A Necessary Companion

Dungeon exploration was about to begin — all for the sake of claiming a magic sword.

Honestly, I was pretty excited about it.

This almost feels like playing an actual RPG.

Because ever since I'd possessed the hero Ronan, I couldn't remember a single time I'd gotten to enjoy a real adventure. I'd opened my eyes to find the story already deep into its mid-to-late stages, already split from the party, already living on borrowed time. Everything had felt over before it even started.

I thought it was just a trashy third-rate eroge, but it did have its good points, didn't it?

For someone like me, the chance to explore a dungeon like this was more than fresh enough. The idea that the hero Ronan's adventure was starting over again had me genuinely thrilled.

"Hmm… I didn't see this coming…"

But… what the hell was this situation supposed to be?

I'd tried to enter the dungeon, only to be stopped cold.

A notification message floated right in front of my eyes. Apparently, entering this dungeon meant clearing the rule above.

"What kind of dungeon has entry requirements like this?"

No, seriously — why did you need one man and one woman just to walk into a dungeon? I'd braced myself for combat-power gates, sure, but gender restrictions? What was that about?

Ugh. Of course. Expecting anything from a trashy third-rate eroge was my mistake for even a second.

It made no sense at first. But once I reminded myself that the foundation of the world I'd possessed was, one way or another, an eroge, it was almost understandable. Expecting common sense from an eroge was on me.

"Just let me in. I can handle it alone."

"Come on, just let me through. I'll do the work of two people myself."

I'd wanted to talk my way past it somehow… but the system planted itself in front of me like this was the one thing it would never allow.

"Ah. So what the hell am I supposed to do about this?"

In the end, one way or another, I was going to have to play by the system's rules. No matter how strong I was, I couldn't just spit on the systems of this world.

Hmm. Do I have to go looking inside the Demon King's army?

Which meant I needed a party member of the opposite sex… and that was looking harder than expected. This rule was going to be a far tougher obstacle than most enemies.

I still don't have anyone I'm close to in the Demon King's army.

I needed a female party member somehow, and right now I had no one I could reasonably recruit. I hadn't exactly been socializing since joining the Demon King's forces.

What do I do…

The Demon King's army still hadn't fully put its trust in me, and I hadn't been building relationships either — I'd been too busy training. It wasn't that I thought relationships didn't matter.

I wanted to prove myself properly after the war, then get close to people.

I'd planned to put in a solid performance in the war first, then start making friends… and that judgment had just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turned into a spectacularly bad result for the situation I was in now.

On top of that, I can't just drag anyone into Torment difficulty.

Given how hard the difficulty was, a party member's skill had to be somewhat guaranteed. Bring the wrong person and there was a real chance they'd just die.

So who the hell am I supposed to bring?

A party member who checked every box — did someone like that even exist? I couldn't help but think hard about it.

"Lord Ronan. Are you… are you in trouble, by any chance?"

And then, as if she'd somehow known exactly what I was dealing with, a woman appeared. The succubus Lily sauntered over with a bright, vacant smile.

"I'm right here, you know. Your convenient pet Lily is right here…♡"

And as if her moment had finally arrived, she folded her arms and shoved her enormous ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chest forward.

"If you'll only give the order, this body of mine will devote itself tirelessly for Master's sake…♡"

She beamed, her face already lit with pure anticipation at the thought of entering the dungeon with me.

"…"

I looked at Lily for a moment. Then I shoved her away like I was scraping filth off my hands.

"Who the hell is your Master."

No matter how I looked at it, I had zero interest in getting tangled up with a pink-haired psychopath.

"I'll try looking around the Demon King's Castle."

Going back to the Demon King's Castle and searching there was probably the better call.

"Hiiing. Master is so mean…!"

Lily pulled a wounded face at my choice, but I didn't look back.

Back at the Demon King's Castle, I did everything I could to find someone — anyone other than Lily — who could enter the dungeon with me. For all I knew, there might be some powerhouse in the castle I simply hadn't met yet.

I searched with that hope, desperately. Unfortunately, the results were not good. There wasn't a single demon worth bringing into a Torment-difficulty dungeon.

Well, if a demon like that existed, they'd already be one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

It was almost a shame how airtight the Demon King's army's talent-recruitment system turned out to be.

"Please. I just want to be of use to Master."

So in the end, was she the only one left?

I sighed as I looked down at Lily, clinging to my leg and insisting she had to come with me no matter what.

