Ch.323Failing NPC. (4)

I thought I was going to die looking at the status window. No joke, I literally saw a field of flowers. I’ve never fallen asleep or dreamed before, but for a moment, I glimpsed an incredibly beautiful other world.

“Uwuu, I take back what I said about you being useless!”

“Yes, I accept your retraction. Thanks to you, I survived.”

“Uugh… I’m so exhausted…”

“Unnie… Gorre… I’m sleepy…”

The power of these two far exceeded what I had imagined. To be honest, in terms of raw firepower, the two of them combined definitely surpass Master. Their attack was so powerful that I understood why Master wanted to make Ira a magician. Thanks to that…

-RUMBLE, CRASH!

“This dungeon is unusable now.”

The dungeon completely collapsed, and naturally, that Durahanian boss completely vaporized. After that tremendous attack, I thought, ‘Ah, I’m dead too,’ but…

[UUURGH!!! HERALD RELEASE!!! CONNECTOR!!! WOOOAH!!!]

Ray, who had been collapsed on the ground, sensed the danger and forcibly activated her skill. She scooped me up as I returned to normal size after being grazed by the attack’s aftershock, put the two girls into her doppelganger, and escaped outside faster than the collapsing dungeon. Hmm, her skills are truly amazing. I understand now why Master kept singing about her being an overpowered character.

“Gorre… The aftermath…”

“Yes. Please rest comfortably until tomorrow. As soon as I recover, I’ll escort everyone to safety.”

“……”

Looking at Ray’s doppelganger that was still maintained even after Ray herself had fainted from using skills with significant debuffs, I wondered: Hmm, can you understand what I’m saying?

-?

“Oh. You understand me?”

-*nods*

Incredible! Even though the original Ray has fainted, I can communicate with her doppelganger! How fascinating.

“Could you please bring those two over to me? I’m having trouble moving right now. I’d like to let them rest on my lap.”

-*nods*

The doppelganger carefully picked up Lady Ira, who had depleted all her MP and was staggering, and Grace, who had already collapsed beside her. She walked carefully to my side and placed them on my lap. Hmm, how should I put this? I actually prefer this version to the real Ray. She’s so kind.

-*reaches out*

-?

Without thinking, I reached out my hand because the doppelganger looked cute, and she tilted her head as if wondering what I was doing. I guess even a doppelganger won’t respond to that. I was going to pat her head…

-*reaches out*

“Huh? Did you pick this up?”

-*nods*

My goodness, when I reached out my hand, she extended hers in return and handed me the mana stone from the boss that I thought had vaporized in the two girls’ attack. Wow, I really like her! When did she even pick this up?

Well, with Ray’s [Herald Release] giving her over 2,000 in all stats, plus the trait that increases her stats by 1.5 times when receiving direct orders from Ray, it probably wasn’t difficult for her to grab something at a speed invisible to my eyes. Hmm, this definitely deserves a head pat as praise…

-*reaches out*

“…Eh?”

-*pat, pat*

Wait, hold on. I was going to praise her, but after handing over the mana stone, the doppelganger started patting my head instead. Huh? Wait a minute. I should be the one giving praise! I’m 5 years old, you’re 0. I’m the older one here!

-?

“…Never mind. You should rest too. Or rather, you don’t need to maintain your full duration. You can go back now.”

-*nods*

After I told the doppelganger who had been patting my head to disappear, she nodded expressionlessly and vanished. Hmm, how interesting. Later, I should ask Ray to summon her again and see if she remembers this situation. So, with this small curiosity in mind, I took a short rest. Soon I recovered enough to move everyone…

-TAP TAP!!

“Hello? Have you been well?”

“…Oh. Master.”

“Huh? Gorre, your voice?”

Just as I grew to 3 meters tall and was about to place everyone on my hands to move them, Master appeared on my shoulder. I happily greeted Groundskeeper Jack…

“Hmm, to think you’d clear [Durahanian’s Tomb] right before ep.6. And look, Ira and Ray are covered in dirt? Gorre. I don’t distrust you, but you didn’t push Ira in there, did you? Hmm? Why is our little sister’s level so strange?”

…It seems my happy greeting will have to wait a bit.

*

Gorre has gained a pretty voice. Ray’s level has broken through 600. Ira’s level has also broken through 600. Ira’s friend has surpassed level 500, joining the ranks of humanity’s strongest. [Durahanian’s Tomb], a dungeon meant for leveling up to 700, has disappeared. Hmm, what exactly is going on here? I seriously don’t understand any of this.

“Ugh… From what I know, didn’t you visit Ragni?”

“Huh? How do you know that?”

“You acquired some new skill, right? Now I can see your status, so I know, but I could tell when you used that skill. It was a skill to check where we were, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Right, right. So, what does this situation have to do with Ragni?”

