Dungeon Overlord: Monster Girl Harem!-Chapter 88: Arlet Village - Return to the Dungeon

The carriage swayed from side to side, and the wheels rattled over the uneven road. There was a jolt as the carriage bounced as if passing through a ditch.

Ever since Leonhardt and his group left Munat, they fought a bunch of wolves and spiders, but nothing significant happened, other than a member of the Last Call following them in the second cart.

She was the woman codenamed Diamond or Dia for short, with long, blond hair and blue eyes. Much like Sylvie, she was an elf with excellent senses. To Leonhardt's annoyance, she appeared several times during the night when Asuka and Leonhardt slipped away to enjoy some alone time in the forest.

This led to quite the irritation for Leonhardt, who noticed her presence from morning to evening; it seemed this was the "surveillance" that Enzo requested he accept.

However, finally reaching the familiar area of Arlet village, the group became more relaxed, no longer carrying the memories of what happened in Munat because soon they would get paid!

At least for the girls, anyway.

'I want to kill her...' Leonhardt thought to himself while enduring the piercing gaze of the blonde elf as he ate the dried meat sandwich that Erina had prepared for him earlier.

"Leo, what's wrong?" Asuka tilted her head, oblivious to the elf's constant antics.

Erina seemed a little concerned as she reached towards Leonhardt, "Was the sandwich that bad, if you don't like it..."

"Hngh!" In the distance, the elf's eyes became sharper and filled with mana, listening to the comment of Erina and her worried face. It seemed Dia would try to irritate Leonhardt no matter what he did.

"Not at all. I was just worried that in two bites it will be gone forever." Leonhardt told Erina to reassure her and took another bite before patting the crumbs from his chest.

Erina smiled at this, and the feeling of someone aiming at the back of his head vanished.

"Phew..."

'I will definitely kill her.'

Once they returned to the area of Arlet, the girls noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere.

With merchants and carriages leaving the village hastily, nothing like the past when only a few carriages would leave in a day. This was the sign of the upcoming battle, but none of them knew about this except Leonhardt.

The dark elves led by Nyxara completed their task with such ease he couldn't help but wonder why they were destroyed.

After weeks of being attacked and pushed to the limit, the Alpha wolf was in the southern parts of the forest. It seemed the foolish beast finally took their clues and started heading towards the village, killing humans and creating this atmosphere.

"It seems everyone is preparing to flee..." Erina said with a sigh as her eyes focused on Leonhardt, maybe expecting him to have some information on the situation. She wasn't wrong, either. "Leon, do you think the wolves are going to attack the village?"

"Who knows? I don't care about those people, and I couldn't care less."

"Leon!"

Erina became strict after getting her vice-leader position. But that wasn't too bad. In return, she started working on budgets and how to increase their numbers. She even made specific recruitment criteria that improved Leonhardt's view of the young priestess.

'Definitely Enzo's daughter.' He smirked while thinking about her fiery gaze.

"You want to help them?"

"Yes!"

He then turned to Sylvie and Asuka, who seemed less interested. "What about you two?"

Sylvie gave him one of her usual grins. "If you don't want to go, then we would stay behind as well, right?" She turned to Asuka for confirmation.

"Mmm, I guess...It's not like we have anything better to do, though."

Leonhardt couldn't help but cover his mouth, trying to hide his smile as Erina's sharp gaze turned towards the lazy members of her group. He didn't intend to stop her, but he wanted to prevent Erina from becoming a charity case.

"Erina, what about earnings? We cannot work for nothing..."

Five black wolves dashed across the plains, chasing one caravan, but Leonhardt didn't move a finger—in fact, the moment the guard slipped and fell because of his fear.

He curled his lips into a twisted smile.

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'Idiot!'

The wolves pounced on the man, who fell to the ground.

Leonhardt and his group didn't have an obligation or reason to help the man. But Erina didn't share the same thoughts as she pointed her hand towards the distance and formed a golden barrier that stopped their sharp fangs from tearing out the man's throat.

"Leon!"

He knew what she would say without hearing it.

So with an annoyed sigh, he casually pointed at the wolves and let the mana trickle through his veins, forming a small black sphere at the tip. Then the snap of his fingers. The bolts lanced towards the wolves, splitting into five bolts that penetrated their eyes and skulls, killing the beasts.

The guard didn't seem to have any reaction either, but Leonhardt didn't care.

To Leonhardt, the only thing that mattered was the gaze Erina showed while looking at him, eyes glowing with respect and reverence as tears dripped from the corner of her eyes.

'Oh.' This is quite fun.

It wasn't like he wanted to become a hero or anything of the sort. It was just the way her body shook each time he cast magic or the curl of her glossy pink lips when she smiled at him.

'When did Erina become so animated?'

Leonhardt tapped his chin, wondering what changed her so much.

'Could it be meeting her father... no, that wasn't it.'

He looked focused on Erina while considering various thoughts, trying to understand why she seemed so vibrant and full of life when just a few days ago, she seemed to be a living corpse when compared to the current Erina.

Finally, something came to him.

'Maybe it's because of me?'

A slightly arrogant thought. As she turned to him with a beaming smile, he couldn't help but doubt his thoughts. "Maybe?" he thought once again before chuckling to himself as he noticed the look of Asuka and Sylvie.

'I guess this is going to be quite interesting...'

Leonhardt wondered what would happen when these girls met Nyxara... or even Zafira.

Would there be a bloodbath?

Or maybe they would kneel and know their place.

Meanwhile, as he considered these thoughts, Asuka watched Leonhardt's face, her eyes narrowing before flicking to Erina.

The way she looked at him was becoming a little too intimate for her liking.

Yet she couldn't complain because Leonhardt told her from the start that he already had other women, and she still chose him.

'Why am I getting angry?'

But those thoughts were quickly discarded as she turned to Sylvie.

The same dark eyes and slight scowl were directed at Erina. It seemed she also needed to watch the small blue elf beside her. 'What is wrong with me?' She shook her head as the carriage continued towards the village.

When they finally arrived at Arlet Village, a small group of the village guards met them at the gates. It was a surprise for Leonhardt, who didn't think his actions would have such a drastic effect.

'Oh, it's the old guy and the stupid kid that liked Asuka!'

However, their faces looked grim, different from the old man he had first met.

He looked tired, and his right arm hung without power and made Leonhardt struggle to hide his grin, excited that his plan had weakened the humans in the village.

Soon, he would bring his troops and have them accept the goblins, whether with force or by breaking their mind using Zafira's magic.

"HALT! What business do you have in Arlet Village!" Called out the old guard, but the moment he saw Leonhardt, his eyes flashed with a light.

"Kid... you're alive?"

'Eh? He remembered me?'

Somehow, hearing that from the old man made Leonhardt's chest feel strange, a warmth that only existed when speaking to Ifrit or Zafira.

'Have I grown attached to this old man?'