The skeletons were physically tough and mentally resilient, which allowed them to engage in various hobbies such as fishing, sculpting, or making flower arrangements once they were done with their daily share of work. But today, they seemed so depressed that they were grimly hunched over, smoking powdered herbs rolled into cigarsâor, they would have been smoking cigars, if they had lungs to inhale.
Epiden, the leader of the skeletons who was also known as Skeleton Serf No. 1004, looked particularly dreary compared to the others. The skeleton held his long scythe upright and stared gloomily out of his hollow eyes, which made him look like the grim reaper. But of course, the Scythe of Harvest was only an item given to him by the farm owner to double their harvest yield and had nothing to do with any soul-reaping activities.
The bones of the skeletons clattered rather depressingly, and the bountiful harvest they gathered that day did little to lift the skeletons' moods. There was a very good reason for their gloomy demeanor.
The shapeless flame, Hellfire Helveros, sunk low to the ground and asked the skeleton a question. "Epi. Do you think the farm owner is up?"
The skeleton rattled dismissively. "I do realize it has only been a few days in the Human Realm... But still... I feel so blue..."
They were all worried about Ailette, the owner of the dungeon farm. Time passed three times faster in the dungeon farm than in the human world. Leonard and Elthea came to the farm every three days to collect herbs, and they had informed the skeletons that Ailette fell unconscious after a battle some time ago. They had yet to give the skeletons any updates on her condition, though.
"Please get well soon, Farm Owner... We don't want any other farm owners."
Epiden sprinkled herb scraps over Helveros' flames in an effort to make him feel better. That would've made his flames burn brighter with excitement any other day, but it didn't seem to do much today.
"No... I don't have any appetite..."
Helveros turned down his favorite vegan snacks and turned himself into a human boy with red hair and red eyes. He then headed over to Kirtan's beloved flowerbed and started snapping flowers at random. Kirtan clattered loudly in a manic scream and immediately rushed over. The skeleton's horror in seeing Helveros ruin the flowers he lovingly grew resulted in a bony rattle that echoed around the farm.
But Helveros was undeterred. "I'm making a present for the farm owner. I heard humans like flowers woven into a circle."
Those words instantly convinced Kirtan. In fact, the rest of the skeletons gathered around the demon boy and started helping out with the wreath.
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The great flood that once occurred in this dungeon had turned it into a vast sea filled with beautiful corals after it subsided. The twelve mermaids living there were also worried about Ailette after they heard the news from Elthea and Hilde, who had come to collect their tears.
"I can hardly believe the strong human female from the surface hasn't recovered yet."
"They said she brought down Inferinos the Demon Lord, big Sister. That explains why she's still unconscious."
"But doesn't that mean she will be the next Demon Lord?"
"You have a point. Demonic titles are usually passed down to whoever kills them."
"Then will this dungeon become her demonic territory?"
"Oh! Are there any benefits if it becomes a part of a Demon Lord's territory?"
"Maybe we won't have to deal with the likes of the kraken if it does."
"I'd love that!"
The merry mermaids weren't capable of worrying about anything for too long. In fact, they were playing volleyball with a puffer fish that had skin as hard as steel while they exchanged their rather frivolous concerns. The mermaids jumped high over the waves and flapped their tails with ferocious strength.
Thwack!
The explosive impact sent the steel puffer fish zooming toward the horizon. The deadly sport seemed like it could easily break several bones, but all the mermaids were only too happy to play it, except one of them.
"Baby Sister, why are you so blue?"
"She's right. Stop being a bad sport and be a good referee, won't you?"
A red-haired mermaid, the youngest of the group, had been watching the flight of the puffer fish without any enthusiasm in her eyes, too preoccupied by something else.
"Sister?"
The eleven other mermaids stopped playing puffer fish volleyball and gathered around her. The youngest mermaid wrapped up her thoughts and spoke to her siblings.
"I can't stand this, Sisters. I'm sorry, but I need to get going."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
The red-haired mermaid's eyes were filled with determination. "I'm going to catch something to feed to the human female." Then she set out to hunt for eels.
â
The autumn sky over Feronsa was clear and blue once the catastrophe blew over. The warm rays of the afternoon sun shone its light on the statues of muscular men adorning the gardens of Laymian House, the home of Grand Duke Heathfenrir. Droplets of water sprayed out of the garden's marble fountain, catching the sun's rays and turning them into dazzling flecks of light. The room on the third floor of the castle had a magnificent view of this wonderful scene, but the person inside of it could not appreciate any of the things the garden had to offer.
