may do whatever you wish with him, no matter how cruel. He would have no right to complain even if you smashed his head to bits and cut his body to pieces,” Aidy said helpfully, providing a valuable yet extremely violent Demon Realm perspective. She was right, too. He probably wouldn’t be able to complain if I did all that. Since dead people can’t talk.
Yeah. I kinda feel like apologizing to Core 564.
“Incidentally, we Four Heavenly Kings and Chloe are all demigods as well,” Dolce admitted abruptly.
Well, that makes sense. I guess you have to be about that powerful to have enough mana to teleport a bunch of people at once, and serve as Haku’s direct subordinate for over a hundred years.
As I put Niku and Neruneh into {Storage}, a sudden thought struck me.
“Dolce, how did you become a demigod?”
“Living sacrifices,” she replied casually, then started chanting the incantation for {Teleport}.
＊ ＊ ＊
Once the {Teleportation} was complete, we were in the room of some mansion. Apparently it was one of Haku’s bases in Corky. Dolce flopped down to the ground.
“Guh. I knew it wouldn’t be easy going so far with so many people... I’ll be resting here, and tomorrow you’ll be helping me, Keima. Okay. We can meet up here...”
“Er, right. Thanks for everything.”
Dolce faded away before our eyes. She could go transparent, just like you would expect from a Wraith.
Anyway, it’d be a bit awkward to just leave them in there, so I took Niku and Neruneh out of {Storage}.
“I seeee, so that’s how it feels to be put into {Storaaage}. You were riiight, Niku. It’s not bad at aaall.”
“Right. It’s very nice being treated like an object by Master,” Niku said, wagging her tail proudly with a happy sniff.
“...I think I’d like to try visiting your {Storage} too, Keima.”
“Rokuko. Didn’t we just get told that Dungeon Cores are demigods and their time doesn’t stop inside {Storage}?”
“If you’re going to be putting Aidy into yours later, don’t you think it’s only right to try it out with me first?”
I already put Core 564 into my {Storage} once, remember? Though he ended up crying.
“More importantly, Rokuko and Rokuko’s master, I would like to see the city,” Aidy said with an eager smile that showed how impatient she was.
“Okay! I’ll show you around. I’ve been here before.”
“Oh my. I shall indeed request that you escort me, then.”
You sure you should be acting like such a know-it-all, Rokuko? You’ve only been here once before. Though I guess you don’t have to worry about getting lost with the map function.
“I’ll come with. Niku, keep us safe.”
“Understood,” Niku replied, wagging her tail happily as usual.
“What’re your plans, Neruneh?”
“I wouldn’t want to be the only one staying hooome, so I’ll come with yooou,” Neruneh said in her maid outfit with a smile, which settled that.
And so the five of us left the mansion to go outside. The clanging of metal we could hear all around us made it hard to forget that this was the City of Blacksmiths. There were dwarves and other races chugging beer at stands dotting the main street, just like last time. The variety of races wasn’t quite as broad as it was in the Demon Realm, but it was wider than Tsia’s for sure.
“You know, come to think of it, this was the city where I got kidnapped before,” Rokuko said while walking. I had totally forgotten about it, but she was right. Some terrorists funded by the Holy Kingdom had targeted Emmymephy the imperial princess to land a blow to the empire, and in the process Rokuko and the others were kidnapped too. They ended up imprisoned in a lake where an Undyne lived.
“...I wonder if Unko’s doing alright. We ended up leaving her to some people after she got super drunk and we needed to leave for the imperial capital, and that was the last we ever saw of her... Alright, let’s go see if we can find Unko.”
“Didn’t we end up calling her Dinne?”
Oh yeah. Good point.
“Oh my, a kidnapping? That sounds oh so exciting.”
“I was really surprised when Undyne grew like a thousand times in size into a giant.”
“Master jumped into her foot.”
“Woooow. That’s our Master for yoooou.”
Our little party chatted excitedly about memories as we walked. Eventually, we passed by the smithy where Kantara’s family lived.
“Oh, perfect timing. Let’s get our weapons fixed up, since we used them so much in the Demon Realm.”
“Oh my, Rokuko’s master. Is this the smithy of an exceptionally skilled blacksmith?”
“More or less. I can’t really say too much since I’m just an amateur when it comes to this stuff.”
We went behind the smithy just as the back door opened. Kantara’s dad, Untara, stepped out carrying a barrel of beer on one shoulder. That was about what you would expect from a dwarf, but it was only noon.
“Hm? Yer all... Ah! Yer the town town chief of that town Kantara’s stayin’ at! You ain’t back there yet? C’mon in, lemme get you a glass o’ beer.”
Untara popped out the cork from the barrel without even waiting for us to reply. If only Ichika was here, I could have her chug all the beer for us.
“More importantly, I wanted you to check out our weapons. Are you busy with something right now?”
“Nah, not in th’ least. Yer all welcome here any time. Lemme take a look.”
Untara wedged the cork back in and gestured for me to show our weapons. Seemed like I would be getting out of this without having to drink. I held out Siesta for him, after telling the blade not to exude sleepiness, of course.
“Gah, ye ain’t usin’ this baby at all! Yer Magic Blade’s cryin’, pal... Or maybe this one’s cryin’ tears of happiness? The heck’s with that? Gahahaha!”
Yeah, I guess I mainly just used those wooden practice swords... Siesta’s probably glad that I’m using him to put people to sleep, even if I’m not cutting people down with him or anything.
“I don’t need to do nothin’ for it yet. But here, have some {Revitalize}! Next!”
