masters-orleans Chapter 292: Heroes and Demon Kings
Chapter 292: Heroes and Demon Kings
Sora lay sprawled across her mattress, looking like a saltwater fish that had
been left in the sun too long.
Her eyes were a map of broken capillaries, the dark circles beneath them deep
enough to house walnuts. Her hair was a chaotic nest, appearing as though it had
been through a high-tier wind spell.
Three days.
She hadn't closed her eyes for seventy-two consecutive hours.
From the first micro-second of Bochi's manifestation in this world, her schedule
had been a terminal loop of industry.
06:00: As soon as a sliver of light touched the horizon, Bochi would use its
tentacles to drag Sora from the bed, demanding a rooftop view of the sunrise.
09:00: The moment the shops in the Commercial District unlatched their shutters,
Bochi would haul Sora through every storefront, radiating a high-frequency
"Ooh!" at every shiny variable. 12:00: Bochi would localize the coordinates of
every dessert shop in the city with surgical precision, requiring Sora to
procure one of every cake on the inventory. 15:00: When the pigeons gathered in
the park square, Bochi required Sora to purchase industrial quantities of bread,
solely so it could watch the birds flee in a panic as he chased them. 18:00: The
night market lights would ignite, and Bochi would activate its "Secondary
Stomach," consuming sustenance from one end of the street to the other. 21:00:
Bochi would scale the tallest accessible building, requiring Sora to deliver a
lecture on the celestial positioning of every star. 00:00: Just as Sora
projected the cycle was over, Bochi would formulate a new "Expedition," like
searching for hidden loot in the abandoned amusement park.
Sora felt as if her soul had initiated an unauthorized extraction, hovering near
the ceiling and looking down at the empty shell of her body.
"SORA! SORA! Expedition phase commence!"
Bochi bounced onto her pillow. The impact caused her head to vibrate. A tiny
blue tentacle poked her cheek with a rhythmic, irritating pace.
"I localized a monolithic sector yesterday! It bore a sign: THE MUSEUM! Lead me
to the treasures hidden within!"
Sora didn't even possess the Od to lift her eyelids. "Negative."
"I require a sleep-cycle."
"Eh? But the atmospheric illumination is optimal!"
Bochi hopped to the windowsill, pressing its translucent face against the glass.
"Look! The sun has manifested!"
"That is because it is currently high noon."
Sora used the last of her kinetic energy to roll over, burying her face in the
softest part of the pillow to filter out the light and sound. "Bochi... I am
petitioning for a grace period. Two hours. Just two."
"But I wish to explore!"
Bochi leaped back onto the bed, flattening its body against Sora's back like a
gargantuan, blue weighted-blanket. "If you enter a sleep-cycle, I shall lose my
navigational orientation. I will be lost in the city."
"Then remain in this sector."
"Tedious. Boring. Logic error."
"Then utilize the television."
"I have audited all available broadcasts. The quality is inferior."
"The phone games, then."
"The block-pushing simulation is too statistically simple. Zero challenge."
Sora's patience finally hit its terminal threshold. She bolted upright, her eyes
wide and bloodshot, staring directly at the slime.
"Bochi."
"Mmh?"
"Do you possess data on why humans require sleep-cycles?"
"Unknown," Bochi tilted its head, its black eyes shimmering with curiosity.
"Because without them, we suffer system failure. We die."
Sora's voice was a flat, terrifying drone. "I have not initiated a rest-cycle
for three days. If this persists, I will be liquidated."
"If I am liquidated, there will be no Guide-Unit to lead your expeditions. No
one to procure the cakes. No one to explain the logic of this world."
"Is that a desirable outcome?"
Bochi froze. The vibration of its body ceased. Its tentacles swayed in the air
as its processors parsed the threat.
"Umm... are the humans of this coordinate truly that fragile?" its voice carried
a note of genuine confusion. "President Hans of the Sunflower Guild and Bishop
Anchi of the Cathedral... Uncle Greed stated that during peak cycles, they can
toil for an entire week without entering dormancy!"
Sora closed her eyes, then snapped them open. She told herself to maintain
logic; the entity was an alien slime, it couldn't be held to human biological
standards.
"Dissonant variables," Sora whispered. "Our species... is fragile."
"We die without rest. We die without sustenance. We die without hydration. If we
sustain trauma and do not receive alchemical treatment, we die. We are
consumable assets that require high-frequency maintenance."
"Therefore... permit me to rest."
Bochi was silent for several long seconds.
"Initiate sleep-cycle, then."
The slime hopped off her back, settling on the floor beside the bed. "I shall
await your reactivation here."
Sora exhaled, the tension finally leaving her frame. She collapsed back onto the
mattress, pulling the covers over her head.
Finally. Respite. Finally. Silence. Finally...
"Sora."
"Mmh?"
"Have you achieved sleep?"
"Negative."
"Understood."
Three minutes of silence passed. Then:
"Sora."
"What?"
"Are you sleeping now?"
"No."
"Understood."
Three seconds of silence.
"Sora."
"BOCHI!"
Sora exploded from the bed like a kinetic projectile, the blanket sailing into
the corner. Her hair stood on end from the sudden friction.
"CAN YOU NOT PERMIT A MOMENT OF STILLNESS?!"
"But the boredom is reaching critical levels!"
Bochi shrank into a small, miserable blue ball, its voice sounding genuinely
hurt. "Back in the Evernight Empire, I could sleep or explore at my own
discretion! If the boredom peaked, I would challenge Uncle Greed to a board
game. He was statistically incompetent, but he was always willing to play."
"I could study magic with Uncle Avarice. He showed me many fascinating, useless
spells. Or Auntie Lust... she always provided the highest-tier snacks."
"But here? There is nothing."
"Only you."
"And you insist on being 'Off-line'."
Looking at the dejected slime, Sora felt her anger evaporate. She sighed,
centering her emotions, and spoke softly.
"My apologies, Bochi. I shouldn't have spiked my vocal output. You're just
seeking engagement."
Sora slid from the bed and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the slime.
"How about this? I shall provide a narrative. Once the story is concluded, you
will permit me a rest-cycle. Agreement?"
"A narrative?"
Bochi's body bounced upward. "Subject matter?"
"A story of a Hero and a Demon King."
Sora allowed Bochi to hop into her lap, and she began to recount a tale she had
read in an old book.
"Long, long ago, there was a Hero." "He possessed immense power. He liquidated a
thousand monsters. He saved a thousand villages." "Finally, he arrived at the
Castle of the Demon King, intending to terminate the ultimate evil and save the
world."
"And then?" Bochi asked, its body swaying with excitement.
"And then... he discovered that the Demon King was actually a 'Good Person'."
"Eh?"
"The Demon King informed the Hero that the true enemy of the world was human
greed and the hunger for power. The monsters had only manifested because the
humans had disrupted the natural equilibrium. The villages were only attacked
because the humans had encroached upon the monsters' territorial coordinates."
"The Hero processed this data and entered a state of profound reflection." "He
began to doubt the logic of his entire journey." "Finally, the Hero discarded
his blade. He chose to align with the Demon King to find a true method for
world-stabilization."
☆☆☆
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