"...This is quite fascinating," said the Sage.
"Old man, you look incredibly restless right now, don't you?" Ren asked.
"Of course. We've never been in a situation like this before."
Ren and the others brought the captured Dark Elf Princess back to the city and took her straight to the Sage.
Her hands and feet remained restrained, and a cloth was gagged in her mouth. Although not foolproof, as she could still use magic without incantation, it would not be easy for her to escape while surrounded by multiple people. In addition to the restraints, Mei held the end of a rope tied around the Princess's torso.
Naturally, the Princess's expression was extremely fierce. She glared at Ren and the others with an intensity that promised death if she were freed, but the Sage was completely unfazed, closely observing her from head to toe.
"Hey, Sage? You never thought about capturing one before?" Ren asked.
"Of course, the thought crossed my mind. In fact, I have captured Elves and Dark Elves from the dungeon before. However, they vanished the moment I stepped onto the staircase."
"Sage? You did that even to Elves? I have every right to tell my mother, you know?" Iris interjected.
"It couldn't be helped. If we could secure a speaker of the other-world language, our linguistic analysis would advance dramatically. Naturally, once successfully brought out, I intended to provide them with proper treatment."
Still, from the Princess's perspective, it would amount to being "suddenly kidnapped from her village by invaders who appeared out of nowhere and high-handedly ordered to cooperate." It was an outrage that could have very well turned Iris's mother into a complete enemy.
"Then, why didn't that happen this time?" Mariabelle asked.
"Perhaps it is because she is a boss—a figure of significance. This is the first time we've managed to bring a 'protagonist-level' individual back here."
In most floors, defeating the boss is included in the victory conditions. Since they cannot proceed without killing them, they are usually defeated outright. While the Princess could be avoided, she actively participated in the fight, as she demonstrated by trying to stall Ren, making it difficult to capture her alive. If they had prepared a large force to safely eliminate her entourage, the enemies, realizing they had no chance, might have begun to retreat or commit suicide.
"Or perhaps she met some special condition."
"What condition? Ren just did something perverted to her, didn't he?" Fūri asked.
"Master, details, please," Shion requested.
"No, it was for MP recovery. I just hugged and kissed her, nothing more," Ren protested.
"That is quite enough to do during combat," Mariabelle said with a sidelong glance.
Even Mariabelle gave him a look of disapproval, and Ren, feeling awkward, looked away.
Ahem. The Sage cleared his throat deliberately.
"So, what do you intend to do with her?" he asked.
"What do you mean, what? I just brought her here because I thought you'd be happy," Ren replied.
"Hmm. Then, may I do as I please?"
"...Maybe I should take her back after all."
A middle-aged man doing whatever he liked with a beautiful, immobilized girl. Clearly a serious situation. Though, in reality, the Princess might actually be older.
"Anyway, to hear what she has to say, her mouth needs to be free. Do you have any measures for that?" Ren asked.
"I do, in a manner of speaking."
The Sage rummaged in a cupboard—which was apparently a magic item that only certain authorized individuals could open—and pulled out a metal choker, or rather, a collar.
"This is a cursed item that can only be removed by the person who put it on. Furthermore, it has the effect of drastically reducing the wearer's magic attack power," the Sage explained.
"That is exactly like one of those 'convenient neutralization items' from an erotic manga," Ren commented.
"I did not create it intentionally. It was completed by chance through the random generation of magic items. I kept it, thinking something like this might happen."
That was a truly specific case of "something like this might happen." No, originally, it was probably meant as a precaution in case a veteran tried to revolt against the city.
Just as Ren was thinking about how inappropriate the scene looked, the Sage tossed the collar to him.
"Ren, put it on her."
"Me, put it on her?"
"It's marginally better than if I do it, isn't it?"
"...Well, I guess so?"
Since Ren was the one who captured her, he figured there was little difference either way.
At any rate, Ren put the collar on the girl. It glowed for a moment, signaling the effect's activation. Now, even if she used magic, it wouldn't have much power.
After exchanging glances, Ren, urged by the Sage's look to "Hurry up," removed the cloth gag from the Princess's mouth.
"What is this place!? Who are you people!?" the Dark Elf Princess demanded.
For some reason, the Dark Elf Princess spoke to Ren and the others in perfectly clear Japanese.
"..."
"..."
"Hey, are you listening!? You understand what I'm saying, don't you!? Explain that as well!"
She was noisy and barking. Ren's female companions were all bright but rational, so this was a refreshing reaction. I need to learn how to get along with girls like this eventually... Ren thought, putting that aside for now.
"Wait, how come we can understand her language?"
"Is the translation function working? ...No, this place and her world are separate; we shouldn't be able to exert large-scale interference over there. Or perhaps, that stone monument only displays pre-prepared messages. In contrast, it may not have enough processing power to translate all ongoing conversation in real-time," the Sage mused.
"Stop talking about things I don't understand! Where exactly is this place, anyway!?" she demanded.
"Hmm... probably another world. The remnant of the world you people destroyed. We were summoned from a different world and are in the process of rebuilding this one," Ren replied.
Even the Princess was momentarily dumbfounded by this.
After taking a few seconds to process the meaning, she said in disbelief:
"The world was destroyed? Then, what about the world I was just in?"
"It is the memory of the world recreated by the 'Shrine'—that is what I believe. I don't know what the reality is, but it is probably something similar," the Sage answered.
"That can't be... But destroying the human world and enveloping the world in darkness was part of the 'Plan.' The Demon Lord was supposed to eventually summon the Evil God..."
