As A Result of Trying To Live An Erotic Slow-Life, I Have Become The Underground Ruler of This Upside-Down Otherworld - Chapter 86: Arius’s Wish

Chapter 86: Arius’s Wish

Arius envisioned it.

Watching the crowd engrossed in the food, he saw no trace of concern for appearances.

From a step back, it could be called a raw scene—starving beasts devouring their prey.

Yet Arius thought to himself.

Someday, this scene could exist without the lure of food.

To be precise, it wasn’t that they didn’t care about appearances—they simply had no room to.

The dishes, the flavors, were so otherworldly, so far removed from anything they’d encounter in their lives.

Once the food was gone, they’d regain their composure.

Awakening from the dream, the beautiful women would surely push away the ugly ones beside them.

Thus, it could only be a vision.

Arius understood that this moment was finite, and the prejudice of appearances—what one might call lookism—wouldn’t vanish in his lifetime.

“Arius-dono.”

“Nelba-san, thank you for coming today. How was the food?”

“In a word, magnificent. My respect goes to Towa-kun and those around you, Arius-dono, for preparing royal-grade ingredients so splendidly.”

Nelba bowed with theatrical flair.

Arius gave a wry smile, but couldn’t help feeling pleased at the praise for his companions—charming, in its own way.

“Nelba-san.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you believe in me?”

There was still food left, so his moment could wait.

In this brief window, Arius voiced a question that had long weighed on him.

“When we first met at the Mage Guild… that’s all it was. No matter how I think about it, I was just a skirt-chaser back then.”

“…”

“It was after that. That’s when I decided to stand here now. I’d be thrilled if you saw something in me now or in what’s to come. But—”

“Eld and I… we shared the same dream.”

Cutting off Arius’s words.

Nelba, in a rare—perhaps long-forgotten—moment, wore a gentle smile.

“Eld from the underworld. I from the Mage Guild. We worked for equality, dreaming of a world where all are justly recognized.”

“Justly recognized… huh.”

Two people, on different paths, yearning to reach the same destination.

Clashing at times, cooperating at others.

They challenged the world, striving to right what seemed warped.

“The result? We could only leave behind fragments. Eld, a small world. I, a small position. We ran desperately, but before we knew it, invisible vines bound us. Self-inflicted, you could say… but yes, we lacked the strength for that final step.”

Each step forward, someone grabbed their legs.

Each hand reached into the void, someone seized it.

“I have no regrets. I can still say with pride that my path wasn’t wrong. Eld would feel the same. No… perhaps I can think that way because I met you, Arius-dono.”

“Because of me…?”

“I don’t believe in you. I expect something from you. That you’ll show us the ideal we couldn’t reach—or something we couldn’t even dream of.”

Nelba gave a small, bitter smile, wondering when she’d last bared her heart like this.

It wasn’t wasted, not the past nor the present.

She wasn’t ready to step back, but she’d found someone to entrust the future to.

“Ah, I see…”

“Nelba-san?”

Suddenly, Nelba understood.

Why she’d wanted to support Arius.

The convenient excuse of being the underworld’s mediator had made her forget.

In short—

“I like you, Arius-dono.”

“Wha!?”

“Not in that way,” she added with a chuckle.

It was simple: she wanted to see the world dreamed by a man she admired.

Her position and excuses made decisions complex, but if—

“Heh. The dishes are nearly gone. Show me, Arius-dono, the shape of the world you aim for.”

If she could dream alongside him.

Nelba’s gaze urged him toward the crowd, her face alight with amusement.

“…Nelba-san.”

“Yes?”

Turning surprise into bravado, and bravado into resolve.

“Watch me. The man you fell for… is the best.”

—I’m off.

To Arius, turning away.

“Come back safe, my dear.”

Softly, but firmly, Nelba spoke.

※

“Hope you’re all full.”

The banquet was in full swing, wasn’t it?

Every face bore satisfaction. Some happily rubbed their swollen bellies, while others, dazed, wept as if it were a dream.

Not too loud, not too soft.

Yet Arius’s voice, impossible to ignore, resonated through Rongrong.

“First, thank you. I’m truly glad you ate the food.”

Pure, 100% gratitude.

Even the beautiful woman who’d snapped at Arius accepted it into her heart without resistance.

“And please, listen. Yes, this is the main point—I want you to hear me out.”

A request.

Indeed, in this moment, most would nod to anything reasonable.

The attendees’ faces said as much: if it wasn’t too much trouble, they’d consider granting it.

“I… no, we want to live alongside all of you.”

Such an abstract sentiment to hear.

“It’s simple. Starting today, right now, when we see you in town, we’ll greet you without hesitation. We might even laugh and talk about today—the food’s taste, who was cute, who got on our nerves. We’ll approach you openly, without restraint.”

