Chapter 3 — Rokuko’s Perspective

“...Bwuh?” Keima was kidnapped. It all happened in seconds.

“.........Bwuh?” Who was saying bwuh? Maybe me, maybe everyone. All I knew was that all of us were so shocked that we couldn’t even react. Not me, not Niku, and not the blue-haired winged girl named Maiodore.

“H-Hold on just a moment. Was he not after me...?”

“...I don’t know either. Ichika, Niku, do either of you understand what just happened?”

“I-I dunno why, but that muscular old dude just kidnapped Master, dude.” He was pretty muscular.

“Um, that was, a Last Commune, administrator...”

“Really, Niku? Well, he did say that himself, I think.” But why would he kidnap Keima? I need to think this through. Mmmm, Last Commune. The organization Keima destroyed... Oh, wait. Are charms at fault? It’s possible. In which case, this isn’t something we should talk about in front of Maiodore.

“Well, no matter what was up with that guy, we shouldn’t just be standing around. Ichika, go report to the authorities that there’s been a kidnapping. Don’t forget to mention what direction he went in.”

“Got it! Be back in a sec!” Ichika immediately ran off to follow my orders. Mmm... Ichika and Niku can’t use the menu. I’ll go find her later. Which reminded me of the map. I opened up the map from the menu and checked for Keima’s location. The dot representing Keima and the dot representing the human who kidnapped him were both moving at an incredibly fast speed. But for some reason, the human’s dot was green, like an ally’s.

I was outside of my dungeon territory, so enemies and neutral entities would only show up on the map if within view of an ally. But I could see allies from a reasonably far distance away. Even now I could see the exact locations of Rei and the others in Goren, not to mention the Goblins in our dungeon.

I thought that the kidnapper would be shown since Keima must be able to see him, but... Feeling confused, I went to tag the dots so as to keep track of them, at which point I remembered I could check the specific status of my allies. I checked the man’s dot and saw “Status: Charmed (Deeply)”.

...Is Keima’s Succubus charm really that intense? I subconsciously gulped. But anyway, if the man was still charmed, he probably wouldn’t be killing Keima for revenge. That was relieving, at least.

By the way, Keima’s status was “Confused.” I would be confused in his situation too.

“What do you want to do, Niku? You were guarding Maiodore, right?”

“...Yes.”

“Like, I’m pretty sure Keima won’t die, but... I’m worried. In a lot of ways.” We were talking about Keima here. If he wasn’t in life-threatening danger, he would definitely find a way out on his own. Kosaki wasn’t displayed on the map since she was treated as equipment, but with her on his finger he could use his charms again if necessary. Not to mention {Ultra Transformation}, his Golems, and so on. He would be fine on his own, definitely. I-I mean, right? He’s Keima.

“You should keep guarding her for now Niku.”

“B-But... Sh-Shouldn’t I chase after Master...?” Like, I want to do that myself. But I can see them on the map and they’re going east super fast. Super, super fast. I can’t catch them. Niku might be able to, but...

“...Niku. You and Keima were in the middle of a bodyguard quest, right? Quests are jobs. Jobs are promises. You have to keep your promises. Do you want to make Keima break a promise? If not, finish the job you promised to do.”

“O-Okay.” Niku nodded. Mhm, she knows when she needs to listen.

Oh, right, Maiodore is here. And she’s still stunned. I wonder if she’s okay?

“Hellooooo?” I tapped her head, which finally snapped her back into reality. “Okay, Mai. Why don’t we take you home now? You’re the Archduke’s daughter, your home must be well guarded. It’s possible that your mansion could be attacked, but you’d be safer there than anywhere else.”

“Ah, y-yes. You’re right, and I need to report this to father...” Oh, she’s back in action.

“I’ll go too. He needs someone there that can give a proper report. Mai, you let this throw you way too off.”

“...S-Sorry, Rokuko.”

It’s kind of like I managed to be so calm since they were so thrown off. I would have panicked more if I couldn’t check up on him through the map, I think. Anyway, I’ll think more about this on the way to her mansion.

# Archduke Bonodore’s Perspective

As I was busily working my way through the enormous amount of paperwork still left over from the Last Commune incident, a butler entered my room.

“Lord Bonodore, Lady Mai has just returned. She wishes to see you.”

“Hm? That was faster than even yesterday. Something must have happened.” I told him to let her in. He left and Mai took his place in no time.

“Excuse me, Father. Something terrible has happened.”

“Welcome back, Mai. I see Kuro is with you... and a pretty girl I’m not familiar with. Who is she? And where is Keima?” There was a young girl beside Mai with long, flowing blonde hair and fierce eyes that went well with her calm smile. She was probably fifteen, a new adult.

“Hello. I am Keima’s partner, Rokuko.”

Rokuko. That was a name familiar to me. She was one of Keima’s party members... and one who, if treated lightly, would lead to my death. I swallowed hard.

“...Might I ask for your family name as well?”

“Oh, do I really have to say both? Noble greetings sure are annoying. It’s Labyrinthart.” She said her family name without blinking, which was more than you could say for my reaction.

In truth, long before I had consulted the capital for information on Keima, I had, frightfully enough, received a letter from the Ivory Goddess herself. In it was a message coded in noble euphemisms, but not to such an extent that the message was anything but perfectly clear: There is a girl named Rokuko Labyrinthart in Goren, and if she is harmed in any way whatsoever, you will pay with your life.

“...Rokuko, erm, this might come off as a rude question, but... Might I ask what exactly your relationship with Keima is?” She had said she was his partner, which implied she was more than just a party member. Hence my question.

“Hm? Well... You could say we’re close enough for him to give me a ring and a holy symbol.” Rokuko held up a white hand to show the red ring on it while taking out the red holy symbol she had been hiding behind the chest of her shirt.

As far as I knew, High Priestess Rei held the ruby holy symbol of Beddhism. Was that a replica? No, it had been given to her by Keima, the pope. Both ruby symbols were real. In other words, Rokuko was being treated on the same level as the High Priestess Rei. Not to mention that it was made with a ruby that impressively sized. It would be worth quite a sizable sum of money.

...As for the ring, the ruby was embedded in metal of some kind. What method of smithing would allow one to make a ring such as that? The metal itself couldn’t be ignored either. Judging by the luster and color, it was undoubtedly orichalcum. In short, the ring itself was worth a lot of money too. Or really, that was selling it short. It was so valuable that money itself lost meaning before it. It was priceless in the true sense of the word.

“I see...” In any case, I understood that Keima cared very deeply for Rokuko. Their relationship likely contained depths deeper than I would ever know. Historically, men would give women jewelry as a sign of their love. Rokuko didn’t seem to be Kuroinu’s mother, so... Perhaps she was his second wife? His mistress...? No, she might have been his first wife.

“...If you don’t mind, er, I would like to ask what your relationship with Kuroinu might be.”

“My relationship with her? Well, I guess she’s Keima’s property. And mine, too. Right?”

“Yes, Rokuko.” Rokuko clearly and unflinchingly called Niku her property. Kuroinu agreed to that calmly, seemingly undisturbed. Even Mai was surprised by that.

“...Er, about Kuroinu’s first name.”

“Mmm? What about it?”

“...Er, you may know this already, but it means...” I hesitated for a bit before continuing, during which time Rokuko smiled.

“I know what niku means, of course. A niku is a sex slave, right?” So she was using the name knowing what it meant. It grew even harder to understand their relationship. Her tone made it clear she wasn’t trying to scorn or belittle Kuroinu. In fact, there was clear trust in their relationship, a firm belief in each other that could be detected at a glance. No doubt this was yet another facet of Keima’s complex family circumstances with Kuroinu.

“Forgive me, but I have just one more question. Do you know the Ivory Goddess?”

“.........”

I would have preferred that she didn’t suddenly fall silent in thought. I shouldn’t have asked, this was bad for my heart. I could practically feel my hair falling out.

“Rokuko.”

“Hm? What is it, Niku?”

Kuroinu whispered into Rokuko’s ears.

“.........Oooh, right! Right! She’s the most important regular we have at the inn.”

“I-I see. That is certainly something.”

“Mhm, I’m glad I remembered.” I shouldn’t have asked. I really shouldn’t have asked! There wasn’t a human alive in the Laverio Empire so great in status that they could forget about the Ivory Goddess entirely! Her pause had merely been her pretending not to remember the goddess. By having Kuroinu whisper a “reminder” into her ear, she was subtly telling me that both she and Kuroinu were closely connected to the Ivory Goddess.

