Chapter 4. I couldn't win against the Monster Lord...

"Hungry..."

That was the first thing I heard upon opening my eyes. I got up, thinking how typical it was of Alice and Ilias both, and found myself in a room as luxurious as the bedroom of nobility. The bed and sheets were also soft and fluffy. Wafting from the side was the familiar scent of Happiness Honey, which I often used in my own cooking.

Munch, munch. "So sweet~... Ah, Luka, You're awake."

And in the same room was the Monster Lord, happily stuffing her cheeks with Ama-ama Dango.

"Yeah, good morning Alice. Did you carry me?"

"Indeed. The owner said she would let us stay here along with a discount of 4,799,996 gold for the two of us."

"Eh? That's 24 times higher than the price in my world..."

I could only tilt my head at the subtle difference between what should be the same hotel. Actually, no, a factor of 24 can hardly be called subtle... Thinking such trivial thoughts, I slowly crawled out of bed. My injuries seemed to have mostly healed, likely due to my casting of healing magic, and I could move without issue. I reached out my hand, intending to also eat some of the dango, only for the entire plate to be dragged away.

"...This is mine."

"Those four gold are coming out of my pocket, right? Also, you can just call for more; don't be so stingy."

"...Hmph."

Disgruntled, Alice returned the plate and quickly reached for the bell to call an employee. Meanwhile, I took a mouthful of the tasty treats. Even in another world, delicious things were still delicious.

The bell rang, and almost immediately, the owner herself came to retrieve the plates; it seemed like we were getting quite the VIP treatment. Alice said that if the proprietress were a monster, she'd make her a duchess... was that really okay? Rather, by those standards, wouldn't I also become a duke in no time? With those thoughts passing through my mind, the final Ama-ama Dango disappeared into my mouth.

"Oh, did you enjoy it as well, Hero?"

"Yes, it was very delicious... but I didn't receive the baptism, so I'm not actually a Hero..."

"That doesn't matter. What qualifies someone as a Hero isn't some baptism or lack of it. Their actions do. Nobody in this town would dare say you aren't a Hero."

"M-Miss..."

Despite not being recognized as an official Hero in this world, I was still accepted by the people. That made me happy.

"That aside, I would like to order some more Ama-ama Dango," the hungry Monster Lord said, brushing our words aside like they didn't matter, completely ruining the heartfelt mood.

"Alright. But, well, I can't really make all that many Ama-ama Dango these days. Something happened at Happiness Village, and now they lack men for work... I suppose it cannot be helped."

"...A lack of men at Happiness Village?"

Over there, the harpies had disappeared, but if she's saying the men are gone... well, I think I mostly understand what happened.

"That's right. Because of that, my supply of Happiness Honey has dropped significantly. Ah, why don't you two go have a look at the situation?"

"Yes! I'll see what I can do!"

"Very well, make sure to prepare a dessert for me with the Happiness Honey as soon as the problem is solved."

If it's the same as over there, Queen Harpy should be in that village. She was likely too much to handle for any adventurer in this area, so I had no choice but to go myself. Though since she is a kind person, hopefully, we could simply talk it out..."

"Then, have a good night."

"Yes, thank you very much."

It had been a while since I last felt the soft sofa of Iliasburg's luxury inn. Being able to relax for the first time in a while, I leaned back, putting all my weight on it.

"...Going toe to toe against Granberia with only that sword... It was the first time I've seen her enjoy herself that much."

"Eh? You too?" I tilted my head. Maybe they hadn't known each other for that long after all?

Alice had a complicated expression. "She is someone who devoted her life to the sword. She has grown strong, too strong. There is no longer any monster who can match her with a blade. The other Heavenly Knights and I have entirely different fighting styles. At present, you are likely the only one who can satisfy her hunger."

"...I see."

In the other world, her sword constantly wavered. But this Granberia did not seem to have such misgivings. If anything, she would happily swing her blade at me. It was going to be a difficult battle. I could work with my current skills, but the problem was...

"For now... I'm going to have to see about preparing appropriate equipment."

Even if I couldn't get meteor steel, I'd like to have rainbow or, at the very least, orichalcum equipment.

"By the way, I am hungry."

"What, you're relying on me for dinner too?"

Along with her body, her appetite seems to have grown even further.

"Indeed. Specifically, your body."

With a shuffle, her tail crept up my body, starting from my feet, coiling around me with far more force than usual.

"...With dinner, I suppose you mean..."

"I have not had any semen recently. Additionally, I had to put up with your wonderful scent wafting over to me all day. Frankly, I cannot endure it any longer."

That said, she flung my body onto the bed. All I could do was steel my resolve.

"Now then, your swordsmanship may be top-notch... but how about here?"

