Chapter 52 - You Were Deceived Splendidly!
(Status Explanation Arc)
"Can I check your status for a moment?"
"Go ahead."
Elenoa gently took his hand.
A sharp sound, like flicking a glass bottle with a fingernail, rang in her head.
A window appeared before her eyes.
Name: Louis Stylus
Age: 29
Level: 90
Job: Demon Lord S, Sorcerer SS
HP: 6666
MP: ????? (+????)
Attack: 3762
Defense: 4908
Magic Attack: ????? (+????)
Magic Defense: ????? (+????)
Skills: [Great Sage's Insight S] [Fire's Blessing S] [Water's Blessing S] [Wind's Blessing S] [Earth's Blessing A] [Light's Blessing A] [Darkness's Blessing S]
Affection: --
Elenoa muttered, "...Wow," and fell speechless.
The Demon Lord's MP, magic attack, and magic defense were incomprehensible. This was his status at the current moment. If the protagonist, who might appear later, were to face this Demon Lord, the Hero's side would see not even a chance of victory, let alone hope.
—It's an impossible game. If it were me, I'd be completely stuck.
Elenoa felt sympathy for the protagonist she had yet to meet.
She had become able to see statuses after being released from her stone state, likely because she had reached a certain milestone.
Checking the party's status was an ability unique to her role as a helpful fairy character.
Just like in the game, each ability had its limits.
At level 1, double-digit values were the norm, but around level 10, triple digits began to appear occasionally, with the maximum being 9999. That was the limit.
However, there were occasionally those who exceeded this. Numbers beyond common sense, where 9999 was still not enough. These were represented as '?????' and called 'Limit Break.' Whether there were necessary elements to reach this or not was known only to the game company that developed the system. It was an area where Elenoa's knowledge fell short.
Incidentally, from what Elenoa had seen while claiming to take walks in the sky, most ordinary people—NPCs—were at level 1.
Soldiers of a certain country were mostly around level 3, while officers seemed to be around level 40.
From a distance, she could only discern their general job and level.
And then there was 'Affection,' a staple of romance games.
When the affection field displayed '--', it only appeared when the heroine made a wrong choice somewhere, making the route impossible to clear. It also appeared when entering another character's route, causing the affection of other characters to become '--'.
The fact that it had become '--' before she had even met the heroine was proof that 'Louis Stylus' had become unclaimable due to Elenoa's presence.
No one knew if the Hero of this world was truly female, but considering the 'Affection: 0' value she had seen initially, there had still been room to clear the route.
"Louis, you've gotten stronger again."
"I don't feel that way myself... What is my level?"
"Ninety. ...You even have [Light's Blessing]. What happened? You said you were bad at it."
Blessings increased the attack power of that attribute by a certain percentage and reduced received damage by a certain percentage with each rank increase. It was a skill that could only be obtained by those who had mastered each attribute of magic.
"I said I was bad at it, but I didn't say I couldn't do it."
—As expected of the Sorcerer-specialized Demon Lord-sama.
Elenoa didn't know whether to be dumbfounded or impressed.
—Or perhaps, he could be called a Sage?
When Elenoa's finger touched the text of [Great Sage's Insight], a separate window opened, displaying detailed skills. It was a collection of various magic-related skills such as [Silent Chanting], [Magic Resistance], [Potion Appraisal], and [Magic Stone Appraisal]. Needless to say, in Louis's case, they were all rank S.
And apparently, with Louis's [Appraisal], only the name, rank, and effects of potions and magic stones were displayed. Since it was like that for him, it meant that anyone other than 'Elenoa' could only use even less precise appraisal.
"What about your status?"
"Wait a moment."
Next, Elenoa placed her hand on her own chest.
Name: Elenoa Stylus
Age: ??
Level: 33
Job: Demon Queen B, Housekeeper
HP: 1073
MP: 2544 (+5000)
Attack: 1068
Defense: 738
Magic Attack: 3050 (+5000)
Magic Defense: 1921 (+5000)
Skills: [Demon Lord's Blessing B] [Housekeeper's Insight A]
Affection: --
[Demon Lord's Blessing] was also a collection of other skills. When opened, it revealed a plethora of convenient skills such as [Silent Chanting], [MP Increase], [Magic Attack Power Increase], and [Magic Defense Power Increase].
