So then—
What do I do? What do I do? Should I just bust out a dance here!? DJ, hit the music! Give me something with a beat!
… While I was mentally spinning like that, Princess Laperesiana burst out laughing.
“Don’t worry, I’ve no intention of telling anyone. You needn’t be so flustered.”
“Uh, ah, yeah…?”
Apparently, Princess Laperesiana had somehow figured out that I was the dungeon’s master… but, uh, she said she’d keep it secret. I mean, that’s nice and all, but… uh.
“I merely wished to express my gratitude for healing us.”
“N-no, I didn’t do anything…”
I tried to make it as clear as possible that being thanked for that only made things awkward, but Princess Laperesiana just chuckled again.
“I see, I see. Well then, allow me to offer my thanks anyway. I know it may not mean much to you… but that’s how I feel.”
“R-right…”
… Ahh, yeah, she’s totally seen through me. Yup. Well…
“Umm, may I ask why you thought that in the first place?”
“That is… well, there were a number of odd things, you see.”
A number of odd things. Yeah. Right. Odd. There were definitely a few of those.
“The deciding factor was the way back. Despite having fallen into a pit trap, you led us back as if you knew every inch of the path. That was when I became certain.”
… Yeah.
That happened. That really did happen. Yeah. That’s… suspicious. No matter how you look at it, that was suspicious! Yup! Uh-huh!
Uh… I’ll be more careful from now on…
… So yeah, looks like my secret’s totally out—but, well, at least it’s Princess Laperesiana who found out. Gotta count my blessings there. Thank goodness it’s not the enemy who realized it… right?
You know what, maybe it’s fine if the people who figure it out, figure it out. Yeah. I feel like I’ve reached that level of resignation.
“... Asuma-sama. May I ask you something?”
Then, Princess Laperesiana suddenly got this dignified, serious look again, so I reflexively straightened my posture with a little “yep!” sound.
“Why did you heal all of our wounds?”
“I—I didn’t heal anyone, though…”
I tried to cling to the pretense. I’m sticking to it, okay. I’m still officially “not a god and totally unrelated to the dungeon.”
But… well, yeah.
“I think that big slime healed everyone from the Third Knights Order because you’re all good people.”
Even so, there are things I want to say, and I’m not holding back. I’ve embraced the chaos fully!
“You didn’t do anything bad to the dungeon, and you’ll probably keep this whole thing quiet, right? So there’s no harm in healing you all, you know?”
And while I was at it, I slipped in a subtle “please don’t make this a big deal” message. Not that I think I had to ask, but still… yeah.
“… It just doesn’t sit right, seeing good people suffering for no reason.”
“I see…”
Princess Laperesiana looked at me and smiled softly.
“In that case, I must give thanks to the dungeon’s guardian god… and to that slime as well.”
“Well, I don’t even know if there’s really a god in the dungeon, and as for the slime, I think it’d just go bouncy-bounce and keep wriggling even if you thanked it…”
“Even so.”
Princess Laperesiana knelt a little to meet my gaze. So intimidatingly graceful!
“If there are those who lament injustice, then we knights can continue to fight against it. That is what it means to be a knight.”
“I see…”
… Yeah, Princess Laperesiana really is both a princess and a knight. Damn… what a cool person.
“That’s why—I wish to thank you deeply for giving us the hope to keep fighting.”
“Uhh… well, um, being thanked like that kinda makes me squirm, but… okay.”
As I awkwardly fidgeted and tried to brush off her gratitude… I couldn’t help but feel genuinely glad we’d healed them.
Because really, people are better off when they’re full of hope. Yeah.
“To hate seeing people suffer unjustly… yes, I understand.”
As she said that, Princess Laperesiana turned her gaze off into the distance.
Over there, the Third Knights were eating and drinking with the adventurers, having a grand old time.
“After such a miracle, we can’t just sit idly by.”
And even Princess Laperesiana herself looked happy. That was good to see. People are better when they’ve got some energy to them.
“… Once we get those assassins to talk, the Second Prince’s faction will surely be exposed. Then, with my sister’s cooperation, I’ll kick my brother’s rear into gear and put him on the throne. It’s about time we put an end to this foolish turmoil.”
