WE WENT TO THE DEMON MUSIC FESTIVAL
I had a little chat with Flatorte on our way back to the house in the highlands.
“Did your parents understand? I’m not that worried, though, to be honest.”
“Yes. They told me to serve the strongest witch with pride.”
“That’s it, huh? Well, just let me know if you want to go back again.”
Home for me was the house in the highlands, but not for everyone else.
“Okay! If I do, please take me back! But if you come with me, you might be asked to fight everyone again, Mistress.”
“Urgh… Then I may have to ask you to make it a once-in-a-while thing…”
The moment we got back to the house, we heard the sounds of the lute.
“The winters are colder when I’m all alone… I wrap myself in my blanket, and my heat keeps the cold away… Ohhh, I never knew that I could be the one to warm me up… ”
Kuku’s gloomy song echoed through the house… It sounded like a curse.
“Oh, Mommy…you’re home…”
Falfa came up to me, but the skip in her step was gone and replaced with something heavier.
“It feels dark in here. Are you okay…? Oh no! Shalsha, what’s wrong?!”
Farther into the room, Shalsha stood at an angle, her forehead pressed against the wall.
That’s the first time I’ve seen anyone besides a drunk standing like that…
“Despair. I can’t see the light. I can’t feel anything. Pessimistic philosophy…”
“Shalsha! Shalsha! It’s okay to mope, but please don’t do it standing like that!” I hurriedly sat her in a chair.
While that was all happening, I could hear, “It’s just one of those Sundays, where it feels like everyone’s laughing at me as they pass me by… ” coming from Kuku’s room.
“Lady Azusa, it seems everyone’s fallen into despair after listening to these songs constantly.”
“I see. I guess hearing these moody tunes has had an effect on Falfa and Shalsha.”
But Flatorte had her arms crossed, and she seemed to be enjoying herself.
“Hmm. She’s established her own sound. She’s talking about the world in her own words.”
It was a good song, sure. It had a power that melted into your heart—grabbed it and held it fast.
But, of course, having your heart in a tight grip wouldn’t do much good for your spirit…
“Wait. How is everyone else doing…?”
“Halkara should be out working at the factory. I believe the effects would be minimal in that case.”
There was logic to what Laika said, but when it came to Halkara, we should probably prepare for the worst.
We opened the door to Halkara’s room.
There she was, sitting listlessly on her bed, still in her pajamas.
“Oh, I didn’t want to go to work… I ended up skipping…”
“Halkara, what’s wrong? What happened to you…?”
“I wish the world would go up in roaring flames… Just turn the elvish forests to ash…”
This was bad. Her eyes were dead. She didn’t even want to go to work! Well, I knew the feeling of wanting to skip, but that was because my work life had been awful. Not the same thing.
“Here, first, stand up, and let’s get you some water!”
“It’s too much work to drink water…”
“Then let’s get you some sunshine! It’ll be good for you to be in the sun for at least twenty minutes!”
“It’s too much work to go outside…”
This was a serious case. Oh right, I know what we can do!
I took a bottle of Nutri-Spirits and forced the contents down Halkara’s throat.
Signs of life began to stir in her eyes. “Oh…I almost feel like doing things now…”
“Good! Your drink is super effective!”
“If we’re talking about super effective, try Miss Kuku’s songs. At first, I was pleasantly calmed, but after that, it felt like my soul was sinking into the ground.”
Halkara told me what had happened, and I got the gist of it.
To put it simply, Kuku’s talent had blossomed out of control.
They say that geniuses often sent the lives of those around them off course, and that was exactly the case here.
“But I’m glad you’ve recovered, Halkara. And next is…Rosalie…”
At the very least, she hadn’t been floating in the dining room.
“Do you need me, Big Sis?” Rosalie popped out from the floor. I almost screamed.
“Um, can you appear more like a normal person next time…? Oh, you seem fine.”
I didn’t see the downer effect on her spirit.
“Oh, come on. When you’re already dead, listening to the living cry about life is kiddie stuff. It’s like hearing a five-year-old tell you about how hard life is! Ha-ha-ha!” Rosalie burst out laughing. “They can whine about how much pain they’re in, but they haven’t killed themselves, have they? I already killed myself! And I was an evil spirit, remember? Bah-ha-ha! Against that, their problems can’t even register as pain!”
