episode_0013

Dungeon as usual!

Heart of the dungeon as usual!

Today, we finished the battle and dinner at super speed.

Right now is a short break before returning to the surface.

Lilien is exploring the surroundings to find ingredients for snacks, to aid digestion.

Arte is away, saying she’s analyzing this dungeon’s geological data.

So… right now, it’s just Elice and me, the two of us.

“Heh-heh~ Sweet~ This cookie has jam inside too~”

Elice was sitting beside the campfire, having laid out a cushion, leaning back and munching on cookies.

Her appearance, elegantly(?) drinking black tea on a flat surface that could hardly be called a table, was quite a contrast.

“If you eat like that… you’ll get diabetes.”

“Nah~ I’m the Demon King~ My constitution is different from humans, okay?”

Saying that, the Demon King stealthily crept over to my side, took a sip of black tea, and then pushed the cookie towards me.

“Yu An, you try it too~ It’s my favorite flavor~”

“No, you just bit it.”

“Because I bit it~ It’s an indirect kiss~ Heh heh.”

She laughed as if joking, but a subtle blush spread across her face.

Her earlobes seemed slightly flushed too?

After watching Elice for a moment, I silently accepted the cookie.

Crunch.

Making a slightly exaggerated sound, I took a bite.

“Mhm mhm. It’s tasty. Sweet. Is it because I ate what Elice was eating?

Elice’s eyes widened for a moment.

“Huh?”

She just stared at me blankly without a word, blinking.

Oh my? She’s closing her lips slightly and even avoiding my gaze.

“He actually ate it.”

Her softly muttering voice was different from usual, containing a somewhat shy resonance.

Where had the confident attitude she had just minutes ago, when she was joking, gone?

Elice hugged the cookie bag tightly, silently, speechless for a moment.

Beside me, she whose ears were bright red slightly lowered her head as if catching her breath.

And then, she laughed without a word.

This isn’t the reaction I expected.

If you do that, I get shy too, Elice.

Amidst the faint spread of the campfire’s warm energy, I quietly leaned back and looked at Elice sitting beside me.

Tap, tap.

A space where nothing could be heard but the crackling sound of burning wood.

This dungeon, befitting its core, was really dark around here.

The feeling that if you stepped even a few steps away from the campfire, you would immediately fall into pitch-black darkness.

Moving my body a little closer to the campfire, I thought.

This kind of quietness feels somehow unfamiliar. No, should I say it’s strange/novel?

Lilien and Arte are somewhere in the darkness right now, but I wasn’t worried.

If it’s those two, they could probably take a nap even in this darkness.

Or maybe they’ll stroll leisurely, and if they find something interesting, they might run over shouting “Yu An~ I found it!”

In any case, this dungeon itself wasn’t that dangerous.

Ah, of course, that’s only according to my standard, who is accompanied by the three strongest in the world.

If I were alone?

…The moment I walked about three steps, wouldn’t I be ambushed and just instantly killed?

That’s why, even during timings like now, called ‘free time’, we have a rotation system so that one of the three absolutely stays by my side.

Today is Elice’s turn.

“Heh heh~ As expected, I feel good because it’s my turn~”

Having recovered somehow, she held her teacup and leaned her body a little closer to me.

“Yu An feels most secure when I’m escorting him, right?”

“That’s not it, when you escort, the most incidents happen, don’t they?”

“Nah~ I’m just protecting him normally, you know? It’s just that when I’m by his side, maybe the excitement index and heart rate index go up together?”

“Putting excitement aside, the heart rate definitely seems to go up.”

“Ho ho~ I’ll take that as a compliment?”

Elice gave a playful smile, then deftly took the mug I was holding and took a sip of the remaining tea.

“Alright, now with this, it’s the second indirect kiss?”

“You’re really determined today…”

Beside this quiet campfire, beyond the darkness, Lilien is probably picking mushrooms and Arte is analyzing the structure of minerals.

I shifted my gaze back to the campfire.

In this peaceful yet dangerous space, I was inside one of the three’s ‘safe zones’ again today.

And that safe zone had somehow become the warm body temperature of Elice next to me, who was subtly trying to link arms.

Throwing in one more log, I quietly adjusted my posture and sat down.

Thump.

Something softly landed on my lap.

“Elice?”

“Yeah~”

She just plonked herself down on my legs, wrapped her arms around my arm, and leaned comfortably.

“Hey, is it okay for the Demon King to show such an undignified appearance?”

At that, Elice laughed slyly and, while clinging to my waist, slightly lifted her face.

“(Ex-) Demon King, so it’s fine, you know~”

“What are you saying?”

Even so, I quietly placed my hand on her head.

Stroke, stroke.

A soft sensation was felt between my fingers.

Between her slightly tangled hair, her hard and smooth demon horns caught my eye.

Elice’s horns, visible even more clearly when seen up close.

A curve slightly bent inwards, resembling a goat’s horns.

That shape sometimes looked like a tiara.

