Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

209 – No Regrets (Part 1)

『Well, well…This kid’s strong.』

I thought I heard the voice of the Spirit say that.

◇

「…m…Le…L…Lem…Lem…!」

I could feel raindrops falling onto my cheek.

No, raindrops are cold. These…were very warm.

Tears?

When I opened my eyes, the crying face of a beautiful Vampire filled my vision.

「…! Lem!」

Her gemstone-like eyes shimmered as if they were melting as tears formed into large drops and fell from her eyes.

「Mi…lla?」

My mind was in a daze.

In the end, that dream that felt so real already feels so distant.

I can still remember what happened in the dream, was it really a dream?

It’ll gradually fade away after I wake up and return to my everyday life.

「Lem…! Oh, Lem! I’m glad…so glad…!」

It seems that I was lying on the cold floor surface.

I sat up with her help.

And then, in the next instant, I was hugged.

I was enveloped in her sweet scent and comforting warmth.

「You weren’t waking up, Lem…and I…I was so worried about you, you know?」

「…Yeah.」

「…It must have been quite a tempting dream. It must be if it took even you as long as it did to awake from…」

Everyone was given this trial.

The moment we entered through the doors, we all fell into a dream.

The first to wake up was Furcus. Followed by Arthur at almost the same time. Then it was Milla and Merlin, followed by Sitri, a little bit later. And then me.

「…It appears that Sir Ex is still undergoing the trial. We have already led the villagers who had awoken, to the outside.」

「…I see.」

I sorta understand.

I have a feeling that I heard a voice say that if even one person were to clear the trial, all the people who failed will be awoken. Guess it was telling the truth.

The other members didn’t wake up after Furcus cleared her trial because they didn’t fail.

I suppose it meant that those who were still undertaking the trial, having neither failed nor succeeded, won’t be forcibly awoken.

In other words, that means that all the villagers failed the trial…?

…No, they didn’t stand a chance.

「Lem…? Ah, are you still feeling dazed?」

Asked Milla, voice filled with concern.

It’s true that I still can’t think clearly.

I could feel her about to let go of me.

Subconsciously, I put an arm around her.

「…! L-Le-Lem…?」

I bury my face in her neck.

Perhaps out of nervousness, her body goes stiff.

「What…was your dream about, Milla?」

「Eh? Uh, r-right… Uhm…something Lem-shaped whispered his undying love to me but it all felt too convenient and had zero sense of realism so I told it to bring me back to reality.」

「…Hehe. You’re strong, Milla.」

I could have guessed that she would’ve dreamed that any day.

「…H-how about you, Lem? Did you dream of living with a Vampire wife with at least three children happily building a logwood cabin…?」

Milla asks me in an excited voice.

「…I wasn’t able to reunite with you in the dream. That incident that happened two years ago, I don’t think it even happened…」

I must have lived for ten years in the dream, but I have no real memory of it. I can’t quite grasp any memory of the past few years in the dream.

I didn’t harbor any more uncomfortable feelings in the middle of dreaming, but it felt like a life that was set that way, rather than a happy one.

「…I…I see.」

She said in a painful, strangled voice, which made me realize I messed up.

I didn’t say enough.

With my thoughts all fuzzy, I quickly form these words.

「That’s why I came back.」

「!」

Her whole body jolted.

「Wh-what do, what do you m-mean…?」

「In the dream, I was a Hero. I had the best allies and lived a good life. It took me so long to wake up because…I…was truly happy.」

「……」

She put more strength into the arms that were hugging me.

Almost as if she were making sure I would stay in reality.

「But y’know? Something was missing.」

「Missing…?」

I couldn’t meet my master. Never got a lifelong rival in the form of my best friend, Fenix. While it’s true that, in reality, I caused great sadness for my parents, it was precisely because of that that I had the chance to know of their strength and kindness.

In that world, I couldn’t meet Blitz and become friends, have Cashew as my loyal secretary, be of service to her Highness, or meet so many allies and friends.