“I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing!”
Afterward, I told Kuku to practice outside during the day.
“I’m sorry. I thought I could get better…”
She seemed to finally notice when I told her, and she ended up feeling guilty.
“Oh, I know how you feel. Still, please practice outside.”
“But when I’m in the sun, my mood vastly improves, so it’s not very suited to my practice… It is a dark song, after all…”
That’s the problem!
But then I came up with a great idea.
“So you’d prefer somewhere dark?”
“Yes. Terribly dark and gloomy would be perfect.”
“In that case, we have a cellar that we use to store food, so can you do that in there?”
After she gave it a go, she sang its praises. “The acoustics are very good. It’s fantastic.” Oh, right. The dark underground was kind of like a live music club.
After that, Kuku spent a long time practicing in the cellar.
The day finally came for us to go to the music festival.
And, as always, an enormous creature flew through the sky and straight for us. Kuku was shocked, but we were used to it.
It was a leviathan—Vania, judging by her color.
After a moment, Fatla stepped down.
“You are all invited as national guests. Please step on board.”
“Thank you, as always, Fatla.”
“Oh, no, this is my job. Incidentally, Lady Beelzebub is at a meeting and thus not present. She was terribly sad that she could not travel with the girls. She even cried.”
Maybe I was being too sensitive, but I couldn’t get over how she said the girls. Was Beelzebub starting to think of Falfa and Shalsha as her own…?
We climbed aboard Vania and received the same instructions as we did before.
“We’ve added a new building since last time, so we will show you around.”
Huh? What for?
We went inside, and there was Fighsly the Fighter Slime, punching a round object hanging from the ceiling.
Placed around the room were several apparatuses that were either for training or torture—it was hard to tell.
“This is the training room. Fighsly is using it today.”
“Oh, hello, everyone! I am practicing to master Fighsly-style slime fist! Would you like to join me?”
“…I’m all right.”
But Laika chimed in: “I will work up a sweat here!”
Afterward, we hung around a sort of lounge.
Kuku sat still for a while, but she finally stood up.
“I…am going to practice… I cannot keep calm…”
“I guess that’s what happens when you go onstage. Practice all you need until you shake off those jitters.”
The rest of us flipped through the music festival programs scattered around the lounge (translated from the demon language for our convenience).
The festival would take place over three days.
The venues would be all over the area outside Vanzeld Castle, and the four biggest stages were in the stadium, at the burial grounds, in the field at the old execution grounds, and in the reclaimed miasma swamp.
It was almost like a regular music festival, but the locations of the stages were a little eerie.
“According to the book that Beelzebub gave me before, there were once many executions on celebration days when they partied extensively. This is a holdover from that,” the knowledgeable Shalsha told me.
“I see… Were they like sacrifices, I wonder?”
“They say these celebrations had parades and plenty of pop-up shops. It was very lively.”
“Huh. Well, given it’s the demons putting this on, I imagine it’ll be over-the-top.”
Kuku would perform on the second day at the burial grounds. Most of the audience would be standing, but there were seats in the back. Wait, the seats looked like gravestones…
“And then on the last day, the demon king comes out to the stadium and renews her contract with the god of sound to control that sound, and that’s the end. It was originally a religious affair.”
“Maybe these kinds of festivals originate from religion no matter what world you’re in.”
Just then, Fatla came in with honey water. She sure worked hard.
“In general, please think of this as a festival with musical elements. We would like you to participate as our honored guests at the event in which the demon king will perform on the last day, but you are free to do as you please otherwise.”
“Then we should take a look around the castle town on the first day. There’s a place I want to visit.”
“And where might that be?” Fatla seemed surprised that I had a destination in mind.
“Remember? Pondeli should be living in the castle town. I was thinking about paying her a quick visit.”
Pondeli was a catperson who had died from hunger and turned into an undead.
She should be operating a game lounge in Vanzeld town.
I was the one who came up with that idea. She had been out of employment, education, or training for a long time, so I suggested a job even she could do: playing games with other people.
I’d played a big role in her life, so I felt obligated to check in on her. And I also wanted to make sure she was actually working… She was practically a hard-core NEET, after all…
“Miss Pondeli is working hard. She’s consistently paying her resident tax, at least.”
