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Kurifot continent.
Situated far enough to be called the farthest end of the world, lacking in sunshine, and surrounded by stormy seas, which makes sailing problematic.

In the first place, although it was named『Kurifot continent』by the demon race, humans refer to it as『Kurifot island』.
In the end, it was only that big.
It was only named as a continent to retain demon’s pride.

Precisely because of its worthlessness, the existence of demons was allowed here.
As long as they don’t leave the island, humans won’t eradicate them completely as a show of mercy.
For demons and their cult of power, it was a terrible humiliation.
That’s why demons spent the last millennium trying to come up with a way to eradicate humans.
On the other hand, it seems that humans nearly completely forgot about their existence.
A race that though against humans a long time ago, which now obediently lives on a faraway island — demons were remembered in such a way.
Which was, once again, irritating in its own way.

However, demons have finally completed their ultimate weapon, Iris Crisis.
She was ordered to eradicate humans and departed beyond the seas.
However–.

「–What on earth is happening? It’s been about five months since we sent Iris–there is no sign of her working at all. Two opposing armies destroyed by a mysterious force, cities disappearing overnight, are there any such good news? 」

The Great Demon King grumbled to his subordinates.

「No…..no such things…..」

A subordinate reported as sweat dripped from his forehead.

「Strange……If Iris were to work properly, something like humans would have been destroyed long ago. What happened……? 」

「If I might……apparently, the spies working undercover amongst humans managed to locate Iris-sama’s whereabouts but…….」

Hearing the report, the Great Demon King became excited.

「Oh, good job! So, what she’s been up to? Could it be, there are some especially strong beings amongst humans and she struggles to defeat them!?」

「……According to the spy’s report, she shut herself in an abandoned church where she eats and sleeps, eats and sleeps, every single day. Even more, it seems that she maintains a good relationship with humans living nearby……」

「Haaaaaaa!? What the hell is she thinking!?」

「Not only that, she made a human prepare her meals and clean the church…….to be honest, it doesn’t seem like she has any intentions to destroy them」

「This must be a lie, hey!」

The Great Demon King accidentally let out an undignified remark.
He cleared his throat and fixed his posture as if nothing happened.
At that time, an old demon shrugged his shoulders.
He was the director of Iris’ development project.

「Iris-sama, in the end, is just a prototype. Her specs might have been off the charts, however, you could also say that she didn’t have anything but those specs. If she doesn’t intend to destroy humans, she nothing more than a defective product. The decision to make 『second body』was indeed a correct one」

「Umu…….but would the second one be fine? Please spare me from the strong but useless ones」

「There is no need to worry. The one in the capsule was thoroughly educated」

「Ho, how exactly?」

「First, I let her eat sweets, which became her favorite food」

「U-Umu……」

「After that, she wasn’t given any until the arrival of her withdrawal symptoms」

「So…..?」

「In such a manner we imprinted the preciousness of sweets in her mind and continuously whispered『if you kill lots of humans I’ll give you some sweets』. Thanks to that, she can’t wait to go out and kill. The perfect anti-human biological weapon is finished! 」[¹]

「I-I see………Well, the method doesn’t matter, as long as she kills humans that’s fine」

Although the Great Demon King said so, his face betrayed his doubts.

「Great Demon King-sama. Are you that unsettled? 」

「Ah, no, I mean. Did she turn out well in the face? 」

「Yes. Very much so. But that was to be expected. Let me show you the real deal. Eclipse-sama, please come here 」

Following the command of the development head, a girl appeared in the throne room.
She opened the door and walked inside.
However, even that little action carried with it a sense of incongruity.
Even though she stood right before him, her presence was exceptionally thin.
There was no sound of breathing, nor footsteps.

Her appearance didn’t help either.
She had white skin and silver hair, like that of the Great Demon King and Iris.
In addition, her whole attire was white.
Face – expressionless.
Even dolls have a bigger presence than she does.
One can easily perceive her as a glass decoration.

「So this is Biological Weapon Mk-2…….」[²]

「Yes. Same as Iris-sama’s, her creation was based on your genes. Her name is Eclipse-sama! 」

「I understand……even still, she’s quite the quiet fellow……completely different from Iris」

Iris too was calm while she was still inside the capsule but, the moment she came out,「I want to eat that」「What is that?」「Anyway, I’m sleepy」she couldn’t keep quiet at all.

「Kukuku……this is the result of my education. Eclipse-sama’s head is full of sweets and sweets only. Her sudden change when given sweets…….almost like she is a completely different person」

「Ho. I’d like to see that」

The development head’s words picked the Great Demon King’s interest.
The development head grinned and pulled out a lump of sugar.

「Eclipse-sama. Let me give you this」

At that moment, the expressionless Eclipse opened her eyes wide and wrestled the lump of sugar from the hands of the development head.
She put it into her mouth and chewed with a loud crunching noise.

「Sweeet~~!」

Indeed, it was a tremendous change of character.
Completely different from her expressionless self a second ago.
Eclipse revealed a smile of ultimate happiness, her cheeks turned red, and she said in a sweet voice.

「More, more! Give more! 」

「No, that’s it for now. You have a duty to fulfill」

「Why!? Meanie! Gimme! 」

「Not allowed. I won’t. Not giving any」

As the development head shook his head in denial, the blush disappeared from Eclipse’s face, along with her smile.

「…….Understood. Then I shall kill humans. Will I get sweets that way? 」

A voice sharp as ice.
As if her bright expression was never there.
Expression – bloodthirsty.
The eyes full of resolve to kill for sweets.

「Great Demon King-sama, what is your opinion? Should I order Eclipse-sama to eradicate humanity? 」

The development head sought approval.
Of course — almost answered the Great Demon King, but suddenly came up with a new idea.

「Wait. Before that, you should bring Iris back. As long as you re-educate Iris and attack together, you would finish much faster. If you don’t do that, it might escalate into something bothersome」

「I see. Indeed, even if Iris-sama has zero motivation, her specs are supreme. If she were to stand against the demon race, she would be a great threat. However, be at ease. Eclipse-sama won’t lose to Iris-sama. Probably」

「Mn? Did you just say probably…….? 」

「Ah, no. It’s alright. Both their magical power amounts can’t be measured by us, well, it should be around the same」

「Wait, wait, wait. If their magical power is above measurable, does that mean that we have no idea about the exact amount? It might very well be that Iris is overwhelmingly more powerful」

「No, no way. They shouldn’t differ that much. Most likely」

「It seems I have no choice but to trust your judgement」

The Great Demon King gazed at the development head.
And he looked away.
Apparently, he was fully aware.

「That being said, I can’t win against Iris. I have to rely on Eclipse………」

「You words hold true! Eclipse-sama, it’s time to depart! As long as you bring Iris back and destroy humanity together, you can have as much sweets as you want!」

「…..Roger. I’ll bring Iris back」

Eclipse’s magical power burst out of her body.
It erased light and turned it into shadow.

Erasing the opponent’s magical power, Eclipse Wave.

Even if Iris were stronger than her in regards to magical power, she would still emerge victorious — supposedly.

---

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Jessica and Marion descended the hill in their dragon form and displayed themselves before the villagers. [¹] As expected they panicked but Sheryl, being the lord, calmed them down.
She also told them about the fact that the two have already lost to Iris.
They didn’t have any hostility against this village in the first place.
And once Sheryl explained about their pledge of loyalty and reassured them, the panic subsided.

However, that by itself couldn’t win their complete trust.

The villagers were finally relieved once they saw their human appearance.

「Henshin!」

Following Jessica’s voice, the dragon pair transformed into humans.
Having seen this, the villagers lost their words.

First, they were surprised at them becoming humans.
Second, their human appearance was that of two beauties.

With men turning particularly attentive as a matter of course, even fellow women were attracted to them. At the very least, it was hard to perceive them as『enemies』.

In such a manner, Jessica and Marion were somewhat accepted by the villagers.

Of course, there were those who didn’t trust them.
Won’t they eventually turn back into dragons and go on a rampage or something along those lines.

However, the two worked hard to dispel their doubts.

Even though they became humans, they didn’t lose any of their power.
In light of that, they work speed was much faster than that of ordinary people. The two did as much work and roughly hundred people.
Thanks to that, the work was completed ahead of schedule.

After that, the two used their dragon forms to bring a giant rock from somewhere as a「Sign of Friendship」.
It was a beautiful piece of granite. I was about five adult males in diameter.

「There isn’t much building materials around here. If you need some, you can cut a part for yourself」

As Jessica said, there was plenty of wood but not enough stone around these parts.
As it stands, Sheryl brought some from the capital but, considering the future development, having local supply would make it much easier.

Eventually, they might build a wall, and having kilns and furnaces would be quite convenient. They would be able to make various good in the village. Maybe even foster their own ceramics craftsmen.
Besides, Sheryl was still a baroness, living in the same type of house as her subjects won’t be appropriate.
She should eventually move to a fine stone house of her own.

「Having dragons in our village is quite helpful」

Or so you could hear here and there.
After a month, there was no one in the village who still thought of the nonchalant Jessica and childish Marion as『enemies』.

Well then.
Since the field was ready ahead of schedule, Sheryl decided to cultivate potatoes according to her initial plan.

Iris watched over them together with Punigami from the top of the hill.
Everyone did their best.
It was worth to protect them as the Guardian Deity.

「Geez. Not working and relaxing on top of the hill all day……aren’t you embarrassed? 」

Arrogantly said Marion as she lazed next to her.

「…….Dragons have a mysterious sense of values. Is it normal for dragons to put themselves on a pedestal? 」

Iris let out a sarcastic remark.
However, she was sure that it was a sound argument.

「I’m not on any pedestal! Although I’m relaxing now, I plowed the field, carried rocks, and did all kinds of other things. There is only you. A person that doesn’t do anything! 」

「Me, you know. I made the lake appear, grew the forest, and revitalized the soil just by being here. From a certain perspective, I’m the biggest contributor」

「Even if you contribute, you aren’t working」

「Wrong. It’s much more important to produce results, not to work. 『Any effort deserves a praise, even if it doesn’t produce results』I this is how you think, I’m not going to reject it. Nevertheless being accused of『not doing anything and producing results』doesn’t sit well with me」

「Gunuu……so logical for a little girl…….」

「Fufu. Arguments of this caliber won’t be able to defeat a NEET, even without the logical armament」

「Don’t swagger!」

Marion interjected with an honest retort.
Because of her personality, her retorts are even more on point than Sheryl’s. Sheryl’s is more often than not on the other side of the retort, which makes it rather tiring.

「Hey, Marion. How long are you going to rest? You too should help us plant potatoes」

Then, Jessica appeared.
She was covered in dirt, there was no doubt that she worked hard in the field.
And even though the mother, Jessica, was hard at work, the daughter, Marion, didn’t move from Iris’ side.

「Mother, We, dragons, shouldn’t bother ourselves with such miscellaneous jobs as planting potatoes. There should be something more dynamic for us to do! 」

「Don’t force your strange logic. There were fields in the Village of Dragons and you helped me out. Come on, come on.  Mother understands that you don’t want to leave Iris-chan’s side but even I’m barely holding myself back」

「T-There is no such thing! It’s not like I want to be by Iris side! 」

「Then let’s hurry and go back to the field. Or could it be? Even the lord herself, Sheryl-chan, is sowing potatoes while you are idling? I don’t remember raising you this way」

「Uguh……I get it, I’m going! 」

Shouted Marion in annoyance.
She followed after her mother, however, then she suddenly stopped and turned towards Iris.

「I-I’ll come to play again, if I feel like it!」

Or so she said before running off.

「……Is this the rumored tsundere? 」

「Punipuni」

This must be so, said Punigami.
If Marion is tsundere that means she actually likes Iris.
Which makes it quite embarrassing.
Iris hugged Punigami and buried her face in his cool body.

Three months later.
By November, potatoes have been harvested.
As expected, almost every potato, grown on the soil, which sucked Iris magical power, turned out to be big.
Iris watched over the harvest from the top of the hill as her stomach made rumbling sounds.

Maybe because their heard it, Sheryl, Marion, and Jessica came running up the hill with a big basket.

「Iris-sama. Punigami-sama It’s long-awaited potatoes~~」

「Sheryl. How did you know that I waited for them? 」

「Yes. Even from below, I saw Iris-sama drooling」

「Eh, really!?」

「No, I’m kidding」

「……I hate Sheryl」

「Eeh!?」

Hearing that, Sheryl turned pale in the face and jumped in horror.

