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 32: The Third Housemate

Chapter 32: The Third Housemate

“It seems I caused you a lot of trouble.”

Zilmoza spoke in a quiet tone.
He was calm and composed. It really felt like the possession had finally left him.

I chose my words carefully.

“…Mr. Zilmoza. About everything that happened… did you hear it from your disciples?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything. But the memories from when I was possessed… they’re hazy, but they’re still there.”

Zaria and the others winced with an “Ugh.”

It was certainly a cruel thing. Zilmoza was fully aware of what he had done.

Then Zilmoza placed a hand on Egiy’s back and gently pushed her forward.

“Huh? Wh-what is it?”

Egiy was pushed toward us.

“Egiy, go with these kids.”

“Eh? Eh, ehhh?”

“These people want your skills. And they’re excellent mages. I’m sure you’ll gain new experiences.”

“B-but I still have to help with your forge—”

Zilmoza cut her off with a single sentence.

“That won’t do. I’m closing the workshop.”

Egiy froze solid at those words, standing there stunned. Aljan was just as shaken.

“Closing the workshop!? Old man, why…”

“There’s no why. I injured people. Luckily no one died, but I still have to turn myself in at the government office.”

He let out a short breath and turned to face Aljan.

“I’m leaving the workshop to you. Do whatever you want with it. Whether I can keep working depends on the court… Well, if I come back, I might use it again. I’ll be counting on you then.”

“Old man…”

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Zilmoza pointed straight at Zaria.

Zaria tilted her head and said, “Me?”

“That girl over there wants a magic sword forged. Egiy will handle the detailed work, but she’s only half-decent at the basics of working iron. Help her out.”

“…Got it, old man.”

“Egiy, that’s fine with you, right?”

“…!”

At her master’s words, Egiy pressed her lips together tightly but nodded vigorously.

“Yeah, then.”

The old man looked calm, almost satisfied.
As he turned away, he gave us a small bow and simply said, “Thank you. I’m sorry.”

With surprising decisiveness, he walked back toward the castle gate—toward the guards.

“That old geezer’s way too quick to accept things. He didn’t even do anything wrong.”

“It’ll be fine. If we give proper testimony, he’ll be released right away.”

Noiche comforted a slightly sulky-looking Zaria.
After seeing her master off, Egiy sniffled once, holding back tears.

A little while later, she turned to us and said quietly,

“Haro-kun, everyone… thank you for having me.”

“…Are you sure about this?”

“Even without Master saying it, I was already thinking about it. Because of me, you lost your right arm… I want to be useful to you, at least that much.”

…I really don’t mind at all. That arm wasn’t very useful to begin with, and I got replacement magic anyway.

But before I could say anything, Zaria shouted “You’re super welcome!” and hugged Egiy.
And so we headed home.
With one new companion.

*

—Now then.
We’ll discuss how to proceed with the forging work later, but first we decided on Egiy’s living arrangements.

“Egiy, wanna live with us?”

“Eh! I-is that really okay…!?”

Zaria made the invitation, and Egiy started panicking.

“You were even doing part-time work at the guild, so you don’t have money, right? We have extra rooms, and no rent!”

“…!”

At Zaria’s offer, Egiy practically shouted, “I’ll be in your care!” Apprentices really are broke in every world, it seems.

And just like that, starting today, she’s our new housemate.
Coming home exhausted to the mansion felt like returning to my parents’ house, even though I hadn’t lived there long—it was that comforting.

“There’s a yard… The entrance is huge!?”

“Egiy, take off your shoes.”

“We’ll talk about cleaning duties later! Egiy, can you cook?”

“Y-yes! Though my brothers always said my food was too bland…!”

Elf cooking does seem like it would be light on flavor.

…By the way, just how old is Egiy?
She’s a long-lived species, so she’s definitely older than any of us… but she’s so humble it’s hard to tell.

“All right, bath time!”

Here comes the bath-loving youkai.
Zaria threw off her robe without a second thought.

Once she’s like this, resistance is futile.

I was dragged to the bathroom in no time by Zaria and Noiche.
Egiy followed behind, looking around curiously the whole way.

The moment Zaria and Noiche stripped off their shirts without hesitation and reached for my clothes, Egiy let out a small “Eh?”

“U-um… you all bathe with Haro-kun?”

“Yeah.”

“Heh heh. You’re totally thinking something dirty right now, pervert elf.”

The perverts are definitely you two.
Seeing them casually bare their upper bodies in front of me, Egiy’s long pointed ears turned bright red all the way to the tips.

“They’re… beautiful. So big…”

Never mind, she might actually be the pervert.

“So you two and Haro-kun are… um, in that kind of relationship…?”

“No. For now, it’s just unrequited love on our side.”

“We’re only washing his body for him! Totally safe!”

That is not safe at all.
And I don’t even need that much help with injuries.

By the way, my right arm is still gone from the shoulder down.
The wound hasn’t closed yet, but I’ve perfectly stopped the bleeding by sticking ink over it.

Since the nerves were already numb and I’m on painkillers, I feel no pain at all.

But from an outsider’s view, “missing an arm” must be pretty shocking—
When Zaria asked, “Egiy, you wanna sit this one out?” Egiy looked at my right shoulder, forced a troubled smile, and there seemed to be a hint of guilt in her eyes.

“W-well… guess I have no choice…”

She decided to join. Seriously?
Egiy’s face was bright red as she reached for her shirt, then suddenly looked at me.

“It’s not just because of the arm I made you lose… it’s not only that, okay?”

“…?”

“I really like you, Haro-kun, so that’s why I’m doing this… D-don’t think I’m the kind of girl who’d only do this out of guilt.”

…She’s so earnest.
Noiche, Zaria, and now Egiy—all of them are such sincere people. I’m really lucky.

Egiy straightened her back proudly and took off her clothes.

Her beautifully shaped breasts bounced freely as they spilled out, and she slipped off the rest just as smoothly.
Every one of them has a model-like tall, slender silhouette, yet soft and full where it counts.

The moment I instinctively tried to look away, the now-naked sisters on either side grabbed me and held my face forward.

“Hey, Haro, no looking away.”

“What do you think?”

…Th-think?
Um, well… what am I supposed to say?

Saying they’re attractive feels wrong somehow, and anything more would definitely be sexual harassment. After agonizing over it—

“They’re… beautiful…”

—I played it safe.

“Th-thank you… ’ssu…”

See? Now the mood’s all weird.

Zaria burst out laughing, and Noiche hugged me tight.
The two of them ruffled my hair wildly while Zaria grabbed Egiy’s hand.

“Then let’s all get along in the bath, the four of us!”

That’s not what people do in a bath, I thought.