“That’s your standard?”
She must be doing well enough if she was making enough money to pay her taxes.
“But this is going to be such a lively festival, perhaps I should’ve established a stall for Halkara Pharmaceuticals.”
As always, Halkara was a salesperson raring to go. Her moxie had carried her through life.
“Indeed. There are companies from all over setting up shop to advertise. This year, you should observe to see if it is viable for you, then submit an application to open a booth next time.”
“Yes, understood!”
“Incidentally, applications for booths will be on sale at the venue this year, and we will be accepting applications for next time the day after the music festival is over. There is a high chance you will be rejected if your paperwork is not in order, so please check what you fill in very carefully.”
It felt like rules from a fan convention were applied to all sorts of things in this world. Well, I guess clerical work was the same everywhere…
“Additionally, if you would like to come in costume, you will need proof of permission to dress up, so be sure to apply for that, too.”
This is a convention!
Maybe fan culture is universal. I bet that’s it.
A little while later, both Kuku and Laika came back, dripping with sweat.
“I got some great practice.” (Kuku)
“I got some great practice.” (Laika)
I hadn’t thought they’d both say the exact same thing. They were practicing completely different things, though.
Kuku’s expressions suggested she did everything she’d wanted to do. Her rabbit ears seemed to be standing more upright than usual.
Fighsly swung by later, and Laika had a cheery chat with her.
“Fighsly-style slime fist is rather complex. I believe I can become more efficient should I adopt parts of it.”
“Yes. Efficiency is a key element of Fighsly style, after all.”
“I will use it to defeat many slimes!”
“Yes, please do!”
Really? Telling someone who used to be a slime that you’re going to defeat slimes…? But Fighsly herself didn’t seem to mind…
We feasted on Fatla’s delicious cooking that day as we headed for the castle. Both of the leviathan sisters were great at cooking.
The next morning, Vania landed near the castle without incident.
Early as it was, some shops were already open in the castle town, and there were more people around than before. From there, we went into the castle.
As when we came to receive the Demon Medal, we were taken to the guest room, and after that, we were left to our own devices.
“Miss Kuku, you’re free to do what you like today, but you are welcome to get an initial look at your venue and do a sound check. What do you think?” Fatla asked after showing us to our room.
“I will go, of course. It’s the biggest stage I’ll have ever been on…”
There was nothing to worry about.
“You have it all together, don’t you, Kuku?” I asked.
“Yes!” she responded enthusiastically.
So that meant the rest of us would take a stroll around the festival. Fatla gave us a map of the castle town.
Fighsly invited me to the gym, but I respectfully declined. You don’t really need to go to the gym on a festival day, do you?
Every street was crowded with people. There were stalls on either side, so the roads were narrower than usual, and with the throngs of people, everything was a mess.
“Finding Pondeli’s shop isn’t going to be easy…”
I was looking at the map of the castle town that Fatla gave us, but the distances were farther than I imagined, and there were some places where the roads were so intertwined that it was hard to tell them apart.
But even in Japan, game shops were usually in out-of-the-way places, so there wasn’t much I could do about that. People who weren’t into that stuff never needed to step inside, and for nerds, they’d want to go even if it meant having to search for it, so the difficulty finding it wouldn’t pose too much of a problem.
Incidentally, Rosalie seemed displeased by how the people walking on the streets kept passing through her.
There were lots of demons who could see her, but it was so crowded that they had to go through her anyway. She probably felt unsettled having people do that to her.
And she wasn’t the only unhappy member of our group.
“Waaah, it’s too crowded…”
“If you clear your mind, even the hottest fires will feel cool, Big Sister.”
Shalsha, that basically just means “deal with it.” Actually, I didn’t know that saying existed in this world, too…
But it would be bad if the two little ones got separated from me and got lost. I needed to think of a way to prevent that.
“Hey, Laika? Is there a way to keep us from losing Falfa and Shalsha?”
“Lady Azusa, we lost Halkara.”
The question got me a missing persons report!
“W-well… She knows where we’re going, and she also has a map, so I think we could probably reconvene with her… Wow, she really is lost…”
There were no cell phones in this world, so it was going to be hard to meet up now that we were separated.
