Chapter 56

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 56

Chapter Title: Dispatch

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Suddenly acquiring this high-class(?) talent called a dream demon. Just thinking about it, her uses seemed endless.

'Good lord. Items from dreams... in other words, the ability to manifest illusions.'

Doesn't that sound ridiculously overpowered just from hearing about it? Apparently, even the bedding and furniture in this space were made with that ability.

She said she couldn't manifest consumables like food, but on the flip side, that means she can create pretty much anything else, right?

"Hehe... Using my body, you say... How naughty."

"......"

"......"

Erzsebet and I gave cold, dead stares at the dream demon's illusion clinging to our side as we headed upstairs.

"You're going out looking like that?"

"Oh? This is actually my true form..."

"Erzsebet. Dispatch."

"Eek... S-Sorry... It's just... too hard to meet people in my real form..."

As Erzsebet cracked her knuckles and approached, the seductive dream demon form wavered, and a disheveled, scruffy dream demon popped out from within. At the same time, a cloud of dusty flakes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠puffed from her unwashed body after years of imprisonment... Urk.

"...What's your name again?"

"Li-Lilith..."

Her real name and behavior don't match up at all, do they? Of all names, she has one that's synonymous with female demons even on Earth. It totally breaks immersion.

'I want to register her as an employee and check her [Disposition].'

Actually, after feeding Lilith in the basement and telling her to repay me with her body, I'd tried to register her as an [Employee] right away. She looked useful in so many ways just at a glance.

"Ah."

The problem was points. I'd recently spent them all reinforcing the ruins' defenses, leaving none to register Lilith as an employee right now.

So, without even using something like [Quick Travel], I'd planned to just bring her upstairs...

"Ugh... Meeting new people... Urk..."

"....."

Earlier when she met me, she'd tried to suddenly transform(?), and this woman... Does she have some pathological social anxiety? She hated showing her true form.

"So. You're going upstairs like that?"

"C-Can't I...?"

"...Whatever. Do what you want."

Just think of it like heavy makeup or something. What I need is Lilith's abilities, so her appearance doesn't matter. But wasn't her personality subtly different when she was wearing that form too?

"Ugh... I don't wanna work..."

"......."

No, looking closely, it might be separate from her social anxiety—she just hates work because of my "earn your keep" comment...

Are all the guys who were sleeping in this place rotten to the core?

'At least Dry's normal. Thank goodness.'

Aside from that first time when she forcibly grabbed Erzsebet and tried to drain her blood, Dry doesn't cause trouble, listens well, and is useful for farming and more. If only the others took after her...

"Kyaa! Th-the fields...!"

"The residences are all getting wrecked... Aaaah!!"

"........?"

As I climbed upstairs with those thoughts, the upper floor was inexplicably chaotic.

"What the hell...?"

The neatly cleaned and organized garden was gone. The ground was cratered like it'd been bombed, trees uprooted and toppled everywhere.

The fields I'd carefully made were a mess, and the demons I'd left up here had escaped Lilith's mist effects, so they weren't acting weird anymore—but they stared in dismay at the residences ravaged like a storm had hit.

I stared blankly at the scene too, when Dry's roots rose from the ground.

But unlike her usual friendly clinging, they drooped limply like someone guilty, fidgeting nervously as if gauging my mood.

"...Dry. I had a feeling... This was you?"

"Ah. Please."

Why are even you like this? Seriously.

The reason well-behaved Dry had suddenly trashed the entire forest was none other than this.

"It's this woman's fault, right?"

"Eek...!"

Erzsebet glared at Lilith, grabbed her ear, and yanked. Lilith screamed, but I had no intention of stopping her.

'I never thought Dry fell for the mist too...'

I hadn't suspected it since Dry was calm when I woke up during the day. But influenced by the pink mist, she'd gone berserk in my absence, wrecking the houses and fields completely.

"What are you going to do about this? Hmm?"

Her sleeping coffin had gotten wrecked too, so Erzsebet's eyes flashed sharply as she kept tugging Lilith's ear.

Flailing her arms and eeking desperately for survival, Lilith offered a solution.

"H-Houses...! I'll make you houses!"

"...Houses?"

Intrigued, Erzsebet released her ear, and Lilith slowly approached the collapsed house.

"Hoo..."

Pink mist gradually spread from Lilith's body.

'Huh?'

'This is...?'

The exact same system message as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when Phantasm manifested that clump of demonic energy before. Lilith's 'illusion' now was far more refined than Phantasm's back then, but classified the same?

