The Super-Smart Dragon Who Belongs Only To You And Will Make You Happy—But Fire, Kappa, Ogres, And Idiots Are Right Out

“All right! Seize them! I will not permit resistance! You filthy criminals!”

The knights suddenly forced their way in, and the musclebound oaf leading them barked the order.

“Naruhito.”

Lazaar’s switch flipped instantly. In a complete change from the fluffy-headed lizard he had been moments ago, he returned to the expressionless reptilian face of a cold-blooded predator whose thoughts were impossible to read.

“No. Not yet, Lazaar.”

Tooyama restrained Lazaar. His eyes were fixed on the bishop standing before him with her head lowered—

“Bishop-sa—!!”

The saint snapped her eyes open and called out to her. But before that cry could finish—

“Archbishop’s Order, activated. One month consumed. Do not move, vermin.”

It was a cold voice. At the very least, it was neither a voice nor a gaze meant for another person.

“Huh?!” “Gah?!” “Gih?!” “Bweh?!”

Clank, clank, clank.

With short screams, the knights collapsed.

That dreadful order, inherited only by the supreme leader of the Church, forced the insolent men to obey.

“Wha?! What is the meaning of this, Bishop?! To use that abominable order against the glorious swords of our knight order!!”

The musclebound oaf roared in a tone that made it sound as though he truly had never imagined such a thing would happen.

“Tch, so it does not work after all… No, no, Baron-dono, I apologize. You suddenly barged into the room and began acting violently toward my guests, so I was simply startled. Ohohoho…”

The bishop answered the musclehead with a pasted-on smile. It seemed that one month of lifespan offered to the Bishop’s Order was not enough against beings equal to or greater than the Ten Swords.

“Silence, you vixen! What guests?! Those men killed the gate guards of our knight faction, and on top of that, they defied the judgment of the Ten Swords! They are enemies of the Church! To obstruct me is nothing less than obstructing the Church itself!”

“My, what a powerful subject you use. Baron-dono, have you not steeped yourself in the knight order for a little too long? Is it not tyranny to treat the decision of a single faction as the will of the entire Church?”

“W-what?! How dare you spout such sophistry! You money-grubbing fox! I have never liked you, just because the dragons look upon you a little favorably! If you are a woman, then act like one and know your place…! Guh…”

The musclebound oaf, who had been shouting nonstop, stopped speaking.

It was Tooyama.

“You stink of sweat, you muscle octopus. What did you even come here for?”

Pressed against the throat of the armored musclehead was a chipped blade.

For some reason, he had suddenly started being ignored, so Tooyama tried pulling Relic Blade from his body and countered the musclehead’s movement as he drew his sword against the female bishop.

A drop of foul sweat fell.

“Y-you?! Criminal! Do you understand who you are doing this to?!”

The musclehead shouted. His voice was loud. Tooyama grimaced.

“Ugh, your breath stinks too. This is the worst thing to deal with after a bath. …Stop it, muscle octopus. Look at the kitty serving beside that nasty woman over there, and the little sister. You are going to get killed.”

““…………………””

At the place he indicated with his chin, the two standing at the bishop’s sides stared at the musclehead with expressionless faces.

“Hmph, I wondered what nonsense you were about to say. A filthy lowborn cat beast of unknown origin, and a tainted saint who is the vixen’s lover! They are no match for me, beloved by the light of the angels!”

Even with a blade pointed at his throat, the musclehead showed no sign of caring at all.

He simply kept shouting.

“Wow, you really are a pure muscle-brain. Political correctness is going to erase you.”

“Criminal! I will not forgive your insults toward me! You fool who falsely claims to be a dragon slayer! There is no way a lowborn thing like you could ever kill a dragon! How did you curry favor with that person?!”

The musclehead shouted. But there was a slight dampness in the sound of his voice.

“…Baron, I cannot overlook those words. That also leads to an insult against the Dragon Shrine Maiden.”

“Silence, vixen! I refuse to acknowledge it! And the same goes for you! Why is it always lowborn commoners like you who are invited to the Dragon Embassy?! That should rightfully be the role of our knight order!”

His voice contained obvious jealousy.

Tooyama felt a chill. Drako, just what kind of guy likes you?

“…I am the one being invited because you people do not have that worth.”

At the musclehead’s words, the bishop pressed a hand to her forehead and groaned. It seemed the saying that conversation became painful when there was a difference in intelligence was true.

“Hm?”

There was a tragically large gap between Intelligence 28 and Intelligence 0.

“Oh, excuse me. I was talking to myself. …What do you say, Knight Commander? Shall we both sheathe our blades here for now? Even someone like you would die if your throat were slit.”

“Hmph. Vixen. Do you think I would yield to such a threat?”

“You do not have the brain to judge whether it is a threat or not.”

Tooyama pressed the chipped edge of Relic Blade against the neck of the musclebound fatty, who was a head taller than him.

A thin line of blood flowed, but the musclebound oaf merely laughed.

“Are you people sane? Do you know who I am?! I am the commander of the glorious Angel Church Knight Order—”

“The commander of idiots, right?”

The musclehead’s words stopped for a moment—

“You little braaaat!! Very well! Try it, then! Test the toughness of my sacrament from the angel, ‘Chariot’!”

A roar. The volume of his voice shook the air, and the pitcher on the table fell onto the carpet.

“…It has been a while since I used it directly.”

Tooyama put strength into Relic Blade—

“Hm? Hmph, criminal, this is a warning. You should lower that arm.”

“Huh?”

The musclebound oaf suddenly smiled, as though he had noticed something.

“?! No! Dragon Slayer! Get back!”

The saint, the little sister, opened her eyes wide and shouted. Tooyama honestly obeyed the judgment of the strong—

“Nyaha, you were one move too late.”

Thunk.

“Huh?”

The sensation from his right hand, from the elbow down, vanished.

His right hand suddenly felt light, and only after that did he finally realize it.

