Chapter 106

“Awghhhh…” “Lady Cayna?” Spread out against the living room table, Cayna’s current state could only be described as “peak burnout.” It all began after her secret meeting with Opus. Cayna wobbled out into the living room, and Roxine couldn’t hide her surprise as she watched her master spiral into a tailspin of exhaustion thanks to a sudden and shocking revelation that sent her brain into overdrive. Black smoke poured out of her ears, and Roxine quickly rushed to her aid after peeking out of the kitchen. Despite the billowing smoke effect, Cayna wasn’t harmed in any way. Her upgraded resistance skills, including Mental Resistance, were gradually demonstrating their potency. Unaware of this new development, Roxine glared at Opus, who loitered near Cayna with his arms crossed. “Just what on earth have you done?” “I merely told Cayna what she wished to know. She’s the one who asked.” Roxine huffed at Opus’s unmistakable arrogance. Just as she was about to retort, Siren interrupted. “All right, that’s quite enough. Roxine. You are head of the kitchen, so please hurry and prepare lunch. Antagonizing my master is an exercise in futility, so I suggest you retreat now. It is only a waste of mental energy.” “…Very well.” Siren watched Roxine reluctantly slink back into the kitchen, then approached the smug-faced Opus and stepped on his toes. Even though it wasn’t enough to flutter Siren’s skirt, Cayna felt a small, localized tremor from where she was slumped over the table. Opus crouched down and trembled as he held his foot. He seemed to be in considerable pain, but Siren stood there in tranquil silence as if the vicious strike had never happened. The only indication anything was amiss was the oddly bulging vein in her temple. Opus had apparently given her the Oscar—Roses Scatter with Beauty skill as well. Siren took a cup from the living room cupboard, poured water from a pitcher, and placed it by Cayna’s head; the cool temperature helped to soothe her nerves. The maid briskly tended to Cayna while also checking if she had a fever or felt unwell. The agony of Siren’s own trembling master went completely ignored. For better or worse, Roxilius and Luka returned home at that very moment. They gasped and blanched when they saw Cayna. “M-Mommy Cayna!” “Lady Cayna?!” Roxilius rushed over, and Siren stepped back to let him through. “She’s not ill. It’s a simple case of mental exhaustion.” “I see. Thank you very much.” Luka scrambled up the chair beside Cayna and peered at her. Cayna was still pressed flat against the table, the cup of water touching her cheek and its cool temperature easing her mind. When she caught sight of Luka, her bleary eyes suddenly cleared, and she shot up. “L-Lu?” “Are you…okay, Mommy Cayna?” “Y-yeah…” Cayna smiled at Luka and shook off any residual listlessness. Something about her smile seemed off to Luka, and she clung tightly to Cayna, who warmly returned the embrace. She sensed a helplessness in Luka similar to the day they first met. Roxilius observed this with relief and discreetly stepped away to give both parent and child some privacy. “I’m totally fine, Lu. Nothing is wrong with me. I’m sorry for worrying you.” “…It’s okay.” Cayna felt Luka’s hands trembling as she gripped her mother’s clothes. She stroked the girl’s head; their tender moment continued until Roxine served lunch. Siren dragged her master out into the hallway. “What in the world did you say to Lady Cayna?” “Well, I may have gone a little overboard, but even her servants have to put on a smile in front of her adopted daughter.” “Please at least think before you act. I’m the one her servants will end up resenting.” “Duly noted.” Opus didn’t seem the least bit sorry. Siren frowned and let out a quiet sigh. After lunch, the servants rushed Cayna, Opus, Luka, and Kuu out of the house. Kuu had been lazing around in a sunny spot by the window all morning when she was suddenly picked up and tossed over to Cayna, so the fairy had no idea what was going on. Still, even if someone did ask exactly what was always on her mind, Kuu would simply tilt her head. “The weather is lovely, so why not go for a stroll for a change of pace?” Roxine said with a smile as she pushed Cayna and the others out the door and closed it with a solid ker-chack, locking them out. Siren’s serene smile as she bowed behind the werecats wasn’t the least bit convincing. If a master was a master, a servant should be a servant. Cayna wasn’t exactly one to talk, though. Luka, having never let go of Cayna’s robe, ended up joining