Two days have passed since the mock combat.
Since no one was seriously hurt, the kids who received Karina’s simple healing magic enjoyed their well-deserved downtime.
The girls, except for Shuri, spent sweet moments chatting while Lewis was too busy dating Shuri, and I handled the remaining tasks with Renny.
I don’t have much to deal with, but thanks to my fame, it seems there are quite a few nobles in the imperial capital who want to see me…
“How many invitations do I have…?”
“I’m unexpectedly popular.”
I don’t even feel like attending any parties, but the influx of invitations is annoying. Should I be grateful that the royalty isn’t interested?
No, maybe they just can’t afford to call me because of the struggle for the throne.
sigh When am I finally going to go to the capital to sort out the imperial family and the throne struggle?
I’d prefer if they were either friendly or good at being puppets.
It sounds a bit villainous, but in this dark fantasy world with no dreams or hopes, that’s the only way to see any hope.
First, I need to manage the imperial trolling to make it easier to deal with emergency situations.
“Of course it’s normal to catch a demon. We managed to do what even the invited saint and her party couldn’t.”
“You helped too, didn’t you?”
“Well, I just lost my head in the end. You were the one who actually did everything. I didn’t see it, but you won the mind game, right?”
It was indeed a mind game.
I had essentially set up the board to ensure I could win, so it was easier than expected. With the knowledge from the original work, there were plenty of ways to exploit weaknesses.
The power of the Book of Wishes was crucial.
If I didn’t have the Book of Wishes, it would have been extremely difficult to increase our chances of winning. To impose a sense of coercion on a high-ranking demon, there was no other way than amplifying the power of the Book of Wishes and taking it out in one blow.
“When we first met, I thought you were some kind of primitive native, but it’s already been nearly a year…”
“Has it really been that long?”
Am I going to be 20 once this year rolls over?
Since I haven’t aged at all until now, I can’t even gauge whether I’ll age this time.
Come to think of it, Renny’s birthday is around December, right?
I don’t have a particularly good memory to recall characters’ birth dates, but I vaguely remembered Renny’s birthday illustration was from one of my favorite illustrators.
…Though I suppose even that is just a correction.
“Renny, when is your birthday?”
“Umm, it’s in about a month. December 30.”
It’s almost the end of the year. Renny muttered with a bored look at the topic I brought up.
“Another year older…”
For a girl, turning a year older feels pretty big. Especially for Renny, who has already long since passed the marriageable age.
“You can’t stop the flow of time.”
“Oh, speaking of which, how old are you? I feel like I’ve never heard your age before…”
“My age?”
“Yeah. You said you’ve lived there for ten years, right? You must be quite old, around twenty-seven?”
Renny’s face was full of curiosity. Was it because it was hard to guess my age based on my appearance? After a moment of contemplation, I answered honestly.
“I’m 19.”
“What? I feel like I heard that wrong…”
“I’m 19.”
“Come on, stop joking…”
“It’s true.”
“So I’m older than you…?”
I silently nodded. Renny looked at me in shock, her face reminiscent of the first time she saw me. In a small voice, she muttered, “To think someone with that face is younger than me…” Her expression was one of disbelief as she asked me,
“Really, you’re not joking? You’re four years younger than me…?”
“Can I call you ‘noona’ (older sister) then?”
“Don’t do that!”
Throwing a joke at the shocked Renny elicited an intense response. Is being 19 that shocking? Don’t I look pretty much like a 19-year-old?
I chuckled as I saw Renny backtrack and hug herself as if she was covered in goosebumps.
She has some unexpectedly cute traits.
“Is it that much of a problem that I’m younger? Renny noona.”
“Just call me Renny…”
Since she was ready to hit me on the back of the head if I kept it up, I stopped teasing and got to the point.
“I guess it’s time to head for the briefing.”
“Did you find a decent dungeon?”
“Sort of.”
I gave a vague reply and left the office. Renny followed alongside me as we walked through the corridor.
