Chapter 344 – Helping With Romance!
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After breakfast, while waiting for Dave to arrive, Melissa, wearing clothes I often saw in the village, came to the inn.
“Rent.”
“Melissa, did you sleep well with your parents yesterday?”
“Yeah. Oh, Rent, what are you doing today?”
“I’m waiting for Dave.”
“Dave?”
“Yeah, we’re going to hang out, just the guys, for the first time in a while.”
“Playing hero and demon lord?”
“That’s right. Oh, and Shima’s coming too.”
“Rent~ It’s not fair if only Shima goes~ I want to go too!”
Noah, who was sitting next to me, raised her hand and insisted.
Following Noah, Elsie and Ms. Ninya also spoke up.
“I, I want to go too. The hero and demon lord play… I want to see it!”
“I’m curious how Rent plays~.”
Then, Ms. Tikia, who was still slumped over the table even after eating breakfast, also raised her hand and said,
“M-me too… Ugh, my head…”
“Ms. Tikia, are you really okay?”
“It’s j-just a hangover…”
I guess she drank too much yesterday.
“Then I’ll go too. I like seeing Rent having fun.”
Since everyone said they were going, Melissa also said she would go.
“Really? Then let’s go together.”
“Rent! I’m her…e.”
Dave came into the inn energetically, then turned his head away, blushing when he saw Elsie.
Then he looked at Elsie again and bowed his head.
“S-sorry!”
“Ah, it’s okay now. Please raise your head.”
Elsie also replied with a kind smile at Dave’s sincere apology.
“Huh? Huh?”
“What’s wrong? Dave. Did you do something wrong to Elsie?”
Shima and Melissa were puzzled by the sight of the two of them.
For reference, Noah and Ms. Ninya found out about Dave’s apology to Elsie when I told them during breakfast.
“Hehehe, he saw Elsie and Rent hugging naked in the morning.”
Noah explained the situation, keeping it as mild as possible.
“Ah… really? It was Elsie’s turn yesterday. Anyway, Dave, you…”
“Ugh…”
Melissa’s sharp gaze was fixed on Dave.
But Melissa quickly withdrew her gaze.
“Well, it was a mistake, and if Elsie forgave you, it’s fine.”
“Phew… that’s a relief.”
Shima sighed in relief.
Is it because she thinks Dave doesn’t have feelings for Elsie?
We followed Dave to the hideout the boys had built.
While walking, I asked Dave.
“Come to think of it, Dave. Is the shop okay?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I told Mom beforehand. Oh, but… everyone’s changed back to the outfits they wore last time.”
As Dave said, Elsie, Noah, and Ms. Tikia had returned to their usual outfits.
Ms. Ninya was wearing simple, villager-like clothes, just like when she came to the village last time.
“Hehe, it’s uncomfortable to keep wearing those dresses~.”
“Y-yeah, I guess adventurers would be like that.”
“Ugh… Rent… my head is still spinning, carry me…”
“Yes, Ms. Tikia.”
At Ms. Tikia’s request, who was still suffering from a hangover, I immediately bent my knees and carried her on my back.
“Thank you…”
“You’re welcome.”
And we arrived at the hideout.
The other boys were already gathered at the hideout.
“Hey, Dave! Ren…t? Huh? Shima and Melissa are here too?”
“And Rent’s girls are here too…”
“What? Weren’t only Rent and Dave supposed to come?”
Ms. Ninya winked at the bewildered boys and said,
“Hehe, we want to see you guys play… is that not allowed?”
“Of course it is!”
The boys all shouted in unison.
Well, I guess I would be the same if Ms. Ninya said that.
“Then everyone, let’s grab our weapons.”
Everyone started picking up the wooden swords that were placed next to the hideout.
They were just wooden swords to set the mood.
Of course, I was mostly empty-handed.
It felt a little nostalgic since it had been a while.
“Come to think of it, who’s going to be the hero today?”
One of the boys said.
When playing hero, the main role is the hero, and the rest start with the setting of being his companions.
Since I’m the demon lord from the start, I don’t have to worry about that.
“Who was the hero last time?”
“I don’t remember…”
“Should we decide with rock-paper-scissors?”
I should step in at times like this.
“How about Dave does it today?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Dave?”
