While You Were Away (Finale)

A guttural roar tore from the demon's throat.

Something unknown had burst from the rift leading to Hell and was dragging the demon back down into the abyss.

It was what happened when the contractor — the very justification for interfering with the mortal world — forcibly severed the pact.

At the same time, black energy was being pulled from Multu's body and flowing into Hell, proof that his soul would be held there for a set period after death.

Before long the passage to Hell sealed shut, and the demon vanished without a trace.

Compared to the impact of its entrance, it was an absurdly hollow exit.

But I smiled with satisfaction.

Perfect handling.

Didn't the art of war hold that making an enemy retreat without fighting was the highest achievement of all?

This was strategy. This was tactics!

But the looks Kyle and Layla were giving me were... something else.

Whatever they were, they definitely weren't the kind of looks you sent a comrade.

"Cough! Cough!"

Multu began coughing up blood.

With the demon contract terminated, his demonized body was losing its power. The tentacles that had been sprouting from his severed stump withered and dried, announcing that little life remained in him.

Multu spoke through dying eyes.

"This should be enough, right? Spare my daughter..."

At the word daughter, Layla's face filled with confusion. But when Multu's gaze turned toward the tentacle, Layla saw it and recoiled in horror.

"You gave birth to a tentacle?!"

"It's nothing like that."

Even on the brink of death, Multu stared at Layla with a deadpan look of pure disbelief, and Layla flushed with embarrassment.

This girl had one hell of an imagination.

Tentacle childbirth? That hadn't even crossed my mind.

Kyle spoke.

"So you sold not only your own soul, but your daughter's as well?"

Multu shook his head with difficulty.

"I was merely deceived by the demon..."

He suddenly began recounting events from his past. In the game, this had been a flashback sequence — but hearing it firsthand like this didn't particularly pique my interest.

While I was spacing out, Multu finished his sob story.

"I was only one step away...!"

Multu lamented, but since that one step had included Emily, no one offered him any sympathy.

That was when it happened.

"Nngh..."

Emily let out a soft moan and opened her eyes.

Even with Mela being thoroughly licked right beside her, a demon appearing, and the ceiling collapsing, Emily hadn't stirred — and now she finally woke. No matter how much this event had been designed to proceed without her, the timing was so contrived it made me keenly aware that this world operated under the influence of a game system.

"Ugh!"

Kyle beamed at Emily waking up, then hurriedly turned his head away when he saw that half her priestess robes had melted away. Seeing each other naked was apparently too much stimulation for a couple who got flustered at even the brush of fingertips.

A nice reaction to watch.

I somehow felt Mela looking at me with a strange expression, but I decided not to worry about it.

"Ah!"

Emily, now awake, surveyed her surroundings with a dazed look, then saw the state of her clothes and let out a small scream, her face turning crimson.

Kyle draped his outer garment over her. Emily gazed at his back, then bashfully covered her mouth with the edge of his coat.

Ah!

The pure-love high was kicking in hard.

I was standing there with a little twitch at the corner of my mouth when someone stepped in front of me.

"You. Stop staring."

It was Layla. She seemed to think I was looking at Emily with impure intentions.

I wanted to say a word or two to this sacrilegious woman who'd interrupted my sweet pure-love appreciation time, but since this body was Hex's, I held back. I'd already shown her my erection on the way here, so I had no moral high ground.

Meanwhile, Emily — having been briefed on the situation — approached Multu and the tentacle. She placed her hand upon it and spoke.

"This poor child will be guided to the Goddess."

The tentacle's body, being a vessel granted by the demon, would soon die — but its soul could now be saved by Emily.

Even as he died, Multu rejoiced at this and handed us a key.

"This is the key to a hidden space in my room. May it aid you on your journey."

Truthfully, Mela's lockpicking skill could have opened it anyway, so it wasn't strictly necessary — but more good things never hurt.

Before long, Multu and his daughter stopped moving, and our companions offered a brief prayer for their souls.

There were some twists and turns, but we made it through this event safely in the end.

When I'd played through this event myself, I'd casually destroyed the tentacle without a second thought. I had no intention of letting that grotesque lump of flesh that dared try something lewd with Emily live. But when Multu learned of it, he went berserk. After killing Multu as well, I'd read the journal in his room and learned the tentacle was his daughter.

It had been a bitter ending, so this time's conclusion was reasonably satisfying. It was fair to call this a branching point that changed because I — not Hex — had been involved.

I thought about what would have happened in this event if it had been the original Hex instead of me.

"...."

But I couldn't remember what Hex had been doing around this time. Had he temporarily left the party? Given that nothing stuck in my memory, he probably hadn't done anything particularly noteworthy.

Thinking about it that way, maybe I hadn't played that big a role either.

Whatever. As long as it ended well.

But I didn't know.

I had no idea what effects the tentacle's fluids — which had left Mela half out of her mind, thoroughly soaked — and which had melted half of Emily's priestess robes from contact, had had on their bodies.

And what consequences those things would bring later — at this moment, I had no way of anticipating any of it.

The fact that Multu had contracted with a demon was spread throughout the entire city by those who worked at the mansion. Not only that — the demon's appearance, and the fact that the Hero's Party had sent it back to Hell, became widely known as well.

It was a level of achievement that couldn't be surpassed in a single region, so naturally both the cathedral and the lord's castle invited us. Having completed the hidden objective of demon subjugation, we received exceptionally fine rewards from both sides.

When we'd only taken out Multu, all we got was empty praise.

The reward was none other than a Fruit of Growth.

It was a fruit that granted one skill point freely investable into any skill — an enormous reward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by any measure. But I wasn't particularly thrilled.

I can't even use skills.

I'd shouted for a status window the moment I arrived in this world, but it never worked. So I hadn't expected much — yet when I bit into the fruit, a window appeared before my eyes.

"...."

Apparently it unlocked when you gained stats or skill points through leveling up and such. Hex's level was already so high that the travels so far hadn't provided enough experience for a level-up — that seemed to be why.

Whatever the case, the system unlocking itself was the important thing, so I immediately checked the skill window. But most skills were locked and couldn't be viewed.

Is it because of this?

Below the skill window, written in red, was a single line.

The moment I confirmed it, a system window appeared.

And so I found myself coming to the underworld alone.

Going alone to the underworld — a den of criminals — was a bit frightening, but thinking of the monsters I'd have to face going forward, I had no choice but to come. Even if combat sense was beyond my control, if I couldn't use skills either, I was clearly going to end up in a bad way someday.

Still, this is genuinely terrifying.

To complete the quest, I needed to gather information from people in the underworld, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but that wasn't easy. This was a place where only the real deal gathered, and every single one of them reeked of crime — as an ordinary civilian, I couldn't even start a conversation.

But it seemed the other side felt the same way.

It's Hex.

What's that piece of trash doing here...

Don't make eye contact. He'll pick a fight.

"...."

Just what did this bastard do to get treated like trash even among fellow criminals?

I was seriously wondering whether just killing myself might be a public service when—

"Big Bro!"

Some guy approached me with a delighted expression. He seemed to be someone who knew Hex. Birds of a feather — he had the kind of look that would thrive in a certain genre.

"You were late, so I thought maybe you'd forgotten."

"Uh, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yeah."

"Of course Big Bro would never forget anything involving a woman!"

He was the kind of person who triggered a physiological revulsion, but I decided to endure it for the quest. Just a brief conversation had raised the progress by two percent, hadn't it?

I was thinking that if I just toughed it out a little, I could finish the quest quickly when—

"We've finished preparing to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blackmail that mage bitch."

Along with the man's vile grin, a window appeared.