Even if that wasn’t an act they had planned beforehand, that would just mean she had forgotten her prepared answer, or in other words, at the very least, her relationship with the Ivory Goddess was so significant that she had to plan ahead to disguise it! Right. I will pretend I heard nothing. When it comes to the words of nobles, even lies can become truth when accepted by all. I will believe that Haku merely is just a regular at her inn and leave it at that.

...That would still mean that the Ivory Goddess owned an inn for unknown private reasons, but still, that was the best outcome for my heart.

“Erm, in any case, why did you return so quickly?” I shifted the subject and directed my attention to Mai.

“Oh, yes! That’s what I’m here to report, Father! Keima’s been kidnapped!” she said, making me blink in confusion.

“...Keima, kidnapped? What do you mean?”

“Exactly what she said, Bonodore. My partner, Keima, just got kidnapped by the former number two of the Last Commune.” Rokuko butted in and addressed me in quite a frank manner, but I couldn’t demand she be more polite. After all, for Keima the Ivory Goddess guaranteed his skill, but for Rokuko she guaranteed she’d kill me if anything happened to her. With the Ivory Goddess giving her that much of a backing, there was no doubt I should treat Rokuko like a superior despite my position as Archduke. It was clear that if it came down to picking between Rokuko and I, the goddess would always pick Rokuko.

“Last Commune’s number two... I believe he was sent to prison. Did he escape? Either way, I find it hard to believe that Keima of all people was kidnapped.”

“I wouldn’t believe it either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. I do have one of my party members reporting this to the military police, so they can investigate it as a kidnapping.” said Rokuko, shrugging. Mai and Kuroinu nodded in agreement.

“By the way, do you know what’s to the east of here? That’s the direction he was running in.”

“The east... Do you mean inside the city, or outside the city?” I asked. Rokuko briefly glanced away.

“Outside.” She had probably thought about it and predicted that the kidnapper had fled the city. I personally thought that the guards would stop him at the gate if he tried to leave, but Rokuko seemed certain somehow. The Last Commune was finished, but perhaps she knew of some trump card they still had.

“Outside of the city, there are many farms and a dungeon known as the [Flower Garden of Light]. Perhaps he’s hiding out within one of the barns.”

“And beyond that?”

“...The Holy Kingdom?”

“Aaah, no, they won’t go that far. He must be aiming for that [Flower Garden of Light] then.” It was true that one could gather food from within that dungeon, and it would be difficult to send soldiers in after them. Of all places, it wouldn’t be unlikely for a fleeing criminal to hide there.

“The Adventurer’s Guild and I have assigned several soldiers there to guard its entrance, you know.”

“They probably won’t be able to stop him. Well, either way, they’ll be able to report whether or not they saw a kidnapper.” For a second I wondered why she was so confident they would lose, but then I remembered we were talking about a man who had kidnapped Keima. It was safe to assume that the guards, used to spending days doing nothing at what basically amounted to a do-nothing post, would be caught off guard and beaten back.

“Now then, what exactly are you suggesting I should do about this?”

“U-Um, Father. We must send soldiers to rescu—”

“Mai. Keima was with you as your bodyguard. In short, he understood that anything that happened while guarding you would be his own responsibility. You’re safe, which means he succeeded in his duty. But I cannot as archduke send out soldiers to rescue a mere adventurer.”

“Does that mean... you’re going to abandon Keima?!” Mai looked close to tears, but I was of course just putting up a front. Keima was the chief of a rapidly growing town and the pope of Beddhism, a religion I supported myself. There was no chance that I would abandon him. “That said, I—”

“You’ll look bad if you let a criminal just escape and stay loose out there?” Rokuko said what I was going to before I could finish.

It wasn’t the strongest excuse, but it was true that we would look bad. This was a mess nobody would blame me for working to clean.

“You took the words right out of my mouth. Which means yes, I’ll be dispatching soldiers to the dungeon. If he did flee to the dungeon I’ll be receiving a report of that soon, and I’ll need to get revenge for the fallen. It’s only natural that I should chase after an escaped criminal,” I declared, leading to Mai regaining her smile. Rokuko nodded as if anything else would have been out of the question.

“...I suppose I should form a platoon of soldiers to send to the dungeon.”

“That will probably be our best option since, given the circumstances, we don’t really want to hire adventurers. But they’ll probably only be good for guarding the entrance of the dungeon, all things considered.”

“Then I will arrange for just that.”

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was an urgent report, likely about the escaped prisoner. I took the opportunity to order the platoon of soldiers to be established and dispatched.

I glanced at Mai and saw that she looked confused.

“...R-Rokuko, just who are you?” Rokuko was talking on equal terms to me, the archduke, and doing so with an air of unflinching confidence. Not only that, but she was — based on her appearance, at least — a young girl who had just reached adulthood. I wanted to know who she was, but I sensed that it would be better to remain forever ignorant.

“I’m Keima’s partner,” she said with a smile.

...Even if I did manage to get Keima and Mai married, I was scared of what Rokuko would do afterward. It seemed that, as expected, I would need to find an escape route that didn’t involve Keima and Mai marrying.

“Just you wait, Keima, I’ll come save you soon...! Oh, but you’ll probably break free on your own before I get to you.” To be honest, I agreed with Rokuko. It was possible.

# Keima’s Perspective

Let’s summarize the situation.

I was kidnapped and brought to the [Flower Garden of Light] by Hugo, the second in command of the criminal organization I destroyed. That was the first step in the devious master plan of the [Flower Garden of Light’s] Dungeon Core, Core 219. She had Tsia under her control and observed my movements closely until she could manipulate Hugo into kidnapping me.

Long story short, I ended up locked in a jail cell with Hugo. I was tied up with vines, but Hugo was just unconscious. Let me clarify the situation a bit further. Hugo, my kidnapper, was on a rampage due to Core 219 messing with the charm controlling him. He was so far gone that he was even looking at me, a fellow man, with lustful eyes. Imagine the fear of an extremely muscular, forty-year-old dude staring at you with passionate bedroom eyes. Personally, my back shuddered and my butt clenched defensively.

...I-I gotta get out of here, I thought from the absolute bottom of my heart. Nothing good is gonna come from me being here.

(“So, Master, what’s the plan? Not even transforming into a Succubus will break these vines, probably.”) So said Kosaki, but there were plenty of ways I could break out of the vines if I wanted to.

Putting aside the Succubus transformation in its entirety, I had {Create Golem}, {Summon Gargoyle}, and {Ultra Transformation} at my disposal. Core 219 had probably only seen my {Ultra Transformation} out of all of those. For long-term reasons I could only make Clay Golems with {Create Golem}. I could {Summon Gargoyle} as much as I wanted since Haku already knew I had it, but I wanted to keep it as a potential trump card against Core 219. Which meant that I should use {Ultra Transformation}, a skill both Haku and Core 219 knew I had.

The problem was what I should do after that... Oh, wait. Can I use the map function still? I opened the menu and brought up the map. On it was the path through the dungeon I had been carried through and the room with the pitfall. Alright, worst case scenario, I can use this to find my way back out. Might be rough if she’s put new traps up there, but I should make it out with some good Golem usage.

I was currently at the sixth underground floor. The Safe Zone was one floor above me, at floor five. Step one was looking for the staircase up out of here.

...Wait. I just noticed, but the map’s saying Hugo is my ally. It’s not bugging out, is it? Also, what’s with this “Muscle Dude” tag? Did Rokuko add that? Don’t tell me Rokuko’s the one who sent Hugo. My thoughts were interrupted by “Muscle Dude” Hugo groaning awake.

“N-Ngggh...” Oh crap. He’s already waking up. I decided to play it safe and get out of the jail cell as soon as possible.

I used {Ultra Transformation} to transform into a mouse. My small mouse body easily slipped out of the vines and passed through the iron bars. Then I canceled the transformation. Alright, escape successful... Wait, I forgot about clothes! My clothes! Gaaah, stupid {Ultra Transformation}! Why don’t you keep track of clothes?! Learn from the Succubus transformation!

“Ngh, my head... Where in the world am I...? Mama...?” Hugo was waking up. I was naked. Suffice to say. Shit’s bad.

(“Master, now’s the perfect time to go Succubus! You’ll be safe no matter what thanks to the bars, and it’ll give you clothes too!”)