“Laika, what should we do to make sure the two don’t end up like Halkara?”
“I believe holding hands is the most reliable way.”
That might be true, but it was way too crowded. Holding hands and making space for ourselves to walk abreast would just make us an obstacle for everyone else…
“Oooh, oooh! Falfa wants to ride on Mommy’s shoulders!” Falfa said almost instantly.
Oh, that was a great idea! That way, she could also see the festival around us.
But that brought up another problem: There was only one of me…
“Shalsha is the younger sister, so I take priority. I insist that I ride on Mom’s shoulders,” Shalsha said, as though it was clearly obvious.
Right—I couldn’t carry them both on my shoulders at the same time.
“Awww, why does the littler sister get priority?” Falfa objected.
“Because you’re supposed to spoil little sisters.”
“That’s stupid. Because you could fall when you’re up on someone’s shoulders. That’s why your big sister, Falfa, should do it. It’s for your sake, Shalsha.”
Falfa was putting her foot down, but I smelled a lie!
This would just become an endless argument. I had to put an end to the conversation.
“Okay, Mommy’s going to make the decision. Falfa’s the one who came up with the idea, so she’s going to ride on my shoulders.”
“Yaaay! I won the case!”
That was a weird way to be happy about it.
But then, of course, Shalsha pouted. She looked like she was going to cry. Even the most sensible girl would want to shed a tear or two in this situation. And sometimes, seeing those childlike parts of her was a relief for her mom.
And I wasn’t planning on leaving it at that, of course.
“I want to appeal to a higher court…”
“Shalsha, you can ride on the shoulders of one of your other big sisters.”
I shifted my gaze to Flatorte. She was taller than Laika, after all.
Flatorte seemed to understand what I wanted, and she gave a thumbs-up as a signal to leave it to her.
Shalsha went over to her and bowed her head. “Thank you.”
“Of course! Leave it to me, Flatorte!”
She immediately squatted down, ready for Shalsha to climb on.
“But, Shalsha? Don’t touch my horns… It wouldn’t be good if I started having to obey everything you said…”
Oh, right, that could be a problem… Did I pick the wrong person…? Maybe I should’ve picked Laika…
“I almost did. They’re so easy to hold on to.”
“Oh, Shalsha, seriously, be careful! This is a very delicate problem!”
Anyway, the two were happy to ride on our shoulders.
“Wooow! There are so many people!”
“I feel like a giant. Even the smallest human riding on the shoulders of a titan will have a wide field of vision.”
Good, they’re having fun. That’s practically a child’s job.
And then, we heard our errant Halkara’s voice.
“Madam Teacher!!! Where are you?! Please answer me!!!”
It looked like we could reconvene without any problems. When we met up, Halkara was on the verge of tears.
“Oh, Madam Teacher… I was all alone in this foreign land. I was so sad…”
I thought my daughters were going to be the ones to cry, not Halkara…
“Aren’t you the type to live a good life on your own?”
“But I have a family now, don’t I…?”
Well, that was a nice thing to hear, so I patted her head.
As we made for Pondeli’s shop, we ended up getting to see all sorts of different stores. We had to walk quite a bit.
“I see. It seems like we could make quite a bit of money, even with a stall all the way out here. It’s not terrible.”
Halkara was the only one looking at things with a more unique perspective. She was serious about that booth.
“In fact, I think it might be possible to open three stores or so. It’s just too good to put out only one. But placing it right in front of a large venue is also a possibility.”
“You really have it together when it comes to stuff like this, don’t you?”
“I am just happy to make money. And Halkara Pharmaceuticals doesn’t have any competitors at the moment, either. I may as well build a factory in the demon lands!”
Not having any competitors was a big advantage.
Next to me, Flatorte looked like she was about to fall over.
Well, more like Shalsha, who was riding on her shoulders, was off-balance.
“I got so scared, I almost grabbed your horns.”
“Ohhh, please don’t do that! If you grab on tight with your legs, you won’t fall, okay?!”
I felt bad for Flatorte. I’d done this to her… Still, Falfa had been having a ball, laughing and smiling this whole time.
As we made our way through, we reached an exceptionally crowded corner.
I could hear what sounded like a hawker.
“Oooh, what’s over there; what’s over there?! Falfa’s super-duper-extra excited!”
