A large mansion with a Japanese-style feel. Kuroyasu led me not to a large room where a chief might be, but to a plain-looking room.
　Through the shoji, I could vaguely see that someone was in the room.

'Chief, it's Kuroyasu. I'm coming in.

'Oh, I don't mind...'

　What came back in response to Kuroyô's firm call was a very loose reply.

'Excuse me. You too, Sukuna-san.

'Sorry to disturb you.

　Following Kuroyoshido's urging to open the shoji and enter, I stepped into the room.

　For the first time in this world, I felt the tatami mat. Perhaps it's because WLO is a game that originated in Japan, but one of the more unassuming elements of the game is the ability to remove your leg gear when inside.
　Of course, that's just for appearance, but numerically, they are still equipped. Otherwise, you'll have to take off your entire red wolf outfit.

　I was unconsciously distracted by the feeling of my feet, but then I looked at the person who was probably the village head.
　A white-haired girl was sitting in a kotatsu, peeling a mandarin orange. She looks just like Kuroyosan, and the only difference is the color of her hair and eyes.
　It's very cute to see her wearing a fuzzy robe. ...... Sorry, it's almost summer in this world, isn't it?

I'm not sure what to say.　Are you a guest?

'Yes, sister.

'You idiot!　If you have a guest, you should at least tell them!　I've been seen all over the place...'

　The white-haired girl who must be the village head is complaining to Kuroyagi with an expression of 'I'm sorry'.
　Loose. Very loose.
　That was the first impression I had of Satou.

'Anyway, wait a minute. I'll go straighten up a bit.'

'Yes, sir. Ms. Sukuna, I'm sorry, but shall we go outside?

'Ah, yes.

　Kuroyagi took me out of the room again.
　As if he knew this was going to happen, Kuroyosan was extremely calm.

'Well, ...... are you a sister?

'Yes, my unpopular sister.'

'You're right to the point. We're twins, aren't we?

'As you can see, we're real twins.



　Although the tone of voice is rather stern, it doesn't mean that Kuroyoshishi doesn't like the village head.
　It's just that their personalities are different, and they're a little harsher because they're family members.

　But Kuroyo is a member of the village chief's family.
　I thought I already knew his position well enough when he was the mentor of Amber, who was supposed to be an important person for the demon tribe.
　I thought I already knew his position well enough when he was the master of Amber, who was supposed to be an important person for the demon tribe. The residents of the village adored Kuroyosan, perhaps because of his position.

'You may enter.

　We heard the village headman's voice from inside, and we entered the room again.
　He was still dressed in his nightgown and hanten, but the kotatsu had been put away somewhere and two good-quality cushions had been prepared instead.

'Well, sit down. I'm not busy, am I?　I don't want you to bring a traveler into my home. You must understand that.'

'It's your fault for dressing like that until dusk. You're in charge of a tribe of demons, so you should be a little more stylish.

　The village head was rebuked with a sharp rebuke and let out a pathetic 'Heee'. The hierarchy is so clear.

'My sister is not nice to my sister. ...... Sorry, sorry, sorry. My guest, welcome to the demon village. What's your name?

　The chief of the village stopped his sisters' joking and looked at me, and gave me a very kind look.
　I was expecting him to be somewhat sloppy, but the gap caught me off guard and I was at a loss for words.

'Sukuna, but...'

'Hmm, so you're Amber's apprentice on .......'

　The village head nodded in agreement, just as Kuroyô had shown him earlier.

'I am Hakuyo. I'm the one who rules this demon village, and I'm the sister of you. As you can see, I don't like to be formal, so take it easy.

　As the word "relaxed" implies.
　The chief of the demon tribe, who called himself Shirayo, said this as he quickly collapsed his legs into a comfortable position.


☆


　I'll leave you for a moment. Because Black Yoh left after saying that, Bai Yoh and I were left alone in the room.

'Black Yoh is a good girl even though she is my sister. She's strong, smart, and kind, and I'm very proud of her.