The room was furnished with everything that would help a patient recover in comfort. The bedding was fluffy, the air was well-ventilated, and the fragrance of herbs inside the room was gentle and soothing. Many people worked around the clock to make sure everything was pleasant.
Ailette's pink hair spread over the white sheet of her pillow like a fan as she slept. The room was silent, save for the occasional chirping of the birds outside the window because everyone in the castle walked as quietly as possible to make sure the Divine Emissary didn't feel disturbed in her sleep. Ironically enough, they all hoped she would soon regain consciousness, even though they tried their best not to awaken her.
But no one in the castle was quite as desperate as one man, whose desire for her recovery was greater than that of everyone else combined. The man with delicate features sat silently on a stool. He almost seemed as still and motionless as the statues in the salt desert. His eyelashes cast shadows over his eyes as he gazed at the person lying on the bed. The curves of his beautiful lips then parted almost subconsciously.
"Allie..."
His melodic baritone voice sounded hoarse. He had called her name countless times, but she never answered him. The only consolation he had was the fact that he could still see and touch Ailette Rodeline as she lay on the bed.
Truth be told, Tesilid could hardly believe she was here. He thought everything was lost when he'd been told the gates of the Divine Realm had pulled Ailette in. God had tormented him in all 116 lives he had lived, which made Tesilid assume He had mercilessly taken his loved one from him yet again, in the most direct way possible. The appearance of a gate leading to the Divine Realm was, surely, the greatest evidence of divine intervention.
God had taken her. It was God who took Ailette Rodeline from him. Tesilid was in despair and anguish. Why was God intervening in a world He abandoned and had no intention of overseeing? Did He have to use his divine ability to crush Tesilid's last hope of ever staying pure of heart? Tesilid felt all the disappointment he had repressed bursting out at once.
He had been only moments away from completely letting himself go when the gates of the Divine Realm opened once again to let Ailette Rodeline out. God sent her back to him. Tesilid could hardly believe that his god, of all gods, had shown him mercy.
But the Strict Order and Goodness never does anything like this! Tesilid had, of course, asked for God's mercy. But the fact that his prayer was actually answered confused him.
What if it wasn't the Strict Order and Goodness? It felt as though he could hear the voice of the Great Bible of Truth.
"Convert."
Was it another god who had shown me this mercy? But Tesilid immediately dismissed this plausible theory.
Why would any god grant me the kind of mercy my own deity wouldn't offer? Besides, Ailette Rodeline was the Divine Emissary. The gates of the Divine Realm she opened couldn't possibly lead to a foreign deity. So, Tesilid went back to assuming that the Strict Order and Goodness was responsible for this unexpected show of mercy, and his pessimistic views suggested reasons to suspect His motives.
Perhaps God gave Ailette back to him so he would feel a greater sense of loss and despair at a later point. Tesilid was conditioned through all the betrayal and loss he had experienced over the years to always anticipate the worst case scenario and to only trust the most tragic outcomes.
As it so happened, things hadn't turned out to be very optimistic, either. Ailette had been sleeping for ten days already. The penalty of using Divine Advent was only supposed to last two days, but she had yet to wake up. Perhaps God only returned to him a mere shell of what she had been. The very thought of that made him choke, turning him pale and frozen in horror.
I bet he's thinking gloomy thoughts again. The translucent blonde lady clicked her tongue as she stood by the window. Agnes tried to shift Tesilid's thoughts by suggesting something he desperately needed.
«You look terrible, Tesilid. Why don't you get some rest?»
"I'm fine."
«No, you're not. You haven't been getting any sleep at all lately.»
"I got some sleep last night."
«You could hardly call that a nap. At this rate, you're going to collapse before Ailette wakes up. Just do as I say.»
"I will stay awake a bit longer."
The man kept offering variations of these three phrases: I'm fine, I've had enough sleep, and I'll try to hang on for a bit longer. Agnes gave up trying to convince the returner, whose circadian rhythm no longer seemed functionalâshe knew a losing battle when she saw one. Fortunately, there were others in the castle who could nag him instead.
The door opened, and a man with bulging muscles stepped into the room.