A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss

Preparing for the Trip

“A trip? To Baachsburgh? That sounds fun! I wanna go!” cheered Illuna.

“I don’t know if I can fit into my schedule, but I’d really like to go too,” said Nell. “I did promise Eldegaria I’d stop by.”

“If Leila minds not then I see little reason to refuse,” said Lefi.

“I’m willing to go so long as My Lord doesn’t mind the trouble,” said the sheep-horned maid. She continued while giving an overly excited Illuna a headpat. “I do miss Emyu. It’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other.”

Emyu was Leila’s “sister,” the little girl we’d met in the demon realm. She was a pretty good kid. Lots of energy in that one.

“Well, I guess that’s that then. We’ll go whenever Nell has time.”

Nell had to get back to work as soon as Lyuu’s wedding was over, and she likely wasn’t going to be able to get any more time off right away.

Heh, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeves now too. Now that I’m actually kinda important, I can throw a bit of a fit if she gets stuck working for too long, and more or less have my way. Abuse of power, fuck yeah! I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t actually be too happy if she finds out though, so I’ll probably have to secretly help out a bit when things get dicey to balance the books.

With the war over, Nell’s duties had primarily turned into getting rid of monsters and maintaining public order and whatnot, so I highly doubted there was really going to be anything all too big in the near future. The only things that really required her presence were monsters too tough for the standing army.

“Wow, Leila’s hometown? That sounds real fun! I’ve heard that Baachsburg’s got a lotta really smart people ‘n that they’ve been bringin’ all their research home with ’em, so they’ve turned the place into a real neat tourist attraction. I think they’ve been usin’ it as a way of fundin’ their research.”

“That’s… awesome. Sounds like we’re gonna have to get Leila to show us around,” I said.

“Of course, My Lord,” she said, with a chuckle. “I’ll show everyone a great time.”

“I can’t wait! We’re gonna go on a vacation! I’m so excited!” shouted Illuna.

“This time, we’re all going together,” said Enne. “It’ll be fun.”

“What’s a vayekayshon?” asked Shii.

The wraith girls seemed to be just as confused as the resident slime. They were all tilting their heads and giving us a series of questioning looks. Unlike Illuna and Enne, the four dungeon monsters had never left home, and they weren’t too familiar with the concept of a trip, let alone one made for leisure. Heh heh heh. They’ll understand soon enough. They just need to taste it for themselves.

“Alright, I guess we should probably start getting ready then. Where was Baachsburg again, Leila? I think it was supposed to be somewhere by the sea, right?”

“It is,” she said with a nod. “If you and Lefi were to fly, My Lord, it would take about two days. On foot, the journey would take about a month.”

“That will not do. A journey of such a length shall leave the children exhausted.”

“No it won’t! I’ll be so so so excited that I won’t get tired at all!”

“But do you not find yourself exhausted whenever it comes time for the sun to set? You often return home lethargic, after a full day of playing out in the fields.”

“Mmmmmgghmmmm… I guess you’re right. Having fun is super exhausting.”

Oh Illuna, you adorable little thing.

“Hmmm… then I guess I’ll have to whip up a ride.”

I’m pretty sure I still have a few of the floating rocks Lefi and I got when we flew up to that one island… I could just buy a carriage with DP, but that wouldn’t really help with the exhaustion. Everyone would still get tired because of all the dumping and stuff, but I could basically turn it into a bootleg plane if I threw in a floating rock or three. Lefi and I would have to be pulling it. Maybe I should get Yata to come along so we can all take turns.

“That might just work. The catalog’s got carriages, and it’s got camping equipment too. Might as well get a few of those really big tents since we might as well, right?”

“I approve not of wasting your resources,” said Lefi.

“It’s not really a waste since we’ll be using it again next time we trav—wait a second. I’ve got an even better idea.”

There was no point in making an airship when I could just borrow someone else’s. And I just so happened to know exactly who that someone was. I mean, I probably should still put something together, but this looks like the perfect chance to put my connections to use.

***

With that thought in mind, I found myself back in Rogarde way ahead of schedule.

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

I managed to get myself an appointment with Genoss, the Elren Union’s Colonel, who quickly approved the request.

“Uhhh… so I know I was the one who asked in the first place, but you sure?”

“We still owe you for the time you rescued us prior to the war,” said the colonel. “And it just so happens that we also have some business in the demon realm. Y’know how we’re allies now? Their king was interested in the technology involved in our airships, and we’ve decided to provide him with one, after some negotiation. I doubt there would be any problems taking a detour or two.”

“You sold one of your ships? That sounds like a pretty big deal, all things considered.”

“It was well worth it. He’ll be providing us with some of the demon realm’s technology in exchange, both magical and otherwise,” he said, with a smile. “You know, for a long time, we humans have looked up at the sky and wished for wings. And now, that wish has finally been fulfilled. Why not share it, if we can benefit?”

Is it just me, or is literally everyone in this world kinda badass?

“Having the Wicked Emperor as a passenger will only add to the ship’s prestige, not to mention that you’d make the trip much safer. I doubt we would end up crashing, even if we just so happened to be attacked by monsters that we weren’t able to handle.”

“With us on board, you’ll be fine, even if you wind up running into a calamity-class monster,” I said. “I’m gonna be hoping for some VIP treatment though.”

Lefi’ll be there, so we’ll have a literal calamity on our side. Easy.

Having lost the ability to return to her dragon form, Lefi had mentioned that she had gotten significantly weaker. But what she lacked in brute force, she was making up with in effort. The map had revealed, on multiple occasions, that she was often heading out into the Wicked Forest’s western subregion and decimating the local wildlife as a way to practice drawing out more of her potential. It was a bit of a terrifying thought to consider. The world’s strongest dragon had finally set out to truly learn the art of battle. And by watching her, I’d become well aware that she’d already reached an apex to which no other could ever come close. I’m just gonna come out and say it. Lefi best girl. The other girls in the dungeon are the only ones that can even compare.

“Hahaha, I’ll be counting on you,” he said. “Now, let’s talk about the scheduling…”

“Right. What did you guys have in mind?”

And so, the two of us discussed the details and hashed out a time that worked for everyone.

<> — Next –>