After casting {Revitalize}, a Survival spell for revitalizing the earth, he got to work on Niku’s Golem Knife. She had used it a lot in her mock duels with Core 50; Untara was plenty satisfied with that. He took out a whetstone and finished sharpening it in no time.
“Seems like you’ve gotten plenty stronger from fightin’ some tough foes! {Revitalize}! Next!”
Rokuko slid out her ornamental rapier and handed it over.
“You ain’t even been swinging this at the air for practice! {Revitalize}, next! Wait, you ain’t that big tiddy girl from earlier. Still got pretty big tiddies, though!”
“Aaah, I don’t have a swoooord. And Ichika stayed home this tiiime.”
“Damn. A’ight, what about you, red-headed girl?”
Untara dismissed Rokuko’s Magic Blade, skipped over Neruneh, and finally got to Aidy.
“Hm? I suppose I shall allow you to feast your eyes upon it.”
Aidy pulled out the naked blade of her red Magic Blade and held it up for Untara. It was her true body, the fire Magic Blade.
“...Beautiful. This blade is beautiful and strong. It is one of the finest weapons I have ever seen,” Untara breathed as he gazed upon Aidy’s Magic Blade. “Ye have become one with your sword, I can tell. This my first time seein’ a Magic Blade on this level.”
“Of course. After all, it would be fair to say that this Magic Blade is my true self,” Aidy said with a slight grin, clearly pleased with her Magic Blade being praised.
“I hate to say it, but this blade’s beyond me. I can’t do nothin’ for ye. Not that it needs any repairs, by the looks o’ it.”
“A wise observation. I shall recognize you as a smith of moderate skills.”
“Gahaha! Now that’s an honor, miss. If ye said a god made that blade, well, I’d believe it.”
Wow, now that’s sharp. Aidy’s a Magic Blade Core, which means that literally is a Magic Blade that Father the God of Darkness made. Untara hit the nail on the head.
“Oh, right. How much do we owe you?” I asked.
“Nothin, nothin! My son owes ye all a lot! Not to mention...” Untara took out a mythril yen-like necklace out of his shirt—a Beddhist holy symbol. “Today’s a restin’ day! I ain’t workin’, I’m just helpin’ my pals out! Gahaha! Oh, since it’s a restin’ day, I gotta get drunk as hell with Lady Dinne!” he bellowed with laughter, picking the beer cask back up.
“Er, well, at least lemme thank you for your time.”
“Don’t sweat i—Oh? Oooh! If it ain’t more o’ that sake stuff! A’ight, I’ll take it! Now I kinda feel bad about not doin’ much!”
I handed over some sake that I’d bought with DP while pretending to grab it from my bag and handed it over. Untara rested the beer barrel on his shoulder and cradled the sake like it was his precious baby.
Once again I was reminded that the best gift for dwarves was alcohol. Lest I ever forget.
“While we’re here, why don’t we go see Dinne, too?” Rokuko suggested, and so we casually walked over to Dinne’s spring.
Along the way, Aidy abruptly stopped.
“Incidentally, Rokuko. Is this a human farm?”
“Hm? No, it’s a normal city. Why would you think that?”
“Oh my. But then why are there walls to prevent the humans from escaping?” Aidy asked, pointing at the several-meter high stone walls surrounding the city.
“Those are just the city defenses. Which reminds me, your cities didn’t have any walls around them. That’s pretty weird from our perspective.”
“Hm...? But enclosing your cities will prevent wild monsters from entering. Whatever will you do about that?” Aidy asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“That’s the point, we don’t want them inside. The people of the empire don’t like fighting as much as you Demon Realm people do. Didn’t I mention that?”
“Ah! Oh, you certainly did, but... Was that not a jest? I suppose that explains why even the weaker-looking humans are wearing proper clothes.”
Aidy looked genuinely surprised about all this. As a Japanese person, I had to say that the Demon Realm folk were definitely the weird ones here.
“Er... Aidy. I’ll cut to the chase. Don’t think your Demon Realm manners will apply here. Surprise attacking people as a greeting is a big no-go.”
“How should I greet them, then?”
“Just be normal... or I guess, challenging people to duels would be a normal greeting to you, huh?”
Guess I can’t just say “normal” to someone who doesn’t share my common sense.
“Alright, how about this: just say ‘Hello,’ or ‘Good day,’ to them.”
“Consider this a lesson learned,” she said, which reminded me she was here to learn about our culture in the first place.
We left the city and arrived at the pond where Dinne lived, where we found a small shrine by the side of the water surrounded by dwarves chugging beer. Dinne was there too, and everyone had on Beddhist holy symbols. Some drunk dwarves had collapsed on the ground and were sleeping with their arms spread out.
“Wow, that looks fun!”
“...Don’t drink anything, Rokuko.”
“Aw, I can’t?”
“No. You get out of hand when you get drunk.”
Naturally, I wouldn’t let Niku drink either. Neruneh... would probably be fine? Aidy would probably start cutting people down when drunk, which was kinda scary.
“Ah! Ah! You! I forgot your name, but you’re that super duper rude guy!” Dinne cried out, pointing my way after we approached.
“Hm? Oooh! It’s Wataru the Hero’s companion!”
“The man who took down Lady Dinne!”
“The Beddhist guy!”
And so the drunks all started calling out to me too.
Okay, I guess that’s how they’re remembering me. Hm... I came here without a plan, but we should probably leave before things get rough.
