Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: The Warrior Explains the Reason for Keeping Distance
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A short while later, once Aletia had calmed down somewhat, Balak instructed Ferguson to block off the shortcut.
"Uh... You don't really have to do that..."
"Anyway, any challengers who try to use the shortcut don't deserve to face me. So relax, Demon King."
"O-Okay..."
Soon after, Ophelia hoisted the fainted Pepira over her shoulder and chased after Kairel.
Balak then moved somewhere else with Aletia alone.
"This is...?"
"I'm not always just about training and fighting, so I made a room like this."
Back when Balak and his sworn brothers had each made their own rooms, Balak had used knowledge from his previous life to turn his personal space into a lounge.
Seeing Balak's room, which felt cozy like a modern café, Aletia unexpectedly felt her heart swell with warmth.
And conveniently, she had brought some snacks with her.
She subtly held out the bag she'd brought to Balak.
"Demon King, what's this?"
"Ahahaha... I didn't want to come here empty-handed."
"Oh ho, looks like pies inside? Must be delicious."
Afterward, Balak seated Aletia at a table and brought out some tea.
"Balak, I never dreamed you knew how to brew tea?"
"Everyone says that. Well... to add something, didn't you meet my sworn brother?"
"You mean the werewolf who works at the tavern?"
"That's right. And doesn't that guy make some pretty fine liquor?"
"He does...?"
"I taught him how to make that beautiful booze."
"Eek?!"
Aletia was at a loss for words at Balak's utterly civilized demeanor.
Truth be told, she had thought of Balak as someone who just yelled, "Hey, enemy! Fist! Incoming!"!
Who knew he had such a delicate side!
Aletia, unaware that Balak was a civilized man from the information age in his previous life, grew more and more interested as new facets of him kept emerging.
But she had one big problem right now.
"Demon King, how's your faction doing these days?"
"Pretty good!"
"Oh ho, then I'd like to see your subordinates sometime. So, the weather in the demon realm is..."
"It's mostly dry weather nonstop!"
"Dry weather, huh! Then the ingredients in this pie..."
Like this, with Aletia only spitting out one-word answers—the worst way to converse—their conversation kept breaking off awkwardly!
Plus, with only her undead minions around her, she couldn't keep up with Balak's stream of everyday topics.
At this rate, she'd be branded a boring woman, so Aletia desperately searched for conversation topics.
Then, spotting Balak mysteriously eating snacks while wearing his helmet, the Demon King brought it up...
"Whoops! Sorry, Demon King, it's become a habit."
"Huh?"
Aletia had ended up nitpicking Balak!
Thus, suffocating under her own awkwardness like a steamed sweet potato, she felt like she was going mad.
In the end, the first thing she said after coming to her first love's place!!
"Ahem! Balak, let's talk about the dungeon now."
Was business talk.
***********
Aletia's woeful tale luckily proved quite effective with Balak.
"Just in time. I've actually had a recent worry."
"R-Really?!"
Why was the Demon King so happy about that?
Ice-breaking was sufficient at this point anyway.
Since she'd taken personal time to come see me, shifting to practical talk seemed best.
I soon explained to the Demon King the dungeon layout I'd planned before.
"Y-You're thinking of adding five more rooms here?!"
"Yeah. What do you think, Demon King?"
"No one could ever reach you."
Urk! As expected, she foresaw the same conclusion!
But if the path to the final boss just passed through a mere five rooms, it lacked volume!
How to overcome this...
As I showed my contemplation, the Demon King offered one solution.
"Then how about fixing the number but increasing variety?"
"Hm?"
"Make challengers pass through five rooms, but randomly select from about twenty."
Oh ho, so the Demon King's answer was to amp up the roguelike nature of my dungeon?
The current dungeon already had ascension, and the more players and NPCs challenged it, the more proficiency, gear, and elixirs they gained to grow stronger.
Fully pivoting to a roguelike dungeon was a good idea, but it came with major issues.
"The entry barrier is already sky-high, plus adjusting difficulty per room, hiding secrets in each, and for your suggestion, we'd need at least fifteen rooms minimum."
Even now, excluding top existing NPCs, various challengers couldn't break through the first room, Land of Madness, and adding room randomness?
Oof... I could see light users peeking at my dungeon rewards and nope-ing out.
Roguelikes' biggest flaw is that entry barrier maxed out, deepening my dilemma.
For now, I asked if she could use her authority to enable random room entry from twenty for challengers and create virtual enemies for mob roles.
"Virtual enemies can't be super strong, but adding randomness on room entry is doable."
"That's encouraging."
"And room variety can be supplemented by my demon kin."
"But even high-combat demons won't get dungeon stamina buffs like our family, so they'll tire out guaranteed."
"True..."
"But I see a path forward."
Tell this to Karian.
Use it as a base for dungeon consulting.
Finally, the Demon King's mood had loosened up a lot.
No way—was this Demon King a workaholic who preferred business over chit-chat?
