I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Max Level Witch - Volume 5 - Chapter 10

  THE DEMONS ALSO JOINED THE DANCE FESTIVAL  

The following morning, we had breakfast in the shared space in the log house area, since there were so many of us.

This was the part of my house that we remodeled after Laika destroyed it a long time ago. It was directly connected to the original house.

It was much larger in terms of square footage, and we used most of the private bedrooms in this house. But for regular meals, we used the original dining room, which was right next to the kitchen.

We only really ever used this large shared space for things like the café, but it was perfect for this number of people.

Sandra was there even before I called her in. She didn’t like being aloof; she wanted to be with everyone.

“I’ve come to observe the animals eat.”

I wanted her to stop lumping us all together by calling us “animals,” though.

“Sure, if that’s what you say.”

“That’s all it is, Azusa.”

And then she went and sat on my lap. Totally just like a child.

Falfa and Shalsha were too well-behaved, so it was fine having a rash girl like this.

“You helped us a lot yesterday, Sandra.”

“Yes, thank you very much,” said Laika.

“Good job, kid!” Halkara added.

“W-well, y’see… That was nothing… Absolutely no big deal…”

She wasn’t threatening the other family members (who weren’t me) today, either.

Maybe her rough edges were smoothing out. I hoped so.

And the person in charge of food today was a special one, since we had so many people.

“Phew! It was worth cooking so much! It put my skills to the test!”

And so began Vania’s full-blown breakfast. High-class dishes you’d see at a fancy hotel came out one after the other. It was almost too much for this early in the morning.

Of course, humans with regular stomachs like myself and my daughters couldn’t eat very much, but the two dragons munched away happily. The demons easily downed all this food as well.

“Oh my, Elder Sister, you’re not much of an eater. Do you not have an appetite?”

Pecora was clearly smaller than me, but she was eating way more.

“Where does all that food go in your body…?”

“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard that demons tend to eat much more than humans do, since their metabolism is so fast. But it varies from person to person.”

I didn’t know if it was true, but both Beelzebub and Fatla were completely unperturbed as they chowed down on the greasy meat dishes so early in the morning. There was no questioning that they were big eaters.

“Aww, having a big family is so nice~” Rosalie said with great emotion as she floated above the table.

She had committed suicide after being betrayed by her family and had turned into a ghost, so maybe a harmonious family like this was her ideal.

“I have nothing to regret now… I’ve been able to stay smiling ever since I came here…”

That’s weird; Rosalie’s starting to fade away!

“Hey! You can’t be at peace now! Where would that leave us?!”

It’d be like we killed her! I’d hate to lose a family member.

“I don’t want to disappear, either, so I’ll think about my pent-up resentment from the past and get through this!”

I wasn’t sure if Rosalie’s determination was more forward facing or backward facing…

I thought the breakfast we had that day was the best one we’d ever had.

“Let’s go to the Dance Festival together, Elder Sister,” Pecora said as she came to my side.

Sandra made a little scowl. Mandragoras didn’t fear the demon king, either.

“Sure. Not going isn’t really an option, so of course I’ll go. But compared to how big the festival in the castle town was, this will be hilariously small.”

I wasn’t sure if Pecora would be satisfied by a little rural festival.

“He-he-he~ Perhaps this year’s festival might be a little over-the-top~”

The deviousness in her expression worried me.

“What are you plotting…?”

Meanwhile, Beelzebub said to my daughters, “Here’s a little something for the festival,” and gave them money. She was exactly like an aunt who fawned over her nieces.

But if all of us went to the festival like this, we’d stand out like sore thumbs. On the other hand, we already stood out, so maybe it didn’t matter that much…

“By the way, Sandra, are you coming to the festival?”

“I suppose I can accompany you.”

I had to be the one to ask her; she was a tough one to deal with.

Our little troupe went down to Flatta, and there we found that someone had been scheming.

WELCOME, GREAT WITCH OF THE HIGHLANDS AND COMPANY!

