If only we could have a world where everyone could live happily ever after. Everyone would be laughing all the time.

　Yes, she said.
　Sadly, smiling.


◆

What do you remember about the Abominable Light Labyrinth?
I'll be fine.
Let's go over it again, just in case.
Mm, come on.

　We sit on the bed with each other and talk.
　Feeling slightly uneasy about Elfie's attitude, we recall the information about the labyrinth we are about to tackle.

　The Abominable Light Labyrinth.
　It is a labyrinth whose interior is covered with darkness.
　As the name suggests, it must abhor the light.
　It is shaped like a tower, and you have to go up and up.

　There are two major problems.
　The first is that the interior of the labyrinth emits tremendous light at irregular intervals.
　It seems that some kind of magic is absorbing the light inside, and all of that light is released in an instant.
　It seems that the demons inside don't care about the light, but that's not the case for us.
　If you eat the light without taking any countermeasures, you will go blind.
　Initially, many of those who challenged it without countermeasures lost their sight.

"This can be dealt with with the magic items we prepared beforehand.
You mean, that sting in your eye?

　A magical eye drop that absorbs a certain amount of light.
　When you put it to your eyes, it will be effective for a certain period of time.
　Like Elfi, it hurts like a burning eye.

　And the second of the troublesome points.
　That's because the demons inside are purely strong.

　There are five types of demons that come out.
　There are also demons that weren't there when I challenged them thirty years ago.

　"Light Thunderbird.
　A huge bird with lightning on its entire body.
　It does not have the ability to fly, but it uses its wings to send lightning flying.

　"Lightning Emperor Spider (Blitz Spider).
　A giant spider that is more than three meters long.
　It has paralyzing venom in its fangs, and the threads it spits from its mouth are tinged with lightning.

　"Bolt Slime".
　A giant slime that has absorbed the magical power of lightning.
　It is several times larger than its normal counterpart, and all but its core is made of lightning.

　"Shine Golem".
　A golem imbued with the magical power of lightning.
　It emits lightning and crushes its opponent's eyes, crushing them with its physical strength.

　"Lightning Dragon".
　A powerful dragon species, along with the rock cave dragon (Earth Dragon) and the flame dragon.
　It is the strongest demon in this labyrinth, except for the Thunder Demon General.
　It has a tremendous amount of magic power stored in its body, and the power of the breath it releases is not to be underestimated.
　Probably, in terms of combat power, it was even better than the Fire Dragon.

　As for the Thunder Demon General, his identity is not clearly known.
　However, it is known that it is a humanoid demon wearing lightning all over its body.
　I've made a few guesses.

"Do you understand?

　I showed him the notes I had prepared in advance and checked with Elfi again.
　It's not like I've been spending my time in the Teaching Country since I arrived there.
　This is how I was collecting information about the labyrinth.

Hm. ....... You're still as disciplined as ever with all these notes.
Of course. It's a matter of life and death. This isn't even close to being enough.
'Iori might be good at being an adventurer.
Maybe.

　I mean, I'm actually an adventurer.

　Each and every one of the demons in this labyrinth is nasty.
　They all have a level of danger of the earth spider class.
　We need to think about what happens afterwards (...) and limit the drain on our magic power.
　Especially the Thunderbolt Dragon.

'This guy's breath has a wide range. If it is shot, it will inevitably be forced to deploy its defensive magic. We'll take care of it before it shoots at us.
"Or I could just take you in my arms and get around it?
...... then your arms will be blocked. Please only do that if you can't help it.
Well, they're usually the other way around, aren't they?
...............
Don't sulk, Iori. Don't sulk, my love.
Don't make a joke out of it.

　There are three main attack patterns of the Thunderbolt Dragon.
　First, it usually attacks by scratching, biting, and using its tail.
　Secondly, it accelerates with lightning and then rushes forward.
　Then, a breath that concentrates the magic power in your body into your oral cavity.

　Normal attacks can be dealt with with no problem by our physical abilities.
　Even the thrust from acceleration has a weakness where it can only move in a straight line because it is too fast.
　The last breath has a lag of a few seconds before it can be released. If you aim at that point, it won't be a problem.

　I'll talk about how to fight not only the Thunderbolt Dragon, but also other demons.
　It's not good to plan stiffly in return, but it's not a bad thing to think about how to deal with the enemy.
　It's the decisions you make on the spur of the moment that make the difference.

　Naturally, I'll talk about opponents other than demons.

''And yet, a dragon.

　When all the talk was over, Elfie suddenly muttered.

'You always remind me of Verdia-chan when I hear about the dragon species.
...... was that pet dragon you brought to your knees?
Mm. A rare breed of fire dragon, the black fire dragon.

　The Black Flame Dragon (Karth Dragon).
　It is a huge dragon species with black scales all over its body and spitting black fire.
　It's one of the rare species that occurs through mutation, but due to its long life span, the population is cumulatively large.
　I remember fighting a couple of them in the void labyrinth too.

''They were rampaging near the Demon King's Castle, and they burned my hand. They burned my food, so I went out personally to punish them.

　I can see Elfie in a rage.
　This is the kind of personality I've had since I was a demon king, I guess.

