Aki sprang up, her eyes filled with determination. It was a truly quirky yet cute sight.
"Then I’ll show you!"
She smiled brightly, then imdiately tilted her head.
"But... how do I show you?"
"Uh, start with whatever you can show right now."
Aki looked troubled. Hmm, I wonder what she can do.
"Hmm... how about this? There’s a spirit sitting on your shoulder right now."
I glanced at my shoulder. I couldn’t see anything.
"The genre suddenly turned into horror."
No matter how much I glared at my shoulder, I couldn’t see anything. Is there really a ghost?
"Goddess, is that true?"
Just in case, I tried to use my Goddess chance. But for so reason, the Goddess was cold. Heueung.
"Heueung! Why are you like this again!"
’Brainless Apostle’, she said.
’That’s too harsh".
I sighed and scratched my head. Whether there was really a ghost or not, it felt unsettling.
"What else?"
"I can sense presences! First, there’s a mouse crawling about 1m away."
"Not a rabbit..."
"And 50m away, I don’t know what it is, but I hear moaning sounds, Haaang♥ ohh♥ like that!"
"...Huh?"
"Ah, that’s just the villagers doing their night work, ah, no, it’s not."
Aki smiled awkwardly. She can sense presences and even hear sounds?
Is she ssing with , or what?
"She’s supposed to be a Saintess-position character. She doesn’t have any useful abilities."
Actually, whether a Saintess-position was absolutely necessary wasn’t certain.
I could cover healing with my regeneration title. But it might be necessary when facing armies of undead or demons.
"I’m a Debauched Hero, not a Paladin. This is a sha."
This is troubleso. As I rested my chin on my hand, lost in thought, Aki clapped her hands together.
Her greatly swaying chest was impressive even in this situation.
"Ah, I have one!"
"Ooh, what is it?"
Aki smiled slyly, as if she had a secret weapon hidden away.
What if it’s just sothing trivial again? I might be disappointed.
"Um, first, my chest..."
Aki suddenly tried to take off her clothes. I stopped her, flustered.
"Hey, wait! What is it? Are you going to do it again? Here?"
"Huh? No."
"Then why are you suddenly taking off your clothes...?"
"Ah, it’s customary for a shrine maiden to take off her clothes when receiving a god."
What, she was trying to receive a spirit?
It would be nice if she gave a heads-up. I breathed a sigh of relief and said,
"No, no. You don’t need to go through all that trouble. Can you... do it with your clothes on?"
At my reaction, Aki smiled artlessly. It felt like she was teasing .
Aki, showing a side usually seen in younger heroines.
"Yes, then!"
She imdiately spread her arms wide. She closed her eyes.
Silently, only the sound of her breathing could be heard. I thought an eternity would pass like this.
"Hmm, heueu...!"
After twitching a few tis, Aki suddenly opened her eyes wide.
But her eyes weren’t their original color. They were orange.
"What, did a spirit possess her?"
I didn’t want to believe in ghosts, but seeing this, I had to.
Aki stared at . A certain solemn feeling was conveyed.
"Lucian Vane, was it? You said you were a Hero? How peculiar."
Aki spoke in a middle-aged man’s voice.
I asked, flustered, " Wh-who are you...?"
"Dizoral Weaverpool. I was the Lord of this place."
Ah, Dizoral! I know, I know.
This person was the original Lord. Lord Weaverpool and the savior of Weaverpool.
"Ah, nice to et you. I am Lucian Vane of Ravenscoft!"
"Is Lord Ravenscoft doing well?"
I paused for a mont before answering.
"No, he’s... dead."
"Hmm? That hot-headed man? How?"
"Uh, uhh... he, he t a dragon..."
I had no choice but to make up an excuse. I couldn’t say he croaked after acting up against the Goddess.
Unaware of my fluster, Lord Weaverpool pondered.
"A dragon in this region, you say. He must not have died peacefully."
"Well, sothing like that. Hahaha..."
"Then Ravenscoft must be in a bad situation too?"
"Recently, thanks to the efforts of Acting Marchioness Fiora Ravenscoft, it’s barely being maintained. I recently beca a Hero."
"That’s fortunate. My domain, however, will eventually fall..."
I could feel Lord Weaverpool’s affection for his domain.
In the end, everything was twisted because of one man nad Lao. He lost everything.
"I offer my deepest condolences."
"No. I was powerless. I couldn’t stop a single mind control, and everything went awry, everything was ruined."
Even though it wasn’t his fault, Lord Weaverpool spoke as if it were his own mistake.
It’s true that a Lord should protect their domain, but it’s not your fault alone.
’I wish our Lord had learned from this. But then again, what would that scumbag do?’
He’s the kind of guy who croaked after acting up against the Goddess. In contrast, Lord Weaverpool was truly a person of integrity.
He asked about the domain’s residents and private soldiers, then lanted.
"Will you promise one thing?"
I’m weak to promises. Especially promises made with n.
Still, I nodded. They say you should grant a dead person’s wish.
"Yes, Lord."