　Perhaps because she wasn't there, Shirayo's boasting about her sister began abruptly. Although I was only involved with her for a short time, I could tell that she was well-liked by the people of this village.

'Yeah, I can see it when I look at her.

'If it was just about her ability, she could have been the village head. But she had too much talent as a demoness. The talent of divination ...... is called magic skill in your language, isn't it?　I don't have a shred of it. Not as much as you or Amber, though.



　Baiyou's words probably meant that she herself had a talent for magical skills.
　No need to think about it. That's why Byakuya is the village head.

　The demons are a race that has no pure growth in magical skills.
　Aside from players who can freely allocate bonus points for each level up, for NPCs, who have a percentage of their bonus points allocated by luck, the bias in the allocation is their talent.
　However, the lack of magic skill means that the other stats, i.e. physical skill, are higher.
　And the demon race is inherently a race that specializes in physical skills. That's why Byakuya said that he had too much talent as a demon.

'On the contrary, I had no talent as a demon. As you can imagine.'

'But you're still stronger than most people, aren't you?

'Maybe so, maybe not. After all, status is at the whim of the gods.''

　Laughing mischievously, Byakuya seemed to be unconcerned about his own status at least.

'Well, let's get down to business. It's not unusual for Kuroyoudou to bring people here, but it seems that things are different for you. I knew it from the first glance, but you have a bad curse.

'Well, you do stand out. ......'

　Shirouyou said as he looked at the cracks on my body, making small talk in moderation.

'It's a little ticklish.

'No, I'm fine.

　As if he was a doctor making a diagnosis, Baiyou traced the black crack with his finger. At that moment, Baiyou's skin burned with a sizzling sound.
　However, Baiyou himself didn't seem to mind at all, and slid his finger across the burning skin without caring.
　After touching a few cracks for about a minute at a time, Baiyou let go of my body.

'I see, you've touched a taboo.

'You can tell?'

'It's been hundreds of years since I've actually seen one. I've seen two great fools who were consumed by it. A fairy queen consumed by greed and a murderer consumed by jealousy.

　A fairy queen and a murderer. Greed and jealousy. Those are the names of unforgivable sins, along with the rage I was nearly consumed by.

'They did not return from the abomination until they were defeated. In the end, they became literal maniacs with their entire bodies dyed in this blackness. ...... You've barely survived, haven't you?

'Yes. ...... Amber, everyone stopped me.

　The only one who fought directly was Amber. But Melty and the other players were working to prevent any damage from occurring.
　I can't imagine what would have happened if I had let my anger get the better of me for all of those five minutes. I can't even imagine what would have happened.


　But because I managed to hold on for a few seconds, I am now able to enjoy WLO again. There was no doubt about that.

'That black darkness that's eating away at your body. It probably contains a lot of the demon god's negative power. I can think of a way to purify it, but it's not possible right now.

　If it's not possible right now, it could be a lack of some material, a problem with personnel who can perform the spell, or a problem with .......

'Is there a time requirement?

　Baiyou nodded silently at my question.

'North from this village. There is an open land and a big tree at the place where you go straight to the depths of the lost forest. On the night of the full moon, when the moon's power is at its peak, a certain monster appears at the base of the tree.

'A certain monster: ......'

　A monster that appears only on the night of the full moon. It sounds very exciting. A monster with such a limited time and place must be a rare monster.
　Just as I was getting excited with such gamer-like excitement, I was told something far beyond my imagination.

The name of the monster was "Nocturne, the Moon Wolf of Beyond". Do you have the courage to challenge the moon incarnate, Sukuna?

　The seriousness in Byakuya's eyes sends shivers down my spine.
　Nocturne, the Moon Wolf from Beyond. A named boss monster, in other words.
　A nostalgic memory comes back to me. It's the memory of the hot, fiery battle that made me fall in love with this world.
　Aria. It's the memory of my battle with you that still pushes me forward.

　With an uncontrollable trembling in my heart, I smiled so naturally that it surprised even me.