Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
◆Rodje◆
The elf had come to visit once again.
「That human’s never around, but… Lylael-sama’s gone too…」, Rodje murmured alone in the living room.
She had been here for around three hours, and didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. Looking outside, she noticed that the sky which had been blue just a while ago had become overcast. Squinting into the distance, unmistakable little white lines could be seen.
「It’s raining… oh dear. Isn’t the laundry still hanging outside?」
The elf hurried outside and came back with her arms full of still-drying clothes.
「…」
She stopped dead in her tracks just before she entered the house.
「These are Lylael-sama’s… panties. Why are they so erotic…? The material is so thin, too… wait, they’re basically see-through…!?」
Forgetting about the rain, she continued staring at them for a few minutes.
「…」
She looked around her to ascertain that nobody was around and spread the panties, continuing to ignore the rain that was still falling.
「A lowly servant like me should see how comfortable it is before letting it touch Lylael-sama’s bare flesh…」
Panting with excitement, she put one leg through the panties.
「…Ara-ara. Maa-maa, what do we have here?」
Whipping around, she was met with a flash of lightning, following which Dee appeared. The vampire was smiling as usual, but her eyes were also filled with a playfulness that said oh look, a new toy.
「You… you saw me…!?」
◆Roland◆
I brought the cutpurse I had caught back to Lyla.
「Oh yes, my wallet…! Did you get it back for me?」
「I ran into him by chance.」
「As expected of you! Well then… what do we do with this brat?」, she said, staring down at the cowering demi-human.
「What do you have to say for yourself?」
「…I’m sorry…」
Having had no intention to flare up at him from the start, Lyla sighed, squatting down and looking him in the eye.
「You’ve learnt your lesson, and won’t do this again, will you?」
「But… I have no money…」, muttered the child.
He was on the verge of tears.
「If that’s the case…」
Opening the wallet I had just retrieved, she took out a single note.
「Don’t do that, idiot. That doesn’t address the root of the problem.」
Even the royal capital has its impoverished parts, where the children are in the same plight as the demi-human in front of us. Hold on…
His escape route leads out of the capital?
「Where were you trying to go in that boat?」
「Home… where my mother’s waiting…」
「What will she think of you when you bring home stolen money?」
「But, still…」
His carefree attitude had all but disappeared. He cleared his throat and began to cry. Figuring that we wouldn’t get anything more out of him here, we brought him to an eating-house to continue the conversation. The way he ate showed that he hadn’t eaten in quite a while.
My name is Djeeta, he told us.
「My mother is sick… and needs money to get better.」
I glanced at Lyla, and she shook her head.
「I don’t know how human healing magic works. On our side, though, we aim to boost the patient’s natural healing ability. It works well for physical injuries, but not so much if there’s a deep, underlying cause for the illness…」
While we refer to it as ‘restoration magic’, the principles are otherwise similar to the demon version.
「And you’re trying to find that money, Djeeta?」
「Yeah…」
Isn’t there anything we can do, asked Lyla by looking at me.
It’s true that he’s in a tight spot. As things are right now, his mother is unable to work. Even if Djeeta’s method of making money is deplorable, both he and his mother will starve to death if he doesn’t do it.
「Can he become an adventurer?」
「It takes too long. I would’ve been all for it if he didn’t have anyone to take care of.」
「Yeah, family is important…」, she lamented softly.
Even now, I still don’t know what ‘family’ feels like. I guess there’s one person that I can almost call family, but even him, the Master, isn’t related to me by blood.
According to Djeeta, their weekly expenditure on medicine is about twenty thousand rin. I doubt it’s possible for a child to earn that much with an ordinary job.
「How about we get him to do work with a high payoff?」
「It’s definitely not impossible, but…」, I replied. 「During the war, different humanoid species including elves and demi-humans got together to fight and are thus more or less recognised as allies. However, traces of racism still remain in some cities, and even if we get him a good job, there’s no guarantee that the employer won’t shortchange him.」
「Petty, aren’t you all.」
She’s not wrong. Some high-end restaurants even refuse entry to those species. Djeeta stopped halfway through his meal and looked at us.
「Can I… take some of this home? I’ll share it with my mom…」
Lyla looked at the young demi-human through teary eyes. In the end, the ruthless and merciless Demon King might have just been a facade displayed to humans.
「I’d like to speak to your mother. Can we pay her a visit?」
「Eh? My house? Sure you can, but…」
Instead of letting him take the leftovers home, we ordered another two dishes as takeout. We made our way to Djeeta’s boat and got on, leaving the capital through a small irrigation canal.
「We’ll get seen by a sentry if we go by the river」, he informed us.
Reaching the end, we moored the boat to a designated mooring area just next to a water mill. There were a few scattered houses in the distance.
