After returning to my room, some time had passed.
Cat ears and dog ears in uniform.
Their hands were restrained behind their backs with earth-magic handcuffs, and gags were stuffed in their mouths.
You think I did nothing to them while they were unconscious?
Don't be ridiculous.
I'm a gentleman, after all.
"Mguh!?"
"Nngh—! Nngh—!"
The two of them woke up right away.
Upon seeing the situation they were in, they began groaning and straining.
"Good morning."
I greeted them quietly and stood up, looking down at them.
They twisted and squirmed, turning their gazes toward me.
Wary eyes tinged with unease, yet glared at me defiantly.
"Nnnh—!"
A protesting groan.
They didn't seem to understand the situation.
"So then…where should I start?"
I rested my chin on my hand and regarded the two of them.
Their struggles had hiked their skirts up, exposing supple, youthful thighs.
Quite the obscene sight.
"Hm."
"Nngh!?"
Pursena noticed my gaze immediately.
Then she sniffed the air, her expression growing anxious. She seemed to understand what I was thinking just from the scent.
Linia, on the other hand, didn't get it—she just glared and huffed at me.
It seemed Pursena's nose was the better of the two.
In truth, being afflicted with my illness, I could barely smell anything at all, but…
"Hm."
Then, a thought occurred to me.
These beast-eared schoolgirls, bound and gagged, uniforms in disarray, unable to move.
Extremely stimulating.
Perhaps, if I approached it from this angle, it might actually cure me.
I'd heard that all
Having lost my status as a virgin—or DT—it was possible that even I had awakened to something like this.
In my previous life, I hadn't exactly disliked this sort of thing either.
It wasn't my favorite, mind you.
"Hm."
Once the thought struck, I wasted no time.
Cracking my knuckles, I approached Pursena and touched her ample bosom.
She shut her eyes tight.
What an expression.
It was as though I were doing something truly terrible.
There are women out there who freely grope a man's chest, you know.
And yet, the sensation was undeniably pleasant.
Hers were quite large, after all.
But the excitement was thin.
The joyful cry I'd been hoping for—the response that should have come—never arrived.
The moment I let go, the arousal drained away instantly, leaving behind only a hollow loneliness.
…It's still no good, is it.
When I released her, Pursena blinked in confusion for a moment.
She sniffed the air, then looked visibly relieved, followed by a somewhat complicated expression.
"Master…are you punishing me in that kind of way?"
"No, it was just a little experiment."
To Zanoba's question, I answered calmly, then looked at Linia.
The instant our eyes met, she shot me a furious glare.
I tried touching her as well.
She was smaller than Pursena, but she too had impressive assets.
The Doldia tribe, on average, tended to be well-endowed.
But once again, my tomcat showed no excitement.
If anything changed, it was that Linia's stare now held even more humiliation and rage.
I'd heard that those with restraint fetishes considered this look—the kind twisted further into despair—to be the ultimate turn-on.
Even in my previous life, I'd understood that.
But it seemed things inside a monitor and reality were rather different.
Nothing to be gained here.
The experiment was over.
"Now then—do you understand why you're in this situation?"
I posed the question first.
The two exchanged a glance and shook their heads at each other.
Linia was the loud one, so I removed Pursena's gag first.
After thinking for a moment, she muttered: "…We didn't do anything to you."
"Oh? You didn't do anything!"
I deliberately echoed her words and snapped my fingers.
Zanoba brought a box over, looking hesitant.
When the lid was opened, inside lay the mutilated
"You two did this, correct?"
"…What is that creepy doll?"
"Creepy!"
I repeated Pursena's words once more.
She called Roxy creepy!
The Roxy doll I'd painstakingly crafted and had been so proud of that I'd ended up selling it!
Creepy!
No, calm down.
Be cool.
"This is a figure modeled after my god."
"Y-Your god?"
"That's right. Thanks to her, I was able to learn about the world."
As I spoke, I moved to the corner of the room.
There was a Shrine there—one I'd set up the moment I arrived.
I opened the small double door and showed them what was inside.
"Mmph!"
"Wh-What is that…?"
"M-Master, this is…"
"…"
The sacred grandeur of the Sacred Object enshrined within seemed to strike them to the core.
