Mephisto was humming to herself as she relaxed in the castle's library, a large book in her hands and a cup of tea by her side. That was one of the rare times she could savor the tranquility of the Pocket Castle, as all the noisier residents were away enjoying a day in the hot spring thanks in no small part to her cunning mind. In the meantime, she had delegated the task of talking to the hero about his affairs to Sonya. Maybe the sincere love of a childhood friend would put a stop to his perverted antics, although the yoma doubted it. For a reason, the hero seemed impermeable to any hint of affection from the young priestess.

Or maybe he was just too far in the deep end to care and only wanted to slake his lust at every given opportunity and saw commitment as a nightmare. It could be either, and as far as she was concerned, she didn't care as long as she was kept out of the drama.

Unfortunately, that moment of tranquility ended sooner than she wished for as she heard fighting sounds from the first floor. At first, her mind erased that background noise, but it simply refused to die down and instead became stronger by the minute. She calmly closed her book and finished her cup of tea before getting up, setting up a barrier to protect herself should an unfortunate attack stray in her direction.

When she descended the stairs, she wasn't surprised by the rubble scattered around by the current battle. She was dumbfounded however by the sight of muskets flying in straight lines. Apparently, someone had forgotten how to use makinas… She looked in the direction where they came from, and saw a young man pulling those from a pouch before throwing them in the direction of Lucretia and Eva. Whether they connected to their target or not, they disappeared in small puffs of magic after hitting any surface.

Mephisto pulled out her wand and focused. The temperature in the hallway gradually dropped, and suddenly, all three fighters were encased in ice blocks.

Well, that was easy so far… Although I have never seen that lad in the Pocket Castle. I have a hunch about how he ended here however. But first…

Mephisto camped herself in front of Lucretia, fiddling with her wand all the while.

"Even if that happens way too often, I shall remind everyone that fighting in the Pocket Castle is forbidden. May I know of the source of this conflict?"

"I saw that young man spawn in the middle of nowhere and attempted to ask him where he came from. He then attacked me without saying anything."

Even frozen, the queen harpy was keeping a certain grace. However, something in her tone and her flushed face didn't escape Mephisto.

"I see… If I may advise her majesty, I should inform her that she is currently sounding beyond aroused… May I suggest her not to approach a lost adventurer in that state?"

"She means that you sound hornier than Nemea when she talks to Hakunen."

"…Eva, should you offer your invaluable opinion without being asked, I will check your room with Sonya, Spider Princess and Morrigan immediately. I'm sure we would find some very interesting things."

The succubus audibly gulped. The harpy queen ignored the small scuffle and tried to humbly look down, a task made difficult by the fact that she was fully encased in her current prison.

"I admit my current desire for company may be unnerving. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Please be careful next time." Mephisto unfroze her and turned around and examined the young man who was struggling in his prison: he was wearing simple, yet visibly resistant brown clothes, solid boots, and a long scarf around his neck. His brown hair was descending up to his neckline, and Mephisto saw a familiar, vigorous flame in his purple eyes. This man was definitively hero material.

"Now, I apologize for the inconvenience, and I promise I will let you go as soon as you answer these questions: How did you get in here, and why?"

"…"

The young man didn't say anything. While it could be easy to interpret his silence as a will to refuse to speak, Mephisto's experience was enough to guess the real reason.

He's another mute hero, isn't he? Why are they so frequent in other worlds? I'm glad Luka can normally express himself…

most of the time.

Mephisto sighed. "Well, this will go absolutely nowhere. I hate to do this, but I guess I will have to ask for some unappreciated assistance to deal with you properly."

To her surprise, the block of ice imprisoning the hero suddenly shattered. A pair of muskets flew in the group's direction and hit Lucretia in her head. The queen harpy wavered and ended up slumping against the wall, stunned by the attack. The yoma only had the time to prepare another spell before she saw the young man rush at her. She casted another ice spell with the intent to stop him, but he jumped up, then somehow jumped up again mid-air, completely dodging the projectile. As he passed over the yoma, he threw several more muskets downward, shattering Mephisto's shield and hitting her in the arm. The yoma winced in pain and riposted with a lightning bolt, hitting the hero who flinched in pain himself. Before she could follow up, he ran away in one of the hallways. As he disappeared, Mephisto brought her wand to her broken arm, healing herself in a sickening crunch.

