by Hiro Ainana
“…… Summon Wraith Knights Onryou Kishi Shoukan!”
Six ghostly mounted knights appeared around the Skeleton King.
The horses and riders alike were transparent, as if they might take to the air at any moment.
These wraith knights were all level 45. They must be the Skeleton King’s aces in the hole.
“Remote Arrow should do it, right?”
I produced the maximum amount of Remote Arrows, sending twenty homing in on each knight.
The wraith knights took off at once, flying around frantically above Lalakie like fighter planes trying to dodge anti-aircraft missiles.
Their high speed in the air probably had made them a serious threat to land-bound people in ancient times.
“
Watching as his wraith knights fell to my arrows one by one, the Skeleton King bellowed with rage.
I was sure he wouldn’t believe me even if I told him that it was just the lesser attack magic Remote Arrow.
“
“
The Skeleton King grabbed Yuuneia by the hair and lifted her up, reaching a skeletal hand toward her chest.
Her stamina and magic gauges began rapidly decreasing; he must have been draining her life force through her hair.
“
Rei’s anguished cry echoed across the Queen’s Tower.
Enveloped in a black glow, the Skeleton King’s hand plunged toward Yuuneia’s heart.
“
I was on them in an instant with “Flashrunning,” catching the Skeleton King’s hand with my own before it reached Yuuneia’s chest.
I’d placed “Spellblade” on my palm, so my hand was unharmed.
“
Crushing the Skeleton King’s other arm, which was grasping Yuuneia’s hair, I delivered a restrained kick to his torso before he could react.
The Skeleton King rolled across the floor before crashing into a pillar.
“
Despite the fact that I’d rescued her, Yuuneia still seemed to think of me as the “black-haired demon.”
“
Using my new “Remove Curse” skill, I promptly undid the rune that was wrapped around Yuuneia. It went much more smoothly than when I didn’t have the skill.
“
Once the miasma was removed, I released Yuuneia slowly.
“
Yuuneia staggered, so I hurriedly caught her.
Even with the miasma gone, Yuuneia’s face still looked pale, and her status condition read Weakened.
It was probably because so much of her life force had been sapped by the Skeleton King.
“
The Skeleton King yelled some nonsense, and the shadows below us turned into swirling black miasma, forming black chains that zipped toward us.
I produced Claidheamh Soluis from Storage and put magic power into it, slicing up the black chains near me with a single swipe.
“
The Holy Sword left my hand, flying around to purify the chains with blue light before they could reach the flying ship.
That was one convenient weapon, all right.
“
The Skeleton King gave a triumphant cry, and more black chains appeared at his feet, charging toward me like tentacles.
“
Yuuneia trembled in my arms.
“
I delivered a magic-infused kick toward the black chains, and they stopped short, almost as if avoiding my foot.
I wonder…
“
I shouted and waved my arm, and the black chains all sped back toward the Skeleton King.
It must have been my new “Reverse Curse” skill at work.
“
The chains broke through the shadow barrier protecting the Skeleton King and started breaking his bones as well.
“
Covered in wounds, the Skeleton King called to Yuuneia in a wheedling voice.
She immediately tried to break free from my arms, but this was undoubtedly a trap, so I held her fast.
“”
What a selfish request.
Yet, Yuuneia still seemed to feel familial love for him; she reached out toward the Skeleton King, her eyes filled with tears.
Suddenly, a stone bullet shot past us.
“
The stone broke through the Skeleton King’s rib cage, sinking into the glowing bloodred core within.
“
Turning around, I saw Rei crying, poised as if she’d just released a magic spell.
She must have used her topaz ring to fire that bullet.
“
The Skeleton King’s bones crackled and splintered, turning into ash.
“
The king’s skull crumbled into ash, and his crown fell to the floor with a hollow thud.
“
Rei murmured a disquieting promise as she watched the Skeleton King disappear.
The latter half was so quiet that only my “Keen Hearing” skill was able to hear it.
“
Turning toward us, Rei smiled almost unnaturally.
“
I nodded and carried her with Magic Hand.
“
Rei gave a faint, martyr-like smile.
“
“
Yuuneia reached out her hand, and Rei clasped it gently.
“
Yuuneia shook her head tearfully.
If this were a story, maybe it would have a tragic ending like that.
