Chapter 354: Exploding Grain

Meeting two in that state is going to cause a lot of trouble on the spot. So, I predicted when they will leave the room, and just before they noticed us, I and Haru head to the battlefield first. At this time, Nell and Chinatsu would have already arrived there, so they wouldn’t meet them on the way.

「Hmm hmm~ ♪」

「You’re in a great mood, aren’t you, Haru?」

「Of course! It’s a long-awaited battle after all! It’s strange if you don’t excited!」

「…… Chinatsu has been gloomy since yesterday, though?」

「Chinatsu-chan is delicate after all! But don’t worry. When the time comes, her priorities will change.」

「Well duh. She will be in trouble if she doesn’t change.」

But well, it would become the source of the power of Chinatsu’s Unique Skill. She’s really fated to bear hardship, huh. When this is over, I hope she will be healed with the power of the massage chair and Gii-kun.

「Now, we’ve arrived at the battlefield.」

「I will do my best today!」

We rode the elevator, which we’ve become accustomed to, and arrived at a large empty space. It’s similar to the underground training room in Nell’s mansion, but this one is even simpler, with only a steel floor, walls, and a high ceiling. It looks sturdy, and since it’s underground, there’s no need to worry about noise. It’s really suitable as a place to fight secretly.

As expected, Nell and Chinatsu are already here. Next to them is Hund-kun, and in the back are Alezel, Zex, and Zeta. Perhaps Nell was aware of our arrival from the sound of the elevator, she glared at me as soon as I stepped into this space. Ouch.

「You’re late!」

「Late, huh…. It’s not even the time for our appointment yet, right?」

「Normally, that’s not a problem, but today is an important day to pledge victory, you know? We have to devise tactics carefully so that we can subjugate the Great Demon King Lily!」

Nell is very motivated today. I think she has more enthusiasm than Chinatsu, the one who’s actually going fight.

「We did that thoroughly until yesterday, right? Also, I want to say the same line to you the night before yesterday.」

「T-That was your fault for not telling me that you were having a strategy meeting! If I knew that, I wouldn’t have used force!」

「Hee~」

No, no, I’m sure you were just lonely. After that, she threw me to the bed and used me as a hugging pillow. I was being dragged, thrown, slammed against the bed, and at the very end, a soft touch awaited me.

「You two are getting along this early in the morning, huh. Go explode!」

「Fuhahahaha! I couldn’t sleep last night because I was so excited to see Lilyvia-dono fight today! Well, I don’t need to sleep, though!」

「Good morning, Deris-san, Haruna-san. How are you doing? Zex-sama is in great shape today as well.」

This group is in the same condition as usual. In exchange for lending us this place, we let them watch the fight as spectators. Alezel is holding a cup of popcorn, and she’s ready to enjoy it thoroughly.

「Still, are you okay with this tasteless place? If you want, we can lend you an abandoned factory-style battlefield, a scrap yard with a melting furnace, or other battlefields with gimmicks.」

「You guys just want to have fun, right? This place is good enough. The size is big enough, and it’s as durable as requested, right?」

「Of course! In the name of Made in Zex, I can proudly say that this space will meet your expectations!」

「I-I see…. Then, there’s no problem.」

I wonder if Zex learned that weird phrase from Alezel?

「It ain’t every day that you get the chance to see Lilyvia-han fighting seriously. My~, I’m really lucky that it’s before my departure. Deris, thank you~」

「It’s not that I’m doing it for your sak―― no, it’s nothing. You’ll have to pay me back someday. If possible, with an airship.」

「Uwaah, this man suddenly changed his attitude and demanded gratitude!」

「He is Deris after all.」

Nell understands me well, huh. And then, after negotiations with Alezel, I managed to get the means of transportation for the journey. Alright, that solves one of the problems. I managed to avoid the death march.

「Is it that rare for Lilyvia-dono to fight by herself?」

「Oh, Hund-han, are you curious? Come to think of it, you were secretly seeing her as your rival at the Great Eight Demons meeting, weren’t you?」

「In the first place, she even rarely shows herself in front of us. When she participated in beach volleyball before, I was seriously surprised.」

「Perhaps, it’s the first time even for us to see her fighting seriously. Hund-han, you can have such a rare experience up close, so it will be a loss if you got defeated easily~. Do your best as her rival!」

「Hmph, it’s an undeniable fact that I’m inferior to her. Rather than as an individual, I will use this precious opportunity as a group. Not only me, but it will also lead to the growth of Haruna and the others.」

「…… Oh no, his reply is too serious that I can’t make a joke of it.」

「Fuhahahahahaha!」

We waited while devising tactics, having small talks, hearing such loud laughter, etc. However――

「――They aren’t coming.」

「They aren’t coming, huh?」

「They aren’t coming….」

「Oh no, I ate up the new product popcorn!」

No matter how long we waited, the two didn’t show up. How strange, I should have confirmed it with Haru that they were about to leave the room.

「The appointed time has passed already…. I’ll go look for Lily-san and Touko.」

「Ah, wait, Chinatsu. It seems that they’ve finally arrived.」

「Huh?」

At the same time when Nell stopped Chinatsu, the sound of the large elevator could be heard in the distance. It seems that they are on the way coming down here.

「Haha, your usual laziness is haunting you, huh, Lily. Thanks to that, we’ve got time for a strategy meeting.」

「Without Touko, though. Well, it was mostly a review of what we discussed until yesterday, so it should be fine.」

「Just in case this happens, my body is now equipped with a popcorn manufacturing function!」

「Ooh, it looks great! It will sell!」

「As expected of Zex-sama!」

Hey, you onlookers over there, please read the mood. The popcorn talk has begun to erode into the discussion of the battle since a while ago.

「――Sorry to keep you waiting, are you ready?」

When the automatic iron door was opened, Lilyvia, wearing the Great Eight Demons’ outfit, appeared, and Touko is behind her, wearing her combat uniform. Lily is not in the useless maid mode, but in the perfect mode. Completely different from when she was in the bedroom, she’s behaving with a resolute attitude.

「What is the late guy talking about? More importantly, do you know the rules?」

「Touko told me before we came here. Anything is allowed, and the winner is decided if the opponent surrender or unable to fight, right? It’s a bit lax for a serious fight, but whatever. So, can we get started? As you can see, Touko is itching to do it.」

「Hmph, stop talking like I’m a starving wolf! But well, if you want to do it that much, I don’t mind going along with you, you know?」

The two are standing side by side with their arms crossed, and their gazes are colliding with each other, making sparks. It’s a critical situation, and it seems that they will jump at each other at any moment.

「Wait, wait a minute! The popcorn will be ready soon!」

「Alezel-dono, which seasoning do you want, salt of caramel?」

「It’s both, of course!」

「「「「「………」」」」」

We obediently waited for the popcorn to be ready, maintaining our current positioning despite the delicate atmosphere.