Side Chapter — Meeting of the Girl Dungeon Cores

In the midst of a forest was a small, sunny clearing surrounded by trees that rustled pleasantly whenever there was a breeze. A fancy table and chairs were set in the middle of the clearing for a tea party. It was a place for meeting with neighbors that Rokuko had made, inspired by the meeting room Keima and Ittetsu used.

The clearing was located between Tsia city and Tsia Mountain, and Rokuko had invited both Core 219 from the [Flower Garden of Light] and Redra from the [Flame Caverns]. Her goal was to introduce Aidy to them.

When Rokuko arrived at the clearing with Aidy, the other two Cores were already there. The masculine beauty in a suit and the busty beauty in a red dress looked surprisingly good together.

“Oh, wow. You both got here fast,” Rokuko said.

“I would sooner say you were a bit late, Rokuko. I’ve been waiting for quite a bit.”

“Yeah, yeah! You’re gonna have to apologize with some dragon beets!”

“I told you ahead of time I’d be a while since I couldn’t use my dungeon functions to place myself here. Also, I know, I brought you the beets you wanted.”

Rokuko glanced at Aidy to step forward, who quietly obliged.

“This is my friend, Aidy. I thought it would be best to introduce her since she’ll be staying in my town for a bit. I think you already know her from the gatherings, Core 219, but she’s Core 666.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Aidy said with a smile. She was greeted, however, with a scoff.

“Hah,” Core 219 laughed. “Arriving late and not even apologizing—I would expect nothing less from a princess of the Demon King faction. Do remember that I am a member of the Third Lot, and this dragon here is married to a member of the Second Lot,” she said, crossing her legs and leaning back against her chair with her chin lifted arrogantly.

“Oh my, but I am expressing my respect by coming here and introducing myself, no? Would you rather me speak through my sword?” Aidy asked, unsheathing her true self the fire Magic Blade.

“Ahaha! Aidy, right?! I like you! Let’s go!” Redra laughed, fire shooting out from her body.

“Hold it, Redra. That’s too hot,” Rokuko interjected.

“Indeed. Please do consider us as well,” Core 219 agreed.

“Ah! My bad, my bad! Didn’t mean anything by it!”

Redra extinguished her flames.

“Joking aside, Rokuko... That girl is of the Demon King faction. Can we truly trust her?”

“I mean, Core 219, did you forget that Redra’s part of the Dragon King faction?”

“No, but... Very well. If you trust her, I shall as well,” Core 219 said with a sigh. She then stood up from her chair and gave an exaggerated bow. “Welcome to our secret tea party, O Princess of the Demon Realm. Do be kind and spare me your blade. Unlike that Dragon, I have quite delicate sensibilities.”

“Hey, hey, hey, Core 219! You’re making it sound like I’m crude and junk! But alright, we can save the duel for later! Come to my place whenever, Aidy! You’re red and I’m pretty sure we’ll get along just fine!”

Aidy smiled in reply to Redra. “I’m quite sure as well. Both you and Core 219 seem quite strong, so while I am unsure if I will be able to contain my excitement for long, I look forward to getting along.”

“...Aidy. You need people’s permission to duel them here, okay? You can’t surprise attack people like in the Demon Realm,” Rokuko warned, detecting that when Aidy said “getting along,” she meant “dueling.” Her advice was right on point—she hadn’t gone to study the Demon Realm’s culture for nothing.

“Naturally, Rokuko. I came to the empire to learn, after all. But have you ever heard the phrase that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission?”

“Get permission first, Aidy. Promise?”

“If you insist. I promise.”

Rokuko and Aidy both took their seats. The Magic Blade had vanished into thin air at some point.

“By the way, what was with that taunting at the start?” Rokuko asked.

“What can I say? When I heard someone new would be joining us, I was struck by the urge to toy with them. Acting is my specialty, and I’ll apologize if it was hurtful,” Core 219 said while dexterously manipulating vines, still in human form to sip her tea.

“...I see that you are positioning the vines to capture me at a moment’s notice. I would expect nothing less from a Third Lot Core, I suppose. Landing a blow would be no easy feat.”

