The Beach

And so, Leona jumped forward with her eyes closed and rolled across the sand.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself on a beach.

"… Oh my. I really am outside."

She looked around. Unlike the floor where Succubus Village was located, which was just a room that "looked like" the outdoors, this was a real ocean, a real beach.

A rucksack had fallen nearby. This must be the travel set. Looking inside, she found preserved food, a cup-shaped magic tool that produced water, and a portable Othello game.

Incidentally, the preserved food included rice, which made her smile involuntarily.

"I see. So that's the end of that, then… Well, Setsuna and the others found me, so I guess I'll go on another journey. A carefree solo trip for a while doesn't sound bad either… Still, where is this place?"

This was unmistakably a beach. Far too distant from the dungeon that was supposed to be in Tsuia Mountain. She'd moved through rooms each time she cleared a trial, but if anything, she'd felt like she was going in circles without covering much distance.

Four rooms, no, maybe nine in a 3x3 grid? She felt like she'd gone back and forth through the same rooms. The contents had changed each time, though.

"… Still, ending things like this does leave a bit of a bad taste… Hmm?"

A piece of paper fell from the rucksack. When she picked it up, it read in Japanese: "Too bad! The correct answer was [Cave of Desires]!" … It felt like it had been ages since she'd read Japanese.

"Ah, come to think of it, that was the name. Burn the paper, [Fireball]."

Giggling, Leona incinerated the paper with magic.

"Now then, time to head off on a proper journey… Which way should I go?"

Storing the rucksack in her [Storage], Leona set off without any particular destination.

It's been a while since I had that much fun, she murmured to herself.

Her face looked somehow lonely, yet she wore a gentle smile.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Leona had departed.

"… Haah, that was exhausting."

"Good work, Kehma."

I'd been talking through the Golem the entire time, so I was genuinely worn out. Way more than usual.

… If I do say so myself, I did a pretty good job as emcee. Turns out I can actually pull it off when I try.

Anyway, with this, Leona has been left on a beach near the Imperial Capital.

Even if she wanted to come back, it would take a while… Well, it didn't look like she planned to return anytime soon.

"Heeey, Kehma."

"Hmm? Oh, Ittetsu? Sorry for dragging you into my mess."

"Nah, it's fine. But I'm not counting this as your win, got it?"

"Oh? I thought this would make it one win, one loss."

By the way, behind the scenes of this anti-Leona hospitality, I'd been holding a Dungeon Battle between my sub-dungeon [White Beach] and Ittetsu.

… To be precise, it was just a formality. I left the gate open, and when Leona jumped through it, I surrendered and closed the gate. That was all there was to it.

Rei and Kinue were hosting the Dungeon Battle at [White Beach], while Nerune was helping out behind the scenes here. In the Master Room, it was just Rokuko and me. Ichika and Niku were working at the inn.

"No way I'm counting that as a win. Kukuku."

"I figured you'd say that. But well, thanks anyway."

"Don't mention it. I even got a Philosopher's Stone out of it. That's some excellent red, a real rarity. Even Redra loves it."

As payment for his help this time, I'd shared one of the Philosopher's Stones I got from Leona with Ittetsu. It felt like funneling something I got for free, but it was definitely a win-win arrangement.

Oh, but as change for the Philosopher's Stone, he gave me a pretty large chunk of his territory near my dungeon. Tsuia Mountain is almost entirely Ittetsu's territory, so I was approaching my expansion limit. Getting space to store props and room to extend the dungeon in the future really helped.

"So, what's the deal with that, Kehma?"

"That?"

"You held this Dungeon Battle just to send that thing far away, right? It's one thing that you'd think of holding a Dungeon Battle for that purpose, but even though she was only in my dungeon for an instant, I could tell that thing was seriously dangerous."

"… Ah, Leona? She's apparently some kind of fusion of Dungeon Core and Dungeon Master. I don't know her core number. I didn't ask."

"Huh? What the heck."

On the monitor, Ittetsu tilted his head. Yeah, my reaction was the same.

"Well, whatever. Let's have a proper Dungeon Battle sometime."

"If I feel like it."

"Ah, wait, Kehma. There's something I want to ask 112."

Rokuko interrupted just as I was about to wrap things up.

"112, do you have kids?"

"Huh? Kids?"

"Kids with Redra. You know, kids. Leona has grandchildren, so I was wondering if anyone else did."

"Oh, yeah, I do. The oldest is just over three hundred. I have grandkids too."

Oh, so he does have children and grandchildren. First I've heard of it.

Seeing how lovey-dovey Redra and Ittetsu are, it's not surprising… or rather, maybe it's strange that they still act like newlyweds?

Maybe because it's the [Flame Cavern], they're still burning with passion even now?

"Dragons have long lifespans, after all. They basically live until they die. And some even keep living after dying."

"Undead Dragons! I hadn't thought of that!"

"Yeah. And the long-lived ones can live for tens of thousands of years. I don't know how long cores live, so maybe I'll die first? Ah, but when that time comes, Redra will come with me. Hahaha."

"Otou-sama said we're immortal, but isn't even Core 1 only about six hundred years old?"

The scale is massive. Humans are doing well just to reach a hundred.

"So, was that what you wanted to ask?"

"No. I want you to teach me how Dungeon Cores can have children with other species."

"" Pfft!? ""

Both Ittetsu and I spit in surprise.

"Wh-what're you asking me for!? Ask Redra!"

"Ah, that's true. I'll bring Feni and visit again sometime then."

"Wait, why did you ask me in the first place!? Don't you have a reliable Nee-chan!? It'd obviously be better to ask a fellow female, human-type core!"

"Because Kehma said I absolutely must not ask Haku-neesama about it."

So that's why she asked Ittetsu…? Where did she pick up that unpredictable behavior? From me? No, I shouldn't be that bad.

"W-wait, Rokuko… You wanting that information, could it be that you're planning to have kids with me?"

When I asked, Rokuko's face turned red and she looked up at me with a start, then glared at me with upturned eyes, still blushing.

"Let me ask you instead. Who else would I have them with?"

"That's not the point here."

"… It's not like I want to have them right away. But wouldn't it be troublesome if I didn't know how when the time came? Well then, 112, see you."

Rokuko turned away with a slight pout, looking a bit angry.

"Y-yeah. Kehma, uh, well. Take care?"

"Yeah… ah, um… yeah."

I closed the communication with Ittetsu.

… Well, if she's not thinking about it right away, it's probably fine? No, too much knowledge might touch Haku-san's reverse scale. Maybe I should put a stop to it.

Eh? Wait, were Rokuko and I married in the first place?