Easymander

"You're just sleeeeeeeeping!!!"

Blowing away the rubble that had been blocking the passage, the salamander returned.

I got found out on the fifth day.

Took longer than I expected, though. But since we'd come this far, I really wished he'd stayed fooled to the end. I'd finally had a perfect excuse to sleep a grand twelve hours a day.

When I sent a golem out to greet him in the passage, he obediently followed its guidance, which showed he was fairly rational. Maybe blowing away all that rubble had cooled his head a bit.

Since I'd prepared a room partway through the passage for exactly this kind of situation, I moved there via [Deployment]. Not having to walk is nice and easy.

"So, you… are you screwing with me?!"

"How rude. I'm completely serious. Did you really think [Dogene] was just sleeping? I'm offended."

"I-is that so?"

Hm, that reaction… looks like I can talk him around again.

"Yes. To begin with, if you say [Dogene] is just sleeping, then isn't a [Dogeza] just sitting?"

"Ugugu, w-well, that's true…"

"Even though I've been showing this much remorse, you go and destroy the wall I went to all that trouble to seal…"

"Eh. Ahhh, well, uh…"

"… How are you going to make up for this?"

"Mu, mumumumu…!"

The salamander just meekly accepted what I said. What a pushover. Such an easy mark. A real Easymander.

"A-alright. I'll go ahead and fix the wall myself."

"That's it? Nothing about belittling my sincere apology?"

"… Sorry."

"No, it's fine as long as you understand. I went too far as well."

"O-oh, you're a good guy."

"By the way, Dungeon Core Number 112, since you have a master, you must have a name, right? It's hard for humans to keep saying 'Dungeon Core Number 112,' so could you tell me your name?"

"Oh, it's [112]. My master gave it to me; it's the word for one hundred and twelve in Draconic."

Whoops, it just got auto-translated to [112]. So there's a Draconic language, huh.

"I see, that's a fine name. But I found the dragon pronunciation hard to say as well… Actually, I'm from another world, so would it be alright if I called you by a name based on 112 from there?"

"Oh! Sure, what's the name?"

I'd thought this up during those five days of sleeping, just in case something like this happened.

"Ontentoo. If you break 112 down, you get One, Ten, Two, which becomes On-ten-too, or Ontentoo. What do you think?"

"Ooh, I like it. Call me by that name."

The former Easymander, now Ontentoo, smiled happily.

"Alright, Ontentoo. I'm Masuda Keima."

"Kehma, huh. Got it."

And then Ontentoo left in high spirits. As expected of Easymander, tricked again.

… Yep, giving a new name to someone who already has a master doesn't overwrite anything.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"Wait, it IS weird after all, isn't it?!"

Easymander Ontentoo came back three days later.

That was quick. The party exploring our dungeon even rotated out.

Right now there's one D-Rank party and two E-Rank parties.

They seem to be here for trap handling practice and combat training against goblins and golems, so the adventurers here now don't seem particularly interested in searching for treasure. Thanks to that, I don't have to bother restocking expensive treasure, which saves on DP consumption.

We're getting more guests at the inn, but Rokuko handles the food and Ichika works the front desk. Troubles get pushed onto the Adventurer Guild, so all I do is occasionally make rounds purifying rooms.

Well, lately I've been too busy with [Dogene] to work. Ha ha ha.

"Oh, Ontentoo. Welcome back. So, what's off?"

"My master told me I'm being tricked! I tried doing [Dogene] myself to show you my own apology, but there was nothing difficult about it! My master even went to the trouble of transforming into human form to try it, and said it was completely comfortable!"

He actually tried it? What a diligent guy.

So dragons can transform into humans, huh…

"But Ontentoo can't do [Dogene] in the first place. Isn't it harder for a salamander to stand upright? Since human bodies are structured differently, that's only natural."

"I-is that so?"

"Also, doesn't a dragon's human transformation just mimic a human's appearance? In reality, your endurance is on a completely different level from an actual human's, right? I'm just an ordinary human, so you can't compare us. If I tried lying down in [Flame Cavern], I'd get burned."

"Ooh… that's true too."

"To begin with, regular humans can even lose consciousness from the sheer agony of [Dogene], you know? I don't know how many times I've lost consciousness myself…"

"Wh-what?! So that's how it is…"

Well, I do get so sleepy that keeping my eyes open becomes painful and I drift off!

"So, what does Ontentoo want me to do?"

"U-umm… wh-what should I do?"

You're asking me that? Don't ask me.

"Alright, I see you're still not satisfied… So twelve hours of [Dogene] a day wasn't enough, huh."

"I-is that what it is?"

"Then I'll go even further! I have a subordinate, and I'll force them to do [Dogene] too!"

"Wh-what?!"

"What's more, I'll personally restrain them so they can't move. A forced [Dogene]!"

"What?! … Hmmm, if you're willing to go that far, then that should be plenty. Kehma, your resolve is firm. I understand."

Ontentoo left once again.

At this rate, he'll probably be back in one day.

… Well, I did make a promise, so I went back to sleeping with Niku as my hug pillow. Same as always.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"No matter how I think about it, isn't [Dogene] just sleeping after all?!"

"Hm? Oh, Ontentoo. Back again? You sure have a lot of free time."

Ontentoo came one more day later… well, the next day.

On his head was a girl with a red lizard tail… no, a crocodile tail.

"… And who might this be?"

"My master!"

"Ohhh! I know you're the one who's been sweet-talking my Danna, 112!"

Isn't his master a Red Dragon? So that's a dragon tail. And Ontentoo is her husband?

"By the way, I went to the trouble of transforming into human form since my original body's too big to fit through. Be grateful!"

"My, my. Thank you very much."

"Yeah! That's more like it! You're welcome!"

The red dragon girl puffed out her chest in satisfaction.

"So, what does Oku-sama find unsatisfactory?"

"Oku-sama… Yes, I am an Oku-sama! Right, 112!"

"Yeahhh, you're my beloved Oku-sama. Redra, I love you."

Oi, don't suddenly start flirting in my dungeon. Go home and do that there.

"Hah! No, that's not it! I almost got smooth-talked too! What a guy…!"

"Ooh? Is that so? Hey, Kehma! What the hell are you doing!"

Eeeh. I didn't do anything, did I? Is it because they're the type that flares up easily due to their fire attribute?

… This married couple… they're two peas in a pod, and I'm getting serious pushover vibes from both of them!