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

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

Vel said, sounding happy for some reason.　

'Are you getting used to it?　What does that mean?

When an abyss is inhabited, it's like a difference between the host and the abyss. But the more you use it, the more the abyss understands the host and the host understands the abyss from each other. And when we understand it to some extent, it appears in our eyes. So it becomes red. And it eventually appears in both eyes. That's, let's put it that way, proof that the abyss has become completely familiar.

"So you're saying I'm getting used to the abyss for one eye?

'Well, that's the way it is. Sooner or later, you'll start to see the rush of emotions in your eyes. When that happens, it won't take long. You'll fit right in.

I knew this was my problem.........
So Oliver Joe is a candidate for the........king of the abyss, just like me........

''What did you mean when you said he's a candidate for the king just now?　And I didn't even ask you what half a body means.

Come to think of it, Doppler also said.
What is the king's vessel?

"I don't know about that.

What? ...You don't know?

You say "candidate of the king" as a matter of course, but you have no idea what it means.
Don't you want me to know what it means?
What is it?

'It can't be, can it?　What do you mean you don't know?

We don't know anything about it, so what can we do about it?　The point is, I don't have that information in my memory.

'No information? ...and you know the words king and candidate?

You will.

Isn't that funny?

'It may be crazy, but it's the truth. I have some information in my mind about past candidates. It's not that he was my master, but I don't have any more information on him than I have on that memory.

What are the past candidates?

Vel starts to say one thing after another that is bothering him.
This is not the end of the question.

'Candidates for the King who have had abysses in their past and have had contact with half their bodies like the Master. But that's just a bunch of crappy information, right?　A woman who was a knight of some kingdom, a man from a small village, that's about it.

What's that?
Frankly, I'm not interested.

'You should have asked that doppelgänger about this stuff.

No, I don't need to. He doesn't know the guy.

"...How do you know that?

This dungeon belongs to the master, but he owns it because it's mine. If I don't know something, no one else does.

Lord, why are you here?

There is a Lord apart from the owner....
I don't know how it works.

Well, it's simple. Everything is owned by the master. Everything is subject to his will.

Okay, so?　What's a half-body?

Before I explain that to you, I have to tell you something.

Then Vel changed for some reason.

'First of all, the abyss is not a half-hearted thing. In other words, it's too powerful an entity to take it all in at once. That's why it's divided into two parts, the master and me. At first?

'So you're saying half of it is me and the other half is in Vell?

Well, that's what happened. And gradually they will be sent by me to the master. Gradually we'll get acclimated.

So what happens to Vel afterwards when it's all sent to me?

What happens now?　There's nothing wrong with that. It just brings the master one step closer to the king.

"Approaching the King..."
I don't know what kind of king he is, and I don't know what kind of king he is.
It's not a good idea to get close to him, but.....

Hmmm.........the king........

What exactly is the king of what?

Master, the point is, you'll have to find out for yourself. I know some things, but I don't understand everything. I only have the memories that I had the moment I was born, so I'm just talking about the bits and pieces of it.

Hey?　What are you talking about?　What does it say about the abyss?

Then Toa came into the conversation, looking bored.

'Hmm?　Yeah, I'm talking about my magic. Apparently, Vel is half of me.

'Half a body?　What are you talking about?　And Vel?

Come to think of it, I've only told the three of them that I know Vel.
Just as well, I should introduce them to this guy.

But that's where Vel--

Hello ladies, the lazy half, Verfegor. Good luck from now on.

Vel bowed like some pompous nobleman he'd seen in the past.

'What do you mean by half lazy?'

'What do you mean?' asked Toa.

'Meaning?　It doesn't mean anything. It's half of a lazy master, half of a lazy master. It's easy.

'Why is Nito so lazy?　I'm trying so hard.

The rare Toa complimented me.
What kind of windfall is that?
But I'd like more praise on a regular basis.

'Come on, I don't know. You're lazy on a deeper level, aren't you?　Mostly, the half of the body captures the characteristics of its host. Just like abyssal magic does.

Then one thing Vel said something else that bothered him again.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'as the abyssal magic does'?"

Apparently there's something about Vel that he hasn't told me yet.

'Hm?　Oh, I forgot to mention that.

Then Vel opened his beer again.
This was his third can.
I don't want to be called lazy by this guy.

''In other words, abyssal magic is born in response to the depth of the host's psychology.

"Deep thoughts?

Then Vel touched his beard and thought about it.

'For example, the Wave of Erosion, which is also the Master's eighteenth.

Not that it's any of my favorite things, but....

It's just that the master has something inside of him that's invading and eating away at him, right?　So that magic was born.

