When I went into the living room, Toa was flicking through the TV remote control.
On the screen, they were showing scenes from school and other events.
But there was no sign of the challenger there.
Sufilia was pouring a glass of wine from wherever she had brought it from, and drinking it.
There were even snacks on the table, such as wieners, salami and pistachios.

''Master! --

Then I heard Nem's voice from the bathroom.

'Hmm?　What's going on?

I asked, a little louder.
But there was no answer.

I had no choice but to go to the bathroom where I heard the voice.
I opened the door to the bathroom and found Nem's clothes there, which had been removed.
I could also see a figure in the bathroom. It's probably Nem.

'What's going on?'

Then Nem opened the door to the bath.

'Master!　There's no hot water!

--and then a bareheaded Nem appeared there.

A little while ago, Nem Nem said he wanted to take a bath, so I led him here.
And I'm sure I gave you a brief explanation.........

''........Master?''

"...Oh!　Bad bad.

The naked Nem suddenly appeared, and my eyes glazed over.
I never felt sorry for him.

I have no hot water.

So you're going to hand this over to me see?

I showed him how to make the hot water again.
Then the hot water came out easily.
Whether the hot water came from somewhere else, I had no way of knowing.

It's amazing!　It's warm!

Then Nem seemed relieved and poured hot water on his body.
For the first time, I knew that, except for the white cat ears and tail, they're no different from people.

''........Are you going to bathe in it too, master?''

Hmm?　Yay I'm good.　Just turn off the faucet when you're done, okay?

I know!

Nem said cheerfully.
No matter how much she was a little girl, she couldn't look at Nem's naked body any longer.
If it's too late, there's a risk that Toa and Sufilia will get suspicious.
I left the place and returned to the living room.



â



After a while, Nem came back from the bath.
Her white cat ears and hair were wet.
Then Toa was wiping Nem's head with a towel, acting like a big sister saying, "It can't be helped.

'Nito-sama?　Is the dungeon over?

Then, with a glass of wine in hand, Sufilia asked.

'Well, yes. They don't seem to have anything else to do anymore.'

Well....

Then Sufilia took a sip of her wine.

'What's that, Master?　Are you going to go now?

Then Vel was in a wand state.

'Oh, it's not like you can come over anytime, right?'

Well. The dungeon is now the master's. You can come and go in and out of the dungeon at any time.

Dungeons are a convenient thing.
I mean, you can use this place as a base of operations.

Come to think of it, the first dungeon I visited.
Whose dungeon was it?
Well, from what Khalifa said, I'm pretty sure it's one of those five people.

'It's a lovely wand!

Then Nem looked at the pitch black wand and said so.

'Pretty? ........this?

Yes, sir!

What's cute about it?
Because it's a talking stick?
No, it's rather creepy, right?

Speaking of which, may I remind you, Vel?

Hmm?

You're not coming with us, are you?

Then the statue on the tip of the wand looked shocked.

'Wha, why?

You know what I mean?　I'll be the center of attention for conquering the dungeon for free. On top of that, if I came out with a talking wand that could only be found in fairy tales, how much attention would I get?

Hmmm ... sure.

Then Vel seemed to be convinced and returned to his original demon.

''Geez!　He's a dirty old man.

Then Nem's expression changes drastically.

'Hey cat girl?　That's a filthy lot of people.

Not anymore.

I tsked quickly.

'You're all over it, aren't you?　For the record, I'm human too, okay?

Hmm?

For some reason, Vel grinned at me.

'Can you stop grinning like that, like it contains some kind of meaning?　You'd be reading too much into it for no good reason, wouldn't you?

Then Vel opened his beer in a sober manner and cleared his throat.

'Shall we go then?'

Sufilia stood up, as if responding to me.

'So?　How do we get home?　And I don't even know where the entrance was anymore.

Then Toa, who had finished wiping Nem's head, asked, "Yeah, that's not a problem.

"Yeah, that's not a problem. Yeah, that's no problem. I'll lead you out.

It's true.

Toa was convinced.