His right arm below the elbow was gone—

And Relic Blade had vanished too.

“Ah.”

Spin, spin.

Catch.

The one who caught the severed arm from the elbow down was a knight wearing thin silver armor and a mask—a ridiculous mask with a crying face.

“Wow, what a well-trained right arm. Nyaha, it looks tasty.”

Pressing the arm against her mask, the masked knight murmured in a voice drunk on pleasure. It was muffled, but it was a woman’s voice.

“Naruhito?!!”

“Guh, ugh!! W-wait, Lazaar, do not move!”

Tooyama staggered backward after losing his balance.

His arm had been cut off, but there was no pain and no blood. It was clearly abnormal.

He stopped Lazaar from rushing over and glared at the mask.

Because the masked knight had directed her attention toward Lazaar’s movement.

“Nyaha, you noticed? You have good eyes too. Maybe the dragon slayer is not just a fake after all, Commander-san?”

The masked woman softened her killing intent.

“Gwahahahahahaha! Nonsense! But well done! My second sword, Brena of ‘Murder’! A splendid sword technique!”

The musclebound oaf laughed loudly, which was infuriating.

“Nyahaha, so suffocating. You got pushed by the Deputy Commander and ran ahead too much, Commander.”

The masked woman answered as if they were close.

From the way they addressed and spoke to each other, Tooyama understood.

This one too was one of those monster knights like that justice woman, Stolu.

“Well, yes!”

A huge fist was suddenly swung, filling his vision—

“Bgh!!”

He realized slightly late that he had been punched away. The world swayed dizzily, as if he had taken a monster species’ charge head-on.

Damn brute strength.

“Oh…? You headbutted me on reflex. Impudent of you, to think you dulled the force of my fist.”

“Naruhito?! You bastard?!—”

This time, Lazaar truly moved, but—

“Nyaha, sniff, mmm, you smell nice, Lizardonian. Blood and resentment are fragrant in just the right amount. Hey, how many people have you killed until now? I want you to tell me.”

Smoothly, slickly, and skillfully.

The masked knight took Lazaar’s back. She put an arm around his neck and restrained him from behind.

“D-damn it, that arm…”

“Ah, it belongs to your master. But wow, the more I look at it, the better the muscles are. It has flesh as good as a level-three human’s. Mmm, I’m getting excited.”

Lazaar glared behind him, but she remained completely unfazed.

“You bastard…”

“It is fine, Lazaar. Do not move. Do not move.”

“Nyaha, that’s a good face, Dragon Slayer. Even after losing an arm, you’re not that shocked. You’re the type whose anger wins before fear, huh? Nice, nice. This is worth doing. Ah, relax, you are not bleeding yet.”

“You bastard…”

“Ooh, those are good eyes. They make me shiver. …They make me want to hurt you♪”

Snap.

The masked woman snapped her fingers.

At the same time—

“Gaaaaaaaaah?!?”

His vision warped with intense pain.

“Nyahahahahaha! How is it? How is it? A familiar of ‘Murder,’ ‘Ennew’s Seven Tools’! The one I used on you is this, the Thread-Cutting Sword! I can decide all the timing for when blood comes out and when pain comes out. How is it? Nyahaha? You understand what that means, right? Should I make you bleed now?”

“…I will absolutely kill you.”

“Nyaha.”

“Not yet, Brena. That criminal will be executed after he is subjected to an angel trial. It is still too early to dispose of him!”

“Tch, yes, Commander-san.”

Tooyama and Lazaar were suppressed in an instant.

As a dangerous atmosphere filled and began to collapse the room, the one who opened her mouth was her.

“Knight Commander, what exactly do you intend by this? They are my guests, and friends of the dragon. Do you understand what you are doing?”

The bishop, who had been watching the situation in silence, quietly spoke.

“Hmph! Cowardly vixen! Are you the one who has lost your mind?! Guests? These men are rebels who drew blades against our knights, and even under Imperial law, rebellion against knights is a serious crime!”

“……………”

“What is wrong?! Can you say nothing? Gwahahahahaha!! Even if you are somewhat silver-tongued, in the end you are nothing but an unmarried little girl! It seems you are frightened by my authority!”

“…I will not allow any further rudeness toward Bishop-sama.”

“My Lady, give the order. My fur is standing on end, and I cannot bear it.”

The two directed killing intent toward the musclebound oaf.

“Nyaha, the saint and the covert cat. Nice, the bishop faction’s greatest forces are all gathered. …I want to take the saint’s body apart.”

The masked woman was provoked by that.

Their mutual killing intent swelled.

“Stay, both of you.”

However, the bishop’s voice restrained them.

“But!”

“Chief Saint Svi, will even you not listen to my words?”

“…I went too far. Punish me however you wish.”

“Stand down. Your turn will come soon. Now then, Knight Commander and Second Knight, I will say this only two more times. Release my guests.”

The bishop controlled the snarling saint with words alone, and her narrowed eyes opened, turning toward the rude knight.

“You keep saying the same thing!! These men are criminals! They killed our knight faction’s gate guards!”

The musclebound oaf shouted in a rage.

But that was the truth. It was true that Tooyama and the others had disposed of the gate guards.

It was true that they had killed members of the establishment for personal reasons.

There was no mistake in the musclebound oaf’s argument, and therefore, for the bishop to defend Tooyama would be a contradiction for her too—

“Eight.”

The number was stated. It was the number of gate guards that the greedy adventurer had disposed of according to his desires.

Resting her chin on her hand, the bishop, Kanosa, spoke quietly with an arrogant attitude.

“Hm?”

Of course, there was no way the musclebound oaf could understand what she meant.

The bishop twisted her thin lips into a crescent.

“Yes, it was perfect work. Swiftly, mercilessly, coldly, and while making them suffer as much as possible, you killed them for me.”

“…What did you say?”

At last, the musclebound oaf opened his eyes wide.