“Now, now, I’m no fighter. Despite what it may seem, I am a fearful little bird with a heart pounding in terror. I would appreciate you keeping that murderous gaze to yourself.”

“Oh my, forgive me. It’s simply a habit.”

“Whoa! I’ve never been to the Demon Realm before, but is that how everyone is there?! Sounds pretty fun!”

“Are you looking forward to our date, Redra?” Aidy asked, sipping some of her tea to show her lack of hostility.

“Again, I would kindly ask you to contain yourselves here. This is a tea party for enjoying tea and nothing more. Though we do share a bit of information as well. With that in mind, what say you tell us some tales of the Demon Realm? I would love to hear a Demon Realm story. What plays or the like do you have there?”

“Ah, Rokuko! Where’s the beets?! The beets!”

“Right, right. Here’s your Red Dragon beets.”

“Yeees! It’s been so long!”

Aidy gave a bemused smile at Redra’s boundless enthusiasm, then began spinning a Demon Realm tale at Core 219’s request. It was an action story, of course. The protagonist was saved by their truest friend, who refused to let anyone else be the one to kill them, and then they launched right into a life-or-death duel. From Aidy’s perspective it was a truly heart-pounding story, but it didn’t match Core 219’s sensibilities very much. The final half didn’t, at least.

“Say, what are your favorite foods, Aidy?” Core 219 asked suddenly.

“My favorite foods? I’ve never really considered that, but I suppose I often eat udon in the Demon Realm.”

“Oh, would you say that you love this ‘udon’?”

“I’ve never considered whether I like it or not.”

Core 219 gave an exaggerated sigh and faced the sky. “Aaah! What a terrible waste. Human food is the greatest joy of using their human form, you know. That Dragon loves spicy food, whereas Rokuko loves melon rolls. I myself have developed a nuanced taste for tea and wine. Having a favorite food is developing humanity for oneself, and Father is greatly pleased by it.”

“Is that how it works?”

“It certainly is.”

Core 219 let out a sensual sigh. In the past she’d refused to eat since it would produce waste, but by now she had forgotten all about it.

“So, Rokuko. Might I suggest introducing Aidy to the pastries you showed us last time? We certainly need something to eat alongside our tea.”

“Hm? Oh, sure.”

Rokuko manipulated the menu and bought a [Pastry Set (5 DP)] from the catalog. It had come up once before due to it being cost-efficient with how you got six pastries for 5 DP. You could also choose which pastries you got. This time Rokuko selected a variety pack which included a tea cream roll, a spicy curry roll, a hamburger, a yakisoba roll, and... two melon rolls. One for her, and one to shill to Aidy.

“Here, a tea pastry for you, Core 219. And a spicy one for Redra.”

“Thank you, Rokuko.”

“Yeah! These taste great!”

The two of them took the pastries from Rokuko. Aidy immediately showed interest in them.

“This is interesting wrapping. Do they contain sweet rolls?”

“Oh, just rip from the top and the outer layer comes right off. It helps the rolls not get musty or anything,” Rokuko said while ripping the plastic and taking out the melon roll. The dungeon area beneath absorbed the plastic.

“It blocks water? Perhaps it would be wise to envelop a sword with it... How is the substance made?”

“Who knows.”

“You don’t?”

“Not in the least. Oh, it sometimes melts when next to heat, but sometimes doesn’t. Isn’t that weird?”

“I see, that explains why you wouldn’t know.”

Rokuko used to be only able to produce plastic through buying rolls then peeling the packing off, but as of late plastic had become a normal option in the catalog. Either her comprehension of plastic’s nature had increased, or she’d just started perceiving it as something normal, but either way it was in the catalog now. The increased amount of trash wasn’t a problem since dungeons could eat just about anything. Perhaps her body had learned the nature of plastic due to absorbing it so much.

“I have plenty more where that came from,” Rokuko said, buying different pastries from last time: scones, tuna rolls, chocolate cornets, donuts, sandwiches, and croissants. “Eat whatever you like. They’re all tasty.”

“Certainly.”

Rokuko casually placed the two melon rolls close to Aidy, but Aidy ended up choosing the chocolate cornets.

“This seems the strongest—just look at how it’s twisted into a sharp point.”

