Kuina and Rorono pulled at my arms and brought me to the bread factory that was in the second room of the dungeon proper.
In there, all of the monsters under my control gathered. We were about to have a celebration party of us having won the [War].
A large amount of table and chairs were set up. A lot of food and alcohol were also prepared.
If there were dishes for the humanoid monsters, there were also some intended for the Griffon and hippogriffs as well as the Skeletons and all the monsters made from the imitation medals.
Some of these food were made by Rorono the Elder Dward and Aura the Ancient Elf but for most of them, they were bought from humans living within Avalon.
The number of immigrants and adventurers within Avalon had increased and so too did the number of the taverns and restaurants.
As the humans open new businesses, it increases the variety of useful things and in turn makes the city more plentiful.
By the way, the coins used to pay for all these were the ones made by the Dwarf Smiths out of the silver and gold mined day and night by the golems. When mining for mithril, gold and silver were also obtained so economically speaking, Avalon was quite well off. As expected, real money was powerful; it was a greatly advantageous to be able to buy whatever was needed from the nearby cities. It was extremely helpful in the management of the city.
The existence of the [Mine] was kept secret from the inhabitants of the city. The entrance to that dungeon room was skillfully disguised and were always guarded by golems to prevent unwanted entry. If ever the humans discover the existence of a mine with infinite reserves of minerals, even at the best circ.u.mstances, it wouldn"t be a laughing matter.
"It won"t hurt to be able to mine some orihalc.u.m soon though."
"I would be happy when that happens, master. It would widen the kinds of weapons we could make. Additionally, we only have a small amount of orihalc.u.m remaining in our inventory for our weapons and sooner or later, we wouldn"t have enough even for repairs."
Rorono replied so to my monologue.
Our stock of orihalc.u.m came solely from Marcho"s dungeon and that stock was nearly gone.
The rank of the metal that could excavated from a [Mine] was proportional to the Demon Lord"s strength. Orihalc.u.m and even adamant.i.te could be gotten from [Beast] Demon Lord Marcho"s—my parent"s—dungeon whereas mithril was the highest ranking metal that could currently be gotten from my [Mine].
"After a long while, shall we go prospecting tomorrow?"
"Mhm, let"s do so. It is matter a life and death for me as a blacksmith"
Considering I had completed my three [Monsters of the Covenant] as well as the considerable level ups I gained during this [War], it wouldn"t be surprising to now be able to excavate orihalc.u.m.
If in the off chance that there wasn"t any, I would have to ask Marcho to let me use her [Mine] a little bit longer.
As I thought of such things, I went up to a stage together with my three [Monsters of the Covenant] and my right-hand man, the former Wight that became a Siegwurm.
All of the monsters" glances were focused on us.
"My beloved monsters!"
As my mantle purposefully fluttered, I spoke and then looked at each of my monsters" faces, each of them br.i.m.m.i.n.g with confidence.
We had broken three crystals in this [War] and by doing so, I had obtained the powers of [Viscosity], [Evil], and [Steel].
Furthermore, by winning the [War], I had accomplished my [War] quota and even received a reward from the Creator.
That was not all. The high-ranking Byakko became mine. The other monsters that once belonged to Zagan also fell under my command through Siegwurm"s Enhanced Resurrection.
These things that we had gained were really great but the greatest of them all in my opinion was the fact that we had won and the confidence my monsters had gained from it.
"We won. In the face of a dire situation—a fight against the forces of three Demon Lords—we have fairly and squarely seized victory!! Moreover, just as I commanded before the start of the [War], each and every one of you is here and has survived! You all have realized my fantasy and turned it into reality. A perfect victory for us!"
My monsters cheered loudly and gleefully.
They exchanged glances with the fellow beside them and smiled triumphantly.
"This victory is all thanks to your hard work! Without you, we wouldn"t have won. I am so proud and thankful to you all! I am glad you are born as my subordinates! Now, to all that can hold a gla.s.s of alcohol, grab hold of one!"
By my command, the humanoid monsters grabbed a gla.s.s of their own. The one that couldn"t do so moved close to a large bucket filled with alcohol.
"Everyone, raise your gla.s.ses! …….Cheers!"
A lot of voices yelling Cheers resounded in the area, followed by the successive clinking sounds made by their gla.s.ses.
When I emptied my gla.s.s in one go, everyone followed suit.