“It was splendid work. Inquisitor Tooyama, Assistant Inquisitor Lazaar. Just as I instructed, you delivered a splendid judgment of light upon the fools who defied the laws of the Angel Church.”

She had prepared herself. She had also created the logic.

The bishop opened the card she had prepared as a trump card in her negotiation with the dragon slayer right here.

In other words, it was the joker of welcoming Tooyama Naruhito and Lazaar as members of the Inquisition.

“What are you saying?”

“Oh, can you not understand? Then I shall make it even easier to understand. The gate guards of the East Gate had been found guilty of exploiting the weak, which is forbidden by Church law, as well as the sin of nonconsensual adultery. Such conduct is unthinkable for members of the Church, who are meant to make the angels’ glory known to the world.”

It was exactly like eating the poison along with the plate. But there was no helping it.

The dragon sitting at the same table desired it.

Which would she choose, eating poison or being bathed in fire?

“Absurd! No, wait! Even if that were true! These men are criminals… Ah.”

Unusually, the musclebound oaf realized what the bishop was trying to say. His body trembled, and he quietly began shaking his head.

“Have you noticed? A crime? My, whatever do you mean? They merely followed the orders of me, Kanosa Tier Field, bishop of the Angel Church, and delivered judgment. Is there something strange about that?”

The logic held. With this, the killing of the gate guards could be handled as an internal purge within the Church.

“Nyaha, that is a bit forced, Bishop. That is just nonsense. No matter who you are, there is no way such a contract—”

It was an obvious rebuttal. Anyone could claim anything if all they did was say it.

The Second Knight swayed her body and laughed frivolously.

“Svi, that.”

“Yes, Bishop-sama.”

““Huh?””

The saint took an old parchment from her breast pocket.

Seeing it, the two knights stopped moving this time for sure.

“Oh, you are still Church Knights, rotten though you may be—oh, excuse me. You should know this well. The Church Pledge Scroll. Can you see his name dancing across the page?”

It was a point that had connected by chance after what happened in the slums.

Tooyama Naruhito’s name was written on the Church Pledge Scroll in the Unified Language.

The unequal contract he had made to save the orphans, however, became the strongest tool for bluffing in this place.

“P-Pledge Scroll. Th-then, these men truly are…”

The grave good, Church Pledge Scroll. Its effect of absolute obedience to commands was widely known.

Even the musclebound oaf understood what it meant.

“Whoa, no way. Commander-san, this is bad, right?”

Through the Church Pledge Scroll, it was recorded that Tooyama Naruhito had joined the Inquisition.

The knights, who had completely taken it that way, were visibly shaken.

At this point, this was no longer a simple arrest of criminals.

It had changed into a clash between Church factions: the bishop faction and the knight order.

“It is not ‘this is bad,’ you pleasure killer. Do you think you can cut off my subordinate’s arm and leave unharmed?”

The bishop’s speech broke down. Her eyes clearly held contempt.

“Bishop-sama, give the order. …I will snap one or two dull blades immediately.”

As if reacting to that, the saint stepped forward.

Under that pressure, the air in the room grew heavy and lukewarm.

“Oh my, oh my, Commander-saan, what should we do? Even for me, handling the Chief Saint alone is rough.”

“M-mmm…”

“Do not just go ‘mmm,’ you damn oaf. Even that brain of yours, no larger than a teaspoon, can understand this, yes? This is an attack by the knight faction on the bishop faction. You people struck first.”

The bishop faction had gained excuses and a just cause.

Everything proceeded as prepared, exactly according to plan.

“Tch, nya, nyahaha, but hey, is this really okay? If you kill me, that guy’s arm will not return, and the lizard-san might die too.”

““…You die.””

Tooyama and Lazaar spat the words out at the same time.

It was clear that the Second Knight wavered even through her mask.

Ah, these guys do not respond to threats. It seemed she at least understood that much.

“Oh, oh no. Nyahaha… Are you two not way too resolved?”

“…Try it. Let us see which comes first: you killing the lizard-san, or me ripping your head off together with that mask.”

“N-nyaha.”

“Your laugh is creepy. The bishop faction will not forgive sparks that fall upon us. In accordance with Church law, fitting retaliation will be—”

The bishop sharply pointed her finger.

It was the final warning. A signal that the bishop’s forces would act.

“N-ngh! ‘Chariot’!!”

“Ennew’s Seven Tools!”

The knights prepared to meet the bishop faction’s strongest force—no, the Church’s strongest force, the Chief Saint.

“…Too slow.”

The power of healing bared its fangs—

“No, it seems I made it in time.”

The scent of flowers filled the room, as though petals were dancing.

The woman opened the guest room door as naturally as a friend appearing in a friend’s room.

“……………!”

The saint’s movement stopped.

“Please do not move any further, Chief Saint-dono. Even you cannot protect Bishop-sama from us, can you?”

“Unfortunately, they are only lower numbers, though. Ah, except for that murder idiot over there.”

“LMAO. Hasn’t Clun almost died too many times in the last three days—or was it two?”

At the same time, new knights appeared in the room.

Like Brena, they were members of the Ten Swords who hid their faces behind strange masks. Three of them had taken the bishop’s back.

All of their swords were pointed at the bishop.

“Tch, Tenth, Eighth, and Fifth. You brought quite a crowd.”

The bishop clicked her tongue arrogantly, without a trace of fear.

“Ahaha, please do not make such a face, Kanosa-sama. I was heading to your side, after all. It is only proper etiquette to bring my favorite swords with me.”

That woman alone was dressed out of place.

Her ceremonial outfit resembled a modern ladies’ suit.

Her hair, the same color as her clothes, gleamed like obsidian, and it was tied into a wolf cut, unusual for a woman.

“I would prefer it if you did not so easily point those swords at me, Deputy Commander-dono. As always, only your face is good.”

“A person’s nature shows on their face, Kanosa-sama.”

