Chapter 157: The Lich (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 157: The Lich (7)
The Lich could not comprehend the current situation.
Where was this place called “Leah’s room,” and where was this woman, who called herself Leah, dragging him by the armrests of his chair?
And just how vast was this place that, no matter how far they went, all he could see was a pure white corridor?
Why was this woman, Leah, who was clearly not human, pretending to be one?
Even for a Lich who had lived for a thousand years, there were things he did not know. So, he decided to just ask honestly.
“Excuse me, Miss Leah. There is something I would like to ask…”
The Lich’s tone was uncharacteristically polite.
He’d woken up in a strange place, his body wouldn’t move, and for some reason, the smile on Leah’s face felt ominous.
For these various reasons, he had lost his composure, so it was only natural.
Even at this very moment, he was having pathetic thoughts, like what he would do if Leah ignored him.
“Yes, what is it?”
Fortunately, Leah answered in a kind voice.
The Lich asked cautiously.
“Where did you say this place was…?”
“Oh, come on, I just told you it’s Leah’s house. Why are you asking something you’ve already heard? Are you having trouble hearing because of your age?”
“No… I mean, what kind of place is this Leah’s… no, your house…?”
“Ah, is that what you meant? You should have just said so from the start. If that’s the case, you see that door over there? You’ll find out once we go through it, so just wait a little bit~.”
The door Leah pointed to wasn’t far, so the Lich waited quietly for it to open.
A moment later, the door opened, and he was horrified by the sight that unfolded beyond it.
-Ughhh!!!
-Kyaaaak!!!!!
-Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me.
It was a long, straight corridor, just like the one they had just passed through.
However, unlike the empty hallway from before, chairs were placed at regular intervals along both sides.
Humans and monsters were seated in those chairs, every single one of them screaming with expressions of agony.
“Wh-what is all this…?!”
“Now that you’ve seen this, I suppose I should give you a formal introduction. Welcome to Leah’s battery room~.”
“Ba-battery?”
“You don’t understand the word ‘battery’? You can just think of it as a fuel room!”
Leah’s cheerful voice left the Lich dumbfounded.
“You’re very surprised, aren’t you? It’s okay. Everyone reacts that way. I admit, it’s a rather inhumane sight. But we don’t just kidnap anyone, you know? Every last one of the people here has a screw loose. Most of the humans in this C-Class Fuel Room are black mages or low-level witches, and as for the monsters, well, I don’t even need to say….”
Frozen in shock, her words didn’t register with the Lich at all. Regardless, Leah continued.
“The room you’ll be entering, customer, is the next one: the B-Class Fuel Room. It’s a place only the reasonably strong can enter, so you can go and brag about it if you want!”
With those words, Leah dragged the Lich into the next room. The B-Class Fuel Room was a hellscape no different from the C-Class one.
They were heading toward an empty seat when a beautiful woman with purple hair cried out to Leah.
“L-Lady Leah! I’m sorry! I didn’t know! Please forgive me just this once!!”
It was Eriache, the Constraint Witch.
Witches were beings who, through contracts, could defy the laws of the universe, albeit in a limited capacity.
Having lived as a witch for hundreds of years, Eriache was a big shot in her own right.
But now, she was begging Leah with tears streaming down her pathetic face.
“Nope. Can’t do that~. Why did you have to go and mess with my master?”
“I-I didn’t know who he was. I was only following the contract I made with Lorian… with that bastard..!”
“But you still did it, didn’t you? The sins you’ve committed won’t go anywhere, so just quietly accept your punishment~.”
As Leah spoke with a sneer, the muscles in Eriache’s face began to twitch.
She was furious.
Furious that she, a grand senior to countless witches, was caught by this young bitch and forced to plead for her life.
And she was unbearably frustrated and angry that all of this had happened because of some lowlife named Lorian, or Lorean, or whatever.
“Grr..! Y-you psychopathic bastards! How is that my fault?! I didn’t know! I didn’t know anything, you fu—”
“Such a foul mouth.”
Leah snapped her fingers, and a gag materialized out of nowhere, sealing Eriache’s mouth.
“Mmph! Mmph!!”
