As A Result of Trying To Live An Erotic Slow-Life, I Have Become The Underground Ruler of This Upside-Down Otherworld - Chapter 39: To a New Horizon

Chapter 39: To a New Horizon

The Rabbit Hutch.

The work of the Rabbits is vast and varied.

From shadowy tasks like infiltration and assassination to commerce and adventuring, they handle just about anything with competence.

As such, they maintain numerous bases in every city—used as rest stops, safehouses, and multipurpose hubs.

One such safehouse lies in the royal capital.

…

A Mice leader, Shuri, casts a colorless gaze into the empty air.

She knows exactly what she’s done.

She kidnapped Arius, the one destined to inherit the Eldo Family, and handed him over to a rival organization.

Betrayal. Treachery.

She trampled on Towa’s trust, discarded her joy.

“I… understand.”

What she did would have been unthinkable to her former self—she’d have laughed it off as absurd.

But she was that terrified. Yes, she feared Arius.

She saw her comrades changed by him. She saw the superior she once revered transformed by him.

If even they could be altered, then surely she herself would be next. That was a terror beyond all else.

Shuri never regretted her past, though she had her share of sorrows. She held no dissatisfaction with her present.

The memory of being sold by her blood-related parents was one she’d rather not recall—a trauma that still gnaws at her confidence, etched deep in her heart.

But because of that, she met Towa. She found a home in the Eldo Family.

For Shuri, simply working alongside Towa in that home was enough happiness. She never dreamed of wanting anything more.

And yet… it changed.

The environment she thought would stay constant shifted. The existence she believed unchangeable was altered.

She didn’t want to see it anymore.

Not Towa offering her loyalty to the heir with colors beyond duty. Not the ordinary happiness she cherished slipping away.

So, she tested him one last time.

She crafted a different version of herself to probe his heart.

“…This… thing…”

She understood the danger.

This man was an anomaly. He shouldn’t exist.

Clutched tightly in her hand is a single bracelet.

A cheap trinket that fell from Arius when she rendered him unconscious.

“This… thing…!!”

She saw it. Of course she did—she was watching for an opening.

—Thanks, Shuri-chan.

“That’s NOT TRUE!!”

She wasn’t happy. She wasn’t captivated.

He invaded Towa’s heart, stole Kazune’s, and now… what was he planning to do with her?

She was terrified. She couldn’t take it anymore.

She resolved to kill him right then and there. He couldn’t be allowed to taint this world any further.

She’d probably die in the process. But that was fine.

She couldn’t bear to see Towa, changed beyond recognition, any longer.

“Why…?”

But she couldn’t kill him.

Not because Arius was stronger than expected. No, that wasn’t it.

For some reason, she couldn’t kill him. And now, she can’t let go of the bracelet in her hand.

So, she waits.

She waits for the moment of judgment that will surely come.

No matter how secure the Rabbit Hutch is, Towa’s skill will pinpoint her location in no time.

And when she’s found—

—

She senses a presence above her.

A faint leak of killing intent, caught by her sharpened instincts. She could sense it. She did.

—Ah, Towa-sama. You’ve already…

Your skills have dulled so much.

She’s certain now—she’s surpassed Towa in ability.

She could easily brush off the descending aura of death.

“…Should I call this honorable? Why aren’t you resisting?”

“I’ve been waiting… for this moment.”

But she accepts it. She embraces death.

“Yes… that’s right. Please… I wanted to be killed… by the you I know so well…”

Towa’s heart is on the verge of shattering as she searches for Shuri.

The pain threatens to make her scream pathetically if she lets her guard down. She stitches it shut with cold ice and races through the city.

She was happy. She was so happy.

It felt as blissful as being held by her master.

The salvation she could never grant, her beloved granted instead.

Kazune changed visibly.

Over and over, she thanked Towa through tears—a feeling Towa herself knew well.

The joy of filling an unfillable void—she only wanted others to experience it too.

“What… did I do wrong…?”

Shuri had volunteered willingly, wanting to connect heart-to-heart before body.

When it was over, she trembled with tears of gratitude.

The Arius Family wasn’t just acknowledged—it was needed. Towa felt pride in that realization.

“Towa-sama… you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just… I was a coward…”

From Shuri, pinned beneath her, comes resignation.

Or perhaps… relief? As if she’s finally free from her suffering.

In a different way from Towa.

“If it’s Master, he’ll save you too.”

“No, Towa-sama. I’ve… already been saved.”

Her eyes are pure, untainted by any falsehood.

“This… is fine. I’m scared… so scared…”

“Scared?”

“I’m scared… of changing. Of knowing… a happiness I don’t understand… It’s terrifying…”

It hits Towa like a blow to the head.

“To think there could be… something happier than this… I didn’t want to know. You’re the one who saved me, Towa-sama…”

Shuri is saying it: Towa is her savior, her master.

She doesn’t want anyone else to take that place or steal it away.

“So… please, kill me. Before I change. While I still… know…”

“…Shuri.”

Shuri releases all tension, surrendering everything to Towa.

There’s nothing more to say.

No persuasion will work. Towa understands Shuri’s feelings.

Yes, she understands.

She’s aware she’s changed. She believes she’s been shaped by Arius.