The Deputy Commander of the Angel Church Knight Order, a woman who could be called a handsome woman in men’s clothing, faced the bishop with moist cherry-blossom-colored eyes.

“Is that so? Then it seems you have the nature of someone with an exceptionally thick skin.”

“Ahaha, you are as cruel as ever. …Even though you were so honest in bed.”

The handsome woman, the Deputy Commander, gave a mischievous chuckle.

“Oh my, so you speak of the past as if it were your present achievement? Hehe, shall we test whether I am still honest now?”

The bishop likewise opened her narrowed eyes slightly, revealing her purple eyes.

“Ahaha, I will refrain. I did not come for you today, Kanosa-sama.”

Saying that, the Deputy Commander turned away with a pout.

She smoothly extended her supple legs and headed toward the musclebound oaf.

“M-mmm, Deputy Commander Messa…”

Like a child caught misbehaving, the musclebound oaf flinched awkwardly.

“Honestly, if you know you are going to be scolded, please stop running wild, Commander. …I may end up disliking you.”

With one hand on her hip, the Deputy Commander gave an exaggerated sigh.

The musclebound oaf visibly panicked at that attitude.

“Wha?! M-my apologies!! I did not mean to trouble you. Rather, I thought you, who understand something-or-other about the glory of knights, would be pleased…!”

It was a bizarre sight.

At the very least, the positions of the two seemed reversed.

“Tch, which one of you is the vixen…? Hey, hey, Deputy Commander, aren’t you a little late? Also, this is different from what we discussed. Apparently these two criminals are not criminals, but Bishop-sama’s subordinates.”

The masked woman’s voice had grown somewhat lower.

She made no attempt to hide her irritation as she directed her voice at Messa.

“Ahaha, Brena, that is not like you. You seem strangely flustered.”

Completely unfazed, the Deputy Commander laughed off the thorns in her voice.

“The only one among us who can stay calm after having the saint’s serious killing intent thrown at them is our idiot. Well, that idiot has already become just an ordinary idiot now.”

The masked woman murmured in a slightly lonely voice.

“…So, what did you come here for? Deputy Commander-dono, do you intend to punish those two as well?”

The bishop stopped their exchange.

The Deputy Commander turned around and let her gaze wander unsteadily.

“Ah, yes, that was right. Hehe, I suppose I got a little excited after speaking with Kanosa-sama for the first time in so long. …Ah, is he the rumored Dragon Slayer-kun?”

Her cherry-blossom-colored eyes stopped moving on the person she had been looking for.

Her pupils opened slightly, and light shone in her irises.

Those eyes were fixed on Tooyama Naruhito.

“…Who are you?”

“Deputy Commander of the Angel Church Knight Order, Messa Sfoia. It is a pleasure to meet you, strong slave-san who killed our dragon.”

The Deputy Commander bent at the waist and gave a knightly salute toward Tooyama, who was still sitting on the floor.

“Hm! Deputy Commander, there is no need to give your name to a man like—”

The musclebound oaf flared up at that attitude, but—

His voice was immediately stopped.

“Do not get jealous. I want to speak with him a little, Commander.”

The handsome woman with bewitching beauty leaned against him and gently placed her long finger on the musclebound oaf’s lips.

“M-mmm, if you say so…”

Their relationship was clearly one where he was being pacified.

“…Wicked woman.”

The masked woman looked at that with irritation.

“Ahaha, Brena. Do not glare at me like that. Oops, with the mask on, I cannot tell whether you are glaring or not.”

She dodged that and turned her gaze toward Tooyama again.

“I do not know what you came here to do, Deputy Commander-dono, but those two are my subordinates. If the knight order harms them any further—”

The bishop directed her words as if shielding Tooyama from that gaze.

“You will regard it as an attack on the bishop faction, is that right? Ahaha, that is a bold move for you, Kanosa-sama. No, that is not quite it. Normally, that is a card you should have laid more groundwork for and used as a final push in negotiations. …Did Commander and Brena force you to play it in order to stop them?”

But the Deputy Commander smoothly accepted the bishop’s words as well.

Her smile did not break, and she was not entangled in the conversation.

“Now, I wonder what you mean. My contract with Inquisitor Tooyama there through the Pledge Scroll has already been completed.”

“Ahaha, you really do say that shamelessly. The contents of a Pledge Scroll contract can only be confirmed by the parties to the contract, can’t they? …This is just a rumor on the wind, but yesterday, in the slums, it seems a saint saved an orphan. And the ones present there were supposedly a Lizardonian man and a black-haired man? Oh? How strange. Their appearances are very similar to the dragon slayers.”

The Deputy Commander remained calm. Even when the Pledge Scroll was brought up, she did not waver at all.

Rather, she smoothly placed information close to the truth on her tongue.

“…Surely it is a coincidence. I would appreciate it if you did not bring speculation into this place.”

The bishop’s voice did not waver.

However, Tooyama alone noticed that her voice had grown slightly hard.

“Ahaha, I guess I really cannot beat you verbally. Well, it does not matter. It is just a rumor on the wind, after all. The wind.”

Surprisingly, there was no further pursuit.

The woman, who had stolen the atmosphere in the room, left her words vague.

“…What are you trying to say?”

“That we still have a chance too. Commander, there are still lies in Bishop-sama’s words. It is true that she wants to win over the dragon slayers, but that has not been completed yet. Is the content of the Pledge Scroll contract really an oath to join the Inquisition?”

“…Only your face is good.”

“Ahaha, you like my face, don’t you?”

The conversation between the women was cold, yet brisk.

The two, who knew each other well and now walked different paths, did not yield even one step.

“Hm. Hm? In other words, those fellows are not members of the Inquisition? Hm, hahahaha! Then! Good! There is no problem with judging—”

The musclehead abruptly started to regain energy.

He had begun stomping toward Tooyama when—

“No, no, Commander. The First Knight has become unusable. We need replacement personnel, do we not?”