(“Good thinking! Alright, possess me!”) I allowed Kosaki to possess me and thus transformed into a Succubus. Whew... Femboy Succubi may wear pretty revealing clothing, but this is still a lot better than nothing. It’s especially good that all my most important parts are hidden.

Also, I struck a pose for some reason. Core 219 might have left an impact on me.

(“You’re so cute, Master! I need to record this. Master, please grant me menu privileges.”)

(“Not a chance. I’m gonna use my Absolute Authority to order you to never record me in this form.”)

(“So cruel! In that case, I’m gonna enjoy the hell out of this body and feel good all over.”) I wish she wouldn’t do that, but wearing clothes was more important than spiting her.

Hugo noticed me. As soon as he saw me, he charged at the bars in a desperate leap.

“Ah! M-Mama! You’re safe, and, back to normal...!”

“Y-Yeah. Why don’t you take a seat for now?” Hugo was smilingly more brightly than I had ever seen a man smile in my life. Calm down, please.

“Okay, Mama!” Hugo obediently obeyed me and sat down. He was watching me through the bars.

“...Uhhhh.”

“Mmm? What’s wrong, Mama?” He was kind of acting like a kid. Maybe his mind had actually regressed to childhood?

“Uhhhh, well, could you give me the clothes and sword on the ground over there?”

“These...? Mama’s clothes...”

“Don’t smell them! Alright, hand them over. Good boy, good boy. I’m so, so proud of you.” I complimented Hugo after he obediently handed over my clothes, which put a big smile on his face. The buff, harsh looking old dude was looking like an innocent child.

(“Hey, Kosaki. Is he age regressing or something? Like, is this the effect being charmed is having on him?”)

(“Probably, and it looks like he’s not rampaging right now.”) His rampage was probably the result of Core 219’s meddling. Being knocked unconscious for a bit might have calmed him down... until he saw me like this again, that is. Well, whatever.

“Mama, why are you out there?” asked Hugo, tilting his thick neck in confusion.

“’Cause I broke out,” I replied, leading Hugo to look around.

“Wha? This is a jail cell? They’re getting in the way of me meeting Mama again...” Hugo looked down and started murmuring stuff I couldn’t quite hear. Uh, freak much?? I took a step back and Hugo grabbed the bars tightly.

(“H-Hey, Kosaki. Isn’t he acting a little weird right now? Didn’t you say he wasn’t rampaging?”)

(“Ahhhh, sorry. Looks like something flipped his switch.”) Uh, the metal bars are literally creaking right now. Is that okay? It’s not okay, is it?!

“Nngraaaah! Haaah, haaah...”

“Gah?!” Hugo broke the bars in half and burst out of the jail cell. Steam was rising off his bulging muscles and his eyes were bloodshot.

I had learned a valuable lesson today. The dungeon [Jail] was sturdy, but not impossible to destroy. But now’s not the time to be casually dissecting this!

“J-Just calm down! I-I’m right here! Mama’s right here!”

“Hrrrgh, hrrrrgh... Ma...ma...?”

“That’s right, Mama’s here. So be a good boy. Stay, stay.” I consoled Hugo while talking to Kosaki telepathically.

(“Hey, Kosaki, should I end the Succubus transformation?”)

(“If you wanna be naked, sure. That’s totally fine with me.”) That’s obviously not fine with me?! I never should have ever messed with this Succubus transformation stuff. Hit by regret that came far too late to mean anything, I tried gently talking to the muscle dude.

“Okay. Don’t move.”

“Ngggh... Ma...ma... Mama... pat, pat... my heaaad...” Hugo was steadily calming down. I assented and nervously patted his head. Theeere there. I’m not scared, I’m not scared... I felt like I was consoling an angry lion.

After patting his head, Hugo came back to his senses. Arguably.

“...Mama! Wha? I thought I was in the jail cell.”

“Uhhhh... Well. You got out.”

“Did you let me out? Thanks, Mama!” he said before trying to cling happily to me. Gaaah! Don’t rub your head against my stomach! Don’t smell me! Don’t push your face against my stomach!

“Could you step like three steps away from me? Like a good boy would.”

“Mhm, okay.” Surprisingly enough, Hugo listened to my request and let go. Huh? That’s weird. I thought he’d be more persistent.

(“It’s probably like, you know, ’cause you’re back to looking and sounding like his ‘Mama.’ You in your normal form without the Succubus buff just looked like his Mama, you weren’t actually his Mama.”)

(“...That sounds like made up nonsense, but I’ll believe it.”) To put it in fantasy terms, a hero would be a lot more motivated to go kill the demon king if ordered to by a charismatic king than some lazy looking guy lazing on a couch. Same deal here.

(“So basically, he’ll listen to what I say when I’m in Succubus form.”)

(“Yup. I’m gonna suggest you stay transformed for a bit. Especially since we just learned we can stop his rampaging like this.”)

(“...Yeah, seems fair. I’m glad this all worked out.”) Especially since my chastity would have been in danger otherwise.

By the way, unlike {Ultra Transformation}, being a Succubus didn’t lower my stats or anything. At worst it made my Wearable Golem disappear, but that was it. The silver lining was that the buff dude in front of me would be absolutely more useful in battle than a Wearable Golem. It wasn’t ideal, but I would need to act like a princess and escape with his help.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Listen up. Always walk in front of me. Don’t even think about getting behind me.”

“Okay, Mama! I just need to stay where you can see me!”

Hugo and I advanced through the dungeon with him in front and me in back. The vine-covered walls of the corridors were probably made of stone or packed dirt, but the vines were so thick I couldn’t even see them. It would be impossible to predict where Core 219 might launch a surprise attack.

Naturally, she would have noticed our escape the moment it happened. It was safe to assume she would be sending monsters after us. And just as expected, a child-sized walking flower appeared out of the shadows in the corridor. The flower petals were speckled like tiger lilies, its roots were its feet, and its leaves were its hands.

(“Just gonna toss out there that charms don’t work on plant-type monsters.”)

(“...Yeah, figures. They’re plants.”) Individual plants had their own stamen and pistil, after all, and they left their pollen to bugs and the wind. Though to be fair, these guys are using their roots and vines as feet and tentacles, so they have more options.

“Leave him to me, Mama!” Hugo knocked aside the blade-like leaves, stomped on the tentacle vines wrapping around his feet, and ultimately killed the monster by ripping out its flower petals with his bare hands. Yeah... This guy’s as strong as he looks.

“This is a Dance Flower. Their honey is really sweet, Mama.” Hugo started sucking on the base of a flower petal. Oh yeah, I remember sucking honey out of plants when I was in elementary school. Nostalgic.

“Here, Mama, have some.” Hugo tried handing me the flower petal he had just been sucking on. Uh, no thanks. I don’t want to put my mouth on something an older dude’s been sucking on. I thought about how to turn him down, then let it out.

“I don’t want it. You can have the rest.”

“Yaaay, thanks Mama!” He started sucking the honey down again with a full smile.

“Your honey tastes so good, Mama!” Don’t say it like that... At least say “the Dance Flower honey you gave me.”

We continued exploring. Soon, we came to a dead end with a vine-covered treasure chest. The [Flower Garden of Light] was a dungeon, and thus naturally had treasure hidden about. I mean, we don’t really need any treasure since we’re just trying to escape, but maybe it has food? Though that wouldn’t matter, since my {Storage} has days worth of food, and worst case scenario I can buy more with my portable DP.

I ultimately decided to avoid the chest and the unnecessary danger it represented, but... Hugo rushed right toward it, like a kid that just found a super cool armored beetle. Dude, you’re like forty. Try and contain yourself.

“Mama, a treasure chest! Let’s open it!”

“Stop! That’s probably a tra—” Hugo threw open the chest and immediately several wooden spears shot toward him. For a second I thought he was done for, but then.

“Hmph!” Snapped spears fell to the ground, as if they had slammed against metal and broken apart. “Look, Mama, a mana potion! Here, you can have it.”

“Uh? Uhhhh...? Th-The, spears?”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Mama?” They were wooden spears, sure, but Hugo being able to block them with just a “hmph!” was weird. That kind of defensive power wasn’t normal. Was he made of iron or something? Oh jeez, he’s even stronger than I thought.

“Errr, are you okay?”