「I’m kidding」

「Hoh……there was no need for such cruel revenge. Please, be more forgiving as the Guardian Deity should be」

「Abusing humans on a whim, isn’t that what the gods do?」

「Un…….Iris-sama is gradually getting used to her divine authority……..when did my humble Iris-sama……oyoyo」

Sheryl covered her eyes with her sleeve.
However, from her voice it was easy to understand that she didn’t actually cry.

「But I did indeed saw Iris-sama drooling」

「I saw that too. Fufu, as Iris-chan’s drool fell on Punigami-chan’s body, Punigami-chan absorbed it」 [²]

Said the dragon.

「I won’t be deceived. To use the same joke as Sheryl, you people have no originality」

「Ridiculous. We are dragons. Even in our human forms, our eyesight stays the same」

「……..Eh……I did? 」

「You did」

Marion gave a short confirmation.

「Punipuni」

Punigami too said「You saliva became my flesh and blood」.
He sounded proud for some reason.
Maybe because he sucked the saliva of the Demon King’s daughter.

「Wa, how embarrassing…….since it came to that, I have no choice but to go into seclusion」

「You can’t, Iris-sama. If you do, I won’t give you any potatoes. Look, they are freshly picked, right from the field~~」

Said Sheryl as she took out potatoes from the basket.
It was still unpeeled. A massive one. What an impressive potato it was.
However, there was steam rising from it. Just this alone was enough to ignite someone’s appetite.

「Achacha!」

The one who touched this steaming hot potato with her bare hands, Sheryl, raised a scream.
The long-awaited potato ended up on the grass.
Then, it rolled down the hill as it fell apart.

「Ah, please wait!」

Sheryl chased after the rolling potato in a hurry.

「…….What a stupid baroness」

As Iris spoke in frustration looking at Sheryl’s back, Marion curiously tilted her head.

「This isn’t that hot in the first place. You can easily hold it with your bare hands」

「That’s right, it’s only slightly warm for us dragons」

Having said that, the dragon duo grabbed potatoes with their hands and started peeling them.

「Judging me by dragon standards would be inappropriate. I’m just a weak feeble girl. Right, Iris-sama? 」

Sheryl, who came back with the potato, objected to Marion and Jessica.
However, regretfully, Iris couldn’t agree with her on this matter.

「Sorry, I too can hold it with my bare hands」

「Mumu, come to think of it, Iris-sama in the Goddess. My my, am I the only normal girl here? 」

I have a feeling that an idiot like Sheryl isn’t that common too.
Besides, Iris wasn’t the Goddess but the daughter of the Demon King.
That being said, pointing it out won’t make Sheryl believe it. Recently, Iris got tired of retorting and gave up.

「Puni」

「Of course, there is one for Punigami too. Here」

Iris peeled a potato and stuffed it inside Punigami.

「Punii!」

「Ah, sorry, was it too hot? Fuu, fuu」

Punigami jumped away, so she pulled out and let it cool before doing it once more.

「Punini」

「This much should be just fine. Is it good? 」

「Puni!」

It seemed to be very tasty.
Everyone, except Iris, was already in the middle of eating.
Joy was apparent on their faces.
Iris too bit down with a sense of defeat.

「Wafu wafu……hiya, delicious! And it was only steamed! Why is it so good!?」

Not too hard, not too soft, it had a nice texture.
It had a rich and sweet taste.
I want to eat my fill of these potatoes only!

「It must’ve happened because Iris-sama’s magical power permeated the soil」

「In other words, although indirectly, we are eating Iris-chan」

「If you think like this, it makes it rather creepy……….」

Marion stared at the potatoes and made a long face.

「How rude, my magical power is in a state of constant spillage, so everyone’s already permeated by it. It doesn’t end with only these potatoes! 」

As Iris objected, 「Come to think of it–」Sheryl realized.

「I’ve already talked about how amongst those people, who I brought from the capital, there were some mercenaries, right? They were saying something about their old wounds hurting but, since they came to this village, they feel exceptionally good. Could this change be brought by Iris-sama’s magical power too? 」

「Eh, no way. I don’t think that my magical power has such an effect…」 [³]

Iris chose to deny that. However, as it stands, she didn’t do any extensive research into her own magical power, so she couldn’t deny with absolute confidence.
What face would the Great Demon King make when he learns that Iris, who was created with the sole purpose of eradicating humanity in mind, spends her time injecting her magical power into potatoes?

Since she left the capsule, she only spent about half a month on the Kurifot continent.
Her relationship with the Great Demon King wasn’t that deep.
She didn’t know a great deal about him.
However, the other party was still a parent.
She didn’t want to purposefully make him sad.
That being said, she had no intention of destroying the human race, so she had no choice but to wait for the Great Demon King to give up.
Until that time, Iris would gladly live here as a NEET.

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Sheryl, who was left sleeping on Iris’ bed, started muttering a few minutes after.

「Un, munyamunya…….Iris-sama is naked today as always……」

「What kind of dream are you seeing!? I’m properly wearing my pajamas! 」

Iris tried to protect her honor.
Then, Sheryl woke up and came back to reality.

「Good morning, Iris-sama. Is today 「naked but sometimes in pajamas」 day? 」

「Shut up! You aren’t wrong and this is irritating! 」

「Puni」

「I’m always naked, so we are comrades」Punigami tried to comfort her in a weird way.
Having been comforted by a slime on for such reasons, Iris felt as if she fell as low as possible.

「All of this happened only because Marion incinerated my clothes!」

「W-What!?  It was a duel, so it couldn’t be helped! It’s your fault for wearing clothes that easily burn! On a side note, the clothes worn by me and my mother are made from magical power. They can regenerate even after being burnt. How is it? Amazing, right? 」

Marion puffed her humble chest.

「Clothes made of magical power……so there was that option! I should utilize this next time! 」

「Do not!」

「Not gonna! After all, I don’t want to stay naked! 」

Let’s make a set of inflammable clothes from magma. With this, anti-naked measures should be completed.

「Well, leaving aside the problem of Iris-sama’s clothes………so, emm……..I seem to have a recollection of this person turning into a dragon…….was this a dream of mine? Dragons aren’t supposed to be friendly with Iris-sama in this place……..ahaha」

「Nope, I’m a dragon」

Said Marion as she swung her tail.

「Hieee…….it wasn’t a dream…….please don’t eat meee……..」

「I won’t! What do you think dragons are!? But don’t misunderstand, I’m only here to bring my mother back. I’ll go back in no time, you can relax」

「Ha……..I presume that this person is your mother then」

Being watched by Sheryl, Julia put her hand to her cheek and laughed. [¹]

「That’s right. I’m Julia. This girl is Marion. We are parent and child.  I became Iris-sama’s servant」

Introducing herself as such, Julia began petting Iris’ head.

「Mother! I won’t become something like a servant! I’m going to bring mother back! 」

「Even if you say that……..then I have no choice but to bring Iris-chan to the Village of Dragons」

The moment Julia muttered so, Sheryl jumped out of the bed with a great momentum.

「I won’t allow that! Iris-sama is this land’s Guardian Deity! Without Iris-sama, all kinds of misfortunes are sure to fall upon this land! 」

As far as misfortunes go, I will probably revert back to the wilderness.
As for Iris herself, she had no intentions of leaving a place with such a luxurious bed.
Besides, leaving Sheryl alone so far in the game would be rather inhumane.
Even though she wasn’t a human.

「Hee……..Iris-sama is idolized as the Guardian Deity……..It seems that I have no choice but to stay here after all」

「Mother! Then I’ll live here until you leave with me! I lived here long before Iris came! 」

The dragon duo progressed with their conversation on their own volition.

「Sheryl. Present me with your opinion as the lord」

「Emm……..new people are always welcome to our village…….as for dragons……..emm, you won’t rampage, right? 」

「We won’t. Didn’t we behave at the lake a while back? 」

「Mumu, indeed. That was you being considerate! 」

「That’s right」

「I see,  then it’s okay!」

Sheryl gave her a thumbs-up.

「Is it fine deciding so carelessly…….?」

Even Iris became worried.

「Isn’t it fine? Julia-san is a good person……a good dragon, at least she seems to be. Marion-san too seems to be nice! 」

「I-I’m not nice at all!」

Said Marion as her face turned red.
Her expression was indeed nice.

「Well then. For your housing, we are going to erect a temporary tent……but how are we going to explain Marion-san’s tail and horns to the rest of the villagers……..?」

Sheryl thought with her hand on her chin.

「Can’t you just say『dragon』and be done with it? If you deceive them and it comes out it would become troublesome」

「Umu….however, dragons caused such a panic by simply appearing, and when it comes to living beside one……..we need something to convince everyone. For example……they submitted to Iris-sama’s strength, beauty, and cuteness and became the Dragons of Justice! Or something like that」

「Ara. Isn’t it how it went in reality? After all, we did lose to Iris-chan」

「Ha! So it was like that! If we include this episode, the villagers should be convinced! 」

「Even though I’ve been alive for three hundred years, I never lived amongst humans. I look forward to it」

「Eh, you are so beautiful at three hundred years old!? Please, tell me your secret」

Sheryl’s eyes turned round.

「There are no secrets. Dragon have long lifespans, that’s it」

「Does that mean that Marion-san is much older than me……..?」

「No, I’m fifteen」

「She was younger than me! What are the principles behind dragons’ growth!?」

「Let’s see.  I grew properly until twenty and, from then on, I aged veery slowly, I guess? If you care about your health, you can live for at least a thousand years」

In short, it resembled demons.

「A thousand years……amazing…….」

Having been overwhelmed by the word『thousand』, Sheryl had a clueless expression on her face.
That being said, Iris had the same expression.
Most likely, Iris would live just as long but, having been born only recently, she had no idea what a thousand years feel like.

「Let’s come to the village and tell everyone about me and Marion losing to Iris-chan and swearing loyalty」

Julia seemed to be having fun.
Perhaps she liked the idea of a dragon-human cultural exchange.

「Mother! I don’t want everyone to know about my loss! It’s embarrassing! 」

「Me too…….I’m embarrassed to become the main topic in everyone’s conversations」

Marion and Iris both objected.

「In the first place, telling everyone about your defeat, won’t something like that hurt your dragon’s pride!? Even though you always told me to cherish our pride, Mother! 」

「Eeh, pride is important. That’s precisely why. For every monster, finding the right demon to serve in the greatest honor. Right, Punigami-chan? 」

「Punipuni!」

「That’s right, that’s right」Punigami nodded in response.

「What are you doing, Mother…….getting all friendly with this slime……I don’t think of this defeat as an honor! This, this……..kuh, I’m tempted to pet and hug her! I won’t succumb! 」

Marion was very busy getting red in the face, trembling, worrying, and being angry all by herself.
Living a life so full of emotions must be pretty tiring.
Iris once more affirmed her decision to live a vegetative indoors life.

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「I-Iris-sama is back! Iris-sama are you okay? 」

When she came back, Sheryl waved her hand as she came out to greet Iris.
The villagers joined her in waving their hands.

「Ou, there are no dragons! Were they defeated!?」
「So small yet able to defeat a dragon, two at that……」
「She is indeed not a human but the Goddess……」
「So divinely naked!」
「Naked hooray!」
「Hooray!」

Everyone hoorayed in Iris’ direction.
At that moment, Iris remembered that her clothes were incinerated by Marion.
In other words, her shameful appearance just went public.

「Waaaaaa!」

Because of a sudden embarrassment, she took Punigami and flew towards the church at a tremendous speed.
With a speed enough to tear the grass away from the ground by sheer wind pressure.

Then she entered the church and shut the door.
Wore her pajamas, hugged Punigami, and crawled into the futon hiding even her head.

「I was seen……..I was seen by everyone…….」

Iris was on the verge of death because of her embarrassment.
At that time, there was an intense knock on the door.

「Iris-sama! Please open! Why have you suddenly shut yourself in!?」

It was Sheryl’s voice.

「Ah, I won’t! I won’t leave the church for a while! 」

「How long is this 「for a while」?」

「Until everyone, who saw me naked, die of old age!」

「Who many decades would that be!? Don’t say strange things and please open」

「Don’t wanna!」

When Iris shouted in a loud voice, Sheryl became quiet.
Unexpectedly, she didn’t persist.
Iris felt a little lonely.
However, she didn’t know what kind of face to make when she meets her.
The mental damage won’t recover without at least one week inside.