Her mumbled words contained a wealth of core information that they had sought but never obtained before.
"Kuku-kuku! Hahaha! ...Well done, Ren! That single sentence alone is more than valuable enough! It might significantly change our future strategy!" the Sage roared with sudden, loud laughter, clearly excited.
The Princess flinched and reacted honestly, "W-what? Is this guy okay?" Even Ren and the others were frankly taken aback. Just in case, Ren slightly moved the Princess farther away from the Sage.
"Uh, well, how should I put it? Since you're here, can you tell us a few things? If you stay quiet, we won't hurt you. We just want to hear what you have to say," Ren offered.
"...That is..."
Judging Ren to be relatively more normal, the Princess looked at him with an expression of slight trust, then quickly added:
"—Don't think you can trick me! I haven't forgotten what you did to me!"
"...Ah."
There was nothing Ren could say but That's true. What kind of fool would obey a woman who suddenly attacked her unit and then kissed her? The only possible defense was that it was marginally better than if it had been a man.
"I'm truly sorry about that. But we had our reasons, too."
"Reasons? What reasons!? You are a Succubus, and she's a Half-Elf, right? Don't tell me you are ignorant of the customs passed down among Elves and Dark Elves!"
"Huh?" Ren said.
"Huh?" Iris echoed, as they exchanged confused glances.
Unfortunately, this was the first they were hearing of it.
"No, um. I'm not a pure-blooded Succubus. The mother of this girl here isn't either. We are humans who came from another world and were transformed into these races by a mysterious power. So, we don't know about Elven traditions."
"...W-what is that supposed to mean?"
The Princess trembled, expressing her anger. Her white hair was like the finest silk, and her eyes were ruby-red. Her features were perfectly sculpted, making her beautiful even in anger. Ren and the others waited for her to calm down, not wanting to provoke her further.
"I see. In that case, we can just ignore that incident, right? You didn't know. If you continue not to know, there won't be any problem," she concluded, reaching a strange decision.
Well, if they didn't know what this so-called custom was, they couldn't exactly be held accountable for violating it.
"If you have no qualms about breaking traditional customs, then I suppose it is fine," Shion said.
"Shion!" Ren scolded.
"Guh!? This beast is quite presumptuous, isn't she!? ...And wait, is that a fox? It shouldn't be found in this region."
More evidence piled up that this was not the place she came from.
The Princess, apparently unable to bear the pangs of conscience, hesitated for a moment, then looked down and said:
"For us, the only person we exchange a kiss with is the one we have promised our future to. ...And it was my first time! You took something precious from me!"
A hush fell over the room.
Even the delighted Sage wore an uncomfortable expression and looked at Ren. And he's the one who recommends having children with various people at every turn. No, perhaps he was puritanical because he lacked experience.
"Wait, saying I 'took your first time' sounds awful, doesn't it!?" Ren protested.
"It's essentially the same thing! According to our custom, I have no choice but to become your wife!"
"Is getting married to another woman even allowed?"
"Sexual intercourse with others is permitted, so we can have children if we want to. In fact, there were people in the royalty who did that."
"In Master's case, having children is possible even between women, so there's even less of a problem," Mariabelle noted.
"!?"
The Princess turned bright red and looked down. She was surprisingly innocent for someone whose importance of chastity seemed low. Was she raised carefully because she was royalty?—Well, setting that aside.
The Princess looked up at Ren with the eyes of an abandoned puppy.
"...Besides, I probably can't return to that place anymore, can I?"
"...Yeah. I'm sorry. I think you're right."
The state of the dungeon resets the moment all members of the conquering party exit. Only certain information, such as the highest floor conquered, remains. Therefore, even if they brought the Princess back, they couldn't return to that specific moment. It might be possible to return to the unit before the forest attack, but whether that would be her rightful place was hard to say.
"I failed the mission. If you hadn't been there, I would have succeeded... I lost troops and failed to annihilate the Elves. If I return, all that awaits me is condemnation. In that case, perhaps making a pact with a Succubus and having children wouldn't be so bad."
"I don't think Ren needs to marry a Dark Elf or anything," Iris said.
"Hmph. Even half-breeds are still Elves, I see. That's what I despise about you light-skinned people. You act so high and mighty, yet you are brutally aggressive towards your enemies."
The Princess began to glare at Iris, but there was a certain lack of strength in her expression.
"...I'm sorry," Ren said, finally truly empathizing with her situation.
"I took away your home."
The Princess looked surprised and replied, "Not really."
"It's simply a conflict of interests. We lost because we weren't strong enough. ...Besides, if that place was a temporary world created by magic, I would have just vanished even if I stayed there, wouldn't I?"
"Oh. Her comprehension is superb. As expected, she possesses deeper magical knowledge compared to us—"
"Sage, please be quiet for a moment," Ren interjected.
Once the troublesome man was silenced, the Princess lifted her face defiantly.
"I am, after all, the Princess of the Dark Elves. Do you intend to treat me appropriately?"
"...Yes, I do," Ren said.
Not wanting to take advantage of her forced bravery, Ren chose to answer with a smile.
"I don't know if it will meet your expectations, but I will take care of you to the best of my ability. ...Oh. Now that I think about it, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet."
Ren gave his name, and his companions also introduced themselves. Finally, the brown-skinned girl introduced herself.
"I am Meteora. A surname won't be necessary, will it? Well, I don't have high expectations, but let me see what you can do."
And so, one new resident was added to Ren's home.
============
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