Ch.222The NPC Who Confirms the Butterfly Effect (1)

“Oh, Johnson! Working hard today as well, are those devil followers again?”

“Good day to you! Yes! Those followers came over from another mountain. Could I ask you to take care of these? There are still bodies left on the mountain, so I need to go back quickly one more time.”

“Haha! Of course. You there, take those and burn them.”

“Yes, sir!”

As soon as we arrived at the nearby city, Johnson, who was greeted by the guards, handed over the bodies of the followers he had brought to another guard and began greeting us.

“I’m afraid I must be off now. I need to stop by the mountain again, so I won’t be able to guide you through the city.”

“No, we appreciate you guiding us this far.”

“Thank you.”

“Good work.”

“Ah! If you stay at the inn visible right after passing through this gate, mention my name and they’ll probably give you a discount. The owner is a good friend of mine.”

After saying that, the friendly mountain keeper turned around and ran back the way he came. We thanked him and passed through the gate to the inn he mentioned.

“Haha. If Johnson guided you here, of course you should stay here. It’s usually 2,000 kan per person, but I’ll take just 1,500. Will one room be enough?”

“No, we need two r—”

“One room!!”

“With one big bed!!”

I was obviously planning to get two rooms, but Miho and Chikuyo blocked me and shouted to the innkeeper that we absolutely needed just one room. Amused by this scene, he burst into laughter and handed over a single key as he continued.

“Hehehe! It’s the topmost room. Good soundproofing and the biggest bed. Might be a bit tight for three people, but well, if you cuddle up, it should be enough.”

“No, at least we need two b— mmph!!”

“Thank you!!”

“Let’s go!! Let’s go up!! I’m tired!!!”

What is wrong with these crazy sisters?! I was at least going to ask for a room with two beds, but these ladies covered my mouth and started pushing me up the stairs. Hey!! Does this mean I really have to sleep on the floor?!!

“Hmm~ You introduced us as your two wives in front of mountain keeper Johnson, and now what~?”

“That’s right! We haven’t had a ceremony yet, but I’m ready to bear Jack’s chil— I mean, be his wife anytime!! So it’s fine!!”

“You crazy women, I’m the one who’s not fine with this!!”

Completely ignoring my protests, they pushed me all the way up the stairs until we reached the only room on the highest floor of the inn. I let out a heavy sigh as I entered.

Sigh, I hope there’s at least a sofa.

“Huh, the inn looked shabby from the outside, but the inside is quite neat and cozy?”

Chikuyo made this somewhat rude comment with a small exclamation, and Miho nodded in agreement. Hmm, the room is spacious, but…

“Ooh! One bed confirmed~!!”

A fairly large bed was visible as soon as we entered the room. Were they really that exhausted after leaving Siltra for the first time? Chikuyo immediately ran to the bed and plopped herself down on it, with Miho following with a wry smile. Hmm, is there another room besides this one?

I saw the two sitting on the bed and immediately opened the door to another room…

“Shit.”

Despite the shabby exterior of the inn, why is there even a small bathtub inside? It seems this is the only room we have.

I immediately closed the bathroom door and turned around to see Chikuyo already under the covers, swishing her tail back and forth, while Miho was also subtly moving her tail in sync. What on earth are they doing? Marking territory?

“Jack, aren’t you tired? Come lie down quickly~”

“That’s right, this bed is quite soft and comfortable! Come here, lie down right here!!”

The two outwardly beautiful sisters each patted the bed, telling me to come over, but I closed my eyes and let out a hollow laugh. Haha, no matter how I look at it, that bed is meant for two people, right? If one of you was child-sized, maybe, but if I squeeze in there, we’ll definitely be pressed against each other, you fools!!

Ignoring their “temptation,” I sat down leaning against the wall and began thinking about other matters.

Well, it’s good that we’ve arrived in Ponia, but judging from the state of the city gate and mountain keeper Johnson, I’m not sure if they don’t know about the war, or if they’re not concerned because the war is happening at a different border.

There’s also the possibility that they’re pretending not to care because devil followers are rampaging and undead are appearing, thinking that’s the priority, but even so, everything seems too peaceful.

Just looking at this inn, they’re even giving me a discount because I came with Johnson’s guidance, which suggests news about the war hasn’t spread much…

-Tug.

“Huh?”

