Chapter 15
Wings Please
Editor: Joker“Holy s.h.i.+t! I found it! I can’t believe I finally found it!” I shouted like a madman as I stood up from my throne . The abruptness of the action led both Illuna, who’d been playing nearby, and s.h.i.+, who’d been sitting on my lap, to each give me a look . The former was gazing upon me curiously, as if wondering what’d suddenly gotten me so riled up . The latter, however, seemed to regard my action with resentment . My sudden s.h.i.+ft had displaced the slime from its perch and knocked it onto the ground .
I would’ve apologized, but I was too preoccupied to notice the slime’s displeasure . All my attention had been directed towards the thing I’d just found .
“Hahaha… Mwahahahahah…! Mwaaahahahahahaha!” I laughed three times, with each lasting longer and sounding more sinister than the last . Only after I finished did I finally shout a slightly distorted version of a quote from a famous manga . “I reject my humanity, J*jo, and the inability to fly that comes with it!”
With that said, I left the throne room, cackling like a madman as I went on my way .
Of course, I hadn’t actually lost my mind . I was still perfectly sane and in control . The reason I’d suddenly burst into a fit of joyous laughter was because I’d finally found one of the things I’d been looking for since I first became a demon lord .
I spotted it because I decided to look for Everchanging Chains, the overly convenient skill that Rir had shown me the other day . I suspected that the skill was in the catalogue, so I went through the unique skill section and looked for it, only to do a double take as a certain other skill caught my eye . A skill that would allow me to lift my feet off the ground and ascend to the heavens .
Flight .
At first, I’d actually thought that the skill just didn’t exist . It wasn’t in the list of regular skills, and I hadn’t expected it to be a unique skill . Moreover, Lefi had told me that, to her, flying was just something natural . It wasn’t a skill . It was just something that she had always been able to do . From that, I’d come to the conclusion that flight wasn’t a skill .
But my guess was off the mark . And never before had I been happier to be wrong .
I tapped the purchase b.u.t.ton the moment I saw the skill . It was an impulse buy . I didn’t care that it cost more than ten times what regular skills cost . The fact that it ate two thirds of the DP I had on hand was just flat out irrelevant .
Because I was a man, a man with fantasies that burned with all the pa.s.sion of a fiery star, a man that knew in his heart that chasing his dreams was the one true way to live his life . I had to follow in the footsteps of the king of the pirates and leave the nest to set sail in pursuit of my ambitions . As any real man would .
That was why I had made the transaction without hesitation . Lefi’ll probably chew me out for this if she ever finds out since I always try to discourage her from wasting DP, but I doubt she will . It’s not like there’s any way for her to know how much anything costs .
None of the excitement pumping through my veins waned as I materialized the wings I normally kept hidden away . I still can’t tell if these are supposed to be bat wings or dragon wings, but whatever . Doesn’t matter .
In my past life, the thought of having jet black wings would’ve made me flash a wry smile at best . But now, they were more than just an edgy joke . They were a reality . My reality . From my back extended a pair of appendages so dark in colour that they almost seemed reminiscent of a bottomless void .
Though I had wings, they hadn’t been of any use . At worst, they were in the way . And at best, they were decorative . They may as well have been part of some sort of weird cosplay . But all that was going to change . For they had finally gained purpose .
My wings were going to graduate from uselessness and become powerful vehicles capable of ferrying me into the sky and taking me wherever I pleased . Finally . It’s finally time to liberate myself from the confines of the ground and experience nature from a whole new angle . It’s time to soar, to gain freedom and everything that lies beyond .
“Alright! Let’s go! Beyond the great blue!” As I shouted, I tensed my wings and urged them to flap .
…
……
………
Uhm… What the actual f.u.c.k…?
Nothing happened . Nothing changed, no matter how long I waited . My wings refused to respond to my will . Rather, they failed to fulfill my wishes . They were flapping back and forth, but that was it . They weren’t actually producing lift . Alright, you know what? I’ll just… give it another shot .
“Alright… Let’s go! Beyond the great blue!” I took a deep breath and repeated myself with yet another energetic shout . But again, nothing happened . The sky continued to remain far outside my grasp .
“W-What the f.u.c.k!?” My jaw dropped in disbelief . I didn’t understand what was going on . I mean, the skill’s working . I know that much for sure . It’s a bit hard to explain, but I can feel it . It’s kind of like how I can tell that my arms are moving when I swing them around, or how I just know when I’ve closed my eyes, even in total darkness .
