I had a dream.
In a dark dream.
Within it, a cluster of azure flames rose and flickered.
At the center stood a single massive black shadow.
[O clown of tragedy and comedy.]
[That arrogance would normally warrant a summons to judgment, but.]
[On the other hand, you bear your own intent and show respect toward "that name," so I shall let this pass just this once.]
[However, that leniency ends here.]
[I will not permit any greater indulgence.]
[Remember this.]
[There will be no second chance.]
At that hot yet cold rebuke and warning, I instinctively blurted out a hurried reply.
"Aaaah! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
I jolted upright and woke from sleep.
My neck felt horribly stiff and sore.
Had I slept wrong?
I couldn't really tell, since my memory felt like it had all been blown away.
I-is this still properly attached?
I reached up and touched my neck, and it was still firmly, clearly in place.
Haaah. Relief washed over me on its own.
"Ugh, so bright...!"
Even then, a heavy dose of eye-searing light slipped through the thick curtains.
Since I was awake anyway, I got up with a creak and pulled the curtains aside.
Morning sunlight was shining outside.
At that dazzling sight, I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Ahh, truly...
That had been a truly vicious nightmare.
*
"So it's been about three days since we moved here."
After the War Game against Apollo Familia.
Hestia Familia, including me, had lost our place to stay, so on the first day after the event ended, we had no choice but to stay at Miach Familia's home.
But we couldn't keep relying on them forever.
So Hestia and I moved into our new base, which we'd taken from Apollo Familia one step ahead of everyone else.
After that, at the request of the Familia members, we asked Gubnew Familia to handle the remodeling.
And now we were all busy renovating, organizing, and cleaning our new place together.
Well, in reality, I was doing almost all the managing, supervising, and rebuilding, while Hestia was just lightly sweeping and mopping here and there.
Compared to some nuisance goddess from somewhere, this was far better than having someone pointlessly energetic and getting in the way, that's for sure.
"Let's see. Yesterday we mostly finished the central corridor. Next is the kitchen and bathroom, I guess."
This "Hall of the Hearth" had a big, sturdy building, which was nice, but since it had once been Apollo Familia's home, there was a ridiculous amount of internal work to do.
You could call it awful taste.
Especially Apollo, that perverted bastard's private room and the storage room for his collection... ugh, let's just not talk about it.
Besides, that guy was currently paying for his crimes in real time.
I'd just have to let it go magnanimously, as the merciful soul I was.
"Come to think of it, how far has the basement expansion gone?"
I wanted that finished as soon as possible too.
Only then could I bring over the belongings from my old workshop, which were currently sealed away.
Besides, since a few of the items on the surface had gone missing after that day when everything collapsed, I was feeling uneasy.
And while we were at it, I wanted to get back to the experiments and research that had been forced to stop midway because of outside circumstances.
My hands were already starting to tremble, and my chest was beating irregularly. It felt like withdrawal was about to kick in!
In reality, it was just me being dramatic for no reason, though!
"Well, at the current pace, I'd say the basic work should be more or less done by next week."
After that, most of the detailed work would be magical in nature, so those were things I'd have to handle again myself.
And Lili, who would be helping me with that, would probably be back by then too.
"Honestly, that stubborn little brat."
Maybe because I was thinking about my one and only disciple, who wasn't here right now, a sigh full of worry slipped out of my mouth before I knew it.
That adorable little troublemaker of a disciple still needed more rest and healing, and yet she had stubbornly gone down into the Dungeon anyway.
No matter that Bell and the others were with her.
As her one and only teacher, there was no way I couldn't worry.
Weren't those friends of hers also only just recovered from treatment?
What kind of stamina did they have that made them think about going back down again just one day after getting out of bed?
Was it because they were adventurers? Because of Falna? Or was it just the power of youth?
If they kept recklessly pushing themselves just because things were good, they'd regret it so badly later they'd be crying over it, you little punks!
Especially their knees and lower backs!
I'm speaking from actual experience, so burn that into your bones!
"Still... even if the person herself said it was for getting used to the new arm as quickly as possible, maybe I should've stopped her from resting less."
Lili had lost an arm in the War Game.
As the one responsible, I obviously couldn't just leave her like that.
But her body was her own.
Unless it was an especially desperate, life-or-death situation, I judged that this wasn't an area her teacher should meddle in however he pleased.
So I asked for her opinion and gave her the choice.
I could regenerate and restore her original arm to its former state anytime.
Since she was a girl, I'd hoped she would choose that if possible.
But if.
If Lili wanted something else...