“A dungeon… do you think it’ll be okay? I’m a bit uneasy since it reminds me of the deserted island…”
“Those kinds of dungeons aren’t common, so don’t worry.”
If dungeons like that were common, the world would have collapsed by now. Dungeons that are nearly absurd like that one are unsolvable. If you think about it, bear cubs or snake hatchlings could have been ‘byproducts’ of the dungeon.
If something like a Hydra popped out, it’d be disastrous. Sure, we caught it a bit easily, but we threw everything we had at it and were backed up by friends, so it was manageable.
If it had emerged here, the casualties would have been horrifying.
How could you stand it when it spews hydrochloric acid?
“That’s true, right?”
Renny still had an anxious look. It seems my assurance isn’t enough to comfort her. Or perhaps Renny’s obsession is flaring up again. She had a tendency to become overly fixated on Karina’s safety.
“Don’t worry too much. We’re together, so what danger could there be? I have confidence we can escape no matter the situation, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yeah… that’s true. Sigh. Lately, I’ve been getting anxious about a lot of things. I’ve become a bit overly worried.”
Anxious about something?
That made me glance at Renny. She looked troubled, unlike her usual self. Seeing that expression made me have to ask.
“Is there something going on?”
“Um… it’s just that something’s been bothersome.”
“Your face screams for attention, though.”
At my words, Renny sighed and shared her troubles with me.
“…I got a letter.”
“A letter?”
“Yeah. Have I mentioned I used to be a mercenary?”
I can’t remember if she did or not, but since I knew it anyway, I nodded. Seeing me nod, Renny sighed again and explained what had happened to her.
“A person I knew back when I worked as a mercenary sent me a letter. How they found out I was here, I don’t know. Anyway, I opened the letter and read it… they asked for help.”
“Help?”
“Yeah. It seems they’re targeting someone I knew from the mercenary group that backstabbed me. I don’t know the reason why…”
“Um… that’s quite a troublesome situation.”
“Right? I’ve already left the mercenary life behind and am now living a new life. I don’t even know how I should help if they ask me for help. I’m not in a position to act recklessly anymore.”
Renny’s words were valid.
Having struggled to cut ties with the past and being asked to help resolve past issues would leave anyone wondering what to do. If it were parents, one could understand—but Renny, being an orphan, wouldn’t have parents to rely on.
Regardless, she seemed quite troubled by the situation.
She actually has a surprisingly delicate side.
“If you want to go, it’s okay to go.”
“But…”
“If you’re also worried about something, isn’t it only right that you think about it? Karina will be under my protection, so it’s okay for you to go.”
With Harpas now just a head hanging on my wall, there’s no danger from him. The Halphas Cult has also been mostly wiped out, and it seems they have no power left to do anything.
It doesn’t seem like anyone would try to harm Karina from the human side. Anyone trying would be insane. In this world, if someone were to try, they would be considered a demon and would be praised if they were executed and thrown in the streets.
“Well, it’s far from here, you know. It might take a while…”
“It’s fine.”
“…No, actually, it doesn’t feel right to go.”
“If that’s how you feel.”
If need be, I had thought about using the portal set up underground at the academy. But if she has no intention of going, there’s no need to utilize it. The procedure is also quite complicated.
As we exchanged secretive conversations, we arrived at the reception room where the students were gathering.
“Johann! Over here, over here!”
Everyone except us had gathered.
Since we were about three minutes late, I guess it’s only natural? I sat down and apologized.
“Sorry for being late.”
“It’s okay. You just came from work, right?”
Karina smiled sweetly and accepted my apology. Feeling the gazes directed my way, I nodded and scanned the faces of those looking at me.
“Is there anyone hurt?”
“When we gathered, we checked, and no one was hurt. Everyone’s healthy.”
Receiving a checkup from a saint. That must have been quite a rare experience.
“That’s a relief. Then let’s begin the dungeon exploration briefing.”
The first program of winter vacation. The curtain rises on the dungeon exploration.
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