Ch.232[Chapter 232] Messed Up Magic: Damage Over Time

Sir Dominic woke up early in the morning and devoted himself to training.

Though Sir Dominic was quite mentally exhausted because everyone had stayed up all night enjoying board games, he couldn’t skip training.

How vigorously he had been swinging his shield at the scarecrow.

The door opened and the King of Slaughter came out.

“Did you sleep well?”

Sir Dominic stopped swinging his shield and looked at the King of Slaughter.

The King of Slaughter merely nodded, with a soundly sleeping Merry on his back.

Sir Dominic, who had been wondering why he was silent, nodded after seeing Merry on the King of Slaughter’s back.

The King of Slaughter silently bowed his head to Sir Dominic.

It was a signal that he would be leaving now.

Sir Dominic also quietly raised his sword in courtesy.

The King of Slaughter bowed his head again to express gratitude for Sir Dominic’s consideration before heading outside.

Sir Dominic watched until the King of Slaughter and Merry completely disappeared from sight, bidding them farewell in his heart.

And soon after they vanished through the forest portal, Sir Dominic finished his training and went back inside the house.

“Did you see them off well?”

Sir Dominica asked Sir Dominic.

Sir Dominic silently nodded.

“She seemed tired. Judging by how soundly she was sleeping.”

“She had such high energy. I don’t know when you met her, but she was quite a lively girl.”

“In old-fashioned terms, a boisterous girl,” said Sir Dominica, unable to hold back a chuckle.

“Well, something like that.”

Sir Dominic brewed a light cup of tea in the kitchen and drank it in one go.

Instantly awakened by the hot tea, Sir Dominic soon took out fresh clothes to shower.

Or rather, tried to.

Sir Dominic unconsciously opened the drawer where his T-shirts should be.

However, there wasn’t a single T-shirt there, and Sir Dominic suddenly remembered that the clothes he had changed into yesterday were his last ones.

Sir Dominic had been able to change the future where he was falsely accused, but he couldn’t change the future where he had no clothes to change into.

“…I need to go buy clothes.”

Sir Dominic muttered, touching his forehead as if troubled.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Sir Dominica asked Sir Dominic, who was hurriedly taking big strides.

“I’m going to buy clothes. Yesterday’s outfit was my last one.”

Sir Dominic sighed and explained the current situation to Sir Dominica.

“Really?”

Sir Dominica nodded as if it was understandable.

“Want to borrow mine?”

Sir Dominica said jokingly with a snicker.

Sir Dominic knew that Sir Dominica was joking.

Sir Dominica was smaller in build than Sir Dominic, so they both knew the clothes wouldn’t fit.

“I appreciate the thought. By the way, would you like to come along?”

Sir Dominic casually asked Sir Dominica if she wanted to go out together.

However, Sir Dominica sighed, puffing up that atrocious chest.

“I’d like to, but Alice hasn’t woken up yet. I want to stay with her until she wakes up.”

Sir Dominic nodded at Sir Dominica’s words.

Though she sometimes looked like an adult because of her appearance, Alice was still a minor.

And still an innocent child at that.

“Is there anything you need me to get?”

Sir Dominic didn’t press Sir Dominica to come along anymore.

Instead, he asked if there was anything Sir Dominica needed.

He thought he could buy it on his way back.

“Hmm. Melon… melon-flavored candy. Or ice cream.”

Sir Dominica asked herself if there was anything she needed, and that was her answer.

“For a snack when Alice wakes up.”

“Alright. I’ll be back.”

Sir Dominic carefully remembered Sir Dominica’s words, roughly put on the coat he bought yesterday, and set off.

Just to buy some spare clothes.

…

“Anyway, we’ve succeeded in returning to the Hall of Warriors.”

“I never thought it would be such a mysterious yet simple method.”

The guests from Ferallant, Arcus and Ogreson, had recently escaped from Story Mode Area 4.

They had been wandering around there for quite some time, not knowing that all they had to do was press the button on the system window that appeared before them.

Having made their difficult return to Gachaland, the two were so exhausted that they sat down in an alley to rest for a moment.

“By the way…”

Ogreson, who was resting while leaning on his two-handed greatsword as a cane, looked at the opposite alley.

“Why are they doing that over there?”

At Ogreson’s question, Arcus also looked at that alley.

“I wonder the same.”

There were guests from other places—orcs and a magical girl. The magical girl was squatting with her feet firmly planted on the ground, sipping vodka, while the orc boss was rolling his eyes, sticking out his tongue, and making V-signs with both hands.