I heard Falfa’s voice coming from above me. The odd phrasing was okay because she was a kid. I don’t know how I’d feel if I heard an adult say that.
“Okeydoke, then, we’ll go over there.”
“Yay! I love you, Mommy!”
Well! She told me she loved me. I wanted to wake up every morning hearing that.
“Miss Flatorte, we’ll be going over there. Keep up with my big sister.”
“It feels like we’re playing horse…Very well…”
She’s putting you to good use, Flatorte. You’re doing great.
As we got closer, I realized why there was such a crowd.
There were so many banners advertising Mandragora pills!
And at the front of the store was a familiar redheaded witch.
“Today, I, Eno, renowned Witch of the Grotto, am here to personally sell you Mandragora pills! These are your greatest daily-use pills, sumptuously made from high-quality mandragoras! Our family doctor, Mandragora pills!”
She looked like she was having so much fun selling them!
“Buy one bottle today and get another one free! No price change! These are pills, so they will keep if you store them in a dry place! Feel free to buy as many as you like!”
Wow.
I’d thought about it before, but this girl was really animated when it came to customer-facing jobs…
“Well, if it isn’t my senior, the great Witch of the Highlands!”
Eno seemed to have noticed us.
“Your business looks like it’s going well. I’m happy to see a younger witch succeed.”
“Yes. I know I’ll make it big with this! See, as long as I’m alive, I want to win!”
“Oh yeah… I guess if that’s what’s right for you…”
This girl originally wanted to be a witch available only to those in the know, but once her product started selling, she sure changed her tune. Now she was thinking about how to sell even more…
“Oh yes, we also have kids’ Mandragora pills for children. How about one?”
Eno brought out a different product. She sure was aggressive.
“I’ll have to carry it around if I buy it now, so no thank you…”
After that, Eno greeted the rest of my family, and my daughters gave their polite hellos, too. Good.
But Halkara wore the expression of one facing a dangerous foe.
She sure is on alert… “What’s wrong with you, Halkara?”
“I have a feeling that she could pose a threat to my business… This is a merchant’s hunch…”
And her hunch was right.
This time, Eno pulled out a bottle of pale-yellow liquid.
“And today I’ve brought a new product—Forest Elixir! Forest Elixir is perfect for your nutritional supplements! It is chock-full of various herbs and mushrooms! Dilute one bottle with water every day and drink up! Forest Elixir will make you healthy from the inside out!”
Halkara went pale.
“Everyone, I know something we’ll call N-S from a company we’ll call HP has been selling recently, but treating fatigue with an energy drink is not good for you! You will not recover by temporarily forgetting about your exhaustion! Forest Elixir builds up your immune system slowly, over time, and raises your very status! Think about your health, and choose Forest Elixir!”
Uh-oh, I know what this is… A showdown between a nutritional supplement and a daily health drink…
“Wait, wait, wait! Do not defame my company!” Halkara leaped forward—she wouldn’t stand for this!
“I didn’t say Nutri-Spirits from Halkara Pharmaceuticals, though.”
“You basically did! And there are no harmful components in Nutri-Spirits! Please do not say that it is bad for your health!”
“Is that so? But it’s too hard on your body to drink every day.”
“That’s because it’s meant for people who need extra energy to work at specific times! Don’t you think it’s weird to decry a product for a different use?!”
“Miss Halkara, was it? I don’t admire the image you have of a worker gulping down a bottle. If it has ingredients that are supposed to have an effect right away, it has to be bad for you! You should not drink it to go for another round at work!”
“What about you, Miss Witch of the Grotto? If you need to drink that every day, then you may as well go for nutritionally balanced meals every day, and that’s much healthier for you! Making people think that they’re safe just drinking that every day is practically fraud!”
Oh no—this was going to be a more intense battle than I thought…
But the demons around them were urging them on, yelling, “More!” Was this a show now?!
And Falfa was also cheering. “You can do it, Big Sis Halkara!” Falfa, this isn’t a thing you should be cheering for…
And then, two very strong and scary-looking Minotaur security guards came over.
“Hey, we heard there’s a fight going on over here.”
This time, both Eno and Halkara blanched.