I wonder if Nicola would be a fan of the me of that world. Would Aerial or Wraith have wanted to invite the me of that world to their party?

Would Milla still…

In that world, my relationships with important people were very different. Some of them even disappeared.

Even so, it was a dream that made my childhood dream come true.

「Honestly, it was close. But in the end, I was able to come back.」

Fenix is better as the Flame Hero.

I don’t want to have not met the best master I could have asked for.

I want Cashew to be my secretary.

I can’t turn all the training I did with Furcus into nothing.

I want to think that the way of life I lived, that Nicola admired, wasn’t meaningless.

And…

「Because I remembered you, Milla. I thought that this reality is much better」

「………!?!!」

There are many other things. The list goes on and on. I’d be leaving behind an almost endless list of great things behind in reality.

The ideal world was comfortable, but…

…in this cruel world, I am sure that there are encounters and good fortunes to be had.

I want to continue living in this world.

「Milla…?」

…For some reason, Milla feels like she’s boiling up in my arms. I mean, she already felt warm, but this feels like she’s getting a fever.

「I-is…is that…a p-p-proposal…?!」

…

……

「Huh?」

「Saying that a reality with me in it is much better…how else am I supposed to interpret that…?!」

「I-it was just an expression…」

「It’s the same!」

I desperately try to backpedal the previous conversation.

Then I realized that I was so dazed that I couldn’t really remember how much of it was in my head and how much I actually said out loud.

Did I…did I only mention Milla?

If I did…then I can see why she’d think…

She suddenly pushed me down, pinning me. She shows her fangs.

Her golden locks cascaded down, forming a veil around us.

「Wait, Milla, please listen.」

「Was it…a lie…?」

Her eyes start to glisten.

「Hey, no, no way.」

I have to say clearly here.

「Then there’s no problem…!」

「But listen, I lacked a few words.」

「There is already no need for any more words, Lem. It’ll be fine, leave everything to me.」

Leave what…?

She was breathing rapidly, she had the eyes of a predator and her face inched closer to mine.

「Oh my…! Looks like those two are about to go wild in the deepest part of the Dungeon. Ah, youth.」

「…That’s not very nice, Merlin. This is when you should politely walk away quietly.」

「Milly’s pure red face is so~ cute.」

「…You need more training. Even if your opponent is a Vampire, you were taken advantage of way too easily.」

Came a few voices. From beyond the door walked in four people.

「…Grr. Things were just getting good…!」

Milla looked really frustrated.

As expected of her, even she wouldn’t continue to force this while being watched by everyone.

Just before she separated from me, she whispered into my ear.

「We’ll continue this later.」

Her seductive voice left my brain in a state of shock and it stayed like that for a while even after she got up.

『Ahaha! There are still men and women who get raunchy in a Dungeon in this era? In the past, because they risked their lives, there were quite a few like that. People who felt the powerful animalistic urge to leave behind a prodigy after staring death in the face.』

I’m pretty sure I know who this is already.

The owner of this voice is the Spirit who created this Original Dungeon.

The other four immediately enter the room while I grabbed my fallen staff nearby and stood up.

You could say that the Spirit looked like a floating soul. It was a glowing…something. It floated around and constantly changed its shape.

『Hm, what’s up? There’s no need for such blatant hostility… Humans can’t even lay a finger on Spirits in the first place, let alone kill them.』

It’s frustrating, but it’s the truth.

Even if the Spirit may seem to be in the same place as you, it’s actually more like it’s in another world.

And yet, the Spirit can interfere with us.

So, we will remain vigilant.

『Hm, oh well. At any rate, congratulations~. You are all people with strong hearts. I mean, all the villagers failed. They all thought it’d be better to live in a world that suited their needs. But that’s just boring. You guys, who chose to come back to this world, are interesting kids. I haven’t thanked you for showing me a good time, so it’s reward time~』

It is pointless to judge the Spirit by normal values.

However, it must be said.

「You…are the worst.」