“Glad to see you safe. Anyway, guess I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“GET HIIIM!” Dinne yelled, and instantly the drunks had us surrounded. They weren’t hostile, but they definitely looked ready to stir up some trouble for laughs. Aidy must have picked up on that too, given how they weren’t all dead already. Not that it was too hard, given that they were all holding wine jars and wooden beer mugs instead of weapons.
“Ye gotta have one drink before ye go!”
“Nah, three!”
“Chug, chug, chug!”
The red-faced drunks pushed beer our way. Untara was in the crowd, and, uh, both Aidy and Rokuko were just taking the mugs? Even though I just said no? Neruneh, don’t tap mugs with Niku! Oh, Niku’s mug has clean water from Lady Dinne, you say? I guess that’s fine then... Wait, no, no, no.
“Keima, let me just make this clear... You told me not to drink, but I was never okay with that!”
“Oh my, then I shall drink as well. Cheers?”
Rokuko and Aidy clinked wooden mugs, then chugged. Nooo. Wait, when did this mug get in my hands? I see it has ale inside. What, were we all doomed to drink the moment we came here?
“HAH HAH HAH! None shall come to my spring and remain sober! Except children.”
“Mm. But it looks fun. I want to drink too,” Niku said.
“Children must be satisfied with juice! Here, it’s juice made from berries gathered in my forest.”
Dinne poured purple juice into Niku’s cup once she finished her water. God, I wish that were me. Gimme some juice.
“Aaah, I feel kinda waaarm? Geheheh, ahahahaaa?”
Neruneh’s cheeks were getting red and she was getting a refill. But Dinne put on the brakes, saying she’d start to feel sick if she drank any more. What exactly was she basing that on?
“Eheheh. I am Undyne, a spirit of water! I can detect the blood alcohol levels of humans as easily as I breathe!”
“...So, what? With you around, people can drink safely?”
“Exactly. If someone tries to drink too much, I do this!” Dinne flicked her finger up, and the ale a drunk was trying to pour himself shot up like a fountain and formed into a floating ball above Dinne’s palm.
“Hey, hey, hey, that’s just cruel, Lady Dinneeee!”
“Hmph. I don’t want your vomit in my spring. I won’t allow anyone to drink too much!”
“Tccch.”
I get it. That’s why this place is so orderly despite everyone drinking so much. And why people are bothering to go this far out of town to drink, plus build a shrine. It’s the perfect place for a drinking party.
“Ooohohoho! Praise me; worship meee!”
“So, what’re you gonna do about that beer?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. Hyah!”
She tossed the ball of ale... riiight into Aidy’s mug.
“Uh, could you not?”
“Oh my... I suppose it’s only good manners to drink what’s poured for you,” Aidy said, chugging it without so much as blinking. Dinne grinned proudly.
“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll stop her once drinking any more will get her sick... My alcohol management for humans is perfect! You can count on me!” she said, and in an instant, something exploded.
“You know... I sure am burning, aren’t I? Hic!”
I looked at where the sound had come from and saw Aidy’s body covered in flames.
“E-Eek! Is she not a human?! She deceived even my own perfect eyes...?!”
“Uh, Dinne?”
Given that Aidy was remaining totally calm and neither her hair nor her clothes were burning, this was probably just her powers as a flame Magic Blade leaking out.
“Oh no, the girl’s in trouble! Get ’er some water, some water!”
“Mmmmm...? No, I’m fine... Burp!”
“Hey hey, that’s ale, not water! Guess it’s all the same if it puts out the fire... Gah!”
A kindly drunk went and splashed beer onto Aidy’s flames. But that only made the fire roar higher.
“Aaah, that’s the Magic Blade’s power! To think ye really are one an’ the same! It’s power is makin’ its way back to you, damn! And that beer just disturbed the balance! Gahaha!”
“Oh, you are that moderately talented smith from before... Mmm, I suppose? I do feel excellent right now.”
“Wooow, you’re on fire, Aidy! So pretty. But it’s hot, so don’t get too close,” Rokuko said while stepping away from Aidy and chugging more ale.
“Gaaah, Rokuko! How are you already drunk?! I only looked away for one second! That’s too fast!”
“Keimaaa! Over here! C’meeeeere!”
“Stop drinking! You’ll get out of control again!”
“Aww, c’mooon! Why aren’t YOOOU drinking? You hate kissing me thaaat much?”
Rokuko started marching this way despite telling me to come to her. Then she hugged me. Then she pushed out her lips and brought her face to mine. Onto my cheek.
Oooh, soft. Maybe this would be nice if she didn’t stink of alcohol and people weren’t watching. Gah, she’s already out of control. It’s too late.
“Alright, you’re done. Hey, Dinne.”
“I-I mean, you’re still sober, so it’s fine, right? I knew you would be able to handle her,” Dinne replied, her voice shaking and her gaze wandering.
“I’m not mad. Rokuko’s responsible for her own drinking. I just want to make her drink water.”
“R-Roger! C-Coming right up!”
A ball of water appeared in the air and slipped into Rokuko’s mouth. Convenient.
“En garde, pup! I shall train you.”
“Okay.”
Niku and Aidy abruptly began a mock duel.
Hey, quit it! At least use wooden swords instead of those Magic Blades! That’s dangerous! You’re seriously having a drunken duel with actual blades?! You’ve got to be out of your mind to... Oh wait, they’re drunk!
“Oooh! I’ll fix up yer blades as much as I gotta! Go nuts! Gahahaha!”
“You! Smith! There are some things you just shouldn’t say!”