There was an enormous gate with words written across the top.

“Oh no… This is embarrassing… Who in the village came up with this…?”

We passed through the gate, and people who spotted us started yelling, “Long live the great Witch of the Highlands!” and “I went to the café yesterday!”

“Oh my, you are quite popular, Elder Sister~  ” Pecora was holding my hand tightly as we walked.

This was apparently the pseudosister style.

I didn’t know if it was real or not, but I just went along with it to avoid causing trouble for myself.

My other hand was holding Sandra’s, just to make sure she didn’t get separated from us.

“You’re walking too fast. Slow down a little bit,” she said.

“Sure. I’ll follow your lead.”

I’d fallen in step with Pecora at some point.

“Elder Sister, we’re walking a bit slowly, so why don’t we speed up a little?” And now Pecora was saying the exact opposite!

“What’s with you? You’re annoying. Grrr!” Sandra threatened Pecora. She was growling at the demon king!

“Is the little one in her rebellious phase? If you’re having trouble raising her, just let me know. I know a good nursery~”

Pecora wasn’t angry, but her eyes weren’t smiling.

A strange battle was breaking out between the two…

Getting too involved would just create more trouble, so I’ll concentrate on the festival. Yep, that’s what I’ll do.

I noticed something right away.

There were clearly many more stalls than last year.

—And among the ones running the stalls, there sure were a lot of demons…

“Pecora, Beelzebub, what did you do?”

There was no questioning the looks of proud success on their faces.

“We negotiated with the village for permission to set up stalls,” said Beelzebub. “This is perhaps the greatest number of stalls in any festival in the Nanterre province. It will liven up the celebration, no?”

Flatta’s festival was being supported by demons!

“Indeed. We must soon start thinking about our peace with the humans, so we decided to use Flatta as our model case.  ”

Their intentions sounded honest, but they were probably most likely doing it because it was fun.

“Sigh… Just don’t go overboard… You guys sometimes don’t know where to stop…”

“Yes. We won’t go overboard. Oh, that shop belongs to an acquaintance of yours, Elder Sister.”

I could see a banner advertising the shop of Eno, Witch of the Grotto, in the distance.

“Oh, she’s at it again.”

As we got closer, I could hear Eno’s spiel.

“Today we not only have our hit product, Mandragora pills, but every kind of product available! Collect all of them, each one created using our secret techniques! Starting now, for the next thirty minutes, and only the next thirty minutes, any purchase you make will be accompanied by three free bottles of Forest Elixir!”

She was offering freebies like something out of an infomercial! I had a feeling that she’d gotten better at selling than she was before… She was already singing to a much more lucrative tune.

“Mandragora pills are recognized by the great Witch of the Highlands! The people of Flatta must purchase them! They have even saved the great Witch’s life!”

And she was name-dropping me in her advertisement!

It wasn’t an exaggeration, either. A Mandragora pill saved me when I shrank after eating a poisonous mushroom…

“You’re having fun with life, aren’t you, Eno?”

When I showed up, Eno immediately snapped to attention. Apparently, she sensed a hierarchical relationship between us when it came to this stuff.

“I’m so sorry for causing you so much trouble the other day, Miss…”

Ah, the mandragora incident.

Sandra got ready to fight her off if she had to.

“Grrr! Grrr! Woof, woof! Mrow! Aroooo!”

Those were all animal noises!

Plants didn’t exactly have characteristic noises, so I guess she just borrowed them from animals…

“Oh, I’m not going to hunt you anymore, so you’ll be all right. I don’t have the courage to earnestly pick a fight with Miss Azusa!”

“I’ll choose to believe you. You’re here because the demons approached you about it, didn’t they?”

“Yes, they did. I wondered if I could make any profit in such a remote place, but they insisted they would pay me, so I came.”

Flatta was a remote countryside village. It had its perks.

“I think plenty of other people have come here as well,” Eno said. “Like her.”

