Welcome to Hell

And that's how it is.

'Well, you certainly came up with something interesting... yeah.'

I had decided to act the moment I thought of something, so after recruiting companions willing to come with me, I departed immediately. The ones who came with me were Jigorou, Shichiko, Shio, Iris, Shiitake, and Cal. Cal carried the three of us who couldn't fly, and we flew to our destination.

That destination was the abode of Felfenil-sama, the Ancient Dark Dragon Emperor. After the battle at Hellhole, Felfenil-sama tore down the hill where we had been stationed and used its dirt and rocks to build his own home over the hole. As expected of a Dragon Emperor, the scale of everything he did was enormous.

"So, what do you think?"

'Soil and liquids found only in Hell... There are plenty of those, yeah. The laws of physics themselves are different down there, so there are countless items you could never obtain aboveground, yeah.'

Our purpose in coming here was to obtain items found only in Hell and use them in our planter. Those who hadn't come either had no need for Hell's materials or had decided against it because they didn't fit their concepts.

As players, there wasn't a single one of us uninterested in visiting the unexplored field of Hell. Since Felfenil-sama had testified that even the laws of physics were different there, our expectations only kept rising. Surprisingly, though, many people were reluctant to use Hell's items on their plants. Wouldn't that make for an interesting plant?

'You want to go get them, right?'

"Yes. Would that be impossible?"

'No, that's fine. In fact, I'd be happy if you took over one of my duties, yeah.'

"Oh!"

'I do have just one request, though, yeah.'

A request? From Felfenil-sama? We had been granted a chance to visit Hell, after all, so even if it were a difficult request, I would do my best to fulfill it.

"If it is within our capabilities, we will do anything you ask."

'This lair of mine... It's rather unsightly, yeah. I want you to rebuild it beautifully, yeah.'

"Is this a construction request?"

...I had been bracing myself for some sort of request, but I never expected him to ask us to renovate his home. We still hadn't finished rebuilding our own town, but that work had given us the know-how to construct buildings in the game. I thought it was doable, but I wasn't sure.

I turned toward Iris and asked whether it would be all right. She gave a vigorous nod, so it should be possible. However, starting this before the town's reconstruction was complete was a difficult decision for me, both as the clan leader and as the king responsible for our residents.

'I want you to rest easy, though—you can put your own home ahead of mine, yeah. I'll wait patiently, yeah.'

"Thank you for your consideration."

'Then... let's do this, yeah.'

When Felfenil-sama moved his forelegs a little, a quest acceptance screen appeared in front of me. The quest's title was 'Felfenil-sama's Home Makeover!' The name brought to mind one of those home renovation shows, but it wasn't inaccurate since we really were going to renovate his home.

Since he was willing to wait for the town's reconstruction, there was no need to rush the work. That was a huge relief. However, I wasn't going to put it off. We would postpone the dangerous journey into the desert for a little while.

"So, how do we get to Hell?"

'Hmm... yeah. Then I'll send you there safely, yeah. You'll probably be surprised, but just stay still, yeah.'

"What do you mean by that...?!"

Before I could demand an explanation of Felfenil-sama's intentions, my vision was engulfed in a vivid pink light. I experienced a sensation of floating, as if I were riding a roller coaster... and then everything went black.

I couldn't move, and neither could the others. Surely none of us failed to realize where we were. The squishy, elastic thing enveloping us, its surface slick with slime, was unmistakably Felfenil-sama's... tongue. We were inside the Dragon Emperor's mouth.

In other words, the slime was Felfenil-sama's saliva. B-but that was gross... or so I thought, but there wasn't the slightest fishy smell coming from Felfenil-sama's saliva. On the contrary, a faintly floral scent even drifted through the air. The tongue was warm, too, making me feel as though I were wrapped in a futon. What was going on with this tongue...?

"Hey, everyone. Are you all right?"

"Yes... We're all right, somehow..."

"Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!"

Everyone seemed bewildered both by the unbelievable fact that we'd been tossed into the Dragon Emperor's mouth and by the fact that they didn't find it unpleasant for some reason. Cal alone was growling unhappily and driving his fangs into the tongue.