“What?”

The Deputy Commander stopped him again.

Then she smiled, and the air in the room turned cold all at once.

“Let us welcome them into the knight order. Their cursed souls will surely be purified by the pride of us knights and become new swords.”

““Huh?””

The two knights were dumbfounded.

“What are you saying?! Even if it is you, to allow such lowborn things into the knight order—”

The musclebound oaf pressed the Deputy Commander.

“Please.”

The Deputy Commander, Messa, spoke that word.

“…Ah, yes. Your words… are not wrong.”

With just that, only that, the knight order’s will was decided.

It was a warped and dreadful sight.

It was terribly beautiful, but the inside was rotten.

“…Nyaha, Deputy Commander, please do not point those eyes at me. …Even if we die together, I will gouge them out.”

“Ahaha, it is all right. It has difficulty working on the same sex. Oops, keep that secret. I do not have any skills or sacraments, after all, and I do not want you to kill me yet.”

“Deputy Commander, do you understand what you are saying?”

The bishop’s voice was stiff.

“Ahaha, of course. But, Kanosa-sama, this will make it very clear. Whether the contents of the Pledge Scroll contract are really related to the Inquisition, or whether they are your bluff.”

“Stop this, Deputy Commander. You should know what happens if a Pledge Scroll contract is broken.”

“The contractor becomes a living doll that exists only to keep the contract, right? Ahaha, Kanosa-sama, you say amusing things.”

“What are you—”

“Is there any problem with that?”

The woman smiled beautifully, unchanged.

“…Scum.”

“You forgot ‘with a good face,’ Kanosa-sama.”

With a small chuckle in her throat, the Deputy Commander smiled like a cat, moved her supple legs, and slipped over to Lazaar.

“You, those eyes…”

“Ah, you are Lazaar-kun, yes? Hehe, then let us begin with you. Come now, look into my eyes.”

“! No! Lazaar-sama, do not look into her eyes—”

The bishop raised her voice.

“Sorry, Lizardonian. Here we go.”

Brena forcibly held Lazaar down as he tried to avert his gaze.

Ah, the cherry-blossom-colored eyes reflected in his vertically slit pupils, and it began.

“Guh, mm… Ah…”

Lazaar’s movement stopped.

His hands trembled, but as if sewn in place, he stared into Messa’s eyes and did not move.

“You have beautiful eyes, Lazaar-kun. Eyes lit by loneliness and a quiet, dark, sinking anger. Come now, look more deeply into my eyes…”

“Ah… Ah…”

“Hey, Lazaar?”

Lazaar did not answer Tooyama’s call.

“Now, let me hear it. Hey, Lazaar-kun. I want you. Will you join my… oops, I misspoke. Will you join the Angel Church Knight Order? We need your strength.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

Tooyama raised his voice.

He had a bad, terrible feeling.

“Ah…”

And it was always right.

To that impossible question, Lazaar gave an impossible answer.

“Huh? Hey, Lazaar?!”

“Hehe, thank you. I am happy to be able to take the blood of those strong children of teeth into the knight order. It is an honor.”

“…What did you do to Lazaar?”

Tooyama had already begun calculating how to dispose of the woman before him.

Whether because he had gotten used to the pain in his arm or because of his anger, it no longer bothered him.

“Ahaha, please do not make such a frightening face, Dragon Slayer-kun. If you look at me like that, it makes me want to get along with you too.”

“Tooyama-sama!!”

“Oops, Kanosa-sama, stop there. You understand the situation, do you not? Can the saint and the covert operative, the two of them, suppress my four swords and the Commander? Even if they are saint-chan and cat-chan, can they fully protect you?”

“…Is that a threat?”

“Of course not. There is no way I would lay a hand on Kanosa-sama. Ah, but, hmm? Lazaar-kun nodded to joining the knight order and did not become a crippled doll, which means? Oh my? The absolute obedience of the Pledge Scroll has not activated, Kanosa-sama.”

“…!”

“In other words, the contract contents of the Pledge Scroll were, at the very least, not something that placed Dragon Slayer-kun and Lazaar-kun into the Inquisition. Oh my, ahaha, no, I personally do not care. I personally do not.”

“M-mmmmmmm?! Female Bishop!!! You! Then does that mean you deceived me?! I-I will not forgive this! I will not forgive it! This is why nothing good happens when women hold power! I will smash that foxlike pasted-on smile so you can never make it again!!”

“…Do not move. If you lay even one finger on Bishop-sama… the knight order will perish today.”

“Whaaaat?! Little girl, no, brat! Do not get carried away just because you have received the angel’s blessing a little more strongly! My ‘Chariot’ will crush even a saint!”

“Now, now, Commander, do not get angry so quickly, all right?”

“…Hm, yes. My apologies, I got carried away.”

“Ahaha, it is fine. That part of you is what I like, after all.”

“Deputy Commander…”

“Hehe, the sun is still high. I will give you your reward for listening later, when we are alone together, all right?”

The handsome woman leaned against the musclebound oaf. She twined her long leg around the lower part of his armor.

It resembled the sight of a spider capturing its prey.

“U-understood.”

With that alone, the musclebound oaf became docile again.

“Good boy.”

The Deputy Commander smiled.

“Tch.”

“Muscles.”

“My Deputy Commander…”

“Damn it…”

Tongue clicks and voices of resentment were directed toward the Knight Commander and Deputy Commander respectively.

What is wrong with these people? Their relationships are disgusting.

Tooyama felt nauseated by the warped nature of the people before him.

“Yes, yes, come now, everyone, do not be jealous. Brena, it is scary when you glare at me like that.”

“…Nyaha, I have no idea what you mean.”

“Hehe, your eyes are not smiling. Now then, Kanosa-sama, that is how it is. The Church’s old guard, who have repeatedly been forced to swallow bitter water by the female bishop, will not forgive you for falsifying the Pledge Scroll. If even the Commander is like this, then if that Deputy Saint and the fundamentalist faction learn of it, ahaha, I wonder what will happen?”