“Oh, what are you talking about…? My shop is operating as per usual…”
“I am not entirely sure, either… I’m just an elf tourist…”
They sure were quick to act like they didn’t know anything…
Halkara practically fled the scene. Actually, it looked like that’s exactly what she did.
If we just let her be, she’d get lost again, so we followed her.
“Oh dear… I didn’t think Halkara Pharmaceuticals would have a rival…”
“Sounds like a pickle, doesn’t it?”
“In that case, I think my only choice is to start selling True Nutri-Spirits, Nutri-Spirits Relaxation, and Nutri-Power-Up-Spirits, which all use more valuable herbs, and pressure her with variety…”
Now that I thought about it, I never knew why there were so many different kinds of energy drinks on sale in Japan… Some went from dirt cheap to exceedingly expensive, so I really wondered if there was much difference among them.
I guess every world was destined for the same fate.
As we talked about all that, we carried on searching for Pondeli’s shop.
“By the way, Lady Azusa, what sort of person is this Pondeli?” Laika asked.
None of them had met her before.
“To sum her up in a single sentence, she plays games like a girl possessed. Except she’s already given up the ghost. She’s an undead catperson who will literally play all day long.”
“That seems to be quite an idle life. I’m not impressed.”
It certainly was incompatible with Laika’s values.
“Oh, there were plenty of people who hung out like that in the blue dragon village. While we were there, I spotted a few who started drinking before the sun went down and kept going until noon the next day. There was an older one sprawled out on the floor asleep.”
After seeing the blue dragon village for myself, I couldn’t even call that an exaggeration.
Still, I thought we had different definitions of “hanging out.”
The one thing they all had in common, though, was that they weren’t really doing any work…
“An undead, you say? I wonder who has the better lifestyle, an undead or a ghost?” Rosalie posed a question that was difficult for me to answer.
Plus, I had a hard time ignoring her choice of the word lifestyle.
“You decide. We’re not ghosts or undead, so we don’t know…”
As we walked toward the outskirts of the castle town, the crowds finally started thinning.
And since there was no risk of getting lost anymore, the shoulder rides concluded.
“We just need to go straight down this road. Phew, we’re almost there.”
This town was massive. The shop was in an inconvenient spot, but it was pretty big. Maybe it used to be an assembly hall or something.
I opened the door, and along the many rows of tables, most of the demons there sat in twos, facing each other with serious looks.
Let’s take a peek at the goblin and kobold nearby to see what they’re doing.
“I summon Vengeful Centaur!” (Goblin)
“Then I’ll summon King of the Sea Serpents and buff it with Water Plumes! After that, I’ll make it un-block-able with the ability from Patron of Darkness, and then I’ll attack!” (Kobold)
It was a card game!
It looked like everyone was playing the same game at every table.
“What is this…?”
And at the far end of the shop, Pondeli was sitting in what I assumed was the seat of the manager.
“It’s been a while. It looks like you’ve been hard at work.”
“Oh, Miss Azusa! You helped me a great deal before!”
Pondeli’s cat tail was twitching back and forth. She appeared to have adjusted to this place now.
“Afterward, I thought just playing games regularly would be kind of boring, so I used what I learned from all the games I’ve played before to produce the greatest card game I’ve ever come up with. I brought the idea to a company in town, and they hired me, luckily.”
“The demons are really advanced when it comes to this stuff…”
“It’s the card game that everyone’s playing now—Ket Keto.”
Pondeli pulled out a box and bag that looked like merchandise.
“This is a starter box containing sixty cards, and this bag is a booster pack with fifteen.”
I sometimes wondered if the people on this world came from Earth.
“The number of players is blowing up. I’m very busy right now because I have to decide on the setting for the next round of booster packs. I have to basically lock myself in my room and check the game balance over and over again.”
Holing up in her room was exactly what she did before, but she seemed to be having so much fun, and her eyes were sparkling. I could’ve sworn I saw more color in her face, too.
Ahhh, now I see the trick.
People at risk of becoming shut-ins could still find jobs where they could work.
“Congratulations. This is all great, Pondeli.”
“What? I just came up with a game I thought would be fun. I’m still doing the same thing I did in the graveyard.”
Pondeli herself didn’t seem aware of it, though.
I wondered if Pondeli’s history as a NEET was what gave her such a knack for this. If so, then maybe it was all for a reason. Meat was tastier aged, after all.