「Iris-sama」

However, suddenly the futon was pushed away.
And the first thing she saw was Sheryl’s face.

「Uwaaa! Eh, why!? There is a barrier on the door! How did you get in!?」

「Fufufu, from the back door」

Sheryl responded with a proud face.

「Back door……I didn’t check that one……」

「Iris-sama. Instead of sleeping, you should investigate the place you live in a bit more」

「You make a sound argument……how impudent of the likes of Sheryl! 」

「Mm? I feel like I’ve been treated unreasonably…….! 」

Sheryl puffed her cheeks.
Her face was amusing, however, hiding took a priority.
Iris hid in the futon again and turned into a ball.

「Geez, Iris-sama. There is no need to exaggerate so much over exposing yourself. Punigami-sama thinks so too, isn’t he? 」

「Puni」

「See. Even Punigami-sama thinks the same」

「……Casually assuming at your own convenience…….Then let me ask, are you fine with the villagers seeing you naked? 」

「Of course…….it’s e-embarrassing! 」

Sheryl raised a scream.

「Puni」

「H-However……Iris-sama’s naked/clothed ratio is rather high! Isn’t it a bit too late for that!?」

「Sheryl and I are both girls, so it’s fine! There were plenty of men amongst the villagers……..ah, I can’t be a bride anymore…….! 」

「Mm? Does Iris-sama want to become a bride? 」

「No, not particularly. Just tried saying……and earn a pity point」

「So that’s what it was. If Iris-sama were to become a bride and leave somewhere, it would be quite troubling. Please stay here forever. Or, maybe, you may consider becoming my bride? 」

「Like I said, we are both girls………」

「Fufufu, just said for the sake of saying♪」

When she poked her head outside, there was Sheryl with a mysteriously triumphant look on her face.
As Iris saw that, she felt stupid for hiding in the futon, breathed a sigh, and crawled out.

(Mm? With this, Sheryl’s goal is achieved? In other words, she won? So there is a basis for her triumphant expression……..?)

「She is not to be trifled with!」

Iris shuddered.

「Yes?」

Sheryl tilted her head in curiosity.

「Punipuni」

And Punigami said that it was a decade too early to become a bride.

「It’s alright, Punigami. I don’t think about becoming a bride anytime soon」

「Puni」

「Ah, right now, Punigami-sama said『I’m glad, I’m glad』!」

「Wrong.『If you all don’t marry, I’m gonna take you two for myself』he said」 [¹]

「Hard-boiled slime!?」

「Punii!」

「W-What is it this time……..?」

「Why are you falsifying my statements?」

「So it was a lie!」

「Un. I’m glad, I’m glad was the right one」

「Mumumu. Iris-sama’s statements lost a great deal of trustworthiness. The next time I’m going to just let it flow past me」

「Eh…..」

「I’m joking」

「…….It’s Sheryl’s statements that don’t have any trustworthiness to them」

As they were engaged in a banter, two new figures entered the church.

「Coming in」

「Mom, let’s go home. Let’s not bother with her」

Just from the voices, it was clearly Jessica and Marion.

「I-Intruders!? Just how did they!?」

Sheryl stood up.

「From the back door」

Nonchalantly answered Jessica.

「I-I see…..it was my blind spot! 」

Sheryl nodded as if convinced.
Even though she herself entered that way.
Is it a case of memory loss?

「So, who the two of you might be? This is the church of our Guardian Deity, Iris-sama. Only those approved by Iris-sama can be here. No, in the first place, this is my land. Suspicious people should go away, fuuun on you」

Sheryl used「fuuun on you」as an expression of her anger.
It looked stupid to the extreme.
She didn’t look like much of a noble.
Perhaps, her maid history was so long that her noble aptitude dropped to 0000. [²]

「We are not suspicious people」

「Every suspicious person says that!」

「Eh, but, in the first place, we are not “people”. Right, Marion? 」

「Of course. We are great dragons! Don’t lump us with the likes of humans! 」

As Marion said that, Sheryl「Ha? 」opened her mouth wide.

「Dragons…..what are you saying? You are humans however I look at you」

Indeed, a dragon under transformation magic could only be seen as a human.
However, there was one incompetent dragon mixed in.

「Sheryl, look at her head」

Iris pointed out.

「Ha……there are horn-like ornaments. How cute」

「Also, there is something growing from behind」

「Ha……there is a tail-like ornament. This is also cute」

“What about those?” Sheryl soundlessly asked.
However, once she saw that tail moving, her expression transformed in an instant.

「I-It moved!? Eh, is it real!? She is from a tribe that has a real tail! 」

「As I said, we are dragons」

In the end, Marion straight-up admitted to being a dragon.
However, Sheryl didn’t believe yet again.

「My, my. You are too insistent on your joke. As for the dragons, they came to this village just a while ago. It’s a sensitive topic right now. You shouldn’t speak about dragons carelessly」

As Sheryl failed to accept the truth, Marion said in frustration.

「Such an ignorant woman! Hey, come here! I’ll show you a proof! 」

「Wa, wa!」

Marion pulled Sheryl by her hand and dragged her outside through the back door.

「Ara. Marion is always so short-tempered」

Jessica chased after her daughter.
Since they were worried, Iris and Punigami followed after them.

And as they came out, sure enough.
There was a figure of Marion in her dragon form standing on the grassland.

「Gyaoon!」

To make things worse, she let out a scream.
Even though the villages just celebrated the dragon’s disappearance.
If it goes like this, there will be another panic.
Presently, the Lord, Sheryl, stood before Marion with spinning eyes letting out a soundless scream.

「Hawawawa, there is a dragon in front of me…….hawawawa, please don’t eat me……..」

Then Sheryl passed out and fell on the grass.
Marion, apparently not expecting her to faint, became flustered.

「A-Are you okay!? Mother, what should I do!?」

「That’s because you scared her. For now, return to your human form and tend to her」

「Yees」

Marion, who once again turned into a human, carried Sheryl inside the church.
However, perhaps calming the villagers down should be a priority.
Though Iris, but didn’t have the guts to come down the hill and explain the situation.
Instead, she loudly screamed「I, Iris, somehow dealt with the dragon, so it’s safe! 」
With this, it should be okay. Probably.

---

It came to my knowledge that apparently some people don’t know that even bookmarks worth 2 points.
Not only evaluation, even bookmarks can become points! [³]

---

---

　

---

---

「Puni」

After the fight concluded, Punigami came back from the distance.

「Punipuni!」

It was horrible of you to ditch me, he said in anger.

「Sorry sorry. But you might have died if you were to be caught in the crossfire, Punigami」

「Puni!」

「You don’t have to try so hard」

「Puni!」

I’m strong, even though I look like that, said Punigami.
But, no matter how big, slime is still a slime.
Iris wished for his to avoid fighting and work only as a hugging pillow and the bath.

「Punipunipuni?」

「Mn? Why is Jessica kneeling? I don’t really understand myself, but……I received a pledge of allegiance when I defeated them……」

As Iris was explaining, Marion clung to her mother’s back and spoke in despair.

「Mother! Why are you bowing before her!? You don’t have to be so subservient just because you’ve lost! What happened to the dragon’s pride!?」

「Marion. You are young, so it doesn’t seem that you realized yet……dragons…..no, monsters have a certain instinct. The instinct of obeying a demon that is stronger than you」

「What’s that all about!? I don’t want to see my strong and cool mother bowing before someone! 」

「Sorry, Marion……mother, when it comes to Iris-chan, can’t help but want to take care of her. Cooking a meal and making her say『Aan』, change her clothes, bathe together, sleep together, I can’t stop wanting that! 」

「Noooo, I don’t want to see mother so pathetic, nooo!」

Marion collapsed on the ground with her giant body and threw a tantrum like a spoiled child.
The tremors must have reached the village.

That being said, is Jessica really that pathetic for desiring to take care of Iris?
On the contrary, it matches her nonchalant character perfectly.
Although, there was a difference in their builds, she had no idea how Jessica planned to actually realize all of this.

「Emm…….just for a reference, how are you planning to sleep together? 」

Iris asked.

「Ara, there is no problem. Ei, Henshin! 」[¹]

Along with her exclamation, Jessica’s whole body was enveloped in red light………as she transformed into a human woman.
She seemed to be around her thirties by the human standards. Of course, a beauty.
Her long red hair covered about half of her back.
She was dressed in a one-piece dress and had an apron.
She did look like a mother.

「Wa, amazing! A human however you look at it! 」

「Puni!?」

Punigami was shocked.

「Fufufu, it’s transformation magic passed down among the dragons. It is hard to feed yourself when you are in that form, so a lot of us live this way……..Iris-chan? Why are you hiding in the slime’s shadow? 」

「No…..I’m just bad with humans……even though I understand you’re not one」

Having heard Iris’ confession, Marion opened her eyes wide.

「What!? You are bad around humans!? I’ve heard something nice! Henshin! 」

Marion too transformed into a human.
Her hair was red as her mother’s but it was tied into twin tails. [²] She was fifteen by human standards, from the looks of it. Of course, a beauty.
Her white blouse suited her black jumper skirt. [³]

「How about this! Scary, right!?」

Marion puffed her humble chest as she spoke triumphantly,
However–.

「Ah, Marion isn’t scary」

「Why!?」

「You have two horns on your head……there is a tail stretching from under your skirt. I can understand that you aren’t a human from the first glance. From this perspective you slightly resemble my father, it’s a bit nostalgic 」

The Great Demon King had two splendid horns growing on his head.
Truth be told, Iris too had two tiny horns. However, they were small enough to be concealed inside her hair. With her growth, they might become bigger.

「Be scared of me too!」

「You can just erase your horns and tail with magic」

「I’m bad with transformation magic, so I caaan’t!」

「Mm……stay as bad as you are forever」

「As if! I’m going to eventually master transformation magic and make you afraid of me! 」

She said as she stomped on the ground.
Since she became human-sized, the ground didn’t shake anymore.

「Ara, Marion. So you are motivated to practice transformation magic seriously. Mother is happy. You won’t become a true dragon if you can’t transform. She didn’t want to practice transformation magic before, just as I went harder on her, she ran away from home…..」

「Ah, that’s why Marion was all by herself on that hill」

「M-Mom, do we have to have this conversation right now!?」

Marion swung her hands in the air.
Her tail was also moving around.

「Ah, those tail movements are cute. As I thought, you should stay bad at it forever」

「Shut up, shut up! I will definitely scare you! Then I’ll defeat you while you’re afraid and release my mother! 」

「Even if you say that…..」

Iris did not intend to restrain Jessica, on the contrary, she wanted for her to return to her dragon village or whatever it was.
While they were at it, Jessica hugged Iris from behind and started patting her head.

「Ah~~ I can’t resist, this is the monster’s instinct」

「……..Jessica-san, is it truly an instinct? Maybe, you just want to pat my head? 」

「There is now way that’s true」

Sweetly said Jessica.
Really, she just wanted to pat Iris.

「Mother, are you still here!? She just has slightly beautiful silver hair, cute, and small! You just want to take her home! 」

「Marion. It seems that you can’t resist the instinct too」

「Hah!? Damn it……I was tempted by a mysterious power! 」

Marion pointed at Iris with a red face.

「No, I didn’t do anything……」

She had no recollection of doing something like that, only confusion.

「Puni!」

Punigami raised a voice of anger and hit Marion with his squishy body.

「Wha-What is this slime! That was the most pleasant body slam!  What are you trying to do!?」

「Em, he is angry since he doesn’t want you to take me away」

「I won’t take her even if you offer! I shall not succumb to your temptation! 」

「As I said, no one tempts anyone……」

「I-I won’t yield……I won’t…..damn, my hand moves on its own」

Marion’s hand stretched towards Iris’ head.
However, Marion trembled in desperately as she fought against herself.

「Fufufu, you struggle in words but your body is honest. It’s okay, Marion. Iris-chan in a demon, so it’s a matter of course for us, monsters, to obey her. Be honest with yourself」

Said Jessica, who didn’t stop patting Iris all this time.