At that time, Sufilia asked as if she was remembering something.



That time?

I didn't know when Sufilia meant "that time".

It was soon after Ichijo-sama lost his arm.

Oh, I see, that magic.
--I'm sure you've heard of the "Birth of Regret".
That magic, I don't understand it clearly either.
The moment I activated the magic, it ripped through the five guards' bodies and gave birth to something in five different bodies.
There's no other explanation.
It's also a different kind of magic than what I have.

I'm sure it's the master's will. The abyss doesn't materialize what you don't want it to.

In other words, does the abyss embody the desires of the host?
And the result of that is invasion and that goddess who drops blood from the sky?

Master?

Hmm?

Then Vel stared into my eyes.

'Don't bother, okay?　And don't doubt it. The Abyss is on the Master's side. We don't destroy what we don't want to destroy, and we don't violate what we don't want to violate.

Vel had said the same thing before.

'Yeah I already know that.

There is no magic as versatile and safe as the Abyss. It's just this stupid wizard has spread the wrong interpretation. He's no fool.

Vell's explanations, which only seemed to remind me of something, simply baffled me.
Could this be due to my so-called "laziness"?
If this guy himself is also an expression of my mind........

.........



''If possible, I'd like you to talk to me a little more step-by-step, in order, is there anything else you want to tell me?　No matter how small it is. It's all about me. I need to know as much as I can.

Then Vel started to worry.

The three of them have settled in to my house and are now bored and riddled with boredom.
Nem Nem is lying on the sofa, flapping his feet.

Hey Vel?　I don't want a beer, I want some kind of juice.　And candy?

Hmm? ...Oh yeah, I have!　Wait for me.

Then Vel went to the kitchen and came back with some sweets and juice.
Then he placed them on the table in front of the sofa to spread them out.

'Well, drink as you see fit.'

Vel said.
I prepared four cups at random from the cupboard and placed them in front of the three of us.
Then the four of us snacked on sweets and relieved our fatigue from the dungeon.



o



I was in my room.
I checked the room and started to search for this room, which had been recreated in every detail.
But I couldn't find anything different.
A bookshelf filled with comics, a video game console.
The video game packages on the table.
Everything is still there.

I opened the window.
The view from there was the same.
But I don't think even the inside of the building has been recreated, because I don't have any memory of it.
Because I have no memory of it.

'This kind of... what do you call it?　Was he homesick?


I was supposed to be in my own house, but for a moment I missed my room.

'Master?'

Then I saw Vel outside the room.

'Hmm?'

I forgot to mention, I can't leave the dungeon. I need to be in a wand-like state, like in front of me, when I go out there.

And then Vell, boffo!　With a puff of smoke, it turned into a single large staff.

''H........a talking wand.......''

Then Vel was back to normal again.

'So?　Does this mean we've conquered the dungeon?

"...it's not a strategy.　It was just me and the Master meeting. And like I said, that's why the dungeon exists in the first place.

It's the wrong idea...

People say that a dungeon is the graveyard of the adventurer who dreamed a dream.
The best and brightest gather from all over the continent to challenge the labyrinth.
But it wasn't even a labyrinth.
It was just ... my home.

In other words, those challengers who lost their lives here died in vain.
But--

'Huh........not my problem.......'

Master?

Vel looks at me, who gloats to himself and gives me a curious look.

'It's nothing.'

I said and left the room.

'What's going to happen to the dungeon after this?'

I stopped at the front of the room and asked Vel.

I'm sure that when the master and I meet, it's the end. The dungeon will leave the mundane world and return to the mingling world.

'Well... hmm?　Meikai?　What's that ringing world?

Then Vel gave him a troubled look.

'No that ain't in me either.

....

Apparently, Vell's memory?　is fragmented and not coherent, apparently.
So you know the word, but you don't know what it means.

I don't mind. Let me know if you remember the word again.

Yeah I'm sorry.

What is it?
When I was depressed, Vel was depressed as well, as if he sensed it.
As I got into a joyful mood, Vel increased the amount of alcohol he was drinking.
What is half a body?
"Is that what you're saying?
If I'm half lazy, that means I'm also lazy, the other half.
But maybe that's okay.

There's a part of me that gets annoyed when I have more questions.
They say that if you come to the dungeon, you'll find out the truth, so I came.
And yet, if anything, the questions just keep growing.
The more I resolve them, the more questions I have.

But even if you are in a hurry, Vel won't tell you.
You don't know in the first place.
Then maybe it's okay to be lazy.
Don't think about it too hard, understand that this is part of the journey and adventure, and just be patient.
The bother can wait.

Lazy.

--That's what I am.