Chapter 55: There Is No Eternal Queen

There’s nothing as sweet and delightful as a nap on a day off.

Of course, being self-employed, even on days off, there’s always a mountain of work waiting.

But moments of leisure like this are rare, so I indulged in a sweet, dreamy nap for a while.

Perhaps because the visual stimulation was too strong.

Even in my dream, Rumi appeared, whining, “Jooin-nim, let’s do this, whine whine.”

Hehe.

It’s just a dream.

Come here!

In the dream, I boldly touched her tail, buried my face in her chest, and had a blissful time.

But then, I felt like I was suffocating.

Wait, not in the dream, but in reality, I was actually suffocating…!

“Ugh…?”

“Jooin-nim, are you awake?”

Suddenly, Rumi’s face appeared, having snuck into my blanket.

“Gasp.”

The destructive power hidden in that harmless smile.

For a moment, I stopped breathing.

And then a rapidly surging sense of guilt.

But my friend, undeterred by guilt.

“Uh, Rumi? Could you move a bit…?”

“Mmm, Jooin-nim. Today is Rumi’s turn, right? Let’s stay like this a bit longer, okay?”

As she said that, Rumi’s face came closer, and closer, until I felt dizzy and closed my eyes.

Lick.

Rumi licked my cheek.

“…I’ve been wondering, why do you always lick my cheek, Rumi?”

With a mix of relief and slight disappointment, I asked.

Rumi sniffed.

Then, without answering, she smiled contentedly.

“From today, it’s three times a day!”

Leaving behind those cryptic words, she brushed her thigh against my lower body—whether by accident or on purpose—and got up.

“Ellis is looking for you, Jooin-nim!”

Then, with a thud.

She left, wagging her tail, her cheeks flushed.

While my very angry friend took a moment to calm down.

“Tina? Come out.”

“Gasp.”

The savior, or rather the culprit, who helped me maintain my sanity in that mesmerizing situation, I called out.

Only then did Tina creak open the closet and slink out.

“…Why were you hiding in there?”

“I, I was hiding to surprise you when you woke up…”

Where does she get off being 100 years old?

She’s just a 10-year-old kid.

Sighing, I patted Tina’s head and looked out the darkening window.

It seemed wrong to nap any longer.

***

“Master? Did you come to see me?”

In the alchemy workshop, Ellis, stirring a pot as usual, greeted me with a happy smile that made my heart flutter.

Normally, I would have been captivated by the swaying, but today, I had already seen enough.

My heart was as clear as a still pond.

So, I couldn’t take my eyes off Ellis’s chest.

The smooth curves, like finely crafted porcelain, were so artistic, comparable to Rumi’s curves, which could be unlocked with a single button.

“Good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

Snap out of it.

I came here to talk about work…!

“Good news first?”

“Surprisingly, the talisman really has skin-beautifying effects!”

“Oh…!”

That was welcome news.

Relying solely on experience potions for profit was becoming limiting.

Developing a new product would bring some financial relief.

Then, taking a day off like today wouldn’t leave my wallet leaking, and Ari wouldn’t borrow my foam-punch revolver as a massager.

“So, what’s the bad news?”

“The ingredients are special, and with my limited alchemy experience, replicating it exactly will be a bit challenging.”

“What are the ingredients?”

“Hmm.”

Ellis’s eyes narrowed.

“Are you really curious?”

Why that reaction?

But I nodded, committed now.

“Among demons, to emit such dense magical power, it must be the saliva of the Sloth Demon, Neb.”

“…?”

“Saliva. Spit, you know.”

Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Ellis stuck out her tongue.

“Why on earth would that be used in alchemy…?”

Common sense shattered!

“So, to make that product, you’ll have to capture her like you did with me, Master? Hehe.”

“…Right.”

I’ve already got three.

Might as well gather them all and throw a demon party.

High-level areas require multiple parties anyway.

“What about hypnosis? The sudden surge of cat lovers?”

“Hmm, that’s the demon’s magic at work. It has no effect in Celestia.”

Then she whispered, revealing top-secret information that she had already experimented on Harong.

I made her pay for using a comrade as a test subject by giving her a knuckle sandwich.

“There’s probably a giant totem emitting magic somewhere in the Great Forest. Destroying it will restore the beastmen’s sanity.”

Ignoring Ellis, who seemed to treat the knuckle sandwich as a reward, I conducted a surprise inspection.

I manually checked each of the multiplying potion bottles, confirming their tooltips.

A single drop turns you into a beast.

A sleeping pill that drains your vitality without you noticing…

“…Are you still making these?”

