Volume 10 Chapter 12 (1/2)

I had underestimated the aftereffects of [Awakening], and thus collapsed right in front of Rorono.

Because of that…

”Oto-san, this meat, so delicious”

”Father, stroke my head more”

Because of that, my arms became the body pillows of my 2 sleeping girls.

To give a bit more explanation, until I was better, Kuina and Rorono were to keep a real close watch on me to make sure I would abstain from working.

Not that I was complaining.

Besides, I'm sure I'll be fine enough to work by tomorrow. Hopefully, even Marcho's going to see that when she comes tomorrow. For now, I should get some shut eye myself. As they say, rest is the shortcut to recovery.

◇

I opened my eyes.

Just like before, Kuina and Rorono were still clinging tightly to my arms.

Well, I can't go to work while they're like this. I guess I should just go back to sleep and try again later.

I thought so, but then…

The door opened, and a brown-skinned woman with white wolf tail and ears entered.

It was Marcho. And just behind her was Aura.

”I was so worried that I did everything to make time for a visit, yet here you are, casually flirting. Aren't you healthier than ever, Lolicell?”

”Marcho, welcome. Thank you for coming.”

[Beast] Demon Lord Marchosias was my guardian Demon Lord, but through [Rebirth], the power I received from the Creator, she became my monster.

”Lolicell will always be Lolicell, I guess.”

”Can you stop with the Lolicell? There's nothing wrong going on here. They said they wanted to make sure I was resting, and it's just that the best way to do that is by always being by my side.”

Ever since the beginning, Marcho has been calling me Lolicell, even though I was absolutely not a lolicon.

”Sure, whatever you say. Anyway, you sure are reckless, aren't you? You saw firsthand how [Awakening] almost was the death of me, and yet you still did such an absurd thing.”

Due to the schemes of the [Black] Demon Lord, several Demon Lords attacked Marcho. To defend herself and her dungeon, Marcho used [Awakening] several times. For that though, her lifespan got even shorter. Actually, she was in the brink of vanishing when I offered and she accepted the power of [Rebirth].

”I thought that as long as I limited the use to once per day, it would be fine if I used it for a long time.”

”Oh, Procell, you're too naïve. Unless your soul's in perfect condition, you shouldn't use [Awakening]. It varies from Demon Lord to Demon Lord, but on average, you should limit its usage to once per month. Even in times of emergencies, you should try to use it only once every three days. …just remember, [Awakening] is a double-edged sword.”

So that's the span of time for the safe use of [Awakening]. But since it varies from Demon Lord to Demon Lord, maybe the downtime's much shorter for me…?

”Since Aura can see the state of one's soul, let her check yours every morning. Unless she says your soul's in perfect condition, avoid using [Awakening]. You don't have a problem with that, do you?”

”Well, I'll only have to refrain from using it for a few days; it's not like it's forever. So, yeah, I agree with what you said.”

I planned to exercise more caution from now on, but I was still going to use [Awakening] as much as I could. As soon as Aura has determined the state of my soul was good enough, I would use it.

After all, gathering more Avalon Jewel was very important for Avalon at the moment.

”Very well, as we have agreed upon, I am going to do a medical examination every morning. By the way, master, the state of your soul today is absolutely awful. It's all battered.”

”Understood. I'll do whatever you say is good. I mean, even I don't want to die, after all.”

If I died, that would mean my girls would be left all alone. For that reason, I absolutely could not die.

”Seeing how easy things got settled, I guess there wasn't any point for me to come here, was there?”

”I disagree, Marcho-sama. Just you stating that [Awakening] should only be used when the Demon Lord's soul is in perfect condition is a big deal already. Thanks for the help.”

”You're such a good girl, Aura. Well, the two sleeping over there are too. Procell's really blessed to have you girls as his [Monsters of the Covenant]. There are those who would trick or even cause the death of their Demon Lords, but you girls, you're content with just being near him. But before I get totally sidetracked, how battered is his soul right now? Will even standing up or walking be too much for him?”

