Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle - Chapter 212-1

212 – Reward Time (Part 1)

I open my eyes… I’m back in reality.

My head still feels dizzy, but it feels better than the first time, perhaps because this is the second time I’ve woken up like this.

「…! Lem, y-」

「Ex…!」

I slowly sat up and just as Milla was about to hug me with open arms, someone moved much faster than her, shocking her stiff.

「Nn… Who, ah, Arthur…?」

「I’m glad…! But you…no, let’s not get into that now…! In any case, I’m just glad you’re back.」

Arthur slaps his best friend, who returned to reality, on the shoulder with tears welling up in the corner of his eyes.

「sigh… Goodness. What a completely unreliable leader you are. Causing nothing but trouble.」

Merlin repeats that last part repeatedly while she…lightly taps Ex with her staff.

Even she must have been very worried in her own way.

Milla lost her steam and slowly lowered her arms.

I look into her eyes and smile.

「I’m back.」

When I did, her expression changed completely from a dissatisfied look to a smile like that of a blooming flower.

「Welcome back, Lem.」

We stare at each other for a while.

「That’s right…! Lem!」

It was Arthur.

「Thank you, Lem. I thank you from the bottom of my heart…! I shall never forget this debt.」

「Please, allow me to thank you as well for the ideal course of action that you chose. What sort of reward would you like? If it’s anything I can arrange, I can get it done right away. Anything you like, fufufu…」

While Arthur was moved to tears, Merlin said that while crossing her arms under her breasts to prop them up.

I could feel a chill coming from Milla.

「Don’t worry about it. If we’re talking about a reward, I already got mine.」

Just at that moment, my eyes met with Ex’s. We both gave a satisfied smile.

『Yes, yes, it was a great story. I had lots of fun too~. Now, shall we get back to the rewards?』

That voice came from a ball of light that popped out of nowhere. It was the Spirit.

『Let’s go in order of clear time~! This means, first we’ll start with the always-hungry, tanned, boobie girl.』

Furcus points at the ball of light while her face was in the usual expressionless state.

「Requesting permission to destroy.」

『Ahaha, that’s impossible. Don’t make me tell you again. Hmm, you… You splendidly defied standing at the height of martial might and resisted your inexhaustible appetite! You could silently make your wish in your mind or say it out loud.』

Furcus readied her spear, but after hearing the Spirit’s words, she looked at me once again.

I nodded, and she nodded in response.

『…Oh? I see. No amount of Spirits can grant that, but I’ll give you one that is as close to ideal as possible. With this, you could showcase even more of your power… Nice!』

There was a puff of smoke that was gone as soon as it came.

At Furcus’s feet was…a large silver lid, like those silver cloches that cover food in fancy restaurants.

Furcus sits down, puts a hand on the cloche, and stops for a few seconds.

Then she lifts it. Amidst the steam that came out, there was…a hamburger.

But that’s not all, it also came with a bowl of soup and bread.

『Oh, there she goes. Well, I’ll just say that I call this the Culinary Cloche. Put the lid down, think of the food you wish to eat, if it can fit underneath the lid, then it will be recreated under it! …But it creates the food by gathering the Magical Energy from the air around it, so it takes time for the food to be ready, and even though the taste and texture have been fully recreated, it’s made from Magical Energy, so it has absolutely no nutritional value. Cool, right?!』

Furcus wasn’t listening to a word she said. She was mesmerized by the hamburger.

『The taste is based on your memories, so you can eat your favorite meal as much as you like. If possible, use it in a place that’s thick with Magical Energy… Hey, have you eaten at least ten refills while I’ve been talking…?』

The instant the food is completely eaten, Furcus instantly closes the lid and opens it again. She repeats this series of actions.

From what I heard, it sounds like the only thing you can’t get from it is a feeling of fullness…but this only matters to a Normal.

Furcus is an Ogre. They eat food and convert it into physical strength or regenerative abilities.

So what if one were able to convert a clump of Magical Energy in the stomach…?

No, I’m sure she can.

Strictly speaking, refining Magical Energy into the shape of food is an extreme waste of time, but to the Ogre race, it is useful.

…However this…is obviously a Magic Tool, but is it one that the Spirit made or one she already possessed?

If it’s the former…then everything we ever knew will be flipped upside down.

I mean, the race that can make Magic Tool has long since died out, so it should be impossible to create new Magic Tools.

Thinking that, the Spirit said『Oh, don’t worry about things like that』and laughed.

…Did she read my mind?

『Up next, second place only by a slim margin, Mr. Shiny Paladin! When you said “Dreams are things to be granted, not shown by Spirits.” with a straight face, I was shocked. It was your true feelings, too. So, what do you want?』

「I want nothing from you. Meddlesome Spirit.」

『There are no good or bad Spirits, and contracts are absolute~. I can just read your mind, y’know. …Bwuh? You’re way too selfless. How old are you…? Did you fail to notice the dark and gloom in your friend’s heart because of how bright and shiny your heart is, ya goody two-shoes?』

Arthur places a hand on the hilt of his Holy Sword.

