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~

Zashiki-Warashi’s Ability Makes Dungeon Clearing a Breeze!

Mike told us where to go, so we walked a few kilometers north from Looseworth and finally reached our destination.

“Hmm, so this is the Stone-Built Grand Labyrinth…”

A massive dungeon loomed right in front of us.

“Surprisingly close, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s why tons of adventurers keep challenging this place, apparently…”

“Every single one of them says the same thing, like, ‘I got lost, and the next thing I knew I was back outside.'”

“And monsters don’t even try to get in, right~?”

Yukime and Suzu were both super curious, staring at the cold, lifeless dungeon ahead.

Tamamo crossed her arms.

“Well, according to Mike, it’s the Nurikabe yokai’s dungeon. That fancy fortress was probably made with her own magic. Alright then, shall we smash it to bits?”

As Tamamo started swinging her arm in big circles, I quickly stopped her.

“W-wait a sec, Tamamo! The fact that it’s rejecting us this hard probably means it’s scared. Doing something like invading would just terrify it even more—that’s kinda sad, don’t you think?”

“Well, maybe… but I heard the inside is an insanely complicated maze? Clearing something like this would take forever—”

Right as she said that, Tamamo glanced at Suzu’s face and suddenly lit up like she’d had a brilliant idea.

“That’s it! Kuon, give your youki to Suzu!”

“Give my youki? Me? Like how you did it to me?”

While I stood there confused, Suzu blushed bright red and started fidgeting nervously.

“I-If it’s to big brother Kuon… it’s totally fine…? Actually… ehehe, I’m kinda happy about it~”

Tamamo shook her head at the clearly delighted Suzu.

“No, it’s different from when I gave youki to Kuon. You should be able to lend and strengthen youki by using Kuon’s ‘Youju Tamer’ job. Try focusing the youki inside your body toward Suzu.”

I did exactly what she said and directed my inner youki at Suzu.

Suddenly, Suzu’s body started glowing just a little.

“Wow—amazing! What is this~!?”

“This is ‘Youki Enhancement.’ With this, Kuon should be able to boost all kinds of yokai abilities.”

“I see… but why boost Suzu’s ability?”

“Hehe, you’ll find out soon enough. Alright, let’s head in and clear this dungeon!”

Following Tamamo’s lead, we stepped into the dungeon.

The inside was full of weird walls set up all over the place, and the paths split off in every direction.

“Th-this is one crazy maze. No way we’re reaching the nurikabe at the very back in just one day.”

“No problem at all. Here, Suzu. Walk ahead with Kuon and lead the way.”

“Yay! It’s a maze! Let’s do our best, big brother Kuon!”

I took Suzu’s slightly glowing hand and we all started walking through the dungeon together.

“Are you sure we don’t need to leave marks or something? I feel like we’re already lost…”

“Lady Tamamo, I agree with Kuon. If we keep going like this, we might never get out—”

“Don’t worry about a thing.”

“This way~!”

While me and Yukime were getting all anxious, carefree Tamamo and innocent Suzu just wandered up, down, left, and right through the dungeon without a care in the world.

And then—

“No way…? H-how did you guys get here~!?”

Right in front of us stood a single girl, backing away with a totally shocked look on her face.

She was… the nurikabe?

Tamamo crossed her arms, looking super proud.

“Hehehe, and that’s exactly the zashiki-warashi’s ability. ‘Good Luck’!”

The Yokai “Nurikabe” Was Super Shy and Awkward

We cleared that insanely complicated grand labyrinth in one shot thanks to Suzu, and I was totally blown away.

“Tamamo, Suzu’s good luck thing… maybe it’s—”

“Yep, because you used ‘Youki Enhancement’ on her while the conditions for a zashiki-warashi’s magic were all lined up. I figured a maze like this would be doable in one go.”

“Yay! It was my power~!”

“Suzu, I never thought you’d actually be this useful… you did great!”

Yukime gently patted Suzu’s head, and Suzu started hopping up and down with pure joy, her little body bouncing like a happy bunny.

“Eek!? D-don’t come any closer, please! There’s no treasure in this dungeon at all! Please go home!”

Deep inside the dungeon, a long-haired girl with her eyes hidden behind her bangs was trembling in fear.

“Tamamo, is she the ‘nurikabe’?”

When I asked, Tamamo stared hard at the girl’s super flat chest.

Then she nodded with total confidence.

“Yep, that perfectly flat wall… no doubt about it! This girl’s gotta be the ‘nurikabe’!”

“W-wait, did you just say something incredibly rude right now!?”

The girl looked up with teary eyes, trying to protest. I kept watching her quietly.

She blushed hard and quickly looked away.

“Still, it’s kinda cool how all yokai look like normal humans.”

“Yeah, they say yokai were born from human thoughts in the first place. Some were even humans once. Suzu and Yukime are perfect examples.”

Tamamo flashed a big sunny smile and stepped right up to the nurikabe girl who was basically frozen on the floor.

“Alright, nurikabe. You’re joining our crew!”

“Eh!? W-what are you talking about all of a sudden!? Outgoing people are scary scary!”

“Hmm, you’re kinda gloomy and gloomy, huh.”

“Hey, Tamamo. Don’t be rude out of nowhere. Sorry for barging in like this, Miss Nurikabe. We don’t mean you any harm.”

I crouched down right in front of her.

“My name’s Kuon. This is Tamamo the nine-tailed fox, Suzu the zashiki-warashi, and Yukime the yuki-onna. Everyone except me is a yokai just like you, so you can relax.”

“Huh… r-really? Other yokai… you’re the first ones I’ve seen besides Miss Mike.”

“Yep, Mike’s the one who told us about you and sent us here.”

“Oh, I see! U-um… I’m a nurikabe yokai and my name’s ‘Nurara’.”

“Nice to meet you, Nurara.”

She looked a tiny bit less scared now and kept stealing quick glances at my face.

“So, Nurara, why do you live all the way out here?”

“I-I’m… a total loner. I put up these walls so adventurers won’t attack me… Sometimes I go outside to grab food, though…”

“Hmm, even though yokai have it rough in the human world these days, some still live this quietly, huh.”

“She doesn’t even know about Lady Tamamo. She’s not scared of her at all.”

Then Suzu smiled brightly and held her hand out to Nurara.

“Nurara-chan! Let’s be friends!”

“E-eek~!? S-such a cute girl… wants to be friends with someone like me!?”