Even Zanoba flinched, and Juli clutched the hem of Zanoba's clothes, looking ready to cry.
"That statue is my god.
You desecrated it, trampled it, and tore it to pieces."
Linia and Pursena's eyes went wide as they looked back and forth between my face and the Shrine.
Then, slowly, they turned to Zanoba and the near-tears Juli.
Their gazes returned to me.
In that sequence, the color drained from their faces.
A blue-screen-of-death expression.
They seemed to have realized it at last.
What they'd done.
"So—do you have any defense?"
Pursena thought for a few seconds at my question.
Then she said: "N-No, it wasn't me! Linia's the one who stepped on it! I told her to stop!"
"Mmph!?"
Apology comes before excuse-making, huh?
Hmph, very well.
Amused, I decided to remove Linia's gag as well.
The moment I did, both of them started shrieking in shrill voices.
"I said it was creepy and we shouldn't bother with it, that was Pursena, nya!"
"But Linia was the one who stepped on it!"
"Ah, I slipped, nya! Besides, Pursena kicked it to bits in the end, nya!
When Zanoba was up all night looking for the pieces, she was snickering behind her hand, nya!"
They'd kept him up until the dead of night searching for fragments…
Even for that tiny ankle piece no bigger than a fingertip.
Zanoba, you really are…
Right now, my affinity for Zanoba just went up by about three points.
Straight down the
But I digress.
"Shut it! You're both equally guilty!"
I silenced their shameless finger-pointing first.
Then: "Crimes demand punishment."
I declared the verdict.
"That said, my sect is still in its infancy, and we haven't established penalties for cases like this.
What kind of punishment is given in your village for something like this?"
"I-If anyone did something weird back home, Papa and Grandpa wouldn't stay quiet about it, nya!
They're warriors who rank among the top two in the entire Great Forest, nya!
Oh…"
Linia seemed to remember something.
That I was acquainted with Gues and Gustav.
And then I remembered too.
The "punishment" in the Great Forest.
"Lord Gues? Ah, I remember now.
He framed me falsely, claiming I'd made an improper advance on the Holy Beast—so I was stripped naked, doused with cold water, and locked in a cell for a whole week.
Very well, let's do the same for you two."
Incidentally, I bore absolutely no grudge over that.
But they didn't take it that way.
Both of them went silent, their faces turning ghostly pale.
As expected—for this tribe, that punishment was tantamount to the most horrifying torture.
"N-No, we'll do anything, just not that, nya!"
"If it comes to it, just use Linia's body—I don't care—but at least spare me!"
"Right, nya—anything can happen to me—whaa!?"
Even while pleading, they kept up their comedic back-and-forth.
Not nearly enough remorse.
Especially the dog-eared one.
"You Doldia tribe people—whenever your precious Holy Beast is involved, you're the worst!
Every chance you get, you suspect me and try to frame me with false accusations.
Your crime, on the other hand, is no false accusation."
"Please, just forgive us, nya…we didn't know it was an important doll…!"
"Yes, I imagine not."
"We'll never do it again, nya…"
Never again? As if twice would ever be acceptable.
Listen—once something's broken, it doesn't come back.
How could these two possibly understand the feelings of someone who watches something precious get destroyed right in front of their eyes?
I can still recall that moment perfectly.
When my little brother smashed my computer with a bat.
I've no intention of dredging up that old wound now.
But the despair and the emotions of that moment—I can still feel them even today.
The feeling of having my one and only emotional anchor ground to dust!
"I'll apologize, nya—I'll even show my belly, nya…"
"Me too. It's embarrassing, but I'll endure it."
Show their bellies?
Oh—like the beast-tribe-style kowtow Gues had done.
Such a half-hearted display of contrition wouldn't soothe my feelings one bit.
"If you want forgiveness, then glue this doll back together and make it right!"
Roxy, Roxy, Roxy!
"That's right—Master can't repair it either!"
Zanoba piled on the two of them.
But Zanoba, it's not that I can't repair it.
I have all the parts, and the staff—the hardest piece—is completely undamaged.
My figure-crafting skills had improved since back then.
With seamless joints, beautifully…
Hm?
Wait.
I can fix it.
I *can* fix it.
It's not like it's gone forever.
