Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter SS4

Venri’s DOM Checklist 

In one of the rooms in the dragonmen village’s largest mansion, Tio let out a small groan. 
“Princess! Princess, what happened!?” 
“Hmm? Venri? How... long have I been asleep!?” 
Tio kicked off the covers and leaped to her feet. She’d taken off the kimono she’d been wearing on her return and was currently wearing a white nightgown. 
“Rest easy, Princess. It has only been half an hour.” 
Tio breathed a sigh of relief. Because of the way she’d jumped to her feet, her nightgown was disheveled and most of her thigh was visible. Her breasts were threatening to spill out of the open collar as well. She obviously couldn’t appear in public like that, so Venri walked over and fixed her appearance. 
“H-Hrmm. Venri, I am old enough to fix my own clothes,” Tio said as she squirmed uncomfortably and blushed a little. 
“I do not know what transpired between you and Adul-sama in the mausoleum, and I’m not interested in asking. Seeing as Adul-sama didn’t explain, it’s clearly not something I should poke my nose into. However...” Venri trailed off as she looked up at Tio, tears in her eyes. “You’re always so reckless, Princess. It is precisely because you’re an adult that I can no longer watch over you while you jump headfirst into danger, so at least let me fuss over you while you’re here.” 
Tio had returned physically unharmed from her trial in the mausoleum, but overcoming the artifact’s malice had taken up so much of her energy that she’d collapsed from exhaustion. Adul had carried her back to the mansion, and all of the village’s healers combined were unable to wake her from her slumber. Before she lost consciousness, Tio had said she’d be fine after a little bit of sleep, but her complexion had been so pale that Venri had feared Tio really had died. 
“My apologies for worrying you so. I should have taken your feelings into consideration,” Tio said bashfully. Venri was like a second mother to Tio, since she’d raised her after her real parents had died. 
Venri pushed a cup of hot tea into Tio’s hands and said, “It’s fine. This is nothing compared to the time you told me you got engaged to an odious boy from the mainland.” 
“Bwuh!?” Tio spit out her tea; a gesture very unbecoming for a dragon princess. She quickly wiped her mouth and turned to Venri, who was smiling ominously at her. There appeared to be some kind of malignant aura surrounding the old woman. 
“C-Calm down, Venri. Master isn’t a bad person.” 
“Everyone who gets hoodwinked by a scoundrel says that.” 
“How dare you! Master is no scoundrel! He—” 
“He was whipping my daughter’s behind with a wicked grin on his face.” 
“That was my reward for—” 
“You yourself admitted he was the reason the noble dragonman princess became a pervert,” Venri stated flatly. She steadily advanced on Tio, and Tio scrambled backward. Unfortunately, she didn’t get very far before she reached the wall. Cold sweat poured down her forehead and she looked anywhere she could that wasn’t at Venri. She resembled a kid who’d been caught doing something naughty. 
“In the first place, that boy is already in a relationship with the vampire princess, is he not?” 
“I-Indeed he is. The two of them were already a couple when I first met him, but—” 
“In other words, your greatest wish is to have an affair with him. Surely you realize how immoral that is.” 
“Bwah!? H-Hold a moment, Venri! That’s a very uncharitable way of framing—” 
“Is it? Is it really? It’s true that I have my issues with that boy. In fact, I have my issues with you too for falling for such an unpleasant person! If your parents ever learned that you fell in love with someone because they were able to hurt you, they would cry!” 
“U-Ugh...” 
“And why do you call him ‘Master’!? It’s deplorable! What do you think a married couple is!? Marriage is about equality and moving forward together! I don’t recall raising you into a woman who would willingly place herself into servitude! Also—” 
“I hate it when you go into lecture mode, Venri!” Tio shouted, flailing her arms like a spoiled child. She then dove back onto her bed and hid underneath the covers. If Hajime and the others saw her, they would have been shocked at how immature she was being. 
“Get back out here, young lady! I’m not done talking! Your future depends on this, so you better hear me out!” 
“Too bad! I’ve already decided what kind of life I’m going to lead! I’m going to live a life where I’m constantly punished by Master! Master, Yue, and I are going to build a family together! I’ll be their dog! Their pet dog!” 
“H-How could you say something like that! The dragonman princess should never debase herself to the level of a dog! That’s it, you’re getting a spanking! If you like being punished so much, let’s see how you like it when I do it!” 
“Wait, really?” 