“Yup, totally! Well, um... The spears kind of hurt. Rub my head?” said Hugo, thrusting his unharmed head toward me. Aside from the old battle scars, there wasn’t a scratch on him. That wasn’t normal. Well... I’ll comply here, as thanks for the mana potion. That might help him stay calm? I hope it will. Cause I mean, I really don’t wanna make this guy mad! What’s wrong with getting some brownie points here?!

Next appeared another flower... no, a bug. It was a pink orchid mantis, bigger than a human.

...I read a comic about something like this before. What if bugs were as big as humans. Well, time to find out. The bug seemed like a deadly foe and I swallowed hard at the sight of him. It lifted up its body high to be intimidating, raising its scythe-like arms up to the ceiling before swinging them down. But Hugo nonetheless stepped forward.

“Stay back, Mama... hrrrgh!”

“Sckreeeeee?!” Hugo took the swings on his left arm, then ripped the bug’s scythes right off. Wait... holy crap, Hugo’s own arm is like a quarter cut off! Is that bone I see?!

“U-Uh. Is your arm okay?!”

“Ahaha, it hurts, but I’m fine, Mamma! I’m so happy I got to protect you!” Alright, he’s still completely out of his mind.

Hugo snapped the bug’s neck, killing it. He then snapped its spine to be safe and ripped off all its limbs.

“Bugs can move without a head, so you gotta be real thorough,” he said with blood gushing out of his left arm and mixing with the bug’s blue guts to form a purple pool on the ground.

“Uh, there’s a lot of blood coming out of your arm. You really okay?” Hugo responded to my question with a monstrous smile.

“Thanks for worrying about me! It’ll be better if you put some spit on it...” said Hugo, glancing my way. Wait, is he telling me to lick it? That gaping wound? Uh, did he let himself get cut so this would happen?

“...O Light, soothe the wounded sheep before you — {Healing}.” Naturally I wasn’t about to do that, so I just cast Restoration Magic.

“Wow, Mama, it’s all fixed up! I can keep fighting now!”

“Y-Yep. That’s Restoration Magic for you. Don’t push yourself too hard though, alright?”

“...Okay, Mama!” Yeah, he’s gonna do that again next time. I’m getting worried now. Though I mean, honestly, I wouldn’t really mind if this guy died. That would actually be better for the sake of my chastity.

“By the way, Hugo. Do you have any means of healing yourself? No hiding anything, say it all.”

“It would take some time, but I could heal that wound I just got by casting {Healing Meditation} for about ten minutes,” answered Hugo honestly. Ten whole minutes...? That’s way too slow for a jail break. And more monsters would probably come before those ten minutes were up anyway. Seems like we’re gonna have to rely on my {Healing}.

As we progressed we were attacked by War Cacti, and even monsters known as Claymores that shot out seeds which exploded like grenades. But Hugo faced them all and after protecting me, turned around with a smile.

“You okay, Mama?”

“...Thanks to you. Uhhh, need any healing?”

“Uh-huh!”

It was basically that over and over again. So, I decided to join the fighting myself. And not because it hurt my heart to see Hugo getting beaten up for my sake. I just couldn’t stand to see him blushing while asking for healing each time he got hurt. I wasn’t getting emotional. My sanity stat was just being drained. Definitely.

But Hugo had gotten addicted to being healed by me and if I let things stand, he would undoubtedly put himself in danger to get hurt. I needed to knock the enemies out before that happened.

A pitcher plant big enough to swallow humans alive appeared. It was a plant-type monster that deftly used vines to move. Its pitcher was definitely big enough to trap a human and melt them alive for food.

“O Fire, become a sphere and smite my enemy — {Fireball}.” The reason I was chanting despite not needing to wasn’t to match Hugo’s fighting pace. I just didn’t want Core 219 to learn that I could cast magic without chanting. I had been keeping the same thing a secret from Haku for a long time too.

The fireball hit the pitcher, but aside from some slight burning, it didn’t seem very hurt.

“Huh? Aren’t plant-type monsters weak to fire?”

“Plants don’t burn until they’re dry, and it’s full of water... Hmph!” Hugo slammed a fist against a burnt part of the plant, opening a large hole into the pitcher. Fluids gushed out and the pitcher collapsed.

Putting aside that punch, it was true that wet plants didn’t burn well. Given that these were all living plants, it should be safe to assume that most of them were pretty wet and healthy. Fire still burnt them a bit, but it was hard to call that a weak point.

“Mama, wash meeee.” Hugo thrust out his juices-covered hand toward me. He sure seems calm, considering those juices are literally melting the ground.

“You can neutralize the acid with the {Poison Hand} skill, so.”

“Honestly, you just keep surprising me... {Water Cup}. Here, have some water.”

“Heheh, Mama complimented me.”

I used the Survival magic {Water Cup} to fill a flask with water, then pour it onto his hands. It seemed the proper way to deal with this monster’s acid was to wash it away with water. Naturally I didn’t know strong enough Restoration Magic to rebuild body parts, so it was lucky that his hands didn’t melt.

“But still. Huh. Fire doesn’t work on them. Maybe electricity will? Mmm, I dunno. Feels like it’ll probably just get redirected to the ground... Do they have some kind of weak point, maybe?” I murmured to myself in thought and Hugo just dropped the answer right on me.

“The Survival magic {Dry} works good on plants, Mama.”

“Huh? Survival magic’s fine here?” I replied, surprised by that. {Dry} was used mainly to dry out lumber and wet clothes. It only worked on things you were touching, but it could dry out a whole log in no time. When I used it, a soaked log would end up crackly dry in three seconds.

The majority of plants were weak to being dried out. Even Saboten, resistant to being dried out as they were, would die without water. You could call being dried out as deadly of a weak point to plants as “Minotaurs will die if they can’t breathe” is to mammals.

“They’re weak to heat and chilling too, but {Dry} works the best.”

“...So basically, I need to dry them out first.” This might actually work out. If I could figure out how to turn that into an attack, at least. {Dry} wasn’t a ranged spell, and combining fire and wind spells to form a blast of dry air would be both ineffective and reveal my magic modification abilities.

“For now, I’ll just provide support with fireballs and ice bolts and so on. Don’t get hurt.”

“You’re worried about me... Aaah, Mama, I knew you were nice.” Uh, yeah, let’s go with that.

＊ ＊ ＊

I discovered a problem as we continued walking. The path leading out on the map was entirely gone. It was likely that Core 219 had destroyed walls and built that corridor specifically to speed up our arrival, then removed it later. The map wasn’t entirely useless, since she probably hadn’t moved the staircases, but... Well, she might have once I left the floor, actually. Or maybe she used a one-time secret passageway like the one from my Dungeon Battle with Ittetsu.

“Hey. You went straight to the Safe Zone, right? Were you using something to guide you?”

“Uh-huh. The walls at intersections would shine and tell me where to go.” Yeah, looks like Core 219 brought him here. He won’t know how to get out on his own. Maybe we can stumble on some other adventurers and have them take us out... Or really, what’s going on outside anyway? Is there a way for us to send a message out? The menu message functions are... not working. Weird, they work during Dungeon Battles to contact people outside of the dungeon.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on the Muscle Dude tag marking Hugo. Hm... Can I use this? Rokuko attached the tag to Hugo. Since I can see the tag too, it follows that if I tag myself Rokuko should see it too. I should be able to contact Rokuko by changing the tag.

I checked to see if I could change the tag. No problems there. So, I tagged myself “Contact me by changing the tag.” Okay, now I just wait and see how long it takes Rokuko to notice. Depending on if sh— whoa!

My tag changed to “Are you safe?” almost immediately. A very Rokuko question.

“Hugo, I need to think about stuff for a bit. Stay on guard for me.”

“Okay, Mama.” I left Hugo on watch and started changing the tag again.

“I’m safe for now, but I don’t know where the exit is. You?”... Done.

“I’m camping out in front of the dungeon with the Archduke’s soldiers. We’re resting tonight, then Niku and I will infiltrate the dungeon tomorrow at noon.” ...Alright, makes sense.

Rokuko replied with a lot more words than I expected. It felt entirely like we were using an actual chat program. If I had known about this strategy earlier I could have messaged Rokuko without sending a letter.

Rokuko and I chatted back and forth a bit, catching each other up to speed, when I suddenly noticed something. I’m losing DP each time I change the tag! Indeed, I had less DP than I had initially brought with me. There was exactly 500 DP left, half of what I had brought with me. Gah, what a mess! I should have brought way more DP! I shouldn’t have gotten off topic and started making small talk out of relief over being able to contact her! Anyway... It’s probably 1 DP per letter or so.