When I thought about that, my anger began to subside on its own.
They'd apologized.
They seemed remorseful.
I was starting to feel like I could forgive them.
Besides—this whole situation was, frankly, criminal.
If anything, if this came to light, I'd be the one in serious trouble.
For instance, what if some bald-headed man with a spear walked in on this scene…
No!
That's not the point!
The point is that they casually destroyed something precious to someone else!
But if I showed mercy here, they'd definitely do it again!
I had to sear it into them!
In the name of the Roxy faith!
That said, my head had cooled off a bit, and I couldn't think of any fittingly satisfying punishment.
"Zanoba, do you have any ideas?"
"Let's do to them the same thing they did to it."
Zanoba's eyes were ice-cold.
He was still burning with anger, apparently.
Well, naturally—he'd witnessed it firsthand.
Suppose I went along with that. Then the two of them would end up like the Roxy doll—battered and mangled, courtesy of Zanoba.
Tyrant Platynus at it again.
This man was something else.
The head-taking prince was alive and well.
"No, Zanoba. Killing them would be going too far.
I don't much care for murder."
"Then let's sell them to a slave merchant.
The slave trade in Doldia is forbidden, but I believe there was a faction in Asura that was madly, hopelessly fond of beast-tribe women.
These two are daughters of the Doldia chief's bloodline…
If they could be made into slaves, they'd buy them even if it meant breaking a treaty."
Zanoba was extreme.
But slavery was going too far as well.
It could spark a war with the beast tribe.
"That Asura faction is, shall we say, on the brink of destruction at the moment, so that won't work."
The Boreas family—I wonder how they're doing now.
Being out in the Northern Lands, I didn't hear much news.
But apparently things were dire, and the house's dissolution could be a matter of time.
"Listen, Zanoba—they are princesses, after all.
If we don't handle this in a way that doesn't draw too much scrutiny, it'll come back to bite us later."
"As expected of Master—even while your blood is boiling, you still consider your own self-preservation."
"Shut up."
Hmm.
What to do.
Releasing them as-is wouldn't satisfy me.
On the other hand, keeping them here indefinitely might make for pleasant visual entertainment.
Not exactly my thing, but they were attractive girls by any measure.
No, no—just the kidnapping alone could be a problem.
I couldn't keep them for too long.
They seemed to have learned their lesson.
And the doll could be repaired.
I wanted something crisp, something cathartic, to call it even…
Hmm.
--- "So that's what happened."
When in trouble, consult Senior Fitz.
That had become my go-to pattern lately.
Fitz was knowledgeable and usually had an answer for everything.
"W-Wait, so right now, the two of them are in Rudeus's room…?"
"Yes. Don't worry—I properly submitted a notice that they'd be absent from class today."
"Um, so…you captured, um, together with Zanoba, you're holding girls captive…?"
I suppose that was one way to put it.
Imprisoning beast-eared beauties.
That sounded like something that had been on my previous life's "Things I Want to Try at Least Once Before I Die" list.
Of course, back then I'd wanted to go further than that—and the current me lacked the ability to do so.
"So Rudeus, um…you confined them and then…?"
Fitz's face was bright red, and the way he looked at me was reminiscent of how one might stare at something unspeakable.
No good—I'd created a bit of a misunderstanding.
"No, I didn't do anything sexual."
"Y-You didn't?"
"The most I did was touch their chests."
"Oh…so you touched their chests…"
"Yes, I needed to verify something."
"…? You mean it wasn't *that kind* of touching?"
What did he mean by "that kind"?
Well, he was asking whether I'd touched them with sexual intent.
In a broad sense, sure, one could argue that.
But from my perspective, it was purely a medical procedure—part of an experiment.
"It was not that kind of touching."
Fitz looked somewhat relieved.
"O-Okay. But it could still become a problem. They're still daughters of the Doldia chief's line."
"Don't worry. I'm acquainted with both the chief and the war chief."
"Wh-What!? Really?"
"Indeed. If I told them the girls had grown slack in their school life and I was simply straightening them out, they'd accept that."
"How did you even meet them!? The Doldia are so exclusive—you can't just casually meet their chief."
I told Fitz the whole story of what happened in the Great Forest.
Hearing it through my own telling, it was quite the pathetic episode.
