Chương 51: More People, More Rooms

POV: The Dark Lord, Milo Miles After a fairly nerve-wracking talk, we headed back outside with a grumpy Nyx, who had reluctantly agreed to the upgrade. Not that grumpy was unusual for her; the only time she wasn't grumpy was when she was eating, and even that's getting less frequent. Though, now that I thought about it, she had more or less stopped hitting me, yet somehow the tension between us had gotten heavier instead of lighter. I'm pretty sure it started after the Eremiah screw-up.

She seemed to get angry quicker now. Granted, she'd always been prickly, always annoyed at something, but before, I'd had the sense she didn't fully mean it. Now it felt like the frustration was genuine, and it had been keeping me on edge. Anyway, we stood a good distance from the house. Nyx snapped her fingers, and the whole structure lit up white and began to change shape, and when the light faded— It stood two floors now, wider than before, a stone base with timber-framed walls above.

The upper half was pale plaster crossed with dark wooden beams, some of them curving into arches. A steep reddish-brown tiled roof capped it, and a tall brick chimney climbed one side. There was a small covered porch over the front door with its own little roof and a lantern hanging beside it, which gave the place a cozy sort of feel. A wooden bench sat out front on the stone path. Three windows on the ground floor, two on the upper. More rooms, I hoped. Nyx had really outdone herself.

It actually looked like somewhere a group of people lived now. I just had to figure out how to fit six of us inside it.

"W-what was that?" Mel's mouth was open.

"I've never heard of a spell that builds a house in an instant!" Oh, right. They had no idea about the upgrade system.

"It's just—magic! Dark Lord magic. Don't overthink it. Let's head inside," I said. I could see Nyx was already walking in. Inside, the living room had grown a little. The rug, the chairs, the table, the fireplace, all still there. Nyx's room with its chibi sticker, still there too. But the table was longer now, six chairs around it, proper dining-hall size, and a staircase ran up to the second floor. Nyx herself was nowhere in sight. She had probably gone straight to her room.

She'd made her reasons for being cold plain enough, but I still didn't know what I could actually do about them. I needed to do something, though. Maybe I'd start by handling some terrorizing on my own, somewhere, without dragging her into it. She deserved a break. She had earned a lot of things I hadn't managed to give her. I walked upstairs and found a hallway with two doors. Behind the first was a bedroom about the size of Nyx's, with what looked like a king-sized bed.

The girls crowded in behind me, and I heard the soft chorus of their awe, probably at the bed. While they filed in, I opened the second door. A bathroom, thankfully. Shower, toilet, mirror, sink. Standard, but deeply appreciated; five people and a Cerberus sharing one bathroom would have been a nightmare. Which reminded me of something I had wondered about. I had assumed Lycora might not have showers, but Lunessa's place had one, so apparently they did, powered by some glowing stone set into the wall.

Toilets exist too. Then someone tapped my shoulder. I turned; Evelisse, watching me with a small, tired, searching sort of look, like she was trying to gauge how the conversation had gone before she asked about it.

"So," she said.

"Did you two talk things through?"

"Oh—with Nyx? Yeah. It's fine. Everyone can stay. We just have to sort out the rooms." Which reminded me I hadn't actually introduced anyone properly. Everything had happened so fast, and Nyx hadn't exactly been in a warm-welcome mood. But skipping introductions entirely would be weird. How was I even supposed to run this? Nyx wouldn't want to organize anything. If I let Evelisse or one of the others take the lead, that'd be strange too. I supposed I would have to be the one steering things, for once.

Actually, that wasn't a bad thing. It was a chance to show Nyx I was genuinely trying, that I wasn't just some useless guy she had to babysit. Dinner might be the moment for it. If we had enough food, anyway. And there was the snag. Step one, and I was already stuck. Go shake down Milly for more food? Tell them to bump up the deliveries?

"Um, is there anything I can help with?"

"Huh? Help?" I blinked at her.

"You looked like you were puzzling over something." Evelisse tilted her head.

"I thought maybe it was because sis and Mel decided to come along so suddenly. So…if there's anything we can do, just say it." She was so genuinely kind about it. For some reason it made me think of Ivy, the girl I'd had a thing for back on Earth, the one I'd been talking to right before I got dropped into this world. I wondered how she was doing. Whether the news of my death had reached her yet. How she'd take it, if it had.

"Um, Milo?" Evelisse was waving a hand in front of my face. I'd probably been standing there with a blank, gormless expression.

"O-oh, sorry, I spaced out. Right. Actually, I was thinking about dinner. We've been getting by on Milly's deliveries, but that's not going to be enough for all of us." Evelisse put a hand to her chin.

"Maybe we should ask sis." Of course. Someone with connections and actual economic sense would have ideas. Even with all the being-the-Dark-Lord limitations, there had to be something we could do. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. So we ended up gathered in the roomier living room like some kind of board meeting, me on one side, the three of them across from me.

"I brought some gold with me," Lunessa said.

"Short term, we can just go to a town and stock up on supplies that keep. With Milly's deliveries on top of that, it should last us a week or so." I felt bad about spending Lunessa's hard-earned money, but I didn't have a copper to spare, unless I could find work somehow. Become an adventurer, take on quests? That'd actually be kind of great. If I could figure out a spell or artifact to keep people from recognizing me eventually, maybe I could pull it off. For now, though, I'd have to take her up on it.

And pay her back, fast.

"Okay, great. I can fly us there, or if it's a big haul, Luke can carry us and we teleport back." Lunessa grinned and gave me a thumbs up. I couldn't work out how she stayed this cheerful through all of it. Her sister was about to be hunted by the Church, she'd walked away from her hometown, the house she'd surely worked years for, and every hard-won connection she'd built as a liaison. And I still hadn't properly apologized to her.