”Not at all. Thanks to my golden apple potion, he shouldn't have any problems in doing simple, everyday tasks. That being said, using any Demon Lord powers, including his [Creation], is completely prohibited.”

If I was prohibited from using all of my Demon Lord powers, then even the testing of the monster that was two ranks below Raphael would have to be postponed.

”There you have it, Procell. Be sure to listen to what she says, okay? But if he doesn't, contact me, Aura. I'll come here right away to knock some sense into him.”

”Don't you trust me?”

”I do, but it's outweighed by my worry for you. I mean, you're usually all calm and prudent, but once in a while, you do these crazy things!”

I had no comeback.

”Moving on, well, since I came all the way here, and since Aura said it was fine for you to do some light activities, let's go on a date.”

”Sure. Let's go grab breakfast first though.”

For today at least, I should take it easy.

There shouldn't be any pressing matters to attend to anyways. Moreover, I felt a bit indebted to her for coming all this way despite her busy schedule.

But above all reasons, I just wanted to go on a date with her.

◇

After changing my clothes, as well as after eating breakfast with Marcho, the two of us went to the city.

Kuina and Rorono wanted me to stay in bed, but after Aura explained that there was nothing to worry about as long as I followed her instruction to not use [Creation] or any of my Demon Lord Powers, the two conceded.

”As ever, your dungeon's so bustling.”

”Yeah, but we're just getting started.”

The selling of the units in the newly completed residential district was going well.

All the units in the apartment buildings had already been sold to the merchants who would then sell each unit to ordinary citizens. Additionally, about half of the orthodox houses had been sold to the public.

As for the empty plots of land, they were selling quite well too, which in turn meant great business for the carpenters.

A lot of the buyers of these properties were from outside the city. In other words, the number of Avalon's citizens should grow quite soon.

If Avalon had more citizens, I would have more emotions to feed on as well as DP, which then translated to me growing ever more powerful.

”You know, when I first heard you were going to build a city, I honestly thought it would fail. I mean, there have been a bunch of other Demon Lords that have tried to do the same, but most of them have failed. It's just you and [Black] that have succeeded.”

Just because one built a city, that didn't automatically mean the humans would come and gather.

Having some financial power would help, but having something unique to the city to attract the humans was much, much more important. Without some means or monster to make such a thing, a city was out of the question. I had Rorono and Aura, but other Demon Lords wouldn't be so lucky.

”Well then, let me give you a taste of Avalon's charms with this date. Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go to?”

”Let's see. I didn't get to play much the last time, so how about the casino? I'll leave it up to you where to go next after that.”

”Okay. To the casino, then.”

We had improved the casino quite a bit since the last time she was there. Hopefully, she'd like it even more.

◇

After a while of walking while chatting idly, we arrived at the casino.

It seemed like it was busy since it opened.

Upon arrival, we ran into someone I knew. That someone was being carried out by two bunny-eared Mythological Foxes.

”Dear guest, please know that you are hereby banned from this establishment.”

”Please don't ever come back here.”

”Whaaaaat? But I wasn't cheating or anything. …you know”

Only one of my monsters talked in such a peculiar manner: Fallen Angel Raphael.

”…what the heck did you do to be banned, Raph?”

Ahh, my head hurts already.

In our casino, we try to refrain from giving out bans as much as possible. So, to be banned, she must have done something that truly crossed the line.

”Your majesty, they're so awful. I was just playing normally, and then I won, and won, and kept on winning. But then, they stopped me from playing, gave me my winnings so far, and told me to never come again.”

With tears flowing, Raph clung onto me.

”Wait, how much did you win?”

”Hmm, this much”

When Raph showed how much she had won, my headache grew worse.

It was as much as one week of revenue for the casino, if not more.

It wasn't a surprise then for her to be banned. If they allowed her to play as she was, the casino would be cleaned out in no time.

”How did you manage to win this much?”

Our casino employed first-rate dealers whose senses were extremely sharp. For those who were going to cheat via magic, we installed magic power sensors that were developed by Rorono.