After breakfast, Hiraku thanked them and then left humming: "Work, work~"
Seriously, who hums that…? Come to think of it, never mind. I guess many do it to motivate themselves, even if most of the time they don't want to go to work…
"We'll help!" Ria said, and the elves nodded.
"Yes, let's help!"
"But before that," Ria said, "let's clean the table."
"Yes!"
Zaydas watched as they even took the plate from his hand. Seeing them head to the sink and use magic to clean, even though he hadn't yet installed plumbing, he stopped caring.
That also reminded him that he needed to do that as well.
However, unlike other materials, the process of making plastic, especially for plumbing, would be better if he could get it pre-made.
He might as well take the opportunity to buy water tanks, and a pool would be nice too.
Touching his chin, Zaydas made up his mind.
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Saying that he would be out for a few hours and return later, Zaydas left.
After flying several kilometers away, he mentally selected the DC AU mark and used Dimensional Jump.
...
3:18 PM.
Zaydas appeared on a rooftop.
Looking around, he noticed it was the same orphanage where he had first appeared and seen Ai Hoshino. It didn't take long for him to locate her.
Unlike before, she seemed a little happier while playing with two children around the same age as her.
[+219 AP]
When he saw that, he understood it must be related to Ai not being far from him. Maybe his mark had been drawn to her, and these AP points he gained were her way of thanking him?
Of course, he knew it was just wishful thinking, but he liked to think that way.
Knowing that she was doing better was enough to lift Zaydas's mood. Floating in the air, he began to distance himself.
...
"Ai-chan? Why did you stop and start looking at the sky?" one of the girls playing with her asked curiously.
"It's nothing, Mika-chan," Ai replied with a smile, turning her gaze back to her.
'The angel... Devil-sama came to see me again...'
She felt a subtle euphoria. And although he hadn't spoken to her and had left silently, Ai felt blessed just by being able to see his silhouette and sense his presence.
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...
Zaydas rented a large house with a garden for a year and rented a moving truck for a day.
He didn't have a driver's license in this dimension, let alone for a truck, but with a little hypnosis, he managed to rent it.
The first destination was a construction store.
With the moving truck, it was easy for him to buy various items, load them into the truck, then transfer them to his storage dimension before heading to the next construction supply store, repeating the process.
The next destination was the city's largest furniture and appliance store. There, he bought mattresses, pillows, appliances, etc.
...
Until almost nightfall, Zaydas kept buying and buying, using the moving truck as a disguise.
Just as a precaution, he altered several recordings from the places he passed. It was an easy process—he just needed to hypnotize a competent hacker and send his route to have it done.
After all, he had bought so much that he had spent almost all of his money, leaving him with only 53 million.
But in return, he purchased solar panels, a power generator, bathtubs, a hot tub, etc.
He even bought various hygiene essentials at the market, such as laundry detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and other items.
'I've never filled my storage dimension this much...' There was so much stuff that he started to fear it might overload.
After returning the truck, he went to the house he had rented.
After restocking some things and setting up some furniture like a bed, Zaydas returned to the INN Dimension.
...
When he returned, he appeared right above the large tree, and Zabuton came out just to see him.
"It's been a while, Zabuton," Zaydas greeted.
Lifting its front paw, Zabuton greeted him back.
After a simple exchange, Zabuton returned to its den inside the tree.
Unnoticed by the others, Zaydas slipped away without being perceived.
He decided to wander a bit through the forest.
While wandering, he checked the cost of replicating two of Zabuton's abilities.
[Indestructible Threads (Rank B+)] – Replication cost: 4,000 AP with a 91% success rate.
[Silk Manipulation (Rank B)] – Replication cost: 2,000 AP with a 95% success rate.
'The chances are high now, and the cost isn't expensive for such useful abilities...'
With that thought in mind, he began replicating them.
...
Deep in the Forest of Death, two injured infernal wolves stood in front of six pups, protecting them while being attacked by a massive purple king cobra.
"Wooof!!"
Howling in despair, the male infernal wolf, shielding his mate and pups, was struck by the purple king cobra's tail, sent flying backward, crashing against a thick tree hard enough to crack it, threatening to break.
The female infernal wolf stood in front of her pups, growling and baring her teeth, her horn broken.
"Wooof!"
Opening her mouth, the infernal wolf spat black flames toward the purple king cobra, but a barrier formed around the snake, defending against the attack while counterattacking with the tip of its tail, which moved fast enough to create powerful gusts of wind.
The purple king cobra's tail pierced through the infernal wolf's defense, as the pups barked in distress.
The other adult infernal wolf, already covered in blood, let out an even more sorrowful howl, forcing its battered body forward, leaping in a desperate suicide attack, summoning all its power, unleashing black flames.
"Booom!"
The purple king cobra was struck squarely on the head, one of its eyes destroyed while the flames continued to burn. However, purple mucus oozed from its mouth, surrounding it and extinguishing the flames.
Then, in a fit of rage, the purple king cobra lashed out with the same tail that had impaled the female infernal wolf, piercing through the male infernal wolf that had just attacked it.
"Howl..."
Letting out a sorrowful howl, the infernal wolf vomited bright red blood while looking toward the pups.
If he could speak, he would be saying something like, "Run, run as fast as you can!"
The pups' mournful barking grew deeper and more sorrowful.
Seeing their parents die while protecting them broke their hearts.
The purple king cobra showed no mercy, throwing the wolves trapped in its tail into the air and opening its mouth wide with the intent of swallowing them whole.
However, before the infernal wolves could fall into its mouth, silk threads appeared, suspending them in midair, while other threads wrapped around the purple king cobra's body, pulling it backward.
From the sky, Zaydas descended.
He looked at the infernal wolves caught in the silk threads and sighed.
The last remnants of life had vanished from them.
'I arrived too late…' It wasn't his duty to save the infernal wolves—after all, this forest followed the law of the jungle—but if he had to choose between infernal wolves and a purple king cobra, he would choose to save the infernal wolves.
Seeing the purple king cobra preparing to spit venom at him, Zaydas extended his free hand, conjuring an ice spear and hurling it straight through its head from top to bottom.
"Whoosh!"
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
A series of sounds echoed as the ice spear was launched, piercing the purple king cobra's head. The impact instantly froze its head, while the force of the throw slammed the upper part of its body into the ground, causing a loud crash and raising a cloud of dust.
When the bodies of the infernal wolves landed near the six infernal wolf pups, the pups surrounded them, whimpering, trying to get a response from their parents. But when they saw that neither of them moved, the pups lifted their heads to the sky and howled sorrowfully.
At this scene, Zaydas let out a soft sigh.
Even Rimuru's potions wouldn't work—after all, they couldn't bring the dead back to life.
He could turn them into Devils, but he wasn't kind enough to do something like that with his precious pieces.
'At the very least, I will take care of your pups for you,' Zaydas said in his mind.
Creating a magic circle beneath the massive body of the purple king cobra, he stored it away.
Then, he approached the pups, saying, "I have avenged your parents. And if you wish, you may follow me—I will take care of you and make you strong so that you will never have to suffer such a loss again."
It might seem foolish to say something like that to infernal wolf pups, but it wasn't. Infernal wolves were highly intelligent, comparable to humans, and since he was a Devil, even the pups could understand what he said.
Barking, almost howling, one by one, they approached him.
But then, they turned toward their parents.
"Very well, I will take you with me and give your parents a proper funeral," Zaydas said.
Once again, the infernal wolf pups howled.
Zaydas made the infernal wolf couple float, then did the same with the pups.
Flying, he began his return.
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