Epilogue

The ritual hall was in tatters. Leona accepted her defeat. It was our victory.

“Alright, time to figure out what to do with you. Aside from selling you out to Haku, which is a done deal.”

“Oh, you’re actually going to sell me out to her? Well, that’s fine with me, since Haku’s a cutie.”

Haku had actually just said, “Bring her to me if you can,” but close enough. Also, was it just me, or was Leona being way too casual about losing?

“You seem to be taking this well.”

“I mean, I was going to lose eventually, that was the whole point. I didn’t think I would lose on the first loop though,” she said with a shrug. Apparently the loop in Daide really was just a way to kill time and nothing more to Leona. Or perhaps she had already completed her other objective, and didn’t really care if the loop ended nothing.

Thinking about that made a rush of anger swell within me. Our lives were on the line here, and she barely cared?

Thus, I decided to use the right I had earned as the victor.

“...Alriiight. I think I’m gonna redeem that one free punch now.”

“You’re actually going to do it? Well, okay, I guess. It was a promise.” The barriers between us vanished. “I’ll get rid of the barriers, too, just for you. Here, go ahead.”

Leona looked at me, smiling, not even attempting to get into a defensive pose.

“You sure seem pretty relaxed for someone about to be punched.”

“Noooo, noooo. It’s just your imagination. I’m definitely not thinking that my defense stat is stupidly high regardless of the barriers and that even your hardest punch would be like a tiny tickle, nooo, not at all. In fact, I’m more worried about whether the bones of your fist might shatter,” Leona said, her smile turning into a nasty grin. Jesus Christ. Alright, I’m going all out.

I took out something from my chest pocket.

“Hey, Leona. Do you recognize what this is?”

“That’s... Um, my underwear? Wh-What? When did you... Mm?” Leona patted herself down to check, and felt that she had her underwear. But I didn’t miss the one moment where she let her guard down, and punched her as hard as I could. My fist hit her face with bone-shattering force. I went ahead and shot out an {Elemental Burst} from my fist at the same time.

“GHGUGH?!”

...That was a solid blow. I felt a painful crack in her face, and my own hand hurt like hell. Her defense wasn’t just for show. But neither was my attack power. She was rolling around on the ground in pain. Good. It was a real hit.

Leona stood up, blinking in pain and holding her nose.

“...Ngggh! Aaah, I can’t believe you would punch a girl in the face with ladies’ underwear wrapped around your hand. That’s not very gentleman-like, Keima... Nnn, ngh, that really hurt...”

“But male and female equality is very Japanese-like, isn’t it? Ohoho.”

I knew for sure now that Leona was a god, since we had successfully stolen some of her Authority. I similarly knew for sure that she would never die from normal punches or spells. My punch was made with the confidence she would survive.

Leona’s hand shone with a soft light, and the bruise on her face vanished without a trace.

“Whew. That sent sparks in my eyes. How many hundreds of years has it been since I took this much damage... I’m pretty sure you broke my perfect nose. Is it bleeding?”

“It’s fine. Want me to punch it again?”

“Next time I’ll put up a barrier, since that really hurt,” Leona said, with a tone of actual annoyance. Heh heh. Good thing I put in time practicing air-punching.

“...By the way, was that underwear a replica? It was pretty well made.”

“Pretty much. I had the idea to use this to create an opening and mess up your magic, but, well... I didn’t find the time to do it.”

And its time must have run out, since the underwear I got from Soto’s {Teensy Reproduction} vanished. Oh? When did Soto eat this underwear, you ask? Well, the truth is, it was the Divine Underwear I got from using my {Ultra Transformation}. Soto swallowed me as the panties whole, then once I was in her stomach, Niku pulled me out to a dungeon room using dungeon functions. And it worked.

I figured her {Teensy Reproduction} didn’t need to dissolve the food since she reproduced Niku’s socks instantly, but I never thought that we’d be able to copy the Divine Underwear I made with {Ultra Transformation}. The underwear’s power didn’t get recreated with {Ultra Transformation}, but...

“For you to make such a detailed replica, you must have stared pretty hard at my underwear, huh?”

“...I can do this with a mere glance.”

“So you loved them so much they were burned into your memory from just a glance! In that case, as a special reward, I’ll give you my freshly peeled-off underwear. It’s okay, you can cry with joy, I won’t judge.”

“I mean, I am happy, but not in the way you’re implying, so I feel kind of conflicted about this.”

Taking Leona’s already-used underwear is kind of uncomfortable, but they’re still the Divine Underwear. Better to have them than not. Yeah. Eh... They’re still warm.

“Okay then, I’m going to honor our little deal and go see Haku. Bye bye. {Call Pet}.”

A magic circle appeared, from which a wolf-shaped black Slime slid out. It was Rin, who I had stuck in my {Storage}.

“Erk?! Where is, Master’s, granddaughter?”