But apparently, I wasn’t the only one who wouldn’t let that fly.
“Arisa Kiiiiiick!!”
Arisa’s clumsy flying kick hit Rei squarely on the rear.
I had carried her and the others along with us using Magic Hand, since they looked like they had something to say.
“
“Really, this is the problem with you sheltered princesses!”
“
Rei shrank from Arisa’s accusing gaze.
“There will be no buts about it, I declare in Arisa’s place.”
“
“Mm. Reckless.”
“
>
Nana and Mia stepped in, and Tama and Pochi stood off to the side, cheering the girls on by waving fans—most likely provided by Arisa.
Lulu and Liza were preparing a bed for Yuuneia.
I entrusted Yuuneia to Liza and looked on as Arisa tried to convince Rei.
“Why would you sacrifice yourself after we’ve already resolved all the problems?”
“
“That doesn’t mean you have to die with it, though!”
Arisa was right, so I let them have it out.
“<…But you saw the history recorded on the slates, didn’t you? We skyfolk have done horrible things that the people of the land could never forgive. The royal family of Lalakie must atone.>”
If you asked me, the blame shouldn’t fall on Rei when she didn’t personally do anything wrong.
And the people who were to blame were long dead.
Arisa seemed to feel the same way, shrugging and rejecting Rei’s words.
“That was twenty thousand years ago, wasn’t it? Even the elves from that generation are gone by now, so I’m sure nobody but the high elves even remembers what happened.”
“
Rei was too consumed with guilt to listen to Arisa’s reasoning.
Instead, Arisa grabbed Rei’s hand and dragged her over to me.
“Master! Give her a hug.”
I didn’t really understand, but I complied with Arisa’s request and embraced Rei gently.
“
“Squeeze harder, master!”
Rei’s adult form was very curvy, so this was a little embarrassing.
“
At first, Rei struggled with beet-red cheeks, but eventually she lowered her head and calmed down.
“Looks like she’s calmed down now.”
I guess Arisa’s plan was to physically reassure her.
“Physical affection is the only way to go with these daddy-issue types.”
…Or not. Luckily, the second half of Arisa’s muttering was quiet, so Rei probably didn’t hear it.
“If you go down with Lalakie, you’re not solving anything but your own self-satisfaction. It won’t help anyone or make anybody happy. Talk about zero upsides.”
“
Rei lowered her eyes sadly at Arisa’s slightly harsh words.
“
I tilted Rei’s chin up gently and spoke as delicately as I could.
“
“
“
I released Rei and led her over to Yuuneia’s bedside.
“
“
Yuuneia sat up, and Rei wrapped her arms around her.
“I wish to participate, I declare.”
“Mm, me too.”
Nana and Mia embraced the two sisters, and the other girls piled on for a big group hug.
“Is this a gaaaame?”
“No pushing or you’re out, sir.”
A few of them didn’t quite seem to know what was going on, but it made Yuuneia and Rei smile through their tears, so that was fine with me.
Epilogue
Satou here. Sometimes, a crisis that threatens the entire world might be closer than you think. But if possible, I’d like to leave that kind of thing in the hands of superheroes and such and spend my days happily in a peaceful world.
“Master, I brought you some tropical fruit juice.”
“Thank you, Lulu.”
As I was resting in the shade of a tree, Lulu brought me a glass garnished with a slice of fruit.
She was wearing a daring swimsuit that matched the island setting, but after half a month’s stay, she seemed to be accustomed to it.
Once she’d handed me the glass, Lulu went back to the beach, where the rest of the group was playing the watermelon-splitting game.
This was the central island of Lalakie, the place we’d first come to in this territory.
I turned back to the conversation I’d been having before Lulu approached.
“So you don’t need any more help from the elves, Satou?”
The person I was speaking with was Aaze, the high elf of Bolenan Forest.
Normally, the Telephone spell worked only within the range of a large city or so, but when I used it, it could easily reach the far-off Bolenan Forest.
“No, that’s all right. Thank you for your help with setting up the barrier.”
“Of course! You did so much for us when you were in Bolenan.”
After the incident, we sank Lalakie back into the sea, removing the Blazeshine Sword and the elemental jewels from the towers on the Sealtower Islands to restore it to its initial camouflage state. However, Rei was still worried that an outsider would attempt to use it for evil purposes again.
