Kousuke had arrived at the floor where the Succubi resided, after visiting the Elf Village.
Having visited the towns of Vampires and Elves, he decided to take the opportunity to observe the Succubi.
It had been a while since he had visited the villages of those Demi-humans, so he thought this was a good chance.
Upon arriving at the 79th Floor, Kousuke, accompanied by Mitsuki, visited the Succubi settlement.
While Peach might be an exception, it was rare for Kousuke or Mitsuki to visit this village.
Except for the time when they frequently visited while the village was stabilizing, they had hardly come since the Defreya Clan’s activities became stable.
Therefore, it was not uncommon for members of the Ice Lord Clan who came later not to know Kousuke.
Kousuke inwardly reflected that he should have brought Peach with him, and with his gaze, he suppressed Mitsuki, who looked as if she was about to move.
If he didn’t, there was an atmosphere as if she was about to defeat the Succubus in front of them.
The reason for this was clear: the unsheathed swords pointed at Kousuke and his companions.
The owner of the sword, while pointing the sword at Kousuke, had a stern expression.
“How in the world did you get in here! Answer me quickly!”
He seemed to perceive them as complete intruders.
In the first place, to come to the floor where the Succubi village was located, one had to use a teleportation gate that only select individuals could use.
No matter how much you threatened anyone, the magic power crests possessed by individuals were registered, so even if they knew the location of the teleportation gate, they couldn’t use it.
However, whether that man had completely forgotten this fact, or didn’t know it from the start, he pointed his sword at Kousuke and his companions the moment he saw them.
For Mitsuki, it was sheer rudeness, and she tried to deal with him immediately, but Kousuke managed to stop her by some means; that was the current situation.
While he couldn’t help but wonder if it was alright for the Succubi, who were operating in secret, to be in this state without knowing Kousuke’s face, the priority now was to resolve the current situation.
The moment Kousuke opened his mouth to speak, as if noticing the commotion, another Succubus arrived.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“These guys suddenly came through the teleportation gate.”
“What?!”
The Succubus who joined them looked at Kousuke and his companions with a surprised expression.
“How in the world… no, wait a minute?”
However, the surprised expression of that Succubus lasted only for a moment, and she tilted her head immediately.
She remembered the special conditions for using the teleportation gate.
Then, she recalled the person who could use this teleportation gate by fulfilling those conditions… but as she tried to do so, her expression gradually turned pale.
She had figured out who the person in front of her was.
Fortunately for Kousuke, that Succubus was someone in a high position within the Ice Lord Clan and had thorough information about Kousuke.
Confirming that the two people in front of them perfectly matched the characteristics they had heard, they managed to identify Kousuke and his companions.
And the next moment, while forcefully holding down the head of the man who still had his sword pointed at Kousuke and making him bow, she herself bowed deeply.
“W-we are terribly sorry!!!!”
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Upon arriving at the mansion of Giselle, the leader of the Defreya Clan, Kousuke and his companions were immediately bowed to by Giselle and Camilla.
“No, no, we have already apologized enough to them ourselves.”
“No, that cannot be. It is our negligence that our education was insufficient.”
“That’s right.”
“Even so. It is also my fault for not bringing Peach and coming without any contact.”
At Kousuke’s words, Giselle and Camilla shook their heads.
“That has nothing to do with it. It is our fault for not properly conveying the peculiarity of the teleportation gate.”
“Since only authorized personnel can come through the gate, pointing a sword at someone suddenly is unacceptable.”
Kousuke realized that it would be pointless to say anything more to the two who kept pressing their points.
Sensing that continuing this topic would not lead to a good outcome for either party, Kousuke decided to change the subject quickly.
“Well, anyway, it’s been a while, but how is the village doing?”
Although it was an obvious change of topic, the two leaders went along with it.
“Nothing has changed.”
“We are grateful to Kousuke-sama for providing a safe place for our clan.”
Camilla said so and bowed her head.
In fact, they had received similar words every time they visited.
Like the Defreya Clan, the Ice Lord Clan would have been in danger of extinction if they had not been protected by the tower.
Their gratitude was thus very deep.
“Even so, monsters do appear,” Kousuke said.
“That is true, but there is no place in this world where monsters do not appear. Rather, it is sufficient that it is covered by a barrier that prevents monsters from entering.”
“Indeed. Just being able to sleep peacefully at night is a blessing.”
Giselle laughed heartily at Camilla’s words.
Although lookouts were posted for the training of the young people, the village, being covered by a barrier, generally did not require lookouts.
This alone could be considered a heavenly state.
And that situation had brought about a change.
“This might sound crude, but it seems that married couples have more time together at night, and the birth rate appears to be increasing.”
Kousuke blinked at Giselle’s unexpected remark.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It is increasing gradually, but steadily.”
“It’s not just the Defreya Clan; it’s the same for the Ice Lord Clan, so I’m sure it’s true. We are surprised by this unexpected effect.”
Even Kousuke was surprised by this. It was a clear change that showed families living in an environment free from attacks by monsters or enemies, allowing them to live with peace of mind.
“Not only has the birth rate increased, but the mortality rate among the young has also decreased. The number of clan members is steadily growing.”
“We don’t know how many decades it will take, but it’s possible it could become a village of thousands.”
It was a long-winded prospect, but judging from the current situation, it was not an impossible one.
“That seems like a prospect for the distant future,” Kousuke said with a sigh. The two leaders gave him an indescribable look.
“Well, we probably won’t live to see it, but we would be grateful if Kousuke-sama could watch over the future of our village.”
“We vow that the prosperity of our village is tied to Kousuke-sama.”
Kousuke wore a bewildered expression at the two suddenly saying such things.
They had never said anything like that before.
“Please don’t make that expression.”
“It means that now that we have found a place of peace, we can finally look forward to a bright future for our clan.”
“Is that so?”
Watching the two speak with excessively bright expressions, Kousuke nodded with a solemn look.
In any case, Kousuke would not die of old age before these two.
As Kousuke was reminded of this fact, he felt a slight sense of loneliness.
Giselle, sensing this from his expression, added with a nonchalant air, “Kousuke-sama has the important task of watching over the fate of our village, so we would be grateful if you could witness the outcome.”
Kousuke, who was just a Human when they first met, had never imagined he would become an Avatar. It was one of Giselle’s dreams for Kousuke, who had joined the ranks of gods, to watch over the future of their clan.
At these words, which he heard for the first time, Kousuke was momentarily speechless.
Perhaps sensing Kousuke’s bewilderment, Giselle laughed as if to dispel it and said, “It’s nothing. You don’t need to overthink it. It’s fine if it’s only what you can do, so just come and check on us like this once in a while.”
Beside Giselle, who said this with a smile, Camilla nodded deeply.
“Yes.”
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Kousuke replied briefly.
The young man who had initially confronted Kousuke received a thorough scolding after Kousuke returned to the Management Layer.