“Damn it. Hey, I said it’s a four-day workweek. So why can’t I take off this damn outfit?”

Magical Girl Belle Fleur glared at her mascot Tiramisu with lifeless, fish-like eyes devoid of dreams or hope.

“Th-that might be an additional arrangement, boing!”

Tiramisu sweated profusely as he tried to calm down Belle Fleur, who was becoming increasingly unstable.

“Ah, whatever. I’m only going to work four days a week as per the contract, so tell those guys to do the rest.”

“That won’t work, boing! The dreams and hopes of children—”

“It’s already too late. Those guys have already become magical girls. I don’t care. I’m sticking to my contract.”

Belle Fleur said as she gulped down her vodka.

Though it must have burned her throat, she let out a refreshing burp as if her insides were even more bitter.

Tiramisu sighed as he looked at Belle Fleur.

And then… he glanced at the orcs who had newly become magical girls.

“Oh, so this is magic…! The sweet, twinkling feeling is melting my brain!”

The orc boss, wearing a skirt with fluttering frills, had an expression as if his brain was melting.

Of course, if one had the disgust filter turned on like Sir Dominic, his face would be censored with a mosaic due to how revolting it was.

“This… this… I can’t stand it!”

The orc boss… no, the orc magical girl… the terrible hybrid that was hard to name, swung his magic wand.

The magic wand began to spew uncontrolled magic, emitting sparkling shooting stars and hearts.

The orc’s chaotic logic mixed with the magic that grants a girl’s wishes, creating a mess of a spell like an inedible bizarre food.

“…Shouldn’t we stop that?”

Ogreson, watching from across the way, said to Arcus.

“But how?”

Arcus also felt threatened by that magic.

However, Arcus had neither a way to stop that magic nor the ability to do so.

Arcus closed his eyes tightly.

Though he didn’t know what kind of magic it was, its momentum looked quite ominous, so it was an instinctive movement to prepare for the aftermath.

With a “twinkle,” the strange magic created by the orc magical girl began to burst out beyond the alley.

Though it was unclear what results this magic would bring, the power of the magic began to spread wider and wider.

…

Sir Dominic arrived at the Market Area and bought plenty of T-shirts.

After purchasing about 20 more T-shirts than usual and putting them in his inventory, Sir Dominic now headed off to buy melon-flavored candy and melon-flavored ice cream.

Sir Dominic visited about 15 places including dessert shops, convenience stores, candy stores, and ice cream discount shops, but for some reason, only the melon flavor was sold out everywhere today.

Sir Dominic was now walking to find the 16th store.

“Why is only the melon flavor sold out today? Did it appear on TV or something?”

Sir Dominic, unable to understand this situation, took out his phone to search for articles about melon-flavored candy and melon-flavored ice cream, but there were no related articles.

There was only an article saying that melons had a bumper crop, so melon prices were about 8% cheaper than last year.

Sir Dominic sighed, turned off his phone, and put it in his pocket.

It seemed that this incredible melon-flavored dessert shortage was not an anomaly but truly a coincidence.

Thinking this, Sir Dominic trudged along.

Suddenly, while passing by an alley, Sir Dominic stopped.

“…I think I saw something like the emblem of Ferallant.”

Sir Dominic felt like he had just seen the white yew and white raven emblem of Ferallant.

It seemed a bit different from the crest Sir Dominic used to wear, but the feeling was similar.

Sir Dominic stepped back with a sense of disbelief and looked at the alley again.

In the alley were a mercenary with a huge build like an ogre and a skeletal cleric.

Sir Dominic’s eyes widened.

The cleric had his eyes tightly closed and was holding a holy symbol in his hand, which Sir Dominic recognized as the image of a white raven.

Sir Dominic realized they were guests from Ferallant.

Sir Dominic unconsciously took a step toward them and shouted.

“Ferallant—”

But Sir Dominic’s words were cut short.

Translucent hearts and stars that emerged from behind Sir Dominic engulfed him like a tidal wave.

Sir Dominic instinctively closed his eyes tightly at the dizzying wave of stars and hearts.

And when he opened his eyes again—

“Beep. Beep beep. Beep beep beep… beep?”

[Sir Dominic of Ferallant]

[Yes, punishment tree this is… huh?]

Sir Dominic somehow realized that his words were being mistranslated and displayed as visual text.

“Beep beep beep, beep beep, beep beep beep beep beep beep?”

Along with ear-piercing 8-bit sounds.