He thought for a mont, then—
"No. I still refuse. I don't take orders from a re pet."
He shot her down coldly.
All color drained from Norn's face.
Ignoring her, Rigel walked toward the King's corpse.
Then—
"Hmph…! To think I'd waste sothing like this here."
He casually took out a small potion bottle from his pocket and threw it at the King's body.
Imdiately, the King's corpse twitched violently.
"Ah…! Aah…! Gah…!"
The King let out a pained groan.
He had definitely been dead.
But now—he was revived.
"W-what is this…!? What happened to …?"
"Heh. I used an Elixir."
"An E-Elixir!? You used a Legendary-grade potion on…!"
"Well, it's technically a fake. Unlike the real thing, it only works on corpses within a few hours of death, and its effect is weakened if the wounds are too severe."
"…What the hell is your goal!?"
The King demanded strongly.
Reviving an enemy king he had gone through the trouble of killing with an Elixir — it seed like a completely pointless act for Rigel.
"Nothing special. Just a whim."
"A w-whim…!?"
"That's right. I do whatever I want. Just so we're clear, I did *not* do this because my pet told to. —However, giving a cute pet a reward on my own whim is sothing I might do."
In short, he had revived the King in response to Norn's plea.
But he would never admit it.
He insisted it was purely his own decision.
It could be called a man's tsundere nature.
Sothing like: *"I-I didn't revive him for *your* sake or anything! Don't get the wrong idea!!"*
"Fufu… You really are an interesting man. I like you."
"I'm honored. So, what now? Do you want to challenge again?"
"—No, this is as far as we go. Although I've recovered enough life force to stay alive, I cannot activate the Divine Sword again. Continuing the battle as an army would only cause greater losses on our side…"
The King spoke calmly.
Dying once seed to have restored his composure.
"A wise decision. Protecting the lives of your subordinates is also a king's duty. —Well then, Norn. Are you satisfied now?"
"Ah…"
A soft breath escaped Norn's lips.
Without realizing it, she had run over to Rigel.
She hugged him tightly and whispered with flushed cheeks:
"Thank you…"
---
Rigel had revived the King of the Valestein Kingdom.
According to the man himself, it was nothing more than a whim.
Even so, for Princess Norn, it was sothing to be grateful for.
She thanked Rigel.
"Hmph… Isn't it a bit too early to be thanking ? Look at your sister. She's completely broken from the shock of being raped. She hasn't even noticed that her father has been revived. Hehehe…!"
"…Big sister…"
Norn looked toward Natasha.
The princess was staring into empty space, muttering to herself.
"Why…? I'm a mber of the royal family… Why…? Why…? Why is this happening to ? Father, please don't leave … Help …"
"Aaah… She's right on the verge of completely breaking. Maybe I went a little too far…"
Rigel gave a bitter smile.
He felt no guilt.
He simply believed that pets and toys should be handled with care and kept in good condition so he could enjoy them longer.
"Natasha…! Get a hold of yourself…! I'm sorry… I couldn't protect you…"
"Big sister… Papa is alive, you know? Look, he's right here… Won't you answer him?"
"…Father? …Norn? Haha… I've finally started hearing hallucinations too… I'm really finished…"
A dry smile appeared on Natasha's face.
From her perspective, her father should have been dead, and Norn should have been reduced to nothing more than Rigel's pet.
There was no way they would be calling out to her like this.
"Natasha!! You are not finished yet!!"
"Eh…? F-Father's voice…?"
"Yes, it's ! Natasha, I'm still alive!!"
"That can't be… Because Father was…"
"Rigel used an elixir to save my life. Even that demon seed to have a shred of conscience…"
The King pulled Natasha into his arms and gently stroked her head.
"Sister… I'm here too. Please don't forget that."
"Norn…? Norn too…? Really…? I thought you had beco a mindless beast…"
"N-no, that's not true. I did get a little wild for a while, but… I'm still properly human."
Princess Norn smiled.
She had been trained by Rigel and had beco his pet dog "Pochi."
However, that was simply because she was enjoying that kind of play. She had not been brainwashed or lost her personality, nor had her love for her sister and father disappeared.
"Father…! Norn…! Ahh, I'm so glad…!!"
Tears of joy flowed down Natasha's face.
The three of them embraced each other for a while, but—
*Clap, clap, clap…*
Suddenly, Rigel started clapping.
"Wow, a touching reunion scene really is nice… It's sothing I have no connection with, but it feels pretty good."
"…What are you planning?"
"No, no, I don't have any ulterior motives. I was just genuinely moved by the bond of family."
Rigel shrugged in response to Natasha's wary words.
He was clapping with honest, sincere feelings.
"Is that really true? For a demon like you to revive the father you once killed, and not even deliver the final blow to or Norn…"
"Hey now, you're misunderstanding . I'm not a good person, but I'm not purely evil either. I take good care of my pets and toys, and I don't tornt them more than necessary. Once they break, they stop being fun."
"I can't believe it…"
"Hey, don't be like that. There's no invader more gentlemanly than ."
"Saying 'gentleman' about yourself…"
Norn muttered in an exasperated tone.
Rigel ignored her and continued.
"Besides, I didn't even kill the King."
"What? Are you trying to erase your own cris? You invader!"
"I won't deny that I'm an invader, but I'm not a king-killer. He's the one who poured all his life force into the Divine Sword. I just took his daughter hostage, and he couldn't bring himself to attack . I didn't do anything. If anything, I'm the victim here."
"T-That… might be technically true, but…"
Natasha hesitated.
She felt that Rigel's words had so logic to them.
Of course, there was no doubt that Rigel was an invader, and it was also a fact that he had pierced the King's limbs with stone spears.
Even if he hadn't directly dealt the killing blow, that didn't an he wasn't their enemy.
"Alright, that's enough. It's about ti you told ."
"Told you what?"
"Isn't it obvious? The location of the treasury and where the magic tools are kept. You didn't think I would just let you go after all this, did you?"
"..."
Tension ran across the faces of the King and Princess Natasha.
That was information they absolutely could not reveal.
"Don't be so wary. I'm not going to kill you just because I'm done with you. Trust !"
""......""
"Haha, I'm not trusted at all. Even though I used a precious elixir…"
Rigel laughed.
However, the expressions on the King and Natasha's faces remained dark.
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