We walked slowly through the moonlit forest, enveloped in silence.
The pale moonlight filtering through the trees faintly illuminated my silver hair and jet-black dress. Fluffy moss grew thickly at our feet, and I felt a slight sinking sensation with every step.
It was far inferior to that bottomlessly soft carpet of miasma in Hell, but it was a much better walking experience than the cold marble floors of the royal castle.
However, there was one terribly annoying thing.
Ping!
[Area [Outer Edge of the Silent Forest] Discovered]
Ping!
[Warning: Abnormal drop in environmental mana detected. Experiencing unknown magical interference.]
Ping!
[Recalculating your status... Error. Values have exceeded the upper limit.]
"...It truly is noisy, isn't it."
With a flick of my hand, as if waving a folding fan, I shooed away the translucent blue board that kept blinking repeatedly in the corner of my vision.
Every time I walked a short distance, the so-called "System" of this world would appear before my eyes accompanied by an unrefined sound. It was as if a poorly-made machine was trying to forcefully fit my existence into a mold and causing processing lag.
In my previous life, back when I was just an ordinary young girl swaying on crowded commuter trains every day, I did play a few games where these kinds of "statuses" and "levels" popped up. So, I can understand what this blue screen means... but when I am the target of it, nothing ruins the mood quite like this.
To be shown such inorganic text completely spoils what was supposed to be a beautiful moonlit stroll.
"My Lady, shall I smash that irritating board of light to pieces, dimension and all?"
Lyra, walking slightly behind me, narrowed her eyes in displeasure and offered a suggestion. The small bat wings on her back fluttered irritably. It seems she can't see the blue screen itself, but she noticed I was bothered by something.
"Thank you, Lyra. But it's fine. This is like the 'air' of this world, so if you smash it, it might put a crack in the world itself. If we ignore it, it will eventually give up."
"You are truly too kind, My Lady. To show mercy even to the laws of such a lower world. Ah, touched by your deep compassion, my soul trembles with joy...!"
Lyra clasped her hands over her chest and looked up at the moon with a rapturous expression. Her evaluation of me is always breaking through the ceiling, so it's best to just nod appropriately.
Continuing to walk for a while, the trees ahead opened up slightly, and a place like a small hill with exposed bedrock came into view.
At the foot of the hill, there was a cave with its black mouth gaping wide open.
"My Lady, please wait. From that hole ahead, faintly... for this depleted world, there is a slight scent of mana drifting out. Also, the presence of filthy creatures that are not small animals."
Lyra stepped forward, standing in a way to protect me. Her slender, beautiful fingertips seamlessly transformed into sharp blades.
I lightly closed my eyes and tried sensing the surrounding magic power.
Indeed, from deep within that cave, mana of a slightly higher concentration than the surrounding forest was leaking out. It is likely the entrance to a place called a "dungeon" in this world. Something like a spring of mana.
And near its entrance, there was the presence of several humans surrounding a campfire.
They were not knights in armor. It was a much cruder barbaric presence mixed with the smell of sweat, alcohol, and cheap animal fat. Probably bandits or poachers claiming this forest as their territory.
"...Say, Lyra. The mana in that cave still isn't enough to open the door to return home, but... don't you think with a little effort, it could serve as a decent 'bedroom' for tonight?"
I chuckled softly.
In my previous life, on nights when I returned home exhausted from work, my greatest happiness was "diving into a fluffy bed." Even now as a devil, that feeling hasn't changed. Sleeping rough outdoors is something my aesthetics simply will not allow.
Inside that cave, the wind can be blocked, and above all, since the mana is slightly denser, it's perfectly suited for deploying "supreme furniture" with my magic.
"A wonderful idea, My Lady. I shall purify that filthy hole into Your Ladyship's bedchamber and prepare it perfectly. ...First, we must exterminate the pests swarming at the entrance."
"Yes. But please don't make too much of a mess. We are the ones who have to clean up afterward, after all."
"As you wish."
As we approached the light of the campfire, the men positioned at the cave entrance turned toward us all at once.
Five unshaven men wearing dirty leather armor. Empty bottles of cheap alcohol were rolling at their feet.
"Huh? What the hell, this late at night... wait, hey, hey, hey!"
A man with a large scar on his face, seemingly the leader, widened his eyes upon seeing Lyra and me.
I could clearly see vulgar desires surfacing in their cloudy eyes. A silver-haired girl and a beautiful maid illuminated by moonlight. It's not hard to imagine how we appeared to ruffians like them.
"Heh heh, well this is a surprise. Thought you were forest spirits or somethin', but you're some mighty fine-lookin' little ladies. You lost? Or did ya come to see us?"
"Hey boss, these ones look like they'd sell for a high price. Especially that silver-haired one, ain't she a noble's bastard child or somethin'?"
The men closed the distance inch by inch, weapons in hand, raising vulgar laughter.