'No. Hold off for now.'

The usual collection prompt for the contaminant... illusion popped up, but unlike always, I chose to refuse.

"D-Done..."

"Hmm. Not bad. A pretty decent house."

Moments later, the continuously billowing mist solidified into the shape of an ordinary family home.

"I can't make anything too complex, so the interior's empty, but for the exterior of a house..."

"Hoo."

This... is pretty useful. I'd thought she could only do simple furniture, but a whole 'house'? She can make illusions this large?

"Any side effects? Issues maintaining it?"

"W-Well, it takes a lot of demonic energy and vitality to make, but once created, maintenance is no problem... B-But strong impacts distort it."

"Anything else?"

"Uh... N-No?"

"....?"

So, she can whip up indefinitely maintainable structures like this?

'What the...'

Similar to Erzsebet's ability to shape blood into various weapons, but far superior and more versatile. Dozens of applications spring to mind already.

But first...

'That collection thing earlier.'

When she first had the misty form up, the collection message appeared. Maybe now that it's fully shaped...

'It works?'

As I approached the manifested illusory house and willed to collect it, the same system message appeared.

'Collect.'

"Then for this lady's coffin, adorn it with jewels... Hm?"

Erzsebet, confirming Lilith's ability mid-order for her coffin, watched as the huge house vanished in an instant. Lilith's smug expression crumbled spectacularly.

"Wh...? Why? There's no way... Why did the illusion suddenly..."

"You liar... How dare you deceive this lady..."

"N-No... Eek!!"

Despite Lilith's bold claim of permanence, the illusion vanished, so Erzsebet pinched her ear again—but I had no time for that.

"...Lilith. Can you make as many of these illusions as you want?"

"Y-Yes? Well, they require vitality and demonic energy, so not unlimited..."

"How do you recover those?"

"Demonic energy recovers with good food and rest, vitality from... that..."

"Need a man?"

"N-N-No! Just a little from people while they sleep..."

Listening to Lilith, I eyed the illusory house in the [Collection List] and muttered.

'[Sell]'

"...Perfect."

Points from selling duplicates! Not as good as Phantasm's [Essence of Illusion] that tapped her origin, but collecting and selling still nets points. With this...

"...Lilith?"

"Wh-Why...?"

"Want something to eat?"

Let's get along from now on.

I desperately wanted to drain Lilith's demonic energy for endless illusions to sell for points, but priority was restoring the wrecked garden from Dry's rampage.

I replaced all the shoddily built houses with Lilith's illusory ones, moving over the furniture inside.

And the fields...

"S-Sorry. I can't create living things like plants..."

"...Can't be helped."

Illusions are limited to inorganic matter. So the upturned fields had to be replanted from scratch.

Thanks to Dry's powers, they'd grow back fast anyway...

'But all the seeds and seedlings are trashed.'

The real issue was the destroyed seeds and seedlings I'd planted. At least the bloodwood from the dungeon merchant survived thanks to Erzsebet's barrier.

"Phew... Phantasm."

"Yes!"

"Pick one nimble kin from your subordinates. Looks like we'll need to send someone to a human city for seeds and seedlings."

The dungeon merchant is convenient but rips you off hard. For simple stuff like this—not unique monster items—buying from human cities is way cheaper.

And...

"Lilith. That appearance-changing illusion... Can you apply it to others?"

"Y-Yes..."

"Ooh...? To think a real dream demon exists..."

"Eek?! Ahem! Oh my. Seems you're a child of dream demon blood?"

While calling Phantasm over, Lilith—who'd been groveling before me and Erzsebet—cleared her throat, donned her seductive illusion, and started acting.

'She's good at this too.'

Even with the illusion, can she pull off acting like that?

"Later, the demon Phantasm brings... Can you disguise it as a human via illusion?"

"Yes. On others, it only lasts three or four days though..."

"That's enough."

Just buying some farming seeds. That'll do.

"Oh, and while heading to the city... Have them check for any important news."

"Understood."

What new info could pop up in that short time anyway...

"Good! All the priests are assembled too!"

A sturdy elderly knight, back etched with a massive tattoo and no armor, looked satisfied at the group before him.

20 elite heroes who'd passed his 'test,' 10 priests trained at the temple headquarters to support them, and 10 mages versed in useful spells.

Plus the 4-star hero Fallen—an overwhelming force.

"March out!"

After Fallen's test ended and supplies were stocked, they departed the capital.

Target: The new dungeon that appeared near Delron in the continent's south.