Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle - Chapter 213

213 – Is it Just Me or Is My Best Friend Rushing here on a Dragon?

We teleport from the fifth stratum Teleportation Recording Stone to the camp Teleportation Recording Stone.

「Sir Lem! Sir Ex! You’re both safe…!」

Maggie greeted us with a relieved expression on her face.

…I see. Everyone else must have gone back once to tell her about what happened and that both of us were still sleeping.

「I apologize for making you worry.」

「Thanks to Lem, I managed to come back. Ah right, I need to give a report, right?」

「I received a brief report from the others… It sounded like quite the ordeal.」

「Yeah, I guess you could say that…」

『All you need to do is keep up your strong heart.』

Said the black chick.

Yeah… You didn’t exactly make that easy.

At the present, I am the only one who can see it.

Spirits can both choose their form as well as who is able to see it.

She appeared as a ball of light to everyone else, but she only appears as a black chick to me.

Even among Spirit Contractors, they can’t see each other’s contracted Spirits.

Even Spirits don’t interact with each other unless they are made specifically aware of each other.

『The beings that everyone calls Spirits have a wide variety, y’know?』

I’ll take your word for it. She’s probably right, surely.

For the time being, it doesn’t seem likely that Ex’s or Arthur’s Shadow and Light Spirit would take the trouble to appear before them and tell them about this one.

…Not like I plan to hide this. I’ll be discussing this with them in the near future.

『Huh? Don’t you want this to be your secret power or something?』

…I have a duty to report to the government about a Holy Sword…

『The world you live in sure is strict, huh?』

Says the free Spirit who constantly peers into our so-called strict world.

『Ahaha, touche. Endless freedom can be pretty boring, y’know?』

So you create an Original Dungeon?

『Thanks to that, I had some fun. Also, I was able to find you.』

I involuntarily let out a sigh.

I was about to give Maggie a detailed report…but before that, I want to visit the village.

「Indeed… After the villagers had received a medical examination from the doctors and White Sorcerers, they were sent back to the village once they recovered. For the moment, you should head there and reassure your family and the villagers, Sir Lem.」

By her orders, a horse carriage was prepared.

「Th-then I shall follow along as wel-」

「Sitri is going to~. Sorry, Maggie, but I don’t wanna tell you the details of my dream.」

Sitri says while raising her hand, interrupting Milla.

One hand was raised, while the other was slightly raised and clasped in front of her chest. Also, one of her legs was raised slightly.

「I-I see. But I will go too-」

「You overcame the trial quite quickly, Lady Milla. I wish to talk to you in detail about it if possible…」

「B-but…」

「It’ll be fi~ine, Milly. I’ll be there with him.」

With that, she grabbed my arm and pulled me outside the tent.

「Ah…Milla. I’ll talk to you when I get back.」

「Mm… Yes, I understand.」

Milla looked frustrated but didn’t persist any further.

…Probably because she noticed it as well. Sitri’s discomfort.

『You wanna know about this little lady’s dream?』

You don’t have to tell me.

『Knew you’d say that.』

She said, laughing joyfully.

I wonder if this is how life is gonna be from now on.

『Not at all. I won’t take a peek when you’re in the toilet or taking a bath.』

……

『But for everything else, I’ll be watching over you like the other Spirits.』

If I think about it, since a Spirit contractor’s life is constantly being watched by the Spirit, do they not have truly private moments anymore?

Perhaps they don’t appear unless called upon in order to make the Human unaware of their presence.

The Spirits don’t want to get involved, but they do wish to watch. The life of the Human they chose.

They form a contract, making that person’s life more interesting by lending them their power.

『Yes, yes, exactly! That’s why I gave you a Holy sword. To make your life more interesting, mhm.』

「Maybe not as badly as Milly, but I was worried about you too, you know? You took your time getting up, Lem.」

Said Sitri, pouting.

I end my conversation with the Spirit and return my attention to Sitri.

「Sorry for making you worry.」

「Hmmm? Shouldn’t you be thanking me instead?」

Sitri said with a teasing smile.

「…You’re right. Thank you for worrying about me.」

「How obedient of you, Lem. Cute.」

「Ahaha…」

We call out to the coachman, and then we get into the carriage.

Once we start moving, I resume the conversation.

But before that, I ask the Spirit to “Not listen in to this conversation” in my head.