If skills caused changes to the values, they were displayed in parentheses () next to the base values. In Elenoa's case, the correction was so significant it could be called a leap rather than just an [Attack Power Increase], but worrying about that would make life impossible.
Louis spoke to the silent Elenoa with a troubled look.
She stared into the distance and read it aloud. Louis, as expected, laughed.
"This is splendid... We have become a couple heavily skewed toward magic. Even without my blessings, you are sufficiently magic-specialized, aren't you?"
"That's not necessarily true, you know?"
"Is that so?"
"Because I'm 'Elenoa'. If I raise my level, I can become a top-tier child capable of both front-line and back-line roles. I have a reputation for being indispensable to the party. Of course, since Louis is a magic-specialized character, I inevitably end up in second place in that regard. All-around Eren and magic-cheat Louis were the twin pillars of my party."
"I see."
"That's exactly why I threw my game console in frustration at the first encounter with the final boss."
"My condolences."
"This sadistic specification! I thought it was strange that Louis grew so smoothly from the start, but look, there was a fairy with cheat-like abilities! I thought that was acceptable too! You were deceived splendidly! In fact, this growth rate itself was foreshadowing! Players would get angry! I actually got angry!"
"I offer my sympathies."
"How many times! How many times was my 'Eren' at level 85 killed by 'Louis'!"
"I pray for their repose."
"That's why 'Louis' was always in third place for me...!"
"But he was number one in the official popularity poll, wasn't he?"
"By a landslide. Everyone is too masochistic... Why... What was so good about 'Louis'...?"
"Your remarks are sometimes very reckless. I won't kill you, but there will be some form of retaliation, you know?"
"There will be!?"
"Yes, because I am the Demon Lord."
Louis lightly lifted Elenoa, who was slowly trying to distance herself, and placed her on his lap. Fairies were lighter than humans.
Ignoring her as she shrank back in fear with a "eep," he began to enjoy her warmth. She, who had once seemed so large, now fit perfectly small in his arms. There was a sense of stability that convinced him that this was where she belonged. It felt like it had been a long time since he had become accustomed to this posture.
Elenoa could only sigh and give up on Louis's one-sided physical contact. However, having lived sitting on his shoulders and knees, she actually didn't dislike this posture.
The Demon Lord smiled with a "hehe" at the fairy who obediently allowed herself to be handled.
"If you want to call for the protagonist [Playtime], let's practice hard so you don't get killed along the way. Even if you learn martial arts from Bis, your bare hands have their limits. Let's make sure you can use weapons reasonably well too."
"Okay. And about that, before we leave on a journey or something, I have a request."
"What is it?"
"Well, I was wondering if the contract couldn't be made complete."
"...Do you understand what that means?"
"Yes."
—I don't like it as it is now.
Her eyes, shy yet looking straight at him, were utterly serious.
"If we are properly connected, my pain... if I want to convey it, it will reach Louis too, right?"
"That is correct."
"So, I want you to rest properly at night."
Louis's eyes widened slightly at those words, and strength entered his hands.
"You won't cough up blood, become unable to breathe, or feel body pain like before. I am alive and well, and I'll call out if it hurts... So don't worry."
He was likely traumatized by the incident where Elenoa nearly died. That was why he came to check on her almost every night.
Even now, recalling those bitter days, Louis was the only one who had wiped away her pain as she suffered, unable to even move from her bed. The sense of responsibility and fear ingrained in his mind and body still lingered to this day.
Louis had developed a strange habit of not being able to truly relax unless he saw her peaceful sleeping face. He did not want her to realize his ugliness in this matter.
But realizing that she had known for quite some time, he rested his chin on her head to cover up his blunder.
"I have been losing to you in strange ways since long ago."
"How long do you think I've been taking care of you? Such an attitude makes Mother very sad."
"You are actually very angry, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"I will make an effort to sleep as much as possible. ...Ah, but I probably won't sleep much on the day of the next full moon."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I might push you too hard, so you should just prepare yourself, shouldn't you?"
"...That sounds very ominous. Like the Demon Lord-sama."
"Because I am the Demon Lord-sama."