But, even though the skill was active, I couldn’t lift off .
“What the f.u.c.k!? Why isn’t it working!?” I tried jumping around and flapping my wings in a manner reminiscent of an immature chick trying to leave the nest . I repeated the actions until I found myself out of breath and exhausted, but never once did I ever truly leave the ground .
Was I just… not meant to fly? I grimaced as my internal monologue made a turn for the worse . It might just be one of those things . Like how you can’t make a dog cook even if you somehow get it to learn the skill . I might just not have what it takes .
All the excitement I had built up drained from my body as my mood plunged all the way down to rock bottom; a single negative thought was all it took to take me from a record high to a record low .
I turned my eyes up to the sky above and observed it in all its splendor . Looking at it like this almost makes it seem… cruel . It’s right there . Right before my eyes . But I just can’t reach it, no matter how hard I try . G.o.d d.a.m.n it . I guess this whole flight thing really was just a pipe dream after all .
All remaining hope drained from my system . It was as if some cruel mastermind had pulled a curtain of despair right over my eyes, and I’d remained none the wiser until the very last moment . Reality weighed down on my shoulders and caused me to collapse . I fell onto my hands and knees and hung my head in resignation .
I had failed not only myself, but also my pa.s.sion . My dream had hit a dead end, a brick wall, an invisible ceiling . And there was nothing I could do about it .
G.o.d d.a.m.n it, Yuki! What the h.e.l.l are you doing!? Get ahold of yourself, you dumba.s.s! It’s too early to cast aside your dreams . Right as I was about to give in, words of encouragement bubbled up from somewhere deep inside of me . That’s right . I can’t give up just yet . Brick wall? Invisible ceiling? f.u.c.k, bring it on . I don’t care what needs to be done . I will fly .
After taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I began to reevaluate my options . Let’s see… Flight’s a unique skill, so it hasn’t got any levels in it . But that doesn’t mean that knowing the skill is really all I need to do to understand and master it . It’ll probably start working if I just git gud, so I guess I’ll go pick the brain of someone who knows how flight works . Good thing I’ve got just the right person in mind, huh?
***
“And that is why you have come to beg for my grace?” The dragon girl narrowed her eyes as she watched me prostrate myself before her .
“That’s exactly it . ” I said . “Please, Your Scaliness, lend me your knowledge . Teach me your almighty ways . You’re my last hope . ”
“This subservient act of yours is revolting, Yuki,” replied Lefi, her face twisted into a frown . “Have you already forgotten the injustice you subjected me to? You robbed me of the sweets I adored and forced upon me the miserable, sugarless taste of despair for three days and three nights . Do you truly believe that a mere s.h.i.+ft in att.i.tude would suffice to right your wrongdoings? Preposterous! What ridiculous conceit!”
“Alright, alright . I get that you’re unhappy,” I said, reverting to my usual tone . “Look, I’ll make it up to you . How about I lick your feet?”“Lick my feet!?” Lefi shrunk back in disgust . “You would go that far?”
Ey mang, I wants ta fly . Ain’t nothin’ finna stop me . I dismissed Lefi’s question by speaking to myself in a funny dialect .
There was nothing wrong with desperately wanting to fly . It wasn’t an uncommon desire . In fact, it’d been a common one that had crept up throughout my old world’s history . People had always wanted to fly . And machines, airplanes, had indeed been a realization of that exact dream . But alas, the metal contraptions had failed to truly fulfill it . What mankind truly wished for was to soar through the skies with none other than their very own flesh and blood—an act that, in this world, was actually possible . I didn’t care what I needed to do . I was going to fly . I wasn’t about to pa.s.s up the opportunity to fulfill one of my species’ oldest desires .
“Desperate or not, Yuki, you must know that all things in this realm come at a price . ” The dragon girl brought her thumb and index finger together to form a circle . In j.a.pan, such a gesture would clearly have referred to cold, hard cash . j.a.panese coins, modern and ancient alike, often featured circular forms with hollowed out centers . But of course, Lefi knew nothing of j.a.pan and its culture . And although she’d hinted at an exchange of currency, she didn’t desire wealth . What she wanted was a fried pastry with a hole punched out its center . A donut . Seriously? Is that really all she wants?
The request she made was incredibly easy to fulfill, so I decided to take it a step further and grab her something a bit fancier . I searched through the dungeon’s catalogue until I found a pack that came with a nice, white, paper box .