“Oooh? Don’t sweat it! Gettin’ drunk don’t hurt my skills at all! Makes ’em a little better, actually! Gahaha, gahahaha, GAHAHAHAHA!”
And so the reckless drunks cheered out their agreement, backing him up. That was bad. I needed to do something fast.
“Neruneh! Help me get Rokuko!”
“Hic!”
Oh, right, she was drinking too.
With a bright smile, Neruneh came over and started smacking my shoulder. “Masteeer, don’t you love Rokukooo?! Why don’t you respond to her feeliiings?! Can’t you see how cute she iiis?!”
“She’s right, Keima! Just look at how cute I am! Why don’t you do anything?!”
Now Rokuko was in my face too.
“We can talk about that later, so could you both just calm down for now?”
“Zzz...”
Did they seriously both fall asleep the second I said to calm down? What is even going on?
＊ ＊ ＊
To be honest, I didn’t really remember how or when we got back to the base in Corky. I did remember that Niku helped me carry the three of them into their rooms (I went ahead and carried Neruneh in {Storage}). Time mercilessly continued passing despite the mess, and before long it was time to meet up with Dolce.
“Nmm... Keimaaa, my head hurts. Heal meee.”
“Yeah, yeah. O hangover begone, {Healing}, {Healing}, and have one more {Healing} for free.”
I cast healing magic on Rokuko, Aidy, and Neruneh.
“Oh my, you have my thanks, Rokuko’s master. The light weight in my head is no more.”
“Masteeer, thank yooou. Fwaaah...”
Dolce blinked at how exhausted they all were. “Are you alright? Do you need another day of rest?” she asked kindly, but I sensed that she just wanted another day to rest herself. I, on the other hand, wanted to get back to town as soon as possible to sleep in my own bed, so I declined her generous offer.
We started off with me teleporting everyone as far away from Corky as I could go. Dolce then teleported us to another base in the river city of Donsama, or to be specific, South Donsama.
“...Guh.”
“Bluh. It doesn’t get any easier... Good work, Keima. See you tomorrow... Aaah, and we’ll be going to North Donsama normally tomorrow before teleporting,” Dolce said before disappearing. I went ahead and took Niku and Neruneh out of {Storage}.
...Urk, I kinda wanna throw up. Feels kinda like the world is spinning since I used so much mana at once. Now I understand why Dolce wants to spend a whole day resting, yeah.
“Keima, we were thinking about touring Donsama,” Rokuko said.
“I’m gonna sleep. Wanna focus on recovering mana, so... Niku, I’ll trust you to guard them. You too, Neruneh.”
“Understood.”
“Okaaaay.”
I’ll recover almost instantly with the Divine Pajamas, so I should pretty much always be ready by tomorrow. Alright, sleepy time.
“Er, also, Rokuko... Could you not drink this time?”
“I would never drink when you’re not around. I only let myself loose like that when I’m around you,” Rokuko said, puffing out her chest with pride.
“Oh my. Is that so? You must truly trust your Master, Rokuko.”
“Uh-huh. And that’s why you can’t drink today either, Aidy. You went nuts after drinking yesterday.”
“...You do realize I allowed myself to get drunk on purpose, yes? As a Core, I could dispense of the alcohol without being affected by it whatsoever.”
I would rather you not get drunk at all then, but I guess it’s all part of the tour.
In any case, I changed into the Divine Pajamas and slept soundly. For dinner I had some delicious salted fish that Rokuko brought back for me.
“Is there even anything to see in this city?”
“Aidy skipped over the water. When I said Wataru could do it, she said she could do it too, then, and thus became a hero.”
Oh yeah, I remember something about everyone who crosses the river on foot becoming a hero. Which means she succeeded...? I guess that’s no surprise for Aidy. I wouldn’t be shocked if wings of fire sprouted from her back.
“What about you, Keima? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I used my Divine Pajamas.”
“Aaah, of course. That’s what pajamas made by Father will do for you.”
Anyway, fast forward to tomorrow.
“Okaaay. Let’s go north by carriage,” Dolce said while appearing through a wall. The six of us rode a carriage to the base in the north side of the city. To be honest, it barely made a difference, but she wanted to save as much mana as possible. I could understand that.
“So, I’ve decided to have you use {Teleport} several times today, Keima.”
“Uh.”
“I mean, you can recover all your mana after just an hour of rest, right? Thanks to those Divine Pajamas of yours.”
“That’s true, but I can’t say I’m happy about this.”
“I worked hard the first day. Now you’ll work hard today. Equals. Okay?” Dolce asked, grumbling to herself. Apparently she really hated using mana for {Teleportation}. Though, to be fair, as a Wraith it would be fair to say her entire existence was composed of mana, so losing mana hurt her a lot more than it hurt me.
“It’ll be fine,” Rokuko said. “You just have to rest a bit between each {Teleportation}, right? I’ll even let you use my lap as a pillow.”
“You think I could do that in front of Dolce?”
I glanced toward Dolce, who nodded a bit then looked up. “I don’t mind. You can flirt with Rokuko as much as you like. Oh, and I’ll even keep it a secret from Haku, yes. Indeed. I’ll be obligated to tell her if she asks, but I won’t go out of my way to say it, so...?”
Well, Haku is definitely going to ask about Rokuko, so that’s the same as telling her.
As we traveled north in the carriage Dolce had secured for us, we found a massive sign by the ferry.
The South-North Alliance: if one of us is in trouble, we’re both in trouble and will help each other out. Weapons and fighting to the death are prohibited. Let’s keep our fighting clean and fun!
“Uh...? That wasn’t there before. Is it new?”
