CH 234

234 – Lemegeton and the Dog-Eared Family

The All-Heaven Festival Contest is a battle to determine who is the strongest.

However, since we can’t keep having an absurd amount of one-on-one fights, contestants will first participate as a party.

Even so, there are still too many people who wish to participate, so everyone who gathered from all over the world will be narrowed down to five hundred through the preliminaries.

That said, the number of people who took part is two thousand and five hundred.

The details of the main event are yet to be revealed, but the number of parties that will challenge the Legendaries awaiting at the end will probably be extremely few.

The Black Sorcerer Lem of the Wraith party.

That is how I am currently participating.

In this party, with these allies, I plan to take part in the battle with my master.

Among those who will be advancing to the main event are the seniors that I respect, the Fenix party led by my best friend, and various people who know me as both Lem and Lemegeton.

Even the allies and friends who know me as Lemegeton from the Impregnable Demon King Castle.

But…there isn’t a future where everyone can remain in the final battle.

Eventually, there will come a time when I must defeat them all.

That time just might come sooner rather than later.

Call it a hunch.

…So I think during my morning walk.

I do my morning runs with Lemegeton’s three subordinates, return to my apartment for a spell to have breakfast with Milla, and then go and pick up Cashew.

It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve done this routine, but this is my morning.

In a unit of a two-story apartment complex lives Cashew and her family.

I knock on the door and Cashew’s mother, Hazel, opens the door and greets me.

A beautiful woman that makes me wonder if Cashew will grow up to be this pretty if she continues to grow properly.

「Oh my, good morning, Lem.」

「A good morning to you, Ms. Hazel.」

Hazel greeted me with a gentle smile.

As I take my shoes off and step up from the entrance, the sole boy amongst the four children, Nuts, comes rushing at me.

「Take this, Lem…! Fury of the Flame God…!」

He held in his hand Fenix’s Holy Sword! …The toy version, that is.

It isn’t rare for the equipment of a famous Adventurer to be commercialized.

Even Fenix’s Holy Sword has had all manner of products made, from life-size replicas to toy swords for children.

In the past, there was a project to sell the outfits of the Fenix party, so that anyone can dress up as their favorite member… Even my robes were recreated, but despite the fact that far less of that was made compared to the outfits of the other four members, there was a stock of them sitting in inventory.

But one day, about two years ago, a large order came in for those robes.

It seems that, for some reason, a single customer bought a whole bunch of them.

To this day, we never found out just who that person was.

Time-wise, I believe that was a little after my run-in with Milla…

Meh, whatever.

The Fenix Holy Sword that Nuts is holding right now is the latest model. I got a sample model of it from ol’ Fenix not too long ago, so I gave it to Nuts the other day as a present.

I’m glad he likes it.

The Fury of the Flame God is a Spirit Magic that turns its surroundings into scorched earth, if the real thing ever hit me…

I would die…

「Gwargh…You got me…」

For now, I’ll pretend to be hurt and kneel on the floor.

Nuts looked really happy.

「I did it…! My home has been protected…」

Am I…a threat to the home?

「Now Nuts, you’re being rude to Lem.」

Says Hazel in a tough tone.

「Heheh, Nuts has been playing with that thing non-stop. We don’t really have many toys, so I think he’s just happy.」

Says Maca, Cashew’s older sister, moving around briskly in the kitchen.

This 12-year-old girl already knows what her Job is.

the young Chef Maca is training at a restaurant her mother’s friend works in.

At the same time, she is the head chef of the family.

「Lemy~.」

After I stood up, Nuts’ twin sister Mia came and hugged my leg.

Her lisp is so adorable.

「Cute? Ish it cute on me?」

Thinking that I couldn’t just give Nuts a gift, I also looked for a toy for little Mia.

It was a small toy crown, modeled after the small crown that the Silver Hero Nicola wore when she was the Silver Prince.

「Yes, it looks very cute on you.」

That made her beam brightly.