them as well. Roxine was normally mild-mannered with Cayna, so Luka couldn’t hide her confusion over the maid’s shift in attitude. “Cie…was strict.” “Yes, indeed. Like master, like servant.” “Last time I checked, you made her that way, Opus. Drop the smug act.” Cayna drove her elbow into his stomach and took Luka’s hand. “Gwegh.” Purposely ignoring Opus while he played up his injuries, she bent down to meet Luka’s gaze. The girl was still clutching Cayna’s clothes tightly. “How about it, Lu? Want to spend the day together?” “Okay… Lytt and Latem…can’t play today…” “Kuu can play!” “Yes, yes, we know.” The ever-upbeat fairy zoomed right over to lift Luka’s spirits. Cayna gently picked her up and placed her on the girl’s shoulder. Kuu was a bit of a pest while flying around, but even she would calm down when in physical contact with someone. Cayna only caught a quick glimpse, but there seemed to be several guests staying at the inn that day. According to gossip from Marelle, an increasing number of visitors were coming to the village because they heard about the public bath through Elineh’s caravan. The royal capital had bathhouses, but they were expensive and typically for the elite. Travelers also found various reasons to pass through the remote village that served as a common access point to the outer trade routes. Some said they just happened to be going to Helshper, while others hoped to meet the rumored mermaid. This last point raised Cayna’s concerns for Mimily’s safety, although Roxilius had mentioned that some potential kidnappers who came to the village while Cayna was out looking for Opus had been apprehended. Marelle warned him after noticing their suspicious behavior at the inn, so he was able to neutralize the threat before anything happened. “Fortunately, they were too conspicuous to accomplish anything,” Roxilius had said. “We should have just disposed of them, really.” “Uh, what do you mean, ‘disposed of’?!” Cayna had reeled at the lighthearted way her maid and butler could suggest such extreme measures. Even if such people needed to be handed over to the proper authorities, the remote village had no guardhouse. The closest one was in a fortress on the border of Helshper. Since Roxine and Roxilius couldn’t very well leave the village vulnerable for even a minute, they asked a traveler heading to the Helshper checkpoint to inform the stronghold. Guards immediately rushed over to apprehend the culprits. Quolkeh and Exis had visited the village previously and said the public bath was becoming a popular destination among guards looking to relax on their day off. Which meant they couldn’t just brush off the incident as someone else’s problem. They enthusiastically said they’d invent slapdash criminal charges and send the wannabe kidnappers straight to the mines. “Um, couldn’t you two have just turned them to ice or stone?” “Leaving criminals in the village where Lady Luka might see would be problematic.” “Trash belongs in the trash can.” Cayna gripped her head in agony as she tried to figure out why the two only ever agreed at moments like these. She gave them strict orders to contact her for instructions in the future but was slightly concerned they might instead conspire to report an incident after the fact. Curious visitors also came to admire the hand-cranked well. As a result, Lytt had to help out at the inn even more, and Latem had to work at his family’s small Sakaiya branch shop. With the rest of Cayna’s family busy tending to their maid and butler duties, Luka inevitably had plenty of free time on her hands. Whatever the case may be, Felskeilo’s outer trade route to the west was still closed. It was great to see the knights of two nations combine to suppress the remaining bandits and take them dead or alive, but now those forces had to quell the chaos on the main road. Regular requests from the Adventurers Guild to clean up the highways had stagnated while the bandits spread their violence, and monster attacks were nothing to sneeze at. Travelers and caravans heading for Helshper could either take the inner trade route that connected the two capitals (and included tolls) or pass through the remote village and take the outer trade route to the east. Rather than going straight down a boring road, people must have thought stocking up and visiting a popular bathhouse on the outer eastern trade route was a far more attractive plan. Cayna looked over at Opus, who had ceased his antics once he realized crying wolf was getting him nowhere. “Sorry.” This apology was