… Yeah.
You know, this might be one of those things you only realize in hindsight, but… this might have been the turning point—the real watershed moment for this kingdom’s conflict.
Or rather… was the turning point actually that glowing slime? That bizarrely radiant Generic-kun?
I really hope not!
Anyway.
While Princess Laperesiana joined the knights for food and drink, I used a bit of dungeon power to whip up some of that Bloody Mary knockoff.
I figured booze in broad daylight was a bit much, but the adventurers were like, “Hey Asuma! That tomato liquor from last night! Gimme that again, yeah!?” So I was like, fine, fine…
… And it turned out the Third Knights really liked it too, so I decided, screw it, let’s make this the new Panis Village specialty. Drink up, folks! Drink to your heart’s content! But drink responsibly! Hey! Don’t start stripping! Princess Laperesiana’s right there! I said don’t strip!!
… After I stuffed the would-be stripper adventurer into the giant slime to hide him, I turned around to see—
“Asuma-sama! I brought the tomatoes! Is here okay?”
“Yeah! Thanks, Mishisia-san!”
The ethanol’s dungeon-made, but the tomatoes are freshly squeezed. Mishisia brought a batch she’d just harvested from the slimes, so I asked Lisas and Edele to do the crushing. Me? I’m on ethanol duty. Gotta say, ceramic bottles are great—no one can tell if the contents mysteriously multiply on their own…
“Asuma-sama, you drinking too?”
“Nah, I can’t drink yet…”
Mishisia handed me a cup of the freshly mixed Bloody Mary knockoff, but I had to decline.
“Oh, right. For elves, someone your age could drink, though…”
“Elves drink at this age…?”
Mishisia looked around my age, same as my original body, but she was sipping away like, “Right, Asuma-sama’s still too young to drink, huh…” I mean, I’ll be of age in just one more year, you know…
“So in your homeland, nineteen-year-olds look like this, and drinking’s still off-limits? Huh, elves really are different, I guess…”
“Nonononono, it’s not like this! I’m just like this because of an accident, okay? Nineteen-year-olds where I come from don’t look like this!”
Seriously though. Why did I end up shrunk like this!? … Well, I have a few theories. But in the end, it’s still a mystery…
And while I was mulling over that mystery, a bit sulky—
“… Hey, Asuma-sama.”
Mishisia leaned in close and whispered softly to me.
“Did you come from beyond that strange light… in the room with the World Tree?”
“… You knew?”
I was a bit surprised. Well, I guess it makes sense—out of everyone, Mishisia’s been with me the longest. She probably just felt that I was from somewhere else.
“I don’t know, it just seemed that way. Like you came from someplace not of this world… that’s the feeling I got.”
She said that, then gently set her empty cup down and sat on a nearby bench. I figured the ethanol supply was fine for now, so I sat beside her.
“Is the place you came from… the land of the gods?”
“Ehh… the land of the gods? Well, in a kind of mythological ‘reed plains’ sense, sure, but it’s probably really different from what you’re imagining.”
I still don’t really understand this world’s religion, but I’m guessing her idea of the “land of the gods” is some kind of fairy-filled paradise or something. So… yeah, that’s not quite it.
“It’s a lot more grounded. Things run in a much more systematic way over there. And the flow of information—how fast and how much—is just insane. That can be both good and bad, though.”
There’s also science and a bunch of other stuff, but I think the biggest difference between my world and this one is the amount of information that moves around. The Internet really changed everything—for better and for worse.
“…S omeday, are you going to go back?”
Mishisia glanced my way.
… Yeah. I’ve been helping run this village and all, but in the end, I’m going back.
And there’s no way to hide that.
“… Yeah. I’m going back.”
Keeping that a secret would just feel wrong. Even I know that much.
“I’m trying to grow the World Tree so I can return.”
I decided to be honest about that.
I already know that the World Tree is something special to Mishisia.
Well—“know” might be a stretch. It’s more like I sense that it’s deeply important. I don’t know exactly what it means to her or how sacred it is. Probably a lot more than I can imagine… She went through stuff back in her elf village, after all.
