Chapter 52

The “cool-shady” father slapped his knee and laughed with delight.

In the reception room, besides him, were the three masterminds—me, Mary, and Lidia-san—and Cerulia.

“Ah, so we’re not in trouble. That’s a relief.”

That was the most important part.

“That Incubus, Halbald… once I actually looked into him, it turns out his business was on the verge of collapse and his debts were piling up. Man, talk about a lucky break! We dodged a bullet there. Franz-kun, was it? I guess this is the fruit of your love, huh? Hahaha!”

He’s a flighty one. Still, I can’t believe Cerulia’s mother married a guy like this. He seems to have money, but he also seems like a lot of trouble.

No, never mind that. I had to ask the essential question.

“So… is it alright for Cerulia to continue being my familiar?”

I leaned forward, looking him straight in the eye.

“Yeah, why not? I mean, I never said she had to stop being a familiar in the first place. A familiar is a familiar, and marriage is marriage. I was judging them as two separate issues.”

I felt a sudden impact from the side. Cerulia had lunged at me in a tackle-like hug.

“Master, we did it!”

“I’m so glad! Let’s keep working hard together!”

For some reason, my cheeks felt wet. Cerulia was crying. But since these were tears of joy, I didn’t mind at all. In fact, she could cry as much as she wanted.

“Well, well. How lovely,” Mary said beside us, letting out a sigh of relief.

She had a warm, satisfied smile on her face.

“Though, if Franz had been killed because of this, it wouldn’t have been enough even if I had wiped out your entire clan.”

The “cool-shady” father turned pale at that.

“Hahaha… The ‘Indescribable Ancestor of Nightmares’ sure has a dark sense of humor… That’s not very funny, you know…”

“Why? I don’t see any reason to be joking. Do you?”

I was reminded once again that Mary is a terrifying being.

“Well then, why don’t you all stay the night and relax? You know, let bygones be bygones and all that… Hahaha…”

It was true that I was mentally exhausted, so I decided to take him up on the offer.
Since it was a mansion, Cerulia’s house had an incredibly spacious bath. In fact, it was large enough to have separate sections for men and women. Furthermore, it wasn’t just a large indoor tub; it even had an open-air bath (rotenburo).

“I’ve never been in an open-air bath before. It feels so open and refreshing. It’s hard to get dizzy since the air is cool.”

I leaned back against a rock, thoroughly enjoying the soak. In the sky, a blue moon had risen, illuminating the world. There were no bright hours like high noon here; it was always a hazy twilight, but as I got used to it, I found it quite atmospheric and pleasant.

“Right, since I’m here…”

I traced a magic circle on the rock with my wet hand and performed an incantation. Imps popped into existence.

“Oh, Franz-san! What’s the job today?”

For the record, in the case of lower-level demons, the mana used during the summons is paid to them like a salary. In the Demon Realm, Imps apparently live a near-subsistent life in forests or marshes, but receiving mana boosts their spirit and physical strength. That’s why they show up when called.

“It’s not a job today. Since we’re here, why don’t you soak in the hot spring? Consider it a fringe benefit. If you’re not interested, you’re free to head back.”

“Awesome!” “Score!”

That was the reaction. Good, good.

“Ah, make sure you rinse yourselves off before getting in!”

President Kelkel once told me that Imp summoning is actually quite deep. The amount of mana used for the summon is basically the same for any Dark Mage. That being the case, you’d think anyone could use Imps the same way, but apparently, that isn’t the case.

These were the President’s words:

“Imp summoning is essentially like hiring Imps as part-time workers. In truth, the Imps are the ones who decide which summoner they respond to.”

“Oh, really?” I hadn’t realized since they all look the same.

“And since the mana they receive is the same, the Imps choose based on working conditions. If a caster is known for forcing them into harsh labor, no Imps will show up at all.”

Apparently, there have been companies that went bankrupt because they worked their Imps so hard that no one would respond to their summons anymore.

“So, please use them under decent conditions. Try to become a favorite in the Imp community.”

I remember back in my student days, there were part-time jobs everyone wanted and others no one would touch. There were job postings next to the cafeteria that stayed up forever because no one applied.

The Imps took a “crow’s bath”—just a quick dip and then a fast departure.

“Well then, I’ll soak a bit longer and then head out.”

However, someone else entered the open-air bath. I thought it might be the “cool-shady” father or perhaps a male servant, but as I watched the silhouette, I realized my guess was wrong.

“Geez, there were so many Imps it was too noisy to get in~”

It was Lidia-san!

She had a bath towel wrapped tightly around her body. It clung to her curves, making her look quite alluring…

“L-Lidia-san, why are you…? This is the men’s bath, right?”

“Yeah, exactly. If I go to the men’s bath, there shouldn’t be any other women here, right? And vice-versa—there are no men in the women’s bath~”

“W-what does that have to do with anything…?”

Unwinding the towel, Lidia-san stepped into the water right beside me. Then, she poked my cheek.

“Franz-kun, you really put your life on the line for Cerulia. You were dangerously cool. It made me think that having a master like you might not be so bad.”

“Thank you. I’m honestly honored.”

Though I felt the situation for receiving praise was a bit strange…

“So, I thought I’d give you a reward. I’m going to provide plenty of… ‘hospitality’ ♪”

“H-hospitality…?”

“That’s right ♪ By the way, Cerulia already gave her permission. If the younger sister has a benefactor, the older sister has to serve him too~”

Lidia-san treated me to some very thorough “Succubus-like things.”