"An, I want to become stronger."
To me, Lili answered in her own spirited way, and with a voice more serious than ever before.
It was a resolve on par with how she'd sounded during the War Game.
So, in order to live up to her expectations, I attached one of the successful prosthetic arms I owned to her body.
It was the strongest one she could handle safely, given her current abilities.
With that, it should be able to save her life once, even in the worst of situations.
Though since it was a consumable, it could only be used once.
In that treacherous Dungeon, a guaranteed survival ticket wasn't exactly cheap.
"Still... ugh, forget it. My body's comfortable and I've got way too much free time, so I keep having useless thoughts. If this is a disease, then it's a disease."
The mind's demon, the mind's demon.
At times like this, the best thing would be to burn through the time meaningfully by diving into hobby research with a flash of inspiration.
At least until next week, when the interior repairs were done, that wouldn't be possible either.
As I stood there alone, sighing bitterly, it happened.
"Hm? A letter?"
I'd been pacing near the front door, trying to clear my stuffy mood with a walk and half-hoping for something interesting, when a fancy letter neatly tucked into the mailbox caught my eye by chance.
The ornate envelope, which had almost nothing to do with the once-poor Hestia Familia, made it obvious that I was the recipient.
"Oh? Ohoho~?"
Just for fun, I quickly opened it and checked the contents.
And before I knew it, a small smile appeared at the corner of my mouth.
Hmm, so this customer—no, this client—had contacted me for once?
"Ah, come to think of it, was it about that time already?"
Seeing that familiar client's name brought a memory to mind.
And it was more than enough to serve as a little source of amusement to help me forget the boring time I was currently stuck in.
Now then, what should I do?
Since it was a rare visit, I should probably first...
*
Meanwhile, Hestia, who had happened to be watching from outside the window.
"W-Whoa! T-that mage boy is making that face again, like he's about to commit some wicked act of infidelity...!?"
And so the goddess, desperately trying to stop the impending disaster by preventing him from going out, flailed in vain.
Clang! Crash!
"Puahahahaha! Hestia! This is my escape routeeeeeee!"
"Aaaah! The window we just replaced this afternoonyyyyyy!"
Sadly, the goddess lost the battle of wits against the mage.
"In that case, I'll earn back the cost of the window! Sweet dreams! And I'm coming home late tonight, so please just handle dinner yourself with a quick meal out! That's all, adios~!"
"As if the answer was just not to break it in the first place—no, that's not the point! Being alone is lonel—no, it's not that either! Eeeeeek, get back here this instanttttt!"
You unbelievereeeeee!
Leaving behind the goddess's furious shout from far away.
No, leaving behind her heartbreaking, desperate scream, the mage ran.
Even while fleeing, he secretly used Magecraft to make sure the broken glass wouldn't hurt the goddess.
His back as he ran away after taking such aftercare was...
Truly, it was hard to put into words.
What would you even call someone like that?
A tsundere with a strong sense of filial piety?
A troublesome child with a kind heart?
"Anyway, escape successful as planned!"
Once he was safely outside the home's fence, the mage stopped a carriage passing by and climbed inside.
He paid the fare simply with a magic stone he'd brought along.
"Take me here, please."
"Yes, sir."
Clop, clop, clop...
Soon, under the skillful hands of the driver, the carriage wheels began to roll.
Before long, he arrived safely at the place he'd requested.
And when he got there, it turned out to be none other than...
"It's been a while since I came here too."
One of Orario's extraterritorial zones.
The domain of greedy gold.
The largest gambling den, the Grand Casino.
Also known as the "Eldorado Resort."
In short, a playground for the rich to waste money.
By all appearances, it was a place that seemed to have little to do with the mage.
"Now then, let's go see our client—no, our esteemed customer's face after all this time."
But for some reason, the mage stepped without hesitation into that filthy palace of desire.
As if this place were very familiar to him.
And in fact, it was.
There was also not a single employee stopping him despite his shabby clothes.
After all, quite a few of his regular clients were users of this place.
Even so, for him...
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
"Oh my?"
Tonight, he probably hadn't expected such a meeting of fate.
Not even the goddess who had rolled the dice somewhere.
Not even the dice itself, which had rolled and stopped beneath her hand.
Fate, mischievous as ever, had crossed their paths once more and tied them together tightly.
Whether the people involved wanted it or not.
Whether it was good or not.
In any case, the bond had been made, and destiny had begun.
So, if I may dare to predict it...
Tonight's golden paradise looks like it's going to be very interesting.
Well, if not, then not.