Without getting angry at their words, I simply voiced a pure question.
"Good evening. I have a small question. Is this cave your property? If not, I would like to use it as our bedroom for tonight."
When I asked politely, the men looked blank for a moment before clutching their stomachs and bursting into roaring laughter.
"Bedroom!? Gyahahaha! Hey, did ya hear that? This little missy plans to sleep here!"
"Sure, we'll let ya use it! In exchange, we'll give ya plenty of cuddles and warm ya right up!"
The scarred man, smirking greasily, tried to reach his thick arm toward me.
"...My Lady. I am at my limit. I cannot allow the filthy voices of these creatures to touch Your Ladyship's eardrums any longer."
Beside me, Lyra's voice turned to absolute zero coldness.
Her red eyes glinted ominously in the moonlight.
"That is fine, Lyra. However, please do not dirty the ground with blood. I hate it when my shoes get dirty."
"Understood. ——The finest 'silence' for you, My Lady."
Ping!
[Warning: Off-the-charts magic reaction detected. The space in the target area is screaming.]
[Emergency Quest: Please flee. Survival probability 0.00001%—]
The clueless blue board appeared again, but the moment Lyra snapped her fingers, even it was drowned out by static.
"W-What the...!? My legs... won't... move...!"
The scarred man shouted in panic, but it was too late.
Lyra's shadow spread across the ground as if gliding, catching the men's feet.
What she used was the magic of [Soul Crystallization], which only high-ranking devils in Hell can use.
"A-Gah...! It hurts, it's hot, no, it's cold...!?"
The men's leather armor, their skin, their bones.
Starting from their feet, they were sequentially mutating into beautiful "black quartz."
Without spilling a single drop of blood, it was an incredibly cruel yet beautiful magic that condensed their life force and terror itself with magic power, transforming them into hard minerals.
"Hiiiii! M-Monsteeeer!!"
The man at the very back turned to run away, but his body also turned into black quartz in mid-air, crashing to the ground with a clear shatter! and breaking into tiny pieces.
Barely ten seconds.
The five noisy ruffians had been turned into beautiful black quartz sculptures (or fragments thereof), sparkling as they reflected the moonlight.
"Hehe, how pretty. They won't smell bad like this, and they might just be the perfect interior decoration for the cave entrance."
"I am honored by your praise. Now, My Lady, please step inside. I will immediately renovate this filthy space into the finest bedroom."
We slipped between the black quartz sculptures and stepped into the cave.
It was cool inside, and moss emitting a faint magical light grew on the walls, serving as illumination.
The mana concentration was indeed higher than outside; with this, it seems that even if I construct furniture with my magic, it won't disappear immediately.
"Now then, starting with cleaning the floor."
With a light wave of my hand, the bumpy floor of the cave was leveled perfectly flat, as if it were polished marble.
In my previous life, I liked looking at interior design magazines, but I never thought that knowledge and my "unnecessarily excessive magic power" would be useful in such a way.
"Lyra, the carpet, please."
"Yes. It is the finest silk carpet spun by the black spiders of Hell."
What Lyra pulled from her shadow was a deep, glossy crimson carpet that your ankles would sink into. We laid it out all over the leveled floor.
"Next is the bed. That is a point I absolutely cannot compromise on."
I gathered magic power in both hands and distorted the shape of space.
The blue system screen dyed itself bright red, flashing the warning: [Error: Creation of matter from nothingness is the domain of God], but I ignored it and forced the magic power through.
With a poof, a massive king-sized canopy bed appeared.
The frame was made of glossy black wood like ebony, and the four pillars featured intricate carvings of lilies. For the mattress, I replicated the custom-made one I use in my own room in Hell - soft as a cloud, yet firmly supporting the body.
The sheets and duvet were a smooth silver silk that looked as if it had absorbed the moonlight. At the bedside, I placed a small antique-style side table and a magical lamp that emitted a faint orange glow.
"It is perfect... This is truly the ideal bed that promises a peaceful sleep."
I let out an enraptured sigh and sat on the edge of the bed. My body sank in softly, and the ultimate comfort enveloped me.
"A magnificent spatial composition ability, My Lady. This dimly lit cave has instantly transformed into a beautiful bedchamber surpassing even those of royalty. The black quartz trash at the entrance should serve as a good ward against evil."
"Yes. Being forcefully woken up and having so much happen today has exhausted me, so I think I will rest now. Lyra, could you keep watch at the entrance?"
"Of course. Should any fool appear to disturb Your Ladyship's slumber, I shall erase them into the void without leaving even a fragment of their soul behind."
Lyra bowed deeply and stood silently near the entrance, a short distance away from my bed.
I undid the ribbon on the back of my restrictive dress with magic and slipped beneath the silk sheets.
"Good night, Lyra."
"Sweet dreams, my beloved Lady."
The Archduchess of Hell's first night in another world grew late, becoming quite literally dead silent.