“That is a poor threat. It is unlike you. Who is behind you?”

“…Hm?”

“Was my wording poor? Then I will put it more simply. …This situation is not a picture that a brain of your level could draw. Who instructed you? What are you thinking, you sex-crazed woman?”

“Ahaha, Kanosa-sama, I really do like that atmosphere of yours better. It sends shivers down my spine. …There is no one. Of course there is no one. I simply want the dragon slayer.”

“Are you sane? The Dragon Shrine Maiden, the Hoarding Dragon, is fixated on him. If you touch him carelessly—”

“You may incur the dragon’s wrath. Ahaha, that sounds fine, does it not?”

“Huh?”

“It has been two hundred years since the Great War ended. The world of man has shrunk, and yet our Empire still prospers. The angel chose humanity. It is we who have been permitted to grow strongest, largest, and widest in this world.”

It was a theatrical gesture.

However, when performed by someone with her appearance, it became a picture in itself.

“Dragons are both pillars and wedges. Wedges that suppress the growth of us humans. Ahaha, do you not think that challenging them is also humanity’s destiny?”

“I do not. Do not dress it up in words that sound like you. If you want to commit suicide, do it alone. At the very least, humans as they are now cannot reach dragons.”

“Well, I wonder about that. Dragons are not perfect. Dragons too are living beings that die when killed. None other than he, the dragon slayer, has proven that, after all.”

“…How foolish. A fool who cannot learn from history, or even from experience—no, who does not even try to learn—is nothing but harmful.”

With intelligence that was not deceived by that, the bishop calmly returned the words.

“History has always been advanced by such fools, Kanosa-sama.”

However, the Deputy Commander also did not stop speaking.

“You are an idiot. And has what those fools brought about ever been anything decent?”

“Ahaha, I really cannot beat you verbally. Well, fine. …Please watch from there, Kanosa-sama.”

“…………”

The sealed bishop glared bitterly at the swords pointed at her and fell silent.

She quietly held her breath, as if waiting for an opportunity.

“Now then, sorry to keep you waiting, Dragon Slayer-kun. I truly wanted to meet and speak with you today. I am sorry, your arm hurts, does it not?”

Smiling brightly, the Deputy Commander approached Tooyama with cherry-blossom-colored eyes.

“…What did you do to Lazaar?”

“Nothing. I simply asked him. He, having come to like me, nodded to becoming my comrade. He decided everything by his own free will. So I did nothing.”

“…Lazaar, can you hear me?”

Ignoring the Deputy Commander’s words, he directed his voice at his partner, who stood there vacantly.

“…Naruhito? What is wrong?”

A sleepy voice, unfocused eyes.

He was clearly acting strange.

“Are you fine with being here? Is this really fine with you?”

“Here… this…?”

Calling out to him was meaningless.

Ahh, he really is weak to this kind of thing.

Tooyama scratched his head with his unharmed left hand and sighed.

“Haah, you pure lizard. Fine, I will do something about it. Just stand there quietly and stay dazed.”

“Ahaha, unexpected. I thought you would be angrier. Something like, ‘What did you do to my friend?’”

“People have things they are good and bad at. My partner is weak against indirect tricks like this. Weak enough that sweet drinks and hot springs can make him all fluffy-headed. This kind of thing, on the other hand, is my specialty.”

“This kind of thing?”

“Dealing with scum like you.”

He glared up at her.

Think. How should he finish her?

Tooyama observed the woman intently.

But receiving that gaze, the woman did not flinch.

Rather, she embraced her long, supple, sensual body and smiled.

“Ahaha, ahahahaha, I want you. I want you, truly. It hurts, does it not? That right arm. Of course it hurts. It was cut off by the power of a familiar of Murder. And yet, right now, all you are thinking about is killing me. Look, Brena! Do you not think his eyes are wonderful?”

“…Nyaha, I don’t care. Actually, damn it—Deputy Commander, if you are going to do it, hurry up. For some reason, I am starting to feel sick.”

The masked woman’s voice sounded a little weak.

“Oh, what is wrong?”

“…I’m giving this back. Looking at it is starting to make me feel sick…”

Splat.

What she threw away like trash was the severed right arm.

“Hey, masked woman. Is that any way to return something to someone? At least hand it over properly. Do not make it go splat.”

Tooyama directed a sharp voice at her.

“…You really are interesting. Does an ordinary person react like that when their own arm is thrown in front of them?”

“What kind of reaction would satisfy you? Ordinary people do not have their own arms thrown in front of them in the first place.”

“Heh, ahaha. Good, very good. A normal heart, an everyday heart. As you are, you can kill people. Even now, with that calm face, you are thinking about how to kill me, aren’t you?”

“Do you, conversely, think I will leave you alive? …You laid a hand on Lazaar. At that point, you are my enemy.”

“Ahaha, I am the one who decides whether we are enemies or not, Dragon Slayer.”

The eyes of the Deputy Commander, Messa Sfoia, reflected Tooyama.

Her cherry-blossom-colored irises swayed bewitchingly.

Suddenly, it began.

It began so naturally that there was no chance to resist.

“…Huh?”

His strength left him. His left arm fell flat onto the carpet, and his body loosened.

“Ahaha, cute.”

It was the truly terrifying Mystic Eyes of Charm.

The authority of the familiar of “Beauty and Woman,” a seat that was supposed to be empty. The familiar who had descended from that seat and been born into the human world had disguised herself as a beautiful woman and engraved that authority into the world.

“Look into my eyes.”

“Ah, gah.”

As long as one was a man, one could not escape that authority. That power, which acted even upon one’s genes, manipulated the personality of human men.

That power, which had difficulty working on fellow women, was neither a skill nor a sacrament. It was a power that Messa herself innately possessed.

