Chapter 28 : Let’s Play One More Game Together

“Lucena really doesn’t know.”

“I see.”

The words were indifferent.

But I was quite shocked.

If there had been a mirror, my dumbfounded expression would have been reflected perfectly.

There’s nothing different from Lios Fantasy at all.

For about three days after being summoned, that’s what I thought.

Elian and Luminil were exactly as I knew them.

Even Irene, whom I raised, looked exactly as she did right before the summoning.

Then a week passed.

And I realized there were more differences from Lios Fantasy than I had initially thought.

Especially Luna.

Luna was originally just an extra character.

But here, she has become a celebrity broadcaster with 200,000 followers.

In a way, she had succeeded.

‘Is this really not Lios Fantasy?’

And now, I had started doubting whether I had even been summoned correctly.

Even the NPC counselor looked different.

And now, the leadership of the Hero Guild, who referred to themselves in the third person, had appeared.

On top of that, she claimed she had no idea who had issued the suspension.

Even though “Lucena” was clearly recorded in the management logs.

Persuasion is my specialty.

But if someone comes at me this irrationally, even I have no answer.

How am I supposed to argue against someone with no logic?

So, I kept silent for a while.

Surprisingly, Luminil was the one who broke the silence.

She must have been just as frustrated as I was.

“I definitely saw Lucena’s name. Do I have to show you the device to make you believe it?”

She even took the device from my hand and showed it to Lucena herself.

I had never felt more reassured by Luminil.

Yeah.

Now that I think about it, Luminil has always been bold and outspoken.

In fact, seeing her timid and hesitant until now was almost pitiful.

Of course, that was because of me.

Not because I had done anything particularly evil, but because, as the master of the Demon King’s Castle, she had ended up pushing all the work onto me.

She blamed herself a lot for it.

I could tell just by listening to her talking to herself at night.

No matter how many times I told her I was enjoying it, she never believed me.

So, seeing Luminil act like her old self again made me feel oddly happy.

Meanwhile, Lucena was carefully examining the device she had received from Luminil.

Looking at Lucena, I saw the mountain of paperwork in front of her and her calm, scrutinizing expression.

‘Looking at her like that, there’s no way she refers to herself in the third person just because she’s immature.’

Lucena sighed as she stared at the device.

Then she ran a hand through her hair.

“Give me a moment. I just need a little time.”

With that, she disappeared through a small door behind the table.

I thought she was making a request, but it turned out to be a notice.

An awkward silence lingered for a moment.

Then, the man who had been standing silently stepped forward.

It was the counselor.

“I have to say it, Irene! Actually, I’m a huge fan!”

“I know. And please, don’t call yourself my fan.”

“Huh…?”

The counselor looked at me with a puzzled expression.

But there was only one answer I could give.

“Luminil here is way more fun and charming than I am… No, not a person, but a demon, right?”

“A-Ah, no way! How could I be more charming than Irene?”

I nudged Luminil’s side.

I whispered for her to act confident since it was the truth.

She then hesitantly crossed her arms over her chest.

“I-Irene says so.”

But that didn’t mean she sounded confident.

The man chuckled and nodded.

“I really like Luminil, too. I laughed so hard at the part where she burned the steak.”

“Me too.”

“You guys are the worst!”

Luminil, fuming, threw a Demon King Punch at both me and the man.

The once chilly atmosphere had completely melted away.

“It’s nice to share common ground. But you haven’t told me your name. Normally, fans want to be remembered by the people they admire.”

“A true fan supports from the shadows. Rather than the main character, I’d rather stay as a side character who simply likes Irene and Luminil.”

“A side character… I see.”

Side character.

That one word stirred up my thoughts.

Maybe because it was something I’d been contemplating.

Luminil’s safety and success.

That had always been my only goal ever since I was summoned.

You could even say I lived solely for her.

I stayed in the Demon King’s Castle as a villain because of Luminil.