At least the atmosphere was relaxed now. Good.
As the Demon King and I shared light banter,
My youngest came to report on today's mini-dungeon events.
"Huh?! B-Big bro! I'm really sorry!! I didn't read the room..."
"No need, little bro. And Demon King, just standing here feels awkward, so how about a walk?"
"Sure! And Balak, I didn't mean to interrupt your schedule."
Thus, as the youngest kept apologizing, we all stood up.
**************
Balak felt bad leaving Aletia alone, so he assigned Ophelia to her,
Then chatted with Orek while checking the mini-dungeon status.
Soon, Ophelia brought Aletia—horns hidden—to her shop and treated her with utmost care.
Answering her questions earnestly.
Sneakily gifting shop items.
Even seating her and giving a shoulder massage!!
Despite barely knowing each other, this VIP treatment puzzled Aletia, who spoke up.
"Um... Did Balak say something to you?"
"Of course Father said so, but Hubby also asked me to take good care of Lady Aletia."
"Ah."
Aletia recalled that Anima—whom she was close with—was married to Ophelia.
'Right, alliance with Balak, plus good friendship with Anima, that's why this treatment.'
But would Ophelia go this far just for that?
As Ophelia served her a drink, she finished her analysis.
"Analysis complete. Indeed... You fully qualify as the object that will become my mother-in-law."
"Pffft─!!!!"
That's right!! Ophelia was being so nice because she thought Balak and Aletia would get together!
Now understanding the doll's favoritism, Aletia floundered with her face beet red.
"Cough! Cough! N-No!! Why say that suddenly!!"
"You're the same species as Father, and you show great interest in him, don't you?"
"J-Just for that...?!"
"Also, Hubby says every time he shares Father's stories, you make very favorable expressions—not to mention your face flushes slightly."
"Th-That's!!!"
"Plus, reanalyzing the data from Hubby's analysis, I guarantee: what you're feeling now is love. So be honest with yourself."
"No it's not!!!"
"Ahem... Seeing you, Lady Aletia, reminds me of when I first met Hubby."
Like father-in-law, like daughter-in-law—Aletia was getting swept up by Ophelia, who ignored protests.
Soon, the huge commotion in the shop drew Kairel and Pepira from the tavern to check.
Seeing Aletia's squealing profile—
"Oh."
Kairel, who had already blushed once at Aletia's beauty, could only applaud inwardly.
She then hugged Pepira—hook floating above her head—and stepped excitedly into the chaos.
"Th-Then that time Anima was so nice to me because!!!"
"Oh ho, even without my words, 'Mother-in-law' already knows."
"Ughghgh!!"
"Ophelia!"
"Ah, Sister Kairel, you're here?"
"The shop's super noisy, so I came. What happened with that super-red-faced lady?"
"Nothing much, but......"
Hearing Ophelia, Kairel blanked out briefly.
But if this peerless beauty hooked up with Balak?!
Thump!
"...Wishing you a happy love."
"That's not ittt!!!"
"The strongest denial is affirmation. True love indeed."
"She even brought snacks for the boss! Ophelia, this is totally..."
After the two women's motherly fussing, Aletia bolted from the shop.
Tatatat!
"Have a wonderful love with Boss~"
"I fully get wanting to see your husband ASAP. But surprises are always best. Won't tell Father~"
"Kyaaaaah!!"
Hearing the cheers behind her, now fully tomato-faced, she fled straight to her domain.
Thus, girl-crush-exploding Aletia slumped whitely charred on her throne.
Her minions watching nodded.
"Spring's here."
"It's spring!"
"Now if she opens her mouth, I'll cast a spell..."
The young maiden Aletia, unable to control her feelings.
****************
Later, hearing from Ophelia that Aletia had fled, Balak scratched his head.
"Sorry, Father. I think I was a bit hasty."
"Nah... We'd already finished our talk with the Demon King, so no worries."
Seeing Balak brush it off, curiosity piqued Ophelia cautiously asked.
"But Father, may I ask one thing?"
"What is it?"
"Do you... know how the Demon King feels about you?"
"Of course I do."
"Pardon?"
"With her showing it so obviously, did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Balak had already realized Aletia harbored strong feelings for him.
But seeing Balak deliberately keep distance, Ophelia sensed something off.
Checking his daughter-in-law's reaction, he sighed deeply.
"Ophelia... We can't fully understand others like you or Anima can."
"So that's why you keep distance."
"Originally, this is only our second meeting with the Demon King. We barely know each other."
Of course, these two meetings let him grasp her tendencies somewhat.
But Balak, well aware from his previous life that rushing into romance brought only pain,
Had chosen to start as friends with Aletia.
There was also Balak's biggest reason for keeping distance from Aletia.
"And lastly, the Demon King seems the type to fall in love fast."
"Ah......"
Yes. Past, present, or future—quick-to-fall-in-love was among the worst partner types.