Chapter 537: A Reward from Maria

The minor misunderstanding turned into something more chaotic than expected. Blowing up the door, turning the workroom into a sauna, putting my life in danger, Maria’s intervention――yeah, it was hell. Well, I was able to manage it somehow. I’m glad it didn’t escalate into a divorce.

「Deris, I’m sorry that I misunderstood you…」

「What’s done is done. Rather, I’m glad that this has strengthened our bond as a married couple. Now you will trust me more than anyone else, right?」

「D-Deris…!」

I hugged Nell and we reconciled. Now the issue is settled. Happy ending.

「Wow, what’s this? Deris is saying something such as bond that he doesn’t normally say, and the mad dog Nell has become meek. Hey, Lily-chan. Did Mama’s eyes and ears rot? I can see and hear hallucinations….」

「Supi~」

「Oi, fake loli vampire who says whatever she wants over there, shut up for a moment.」

Maria makes a gesture as if she’s being creeped out. Good grief, her acting is realistic only at a time like this. …… What? She’s not acting, you say?

「There’s no need to be so surprised. We’re a married couple, you know? It’s not surprising even if we mellowed out a little.」

「Eh, really? Even after I got married, I don’t feel like I’ve changed that much~. After all, I’ll always be a pretty Maria-chan!」

「Yeah, sure…」

Maria is more or less a parent with children, though. Well, I guess there are people like that in the world.

「By the way, what the hell did you come here for? You didn’t actually come here for Lilyvia, did you?」

「Oh, you can tell? As expected, you’re as perceptive as ever, Deris~」

「It’s momentary for you, but for me, a human, I’ve known you for ten years. So, what kind of trouble did you bring?」

「Hey, that’s rude! It sounds as if I’m always bringing trouble!」

「「It’s the truth.」」

「Supipi~」

It seemed like the conversation would be long, so we left the sleeping Lilyvia there and moved upstairs to the living room. I don’t have the slightest intention to entertain Maria, but it will be troublesome if she complains about it, so I serve her coarse tea.

「Thank you~. I always drink the highest quality tea, so it’s very fresh♪. I wonder if this cheap taste will turn out to be addictive.」

「You don’t get sarcasm, huh….」

「Rather than that, just say your business. Unlike you, I’m busy, you know?」

Nell-san said so while hugging my arm.

「There are many things I want to retort, but there’s no end to it, so let’s get down to business. Last time, you splendidly cleared my trial in Crocus, right? You beat up this fragile little Maria-chan, right?」

「I want to retort about the latter part, but I will follow your example and leave it at that for now. And then?」

「You see, you guys are the first people who have cleared my trial~. So, I’m thinking of giving you a reward!」

「Reward…」

I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about this.

「That said, Deris and Nell have their own tastes, right? That’s why this Super Idol Maria-chan brought several potential rewards! Okay, applause~」

「Before you clap, tell us the first candidate for those rewards.」

「The first? Do you mean my top recommendation? Hmm, let’s see. All of them are the strongest, so I’m not sure. I guess I will go with that one?」

「Stop wasting time and just tell us.」

「Ehehe, then I’ll tell you. It’s a world tour concert with me! I’ll get you VIP seats at every venue! Also――」

「「――I don’t need that.」」

I and Nell responded at the same time.

「Eh, are you two serious!? You won’t get another chance like this, you know!? If you want, you can go with the girls, you know!? It’s an amount of money that would normally make a country go bankrupt, you know!? Isn’t it just right to have a commemorative trip after Agalia’s trial is over!?」

「Even if you say so, I don’t need it. Also, does your concert cost as much as the national budget just to attend?」

「You’re wrong! If you just want to attend normally, the price is affordable even for a commoner! You’re going to travel the world with me and attend all the concerts on top of that, you know? How about it? Isn’t it a very convincing reason? Even this country’s Mage Prime Minister-chan was so happy that her eyes were sparkling, you know~?」

「「………」」

「Can you two stop with the silent treatment?」

Is she talking about Weerel? She’s definitely lying.

「Still, that’s the best reward, huh…. Just in case, is there anything else?」

「Deris, you don’t need to ask anymore. I’m sure the others are useless things.」

「You’re wrong! I’m the Great Eight Demons, you know!? There are other rewards that will please you two――but the world tour I was so confident in was turned down so easily, hmm…」

Why the hell did she think I would accept it? Just how confident was she? Also, looking at her reaction, it seems that she’s already out of ideas.

「…… How about a bottle of my blood?」

「Hey, stop joking―― hmm? … Wait a minute.」

Speaking of Maria’s blood, I’m sure it’s accompanied by the Unique Skill 『Philosopher’s Blood』. It can exert the same power as the philosopher’s stone, a miraculous catalyst that only remains in legends, so even a bottle of it can shake a country. In other words, it’s worth much more than the world tour.

「…… Alright, I’m fine with that. No, I’d rather have that!」

「Eh, really? Are you fine with my blood?」

「Of course. How much do you think your blood is worth? I can assure you, you’re truly a femme fatale.」

「Hohee…. I think it’s the first time Deris has ever complimented me. Oh, could it be that you’re hitting on me? Jeez, Deris you womanizer~」

Maria puts her hands on her reddened face and shows a classic embarrassed look. Yeah, this is obviously an act.

「Deris? Are you hitting on her…?」

And then, there’s the smiling Nell, whose face is not red but has red flames behind her.

「No! It’s just a metaphor! I’m not hitting on her at all!」

「Really? Really, really, really? R-E-A-L-L-Y?」

Angry marks were added to Nell’s forehead one after another. Where did the trust I regained earlier disappear?

「Stay, stay! Don’t grab the sword, don’t let out flames!」

「Ahaha. Yep, this is how Nell should be ♪」

「It’s not the time to laugh! My house is going to get burned! And Maria, give the same amount of blood to Haru! She was the one who defeated you after all!」

「Are you sure?」

「Yeah! The conditions are even with this, and it’s up to her how she uses it!」

「Hmm~, I’m going to give Haruharu some kind of reward anyway, so I don’t mind~. But, will she be able to use it well?」

「I’m going to clear up Nell’s misunderstanding, and while I’m at it, I’m going to ask her to assist the girls, so there’s no problem!」

「Ahaha, I see~. Well then, do your best before the house burns down~」

After a discussion with Nell, I somehow managed to keep the house from burning down. Different things burned up, though….

――――The 88th day of training is over.