That's an unconventional way to use makinas… Unconventional, but effective.

As she checked her still painful shoulder, Mephisto noticed Alice and the Grand Noah queen come from upstairs. The small Monster Lord looked slightly nervous as her eyes darted around.

"What's going on? Are the perverts already back?"

"We have an intruder in the castle. A man who uses makinas… in a strange manner should we say. He throws them."

The Grand Noah Queen raised an eyebrow. "He uses makinas by throwing them? I can't see any of those around."

"He pulls them from a pouch, and they disappear afterward. Watch your tongue little miss, I'm sure your teacher wouldn't have appreciated this kind of language."

Alice placed both of her hands in front of her mouth. "S-sorry."

"Anyway, I will appreciate any help to apprehend him. While he's more likely scared than hostile, he's still troublesome. He's also mute, which doesn't help to open a dialog."

"I guess it can't be helped…" Alice sighed. "I'll help you stop Marion then. He sounds like one slippery man."

"And I will get Sylph. As childish as the Spirit of Wind is, she's surprisingly skilled when it comes to interpreting the silent heroes."

"Their majesties read my mind… Eva, I will let you keep an eye on Lucretia."

"Then get me out first! It's cold in your ice cube!"

Everybody ignored her and split up to focus on their given goals.


Mephisto and Alice carefully progressed through the castle, checking every corner. The small Monster Lord regularly sniffed the air around her like a bloodhound tracking its target. As they reached the currently empty pub, Mephisto finally decided to grab the bull by the horns.

"Now will you finally tell me what this was all about?"

"What are you talking about?" Alice continued to sniff the air around her in an attempt to find where their current target went.

"This whole farce involving this man and your extra-curricular adventure." The yoma pulled out her wand. "Can you please finally tell me more about it?"

Alice stopped her search and frowned. She expected to see Mephisto smiling, but the latter had an unusually serious expression instead.

"I'm just helping you find an intruder, that's all."

Mephisto sighed. "You swore when I described him before incidentally calling Marion when nobody said his name, which means you know him when nobody else does, at least in a given measure. I don't mean that you've been intimate. Since you didn't further elaborate, it is clear that it was a slip of the tongue. Even now, you're denying this, so it is something that you really don't want to talk about. The only other thing that you don't want to talk about is your adventure that apparently involved Daji and led to you freezing the beelzebubs in a fit of anger. Before you tell me that I'm grasping at straws by trying to link both, I wish to remind you that the aforementionned purple ball of nymphomaniac fuzz is a confirmed troublemaker with the abilities to jump between worlds, and that our young companion is someone who shares characteristics with other heroes with said origin. He also use skills that our informant network never even heard about, which would confirm his otherworldly origins. Last, it would also be completely in-character for that devious kitsune to bring someone from another world just for fun, wouldn't you agree?"

Alice remained silent for a moment, only staring blankly at Mephisto before answering.

"I can see why mother appreciated you and the Grand Noah queen keep you as an advisor… It's a pretty safe bet that Daji's responsible for his presence indeed."

"Good grief, I can't even find satisfaction in being right anymore… Now, about that side adventure of you, would you finally please tell me what it's about?"

Alice hesitated before answering. Mephisto couldn't tell what was going through the young Monster Lord's head, but it was clear that something had happened.

"…No. Sorry but no. As much as I came to appreciate you, I simply can't tell you what happened."

"Very well, I'll let it slide… Although I can say that it's eating at you. You should really open up about it with someone, anyone before it really breaks you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Alice returned to her hunt, visibly indifferent to Mephisto's advice. The yoma decided that she could as well have someone else approach the Sixteenth with the question in a more subtle way. Maybe Alma Elma would be able to break her shell and get more information about that delicate matter.

Alma Elma being subtle...