'What was the dungeon, after all?　It seems to be very different from what I knew, though.

Sufilia had a question mark on her face.

'Well, let's just say. It's the Master's house.

Then Vel replied matter-of-factly.

'Well, to sum up what I've heard, I guess that's about it.

Master?　I need to show you one thing before I leave, okay?

Hmm?　Yeah, I'm in no hurry, and that's fine.

Then, as soon as I agreed, the scenery around us changed.



　The three of us were checking the area to see where we were.
Then Vel was in the state of the cane again.
Did he pay attention to Nem?

Where are we?

Toa asks.

'The roof of the school...'

That's right.
This is where I died in the beginning.

Then, as if he could read my mind, Vel said.

Yes this is where my master died," he said, as if reading my mind. But do you know why the master's status says 'reincarnated'?

Vel asked.

'It's....'

If you ask me, I don't understand.
Reincarnation is a rebirth.
But I am not reborn.
I wasn't reborn.
I was summoned while I was falling, and there's a part of me that's rather doubtful that I'm even dead.

'That's because that's what my status tells me.

Your status?

That's right. The status is just a data set of a myriad of numbers inside the device. That's what the system is all about.

System?　What's your point?

I couldn't keep up with my understanding of Vel's far-fetched way of saying it.

'The point is that you misunderstood the master as a reincarnated person based on the numbers right after he was summoned. Because, in fact, the master isn't dead.

Hey, what do you mean Nito's dead?　You're still alive, aren't you?

Then Toa asked.
This isn't something I want to talk about much, to be honest....
Well, but I think the three of them are thinly veiled and aware of it.
I don't know about Nem, though.

"I'm the one who jumped out of here--

Then, as if she knew, Sufilia smiled with a smirk.

''You said you jumped off? .....

It was suicide. I couldn't stand to live any longer, so I ran away. Right after that, I was summoned to this world. A summoning of the brave.

Apparently, Toa hadn't noticed.
Well, yeah.
Not everyone knows everything.

"I think Master knew then that he was dead. That's why the numbers were bouncing around. But the body is not dead. He's not dead.

So you're saying you're still in the same body, but you're a reincarnation?

That's what I'm talking about.


But what does Vel want to do by telling me that?

You may not know what you're doing now, but you'll know what you're doing. That's all you need to know. You might be able to do something with it.

"That's all you've got to say about it..." .....

The point is, there's nothing you can do about the mental problems.

Mental problems?

'Yes. There is certainly magic that appeals to the spirit. But it's a pseudo-magic.　There's nothing you can do about what you're holding onto in the first place. There are limits to magic. If I tell you this much, you'll understand.

''........Right. Only the spirit didn't change, even though I raised the level.......

You see?　The status is a statement of the status of a person. It responds to fluctuations in the numbers. But for example, if a person has a taste for the unthinkable, does the master think the person is sick?

'Well, it depends on what it is, but ... it's a personality, right?　What do you mean by that?　It's not like you're sick, is it?

Isn't that right?　But that's not how I see the status. It fluctuates, and if it exceeds a certain number, it's displayed. That is to say, it's perceived as abnormal. And it will show up in the numbers, and it will affect the person as well.

I've been thinking.
Why would Vel come here to tell me that?

"Well, don't think about it. I'll just have to work with the system when the time comes. And Master is by far the toughest candidate I've ever known. And why do I care?　Hahaha!

After talking to himself, Vel opened his mouth wide and laughed, as if he had convinced himself of something.

I'll take you back to the front of the dungeon then, okay?　Are you ready?

Then Vel asked us a question.
The four of us froze in place.

Goodbye, Master, and let me know if you need me again, as usual.

Yeah.

You two, take care of the master.

Yeah, I'm on it.

Nem will protect you!

Sufilia smiled thinly.

''Lastly ... don't doubt the abyss?

At the last minute, Vel warned me again.

'....Yeah. I'm not lost anymore.

Then Vel smiled at him, smiling.

At that moment, my eyes went blank in front of me.