Chapter 26: Nice 1

There was something more important than the blood that would grow Rico.

I had to find a monster that could polymorph.

“Where did they all go?” I thought as I cut through the starry sky.

After coming out, I looked around the territory of Sia Kalt as well as the surrounding areas, but I couldn’t find any suitable monsters.

At first, I searched through the ice lakes near Sia Kalt.

I thought it would be among the rare species living there, but I failed.

I went to the nest of the Glaze Kraken just in case, but they were still stupid.

“I shouldn’t have been wasting my time here.”

I headed west.

To a place called the Valley of the Demons.

I thought there might be something there if I went to where the legendary monsters gathered.

When I arrived at the valley, I saw many monsters.

Among them, the red-maned Crimson Tiger stood out the most.

It was glaring at me with a confident expression.

“How dare you enter my territory.”

The Crimson Tiger approached me threateningly with an arrogant voice.

Ha. I’ve seen this kind of bluff so many times.

Just one look. That was enough.

Crimson Tiger lay down with his tail curled up.

“You can polymorph?”

“No, you can’t…”

“Tch.”

When I turned my gaze, the guy crawled away as if his legs had given out, and the other monsters disappeared in an instant.

“Isn’t this the same place…”

Next was the Forest of Magic.

I heard that the spirits there could change their forms at will.

But it turned out to be a simple illusion.

“With such a shabby trick…”

I wanted to freeze half of the forest in disappointment.

But Rico’s image came to mind.

I just sighed, afraid that the innocent child would be disappointed.

From one end of the Diede Continent to the other.

From the deep caves of the Calon Mountains to the oases of the Arcana Desert.

But nowhere was there a monster capable of polymorphing.

“Ah, now really…”

I folded my tired wings and sat on a sand pillar.

Why was I in such a hurry?

If I just waited a thousand years or so, Rico would be able to polymorph on his own.

But Rico’s desperate appearance kept coming to mind.

The pure desire to transform into human form.

I wanted to make that happen quickly.

In the end, I thought of Nis, whom I had last met five hundred years ago.

The only close friend among the rulers of the Eight Great Labyrinths, the ruler of Desmere.

That guy always had a human form.

His original form was a giant snake, but he insisted on maintaining that fragile-looking form.

He could be called a master of polymorphism.

If that guy were…

I wanted to show off to Nis after I grew him up nicely… but now I had to go ask for help.

“Ha. What can I do?”

I spread my wings over the vast sea beyond the continent.

The moonlight pouring down on the surface of the water sparkled like silver scales.

I flew for several days without stopping.

Normally, I would never have done this because it was too much trouble.

However, when I thought of Rico, this much was enough.

Every time I took a break in between flights, memories from the past came to mind.

The day I first met Nis.

We were wary of each other, but before I knew it, our conversations had become frequent, and we strangely got along.

Of course, our personalities were complete opposites.

“Try to melt this icy personality.”

“You should try to reduce your vanity.”

Every time we bickered like that, we strangely kept meeting.

When was that time…

Finally, the dark sea called Desmere came into view.

A huge trench immersed in pitch-black darkness.

There was the Desmere Labyrinth.

As we entered the sea, a vast deep-sea landscape unfolded.

Colorful luminescent creatures danced in the darkness.

Just like the stars in the night sky.

That’s very Nice.

This splendid view was something that Nis would like.

It wasn’t this splendid the last time I visited.

As expected, he’s full of vanity.

The numerous sea monsters around him hurriedly ran away when they sensed my energy.

I quickly descended to the deepest part of the sea here.

A gigantic temple began to appear in the increasingly darkened deep sea.

It was the Great Labyrinth of Desmere.

Every corner of the temple was splendidly decorated with pearls and coral.

Luminescent jellyfish hung like torches, and fluorescent moss decorated the walls.

“It’s louder than last time.”

As I approached the entrance of the Great Labyrinth, the monsters here began to bow their heads in a hurry.

I waited for a moment, not wanting to cause a fuss, and a death knight with a purple aura lingering around ran over.

“P, Lady Frostia?”

“Yes, you were probably Deiana? Is Deiana inside?”

“Yes, four! I’ll guide you to Lady Deiana right away!”

I followed the guidance of Deiana, Nis’ subordinate whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, and went deep into the temple.

It was completely different from the last time I came.

Columns decorated with jewels, a ceiling embroidered with pearls, and statues made of coral.

It was full of things that had not been there the last time.

And in the center of it all stood a familiar figure.

Hair as black as if it could swallow the Milky Way.