Just as people could blink without being taught, Messa too had known how to use the power of her eyes from the moment she was born.

“I want you, Dragon Slayer. That unusual talent that can kill dragons, that mentality that can stand beside dragons—you are someone I need.”

“You… need me?”

It was nothing extraordinary. Tooyama Naruhito was also a human man. Without exception, all he could do was prostrate himself before “Beauty and Woman.”

He melted.

“Yes, I am frail, and I lack everything. To return to my original form, I must become stronger, greater, and more beautiful. Humans can change. They can eat beings more beautiful than themselves and change. …Please lend me your power.”

“My… power.”

“Yes, I love strong you. Hey, please. Come with me.”

That power invaded the ego. As long as one was a man, one could not escape that power.

Most forms of communication called love were things humanity had created to compensate for what was lacking.

“I lack you. What do you lack? I will fill it for you. I will fill your emptiness.”

The lack that every person possessed. The way of being as a living creature that could not be satisfied alone. The woman’s power filled that in a distorted manner.

The woman’s power soaked into Tooyama Naruhito’s ego.

The woman’s voice seeped into Tooyama’s melted brain.

“Ah…”

He was being filled. What he had sought, the scene he wanted to reach, drifted far away.

“Ah, what a beautiful sight. You are a person very honest with your desires. Good. From now on, I will fulfill all of them. I will become your desire, so, please.”

What the woman peered into was the scenery of Tooyama’s dream. There was only a peaceful scene there. Her ability could see no deeper than that. That was fortunate for her.

“I…”

“You are no longer alone. I am here… Mm.”

Messa’s cherry-blossom-colored lips touched Tooyama’s half-open, absentminded mouth.

At zero distance, close enough that their breaths touched, Messa’s eyes caught his brown eyes and would not let go.

Beauty and Woman devoured Greed. Messa’s white cheeks flushed with excitement.

Tooyama could only grow intoxicated by the fragrance of flowers and the sensation of something slimy and warm stirring wildly inside his mouth.

The only one moving there was the woman. Her slender waist swayed as she leaned against Tooyama.

The bishop and the knight order were all frozen, simply watching that act, mixed with sighs and resembling predation.

“Ah, ha, deli… cious… Look more, at me.”

“…Ah, ah.”

The light faded from Tooyama’s brown eyes. Helplessly, his very existence was defiled by the familiar of Beauty and Woman.

“Pwah… Ahaha. And one more thing. I will give you what you want. …Stolu.”

“Sto… lu?”

“I understand your anger toward her. Kanosa-sama interrupted at just the right moment, didn’t she? …We no longer need that one. It seems Justice is not functioning anymore either. I will give you a chance for revenge against her. You may do whatever you like to her.”

“That one…”

The justice woman who had nearly killed Lazaar. He still remembered the pain in his neck.

The cherry-blossom-colored eyes watched the bud of that desire with a smile.

“See? I will give you everything. So give yourself to me too. You like me. Come now, open your mouth.”

“…Ah, like…”

“Yes, you like me. Say ‘ah.’”

The pitiful man could no longer even resist. All he could do was open his mouth foolishly and accept it.

His desires were filled by Beauty and Woman, and it ended here. The woman floated a deep smile like the bottom of darkness and entrusted her supple body to the man.

The woman smiled. Sneered. With this, she had obtained what she needed. Even if he was the dragon slayer, as long as he was a man, there was no way he would not become hers.

She breathed a sweet sigh onto him.

“…Like?”

Ping.

The woman did not know. The woman had not even imagined it.

The present day. Japan. She did not know Tooyama Naruhito’s days of exploration before he became an adventurer, nor his encounters.

She also did not know the true pitch-black nature of a woman who far surpassed her own evil.

The high-rank explorer Tooyama Naruhito had already encountered something far more dangerous.

“Luck with women: hopeless.”

That was by no means help from a “dragon.” What saved him from a woman was, again, another “woman.”

Crunch.

“Gyaaaaaah?!!”

Messa’s eyes spun, and she leaped away.

From the mouth she held shut, red blood dripped.

“…Enemy.”

Ptoo. With vacant eyes, Tooyama continued muttering. The spit he spat onto the carpet was mixed with red blood.

“Huh? H-he bit my tongue…?”

For the first time that day, the Deputy Commander spoke in a frightened voice, as if she could not believe it.

Just as she said, Tooyama Naruhito had gone crunch.

“An enemy does not touch me.”

“Huh?”

—She is an enemy, Naruhito-kun.

Tooyama Naruhito’s head was happy. Unfortunately, it had changed from the brain of an ordinary human.

That was the influence of dungeon intoxication. It was caused by the memory washing and excessive administration of truth serum performed by the Guild—

No, that was not all.

“An enemy… That’s right. Right, Kusakabe?”

There was a truth that Tooyama Naruhito himself did not know. It was the doing of a certain person drawn to him by his hopelessly bad luck with women.

“Huh? What are you… saying…?”

—Every pretty woman who approaches you is an enemy. Naruhito-kun, every woman who kisses you or whispers love to you is an enemy. All of them are trying to deceive you, trying to steal from you.

A voice planted in his mind by hypnotic suggestion echoed in his head.

It was not resistance because he was an adventurer. It was not the power of the relic inside him, nor was it Tooyama’s own power.

—Sleep, sleep, Naruhito-kun. May my voice reach somewhere deeper and deeper inside you.

“Kusakabe… Enemy.”

“A-absurd. I should have completely broken him…”

The authority of Beauty and Woman, which destroyed a man’s brain, did not reach Tooyama Naruhito’s brain.

The reason was simple. It was already—

—Naruhito-kun will not forget me. You will stay that way forever. Strong and cold, always chasing something. You do not need women.

Tooyama Naruhito’s brain had already been destroyed by the hypnotic suggestion of his former teammate, Kusakabe Sena.

“I am not popular. I am not liked. So every woman who says she likes me is lying. She is an enemy.”

