Volume 9: The Homemade Dungeon and This and That

Chapter 193: Mother Iris Arden

The day they arrived in Arden—

“Treat me well, I say‼”

“Oh my, my, it’s our first time meeting, isn’t it, Estelle-chan? My, how adorable you are—there, there, good girl~” pat pat, stroke stroke

“Nuaaahhh‼ Do not ‘there there’ meeeee‼”

Caught completely off guard, Estelle found herself swept up into Iris’s embrace, held tight against her chest and fussed over as though she were a beloved child. Gentle hands ruffled her hair, stroked her cheeks, and patted her head with relentless affection.

◇◇◇

In order to install the crystal, Ryu and his party had returned to the Viscounty of Arden for the first time in a while.

There were, in fact, two additional reasons for their return. One was to formally announce Stingray’s engagement. The other was to arrange a proper meeting between Estelle and Ryu’s mother.

Up until now, Estelle had never met Iris. Within Arden, she had been known only through a carefully constructed story—the mysterious elf apothecary who had saved Iris’s life with an elixir and later married Ryu, a benefactor of immeasurable grace.

And so, today marked their first meeting.

Which had promptly turned into… this.

“Ahh, honestly, you’re just too cute, this child…” pat pat, stroke stroke

“Release meeeee‼” flail flail

“Would you like a candy?”

“I shall partake‼”

“Here you go.”

“Nuoohhh‼ It’s delicious, absolutely delicious‼”

“Ufufu… how precious you are.”

Iris had been utterly and completely charmed by Estelle.

“I understand how you feel~ I reacted just the same when I first met Estelle-san,” Lena said with a knowing smile.

“Now that you mention it… yeah, that’s it. Back then, you carried her around like a stuffed toy for quite a while, didn’t you?” Ryu added, recalling the scene.

“I still do sometimes, you know~ fufufu.”

Like mother, like daughter—the phrase could not have been more fitting.

A few minutes later—

Estelle hung limply in Iris’s arms, her energy entirely spent.

“Sting-chan, congratulations on your engagement. I imagine my free-spirited son will cause you no end of trouble, but please take care of him.”

“Yes‼ I will remain by his side and support him for the rest of my life‼”

“My, how reassuring~”

“…When exactly shall I be released…?” Estelle muttered weakly.

“And Estelle-chan, thank you as well. For the elixir, and for becoming engaged to Ryu—you’ve done so much for us. The Arden we have today is all thanks to you.”

In truth, Estelle’s contributions extended far beyond that—such as the memory-retention medicine used during dragonification—but Iris had yet to learn of those details.

“I merely did what was natural. Besides, I am now the lady of the House of Arden. There is no need for thanks,” Estelle replied with a faint huff, though still dangling in Iris’s grasp.

“I’m glad to hear you say that~”

“Now then, perhaps you could set me down—”

“That won’t do. Ufufu.”

“Nuooh…”

At that moment, Lena chimed in brightly.

“Mother, we have another surprise for you today‼ Right, Oni-sama?”

“Yeah. From now on, you’ll be able to freely travel between the Arden main estate and the second residence in the capital using teleportation.”

“This means we can see you anytime, Mother‼ I’m so happy‼”

“…Eh?”

Iris’s eyes widened in stunned disbelief.

She had long felt the quiet loneliness of Ryu and Lena living in the capital. To suddenly be told they could meet every day—it was no wonder words failed her.

“Um… first, could you explain how that works?”

“Of course.”

Ryu went on to describe, in detail, how he would create dungeons beneath both residences and grant master authority through the Dungeon Master.

“I-I see… so I just need to befriend this Dungeon Master-kun, then?”

“That’s right. I’m going to start digging the basement now. In the meantime, could you look after Estelle?”

“Understood. And perhaps… I should also look after those little stuffed toys over there.”

Iris’s eyes sparkled mischievously as she turned her gaze toward Mini Axel, Mini Homura, and Daifuku-kun.