「I’m home!」
We entered, and a demi-human lady who was lying on her bed sat up when she saw us.
「Welcome back, Djeeta. Ara, do we have guests?」
「I met them a while ago and they treated me to a meal.」
「Is that so? Why, thank you.」
I passed Djeeta the food and went to the kitchen with the three others.
「Can you cook?」, he asked
「Fufufu. I’m not one to be underestimated.」
They’re on good terms now, huh?
I introduced myself and Lyla to Djeeta’s mother.
「He told us you have a chronic illness…」
「Yes. It’s causing a lot of trouble for him, too… even though I’ve told him many times that I don’t need medicine…」
「You don’t? May I ask why that is so?」
「The symptoms can be alleviated, but the illness itself almost certainly can’t be cured…」
「…I see.」
A jarring noise could be heard from the kitchen. Djeeta had already told us about the illness, and I realised that he never mentioned anything about post-recovery.
「My son’s a demi-human after all, and I knew there’s only one way for him to scrounge up the money. That’s why I was against it…」
I leafed through her doctor’s medical report. I don’t know much about pharmaceutics, but can’t we get the medicine at a discounted rate if we show this to the chemist at the capital?
Wait, no… it’s incurable, she said.
「You look troubled. It’s okay, Roland and friend, you don’t have to do anything for me」, said Djeeta’s mother, smiling as she stroked the wrinkles on my forehead.
We ate the dinner that Lyla and Djeeta had prepared and went on our way.
「Rodje might know something about healing herbs. The forest she comes from are famous for the longevity of its inhabitants.」
「Seventy percent of that elf is already a lost cause.」
「Whatever. Come on, let’s make the jump now. Blink us back home. Rodje might already be there.」
「Got it.」
◆Rodje◆
「Commander Rodje? What were you trying to do with Lylael-sama’s panties?」
「Erm… well, you see…」
Thunder boomed in the distance, acting as a natural fanfare during Rodje’s plight. While Dee stared at her, grinning, the elf’s eyes darted left and right.
「I came to help L-Lylael-sama with the chores. The laundry would get wet if I left it outside」, she muttered, hiding the panties behind her back.
「That’s not what I asked. Weren’t you… putting on Lylael-sama’s panties, Commander Rodje?」
「No, I wasn’t! I swear I wasn’t!」
「A perverted elf you are ♡」
「You’re mistaken! I swear upon my honour!」
「I wonder what Lylael-sama would think if she knew about this?」
Dee’s smile didn’t let up at all. It was as if a cat had finally cornered the mouse it was chasing.
「Guh… are you trying to threaten me? What exactly do you want!?」
「That exact pained expression you’re making right now ♡」
「You’re more evil than I thought…!」
「The Magical Commander of the Guards Division… if I had come a little later, would I have found Lylael-sama’s bra wrapped around your head?」
「Are you making fun of me, Candice Meinrad?」
Despite saying that, her distress was plain for all to see.
「It would be unspeakable to dirty the esteemed Lylael-sama’s panties!」
「Maa-maa. Wonder which mouth of yours that statement’s coming from.」
She would never be able to live it down. Using the little sense that she still had, Rodje tried making her final stand.
「What do I have to do to make you close yours, huh?」
If pushing doesn’t work, then pull, she figured.
「I don’t care what you do since I’m already dead, but… are you really taking me on at night? The odds are already stacked against you. A foolish elf you are…」
In actual fact, Rodje hadn’t realised that night had already fallen.
(It’s night time already? Shit… I should not have challenged this vampire to a duel…)
There’s no turning back now, though. She stuffed the panties into her pocket.
「In the name of my honour, I will silence you!!」
She had almost no hope of winning this, but this wasn’t a matter of life and death. It was a matter of her honour — if she lost, she would be Dee’s plaything for the rest of her life.
Therefore, she had no choice but to stand and fight.
Rodje activated her signature spell, ‘Shadow Edge’, spawning two swords, then adopted a fighting stance with one in each hand.
「Let’s get it. Roland-sama hasn’t paid me any attention recently, and I’m kind of deprived right now. But since you’re here, I suppose I can distract myself for a while. It’s an honour to be able to take on someone as high up as a division commander.」
Accompanied by the usual grating noise, Dee’s spear began extending out from the ground.
「…」
「…」
The atmosphere became tense. Both opponents moved at the same time.
Yet, their weapons never clashed, for the owner of both the cat and mouse had returned.
「Stop that.」
Seemingly having appeared out of nowhere, Roland stopped them by holding his hands to their faces.
「Fugya!?」
「Oh, come on!」
「What on earth are you trying to do, you fools?」, thundered their former King.
Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
◆Rodje◆
The elf had come to visit once again.
「That human’s never around, but… Lylael-sama’s gone too…」, Rodje murmured alone in the living room.
She had been here for around three hours, and didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. Looking outside, she noticed that the sky which had been blue just a while ago had become overcast. Squinting into the distance, unmistakable little white lines could be seen.
「It’s raining… oh dear. Isn’t the laundry still hanging outside?」
The elf hurried outside and came back with her arms full of still-drying clothes.
「…」
She stopped dead in her tracks just before she entered the house.
「These are Lylael-sama’s… panties. Why are they so erotic…? The material is so thin, too… wait, they’re basically see-through…!?」
Forgetting about the rain, she continued staring at them for a few minutes.
「…」
She looked around her to ascertain that nobody was around and spread the panties, continuing to ignore the rain that was still falling.
「A lowly servant like me should see how comfortable it is before letting it touch Lylael-sama’s bare flesh…」
Panting with excitement, she put one leg through the panties.
「…Ara-ara. Maa-maa, what do we have here?」
Whipping around, she was met with a flash of lightning, following which Dee appeared. The vampire was smiling as usual, but her eyes were also filled with a playfulness that said oh look, a new toy.
「You… you saw me…!?」
◆Roland◆
I brought the cutpurse I had caught back to Lyla.
「Oh yes, my wallet…! Did you get it back for me?」
「I ran into him by chance.」
「As expected of you! Well then… what do we do with this brat?」, she said, staring down at the cowering demi-human.
「What do you have to say for yourself?」
「…I’m sorry…」
Having had no intention to flare up at him from the start, Lyla sighed, squatting down and looking him in the eye.
「You’ve learnt your lesson, and won’t do this again, will you?」
「But… I have no money…」, muttered the child.
He was on the verge of tears.
「If that’s the case…」
Opening the wallet I had just retrieved, she took out a single note.
「Don’t do that, idiot. That doesn’t address the root of the problem.」
Even the royal capital has its impoverished parts, where the children are in the same plight as the demi-human in front of us. Hold on…
His escape route leads out of the capital?
「Where were you trying to go in that boat?」
「Home… where my mother’s waiting…」
「What will she think of you when you bring home stolen money?」
「But, still…」
His carefree attitude had all but disappeared. He cleared his throat and began to cry. Figuring that we wouldn’t get anything more out of him here, we brought him to an eating-house to continue the conversation. The way he ate showed that he hadn’t eaten in quite a while.
My name is Djeeta, he told us.
「My mother is sick… and needs money to get better.」
I glanced at Lyla, and she shook her head.
「I don’t know how human healing magic works. On our side, though, we aim to boost the patient’s natural healing ability. It works well for physical injuries, but not so much if there’s a deep, underlying cause for the illness…」
While we refer to it as ‘restoration magic’, the principles are otherwise similar to the demon version.
「And you’re trying to find that money, Djeeta?」
「Yeah…」
Isn’t there anything we can do, asked Lyla by looking at me.
It’s true that he’s in a tight spot. As things are right now, his mother is unable to work. Even if Djeeta’s method of making money is deplorable, both he and his mother will starve to death if he doesn’t do it.
「Can he become an adventurer?」
「It takes too long. I would’ve been all for it if he didn’t have anyone to take care of.」
「Yeah, family is important…」, she lamented softly.
Even now, I still don’t know what ‘family’ feels like. I guess there’s one person that I can almost call family, but even him, the Master, isn’t related to me by blood.
According to Djeeta, their weekly expenditure on medicine is about twenty thousand rin. I doubt it’s possible for a child to earn that much with an ordinary job.
「How about we get him to do work with a high payoff?」
「It’s definitely not impossible, but…」, I replied. 「During the war, different humanoid species including elves and demi-humans got together to fight and are thus more or less recognised as allies. However, traces of racism still remain in some cities, and even if we get him a good job, there’s no guarantee that the employer won’t shortchange him.」
「Petty, aren’t you all.」
She’s not wrong. Some high-end restaurants even refuse entry to those species. Djeeta stopped halfway through his meal and looked at us.
「Can I… take some of this home? I’ll share it with my mom…」
Lyla looked at the young demi-human through teary eyes. In the end, the ruthless and merciless Demon King might have just been a facade displayed to humans.
「I’d like to speak to your mother. Can we pay her a visit?」
「Eh? My house? Sure you can, but…」
Instead of letting him take the leftovers home, we ordered another two dishes as takeout. We made our way to Djeeta’s boat and got on, leaving the capital through a small irrigation canal.
「We’ll get seen by a sentry if we go by the river」, he informed us.
Reaching the end, we moored the boat to a designated mooring area just next to a water mill. There were a few scattered houses in the distance.