"Lao, killing him isn’t the end. He’s rely the tip of the iceberg."
"Are you talking about Those Who Recite Sins Cult?"
"That cult is rely a puppet serving a greater power. Kahlum, when you think about it, is also a byproduct received from that greater power."
As expected, there’s soone behind it. It’s impossible that Lao alone created all of this.
Still, I was surprised. I was a bit ntally broken.
"What exactly is that greater power? Is it the Demon King?"
"I don’t know the details either. I died during my investigation. But one thing is certain. I don’t know about Lao, but Kahlum is ultimately a power that will destroy the world, even destroy gods and spirits. Rember that."
"Lord?"
"You must stop... it. The Demon King isn’t... the only main enemy... Heueueu..."
Slowly, his breath faded, and Aki, possessed by Lord Weaverpool, bowed her head deeply.
Soon, after twitching a few tis, Aki lifted her head. She had returned to her original self.
She looked surprised and fidgeted.
"Ah, just now, the real Lord...!"
"Yes, I saw. Huh, well, that’s amazing. But anyway, a greater power, you say."
I scratched my cheek and pondered.
"It’s not over yet. The victims won’t even be able to have their spirits honored."
Lao is just the tip of the iceberg. Do I have to find the real body and crush it?
A sigh escaped . Aki sat down and said,
"I’ll show you all my true power during our adventures. Look forward to it, okay? Ara, ara..♥"
"Of course. I should go to bed now. I look forward to working with you, Aki!"
"Ohohoh, too♥"
I parted ways with Aki. Returning to my room, I collapsed weakly onto the bed.
Suddenly, Piery, whom I had been talking to earlier, ca to mind.
"Piery, she’s such a pitiful woman. Is there really nothing I can do?"
I didn’t want to just let a woman like Piery go. We even slept together.
After a mont of thought, I chuckled.
"Ah, that’s right...!"
I fell asleep feeling relieved, hoping my fatigue would subside, even just a little.
＊＊＊
The next day, morning.
After eating, I looked around. I saw servants busily tidying up the mansion from the first floor.
Beyond the open main gate, a man was being dragged away by guards. Piery happened to be nearby.
"Who’s that man?"
"Lao’s nominal son. In other words, a piglet."
He was indeed a fat guy.
"Where is he going?"
"They say he’s being sent to the domain’s prison for various cris, including deceit. If I had my way, I’d cut off his balls. Haa."
That’s good.
I smiled awkwardly and said,
"Piery, I heard. Do you have anywhere to go?"
At my question, Piery sighed deeply, as if the ground would collapse. She must be feeling stifled.
"I don’t know. I might end up as a back-alley prostitute one day. I don’t know how to do anything else..."
"But you’re good at housework, aren’t you?"
"The rumors about us might have spread, so it’d be hard to go as a maid sowhere. And there’s no guarantee I’d et a good master."
"That’s true. Besides, rumors aren’t definite, and they’re not even a disease."
"You know how vulnerable humans are to rumors."
Piery looked dejected. Watching her drop her head and self-deprecate weakly, I was reminded of my past self.
Indeed, I couldn’t leave her behind. I had no intention of doing so anyway.
"Piery."
"Yes?"
"Do you rember when Dinora appeared?"
"Huh? Oh, yes. A flash of light!"
"There’s a world inside my ring. Dinora lives there too."
"I heard about it briefly. I can’t believe it’s real..."
Dinora looked quite surprised. Well, who would believe there’s a world inside a ring?
I’m not even a magician.
Of course, I’m more than a magician in bed, though.
"If you have nowhere to go, you can stay with . I’d be happy to have you, Piery."
At my words, Piery stared at , as if surprised. Then she covered her open mouth with her hand, startled.
"R-really? But why , soone like ...?"
"Piery, you’re fully qualified to live freely, and you’re beautiful and capable enough. And we’ve slept together. I never abandon a woman I’ve slept with."
A Debauched Hero, by definition, must never abandon a woman he has slept with.
On the contrary, if she tries to leave, I should desperately hold onto her and subdue and train her!
Of course, what if that woman betrays , or kills another heroine?
That’s a different matter, but in my case, I would punish her. So that no one, ever again, can betray . That is the path of the Debauched Hero!
"Heuk...!"
Tears welled up in Piery’s eyes. She covered her eyes with her hand, yet at the sa ti, she struggled to wipe away the flowing tears.
"Thank you, Hero."
"Please call Lucian comfortably. I’ll call you Piery, or big sis."
"Big sis...? Heueut♥ That title, it’s strangely exciting."
"Is that so? Hehe."
It doesn’t seem like a title that would be that exciting. Anyway, that bed-wetting maid chief.
Quite sothing, quite sothing!
[Affection for ’Piery’ has increased!]
[Current Affection with ’Piery’: Normal♥♥♥♥♥→Favor♥]
Her affection even went up? Aweso!
She bowed to like a noble lady. She slightly lifted the hem of her maid uniform skirt.
"I look forward to working with you, Lucian."
"Welco, Piery!"
Smiling at each other, we held hands.
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