'Huh?　You're the master!　You're the master, aren't you?　Hmm?　Have you finished your sermon already?

I was confused by the demon's words.
And then I couldn't help but shut up.

Master?　What do you mean?

.....


Oh......


"You! ........maybe.......

Hey, Master?　Can you just close it up for now?

Hmm? ........oh,

When I realized, I was about to say my conclusion, but the demon interrupted me.
I closed the door as I was told.
Should I have at least knocked?
No, you wouldn't expect to find a monster like that inside, would you?
I don't know what it is.......I'm out of shape.
I've had a good sense of urgency up to this point.
And yet, it feels like it all came undone in an instant.

I'll see you in the living room.

Then I heard a voice from inside.

'Oh ... oh.'

I turned around and stepped into the living room.
Then the three people there were holding their noses and making dark faces.

'Hey? .... who?

I could feel the disgust coming from Toa.
It's true, though, that the moment I opened the door to the bathroom, an out-of-this-world smell wafted through the air.

'He's a dirty old man,'

Nem was wavering as he said this.
Sufilia was smiling desperately and trying to get it together.

''I understand what you guys are trying to say, so let's wait in the living room for now.

I urged the three of them to go to the living room, who were rejecting the place.
Then the three of them walked away, picking their noses.



o



The four of us were sitting on the couch in front of the TV, waiting for that demon.
I mean, why are we waiting?

After a while, I heard the sound of flushing coming from the bathroom and the sound of the door closing.
Then the door to the living room opens and a large man with horns appears there.

'He's a dirty old man...'

Nem said the same thing again as before.

'Hey catgirl?　Can you tell that to the scumbags, please?　I'm helping to protect the environment of this world by draining their rotten bad eggs out of their a**h*les every day like this, you know?

Is that so?

No, it's just an expression.

What the....?

I couldn't help but tweak it.
Then again, it was huge when I looked at it again.

Then the guy sat down on the couch across from us, facing us.
Then he let out a sigh and looked at us as he lit a cigarette.

'And then?　How was the dungeon?　Master?

Hey, what's this master thing I've been wondering about?　I know a cane that says the same thing to me...

Hmm? ..............................Oh, I see. Come to think of it, this is the first time we've seen each other in this form, isn't it?

Then he took a sip of his cigarette.

"Master, I'm Verfegor. This is my body.

What?　Are you ... Vell?

Verfegor........aka Vel.
That's the name of the statue dug into the tip of 'Verfegor's Great Staff' that appeared after reversing my magic tool 'Saint's Wrath'.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one.　After all the advice I gave you, it looks like you've doubted the abyss, doesn't it?

Vel was looking at me with those glaring eyes.

'.........do you understand?

Of course. I'm half the master, okay?

'Half a body? ...What?　Half a body?

Hey?　Do you know this guy?

Then Toa came into the conversation.

'Hmm?　Yeah, his name's Vel, but I've never met him before. But I've never met him before either.

You know him for the first time?

Well it's a lot of things.

I told Toa about the white cane and the black one.

"So, you're saying this is the man who was dug into the tip of that black cane?

Yeah, well, it doesn't look like a person by any stretch of the imagination.

Then, following Toa, the two of them let their guard down as if they were convinced.

'For now, whether you're Vel or not, why are you here?'

That's a tough question. I've been here from the beginning. I've been here from the beginning. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this later, but for now, let's get rid of the master's pus from the abyss.

What? ....pus?

'Yeah, the master who ignored my advice is now a bit consumed by the abyss. In this state, I can still bring him back under my power. Well, to begin with, that's what half the body is for.

No, wait a minute. What's that half-assed thing you're talking about?　And I was swallowed up?　What do you mean?

You can ask me later. For now, get your hands on it.

Do you dare?

Yeah.

I was interrupted by a question, an emotion that didn't add up, for once. I put my hand out in front of me.
Then Vel tried to put his hand over my palm.

'By the way, Vel?　You've washed your hands, haven't you?

No, I didn't wash it.

Then Vel stood up silently and walked towards the kitchen.

'Totally ... is the master a germaphobe?'

Vel washes his hands honestly as he says gruffly.

''He's a dirty old man...''

Nem said again.

'Catgirl?　Tell that to those filthy people. This is what I do every day, washing away the human filth stuck in my hands.

It's just an expression of the thing, isn't it?

Well....

Then Vel turned off the faucet and came back to us.
Then he sat down and I put my hand in front of him as he did so.
Then Vel put his own hand over it.

'Well?　What are you going to do?

You don't have to do anything, Master. That's something I can do.

Then, for a moment, I felt something in me that I can't describe in words.

"This is it.

Then Vel moved her hand away from her covering.
I lower my hand.

'But don't doubt it anymore, okay?　I can drain the master of his pus as often as I like. But if it's swallowed, it's gone. When it's completely swallowed up, there's nothing I can do about it.

What does it mean to be swallowed?　Didn't I tell you this before?　"When you doubt yourself, you are swallowed by the abyss"?　And I've heard this saying before. "He who is swallowed by the abyss, loses his beloved..."

