"Your Excellencies, please, you must accept this."
Outside a luxurious mansion in the Royal Capital, a noble spoke to Naohara and his two companions in an ingratiating tone.
With the Kingdom's current king, Ramposa III, already in his twilight years, the nobles of the capital had begun placing their bets on his two sons.
Most supported the First Prince, while a smaller number backed the Second Prince. As for the Third Princess, Renner, she was largely ignored.
The noble standing before them belonged to the First Prince's faction.
Several days had passed since the Undead Siege incident. By now, stories of Naohara and his group had begun spreading rapidly throughout the capital.
Four people and a single mount taking on tens of thousands of Undead alone. The achievement was simply too dazzling.
Even the most corrupt nobles understood that people like this had to be courted and befriended, never made into enemies.
Of course, some nobles suspected exaggeration. But at that moment, the Adventurer's Guild Master of E-Rantel, Ainzach, stepped forward.
When a former hero-class powerhouse swore on his life to guarantee the truth, even the most arrogant nobles had no choice but to believe.
And so, Naohara and the others became the prized targets the capital's nobility scrambled to win over.
The First Prince was especially decisive. He immediately had someone locate Naohara, who had originally been wandering the streets to avoid running into Evileye.
On the spot, a property deed was produced, and a grand mansion was gifted to him in hopes of leaving a favorable impression and making himself known.
Even if Naohara could not help him seize the throne, the First Prince at least had to ensure he did not join the Second Prince's camp.
After all, accepting a gift made things awkward later. It had to be said, the First Prince was thinking ahead.
Naohara did not refuse. A free house was a free house. He had no intention of involving himself in the royal power struggle anyway.
After taking the deed and assuring them he would not assist the Second Prince, Naohara casually dismissed the noble.
"I was just wondering where I'd stay. Didn't expect a house to fall into my lap this quickly."
Looking at the deed in his hand, Naohara smiled. His luck really had not changed.
"I'll leave this place to you two. I'm heading out."
He gave a brief instruction to the Doppelgängers behind him.
After casually patting Hamsuke on the head and handing her a piece of Dragon Meat, Naohara disappeared into the crowd.
The two Doppelgängers exchanged a glance, then both shifted their gaze toward Hamsuke, or rather, the bundle strapped to her back.
"Hamsuke-sama, we look forward to working under your guidance."
Returning to their demonic forms, the Doppelgängers bowed elegantly to Hamsuke. As the pet of one of the Supreme Beings, her status far surpassed theirs.
The title "pet of the Supreme Being" was something everyone in the Great Tomb of Nazarick coveted.
Even Albedo, the Guardian Overseer, had revealed a trace of envy upon learning of Hamsuke's existence.
"Um… just call me Hamsuke. I'll be in your care as well."
Hamsuke stood upright, scratching her rodent head with an awkward grin. To be honest, she was still a bit dazed.
So the Momonga and Herohero she had been with all this time were impostors. If Naohara had not told her, she probably would have remained in the dark indefinitely.
No wonder those two had seemed strange lately. She had even thought she had done something wrong. Turns out it had all been a false alarm.
After chatting briefly with the two Doppelgängers, the two demons and the giant hamster entered the mansion and began cleaning and arranging the furniture.
...
On the other side, Naohara stepped into an alley.
"Sorry, Blackie. Kept you waiting."
Seeing Herohero leaning against the wall in a rogue's outfit, Naohara walked over and draped an arm around his shoulder.
"It's fine. Solution and I just got here too."
"But man, it wasn't easy. Your little adventurer game finally made it out of the beginner village."
Herohero stopped idly playing with the heart in his hand, turned to Naohara, and teased him.
Herohero had arrived in the Royal Capital yesterday. After confirming that Naohara would arrive today as well, the two immediately hit it off and decided to spend the day strolling around together.
Standing nearby, Solution watched the interaction between the two Supreme Beings. As she marveled at their deep friendship, she quietly let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed the possibility Demiurge had warned her about, something related to the Eight Greed Kings' ending, would not come to pass.
"You've got the nerve to say that. Momonga handling paperwork is one thing, but you? You ditched your friend for a pretty face. We were supposed to adventure as a trio, and now I'm the only one left."
Thinking about everything that had happened recently, Naohara put on a mock furious expression, teeth clenched.
Herohero simply shrugged and looked at him nonchalantly.
"Don't sweat it. I'm here now, aren't I?"
"Come on. Let's take a look around. I'm actually pretty curious about this city."
With that, Herohero grabbed Solution's hand, and the two walked out of the alley like a young couple.
Behind them, Naohara's mouth twitched as he watched the scene, speechless. Was he seriously being force-fed this display?
After silently cursing Herohero for being a pervert who would even make a move on his own daughter, Naohara eventually followed.
And so, two Slimes and one Dragonoid began wandering aimlessly through the Royal Capital.