“…I judged the Empire to be dangerous, so we who protect Lady Ira needed to level up. And, while we were at it, I thought it would be good to raise Lady Ira’s level too.”

“Oh. That’s a reasonably good explanation. But why is Ira covered in dirt?”

“Let me explain. Lady Ira was never hit by an enemy attack, not even once. Rather, I was caught in Lady Ira’s attacks, and moreover, the dungeon collapsed due to Lady Ira’s skill, which is why she got dirty…”

“So you’re saying it’s our Ira’s fault for collapsing the dungeon?”

“No. It’s all my fault. I’ve committed a mortal sin.”

When I spoke as gently as possible with a bright smile, Gorre, walking slowly at 3 meters tall, seemed to shrink back and started apologizing to me. Hmm, honestly, if you ask whether I’m angry or not, I am a bit angry. I clearly told them to wait in Natie, so why are they all here? I’m very pleased about Ira’s level-up. I never imagined Ira’s level would surpass the Headmaster’s, but well, I can overlook this since it’s good when things exceed expectations. However.

“Sigh, both you and Ray have HP at rock bottom… wasn’t this too reckless?”

“I thought some risk was necessary. Staying as we were wouldn’t have been enough to protect Lady Ira.”

“…The Headmaster told me you fought a demon here. Said it had the magical energy of a Seven Deadly Sins level.”

“Th-that…!!”

Genuinely flustered by my words, Gorre stretched out her response and tilted her head back like a human would, but eventually, unable to find an excuse, she told the truth. Heh, so if Ira hadn’t learned that skill, it would have been dangerous? Geez.

“You fool, so you were planning to say, ‘We leveled up without your knowledge and then easily defeated such an enemy,’ weren’t you?”

“It was all my plan. I’m sorry.”

“Pfft. Don’t make me laugh. The Headmaster told me Ira was the one who insisted on coming to the Empire.”

“…Just how much did the Headmaster know?”

As Gorre continued walking while listening to me, she started grumbling, “If he knew, he could have helped us.” Haha! That’s amusing. It’s even more so because Gorre is really acting quite human-like. Anyway.

-*pat, pat*

“You’re much bigger than me so it feels a bit strange to pat you, but thank you. For protecting her well, and for raising her well.”

“…You’re not angry?”

As I pat the back of her head from my position on her shoulder, which feels a bit odd, Gorre tilts her head in confusion, seemingly surprised that I’m not angry.

Why would I be angry? A husband who leaves home on his own should just be grateful to his wife who worked hard in his absence, regardless of how well she did.

“…Wife, you say.”

“Well, you seem to be making an effort. Flesh color still seems far off, but you have a human-like voice now. It’s pretty.”

“Ugh!!”

Seeing the golem blush at my words, I can’t help but smile again. Hmm, looking at just her face, she’s truly beautiful. If only her body wasn’t a golem, I might become a potential candidate. As we exit the forest where the dungeon was located with Gorre, I can see a town in the distance. The carriage is over there, right?

“You don’t have MP for enlargement either. I’ll carry Ira and her friend; please take Ray.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

As Gorre shrinks back to normal size, she carefully hands the two girls to me after dropping Ray on the ground. Hmm, this position is a bit awkward.

“Pardon? Awkward? I thought I handed them over properly…”

-*kiss*

“?!!”

When I lightly press my lips against Gorre’s, who has returned to her original size as a woman about a head shorter than me, I feel a slightly cold yet soft sensation that makes me want to kiss her again, so I do. Hmm, honestly, she still looks like a golem when I look at her, so going as far as using my tongue is physiologically a bit difficult. Besides, my sister is in my arms, so I can’t use my hands.

“Y-you’ve become bold. I never expected you to kiss me first…”

“Just saying thank you seems insufficient, and I should have something to give you. Gorre, thank you so much. For Ira’s level, and for keeping her safe until now.”

“…That means you’ll say the same to Ray, right?”

Huh? Well, um. That’s not wrong, but why suddenly…?!!

-*slide*

“Mmph—♡”

Since I’m holding Ira and the girl named Grace in my arms and can’t use my hands, Gorre pulls my face toward hers and overlaps our lips, inserting her tongue! W-wait!! It’s soft but cold and warm!! It was like this before too!! This really is strange…!!!

“*slurp*♡ Puha.”

“Puha. …Hey.”

“I thought you would definitely use your tongue with Ray too. And I didn’t think you would kiss only me after visiting Ragni first. Am I wrong?”

“Th-that…!!”

Now it’s my turn to stretch out my words!! Faced with Gorre’s accurate factual observation, I’m at a loss for words, and she smiles slightly, saying, “I don’t mind the order. However, I hope you’ll treat us equally,” as she starts pulling my face toward hers again. Damn it. She’s a golem!! But she’s cute!!

In the end, I pushed my tongue into Gorre’s mouth as well.