The thought made her emit a strange, whistling throat noise as she suppressed a sudden bout of laughter.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Please keep focusing on your search. While his presence in the Pocket Castle is apparently not creating a standard cross-world contact, it could still get ugly for everyone involved if he ends up meeting some apoptosis."

Alice agreed and started sniffing the air again. After a few additional minutes of chase, the trail stopped at the entrance of the conference room. Alice gestured for Mephisto to remain behind while she entered, and the yoma sent a magic message to the Grand Noah queen to inform them of their current position before casting a small observation spell to observe the content of the room. Alice slowly slithered toward the young man who seemed more focused on trying to open an empty chest by vandalizing it.

"Greetings Marion. Do you remember me?"

The hero jumped in surprise, but he didn't start his usual act of throwing muskets at his target as usual. A good sign if anything…

"We've been fighting together against Abaddon and his cohorts back… I don't know how long ago. I'm surprised to meet you again here of all places."

The young man nodded in acknowledgment. Alice continued.

"Look… I apologize about whatever my friends tried doing to you, but they were surprised to see you and I need their help to sort this mess… Can you come out so that we talk this out? I swear they won't attack you again."

The man remained immobile for a moment before nodding positively and stepping closer to Alice. Great, it looked like the first step of their plan went as well as it could… By pure chance, the Grand Noah queen was showing up with Sylph at the right time, the small spirit zooming around at high speed around the visibly jaded human lord.

"Sylph to the rescue! My Chi pa pa will show everyone the truth, and get us at the bottom of the barrel!"

That's not the expression… Whatever. As long as she translates his expressions seriously, I don't care.

Alice and Marion cautiously got out of the room at the same time. Everybody backed from the door to avoid any chance of scaring Marion, save for Sylph who zoomed right in front of him, only stopping at a finger's length of his face as she examined him.

"Huh? He does remind me of Luka for a reason… Are you his son or something like that?"

Everyone gave Sylph horrified stares, save for Marion who didn't look more surprised than that by the question.

"..."

"Oh, your father was the legendary Satou? I never heard of him! However…" Sylph brought a hand to her chin as she focused. She snapped her fingers "Hey! I know! I should bring all of my friends here! I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you!"

I expected as much… Please, someone gets her to focus before she decides to actually bring them in.

"Later." Alice sighed. "Marion… do you remember what happened before you ended up here? We could help you get back home with that information.

"…."

"He says that he was in the orient after a rumor of a local shogun's country got invaded by monster girls, and then when he entered his home he saw his dried out body before fighting a large, purple kitsune."

"What a surprise… Sorry, please keep going."

"…"

"When he fought her, she casted lightning bolts and fire orbs, and when she saw that she was losing, she said that she enjoyed it and casted a strange spell. When he woke up, he saw a colorful horny harpy standing in front of him."

"So it's Daji again… Did somebody keep track of every time she pulled out a prank or her actions nearly caused a disaster?"

"I didn't. She's a kitsune. That was enough for me to decide to stay away from her. Still, why did she teleport him here of all the places? I can think of twenty better ways to solve this fight that wouldn't involve risks related to dimension-hopping. Does she want to cause trouble that much?"

"…"

"She said that he was such a snack that she wanted to bring him home."

"...You have to be kidding me. I thought that she promised to stop screwing around!"

"She didn't. She only promised that she would support and not deceive us." Alice sighed. "She didn't lie. She only decided that since she couldn't eat one of the heroes around, she could go in another world to dine on one."

"As much as I have been one to use exact words to get around my contractual stipulations, there was a moment even I accepted to give up on my personal goals. Knowing her, she'll try to bargain the company of the heroes as a reward for her good behavior."

Alice solemnly nodded. "She will definitively try to make a bargain for it anyway. I can't tell if we should accept or refuse though."

"While you decide what we are going to do with that depraved oversized fur ball, I'm going to ask the science team if they have any idea as to how we could help her latest victim." Mephisto broke from the group and started striding away. "And I will do that with the hope that they won't use that as an opportunity to take samples from him. I don't think having to fix her zombies posse repeatedly taught Chrome not to mess with the heroes."

