The Strongest Onmyoji and the Shikigami With AI are Unparalleled in Another World ~ A Second Life Properly Enjoyed Using Artificial Intelligence ~ - Chapter 230

The next morning, everyone had gathered in my room from early on, each doing their own thing.

Natalia was knitting, while Lily was carving a snake ornament.

Alice was reading a book, with Pamela and Leanne playing with Tama-chan beside her.

Meanwhile, Annie was just a severed head, fast asleep.

“How much do you think we should be earning, realistically?”

AI-chan and I were discussing the mansion.

“Well… I’m not sure. Maybe we should go ask a real estate agen—hm?”

Everyone except the sleeping Annie turned their eyes toward the door.

Because there had been a knock.

“Come in—”

When I called out, the door opened and Layla peeked her head in.

Well, she’s the only one in this dorm, so I had a pretty good guess it was her.

“Got a minute?”

“What’s up? It’s rare for you to come here.”

Actually, I don’t think it’s ever happened.

“Yeah, well… there’s something weird on the roof. My snake caught it, but it keeps making a fuss, saying it wants to see you.”

…Huh?

“What are you even talking about?”

“I don’t know either. Anyway, it’s probably your woman or something. Don’t be inviting demons to a place like this.”

…Eh?

“Demons?”

“See for yourself.”

When Layla said that, a black-haired woman—bound up by a giant snake—was brought in, quietly sobbing.

“Merell?”

What the hell is she doing here?

“Help me… I’m gonna get eaten…”

Merell pleaded, teary-eyed.

“Ah—Layla, she’s a demon who was on our side during the last demon invasion. Let her go.”

“…Hmm.”

When Layla glanced at the snake, it instantly vanished from sight.

Merell hurried into the room, immediately hiding behind Natalia as a shield.

“She says she’s scared of your snake.”

Well, it is a bona fide man-eating snake, so I can’t really blame her.

Its eyes are ice-cold, too.

“Not my problem. Anyway, just be careful. People are still on edge about demons right now.”

Leaving those words behind, Layla exited the room.

“Ahhh, that was terrifying… I keep finding more and more things I hate,” Merell said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

“No, seriously, what are you even doing here?”

“Oh, could I get some tea? My throat’s completely dry from the tension of not knowing when I’d get eaten.”

Poor thing…

“Natalia, make her some tea.”

“Sure.”

As Natalia started preparing tea, Merell headed to where Annie had been sitting earlier.

“Oh, there you are… Wake up—let me have half.”

Merell shook Annie’s head.

“What…? I’m sleepy…”

“If you’re sleepy, go to bed.”

“Tch… why is she even here…”

Annie crawled out from under the kotatsu, shuffled to her futon, and went right back to sleep under the covers.

“Here you go.”

Natalia set the tea down in front of Merell.

“Thanks~. Man, this place is as debauched as ever. Smells like nothing but women in here.”

…Shut it.

“Did you come all the way here just to say that?”

“No, no. Remember how we parted ways back in the town of Ludo? Well, right after that, I realized I never got the potato seeds from you.”

Ah… right, that was a thing.

“And since you’d left after throwing out that parting jab, you couldn’t exactly come back, huh.”

“No, no, things were hectic on my end too. It was just… a whole mess.”

Well, yeah—after all, their boss, Volker, had died, and Big Spider-chan and Big Centipede-chan went on a rampage.

“So what happened after that?”

“I’ll tell you, but you tell me too—what happened with that ‘Hell Beast Cerberus’ Volker mentioned?”

Ah, that three-headed dog.

“Our AI-chan here took it down.”

“Wahaha! None can stand against the great Golden Fox of Mount Tsubaki!”

AI-chan puffed her chest out as she let out a triumphant laugh.

“That monster, huh… What about the troops stationed in Tretta?”

“I doubt any survived.”

They’d gotten caught in the crossfire between AI-chan and Cerberus, and then the army’s own forces chased them down and wiped them out.

“I see… so the military’s completely finished, then.”

“What about your side?”

I was a little curious.

“We had the Resistance move in and wipe out what was left of the army. Once Volker was dead, a lot of the townspeople who’d been unhappy with the situation joined up, so it all happened pretty quickly.”

Judging from how that pervy innkeeper reacted, I can believe that.

“Oh? So you defeated the military and restored peace?”

“Well…”

Merell trailed off.

“Something happen?”

“You remember how the Resistance members were executed in the plaza?”

“Yeah. That was awful.”

The men were beheaded, and the women were…

“The Resistance went and did the exact same thing. Dragged out the captured soldiers and even the ones who’d surrendered…”

Revenge, huh?

“Pretty stupid move.”

If someone surrenders, you let them live.

It’s fine to hold them accountable for their crimes, but killing them? That’s a no-go.

“Yeah, pretty much. So now the Resistance has a bad reputation, and the surviving soldiers who saw surrender as pointless just ran off.”

“Idiots…”

They left dangerous elements out there—now with grudges on top of it.

“Well, the Resistance was never exactly well-organized to begin with. On top of that, their leader’s been eaten up with paranoia ever since that whole ‘spy in our midst’ thing.”

Yeah, that’s no good.

“So what did you do?”

“I figured things were heading downhill fast, so I took my payment and got out of there. The leader tried to stop me, but as a former member of the military, there’s no way I’d have met a good end.”

“Smart move. Best-case scenario, you’d have been executed.”

No way they’d trust someone like her—not with her skill at erasing her presence and disguising herself.

And being Sven’s woman, no less.

A man consumed by paranoia isn’t going to trust her for a second.

“Oh, you think so too? Yeah, I was certain they’d torture me to death as a warning to others. They actually chased me when I left, but like I’d ever let a bunch of guys like that catch me.”

Well, she is specialized in stealth—and she can fly, too.

“So what then?”

“I went to Sven-sama and reported everything.”

“And what did he say?”

“He’s insisting that Yuuma’s definitely still alive.”

…That’s the takeaway, huh?

That guy’s way too obsessed with me.

“Tell him to give it up already.”

“Ehh, I dunno about that. He’s learned some kind of wind magic—you know, the kind that makes a tornado.”

…Wow. Impressive. Not.

“And he thinks that’s enough to beat me?”

“He doesn’t think so—that’s why he’s still training. We’re living together at the foot of the mountain right now, but somehow the surviving soldiers from the army have been showing up to rely on Sven-sama. Before I knew it, a village had formed.”

The birth of a new military faction.

I can already see Sven being hoisted up by everyone and turning into the second Volker.

“And that’s what the potatoes are for?”

“Exactly. With more people, you can’t just get by on meat and fish…”

“You’re sure Sven didn’t send you here?”

I hope she’s not lying.

“It’s fine. Sven-sama can’t fly, and besides, he’s in full-on training mode. He hardly pays me any attention.”

“What a useless guy.”

“I’m sure Sven-sama would say you’re the last person who should be calling him that.”

…Rude.