"Besides, if you want to play with Eriri, you can always come over and use the World Gate," Azusa continued.
"No way! I'm the Demon King, you know! I call the shots in the Demon King's Castle. How could anything be inconvenient there?" Pecora retorted.
"I say we should all just move into the Demon King's Castle and live there."
"No, no, I'd rather live peacefully here on the plateau."
Watching the two argue over the location of the World Gate, Eriri chuckled and gently pressed down on Pecora's head, cutting off their debate.
"Alright, alright. I already decided where to place the World Gate before I came here, so no need to fight about it."
Hearing that, Pecora's face fell with disappointment.
After all, she hadn't known Eriri before, so there was no way the gate would've been planned for the Demon King's Castle.
Seeing Pecora's expression, Eriri pulled her into a hug and tugged gently at both of her cheeks.
"Fine, I'll open a personal World Gate in your bedroom, just for you."
"Really? Yay!"
Pecora lit up instantly and impulsively gave Eriri a quick kiss on the lips, drawing flushed stares from Halkara and the others.
Once everyone had rested and recovered from their food comas, they followed Eriri to a clearing on the right side of the cabin.
There, under the stunned gaze of Beelzebub and the others, a wooden house appeared out of thin air within seconds. Its size and layout were similar to Azusa's home, with just a few differences in room design.
As with other worlds, Eriri attached the World Gate to the door of this new wooden house.
To the uninitiated, it looked like an ordinary cabin door, but Beelzebub and the others felt a strong urge to open it and explore what lay beyond.
"Alright, I've granted all of you access to open the World Gate. But if you want to bring someone else through, you'll need Azusa's approval," Eriri said with a smile as she watched their stunned reactions.
"To think you could do all this so casually... I expected some grand spectacle. You're incredible," Beelzebub marveled.
Falfa and Shalsha curiously reached out to touch the cabin door.
"Uwah! So this is the World Gate? I wonder what the world on the other side is like. I'm so curious!" Falfa said, full of energy.
"Mhm. Shalsha's curious too," her sister added with her usual calm tone.
"If you're that curious, Azusa can take you to visit sometime. And not just the world on the other side—there are lots of different worlds to explore," Eriri replied, smiling at the slime spirit twins.
In the end, they didn't open the gate right away.
For one, it was already late. And two, they had to attend Laika's sister's wedding early the next morning.
So under Azusa's decision, they agreed to wait a few days before using the gate for a family trip to another world.
...
The next morning.
Eriri and the others were already up and gathered together.
Pecora and Beelzebub hadn't returned to the Demon King's Castle the night before. Instead, they stayed in the new wooden house Eriri had created.
After hearing about the upcoming wedding in the Red Dragon Clan, they decided to join in. Beelzebub, in particular, already had plans to visit the Red Dragon territory for a hot spring trip.
As the Agriculture Minister of the demon race, Beelzebub was quite busy—but slacking off for a day or two wasn't a big deal.
As for Pecora, it went without saying—being the Demon King placed her at the very top of demon society. Though she had to approve some documents now and then, freeing up time to have fun was easy whenever she wanted.
Naturally, Eriri, Ophis, and Scarlet also stayed in the newly built cabin.
At first, Pecora had tried to sleep with Eriri, but this time, Scarlet didn't back down. She and Ophis clung tightly to Eriri on either side, leaving no room for Pecora to squeeze in.
So with a pouty face, Pecora had to sleep alone in the room next door.
After a light breakfast the next morning, the group set out for the Red Dragon Clan's home at Mount Rokko.
Rather than teleporting everyone directly or flying on Laika's back like in the original story, Eriri brought out a spaceship she had once used in the Jobless Reincarnation world.
They boarded it and cruised leisurely toward the volcano, enjoying the scenery along the way.
Thanks to the smooth ride—unlike the bumpy experience of riding a dragon—Halkara didn't suffer any motion sickness this time.
After more than an hour in flight, the ship finally arrived at Mount Rokko.
...
At a large plaza beside Mount Rokko, numerous red dragons were gathered in small groups. Some gnawed on massive chunks of meat, while others clinked wooden mugs of ale, laughing loudly as they drank.
Aside from appearances, the atmosphere wasn't much different from a human banquet.
Just then, one of the red dragons spotted the spaceship approaching in the distance. Upon their alert, the rest looked up curiously.
Despite the unfamiliar vessel, there was no panic—just curiosity about who the visitors might be.
That curiosity didn't last long. As the ship drew nearer, the red dragons spotted a familiar figure aboard. Smiles quickly spread across their draconic faces.
Laika was leaning over the ship's bow, waving enthusiastically to the dragons below.
"Lady Azusa, Lady Eriri—we've arrived at Mount Rokko!" Laika turned back and called out cheerfully.
She was visibly excited to be seeing her family again and introducing Azusa to her parents.