The treatments Tooyama Naruhito received from Kusakabe night after night.

She had explained that it was something about psychological counseling, but in truth, it was nothing more than further hypnotic suggestion applied to a brain already damaged by memory washing.

He was not popular, therefore every woman who approached him was suspicious. His brain had been broken so that he would think like someone cursed to march straight down the path of eternal virginity.

“……………Huh?”

His rare bad luck with women had drawn a dangerous woman to Tooyama even before he reached this other world.

“Ah, my head is gradually clearing up. Damn it, this feels like when I was getting the Guild’s memory washing. Octopus woman, you have some troublesome technique.”

“Kusakabe Sena.”

The only woman in the fireteam that high-rank explorer Tooyama Naruhito belonged to.

A former comrade of Tooyama Naruhito, and a “real one” who had seriously done something to Tooyama Naruhito like a hypnosis app from an erotic manga.

The obsession and twisted possessiveness of a dangerous woman saved Tooyama from the authority of a dangerous woman.

“Impossible. My eyes do not work? You are kidding… Are you impotent?”

The woman murmured blankly, as if truly dumbfounded. And of course, that struck Tooyama’s nerves.

Not in a reverse way or anything.

“All right, war decided. Lazaar, hey, how long are you going to stand there dazed?”

“…Ah.”

Damn lizard weak to seduction. Tooyama lightly slapped the chin of Lazaar, who still stood there blankly.

“Do not go for a woman like this. She definitely will not wake up early, so she will get in the way of your bakery work.”

He told him one thing.

“Bakery… That’s right. I do not want a woman… Someone… someone’s hunger… Ah, yes…!”

With that alone, light began returning to Lazaar’s eyes.

“Huh? Gah, that hurts?! My eyes… Oh, aaaaaaAAAAAAAH?!”

Messa suddenly clutched her eyes and dropped to her knees. Then, from those eyes, black tears—or rather, “black shadows”—began leaking thickly.

“Whoa?! Deputy Commander?!!”

“““Messa-sama!!”””

The knight-faction fans of the princess began to panic at the princess’s condition.

That was true even of the Ten Swords who had been restraining Kanosa and Svi.

And neither the bishop nor the Chief Saint missed that opening.

“Svi.”

“…An opening.”

“““Ah.”””

Sharper than any sword, the bishop’s strongest tool performed its function.

She struck down the knights’ swords and kicked the three of them into the wall in an instant.

“Ahh, my favorite guest room… I will take the repair fees from your budget for this term.”

The bishop laughed coldly as she recrossed her legs.

With the covert operative and the saint attending her on either side, her smiling figure was truly that of the Church’s ruler.

The balance of the place had collapsed. The bishop who had been restrained now had the saint and the covert operative solidifying the field, while most of the knights were unable to fight.

And the woman was still crawling, shadows flowing from her eyes.

“Ah, hahaha, ‘Floria of Evil Deeds’!! You gloomy woman! You are that upset that someone laid a hand on this Lizardonian?! Ah, haha, good, I want it!”

Staggering, with shadows still flowing from her eyes, the Deputy Commander stood.

Her glittering cherry-blossom-colored eyes, clouded with stagnation, licked over Tooyama and Lazaar.

“A dragon slayer who resists my eyes, and the descendant of a lesser dragon so dearly loved by ‘Evil Deeds’! I want them, I want them so very much!”

“Whoa, Lazaar, she is calling you. Nice, you are popular.”

“No, I will decline. My type is someone chaste. She is calling you too.”

“Sorry, I am good on the princess of a geek circle type.”

“Nggh?! You lot! I do not understand what is happening, but you dared insult my Deputy Commander despite being criminals?!”

“Ah, the leader of the knight circle snapped. Stop it, muscle old man. Women like that are the type who destroy the circle and then end up dating a guy from another drinking circle.”

“What is a circle?! Enough! This is too roundabout! Brena! And you lot stuck in the wall! Fulfill your mission as swords!”

“Nyaha, Commander, that is how you should be. Hey, damn woman. We are doing this our way now. You failed.”

“Ahaha, Brena. How cute. Are you jealous that the Commander was taken?”

“…Nyahaha, I will kill you someday.”

“Ow… Is my neck still attached? It is still attached, right?”

“Yeah, it is barely attached, probably. The saint is terrifying.”

“Ahh, damn it, we got hit. I let my guard down.”

The knights who had all been made wall decorations by Svi also pulled themselves out of the wall and staggered back to the musclebound oaf.

“…Wait, is there a pretty big difference in numbers now?”

“Indeed. …Bishop-dono, I apologize. It seems there will be one more commotion because my partner is so belligerent.”

“Ah, you bastard, Lazaar. Do not blame other people, you snitch.”

Tooyama and Lazaar had unconsciously moved to the side of the bishop and her companions, whom they had been facing moments before.

They stood in front of the bishop and exchanged light banter.

“Ahh, my head hurts… I have to take in people like this. But I have already swallowed half the poisoned plate…”

Kanosa, whose plans had completely flown about two light-years away from what she had intended, held her head without hiding her irritation.

“Hey, hey, boss. Poison is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“That’s right, boss. We are your inquisitors, are we not?”

“…Bishop-sama, are these people shameless?”

“Exactly, Svi. You must not grow up into adults like this.”

“My Lady, are you truly bringing these people into the Inquisition?”

“I know, I know, Tossle. I understand what you want to say. But there is no other way now. Truly, it is utterly infuriating, and there is nothing but bitter anguish in it.”

At the worried voices of Svi and Tossle, the bishop curled up while seated on the sofa.

“Lazaar, maybe she hates you. Your bonus will probably be low.”

“It is you, Naruhito. You always get into conflicts with people immediately. I hope our expenses are reimbursed.”

The carefree two whispered to each other.

“There is no way either of those will be paid, you idiots.”

The bishop snapped at them.