Chapter 39

「There are no stairs leading to the next floor . 」

「…ha?」

After cuddling Black Cat for a while, when I decided to go on to the next level, Amelia said that .

I squinted and looked around the room .

In the dreary and enormous room, there was one door .

That was the door that we used to enter the room .

Moreover, it can’t be opened from this side .

Certainly, there were no stairs leading downwards that should’ve already appeared .

『No need to guess, it’s probably because of me . 』

Black Cat shook its body and after he gave a big yawn, he muttered that .

Two people’s cold gaze locked onto it .

Those gazes asked it, to properly explain what was going on .

『It’s the boss room, so the dungeon wouldn’t allow me, who is the boss, to continue living . 』

Smiling with a hint of self-deprecation, Black Cat casted those golden eyes downward .

『That’s why I told you to kill me . Do you want to starve to death here? As expected, races other than the demons and monsters are incompatible . 』

As Black Cat sadly muttered that, I looked down at the ground and thought about a solution .

Withdrawing like this would be annoying .

「Certainly, killing you would be the easiest way . 」

「But, it’s too early to give up . 」

At Amelia’s voice, Black Cat and I looked up .

Amelia stared at Black Cat .

The gold and the red intersected .

『You’re saying that you have a plan?』

「…Akira can just name you . 」

「Name?」

What did it mean to name someone .

Unlike me who tilted my head in confusion, Amelia and Black Cat nodded at each other .

『I see, if that’s the case, I wouldn’t be the boss anymore, and then we would be able to leave this room!』

「It’ll definitely turn out well . Also, it you shapeshifted and become smaller, your appearance would only be that of a black cat . Even if you’re in front of other people, no one would find it strange . 」

『I see, I see, then without delay, this man! Name me!』

「Wait, wait, properly explain it . 」

Black Cat seemingly looking like it would pounce on me at any time, I panicked .

Black Cat was, more or less, smaller than a dragon, but it’s bigger than us .

I’m confident that I would be able to stop it, but the impact would be frightening .

『It’ll be fine if you become my master . 』

「You abbreviated too much . 」

Certainly, I never told them where I came from, but the explanation just now, even normal people wouldn’t understand .

Leaving Black Cat who was excited and couldn’t talk aside, and I turned towards Amelia .

Perhaps Amelia was also a bit excited, her cheeks were turning red .

However, it was more preferable than Black Cat .

「Demons are the only ones who can control monsters . But, once in several hundred years, there would be a person who has a link with monsters . It was something that was from much earlier than when I was born . 」

Amelia paused at that time .

「The one who thought of giving names to monsters was the first hero-sama . By giving a name, it would allow the human and monster to have a genuinely meaningful link between them . 」

The first hero’s name came uo, once again .

Just this first hero, although he should’ve been someone from a very long time ago, he left a frightening amount of things behind .

「What is a genuinely meaningful link . 」

「Firstly, the one who gave the name would be able to pinpoint the monster’s position, not matter where it went . 」

Hou, that’s certainly useful .

I wouldn’t lose sight of it .

However, conversely, didn’t that mean that the monster’s freedom would be lost… .

「Afterwards, the two people would acquire the magic『Telepathy』 . 」

「That, is that the one where you can communicate even if we don’t talk?」

「I have never used it, but it’s probably that . 」

That’s quite fancy .

It was fine as Black Cat can talk, but normal monsters were not able to .

This was the measure put in place for that .

Or rather, why was this guy able to talk?

「The link is impossible if there’s no mutual consent . Threatening them and forcing them against their will is also impossible . 」

『However, once connected, if the original link that both parties consented to is not broken, we will be together until death . 』

「…until death?」

‘That’s right,’ Black Cat modded .

Somehow, it felt like it was grinning .

「In the situation where there is a link, if one dies, the other will die as well . It’s that kind of contract . 」

「That’s great . 」

It was definitely better than being left with a lifelong scar, or being in pain forever .

Rather than death, I hated pain .

I felt Amelia’s worried gaze, but I’m fine with it .

Death was certainly frightening, but as long as Amelia’s by my side, it’s impossible for me to die .

『…normal people, would hesitate when they hear this explanation and withdraw, but… . are you actually human?』

「No, I’ve already entered the realm of a complete monster and a freak . 」

『If that wasn’t the case, I would challenge you to another match . 』

I laughed at Black Cat whose laughter was stuck in its throat .

And, its facial expression stiffened at the same time .

「Then, put your hands on top of each other . 」

At Amelia’s words, I went in front of Black Cat who was still unable to move, and put my own hand on top of its huge paw .

「Akira, a name . 」

I, with a nod, looked straight into those golden eyes .

I somehow or another felt like I knew, the words that I needed to say .

「My name is Oda Akira . The person who will become your master . I shall grant you a name . 」

『My new master, Oda Akira . I, will go together with you, no matter the place . Until one of us dies, until that time, we will always be together . 』

「Your name is…Yoru . Named after that beautiful fur that looks like the night sky . 」

『Yoru…it’s a good name . From now on, my name shall be Yoru, I pledge to serve you . 』

「Please treat me well, Yoru . 」

We were enveloped in a white light, enveloped in warmth .

I felt some kind of intangible link between Yoru and I .

So this was the so called link, huh .

Amelia took a step forward and put her hand on top of mine .

The white light had disappeared before I knew it .

「Please treat me well too, Yoru . 」

「I should be the one saying that, I’ll be relying on you, Miss Amelia . 」

「Un . That crest on your forehead too, looks good on you . Akira too, that crest on your arm, looks great . 」

At Amelia’s words, my gaze moved towards my own arm, I was startled .

There was a black crest on both my arms .

And, a white crest with the same design was also on Yoru’s forehead .

「That seems to be the only visible evidence of the link . 」

『With this, I can openly go with you, Master-dono . 』

「Your master is the demon king though . 」

『It’s known as the second master . Don’t bother with the small details . 』

How sketchy .

When I looked over at the corner of the room, a magic circle that was not there until now was shining blue .

That magic circle, somehow seemed similar to the one that resulted in me coming to this world .

「It’s as we’ve guessed, the path to continue onward has opened . 」

「But, Yoru still can’t move . 」

『I won’t die from using a large amount of magic power to shapeshift, but if I sustained a heavy injury, I won’t be able to move for two, three days . 』

I was the one who caused the heavy injury though .

I, for the time being, unwrapped the food that I kept for emergencies .

「This is a safety zone . Let’s go slowly . In the meanwhile, listen to my story . 」

「Un, mine too . 」

If we talked more, we should be able to get along that much more .

Definitely .