'So I took it a bit too far ...... but for some reason I missed him. From then on, I kept him in the Demon King's castle as my pet.
I know you said you would, but what makes you think a dragon would miss it?　I've heard that the dragon species can only be used by the demon race for so long.
'You were a clever girl, little Verdia, you know. I suppose she recognized me as her Lord.

　Was it because he had high intelligence or was it because Elfie had the Demon King crest?
　Well, it doesn't matter either way.
　I guess that's what happened.

He was ...... a cute guy.

　Elfie says in a nostalgic tone with his eyes closed.
　His expression looked a little, sad.
　Being a pet from thirty years ago, it must have already been in the hands of Ortegia.

''...... You really aren't like the Demon King, are you?''
What did you say?
''You're too far removed from the average demon king's image, like writing a book on cooking and using dragons as pets. You don't seem to be at all afraid of leading the demon race.

　I even have an image that I'm going to make a fuss about being hungry while on the march and pompously return to the Demon King's Castle.

''Nah ....... Iori, I don't want to hear that!

''Bah,'' he said to himself as he whispered the sound effect, while Elfie stood up vigorously from the bed.

''I was a being that was feared by many demon clans before I became a demon king, you know?　So much so that anyone who hears the name Elfiszak would tremble and kneel at the mention of Elfiszak.

　With a look of pride on his face, Elfie continues.

''And I have the highest amount of magical power among the demon kings of all time. It was even called "The Infinite Magic Eye King" by some demon clans. Huh, I haven't been called that in a long time, but it sounds pretty good. "The Infinite Demon Eyes King.
You don't call yourself that, do you?
There's no way in hell I'm going to go to ......

　You're right.

No, I'm not!　Don't look at me like that!
I know, my dear old friend, the Infinite Magic Eye King.
Iori!

　Elfie jumped at him in a rage.

''Nah.''

　I jump off the bed and avoid it, but Elfie's figure is scratched out of my vision.
　I can sense a creeping presence from my blind spot.
　I flip my body around and leap off the hand that Elfie has extended to me.
　At the same time, I hook my foot, but...

It's not working.

　Elfi doesn't fall.
　It's like kicking a giant tree.
　As I thought, you need to use your magic power to damage this guy.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what to do.

　Elfi stepped forward a step, but he slipped on the blanket and rammed his head into it.
　The two sharp horns sprouting from the side of his head are coming at him with tremendous force.

''A bullfight, you're ......!

　As soon as you can, you grab the horns with both hands, but at that moment a fierce pressure is placed on your body.
　Is there a difference in basic physical strength or is it just a simple lunge that has this kind of power?

''Nuwa ......!''
"--

　Unable to bear it, he was knocked from his back to the ground.
　From the face, Elfi also falls down.

''Mu......gu.''

　Up close, I lock eyes with Elfie.

'----'


　Silver hair and golden eyes.
　His personality, his voice, his looks, and everything else was so different.
　I remembered the golden hair and the silver eyes.

　--From just now, what is this?

　I'm not going to be able to get out of it," said Elfie, leaning on his horse.

''What are we doing here?''
...... I don't know.

　I'd love to hear it.

"Huh. Uh-huh.

　Elfie starts laughing as if he can't stand it.
　I'm not going to be able to get it right.

　--I'm not going to be able to get it right.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

You'll be able to see that Iori is still very thin. If you don't eat properly, you won't grow up.
Well, I don't want to get any bigger than this.

　--a sensation of sweetness and gentle decay.

'But it's not bad. No, it's hard there.
Hey, I think that's time to go.
'No, but ...... hmm'

　He grabs Elfi's hand to play with it, but he can't even pull it off with too much force.
　Stupid strength.

　--When in the hell did I start.

"...... What's going on?

　Just then, the door opened quietly but vigorously.
　A man quickly slipped in through the doorway.

'Nah.'
Oh ......

　A slender man with a hood hiding his face.
　Blue hair peeks out from under the hood.

　Is it Leo William Disfrender, the current Acting Captain of the Second Squadron of the Order of the Holy Hall - Leo William Disfrender?

　I see. It was almost time for the appointment.

''I heard a slamming and fighting sound when I knocked and there was no answer, so I came in, but ......

　Seeing Elfie, who is riding a horse and flattening my body, Leo gives me a very awkward look.
　It's as if he reacts as if he had accidentally walked into the room in the middle of an affair.

'...... I'm sorry. Let's come back out once.

　With that, Leo turns to leave the room.

"Chigga, you wait!

　Elfie follows it and begins to squeal and make a lot of noise.
　I fix my messy clothes and get up in a hurry.
　Why can't I act quietly like this?

　I look at the noisy Elfie and let out a sigh again.



　It's a distracting time.　
　I find myself looking at it with cold eyes, as if it's silly.
　I feel like I'm in lukewarm water.

　And yet, how could I feel at ease for this one moment?
　That's how I felt.

　Even if I kill him, he's not going to die, this guy.
　This woman - Elfiszak is.
　I thought that he would have finished all the revenge anyway, and he would be laughing goofily afterwards.
　And that she will call out to me with a face filled with a sense of accomplishment.
　Until this moment, I thought so.

　I was wrong - I thought.