"So now everything's finished?"
"Yeah."
"I see. But are you not going to dispose of that familiar?"
"Well, it's still too early to throw it away. Besides, it's got other uses. I'll take it with me and keep it locked up somewhere for the time being, like usual."
"I only hope it doesn't cause trouble for anyone else."
"Don't worry about it."
And with that, the conversation ended.
We hurriedly resumed our stopped steps and left the passage.
On the way, we ran into Shakti, the captain of Ganesha Familia, and honestly, I was pretty damn nervous.
But unexpectedly, Ryuu talked her down.
Somehow, in a vague, everyone-wins sort of way, we managed to get through it safely.
It felt like she already had a rough idea of our circumstances.
Then again, Ganesha Familia had been in that casino in the first place for reasons pretty similar to ours.
If that was the case, then maybe even if I had explained instead of Ryuu, it might have been fine... no, she doesn't like me all that much, so she probably would've questioned me with fists first and asked questions later.
Safety first, as always.
Anyway, with that, we successfully escaped the casino!
"Ah, Ryuu! And you too, Magus."
"Sorry for worrying you, Syr. But what about Miss Anna?"
"She slipped out safely with us while everything was in chaos. She's resting in the carriage now."
"Phew, thank goodness. I'm relieved."
"Ryuu was the one doing all the hard work, so I had to do at least that much."
Hmm, a handsome pair... no, a beautiful pair, rather.
They really are pleasant to look at.
How nice would it have been if both of them had better personalities too.
What a shame, what a shame.
"Hah! A pervert's stare!"
"Syr, over here. Hide behind me."
"That's a bit much. I went through plenty of trouble too, you know. You're both being awfully harsh."
And men are all like that by nature anyway.
Why not be a beauty and have a heart as broad as the sea?
Well, Ryuu's heart isn't quite as broad as she looks... huhk!
"W-What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Dangerous! Why aim there of all places!
At my righteous protest, Ryuu frowned and withdrew the leg she'd swung at me.
But she was still glaring at me.
"No. I just suddenly felt extremely unpleasant... yes, it was definitely that kind of presence. You were clearly guilty."
"I agree with Ryuu. Magus, you really should understand women's hearts better. You ought to take a page out of Bell's innocence."
Good grief, these girls... I'll let it slide because you're both beauties!
Well, enough with the closing-party nonsense.
"It wasn't intentional, but I'm glad we both got what we came for. In that case, I think it's about time we part ways. I'd like to go back, wash up, and sleep already."
"I feel like I was used in all sorts of ways here, but... very well. We're tired too. Please return safely."
"See you next time. When that happens, please come to the shop as customers with the others. I'd be especially happy if you came with Bell."
"Hahaha, not a chance. The boy belongs to our Lili and Lady Goddess. You'd better give up quietly, Miss Fox."
"My, how wicked."
Just as we were exchanging our final farewells and about to part ways, Lady Anna, who had been resting in the carriage, appeared as she stepped out.
She looked teary-eyed as she worriedly checked Ryuu's condition.
That sight was almost... ha, this is the second generation of some devious scheme!?
What, what is this? I'm totally good at reading this kind of thing!
...That was what I expected for a moment, but then Ryuu revealed her true identity and rejected Miss Anna's courageous confession, and not only me but even her companion Syr couldn't hold back her laughter.
Ah, it was totally a yuri flag!
Well, leaving that aside.
"Lady Anna?"
"Who... ah, you?"
Anna flinched at my approach and hid behind Ryuu's back.
Ryuu then leaned forward to shield her from me as well.
Hmm, just as I thought.
Looks like she really does hate me a lot.
Which, of course, is only natural.
Still, I had to do what I had to do, didn't I?
"Please don't be so wary. What happened earlier was clearly my fault. I'd like to apologize to you, since you were the obvious victim in that matter."
"Ah, yes."
"And at the same time, I'll apologize for this as well."
"Eh, yes?"
As I said that, I reached out to her.
More precisely, toward the bright yellow gold ring on her finger.
"That gold ring is something we lent to the owner as merchandise. Would you return it?"
"Eh? N-No, um, that's..."
Anna hesitated at my request.
