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

Chapter 48



Chapter 48

Lyuu, Rir, and Relaxation


I opened the throne room's door and entered the area that made up its exterior . There, I found Lyuu poking her head out the cave's entrance . She was slowly looking from left to right and back again, as if she were surveying her surroundings .

"The heck are you doing all the way out here, Lyuu?"

"Oh, heya Master . I was just hangin' 'round 'cause I think you said something 'bout goin' out with Rir today . "

"Yeah, I've pretty much left him to his own devices lately, so I thought it was probably time for me to check up on him . "

Though, that's more of an excuse than anything . To be honest, I just want to get out of the house . I've been doing nothing but practicing earth magic lately, and I'm starting to get sick of it . I need to go beat up some monsters to relieve my stre—Er, I mean "field test a few new spells . "

"That's kinda why I've been standin' here . I thought I mighta been lucky enough to see him if I stuck around, but it doesn't look like he's here yet . "

I double checked the map after listening to her and confirmed that there was a marker indicating a friendly unit sitting right outside the cave .

"He's been here . "

"Huh!?"

"Yeah, he's just hiding . "

"What!? Why!?"

Lyuu's face contorted in astonishment .

"Because he thinks you're creepy . Duh . "

"W-Wow Master, you totally just gave it to me straight! You didn't even try sugarcoatin' it at all!"

"I mean, think about it . How'd you feel about having someone basically constantly follow you around?"


"Ugh…" Lyuu groaned .

"I know you think of him like someone you need to worship, but he doesn't like it when you treat him like that . I'm pretty sure I'd start running away from you too, if you did the same to me . It's just… weird . "

"I-I getcha, but I can't help it . He's a fenrir, you know, a freakin' fenrir! You know how awesome they are!?"

Lyuu began telling me the legends passed down by her people . According to folklore, there once existed a fenrir that fought off an entire army of humans and destroyed the town they were based in . That same beast challenged tens of thousands of monsters . It continued fighting them non-stop over the course of several years before finally emerging victorious . And, many years later, it brought vitality to the field in which it breathed its last breath . Flowers blossomed from its final resting grounds and soon grew into a forest whose lands remained ever fertile . The warwolf tribe had descended from that very same fenrir's line . And for that reason, Lyuu's tribe believed it was only natural for them to worship the species as a whole; she didn't think of her actions as even the slightest bit creepy or weird . In fact, her eyes almost seemed to burn with passion as she spoke .

To be honest, a good chunk of that sounds like bullshit, but I guess it technically is possible . Fenrirs are legendary creatures, and apparently even Lefi found it quite difficult to defeat one, so it's safe to assume they're strong as hell . But wait, fenrirs are wolves . Why would their children be beastkin?

I paused for a moment, only to remember that there existed a spell or something that allowed non-humans to take on a human-like form . Case in point: Lefi .

Wait, does that mean it's possible for Lefi and I to have a ki—

My eyes widened as I realized where my thoughts had taken me .

God damn it brain! What the hell are you thinking!?

"Wow Master, your face started gettin' all red and stuff real quick . Did hearin' about the legends really move ya that much?"

"Shut up . That's not it . I was thinking about something else . Don't ask . "

I rejected the notion several times over out of sheer panic before redirecting my thoughts towards something else . Hearing about her tribe's legends allowed me to understand the reason Lyuu revered Rir the way she did . To her, he was like a celebrity . She'd heard a lot about him, so seeing him in real life had caused the fangirl within her to freak the hell out . Admittedly, I could see exactly where she was coming from . I likely would've had a similar reaction upon meeting any of my favourite voice actors .

"Do you want to join us?"

"Can I really!?"

"Only if you promise to listen to instructions . You'll probably die if you get lost . "

"Erk… T-That sounds kinda scary, but sure!" I-I promise I'll listen real good, so please lemme join ya!"

***

"Uhyyaaaaaaaaaahhh!?"

"God damn it, Lyuu . Could you shut up already?"

I frowned as Lyuu, who was sitting right behind me, screamed loud enough to make my eardrums burst .

"I-I can't Master! W-we're going way too fast!"

She desperately clung onto Rir's back for dear life . We weren't going too fast, but she was still sure to go flying off the moment she let go .

"Rir's been taking it easy and going pretty slowly . He can actually go much faster if he wants," I shrugged . "Stop, Rir . This spot's good . "

The giant wolf used his whole body to decelerate and came to a complete halt in a matter of moments .

"Nraarghghgh!?"

Lyuu screamed coherently as she flew right off his back and smashed her face into the ground below . The stop had been way too sudden for her . She couldn't help but get thrown off .

"Stop making weird noises and calm down already . "

"Y-You're making it sound like I was doin' it 'cuz I wanted to!"

She retorted as she slowly got back up . She seemed surprisingly energetic for someone whose face was caked in a layer of mud .

"Ugh… I should've known, but Rir's real fast . "


"Well, yeah . "

"A-And why are you doin' the criticizing, Master!? You're the one that's acting all weird here! How the hell do you expect a gal like me to hang on when we're goin' that fast!?"

"I mean, we weren't even going that fast…"

"You're only sayin' that 'cause you're a weirdo! There ain't no normal person capable of staying all calm and composed at that kinda speed!"

Wow . Talk about rude . It's not my fault I like thrill rides . And it's also definitely not my fault that they've been growing on me as of late .

"Oh by the way, you might want to get back here, and quick . You're pretty much right next to a monster . "

"Huh!? Wait, seriously!? Holy crap!"

Lyuu fearfully turned her head around, only to immediately start dashing back towards us the moment she saw the thing that'd been standing a bit of a ways behind her .

"Gelgwa! Gya gya!"

It was a creature whose meat worked quite well in dishes that typically made use of chicken: a rockbird . It noticed us and started squawking vigilantly . Its death metal vocalist-like cries were filled with wariness .

"Ugh, that's loud as hell . Shut up and turn into food already goddammit . "

I briefly focused my magical energies before rapidly bringing my hands together to cast a spell . I didn't even bother getting off Rir's back .

There was a low rumble as the magic activated . The earth right underneath the rockbird's head shook and swelled, derforming into a pair of iron-like plates with spikes protruding from their insides . The two rose, lining themselves up with the bird's head before closing in on each other, punching countless holes into the poor animal's face . Blood sprayed all over as the now headless rockbird lifelessly collapsed .

The spell I'd just cast was one I dubbed "Iron Maiden . " It was a bit slow; keener, faster enemies could dodge it with ease . But it made up for its lack of speed with an incredible amount of power . I had no doubt that it could deal major damage to anything too sluggish to react to it .

"W-wow…" Lyuu's eyes opened wide . "Ain't that a shocker . You really did just kill a rockbird in one hit . "

She had a smile on her face, but it seemed kinda cramped; her mouth was twitching in disbelief .

"Yeah, they're weak . Anyway, let's go . We need to find ourselves some more prey . "

I urged Lyuu to get back on Rir while putting the rockbird's corpse in my item box .

"Huh!? W-We’re gonna keep goin'!?"

"Duh . We literally just got started . "

"I-I uhm… really ‘preciate you lettin’ me ride Rir and stuff, but… could ya please go just a little bit slower?"

"No need to be so reserved . I know you love high speed thrills . "

"Grr!"

"See? Even Rir's telling you to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride . Now get on . "

"W-why does it kinda feel like you guys are up to no good!?"

I grinned as I pulled Lyuu, who was trembling in fear, up onto Rir's back .

"Alright Rir, go!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaarghhh!!"

And so, Lyuu's screams continued echoing throughout the Wicked Forest for quite some time .


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