"There are a few other options, too," Lunessa went on.

"You've got a Cerberus. Its fur alone would fetch a fortune." Oh, right. Mythical-Class loot going for a high price wasn't unheard of. Though that would need Luke's consent, and I had no idea how long it would take for the fur to grow back.

"And longer term, once we've got a proper base, there's a lot more on the table. Deals with certain kingdoms; supplying rare materials, trade routes, that sort of thing, in exchange for services. I'll need time to work out the efficient way to do it." That was well past what my brain could hold, but I could see the shape of how it'd help.

"But I'm the Dark Lord. Would anyone actually cooperate with me?"

"You'd be astonished how many mayors and kings will set their morals aside for a quick gain. Especially when you can offer them something no one else can." Lunessa's smile turned wry.

"Being a Dark Lord doesn't obligate you to burn every kingdom to the ground, you know." Fair point. Why had I assumed Dark Lord just meant destruction? The terror-level speedrunning, partly. But there was no rule that trade deals and destruction couldn't coexist. I could wreck some places and cut good deals with others. Basic, maybe, but barely a day in and Lunessa already had me thinking bigger. Letting them stay was starting to feel like the right call.

"And we needn't do anything too shady," she added.

"I doubt little Eve and Mel here would sign off on that, so we'll do it properly. Professionally. I've got a few places in mind, but Milo, we'll need a quick discussion first so I can see what's workable."

"Okay, sure, of course." I nodded.

"I figure we can run on the short-term plan for the next few days while we sort the rest out. I don't know when Ywain will attack again, but we should have at least two or three days. Even he needs time to regroup after all that." I glanced at Evelisse. There was still a mountain of things to work through, the terrorizing stuff among them, but she looked exhausted. She hadn't had a real moment of rest since Eremiah came down.

"I know there's a lot left to talk about," I said.

"But I think most of us should just rest today. Take a bath, get some sleep. Lunessa and I can go handle the food run." And she'd almost certainly use the trip to give me the scolding I had coming. For the moment, we had sorted a few things out. Lunessa and Evelisse would share the upstairs room. Mel would take the room next to Nyx's. And I, naturally, got the living room. Man, I really needed a sofa. At least the rug wasn't terrible. Evelisse and Mel were in the baths—separate ones, obviously.

Lunessa and I were outside, about to head out to Arkhay for food. Since she needed rest too, I figured we'd just grab one big basket of whatever kept for a day or two, teleport back, and do a proper haul tomorrow. And of course I had left my Dark Lord cult robe in the house. Though, for some reason, Lunessa brought her backpack with her; maybe it's for us to put the groceries or something.

"So." Lunessa eyed me.

"I have to hold you tight for this?"

"Well, we'd be flying. Though…actually, I think I could just do this alone? It's only a day or two of rations, and Arkhay hasn't recognized me as the Dark Lord yet." I shrugged.

"You could just give me the coins and I'll get it." Lunessa made a thoughtful "hmm," a finger to her chin, the exact gesture Evelisse had done earlier.

"Nah. I'll come along." What?

"... You sure? You'll get all messy, and you could really use the rest, and—""Milo."

"Yes?"

"Is there some reason you don't want me coming with you?"

"What? No, why would you think that? I just don't want you to be uncomfortable around me. After—you know, the things I did." A brief silence stretched out. Great. I'd been bracing for this conversation to happen at Arkhay, and instead I'd gone and started it myself.

"... Sorry," I said.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise. I just don't want you doing things you don't have to do here. You've already lost enough." Lunessa stepped closer.

"Milo. I'm not the one you owe an apology to." Her voice wasn't unkind, but it was firm.

"I came because I wanted to. As for Eremiah, yes. You did something terrible, and you should apologize for it. Just not to me."

"..."

"Eventually, you need to apologize to Mr. Aldric. And to the stall owners from the night market. And to all the people sleeping in the temple hall because their homes are gone, including Barlo and Margol." Right. The gatekeeper who'd been on shift and the man who'd run the carriage.

"I know you can't do that right now. That's all right, but you need to understand what it cost them. Some of those people lost their whole life's work. Everything they'd built." She held my eyes.

"And if you feel guilty about that, which I hope you do, then good. You should. You're going to have to live with it." I didn't have anything to say back.

"As for Arkhay, I've got business of my own to see to while we're there. So I'm coming." She stepped in and looped her arms around me for the flight, hugging me from my back.

"O-okay, sure. And, for what it's worth, I do feel guilty. I don't know if Eve told you, but—""I know. She told me. That you never meant to raze Eremiah." A pause.

"But, Milo."

"Y-yes?"

"Intentional or not, the damage is real. The losses are real. You have to carry that." Yeah. I knew. Ever since Mistros, I'd known that everything I did had a real weight to it. It wasn't just numbers ticking up on a terror level; there was a price, and the price was people's lives, torn up and scattered. And still, somehow, I kept letting myself off easy. Just now I'd all but said it out loud, that as long as I hadn't meant to, I deserved a little less of the blame.

But that's not how it works; regardless of my intentions, the people there didn't lose any less.

"... Sorry," I said.

"I already told you." There was the faintest warmth under the firmness now.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

"Right. Right. I'll—I'll do my best to make it right. Soon."

"Good. You'd better." She shifted her grip.

"Now, are we actually flying anytime soon? Or are you stalling on purpose so you can keep letting me hug—" Oh, no.

"No! No, we're flying, right now!" I shot straight up into the air, fast, purely to escape the mortification, and got a startled yelp out of Lunessa for my trouble.