Her hand hovered back and forth between her finger and the ring, wavering in uncertainty.
Then, at last—
"N-No."
"Miss Anna?"
"I-It's mine. It's my ring."
She hid the hand wearing the ring behind her back and refused to hand it over.
Ryuu looked puzzled by that incomprehensible attachment, and Syr, watching from the side, seemed to catch on to something as her expression hardened into seriousness.
And I felt the same way.
So I gave a small nod, as if to say I understood.
"Hmm, as I thought."
So she's already been 'enchanted,' huh.
Still, if her resistance is that weak, then unlike Ted's case, she hasn't been completely corrupted yet.
But if more time passes with continued contact, who knows.
"In that case, excuse me for a moment."
Whoosh!
"Ah!"
I snatched her wrist in an instant with snake-like hand speed.
And just like that, I slipped the ring right off her finger.
"N-No! Give it back right away...!"
Thwack
"Sorry, Miss Anna."
As Anna started to struggle, Ryuu, reading the mood, lightly struck her on the back of the neck and forcibly put her to sleep.
Then she turned to me with a look demanding an explanation.
Well, after seeing this much, I can't exactly avoid explaining it.
"You saw something similar in the vault earlier, didn't you? This is the same thing—a piece made from the 'Lucky Gold' I lent to Ted. Naturally, the effect is similar."
"That alone isn't enough. I demand a more detailed explanation."
"Detailed, huh. Then I'll need to give you a bit of background first... Hey, Syr. Have you ever heard of the 'Rhinegold'?"
"Rhinegold...? Could it be that cursed treasure of the evil dragon?! You mean this ring was made from that gold!?"
"More accurately, it's a replica."
"A replica?"
"Yeah. A magical item I made on a whim, aiming for the real Rhinegold. That's the true identity of the 'Lucky Gold' I lent to Ted."
Rhinegold.
A treasure so famous that anyone who knew about the evil dragon Fafnir and the dragon slayer Siegfried could hardly not know it.
This cursed treasure, said to grant its owner immense wealth while also kindly adding endless greed as a bonus, only to ultimately deliver a miserable, ruined end, is the kind of thing that stirs my romance from the very name alone.
No, more than that, as a magus, it's the sort of subject worth challenging at least once.
So this was something I'd made in a similar vein back when I was bored.
It raises the owner's luck related to wealth, and at the same time, it curses them by constantly stimulating greedy, obsessive desire for treasure in real time.
"Well, that was the actual goal, but in the end I only half-succeeded at the curse that stirs desire. In other words, it's a total failure with absolutely no practical use whatsoever."
In short, it's a drug in the form of a piece of gold.
So since I couldn't really find any use for it, I just displayed it in a corner of the showcase as decoration.
Then Ted, who happened to come into my shop, noticed it, and driven by his own subconscious obsession, I agreed to lend it to him for a set period at a reasonable price.
But he still hadn't properly returned it even after nearly a year, so today I came here in person to reclaim it.
End of explanation.
Ah, for the record, Ted becoming rich had nothing to do with this and was a completely separate matter.
That was entirely thanks to the man's own greedy abilities and the once-in-a-lifetime luck he dragged in from his final days.
So don't get the wrong idea.
Still, thinking about it that way, I did feel a little sorry for him.
He got so close to becoming the richest man in the world, and then ended up like that.
In the end, it was his own fault, though.
"Well, since I also got the request I'd taken on resolved while I was at it, that's icing on the cake."
"A request?"
"Ah, no comment beyond that. I'm one of those guys who keeps secrets, you know."
"...I see. But if it was such a dangerous item, shouldn't you have hidden it somewhere or just destroyed it?"
"You weren't planning to make money off it, were you?"
Thump!
I was startled inwardly by Syr's sudden, sharp question, but fortunately I managed to keep my composure on the outside.
Still, I didn't really have a good excuse here... well, whatever.
I'll just bulldoze through it and make them deal with it.
What? So what!
"It's not like I was causing trouble for anyone else."
"You already did, didn't you?"
"Ah, I don't know, don't know, don't know. I'm getting tired of this now. I'm not listening, not listening, not listening."
"Good grief, you men really are stubborn."