Except this is already a lost battle… Maybe I should ask Sonya to assist me in that mess once she's done.

When Mephisto approached the laboratory, her magic senses started picking on an unusual signature, making her frown. That one… could potentially be another undesirable guest. And indeed, a monster she had never seen before was focused on a workbench. She was a tall, horned yellow and black four-legged spider wearing a white lab coat. Considering her current behavior, it was unlikely that she was hostile, but her power could make her a troublesome foe should it come to worse. While the aura surrounding her reminded the yoma of Promestein, there were a few subtle marks about her origin that Mephisto had recently become familiar with.

"Did you happen to see Magatsu? I'm currently looking for her."

The large spider answered without turning around. "No, I haven't seen her since she disappeared. I should take news of her at least once since I'm here though."

The monster continued working for a small minute before suddenly stopping what she was doing and what she was doing around to see Mephisto's satisfied smirk. The yoma bowed.

"I apologize for my rudeness and not presenting myself sooner. My name is Mephisto. May I know the name of the latest traveler from the distant Mahoroba Mountains?"

"I'm… Tsukumo. One of the three elders of Mahoroba Mountains. I'm happy to meet you."

"Now, may I know of the reason behind your presence? While the friends of our friends are always welcome, I am quite curious as to why and how someone came from so far…"

The red-eyed yokai seemed quite reluctant to give more details at first. However, Mephisto could easily distinct a keen intellect behind those glowing rubies, meaning her interlocutor likely understood the poor situation she was in, and would tell her everything she wanted to know lie-free.

Not that she really needed more info though. The culprit was obvious.

"I started exchanging small items with another scientist from this world, and before I knew it, I got teleported here. She was as surprised as me when I landed here, and she said that she would help me to get back home."

"I see…" While Mephisto kept a worrying smirk, she was more troubled than what she wanted to admit. The only thing worse than Promestein deliberately bringing someone else from another world in the Pocket Castle was Promestein accidentally bringing someone else from another world in the Pocket Castle. "I will ask her directly then. Please enjoy your stay."

Mephisto bowed and ignored the scientist who awkwardly waved in her back. Before she could even exit the lab however, the object of her search presented herself, flanked by Hild. The angel scientist's confused expression didn't bode well.

"Ah, there you are, I wanted to see you."

And now it was even worse. Promestein always kept to herself, unless her research involved you, in which case the best decision was to run. How deep in a mess was she if she was actively looking for help?

"You see, after my successful experiments to communicate with Dr Yui, Kazuya's ally, I tried to restore the conversation with another scientist I met during my travel, except I failed to notice the presence of remains from Hakunen's material in the system that got sent and… for an unclear reason, our communication system treated that event as a void and decided to balance it out by bringing the other communicant in this place."

Mephisto remained immobile for a moment, trying to understand the scientist's explanation. She pinched the bridge of her nose when her brain translated Promestein's words.

"Are you telling me that you teleported someone here because some of Hakunen's gunk was still on your material since your Hakunen extract creation?"

"…In layman's term, yes. I had failed to clean it appropriately" Promestein took off her glasses, visibly ashamed of her blunder. "I also heard about the other intruder, but I wanted to first see if Hild's chaos reactor could help me fix this situation before dealing with the other one."

Mephisto sighed. "Well, at least it looks like she's doing fine… Please make sure she respects proper protocol and doesn't blow half the castle. I don't want that Emereless incident again."

Promestein nervously nodded back, heavily sweating as she failed to clean her glasses with a soaked extremity of her labcoat.

"Hild detect another anomalous traveler in the castle's entrance."

"That would be the one we talked about. With a little luck, we'll be able to return both to their respective worlds."

"But Hild also detect a contact in the conference room… Are Hild's calibrator wrong?"

"…Or not I guess. I'll check on it just in case. Don't do anything rash."

Mephisto didn't need more than a few seconds before reaching the entrance. There was indeed yet another, radically different stranger by the doorway. This one was a human wearing an unusual red cloth cap, a black shirt, and pants that she only saw on Kazuya. He looked completely lost around as he was holding a flat square box, from which the smell of a pizza escaped.