Cal had grown into a straightforward but fiercely competitive child who was gentle toward the clan members and townspeople. Even if a hundred players had maxed out their levels and equipped the best gear, I couldn't imagine them defeating the Dragon Emperor, a monster of such overwhelming power. There was no point in Cal being jealous of someone like that.

"Cal, calm down. Whether being wrapped in a tongue is something to be happy about is debatable, but Felfenil-sama means us no harm. Quite the opposite—he's sending us there safely. Don't get so angry."

"Grrrrrrr..."

"Don't sulk. If losing bothers you, get as strong as Felfenil-sama, then complain, 'You should have said something before putting me in your mouth,' or something."

"Gwooooh!"

Felfenil-sama treated Cal like a relative's child, so Cal was allowed to act that way. Perhaps understanding that, Cal stopped biting. Instead, Cal began using his claws with surprising dexterity to pinch the tongue. Since it was twitching, perhaps it actually hurt.

After about a minute of this, a red light began shining in from behind us. Around the same time, the tongue started moving, and Felfenil-sama gently placed us on the ground.

'Welcome to Hell. Well, it isn't really my territory, though, yeah.'

On my first visit, Hell was brighter than I had expected, and it was also far hotter than I had imagined. Since it was underground, I had expected it to be much darker, but apparently that wasn't the case. Red light from magma flowing like sludge illuminated the ground of Hell and the bedrock forming its ceiling.

Apparently, Hell had rivers and pools of magma. I knew this because there were several exceptionally bright areas visible even from where we stood. There was probably a magma lake over there. A river of magma flowed right near us, and fish were leaping energetically in it even now... Wait. Were there really fish that lived in magma? As expected of Hell, anything was possible.

Because magma was constantly flowing, the nights might actually be brighter than the surface world. No, it would be more accurate to say that there was no distinction between day and night. At the same time, it was hot enough to constantly inflict fire damage. Fortunately, it wasn't hot enough to kill us through damage over time, but it was still hot enough to make me hesitate to approach the magma.

"Thank you, Felfenil-sama."

'No need to thank me, yeah. I'll sleep here for a while, so come back once you've gathered what you need.'

"Understood. We will be off, then."

Felfenil-sama licked his own head with his long tongue, then lay down and began to sleep. His complete lack of caution was proof of overwhelming strength. No matter who attacked him or from where, he surely wouldn't even care. How much experience would Cal need to reach that summit? For Cal's sake, I would join him in even the most difficult battle!

We were free to act independently from here on out, but I had a feeling we would die if we split up. I wasn't saying that the members here were weak, but acting alone in an unknown place where ferocious Hellbeasts roamed would be nothing short of suicide. I could easily picture us being swarmed and devoured. Ah, Jigorou was probably enjoying himself in a fight somewhere.

"Bro, what do we do now?"

"Let's get an overhead view from somewhere high. Shichiko and Shio, can you handle that?"

"Leave it to me!"

"Roger that!"

"Keep an eye out for monsters—or rather, Hellbeasts!"

I shouted after them as they flew off in high spirits. I wasn't sure they'd heard me, but neither of them would do anything reckless, so they would probably be fine. After waiting for about a minute, I saw them return, flapping their wings.

"How was it?"

"There were several pools some way upriver from here. They weren't all magma, either—some were purple, yellow, and other unusual colors."

"Some were more like swamps than pools, though. Downstream, the river widened into a huge magma lake. If we're going to look around, upstream is definitely the way to go."

"If that's what the two of you who actually saw the area are saying, then let's do that. Shall we head upstream?"

We followed their recommendation and headed upstream. We began moving cautiously, checking our surroundings with Shio's eyes and my magic, but... our detection didn't pick up a single presence. Could it be that Felfenil-sama was so powerful that the Hellbeasts had fled?

Any ferocious Hellbeast that came within reach of his tongue would be swallowed whole, so it wouldn't be surprising if they'd learned their lesson and stopped coming near him. The fish were probably safe because Felfenil-sama didn't bother extending his tongue all the way into the magma. In other words, this area was a safe zone.

However, there was no guarantee that it was truly safe. We remained vigilant as we began exploring Hell.