「Mother……she is completely brainwashed……kuh, I won’t forgive you, Iris! 」

「Un……I can’t participate in this any longer, so I’m going back to the village. Punigami, let’s go」

「Puni」

Iris escaped from Jessica’s embrace and climbed on Punigami.
As always, she took off together with Punigami and flew in a direction of the village.

「I-Iris-chan, wait」

「Mother, you don’t have to chase after her!」

In the end, two of them, still in their human forms, grew wings from their back and chased after her.
Apparently, both of them had a nice feeling about that village.

---

---

　

---

---

Iris took some distance from the village and landed on the ground.
There was still no grass around here, only wilderness.
In other words, it was okay to rampage on a big scale. It won’t bring any harm to nature.
Marion and Jessica landed too following Iris.

「Fufun. Are you okay with such a deserted place to be your grave? 」

Said Marion in a voice full of confidence.
That being said, only her voice was full of confidence as her limbs kept trembling.
Most likely, she tries to show off before her mother.
It’s kinda cute.

「Well then, the one, who loses his consciousness or dies, loses. Since I’m going to be present, do your best, you two」

As usual, Jessica nonchalantly said something dangerous.
Iris didn’t plan to die as well as she didn’t plan to kill someone for such a stupid reason.
Let’s somehow make her cry and admit defeat.

「All right then. It’s going to be dangerous, so Punigami should stay away」

「Puni!」

「Eh, Punigami, you want to fight too? You can’t. Here, don’t be so persistent…ei! 」

「Puniiiii!」

Iris gently pushed Punigami away.
Since his body was round, he rolled away in an amusing manner.

「Alright. Let’s begin」

「Y-You can come at me anytime!」

Marion’s voice wavered ever so slightly.
Perhaps, her trauma from the previous two times was showing itself.
Most likely, she planned to have Jessica fight instead of her when she came back home in tears.
However, Jessica, who deeply cherished her pride as a dragon, didn’t agree to this and put Marion through hellish training as she tried to arrange a rematch–or so Iris speculated.

With her being so pitiful, let’s end this swiftly.

「Teiya!」

Iris energetically jumped and headbutted Marion.

「Gueee!」

Marion let out a scream of pain.
However, that wasn’t an end of Iris’ assault. She grabbed Marion by her cheeks and twisted.

「Atatatata, itatatata!」

「Do you surrender, do you surrender!?」

「Not yet!」

「Such a stubborn fellow!」

「It huuuuurts, moooooom!」

Marion was completely in tears.
Iris felt like she became a bully.
However, if she were to give up so quickly, Jessica won’t forgive Marion.

「Marion, do your best」

Jessica swung her tail as she tried to encourage her daughter. It seems that she wanted for this to keep going.

「Uu……how about this! 」

Marion rolled on the ground trying to crush Iris between her and the ground.
However, no matter how heavy the dragon is, it won’t be enough to cause Iris to collapse.
She didn’t mind and kept twisting Marion’s cheeks.

「It huuuuurts! Mou! Let go, let go of meeee! 」

「I will when you surrender」

「Mother will be angry if I give up!」

Marion screamed as she rolled around.
A considerable centrifugal force was applied to Iris’ body.
Nevertheless, she didn’t let go.

「Uwaaaa, you are too persistent for a little girl!」

Marion flapped her wings as she screamed and made an acrobatic turn in the air.
Then, she followed by spitting fire from her mouth.

「Achichi」

Iris, who was near the mouth, was hit by tremendous heat.
That being said, that was nothing more than just fire. 「Achichi」would be enough even without a barrier.

「Ah, my clothes caught on fire because of my carelessness!」

「Ahaha, idiot, idiot! Nudist! 」

Marion said as if she was having fun.

「W-What did you say!?」

Iris’ clothes completely vanished in the fire.
That was my only pair.
I only have my pajamas beside that.

「I won’t be lenient anymore!」

The angry Iris released a strong slap on Marion’s cheek.
It was accompanied by a deafening sound.
Marion’s screamed「Hogo! 」her eyes turned white, and her giant body fell on the ground.
The ground trembled and a big cloud of dust appeared.
In the middle of it, Iris grabbed Marion’s tail and pulled with all her might.
Marion turned into a curved shrimp! [¹]

「Hogyaaa! You can’t, stooop, a dragon’s body doesn’t bend that way! 」

「I will if you give up」

「Give, I give up! I surrender! So stop hurting meee! 」

Once she heard that, Iris let go.
Having regained her freedom, Marion ran towards her mother in tears.

「Motheeer, sorry, I lost!」

「Alright, alright. Although it’s regretful, you did your best. Iris-chan is just slightly overpowered」

Surprisingly, Jessica didn’t scold her defeated daughter but instead patted her on the head with her wings.
She seemed to be the type of dragon that could give her approval if you approached the matter seriously.

「All right then. My daughter did her best…….and now it’s my turn.  Fight me, Iris-chan! 」

「Un…..sounds troublesome…..」

Somehow, Iris expected such a development.
With Jessica showing so much concern about dragons’ honor, she couldn’t go back defeated.

「Well. it’s okay, I guess. But would that really be the last time? 」

「Yes, that’s fine. You should stay back, Marion……well then, here I go」

Red magical power gathered in Jessica’s mouth.
Dragon Breath……or so Iris thought.
Several magic circles materialized around her.
Twenty four in total.
Red magical power overflowed from the magic circles as they released scorching beams at Iris.

Their power was in a different league compared to Marion’s Dragon Breath.
However, in addition to the twenty four beams, there was one more coming from Jessica’s mouth.
Quality and number, both were absolutely different from Marion’s.

A world-shaking explosion occurred.
However, Iris completely guarded against it with her barrier.
Not even a single spark landed on her.

「Ara…..I must admit I didn’t expect you to guard against it……」

Jessica let out a voice of hesitation.

「Jessica-san is indeed in a different league compared to Marion. However, as an opponent, you are no different. Alright, let’s end this」

Iris unleashed rainbow-colored magical power from her body.
Then, she cast a gravity manipulation spell.
She increased gravity ten times below Jessica’s feet.

「Nah!」

Jessica couldn’t endure the sudden weight and collapsed on the ground.
She did her best to stand up but she felt ten times heavier than usual.
It wasn’t that easy to stand with these conditions.

「Mom!」

Marion approached her mother trying to save her.
However, because of that she was hit by the tenfold gravity and sprawled right next to her mother.

「Gununu…..heavy……」

「Marion! Kuh……this gravity magic…..isn’t supposed to last for long, I think…….! 」

Jessica, even in pain, created twenty four magic circles one again and bombarded Iris.
But every single one of them was deflected by a barrier and didn’t reach her.

「I can’t be…..using gravity magic and defensive barrier at the same time…….moreover, this magical power……Iris-chan, are you a demon……..?」

「So you’ve found out.  Yes, I’m a demon. The daughter of the Great Demon King. What are you going to do? Do you still want to fight? I still have some strength to spare」

Iris strengthened the rainbow-colored magical power radiating from her body as a display of power.
The wilderness shined brightly.
Even Iris considered it too bright, so she closed her eyes.

「No…..I surrender……It’s my loss」

And so it was settled.
Iris returned the gravity to normal.
After that, Jessica raised her body……however, she immediately lowered her head and said in a submissive voice.

「Iris of the demon race. I hereby swear loyalty to you」

「Un. Don’t mess with that village anymore…..wait, loyalty!?」

The conversation became complicated once again.
Come to think of it, at first, Punigami tried to pledge his allegiance too.
Perhaps, it’s normal for monsters to pledge themselves to demons.
Even though eating and sleeping were all Iris wished for.

---

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---

As Iris, Punigami, and Sheryl relaxed on top of the hill, two giant shadows approached them from the distance.

「Eh, what on earth are those !?」

Not being able to believe her eyes, Sheryl rubbed her eyes as she asked Iris.
However, with Iris’ eyesight being exceptional, she was quick to identify those shadows.
One of those shadows was especially familiar.

「Dragons. Red dragons. Two of them are heading our way」

「Uhiyaa, dragons! Dangerous, disastrous! Why are such strong monsters heading towards our place!?」

Sheryl let out a scream as she ran around the grassland.

「Un…….one of those dragons lived here before I came」

「Eh, did the dragon live here before!?」

「Un. I said that I wanted to live here and we fought each other…….then I pushed her away and she escaped crying」

「Sound like a child’s quarrel! That being said, Iris-sama is strong enough to push away a dragon, isn’t it? Amazing, as expected of the Goddess-sama! Hiyu, hiyu! 」

「No, I’m not the Goddess but the Demon King’s daughter」

「You keep saying it」

Sheryl wasn’t the one to believe it.
It’s not like there would be anything good from making her believe but if Iris didn’t correct Sheryl, she would end up being a liar.

「So, why is the dragon, which flew away crying, back again?」

「Who knows……? She came once more after she flew away crying. At that time, she released the Dragon Breath so I made an ice wall to deflect it but she ended up ramming it and was unable to separate. Then she began freezing and I saved her……but she spat something like 「Remember me! 」 and flew away. Maybe she brought her friends to express her gratitude? 」

「Lame! That dragon is too lame! Ah, the image of the dragons in my mind is crumbling……….! 」

「That might be true……the dragons that I saw before gave me a noble impression……maybe they are comparatively dumber on this continent」

Iris is a former resident of the Kurifot continent, the home of the demons.
Iris spent most of her time in the capsule but, before she came here, she went around the continent.
Besides demons, there were many monsters on the Kurifot continent that pledged their allegiance to them.
The dragons that she saw there gave her a dignified impression.

However, the dragon that was driven away by Iris twice had no such thing as dignity.
On the contrary, she seemed even dumber than Sheryl.

「Indeed, according to you she seems rather dumb…….as if, it’s not the time for idle conversations! Even if she’s dumb, she is still giant. By just walking around, she would destroy all of our painstakingly built houses! Everyone, ran away! Dragon alarm! 」

Sheryl screamed loudly as she ran down the hill,
Apparently, the people below still weren’t aware of the dragons.
However, hearing Sheryl, they looked up and a panic occurred.

There were those, who threw away their tools and tried to run away, as well as those, who instead took the tools to face the dragons.
Both of those behaviors were reckless.
Humans can’t outrun the dragons and they can’t be defeated with farming tools.
Such things should be obvious but the panic disrupted their thought process.

Just as the situation was about to escalate, the Lord, Baroness Sheryl Silverlight, threw herself in the middle of it. Causing even more panic by running around and screaming.

「She’s an idiot, isn’t it?……..」

「Puni」

Iris and Punigami, who were watching from the top of the hill, let out an exasperated voice.
This isn’t how a good lord should behave.
However, considering that they had dragons approaching their village, that couldn’t be helped.
The difficulty was too high right from the beginning. The opponent far outclassed them.

「I have no choice but to lend a hand…..Punigami, let’s go」

「Puni」

Iris sat on top of Punigami as she descended the hill.
At the same time, the dragons descended too.
The dragons landed right on the bank of the lake. Thanks to that, the building and the fields weren’t destroyed. However, if the dragons ever move or breathe fire everything will be mowed down.
Iris was going to stop them before that happens.

Or so she was determined to do but there were no signs of movement from them.
One of them let out a threatening roar.
However, the one that let out that roar was the one that was driven away by Iris before, the other one remained silent.
I don’t understand.
Why did they even come?

「Hey, dragons! If you keep standing here, the villagers are going to freak out! 」

Iris, who reached the lake, ended up saying something ridiculous.
Even though she resolved herself to be more intimidating.

「Ah, here you are, silver-haired shorty! It’s time to settle this! 」

The dragon that discovered Iris said something stupid.
This dragon is the one that fought Iris before.
Since she was a tad smaller than the other one, Iris temporarily named her『Dragon (small)』

「Settle what? You lost to me twice and run away crying」

「I-I didn’t cry!」

「You did」

「I didn’t!」

Dragon bawled in a girly voice.
She was about to cry again, even though she said that she didn’t.

As the dragon exposed her shameful side, the other dragon finally acted.
This one was slightly bigger, thus『Dragon (big)』.

「Hey, you can’t cry like that in public. You’ll bring shame to our species」

Dragon (big) said in a calm and slow woman’s voice as she hit Dragon (small) on the head with her wing.

「Hurts! Stop it, mom……don’t chide me in front of her! It’s embarrassing! 」

「It’s was already embarrassing enough. Get a grip. I don’t remember raising such a crybaby」

「But….she’s strong……」

Cutely muttered Dragon (small) as she lowered her head in dejection.