Accompanied by the twins, I head toward the dining table.

Scanning the area for my secretary, I spot her carrying Maca’s cooking to the table.

「Morning, Cashew.」

When our eyes met, she smiled broadly.

「Good morning, Lem.」

「Aw, the little twins got a gift from Lem. I sure hope he gives me a cute present or something.」

Maca says in a sickly sweet tone.

Hazel pressed a hand to her forehead, troubled.

「Maca, don’t cause trouble for Lem. Besides, you already received a souvenir from him, now didn’t you?」

I immediately thought about toys for the kids, but then I was worried.

Cashew is 8-years-old, two years before her Job is identified, so giving her a toy like her 5-year-old brother and sister…might bother her.

This is around the age when kids dislike being treated like children.

I have no idea what the 12-year-old Maca would like to receive as a gift.

And would it be strange if their mother received nothing…?

And so, I bought them food as a souvenir to be safe.

「Aww, I mean, yeah they were delicious but… I would’ve been happy with something that could remain as a keepsake. Don’t you think so too, Cashew?」

Cashew twitched in surprise.

「Huh? I…no, I…」

「You say that, but I saw the way you looked at Mia’s gift. Green with jealousy.」

「M-Maca…!」

Cashew said, panicking while puffing her cheeks.

Her face was bright red.

「I-it’s not like that. My sister is…just saying things, I… It wasn’t like that…」

Finally, she looked down.

「M-my sister, what a spoiled little thing you are…」

Having finished her cooking, Maca stroked her sister’s head to calm her down.

Cashew resisted at first, but then she gave in.

I see.

After confirming something from the state of my secretary, I decided on something.

But first, let’s eat.

Everyone takes a seat.

There is one new addition to Cashew’s household.

『The qualifying round of the All-Heaven Festival Contest has been a great success around the world, and today, let’s take a look at it from a different perspective!』

Yup, they now have a TV.

During the time that I challenged the Original Dungeon Clear, Cashew was continuing her work, helping her Highness.

Maca earns a living even though she’s in training, and Hazel is also working.

Once they had some money to spare, they purchased a TV, which they had always wanted.

The meal proceeded while Maca would occasionally warn the twins as they tend to suddenly stop eating and watch.

『There are thirteen parties led by thirteen Knights Order captains, but only twelve parties passed the preliminaries. I’m sure many of you are wondering just who was it that caused that one party to fail.』

『Please have a look. …That’s right! They were burned to a crisp by black flames from Lucifa, the ruler of the Impregnable Demon King Castle, in the match where she earned 5000 points!』

『The Knights Order captains demonstrated more than enough of their strength to the world in the other preliminaries, so this is all the more surprising. The current Demon King made her appearance in the Raid Battle, but she is no less superior than the former ruler, Lucifer, as her large-scale magic shook the entire world!』

Cashew stared at the screen with eyes brimming with respect.

「Not Lem~?」

Said Mia in a somewhat dissatisfied tone.

「Lem was so~ cool. Giving orders one after the other and he, himself, fought. That’s why they won first place. He was so~ dreamy~.」

Maca gave me a wide grin.

「Ahaha, thanks.」

「Az-…Astrea was so strong…! Which one is stronger? Fenix or her?」

「If they ever fight again, Fenix will win. I’m sure of it.」

Nuts heard my answer and went「Whoaa!」in excitement.

『Our next section is「Mysteries abound! Why didn’t that Famous Person Participate?」. From active adventurers to foreign combatants, the preliminaries of the Festival Contest were attended by a wide variety of talented people, but somehow, some never showed up!』

Not all of the Floor Bosses and their adjutants from the Demon King Castle participated, and the same goes for those from the North-South East-West Demon King Castles.

Neither did every Adventurer participate.

I was absentmindedly staring at them interview a renowned martial artist and he answered「I have no interest in the rule where I must create a party in order to participate.」, but in the next video that appeared, I was surprised.

Even Cashew gasped in surprise.