unrelated to the punch she’d thrown earlier. Confused, Opus used a skill to float a question mark over his head. “I was hoping to register you as an adventurer, but I need to put motherhood first.” “You could bring Luka along without incident, right?” “I can’t form a party with her, so we can’t make a quick trip. And flying on a summons would be really conspicuous…” “I see. I should have included a skill that will allow you to forcibly add an NPC to your party. But that’s an easy fix at this point.” “It’s not about whether you can add a skill. It’s about asking for permission. Wait… Hold on. Is this the ‘update’ you were talking about before?” “So you noticed? It’s only compatible with you and me.” Cayna’s shoulders slumped, but she remembered her daughter was watching and quickly stood tall. For better or worse, Luka was oblivious to what the two adults were talking about. Cayna herself had been sickly since childhood, so the only form of playtime she’d ever known was either reading books or playing video games and such in her room. Even if she could play with other children, she was a novice when it came to the great outdoors. After looking all around her, staring up at the blue sky, and envisioning her tower, she finally remembered something important. Cayna took a Guardian Ring out of her Item Box and handed it to Opus. “Hmm? What’s this?” “Your Guardian Ring. Now that its real owner is here, there’s no reason for me to keep it.” “Ah, right. You safeguarded it for me, then? Much appreciated. Take this as thanks.” Just as Opus accepted the ring from Cayna, he put a similar yet different-colored ring in her own hand. This one was a dark green. Something about it gave her a bad feeling. “…Where did you get this, just for the record?” she asked him nervously with a frown. “From Kujo’s tortoise.” “Ah, Kujo’s… Waaaait a second! Was the whole tortoise mess your fault?!” “Yes, I just wanted to confirm something. I made sure no one would get hurt even if matters took a turn for the worse, so there was nothing to worry about.” “No, no, no, no, that is so not true. How many times have I heard you say those exact words before? It was actually super nerve-racking! Can you honestly guarantee you won’t endanger the people living here? Actually, it might be more concerning that you even have to make a guarantee like that!” “Sometimes I wonder if rhetorical questions are your entire brand of humor.” “Argh! I swear tragedy strikes every single stupid time you say stuff like this! Just who made an Event Monster respawn during a multination war?! That battle was a total wash! Players from the Purple, White, and Blue Kingdoms later jammed the official forums with complaints! Our guild suffered the worst kind of humiliation!” “All right, just relax. You weren’t completely uninvolved, you know. Besides, look. You’re scaring Luka.” “…Ah.” Opus’s efforts to calm Cayna returned her to her senses. She looked over at Luka, who was still holding her hand but stared up at Cayna slack-jawed and bug-eyed. The only harsh words in their household came from Roxilius and Roxine during one of their fights. This was the first time she’d heard Cayna sound like such a spitfire. “U-um, s-sorry, Lu… Did I scare you? I’m not mad at you or anything, okay?” Cayna hastily explained, her face crimson. “O…okay,” Luka replied with a nod, clinging to Cayna’s waist. Relieved to see Luka wasn’t too frightened, Cayna gently stroked her daughter’s head and heaved an exhausted sigh. Her current relationship with Opus was no different than back in the game. She was constantly swept up in the antics of this overzealous, demonic instigator whenever they interacted—and always with her scowling at Opus while he grinned from ear to ear. “It sounds like you’ve been playing nice this whole time.” “Yeah, no thanks to you. Geez, I feel like we’re back in the old days…” Cayna smiled awkwardly, unable to decide whether this was a good or bad thing. Opus noticed her grin wasn’t quite as forced as it had been earlier, then patted Luka on the head. She was still clinging to Cayna and searched Opus’s face curiously. “Luka, do you like Cayna?” “Uh-huh. ’Cause…Cayna is…my mommy.” “I see, I see,” Opus replied with a nod before sliding the Guardian Ring on his finger. He nimbly extracted Luka from Cayna’s tender, motherly grip. She was momentarily stunned by the empty space in her arms. “Hey! Don’t interrupt our parent-child bonding!” she howled as she stole Luka back from Opus. He cackled at her frantic reaction and gently took both Cayna and Luka