Elnet smashed through the door and into the room, rolling on the floor to absorb the momentum before landing in a defensive stance.
“Stop right there! Return Marie!”
“You actually made it this far. Well done. But it’s already too late. As you can see, Marie is pregnant with my child.”
After regaining her footing, Elnet shouted at Marc. Marc then praised Elnet for her valiant entry. Elnet’s gaze fell upon Marie, who was sitting on the bed. She then noticed Marie’s noticeably large belly.
“You bastard! What have you done to Marie!”
Logically, Marie’s belly wouldn’t have grown so large so quickly, but Elnet, losing her composure, believed Marc’s words and retorted furiously.
“Marie!”
“Marie!”
“Mom!”
Following Elnet into the room were Kent, Caro, Rachel, and Catherine.
“Heh heh heh. Welcome. But Marie is not going anywhere.”
Marc declared to Kent and his companions.
“Pffft, big brother, what is that? He looks ridiculous tied up in a bondage position and naked. Also, look at that chest. It’s bigger than mine.”
“Wh-what are you… *clears throat*. This is not the time to comment on Marc’s appearance. We need to save Marie quickly.”
“Pfft, I see. So that’s what happened.”
“Kent, there’s a pervert over there.”
Rachel giggled at Marc’s appearance, while Kent, suppressing his amusement, prioritized Marie’s rescue. Caro smiled knowingly, as if she had understood something, and Catherine looked utterly disgusted.
Marc, naked and with his limbs free, was standing in a position that concealed Marie, all while bound in a shibari. For some reason, Marc had pronounced pectoral mounds, which were further emphasized by the shibari. Marie, meanwhile, watched Kent and his companions from the bed behind him with a wry smile. In stark contrast to Kent and his group, who had lost their will to fight due to Marc’s appearance, only Elnet stood ready with her special police baton, facing Marc.
“I don’t want to resort to force, but I’ll ask you again to return Marie.”
“Unfortunately, I cannot comply with that request.”
Elnet issued her final ultimatum to Marc.
“Hey, big brother. Doesn’t Marc’s voice sound strangely high-pitched?”
“Now that you mention it… I think I’ve heard it somewhere before.”
Rachel whispered to Kent. Kent, stressed and overwhelmed, hadn’t noticed, but once Rachel pointed it out, he realized she was right.
“Here I come!”
“Bring it on!”
“What!”
Marc blocked Elnet’s attack with his bare hands. Elnet, astonished by this unprecedented defense, uttered a cry of surprise.
“Is that all your attack amounts to? It looks like you’re standing still.”
“What? Then how about this?”
Elnet followed up with a series of strikes, but all of them were parried.
“Then, this time, I’ll come at you!”
Marc began to walk slowly towards Elnet.
“He’s walking like a zombie. Should we aim for his head?”
“Aiming for his head would kill him, right? That’s probably not a good idea.”
His slow movements made him resemble a zombie, and Rachel remarked this to Kent. Kent, recalling a zombie-themed game he played long ago, responded.
“Whoa, don’t come near me, stop it!”
Elnet desperately resisted, but every attack was blocked, and Marc was on top of her. Unable to support him, Elnet was pushed down.
“N-no! Leave me alone! Aaaah!”
As Elnet struggled desperately, she accidentally snagged something, and a sharp *snap* sound echoed. Suddenly, Marc lost his strength and collapsed. Seizing the opportunity, Elnet wriggled out from under Marc.
“Haaah… haaah… That was close.”
Elnet panted, her shoulders heaving.
“Are you satisfied now, Al?”
“Oh, so you noticed after all?”
Caro, who had been hiding in the room since before they entered, spoke to Marie, and Al’s voice responded.
“I did tell him to stop…”
Marie said with a wry smile, still sitting on the bed. Then, Marie’s swollen belly twitched, and Al emerged from beneath her skirt.
“It was just a little joke!”
“Al!”
“Al!”
Kent and the others called out Al’s name. Elnet, utterly bewildered by the situation, stood dumbfounded. Al proceeded to explain what had happened.
“So that’s what happened… Still, you really pushed me to my limits.”
“Elnet, you were amazing too.”
Al and Elnet praised each other. Al explained that he had felt a disturbance and was investigating the town when he happened to witness Marie’s kidnapping. He then followed, hiding his presence. He intervened when Marc was about to assault Marie. He had intended to bring Marie back then but noticed Elnet and her companions entering the room. Impulsively, he came up with a prank, manipulating the unconscious Marc to play along. He explained that Elnet had accidentally cut a string he was using to control Marc, causing him to lose control and collapse.
“Then what’s with the binding and the chest?”
“Well, when I came to help, this person was naked, so I just bound him as he was. As for the binding style, I used knowledge from Master’s collection. And for the chest, since he seemed interested in Marie’s chest, I attached similar-sized ones.”
When Kent asked Al, he explained the reasons.
“Big brother, you have a thing for tying people up?”
Rachel asked, glaring at Kent.
“I don’t have that kind of hobby. I just happen to know about it.”
“If Kent has that kind of hobby, I’ll cooperate.”
“If Kent wishes, I don’t mind being tied up either.”
Kent denied it, but Caro and Marie seemed slightly intrigued. As their conversation lightened the mood, Kent noticed Catherine had been quiet.
“Uh, Catherine?”
Kent looked over, concerned, and saw Catherine standing there, tears streaming down her face. She then rushed into Marie’s embrace.
“I’m so glad Mom is safe! Oh, I was so worried and it was so painful thinking something might happen to you!”
“I’m sorry. I made you worry. It’s okay now.”
Catherine sobbed in Marie’s chest. Marie gently stroked Catherine’s head. Kent and the others watched the scene with gentle eyes.
“Mom…?”
Marc said groggily as he regained consciousness.
“Oh? It seems the human has awakened.”
“Eek!”
Al sat down in front of the fallen Marc and glared at him. The fear of being hurt by Al resurfaced, and Marc cried out. However, suppressing his fear, Marc stood up.
“Aren’t these two sisters?”
“They are a genuine mother and daughter.”
Kent replied to Marc’s question.
“What is this… I thought you were around my age, but you have such a grown daughter…”
Weakened, Marc collapsed to his knees.
“Marie is at least over thirty… *cough*”
Rachel tried to say something but suddenly clutched her stomach and collapsed.
“Rachel, you don’t need to say anything unnecessary, okay?”
“Y-yes…”
Marie said to Rachel, an expression like a vein throbbing on her temple. Rachel managed to respond weakly.
“Then, I’m taking Marie back.”
“Hmph, do as you please.”
Kent said to Marc, who replied dismissively. Kent and his companions then left the room, leaving Marc behind.
“What the hell is this!!!”
Marc’s scream echoed from behind, but Kent and his group pressed on. Along the way, as they returned to where the two maids were lying, Catherine and Rachel spoke.
“Al, can we take these maids with us?”
“I second that!”
“Hmm, I used up a lot of my magic today with all that has happened… I want to save some energy.”
While Al would usually have readily agreed, he hesitated this time.
“We can’t carry them ourselves, and if Elnet carries them, it might be problematic if something happens.”
“Our safe escape is more important. It can’t be helped. It’s a shame, but it looks like we’ll have to give up.”
Elnet could easily carry two maids, but their escorting ability would be significantly weakened if they tried to escape the mansion safely. Reluctantly, Rachel and Catherine gave up on taking the maids.
As Kent and his companions proceeded down the corridor and neared the stairs leading down, Al stepped forward, assuming a stance.
“My apologies. I seem to have played a little too much.”
“It appears so.”
Moments later, Elnet also grasped the implication of Al’s forward stance and readied her special police baton.
