Chapter 59

Today is the fourth day since Yggdrasil awoke.

I walked to a spring in the Elven Forest and plucked a bunch of Holy Apples from a tree.

Nearby, Demiurge and Yggdrasil were harvesting them together.

The night before last, Demiurge, in a fit of jealousy, had squeezed the life out of me with all her might, and I had to spend half the day in my newly built inn-like house.

As a result of the over-exploitation, I ended up lying around like a dried-up fish.

Considering the fact that Behemoth didn’t come at me while I was defenseless, I can see that I was in a very bad situation.

In the beginning, she was very angry and blamed me, but in the latter half of the day, she seemed to enjoy the act of squeezing the semen out of me with a hint of sarcasm.

I can’t speak for others, but I think Demiurge may have a more unending sexual appetite than I do.

From now on, I swear I’ll never offend her in a woman-related matter… If she does that again, my body won’t be able to handle it.

“The day before yesterday was a tough day for me. Dee-chan gave me a lot of scolding, and I had to stay up until the morning to finish all the battles in a row. On top of that, I was completely turned into a dried-up fish~”

“Whose fault is it? Whose…?”

“Aha♪”

After collecting a few Holy Apples, we arrived at the crossroads to our house. There, I felt my cheeks twitch as Yggdrasil smiled at me with no sign of malice.

However, after living with her for the past few days, I’ve come to understand that if I try to confront her, she’ll just dodge me like willow and have no response.

But even so, I can’t help feeling that she still has a face that she has never shown me.

In the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of a spirit with an air of transcendence.

She spoke in a whisper in my ear, and despite her young appearance, she was seductive and somewhat sensual.

And above all, I felt the same awe that I felt when I first faced Demiurge, when Yggdrasil laughed in front of me.

The gap between the outside and the inside… Is the girl she’s showing me right now true or false?

In any case, Yggdrasil indeed has a certain unpredictable side to her.

It’s hard to get a grip on her.

I don’t know what to do with her from now on… She’s going to be a big headache for me.

And here is another person who occupies a large percentage of my heart, looking up at me with a pouting face.

“You’ve grown quite close in just a few days.”

Like Yggdrasil, Demiurge, who has several Holy Apples in his arms, narrows his eyes and looks at me as if she’s about to make a *jitto* sound.

Since the bathhouse fiasco, when I’m having a conversation with Yggdrasil like this, she looks unhappy.

“Are you still mad at me? Haven’t I told you that it’s not an affair or anything like that?”

“I know… It was probably Yggdrasil who broke in while you taking a bath. Yggdrasil has always had a history of outlandish behavior.”

“You can forgive me for that… I apologize for being in the bath with her when you have swept away…”

As for me, I have a history of being threatened by Yggdrasil, but I was still responsible for letting the situation get to me.

That’s why I apologized to her and I hope she’ll give me a break soon.

We had just started to work out our differences, but if the relationship had once again become strained, it would have been disastrous for us.

“Umu. I don’t want husband to think that I’m that narrow-minded… but I can’t… control my emotions… Just the thought of you naked with a woman other than me makes me sick to my stomach.”

A small murmur of “I’ve never had this happen before…” and Demiurge turns over.

She wanted to be forgiving and let the matter slide, but emotionally there was still a part of her that could not forgive.

With her mixed feelings, I tried to imagine Demiurge hugging another man naked.

Then I saw…

Oh, this is no good.

I immediately felt a blackness welling up inside me.

Even though it was just a hypothetical, I couldn’t stop a nasty feeling from swirling in my chest.

I realized that I couldn’t blame Demiurge for this, and I also regretted once again that I had caused her no small amount of anxiety.

“I’m sorry, have I disillusioned you with this narrow-minded woman…?”

“No, that’s not true. I’m sorry, too. It’s not an apology, but I’m thinking of going back to the city of Cid next time. There, I’m thinking of having a… date with you… you know. Just you and me, of course.”

“Date… that’s what humans call a meeting. You mean, me and you, husband?”

“Y-Yeah. What do you think? No?”

My face was extremely hot, and my heart was palpitating like crazy.

I never thought it would take so much courage to ask a woman out on a date.

And this time, I was asking her out as a way of apologizing to her. I couldn’t stop sweating just thinking about what would happen if she refused.

“G-Good… Now that I think about it, I’ve never done anything remotely loverly with husband other than having sex with him… And what’s more, what’s not to like about… him asking me out like that, so I’m happy to take him up on it.”

“I-I see. Good.”

“U-Umu…”

Demiurge gave a small, sly smile and dyed her cheeks vermilion.

I couldn’t help but gulp at her gesture.

At the same time, the thread of tension broke, and a breath of relief escaped me.

“Huh… So, we’ll plan a detailed date and time when we get back.”

“All right. Fufu… date, hee… date… with my husband… date… fufufu…”

In front of Demiurge, who seemed to be in a better mood at once, I naturally smiled too.

“Uwaa~…… these two must have completely forgotten that I’m nearby~?”

Even Yggdrasil’s dumbfounded mutterings are left and right to me now.