Trying to save a child, getting captured, and once released, spending my days playing with a dog and making figures.
"Wow, Rudeus, you're amazing…"
It was hardly an impressive tale, yet Fitz let out an awestruck sigh.
Where exactly was the impressive part, I wondered.
"To be taken in by a Holy Beast…"
That again.
Come to think of it, why had the Holy Beast come to me?
I knew Gues had arranged it—but there was no way the creature genuinely liked me.
"They may be beasts, but even they can tell who saved them."
"Don't say things like that in front of beast-tribe people, ever."
Obviously.
I'd be furious too if someone mocked Roxy by calling her a vulgar demon.
I understood the lines that should never be crossed.
"Anyway, I need to consult your wisdom once more, Senior Fitz.
I want to feel satisfied, and I want them not to resent me— but I also want to make it sting enough that they won't try revenge.
Any ideas?"
"That's a tough question."
Fitz furrowed his brow in thought.
I half-expected him to tell me to just let them go.
"I can't forgive anyone who gangs up on someone, beats them up, steals their belongings, and destroys their things either, you know."
So that was his stance.
I fully agreed with that sentiment.
Incidentally, he and Zanoba had apparently become the kind of acquaintances who'd greet each other in passing.
Hearing that an acquaintance had been wronged, he was ready to step up.
Back during the slavery incident I'd thought so too—Fitz might truly be a man of justice.
"Alright, I've got a good idea."
"Oh?"
That line was practically a failure flag, but I let it slide.
Oh well.
So we cut the day's investigation short and headed back to the room together.
--- When we returned, a sharp smell hit us.
The floor was damp.
Everything reeked.
Linia and Pursena had gone completely limp with exhaustion.
…Maybe I should have at least let them use the bathroom.
They looked thoroughly miserable, so I used magic to evaporate the mess, opened the window to air the room out, and stripped off their soiled skirts and panties, wiping them clean.
Off to the laundry with the clothes.
They weren't completely naked, so it should be fine.
That was what I thought when I checked their expressions—but both of them wore looks of total resignation.
"Feel free to do whatever you want to us…
But if you're going to keep us in the room, at least take the cuffs off, nya…
Being unable to move is awful, nya…
We won't run, nya, please…"
For the cat-type Pursena, roughly twenty-four hours of restraint had been rough.
"If we're good, we just want something to eat, nya.
We won't howl at night, nya…
We won't bite either, nya…
We want meat, nya…
We're starving, nya…"
I finally understood—this one was the food-loving type.
Come to think of it, she'd been eating meat the first time we met too.
To give up after only a single day.
It must have been from having no food.
When you're hungry, you lose your will.
I removed their handcuffs.
They knelt before me.
Without underwear on, the sight was absolutely risqué.
My nose started to tickle.
If only my lower half would cooperate equally.
"Rudeus…"
Fitz's voice came from right beside us, where he'd been washing their skirts and panties.
"Um…I think they've reflected enough—maybe you should just forgive them?
You might not feel entirely satisfied, but spending a whole day unable to move is pretty rough?
The men's dormitory is full of hungry guys, so they must have been terrified…"
"True, nya."
"Every time we heard footsteps, we thought it was over…"
Actually, from what I knew, there weren't *that* many desperate guys around.
Nobody was forbidden from going out—if you were that desperate for a woman, you could head to the red-light district, or visit the beautiful Half Long Ear rumored to have joined the first-year class recently.
Or maybe Linia and Pursena had made enemies all over and it genuinely wasn't safe for them.
Ah—but come to think of it, if you found two restrained girls around here, there'd be no shortage of people willing to cart them off to a slave dealer.
"From now on, we'll do whatever you say, nya—we'll be your underlings and work for you, nya."
"Please just forgive us, nya."
They'd reflected plenty.
At least, outwardly.
"There's no need to force obedience.
…But I will never forgive anyone who mocks Roxy."
That was all I said, and both of them nodded vigorously, faces pale as chalk.
"Of course, nya—making fun of any other god would get you killed with no room to complain, nya…"
"Ugh, the terror of being chased by the Temple Knights comes rushing back…"
When I mentioned that I had connections inside the Temple Knights as well, their faces turned even paler.
Money and connections really did make everything easier.