“It’s my hobby?”

“Confiscated.”

I seized all the illegal drugs that could be used for dubious purposes.

She’s already at alchemy level 3, no wonder her level is rising so fast with this stuff…

***

The next day.

“So, three times a day means this…?”

“Woof!”

As soon as I opened my eyes, Rumi was wagging her tail beside me, and behind her, today’s turn, Johanna, was blushing and covering her cheeks.

“This, this feels really weird.”

“Woof!”

“Yes…”

I couldn’t bring myself to stop her, fearing she might get hurt and sulk.

With my cheeks damp, I cheerfully finished my morning routine.

And then, lunch.

It was time to return to our main task, climbing the tower.

“Tina! Tina really wanted to do this!”

“Hoho, I’m fine staying in the alchemy workshop. There’s still a lot to research.”

I’m not sure how it will turn out, but to add the story character Renatel to the party, I need to free up a spot.

It’s a bit disappointing to lose Tina, our area damage dealer, but she’s a reserve member, so I can swap her in as needed.

Rumi, Renatel, Saha, Johanna, Ari.

Three melee, one ranged, one healer.

No magic dealer.

Reserve member: Tina.

We threw ourselves into the gate leading to the 17th floor.

In my hazy memory, I recalled the 17th floor’s storyline.

In summary, Renatel’s struggle to unify the Wolfkin!

Of course, history has changed.

“Grr, you cowards…!”

The Wolfkin friends we faced dropped their weapons, abandoning their hostile intentions.

The reason.

The presence of the reserve hero, Enya, walking beside Rumi with a pale face.

“Release our queen!”

“…..”

Some Wolfkin, still loyal, growled, but Enya, completely subdued by Rumi, just hung her head.

When did she become so docile?

Did they educate her separately?

There wouldn’t have been time for that.

Fireworks exploded in my mind, but asking Rumi directly wasn’t easy.

Sometimes, it’s best to pretend not to know and move on.

Swish.

“Ugh.”

Now, a blindfold was naturally placed over my eyes.

“Kyaa!”

“Let go! You cruel girls!” Let go,

“Strip… Ah, my virtue is gone…!” Even my panties…

The excessively loyal friends all had talismans stuck somewhere on their bodies.

We couldn’t just leave them be.

“Kyahaha, this is fun!”

SD Ari, replacing Tina, flew around, enjoying the fairy’s vision to the fullest.

Snap!

Humans and beastmen had little resistance to the talisman’s hypnosis, so Tina, the only demon member, was deployed to handle it.

Sizzle!

“Ahhh!”

“Done!”

Tina’s clear “Nya!” echoed, and my vision returned.

The sudden bright light made me frown, and I quickly looked around.

But all evidence of the forced strip and humiliation had been completely erased.

Our meticulous thief heroes had done their job.

Playing the villain, we used hostages to breeze through areas until we reached the 8th zone.

Nearby was the Wolfkin’s stronghold city, modernly speaking, the capital ‘Red Hood.’

Renatel told me it was named to honor the Wolfkin ancestors.

And blocking our path to Red Hood was.

“Stop!”

A rather unruly mob of Wolfkin soldiers.

I signaled Rumi, who immediately pushed Enya forward!

“Woof!”

“Ahh.”

Then, with a short phrase, she conveyed, “Surrender, or I’ll bite your queen’s neck.”

Rumi’s face was close to Enya’s neck, so normally, they would surrender…

“Hmph! The oracle has already been given. That woman is no longer our queen, so do as you please with her!”

They didn’t.

“What, what…!”

Enya’s pupils shook.

“How dare you, while I’m still alive!”

Forgetting her status as a hostage.

She pushed Rumi away and declared boldly.

At this point, she might as well be a Stockholm syndrome patient.

While I was observing the sudden coup.

Two representatives from the Wolfkin combat unit stepped forward.

“Cat lover…!”

One unfamiliar catkin and one unfamiliar Wolfkin.

“Nya, traitor who abandoned Neb-sama’s blessing.”

“God Cat said so! How dare you, unworthy, claim to be our queen, and trample our sacred grounds!”

“Howl!”

“Howl!”

Watching them incite with such vigor.

“It seems we’ll have to fight. Prepare for battle.”

I whispered to the heroes.

And gently pulled the mentally broken Enya aside.

She hasn’t officially registered as a hero yet.

But I saw how Renatel got beaten up last time.

“Here, drink this.”

“…What is it?”

What else? 

An experience potion.

It’s not enough to reach level 50, but it’ll do.