『Now then, I’m sure the strong contender who is missed the most in this competition is this man! The man who broke the Fenix party’s undefeated streak, who turned the Elementary Level – Beginner’s Dungeon into the All Level Dungeon as well as made an appearance to crush the likes of the Nicola party and other Adventurers. Not to mention in the Raid Battle, he faced off, together with his allies, against the combined forces of the Aerial party, Hervor party, Scathach party, and the Water Hero Wraith & the Destroyer Fran, and magnificently defended the title of Impregnable. The one and only One-Horned Dark Sorcerer Lemegeton…!』

「……」

Unknowingly, I almost dropped my fork.

It’s technically not a lie, but to pile on information after information on an introduction like that…

『While not uncommon for Monsters, his private life is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. He was seen for the first time when the Fenix party reached the tenth stratum, but when he started working there is unknown! Why does he only have one horn?! How old is he?! He has formed contracts with many a strong Monster, and he has the Magical Energy to summon them! Combat capabilities that cannot simply be labeled as a Black Sorcerer! Word on the street is that he might actually be a Demon King! Why, oh why, is he not taking part in the All-Heaven Festival Contest?!』

『I’m sure everyone is as curious as I am. As such, we tried to get in touch with the Impregnable Demon King Castle.』

Huh? This is the first I’ve heard of this.

No, I’m sure we have people to deal with this sorta thing.

Like the cat-eared Demi-Human at the front desk, not all the staff members hired are sent out to defend as Monsters.

『In the end, the answer we got was「Our Chief of Staff shall make his appearance when he is most needed.」! What could this mean?!』

『It can be interpreted in many ways. Perhaps Sir Lemegeton does not see the Festival Contest as a necessary battle? Perhaps he will make an appearance when someone performs Summoning Magic? Or maybe-』

『Maybe he has already challenged the preliminaries as an ordinary person and passed!』

『In that case, will he reveal himself to be Lemegeton at some point?』

『My word, this is honestly more information than I expected to glean from this! To think that we have a chance to see Sir Lemegeton in action.』

After that, they continued to talk fervently about the Festival Contest.

After the meal.

Cashew and I left the house together.

Walking side by side for a little bit, Cashew gently grabs onto my hand.

I close my hand gently, smiling at her reassuringly.

「Is…is there really a way for the Chief of Staff to appear in the Festival Contest?」

「Ah, that. Hmm…that’s right. There…is a way. I’ll tell you all about it later.」

「O-OK.」

「But more importantly, Cashew. About that previous conversation.」

「Previous…conversation?」

「Yeah. The one about Nuts’ and Mia’s toys…」

The mere mention of this made Cashew’s face turn red.

「L-like I said, that was just my sister teasing me…」

「To be honest, I was rattling my head about it. Thinking about what would make you happy, but that isn’t my area of expertise.」

I knew that her ears were twitching.

「So, I’ve been moving around a lot lately, leaving my excellent secretary behind, yet I hear that you’ve been working really hard. So as an apology, a thank you, and…a bonus, I guess?」

「Bo…nus…」

「Yeah, I was wondering if I could give you something. It’s OK if you want a do-over for the souvenirs.」

To be honest, I noticed it as well.

In the face of the older sister smiling and staring at the twins, happy with their toys, I could see a little bit of child-like envy seep out.

「N-no, not at all, I…」

「Of course, if you don’t want to…」

「I…I didn’t say that…」

「I see. Well then, when we’re on break today, let’s go have a look around, hm?」

「…Won’t I be a bother?」

Cashew looked up at me with an uneasy look on her face.

She seems to be concerned about me since I’ve been busy lately, moving around a lot.

「That’s my line.」

When I said that, a laugh finally escaped her lips.

「OK. Then…uhm… I’ll look forward to it…!」

We continued on to the Demon King Castle peacefully.

Then, on that day, a notice was sent out to all the qualifiers.

It was the first of several main events and the matter of…our opponent.

That opponent is…