They strolled leisurely, admiring the scenery and picking up snacks, looking completely at ease.
After covering half the commercial district, they stepped into an extremely luxurious kimono specialty shop.
Herohero planned to buy Solution a few kimonos. As her nominal father, he had yet to give her any gifts. That felt like a clear failure on his part.
"Herohero-sama, what do you think of this one?"
Inside the shop, Solution emerged wearing a gorgeous kimono. The outline of the large human heart at her chest was faintly visible beneath the fabric. Smiling gently, she walked up to Herohero.
"So white… huh? Ah!"
"Ahem… not bad. Very nice!"
Snapping back to his senses, Herohero coughed lightly and praised her without hesitation.
Solution had been created entirely according to his preferences. The more he looked at her, the more beautiful she seemed. A strange impulse rushed to his head, making his whole body restless.
In the end, he activated [Black Heart]. A flash of green light passed over him, and he finally calmed down.
"Buy it. Wrap them all up."
With a grand wave of his hand, exuding the aura of a wealthy magnate, Herohero tossed a bag of gold coins in front of the staff.
Outside the shop, watching Herohero spend money so lavishly, Naohara looked utterly hopeless. He suddenly felt like an idiot.
"I shouldn't have come…"
Squatting outside, Naohara began drawing circles on the ground, mentally cursing Herohero. Showing off his affection was one thing, but using him as a walking wallet on top of that? Was that something a normal person would do?
Just then, a shadow blocked the sunlight, and a familiar voice sounded above him.
"Hey. What are you doing squatting here?"
"Evileye? What are you doing here?"
"I… I have something to ask you."
Evileye clasped her small hands behind her back, her tone hesitant, as if struggling to speak. Naohara blinked in surprise.
He had assumed she came looking for revenge. But now it seemed that was not the case. And this attitude… it felt off. Wasn't she supposed to be angry? Why was she acting so shy?
"Well… this contains footage of our previous battle. We want to delete the final part."
Evileye took out a crystal ball and spoke distractedly.
Beneath her mask, her face was burning hot.
"No problem. It was just proof anyway."
Understanding what she meant, Naohara took the crystal ball and directly erased the last segment. The recording now ended right at the moment he was knocked down by Evileye.
Watching him agree without hesitation, Evileye's thoughts began spiraling.
"He didn't even ask why. Does he really have a crush on me?"
"What do I do? What do I do? Should I agree to it?"
…
Evileye's CPU felt like it was burning out as she took the crystal ball back. She parted her lips slightly and spoke in a halting voice.
"J-just so you know, I'm only asking because I'm curious."
"Why… why do you always pat my… my head?"
The moment she forced the words out, she let out a quiet breath of relief.
But the next second, she tensed up again. Beneath her mask, her eyes locked firmly onto Naohara, her heart pounding as she waited for his answer.
"Why?"
Under her gaze, Naohara paused for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.
"Because I like it. I like it so much I can't help myself."
He had no idea what was going on with Evileye, but when he heard her question, he answered with complete sincerity.
The Will of Fire was not something to be trifled with.
Evileye froze the instant she heard his reply.
Her heart… felt like it was beating.
That was impossible.
Her heart had stopped centuries ago. She was Undead.
And yet…
Why did it feel as though her heart had been struck by an arrow, trembling with a strange, unfamiliar rhythm?
It was an indescribable sensation, something she had not experienced in hundreds of years. And she did not dislike it.
Her body softened. Her thoughts grew hazy. A heat she had never known before spread through her, as if her entire body were on fire.
A faint wisp of steam seemed to rise from above her head. She swayed unsteadily, about to fall, when an arm caught her.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Holding Evileye, who looked like her CPU had completely overloaded, Naohara blinked in confusion. What was going on with her?
Was she so angry she was about to explode?
Or was she suddenly feeling unwell?
It could not be that she had fallen for him. No way.
"I-I'm fine! I'm leaving!"
Snapping back to her senses, Evileye hurriedly stood up and slipped out of his arms. Just as she was about to flee, a hand grabbed her and pulled her back.
"Since you're already here, come shop with us."
"I'll buy you something."
Naohara grinned and tugged her into the store.
He shot a provocative glance at Herohero, who had turned to look, as if to say he was no longer the third wheel.
Today had been way too stifling. Luckily, Evileye showed up. Thinking that, Naohara decided he ought to thank her properly.
Dragging along a completely dazed Evileye, Naohara began a full-scale shopping spree.
As if unwilling to lose, Herohero also started buying wildly. With both of them spending without restraint, thousands of gold coins disappeared in the blink of an eye.
At first, Naohara felt rather pleased. He was clearly spending more gold than Herohero.
But by the end, a tragic realization dawned on him.
That shameless friend had not brought any money at all. In the end, Naohara was the one paying for everything.
As for Evileye, she walked out of the shop in a daze, arms full of clothing, her mind still spinning.
Today was a crushing defeat for his wallet.