"Well then, from this moment on will be free time. Food and alcohol are served. Enjoy as much as you want and heal your tired bodies. I will be relying on you again from tomorrow onwards."
Like that, I descended from the stage.
The monsters gathered around the food and began chatting with their friends.
Meanwhile, Kuina grabbed my right arm as Rorono grabbed my left. Aura watched us while she smiled and walked behind us.
As for Stolas, she very rudely murmured having a weird look on his face from little girls clinging on him, I wonder, could he really be a lolicon?
After Wight congratulated me, he hurriedly went over to his fiancée, Ske-san. It seemed he had more spring in his steps than usual. He had told me before that they were to be wed after the [War] had concluded. It was a great thing both of them survived the fighting. I then remembered I was asked to officiate their wedding.
I have to think of ways to congratulate them. But for now, l should enjoy this celebration party.
◇
We had a splendid time after the celebration party began.
I enjoyed the delicious food and alcohol, to the point my stomach swelled a lot.
Occasionally, monsters would come up to me and congratulate me.
Closely beside me were my three girls. Stolas had been with us until some time ago but she seemed to have drunk too much and had left her seat to get some air.
"Oto-san, say Aaaah"
"Master, your gla.s.s is empty. Let me refill it."
"Master, I"ll go get more food."
The three girls graciously attended to me. Stolas and other monsters were not around so I decided to give that to them.
"Thank you, everyone. This looks like the right time; there"s something I want to give you."
I took out two rings from my pocket. They were platinum rings engraved with something that looked like an apple, the symbol of Avalon.
Attached to one of the ring was a fiery red ruby and to the other a cold, purple sapphire.
"These rings will certify that you are my [Monsters of the Covenant]. I hope you"ll accept it. I have already handed Aura"s ring to her beforehand but Kuina, I have prepared the one with the red ruby for you, and the one with the purple sapphire is for you Rorono. I chose these gems under the belief that they suited you best."
I gave them the rings to express my daily grat.i.tude to them as well as a reminder that they were my Monsters of the Covenant. I had already given Aura her jade-green emerald ring.
After I put on the rings on their left hand, the girls touched the precious rings on their finger.
"Woah, so pretty. Thank you, Oto-san!!"
"This make me very happy, Father. I will treasure this ring my whole life. I will do my best more than ever for Father."
Kuina shook her fluffy tail repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Rorono didn"t refer to me as master but instead as Father.
These were their reactions whenever they were greatly pleased about something.
"Will the three of you show me your rings?"
"Yeah! ♪"
"Mhm"
"Certainly."
Each of them showed me the ring on their left hand.
Kuina"s ring had a pa.s.sionate red ruby that looked like it was burning brightly.
Rorono"s had a refreshing, calm, and tranquil purple sapphire.
Aura"s had a genial-looking and gentle jade-green emerald.
Each ring perfectly matched the girls" distinct personalities and charms.
"I"ll declare it again: Kuina, Rorono, and Aura, I appoint all of you to be my [Monsters of the Covenant], thereby completing my three [Monsters of the Covenant]. I swear to face the future with all of you; to laugh with you; weep with you; as well as swearing to spend my whole life with you, my beloved daughters."
Upon hearing my words, each of them displayed a different lovely reaction.
Kuina, with a smiling face, cheerfully answered Yay ♪.
Rorono earnestly nodded.
While Aura smiled with a content expression on her face.
And then, the three exchanged glances and showed slightly mischievous expression… and then, they altogether hugged me. I withstood almost falling over and hugged them in return.
"Oto-san, I love you."
"Mhm. Till death do us part."
"Yeah, I won"t go away even if you tell me you don"t need me anymore."
As I felt their warmth, I reflected upon the delight of having my [Monsters of the Covenant] completed and that they were the girls.
I"ll persevere even more from now on. I won"t let anyone take my city or my monsters away from me. I"ll protect my monsters. No, not just that. I"ll make my city even wealthier and make everyone happy.
With that determination in my chest, I smiled lightly.
Author’s edited afterwords: The third volume is complete! Thank you for reading this far. From the fourth volume on, the scale of the story will be higher. It will be even more interesting so please continue reading.
TL: I edited out what I consider spoiler-ish. Regarding that issue, I will be deleting comments I could consider as spoilers to protect the other readers.