Even with the gag on, Eriache’s eyes were bloodshot as she screamed silently. It was pointless, however, so Leah ignored her.
The Lich tried to use the moment her attention was diverted to cast a spell, but it was impossible. Mana existed here, but strangely, it wouldn’t move according to his will.
Leah turned back to the Lich.
“Customer. Don’t try anything stupid. Not unless you want to be trapped here for the rest of your life.”
The Lich’s jaw began to chatter.
“Wh-what have I done to you, Miss Leah, to deserve this?”
“You haven’t done anything to me. But you must have done something to my master. Otherwise, why would he have taken the risk of being discovered to send you to me?”
“Miss Leah’s master? Who is that…”
In that instant, the face of a certain man flashed through the Lich’s mind.
“Surely you don’t mean Cloud?”
“Cloud? Ah, so that’s the name he goes by over there?”
Leah nodded.
“Well, anyway. We’ll let you go once you’ve met your quota, so don’t worry too much. If you look around, you’ll find other liches just like you, old man, so you can chat with them if you get bored.”
With that, Leah clapped her hands. The Lich, who had been trying to resist somehow, felt his vision go black.
“Cloud, marry me.”
The words came out of nowhere from Frillite.
At her statement, Cloud’s thoughts froze.
What?
Marriage?
The kind I’m thinking of?
Cloud wondered if the word “marriage” had some other, hidden meaning, but there was no way.
Marriage was just marriage.
As Cloud stood there, stunned by the sudden proposal, Frillite’s face turned bright red and she waved her hands dismissively.
“Ah, no. That’s not it. What I mean is…”
Ah, so it was a joke.
I just made the mood awkward by taking it seriously.
Just as Cloud was about to feel a sense of relief, she continued.
“Y-you said it before, didn’t you…? That you wanted to marry into our family…”
Frillite fidgeted with her fingers, speaking like a shy girl, which was uncharacteristic of her.
It wasn’t a joke.
Realizing this, Cloud’s expression hardened.
“…Did I say that?”
“You did. You definitely said it when we were riding together on the horse to subjugate the ogre!”
“Uh, yeah… I remember. But why are you yelling…”
“Ah… s-sorry.”
An awkward silence fell after her apology.
Frillite broke the mutually painful silence with a small cough.
“Anyway! I thought a lot about that, and after much consideration, I asked my father about it.”
Cloud felt a stiffness in the back of his neck.
Why would you go and ask him that…
As Frillite said, Cloud had been the one to first bring up marrying into her family.
But that was just a joke to lighten the mood.
What was he supposed to do now that she’d taken it seriously and even asked her parents about it?
I can’t just say it was a joke now.
The moment her parents were mentioned, the word “joke” was no longer an option.
All Cloud could do now was pray that Frillite’s father had rejected him.
But as always, things didn’t go the way he wanted.
“And Father agreed, saying it wasn’t a bad idea.”
Aren’t you agreeing a little too easily, sir?
This is your daughter’s life we’re talking about.
Fuck, think before you make a decision!
Cloud screamed internally.
“Well… there was one condition, but it’s not a problem. You’ve already fulfilled it.”
“What was the condition?”
“That you shed your disgraceful title of ‘Incompetent Hero.’ And you did so splendidly by defeating one of the Four Heavenly Kings. I’m proud of you.”
Frillite smiled as she looked at Cloud. He smiled back at her, but the emotion he felt was different from hers.
He was in a state of half-resignation.
There’s no way out…
Marriage with Frillite?
Honestly, it wasn’t a bad idea.
No, it was actually great.
She was beautiful, and their personalities matched well.
But there was a problem.
Cloud already had a lover named Katarina.
On top of that, there was Leslie, who insisted she was his fiancée.
He might have secretly slept with women like Lorraine and Cassia behind their backs, but marriage was on a completely different level.
…A knife fight might break out.
No, it would definitely happen.
He was sure of it.
“Cloud? Why do you have such a dazed look on your face?”
“Frillite. There’s one thing I absolutely have to ask you, if that’s okay.”
“Go on. What are you curious about?”
Looking at Frillite’s puzzled expression, Cloud swallowed hard.
“What do you think about polygamy?”