"Mhm, I see them. There sure are a lot of red dragons that look like you," Azusa replied with a smile.
Indeed, the red dragons' appearances were largely similar, with differences only in details like eye and hair color, facial markings, and the shade of their scales.
But to the dragons, these distinctions were more than enough to recognize each individual.
There were also gender differences—male red dragons had two whisker-like tendrils on their faces, while females did not. Additionally, females typically had longer hair.
As the ship hovered over the plaza, Laika leapt out and transformed into her dragon form, landing beside the ship as it settled into the open space.
Once everyone disembarked, Eriri waved a hand and stored the spaceship in her spatial inventory.
The red dragons watched this with intrigued expressions, though they weren't too surprised. In this world, all kinds of bizarre magic existed, so spatial storage wasn't all that strange.
"Lady Laika! Good day!"
At that moment, two red dragons approached the group and bowed their heads respectfully to Laika in her dragon form.
"Your wings are as beautiful as ever."
Though dragons in this world could assume human form, they weren't human—so their standards of beauty naturally differed.
This was also why Eriri's presence hadn't caused a stir.
Of course, that was only because Eriri had suppressed her natural charm. If she hadn't limited it, then every red dragon in the plaza—regardless of gender—would have fallen under her spell.
After all, her title as the Most Beautiful Girl in All Worlds wasn't just for show. Eriri's allure transcended both gender and race.
"Rather than innate wings, we should be thinking about what to hone in the future," Laika said seriously, raising her dragon head with determination.
Her demeanor immediately earned her admiring gazes from the two red dragon girls before her.
"Laika-sama is so cool!"
Even though Azusa had seen this scene before in the memory images, she still found the elite-girls'-school-style conversation a bit amusing.
"By the way, Laika-sama, are those humans, elves, and demons your friends?" one of the red dragons asked curiously, glancing over at Eriri and the others.
Hearing the question, Laika quickly lowered her head toward Azusa and the rest. "My apologies, Lady Azusa, Lady Eriri—these are my juniors from school."
Then she lifted her head again and began introducing her guests. "This is my mentor, Lady Azusa, known as the 'Witch of the Highlands'…"
Laika proceeded to introduce everyone to her junior dragons.
Upon learning of Azusa's identity, the two red dragons were stunned. Even among dragonkind, the Witch of the Highlands was a famed figure. Laika herself had originally sought her out because of that reputation.
As for Eriri, Ophis, and Scarlet, Laika kept their introductions brief—only sharing their names.
But the reverent tone in her voice when mentioning them made it clear to the two red dragons that these three were extraordinary beings.
So, once their names were introduced, the two dragons bowed respectfully to them.
When they learned of Pecora's status as Demon King, they instantly panicked.
The Demon King was arguably the highest authority in the world—especially from the perspective of dragons.
After all, the dragons were under the jurisdiction of the Demon King.
"Forgive us, Lady Demon King. Please excuse our rudeness," the two dragons said nervously.
"It's fine, it's fine! Don't worry about me. I'm just here to have fun with my big sis," Pecora replied casually, clinging to Eriri's side and completely lacking the dignity of a Demon King.
Eriri gently patted Pecora's head, then smiled at the two nervous red dragons.
"Pecora's right. There's no need to be so tense—we're guests today."
Observing the way Eriri and Pecora interacted, and hearing how the Demon King addressed Eriri, the two dragons' respect for her grew even deeper.
But their nerves eased as well, and the tension soon melted away.
"Understood. Welcome, Lady Eriri, Lady Demon King," one of them said excitedly. "Lady Demon King, may we inform the rest of the clan of your presence? I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know you're attending the wedding."
Because they had landed a little ways from the main crowd, their conversation hadn't yet reached the other dragons' ears.
"Sure, go ahead."
Pecora's easygoing answer made them beam. After bowing once more to the group, they hurried off to share the news with the rest of the clan.
No one found their behavior surprising.
After watching the two red dragons leave, Laika turned to Eriri and the others. "Alright then, let me introduce you to my family."
With that, she began walking toward a certain direction, with Eriri and the rest following at her side.
Within a few minutes, Laika led them to four red dragons—her parents, older sister, and brother-in-law.
Laika's arrival clearly delighted her family, especially her father, who laughed heartily with a booming voice.
Naturally, they were just as warm in welcoming Eriri and the others.
Meanwhile, the two female red dragons from earlier had already spread the word of the Demon King's arrival. The news traveled quickly and soon reached every corner of the plaza.
As Laika's family chatted with Eriri's group, red dragons from all around came over one after another to greet Pecora.
However, they didn't linger long. After offering their respects, they returned to their spots to continue eating and drinking.
Thanks to this, Laika's family also learned about Pecora's true identity, and their attitude toward her naturally became far more respectful.
Even if Pecora looked every bit the part of a spoiled little demon girl clinging to her big sister, it didn't change the fact that she was the Demon King.
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