As she watched on, Laika also murmured her honest opinion: “What a lovely sight.”
“Shalsha wants to play this game. I’m interested.”
All right. I knew if Shalsha put her heart into it, she’d become the champion in no time. #biasedmom
After I met Pondeli, I had bought several games for my daughters to play, and they became obsessed with one of those card games. Of course she’d be interested to see a new one.
“In that case, shall I gift you a few cards?”
“It’s fine; we’ll buy them.”
I bought a rule book just for Shalsha. I knew it would get insanely expensive if she got obsessed, but this was just intellectual training! No problems here!
Just then, one of the tables seemed to come to the end of their game, and the winner brought the match results to the operations table.
We may as well watch from behind the table.
“Oh, Barunda has five straight wins, and so does Keika. Our finals match might be between two undefeated parties.”
The other players must have heard, because they started getting excited.
“Is it Barunda’s aggro deck, like they say?” “No, Keika’s Happy Central Drake is strong. Aggressiveness is barely even a threat.” “I think the sideboarding after the first game will be key here.”
Some people were pretty into it. The beginnings of this card game were going well.
“Since it is the finals, why don’t we do our sixth match first so these people may watch. Any objections?”
There was some applause in response to Pondeli’s idea.
Wow, she was pretty good at winging it, too!
And we could watch the finals match ourselves.
The finals would take place on the center table, where it was easiest to watch.
Barunda was an older, muscular orc.
On the other side of the table was Keika, a mini demon wearing a hat. He still seemed young.
“Boy, this will make you a man.”
“I’m young, so I’ve had plenty of time to dedicate to this. Get ready for a shutout.”
“You know what this table means, right?”
“Of course. What do you think this arena is used for?”
Oooh, sparks are flying before the match even starts! Incredible! Literally—there was a flame spirit or something in the audience. Get a hold of yourself; this is dangerous!
And so the match between the orc and the mini demon began.
“Hey, Pondeli? I don’t really understand this. Could you explain?”
“Sure, of course.”
Her tail was casually waving back and forth, and I wanted to grab it. She’d probably get mad at me if I did, though.
“First, the cards are mainly divided into energy cards and magic cards. You need energy cards to use magic cards. Energy cards will first come out during the initial phases, so it might be a little uneventful, but the aggressive deck will attack during these phases.”
I see.
“And he summons Lightning Spirit! This card can attack during the same turn it comes on to the battlefield, so here he goes!”
Oooh, the orc suddenly summoned something and attacked.
The mini demon couldn’t guard, so he took damage.
“Eeeeeeee!” the mini demon cried. It was like he himself was being shocked!
“Hey, how does this work?”
“When you take damage at this battle table, the corresponding damage goes straight to the player. I’ve drawn a special magic circle on the floor.”
“It’s more dangerous than I thought…”
I trusted she had proper safety measures in place, though…
“And people’s clothes often rip as a result of the damage, so the male players get very excited when female players come.”
“Don’t force them into something sexual!”
The orc was bringing out monsters one after the other during his opening move and attacking with them.
On the other hand, the mini demon was strengthening his defenses with some kind of wall.
But the orc’s attacks were breaking through the barriers in accordance with some rule or another I didn’t really understand and dealing damage to the mini demon.
“Aaaaagh! Rrrgh!”
Flames and lightning were bursting from below the mini demon, and he was getting pretty beaten up. In a way, it was a game suitable for demons, but it was cruel…
“Wait, this is strange… Madam Teacher, don’t you think it’s odd?” Halkara sounded like she had discovered something. “Doesn’t that mini-demon boy have something of a chest?”
It was just as the orc was about to use an attack spell to deal the finishing blow.
“It looks like this victory is mine, boy. It’s risky to wait too long before you make your move.”
“Heh. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to use that.” Keika the mini demon grinned.
Wait, could this be when he starts on his comeback?! That’ll get me all fired up, too!
Keika hid his chest, and then threw off his hat.
Shoulder-length hair fell from inside it.
“I’m not a boy but a girl! If you use that magic attack, my clothes will be torn to shreds!”
Keika wasn’t a young man but a young lady!
“Dammit! This is foul play! Card games are a gentleman’s sport! If I attack you any more, they’ll think I did it to see you naked!” The orc was in anguish.
