I Was Nearly Killed by My Fellow A-Rank Party, but Now I Fed a Nine-Tailed Fox Deep in the Dungeon. ~ “My Master, I Shall Never Leave Your Side for All Eternity,” the Legendary Monsters Said While Doting on Me. Before I Knew It, I Had Become the World’s Strongest Lord of the Demon Realm~ - Chapter 18

Things Are Getting Kinda Naughty!?

“Z-zashiki-warashi…?”

“Hmm, so Kuon helped her without even realizing what she was… which means—”

Tamamo said that while staring hard at the little girl.

Then she nodded like she’d just figured everything out.

“I see, I see. That explains it. I always thought it was weird. Any guy who sees me usually goes crazy trying to hit on me, but Kuon barely even touches my body…”

“Tamamo, what’re you nodding about all by yourself?”

“So basically, Kuon’s into this kinda thing, right? 【Youkai Transformation】!”

Before I could even blink, Tamamo’s body shrank down super small.

She looked exactly like a kid around ten years old.

“Sorry I didn’t notice sooner. Here, go ahead and have all the fun you want with my tiny little body—”

“No way!! That’s not my thing at all!?”

“Nine-Tails-sama in her little-girl form… ugh!”

Behind me Yukime just started bleeding from her nose on her own and collapsed.

The zashiki-warashi saw that and her face was full of pure terror.

“So then why’d you help her?”

“Why…? ’Cause she looked pitiful, that’s all. I just wanted to help… that’s it.”

Yukime wiped the blood off while standing back up, then started chewing me out.

“Hmph, figures. Humans really are idiots. Help someone? You’re never gonna get anything back for it!”

I remembered what I’d heard about Yukime back at the guild.

She’d tried helping humans once, and they turned around and persecuted her for it.

“…Yeah, you’re probably right. Humans can be like that. But this youkai girl came all the way here just to say thank you. For me, that alone made helping her worth it.”

When I said that, the zashiki-warashi’s cheeks turned bright red.

Then her stomach let out a loud “kyururu~”.

“Oh right, lemme treat you to some food. Wanna stay at the inn with us tonight?”

“Eh… really!? …I mean, is that okay!?”

“Haha, if you’re not good with polite speech, you don’t have to force it. You guys are cool with that, right?”

I asked, and both of them nodded.

“If that’s what Kuon wants, then sure. But I’m not sharing my fried tofu.”

“Well, she’s a youkai anyway… I don’t mind.”

The zashiki-warashi bowed her head.

“Th-thank you! My name’s Suzu—I’m a zashiki-warashi!”

“Alright then, Suzu, let’s head to the inn.”

◇◇◇

So we all walked over to the inn.

When I asked the girl at the front desk for one room, she kept staring really hard at Tamamo—who’d already changed back to her normal big form—and Yukime.

Then she glanced over at little Suzu too.

(Oh crap, did she figure out they’re youkai…?)

Just as I was thinking that, the desk girl leaned in and whispered super quietly in my ear.

“Um, sir… d-don’t tell me you’ve got some insane skills? Two gorgeous girls and even a tiny little one… Um, if it’s okay, maybe you could show me just a little bit of—”

“No!! We’re just regular adventurers!”

“Ehh, really though…?”

“Just give me the key already.”

For some reason she was looking at me all suspicious while I took the key.

Then the four of us went into the room.

“Okay, lemme make you some food right away. Oh wait, this inn doesn’t have a kitchen though…”

“What’re you talking about? Leave the cooking fire to me. 【Fox Fire】”

Tamamo said that, let her tail pop out, and made a small flame come from the tip.

“Whoa, that’s super handy. Looks like we could grill some meat with it too.”

“I already shared some of my power with Kuon, so if you train you’ll be able to do stuff like this eventually.”

“Wow, fox big sis is amazing!!”

“You little—calling Nine-Tails-sama ‘fox big sis’ like that…!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I don’t really care what you call me.”

“R-really…? Big sis…”

“You though? Absolutely not.”