“That’s called a chocolate cornet, and... That’s the first time I’ve ever heard anyone call bread strong before.”

Aidy peeled off the plastic wrapping and took out the strong-looking chocolate cornet. She lifted it with one hand and twisted it around.

“How does one eat this? From the head? The feet?”

“I don’t think chocolate cornets have heads or feet. Which is which...? Well, just eat it however you like. It’s just a pastry.”

“In other words—don’t think, feel?”

“Exactly. Either way it’s just food going into your stomach,” Rokuko replied. “Do you not think the croissants look strong? They’re twisted and pointed on both sides too.”

“It resembles a boomerang, and I am not particularly fond of ranged weapons. Aha. And this one was called a chocolate cornet, was it? The twists are lovely. Like a spiral staircase... Mm. A splendid shape. To think food could look like this,” Aidy said, grinning at the chocolate cornet.

“I mean, melon rolls look cool too! Just look at the cookie-like outside with the fluffy insides! The incredible sweetness of the melon! I dare say it makes one think of Beddhism’s infamous comfylove!”

“Hm. If the cornet is a spear, then your roll seems to be a shield. It much resembles a round shield. Perfect for all kinds of defense.”

“Defense...? This is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone call a melon roll good for defense.”

Rokuko bit into her defensively-powerful melon roll.

“If we’re talking about strength, then spice is king! These spicy pastries are the best! Though Red Dragon beets are spicier!”

“Ah, but it loses to tea cream pastries in elegance and grace, no?”

Redra and Core 219 engaged in a very bizarre pastry-waving contest.

“I see that Core 219 and Redra both have preferred pastries of their own,” Aidy said, before dropping the hammer. “But if you ask me, the chocolate cornet is undoubtedly the strongest of them all.”

Aidy gave a smug, provocative grin. Core 219 responded with a full smile.

“Hah. Then we shall compare tastes. Rokuko, get pastries for us all. I will cover the DP.”

“I accept your challenge! Rokuko, the pastries, please.”

“Might as well get out as many as you can! Core 219’s paying! Hah!”

“Girls, please...”

Rokuko started to say eating too much would get them sick but then stopped. Redra was a Dragon and wouldn’t be bothered at all, whereas everyone else was a Dungeon Core. They could just withdraw stuff from their stomachs and eat more.

“Today’s tea party ended up being a pastry party, huh...?” Rokuko mused, lining up the loads of pastries onto the table.

And so, after having fun to their heart’s content, the tea party ended and they began their journey home. Rokuko couldn’t move Aidy with her dungeon functions since she was a Dungeon Core, so they were just walking back to Goren like they had walked to the tea party.

“In the end, the cornet truly was the strongest. Don’t you think so, Rokuko?”

“Drop it. We just ended the fight by agreeing we all had our preferences; don’t drag it back up.”

Despite having just eaten so many, Aidy bit into another cornet.

“...Still, I came with you to meet your friends since you so kindly offered, but I didn’t expect them to be so infamous. Both Core 219 and Core 112 are well known for being skilled Cores,” Aidy said.

“Oh, but aren’t you close with Core 50 yourself, Aidy?”

“Core 50 is my teacher, not my friend. Though I must say, I’m surprised to learn Core 219 is a member of Haku’s faction. I thought for certain she was in Core 7 and 8’s faction.”

Core 7 and 8. They were both Single Number cores, known as the Sea Goddess and Mountain Goddess, respectively. They combined aquatic and mountainous Cores to form a nature faction. It was only natural for a plant-type core like Core 219 to be mistaken for one of them.

“Keep this a secret, okay?”

“Of course. Core 219 emphasized that as well. Your secret is safe with me,” Aidy said with a refined giggle. “And Core 112 is certainly in the Dragon King faction?” she then asked.

“That’s what I’m told, and he stays with them at the gatherings, so probably.”

“So you say, but at the gatherings Core 219... Ah, never mind. I imagine nothing good will come from pondering this. More importantly, you simply must not forget my date with Redra.”

“I know, I know. You’ve said that a thousand times,” Rokuko replied, sighing a bit with exasperation. Aidy truly did love fighting with all her heart.