「It can’t be helped then. Ara, excuse me. Emm, are you the child that defeated my child? 」

Dragon (big) gazed at Iris.

「T-That’s right……..my child? Does that mean that you are her mother? 」

「Yes, I am. My name is Jessica. This child is Marion. Best regards」

「Ha……..best regards…..I’m Iris Crisis. This one is Punigami…….」

「Puni」

Iris didn’t expect to hear a self-introduction from a dragon, so she subconsciously introduced herself.

「So polite.  So small and already so outstanding. So small yet able to defeat my child. So cute」

「Wait, mom, I didn’t lose! It was a strategic withdrawal! 」

Dragon (small), Marion, desperately tried to come up with an excuse.
Nevertheless, such an excuse did little in the face of her mother, Jessica.

「Lying is improper. Just when I thought that you left home for too long you came back crying and said『Mom, I was bullied by a human』……reflect on your behavior at least a little! 」

「Uu…….I’m sorry…….」

Marion hung her head again and started crying.
Once tears fell on the surface of the lake from the eyes of the dragon, they caused large ripples to spread

「Em…….If it’s a parenting issue, can you please argue somewhere else? 」

Iris was unable to watch them any longer and timidly intruded.

「Ara, sorry. I showed you an embarrassing scene. Actually, I came here to see you, Iris-chan」

「Ha……..to see me…….what is it………? 」

As for Iris she only wanted to sleep when she wished and eat when she wished, she didn’t plan to have dealings with dragons.
She wanted to finish this as soon as possible and go back.

「It’s nothing complicated. We, dragons, have our great strength as a selling point, you know? Because we are strong, no one dares to approach our home and, when people see our appearances, everyone looks at us in awe. If rumors spread that one of us lost to a cute girl like Iris-chan, people would look down on us. With that being the case, could you consider another round between you and Marion? 」

Jessica nonchalantly said something dangerous.

「Etto…..in other words, you are here to pick a fight……..?」

「Indeed」

It was hard to understand because she was so nonchalant but, apparently, it was truly the case.

「I don’t really mind having another bout……but what if I win? 」

「You have great confidence in yourself. However, my child is truly strong once she gets serious. Right, Marion? 」

「Of course! I trained with my utmost effort since our last meeting! 」

「That’s right. I made sure to train her well」

「Uu…..I’m having flashbacks about that hellish training…….shiver」

Maybe because her training was that great, Marion trembled all over.
Because of that, the water in the lake overflowed and hit the villagers.
They, who silently watched the entire conversation between Iris and the dragons, screamed and run away from the wave.

「Kyaa!」

The loudest scream was that of Sheryl.
Still, she didn’t escape first and tried to bring up the rear.
It was completely useless but her spirit was deserving of a praise.

「Un……I’ll give you what you want, so let’s change the place. The village will be in shambles if we fight here」

「Just what I want! I’m going to show you how I powered-up! 」

「Marion, do your best」

Iris, although experiencing a great lack of motivation, still agreed to fight the dragon.
This is the third time.
Oh, how I wish to make it the last one.
Well, today she has her mother accompanying her, so I should form any unnecessary karma.
Believing it to be true, Iris took Punigami with her as flew away from the village.

---

---

　

---

---

• 01 Suddenly Searching for a Place to Shut Herself In
• 02 Sudden Territorial Dispute with a Dragon
• 03 Obtaining a Slime Bed
• 04 His Name is Punigami
• 05 Sold the Grass for Ten Gold
• 06 Came Across a Cuttlefish
• 07 A Lake was Born
• 08 Baroness Silverlight
• 09 A Human Came
• 10 Sheryl
• 11 The Luxurious Bed has Arrived
• 12 Chocolate is Delicious
• 13 Peropero Nyurunnyurun
• 14 The Village Has Been Formed
• 15 Dragon’s Mother
• 16 Receiving a Pledge of Loyalty
• 17 Monster’s Instinct?
• 18 Gathering at the Church
• 19 Dragon Becomes a Villager
• 20 Harvesting Potatoes, Tasty
• 21 Second Biological Weapon Eclipse
• 22 Chocolate Barrier
• 23 Marion, Lost Again
• 24 Eclipse, Coming Back to Sanity
• 25 Fight with Little Sister
• 26 Truth about Eclipse
• 27 It’s Scary Below the Hill
• 28 Evil Conference
• 29 New Enemy
• 30 Easy Victory

---

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---

The time passed quickly and, it was half a month since Sheryl begun the construction of the village.
It was August according to the calendar.

The lines on wooden houses took shape.
As of now, they were busy plowing the fields instead of completing their houses.

Iris relaxed using Punigami as a chair as she watched the hardworking villagers.

After all, she was the Guardian Deity.
That’s why it was probably one of her duties.
Having judged that there was no need to directly help them, she was idle.
Iris’ laziness absolutely wasn’t the reason for that.

「Iris-sama, you have nothing to do today as well」

Sheryl, who came running up the hill, said impudently to Iris’ face.

「I’m not free. I watching over the development from here. Ah, so busy, so busy」

「I see! Iris-sama is so diligent!」

「…….I apologize. I lied」

「I know!」

Sheryl displayed a carefree smile.

「……Your faith keeps getting weaker day by day. Even though you were so polite at the beginning…….maybe I should leave this place and settle somewhere else」

Joked Iris as Sheryl’s face turned blue.

「Wait, wait, wait! I will apologize! I’m deeply regretting my misconduct, please don’t go anywhere! The water in the lake is good, the trees in the forest are sturdy, mushrooms are plentiful……all of these exist without a doubt thanks to Iris-sama’s magical power! Here, I brought a cookie! It’s delicious, if you stay here, all kinds of sweets will come your way!」

Saying that, Sheryl took out a cookie from her usual basket and tossed it inside Iris’ mouth.

「Munch munch……」

「Is it good?」

「Tafty」[¹]

「I’m glad. With this, the Silverlight barony is safe!」

Laughed Sheryl as she took a cookie cramp from Iris’ cheek and licked it.

「Puni」

「Does Punigami-sama wish for a cookie as well?」

「Punipuni!」

「Yes, here it is」

「Puni!」

Once Sheryl put a cookie inside Punigami, he trembled in happiness and digested it in a blink of an eye.
His color changed to cream, like that of a cookie.

「Since when can you understand Punigami’s words, Sheryl?」

「No, I didn’t understand a thing, it was just a feeling. Somehow I can understand what he thinks by just looking at him!」

「Just by looking…….does she understand or not」

「Punii?」

「Ah, Punigami-sama said that he wants another cookie!」

「Wrong. Punigami asked『What are you going to cultivate of that field?』」

「Un…….I was almost right……」

「Not even close. You were completely wrong. That last time was just a coincidence」

「So I was seen through……」

In the end, that was a limit of Sheryl’s intuition.

「Punipuni」

「So, what are you planning to cultivate?」

「Ehh, potatoes at first. It only takes three months to grow, if we plant it right now it would be possible to taste our own potatoes by the end of the year」

「Hee. Can’t wait. What else?」

「After potatoes we are going to plant wheat. In we plant it at autumn it should be possible to harvest it about the same time the next year」

「Punipuni」

「Then it would be cabbage, tomatoes, green pepper, and so on!」

「How greedy……maybe you should start with only potatoes and wheat?」

「Yes.I’m hoping to do just that in our first year. This land is full of Iris-sama’s magical power, I’m sure that it would give birth to very delicious potatoes and wheat! I would definitely sell well!」

「Will it really go so well?」

When you try to stretch yourself too thin, you can easily fail at everything.
Especially considering that it was Sheryl’s first year as the Lord.
Since Iris accepted the title of the Guardian Deity, she wished for Sheryl to find success.

「If you fail and go bankrupt you can always pluck more elixir grass around here」

「Thank you very much. However, sustaining myself only on the elixir grass……besides, its market price will inevitably fall if I sell too much」

「I see. There is such a problem about rare goods」

When Iris went to sell the elixir grass, she only brought ten stalks with her.
However, the amount of money required to sustain a territory is of a completely different scale.
In case Sheryl won’t be able to succeed, there would be a need to buy food from the outside.

Adding to that, Sheryl has great ambitions.
She even mentioned winemaking in one of their previous conversations.
It would require all kind of equipment.
Trying to cover the cost with only the elixir grass…..will definitely cause the market to collapse.

「We’ve already sold about a hundred of them」

「Yes. Thanks to that, I was able to purchase the food, clothes, and tools for my people. I can’t express my gratitude enough」

「I didn’t do anything…….I just slept and the elixir grass appeared…..that being said……is it about fifty people? You did well finding so many. Do you have some sort of connections?」

「It’s not about connections. I just went around the capital’s bars asking for people willing to live in a new village. Travelling mercenaries about to settle down, those who lost their homes, or those who just want to change things for themselves, you can always find these kinds of people!」

「…….Sheryl. You sure have guts」

「Maids can’t live without guts!」

Said Sheryl with a composed expression as she pounded her chest.

「No, aren’t you a Lord right now instead of a maid?」

「Wa, I almost forgot! I seem to lack awareness of that fact」

She muttered as she stuck out her tongue. [²]

「Bu despite that, you have a proper development plan for your territory」

「Of course. I dreamed innumerable times about reclaiming my ancestral land! My delusions are complete! All that’s left is turning them into reality!」

「So it was like that….I hope for your delusions to become real one day……..」

「There is no need to worry. There was no such a cute Guardian Deity as Iris-sama or your kin, Punigami-sama, in my delusions. In other words, the reality is even better than my fantasies」

Having said that, Sheryl embraces Punigami and Iris from behind and fell on the grass.

「Puni?」

「My my. Never did I expect to participate in a territory’s development…….」

Iris voiced her complaints.
However, there was no trace of her desire to leave this land any longer.

That being said, she won’t go down the hill to interact with other people any time soon.

---

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---

Although Punigami was stained with a brown color, he reverted to his natural blue on the next day.
In exchange, the insides of the church smelled very much like chocolate.
Apparently, it was diffused into the air.
Iris came to know the mystery of slimes.

「Iris-sama, Iris-sama♪」

In a place filled with the chocolate smell, which didn’t get in the way of Iris’ sloth, Sheryl appeared.
Iris slowly crawled out of her futon as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

「What…..? I did permit you entering here but it would trouble me if you wake me up all the time」

「Eh, it’s morning though? Isn’t waking up in the morning a matter of course? 」

「…….This is human logic」

「Ha! I see! I was inconsiderate……」

Sheryl accepted Iris’ unreasonable reason with a frown on her face.
Since she felt a bit sorry for her, Iris made an effort to get up and decided to play along.

「…….So, is there something? 」

「Yes! I brought pajamas that might be suitable for Iris-sama! Please try them out. They will definitely suit you! 」

「……Are they even important right now? I just woke up」

「Un……..but Iris-sama, you are hard to catch awake. If I wait for you to wake up, I don’t know how many days it would be」

「Waking someone up for the sake of pajamas, isn’t it putting the cart before the horse?」

Iris perceived pajamas as something you should wear before falling asleep.
It’s secondary whether they’re cute or not, forget about the fact that you shouldn’t wake up a person to try them out.

「No, no. Iris-sama, the Guardian Deity, shouldn’t wear such tasteless pajamas. I think only the pajamas with lots of frills and fluffs is worthy of you! 」

She said and took out the fancy pajamas from her bag.
Indeed, as of right now, Iris wears the cheap clothes she bought in the nearby town. Modest, gray, and with no decorations.

On the other hand, the pajamas brought out by Sheryl were pink and cute.

One way or another, Iris wanted to try them out too.

「……..Then turn around while I’m changing」

「What are you talking about! I’m still a former maid! Changing clothes is my specialty. Leave everything to me! 」

「No, I don’t need that…….I don’t need that, I said! Wa, wa, pervert! 」

「Isn’t it good, isn’t it good!?」

Sheryl forcibly stripped Iris naked and pulled the new pajamas over her head.
Those pajamas were a once-piece type with lots of laces and frills.

「Ufufu, they suit you even better than I thought, Iris-sama! Ah, truly, what else should I do? I can’t hold back, ei! 」

「What happened!? Who are you!?」

Sheryl, on top of stripping Iris and forcing her to change, driven by her momentum, hugged Iris and pushed her on the bed.
Then she patted her head and rubbed her cheek, Iris couldn’t understand anything anymore

「Wa, help me, Punigami, help me!」

「Puni?」

Punigami, who was sleeping nearby, finally woke up after all the commotion and restarted his activities.

