Let's get my sister up to her room and get to work this afternoon! But then Sherry got a telepathic call from her.
(Leo! (I've finished conquering the dungeon, so come and get me!
Is it over? It's so early, what's going on? (Are you okay?)
(What? Early? No, it's not. Well, we've been in the dungeon for like ten hours now.
Yeah. Yeah, that's right. (I'll pick you up now.)
My time in the dungeon was cut in half .
Shelly and the others must be confused: .......
I'll have to explain it to them when I get there.
Sis, I'm just going to go get Sherry and the others.
'What? I thought you weren't coming home until the evening. Tell him it's okay if it's because I'm here.
No, it's not like that. I just feel like I'm simply done working.
I haven't told Shelly and the others that you're back yet, you know.
'Really? That's fine then.
Okay. All right. I'll be back.
With that, I moved to the training grounds.
When I arrived at the range, I looked for the four men and found them all in the mess hall.
Good night. How was your day?
Oh, Leo. Listen to me! I've succeeded in finding the boss room on the fourth level!
Leena happily answered my question.
Oh, that's great. So you wanna go up against the boss tomorrow?
What was the boss on the fourth floor: ...... I think it was a slime with a physical invalidation or a very fast moving kobold.
Well, there's plenty of room for four people in either case.
'Hey, forget that, ...... can you tell me why the time is different inside than outside? Is it already nighttime? So I went outside and I was surprised to see it was still light?
In contrast to the happy Leena, Shelly seems to be more interested in complaining about her time in the dungeon than about the boss.
It's a new ability in the dungeon. I spend half my time in the dungeon. So if Shelly and the others were in the dungeon for ten hours today, they'd only have five hours outside.
'What? So you're saying that if you're in a dungeon, you're going to age twice as fast?
'Well, well, will it? But it's not like we're going to spend years in a dungeon, so it's okay, right?
I thought the same thing when they added it as a new feature?
But I figured we wouldn't be in the dungeon for days at a time, so I figured it was okay.
'Isn't it? We'll probably only be around for a little while, but ...... knights will continue to train in dungeons, and ...... if it adds up, it's going to be a big year. Isn't there any?
When I thought Belle suddenly opened her mouth, she made a terrific and accurate point .
If you ask me, the knights are going to be taking on dungeons for hours every day from now on: .......
If that continues for many years, it will make a big difference in time .
I'm sure. Yeah ...... I'll go talk to you about it for a bit.
I don't know if I can solve this on my own, so I'll ask Anna.
'Anna~! Is there any way to stop aging in a dungeon?
'Does that mean you want it to age as fast as it does outside?'
Yeah, yeah!
I agree. Rather than stopping the aging process, you may be right about wanting to keep it the same as it was on the outside.
It's just like Anna, you knew exactly what I was thinking in an instant.
"With additional magic, you can add this as a new feature.
Really? Oh, but you'll need a lot of magic, right?
It took me a month to save up my magic power just to make it complete, and now I'm going to add more: .......
''Yes . It's a feature that wasn't originally planned, so the magic power needed to add it and the magic power needed to maintain it will be an order of magnitude higher.''
I knew it.
''Oh, right. ....... So, how much magic do you think you need to save up to add?
''Well, even if you consider that the magic power of the ...... challengers will increase at this rate, I think it will take three to four months.''
'That's roughly four months or ....... Eight months' worth of aging ...... well, that's about right?
If it's enough to make you four months older, it's not really a problem, right?
If you are concerned, would you like to turn off the feature that halves the elapsed time until we add a slowing down feature? That would mean less magic power to maintain.''
'Oh, that's a good idea! Okay, let's do that until we add a new feature!
You're the best navigator because you get to the heart of the matter.
Understood. So, we'll keep the elapsed time in and out of the dungeon the same.
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. See you later!
"Yes, sir. We look forward to seeing you.
Problem solved, I came home to Sherry and the others with a good mood.
We're home!
Oh, Leo. So, what's going on?
'I've decided to add some new features to make the aging process the same as it is out there,'
Really. That's good news.
Oh, but we're totally lacking in magic, so it was agreed that the time in the dungeon will be the same as the time outside for the time being. So for three or four months, we'll be spending the same time outside.
Really. It's good because it cuts my time in half, and it makes me so much more efficient, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait a while.
Leena doesn't mind aging that fast, does she?
That's okay. No substitute for safety.
Yeah.
Belle's right, we need to play it safe.
All right, let's head home. Hey, I think my sister's here.
'What? Sis?
Lou, who had been lying on the table in the cafeteria not being able to follow a difficult conversation a while ago, got up with a bang when he heard that it was his sister.
Yeah, my sister is on vacation. My sister is on a long weekend.
'What? Helena? So you're making me wait, right? I have to get home soon.
Well, you don't have to worry about it.
I'm sure she's probably just having a nice conversation with Elsie and having a cup of tea.
With that in mind, I transitioned to the castle where my sister was waiting for me.