I left “Tag change 1 DP a letter. Contact emergency only” as a final message, which put me at 450 DP. It was safe to say I couldn’t afford to waste any more DP. Rokuko replied with “K,” a single letter response. Does that mean “Okay,” or is she being curt to signal the end of the conversation...? Probably both, actually. Rokuko’s pretty good with her {Japanese} skill, she can pull wordplay like this off. I wonder if the DP cost would be different if I were using another language. Let’s not think about that, though. I can test it out later.

“...Alright. Hugo, I’m back. Let’s keep going.”

“Okay, let’s go.” said Hugo, staring at me. Uhhh... Oh, he wants me to compliment him. Yeah, yeah. I’m very proud of you. I complimented Hugo and he started walking, looking satisfied.

Before long, we found a stream.

“Oh, look, Mama. There’s running water.”

“Yep. The water’s pretty clear... Oh, but don’t drink it. Might make you sick.”

“It’ll be fine if I use {Purification}.” Oh, {Purification}’s not just for cleaning, it can kill germs too? “But I like the water you make more!”

“...C-Cool.” {Water Cup}, survival magic that made a cup’s worth of water. I had used it to wash acid off his hand a little earlier. It was a weak spell overall and most people would need to work hard to make two liters of water over a day. For me, though, water just gushed out of my hands. Survival magic is pretty convenient, you never have to worry about getting lost and running out of water.

“...Oh yeah. Where’s this water coming from?”

“Oh! Right, water always flows down, we can go up by following the stream!” Despite his age regression, his history as the number two of a large criminal organization wasn’t just for show. He immediately came up with the same idea I had. Though there was no guarantee whatsoever that the stream would lead to stairs.

“Well, I dunno if this will be the right call, but let’s try it.” Hugo and I got into the stream and started wading up it.

# Flower Garden of Light, Core 219’s Perspective

Core 219 naturally detected Keima’s escape the moment it happened.

“Ahaha. I see you escaped just as I expected, Keima. But you are merely a dancer acting out a play on the palm of my hand. You may be the protagonist or perhaps the main heroine, but in the end, that is trivial to the showrunner.” Keima had transformed into a Succubus, looking like a girl much to Core 219’s tastes. In this form, he was much more of a beautiful, delicate flower. Core 219 watched him through the monitor with satisfaction.

“Indeed, the looks of a dancer are her most important feature. Beautiful. All the more reason the muscle-bound oaf by her side is unbearable to look at. Well, I suppose in terms of a brainless side character, he is just barely passable.” If he were a beautiful young man he could be a knight protecting a young maiden (Keima), but as he was, Keima instead looked like an unfortunate young girl being dragged to the slave market. In reality, Keima did look so afraid of the man that such an interpretation held surprising weight.

“This story has a spice of its own... perhaps?” With that thought in mind, Core 219 first sent a Dance Flower after them experimentally. Dance Flowers lived all throughout the [Flower Garden of Light]. They came in a variety of colors, from red to white to yellow to pink and so on. It was quite a sight to have them line up and dance. Core 219 even enjoyed having different colored ones breed to give birth to children with two colors.

But the muscle man Hugo murdered the flower without understanding an ounce of the entertainment they could provide. Then, of all things, he even put a petal on his mouth and sucked on it.

“To not only kill the flower, but to suck out its honey as well... Aaah, how barbaric! Humans simply do not understand the fun one can have with flowers!” Sucking honey from a flower, to Core 219, was the equivalent to a human seeing a monster rip off a friend’s arm then suck the blood and guts out of it. It was so horrifying she wanted to gouge out her eyes.

Naturally, eating other living beings as part of the food chain was just how nature worked, but Core 219 subsisted on water, light, and dirt. The food chain was as alien to her as it was horrifying. From that perspective, Keima came off as a quite moral person, since he rejected the honey. The only thing one should eat is fruit.

In any case, far be it from Core 219 to idly watch her monsters be attacked. She decided to set up a trap to get revenge for the Dance Flower’s death. A simple treasure chest that would launch spears when opened. One who greedily opened the chest with their guard down would find themselves dead before they knew what happened. The spears would gut them clean through.

Clever Keima wouldn’t fall for it, but the barbaric Hugo would. Core 219 set the trap with that in mind. Keima was a hostage, but she had no reason to keep Hugo alive. She was finished with the ugly man the moment he brought Keima to her.

“Mama, a treasure chest! Let’s open it!”

“Stop! That’s probably a tra—”

As expected, Hugo ignored Keima’s warnings and opened the chest. Got you! Core 219’s lips curved into a grin at the success of her plot. However.

“Hmph!” The spears which should have pierced Hugo fell to the ground, broken.

“...What?” Core 219 and Keima (through the monitor) both had completely stunned expressions on their faces. After all, Hugo was unharmed. Barely a scratch on him. Despite having spears launched directly at him from close range.

“This human is tougher than I imagined. I suppose I will need to put real effort into disposing of him, then.” Wooden spears didn’t have enough attack power to harm him, at least. She would need to prepare something much stronger.

And so she did. She sent an Orchid Mantis, a bug-type monster with high attack power. It was fair to say that flowers and bugs had an inseparable relationship with one another. Flowers in general could not move, and so they bred through bugs carrying their pollen. Even flowers that possessed the ability to move tended to lazily allow bugs to execute their breeding.

Point being, the [Flower Garden of Light] had many bug-type monsters too. Among those bug-type monsters she prepared an Orchid Mantis because they disguised themselves as flowers to deceive their enemies, and fake flowers or not, they looked beautiful. In short. Core 219 liked them as well.

“Now, have him step off this stage!” Core 219 ordered the Orchid Mantis to attack. As expected, its scythe dug deep into Hugo’s left arm.

“Perfect! Continue on, Orchid Mantis, and cut it clean off!” But unfortunately it stopped a quarter of the way into Hugo’s arms, and could go no further.

“Stay back, Mama... hrrrgh!” Not only that, but he ripped its scythes right off.

“Whaaat?! Don’t tell me he’s unharmed... No, I see that he has taken damage. So why does he wear such a confident smile?! Why, why, why can he smile despite being so hurt?!”

“Ahaha, it hurts, but I’m fine, Mamma! I’m so happy I got to protect you!” Hugo then humiliated the disarmed Orchid Mantis further with a smile. He snapped its neck, kicked it over, and ripped off every limb from its body.

“Oooh, so cruel! This is too cruel! Humans truly are monstrous creatures!” It was the work of a devil. From an adventurer’s perspective, thoroughly disabling bug-type monsters was just common sense given their persistent resilience, but it was hard to say they weren’t taking it too far. Though they really didn’t have a choice, given that they would be risking their lives otherwise. Core 219 understood that logically, but still, she had always felt anger each time she saw the residents of her dungeon be brutally murdered.

“They have Restoration magic too, I see... It seems I have no choice but to resort to dirty tactics! Go forth, War Cacti! Destroy those ruffians! Destroy them!” Core 219 ordered the cacti running around to attack. They were simple Spawned Monsters, which gave them strength in disposability and numbers.

The War Cacti launched tackles so strong that their thick needles could pierce five millimeters into copper plates. It was precisely because cacti stored water inside themselves that they could build up so much inertia. However, Hugo had skin as strong as steel, so they did nothing to him.

“Look out, Mama!” The muscle man stepped in front of Keima and defensively spread out his arms. The horde of War Cacti rushed down the straight corridor and the one in the lead slammed into him at full speed. Cactus juice sprayed everywhere as its plant flesh exploded. But perhaps due to his usage of some skill or another, not a drop of water or chunk of plant flesh hit Keima.

Its sacrifice was not in vain, though. A needle pierced deeply into Hugo’s muscular chest and it was driven in deeper with each tackle of the other War Cacti. Each group of three managed to land about ten tackles. After the storm of thirty hard tackles in a row, the corridor was empty save for the needle-filled Hugo and the successfully protected Keima standing behind him.

Subsequently, “Ngrah!” Hugo let out a yell and puffed out his chest, pushing out the needles and letting them drop onto the floor.

“H-Hey, are you okay? That seemed kinda intense.”

“Uh-huh! I’m okay, Mama! But what about you?” Keima couldn’t see the front of Hugo from his perspective, but either way Hugo smiled and replied as if nothing had happened. To him, the cacti assault probably had been nothing. He was barely hurt, and he was fine as long as Mam—... as long as Keima was fine.