「I’m home!」
We entered, and a demi-human lady who was lying on her bed sat up when she saw us.
「Welcome back, Djeeta. Ara, do we have guests?」
「I met them a while ago and they treated me to a meal.」
「Is that so? Why, thank you.」
I passed Djeeta the food and went to the kitchen with the three others.
「Can you cook?」, he asked
「Fufufu. I’m not one to be underestimated.」
They’re on good terms now, huh?
I introduced myself and Lyla to Djeeta’s mother.
「He told us you have a chronic illness…」
「Yes. It’s causing a lot of trouble for him, too… even though I’ve told him many times that I don’t need medicine…」
「You don’t? May I ask why that is so?」
「The symptoms can be alleviated, but the illness itself almost certainly can’t be cured…」
「…I see.」
A jarring noise could be heard from the kitchen. Djeeta had already told us about the illness, and I realised that he never mentioned anything about post-recovery.
「My son’s a demi-human after all, and I knew there’s only one way for him to scrounge up the money. That’s why I was against it…」
I leafed through her doctor’s medical report. I don’t know much about pharmaceutics, but can’t we get the medicine at a discounted rate if we show this to the chemist at the capital?
Wait, no… it’s incurable, she said.
「You look troubled. It’s okay, Roland and friend, you don’t have to do anything for me」, said Djeeta’s mother, smiling as she stroked the wrinkles on my forehead.
We ate the dinner that Lyla and Djeeta had prepared and went on our way.
「Rodje might know something about healing herbs. The forest she comes from are famous for the longevity of its inhabitants.」
「Seventy percent of that elf is already a lost cause.」
「Whatever. Come on, let’s make the jump now. Blink us back home. Rodje might already be there.」
「Got it.」
◆Rodje◆
「Commander Rodje? What were you trying to do with Lylael-sama’s panties?」
「Erm… well, you see…」
Thunder boomed in the distance, acting as a natural fanfare during Rodje’s plight. While Dee stared at her, grinning, the elf’s eyes darted left and right.
「I came to help L-Lylael-sama with the chores. The laundry would get wet if I left it outside」, she muttered, hiding the panties behind her back.
「That’s not what I asked. Weren’t you… putting on Lylael-sama’s panties, Commander Rodje?」
「No, I wasn’t! I swear I wasn’t!」
「A perverted elf you are ♡」
「You’re mistaken! I swear upon my honour!」
「I wonder what Lylael-sama would think if she knew about this?」
Dee’s smile didn’t let up at all. It was as if a cat had finally cornered the mouse it was chasing.
「Guh… are you trying to threaten me? What exactly do you want!?」
「That exact pained expression you’re making right now ♡」
「You’re more evil than I thought…!」
「The Magical Commander of the Guards Division… if I had come a little later, would I have found Lylael-sama’s bra wrapped around your head?」
「Are you making fun of me, Candice Meinrad?」
Despite saying that, her distress was plain for all to see.
「It would be unspeakable to dirty the esteemed Lylael-sama’s panties!」
「Maa-maa. Wonder which mouth of yours that statement’s coming from.」
She would never be able to live it down. Using the little sense that she still had, Rodje tried making her final stand.
「What do I have to do to make you close yours, huh?」
If pushing doesn’t work, then pull, she figured.
「I don’t care what you do since I’m already dead, but… are you really taking me on at night? The odds are already stacked against you. A foolish elf you are…」
In actual fact, Rodje hadn’t realised that night had already fallen.
(It’s night time already? Shit… I should not have challenged this vampire to a duel…)
There’s no turning back now, though. She stuffed the panties into her pocket.
「In the name of my honour, I will silence you!!」
She had almost no hope of winning this, but this wasn’t a matter of life and death. It was a matter of her honour — if she lost, she would be Dee’s plaything for the rest of her life.
Therefore, she had no choice but to stand and fight.
Rodje activated her signature spell, ‘Shadow Edge’, spawning two swords, then adopted a fighting stance with one in each hand.
「Let’s get it. Roland-sama hasn’t paid me any attention recently, and I’m kind of deprived right now. But since you’re here, I suppose I can distract myself for a while. It’s an honour to be able to take on someone as high up as a division commander.」
Accompanied by the usual grating noise, Dee’s spear began extending out from the ground.
「…」
「…」
The atmosphere became tense. Both opponents moved at the same time.
Yet, their weapons never clashed, for the owner of both the cat and mouse had returned.
「Stop that.」
Seemingly having appeared out of nowhere, Roland stopped them by holding his hands to their faces.
「Fugya!?」
「Oh, come on!」
「What on earth are you trying to do, you fools?」, thundered their former King.