But now, she’s confronted with the fact that her happiness could be someone else’s misery.

The dagger in her hand trembles.

She truly doesn’t know what to do.

Shuri, the Mice, cannot be dyed by anyone but Towa.

There’s no room for change, no desire to be repainted like Mia.

“I understand.”

“…Yes. Thank… you…”

There’s only one thing Towa can do.

Eliminate the one who harmed her master.

“Anything you’d like to say?”

“…”

Shuri pauses to think.

Her heart is heavy with a mountain of regrets.

If she hadn’t been so afraid… if she could have embraced change…

Perhaps she could have found herself in a happiness beyond imagination.

“If… there’s such a thing as reincarnation… next time, I want to be Master’s pet.”

A being that doesn’t need to think, simply basking in whatever is given.

No need to fear, or—like Towa is doing now—merely tasked with eliminating threats.

“I understand.”

“Yes.”

And so, her wish is heard.

Towa swings the dagger down.

***

“Um, Onii-cha—er, I mean, Master! Please take care of me!”

“Yeah, likewise. Towa? Make sure you look after her properly, got it?”

“Of course, Master!”

That day, a new employee joined Ronyan.

One pair of eyes directed at the newcomer was gentle. The rest? Well, they were the polar opposite of welcoming—more like, Who the heck are you?!

“Mia, Serika, you two better take good care of Shuri, alright?”

“Ugh, guh… If Arius-san says so…”

“O-Okay, fine…!”

If looks could kill, those glares would’ve done the job.

Tilting his head at their behavior, Arius shrugs it off with a Whatever and heads back to his room.

The moment his figure completely disappears up the stairs—

“What’s the deal?!”

“Tch, s-spill it! We demand a detailed explanation!”

Come on, explain yourself! You gonna make this right or what?!

With metaphorical demons raging on their backs, Mia and Serika close in on Towa. Shuri, meanwhile, lets out a soft giggle.

“I came to be Master’s pet!”

“PET?!”

Shuri declares it brightly—perhaps even provocatively.

“…Ahem, well, yes. The mice Shuri has been dealt with. Dealt with… and I picked up a new pet. Her skills are top-notch, so please, I beg your leniency.”

“As if we could just let that slide!!”

“D-Dealt with?! You mean executed?!”

“Eek! So scary! If you kill me, Master will be so sad~!”

“HUUUH?!”

Officially, her role is kitchen assistant.

She’s tasked with helping Arius remove impurities from ingredients and assisting Towa with cooking.

Yes, Towa killed the mice Shuri.

And then she said it:

“I never imagined I’d go this far… I’m truly sorry.”

She plunged the dagger into the wall beside Shuri’s face, declaring that the old Shuri was dead.

What stands here now is merely Shuri’s flesh—a vessel without will.

Now, be reborn as the self you wished for.

“Fufufu~ No regrets now, it’s too late~!”

“Regrets? …Well, maybe a tiny bit. So, Mia, Celica, please calm down, I’m begging you!”

And so, Shuri was reborn.

Transformed into Ronyan’s loyal guard dog and cherished pet, with Arius at the helm of Alpha.

“Ughhh… Arius-san’s pet?! I’m so jealous I could scream…!”

“She’s already getting all cozy with Arius-sama…!”

“That’s right! I’m Master’s favorite, you know!”

Seeing Shuri puff out her chest with a smug Mmph!, who could blame the trio for wanting to throw punches?

“Oh, by the way, the staff here can get cuddles from Master anytime, right~?”

“WHAAAT?!”

“So, I can go get some, yeah? MAAASTEEER!!”

“Serika!!”

“You bet!”

Seruja tackles Shuri as she bolts off.

Even before opening hours, the place erupts into chaotic thuds and bangs.

“Why’re you looking so smug?! Take some responsibility, will ya?!”

“My apologies.”

Even so, Towa feels it’s alright.

She’s learned that happiness comes in many forms, and above all, she wants the reborn Shuri to be true to her desires.

“Haa… Don’t come crying to me when the other mice get mad.”

“No worries, they’ve already accepted it.”

“…Oh, really?”

Mia’s eyes demand answers, impressed by Towa’s efficiency but curious how she pulled it off.

“Leadership of the mice has shifted to Kazune. As for Shuri, she’s now Master’s pet and shadow guardian moving forward.”

“Go on?”

That alone wouldn’t satisfy the mice. There’s more to it.

“…Shuri may receive Master’s affection in the future, but as far as she’s concerned, she’ll never again be embraced as she once was.”

“I see. That explains the change, huh?”

Shuri will never again connect with Arius as the old Shuri did.

The dog now serving at Arius’s side is a different entity from the Shuri the mice knew—irrelevant to them.

“That’s… harsh.”

“Perhaps. But the Shuri standing there is undeniably the Shuri who wanted to become this. …This is all I could do.”

Maybe it’s irresponsible.

But Towa believes this is right.

Only Arius can truly save.

The arrogant thought that she could save someone herself was her mistake.

“Got it.”

“It might be wrong. It might just widen the wounds… But…”

Towa closes her eyes quietly.

“It’s not because I save that someone is saved. It’s because Master saves… that they’re saved.”