『Whoa there, geez, you guys sure are short-tempered. …Ah, a sword. Nice, in that case, your reward i~s this! A Magic Scabbard. A scabbard with the super handy ability where the wielder will not come to harm so long as the sword is sheathed in the scabbard! Man, you got a real doozy of a reward, right?』

「…Doesn’t one fight battles with the sword unsheathed?」

『Heheh.』

There was another puff of smoke and when it cleared, there was a scabbard in front of Arthur. In the case of Magic Tools like this, their size often automatically adjusts itself to match the sword. I’m sure this scabbard is also like that.

Its ability is amazing, but it’s going to be difficult to find a use for it.

『OK, next! Hmm, ah…you. The overbearing fanatic.』

The Spirit said that with a slight reluctance.

「Do you want me to carve you to pieces?」

『Oh, how scawy. The really scary thing was how you started lecturing the Mr. Black Sorcerer in the dream about all the charms of the real thing, though.』

「H-hey…! Please respect my privacy…!」

Milla’s face turned a slight red.

『Lust is written all over your face…looks like you’ll be pretty much satisfied with anything you can get from Mr. Black Sorcerer over there.』

「Can you please shut up? Don’t listen to her, Lem. It’s not as if I, in any way, was wishing for your used items or something…!」

After glaring at the Spirit, a bright red-faced Milla turns to me and explains.

「R-right…」

Used items…? Let’s not pry deeper into that.

『Hmm. Doesn’t seem like you want anything that I could particularly give you. …Aah, there is one. Hmmm…You really do lov-』

「I…am getting pretty angry, here…」

『Fi~ne, respect your privacy, right? Well, then, here ya go.』

Having said that, my body was covered in light.

It quickly subsided, but nothing in particular about me changed.

『I granted your wish.』

「…H-how is that discreet? It’s like you’re not even trying to hide it…!」

『Huh? I thought you people liked things that lit up or glowed. If they didn’t, you’d all think it was dull.』

「…Gr. What an unpleasant Spirit…!」

Milla mentioned not being discreet but I thought about it a little and still can’t figure out what her wish was.

She looks at me and tries to smile, but it seems that her shyness has won this round.

…Ah.

It was at that moment that I realized what her wish was.

My chest felt hot and my face naturally breaks into a smile when I look at her.

『OK, ne~xt. Ah, how about the dreamy, stacked little Wizard.』

「If you’re offering a reward, then I’ll gladly take one.」

『Great! Finally, someone with the normal response I wanted! For you, let’s see…I’ll do this.』

For a moment, Merlin’s staff shone with light.

『I gave you a blessing. So long as you are holding it, that staff will instantly compress and conduct Magical Energy. It’s like all the disadvantages of using a staff are gone and the advantages were strengthened! Isn’t that great~?』

「How about my main desire?」

Merlin wishes to reunite with the Spirits she saw when she was young.

『No can do. I took a peek at your memories, but I don’t know who those Spirits were.』

「…I see.」

『That’s why I strengthened your cane.』

「Is that a proper reward?」

『It is. Well, whatever. I’m getting bored of this, next! You-』

「I can just think of what I want to wish for in my head, right?」

Sitri speaks out, interrupting the Spirit. 

She’s her usual smiley self, but her smile seems a little stiff right now.

『…Indeed. Tell me thine wish. Hm, hm, I see. Thy wish be granted!』

Smoke rose from the ground and it soon dissipated.

What was left was…a picture book. It had no cover.

Sitri turned its pages over and the inside was pure white.

『That is a Picture Book Where Little People Live. If you desire something you want, the materials required for it will be written on an empty page. And, the final page is all black, right? If you place the materials on top of that and wait overnight, the thing you wanted will be made and placed on top of the book by the next morning!』

「…Wow.」

『It embodies all the cute things in your head! It’s an amazing book that can grant the image of the thing you desire with pinpoint accuracy. By the way, if you don’t desire the thing from the bottom of your heart, no materials will appear on the page and nothing will be consumed, so be careful.』

Materials are needed in order to be preserved for later.

Like Furcus’s Culinary Cloche, it can create things with Magical Energy, but it will scatter and disappear in a short time after.

「OK.」

Sitri loves cute things.

Considering her shape-shifting abilities, she can provide herself with the necessary abilities for battle each time.

I can understand her wanting a Magic Tool that she can use every day.

『What a weak response… Well, next is the weird and wacky Black Sorcerer…who already used his wish to save the Hero whose appearance, magic, and even heart were dyed black.』