Zawari.

The air trembled.

“And I want you to accept it with a smile. That’s all. That’s my wish.”

Arius said “we.”

Then Towa and the others behind him must feel the same.

Truly simple, straightforward.

Arius was saying: when ugly women greet you, return the greeting properly.

“Th—”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not demanding obedience. I’m just asking you to listen. I’m not saying accept it. I said it, didn’t I? Hear me out.”

Confusion colored the air.

To be precise, no one in the room was free of it.

The beautiful women, the ugly women, Nelba, Rozaria.

Even Towa and the others.

“It’s laughable. If it was ‘ugly women live with ugly women, beautiful with beautiful, ordinary with ordinary,’ a segregation—that’d make sense, right? Hey, you.”

“E-Eh… m-me?”

“Yeah, you, the ugly one. I saw you hesitating to eat even after others started. Why?”

“W-Well… I was being considerate to the beautiful people.”

Suppose, hypothetically.

If there were a segregation like Arius described.

They’d have accepted it. Arius could’ve comfortably dealt only with ugly women, basking in a pleasant world.

“No. Because ugly women made the food, right?”

“Ugh…”

Ugly women can’t look up.

But they can look down. No—they can only look down.

They find someone worse off to console themselves: “At least I’m better than that.”

So they didn’t want to eat. They didn’t want to know ugly women could make such food.

“Now, you, beautiful lady. I overheard you planning to find a man in town later. Stomach full, now onto lust? Fair enough, but why not find one here?”

“I-It’s none of your business where I look!”

That’s what beautiful women do—what they’re allowed to do.

If they believe their beauty excuses everything, they might as well have hogged the food.

“You’re scared, aren’t you? Maybe it is my business.”

“That’s not—!”

Beautiful women avoid those stronger than them.

Or rather, they’re sensitive to anyone who might judge the self they believe is untouchable.

Being excused is proof of beauty, so they cling to it, hiding their cowardice.

“And you? Oh, if that’s the deal, it doesn’t involve us, right? Man, being ordinary is so boring!”

“Guh…”

Only a grunt escaped.

Ordinary people have many paths before them.

Which means—

“It’s easy to pick the easy path. Blocking your eyes and ears, saying it’s not your problem—that’s stupidly simple.”

They can abandon higher aspirations. They can live without touching anything low or dirty.

Of course. Everyone wants to avoid trouble. Even Arius was no exception.

“Ah, men have it easy, don’t they? A baseline value guaranteed. Just get it up, and you’re set—others will take care of the pleasure. Pretty great, huh?”

At Arius’s words, the men fell silent.

They wanted to shout that he was wrong but didn’t know why they couldn’t.

They couldn’t face being told their worth lay only in their lower half.

Because the fact remained: just being able to get it up brought rewards.

“Pathetic… boring! It’s not the least bit interesting!!”

Arius roared.

To him, this world’s “normal” was utterly warped.

“Reach out! Endure! Stand your ground! Don’t give up! Make your own worth!! Fight back! Say it’s not true!!”

It was absurd.

Words he should’ve said calmly.

He’d prepared a script, practiced secretly countless times, mastered saying it smoothly.

Yet the man telling others to endure couldn’t endure himself.

He was speaking to the crowd, but every word was meant for himself.

“—!! You!! Why do you get to say that!!”

—Getting cocky.

—Those with power wouldn’t understand.

And so, naturally.

The expected retorts came.

“Because I’m here!!”

“Huh!?”

It applied to him, so he knew it was boring.

Knowing it was boring and pointless, he wished with all his heart they wouldn’t become like that.

“I’ll listen! I’ll praise you to the skies for enduring! If you don’t know what to do, I’ll stand by you with everything I’ve got! So—”

—Help me.

He knew no one could change alone.

Always, for everyone.

Without something to spark the desire to change, no one could.

“…Lend me your strength, to live together. Yes, I’m here. I’ll face your anxieties, fears, complaints, and grievances—I’ll face them with all I have. So… just a little, one step. Can’t we cross this nonexistent divide and come closer? …Please.”

Arius bowed his head.

Because the pieces to complete each other might be in unexpected places.

Before letting boring, pointless things rot their souls.

“I… Arius, will be waiting. At Ronnyan, always waiting.”

A glint at the corner of Arius’s raised eyes.

In the end, still abstract.

It’d be easier if he’d just said clearly what to do.

Yet.

Yet now, the shimmer trailing down Arius’s cheek burned into the attendees’ eyes, unforgettable.

“…Ugh, damn, that was lame. Sorry for raising my voice, everyone. But I meant every word. From now on, I—we—will live in this world without holding back. If we can touch even one more smile in that world, nothing would make me happier.”