“Don’t look so happy about iiiiiit!” 
Tio and Venri were causing such a ruckus that people outside could hear them, but no one dared to go and check on them. Meanwhile, Adul just looked resigned as he sat down with a bemused smile on his face. It honestly looked like his granddaughter’s sudden transformation had brought him enlightenment. It was a rather unfortunate way to level up, but he had indeed grown stronger just before the final battle as a result. 
“Haaah... Haaah, you really are an obstinate little girl.” 
“Do you understand how determined I am now?” 
Venri dropped to her knees, unable to penetrate the comforter fortress Tio had built around herself. Tio’s natural proclivity for defense had allowed her to make a pointlessly sturdy pillow fort. 
“Very well. It appears I have to resort to drastic measures in order to open your eyes.” 
Curious, Tio poked her head out of the comforter. Venri took a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it in front of Tio. 
“What’s this? ‘A checklist of traits a man needs to be worthy of the princess: DOM edition.’ Wait, what’s a DOM?” 
“It stands for deadbeat old man. I also have checklists for the ideal man, and for a decent compromise of a man.” 
“Why in the world did you make these checklists?” 
“I thought you might choose a terrible candidate, so I made these in advance. Worthless men often try to mooch off of beautiful, competent, and responsible young women like yourself.” 
“Umm, Venri, you wouldn’t happen to be speaking from experience, would—” 
“Let’s start going down the list! If anyone fills three or more of the ten boxes on this list, then they’re unworthy of you, Princess! I will not allow a union between you and such a man!” 
“Hmph, very well. I shall prove to you that Master is not a DOM, Venri!” 
Sparks flew through the air as Tio and Venri’s stares clashed. 
“Trait 1: They’re short-tempered and quick to violence. Naturally, your ‘Master’ ticks this box!” 
“Objection! Master is only truly violent against those who oppose him! It’s true that he often shoots people who make drab jokes or annoy him, but he makes sure to hold back so that he doesn’t actually harm them! Violence in this context would be true intent to harm spurred on by anger, correct?” 
“Grr... I suppose you have a point. Let us move on to traits 2 and 3: Doesn’t work, and is bad with money.” 
“Master is a top-rank adventurer who has taken on jobs that range from protecting young children to rescuing a hero. Moreover, he never wastes money. In fact, he hasn’t spent a dime on anything that wasn’t necessary for his travels.” 
“Grrrr... Fine, trait 4: Is a heavy drinker!” 
“Hah! Master has the skill Poison Resistance, so he cannot get drunk even if he wished to. On top of that, he has no particular fondness for alcohol.” 
“I-I’ve still got 6 more! Trait 5: Is a narcissist! Trait 6: Is overconfident! Trait 7: Is a womanizer!” 
“Master has never boasted about his appearance or personality. In fact, he seems rather self-conscious about his ‘edgelord’ personality traits and appearance. So much so, in fact, that he hesitates to look at himself in the mirror. He has confidence in his fighting skills, but he has never overestimated his abilities. He analyzes his own capabilities objectively and formulates realistic plans. Even when against clearly weaker foes, he does not underestimate them in the slightest. Finally, if he was a womanizer, our lives would be so much easier. We wouldn’t have to work so hard just to get him to accept our affections.” 
“Trait 8: Often makes excuses and says things like “But, but!” Trait 9: Is all talk, no action!” 
“He’s the very opposite of both of those. He never makes excuses and speaks more with his actions than he does his words. You saw what he did at the Demon Lord’s castle, did you not? What’s wrong, Venri? You look rather defeated. Go on, list your final trait.” 
Tio grinned triumphantly, and Venri grit her teeth. Despite Tio’s prodding, she still didn’t state the final trait. The reason being that number 10 was “Isn’t kind to children.” The recording she’d seen earlier already made it clear how much Hajime treasured Myu. In the end, Venri was forced to admit that Tio’s beloved Master wasn’t a DOM, at least not by this checklist’s definition. However, she still couldn’t accept that outcome. 
“I-I still won’t ever approve of the man who turned you into a pervert, Princess!” 
“You’ve been insulting me off-hand this entire time, Venri, and I must say it’s quite nice. Haaah... Haaah...” 
“Now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to grill him myself! Come, Princess, you’ve rested for long enough! Let us be off so I can speak with this boy!” 
“Ah, stop pulling! I’m still wearing my nightgown! Is this how you treat your princess!?” 
Venri ignored Tio’s protests and continued dragging her out of the mansion. However, it looked like Tio was actually happy about being treated so roughly, which just caused Venri to sigh. Needless to say that once they made it to Heiligh, Venri grilled Hajime on the rooftop for quite some time. The crumpled pile of checklists in her trashcan made it clear what the result of said grilling ended up being.