"May I help you?"

The man hesitantly looked at Mephisto.

"Yeah, huuh, that whole reconstitution and cosplay combo is nice and all, but I really have to deliver this pizza and get back before my boss kills me." He showed the box to Mephisto. "That will be two thousand yens."

Deciding that asking more about what the man meant would only further complicate things, Mephisto focused on the last part.

"We only have gold though…"

The man sighed. "Come on, please, can you just break characters for a moment please? And besides, are those kids?" He pointed at Vanilla who was handling her storefront. "They shouldn't be dressed like that!" A purple and white tentacle crept behind the man's back in an attempt to reach for the pizza. The man himself turned around and saw Nuruko. "Hey! That nice costume isn't a reason to try stealing food!"

The small form of Nuruko frowned. Mephisto slightly backed away as she felt the small monster suddenly charge her power. As a purplish aura appeared, she grew in size and in curves, her body taking a more mature, feminine form while her red top barely covered her breasts. Her lower face was hidden by a grinning mask. The man himself was looking completely baffled.

"Wow… Am I high, or you really have the budget for special effects?"

Nuruko talked in a monotonous voice that reminded Mephisto of the apoptosis.

[[St■rt scr■pt:" n■n ■ct■r p■rg■"
M■p 277
S■l■ct n■n ■ct■r ■nt■t■
R■s■t c■■rd■n■t■s: ID: RJ223459
M■p 270
S■l■ct n■n ■ct■r ■nt■t■
R■s■t c■■rd■n■t■s: ID: RJ323921
M■p 228
S■l■ct n■n ■ct■r ■nt■t■
R■s■t c■■rd■n■t■s: ID: RJ174492
■nd scr■pt]]

To Mephisto's surprise, the pizza man disappeared. He didn't explode, and she couldn't feel any energy around him. He had simply disappeared. The yoma was so stunned she didn't notice that Nuruko instantly returned to her small form and successfully snagged the box in midair. The small monster opened it and started munching on a pizza slice. After what felt an eternity, Mephisto finally gathered her spirits.

"…Did you kill him?"

"Kyu." Nuruko's tone made the negation clear. She ate several slices before Mephisto found the courage to ask another question.

"Do you happen to know how that one got here?"

Nuruko traced a series of symbols on the box with a grease-coated tentacle. Mephisto carefully analyzed the strange runes in hope of deciphering the inscriptions. As she was about to give up, she realized those were words in the common language.

"Actor 806… You know I have no idea who or what you're talking about?"

Nuruko was now too busy with her meal to care. Mephisto gave out an uncharacteristically gentle smile and started patting the back of the Spirit of Chaos. "Bah, it doesn't matter… I'm too old to care about a problem that was already solved." The yoma slowly got up, feeling the weight of time upon her body for the first time since the Great Disaster. As she dusted herself, she noticed the Grand Noah Queen and Promestein approaching, confused and panicked. She simply pointed her wand toward Nuruko, even as the latter was busy devouring her meal.

"Let's just… forget this day. And let's not mention anything of what happened to Luka. The poor boy has his whole lot of issues already, and I don't think we'll help him by further stressing him out."

"Agreed."

"Now, maybe we should set up a way to follow unusual movements within the Pocket Castle… Something to at least avoid this mess like wards… I don't even know anymore. Mmmh?"

The entrance door opened loudly to make way for Chrome and Frederica. The towering zombie was pulling a chariot filled with body bags which smell made their content obvious. The Grand Noah Queen's nose scrunched in disgust.

"Miss Chrome, while we do appreciate the help you're bringing, I don't think a zombie army will currently be a great use of us as we won't have enough people for maintaining them."

Chrome raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. "Those bodies are not for reviving zombies, but for my current work… I'm doing autopsies for Grand Noah, I even have a contract-"

"-That I signed myself." Mephisto slapped her own face. "I apologize for the disturbance; it has been a long day. Please carry on."

"We're only at noon… Let's go in our bedroom Frederica. There's enough work for a month."

