Chapter 31: A Few Thousand Problems

“In any case, I was already planning to hole up in this cave… Ahem, I mean, make the underworld my home. So, if you decide to stay here, that would basically place you under my protection. Whatever that means.”

Cerys looked first at Nerez, then at the trembling figures on the ground, before reluctantly dismissing her scythe.

“Fine, but if they’re going to stay in the underworld, they need to understand where they stand,” Cerys said at last, crossing her arms.

“Oh, of course, of course!” Thaelor exclaimed, getting to his feet along with his granddaughter. “We shall be your most humble and devoted servants!”

“You two are the second grandfather-granddaughter pair I’ve met in quite a short time,” Nerez remarked, looking at the old man and the young woman still clinging to him. “The first pair is definitely going to cause me plenty of problems. I hope you don’t follow their example.”

“Lord Nereziel, I promise I will do my utmost not to cause you any inconvenience!” Thaelor declared, not really understanding what Nerez was talking about. “And my granddaughter Sae is even more proper than I am.”

The old man gave his granddaughter a gentle pat on the back to encourage her forward.

“I am Saelith, Your Divinity… but please, Sae is enough,” she said, bowing her head reverently.

“It wasn’t a threat, so you don’t need to get so tense… By the way, let’s stop with that whole ‘Your Divinity’ thing. It sounds strange…”

“And how should we refer to you?” Thaelor asked.

“Nerez is going to be the king of the underworld, so of course you must address him as Your Highness! And I am Lady Reaper!” Cerys exclaimed, puffing out her chest.

“You really liked that name… But Nerez and Cerys are fine.”

“Of course, Lord Nereziel,” Thaelor said with a bow.

“Lord Nereziel,” Sae repeated, doing the same.

“Just Nere… fine, whatever…” Nerez sighed, giving up. Apparently, mortals had an aversion to calling him by nicknames. “Though, are you sure you want to live in the underworld?”

“I do not know if we can return to the surface on our own,” Thaelor admitted.

True, journeys to the underworld are complicated in every world… In our case, the obstacles would run away just from seeing Cerys, but I have no idea what the trip would be like for the visiare.

“But more than that, if the god of death himself permits us to stay, it would be a blessing for us,” the old man went on. “This is a place filled with magic, after all.”

“Bah, mortals and their inefficient ways of using spiritual energy,” Cerys scoffed, looking down on them. “But you are right. The underworld is a sacred place, so you’d better be grateful you’re being allowed to live here.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author’s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Is magic a type of spiritual energy? Well, if even faith counts as one, nothing surprises me anymore…

“Lord Nereziel, there is one small matter… We have not eaten or drunk anything in some time. Would you happen to know where we might find provisions?”

So much for not causing me problems…

“There’s no helping it,” Nerez answered, pulling a small leather pouch from his pocket. “These are Skytree Nuts. One is enough to sustain you for an entire day.”

“Oh, thank you very much, Lord Nereziel!” Thaelor exclaimed, taking the pouch. “I shall immediately distribute them among those most in need!”

“Those most in need? There’s enough for everyone…”

“From this little pouch? Oh, I see! A spatial magic artifact!”

Thaelor inspected the pouch and realized there were thousands of nuts inside.

“As expected from a race with an affinity for spatial magic. I guess it wasn’t that surprising after all…” Nerez remarked, one hand on his chin. “Though I wouldn’t call it an artifact. It’s supposed to be a simple coin purse… (It’s just that I used it for the nuts.)”