「Huh, where are you going, Punigami? Are you not going to save me? 」

「Punipuni」

「My throat is dry so I’m going to the well……you can do it later! Do you have a throat in the first place!?」

Without answering Iris’ question, Punigami opened the door and went outside.

「Well then, Iris-sama………let’s have some fun together! 」

「With what!?」

「With god-human interaction!」

「Why do you have to push me down to interact with me!? Release me」

「That’s all happening because Iris-sama is just too cute! Haa, could it be a god’s trial…..? Kuh, I can’t resist! 」

「Don’t know! I don’t remember giving such trials! I’m not the Goddess in the first place! 」

「Ha…..my heart is so weak…….forgive me Iris-sama….however, I will overcome it, eventually………」

「Overcome it right now! Ah, wait, where are you putting your hands in!? Noo, humans are scaryyyy! 」

「Iris-sama’s thigh is so smooth…….」

In such a manner, Iris was touched in all kinds of places by Sheryl.

Places that tickle, places that give a weird feeling, it was a disaster.

「Stop….please stop…….! If you won’t, I will blow you away」

「Ah, I can’t resist, I can’t resist!」

「You…..I said, stop iiit! 」

Finally, Iris’ patience reached its limits and sent Sheryl flying away.
She tried to lightly push her away, as to not to hurt Sheryl but……..she used much more power than intended and ended up truly blowing her away.
Sheryl took-off from the bed and crashed head first into the church’s wall.
Then she fell on the floor.

「Uwaaa, Sheryl, are you okay!?」

Iris ran up to her in a hurry and tried to shake her awake.
She saw Sheryl have a big swelling on her head and a severe nosebleed.

「Trouble!」

Iris went outside and picked up an elixir grass.
Then she plunged it straight into her nose.
The nosebleed has stopped!

「Atatatata…..」

Sheryl raised her body with the elixir grass still sticking out of her nose.

「S-Sorry, Sheryl…….I didn’t think that you would really fly away……..but you’re the one at fault! I won’t apologize! 」

「Aren’t you already apologizing, Iris-sama?」

「Ah, indeed! Forget what I just said! 」

Iris waved her hands trying to take back the apology.

「Yes, Iris-sama is not a fault. It’s me who should apologize for thoughtlessly petapeta momimomi peropero nyurunnyurun Iris-sama’s body……….」[¹]

「You didn’t peropero nyurunnyurun me, right!? And what is it in the first place!? 」

「Ah, peropero nyurunnyurun part only happened in my delusions……However, I might have done it if I wasn’t blown away……….」

「Scary! I don’t know what it means but I’m scared!」

「I will limit my future visits to the church so this won’t happen again……」

「U-Un……you don’t have to go that far….」

Iris was befuddled.
She indeed doesn’t like humans or the noise.
However, Iris couldn’t bring herself to hate Sheryl.
On the contrary, she felt a sense of a loss without seeing her face occasionally.

「No. It’s blasphemous to obstruct Iris-sama’s sleep」

「But, but. Sheryl too. You prepared the new pajamas for me and you have a duty of tidying my bedding. Also, I want the church to be cleaned. Besides, without Sheryl making my meals I would have to do it myself……..you have to come everyday!」

「I-Iris-sama……are you willing to forgive me for petapeta momimomi I did to you!?」

「Un……I wasn’t that angry in the first place」

「Then it’s okay to petapeta momimomi from now on, right!?」

Sheryl’s eyes sparkled.

「…….Emm…….Just a little?」

「Is peropero nyurunnyurun okay too!?」

「This sounds somehow scary, so don’t!」

「Is that so…..」

Sheryl seemed quite regretful.
Am I at fault for dampening her mood, thought Iris.

「Emm…….anyway, take care of me from now on!」

「Yes! Let’s take care of each other, Iris-sama」

Both, sitting on the floor, bowed their heads to each other.

「No, same here」

「No no, the honor is mine」

And Punigami came back at this time.
Maybe because he sucked in some special water, he looked even more punipuni than usual.

「Puni?」

As Punigami saw them repeatedly nodding at each other「Why does Sheryl have elixir grass sticking out of her nose?」he was faced with such a dilemma.

---

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---

The new bed and futon were too comfortable so she ended up sleeping for three days in a row again.
If it wasn’t for Punigami waking her up, she might have slept forever.

「Uh, un…..good morning Punigami……did they complete the village already? 」

「Punipuni」

Apparently, it was still being built.
Well, this isn’t something that can be completed in just three days.
After all, it’s not a kennel.

「Since I woke up, might as well sightsee. Punigami, if you please」

「Puni」

Iris, as always, sat on top of Punigami.
A hugging pillow, a bath, and a transport, truly a hardworking slime.

Such Punigami adorably proceeded outside the church.

「Ah, everyone is making something」

Looking from the top of the hill, as Sheryl said, there were around fifty people working,
They cut the forest to make houses and made an enclosed space for the cattle.
And while the houses were being made, they lived in the tents.

「I see. Since they have the forest, there is no need for them to bring materials from outside. They have it easy」

「Puni」

As iris and Punigami were engrossed admiration, Sheryl climbed the hill.

「Iris-sama, Punigami-sama! Good morning! 」

「Good morning, Sheryl. It looks like it’s about time for lunch, why morning? 」

「Eh. But isn’t Iris-sama just woke up? 」

「…..You are spot on, I can’t even retort」

「I’ve seen through Iris-sama. And here are the promised sweets…..ta-dan, hard chocolate! 」

Sheryl pulled out a wrapped plank-like object out of her basket.
And when she unwrapped it, multiple brown planks came out.

「It’s a board」

「Tsk, tsk, tsk. Naive, Iris-sama. As sweet as this plank of chocolate. [¹] This thing is a boom in the capital right now. You won’t regret it. If you think it’s a lie then just try it! 」

Said Sheryl as she broke the plank in half and presented it.

「Really?」

She did accept it but her mind was filled with doubts.
However, there was no way Sheryl would feed her poison so she decided to try it.
Let’s start with a small bite.

「…….Sweet! 」

「Right?! Although chocolate was bitter until a while ago, a version with a lot of sugar in it appeared and created a big boom! People are noisy about getting fat from it! Absolutely irresistible taste for something like the chocolate! 」

Sheryl chomped the chocolate as she explained.
Iris didn’t want to fall behind and ate too.
It disappeared in a blink of an eye.

「Puni!」

「Ah, sorry…….Punigami wanted to eat some too………」

「Punipuni!」

Punigami was quite angry.
As Iris wondered what she should do, Sheryl fearlessly laughed and thrust her hand in the basket.

「I-It can’t be!」

「Yes…….I thought it could end up like this so I bought one more! 」

「Yay!」

「Punni!」

The second chocolate bar was split into three equal parts.

「Are? How does Punigami-sama eat in the first place? 」

「Just stuff it into his body wherever」

「……Stuff it, is it? 」

「Yes. With a plop」

Iris received a third of the chocolate bar and thrust it inside Punigami together with her own hand.

「Uwaa, grotesque! Iris-sama, such a disgusting act! 」

Sheryl let out a rude scream.

「It’s not grotesque! It’s not disgusting! It’s cool and pleasant! It’s okay because he is a slime! 」

「Really?」

「If you think I’m lying you should do the same too」

「Ha…..then if only for a little」

Sheryl, giving off a feeling of fright, touched Punigami with her fingertip.

「Waa, so cool! And springy! 」

Sheryl thrust her hand until the elbow in one go.

「Puni」

「Ah, Punigami-sama’s body is wrapped around my hand……..ah, what, what is it…….s-so comfortable…….it’s coming out, it’s coming out」

「Amazing, right? Punigami can remove the dirt from your skin」

「It’s beyond amazing. With his help, you don’t need to bath! Here, please look. One of my arms became all shiny! 」

Sheryl pulled her hand out of Punigami, rolled up her sleeve and displayed it.
Her hand shined as it reflected the sunlight.

「C-Could it be that Iris-sama has such beautiful skin because of Punigami-sama’s help………?」

「Well, that might not be unrelated……..」

「Unfair! I also want to receive the full body care from Punigami-sama! 」

「If Punigami doesn’t mind then why not?」

「Punigami-sama! Please! 」

Sheryl desperately lowered her head.

「Punipuni」

「Since you gave him some chocolate he is okay with it」

「I did it, thank you very much!」

Sheryl hopped around in pure joy.
Even though she had an expensive silk dress, she didn’t look noble at all.
Will she be all right being the Lord, worried Iris.
Well, she should do better than doing some weird assignments.
Iris ate her own piece of chocolate as she thought about that.
Sheryl did so too.

Eventually, Punigami finished digesting his piece. Then….changed his color.

He was a beautiful blue color until a little while ago.
And now he turned into the same color as that of the chocolate.

「Sheryl. T-This is……」

「Yes…..just like……..dirt go away! 」

「Puni?」

「Hey, Sheryl. Punigami is asking whether he should get rid of it. Immediately strip, dive inside Punigami and have your whole body washed! 」

「No, I mean, I’m grateful but…..I’ll do it once Punigami-sama’s color returns to normal! Farewell! 」

Sheryl twirled her skirt and run down the hill at maximum speed.

「Puniii!」

What a rude fellow, said Punigami in anger.
However, there was no other option.
The thought of entrusting your body to a slime of such a color was rather unpleasant.

「Punipuni」

「Eh, washing me instead? Noo, maybe some other time……」

「Puni!」

「Wa, you can’t, Punigami……I-I’m being washed, I’m being washed, I’m being washed together with my clothes」

---

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---

---

A month after Sheryl’s storm-like appearance and storm-like departure.
It was already summer.
However, since Punigami was cool, Iris was able to sleep despite the heat.

But she had an interest in the ultimate bedding mentioned by Sheryl.
Can’t she bring it sooner, on a certain day as Iris thought that.

There was a knock on the church’s door.

「Iris-sama! It’s me, Sheryl! I brought the promised bed and futon with me! Can I bring them in!?」

「F-Finally! Alright……..but are you alone? 」

「No, no way! I’m a frail maiden. I can’t bring such a big bed all the way to the top of the hill by myself. That’s why there are five of us, including me」

「Eh, five!? Wait a minute! 」

Iris searched for a place to hide in a fluster.
Below the chair is no good. It would be too lame, forget about being unable to hide her that much.
Then behind the altar……no, she said something about putting the bed instead of the altar. It won’t be left untouched.

「Since it came to this, I have no choice but to hide on the ceiling…..! Punigami, stay here and attract everyone’s attention」

「Puni!」

「Leave it to me」powerfully responded Punigami.
And Iris used flying magic to stick to the ceiling and observe below her.

「Iris-sama~, how much longer?」

「You can enter」

The moment she said that, the door was opened with a bam.
Sheryl was the one who entered first.
The last time she had dirty linen clothes on but now she had a beautiful silk dress. She resembled a noble. No, she was indeed a baroness, the lord of this territory.

The next to enter was a big white bed and the four men that carried it.
Indeed, people suitable for heavy lifting.

The bed was a piece of art with a beautiful canopy attached to it.
It seemed that there would be some space left even with three people sleeping at the same time.

「Iris-sama~, this is the one. Iris-sama~, where are you hiding? 」

「Puni」

「Oh, is it just Punigami-sama? Where Iris-sama could be? 」

「Punipuni!」

「Un…….I can understand nothing at all……」

「Iris is on the ceiling」Punigami said a terrible thing.
However, Sheryl failed to understand and only tilted her head.

「Baroness-sama, is this slime the Guardian Deity?」

One of the men carrying the bed voiced his doubts.

「No no, no way. Iris-sama is a cute silver-haired girl. This slime is Punigami-sama, Iris-sama’s kin! 」

So he became my kin, admired Iris from the ceiling.
Despite him「Punipuni」trying to tell the men about Iris’ location, they still replaced the altar with the bed.

「This is okay. All that’s left is for Iris-sama to sleep in it」

Sheryl searched for Iris as she walked around the church.
The men wandered about.
However, no one thought that she was sticking to the ceiling.
Iris has won!

(No, it’s not the right time to celebrate…..since they finished setting up the bed they might as well go away. With four unknown men present, I can’t get down even if I won’t to……and words won’t work on Sheryl anyway!)