“Rin, forget about that. Make a saddle, so I can ride you like I used to.”

“Ooh! Master! Yes! Alright! Yes!”

Rin’s back morphed, forming a chair shape. It even had reins on it. To think a Slime could be that deft.

Wait, hold on a second.

“Hold it, what about Tindalos?! What about the reincarnatees?!”

“I don’t really care about them anymore. Do what you want. Ask Toi for the details.”

“That’s your job! Clean up your mess before you go!”

“If you insist, I’ll wipe out the entire country to tie up every possible loose end.”

“Never mind, I’ll just ask Toi!”

What a dangerous psycho. She should be called the God of Destruction, not Chaos.

“You’re so nice, Keima. They’re just humans, you know.”

“I’m still a human, too. Also, write down a note or something so Toi will listen to me. Uh, pen, paper...”

“Here, here. {Ultra Alchemy}, {Ultra Alchemy}. To Toi. Listen to Keima’s orders. Okay, done. Here you are.”

As I looked around, she turned some of the rubble on the ground to a red stone, which then turned into a scroll which she wrote the letter on. She tied it up with a string, then tossed it my way.

“Okay, I’m off to Haku. Hi ho, Silver!”

“Silver...? I’m Rin.”

And with that, the two of them raced off to the empire.

...Oh, can I use the mail system again? I should probably send a report to Haku. Doesn’t matter if Leona sees us giving a report that she’s on her way. I can’t really do much if Leona blocks it again anyway.

＊ ＊ ＊

And so we were freed from Leona’s loop. Peace returned to Daide... maybe. I wasn’t sure. Either way, I returned to the inn.

“Good work, Keima,” Rokuko said as she and the others left Soto’s {Storage} dungeon.

“Whew. That was exhausting. Can’t believe the Divine Quilt wasn’t even enough to block her attacks completely.”

“Good thing we went through with Niku’s surprise attack.”

Our strategy this time had been simple: do everything that seemed like it might work somehow. Though naturally, we didn’t have time to execute every single strategy we came up with. This was the only surprise attack on Leona’s ritual hall that we’d ever have, even after loops.

“Good work out there, my dude. But man, that was one oddball strategy. Wataru was, like, hella useful this time.”

“Yeah, he was definitely the MVP here... Think I’ll reward him with Neruneh’s socks once we get back.”

“No way, he’s not you or Soto. At least give him her underwear, Master.”

Without time to test all the options, I decided to use luck to determine which strategy to use. Indeed... we used {Ultra Good Fortune} again. We wrote each strategy onto different sheets of paper which we put into tubes, then had Wataru select one, without knowing what they were. Since he didn’t know what they were, we could even use strategies involving dungeon secrets.

Unbelievably, he ended up going like, “Okay, then this one, this one, this one, (etc.),” picking multiple at once. Thanks to that, he and everyone else ended up super busy.

“I worked really hard. Eheheh,” Niku said.

“You sure did. But are you alright after dying in Kobolds so many times?”

“I’m fine. Eheheh.”

When we checked the strategies Wataru picked, there were a ton of them we combined into one: “Attack Leona in the church before the ritual,” “Niku disguising herself as Toi and launching a surprise attack,” “Attacking her with the Divine Quilt equipped,” “Attack Leona at the ritual hall,” “Attack from the front,” “Attack while possessing monsters.” Niku had her hands exceedingly full with all the combat, but she had pushed through for us. I would be giving her an extra fancy hamburger as a reward.

“We did it, papa! Show me the actual panties worn by a god!”

“...Don’t eat them, alright? Seems like they’re past the point that Hero skills can recreate them.”

“Okaaay.”

Wataru’s {Ultra Good Fortune} also selected a strategy nobody wrote, that went like “Soto,” “Steals,” “Time,” “God,” “Powers.” Apparently a bunch of half-written notes got mixed together and accidentally put into one tube... That was really pushing good luck, if you asked me. {Ultra Good Fortune} was undoubtedly at work there, likely because it was absolutely essential to victory. Explains why the empire’s fortune-telling section was so scary.

I formulated a more detailed plan from that concept, and had Wataru and Soto spread the truth of “The God of Time and Space, Sototemporarily.” The proof of her divinity she displayed using her {Storage} dungeon was, well... We had told Wataru that it was all a fraud, but it didn’t seem like he entirely believed it. Might be a good idea to say she inherited it from us and we have special powers of our own, or something.

Either way, in order to face a titan of an opponent like the God of Chaos, we needed Wataru’s inhuman luck and the power of dungeons for sure. That alone was set in stone as a fact.

“Really though, it’s a bit late to be mentioning this, but {Ultra Good Fortune} might have destroyed all of Daide if necessary, wouldn’t it?” Rokuko asked.

“If so, we would’ve had no choice but to loop. But we won, so we don’t need to worry about it.”