“Yeeees. I heard yesterdaaay that an angry guy living in the souuuuth suddenly realized he didn’t actually hate the north that muuuuch, so they made an alliaaance,” Neruneh explained.
“Wow.”
The last time we visited Donsama I thought that Wataru had escalated tensions between the north and the south, but apparently they overcame it all. Otherwise an alliance like that wouldn’t have just popped up.
Incidentally, the sign on the north side called it the North-South alliance. That was pretty heartwarming. Fighting that was clean and fun indeed.
＊ ＊ ＊
We left North Donsama without waiting around, and while taking some breaks along the road we made it to Mikan by the end of the day. The city, not the Dungeon Core—big difference. Aaand I was pretty sure I had done ninety percent of the {Teleportation} myself.
“Aaah, good work, Keima. Thanks to you I will be able to spend today in a good mood.”
“Think nothing of it...”
In return, though, I was the one who was exhausted.
“So, Aidy! The salad rolls here are amazing. I’ll take you to get some,” Rokuko said once Dolce was gone, looking proud for some reason.
“Salad rolls? That would be food, I imagine.”
“Yup! You soak flour in water, bake it into strips, then wrap vegetables and meat up in them!”
“Hmm. I suppose I shall try some if you recommend it, Rokuko.”
In any case, I left guarding the two to Niku and Neruneh while I rested again. Man, these Divine Pajamas sure are the best.
“That said, I see all your cities truly are surrounded by these massive walls. Whatever do you do when it comes time to expand? The walls must get in the way,” Aidy muttered, having seen them before our final teleportation into the base.
“Well,” I said, “there’s plenty of farms surrounding the city, so that expansion’s already happened.”
“Farms? You’re raising humans here?”
“Nah, livestock like sheep and pigs.”
“Livestock...? What, pray tell, is that?” Oh, right. Despite being such a big country, the Demon Realm gets basically all its meat by hunting.
“Livestock are animals like sheep that you raise to get a consistent source of meat and wool and stuff.”
“Hm? Why not simply hunt the meat? There is a forest right there.”
“Like I said, people aren’t that battle-hungry here... Y’know, just think of it like a human farm. It’s more efficient to raise them in farms than it is to hunt them down and kill them individually, no?”
“A fair point. I understand completely now.”
The auto-translator was probably causing some problems there, but in the end we came to an understanding.
“Incidentally, where is the fighting? I crave fighting. Shall we go on a picnic and hunt?” Aidy asked, sounding unsatisfied. To someone from the Demon Realm, going days without fighting was probably equivalent to a cleanliness-loving Japanese person going days without bathing.
“Niku, could you duel with her for a bit?”
“Yes, Master.”
But despite me offering up Niku as a sacrifice, Aidy shook her head.
“My body craves blood. I shall duel her, but only if you don’t mind my blade piercing her heart.”
“...Alright, how about you take some extermination quests from the Adventurer’s Guild? The kind that only takes a day,” I suggested. I was pretty sure Wataru and the others had hunted some kind of horned bull the last time we were here.
“Very well. Pup, take me there once I’ve eaten salad rolls with Rokuko.”
“Understood. I know where the Adventurer’s Guild is.”
“Okaaay, let’s go, Aidy! You can come too, Neruneh,” Rokuko said.
“Ahahaaa. I’m looking forward to those salad roooolls.”
And so the four of them left the room. As for me, I would just be borrowing a bed in the base and... resting...?
On second thought, I feel like Aidy will probably get harassed by adventurers, then kill them. Would that be my responsibility? Er, you know, I’m pretty sure it would be. Haku would force those charges on me without hesitation.
“Hey, wait! I’m coming with!”
Stricken by fear, I left the base and chased after them.
We bought salad rolls at the same stand Ichika had gone to last time. It was my treat for everyone.
“These salad rolls taste amazing. The vegetables in the squishy bread give it a super fresh flavor.”
“I would prefer more meat in it, myself. Perhaps I could make some myself after a hunt.”
Rokuko and Aidy exchanged thoughts on the crepe-esque kebab-esque salad rolls as they walked. Pretty sure they wouldn’t be salad rolls if there was more meat than anything, but okay.
“I agree with Aidy. Meat is good,” Niku said.
“I wouldn’t mind no meaaaat. The sauce is what I really liiiike.”
Incidentally, I shared Rokuko’s thoughts: they were plenty good as they were. There was a nice balance to it, definitely the kind of recipe you would settle on after serving them for so many years.
We walked casually down the farming town-esque city roads and entered the Adventurer’s Guild after finishing our salad rolls. A bunch of people glanced our way and looked us over but soon looked back at what they were doing.
“The man stronger than a Hero, and the loli stronger than the man stronger than a Hero...!” came a murmur, which indicated they still remembered us.
Do we really stick out that much...? I guess Niku and I do, since we have our black hair.
“So, where is my prey?” Aidy asked, aching to get to slaughtering. I went ahead to the counter to ask for quests.
“Uh, I’m Keima Goren, B-Rank. Are there any extermination quests we can do? The stronger the monsters, the better.”
“Um, let’s see... It’s a bit far away for a single day, but...”
And so we received an extermination quest for the monsters which would soon be sacrificed to Aidy. There were several of them living near the city.
“Hmm? You get both the information and the payment? This is an excellent place of work, I’d say.”
“Sure, but you better kill them all before the day’s up.”
We had Thunder Boars, King Frogs, and Forest Ogres to deal with. The quests basically said to just hunt as many as possible. As long as we got one of each, it would be fine.