As Chrome disappeared in the hallways of the Pocket Castle, Mephisto felt the Grand Noah Queen approach.

"At least, nobody can go wrong with dead bodies that remain dead…" She muttered for herself. "Besides the possible infections that they can carry, of course…"

"And their possibly dangerous possessions, the traps placed by a vicious necromancer, and other hexes…" Mephisto caught herself back. "I apologize your majesty, I didn't want to make things bleak any further."

As she felt confidence return in her, Mephisto held her head high with a beaming smile before making a final statement.

"Those bodies can't harm anyone in the Pocket Castle."

"I hope so... Should it come to worse, we still have little Nuruko- aaand she disappeared."

Mephisto turned around to look behind her. The only sign of the spirit's passage was the empty, greasy pizza box on the ground. She carefully grabbed it and examined it. There wasn't a trace of the Spirit of Chaos, save for the curved arrow pointed toward what looked like a poorly written number.

"You're bringing back...someone? Wherever you are, I really hope you'll come back fine."


"Aaaah... That was so looooong since I completely fucked a country."

Daji was currently resting in a lascivious pose on top a lavishly decorated oriental bed. Even if the room itself was somehow less impressive than her new home in the Pocket Castle, there was a certain pervert pleasure in making it hers. As much as she had enjoyed the change of pace in that other world, she had come to miss the pleasure of corrupting the leaders of nations through her pampering so that they led their country to ruin while she indulged in every sort of pleasures... This time, however, it had been way too easy. Monster support had been plentiful, the country fell apart in a day, and she didn't even had finished introducing herself that the supposedly-incorruptible lord had started throwing his clothes away in a misplaced attempt to sexually dominate her. This hadn't ended well for him.

The purple kitsune pouted. Like all those before who thought they could control her with their manliness, he had been a passable meal. The country's fall itself was too fast to be enjoyable, and the riches she could now play with were less than what she had been given in the Pocket Castle. Even the forbidden fruit taste they had didn't make for their weaknesses.

The only highlight was that her plan had the intended effect, namely grabbing the attention of Marion and getting a chance to bed him. He had proven as tough as she expected, and she enjoyed the fight so much that she had decided to use the White Rabbit's power to bring him home instead of having her way with him on the spot as usual. His mutism was the best guarantee that nobody would know she was responsible for his presence, while the same heroes and guardians that were desperately trying to keep her on a leash would be the same people that would make sure he would remain unmolested until she came back.

She stretched herself and got up from the bed and grimaced: the room was a testimony to its owner's ego. There were much more statues and mirrors than swords and training supplements. Even the usual calligraphy table that was always present in the room of any lord following the way of the bushido was missing.

"All look, no skills... I wonder if I should get myself a few appetizers before getting back home for the main course?"

Daji happily struted through the excessively large pagoda that made for the shogun's home. What was his name again? She didn't care. He had only been one plaything amongst any other. She eventually reached the oversized lobby and was greeted by the faintest magical traces where she had teleported Marion away. As she approached the spot, she raised a hand to her mouth.

"Mmmh... This place could make a good escape spot should my adventure with all those heroes turn sour. It's a bit small, but I won't face much of a challenge around there... the only threats are those angels that decided humanity is better standing on its own, without their help." She started giggling. "Well, maybe they would if I hadn't just taken their champion away... Ok, I hyped myself too much, let's get back and finally have a taste of that cute little morsel!"

Daji joined her hands together and slowly focused magic through the spot. A small, purple rift opened and gradually grew to her size as she channeled her spell. As she prepared to step back in, a pair of flying muskets swatted right in her face. She stumbled in surprise as Marion came out and jumped behind her before throwing another pair that got blocked by her tails while he took some further distance. Daji shook herself awake and gritted her teeth in anger.

"You impudent little brat! I wanted to pleasure your soul to heaven, but now I'm going to dissolve you!" She started channeling one of her attack when she suddenly felt her energy leave her as something slimy touched her shoulder before slowly extending around her body. She carefully turned around to come face to face with the towering form of the Spirit of Chaos. While the latter's expression was mostly hidden in darkness, her eyes were carrying a mix of anger, contempt and disappointment that didn't bode well. Even as her body ended fully covered by tentacles, Daji offered the spirit her best smile and bowed.