"Ugh... I'm a seasoned battle fucker, I won't give in that easily!"

She stripped me of my clothes. However, I was someone who had been not only thoroughly squeezed in the Pocket Castle over and over but also came out ahead against various battle fuckers. I would not be trounced just like that!

"Hoho, that's something to look forward to then..." The Monster Lord laughed as she licked her lips in front of the already enlarged object.

The following are some excerpts.

"Fufufu, how about this?" "Heh... That's quite some endurance you have there." "You say you achieved victory as a battle fucker? Have you ever made your opponent cum? Winning through only endurance is pitiful; it cannot even really be called victory~." "Hora hora, already having a rough time, are we?" "I commend you for enduring this long as a human, but this is the end~." "Oh? You are not going to wilt after a single time? Seems like this shall be a fun night..." "I never had semen this delicious... I will have some more~." "Hmm... damn that Tamamo, not teaching me about something this enjoyable. I will have to swap out all her tofu for the ultra-spicy ones later." "Hora Hora, let out more~ I shall give you however much pleasure you need~" "Fufufu, it has not thinned at all despite how much you let out. I am already looking forward to the next time~"

If Luka's HP had been low, he would have been quick to finish, and it would have ended after a few times. But as he was now, he had incredible stamina, was worth teasing, and had semen of sublime taste, as such...

"Fuwaaah!?" "A Hero... would never lose against the M-Monster Lord... Ahhhh!" "S-Stop..." "Eep!" "Please, no more..." "There is nothing left..."

Alice's fun and excitement at her first feeding combined, resulting in Luka being thoroughly violated and squeezed dry until the sun was already high in the sky.

"...Seems like you two had fun last night."

"Ugh..." Luka took a mental critical hit!

...Well, I suppose with the Monster Lord beside me looking all glossy and happily grinning while the man is as gaunt as a ghost, anyone would be able to tell. Alice also accepted numerous wrapped lunches. Seems she still hasn't eaten enough.

"Alright, come again! You two are welcome any time."

We headed into town as the proprietress saw us off. It was time to resupply and gather information.

It was the day after Granberia's attack, and as such, it was the talk of the town. We were approached many times as we walked along the streets, and when we stopped at stores, we were given considerable discounts. Using that as a pretext, Alice went around giving all sorts of things a taste test. It was charming, in a way. We were good on food for now; the problem was my equipment. Yesterday's battle completely ruined my clothes, and I would have to throw away my boots too as they were in tatters.

I entered an armor shop first, where the selection was far better than in my world. Given this isn't an RPG, I suppose that's to be expected, but to think they even have dragon-scale armor... which doesn't fit me.

"...I guess I'd have to order a custom size..." I may be able to wear heavy armor without issue, but if the size is incorrect, there isn't any point... I may be getting a slight height complex.

"Hmm, won't this kind of armor restrict your movement?"

"I can handle this much. I have experience with a lot of Jobs."

"...Resourceful, aren't you?"

A half-impressed, half-exasperated Alice at my side, I looked around for anything good.

"Ah, this is..."

"Oh?"

I remembered this kind of quality; it was made in Enrika.

"Ah, as expected of a Hero, you have a good eye. These clothes were made with a special technique... though they are a bit plain."

"Well, I'm not really a Hero, so I may as well go with function over form," I said with a wry smile as I picked up one set of Enrikan clothes and boots each. These shouldn't tear even with intense movement.

"Thank you for your patronage!"

As for weapons, I handed my current one to a blacksmith for emergency repairs and was about to look for another to use...

"Hey, Luka. There is no need to worry about a weapon; I have something to give you later."

"Eh, you will give me something?"

That was a first, but I went along with it. Preparations made, I headed for the town's exit while thinking about where to go next.

"Fufufu, I finally found you, my Hero!"

"T-That voice!"

Unfortunate Lamia appeared!

It was someone I knew from the other world, the chief of unfortunate monsters, the Unfortunate Lamia. Though helpful, having to converse with her was... unfortunate, so I will simply abbreviate the contents as follows: A bandit group of monsters is running rampant in the area. Even a vampire and a dragon seemed to be part of them, and they were located to the west, in the Irina Mountain Range.

"How strange... A vampire and a dragon... I do not know anything about such powerful monsters operating on this unpleasantly named continent..."

"If this is the same as what I experience, there is a reason for it... actually, coming to think of it, how did those kids get here?" I tilted my head, wondering about and decided to head west first.

"Even if there are dragons and vampires... I suppose you would be fine."

"Yeah, as long as multiple Queen class monsters don't come at me at once, I should be alright."