“Ahaha. They’re all pathetic small fry, but it’s a joy to face so many of them at once. Naturally, you will {Teleport} us there, yes?”
“Yeah, yeah. You may count on me, milady.”
“I’ll be helpful since I can put their bodies in my {Storage},” Rokuko said.
“Oh, thank you for the help. I plan to hunt more than can fit into my {Storage}.”
I brought along Niku and Neruneh too, just to have as many people with {Storage} available as possible. The fact you could put people who knew {Storage} into {Storage} kind of gave you infinite storage space, like a series of matryoshka dolls. Though maybe there was a superior version of {Storage} with more space anyway.
We left Mikan and quickly teleported to our destination.
“Here, I have more bodies.”
“Um, Aidy...? I can’t fit anymore.”
By the time the sun was setting, everyone’s {Storage} was packed completely full. We had the three corpses we needed as a bare minimum, and while things would be different if we only needed ears like we did for wild goblins, the wild orc corpses used for food were just too big to fit too many into {Storage}.
“If only there were more monsters which only needed a part of them cut off as proof. This is the problem with monsters used for both materials and food.”
All of the electrical boars, giant frogs, and forest-dwelling ogres fell before Aidy in single blows. The ogres were probably the deadliest of them all, given how they swung across branches like chimpanzees to attack with their massive bodies, but since Aidy killed them all with a single counter, it was hard to judge just how deadly they really were.
“I feel marginally satisfied, at least. You served well as bait for the monsters.”
“Thank youuu, I suppoooosse?”
Aidy praised the blood-splattered Neruneh while casting {Purification} on her.
“Alright, let’s get back. This picnic’s not over until we report to the guild that the quests are complete.”
“Shall we feast with our payment?”
“I think the stores will all be closed now that the sun has seeet. We’ll need to eat at the guild’s baaar.”
While Aidy was hunting, Rokuko and I had been wrapped up in the Divine Quilt recovering, so I had plenty of mana for teleporting all five of us back to town. I gave a full, lengthy chant to preserve my mana, then teleported to Mikan.
After giving our report to the receptionist, we took the bodies to the guild’s storage building to deliver them. We plopped them out of {Storage} and put them on the dissection tables. They looked pretty shocked to see a child (and a slave!) like Niku being taken out of {Storage}.
“To think you would finish all three quests in only half a day. I thought travel alone would take a full day, but I suppose I underestimated B-Rank adventurers. And all of them were killed in a single blow. I can say without flattery that you are exceptionally skilled,” the receptionist said.
“We owe it all to this Demon Realm noble. And yeah, she is a noble, so be sure to be polite.”
The second I said Aidy was a noble, the receptionist’s hand froze above the monsters, but she resumed her investigation quickly.
“They are all extremely high quality. We will buy them all, and after subtracting the examination fee that will be seventy-five silvers. The details are here. Will that be acceptable?”
“In the Demon Realm a hunt of this nature would be mere exercise to wake oneself up. Adventurers in the empire are truly inferior... Oh my. Orc meat is more expensive than I thought. Why is that?” Aidy asked, surprised at the numbers written on the wooden board. She must have thought that it would be cheaper since people were getting so much meat from farms anyway.
“Orc meat is somewhat tastier than lamb, which has raised the price a bit.”
“The sheep I ate earlier today was not at all inferior to orc meat.”
“Well, it’s a very minor difference, and the difference in price is just as minor.”
This is probably a case of everyone having different tastes. It’s not that Aidy’s taste buds are off either. I could hardly tell a difference between the orc meat I ate in the Demon Realm and this lamb. Probably helps that the people of Mikan are probably bored of eating so much lamb.
“I believe the lamb is more expensive than I thought as well. Is that the cost of growing livestock? Mm, if so, I suppose the Demon Realm is fine as we are? Oh, but we could have small-scale farms as well. And use them as bait to draw in monsters,” Aidy muttered to herself.
“Aidy, let’s go buy both and compare them. If they have orc meat, that is.”
“Ah. Excellent idea, Rokuko. Comparing the flavors myself will be the most efficient. Shall we go?”
Wow. She really is taking this trip seriously and learning all she can from us.
And so, for dinner we had a meal of both grilled lamb and orc meat, which we compared closely. The difference was so slight I wouldn’t have noticed if nobody had pointed it out, so yeah, it was probably just a matter of taste.
Okay. Today we were finally returning to Goren.
Or to be more precise, we would be teleporting to a base in Tsia, using the tried and true method of me getting us most of the way there before Dolce made the final leap. Reason being that while I knew there was a base in Tsia, I didn’t know where it was specifically, and I had never been there myself.
Once there, we would just use carriages to get the rest of the way. It would be nighttime before we made it home, but who cares? My bed would be waiting!
“Uwoooh! {Teleport}!”
And so I teleported as far as I could over and over. Naturally, we were taking the dangerous short path rather than the safe detour. The view was better, and it was easier to teleport here. I rested to recover all the mana I lost, with Rokuko taking Niku and Neruneh out of {Storage}. Neruneh would then take out a picnic set from her own {Storage} and make a rest spot for us.
“Here you aaare, Masteeeer.”
“No no, you can use mine, Keima.”
Both Neruneh and Rokuko offered up their laps as pillows. I turned them down since Dolce was there, which earned me a mocking “virgiiin” from Neruneh, but I ignored her and busted out my beloved [Heavenly Pillow].
