After freeing Zephal, Routier’s father, we safely returned to our own world. But once we were back, it was time to part ways with Routier and Zephal.
“I know I’ve said this already, but… thank you. Truly.”
“If it weren’t for all of you, my father wouldn’t have made it. Thank you so much.”
The two of them bowed deeply in unison, which made the rest of us panic a little.
“Please, lift your heads! We’re just glad we could help, really.”
“Yeah! And honestly, I didn’t do anything! Seiichi took care of everything all on his own!”
“She’s right. This whole thing would’ve been over even if it was just Seiichi there.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Y-Yes! If anything, I was the one slowing everyone down…”
“Well, I did get to try some mysterious food, so I guess I should be grateful for that.”
One person clearly missed the point… but still, every one of us told Routier not to worry about it.
Honestly, Saria and Al keep saying I did everything myself, but it never really felt that hard. Saria was the first to notice something was off with Routier’s dad. Al kept a cool head through it all and kept the rest of us grounded. They both contributed more than enough.
“If you ever have a chance to visit the Demon Kingdom, we’ll give you the warmest welcome possible.”
“Well then… until we meet again.”
With those parting words, the two of them turned and headed back to the Demon Kingdom.
Watching them go, something suddenly struck me—we never saw Sheep.
Even though Zephal, the Demon King who’d been sealed away, was now freed, it didn’t seem like the dungeon had been marked as fully conquered. Last time, even without a true clear, Sheep still showed up with a letter. But this time, not even that.
Well, I guess we didn’t teleport back to the entrance like usual. We came out somewhere else entirely. Maybe that’s why.
But then… what are the actual conditions for a true conquest?
No matter how much I thought about it… I couldn’t figure it out. That sheep better not have forgotten about me. You still alive out there, buddy?
The thought crossed my mind, but with no message and no sign of Sheep, I was left without answers.
After that, we made our way back to Terbelle without any issues. It had been a long day, and with everything that had happened, we all went straight to bed.
Then the next morning—
We were all gathered at The Tranquil Tree, the inn we were staying at, sharing breakfast together.
“Well, there’s nothing we urgently need to deal with for now…” Al muttered thoughtfully, stretching her arms behind her head. “So what do we do? We haven’t taken on any requests lately… Maybe it’s time we picked one up?”
As she spoke, Saria shot her hand up with sparkling energy.
“Ooh! I wanna go visit the orphanage!”
“Me too…” Origa said softly, nodding in agreement beside her.
Zora blinked at the two of them, tilting her head in confusion.
“U-Um… What’s an orphanage, exactly?”
“Oh, right. You’ve been in a dungeon this whole time, huh?” Al said, turning toward her. “An orphanage is a place that takes care of kids who don’t have parents. They raise them until a certain age. Depending on the country, the facilities and government support vary, but here in the Kingdom of Winburg? They offer better care than almost anywhere else.”
“Wow… That sounds amazing,” Zora murmured, genuinely impressed as she nodded.
Just then, Origa quietly tugged at the hem of Zora’s sleeve.
“Zora-oneechan…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“You should come with us too…”
“M-Me? You want me to come?” Zora blinked in surprise. “B-But… I mean, look at me…”
She trailed off, lifting her hand to her hair—or rather, to the writhing mass of snakes that made up her “hair.” Being of the serpentkin, Zora’s head was crowned with living serpents instead of standard locks. We were all used to it by now, but it was clear she was still worried about scaring the children.
“It’s okay!” Saria beamed. “The kids are all super sweet!”
“Everyone gets along,” Origa added with a tiny nod.
“And besides,” Saria went on proudly, “they were so excited when I transformed into a monster!”
“W-Wait, hold on—Saria?!” I blurted out. “You transformed into Goria at the orphanage?!”
“Huh? Yeah, I did!”
I couldn’t help but react. That bit of news definitely needed a follow-up.
So she’d already gone full monster in front of the kids… and they were happy about it? Seriously? Man… those kids are made of stronger stuff than I thought.
When I went to pick Saria up from the orphanage, she’d been in her human form, so I’d just assumed she’d stayed that way.
“The caretakers at the orphanage are really kind,” Saria said with a cheerful smile. “I think Zora-chan would have a great time there too!”
