Gluttony Demon King with the Swampman ~A Man with No Magic Power Who Dreamed of Magic, Wielding Knowledge from His Past Life Through Steady Research and Hard Work to Become the Most Vicious Final Boss~ - Chapter 23: Sweet, Overprotective, and Sandwiched

Chapter 23: Sweet, Overprotective, and Sandwiched

Monster presence closed in from every direction.

This wasn’t a pack of four; there were at least ten.

The adventurers readied their weapons in panic, and the next instant the wolves poured out of the bushes.

“B-Black wolves!?”

“Damn it, why’s a huge pack suddenly—!”

Black-furred wolves.

They looked like ordinary animals, but since they had magic stones they were classified as monsters. Their fur, infused with magic power, was far tougher than any normal wolf’s.

All right, let’s do this.

“Chainsaw Crown”

Ink drew a magic circle in the air, turned into spinning blades, and easily sliced through the charging wolves.

A single blow that could cut a dragon.

There was no way common wolves could withstand it.

“Wh-what the…!?”

“Water magic!? Guh, my ears…!”

The adventurers stared in shock, faces twisting at the piercing grinding noise. Everyone’s first reaction is always the same.

I carved through the oncoming wolves one after another.

Head, head again; when they attacked from all sides I used corpses as shields. Or—

“Pinball”

—I placed Pinball sigils at the wolves’ feet.

A wolf that stomped hard on the circle lost control and leaped wildly in a random direction.

Then I hunted the landing.

The Chainsaw Crown waiting directly below tore the falling wolf into pieces.

“Now, how are the seniors doing… oh, they’re struggling quite a bit.”

The adventurers swung swords and spears but couldn’t land solid hits.

They barely blocked bites with weapons and shields, only to be pushed completely on the defensive.

“Th-these things just keep coming without a break…!”

“Hey, hurry up and use your magic—”

“Guh! Shut up, I can’t concentrate!”

One of them was a mage. He desperately held his shield and short sword, chanting over and over, but the spell never fired properly.

They had bragged about taking down four wolves with just three people, yet this was the result.

“…Guess I’ll help them out.”

It would leave a bad taste if they got eaten here… though really, why did I call the wolves in the first place?

The answer was obvious: I got a little carried away and lost my cool.

I was irritated by the insults toward the sisters.

Apparently I liked Zaria and Noiche more than I realized.

“Chainsaw Crown”

I quickly cleaned up around myself, then cut down the wolves swarming the adventurers.

I beheaded the one about to bite an adventurer’s side, then sent the next attacker flying with Pinball.

Drenched in spurting blood, the adventurers collapsed in fear.

“Gyaa!?”

“E-eeeeek…!”

Their faces, now covered in red beast blood, looked up at me—no trace left of their earlier bravado, only shock and terror.

Only one enemy remained.

I casually killed the last wolf and looked down at the adventurers sitting on the ground.

“Sorry, I wasn’t exactly calm either.”

“N-no, not at all!”

“Y-you’re really strong, young master! Heh, heh heh…”

Their attitude flipped instantly.

I told the guys with forced smiles, “Well, you picked the fight, so I’ll let it slide,” then added one more thing.

“Oh, right. Mind helping me extract the magic stones from these?”

“Y-yes! Of course!”

“We’d be happy to help…!”

Very obedient. Helpful.

While looking over the blood-soaked battlefield and wolf corpses, I returned the ink to its bottle.

*

On the way back I stopped by the guild first.

To report quest completion. I turned in the herbs and cashed in the black wolf magic stones from the permanent request.

“A-all these black wolf stones… Did you take them down alone?”

I hesitated, then nodded to the receptionist’s question.

Those adventurers hadn’t killed a single one, so saying I did it alone was technically correct.

I also stopped by the appraiser Egiy’s counter.

“Ah, hey there, Haro-san. Need something appraised? Or looking to buy anything?”

Still nothing like the elves in my imagination.

She greeted customers with a soft, floppy smile and shyly pulled her hat lower.

Egiy apparently handled not just appraisals and buybacks but also managed guild loaner gear and simple goods for sale, so she asked what I needed.

“Do you sell tin or lead scraps? Or wire?”

“Eh, wire…? Um, the guild doesn’t carry it, but if my personal stuff is okay…”

I was looking for odds and ends to make tools, and Egiy rummaged through her pouch and piled up junk-like metal scraps for me.

Is it really okay to sell personal items on the job?

I’d heard elves dislike metal, but Egiy’s sensibilities were clearly different.

Anyway, I happily bought them.

“Are you making something, Haro-san?”

“Just a little accessory for my housemates.”

“That’s wonderful…!”

…Why does this feel like “boyfriend rushing to make a birthday present” small talk?

In reality, it wasn’t decorative jewelry—I was making a magic tool to help with Noiche’s mirror-image magic disorder. No need to correct her, though.

By the way, lead and tin together make solder, mainly used for joining metals.

With a decent amount of money and some bonus materials, I returned to the Levi mansion. It was already dusk.

“Hey, the hard worker’s back.”

“Welcome home, Haro.”

Zaria and Noiche, who seemed to be cleaning the entrance area, greeted me, so I said “I’m home” and took off my shoes.

As I started inside, the two of them flanked me and grabbed hold.

Noiche, standing in front, traced my neck with her fingertips. Dried, powdery blood was stuck there.

“Return blood? You fought?”

“Yeah. Probably wolf blood.”

I’d tried to avoid getting splashed, but with that many it was impossible.

Once they confirmed I wasn’t injured, they both let out relieved breaths, then pressed even closer.

“N-Noiche? Zaria?”

I felt a quiet pressure.

Both brought their lips to my ears.

“Hey Haro, we were pretty worried, you know. We didn’t expect zero contact until sunset.”

“S-sorry about that.”

“Don’t pout, Zaria. More importantly, Haro’s all dirty. You can’t come inside like this.”

“Huh?”

Zaria nodded at Noiche’s words—“You’re right”—and squeezed me hard from front and back with their soft, swelling chests.

“Then we’ll wash you again today.”

“Just relax, Haro. Leave everything to us.”

…They’re getting more and more overprotective.

While I tried to escape reality with that thought, the cloying sweet scent rising from Noiche’s chest made my body jolt.