There I saw a banner that read GAME TOURNAMENT NOW.

“Oh, Pondeli’s here.”

This was turning into a reunion…

Before I knew it, Sandra and my daughters were already heading toward the game banner.

Pecora and Beelzebub had disappeared, too.

They were just taking their own course. The two sure liked to act on their whims…

But Laika and Flatorte had broken away and were buying a bunch of food somewhere else, so my family was no different. Flatta was so tiny that getting separated wouldn’t create any problems, at least.

“We’re selling here in the human lands for the first time! We have every game! We will have a board-game tournament starting in ten minutes, so be sure to stick around for that!”

Pondeli had a large area with many games on display.

The villagers and visitors from surrounding towns looked on curiously, and the children were quickly enraptured with the trial games she had out.

“Hey, it’s been a while. I’m guessing the demons called you in, too.”

“Oh, Azusa! I’ve published several new games, so I came to introduce them.” This ex–graveyard security (read: NEET) catperson undead was full of life, too. “This is my new work, a game called Search for the Undead.”

She showed me several cards. The name definitely sounded like something an undead would make.

“The players take on the role of the character on the card they pull. One of the characters is the undead, so the players negotiate every turn to decide on who might’ve turned. Then they execute them. On every turn for the undead, they pick one of the villagers to attack and kill. There are several other special villager cards as well, but I’ll spare you the explanation.”

Haven’t I heard of this game before…?

“I have a feeling it’ll be an enormous hit. The psychological warfare could be fun. I hope I can spread the word!”

“Yeah, I think it’ll be a hit, too. But why not make it a werewolf instead of an undead?”

“No. Making it undead helps me be more serious about it. I also thought of such complex rules by tapping into the feeling of being hunted.”

Maybe she had been a NEET in Japan in her previous life…

“Oh, right. I heard a famous singer was here and that she’ll be doing a performance. It should be starting soon at the stage in front of the town square.”

I already knew what was going to happen. The one performing had to be—

Kuku the minstrel. It was like the demons called on everyone.

The kids were playing, so I decided I’d go there on my own.

I pressed through the crowd and made my way to the stage.

The village chief was acting as MC. The Dance Festival had gotten pretty big thanks to the participation of all these new parties, so he was trying to help as one more familiar with the locals.

“Wow, I’m so happy to see such an unparalleled success at this year’s festival. Next we will have what sounds like a famous singer from the capital.”

Yeah, I know. It’s Kuku.

“The girl who is immensely popular for her idol-style performance: Pecora!”

“Whaaaaaat?!”

I wasn’t ready for that!

Pecora stepped up to the stage in that idol outfit of hers. “Hellooo! It’s Pecora! I’m joining the Dance Festival today to become the bridge between the demon and human worlds!”

I could hear innocent cheers coming from the villagers in the audience.

“She’s so cuuuuute!”

“Pecoraaa!”

You guys know she’s the demon king, right…? You know the girl up there is a big deal, right?

“I’ve opened many stalls today to give your festival a shot of excitement! What do you think?!”

And then again, calls came from the audience.

“Yeeeah!”

“Only an important demon could do something like that, though, right?”

She was insanely important. The most important, actually.

“My dream is to be the demon king when I grow up!”

From the audience, I heard easygoing responses like, “I’m cheering for yooou!” as well as things like, “Wait, hasn’t she come to the village before, calling herself the actual demon king?”

Either way, she is already the demon king, so unfortunately, all your support will go to waste…

I see… I knew she broke off from the group earlier, but not that this was why…

I saw that my family had also started cheering for Pecora, and among them were my daughters bouncing up and down.

“Miss Pecoraaaaaa! It’s Falfaaaaa! Look this waaaaay!”

“I am feeling an urge to rock out.”

It looked like they’d been naturally drawn to the big stage.

That was when Pecora spotted me, grinning. She was never satisfied until she’d played some kind of trick. As long as she didn’t create actual trouble, she could do all she wanted. The affairs of demons were none of my concern.