『Huh? Even though I already know everything about this girl from her dream to her inner thoughts?』

Yes, if you please. I don’t like the idea of someone eavesdropping.

『……Mrgh. Hmph. One day, I’ll make you say “I’m glad I met you, partner.”, you’ll see…!』

Saying that in a deliberately forced tone, the black chick flaps its little wings and flies off somewhere.

Not sure if all the theatrics was necessary, but I’ll believe that she isn’t listening.

「Was it…hard, to escape from the dream?」

I knew this would be the topic of discussion. Rather, I should say that I expected it.

Sitri seemed a little strange after overcoming the trial.

After all, she overcame her trial not long after I did.

Different from how Furcus, Arthur, Milla, and Merlin overcame the trial at the early stage, she was in the dream for longer.

「R-right. In my case…about ten years had passed in the dream. It was so pleasant that I couldn’t break free from it for a long period of time. It was so pleasant around the time I was Clearing the Demon King Castle. Ah, I was an Adventurer in the dream.」

By the way, even though I say that ten years had passed in the dream, only a few hours had passed in the real world from when we entered the fifth stratum.

「…I get it. It’s you, after all. You aimed to be a hero as an Adventurer, right?」

Sitri gives a fragile smile.

She’s different from her usual, always-conscious-of-being-cute self.

Here and there, I caught a glimpse of something.

「I told you about me before, right?」

She is a small, winged leopard Demi-Beast. Possessing the ability to transform, going so far as to reproduce even the ability of the subject. While it can’t do everything, it certainly proved its worth in the Raid Battle.

She is a capable individual worthy of being one of the Demon King Castle’s Big Four.

She has always liked cute things. She took a liking to the form of a Dream Demon and chooses to stay in that form all the time.

「Yes. Yes, you did.」

「In my dream, I was born a Dream Demon, you know? I lived my life happily chasing after cute things. I was a model, an idol, and even an actress.」

Black Sorcerers and White Sorcerers are treated coldly in the Adventurer industry.

However, for example, if a White Sorcerer that can heal wounds were in the medical field, they’d be in great demand.

In that sense, Black Sorcerer is a Job that is treated coldly by reality in general.

It can’t do any other work. Even the only choice it has, an Adventurer, is a tough path to tread on.

In that regard, Dream Demons have difficulty finding a Job as a race unit.

Because the average person can’t judge whether or not their appeal is the real deal or simply something amplified by their Charm spell.

Of course, that’s illegal, not to mention good Dream Demons won’t abuse it, and it’s not like there are no countermeasures against it but…

Since there are a plethora of races, it’s easier to just avoid Dream Demons in the first place.

There are not many jobs available for beautiful-looking Dream Demons who are not trusted because of their race.

All the occupations that Sitri mentioned exist in reality, but it is difficult for a Dream Demon to work in those industries even if she wanted to.

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「I had a blast…」

She couldn’t talk to the others about this.

In terms of being sucked in by the dream, Ex falls into that category as well, but I also happen to be her friend.

The other four immediately escaped from their dream the moment they arrived in it.

I don’t think that Ex or Sitri’s hearts are weak.

Even I…my master praised me for having a strong heart.

Besides, didn’t the Spirit say…

All you need to do is keep up your strong heart?

The strength of one’s heart isn’t fixed, it’s something that can go up and down.

Ex was assaulted by his worries, and Sitri and me…were assaulted by our past-held ideals.

「So, how did…you manage to return?」

「Hehe, about that. I saw the Raid Battle happening on TV. Everyone was working so hard without me. Remember that time when Lu made an appearance? Via your ring?」

「She did, yeah.」

My real self struggled to somehow remind me of reality in my dream.

I guess the TV screen was the result of Sitri’s hard work, who lived a life completely unrelated to the Demon King Castle.

「That’s when I thought… even though I have everything I ever wanted, the important things aren’t here.」

She met her Highness…Luci, and was given an opportunity to work as a Monster.

Everything she gained from that didn’t exist in her ideal world. Because she never worked as a Monster.

「Ah… I thought the same.」

「Yeah…but what a dream it was… I didn’t think that I didn’t need it as everyone else did.」

Sitri rested her head on my shoulder.

「Yeah…」

「A reality where I have everything I want and everything important to me… I wonder if that exists.」

I get what she’s saying. I really do.