Purple rippled as if swimming inside.

It was as mysterious as the deep sea.

“Oh my, who has come! Have you finally woken up from hibernation?”

The hem of her dress, which seemed to be embroidered with stars, spread out in waves.

It was Nis, the ruler of Desmere.

Her appearance, resembling the darkness of the deep sea, was as splendid as ever.

Nis’s voice echoed through the darkness.

“You’re still noisy.”

“You’re still cold. But what’s this? The noble princess of Sia Kalt is coming to see me.”

“I’m worried that my aesthetic sense will become dull after coming to such an excessive decoration store.”

“Ha! But I’ve been working hard on my labyrinth every day! How long are you going to sleep in an ice cave?”

“You should know better than anyone that my labyrinth is better than your noisy knick-knack store.”

“Hehe… Do whatever you want. But since you’ve been here for so long, you must be bored to death, right?”

Nis’s eyes sparkled mischievously.

“Would you like to play with dolls or housewarming after such a long time?”

“How many thousands of years ago was that?”

“Hmm? I thought you’d still like it, but I guess not?”

“Doesn’t this guy know our age? Well, if Rico had suggested it, I would’ve gladly done it, but I won’t do it with you anymore.”

“Then what? Do you need my help? Shall I ask you something?”

“Can you teach me how to polymorph?”

“Huh? Polymorph?”

Nis’s sharp eyes grew wide.

“Surely… Lady Frostia, have you forgotten how to polymorph?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s for my subordinate.”

“Subordinate!?!?”

Nis’s mouth dropped open.

Yeah, it’s no wonder. I’ve been alone all this time.

“Wait a minute. Am I hallucinating? Lady Frostia has taken on a subordinate?”

“Yes. She really is a special child. She’s smart, cute… no, should I say beautiful. And she’s such a kind and loyal child, I’ve never seen one like her. She listens to me well.”

She thought of Rico waiting in the labyrinth.

When I return, she’ll definitely greet me with a sweet scent.

I never thought I’d have such expectations… but a lot has changed since meeting Rico.

“Oh my, oh my! What’s going on? For the cold Ice Princess to praise someone like this!”

“I told you it was noisy.”

“By the way, what kind of monster is that subordinate? I’ll have to see if I can teach her…”

“It’s a flower.”

“A flower, huh!?”

Nis burst into laughter.

“Poohahaha! Lady Frostia is growing flowers? This is really… Aaah! She is as beautiful as a flower!”

“My goodness! Since when did you become so emotional? Lady Frostia is definitely a woman!”

“No… She’s a real flower…! What kind of reaction will she show when she meets him in person?”

“Don’t make me laugh, but tell me if you can teach her or not.”

“Oh my, why are you in such a hurry? I still want to hear more about that child…”

“You can take whatever you want from my treasure chest.”

A smile spread across Nis’s lips.

His expression looked dangerous, like a snake finding its prey.

“Oh my, the famous Sia Kalt treasure chest… But do you think I’ll be satisfied with just that?”

“…What more do you want?”

“Hmm… I’d like to borrow Lady Frostia’s special subordinate. For a week? Is that okay?”

A dangerous light flashed across Nis’s eyes.

A glimpse of her snake nature.

Nis had been with her for thousands of years, but her eyes were filled with desire for the first time.

“Okay.”

A faint smile spread across Nis’s lips at my answer.

A smile that seemed as sweet as poisoned honey.

What could be this dangerous interest in Rico?

“Ah! You’re giving permission so easily! I’m even more curious. Then, shall we go?”

“Wait, Polymorph…”

“Why don’t we go and talk about it? You’re going that way anyway…”

Nis got up from her seat.

The hem of her dress twinkled like stars in the night sky.

“Deiana, while I’m away, you take care of the labyrinth.”

“Yes! Lady Nis!”

“Why do I have such an uneasy feeling…”

Leaving the dazzling temple behind, we swam together toward the surface.

No, Nis still climbed onto my back in human form.

Oh my…

Then she chattered in an excited voice.

“Oh my, you’ve really changed a lot, Lady Frostia. If it were you before, you would never have been a subordinate…”

“I told you, be quiet.”

“By the way, is that flower really that special? Or is it that Lady Frostia has grown old and finds even a delicate demon cute? Hehe…”

She glared at him coldly, but Nis paid her no mind.

“Or maybe… Lady Frostia has finally fallen in love? Oh my! Just imagining it…”

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll freeze you.”

“Oh my, you’re still so cold. Isn’t that why I’m even more curious?”

Rico… If you knew this pain…