After a while.
The laundry was done, and the two hastily dressed themselves.
The act of putting on panties—why was it so damn arousing?
Personally, I found it far more exciting than the act of taking them off.
They were dressed and had regained their usual composure.
"We'll follow orders, but anything involving having children is strictly off-limits, nya. For that, you need to properly court someone, get married, and then do it, nya."
"That's right. But I'll let you touch Linia's chest once in a while."
"Right, only once in a while—hey, why me, nya!?"
"Mine are expensive. You'll have to pay with expensive meat."
For delinquent girls, they had remarkably strong views on chastity.
Princesses, through and through.
But I wondered—had their meek behavior from before been half an act?
I hoped they'd truly reflected…
"Oh, that's right, Rudeus. Watch out for ambushes," Fitz warned.
The two of them flinched hard.
"Nya!? Hey, Fitz—don't say creepy things like that, nya!"
"That's right!"
"The boss is a crazy, depraved pervert, nya— If he lost again, who knows what he'd do to us, nya— Nobody would dare pull something like that!"
Who are you calling a depraved pervert?
What an awful thing to say.
But if that's what they thought of me, then I could sleep soundly.
"…Boss, can we head back now?"
Pursena asked, tilting her head.
And since when was I "Boss"?
Fine, whatever.
"I'm hungry—I want to go back and eat the dried meat in my room, nya."
"Yeah, we haven't eaten or drunk anything since yesterday evening, nya…"
What was with that phrasing?
It made it sound like I was the villain.
Was there not quite enough remorse here?
"Not enough remorse, I'd say."
It was Fitz who said that.
"Fitz—this has nothing to do with you, nya, does it?"
"That's right…fuck…"
Fitz looked slightly hurt by that.
I shouted: "Both of you—sit seiza right there!"
They reluctantly sat down.
Fitz produced a bottle from inside his robe.
A bottle of black paint.
And a brush.
That was what he called a "good idea."
--- By the time it was all over, my anger had nearly dissipated.
"…………Fitz, you'd better remember this, nya…"
"Fuck…"
Their faces were a picture of frustration.
The two of them had connected eyebrows drawn on, with eyes written above their eyelids.
Around their mouths, bandit-like mustaches had been sketched.
And on their cheeks: "I am a cat who lost to Rudeus."
"I am a dog who lost to Rudeus."
It was a new form of body paint.
Somehow, I found it a little exciting.
"It's a paint that certain tribes use to mark their skin.
With a special incantation, it can be made to leave a permanent mark."
Apparently such a thing existed.
Like this world's version of a tattoo.
Come to think of it, I'd seen something similar a few times during my adventuring days.
"You can't wash it off with just water. If you ever go against Rudeus, I'll activate the magic and keep those tattoos on you for life!"
"Y-Yes, understood—we won't do anything like that, nya…"
"………Understood."
The two nodded shuddering in fear.
Well, it was a truly hideous look.
If it lasted forever, they'd never find a husband.
Fitz was pretty ruthless too.
"You're free to go today, but tomorrow you spend the whole day in that state.
Then I'll remove them.
But the ones on your bodies won't fade for six months—keep that in mind!"
"We get it, seriously, give us a break, nya…"
"…*sniff*"
Pursena was on the verge of tears.
Incidentally, their backs bore even more vulgar inscriptions.
If those really lasted a lifetime, their reputations would be ruined for good.
The two left by window rather than the hallway, since they didn't want to be seen.
This was the second floor—would they be fine?
Should be. Only the second floor.
As they were leaving, Linia suddenly thought to ask: "Boss—for a magic user, how come you could track my movements with your eyes? What kind of training did you do?"
"Nothing special. I simply followed my master's teachings and moved properly."
The training with
I'd always considered myself weak—endlessly, relentlessly weak.
While Eris was growing so rapidly, I felt as though I hadn't improved at all.
But perhaps our growth rates were simply different, and I'd gotten stronger in my own way too.
"Who's your master, nya?"
"Um—Gilleen, I suppose."
"Gilleen…she's my aunt, isn't she?"
"Ah, yes. Sword King Gilleen."
"…………Makes sense, nya."
She looked somewhat satisfied with that answer.
"See ya, nya."