I already knew their identity, and I was someone who had defeated the Queen Vampire and the Three Nobles of Black. Even if those little ones were hypothetically adults, I shouldn't have issues.

"Now, as I was saying before, I shall give this to you..." She said, pulling out a sinister and grotesque-looking sword.

"Eww, what's that!?"

"The corrupted blade, Angel Halo. It is the only one of its kind, an extraordinarily precious sword. You may use this in future battles."

"C-certainly, it seems like an incredible sword, but... isn't it a bit overkill?"

"This sword serves to solve precisely that problem. It has the grudges of angels worked into it, and its content of holy energy is exceptionally high. Due to that, it can disperse mana, separating it from the mortal shell."

"U-Um, so..."

"To put it more simply, a monster that is mortally wounded by this sword will temporarily revert to a devolved form, a sealed state, so to speak. As long as you use it, you will kill neither monster nor human, even in heated battle."

"So it affects humans too..."

I took it, staring fixedly at the sword. Truthfully, the various negative emotions roiling off it were terrifying.

"You can try it out right away," Alice said, quietly disappearing.

A worm girl emerged from the ground. I tried talking to her, but she wouldn't back down, so I quickly tested it out with a Lightning Sword Flash. Despite being overkill, she did not die; instead, she turned into a little worm.

"Oh wow... this is amazing. Thank you, Alice. Now I can strike without holding back."

"I am glad you are pleased with it... Though at this rate, it might take two Heavenly Knights to stop you with certainty..."

As Alice showed some unease on her face, we continued our travels westward. A few hours later, we arrived at the Irina Mountain Range.

"Well, finding some bandits in this huge mountain range seems rather troublesome... Do you know where they are?"

"Yeah, there should be a cave to the nor— Ah."

Alice quickly vanished as the sound of rapid footsteps came our way. Soon, I saw a familiar face.

"Hey you, gimme all your valuables!"

"You're part of the monster bandit group?"

"That's right! I am one of the Four Heavenly Bandits, Goblin! If you get it, then hurry up and pull out your valuables!~"

Yep, seems like the members are the same as in the other world.

"Well, I came here to defeat the bandits, so I'm afraid that's not going to happen."

"Huh? Even though you look so weak?"

...

My face twitched a bit. Fufufu, now then, how should I show her the difference in our power...

"You think you can just space out on me? Take this! Secret earth technique, Sand Hurricane!" She yelled, trying to throw some sand into my eyes, which I dodged with no difficulty whatsoever.

...

"...Is that it?"

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she managed to regain her composure.

"T-There's more! Here comes my ultimate skill, Earth Crush Goblin!

She lifted her hammer and slowly waddled toward me. There were so many openings I could have exploited, but...

"Hah!"

Goblin girl attacks! Luka took 1 damage!

I accepted the blow of her hammer without moving the slightest bit. Her eyes shot wide open before tears started flowing from them as she trembled.

"AAAH! It's a monstrosity! Somebody help!"

The Goblin girl was chased away! 30 experience points obtained!

"...Are all of them like this?"

"Yeah, despite what they may call themselves, I think all of them are little kids like that.

"...Sheesh." She let out a sigh and followed after me. As we reached the cave entrance, she checked the scent with a twitch of her nose.

"I will wait here. Get it over with quickly."

"Alright, I won't take long."

"Ah, there you are! I, the Lamia of Water, shall be your opponent!"

Tiny Lamia appeared!

As expected, a teeny, tiny lamia came out next. I ended up accidentally shooting her an unimpressed look.

"What's with that face!? Let's see if you can still look at me like that once I've coiled around you!"

True to her word, she approached and entangled herself around me. After taking a moment to think about what to do, I infused my hands with the power of ice and brushed against her neck.

"Eeep!? Cold!"

Despite her teary eyes, she continued frantically coiling around me, making the sadism I'd inherited from my mother act up.

"Hehe, let's see how much you can endure. Here comes more cold~"

I repeatedly tapped my fingers against her forehead, stomach, and tail as the tears overflowed from her eyes until she eventually let go with a sob.

"So cold, so cruel! I'll remember this!" She yelled as she ran away crying.

Tiny Lamia was chased away! 35 experience points obtained!

"Alright, time for the next one..." I continued as if nothing happened, and after walking just a little bit...

"Hehehe, so you managed to defeat the Goblin of Earth and the Lamia of Water. Not bad, but I won't fall that easily!"

Vampire girl appeared!

"I am a noble of darkness, servant of evil, and one of the Four Heavenly Bandits, the Vampire of Wind. Hehe... It seems you will be my feast for tonight."

"...Vampires have an affinity for lightning, though?"

"Uhh, well... wind is more like the Heavenly Knights, so I thought it was cooler that way."

