VRMMO: My first Contractee is Yandere

Chapter 36 Exploration

The elves were prostrating themselves in apology.

The princess, on the verge of tears, tried to lower her head as well, but as royalty, she couldn't. Liora and Shio watched the scene without any visible emotion.

And then there was me, a Dark Spirit, floating nearby.

It was a rather strange sight.

Apparently, the elves are a conscientious race. Even after Liora kicked their princess, they expressed gratitude, saying, "Pouncing at a warrior out of nowhere is enough to get you killed! Thank you for only kicking her!"

They also assumed we didn't realize the elven girl was their princess. So, the handsome elf explained it to us, just in case.

Well, both Liora and I understood perfectly well who she was.

Liora kicked her to guard against a surprise attack—or so they thought.

Even though she's "sanctioned" by the gods (fraudulently), I'm a bit worried Liora might become too violent. I hope she'll listen if I ask her to be careful.

"Liora, that's enough. I'd like to hear what they have to say."

"The gods have spoken. That's enough. Tell us what's on your mind."

The elves stood up simultaneously, bowed deeply once more, and then got to the point.

"We're headed to the catacombs, a vast graveyard where royal elves have been laid to rest for generations."

"Then, are outsiders allowed there?"

"Not at all! Normally, we elves practice tree burials, but for royalty, we make an exception and entomb them in the catacombs. It's a point of pride, not something we hide from other races."

"Then, we'll just go in on our own."

"Please, do take a look. Ah, this is the brochure for the catacombs—my apologies, I slipped into work mode."

Sebas, the handsome elf, blushed and quickly stowed away the brochure he had pulled out.

"For the past few hundred years, we've been frozen in time. Because of that, the catacombs have fallen into the hands of monsters and the undead. We are now working to reclaim them."

"...I see."

Uh oh, Liora is losing interest. It seems the hassle of it all is outweighing her curiosity. She's still listening because I told her to, but it's clear she's not fully engaged.

What Sebas is saying is essentially, "We're going into the catacombs to exterminate monsters." It's the same thing we were planning to do, so there's not much need to discuss it further.

Though, I suppose some people might be going to bury bodies instead...

"What do you want from us?"

"I see you prefer to skip the preliminaries... We intend to enter a restricted area only accessible to the royal family. There, the sacred treasures of the elves are enshrined. Our goal is to retrieve these weapons and bring them back to face the Demon King's army. That is our current mission."

"Sacred treasures? Are they powerful?"

"They possess immense power. They are the trump card of the elven race, but... last time, we didn't have enough time to retrieve them before the temporal freeze. The goddess's wrath came upon us without warning."

Quite the story, isn't it?

The elven sacred treasures sound intriguing. I don't expect they'll let us use them, but I don't mind if the NPCs get stronger. It wouldn't be fun if the Demon King's army invaded and Liora was forcibly made to lose the battle.

"Let's accept it, Liora."

"Alright, the lord god of darkness says it's fine to grant you protection."

"Oh! Thank you."

I haven't really done anything; in fact, I wasted MP and tried to cover it up with words. Oh, gods, please punish this bad adult.

Liora tightened her grip on her scythe.

"I'll work even harder!"

'...'

Shio, floating nearby, glanced at me with an exasperated look, but quickly returned to work.

Uh...did she see that?

Using sonar to pinpoint the enemies' exact locations, Shio ensnared even the ones behind us with her tendrils. While she couldn't kill them, immobilizing them was certainly beneficial.

This unexpected benefit of her scouting ability is invaluable.

Liora followed up by finishing off the captured enemies with [Shining Slash]. For those out of reach, she repeatedly used [Hound Lightning] to keep them at bay.

She seems to find it easy to use and keeps firing it in quick succession.

As the enemies dodged her magic, Liora's true strength—close-quarters combat—came into play.

With just one person and her summon, the battlefield was being subdued.

"You're amazing, Lady Liora!"

The one saying that and embracing her was Princess Remelia, the elven princess. A pure and beautiful young girl. Even among the handsome elves, her outstanding beauty was as if she had stepped out of a painting. Her lush red hair draped over Liora's face.

Liora, looking annoyed, brushed her hair away with her hand.

Without changing her expression, she coldly said,

"You're in the way. You smell."

"S-smell!? Eek!"

Well, she might smell a bit sweaty.

We've traveled a considerable distance, and just a while ago, the elves were repeatedly fighting for their lives (and in a disadvantaged position at that).

Incidentally, the reason we encountered the elves was that they had given up once. They were on their way back from the catacombs. They said they were fending off a pursuing lich.

...Since they were fighting the undead, they likely picked up the stench of death as well.

"The s-smell..."

The princess fainted.

Sebas fainted too, as if his sanity had shattered after witnessing the princess collapse. Perhaps elves are prone to fainting. Maybe it's a side effect of their long lifespan. They might have a tendency to faint when their emotions reach a certain level... though I've never heard of such a thing.

"This is enemy territory... or rather, this used to be their homeland?"

"We don't need them, my lord."

"This is a quest, Liora. We must endure it. These people will give us a powerful reward."

"I'll endure it."

Three hours have passed since we entered the catacombs.

Our levels and skills have improved. For Liora, the compatibility was good, and with the large number of weak enemies spawning, the efficiency was excellent.

We decided to make camp in the cemetery. This part is oddly realistic. Constant movement is impossible; food and rest are essential.

And, this exploration doesn't seem to end anytime soon.