Chapter 69: It’s time to return to our daily life, Miss Villainess

Time passed slowly as we rested at the layver family mansion. Nothing noteworthy happened after we found Yona.

For some reason, she thought that it was still morning when we found her. That was why she was still wearing her maid uniform at the time. Carole and her friends laughed at her, saying that she must have been imagining things.

Anyway, as we passed our time like that, afternoon came.

The air became even colder. The cloud began to gather above the Dungeon City, signaling the approaching snowfall.

Wearing thick fur cloaks, Tizmilly and I were sitting on a bench. We said nothing, only admiring the sight of the snow-covered yard.

Right then, Gyllena approached us, Henna the knight followed her from behind. Gyllena held a white embroidered bag. From the rhythmic jingling of coins inside it, I knew that it was what we were waiting for all this time.

I turned at her, grinning. "Finally. You made me wait too long!"

Frowning, Gyllena scoffed. "Should I make you wait longer?" She retorted sarcastically, throwing the bag at me, which I caught while it was still in the air. "250 Gold coins, added to the first 100 I had given to you beforehand. I assume that it was enough to pay everything, right?"

Weighing the bag, I whistled. I could feel the weight. She was speaking the truth. "It would be even better if you could add another 50 Gold coins, though," I said, glancing at Gyllena with pleading eyes.

Gyllena’s response, as expected, was a cold face. "Keep dreaming," she replied flatly.

Even her knight followed her suit. "That’s right! Keep dreaming, you penny-pincher!"

Tizmilly also turned her concerned gaze on me. "Mister Roost... People will hate you if you keep acting like a jerk, you know?"

"That was a joke, everyone. Who will seriously demand more after getting such a large sum?" I shrugged, chuckling.

Unfortunately, they didn’t buy my joke. Instead, they all looked at me in silence. In the end, I was forced to give up. "Alright. I admit I’m guilty."

...

We would immediately go home after we received our payment, but before that, I had to meet my favorite witch first. I needed to tell her about something.

I knocked on the door of the old workshop. After I waited for a minute, the door opened. It was not Dorita who opened it, but a mushroom stalk.

Yep, that was 100% Dorita’s style. Cool.

Once I entered, the mushroom shut the door again.

When I looked around, I noticed that the workshop interior had already become unrecognizable compared to its original state.

Bluish bioluminescent light of countless small mushrooms had now filled the room, making the place feel otherwordly, like something that was coming straight from fairy tale.

Fungal tables and cabinets were arranged inside. On them, various pots and vials were laying. They looked unattended, as if someone had thrown them away and then forgot about them entirely. But knowing Dorita, she must have been doing that in purpose. She did that to maximize the cultivation of her mushrooms.

After all, all vegetation works under the same law: the less they are affected by humans, the more prosperous they will become.

’But where is she?’

I didn’t find her inside. So I thought that she must be in the basement. And indeed, the secret stairs leading to the basement was opened. Without hesitation, I entered the basement.

Finally, I found her.

She was staring into an old, mildewed barrel when I saw her. She froze, slowly turning to me.

"You... Should’ve just waited upstairs," she said with a stiff smile on her face.

I shrugged. "Well, you didn’t tell."

Then I approached her, leaning in to see what was inside the barrel. Dorita immediately wanted to stop me, but I was already see it before she could pull me away. And what I saw brought me extreme joy.

"Impossible!" I exclaimed as Dorita moved me away. Her pull made me fell backward. But even that couldn’t diminish my excitement. "The Home of Fungi is entering its final cultivation phase!?"

Dorita’s face stiffened. "How could you know..." But she stopped mid-sentence, sighing. "This place is suitable for its cultivation, so it immediately enters its final cultivation phase after I settled it inside this barrel yesterday."

’So fast! This is way ahead of the original plot! I didn’t expect the idea to bring Dorita to Gyllena’s side to be this good!’

"Pfftt... Bwuahahahaha!" I couldn’t contain the joy I felt and bursted out laughing.

"Eh? What?" That surprised and confused Dorita, but I ignored her reaction. It couldn’t be helped, because this news was even greater than my success in obtaining the key to the Shrine of the Forgotten.

I laughed until my stomach hurt and my eyes wet with tears. Tears of joy, of course.

"Are you... Okay...?" my favorite character asked hesitantly.

I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, nodding. "Yeah. Don’t mind me, I am just feeling that the world isn’t just filled with bad things."

I smiled widely at her. "I came to tell you to develop the Home of Fungi faster, but you showed something far better to me before I could even ask you. As expected, you really are my life-saver."

Dorita still looked confused, but she nodded nonetheless. "It’s good if you are happy, then..."

I stood up, patting my dusty butt before I grabbed her hands with my hands. I knew I had to tell how much she had saved me this time.

"Thank you. Really... Thank you for everything."

Finding that Jahreon was not as close to the Grandmaster of the Abyssal New Gate as he was in the game had shaken my entire belief. I thought that the world could fall to chaos anytime by now. My belief in my knowledge about the game had wavered.

That alone was not bad. I could see everything from a wider perspective because of that. But that also made me lose my confidence about the future.

Would I be able to handle this, or that? Uncertainty of everything gnawed my sense.

But then she gave me the hope that I needed. Effortlessly. Without even trying.

Dorita’s cheeks reddened as she frowned, still confused. "I-I don’t think that I had done anything?"

She backed off, but I held her hands tighter, pressing her even further. "And you didn’t have to! You just have to do what you want and need to do, just as usual. And that was already enough!"

"E-eh?" She squeaked confusedly, question marks popped up above her head one after another.

I smiled at her, patting her hands. "After the winter, I will return to the Academy. I will try to get any rare ingredients for you while I am there. In return, could you please not only protect Gyllena, but also my family?"

Dorita looked at my hands, which were holding hers tightly, then looked at my eyes. After a pause, she nodded. "I can do at least that much for you. In truth, I am grateful to you for bringing Gyllena, that girl, to meet me... Now I can finally repay what her parents had done for me."

I brought my face even closer to hers. "Really? You really mean it?"

Dorita leaned back, her cheeks got redder. "Y-yes..."

It was at the moment that I realized that I had been pressing her too much all this time. I immediately straightened my back and apologized to her. She didn’t really mind it, she said.

’So merciful! As expected of her!’

With my concern solved, now I didn’t have anything left to say to Dorita. In fact, I didn’t even have to say anything. She could do everything on her own and effortlessly achieve the best possible outcome.

’Really, she is great."

That was why I admired her so much. That was why she had saved me once back on Earth.

After I said goodbye and my last thank to her, I exited the old workshop and returned to Tizmilly and the others.

We rode the carriages Gyllena prepared for us to go home. She said that she would at least sent us to the restaurant as her sign of gratitude. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Through the window, the orange light of the sun looked so blinding to me even though it was not as bright as when it was still noon.

Even though the darkness would soon blanket everything later, I knew that the light would return.

The new morning was just hours away, waiting for us.

The tomorrow was still there, anticipating us the next day.

Next was the Deep-Lore Delve Festival.

A fest of monster and the wise.

I couldn’t wait to start customizing our restaurant.

And finally, introducing some of the menus I knew from Earth.

Would people like them? Or not?

The Abyssal New Gate? Well... I would leave the matter aside for a while. I had done everything I could think of. The next was just to wait for the outcome of my actions.

’Right, Miss Villainess?’