"I want to work for Master's sake."

I had spent an entire week thoroughly ignoring her — completely shutting down every sly attempt to get involved with me.

"I'll do anything you tell me to. Just please give me a chance to earn Master's favor. Hiiing♡"

Somewhere along the way, Lily seemed to have gotten properly desperate. Now that an opportunity had finally presented itself, she clearly had no intention of letting it slip away.

"Haa."

Watching her beg with that wounded face, pleading to be allowed to follow, I fell into the slightest bit of deliberation.

…Do I have to take her?

For the record, that expression of hers didn't make me feel sorry for her or anything of the sort. The reason I was hesitating was simply a matter of choice, I supposed.

I can't give up on the magic sword.

Someone who already had a certain amount of goodwill toward me, and who was reasonably strong — the only person who satisfied both conditions was Lily. If I didn't take her, I'd have to give up on the magic sword, Sacrifa.

No choice, I guess.

Even so, abandoning the magic sword wasn't really an option, was it? I'd need it for the war that was coming soon enough.

Before I decided, I asked Lily a question. Why was she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so obsessed with me in the first place?

"You want to come that badly?"

"Yes…!"

"What's the reason?"

"Because of course I want to be useful to Master as his pet."

"Why do you want to be my pet?"

"Well… Master is so strong and cool. And on top of that, you're incredibly sadistic… Fuhiihihi♡"

Lily listed off her reasons for liking me. She liked me because I was strong and sadistic…?

She definitely never liked the original Ronan much.

It made a little more sense now. In the game, Lily had never paid Ronan any particular attention — even though Ronan had been plenty strong. The point was that she was a pervert herself, so she latched onto perverts. That was why she was obsessed with me.

I'm strong, sure, but am I sadistic?

Succubi were supposed to have a sharp eye for anything related to sex, but I absolutely could not agree with that assessment. I was a normal person… What did she take me for?

Tsk.

"Won't you please take me with you?"

The wounded look from a moment ago vanished, replaced almost instantly by a radiant, happy expression. She seemed to have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠registered that the man who'd been ignoring her all this time had finally spoken to her — and that the situation was tipping in her favor.

"I'm way stronger than you think…! Not as strong as Master, of course."

As if determined not to let this chance escape, Lily summoned blue flames into her palm and immediately launched them into the empty air.

Boom-boom-boom!

Blue mana detonated across the sky — considerable power. Producing magic like that in a matter of seconds, without even chanting, was genuinely impressive.

Well, she was one of the Four Heavenly Kings in the game.

Whether I liked her or not, the fact remained that Lily was an exceptionally capable demon. If I hadn't joined the Demon King's army, her rise to the Four Heavenly Kings would have been all but guaranteed.

She really was a complete lunatic, though.

After Ronan's party killed the Four Heavenly King Draculas, Lily inherited the seat. And the Four Heavenly King Lily who appeared after that was a raving sadistic psychopath who collected men's balls.

At least she hasn't reached that point yet.

That was why I still felt revulsion toward her… but surprisingly, Lily didn't seem to have arrived at that state yet.

Isn't this around the time she was supposed to change?

I didn't know the reason, but maybe the future had already shifted. I still couldn't fully let my guard down — but for now, at least, she clearly wasn't the Four Heavenly King Lily I'd found so disgusting.

"…Fine. Come along."

After long deliberation, I finally gave permission. The Lily in front of me wasn't the Lily from back then — and more importantly, I couldn't give up on the Magic Sword Sacrifa.

If something happens, I'll just deal with her then.

Besides, right now I was far stronger than Lily. If it came down to it, self-defense would be enough.

"But if you pull anything weird, you're out on the spot. Got it?"

"Yes… Whatever Master commands, I will obey thoroughly…♡"

Watching the succubus answer a little too enthusiastically left me uneasy, but in the end, Lily became my party member.

"Yay!"

Having finally gotten what she wanted, Lily bounced in place with pure delight.

"A date alone with Master…♡"

As if her long-awaited chance had finally arrived.

"In a dungeon with no one else around, I'll get to have all sorts of things done to me…♡ Fuhiihihihi"

She even started drooling as she spun out her happy little fantasies. What the hell was she even thinking?

"…"

Watching her, I did briefly wonder whether I'd made the wrong call. But there was no time to second-guess it — better to just get this over with fast.

"Shut up and follow me."

"Yes."

I took Lily with me and headed for the dungeon once more. It was finally time to actually explore it.