"K-Kōichi-san?"
Yunyun's voice still trembled with tears, and her cheeks were as red as sweet potatoes left under the Crimson Demon Village sun for three days.
"Come sit down. Stop acting like you're in some tragic drama. Since I promised your father I'd look after you, don't worry about little things like this."
Kōichi casually rubbed her head and guided her over to the sofa.
The two sat side by side on the spacious leather sofa. In the living room, the only sound was the occasional crackle from the fireplace.
Yunyun nervously pressed her knees together, both hands gripping the hem of her skirt. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to leap out of her throat.
"Yunyun, what do you think... a home should be like?"
Kōichi looked up at the enormous crystal chandelier on the ceiling and suddenly asked.
"Huh? A home?" Yunyun froze for a moment, her eyes turning a little lonely. "Back in Crimson Demon Village, even though everyone was together, I always felt... like I didn't quite fit in. I couldn't recite chuunibyou lines as coolly as Megumin, and I couldn't just accept everyone's strange common sense like it was normal. To me, home is probably a place where I don't have to worry about being left behind, and where I don't have to desperately pretend just to fit in."
"Funny. That's pretty much how I feel too."
Kōichi turned his head and looked at Yunyun's profile, which seemed especially lovely in the soft light.
"This mansion has a useless Goddess who only knows how to cause trouble, a violent little girl whose head is filled with nothing but explosions, and a perverted Knight who wants to get ravaged by monsters wherever she goes... Oh, and now we also have a shut-in with a head full of garbage. But strangely enough, no matter what kind of trouble I run into outside, once I come back here and see those idiots arguing, I end up thinking, yeah, this really is the most comfortable place."
Kōichi paused, and his tone grew serious.
"So, Yunyun, stop talking about selling yourself to repay debts or becoming a gargoyle. This isn't an inn, and it isn't a shelter. From the moment you stepped through that door, this became your home. Even if you blow up the entire house, though I really hope you don't, we'll just dig you out of the rubble and go hunt wanted criminals together to earn renovation money. Got it?"
Yunyun listened in a daze, and the tears at the corners of her eyes finally slipped down.
But this time, they were not from fear or hurt. They came from a full, warm sense of safety she had never felt before.
She sniffled hard and gave Kōichi a smile so bright it made his heart skip.
"Yes! I understand, Kōichi-san! I-I'll do my best to become a family member who doesn't blow up the house!"
"Good. That's the spirit. Then let's start by learning how to use motion-sensor lights normally."
Kōichi smiled and stood up, looking at the girl who had finally relaxed a little.
The moonlight really was beautiful tonight. Even more beautiful was the fact that, in this Fantasy World, he seemed to have truly found an anchor called home, for himself and for all these weirdos.
Just as the atmosphere in the living room was getting so warm that pink bubbles might start floating through the air, an extremely faint door-opening sound came from the entrance, as sneaky as a burglar.
Kōichi raised an eyebrow and signaled for Yunyun to stay quiet. The two quietly moved to the corner.
There they saw Kazuma Satou, hunched over like a dried-out mantis shrimp, tiptoeing along the wall toward the stairs.
His already lifeless dead-fish eyes now glittered with a strange light called anticipation. He was humming some unknown tune, wearing a blissful expression that said he was about to achieve enlightenment tonight.
"Yo, Kazuma. Back from Dream Heaven this early? I thought you and Dust would stay there until the bounty came in tomorrow."
Kōichi's sudden voice made Kazuma jump so hard he nearly smashed his head against the railing.
"Waaah! Kōichi! Do you walk without making any sound?!"
Kazuma patted his chest while his eyes darted around, trying to hide the red reservation slip in his hand.
"Ahem. I simply thought... as an Adventurer with ambition, I shouldn't spend all day drowning myself in wine and women! So I decisively rejected Dust's second invitation and came back early to rest, so I can be in top condition to collect the reward tomorrow!"
"Oh? Is that right?" Kōichi looked at Kazuma's impatient expression, like he wanted to dive under his blankets right this second, and sneered inwardly.
This guy must have filled out some outrageous request form and was waiting for a Succubus to visit his dream tonight.
Just then, Aqua staggered out of the kitchen while hugging a half-finished bottle of expensive red wine, hiccupping as she muttered.
"Hic! Kazuma, what were you saying about stamina? Didn't you run out of that ages ago? Why not let the great Aqua-sama purify your filthy soul with Purification Magic?"
"Who asked you to purify me?! You money-wasting blue-haired idiot, go to sleep!"
Kazuma bolted upstairs in a panic, then locked his door behind him.
Kōichi watched Kazuma disappear, then turned to Aqua, who was about to head back to her room and keep drinking. He gave her a dazzling smile that was clearly up to no good.
"Aqua, do you want another bottle of top-grade red wine worth five hundred thousand Eris?"
"Huh?! Five hundred thousand?!"
The Goddess, who had been drunkenly swaying a moment ago, instantly straightened up. Her eyes shone like twin light bulbs.
"Kōichi! Have you finally realized the importance of making offerings to this Goddess? Tell me! As long as there's wine, I'll even purify the Demon King's Castle for you!"
"It's not that troublesome." Kōichi lowered his voice and gestured toward the whole mansion. "Lately, I feel like our security isn't good enough, especially against unclean low-level monsters. Put the strongest Holy-level Barrier you can around this house right now. I only have one requirement: any monster with magical power that tries to enter people's dreams, like a Succubus, is absolutely forbidden from stepping inside. Can you do it?"
"Hah? Something that easy?" Aqua snorted disdainfully. With a casual wave of her hand, a dazzling sacred light instantly enveloped the entire mansion. "Done! Now even a mosquito monster would be purified into ash if it tried to get in! Okay, where's my five-hundred-thousand-Eris red wine?"
"I'll give it to you tomorrow after we collect the bounty."
Kōichi patted Aqua on the shoulder and watched the delighted Goddess return to her room.
Yunyun stood nearby, looking at Kazuma's door with some sympathy.
"Um, Kōichi-san... Will Kazuma-san tonight... not get to meet the person he's waiting for?"
"No, he will." Kōichi rolled his wrist and revealed a twisted smile that sent a chill down Yunyun's spine. "It's just that... tonight, I'm the one responsible for entering his dream."
...
Late at night, the entire mansion fell into a deathly silence.
Kōichi slipped into Kazuma's room without making a sound, relying on the [Lurk] skill. Though he had not actually learned it, his agility and a Wizard's perception were enough to manage.
Kazuma lay on the bed, a line of extremely lecherous drool hanging from the corner of his mouth as he mumbled.
"Hehe... Your Highness... please don't... I'll get embarrassed..."
Kōichi stood beside the bed, looking down at his terrible friend, who was in the middle of a wonderful dream, though in reality, it was just ordinary sleep since the Succubus had been blocked outside.
Then he slowly raised his hand.