Chapter 64: Apparently, the Magical Beast Girl Has a Grievance

“Master… I’m feeling extremely dissatisfied.”

“You shouldn’t say that while your cheeks are bulging with meat...”

Despite her words, Behemoth’s face was practically glowing with a smile that said this is delicious. She continued her relentless assault on the food, having already polished off about thirty percent of the mountain-sized spread alongside Tsubaki-san. She stood on her tiptoes, reaching up to tap my shoulder with a persistent poke-poke.

“Muu—this food is one thing, but my grievance is another. Master, you leave me alone far too much. Also, I demand an improvement to the workplace environment.”

I was at fault for the first part, but the second half made no sense to me. I decided to start with the obvious.

“My soul isn’t exactly a corporate office, you know.”

“...Then do something about the fact that all the neighbors have such heavy emotions.”

“I wouldn't know anything about that. Besides, I don’t think everyone is that intense. I can’t speak for Sol, but Lycoris is basically indifferent to everything, isn't she?”

“...——”

“What’s with that look? The ‘is this guy actually serious?’ face.”

Behemoth looked genuinely speechless, staring at me with a face full of pure, unadulterated judgment.

I thought back to my interactions with Lycoris. Sure, she was desperate for physical contact, but I didn't think her feelings were particularly 'heavy.'

“...You think that is light? You really should go to a hospital and get your head checked.”

“Aren’t you being a bit harsh? Anyway, why do you suddenly know so much about how this world works?”

“I learned the common sense of this world in the Dungeon.”

“The Dungeon is a terrifying place... Fine. So, what exactly do you want me to change?”

I wasn't entirely sure what she meant by 'the Dungeon,' but since she was technically an ally, I figured I should listen to her demands. It would be a pain if she rebelled, and more importantly, she was the one who had—in a manner of speaking—defeated Baal.

“Oh, you’ll listen? Okay, first: summon me every day so we can deepen our bond. I’m not in my beast form, so you should be able to manage it.”

“Well, you’ve put quite a few shackles on yourself to stay in that form, so I appreciate the effort. I’ll check with the others and see what I can do.”

“Second: I want sweet snacks.”

“That’s a sudden shift in tone. Well, my mom’s hobby is baking, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“——Third: let me have a little taste of Master.”

“Hold on a second... Why the hell would you want that?”

The first two were reasonable enough, but the last one was firmly out of bounds.

I knew some [Summoned Beasts] required blood and occasionally needed a drink, but Behemoth definitely shouldn't have been one of them.

“No. That’s going to be too much of a burden on me.”

“But you let that silver-haired, big-breasted nymphomaniac over there drink, didn't you? It made me curious.”

Behemoth suddenly pivoted, pointing the spearhead of the conversation directly at Laura.

Laura, who had been looking a bit green from indigestion, practically jumped at the sudden verbal attack. She rounded on us immediately.

“Wh—I am not a nymphomaniac!”

“I don’t think a person wearing a stupid outfit like a naked apron has much room to argue,” Behemoth countered flatly.

“That—that was all Ena’s fault! That moron researcher put some ridiculous ‘changing effect’ on the Teleportation Stone—!”

“I’m not finished. I was watching secretly, and you looked very excited while you were sucking blood from Master’s finger. I don’t know if Master’s blood has some kind of special effect, but you’re definitely a nymphomaniac.”

“Reima... please, defend me...”

Of all the people to be caught by, it had to be the most troublesome one. To make matters worse, everyone else had overheard and was now looking our way with varying degrees of interest.

“Since when did you become that kind of girl, Laura?” Tsubaki-san asked, walking over with a plate piled high with food.

“I might not be able to defend you on this one... Reima, were you really doing that?” Ayane added. Her expression had actually changed, which was a rare sign of her being genuinely surprised.

“Best friend... you’ve finally become an adult,” Goro said, nodding sagely.

“Whoa... My friend, is that some new form of courtship?” Kaiser asked, his face turning red as his imagination clearly ran wild.

The scene was dissolving into chaos. If I didn't step in, Laura was going to be permanently branded a pervert. For the sake of my former comrade, I decided to give them a proper explanation.

“I didn't have the chance to explain it properly back then, but do you guys remember what I told you before?”

“Before? Uh, vaguely,” Goro replied. “Something about how you two were comrades in another world called Mythologia... and how you’re technically a version of yourself from a parallel world?”

“Right. In Mythologia, Laura was part of a race called Vampires. You know, like the blood-suckers from the old stories. Her ability allows her to gain various buffs when she ingests blood.”

“...A Vampire?” Goro’s eyes widened. “Wait, Laura, isn’t that setting a little too cool?”

“Shut up for a second, Goro. Reima is explaining,” Laura snapped.

“...Um, by buffs, do you mean that [Origin Burst] thing?” Tsubaki asked.

I was impressed she remembered that. We had only used it for a very short window, and the conversation about it had been brief. I nodded and continued.

“Exactly. I figured that if she was still Laura, she wouldn't have lost her ‘Origin.’ To even stand a chance against Luna back then, she needed that power, so I gave her a bit of my blood. Just to be clear, I didn't let her drink it because of some weird fetish.”

“——But her face was clearly—mmgh! Baal, stop stuffing meat in my mouth!”

The perfect butler had intervened with a sleight of hand so fast it was invisible to the naked eye, silencing Behemoth with a fresh serving of steak. Truly competent, I thought, as I wrapped up my explanation.

“Come to think of it,” Kaiser said, “we never actually heard the reason why you came to this world, Reima.”

“Oh, that... I guess this is as good a time as any.”

I started to speak, but the moment I tried to find the words, the memories of the end of that other world came rushing back. They were memories I had tried so hard to bury, never wanting to revisit them. The moment they resurfaced, my blood ran cold. I couldn't form the words.

The voices of the people from that world... the biting chill of that final moment of execution... it all flashed back with a violent intensity. My heart began to race.

“Alright... you don’t need to remember that, Reima. I’ll take over the explanation from here.”

Before I knew it, Merli had appeared at my side to support me, standing tall before my worried friends.