Chapter 16:
“Ugh, please… Get off me. Now.”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
Rebecca’s merciless backside, clad in 60kg of plate armor, relentlessly crushes the frail porter.
“Gah, I… I’m going to die for real.”
The pressure, akin to being buried under five backpacks, cuts off the circulation in my limbs.
“Rebecca. Isn’t this a bit too much?”
The Elf archer, Yuria, placed a hand on Rebecca’s shoulder. At least she’s the most normal one in our party…
“There’s no space for me, so move over.”
She then pushes Rebecca, who was perched on my waist, towards my upper body and settles down on top of me herself.
“Gaaaah! …Damn it! Stop it! You bitches!”
“Kyahaha. Dongha’s face is bright red. Of course, being surrounded by such beauties, you must be excited!”
Nain, watching me being flattened like a pancake in the chair, spouts nonsense.
Indeed, a stranger might find the sight of two beauties piled on top of me enviable.
‘Go fuck yourself.’
These are not women. They are sacks of rice.
They are masters of torment. Even now, they’re pressing down on me just enough so I don’t get crushed to death.
“That’s what you get for coming empty-handed without a cake.”
It was Dorothy. Approaching with a staff tapping against her palm, she looked exactly like a thug with a wooden club.
“No, damn it! You goddamn purple bitch. Where can I find a cake shop open at two in the morning!”
“Mr. Dongha, it’s nice to see you resist even though you’re weak. You look as fresh as a fish just caught.”
-Whirr.
!!!
A summoning circle appeared at the tip of Yuria’s staff, and a palm-sized cockroach materialized. Dorothy then crouched down in front of me, who was lying face down.
“Mr. Dongha. You like bugs, right?”
“Eek! D-Dorothy! I’m sorry! Let’s talk this out!”
“Talk to him instead. He says he wants to be friends with you.”
“No, no! Dorothy! No, Ms. Dorothy! Please! Don’t do this!!!”
Regardless, she doesn’t withdraw the staff with the cockroach attached.
As she approached within a handspan of my face, the creepy rustling sound became clear in my ears. Reflected in the cockroach’s bright eyes was a man’s face drained of all color.
“Stop!!! Stoooop!!! Someone save me!!!”
“Kyahahahaha!”
Someone, anyone.
Angel or demon. Anyone, please. Save me.
Bang!
…?
I cautiously opened my tightly shut eyes.
The cockroach that was approaching my face was gone. Instead, Dorothy, who had been wearing a wicked grin, was lying dead with her eyes rolled back.
‘What the…’
“W-Who is it?!”
Rebecca and Yuria, who had been crushing me, jumped up. As if gravity had disappeared, my body finally felt light.
-Slap! Slap!
The black-haired beauty delivered slaps to Rebecca and Yuria with movements as fast as lightning. Their teeth, which had been brimming with arrogance, went flying in all directions.
-Clang!
Nain’s swift sword, drawn from her chair. I couldn’t even follow it with my eyes.
“N-No way.”
Nain couldn’t hide her shock.
Her sword, said to be faster than an arrow, was stopped at the woman’s fingertips.
-Crack.
-Thud!
The magic sword that could slice the four-winged dragon Níðhöggr like tofu. The woman snaps it in half with one hand like a pretzel stick.
“How, how is this…”
“Don’t bully him.”
-Bang!
After uttering those strangely unsettling words, the woman also knocks Nain unconscious. She approaches me, who was lying on the floor.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes.”
Then, with the most beautiful smile, she extends her hand.
-Bang!
…Another dream.
And a massacre ending, no less. Including me.
It’s no wonder I keep having dreams about the Demon King. Since I arrived here, I spend almost all my waking hours with her.
-Click, creak
I open the door to my room, and a dark hallway greets me. I’m familiar enough with the layout that I can now navigate to the central hall without having to feel my way along the walls.
-Thud, thud
On my way, I pass the Demon King’s bedroom. The door is open. This means she’s already awake and out.
‘…She always wakes up before me.’
As a porter, diligence was a virtue, and I was always up early, preparing for the day ahead of everyone else. The Demon King, who started her day even earlier than me, had a predictable routine.
“You’re awake?”
The Demon King, with a large sheet of drawing paper spread out on the black stone floor, is lying on her stomach, diligently writing something.
‘What game is it this time?’
Playing the picture quiz again would actually be beneficial. I now have the paper crane as a countermeasure. However, the Demon King, whom I thought was merely preparing for another game, utters shocking words.
“I’m planning a trip.”
?
Did I hear that right?
“A trip? You mean visiting another place for leisure?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
…
This is it.
I see a chance to escape.
Think about it. I’ve never failed to clear the Demon King’s games, always meeting her expectations.
Not only that, but I even gave her a gift that she absolutely loved. Even though it was a lie, of course.
This means it’s not strange for her to have developed some trust in this naive woman.
‘Hehehe. The day I leave is not far off.’
My cynical thoughts make a U-turn, fueled by positive energy. Just imagining the Demon King running into a high-ranking party and getting beaten to a pulp makes my heart race with excitement.