While they were going back and forth like that, I started thinking about what to cook.

She’s probably starving and wants something quick… guess I’ll go with that.

I pulled out some ‘thunderbird eggs’ from the Infinite Storage Pouch—they were still perfectly fresh.

I cracked them into a bowl.

Then I whisked them fast with chopsticks while slowly pouring in the clear seafood-and-kelp broth I’d made earlier.

“It’ll be ready soon, just hang on. Tamamo, that heat level’s perfect.”

“Got it. My reward better be fried tofu soaked in tons of broth.”

“Alright, it’s mixing up nice. Now… here we go.”

I grabbed an iron pan from the pouch, lightly oiled it, and poured in the whisked eggs.

“Fwaaah~!”

A juicy sizzle filled the air along with an awesome smell, and Suzu’s stomach growled again like she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Yo… heh…”

I shaped the eggs into a perfect oval right there on the pan, then plated it up.

“Here you go, dig in.”

I handed the ‘golden tamagoyaki’ to Suzu along with a wooden spoon.

Suzu nervously poked her spoon into the egg.

“Wooow~! It’s so fluffy! Like a cloud!”

“Careful, it’s hot.”

Suzu swallowed hard, then brought a bite to her mouth.

And then big fat tears started rolling down her cheeks.

“Wh-what’s wrong!? Too hot!?”

“Tch, lemme see your tongue. I’ll cool it down.”

Yukime said that, but Suzu shook her head fast.

“No… it’s delicious. It’s really delicious, but… more than that, my heart feels so full… it’s really warm inside…”

Suzu said that and kept eating each bite super carefully.

“Jeez, don’t scare me like that.”

Yukime let out a relieved breath.

Seeing Suzu so happy got me pumped too.

“There’s still more coming! I’m gonna make you a ton of food!”

“Kuon, don’t forget my fried tofu!”

“Of course!”

“Ahem… uh, human. That syrup you put on the shaved ice? You can put some on mine too.”

“So you actually wanted some, huh, Yukime… Sure, I’ll drench it however much you want!”

And just like that, a little cooking party kicked off in the inn room that night.

◇◇◇

“They’re definitely doing it in there…! No way a normal guy could bring that many hot girls into a room unless he’s some crazy playboy…!”

Outside Kuon’s room, the desk girl Anira was sneaking up to the door on tiptoes.

She pressed her ear against it to listen in…

First thing she heard was the little girl’s voice.

“Ahh! Th-this is… amazing!! I’ve never had (food this delicious) before!”

“Come on, don’t hold back. How about this (dish) over here?”

“It’s s-so good… I’m gonna lose it!”

Next came the old-fashioned-sounding big sister voice…

“Kuon’s (fried tofu) really is the best! Today it’s all (slick and shiny from the broth) too.”

“I’m getting it ready, see? It’s (soaking up the broth and) getting nice and big, right?”

“Ohhh, so that’s how it swells up so huge. Ugh, some juice just spilled out of my mouth.”

“Haha, here, wipe it with the handkerchief.”

“No way, that’s wasteful. I’m licking every drop.”

And finally, the cool-sounding big sister voice.

“So… it’s okay to (pour the syrup on the shaved ice), right?”

“Y-yeah, whatever…”

“Haha, still acting all tough… Just be honest already.”

“…C-can you (pour it for me)?” (tiny voice)

“Good girl. Okay, here comes (the condensed milk) too.”

“Ugh, that much!?”

“Ah, sorry. Did I overdo it? It’s kinda hard to control.”

“No… more is… u-um, I like it.”

Out in the hallway, Anira was getting way too excited, nosebleed dripping like crazy while she kept listening.

“Oh my god… what kinda crazy stuff are they doing in there…! He looks so innocent, but he’s a total pro!! Ugh… gotta clean the floor later…”

Meanwhile inside the room, Suzu was just happily munching on all kinds of food, Tamamo was eating her broth-soaked fried tofu, and Yukime was secretly thrilled about getting her shaved ice topped with syrup.