"Bye, Boss. Really sorry about the doll."
They said that and left.
Afterward, Fitz let out a sigh.
"Sorry, Rudeus. I got carried away even though it was none of my business."
"Not at all—it was nice seeing the two of them cowering."
More importantly: "You mentioned a special incantation—but what if someone who knew about it saw them?"
The two hadn't known, but since it was a tool, it wasn't likely that only Fitz knew the incantation.
What if someone recited it at them as a prank?
When I thought about it, I felt a little guilty.
"Hm? Oh—yeah, that was a lie."
Fitz said it with complete nonchalance.
"Sure, paints like that do exist, but that one was just cheap magic-circle paint.
It fades if you flow mana through it."
He chuckled as he spoke.
Like a child whose prank had succeeded.
We shared a laugh.
--- Fitz stayed in my room for a while longer.
He seemed restless, pacing around uneasily.
He wandered back and forth, asking about everything that caught his eye.
"What's that? Is something inside?"
Fitz, whose eye for detail was impeccable, pointed at the Shrine.
"Contains the Sacred Object of my sect."
"Oh? You're not a follower of Millis, Rudeus? Can I take a peek?"
"It's the Roxy Faith, and—don't open it!"
I hurried to stop him as he reached for the door.
The Sacred Object of our faith was far too divine—an ordinary person's eyes couldn't handle it.
Besides.
What had yesterday's me been thinking?
Showing my panties would only earn me a look of revulsion.
"Ah, sorry."
Fitz quickly withdrew his hand.
After that he continued glancing around at everything, but his gaze eventually settled on something on the bed.
He lifted the pillow.
"This pillow makes a crunchy sound."
"It's self-made."
It was indeed a pillow I'd made myself.
The seeds dropped by the Mustard Trent—a magic beast living in the forests of the Northern Lands.
Cracking them open revealed a nut resembling a walnut, and its husk was remarkably similar to buckwheat chaff.
So I crushed them, stuffed them into a hemp sack, and covered the outside with magic-beast fur.
From the day this pillow was complete, a good night's sleep was assured.
"Ooh…can I lie down and try it?"
"Be my guest."
Fitz set the pillow down and reclined on the bed.
"It's a nice pillow."
"You're the only one who's ever said that, Fitz."
Besides me, the only person who'd ever rested their head on this pillow was Elinarië.
She'd claimed that "a man's arm is the best pillow," but whatever.
"…………"
Even lying down, he didn't remove his sunglasses.
Some kind of personal rule, apparently.
Would the day come when he showed his true face?
Or perhaps the sunglasses *were* the real Fitz.
…What if I just reached over and pulled them off right now—what would happen?
No—he'd said it wasn't mere stubbornness, that he had a reason for wearing them.
Maybe he was self-conscious about his eyes.
I'd better not push it.
I didn't want him to hate me.
"……"
For a while, silence filled the space between the reclining Fitz and me.
Noticing my stare, he sat up.
"I should be getting back to Lady Ariel's quarters."
"Yes, thank you for your help."
"Right—see you, Rudeus."
"Thank you very much."
"Don't mention it."
Fitz climbed out the window as well.
*Use the hallway*, I thought, but the window was probably closer to the girls' dormitory.
Whatever.
--- And so the room, still faintly odorous, was left to me.
I scattered adventurer-grade deodorizing powder and lay down on the bed.
The pillow carried an unfamiliar scent.
Fitz's smell, perhaps?
It wasn't unpleasant.
"Whew…"
This time I'd kidnapped two girls and ended up in quite the risqué situation, but there was still no sign of a cure.
Looking and touching—it did nothing.
No progress whatsoever.
--- As a postscript, the day after I'd shown off the graffiti to Zanoba—before it was removed—his face made it clear that nothing short of that could quell his anger.
But when I pointed out that he hadn't done anything this time and showed him the emergency-repaired Roxy doll, he immediately softened and forgave the two of them.
There had also been a risk of trouble arising from the kidnapping, but: "It's no big deal, nya! Nothing happened—just a little duel, and we got our faces doodled on in the room, nya!"
"That's right…nothing happened…really, absolutely nothing happened…*shudder*…"
Because the two of them insisted on this story, it never escalated into a major problem.
All was well that ended well.