I’m exhausted, so yeah, I’m just gonna put on the Divine Pajamas and rest for an hour or so. Let me just set the Divine Alarm Clock to wake me up once my mana’s all back. It sure is convenient that it wakes me up no matter what.
“Aidy. This place is pretty dangerous, so feel free to take down any enemies that come our way.”
“Oh my. You don’t mind? How lovely.”
Some might say it’s rude to ask a visitor to take up guard duty, but it’s fine here since killing things is always a reward as far as Aidy’s concerned.
“I’m not very fond of resting beneath so much sun, but I suppose I have no choice...”
Dolce slumped down beneath an umbrella. We didn’t have any carriages with us since they’d get in the way of teleporting. Yesterday there were still trees and inns along our path, but now we were taking the direct route without any inn towns. The flaw with this route was that despite looking so nice, there wasn’t anywhere to safely rest out of view.
“Master. What should we do?” Niku asked, wagging her tail.
Nothing much, really. Aidy can handle guard duty on her own, so...
“You can play with the others as long as you stay in sight.”
“Okay. My work for today will be training.”
You sure are a hard worker, Niku. I’d be sleeping if I were you.
And so I started napping, with both Neruneh and Rokuko staring at my sleeping face. I woke up to Aidy and Niku cooking meat over a fire, which was a clear sign we had been attacked. That meat smells pretty nice. Gimme some.
After several picnics and naps just like that, Dolce performed the final teleportation, and we finally arrived at Tsia.
“Man, we’re finally back...”
“It sure feels like we’ve been gone for a super long time, doesn’t it? I would say about half a year,” Rokuko mused. In reality it was just a month and change, but I understood how she felt.
“I confess to being somewhat elated at the prospect of finally visiting your home base, Rokuko.”
“Want to get in the onsen together?”
“That sounds splendid. Aaah, would you like to join us, Rokuko’s master?”
Er, nah, I don’t go into the girls’ bath. Kinue and the Silkies take care of cleaning it, even.
“As much as I would like to rest first, we should leave soon, since the carriages are waiting,” Dolce said, neither going transparent nor floating away. She would be staying in human form for traveling by carriage. The fact she looked sick was half because she was a Wraith and half because she was suffering from all the mana use.
We climbed into some carriages affixed with the imperial seal, with Dolce leaving the driving to the monster that managed the base. Apparently it was politically important to use imperial carriages here since Aidy was in fact royalty from the Demon Realm.
I was totally drained of mana, so the rocking of the comfy imperial carriage got me all sleepy. Before I knew it my head was resting on Rokuko’s lap and we had arrived at Goren. It was beyond terrifying to wake up to Rokuko and Neruneh smiling brightly and Dolce grinning. Eep.
“You sure slept soundly, Keima. Eheheh. I finally got to give you a lap pillow,” Rokuko said casually with a smile, peering down at my face on her thighs.
“U-Uh, Rokuko.”
“It’s fine, I’ll take care of Haku somehow. Okay?”
She gently stroked my head. More importantly, can we get off now? We’re already at Goren. Please?
We left the carriage and found all the townsfolk gathered around.
“Yo! Welcome back, town chief!”
“How was the Demon Realm? Who’re the red-haired and blue-haired beauties? Didja grab some wives there?”
“I was like ‘Oh crap’ when I saw that carriage with the imperial seal on it. Good to see it’s just you.”
Hmm. I think I’ll go and kick that second guy in the stomach later.
“Aaaah, home sweet hoooome. It feels like the trip ended in the blink of an eeeye.”
“Yes. It was a very productive time,” Niku agreed.
We were back at the town for the first time in forever. It even smelled like home.
Aaah... I made it back home alive!
“Keima, why are you just standing there like you’re getting all emotional?”
“Because I am getting emotional, Rokuko. Not only did I make it back safe, but I’ve got the Divine Pajamas now, plus permission to use two more pieces of the Divine Bedding. This the best possible result I could have asked for.”
“Well, that’s true. Good job.”
“Haku didn’t cut my head off on sight, either!”
“I told you she wouldn’t. You’re safe.”
Seriously, I didn’t expect Rokuko to have grown so much. I might have to admit that she’s surpassed even me by now... Especially when it comes to Haku.
“I made it home safe thanks to you, Rokuko. What can I do to thank you?”
“Oh, well, remember those melon rolls filled with tons of cream? I’d like as many of those as I can eat.”
“Sure. Eat to your heart’s content.”
“Yaaay, you’re the best! I’ll thank you with another lap pillow later.”
Rokuko giggled to herself. Isn’t thanking people for thank-you gifts an endless loop?
But this really was a productive trip. Not that I would ever want to visit the Demon Realm again. I sure owe a lot to all my subordinates who kept the dungeon and town running while I was gone.
And that was when Gozou—the representative of all the adventurers in town—came walking over.
“Heya, Keima. Wozma went an’ told me ye were back. C’mon, we’re goin’ to the bar.”
“Heya, Gozou. What, did another new town pop up or something.”
“Who knows? Ye’ll just have to come an’ see.”
I headed to the bar, where I found Wozma and a bunch of other townsfolk waiting with a prepared feast. Ichika, Kinue, Rei, and the Beddhist nuns were all there too.
“Keima! Welcome home!” they all shouted.
“Whoa! Heya, everyone. What’s all this about? Is today some kind of holiday?” I asked.
“Hahaha. We’re celebrating your return,” Wozma replied with a broad grin. “We thought it would be nice to surprise you for once. I received word of your return ahead of time and contacted the inn to prepare for this. Three cheers for the town chief’s return!”