At first, I offered her a date as a way to apologize to Demiurge, but I was already looking forward to the day when I could spend time with her.

◆◇◆◇◆

―――When we got back to the house, we immediately discussed how to get to Cid’s town.

I was thinking of leaving tomorrow, as the sooner we act, the better.

But Yggdrasil intervened and said she was going to make some preparations.

We couldn’t ask her what she was going to do, but she said she wouldn’t make us wait for anything, so we decided to wait for a day.

The next day, I, Demiurge, and the four demons gathered near the entrance to the inn’s lobby.

We had all been summoned by Yggdrasil to this place.

“Good morning! It’s another beautiful day!”

“Enough with the introduction. And what do you want with all of us here?”

“You’re so impatient, Dee-chan~ I’ll explain everything to you now.”

While everyone was looking at Yggdrasil, she pulled something out of her clothing pocket.

“Ta~da!【Transfer Ring】~~!!”

With that, Yggdrasil opened her small hand towards us and showed us the four rings on top.

It was a simple, unadorned ring with a silvery glow.

However, there was a detailed magic formula engraved on the surface.

“Um, Yggdrasil-sama, what is that?”

As if representing everyone, Phoenix asked the question.

“Fuf~u. This is a handy item that allows you to set up a portal and instantly travel to and from this forest anytime, anywhere within the range of my mana~!”

Yggdrasil puts on a smug face with her small chest.

However, everyone, including me, still looked as if they didn’t quite understand, so she began to explain about the ring again.

“This transfer ring is an item that allows you to move anywhere in an instant within the range of my mana, the world tree. Right now, I think the area around the town of Cid, where Dee-chan and the others are going to go, is within our range.”

I heard that by setting up magical relay points called portals in various places, you can travel between those portals and the world tree in an instant.

However, it seems that portals can only be set up in Yggdrasil, and the number of portals that can be set up is limited. And with the current immature world tree, the range of travel will be limited.

“As I grow even more, my range of movement and the number of portals I can set up will increase, so please do your best to make me bigger~!”

“Hee, that’s very convenient. But then why are there only four rings?”

If it was so useful, couldn’t we have prepared enough for the number of people present?

But Yggdrasil answered that question as well.

“It’s true, but transference is very mana-eating magic, and only up to four people can be transferred at once. Moreover, this magic itself is quite difficult, so if you force more than four people to be transferred, you may not be able to transfer them to the targeted location. That’s why four is the limit.”

I see. Transference is indeed a useful power, but it can’t be used so easily.

There are also human magic items called【Transfer Stone】, but unlike Yggdrasil’s ring, they are disposable and can only transfer one person. Moreover, they are quite expensive.

Compared to that, this transfer ring, which can be used over and over again, is completely superior to that transfer stone.

It’s no wonder that the number of people who can use it is limited.

“If something goes wrong with my body, you’ll notice it and be able to come back as soon as you feel like it. You’ll be able to adventure in the outside world with peace of mind!”

“That’s right. If something were to happen to aunt’s body while we were out there, it would be a big deal… This item may be quite important, as it will allow us to get there quickly.”

“That’s what I meant! Ryuu-chan understands quickly! Besides, it’s too much trouble to walk to the forest and come back every time. I can go there quickly and come back quickly! This item is a must-have!”

Indeed. The main purpose of our activities outside the forest is to give the Anima Crystal to Yggdrasil.

In other words, when we go out, we must come back.

And to do so, we may have to walk long distances and travel for several days.

With this transfer ring, we can get there and back in a matter of seconds.

It’s a very efficient way to collect Anima Crystal, and it also simplifies travel, which is a good thing.

“I was wondering what you were doing sneaking around yesterday. You’ve been thinking about the future, haven’t you?”

“Well~”

“Then leave this matter to husband. I’ll leave it to you to select those who will accompany you outside.”

“Are you sure it’s me? Wouldn’t it be better if Demiurge had this?”

“I am not as familiar with the world as you are, and the four demons are not used to working in groups. Husband is the most suitable among them.”

“I see. If that’s the case, I’ll keep a ring.”

I received the ring from Yggdrasil.

“I’ll be going with you to the town of Cid. And I’ll be forced to go with you, so please take care of me!”

I understand.

Without Yggdrasil, the portal could not be set up, so it was already decided that she would accompany me.

Now then, the rest of the members are…

I looked at the rest of the group and began to sort out who would be accompanying me this time.

First of all, if it’s an outside activity, of course, I’m a definite member… and I can’t leave out Demiurge because of what happened the other day.

So that means,

“I’ve decided. The one who will be coming with us to Cid this time is Demiurge.”

“Umu.”

“Yggdrasil.”

“Ye~s!”

“And Titan.”

“Oh.”

The rest were left to guard the world tree and stay here in the house.

“I’ll be going to the town of Cid tomorrow, then. Keep that in mind.”

“All right, then.”

“Under~stand…”

“Yes.”

I listened to everyone’s replies and decided to make some preparations for tomorrow’s departure to Cid.