Because of the arrival of Sui and the others, Diego temporarily gave up on collecting the debt from Yamada Ryo and chose to bring the four of them home first.
At the very least, he needed to teach them some common sense, culture, and language of this world.
Of course, that didn't stop Diego from staring at Yamada Ryo with a disappointed expression before leaving.
Stare...
Yamada Ryo: You've already made me cry from anxiety.
...
— Diao Zhai —
To be honest, when Diego said he was bringing them home first, Mabel didn't have high expectations.
The first thing that came to mind was that Dio didn't seem to have much status here. Even a little blue-haired girl on the street could kick him flying with one foot.
Maybe Dio had fallen so low that he was busking on the streets to get by...
And from what Dio said, he hadn't been living here for very long—only about two years. Even if he wanted to make money and buy a house, he probably couldn't afford one. The currency from the original world didn't work here either, so it was probably a rented house or hotel..
Heh, hehehehehehe~ But I, the great Mabel, won't dislike him for it!
Mabel had already prepared herself to comfort Diego and live through some hard times with him. After all, they had already endured wind and dew while subjugating the Demon King. This was nothing~
"Mabel, what are you giggling about? We're home."
At that moment, Diego's large hand waved in front of Mabel's face, pulling her out of her fantasy.
Mabel looked in the direction Diego was pointing and felt a jolt through her entire body.
The white stone walls glowed with a soft pearl-like luster under the sunlight. The pointed roofs were covered in deep green tiles, adorned with gilded patterns and carved spires. The arched windows were inlaid with stained glass, scattering fragments of rainbow across the floor when sunlight passed through. The corridor pillars were carved with vines and griffins, their lines intricate and elegant—like a palace pulled straight out of a fairy tale.
Because the SPW Foundation believed Diego and DIO were the same person, the renovated house heavily referenced the vampire DIO's old mansion in Cairo.
"...Dio, even after coming to another world, it's still not right to be thinking about killing lords and stealing their houses to live in.." Mabel's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open. She grabbed the back of her head with both hands.
You're saying this house—with its massive courtyard, fountain sculptures, and luxury that surpasses even a lord's—is where I'm going to live from now on?
Thud!
A hand chop landed on Mabel's head.
The force was just enough to daze her without causing brain damage.
"Ah!"
"What lord? What stealing houses? What are you even thinking about? This is the result of ko no Dio's persistence and hard work." Diego half-lidded his eyes, radiating a strong sense of speechlessness. "Why would you think I couldn't make money? Besides, there are no lords here..."
Mabel poked her fingers together and muttered quietly, "Because… ever since I met you, we've always been eating and sleeping outdoors..."
"Indeed. I can't imagine Dio living in a mansion at all." Frieren chimed in agreement.
"...I'm never living like a wild person again." Diego was speechless. After a moment of silence, he opened the door and gestured inside. "You guys go in first and take a look around to get familiar with the place. I'll think about how to quickly solve the language barrier problem."
"Oh!" ×4
Mabel rushed inside impatiently.
"Mabel really is excited.."
Sui walked behind her, staring at Mabel's back as she spoke.
Alicia, beside her, covered her mouth and smiled. "She's probably just tired from the journey."
At that moment, a wave of sound exploded in everyone's ears.
"Waaah——!!! Elga, Alicia, Frieren, come quick!!! I discovered something super incredible!!!"
The three of them froze, exchanged glances, and followed Mabel's voice into Diego's bedroom.
Mabel was sprawled across the bed, face buried in the pillow. Her pure white, slender Ice Clan legs kicked back and forth, clearly enjoying herself immensely.
The moment Sui entered, her attention was instantly drawn to the forget-me-not flowers in the room. She muttered, "So… so many flowers..."
"That's not it!" Mabel sat up with a sudden motion, hugging the blanket in front of her with both hands. She explained excitedly, "The mattress is soft and springy, the blanket is so soft and smells nice—it's completely different from hotel beds!"
Sui clearly wasn't impressed. She instantly switched to a deadpan expression. "How different can a bed be?"
"Heave-ho! I can even..."
Mabel stood up and gave a light hop.
Boing boing boing...
"Did you see that?! It even bounces super high, and you can rebound several times!!"
"The bed's going to break." Sui held her head and complained. She then shook her head and reached out to pull Mabel down, using a tone like she was coaxing a child. "Alright, get down before Dio notices you broke the bed. I'll put it back to normal."
"I won't! I'd rather die on this bed than get down. This is the best bed I've ever slept on. I feel like I could sleep for ten years straight." Mabel pouted and clung tightly to the mattress, refusing to let go.
"I'm talking about you..."
Before Sui could start scolding her, the two of them heard Frieren's voice again.
"This is... fire magic that doesn't require magical power!"
Sui felt a faint sense of panic. She stopped trying to drag Mabel off the bed and left the bedroom, heading straight for the kitchen.
The moment she stepped into the kitchen, a wave of heat hit her face. She saw Frieren staring at something with shining eyes, while in front of her was a pillar of fire shooting straight up.
Seeing Sui approach, Frieren pointed at the stove and said excitedly, "Elga, look at this! It's fire magic that doesn't require any magical power at all. The people of this world have already researched the magical power system to this extent!!"
"Wow..." Sui was stunned. She quickly reacted and asked, "Frieren, what did you touch? How did this fire appear?"
"I don't know. I just touched that little rotating knob when I walked past." Frieren pointed casually and gave a smug little laugh, leaning closer to the flames again. "Forget that for now. Let me study this properly. This is a great discovery that could trigger a magical power revolution!"
"Sigh... Do you at least know how to put out this fire? It feels like it's getting bigger. I'm worried it might accidentally burn the house down." Sui sighed.
Frieren didn't take it seriously at all and waved her hand dismissively. "Put it out? Why put it out? Aren't you curious what the energy source of this fire is?"
"I am curious, but——" Sui pinched her chin. After thinking about it, it did seem reasonable. She was about to tell Frieren to go ahead and study it when she noticed something off. "Uh... Frieren, why are you glowing?"
"Am I glowing?"
Frieren came back to her senses and touched her hair, feeling a wave of heat.
"It's burning... Your hair! You got too close!" Sui almost shouted.
"Oh, oh, so it's me that's burning..."
Frieren was still immersed in her research and replied very calmly.
No, why is it so hot...
She then looked up and finally realized something was wrong. Only then did she anxiously summon her staff and cast a spell.
『Magic that can create a torrential flood』...
Splash splash splash!
A massive amount of water appeared, extinguishing the flames on Frieren's hair as well as the fire on the stove.
Frieren wiped her forehead and let out a long sigh of relief. "Phew, saved..."
"Frieren.."
Diego's voice came from behind her, filled with anger.
Frieren was completely unaware of the mess she had caused and responded blankly, "What's wrong?"
"Can you explain why the house is flooding and why Alicia and Mabel got washed outside?"
Diego had a dark expression on his face, holding the soaked Alicia and Mabel in each arm.
Sui put on an innocent expression and shrugged, indicating she had already done her best to stop Diego.
"Ah..."
＜(´⌯ ⩊ ⌯`)＞!
Frieren realized she had caused a huge disaster. She lowered her head, not daring to meet Diego's eyes, and helplessly tugged at her twin tails with both hands.
Then she heard Diego shout angrily:
"Don't use magic inside the house!!!"
Today's victory: Diego's crushing defeat..
（Diao Zhai suffers another devastating blow）