"Lose your beloved?　Who would do such a thing ... well, human.

Then Vel looked like he was convinced by one of them.
Then he speaks to me.

'Are you ready, Master?　The abyss will swallow you up, won't it?　He's going to lose his character.

Lose... your... personality?

'Oh, yes. You can no longer distinguish between friend and foe, and you lose sight of the abyss. Unintentionally, the abyss attacks others, and you don't even notice it.　The one who has lost the vessel of a king. --Those who have lost the vessel of a king - we call that an abyssal fool.

Hmm?　An abyssal fool?　Wait a minute, by fools, you mean abyssal wizards, right?

What?　What are you talking about?　A fool is a fool. It's the one who is swallowed up by the abyss.

As soon as he said that, Vel grinned again as if he was convinced by one of them.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. What did the humans misunderstand, or did they say that?

This is what I heard from the Black Dragon Carpent ze Bach.

"I heard it from a certain black dragon. "I heard it from a certain black dragon, along with some lore from a wizard named Addams Rad Polyphelia.

Hmmm, lore........so?　What kind of lore?

The first is, "He who is immersed in the abyss loses his life; the second is, "He who is swallowed by the abyss loses his beloved." And lastly, "Those who fall into the abyss will lose their freedom." This seems to be the lore of Adams. The black dragon said this was a warning letter. And he said that those who ignored it and touched the abyss were called fools.

Then Vel was thinking about something as he touched his goatee.

I'm going to lose my beloved..... It's not a bad idea, come to think of it, it's not that bad. You can't even know if you loved them or not if they lose their personalities, even if they are your beloved, right?

'Yeah I'm sure you're right.　So?　What about the other two?

This whole lore is from that Adams guy, isn't it?　I don't know if I'm the one to ask. But the way I see it, he's seen where the abyss is headed, hasn't he?

Destination?

Yes, perhaps the abyss has swallowed you, or you've seen someone swallowed. That's the only way I can see it, or else I wouldn't be afraid of the abyss, would I?　Well, even if I say so, it's what the mundane thought. I still don't understand, though.

Apparently, they don't know about the other two.

'Well...'

Then Vel got up and went to the kitchen.

'Well, Master?　I haven't said a word since I got here.　Do you want something to drink?

Vel opened the fridge and told me so.

'Do you want a drink?　Do you have a drink?

Come to think of it, there are bags of candy and empty beer cans scattered about.

'Isn't it obvious?　This is the master's house, okay?　Whatever is in the Master's memory is there.

What? ...my house?　Sure, it looks like my house, but...

The dungeon itself is the master's home. In the first place, the dungeon was born at the same time the abyss dwelt in the master, just like me. And then the host and half appear once in the mundane world to meet. That's the dungeon.

Hmm? ........hmm?

'What?　Don't you see?

I sorted out Vel's words once.
The dungeon is my home?
When I say dungeon, I'm familiar with it. It's a labyrinth.
It's full of monsters and treasure chests that smolder the curiosity of the adventurer.
And you think that's my home?

Master?　I'm half his body. So I have some idea of what he's thinking, right?　I think it's time to get away from that stereotype. A master's idea of a "dungeon" is something that the mundane world has decided for itself. A dungeon is a place where a candidate for the King's dwelling place is a bridge for that candidate to meet his or her half.

Vel said, as if it were obvious.
The dungeon is my home.
That's the truth, he said.

'Well, while you're at it, let me ask you something else. The dungeon is my school, as well as this house, so why is it that the inside of the dungeon is my school, and why is it that you have been questioning me so much?

That's because the Master was about to be swallowed by the abyss, wasn't it?　You thought this was a bad idea and the dungeon did it on its own, right?

Did you do that on your own? ........Then it's as if the dungeon has a will, isn't it?

What are you talking about?　Isn't that obvious?　The half and the dungeon, those two things are part of the master, and just as I have a will, so does the dungeon have a will.

As he said this, Vel pulled as much beer out of the fridge as he could hold.
Honestly, my mind is confused and I don't know why.
Is it a dungeon?　Is it home?

"How hard can it be?　Didn't he just tell you that?　It's the master's worst habit. Just do your best to embrace the whole thing with your fantasy.　"It's a fantasy here, so anything is possible, right?"

Vell said, opening his beer, gahaha!　He laughed and cleared his throat.

'Huh ... did you say that earlier?　You've seen it all through, haven't you?

I've seen it on TV. Well, they're sharing the information anyway, so I don't need to.

The words "You told me earlier" reminded me of that.
The first time Doppler was in the form of Saeki, he said.

'Oh, you know, before I came here, well, you know, a lot of things happened, you know?

'Well I've seen a lot of things...'

Vel returns it as if it were someone else's business, even though I said it was half a body or something.

'My left eye was glowing red at the time, do you know what it was?　You'll understand, won't you?

Then Toa listened too.

'Yeah, I know. That's a sign that the abyss is getting used to it!

Vel said, happy for some reason.