A Demon Lord's Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss

The Erlin Confederation as a Country (2)

After parting with Yuki, the members of the Demon Lord family left the hotel and walked through [Ruvalta], the capital of the Erlin Confederation.

Currently, Riou’s stroller was being pushed by the Wraith Girls in a doll-possessed state, and Shii was pushing Sakuya’s.

At first, Lefi and Lyuu were pushing the strollers respectively, but Shii and Wraith Girls wanted to play that role.

People on the street looked at the Wraith Girls with aghast faces because of the unfamiliarity of the stroller and the fact that the person pushing it was clearly not a human being, but the Wraith Girls were already used to it, so they were not bothered by it.

“Well, it’s an interesting country. Unlike my country or the Rogard Empire, I feel like the technology is more advanced overall.” (Nell)

“Mm, indeed. It’s wonderful, those streetlights and stuff. All these lights come on at night.”

Lefi was looking at the streetlights, called [Magic Lamps], that lined the streets at equal intervals.

It seemed that they were not installed on all roads, but there were quite a few on main streets and other well-developed areas, and although they were not lit now, one could see that they would probably be quite bright at night.

In other countries, streetlights have not yet been put to practical use. There were magic tools that emit indoor lights as bright as light bulbs in Yuki’s previous life, and there were surprisingly many places that had them, but there were no other countries that could afford to install so many streetlights like the Erlin Confederation.

In contrast, the Erlin Confederation used technology derived from the study of airships.

To enable airships to take off and land at night, research was conducted on how to keep the landing sites lit, and this research has been applied to the streetscape.

So, in fact, the streetlights were still a novelty to those in the Erlin Confederation.

“In my village, if it is an academic institute, we do a good job of keeping the lights on, but we don’t maintain the roads outside like this. The roads are also clean.” (Layla)

“Layla’s village is also beautiful at night! There were so many that there were even some in schools.” (Illuna)

“Magic Lamps are also beautiful at night! But not everyone uses them!” (Shii)

“Our home is a little too big to be filled with lights. The living room and the Japanese inn are more cozy to stay in anyway.” (Nell)

“…It’s easy to forget when you’re at home, but light is a scarce commodity by nature. That’s why both the Sheep Horn Clan’s village and this city are remarkable.” (Enne)

“No really, Enne is right. We don’t have anything like this in our village. Most of the lights are candles. I’m going to be sad when I visit my parent’s home, so I hope they import this technology along with an airship to improve things over there…” (Lyuu)

Lyuu said with a distant look in her eyes.

“…Is that why you didn’t want to go back to your hometown when selecting the destination?” (Enne)

“No, it’s not like I didn’t want to go back to my hometown. However, I already have the lifestyle of our home ingrained in me. I don’t want to go back to the countryside as much as possible.” (Lyuu)

“That’s quite a thing to say about your hometown…” (Nell)

“You know, there are no hotels in my hometown because no one comes there. I don’t mean to be harsh and talk like Nell, but there are no bathrooms there. When I was living there, I didn’t mind because it was a normal experience, but now…. I can’t live there anymore.” (Lyuu)

The adults in the group chuckled at Lyuu’s honesty.

“Well, I understand what you mean. Now that I can come home almost every day, I don’t want to go back to the days of sleeping in the dorms… I miss you guys.” (Nell)

“That’s true, me included. If we were to have a contest for the worst life before coming to live in Yuki’s house, I’d probably win first place. The worst thing is that I am so physically strong that I can continue such a terrible life for a hundred years without any troubles. That’s why I don’t want to change the way I live in my current situation anymore.” (Lefi)

“If it’s about a terrible lifestyle, I’m ashamed to say that I had one too. I used to throw away the concept of lifestyle for the sake of research…” (Layla)

“Layla still has a tendency to do that if she is left alone. That’s why Layla should not be alone. You must stay with us from now on, okay?” (Lyuu)

“Well, if mother Lyuu says so, then I have no choice but to do so.” (Layla)

“Lyuu Nee-sama, you really have become a mother. You’re so reliable.” (Illuna)

“You think so as well, right? Sakuya!” (Shii)

“….And, Riou.” (Enne)

“Oh, of course you’re reliable too, Sakuya! You’re going to also become a pillar of our family, like Nee-chan.” (Illuna)

“You can play the role of boss and helper!” (Layla)

“…I don’t know whether he can be considered a boss or a helper right now, but I agree.” (Enne)

“Kaka, mmm, I appreciate it.” (Lefi)

“….I don’t know, it’s embarrassing, you know?” (Enne)

The girls couldn’t stop chatting as they walked through the streets.

Even when they were traveling and sightseeing, they ended up having more fun chatting with their family.

“Well, look, those stores over there look like souvenir shops, so it should be fun to check!” (Lyuu)

“Haha, if mother Lyuu says so, let’s go in there. Okay, let’s go buy some souvenirs!” (Nell)

“Yes, let’s do that.” (Lefi)

“I wonder if they sell any interesting magic tools…” (Layla)

And that’s when they all headed for a nearby store that seemed to sell souvenirs.

Sakuya, who had been observing the streets with great interest, suddenly started to reach out his hand in the opposite direction.

“Ooih, auh…” (Sakuya)

“Hm~? What’s wrong, Sakuya?” (Shii)

Shii, who was pushing Sakuya’s stroller, stopped to check on him.

“Ah buh…” (Sakuya)

“Perhaps you want to go this way~?” (Shii)

Sakuya reached out his hand in one direction, as if seeking something.

Shii looked in that direction as well, but there was nothing.

There was nothing but an alleyway with hardly any pedestrians.

Curious, Shii pushed the stroller lightly down the street and looked around, but still nothing.

Shii was born a monster, so her sensory organs were more acute than those of humans, but even so, she could not sense anything.

“There’s nothing here, Sakuya?” (Shii)

“Auu, uuuuh.” (Sakuya)

“Eh? Do you still want to go? Okay, but wait. I’ll make sure everyone… Huh?” (Shii)

Shii looked back and finally realized that everyone disappeared.

–Everyone seemed to have vanished out of sight.

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