into his arms. Unaccustomed to such treatment from men, Cayna immediately turned beet red. “H-h-h-hang on, wh-wh-wh-what are you—?” “Just hold still. One who protects us in times of trouble. I beseech you to rescue this depraved world from chaos.” “Opusssss?!” Cayna shouted in a panic. “?” Luka, now thoroughly squished, glanced up at Cayna’s agitated expression. No one noticed how Kuu, who had been playing around on Luka’s shoulder, began glowing faintly. Opus chanted the password, and their surroundings transformed in an instant. The group was instantly encircled by Ionic columns, and the sky filled with stars. The ground beneath them disappeared, and the group plummeted like an elevator car on a snapped wire. To any passing villager, it looked as if they’d vanished into a misty haze. Cayna’s random disappearances were already a given, so onlookers simply wondered where she was off to this time and went about their business. “The people here are way too used to this…,” Roxilius said to no one in particular as he watched from the window. Meanwhile, Cayna and the others were forcibly transported to the House of Murder and Malice’s main room. “Gweh.” Her face pale, Cayna gave a small cry and held tight to Luka. As soon as she cast Float, their surroundings shifted to a sight unlike anything in the village. They had entered the ruins of a temple where everything was a shade of pale green. Cayna and Luka gently floated to the ground while Opus gracefully alighted upon the debris without bothering to slow his descent. Cayna cocked her head in confusion when she found the wide-eyed Luka still in her arms and absorbing the new scenery. She had no idea how a non-party member could have teleported with them. Kuu fluttered about, shouting “We flew! It’s all new!” before landing in Luka’s arms. Luka’s eyes turned to saucers as she took in her surroundings. “Where…are we, Kuu?” she asked. “I dunno!” The fairy understood they had teleported but had apparently forgotten that this was where she’d first awoken. Opus remained as calm as ever. A languid voice then called out to their group. “Oh my. Is that my master I see? How audacious of you to visit after abandoning this tower. Moreover…why have you brought that morose high elf, a small human girl, and a buzzing gnat?” “Eek?!” A skeleton soon appeared, its hollow-eyed profile peering at the newcomers from behind a fan. This skeleton monarch was the Guardian of the Thirteenth Skill Master Opus’s tower, the House of Murder and Malice. Cayna had no clue what its actual name was. Luka yelped and clung to Cayna. The elder girl didn’t see the Guardian as anything more than a skeleton model, so it was something of a novelty to watch a regular person like Luka react. She gently embraced her daughter and stroked her hair reassuringly. “There, there. Don’t worry, Lu. She won’t hurt you. Everything’s fine. You can relax, okay?” “……Mm.” Although Luka did calm down, she refused to make eye contact with the Guardian and clung to Cayna as tightly as she could. “I cannot bear being treated the same as those measly skeletons… But no matter.” The skeleton monarch flipped open its opulent fan with an indignant shrug, then returned to its spot beside the throne, perhaps out of consideration for Luka. Its movements were utterly elegant for such a skeletal being. “You are truly such a handful,” said Opus. The skeleton gave Opus, the source of all its woes, a good stare down. However, this didn’t slow the demon’s approach in the slightest. After checking the throne and the amount of leftover magic, he topped it off with his own MP. “Did anything strange happen while I was gone?” he asked. “Only a mere trifle. That pitiful high elf over there resupplied my magic, thereby opening the entrance to the building. Around ten boorish fellows trespassed and were eliminated upon entry. They honestly believed they could challenge this tower with their levels in the single digits. What daft fools. Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!” The Guardian let out a high-pitched laugh and hid its mouth behind the fan. Those “boorish fellows” were likely the last few bandits. The House of Murder and Malice had a sign at the entrance warning any who dared enter what dangers awaited them. Waltzing right in without reading it was essentially a death wish. “This world is a lot weaker than it was in the past as a game, bar anyone whose level isn’t in the triple digits. At this rate, the cleanup crew will have too much on their plates and wind up all over the place.” “Very well.”