“That’s right! That means you can’t put an end to this match!” Keika cried, elated at her success. Was this against the rules?!
“Ohhh! This development is getting me excited!” “She’s using the really-a-girl trick, after all this time!” “We got the psychological warfare at the last minute!”
The peanut gallery all seemed fine with it. Is this okay? I mean, like, in general? This has nothing to do with cards at this point, right?
“Well, well! This final match is really heating up!”
Pondeli seemed extremely pleased. The sponsor herself was okay with this. Maybe I was the only one who wasn’t…
“Miss Azusa, the game doesn’t just happen on the table. Shaking your opponent psychologically to attack is also a splendid strategy.”
“You make it sound really important, but I don’t buy it.”
“One time, a player set the building on fire to force his opponent to run away and abandon the match in a tournament.”
“You should just fight with the cards.”
“Also, that person was arrested.”
And they lost way too much for a victory.
“Speaking of fighting with cards, there are some players who throw the cards around like knives and stab them into their enemy’s arms.”
“Don’t use the cards physically!”
Demon card games were much too dark.
On the other hand, the strange tactics on the battlefield were still going strong.
“Heh-heh, if I move my hand while I’m drawing a card, you might see my chest.”
“Stop! Don’t tempt me after you’ve already dealt me intermediate damage!”
“Now, why don’t you use that attacking magic of yours and have everyone recognize you as a pervert? Or maybe you’ll sit there and take it when I summon this Highly Attentive but Unable to Act Accordingly Drake?”
Keika’s strategy might come out on top here, but I wasn’t totally sold on the methods when she looked like a fifth grader.
But in the midst of this insidious reversal, the orc drew a card.
At that moment, his expression changed.
“God has smiled on me during this match today.”
“Wh-what? That’s impossible… You couldn’t defeat me without dealing damage to me…”
“But there is such magic! I use Otherworldly Summon! I can use one thing here in this arena!”
I was doubtful of this card.
The orc slowly stood from his seat and ripped the curtain from the window.
To top it off, he threw it onto Keika.
“Ahhh! I can’t see!”
“If you’re completely covered, then I can attack as much as I want! Here I’ll use An Insanely Crazy Inferno! You take two thousand damage!”
“Ahhhhhh! Raaaaagh!” I could hear her voice coming from inside the curtain, and Keika then fell over.
Pondeli rushed over to the space and announced, “Barunda is the winner!”
As cheers erupted in the arena, my family and I looked on in astonishment.
It was nothing like the card game I imagined…
“And here we present the winner, Barunda, with a limited-edition card—Azusa, Witch of the Highlands.”
She handed him a card that violated my personality rights! You could even see my panties in the illustration!
I patted Shalsha on the shoulder.
“This card game is bad for your upbringing, so you can’t play it.”
Shalsha seemed a little disappointed, but she nodded.
Now that we’d seen Pondeli again, we returned to the room we were staying in.
A little while afterward, Kuku finished her practice and came into our room.
“I did everything I could. Now I just wait for tomorrow.”
Kuku seemed satisfied, so it didn’t look like there was anything for me to be worried about.
“Sometimes, you just have to fight. Break a leg.”
“Oh, and these are tickets for related parties. I have enough for everyone.”
Getting these for us meant she was treating us like family. The demons were really considerate when it came to stuff like this.
But that didn’t mean Kuku was family.
She’d written plenty of new songs, so she would have to go back to the royal capital to resume her activities.
That was why this music festival would be our good-bye to Kuku.
I wasn’t not sad about it, but I couldn’t force her to stay. I gripped the tickets tightly with both my hands.
“Got it. Make those demons bawl with your music!”
That night, we went to bed a little earlier than usual out of consideration for what Kuku had to do the next day. Even though this was a guest bed, it was huge. There were some demons who were really big, so maybe they made it big enough for them.
Suddenly, I sensed someone standing by my pillow and opened my eyes.
It was Kuku.
“Um… I suddenly got really anxious… Would it be all right to sleep in the same bed as you, just for today…?”
I smiled and slid to the side.
“Go ahead. I want you to be in tip-top shape.”
It was sort of funny to see her adjusting her rabbit ears as she slept.
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