Hell…
Rias was unconcerned inwardly. If this really were hell, it would be almost the same as going home for her. Unfortunately, this place was definitely not hell.
"So if there really is someone behind all this, then the only possible suspect would be this person, right?"
Rias voiced her speculation as she looked at Leo.
"Yeah. And that information actually came from him. Up to now, we still haven't been able to confirm whether what he said is true or false. After all, this world is pretty strange."
The corner of Kelly's mouth twitched. What Leo said was simply too easy to doubt. It wasn't strange that Rias would suspect him—when Kelly first heard it, her own first reaction was that Leo was the mastermind behind everything.
And that possibility still hadn't been ruled out.
After all, Leo's behavior could very well be an act.
Originally, she'd planned that if it turned out to be fake, she'd beat Leo up, correct his thinking, and if that didn't work, just shoot him. If they could go back, that would be ideal. At that point, whether Leo was the mastermind wouldn't matter anymore.
It was only because Tsunade had suddenly intervened that everything became confusing.
"I see…"
Rias nodded. She couldn't see anything special about Leo. No matter how she looked at him, he was just an ordinary mortal. Still, she couldn't rule out the possibility that he was some old monster in disguise.
In fact, Tsunade thought the same way.
The only one who didn't think like that was Lux.
"Eh? This kind of method…"
Only now fully understanding what "having sex" meant, Lux's face instantly turned red. She knew about those things, but just imagining doing something like that made her blush uncontrollably.
"Uh… I really think you don't need to take this too seriously. It's just my personal special ability… Forget it, the more I explain, the worse it sounds."
Leo sighed helplessly. From the very beginning, he'd known that revealing his special ability would lead to this kind of situation. But if he wanted to truly have a relationship with Tsunade and Kelly, and then use the power of the Endless Voyager skill to leave this place, he needed a legitimate reason to sleep with them.
No matter how you looked at it, being honest was the best option.
"So can you untie me and let me go do some quests? If I don't get stronger, there's no way to explore this world's secrets. And Kelly, you should've leveled up quite a bit too, right? Check if you can take quests now."
Leo glanced at his level bar. He was already level seventy, but compared to level fifty, nothing had changed. He was still the same as before, with nothing new unlocked.
"Huh?"
Kelly froze for a moment, then quickly opened her status panel. The next second, she laughed and made a shooting gesture toward Tsunade.
"Haha! Tsunade, I can take quests now too! Hey! Leo, your guess was right. I'm level fifty-four now. This damn thing really does unlock through leveling! Maybe we really can go back by leveling up!"
Kelly's words made the newcomers' eyes light up, but Tsunade shook her head. Whether leveling up could send them back had nothing to do with her for the time being. She couldn't stand the sight of blood. Even though she could level up through mining, it was obviously nowhere near as fast as Leo and Kelly mining and killing zombies during the Blood Moon.
And digging random tunnels would only cause more trouble for herself.
"Mm, I want to test whether these skill points are really that magical!"
Kelly grinned as she put two skill points into Agility. The next moment, her expression changed. She quickly spun her revolver, then drew and fired in one smooth motion.
Then she stared at her own hands in shock.
"Unbelievable. I really got twenty percent faster!"
Kelly found it hard to believe. In that instant, her neural reflexes and finger dexterity—already fully recovered from killing zombies—had jumped by a huge margin!
As a gunslinger, she was already top-tier in the lawless zones. People faster than her did exist, but not many.
Yet with just two skill points, she'd broken her own limit and stepped into the absolute top tier in reaction speed and agility!
"Incredible…"
Looking at her hands, Kelly couldn't help but show an excited expression.
Gunslingers were a group that loved chasing limits and power. With a way to grow stronger right in front of them, they would naturally pursue it. As for whether it was "external power" or not—
Gunslingers didn't care about that.
"It's a weird kind of power, but it's pretty useful! If I can bring this back with me, I might even compete for the title of the strongest gunslinger!"
Kelly was full of excitement. She wasn't obsessed with power itself—her companions were in bad shape, and if possible, she hoped to return stronger.
"I feel like you're more suited to competing for the title of biggest scam merchant," Leo muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Rias and Lux were even more confused. They had no idea what was going on, and Kelly was completely immersed in her newfound power, constantly moving and adjusting to it.
For the time being, that crazy woman wasn't paying attention to anything else.
As for Tsunade…
Leo glanced at Tsunade, who was sitting there with her head lowered, saying nothing, and naturally turned to the two bewildered ladies.
"If you don't mind, I can continue explaining this place to you."
Still tied up, Leo made the invitation calmly.
"I'd be delighted."
A smile appeared at the corner of Rias's mouth.
"Th-thank you very much!"
That was the ever-polite Lux.
Leo spent thirty minutes explaining this world to them—the situation they were in, everything they'd discovered so far, the terrifying Blood Moon zombie hordes, and the properties of the items found in this world.
"…So, in summary, this is a terrifying world. It's even possible that the Blood Moon will come more and more frequently. You two were unlucky with your timing."
Leo pointed at the town that had already become ruins, and the area around the shop that was now full of huge pits.
"So if you're willing, you can stay here and work and live together with us. If you're not willing, we won't force you. As long as you don't show hostility toward us or interfere with us, you can go wherever you want, and we won't meddle."
Leo repeated what he'd once said to Tsunade and Kelly. Both Rias and Lux nodded, indicating they understood.
However, after listening to Leo's description, Rias looked at this unremarkable man—unimpressive to demons and angels alike—and broke into a bright smile.
"Since this world is so dangerous, then I'll join."
Rias smiled as she extended her hand. What she was really thinking, only she herself knew. Beside her, Lux glanced at Leo and Rias, nodded, but didn't dare reach out to shake Leo's hand.
"I'm willing too."
After the ropes were undone by the two newcomers, Leo shook Rias's hand lightly a couple of times before letting go, and nodded to Lux at the same time.
"Welcome aboard."
Leo smiled, and then…
He pulled out two pickaxes and handed one to each of them, making Rias stare in disbelief.
"Then please start as miners!"
That's right. In Leo's eyes…
Above each of their heads had now popped up a prompt:
Laborer +1.