「That might be tough…because we were able to meet all the important people in our lives precisely because we couldn’t get what we wanted.」

I wanted to become a Hero.

But there are people I was able to meet because of the fact that I was unable to become one.

I can do important things even while living a life unable to get the things I wanted.

「Heheh. Hey. We think alike. I don’t like my original, uncute self, but not having met Lu is even worse. So, I came back.」

She really is a strong person.

「Me too. I was depressed when I turned out to be a Black Sorcerer, but I’m glad to have joined the Demon King Castle and befriended you, Sitri.」

Sitri looked up at me and gave me a childish stare.

「That’s exactly the kinda thing I’m talking about, Lem.」

「Huh?」

「Geez, you’re such a playboy. My, my.」

「Uhm…」

「But I’ll let it slide this time. After all, I think the same. Milly, Foofoo, Lem…I tease him all the time, but Agarest too, you’re all very important friends to me. It’s so much better here.」

Having said that, she gave a big smile.

「But it really was a good dream. Oh well.」

This time, she rests her head on my lap.

「…So…you wanted to be an idol?」

「Aren’t idols cute? I love cute things. …Although the realities of being an idol are full of difficulties, but hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.」

「How should I put this…I think…you could have been an idol if you took the form of another race…right?」

「What? No way. Dream Demons are the cutest.」

She answered immediately.

With such a clear answer, I quietly nod my head.

「I see, then I guess there’s no helping it.」

「Yup.」

And with that, our trial ended with it leaving an effect or not at all in our hearts.

It’s still accepting contestants, but I’m pretty sure the investigation team will unanimously agree to not set foot in the fifth stratum.

『Done with your little talk?』

The black chick came back at almost the same time as we arrived at the village.

When I appeared in the assembly hall, Canary hugged me tightly

「Lem…! You took so long, so I was so worried…!」

「Sorry…and thank you. I’ll be fine.」

I talked with Hawk and my parents as well.

Canary saw Sitri and yelled “So cute!” and Sitri replied “So are you, miss! Are you Lem’s sister?” “Yup! I’m his big sister!”, to which Hawk heard and scolded Canary, saying “You shouldn’t tell lies.”

I was thanked by the villagers, even by the trio, surprisingly, and considering that everyone made it back, including me, we decided to break up the gathering for now.

And then, everyone who exited the assembly hall looked up at the sky.

Even though the sun was out, there was a very large shadow cast over the village for a moment.

It soon cleared up, but what that shadow belonged to surprised us all.

It was a dragon.

There were people about to panic, but I quickly yelled out to reassure them.

「It’s alright! It’s alright! That’s not a wild dragon!」

On the dragon’s belly, there was a cloth that had the logo indicating the organization it belonged to.

It’s so that people on the ground can immediately distinguish it.

The Dragon Express.

They are famous for being able to carry a large amount of luggage at once and, not to mention, quickly.

Also, for high-ranking Adventurers, the party can spend some money to be transported by the dragon.

But, why would such a dragon be here…?

If this is a common route it takes, then why would everyone be surprised…? I also didn’t hear anything about Maggie calling for such a service.

Hm?

While staring at the sky, I spot something.

A dot…in the sky.

No, it’s…something. Wait, is that…a person?

「Hyaaaaa!」

I could hear a kinda cute scream.

It would seem that two people were falling.

A single male and a woman clinging to his back.

Wait, the male is…the Flame Hero Fenix?

The heck are you doing?

Emitting flames to decelerate, he completely killed all momentum and landed safely on the ground.

The Hunter Lily tumbled off of that guy’s back.

After helping Lily to her feet, Fenix turns to everyone.

「Everyone… Ah, Lem! You’re alright!」

I turn to look at Canary.

「I sent him an email. But that boy…heh, to think he’d come on a Dragon…」

Having said that, Canary runs out to hug her son.

…Well, I guess it is his hometown too. He has the right to know.

I’m sure he had to do some filming for a Dungeon Clear, and he took a dragon here as soon as it was over.

『Oh, it’s the Priest boy.』

Said the black chick.

「Not Priest. Hero.」

I mutter to myself.

It really does suit Fenix better than me.

I approach my best friend.

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「You’re late.」

He was slightly flabbergasted by that, but then he laughed.

「I came as fast as I could.」

Sure seems that way.

We looked at each other and laughed.