Iris was getting impatient as she overlooked them.
At that time, Punigami transformed his body to make an arrow pointing in a certain direction.
In pointed towards the ceiling. In other words, Iris’ location.

「Hey, Punigami! Traitor! 」

「Punipunipuni」

「Why are you getting all shy, where is your dignity?」Punigami asked for impossible.
How terrible.
If she could do that, she wouldn’t have shut herself in the church in the first place.

「Isn’t it Iris-sama. So you were here. You aren’t naked today」

「Of course, I am! Don’t say it as if I am always naked! I was only naked because I was swimming in the lake when you suddenly appeared! 」

「However, naked Iris-sama was divinely beautiful. How does it sound? How about stripping right now? 」

「There is no way I’m going to strip with all these men present! Are you stupid!?」

「Waha, even the Goddess-sama is too embarrassed to strip before men. Iris-sama is so cute! 」

「So what! Stop it! No humans! Go to the side! 」

Shouted Iris from the ceiling in anger.
However, no one even tried to go away.
Sheryl, with a smiling expression, and the men, with a suspicious expression, only stared at her.

「Baroness-sama…….Is the little girl sticking to the ceiling the Guardian Deity…..?」
「I can only see her as a flying little girl…..」[¹] 「No, normal little girls don’t fly……」
「But only flying isn’t enough to be acknowledged as the Guardian Deity」

Apparently, she was looked down on.
That isn’t acceptable.
Like that, people will be visiting the church at ease.
She needed to show some dignity and instill fear in them so they won’t easily come again.

「Fools!」

Putting all of her dignity in it, Iris exclaimed in a deep voice. At the same time, she released the rainbow-colored light from her whole body.

「A-Amazing…….the divine light……」
「Is she indeed the Guardian Deity….? 」

The men opened their eyes wide and became unsteady.
And for another push.

「Kukuku, I have been observing your work from above. I’m satisfied. This land shall benefit from your efforts」

「O, ooh…..truly the Guardian Deity…….」
「Thank you, thank you」

The men fell on their knees and began to pray.
With that, they shouldn’t look down on her anymore.

「However, this church is a sacred place. You shouldn’t trespass lightly. Everyone besides Baroness Sheryl should leave! 」

「「「「Yes!」」」」

The men obediently left the church.
Iris could finally get down from the ceiling.

「Ah…….that was stressful. Talking with strangers tires me out……..」

Thud, Iris collapsed on top of Punigami.

「It was amazing! It felt very god-like! 」

「Well? Fufufu, that’s what happens when I’m serious…….but is it fine being god-like? Even though I’m the daughter of the Demon King」

「Are you insisting with sticking to that joke? It’s not that funny」

「It’s not a joke! It’s true! 」

「Yes, yes. Instead of that, please lie down on this bed. I bought a gorgeous one with the money from the elixir grass! 」

「Let’s see. I also want to confirm how it feels. Since it came to that, carry me to the bed Punigami」

「Puni」

Until a while ago, there was the altar in the deepest part of the church.
It was slightly higher than everything else and stood out greatly.
However, the altar was removed for the bed to take its place.
Since Iris became the Guardian Deity, this bed, from a certain perspective, became the new altar.
Punigami approached the bed, contracted, and launched Iris forward.
And the futon easily accepted her body.

「Waa, what is it!? So fluffy! Only now did I learn about the true meaning of fluffiness! The revelation! The truth! 」

Iris rolled in excitement.
The pleasure of her body wrapped in the futon.
This is heaven!

「Punipuni!」

Punigami let out an angry voice as she was drowning in ecstasy.

「Eh? As long as I have this futon and this bed, I won’t need you anymore? There is no way! Punigami is Punigami! See! 」

Iris lifted and dragged Punigami into the futon.
And hugged him strong enough to deform him.

「Punihuggingpillowgami!」

「Puni? Puni! 」

Punigami fluctuated in joy.
A luxurious bed & futon in Punigami.
The ultimate combination bedding was born at that moment.

「I won’t move from this place anymore…….」

「I’m happy that you like it but……I’m having my doubts about always staying in bed……」

Sheryl had a wry smile on her face.

「Mind your own business. Besides, it’s obvious that it was a joke. Even though I shut myself here, I can still get bored from lying on top of a bed all the time. I can, right? 」

「It sounds extremely unreliable!」

「Instead of that, how does land development proceeds? You couldn’t possibly spend all the money from the elixir grass to buy this bed and futon? 」

As far as the land development goes, Iris would very much prefer this land to remain quiet.
But this land was Sheryl’s in the first place.
She didn’t hate Sheryl and didn’t want her to face a setback.

「Fufufu….please, be at ease.  I brought roughly fifty people with me! Making houses, cultivating the fields, raising cows and pigs………having a vineyard and making wine is good too! Ah, my dreams are coming true! 」

「I see……don’t be too noisy」

「It’s all right. This will all happen below the hill! Iris-sama, please watch over us from here! 」

「Alright. In exchange, don’t forget about your promise to make delicious meals for me」

「Yes, of course! Ah, I also brought some sweets from the capital, I will bring them later! 」

In such a manner, the revival of the Silverlight barony commenced.
Well then, what kind of a village would it be?
Iris too was slightly curious.

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「First, let me introduce myself. I’m Baroness Sheryl Silverlight, the lord of this land」

The blonde beautiful girl named Sheryl introduced herself and the lord as she kneeled on the floor.
Iris, who developed a little interest in her persona, landed on Punigami and urged her to continue.

「Lord? Is there a meaning in being a lord of the wilderness? 」

「No…..none at all……that’s why I worked as a maid in the royal palace」

「Hee……..Then did you take care of the king or someone like that? 」

「No. I was a maid of Her Highness the Princess, Duke House’s Maid Daughter」

「……I don’t really understand but it must have been hard on you」

After another observation, she did have exhausted features.
Her hardships could be felt from her whole body.
Somehow, she radiated an aura that makes people want to save her.

「Iris-sama……for you to care so much about something like me……what a gentle person! However, please rest assured. I didn’t have any trouble supporting myself. Just bullied a little……」

「Bullied…..li-like what…….? 」

「Let’s see…….Bringing something warm to eat only for her to change her mind and ask for something cold」

「Hiee…….」

「Or telling 『you don’t have any sense』when I was choosing clothes」

「Uhiyaa」

「Or that she didn’t like my face」

「Ugyaa! My chest hurts just by imagining it……..if someone tells me this……I will stay indoors and never go outside again…….scary……humans are scary………」

「No, no. You are exaggerating, Iris-sama. Something like this can be found anywhere. I just don’t need to mind it」

「Can be found anywhere!? It’s indeed scary! I won’t go outside! 」

Screamed Iris as she hid her head under the robe scattered on the floor, crouched, and trembled.

「I-Iris-sama, what’s wrong? Ah, can it be that human foolishness made you disappointed? 」

「I’m disappointed. For those who make hurtful remarks to be everywhere…….it’s scary, so I’ll shut myself in. Stay away from this land. I’m going to live here while decreasing interactions to the minimum! 」

「It can’t be…….Even if you say that, it’s still my territory…….No, of course, for the Goddess such as Iris-sama human’s reasons may not hold much meaning………but I want to revive the Silverlight house!」

「Why don’t you just choose any other place!?」

「I only have this land!」

Sheryl pulled on Iris’ robe with a tearful voice.
Iris too was about to cry at such a close contact with a human.

「Punipuni」

Then, Punigami, who stayed silent until now, entered the conversation.

「……..Who is this slime-san? 」

Sheryl pushed him with her finger as she tilted her head.

「His name is Punigami. He was on the verge of drying up in the well behind the church. Some things happened and he became my friend」

「Punii」

「Iris-sama’s friend! In other words, the friend of the Goddess! I deeply apologize for casually touching you! 」

Sheryl lowered her head in panic and hit the floor with her forehead.
There was a baroness kneeling before a slime, the world is truly wide.

「Puni」

「It seems that Punigami wasn’t particularly bothered」

「Ah…….a slime with such a broad heart……..thank you very much! 」

「Punipunii」

Punigami didn’t dislike being praised.
He was unexpectedly shy.

「Well then, Punigami. Didn’t you have some to say to me? 」

「Puni punipuni, puni」

「Eh……..this person is this land’s lord, so properly give it back to her…………? Uu……if I do that I won’t have any place to live myself…….」

「It’s all right, Iris-sama! Let’s live together! 」

「Noo! Humans are scaryyyy! 」

Iris curled like a turtle and his inside her robe.

「Iris-sama, please calm down. See, humans are not scary. Or, at least, I’m not scary」

Hearing that, Iris thought.

「……..Indeed, you aren’t scary. Easy to talk to……..or more like completely harmless……or more like stupid」

「Stupid!? No, if Iris-sama is willing to accept me then I’m fine being an idiot! 」

When Iris brought out her head from inside the robe, she saw Sheryl clenching her fist with a determined expression.
She did seem stupid.

「But……..there should be some people who bully such a harmless individual as you, right……….? 」

「Well…..more or less……」

「If the number of people increases, such bad people may come here! I don’t want that! 」

In the past, when Iris went to the town for the first time, she encountered some cuttlefishes.
Because of her fear, she ended up hitting them into unconsciousness.
If she meets such people once again…….it may not end with just a beating.

「In that case, let’s do it this way! I won’t permit anyone to touch this hill! Let’s make it a sacred land where humans are prohibited from going. Like that, scary people won’t come near」

「…….Still, it’s not a perfect solution. Are there any merits for me? 」

「Merit……..then Iris-sama. Do you desire something? Is there something that you want? 」

「……..A place without humans」

「Gununu………something else besides that……for example, what does Iris-sama like? 」

「Let’s see…….sleeping soundly. Also, eating tasty things, I guess」

「Oh, that’s it!」

It seems that Sheryl came up with a good idea as she snapped her fingers.

「As a ruler of this land, I shall present a luxurious bed and a fluffy futon to Iris-sama. In addition, I will bring a lot of delicious things! 」

「T-Tell me in detail!」

The conversation went in an unexpected direction.
A luxurious bead and a fluffy futon. In addition to that, delicious food that doesn’t require talking to get, if it’s like that, she didn’t mind listening to Sheryl’s proposal.

「In other words. Since Iris-sama is the Guardian Deity of this land, it’s a lord’s duty to keep the church clean and pretty. Although there are multiple churches, there is only one with the actual Goddess staying inside! There is a great honor in just taking care of you, hyahho! 」

「Hya-hyahho……」

「Puni」

She is indeed an idiot.

「Just like that, I will prepare the finest bedding for Iris-sama to sleep soundly on. When should I place it? How about that place with an altar? Sounds good, the Goddess sleeping on the altar. I will pray with all my effort! 」

「It’s fine even if you take it easy…….I’m looking forward to the bed and the futon. So what exactly the delicious food would be? 」

「At first, let’s carry some good sweets from the other town! After that, when the land would be developed to a certain extent, I will cook for you using the local ingredients! 」

「Are you good at cooking?」

「Leave it to me! Even like that, I was still a maid! I may lose to a chef but there were times where I made late meals for the princess! 」

Sheryl puffed up her plentiful chest and made a light snort.
I see, on a closer look, her housework skill should be up to per considering her background.
It may be fine to expect a lot.
And above all, the fact that I wouldn’t have to go to town to buy food is truly wonderful.
I will be able to stay inside all the time.

「All right. For now, I shall believe you. But I don’t believe anyone except you, so make sure they won’t approach the church. If a stranger somehow gets inside……I may accidentally burn it」

「What are you going to burn!?」

「The world」

「The world! This is a serious problem. This area will be off-limits! 」

Sheryl, still sitting on the floor, vigorously nodded her head.
Seeing her like that, Iris felt somewhat apologetic.

「No……well, take care of me in the future…..」

Iris too nodded in response.
After the two nodded about 10 times more, they finally got up.

「I’m going to return to the capital for the time being. Even though I said about the redevelopment, I’m almost broke. I need to gather funds first! 」

「I see, the funds…….in this case, you can take as much elixir grass as you want outside. I will grow back anyway」

Said Iris, which made Sheryl open her mouth wide. She truly looked like an idiot.

「Elixir grass? Eh, it can’t be, such precious grass is growing outside!?」

「Un. It grows in no time」

「Is it true!?」

Seeing is believing, so Iris brought her outside to show it.
The number of elixir grasses kept increasing every day.
She didn’t count but there should be about hundred growing around.