“Well, I don’t mind.”
“Why Dave all of a sudden, Rent?”
“Hmm~ I was just saying, is that not okay?”
I went closer to Dave and, in a position where Dave couldn’t see my face, I looked at the other boys and gestured with my eyes towards Shima.
Only then did the boys understand.
“Ah~ well, I guess it’s okay.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s have Dave do it today.”
I’m glad they’re all perceptive friends.
“Huh? I’m the hero today? Yay!”
Dave was excited, not knowing anything.
“Then, to befit a hero, you need weapons and clothes, right?”
I took out a golden, shining one-handed sword-shaped Excalibur from my right hand and handed it to Dave.
“Here, Dave.”
“Huh? W-w-what is this! It’s so cool! No, more than that, where did you get this?”
“Hey, did you see that just now?”
“Y-yeah. It came out of Rent’s hand, right?”
“Rent! You, that, you! You! H-how did you do that?”
“Skill.”
“There’s a skill like that!?”
“There is. Ah, Dave, do you need a crown or a cape too?”
“C-can you make them?”
“Of course.”
“P-please! Oh, and a cool-looking shield if possible.”
“Got it.”
I immediately created a crown with various golden jewels, a red cape, and a shield with a blue background and elaborate carvings and handed them to Dave.
When he put them all on, he looked quite the part.
I thought it was enough for playing.
“H-how is it?”
“Wow, I’m jealous. It’s so cool.”
“The sword is awesome!”
“D-Dave looks cool…”
The last one was Shima’s small mutter.
“Hey, Rent! Make some for us too!”
“Yeah, yeah! It’s not fair to only make them for Dave!”
“Okay. Then what kind of weapons or outfits do you all want?”
“I want a spear!”
“An axe!”
“Are gloves possible?”
“Make me a bow, a bow! Oh, and arrows too!”
I simply created the weapons each of them wanted, along with the matching colors and aura effects, and outfits.
“Whoa!”
“Yeah, this feels really good!”
“I’m so cool!!!”
Everyone was very satisfied with the weapons and props I made for them.
Seeing this kind of reaction makes it worth making them.
“Hehe, everyone’s having fun.”
“Yes, everyone is smiling.”
“It’s like Rent when he uses a new skill.”
“Boys are still the same even when they get older…”
“I’m not going to care anymore. There’s an abnormal amount of magic power in each of those things, but I’m not going to care anymore.”
“I’m glad Dave seems to be having fun.”
Shima seems to be really smitten with Dave.
Now that everyone was ready, it was my turn.
But before that, I went to the side where the women were watching and made chairs for them to sit on.
After they all thanked me and sat down, I went back to my spot and made the outfit I would wear.
“Hmph!”
I put on a spiky, dark purple armor and a dark purple helmet with bull-like horns, and emitted a dark purple aura from my body.
“Wow! Something weird is coming out of Rent’s body!”
“So cool!”
“Wow, he really looks like a demon lord.”
Now that everyone was dressed, it was time to start acting.
Remembering the times I played with the boys, I said,
“Hehehe… You’ve come this far! Hero party! But your journey ends here!”
Everyone had played many times, so they immediately took a plausible stance, and Dave, who was playing the hero, pointed his sword at me and said,
“The end is you, demon lord! I will defeat you and save the world!”
Objectively, it was a very cringey line, but role-playing games are supposed to be a little cringey.
I waved dark purple magic power in both hands and said,
“Come at me!”
“”……””
But no one came at me.
Huh?
“What’s wrong?”
When I asked, Dave spoke as the representative.
“Well… Rent. You can use magic, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And that swirling thing in your hand is magic power, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It looks like you can shoot that, and if we get hit by that, won’t we get hurt?”
Ah, I guess my magic power performance was too realistic and scared them.
“Ah, don’t worry.”
I fired magic power that had no aggression at all.
The magic power I released had a flashy effect, but the moment it touched the ground, it just shone like a toy laser beam or a flashlight, without digging into the ground.
“It won’t hurt.”
“Oh, it really doesn’t.”
“But for the sake of excitement, dodge it when I shoot.”
“Okay. Then let’s go with peace of mind!”
“”Yeah!””
“Ahem…”
I cleared my throat for a moment and took my stance again and shouted.