“How fragrant!” Lefi exclaimed . She slowly lifted the paper box’s lid as carefully as she would that of a treasure chest . “How incredible! There are three whole servings!? I cannot believe it! Each is a different flavour from the last, and all three bear a powerful aesthetic charm . Their appearances truly serve to function as a testament to their quality . ”
Her eyes had shot wide open; the look she gave me was one of joyous disbelief .
There was no denying that the donuts I handed the dragon girl were more expensive than usual, but that was only because I normally cheaped out and got her the least costly type there was . At most, they would have cost me about six hundred yen back in j.a.pan . Yet, she was treating them like they were made of solid gold . It was evident that her common sense as one of this world’s residents had led her to believe that sugar was extremely expensive . It was a reasonable conclusion . That was how it used to be back in my old world too . Sugar had started off as a luxury, something that only the well off could afford .
In other words, Lefi believed that the donuts I sp.a.w.ned her had come at an incredible cost . It was for that reason that she was regarding me as she would a generous saint . This is making me feel a bit guilty… It’s almost like I scammed her or something .
“Here, you know what, take this too . ” I presented her another sweet as a bit of an added bonus . Mostly to curb my own guilt .
“Unbelievable!” cried Lefi . “Is that perhaps the fabled Kast-Ellah!?”
Again, her eyes opened wide . Huh . She thinks castella is the stuff of legends? Oh . Must be because I only ever bought it once . I never bothered getting it a second time because I thought she cared more about quant.i.ty than quality . Yeah uhhh… whoops . Didn’t realize she liked them that much .
“I am amazed, Yuki . I am amazed to see the man that does naught but grumble and complain prepare such a magnificent feast . ” Lefi placed a hand on her chest and nodded . “Very well . I see now the extent of your ardor . I will forgive you and forget the incident in which you refused to quell my hunger and transform you into one that rules over the sky . Of course, I shall remain its Supreme Overlord, but you too will become one of its masters . I shall make you none other than the Skylord . ”
“Skylord? Sounds good to me . ” I nodded, handed her the castella, and sealed the deal . Huh . She seems pretty attached to that Supreme Overlord t.i.tle .
“Wait! That’s no fair!” Illuna, who had watched our conversation unfold, pitter pattered over as she raised her voice in objection . “I wanna eat sweets too!”
“Listen well, Illuna . I shall impart upon you an important life lesson,” said Lefi . She twisted her lips into a c.o.c.ky, s.h.i.+t-eating grin as she directed her gaze at the young vampire . “It is only natural for me to be the sole consumer of the sweets that I was granted . They were goods I gained in an equal exchange . I offered my labour, the transfer of my knowledge, and received them in return . If you too wish for sweets, then you must do the very same . Those that do not work have no right to eat . ”
That’s real rich coming from someone that does nothing but eat and sleep all day… Hearing her led me to immediately think of a retort, but I refrained from voicing it in the interest of preserving her mood . She might go back on her word if I p.i.s.s her off too much .
“Fine!” said Illuna as she turned to me . “Can you give me work, Yuki? I really want sweets too!”
“Hmmm, alright . Help me make dinner tonight, and I’ll pa.s.s you a plate of dessert . How’s that sound?”
At first, all our food had come from trading in DP, but I soon started growing sick of ordering stuff off the dungeon’s catalogue . The fact that it was ready by the time I hit the b.u.t.ton made me feel like I was eating fast food every single day . That was why I’d purchased the kitchen . Having the facility allowed us to make our food . And by us, I meant me .
Lefi wasn’t exactly the type to cook . She was far too lazy and I somehow doubted that she even knew how . Illuna, on the other hand, had helped out in the kitchen at home, so she at least kind of knew what she was doing . That said, she was still young, so I didn’t want her to handle anything major . Most of her tasks ended up being something along the lines of peeling the leaves off a stalk of lettuce . Thus, by process of elimination, cooking duty ended up falling onto my shoulders .
I wasn’t all that great at cooking . I couldn’t make anything too special, but repeating the task had caused it to grow on me . The task was surprisingly entertaining . Or at the very least, much more fun than I gave it credit for .
“Okay! I’ll do my best!” said Illuna .
“I admit…” said Lefi . “Dessert does indeed have quite the ring to it . ”
“I mean, the same rules that apply to her apply to you,” I said . “You can have dessert too, so long as you help out in the kitchen . ”
“…” Lefi’s face twisted into a frown as she took a moment to think the idea over . “It is fine . I will refrain . ”
Her response caused a wry smile to show up on my face . Looks like her sweet tooth only comes second to her laziness .