“Brrr…” “….” tremble
“Gyaun…”

(Ryu-sama’s mother… she’s somehow frightening…)

“Alright then. Lena, go distribute the souvenirs. Stingray, go inform Silva about the engagement.”

““Understood‼””

Estelle and the plush-like companions were promptly “escorted” away by Iris, while Lena and Stingray departed to carry out their respective tasks.

“Guess I’ll put in some effort for once.”

Rolling up his sleeves, Ryu pulled a shovel from his item bag and headed toward the site of the future basement.

◇◇◇

—That evening.

“…Phew. This should be enough space. The Dungeon Master can handle the rest.”

Ryu had dug out a surprisingly large underground chamber.

Sensing that everyone had returned to the estate, he called them over.

“You dug all this in such a short time? Impressive,” Iris remarked.

“As expected of Oni-sama‼” Lena beamed.

“I wanted to help too…” Stingray added softly.

“Nuooh… the ground… I yearn for the ground…” Estelle groaned faintly.

She was still being carried by Iris, her limbs dangling lifelessly. It seemed she wouldn’t be released anytime soon.

“Alright, time to install the crystal.”

Ryu retrieved the dungeon core from his item bag.

“…How beautiful,” Iris murmured, captivated by its translucent brilliance.

Following the Dungeon Master’s instructions, Ryu began the process.

First, he placed the crystal on the ground.
Then, he rested a hand upon it and gradually infused it with magic.

(Whoa… this thing drains quite a bit…)

When Ryu said “quite a bit,” it meant quite a bit by dragon standards—more than enough to explain why the Dungeon Master had warned him. For an ordinary person, it would have been impossible.

Then—

The crystal rose gently into the air, radiating a dazzling spectrum of rainbow light.

“““““…………”””””

Silence fell over them all.

And finally—

“Everyone, long time no seeee‼”

The Dungeon Master appeared, teleporting into the room with boundless energy.

“Been a while, Dungeon Master. Should I assume the dungeon is complete?”

“Yep‼ Still baby-sized, though‼”

“So you’re… Dungeon Master-kun?” Iris asked.

“That’s right~ You’re Ryu’s mom?”

“Yes, I am. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Ryu-mom~”

After exchanging greetings with Lena and Stingray as well, the Dungeon Master tilted their head.

“…Is Estelle alive?”

“Probably. Seems like Mother liked her a bit too much and drained all her vitality over the course of the day.”

“Ohh… that’s kinda pitiful.”

“How rude. I was merely getting along with Estelle-chan,” Iris said with a playful pout.

“Let’s be friends too‼”

“Of course. I’d be happy to.”

“Yay‼”

“Ufufu… you’re such a good, honest child, Dungeon Master-kun.”

“Be careful, Dungeon Master. If you let your guard down, you’ll end up like that.”

Ryu pointed at Estelle, still limp in Iris’s grasp.

“U-Understood… I’ll be careful…”

Afterward, everyone was granted the necessary authority by the Dungeon Master.

“Ah, looks like Ryoma has finished making a dungeon too, so I’ll head over there‼”

“Got it. Thanks.”

“Byee~‼”

And with that, the Dungeon Master teleported away to the County of Blanc.

And just like that, all their objectives in Arden had been completed.

“You’ll stay the night, of course?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Then may I use Estelle-chan as a body pillow while I sleep?”

“Sure.”

“Why are you the one… answering… you… fool…” thud

“Shall we take a bath before dinner?”

“I’m joining you, Mother~♪”

“Me too‼ Me too‼”

The trio of mother and daughters-in-law headed straight for the bath.

Ryu chuckled softly and turned his gaze toward the window.

In the distance stood the annex. On its second floor, the far-right room—with the cracked window.

That had been his room once. A shabby, broken place where he had lived until a few years ago.

The place where everything had begun.

(I kept it as a reminder until now… but I don’t need it anymore. I’ll renovate it as originally planned and turn it into a dormitory for the servants. I’ll ask Mother about it before we leave tomorrow.)

With that thought, Ryu returned to his room and decided to rest until dinner.

“………………………………”