「See?」

「I-It’s true! I didn’t pay attention before but this is definitely the elixir grass, here, even there! 」

「It seems that it’s much more precious than ordinary elixir grass. See, rainbow-colored. It became like that after it sucked my magical power」

「Howaaaaaa, amashing! Truly amashing! If I sell this, I will be able to gather enough money without going into the depts! 」[¹]

「You can take all of it」

「The Goddess! Iris-sama is the true Goddess! The so-called God! 」

She screamed, spurted blood from her nose, and fainted.

「Wha!? What the!?」

「Puni」

She put Sheryl on Punigami, carried her inside the church, and tried nursing her.

「Etto, first I need to wipe the nosebleed, after that………wa, she has a fever! I need a wet towel! 」

Iris ran towards the well.
Why do I have to do all of this, she sighed.
I’m not afraid of Sheryl but she is so stupid that it’s troublesome, thought Iris.

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「Awawa….danger, what should I do……I didn’t expect to meet a human here…..is there any place without humans in this world!?」

Iris ran into the church, shut the doors, and made a barrier. Not even a dragon would be able to break it. After that, she constantly muttered「what should I do, what should I do」.

「Puni」

「Just talk to her normally? I-I can’t. I became able to buy things….but having an everyday conversation with a human……kind of. An unknown person will definitely talk about unknown things! Noooo, scaryyy! 」

Iris ran around the church in terror.
While she was at it, there was a knock on the door.

「You are here, right? Please open. I’m not a suspicious person. I just want to talk with you! 」

There was a woman’s voice from the outside.
I was definitely the girl, who saw Iris in the lake before.

「Talk with me…….I don’t want to talk with you! 」

「W-Why!? Did I do something to hurt you!?」

It wasn’t that.
Iris just didn’t want to talk with strangers.
However, admitting it would be quite embarrassing.
Maybe like that she would leave on her own.

(That’s right…..let’s make humans fear me as I fear them. In that way, people won’t come here anymore!)

Iris, coming up with a brilliant idea, decided to immediately implement it.
First, she hovered above Punigami to add to her dignity.
Then she released her rainbow-colored magical power to add to her divinity.

(Fufufu……a shining girl in the abandoned church…….Quite a cool situation for someone like me. Everyone will be scared once they see me!)

「Puni?」

As Iris revealed a fearless smile, Punigami let out a voice of wonder.
Perhaps the slimes can’t understand what dignity is.

「Human girl. In that case, I shall allow you to stand before me. You can open the door」

She spoke in the lowest voice possible for her and dispelled the barrier.
Then, the girl entered inside.

She was about eighteen years old.
Golden hair cut around the shoulders.
Graceful appearance.
Nice style.
Her skin and clothes were dirty but she was a beauty without a doubt.

This beauty looked at Iris and opened her mouth wide.

「F-Flying…….ma-magic!? It’s a lie, this kid mastered such an advanced skill as flying magic……….」

Apparently, flying magic was quite an advanced skill.
Iris came to know only now.

「My name is Iris Crisis. The guardian of this land. With the rainbow-colored magical power of mine, I turned this wilderness into the lands of green. Humans aren’t permitted to pollute it with their dirty hands. Go away」

She tried to bluff her way through.
However, it wasn’t a complete lie.
Iris magical power was indeed cause of all the changes. Then it should be all right to introduce herself as the guardian.

That being said, although having a conversation was difficult, it was much easier to give a one-way speech.
She was quite nervous but nothing impossible.

「Because of your magical power this wilderness became green………This, no, but I can’t explain it in any other way…….Who on earth are you……it can’t be, Goddess-sama!?」

The girl stared at Iris and shouted with sparkling eyes.

「Yes, I am the Goddess…….eh? Goddess? 」

After being called the Goddess, Iris suddenly forgot her act and replied in a foolish voice.
After all, she was a daughter of the Great Demon King.
Being the Goddess is having things upside down.

「That’s definitely how it is! This is the Silverlight Barony. You also have silver hair……too much for a coincidence. You must be the Guardian Deity that was revered in this church in the past! I had no idea! Please forgive me for my offence. My Silverlight family has forgotten about you for the last two hundred years」

The girl shed tears, kneeled, and began praying to Iris.
The act of praying in the church was normal in itself but was it okay for Iris to be the target of it? There is no way that was the case.

「Wa, wait……wait a second! Stop! How did I become the Goddess!?」

「Eh, but Iris-sama managed to revive the underground source, isn’t it?」

「That’s right but……」

「And because of Iris-sama’s magical power the grassland spread and the forest appeared, isn’t it?」

「Un…….」

「And you were waiting for me in the church!」

「More like preparing for a siege instead of waiting……」

「You are releasing such a beautiful divine rainbow-colored light……that isn’t something belonging to a human! 」

「Well, I’m not a human……..」

「In other words, Goddess-sama!」

「No, wrong! Completely wrong! 」

「Then what else can you possibly be!?」

The beauty with disheveled blond hair asked in return.
Then let’s provide her with an answer.

「Listen well! I’m the daughter of the Great Demon King! I came here to eradicate the humans like you! I’m scary! So leave this place immediately! If you won’t……I’m going to eat you! 」

Iris tried her best to seem frightening, she spread her arms wide and assumed a pose of「I’ll eat you」.
But the blonde beauty wasn’t scared in the slightest.
On the contrary, she even smiled.

「Iris-sama is being playful, isn’t it~」

「I’m not being playful! Uga! 」

Iris didn’t give up and tried to drive the beauty away.
However, for some reason, the more she tried the more she was liked by the other party.
It was life’s greatest pinch for Iris.

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Baroness Sheryl Silverlight, who recently turned eighteen, was a maid, despite being a noble.
Her workplace was the royal palace.
However, it wasn’t like she served the royal family directly.
She was『Maid of the Duke’s House』working as『Maid of Her Highness the Princess』, quite a sad position.

After all, a girl of a certain status had the right to attend to the princess.
And all people of a certain status want their own maids.
In that case, Sheryl Silverlight, who inherited the title of baroness, wanted a maid too…….but, regretfully, she was the first from the bottom.
She had to take care of herself by herself.

Since she didn’t have a house to call her own, she borrowed a small room in a corner of the royal palace.
She was able to get some leftover ingredients after the royal family’s parties, so her life wasn’t that bad.
However, there was nothing noble to it.

But even like that, the Silverlight family had a land to call its own in the past.
No, to be precise, she still has it.
However, the underground water currents disappeared and the well dried up.
It wasn’t a land rich in rains in the first place, so, before everyone noticed, the lands dried up to the extent of being unsuitable for living and turned barren.
Judging by the map, the territory of Baroness Silverlight was uninhabited for the last hundred years.
There was only an abandoned village and an abandoned church there.

Her recently deceased father didn’t even get to see his own territory before he died.
And Sheryl, who inherited the family, doesn’t have much of a chance to see her own territory either.
『Maid of Her Highness the Princess, Daughter of the Duke’s House』she lived her days doing housework.

Working in the royal palace like that, she could sometimes get a feeling of being a noble.
But only the feeling.
Perhaps if would be better for her to chase after her commoner mother, who returned home.
Her mother’s home was a home of hunters.
That’s right. Let’s become a hunter too–on a certain day when she thought about that.

She heard a strange rumor as she listened to a conversation of other maids.

「Hey, Sheryl, do you know? All the talk about your territory」

「Eh, what are you talking about? What’s happened to my territory? 」

「Ah, it seems that you don’t know. No, I only heard it from people myself………the Silverlight Barony is supposed to be a wilderness, right? 」

「Yes. I didn’t see it with my own eyes but……the underground water source has dried up about two hundred years ago and, without much rains, it supposedly turned into an uninhabited wilderness」

「Right? Even so. A traveler took a shortcut through the Silverlight Barony and talked about a lake and grassland or something」

「Eeh? A lake? Grassland? No way. If it’s true, I can repopulate my lands right now」

「Right~. The rumors shouldn’t be counted on」

After that, the meeting near the well came to an end and everyone went to do their own work.
At first, Sheryl only treated that as a simple rumor.
However, with time she ended up thinking「What if it’s true? 」more often.

After all, there was no reason to spread false rumors about the forgotten lands of the Silverlight Barony. It won’t bring any profit.
That’s why it was trustworthy.

Sheryl wanted to confirm that with her own eyes.

As she spent her days unable to reach a decision, she heard the same rumor from another maid.

At that time, Sheryl resolved herself.

「I’d like to take some time off–」

Having said that, Sheryl quit her job as a maid, gathered her humble savings and departed from the royal capital.
Her destination was her own territory.
If the rumors are true, I can become a real noble.
If they aren’t…….I’ll go to the mother’s home.
Either way, I don’t have any future prospects on the royal palace.

△

Five days later.
Sheryl was quite close to the Silverlight Barony
She admired herself quite a bit for not getting lost on the way.
It was a proof of proper roads maintenance.
Every fork had a sign, as long as you look at it, you won’t be able to get lost.

That being said, the proper roads ended here.

The highway leading to the Silverlight Barony wasn’t maintained for the last two hundred years.
Most likely, there was nothing resembling the roads there.

「Etto…….right of this big tree…..right? 」

There was a sole big three in the middle of the grassland before Sheryl.
According to the map, right of this tree was the Silverlight Barony.
There was supposed to be a signboard here.
But even if there was a signboard, there was no road.

No, looking closely, she noticed some cobblestones below the grass.
Perhaps Sheryl’s territory was at the end of this cobblestone trail.

「All right….let’s go! 」

Sheryl walked where there was supposed to be a road two hundred years ago.
Eventually, the grass is supposed to disappear to be replaced by the wilderness.
This is the Silverlight Barony.
I will reach it after half a day.

「……Strange. How far does the grassland reach……..I don’t see the wilderness anywhere」

She felt lonely and the times she talked to herself increased.
It was about time for her to reach her destination.

How far does this beautiful grassland stretch?
Weird.
Even if the rumor is true, the grassland is supposed to encircle the lake.
Despite that, the grassland stretched beyond the horizon.
Maybe, I wandered off the right path somewhere.
However, there were cobblestones below the grass.
This is supposed to be the right way.

Since I came all the way here, let’s walk until the cobblestones end.
Eventually, she saw a forest.
There was a beautiful lake next to it.
There was also a hill with an old church on top.

「Is this the Silverlight Barony?」

That hill and that church, Sheryl had a recollection of them.
They looked the same as in the old painting passed down in her family from one generation to another.
However, there was no lake, there was no forest.
There was supposed to be only a small village with a small field.

Did I wander of somewhere after all, no, there wouldn’t have been this church and the hill.
Just when did this land become like this?

Failing to understand anything, Sheryl walked towards the lake.
It was clear to an unbelievable degree. She could see that far.

「……The village has sunk」

The reason wasn’t known to her.
However, she could guess.
The underground water source suddenly revived, overflowed into the lake, and gave birth to the grasslands and the forest.

「P-People can live here…..Anyone who sees it would be glad to sponsor the development! 」

Sheryl shouted in excitement.
Her heart was beating loudly.
Trying to verify that it wasn’t her dreaming, she pinched her own cheek.
It hurts. This is the reality. Amazing!

「I did it! I did it! 」

The moment she shouted that.
On the other side of the lake, there was a splash.
Looking closely, there was a small nude girl swimming in the lake.

Her exact age was unknown but it should be about 10 years.
Silver hair stretching to her waist. Shiny white skin.
Even though she couldn’t see her looks, she could only see her as a god-like beauty.

It seems that she noticed Sheryl too and was staring back.
And she screamed even louder than Sheryl.

「Uwaaa, a humaaaaaaan! Run awaaaaaay! 」

「Puni」

At the same time as the girl screamed, a big slime jumped out of the lake.
The girl climbed on the slime and they ran towards the church.

「Eh, you just looked at my face…….please wait! 」

Sheryl too started running.
Sheryl didn’t know who that girl was but, perhaps, she knew the reason behind all of those changes.

「That being said……that girl called me『human』 when she saw me……almost as if she wasn’t a human herself……no way, could it be」

In this world, there were beings with human appearance.
Races like elves or dwarfs.
I wonder if the girl is one of them.
Sheryl ran towards the hill while having her doubts.

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