That's right—laborers. Right now, all Leo needed from them was labor, nothing else.
After all, these two girls clearly didn't trust him. If he tried to force them to do anything beyond that, they definitely wouldn't agree.
"In any case, you can also go explore this world on your own first. I can directly turn you into players and provide the most basic weapons. Of course, if you kill enough zombies, you can become players yourselves too. It all depends on your own choice."
Leo spread his hands, indicating that the decision was theirs.
"There's no need to waste your experience points, Mr. Leo. I can become a player on my own. Still, I'll properly do my part and help everyone build the fortress."
Rias answered without hesitation.
She didn't want to waste time. Observing this world was necessary, but she could do that privately later—not now.
Moreover, as a member of the Gremory family, she believed that even with her power suppressed, she could still easily handle most situations.
However, she would avoid actively accepting anything Leo offered.
There were simply too many strange and dangerous things in the world that could harm a person through similar means.
"Alright. And you, Lux?"
"Ah, me?"
Lux scratched her head in mild distress. Her pretty brows furrowed slightly before she spoke with a somewhat embarrassed tone.
"Um… then I'll do the same as Miss Rias. After all… I think I can help too."
Lux extended her hand. She felt much more relaxed here. Although there was still a sensation of something pressing down on her, she could feel something inside her body beginning to awaken.
So she raised her finger.
In an instant, a beam of light as thick as a bucket burst from her fingertip, slamming straight into a distant tree. In a flash, the tree—thick enough that it would take several people to wrap their arms around—was burned straight through. The beam continued on, striking a massive rock behind it.
The next moment, the rock shattered with a thunderous crash.
More precisely, it was burned through by overwhelming heat, then shattered.
Leo: "..."
So what virtue or merit does an ordinary guy like me have to stand on the same stage as you people?
Rias couldn't help raising an eyebrow. She realized she might have underestimated Lux. At the same time, her desire for Lux only grew stronger—the urge to take Lux as her servant intensified.
If this weren't such a strange place, she would've made the offer on the spot.
Lux herself was also frightened by her own power. It wasn't as if she'd never cast magic before, but something this powerful was a first!
She stared at the destruction she'd caused, mouth agape, unable to believe that she was the one who had done it.
Rias smiled softly. Lux's current state was clearly that of someone who had just awakened her power and hadn't yet come to terms with its magnitude. Rias had plenty of experience with children like this, so she walked over and extended her hand.
"It seems you're the same type as me, Miss Lux."
The next instant, before Lux's astonished eyes, magic circles appeared one after another around Rias. Countless fireballs shot toward the already burning grassland and remaining trees. In the blink of an eye, smoke and flames filled the sky, and the already devastated ground was torn apart even further.
Leo: "..."
Leo couldn't help but think about something.
If the first zombie tide had been meant to deal with just him and Erina—hence not that strong—then with Rias and Lux added to the mix, how terrifying would the next zombie tide be?
Or was he overthinking it?
No, no—given his luck, something like that becoming reality seemed almost guaranteed, didn't it?
Leo felt his stomach twist in pain.
How did he turn into dead weight in the blink of an eye?
"No, thinking carefully, it's been like this since the second batch of newcomers. If Tsunade didn't have hemophobia and psychological issues, this entire world would be trivial for her. Paired with Kelly, they could easily handle most things. From that point on, I was already just an accessory."
But still—
It felt pretty good.
"Uh, then feel free to do as you like."
Leo shrugged. Since that was the case, he might as well let these two do whatever they wanted.
If it came down to a real fight, his side would actually be at a disadvantage.
But when it came to surviving the Blood Moon, this was undeniably a good thing.
"Thank you for your understanding."
Rias replied with a smile, doing her best to maintain her composure. She had actually gone all out just now—the suppression in this world was far stronger than she'd expected.
Right now, she had at most one percent of her original power.
She glanced at the silent blonde woman named Tsunade. Ever since she'd noticed her, Rias's instincts had been constantly screaming warnings—this woman had the ability to kill her.
And very easily.
That warning was the reason she hadn't immediately tried to seize the initiative or do anything more aggressive.
"Then thank you for your tolerance."
Rias didn't pay much attention to Leo. To her, he was just an ordinary human. She'd never really considered his thoughts, so since he was being sensible, she didn't say anything extra.
Even when Leo's eyes lingered on her chest for a few moments, she didn't mind.
After all, they belonged to entirely different worlds.
Instead, she took Lux by the hand. As Lux stood there looking flustered, Rias led her away to explore the area and look for paths forward.
As for being miners?
Don't joke around. How could the young lady of the Gremory family possibly do manual labor?
Leo watched them leave—especially after those truly terrifying assets disappeared from view—then turned his head toward Tsunade.
"Uh… they're pretty amazing, aren't they?"
He was just making conversation. Tsunade looked at the ordinary man and sighed helplessly.
"You don't need to worry about what happened yesterday. It was my fault to begin with."
She shook her head and stood up.
"But since it already happened, I won't say much more. Even if it was a decision made in panic, it was still my decision. I'll continue doing those things with you until you accumulate enough energy to send me back… but you'd better give me a rough estimate of how many times and how long it'll take."
Tsunade's tone was calm. She'd already mentally prepared herself for this.
"About fifty times. Because you and I don't really have any emotional bond, the emotional output is low—less than a quarter of Erina's—so… the number is pretty high."
Leo explained a bit more. It wasn't that he wanted to do that kind of thing with Tsunade even more; it was just a simple fact.
Tsunade fell silent for a moment, then shook her head.
"I don't really have a choice either. But you'd better not keep me waiting too long. And that number…"
She looked straight at Leo.
"Then we'll do it ten times a day."
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Leo's back. After thinking for a moment, he looked at Tsunade.
"Can you handle that?"
He'd be fine—food was plentiful, so ten times wasn't a problem. But Tsunade…
Tsunade's face instantly turned bright red. Leo's words made her recall her embarrassing state from the night before, and her fists clenched tightly.
They were hard.
Her fists were hard!
"Shut up! Just do it! A ninja is someone who endures everything! Don't underestimate me! I carry the title of one of the Sannin!"
After saying that, she lowered her voice.
"At worst, I'll activate the Hundred Healings."
Leo didn't hear that part.
Afterward, she waved her hand at Leo, signaling him to go do his own tasks.
"Alright, go take care of your business. I have things to do too."
Leo nodded. But just as he was about to leave, Tsunade suddenly spoke again.
"Come to my place at noon. That way I can rest a bit too."
"Okay."
The distance between them gradually widened. Just as Leo was about to step through the merchant house's door, he heard Tsunade's final words.
"And also, slow down then, I…"
"Hm?"
"I've healed."
Healed?
Leo's hand froze on the door.
Healed what?