“...The tackles of a War Cacti horde had no effect on him. How could he smile with that many needles piercing his chest?! I do not understand humans! Grrr, next! Go forth, suicide bombing Claymore!” Claymores, known as the suicide bomb plant, were box-like plant-type monsters that stabbed their pointed seeds into their prey. Under normal circumstances, the Claymores would simply keep stabbing until their weakened prey died, then eat them. But the dungeon monster Claymores under Core 219’s leadership had honed their murderous qualities and were customized to be even more deadly.

They approached their enemies, and...

“Mama, look out!” Hugo immediately hugged the Claymore. It exploded from extremely up close and launched its seeds directly into Hugo’s chest. The damage was enormous, but Hugo took all of the seeds himself without letting them spray around.

“Ngh!” Naturally, even Hugo didn’t survive that without a scratch. He was bleeding.

“You okay, Mama?”

“...Thanks to you. Uhhh, need any healing?”

“Uh-huh!”

But in the end, Keima’s Restoration magic patched him right up. The only lasting damage was the pain inflicted.

“So why would he throw himself into danger like that? What is this man thinking?! I simply do not understand, have I made some mistake here...? Should I never have exploited him in the first place?” He hurt himself, but sought nothing in return. That was behavior which largely didn’t exist among plants. Yet adventurers in her dungeon would at times become self-sacrificial to protect their allies. Core 219 knew what this was called thanks to her many years of experience.

“This is... love. I see! It is love...!” Love. Out of all the emotions that Core 219 knew, love was the most beautiful. With love in mind, her perspective of Hugo and Keima changed completely.

“...{Fireball}!” And over time, the young maiden (Keima) began to participate in battle as well, rather than sit back and just be protected. The maiden, through her desire to not see the wild beast Hugo wounded in combat, became a Valkyrie and chose to fight by him side by side.

“They’re weak to heat and chilling too, but—...”

“...So basically, I need to dry them out first.”

The beast seemed happy to communicate with the maiden through sharing its knowledge. The maiden had at some point embraced such.

The beast kidnapped the maiden out of love. Touched by said love, the maiden was warming up bit by bit. It was a tale as old as time, and Core 219 loved stories. That gave her no choice but to leave them together.

“Very well! Out of respect for your love, I will cage you together!” Such was Core 219’s decision. She would imprison them together and raise them as a pair. But first came weakening them and locking them into a stronger cage that they could not escape from.

“...They’re following the stream? Hm, in that case, I can predict where they are going.” Core 219 smiled and operated the menu.

# Keima’s Perspective

We followed the stream and it took us to a wide, open room.

“This room... has a door. Are we in a Boss Room, maybe?” In which case...

“Watch out, Mama. I’ve got a baaad feeling about this.” I thought the same, regardless of Hugo’s input. That said, if we were in the Boss Room, we’d need to beat the boss to advance further. That was an iron rule of dungeons. If we could pass through without doing so, it was merely a fake Boss Room meant to deceive.

Suddenly, the room got dark. I readied myself and Hugo stood in front of me protectively like a wall. A spotlight appeared in the center of the room.

“Hahahahaha!” Loud laughter echoed throughout the room. Not mine or Hugo’s. Core 219’s. Her white and gold clothing sparkled as she approached, striking a confusing pose that seemingly left her completely open to attack.

“...What’s her plan, here?” Despite Hugo being here, a human completely unaffiliated with the secret underside of dungeons, she was showing herself. Maybe she was one of those Dungeon Cores that were also their own final boss.

“You two are splendid! Absolutely splendid! Splendid!” She said it three times, presumably for emphasis. And as she spoke, Hugo rushed forward to pound her face in. But thick vines sprouted from the floor to block him. They wiggled like tentacles.

“It is ever so boorish to interrupt a speech. But if you insist, allow me to begin.” The room lightened up and the ground that Core 219 was standing on started to... wait. That wasn’t ground, it was a massive bundle of vines. A huge something covered in vines emerged from the ground with Core 219 on top of it.

It was like a bundle of snakes, yet still a single entity. A huge stem sprouted from its center, then bloomed into a massive flower with huge petals. It was a red flower that looked to be about four meters tall and wide. With its pistil sticking out, it looked entirely like a space antenna.

“Hahahaha! Let’s see just how strong that love of yours is!”

“Th-That’s... That’s a Giga-Plant! Mama, get back!” Giga-Plant. It was indeed a gigantic plant.

...That better not be Core 219’s true body. Like what, is the human form on top just bait, basically? Will the dungeon collapse and bury us if we kill her? Actually, that soul pollution stuff Leona mentioned is still something I gotta watch out for. This would be a good opportunity to finish her off, but I might need to be more careful...

“Hey, is that your real body?”

“Nay! Fight to your heart’s content, and prevail if it is within your power! Unleash your love upon it!” Oh, it’s not her real body. No point holding back then.

“...Oh boy, Mama. She said we’re in love.”

“Don’t blush!”

Hugo and I stepped back from the rampaging vines.

“Guess I’ll try attacking it from range. Shoot forth, ice, and pierce mine enemies — {Ice Bolt}.”

“Okay, I will too! Fighting skill, {Flying Fist}!” My ice bolt and Hugo’s flying fist (some kind of chi blast?) sped toward the Giga-Plant — but we weren’t facing an idle foe.

“Go forth, Artillery Balsam!” Several tube-shaped Artillery Balsam flowers sprouted from Giga-Plant’s body like cannons and shot seeds which blocked our attacks. Or really, the seeds overwhelmed our attacks and we had to roll to avoid them.

“Yes, yes, go forth! Attack and be attacked in turn! Show me what you’re worth!” screamed Core 219, striking such a dazzling pose on top of the Giga-Plant that we could see from where we were. As she did so, Claymores wiggled out of the Giga-Plant and came walking this way on their roots.

“W-Wait, seriously?! That thing has more plants inside of it?!”

“That’s a baby making mother-type monster, Mama!”

“Alright, so it’s like a factory for plants! A plant for plants! That’s very clever!” I wasn’t sure if the plant (factory) / plant (plant) pun worked in the fantasy world’s language, but in any case we launched more long-distance attacks while fleeing from the Claymores and Artillery Balsams. Not that our attacks seemed to be doing any damage.

“Geez. Can we even beat this thing?” It would probably be easier to get caught and then escape again. A thought which probably gave me bad karma somehow. I suddenly felt my left leg getting pulled. I face-planted on the ground at full speed, and then got lifted up... by one of the Giga-Plant’s tentacles.

“Nghooooh?!”

“Mama! I’ll come sav-... Ngh!” The monsters all focused their attacks on Hugo, which forced him to go on the defensive. Vines wrapped around me as he continued the fight.

“W-Wait, hold on, what’s with these vines?!”

“Ahaha! It is tradition for the maiden to be tied up! This is the legendary ‘Rope Dress’ technique that I discovered in a book brought by an adventurer, titled The Book of Bondage! Mmm, perfect, you look splendid!” Tentacles squeezed my entire body tightly.

“Ngggh?!”

“Ah ha ha! Quite cute and pretty you are, yes indeed. Shall we try the next form? There are many more techniques I know.” The vines briefly untangled, then formed hexagonal shapes over my stomach and chest.

“Perfect! This is known as the ‘Turtle Shell’ technique! Ohoho, those hexagons are ever so beautiful!”

“Nghaaaah!” Core 219 played with my body like it was a toy. Come on, this is embarrassing! What kind of bondage is this! I’m not into BDSM! And my crotch! Vines are digging into my crotch, it hurts so bad gaaaah they’re gonna burst! Help! Someone Help! Nggggh, if only charms worked on Core 219, I’d force her to stop this!

“Perhaps I shall try a reverse flamingo next... oh, goodness!”

“Let go... of Mamaaaa! NGRAAAAAAAH!” Hugo charged with an aura of power radiating off his entire body.

(“Uh oh boss, looks like he’s gone berserk.”)

(“At a time like this?! Wait, maybe this is a good time?!”) It seemed that Hugo’s attack and defense shot up when he was on a rampage. Nothing the monsters did affected him at all.

“Graaah! Mama, Mama, MAMAAAAAAA!” Hugo ripped apart the vines binding me and thereby saved me. “Haaah, haaah! Maaa, Mamaaaa...”

“Whoa, don’t rub your face against me. Let go. I mean, please don’t, but come oooon!”