"But if you can't actually use wind, then isn't it actually uncool instead?"

Along with a sniffle, tears suddenly appeared in her eyes.

"W-Whatever! Vampires can do windy stuff, too!" Saying that, she turned into countless bats which came at me, but...

"I can do that too."

I also turned my body into bats, which attacked hers. However, the difference in their movements was clear; it almost felt like my bats were bullying hers.

"W-w-w-what!? You're also a vampire!?"

"Fufufu, I am the emperor of the night, Fallen Angel Luka!" I said with a smug grin and a pose that covered one of my eyes.

"S-so cool!... No, wait, I can't possibly win against someone like this!"

Vampire girl was chased away! 40 experience points obtained!

"...I might be getting carried away a bit," I reflected as I continued on deeper. And the one to appear next, just as expected, was...

"Wahaha, You did well to make it this far!"

Dragon Pup appeared!

"Well, for starters, I don't suppose you would just stop the banditry?"

"No way! Graawr!"

Dragon Pup belched fire! Luka takes no damage!

"...U-ugah?"

Thanks to equipping an ability to nullify fire damage beforehand, her attack was utterly ineffective. I slowly walked up to her and gave her a light chop on the head.

"Ugah... that hurts... and my fire doesn't work either."

Teary-eyed, She rolled onto the ground while holding her head. It seemed like she had no intention of fighting anymore.

Dragon Pup was defeated! 45 experience points obtained!

"Now then..."

Winning battles wasn't all a Hero had to do; They also had to deal with the aftermath properly. I turned around, wondering what to do, and saw Alice with the other three little ones behind her.

"Ah, you brought them with you."

"Yes, since if they scattered and escaped, they may have been eaten by other monsters."

Looking behind her, I saw the three crying terribly. They must have gotten quite an earful.

"Well, I'll ask just in case. Are there any others?"

"No..." "It's only the four of us..." They responded with a sniffle. Apparently, none of them still had any desire to oppose us.

"Now, what are you going to do? Sell them? Kill them? Violate them? Or eat them?"

"Please don't... Waaah!" They began crying even harder.

"Alice... is that... what you've been doing to the monsters I've beaten?"

"Of course not, you idiot!"

"Well, I'm not going to either! If I did, I'd be a failure as a Hero!"

I turned back to the wailing girls. "For now, we'll go to Iliasburg to apologize since you caused a lot of trouble for them, understood?"

The four of them slowly nodded, though Alice cast me a doubtful look.

"Will that really be alright?"

"I'll be apologizing along with them. Besides, Amira was accepted by them just fine, right? And should things become violent, I will protect them."

"...Well, if you say so."

The rest happened just as it did in my former world. I took them to the town square to apologize. The residents forgave them and took each of them to a place where they could work.

"Hmm... How unexpected. It seems humans still have it in their hearts to accept monsters."

"Yeah, I'm glad things worked out. The situation may be quite different compared to over there, but since they were willing to accept Amira, I figured we could make it work."

"What would you have done if it did not?"

"...In that case, I would have taken care of them for the time being and later sent them to a region with less prejudice against monsters with time magic."

"A good thing it worked out then. There is nothing that could get me to babysit a bunch of children."

"Yeah."

As I was thinking about heading to Happiness Village, I felt Dragon Pup pull on my arm.

"You helped us a lot, so you can have this!"

And the thing she was offering me was... the Red Orb!

"Eh!? W-where did you..."

"I never imagined it would be in a place like this either."

Apparently, it fell off some rich man's carriage a few months ago. Was that a coincidence, or...

"Thank you. I'll take good care of it."

I waved as I left. For now, there was probably nothing left to do in this town.

"Did they have it in the other world as well? Is that why you went out to deal with them?"

"Over there, the Elf Princess near Yamatai Village had it. Maybe that rich person sold it to her?"

"The Elf Princess, huh?... Hmm? I feel like I remember hearing she was a terrible shut-in."

"It seems she somehow took a liking to me." It certainly was quite something. The absurd amounts of treasure she gifted to me were rather overwhelming. Alice, who saw my complicated expression, said no more on the subject.

"We will be going to Happiness Village next, then?"

"Yes. If they are having problems, I can't just leave them be."

"The place where Happiness Honey is produced... Naturally, if we solve the problem, we will also receive a reward... I am already looking forward to it."

As always, Alice immediately thought about the next meal. And so, with a wry smile on my lips, we left the town.

TN: Before anyone asks, I did not skip over anything with Amira or the scene with Alice in the inn, it was actually written like that. Nothing truly explicit, as the story is originally tagged as 17.9 (Which I personally consider to be a quite funny tag, gotta just barely skirt that line, eh?)