“Zora-oneechan is kind…” Origa added quietly. “I bet the kids will love her.”
“R-Really? You think so?” Zora asked hesitantly, her fingers curling into the hem of her sleeve.
“Well, you won’t know until you try,” Al said with a shrug. “In this town? Hair made of snakes is basically just a cute personality trait.”
“Wait, what? Snake hair counts as a cute personality trait?!”
It kind of does around here…
Al wasn’t exaggerating. In this town—or rather, especially around the crowd at the Guild Headquarters—everyone’s so wildly unique that Zora’s hair barely registers as strange. Just yesterday, when we dropped off those kids, they were playing tag with soldiers as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
As I found myself staring into the distance, Al turned toward Lulune.
“By the way, Lulune… what about you?”
“Me?” Lulune tilted her head, then placed a hand on her stomach. “Well, I’m hungry, so I think I’ll eat something!”
“We’re literally eating right now,” Al said flatly.
How are you hungry while you’re in the middle of a meal? That makes no sense. Is this because she ate that seed I smacked her way? Did it mess up her evolution somehow? I mean, yeah, Lulune’s eaten a Fruit of Evolution before, but still…
“Ahh… well, whatever,” I sighed. “Let’s just let Lulune do her thing.”
“Wait, what?! That’s it?!” she cried, looking betrayed.
“Altria-oneechan’s judgment is sound,” Origa murmured with a small nod.
“In any case,” I said, looking around at everyone, “it sounds like you all have things you want to do. So—”
“Hm?” Al interrupted, suddenly cutting herself off mid-thought.
She turned to look straight at me.
And it wasn’t just her. Saria, Origa, Zora, and even Lulune all had their eyes fixed on me now.
“Wh-What?” I asked, leaning back instinctively.
“What do you mean by ‘what’?” Al raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t said what you’re doing yet.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yeah, exactly,” Al said, folding her arms as she stared me down. “You’re the only one who hasn’t said what you’re doing today. So… I mean, if you’re free or whatever, y-you could… maybe take a request with me?”
Her voice faltered, and her cheeks turned red. It was a rare sight to see Al flustered and awkward. And honestly, the offer was pretty tempting.
Before I could stop myself, the words slipped out of my mouth in a quiet murmur.
“I just… want a day off.”
“Huh?” Al blinked in confusion, clearly not expecting that answer.
The others glanced around at each other, sharing the same stunned expression.
“A d-day off… like, what? You mean going out shopping on a holiday or something?” Saria asked hesitantly.
“I mean, yeah, that’s one way to do it… but I was thinking more like…” I looked up at the ceiling, searching for the right words. “I just… wanna have fun.”
“Have fun?” Al echoed, her brow furrowing as she gave me a puzzled look.
Then her expression shifted, as if something had suddenly clicked.
“Right… You’re from another world, aren’t you?” Al asked, tilting her head. “So how do people in your world spend their days off?”
“Huh? Well… let’s see. You’d go hang out with friends, maybe go somewhere fun…”
Not that I ever had that kind of experience in high school, thanks to all the bullying. The last time I did anything remotely like that was back in elementary school.
“Or just stay home and be lazy,” I added.
Al frowned, looking almost offended. “That’s it? You get a whole day off, and you waste it lying around doing nothing?”
“You’d be surprised how common that actually is,” I replied with a shrug. “Especially once you’re an adult. Depending on where you work, some people are so drained they literally spend their entire day off sleeping.”
I know not everyone is like that… but it’s not exactly rare either.
“All right then,” Al said, squinting at me. “Let me flip the question. Isn’t there anything you can only do in your world on a day off?”
“Only in my world?”
That seemed to catch the others’ attention, too. Saria leaned in with sparkling eyes.
“Ooh, yeah! I wanna know!”
The rest of the group nodded in agreement, clearly curious.
But when it came to things that were unique to Earth… the obvious answers were stuff like amusement parks, arcades, places built just for fun.
And yeah, there are some entertainment venues in this world… but they’re all aimed at adults.
Places with hostesses, gambling halls, stuff like that. Not exactly family-friendly destinations.
Honestly, there’s nothing here like an amusement park where families can go to laugh and play together…
Arcades, for instance, relied on Earth’s unique energy source—electricity—and intricate machines, so there was no way something like that would exist in this world.