The floating sensation and warmth were pleasant. I felt like I could stay like this forever. I could also hear everyone’s voices. They sounded like they were having fun…
“…Alana, why is your middle finger the shortest? Search properly!”
“Priscilla-nee, it’s getting boring, like a puzzle.”
“Are you an idiot?! Search properly! Orietta, what is that hand?!”
“Since I’m here, I’ll turn my right hand into a super-vibrating hand~”
“You’re not changing it! We have one, so just attach it! Put that away, that thing! …Christine, what are you doing?!”
“…This is real. …This is a real heart.”
“What are you sticking your face into there?! Don’t mess with me! Go wash your face, you’re covered in blood! Sophia, once you’re done with the head, hurry up and attach it to the body!”
“Isn’t it okay to just hold it like this?”
“Of course it’s not okay! Hurry up and attach it! Rufina, what are you eating?”
“This right leg is dripping with blood.”
“Don’t suck it dry! I’ll take the blood you need from your reserves!”
Somehow, everyone seems to be having fun. Are they assembling a manikin like the ones they had in school? My school didn’t have one, but they are a bit creepy.
“…You guys, do it properly. If it stays like this… will die. …Pull yourself together! Fix it properly… …Ell!”
The voices are becoming harder to hear. I want to sleep for a little while longer.
The morning I woke up was filled with bird songs. My head felt a little groggy, perhaps from oversleeping. Let’s see, I think I was on my way home after a meeting.
I thought I needed to go home quickly and clear up misunderstandings, but where was I? I wanted to sleep a little longer like this.
“Mikael, are you awake? I brought food.”
Priscilla’s hair, bathed in the morning light, was shining more than usual. When I tried to get out of bed, she said, “Rest a little longer,” and her gentle voice made me want to indulge, but her hands seemed to be trembling from the unfamiliar work of serving.
As I sat up, Priscilla placed the breakfast tray on my lap and fed me a spoonful of soup. The breakfast ended quietly, like the calm before a storm.
“…I’m glad you’re safe.”
I couldn’t hear the words she suddenly let slip. As soon as breakfast ended, the White Lily Corps entered noisily, kicking up dust.
“Captain, are your fingers okay?”
“I wanted to make it super-vibrating~”
“…A real heart.”
“It looks like it attached properly.”
“It’s quite sweet.”
I can’t understand everything they’re saying at once, but everyone seems to be having fun. It’s sometimes better to talk when people are in a good mood.
“Everyone, I’ve become Viscountess Ashtal. And I’ve been chosen as the Hero, the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces.”
“I’m not good at puzzles.”
“This time, I’ll attach it secretly~”
“…Touched something real.”
“It looks like there are no scars.”
“My reserves are gone.”
They’re still not listening to me. Since I’ve become important, they should at least give me a kiss. Can’t I at least get some words of comfort?
“And… after defeating the Demon Lord, I received a proposal from Viscountess Melissa Mallory of Ashtal… Of course, I’ll refuse. Someone like me, who’s a former mercenary, is of a different status, and she’s a Viscountess, so it’s not my place.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
They’re not going to ignore this part, are they? I wish they would ignore this story. The piercing gazes are painful. More painful than being stabbed with a knife.
“I thought so. Right? Didn’t I tell you, if you listen properly, you’ll understand?”
“…”
Everyone, including me, fell silent at Priscilla’s rare follow-up. We fell silent, and no one could speak.
“…Well, take it easy. You’re tired.”
“R-right. I think I’ll take another nap, hahahaha!”
With Priscilla’s covering fire, the White Lily Corps retreated. Before I left, I called Rufina back and made a request.
“Rufina, is the succubus in the underground prison doing well?”
“If you say well, she is well. She’s incessantly well, demanding men.”
“That’s good. I can’t give her men, but I can give her work. Since becoming Commander-in-Chief, I’ve realized I don’t have an Administrator.”
“You mean to adjust those military provisions?”
“Yes. I doubt Ashtal and Rothfar will easily follow instructions, but I thought if a succubus who knows the inside story became an Administrator, she would be flexible.”
“Indeed, succubi originally have many lovers. It’s easier to manage them if you hold their weaknesses. And if the other party is a man, they can easily be toyed with by a succubus.”
“That’s why I want to make the succubus an Administrator. Since she might act on her own, do you remember the ‘Slave Collar’ from a long time ago? It forcibly makes them slaves.”
“You were trying to do it to Iris. You didn’t have it then.”
“Yes. I have permission from Her Majesty the Queen to look into the treasure vault, so please search for it. If you find it, I’ll borrow it and report afterward. Can we make the succubus a slave?”
“It would be easy if you did it like with Iris.”
“Not like that. It would be a waste of her body, and it would rot. Think about whether you can enslave her without doing it like with Iris.”
“Understood. If there is no collar, I can do as I please, right?”
“As long as she doesn’t die, that’s fine.”
This is what you call effectively utilizing a succubus. The ones giving orders are all men, and they’ll be drawn to a succubus’s charm, making them obey no matter what. Can someone praise my idea of placing people where they best fit?
“The Captain is quite capable…”
I couldn’t hear the end of what she said as she left, but I wonder if Rufina was praising me in her own way. I’m doing my best, so I’d like a substantial reward. …This seems to be a flag for a big event.