“Cheers!” the townsfolk replied, lifting up their wooden mugs high.
“Oh man. Wow, thanks.”
I took the wooden cup offered to me. Inside was juice, not beer—he knew my tastes well. I would expect nothing less from a man who served as both vice chief and bartender.
“I see you are certainly well-loved, town chief,” Aidy said with a tap on my shoulder.
“Oh? And who is this fine young lady? Have you found yourself a new wife, town chief?”
“Hahaha, I’m going to kick the shit out of you, Wozma. She’s here on a diplomatic mission from the Demon Realm.”
“Erk,” Wozma replied, faltering. “I heard nothing about a visitor from the Demon Realm, Keima.”
“Well... I only learned about it recently myself. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of her.”
I might as well, since I’m always loading my other work onto Wozma. Yeah.
“Ah! I have a great idea,” Rokuko said. “We can consider this both a surprise party for us coming home, and a welcoming party for Aidy. How about it?!”
“Erk!”
“Everyooone, this is my friend Aidy, a noble girl from the Demon Realm! She’ll be staying with us for a bit!”
Rokuko’s tone left no room for argument. The townsfolk just kinda went with the flow and lifted their mugs for another cheer.
“Oh my. I suppose I will accept the party, then. Shall we begin the slaughter?”
“No. No, Aidy. Welcoming parties here don’t involve bloody fighting.”
And so, everyone learned that Aidy was a noble girl visiting from the Demon Realm. Oh well. It wasn’t something that important to hide, so whatever.
“Masteeer! I missed yooou! Also, what’d you get me? Actually, never mind, it’s probably food. That can wait ’til tomorrow. I’ve got this hella huge feast to chow down on today!”
Ichika came over and gave me a clingy hug. Then she demanded her souvenirs. Then she realized her souvenirs would all be food, and she was right. I had loads of udon for her.
“Man, I wish I coulda gone with you to the Demon Realm. I wish I coulda stuffed my face with tasty Demon Realm food until I burst... Nom nom nom.”
Ichika chugged mugs of beer and started chowing down on the prepared food (which Kinue had prepared the instant she’d learned of my arrival).
Hey, quit it. Don’t wipe your hands on my clothes.
“Ahaha. I forgot how nice it was to be around Ichika.”
“Whoa there, Rokuko. Don’t drink anything, alright? I won’t cast {Healing} on you no matter how much you complain about your head hurting from the hangover.”
“Hmph, fine. I drank a lot in Corky, so I’ll be nice and just drink juice today.”
I shot Aidy a meaningful glance as well, only for her to respond by chugging from the mug in her hand. Hello?
“Fear not, there will be no blackout this time. Did I not mention that last time I was simply playing along with Rokuko? I can choose to not get drunk if I wish.”
Yeah, I guess alcohol is basically the same thing as poison. As a Magic Blade-type Core, she could probably just cancel her human transformation for a split second to nullify its effects.
And so, the feast progressed without a hitch. Kinue added dishes where needed while sometimes serving food alongside the Silkies, who were running around everywhere. She wore a lively expression, and the way she produced fried food instantly with her {Chef} skill made it look entirely like she was using magic. Rei was sitting next to Neruneh at the same time.
“Neruneh. You served Master and Rokuko well, correct?”
“Everything was fiiiine, though Master ended up as a slaaaave.”
“Um, what? Details?”
“I can’t say much more heeeere... Hmmm? Why are you grabbing my haaaands?”
“Master, Rokuko. We will be briefly leaving our seats to get each other up to date. Oh, and once again, welcome home! I am, eeerm, very glad you both returned safely! Farewell!”
...Rei dragged Neruneh away to interrogate her about what had happened in the Demon Realm. Not surprising.
“I believe that is enough rest. Would anyone care to dance with me?” Aidy asked, brandishing her Magic Blade and slicing the air.
“Uh.”
I thought that her sudden request for battle would throw people off, but, well, this was a town of adventurers. There were a lot of people more than eager to compare their strength. It sorta resembled the Demon Realm.
“Alriiight, let’s do this thing!”
“Please fight outside. The bar is for eating and drinking,” Wozma called out.
“This is serious business, so use these wooden swords, you drunks.”
Pretty sure the inn’s storage building has a nice stock of wooden swords that Niku uses for practice. They can use as many as they need.
But actually, on second thought, Niku was the strongest fighter in Goren, and Aidy was strong enough to soundly beat Niku. It only made sense that the Goren adventurers who couldn’t come close to touching Niku would be too weak to be worth talking about.
“Whoooa! The heck?! How’s this girl so strong?!”
“No way... My golden slice of death didn’t work on her at all?!”
“That’s just a normal swing, and you’re using a wooden sword, so...”
We did technically have some B-Rank adventurers that had stuck around after the dragon business from a while ago, but they weren’t strong enough to keep up with Aidy, who was powerful enough to be recognized for her battle prowess even in the country of constant violence.
“Absolutely pitiful. Half of you are weak enough that you would be sent straight to the pig pens of one of my farms.”
Incidentally, the pig pens she spoke of weren’t jails, but rather facilities for housing terribly weak humans in human farms.
“Well, this is a town built around a dungeon for beginners and intermediates.”
“I see,” Aidy said, nodding in understanding. She then glanced at Niku. “Battles this trivial will never suffice. Pup, duel me until I am satisfied. I will even restrict myself to using one hand.”
“Perfect. I will use both hands.”
Niku set down her cup of juice and headed to Aidy with wooden swords in both hands.
Thus ended the feast celebrating our return and welcoming Aidy.