The problem was, despite all that, I had been terribly negligent in actually helping her succeed.

Even looking at the broadcasts, this was the first time Luminil had ever appeared in the media.

I had always kept that in mind.

It was like I claimed to be nurturing my favorite character, but deep down, it felt more like I was using it as a stepping stone for my own growth.

That vague discomfort I’d been feeling—

My fan had just put it into words.

“Maybe I should live as a side character too. Thanks.”

“Huh? What did you just say—”

“You waited long enough, didn’t you? Lucena’s back.”

“Ahhh!”

The man was about to say something, but—

He never got the chance.

Lucena suddenly burst through the door.

But that wasn’t the important part.

She looked… off.

Like she was a completely different person.

I subtly glanced at Luminil.

“Yeah. Something’s different.”

She nodded in agreement.

And just now—

Hadn’t she introduced herself with a different name?

That was strange.

I couldn’t ignore it.

“You’re not Lucena, are you?”

“That’s right. I’m Lucina.”

“…oll…?”

Luminil made a weird sound effect.

When I turned to look, she was frozen, her face stuck in a completely dumbfounded expression, like her brain had stopped working.

I quickly reached a conclusion.

“You have a split personality, don’t you?”

“Lucena wanted to keep it a secret. But how could she, when she even introduced herself with a different name?”

Lucena—no, Lucina—grumbled.

Their personality differences were obvious.

Lucena was calm and quiet.

This one was loud and energetic.

Honestly, I didn’t care.

I just wanted my account back!

“So, you’re the one who suspended me.”

“That’s right. Lucina did it.”

She admitted it easily—

and added something unbelievable.

“When I checked the device, I saw a really inappropriate video. I couldn’t help myself. Now that I look closer, you two were the ones in it, weren’t you?”

Lucina hopped over the table, standing right in front of me and Luminil.

I braced myself, wondering what she was going to do.

“Do you need an explanation? Fine, I’ll give you a perfect one.”

She pulled out a pointer stick from somewhere.

Then she started pointing at my body, one part at a time.

“Listen carefully.”

Lucina’s explanation was nothing short of shocking.

“And you think this was because of Luminil? Wrong.”

“What do you mean, wrong?”

“Irene, you’re too sexy.”

Irene’s legs gave out beneath her.

For the first time, she collapsed involuntarily.

I had been so sure it was Luminil—

But was it me?

If only it had ended there.

But Lucina went on to give an extremely detailed and precise lecture.

“First of all, the fact that everything was covered except your chest area, intentionally drawing attention there, was a problem.”

The pointer moved from the top of my head to my toes.

I was already frozen solid, so Lucina had free rein to continue.

“And at 9 minutes and 8 seconds, that slight exposure of your thigh? That definitely exceeded the content guidelines!”

With that final bombshell—

Irene was completely incapacitated.

“And after watching the way you two were acting… If things had gone any further, the entire Northern Continent might have melted down!”

They say no one can defeat a person who’s having fun.

Wrong.

Irene, the one enjoying herself—

was utterly defeated by Lucina, the madwoman.

“Alright, now we’re done, right? I’ve finished explaining, so you can leave.”

But if Irene were the type to just back down here, she wouldn’t be Irene.

Even while listening to this absurd, chaotic nonsense, she came up with a brilliant move.

“If I can prove that I wasn’t actually sexy in the video, then that solves the problem, right?”

It was a truly humiliating and embarrassing plan, but for Luminil and her account, she was willing to do it as many times as necessary.

“Then I just have to show you what actually counts as sexy by my standards.”

“What?”

Irene grabbed a part of her clothing.

Bits of fabric started falling away.

This time, it was Lucina who panicked.

As insane as Lucina was, Irene was just as crazy.

“Y-You’re serious?”

“This is my first video, so it’s bound to attract a lot of attention. I can’t afford to waste that opportunity.”

As her clothing coverage rapidly dwindled, Lucina screamed.