“Captain, it is ready.”
After resting until almost noon, I was chased by unfamiliar paperwork until evening, my eyes drifting to Manon’s cleavage, and I cleared my work one by one. The job of a Hero, apart from the front lines, is desk work.
“You’re tired. Is it okay after dinner?”
“You won’t have the stamina if you don’t eat properly.”
Everyone seems unusually kind today. Did something good happen? Or did they do something shameful… I should stop prying too deeply. I had a pleasant meal with the White Lily Corps and Richarda.
“Here.”
As we descended to the underground room where the succubi were, she handed me a black collar. Apart from a red magic stone in the center, it was made of ordinary leather, a normal collar. I was a little disappointed, expecting something more dangerous.
“If I put this around my neck, will it make me a slave?”
“Afterward, a special magic is used to complete it. Captain, I want you to bring out the succubi one by one from the cells.”
That’s an easy task. A single succubus’s physical abilities surpass those of humans, and if all twenty-five of them go berserk, Rufina alone will have trouble killing them. For me, it would be tough to stay unharmed. If I can kill them, it’s easy.
“Ria, come out.”
Ria, hunched over in the depths of the underground prison, didn’t respond to Rufina’s voice. The other succubi were similarly still, some sitting, some lying down, all silent.
“Ria! Come out!”
Did she fall asleep? Does she need a kiss from the Hero to wake up? I can’t believe she’s the one who kept saying “let’s do it” so much. She’s probably the beautiful type if you don’t talk to her.
“Ria, I’ve come to get you. I’ll let you out of here.”
Ria doesn’t react even to my extremely gentle voice. Did she hate me? Is she tired of me? Or is she a tsundere? At this point, I’ll have to force her out of the cell.
“Captain, I’ll leave it to you. For safety, I’ll take your sword.”
This is the most dangerous place. I have to get past the succubi and bring out only Ria from the back. It would be unbecoming of a Hero to enter and have my sword taken, making me a hostage. I handed my sword and a personal knife to Rufina and slipped through the iron bars into the cell.
Mind’s Eye of Imminent Action!
With this, I can see about three seconds into the future. Even if something happens, I can evade or attack with Godspeed. A mere twenty-five unarmed people, I can easily grope their breasts… It’s easy to suppress them!
…I can’t see anything. There’s no movement. No chance to grope their breasts. I approached Ria, focusing my Mind’s Eye within the cell.
“Stand up!”
Even looking at Ria, there’s no movement. There’s no sign of an attack from around me. Ria, who would normally happily follow, is making me a little sad.
“Stand up!”
I said it twice because it’s important, but I’m being ignored, and Mikael is sad. …I shouldn’t be thinking such foolish things; I need to make her stand up and get her out.
When I saw the future where I reached out and tried to take her, Ria seemed to be speaking something towards the entrance, but I couldn’t hear the words. When I took Ria’s upper arm, she looked towards the cell exit, and the iron bars closed.
“Thank you, Rufina-sama.”
Huh? What? The door closed and I’m trapped? Why? What happened? Rufina, who was locking the bars from the other side. What *are* you doing?
“Captain, I have good news and bad news.”
I brushed off Ria’s hand and grabbed the iron bars with Godspeed, trying to open them. Useless Godspeed, useless struggle. The iron bars won’t open with my strength, and I have no sword to cut them.
“Rufina, what do you mean!”
“The bad news is, there is no slave collar.”
“…You said it was ready just now.”
“The good news is, I found a way to enslave them even without a collar.”
“That…”
I don’t want to hear it. At this point, there’s probably a story about “wise readers,” but I’m arguing with the iron bars with all my might, like a prisoner or a gorilla.
“Thank you, Rufina-sama. From here on…”
I could see with my Mind’s Eye that Ria was bowing her head behind me. It’s too late now. Are you really going to do it?! Dealing with twenty-five succubi…
“Rufina! Open this! I’ll let it pass as a joke now!”
“…I’ll do my best. Whether you can get an Administrator depends on the Captain’s shoulders. …In this case, it should be Buster Sword, kuku kuku.”
Rufina, leaving with demonic laughter, and the poor Captain left behind, is me. It’s impossible. Even a normal succubus is amazing, and there are twenty-five of them.
“Sister Ria, is this human amazing?”
“…Ginger, how many men have you devoured so far? Which man left an impression?”
“Hmm? So far, I’ve devoured about five hundred men, but the ones who left an impression… are about three.”
“All five hundred men from before, and the ones who left an impression, will all disappear today, by this Mikael Sin. Everyone, listen carefully. We succubi wander in search of men. There have been good men and repulsive men. But that journey ends here today! Where we are headed, Mikael Sin awaits!”
Oh, I’m so embarrassed. I shouldn’t be swayed by Ria’s words; I’m just a mercenary. Why are you looking at me like that? If you stare too much, Shin-chan will be embarrassed.
“Rufina! Open it! Open it!”
Even with all my desperation, I couldn’t muster any super-human strength, and the sound of iron bars echoed ineffectually in the basement. As Rufina ascended the stairs to leave, I felt like she was smiling, a devilishly gentle smile.
“Oh God, guide us…”
With Ria’s words, the twenty-five succubi who attacked me unleashed all their power to be freed from their wandering journey, and I leveled up to Godspeed Mode Five.