“...This appears to be the ugly lust of a beast, but perhaps, this too is love? Shall I continue watching?”

“Stop looking! Let go, Hugo! Back! Back! The enemy is over there! Go!”

“GRAAAAH!” Hugo charged the Giga-Plant while roaring. But a thick, log-esque vine smacked him away. That didn’t seem to hurt him either, but at this rate we wouldn’t be inflicting any damage at all on the monster.

“Hmmm, in that case, I shall launch stronger attacks against you! O, light!” The bright room got even brighter, with sunlight streaming in from seemingly nowhere. The light made the giant flower on the Giga-Plant’s front side start sparkling.

“Charge! Charge! Chaaaarge! Light, more light! Aaah, this feels stupendous!” Core 219 was posing dramatically on top of Giga-Plant, euphoric beneath the streaming light. And then.

“Compression Ray!” A concentrated beam of light shot from the giant shining flower’s central pistil. A moment later a massive explosion shook the room, hitting me with a shock wave so intense I was knocked to the ground.

“Ahaha! How did you like that?! This is the light that purifies all. Fear not, I will not fully charge it every time, and I will take care to avoid any direct hits.” Uuuuh, okay, this is pretty bad.

“Actually, why did the light explode anyway? What kind of physics is that?!” Though, maybe it was some kind of attack magic. The large flower is Giga-Plant’s main cannon. Guess I should avoid going in front of it... wait, the flower’s turning this way! Come on, at least turn the whole Giga-Plant! Gaaah!

“Chaaarge!”

“Ngh... Gate, open. I summon thee, magic-wielding monster of stone. Serve me — {Summon Gargoyle}!”

“Compression Ray!”

I attempted to block the laser using a Gargoyle as a shield. Tch, there goes one card out of my sleeve. The gargoyle standing in front of me became a living (?) shield and exploded into pieces after the laser hit it.

“I see you blocked the laser. But there are more where that came from. Charge!” Ngh, at this rate I’m just gonna defend myself into a corner. What are my options... Would chantless magic do the trick? Should I use a gravity bomb? Wait, no. That’s light! I spent 5 DP to buy a large mirror.

“This should reflect the light!”

“Ah! No, Mama! Run!” screamed Hugo. I reacted on pure instinct and threw the mirror aside, jumping away in the process. The ray of light hit the mirror and with a loud shattering sound it exploded.

“Ahahaha! In truth, this Compression Ray is a skill exclusive to plants and utilizes seeds within the light. Too bad!” So basically, the rays of light were carrying explosive seeds.

“Gah, that’s not even a ray of light then! Wait... Hugo, you’re back to normal?”

“Uh-huh, I cooled off after getting knocked down. I’ve heard lots of stories about people trying mirrors on Giga-Plant light rays and failing. So I just shouted out when I saw you trying it too. Sorry for scaring you.” Oh, huh. Man... This guy sure knows a lot. He really is a top of the line adventurer.

“No worries, and thanks. I owe you one.”

“Eheh, you’re welcome, Mama.” The forty-year-old dude smiled happily. Yeah, I’ve gotten used to this.

“But what should we do, Mama? We’re going to lose if this keeps up...”

“At this point we’ve just gotta play it by ear and do whatever comes to mind! Hugo, carry me!”

“Got it!” Hugo hefted me up. Ngh, a bridal carry! But at least this way, both my hands are free.

“Mama, it’s gonna be a little shaky!”

“Yeah, focus on dodging the attacks!”

What were plants weak to? Heat, dryness, and being eaten? Maybe I should use {Ultra Transformation} to turn into a mouse and bite it... Nah, a single mouse wouldn’t be able to do much. That said, even if I could summon a horde of them, they would be wiped out in seconds by the cannon. Not even splitting them up would work with those Claymores around. I’m limited to what I can buy with the five hundred-ish DP left to me, so... Whatever, no time to think! Gotta experiment!

I bought a Molotov cocktail (25 DP). Once a fire got started, it would dry out and burn all the way to death! I used the Survival magic spell {Ignite} to light the cocktail, then throw it. {Fire!}

“My my! Hot, very hot.” Not only did the vines block the Molotov, they easily put out the fire by slapping the ground. Ngh, that wasn’t enough?!

“I’ll slow it down with ice... Shoot forth, ice, and pierce mine enemies — {Ice Bolt}!”

“Those wimpy little ice shards won’t have any effect on this Giga-Plant!” Gah, they really won’t! Next!

“How about this! O Seed, bud and grow — {Grow Weed}!”

I scattered vegetable seeds (5 DP) and forced them to grow. I would suck all the nutrients out of the ground!

“What’s this, a present for me? Goodness, these are some fine vegetables you’ve given me... O Plant, change your being and become my servant — {Create Creature: Plant}!” Did these tomatoes, cabbages, and eggplants really just grow mouths?! Are they really attacking me?! Come on, fairy tale horror magic like that is just too much!

“Look out, Mama! Ngraaaah!” Hugo spun to block the attacking vegetables with his back. Another failure! I didn’t expect her to use those against me!

“Hyah! Hmph! Hah!” Hugo crushed the creature vegetables one after another with backward kicks. Man, why are you so competent?! You sure would be a lady killer if you weren’t obsessed with a cross-dressing dude!

...Wait. Something about that seems important to me. But what’s important? I closed my eyes to think. You would be a lady killer if you weren’t obsessed with a cross-dressing dude...? A lady killer, cross-dressing dude... Lady killer. Lady killer? Cross-dressing, cute dressing, loli? No no, wrong train of thought. Killer. That’s it. But not lady... something else.

...Weed killer! That’s it, I need weed killer!

“Hugo, there’s one more thing I want to try. Got it in you for one last charge?”

“For sure! I’ll never give up as long as I’m with you, Mama! Now and forever!” Not really sure why, but he’s motivated!

I went ahead and bought weed killer (10 DP). It was liquid weed killer in a two liter plastic jug resembling a gas can. I popped open the lid.

“Hugo! Run around, I’m gonna spray this stuff everywhere!”

“Alright!”

I sprayed the weed killer around and every place the liquid touched changed form immediately. The Giga-Plant writhed, turning purple where the liquid had gotten onto it.

“Ngh?! Wh-What in the world is that stuff?!” yelled Core 219, sounding panicked. Honestly, not even I expected it to be so effective. Uh. Since when was weed killer this deadly? Isn’t this a bit dangerous? Or maybe it just worked faster since this is a moving plant. But the details don’t matter here. Just the results.

“Hahaha, seems like this stuff works just fine!”

“Good job, Mama!”

“Yep! Now c’mon Hugo, spread it with me!” I bought another weed killer canister, which I gave to Hugo. I got watering cans (2 DP) too so I could spread it more efficiently.

“Haha! Look, Hugo, it’s shrinking so fast!”

“Wow, mama, we’ll beat it in no time like this!”

“S-Stop! STOP THIIIIIIS!” Core 219’s screams fell on deaf ears and we continued to spread the weed killer. It wasn’t just killing the Giga-Plant’s tentacles, either. The plant-type monsters it birthed and the creature vegetables I had grown all withered and died in no time.

“Look, look Mama! You can spread a lot more if you do it this way!”

“Hahaha, good job, Hugo! Keep it up. Oh, but make sure you don’t get any on me.” Hugo had stretched out his arms with watering cans in both hands while spinning around like a sprinkler. I shall dub this technique, the Double Weedkiller Clothesline.

“Ngggh, i-it hurts! G-Giga-Plant, aaah, no! Nooo, noooo...” The vines were barely moving now.

“Hey, Hugo, this weed killer stuff works a lot better if you get it on the roots. Seems like the Giga-Plant’s weak enough for that to be possible. So basically, go get it done.”

“Uh-huh, be right back!” I handed Hugo more weed killer. He happily took it up to the Giga-Plant’s roots, as it breathed its dying breaths like a bug despite being a plant.

“S-Stop thiiiis! Dooon’t...!” Naturally, we didn’t listen to Core 219’s desperate pleas. The Giga-Plant was deceased after barely a minute of pouring.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Guess that’s a win.” I said, watching Core 219 weep over the Giga-Plant’s immobile corpse. The boss had been killed, and thus the Boss Room’s door opened.

“Haaah, haaah... Curses! I gravely underestimated you, Keima...”

“You’re the one who said beat you if I could.”