“Kick…! No. Ahem, ahem. Have you decided where to go? I know a good place, the Rubenica Kingdom…”
Subtly recommending her grave, I frowned at the map she was drawing.
‘She really draws like shit. I can’t recognize anything.’
The Demon King giggled and held up the map she was drawing with both hands.
“Hehe. I’ve narrowed down our travel destinations to a few options. The Misty Lake on the 66th floor, the Ghost Plateau on the 32nd floor, and the Leviathan’s Lair on the 82nd floor.”
“… Wait a minute. You mean the place we’re going to is… inside the tower?”
“… Why? Do you want to go outside?”
Her expression turned icy as she read my mind. An aura flared up at her feet. How could her emotions shift so quickly… I was seriously concerned about her mood swings.
“No? Why would I go outside when you’re here?”
Lies like this now rolled off my tongue without even thinking. The Demon King, who had been looking at me with murderous eyes, lowered her gaze and spoke without making eye contact.
“… Where do you want to go?”
There was no option to say I didn’t want to go, so I had to choose one. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve left the 100th floor.
“I choose the Ghost Plateau.”
I’ve been to all three places. The Ghost Plateau on the 32nd floor and the Misty Lake on the 66th floor were already cleared of demons by other adventurers before I arrived, and Yuria killed the Leviathan.
To be honest, it didn’t really matter where we went. But if we were going, I wanted to go down to a place that was at least a little closer to the surface. Who knows? I might find a chance to escape.
“Have you been to the Ghost Plateau?”
The Demon King naturally questioned my decisive answer of the Ghost Plateau. It was a question I didn’t need to lie about. I’m here because I passed through that place.
“Yeah. I stopped by on my way up.”
“… There was nothing there, right?”
“Yeah.”
“… Okay. We should go see the Leviathan at least once.”
…?
‘Does she not know the Leviathan is dead?’
More importantly, the Demon King was talking about monsters as if they were old friends from her hometown. It seemed she didn’t know Nain had killed it.
‘… Let’s not tell her.’
She wouldn’t be happy to hear that her comrade had been killed. The Demon King showed a brief flicker of sadness before gathering up the papers scattered on the floor.
“Hehe. So, we’ve decided on the destination… I should wash the tent too.”
“… How do you know about tents? Where did you get it?”
“People who came to the tower lent it to me!”
So she beat them up and robbed them again.
“Taking a tent means we’re staying overnight, right?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you come back quickly when you left the doll sack on the 1st floor before? We could just come back here and sleep. Do we really need to take a tent?”
“What? Of course!”
The Demon King looked at me with pity, as if I had said something absurd.
“Coming back on the same day isn’t a trip. It’s a picnic.”
The Demon King slapped the floor with her palm as if she had heard something unacceptable and ran off somewhere.
“Look at this.”
The Demon King returned, dragging a bunch of camping gear she had probably taken from an Earthling party who enjoyed camping. She then handed me a booklet titled <Glamping Guide for Camping Beginners>. She was truly easily swayed.
“… Okay, I get it. Forgive me for not recognizing the deep insight of a heavy camper.”
“Be careful next time.”
“Okay.”
“What should we bring for lunch? How about sandwiches? Strawberry pie? Hehehe!”
The highly excited Demon King vigorously shook her clenched fists, unable to contain her excitement. She reminded me of myself on the eve of a school trip in elementary school.
“Sandwiches are good. But when are we going?”
This was the most important question. If we had enough time, I could seriously consider making a parachute. The 32nd floor was still terrifyingly high, but compared to the 100th floor, there might be a chance.
When I asked about the departure date, the Demon King’s excitement quickly subsided.
“… Not right away. It’ll take some time. I have things to prepare.”
-Whoosh.
The deflated Demon King. How could she look so pitiful? It was a talent.
“… Anyway… You’re happy to go on a trip with me, right?”
The Demon King asked, her voice filled with excitement and anticipation. There was also a hint of anxiety mixed in.
“Yes.”
I gave a forced positive answer, knowing there was nothing to gain by saying no. Even at that obvious lie, the Demon King smiled brightly, revealing her canines.
“Hehe… I’m so happy.”
…!
“Happy?”
“…Huh? Yeah. Happy.”
Happy.
Could a being devoid of emotions say such a thing? My mind became a little complicated.
‘Maybe… just maybe…’
She might have emotions.
…
…
That can’t be.
And.
‘… Even if she does, what difference does it make?’
She is the cruel Demon King, the devil who swallowed half the continent, the lunatic who imprisoned me and subjected me to daily death games. This is the only truth.
…
‘… Still. When I look at her…’
She’s not that hateful…
-Ding! Ding! Ding!
A loud siren blares throughout the Demon King’s castle.
‘I’ve heard that sound before.’
An intruder, a challenger has come to the Demon King.
The Demon King, who had been dusting the camping gear, brought up a screen.
It showed a man in a black mask running towards the castle at an incredible speed. Then, he suddenly vanished.
‘What, where did he go…’
-Whoosh!
!!!!
‘How, how did he…!’
The man’s sword pierced the Demon King’s chest.