That’s why I had to tell her. If she said “I don’t like that,” then I’d just have to find another way—or negotiate. Doing it behind her back wouldn’t be right.
… but then—
“I see! Then that means you and I are bound by fate, huh, Asuma-sama?”
She said that with a cheerful smile, and I was so caught off guard I almost laughed.
“… You’re okay with that?”
I mean, I’d basically been using the World Tree for my own ends. But Mishisia grabbed my hands and shook them eagerly.
“Yeah! It’s fine! Seeing the World Tree grow makes me happy too! And with your help, it’ll grow even stronger! It’s all good things, right?”
R-Really? That’s fine!?
… Well, if she says it’s fine, I guess it’s fine? Yeah…?
“Besides, Asuma-sama, you must feel lonely being unable to go home, right? I know what that’s like.”
“… Yeah.”
Maybe she still thinks of me as a kid, and she just wants to “help me get home.” But that’s fine. Our goals line up anyway, so no need to overthink it.
“It’ll be lonely when you’re gone, though…”
She gave me a small, sad smile, then took my hands again and stood up.
“But for now, let’s set the loneliness aside and do our best together! Okay? Let’s make the World Tree big and strong!”
So I stood too, and we swung our hands together back and forth.
“… Yeah! I’m counting on you, Mishisia-san!”
“And I’m counting on you, Asuma-sama!”
I still had mixed feelings about it all… but for now, this was enough. Our goals matched, and for however long this lasts, we’ll give it our best together.
Hand in hand, we broke into a dance. When you’re happy, you dance—it’s a rule.
Except Mishisia’s dancing was the graceful elven kind, and mine was basically the Soran Bushi. Totally out of sync. But, well… it kind of worked.
The festival-like celebration went on until night. By then everyone was exhausted and started saying, “Let’s just bathe and go to bed.” Healthy bunch, these folks.
“Phew… baths really are the best.”
So I went to the hot springs too. After a day like today, yeah, I deserved it.
“… And now I’m sleepy.”
After soaking, drowsiness hit hard. Right—my body’s that of an elementary schooler now. One moment I’ve got endless energy, the next, it’s battery drained! Time to crash.
“H-hey, you okay, Asuma-sama?”
“Ah, yeah… I’ll just sleep in the bath.”
“You’re gonna sleep in the bath!?”
Ah, no, no—bed. I meant bed. I’ll sleep in bed…
As I was nodding off, Lisas, who was in the bath with me, said, “Good grief, we’re done here,” and lifted me out.
Well, no helping it. I mustered what energy I had left to dry off and get dressed. All set.
“Alright… I’ll carry you home.”
“Thanks for the help…”
My hair was still a bit damp, but whatever. It’d dry on the way. I let him carry me piggyback again. Always grateful for this guy…
As he carried me, I couldn’t help but ask:
“… Lisas-san, are you going back to the Knights?”
After all that talk about people returning and changes happening—plus, now that his arm and eye are healed, there’s no real reason he couldn’t go back. Unless he just doesn’t want to see his ex-wife and her new man in the royal capital…
“No. I’m staying.”
He said it with a small smile, glancing back at me.
“I want to repay the debt—for my arm, my eye, and for my comrades.”
“You really don’t have to…”
Such a dutiful man, honestly. As he shifted me higher on his back, he chuckled softly.
“… Besides, once Princess Laperesiana returns to the castle, this village will probably get busy.”
… Wait, what?
“When more people start coming here, you’ll need extra hands, right? So having another man around won’t hurt.”
… Yeah. That’s true.
Things are only going to get busier from here. Once Princess Laperesiana’s healed face becomes public, people will come to investigate. More adventurers will arrive. The traveling library Edele’s preparing will visit. And we’ll expand Panis Village’s specialty goods, too…
“Well, we can figure it all out tomorrow. You must be tired, Asuma-sama. Get some rest.”
Aahh… there’s so much I want to think through, so many ideas… but the sleepiness—sleepy sleepy sleep—devours them all.
… Nope. I’m done. I’m sleeping. Please carry me the rest of the way. Thanks.
And with that—good niiight!
What do you think about this chapter?