"Of course I am. That's why I'm stubborn. Men are all just little kids even after they grow up. I can guarantee that much as someone of the same sex."
So I'm definitely not the bad guy, not at all.
"Then I'll be taking my leave. Ladies, be careful on the night roads and head home safely."
"Ah, wait. Ryuu, sorry, but could you wait a moment?"
"Syr? No, why? Why... yes, understood. But don't take too long, so come back quickly. If anything happens, shout for help, all right? You got that?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Ryuu really does worry too much."
"That still wouldn't be enough against that man."
Hey, these girls really!
Listen up! My heart is made of glass!
I'm sensitive and easy to hurt, you know!
Don't say things like that right in front of me!
"Haa, I need motherly love. A mother with a heart as wide as the sea, someone who'll only embrace me and take my side... I need that."
"My, shall I lend you my chest? I'm actually pretty confident in it."
"Hah, nonsense. If you want that, come back with a bit more maturity. I'm into older women, both in looks and in spirit. Someone like you... well, maybe a dependable shop owner like Mia would be different. But your current look doesn't do much for me, Miss Clerk."
"Oh my. If Mia-mama heard that, I'm sure she'd be delighted."
"Yeah, yeah, she'd probably smile happily and then fold my body in half with a snap."
Well, enough with the pointless banter.
"So? What's the matter, lovely lady? I thought I'd already told you the reason I came here today."
"There is something that bothers me, but it's not really of interest, so I'll let it go. What I want to ask right now is..."
Syr fell silent for a moment, choosing her words.
Then she opened her small mouth and spoke.
"Magus, do you perhaps like Ryuu?"
"Hah?"
My head tilted 45 degrees on its own at that nonsense.
No, what did you just say?
What kind of food did you eat to come out with something that absurd?
"What kind of food did you eat to come out with something that absurd? I said it twice because it's important."
Seriously, what kind of thought process leads to a bizarre delusion like that?
So explain yourself properly.
At my demand, Syr tilted her head slightly, looking even more confused by my reaction.
"No, I've been thinking this for a while now. The things you do, Magus, look to anyone like the teasing of a boy toward the girl he likes, or the desperate antics of someone trying to get her attention. That's all it looks like."
At Syr's answer, I fell into thought for a moment.
Huh, so... what? It could really look like that?
Honestly, I had no idea.
Ha! Could it be that I have the makings of a harem master!?
"What's with that reaction? You really didn't know? You had no awareness of it at all?"
"Well, yeah. It wasn't for some innocent reason like that."
"Aww, what a letdown. I was sure that was it."
Looks like, aside from Ryuu herself, most of the other girls at the Hostess of Fertility had made the same misunderstanding as Syr.
Damn it, next time I go there I'm ordering everything on the menu at once, acting like a total nuisance, and flipping the whole table over with all the food on it.
Of course, I'd probably be punished by Mia afterward, but who cares about what comes after that!
How dare they lump an innocent man together with something so filthy!
"Anyway, whatever weird bet is going on somewhere I don't know about. That's not why I'm doing this, so don't get the wrong idea."
"Then what is it? Why are you doing that to Ryuu...?"
"On that point, I'd actually like to ask you the same thing. Hey, Miss Clerk. No, 'Lady Goddess.'"
"Right now, anyone can see I'm Syr."
"I'm not joking. I'm serious."
Maybe because she realized from my tone that I wasn't kidding.
Syr's expression also turned serious.
Once I judged that she was ready to listen, I laid out the main point.
Listen carefully, Lady Goddess.
"As someone with a bit of experience, I'll warn you. That girl is going to break down badly before long."
No, she may even end up destroying herself.
At that grim warning, Syr's expression stiffened on the spot.
Hidden identity or not, she was still one of the people who cared about Ryuu.
That was why she could tell at once that I was being serious.
Even if the content was hard to accept.
"What are you talking about now? What exactly do you know?"
"I know because I've seen a similar case. That girl's 'nightmare' still isn't over. Thanks to you and Mia, she's been able to cover the wound to some extent. But that doesn't mean the root cause itself has been completely resolved."
At my explanation, Syr seemed to roughly understand what I meant.
And with that, she could only let out a quiet sigh.