So in order to prevent that, I asked the elves of Bolenan to put up a Wandering Ocean spell around it, creating a barrier that would make it impossible to approach.
I felt bad about contacting them after so long just to ask a favor, but Aaze and the others were happy to help put up the barrier.
As thanks, I went back to Bolenan Forest with the Return spell and made them a feast with the bullet tuna. Surprisingly, they even liked the sashimi and sushi. Those elves really had sophisticated palates.
While I was there, I also asked the elf chef Nea if she could make chocolate from the cacao fruits. I tried making it myself, too, but apparently, I wasn’t doing it right, because it didn’t come out very good.
Additionally, while we were making the barrier, I stopped at the islands around Lalakie to plant some Treant seeds. With that, I had just about met my quota.
“When are you coming back to visit again? Errrm, that is… Nea said she had some questions about ‘chooklat,’ and Kiya wanted to discuss some magic tools with you.”
Even through the Telephone spell, I could tell that she was too bashful to say what she really wanted to say.
“Are Nea and Kiya the only people waiting for me?”
I took a slightly hurt tone, mostly to tease Aaze.
“Of course not! I’m sure Lua and Hiya want to see you, too… And so do I.”
Yessss!
I wanted to jump up and pump my fists in the air, but instead I took care not to sound too eager in my response.
“Miss Aaze, I’d be happy to come see you every day if that is what you wish.”
“Thank you, Satou. But I’m sure that would be difficult, so once in a while is fine. But, well…if it’s not too much trouble, I suppose it’d be nice if we could Telephone, um, most days, at least…”
Oof. She was so cute, I wanted to zoom over to Bolenan right away and kiss her on the spot.
“Yes, anytime—”
“
Yuuneia came running across the beach and dove toward me, her gloomy demeanor completely cleared away.
From the way she was cozying up to me now, you would never guess that she used to call me a “black-haired demon.”
Yuuneia was reaching to undo her bikini top, so I quickly stopped her.
“No, you can keep your swimsuit on.”
“Satou? What do you mean, ‘keep your swimsuit on’?”
“No, Miss Aaze, it’s not what it sounds like.”
“Yuuneia! Master is my master. You must not call him ‘master’ so lightly, I insist. It is dangerous, and forbidden, and unfair hogging, I report.”
“
“Master! It is not fair to only supply Yuunei
a with magic, I entreat. Supply me with magic, too, I request.”
Nana grabbed the shoulder straps of her one-piece swimsuit and pulled it down to her belly button.
She was still facing me, so I got to see her ample twin peaks dancing around rhythmically.
“
Yuuneia blithely grabbed Nana’s breasts with a childlike lack of reservation.
“My chest belongs to master, I declare.”
“Nana, please just cover up your chest. You can hold a towel over it while I’m supplying you with magic—”
“S-Satou? C-cover her chest? Wait, does that mean it’s uncovered? Satou?”
Shoot. The Telephone spell was picking up my half of the conversation, sending Aaze into a mini panic.
“Is someone misbehaving over heeere?”
“Mrrr. Lewd.”
Catching wind of the fuss, Arisa and Mia came over.
“
“
Rei was behind them, already scolding Yuuneia.
She had returned to her low-power child mode, which made for a pretty amusing scene.
“H-hey, Rei! Don’t sit on master’s lap like it’s the natural thing to do!”
“Mm. No hogging.”
“I’ll move over here, then.”
Rei shifted to my right leg, and Arisa and Mia immediately scrambled to sit on my left leg.
“Tama toooo?”
“Pochi wants to sit, too, sir.”
“Don’t cause trouble for master, you two.”
The beastfolk girls joined in the battle as well, followed lastly by Lulu, who lightly claimed my back with her finger.
That tickled a little.
“Satou, I’ve put Aaze to sleep with Forest Magic and placed her in bed.”
“Thank you, Miss Lua. I’ll try to come by the tree house tomorrow morning and explain things to Miss Aaze.”
“That would be appreciated.”
Aaze’s panic had made her dizzy, so the shrine maiden elf Lua, her attendant, took over the Telephone call.
It would be impossible to explain this chaotic situation in words alone.
While I was speaking with Lua, something else caught the girls’ interest, and they ran off to the beach again.
“Satou, I need to speak to you…”