Helena, it's been a long time since I've seen you at ......
I've already told you to call me sister-in-law. Have you forgotten? Hey, Lina?
No, no, no, ...... your sister-in-law. It's been a while.
The energetic couple who had been in good spirits a while ago suddenly turned sulky in front of their sister.
I mean, what's a sister-in-law? Sis, you've been forcing them to call you that?
''Hmmm. They've grown even prettier in the short time I've been around ...... I'm jealous. So, you're Belle and Lou, right?
As I hugged Sherry and Leena, I shifted my attention to my next target .
In case you're wondering, Sherry is a princess: .......
It's just like my mom to not be reserved in that area .
Yes. I'm Belle. Nice to meet you.
That's cute. We're a free love affair, so we don't have to worry about status differences, okay? Oh, Leo wasn't the Forsters anymore. Well, it wouldn't make a difference if we were Mulderine, would it?
...... the same. By the way, just so you know, Belle is the daughter of the King of the Beast Race, right?
'What? Belle, you're a princess!
No, no, ...... it's a ruined country, so I'm pretty sure he's a commoner.
Still, it's not nice to have an ex-royalist as a maid.
Again, thinking about it, yes. I'm glad I didn't leave Belle as a maid.
I'm sure she'd be pissed off with you right now.
'Don't worry. Belle isn't a maid anymore.
'What? Really? That's a relief.
As he said that, he aimed at Lou next to Belle.
'Hmm. You're Lou? Wow, he really has horns! Ever since you were little, if you do anything bad, the demons will come to you! What a pissed off I was, but if you have such a cute little demon race, you didn't have to be scared.
I was getting excited on my own and kneading Lou's face around on my own .
I thought he might not like it .......
Heh-heh-heh.
Lou seemed happier than I expected.
Well, Lou is a spoiled brat. She's happy to be pampered by her sister.
Speaking of which, Lou's going to stay a slave.
When she was done kneading, she pointed to Lou's collar and asked me.
"Well, I'm technically a crime slave. I've killed a lot of people, and I'm going to need it to protect Lou.
This is the only way for Lou to survive in the human world.
I don't want him to unleash a destructive spell that he can't even control.
'Is that the way it's supposed to be ......? Okay. Lou, is the collar too tight for you?
No. I'm fine. I'm fine!
Yeah. That's good to hear.
When she heard Lou's words, she smiled and hugged him.
This kindness is just like Mom.
Oh, by the way, why are you all dressed like adventurers? You've been to the Order, haven't you?
After hugging Lou for a while, my sister asked me a question, as if she noticed something .
Come to think of it, it's not normal for Shelly and Leena to be dressed so comfortably.
I've been so used to seeing them lately, I'd forgotten all about it.
How to cover it up: .......
It's "I've been to the dungeon! Huh? Oh, Lou!
Hey, don't spill the beans on my story!
A dungeon? Leo, is that true?
d*mn it ...... How can I get it to go in a direction that doesn't piss me off?
'Yes, but ...... it's a safe and secure dungeon, so don't worry about it, okay?
'There's no such thing as a dungeon! This isn't a place for girls to go alone!
It's okay. I made the dungeon to look like that.
'What? Did you build a dungeon?
Oh, .......
I feel like I dug my own grave.
Oh, yeah. Leo, this is great! I thought I got a very large dragon magic stone and he built a very fun place for me.
Hey, I'm sorry I wanted to tell my sister that I'm awesome, but that's the last thing I should be saying!
Oh, I'm done.
Yes, ...... the dragon's magical stone. ......
'Yes, uh, ...... sister?'
'Before I came here, your mother told me to go check in person to see if Leo was doing anything dangerous. ....... I didn't really want to bother looking for it or anything, but now that I've heard ......, I have to report it. ......
So if you don't report it, you still have a chance to get out of the sermon, right, sis?
Hey, sis? Please, please, please. That's the only thing I'm asking for: ......
If I didn't report it, he'd be mad at me . If I hadn't heard about it, I could have just said I didn't know about it and let it pass. ......
Oh, no. ......
'Well, it was Leo's fault for breaking his promise to his mother. Next time I see you, I'll just have to bring you something sweet that your mother would like to take home to make you feel better.
Sweetness: ...... Okay.
Okay, for the time being, I'll have to do everything I can to develop sweets .
In the meantime, I have to be very selective about the sugar in the ingredients: .......
'Oh, and I don't know if that doesn't help your mood, okay?
There's a chance you'll be pissed off even if you do your best!
'd*mn. ....... Oh, yeah . Sis, do you want to try the new dragon dish?
'What? The new one? Oh. You're trying to get your sister out of food, aren't you?
Yeah, I don't mean to, you know? But it's good enough to make me want to eat it even if my mom is mad at me. ......
Hmm. All right then. I'll send your mother a quick note by express mail if you stop by. Okay?
Ummm, yeah, ......, it's definitely good, so don't worry about it.