“Jack. If you have something to think about, let’s sit over there, okay?”

“Is something serious bothering you? Your expression doesn’t look good.”

Miho had gotten up from the bed and was gently pulling my arm, while Chikuyo also got up from under the covers, straightened her disheveled clothes, and asked with her head tilted. Sigh, was it that obvious on my face?

“No, it’s nothing too serious…”

“Come on, not serious? You were glaring at the floor like you were about to punch it.”

“Jack, you’re not angry because we insisted on getting just one room, are you?”

“…Haha.”

To be honest, it is a somewhat serious concern. The war between the Empire and Ponia—this is a completely different development from the game. What’s more problematic is that this happened while Ragni, who should be the top brain, is absent from the Empire. And also…

“Because of you two, I’m going to end up sleeping on the cold floor. How could I not be angry?”

“Eeeek…”

“Hiiing…”

At my words, which were 80% serious and 20% joking, the two of them drooped their ears in an adorable way. After appreciating this cute sight, I thought about the earlier situation.

Mountain keeper Johnson’s level is over 300. Even the gate guards are close to level 100. The devil followers appearing here seem to be lower level than in the game. Yes, the real problem is that there’s no way the humans from the Empire could stand a chance against the current Ponia.

If all the mountain keepers are like that, and they’re being deployed as units called Sherpas, it’s like thinking of Green Stone, a literal deus ex machina, moving in unit formations. Ugh, it’s terrifying just to think about…

‘If war breaks out, it won’t be a battle—it will be a massacre.’

I’m not particularly moved by talk of war or innocent civilians suffering. I’m not some great person thinking about revolution like Johnson mentioned.

Rather, what concerns me is the fact that this world hasn’t yet had the kind of massacre story that would summon large numbers of demons. Demons manifest in this world through blood, magical power, and souls in large quantities. And by “large quantities,” I don’t mean just 100 or 200 people. Even Ragni, who interrogated the followers of Envy before, said they had been preparing for nearly 10 years.

And the previous monster parade in Ponia surely became a medium for summoning the demon of Lust to this land. Three territories means the casualties weren’t just in the thousands. But conversely, that was only enough to summon low-level undead, weak demons, and Lust.

And judging by what mountain keeper Johnson just said, the Seven Deadly Sins demons that have been summoned are either being blocked by mountain keepers who have reached the mid-300 level range, or they might have already been defeated. In the game, there was a limit of 4 raid members, or 8 including party NPCs, but there’s no such thing in reality. As far as I know, Lust’s level is in the mid-500s, and in a 1:1 fight, there’s no reason she would lose to a mid-300 level mountain keeper, but if there are 5 or even 10 mountain keepers at that level, there’s no way she could handle being ganged up on. In other words…

‘Ponia has completely deviated from the story. But the spirit said that this world consists of cycles of destruction and regeneration. So if Ponia is no longer the stage for that massacre, somewhere else must take its place.’

“Sigh…”

“Jack, do you dislike it that much? Enough to sigh…?”

“Um, I really will just hold your hand while sleeping, okay? Is that not possible~?”

In the past, this kind of thinking would have taken until sunset, but now it’s only been a few minutes. I got up from my seat and told the two to follow me.

“It’s not that I dislike it, and that’s not why I sighed. But I have no intention of sleeping while holding hands, so wake up from that dream. And I’m hungry. Let’s go out and get something to eat.”

“Okay!”

“If not hands, what are you planning to hold while sleeping?!”

What are you talking about, you crazy woman.

I roughly ruffled Chikuyo’s hair as she spouted nonsense, and she made another strange animal sound before realizing it was a joke and wagged her tail happily like a puppy responding to my hand. Of course, Miho wouldn’t just stand by watching—she pleaded with her sparkling golden eyes, asking why I wasn’t doing the same to her. Naturally, I gave her head the same treatment.

Wait, don’t girls usually hate having their hair messed up like this? It was quite adorable how they didn’t mind their neat long hair getting disheveled and seemed to enjoy it, but I thought we should gather more information over dinner, so I took the two of them downstairs. And then…

“Huh? …My, already finished one round and came back down? That was… rather quick?”

When the innkeeper made a sexual joke after seeing Miho and Chikuyo with their clothes and hair disheveled, my reflexive response of cursing was purely a spinal reflex.