“Here we go!”

Pecora’s song was demonic, as it always was, and a little gory, but the poppy tune canceled that out—it wasn’t bad at all.

The people of Flatta and the unfamiliar visitors from far away were super into it.

The village chief came to my side. “Wow, thanks to your café and your friends, this year’s Dance Festival is the most exciting it’s ever been. I truly thank you!”

He bowed deeply.

The café aside, I haven’t helped with anything Pecora’s done at all…

“The village has also gotten a lot of money, so our finances have benefited enormously. Thank you so much.”

Well, as long as it livened up the town that had always taken good care of me, it was fine by me. I wouldn’t want any developments that would make it too loud, though.

“Some of the things the demons do are out of my control, so if they’re doing too much, then please tell me… They’re typically a good-natured bunch, but they tend to operate on a larger scale than humans… Like, double, quadruple scale…”

“Understood. I will keep a cautious eye out for anything that could cause administrative trouble. I am the chief, after all.”

Now that I had his word, a good part of my responsibility lessened.

But the chief’s power wouldn’t be enough for everything, so I would have to keep a sharp eye out—

“And next we will have my elder sister, the Witch of the Highlands, up onstage!”

Pecora casually called me from the stage.

“Whaaaaaaaat?! I didn’t know about this! I didn’t hear anything about this!” I shouted back in protest.

“Of course. That’s because I didn’t tell you.”

My little sister was playing around with me too much… I wanted her to be more well-mannered.

Not that I was very well-mannered myself, though…

Looks of anticipation all turned to me.

Nowhere to run.

“Fine… I’ll do it…”

I gave an affected sigh and stepped up onto the stage.

It wasn’t all that high off the ground, but I could pick out many people I knew.

I saw my family, of course, as well as the demon group of Beelzebub with the leviathan sisters and Fighsly, and Eno and Pondeli as well. In the distance, the droplet spirit Momma Yufufu was waving casually to me.

How did she even know to come here…?

“What do you think, Elder Sister? Don’t you think a festival is fun when you don’t know what’s going to happen next?”

“Pecora, you are devil-may-care in its most literal sense. So what do you want me to do?”

I didn’t know any songs. The most I could do was talk.

“To sing, of course!”

Pecora smiled like a real idol. I was sure she’d gain a number of fans if I brought her to the Japan I used to live in.

“Sure, but I don’t know any of your songs.”

“No need to worry about that. I’ll choose one you know.”

That number was practically zero, but that concern was quickly answered.

The person who appeared from offstage was—

Kuku, the almiraj minstrel.

“I haven’t seen you in a while, Azusa.” Kuku bowed, still holding her lute. Her long rabbit ears drooped downward.

“It’s been a while. I see; I get it now.”

I’d heard Kuku’s songs plenty of times when she practiced in our house, so I knew them to an extent.

“Will you sing along with me?”

“Yes. I might trip you up, but I’ll sing as best I can.”

The new Kuku was so calm. She had probably stood on enormous stages so many times since then, so a village festival was probably nothing to be nervous about for her.

“Here we go, then.”

Pecora and I sang along to Kuku’s lute.

Even without microphones, our voices carried throughout the village. Before we knew it, the audience was singing along as well, and I felt then that all of us had become one.

Only two Dance Festivals ago, I’d been living on my own.

My life had drastically changed ever since the day I accidentally learned I’d maxed out my level.

At the pace things were going now, even more drastic changes were probably on the horizon.

But if I was to compare my three hundred years of the past and these (almost) two years, I could easily say with confidence that the latter had been much more delightful and fun.

I didn’t mind my laid-back life on my own, but spending it with so many others was special.

This was all the result of slowly killing slimes, so I didn’t know what I’d ever do without them. Still, there were slimes everywhere, so I didn’t have to worry about that anytime soon.

It was different from last year’s, but this year’s Dance Festival was just as fantastic.