In fact, apart from the horns and tail, Elice was truly no different from a beautiful human woman.

However, even those horns felt like decorations that added to her unique charm.

Gazing down at her quietly, I fell into thought.

“Hm? Yu An?”

Elice tilted her head slightly back and looked at my face.

Oh dear, did I stare too openly?

“Why are you staring so intently? Is something perhaps on my face?”

“No, just… my attention was drawn to your horns.”

“Horns?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them this close before. They’re strange/novel. And pretty.”

“They’re that strange/novel? It’s something everyone among us demons has, you know?”

Elice laughed playfully and tilted her head slightly.

I quietly nodded, nodded.

I’m… paying attention!

Truly honest curiosity.

Actually, whenever I stroked her head, I was conflicted at that distance where my hand seemed like it might touch the horns!

How hard they would be, what the texture would be like!

An unbearable curiosity washed over me.

Elice, who saw me like that, blinked as if a little surprised, then laughed softly and nodded her head.

“Then… you can touch them.”

“Huh? Really?”

You’re allowing this?

Why is the service so good today.

“Because it’s Yu An, it’s okay. But… it’s a sensitive spot, so touch gently.”

“Okay… I’ll touch them.”

Carefully, I raised my hand and touched Elice’s horns.

She, who had nodded without a word, was waiting for my fingertips while sitting docilely on my lap.

The sensation that touched my fingertips was harder than I thought.

It was smooth like a polished gem, but inside, I could feel a sense of life.

A body temperature slightly higher than skin.

Like a small heart beating, a faint pulse was throbbing inside the horns.

‘Ah… I see. It’s not just a simple decoration.’

A part of a living body, where blood and magic flow.

The moment I realized that, I became more focused on the sensation at my fingertips.

With my finger, I slowly followed down the tip of the horn.

Following the softly curved line, my gaze was naturally drawn to the shape that rounded like a goat’s horn.

The tip was thin and sharp, making it delicate, and the shape grew thicker towards the root.

At that moment, a faintly trembling breath sound on my lap.

“Haaaah… Your touch… Ow…”

Elice’s nape, where her head was bowed, was dyed red.

“Ah, sorry. Did I touch too hard?”

As I was startled and tried to pull my hand away, she quietly shook her head.

“That’s not it… Yu An, really… are you doing this on purpose?”

Her voice had a subtle tremor mixed in, and her body wriggled slightly, not knowing what to do on my lap.

A face flushed hot, slightly bitten lips, and…

That expression, as if completely melting, with her eyes half-closed.

“This is dangerous… This expression is really dangerous…”

“Who made me like this… Idiot.”

It’s clear I made her like this, but now that she’s like this, I feel the danger.

But my fingertips were already following her horns again.

It was then.

Breaking the silence around the campfire, from within the darkness— rustle rustle—

Regular footsteps gradually drew closer.

“…!”

Instantly, Elice, who had been trembling slightly on my lap, reflexively shot up as if springing off.

“Ugh!”

Because she moved too quickly, the cookie crumbs that were on my lap were scattered along with her.

I, too, pretending nothing had happened for no reason, picked up another log and dropped it onto the campfire— thud—

Throwing it in like kindling, I maintained as expressionless a face as possible.

“We’re back, Yu An, Elice.”

“Heh-heh~ We’ve returned~ Unfortunately, there were no gourmet ingredients. I was looking forward to it a little, sigh.”

Lilien, who approached with a bright smile, and Arte, who silently followed behind her.

Lilien stared closely at Elice as if something was strange.

“Oh? Elice, did something happen?”

“Huh? Huh huh?! No! Nothing happened!”

Elice somehow flustered and waved her hands.

“Even so, your face is bright red?”

“That’s why I’m telling you nothing happened!”

But Arte unnecessarily added her two cents.

“Heart rates are beating like crazy. Elice, and Yu An. Both of you.”

“”That’s why I’m telling you absolutely nothing happened!!””

The two of them blurted out the same words at the same time.

Beside the campfire where the flames were burning fiercely.

Covering their faces, faces flushed hotter than face.

But on their fingertips, that sensation from just before still remained clearly.

Elice’s flushed profile, who had turned away, somehow subtly held a smile.

[Eyecatch!]

Today’s Trivia – Demon Horns!

For all demons, tails are optional, but horns are essential!

These horns, they look like decorations, but actually, they are sensitive areas where magic and blood flow.

Simply put… ‘Touch Sensitive Zone’.

If you touch them for no reason, Gehenna might come flying at you, you know?

Unexpectedly, the feel is quite good, and there’s a rumor that the sharp tips are sometimes smoothed gently with sandpaper.

And the most important thing!

The fact that they absolutely don’t let anyone touch them unless it’s family or a lover!

In that sense, Yu An, who touched the horns today…?

“Next time, the tail too… Should I apply fragrant oil beforehand? Ugh! What am I saying!”

ㅡThe Demon King who unexpectedly hoped for her tail to be touched too