“Alright, I surrender! Lucina is sorry!”

“See? Compared to this, the video wasn’t revealing at all.”

“I feel like your logic is flawed…”

“Should I take off more?”

“Okay, okay! I just unlocked your account, check it yourself!”

As soon as Irene came to her senses, she quickly pulled her clothes back on, her face flushed red.

Meanwhile, Luminil checked the account on the device.

Not that she really needed to—

she was mostly just giving Irene some privacy while she redressed.

“Thanks to Irene, the account’s unlocked!”

“That’s… good.”

Leodore still looked completely lost, but he didn’t leave the room.

Once Irene was fully dressed, she turned to Lucina and said,

“Not only did you suspend an innocent person’s account, but you also made me do that. Shouldn’t you pay the price for it?”

“That’s something for Lucena to—”

“Lucina. Do me a favor.”

Lucina swallowed hard.

She couldn’t just refuse outright.

If she rejected the request of a woman who had just shamelessly stripped in front of a man…

Who knew what else Irene might do?

So she reluctantly nodded.

Irene smiled.

“Give me some gold. I need a lot of it lately.”

…It was something surprisingly simple.

[Current Balance: – 5,000,000 Gold]

Lucina frowned.

“And what exactly do you plan to do with all this gold?”

As soon as we stepped out of the Hero Guild, Luminil asked,

“You really spent all that gold?”

Hearing her mention it reminded me of Lucina’s devastated expression.

When I first asked for gold, she smiled like it was nothing.

But the moment I drained 2 million gold from her, she looked like she was about to cry.

Anyway, I answered Luminil’s question.

“I’m going to build a kitchen in the Demon King’s Castle. I’ll also put up a permanent barrier so it never gets destroyed.”

“A kitchen?”

“Yeah. I feel like I’ll be cooking a lot from now on. Besides, there’s nothing else I really need to spend money on.”

Of course, before planning the kitchen, I had tried to repay Luna.

I even sent her some money through the terminal as compensation for the dress.

[Irene has sent 2,800,000 gold!]

[Luna: What is this???]

[Irene: I told you I’d pay you back. At least take it for the dress.]

[Luna: Ah, I see.]

[Irene: So, this covers the cost of the dress, right?]

[Luna has sent 2,800,000 gold!]

[Irene: …?]

[Luna: Absolutely not.]

And that was the end of the messages.

So, in the end, I had to spend it myself.

“I’ll make the purchase right now. You know what they say, ‘Strike while the iron is hot.’”

“Iron…?”

“It’s an expression. It means to act quickly while the opportunity is there.”

“A horned cow…?”

Cows definitely existed in Lios Fantasy.

This was all because Luminil had been holed up in the Demon Realm for too long.

Explaining it would take a lifetime, so I just kept walking.

When we arrived at the shop, a familiar yet unfamiliar face greeted me.

“Irene… are you here to gamble too?”

A short elf, Pries, looked at me with a worn-out expression.

Multiple empty pouches dangled from her waist.

“Welcome to the casino…!”

“I’m here for the shop, not the casino.”

The moment she heard my response, Pries smirked mischievously.

An elf, with a face like that?

Was that even allowed?

Without hesitation, Pries tugged at my sleeve.

“Come on… It’s fate that brought us together. How about just one round?”

So, this was her cutesy tactic.

Too bad it wouldn’t work on me.

I had already gone bankrupt gambling in Lios Fantasy.

I knew all too well—

gambling was the shortest path to ruin.

I knew that.

And yet—

My feet started moving on their own toward the casino.

“I knew it… We get along so well… My elf instincts tell me…”

If it was just for fun, if it was just one small bet—

wouldn’t it be fine?

As I spoke to Pries, I made a promise to myself.

“Just one round. That’s it.”

“Mm-hmm… Just one round…”

What I didn’t notice at the time—

was how Pries’s smile was growing more and more wicked.