“I-I did indeed say that... Ngh. You have defeated me.” Core 219 hung her head in sorrow. Hugo asked if we should kill her, but I didn’t want my soul corrupted by the God of Light or whatever. Killing her would be a hard no from me. But since we were in her dungeon, she could escape from any bindings by just withdrawing the rope. We had no choice but to leave her there. Thus, we headed to the door opposite to the Boss Room’s inner door.

“...H-Hmph. Still, you two will find no escape from this place,” said Core 219 right before we left the room.

“What do you mean?”

“Goooood work eliminating my Giga-Plant. But the only thing beyond that door is a water source! I’m sure you have guessed by now, Keima, but this is merely a boss room I built to catch you after you started following the stream.” Ah, okay. Makes sense. Guess she’s trying to say that we’ll have to go back to wandering in search of the exit, then.

“Nothing but a water source, huh?”

“Indeed, nothing but a water source. Though I can imagine no better place for a rest.”

“Hm... Hugo, go grab her. I have something I want to talk with her about.”

“Okaaay, Mama.” Hugo happily pinned Core 219’s arms behind her back and made her stand up.

“Ngh, u-unhand me! Do not touch me with your disgusting hands, you human male!”

“Whoa, whoa, don’t call someone disgusting just because they’re a human guy—”

“No, I am referring to him being disgusting specifically. Not even I would call most of the normal human males living in Tsia disgusting.”

“Ah. Okay, fair.” That reminds me, I used to think Hugo was disgusting too. I kinda got used to him during that fight with the Giga-Plant.

Anyway, Core 219 was coming with us. She probably could have escaped in a second if she wanted to, but it seemed that she would be playing nice for now. And just as she said, beyond the door was nothing but a small room with a water source.

“See, it’s just as I said.”

“Yep, seems so. By the way, why are you using water sources to make streams of water in your dungeon? You being considerate about adventurers needing water?”

“What reason could I have other than to give water to my plants? It is not for the humans.” Core 219 let out a haughty “hmph.”

“Really now? That’s convenient.”

“Convenient?” Whoops, accidentally said that out loud. Not that it matters.

“Anyway. Uhhhh, kinda late to be asking this, but what should I call you? Do you have a name?”

“Call me whatever you li— No, wait. Hm. If you insist, call me ‘brother dear,’ or something to that effect!” What the heck is she saying? But I guess at this point, it hardly matters.

“...Alright. So, brother dear (?), I want you to take us out of this dungeon.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, not even for my sweet little sister. You are a hostage towards her, after all.” Core 219 was speaking in a dramatic tone once again, probably due to having cheered up a little.

“Hm. Well, I wanted to be on good terms with you since you’re the shadow ruler of Tsia and I don’t want us getting in each other’s way from now on, but alright. Guess I don’t have any choice here,” I said a little dramatically. Core 219 was rubbing off on me. She urged me on with a curious look. I grinned, then took out the can of weedkiller I had been spraying around earlier.

“Now then, brother dear. What do you think would happen if I poured this into the water source?”

Core 219’s eyes shot wide open.

“A-Actually, nothing. You surprised me a moment ago, but I can easily minimize the damage by withdrawing the water.” I stealthily used some of my remaining DP to buy plankton (the kind I had used in my Dungeon Battle with the [Flame Caverns], 1 DP per 1,000 plankton). I plopped them right into the canister, then shook it around to get the plankton moving.

“...Take a closer look at it. Through your map.”

“Through the map...? Ah?! What is the meaning of this?!” Seemed like she did indeed check the map. An expression of shock arose on Core 219’s face.

“Enemy dots... a thousand of them?! Did a Slime split a thousand times in that?!”

“You don’t need to know. Now, brother dear. Can you withdraw a liquid that has enemies inside of it? A simple question with a simple answer.” I knew the answer. You can’t. In both the Dungeon Battle with Ittetsu and the Triple Threat Dungeon Battle with Haku, water with enemies inside of it hadn’t been withdrawn.

“Now, let’s have a thought experiment. What would happen to this lively green dungeon if this stuff got poured into your water sources? Hm?”

“You fiend!”

“I think I’ll give you one more chance. Brother dear. Would you be ever so kind and take little ol’ me out of the dungeon?”

“Ngh, b-but... Keima, you are... a hostage...” I tilted the canister over the water source. Drip.

“Ngh! W-Wait!”

“...Hm? Forgive me, brother dear, I couldn’t quite hear that.” I’m probably looking like a real villain right now. I can’t help it, this is just too fun.

But since Core 219 looked relieved to see me pause, I had to keep tilting the canister.

“Wait wait! Stop, stop this!”

“Haaah... Brother dear? That’s not what you should be saying. Not it at all. Do you understand what you should be saying?”

“...Fine. I will do as you say, so get that filth away from the water source.” I tilted it further. Oh man, it’s gonna start pouring out! Just a bit more!

“Stop! Why?! I said I will agree to your demands!”

“Your attitude.”

“What?”

“Is that reaaally how you should be talking to me? Hm, brother deaaar?” I wasn’t sure why I was getting so into this. Probably the Succubus transformation. Cause I mean, my Succubus-polluted instincts were screaming at me: Core 219 loves roleplaying. So, I was roleplaying a bit for her. I could tell she was squealing on the inside each time I called her “brother dear.” Definitely.

“...V-Very well then. Please, be so kind, as to stop...”

“I can’t hear you, brother dear.”

“Please stop! I’m begging you!” said Core 219, bowing her head. For some reason, Hugo was nodding with satisfaction.

“Hmmm. I’ll stop, then. And do you know what you are going to do for me in return, brother dear?”

“Y-Yes! I will guide you outside the dungeon!”

“Is that all?”

“...I-If you wish, you... you may do with my body as you like...?”

“Uh, no thanks.” Whoops. Forgot to keep acting.

“...What are you after? DP?”

“I wouldn’t mind some DP, but I don’t intend to be greedy here. Let’s see... First, you guide us out of the dungeon. Second, you don’t come after me again. And finally... Don’t tell anyone about my Succubus transformation. That’s all.” I said, to which Core 219 nodded.

“...Understood.”

“And while we’re at it, how about we be allies from now on?”

“That is, hrm... A bit too much, given how little I am receiving in return.” answered Core 219, having probably calmed down a bit due to me dropping my act. Dang, I should have gone all the way.

“Okay, in that case... I won’t tell Haku about your revolution.”

“...Very well. I will promise to not betray her within the next one hundred years. How does that sound?”

“Good enough. And to be clear, she is Haku, right?”

“Of course.”

I nodded. With her revolution against Haku out of the equation, she had no reason to interfere with me. I didn’t have a problem with her and she didn’t have a problem with me.

“Alright, let me repeat the conditions. Be sure to agree with them.” I used {Treaty} to make the oral agreement a binding one.

“...Contract magic, hm. You came well prepared, now I have no means of fooling you.”

“Were you planning to do something that lame?”

“No, I just felt like mentioning it. You defeated me here. I will accept my loss with grace, and protect our promise.”

And so, Core 219 wouldn’t be attacking me anymore. I let out a sigh of relief. Also, for some reason, Hugo looked really happy.

...Wait. Maybe I can turn Hugo into a trustworthy servant by binding him with contract magic? He did show a pretty impressive level of competence in this dungeon. If put to use on our side, he’d probably do a lot of good work for us. Putting aside that he’s a criminal.

“Hugo. Let’s make a contract too.”

“Okay! A promise with Mama!” Hugo beamed a smile, making it apparent he had been waiting for this. Well, here we go.

“First, don’t tell anyone about Dungeon Cores or me.”

“Okay. It’ll be our little secret!”

“...Next, avoid getting close to me as much as possible, and never touch me without permission.”

“Why?” Oof, he’s not too happy about this one. Uuuh, how should I frame this...

“...Mama wants her strong little boy to be more independent?”

“Okay!” Heck yeah. Now he’s not gonna touch me out of nowhere!

“Alright, and finally, gather information on the pieces of the Divine Bedding for me. Excluding the pillow and futon.”

“That will make you happy, Mama?”

“Yep, I’ll love it.”

“Okay then, I’ll do it!” Hugo agreed to the contract so quickly I began to wonder if I should have made one with him earlier. I can finally rest now... Holy crap, I’m so tired!

...Also, this canister is actually full of water I made with {Water Cup}. Wouldn’t want the plankton to die in the weedkiller, after all. I’m glad she didn’t notice.

Core 219 took us to the entrance of the [Flower Garden of Light] and that was that.