“Come at me!”
“””Waaaaaaaah!””
◈-Tikia’s SIDE
As time passed, the pain of my hangover subsided a little, and I properly lifted my head and watched Rent and the boys from his hometown play together.
I was surprised by the sight.
It wasn’t the amount of magic power in the mana weapons that Rent and his friends were holding that surprised me.
It wasn’t the aura that Rent was emitting that surprised me either.
In the first place, I had played with those things with my father.
But… but…
“Take this! Demon Lord Beam-!!”
“As if I’d get hit by that beam! Take this, the strike of the holy sword!”
“Take my spear too!”
“I’ll crush your head!”
“Uryaaaaaa!”
This is a game, right?
Why are they all attacking Rent so desperately!?
“H-hey, Melissa. Aren’t they attacking too seriously?”
“Huh? Ah… Rent is sturdy anyway, so isn’t it okay?”
“No, but isn’t it too reckless? Usually, you’d be a little considerate, wouldn’t you?”
“Ah, that’s because Rent proved it himself in front of the kids a few years ago before playing demon lord and hero.”
“Proved?”
“Yes. He scraped his arm with a saw blade with all his might and hit it hard. Well… the result was that only the saw blade was damaged and broken. After that, everyone plays like that with peace of mind.”
“Ah, I remember… Rent back then. Aunt Merinda scolded Rent a lot.”
“That’s right, for breaking a perfectly good saw blade.”
Rent… he did something like that before?
“Hehe, Rent in his demon lord form is also cool♡”
“I, I like him more when he’s in his hero form…”
“Go, go, Rent! Hit them hard!”
Rent is doing something extraordinary for a mage.
No, he’s already extraordinary for using mana weapons like that…
What is that magic cannon?
It’s just shooting out magic power without any aggression?
What is that?
In the first place, the idea of releasing magic power like that without any aggression is too unfamiliar.
Even when I was performing magic tricks yesterday, I was careful not to touch the wood, but he’s shooting out magic power that has no aggression at all…
Ugh, my head is hurting in a different way than from the hangover…
No, that’s not it, but Rent’s hometown friends are also strange.
“Take thisssss!”
A boy named Dave swings his sword at Rent.
But Rent easily dodges the sword and…
“Urya!”
He instantly lifts Dave up and throws him away.
“Whoa!”
If he hit the ground like that, he would definitely get hurt.
But.
Thud!
Dave immediately… very naturally performed a breakfall, regained his posture, and charged again.
“I’m coming again!”
It’s not just Dave who’s used to breakfalls.
Every time the other boys are thrown by Rent, they immediately perform breakfalls to minimize the impact and charge at Rent again.
Why are they so good at breakfalls?
They’re not adventurers, are they?
“Wow~ everyone’s good at breakfalls. …Aren’t they better than me?”
Noah also tilted her head at their skilled breakfalls.
“Hehe, it feels like they’ve been doing breakfalls for years?”
Ninya was making her own evaluation.
Melissa said to the two of them,
“Ah~ that’s because Rent throws the kids around a lot every time they play. Rent is strong, so he tries not to hit them recklessly, so he throws them to deal with them.”
I was curious, so I asked Melissa.
“Don’t they get hurt?”
“Of course, he didn’t throw them like that from the beginning. At first, he only threw them lightly so they would just fall on their butts, but since they kept getting thrown, everyone naturally learned how to fall or roll without getting hurt… and when the kids said they could be thrown harder, Rent gradually adjusted to that… and that’s how it became like this. Look at that.”
Thud!
“Whoa! Ugh, I won’t get caught this time! Yaaaaaaah!”
Roll
“Hah! My flashy roll means throwing me won’t work anymore!”
The boys who were thrown were actually having fun.
“They actually seem to like being thrown like that after a long time, right?”
“……”
My teacher once said that the best way to learn is to enjoy it.
It seemed that Rent’s hometown friends had continued to enjoy landing and rolling, which is why they became like that.
Roll roll roll
“I rolled to gain momentum! Take this, Demon Lorddddd!!!”
Shima’s face turned slightly red as she stared at Dave, who was playing with Rent and being thrown and rolling.
“Dave rolling… is cool.”
…She’s completely smitten, isn’t she?