It was one of those difficult things that even she had no other way to handle.
"It can't be helped. There isn't any other solution right now besides that."
"Well, I can't really argue with that."
Even so, someone has to do it.
Someone has to point it out, think about it, worry, and prepare.
Needless meddling is the job of a hero.
And I'm someone who can never become one of them, born into the role of a villain.
But in this case, I'm going to meddle as a magus.
If I don't, that one frustrating idiot could end up putting everyone on our side in danger too.
Honestly, I wish this was just needless worry.
But there's no way life would go that conveniently, is there?
"Anyway, I couldn't say this earlier because things were moving too fast, but since you won the game, I'll give you the stake we agreed on."
So I opened my mouth and told Syr the information I knew.
The first thing you have to do when cleaning up a trash heap is, after all, to lift the lid that's been left shut over it for far too long.
"Tell Ryuu this: the One-Armed Tamer is definitely dead."
"I don't know the details, but... are you certain?"
"Of course. I handled his corpse myself."
That half-baked second-rate piece of trash.
In a way, he was a pretty unlucky bastard too.
No, how did he manage to commit his crimes right in front of me like that?
Because of that, the life of the guy who had been hiding at the bottom of the underground, barely breathing to survive, also came to an end.
But since that was basically the result of his own actions, I don't feel even a speck of pity.
Besides, I didn't know anything about his relationship with Ryuu back then.
I only found that out by chance later.
"Then isn't that the end of it? Since the target of revenge is dead, Ryuu should be able to..."
"No, no. That's not it, that's not it."
As I said before, the 'cause' that made Ryuu this way is dead now.
But the direct 'source' that made her like this is still there.
That was why her nightmare still hadn't ended.
So, I still had more to say.
"Tell her that before that trash died, he spread the method for summoning 'that guy' to other people too. And that people who should never have known about it learned it as well."
That should be enough for her to understand.
It's not like I have to spell it out if I think it'll be bad for her mental state.
But still.
"Whether she does it or not, someday she'll learn that fact for herself. That damn thing called 'fate' always wants that kind of tragic development."
And when that time comes, no one will be able to stop her.
Not even Ryuu herself.
"The reason I keep meddling so roughly like this is because of that. If she were going to blow herself up on her own, I wouldn't need to worry about it. But now we're no longer in a relationship where that's possible, are we? Ryuu, you, Bell, and... me too."
So I pry.
So I meddle.
And so I prepare.
Most settings say that things like predetermined 'prophecies' can't be changed.
But something merely 'predicted' by someone who noticed it first can be prepared for in advance, blocked, or at least minimized.
So.
"I'll leave the rest to you. From here on out, it's outside my territory."
"...Understood. Let's stop here for today."
"OK. Then I'll be taking my leave. See you again at the shop."
And with that, our secret meeting ended there.
After hearing my story, Syr returned to the carriage with a stiff expression.
I watched her back for a moment, then turned away as well.
The flashy night prank was over too.
"Now all that's left is..."
Back at the new home of Hestia Familia, the Hearth Manor, I let out a small sigh and calmed the tension that had built up anew.
Yes, now there was only one thing left here.
"I'm home."
There was no kind reply waiting for me.
Only the dark interior of the building, fitting for such a late hour.
And within it, by the faint moonlight seeping through the window, the vague shape of a big-breasted loli ghost with twin tails.
"Ma~gus~?"
"Hmph."
Watching her approach, I let out a dry laugh.
I, the Magus, already knew the proper line to say in a situation like this.
It was, of course...
"You're prepared, right!"
Grrr!
Just like Lili before, our goddess leaped at my head with her mouth wide open.
Ah, poor Hestia-sama, worn down by loneliness and sorrow.
Looking at that pitiful sight, I thought to myself.
This Magus.
I have not a single regret in this life!
Crunch!
"Agh! I'm so unluckyuuuu!"
Well, that was bravado that lasted less than a second.
And so I spent the rest of the day soothing our angry goddess's scolding, her spoiled whining, and her lonely little complaints.
All's well that ends well~
========================
The website for reading paid chapters is available on my Patreon. The number of chapters on Patreon: 134
Link: patreon.com/UltraMagnus_T