"Greetings, mighty Spirit of Chaos! Or should I call you Nuru-"

The Spirit of Chaos slapped her with her free tentacled hand with enough power to fill the whole pagoda with the echo, then again in the other direction. She slapped the kitsune faster and faster even as the latter was simply pinned by her opponent. Her attacks were so fast the sound eventually transformed in a lewd buzzing noise. When she stopped, Daji's head was limply hanging from her shoulders like a broken doll.

"..."

"..."

Nuruko looked at Marion from afar. The young man simply nodded once, and the Spirit of Chaos answered in kind before disappearing in the darkness.

The young hero victoriously raised his musket. Other problems would wait.


In Luka's own room, Sonya turned away from Luka while massaging her face. Of all the possible conversations, of all the experiences that she could have with her childhood friend, talking about his numerous… adventures with the monsters living in that place was one that she hadn't come to expect and certainly never wished for. And yet, here she was, chosen by the Grand Noah Queen herself to give Luka a piece of their mind about his issue. She initially tried to be subtle about the complication, but as he kept giving only the shortest of answers, the priestess of Ilias started thinking that she was beating around the bush too much and became more and more frontal.

Arggghhh… I can't believe I keep having to explain him we're worried some monsters will suck him dry if he keeps requesting them for company… And I can't believe he's going for all those monsters in the first place! Why can't he just appreciate the pure maiden heart of a childhood friend and has to go instead for those demented rapists that only get with him out of desperation!

She turned back. The hero himself was lying on his bed like a dead starfish, his eyes half-open. She didn't have the keen sense of smell most monsters had, but her experience was making it up for it to her regret.

As soon as the potion stopped making effect, he instantly decided to get it on with a succubus! Huuurgh… I should ask one of the beast monsters if she can identify just which one he slept with and take my rage on her.

Actually I'm not even sure I want to know the answer. And besides, what would I do afterward? If I piss her off, she'd bum rush me with her friends, and this would end up being ugly for everyone involved...

But first, I have to motivate him to just. Stop. Doing. EVERYONE! Maybe I can call on his desire for challenge.

Sonya slowly exhaled. She felt the harsh words in her throat dying to make way for a pretend concern. "Look… We're just worried you're overexerting yourself with all these adventures. Maybe you should cut out and relax a little?"

Luka released a groan before a coherent answer. "Why? I'm only answering people's needs when I travel, no matter what they are."

Is he doing those double entendres on purpose or…. No, he's too dense for that.

Sonya sighed. "Look… There's the famous Yamatai Otokomatsu's festival coming soon. Can you at least give it a rest and make sure you're in good shape for then? Unless you want to hear people say that they should rely on the heroes of other worlds..." She reflexively shivered. "You should really focus on spending your energy training and not messing around."

Luka slowly sat himself on his bed. "Yeah… I guess you are right. I won't disappoint them."

"Good." Sonya gave out a small smile. She remained in Luka's room for a few minutes, not knowing what to do. She shuffled awkwardly a few times, and, eventually, she found an excuse to leave. "I'll… see how Sara is doing with her search of Kazuya. We still don't know what Daji did with him."

Even once left alone, Luka remained immobile, seating on his bedside and awkwardly fidgeting with his hands, his teeth gritted: it was hard to keep his body to himself when he lived with three hundreds seductive monsters that were all seeing him as a tasty morsel, and he enjoyed it. Still… He had to acknowledge that Sonya had a point. He had pushed himself past his limit in his quest for hedonism and his body was now paying the price.

She's right, I really need to keep myself in check… And also stay away from succubi. Even when they hit on me. Even Morrigan. Particularly Morrigan. And also those damn trios. But what if they decide to leave because I keep turning them away?

I suppose I'll just mostly keep to myself and only return their affection though… That should be good. I mean it's not like they'll all randomly want to jump me as soon as they see me…

Right?