“Keima, you can hardly criticize Leona, huh? Aren’t you a bit harsh with strangers?”

Even Rokuko was saying that now. But, well, she had seen my answer to Leona when watching from the {Storage} dungeon’s Master Room.

There came a knock at the door.

“Keima, you coming back means it’s all over, right? I’d like to know what’s going on!”

“I say, me too! We helped that much, we deserve to know!”

Oof, Wataru and Emmymephy already sniffed us out. Alright... How to explain to the MVPs what happened? Without spilling every secret.

＊ ＊ ＊

May 31st. We reached the day of the party. Haku had already sent the dresses, and we decided to participate, too, because why not. We could relax safely now that the Leona menace was gone. Time to eat a truckload of junk.

“Lady Rokuko, your dress is all on, girl. You’re up, Soto.”

“Okaaay! Thanks, Ichikaaa!”

Just like the first loop, Rokuko and Soto had Ichika put on their dresses.

“So, Keima? How does it look?” Rokuko asked. It was a dark-blue dress with few frills that left her shoulders exposed. In other words, the exact same slender dress from the first loop.

“It brings out your intellectual side. As expected of clothes Haku chose,” I said, praising her. Rokuko blushed, then blinked and shook her head.

“Wait, this is your second time seeing it. I should have worn another dress.”

“Er, well, it’s the exact same design as the first loop, but I wanted to see it again. It looks good on you.”

“Formal wear looks good on you, too, Keima. You look sharper than usual, and, how do I put this... pretty fast!”

Rokuko’s bizarre praise was exactly the same as the first loop, just like her dress.

In any case, with that done, we went to the party with the dressed-up Princess Emmymephy and Wataru the Hero.

“Whew, to think our job would end up getting so complicated. Good thing we managed to help out in the end there, huh, Princess Mephy?”

“I say, indeed. Good work to all of you, Rokuko and friends. In the end I still don’t really understand all this looping business, but it’s safe to say the problem in Daide is resolved, no?”

We had told Wataru and Emmymephy the gist of the problem that had been happening in Daide and how we’d solved it.

“Yep. You should be getting word from Haku in a few days.”

“I say, now I can finally reject the second prince’s proposal! Wheeew!” Emmymephy exclaimed, sinking down into her seat in the carriage. “Just as a warning, in the last loop the second prince brought a Wyvern egg and ended up added to the bottom of your list of suitors. Though in this loop, our actions might’ve stopped him from getting the Wyvern egg at all.”

“I suppose I shall look forward to seeing what happens.”

Either way, we rode our carriage to the castle. This time, we arrived there smoothly, without encountering any accidents on the way.

Past the entrance, we arrived at the party with its sparkling chandelier. There was the catering and the dance hall. Emmymephy took the lead, taking us up the ornate stairway to the second-floor VIP hall. She needed to greet the young king, who was sitting on an ornate sofa covered in red cloth.

“Oooh, Princess Mephy. You have done well to come tonight,” the king said.

“I thank you ever so much for inviting me on this fine night, Your Highness,” Emmymephy replied with a honed courtesy. Her manners as an imperial princess were perfect. The king, meanwhile, lifted his palm in a half salute directed her way.

“So, how was Jedha? I am told you took dungeon drills with him yesterday.”

“He was like the child of a relative to me.”

“I see. Well, please do enjoy yourself today. There will be space for you to rest here, and you may come whenever you like.”

“I say, I am most gracious.”

This time, she didn’t mention Tindalos, since there was no need to. Which reminded me, we still had Toi stuck in the {Storage} dungeon. Huh. We probably needed to do something about that.

“Incidentally, why do the servants seem to be in a bit of a panic? Did something happen?”

“Someone invaded our science laboratory last night. The commander of the mage corps you wished to meet has since gone missing, and we do not know where he went.”

“I say, that is quite a problem. But I no longer care about Lord Tindalos, so worry not for my sake.”

Oh, that invader is me. Soz.

From there, we began enjoying the party.

We danced to the music, ate the catering, and... two small boys came up to me.

“Keima!” “It’s been a while!”

“Hm? Oh. You are... Meter, and Lacie.”

“Correct!”

The Dagon twins used to wear identical clothing, but today they were wearing different hairstyles and outfits to distinguish themselves.

“This is the first time you’ve seen us like this,” “but you still managed to distinguish us!”

I didn’t mention that was because I had them tagged.

“You were right about everything, Keima! We were children! We were selfish!”

“Now there’s no one who can’t distinguish between us! Thank you!”

“E-Er, nice. No problem,” I said. I didn’t really know why, but they were thanking me.

“It’s fun to express ourselves! Well, see you later!”

“We’re going to show ourselves to more people, so they can distinguish between us, too! Farewell!”

And with that, the twins walked off. Huh. Well, anyway.

Next we found Koreha and Summer. Summer was wearing her bunny girl outfit once again. It kind of begged the question of why Koreha was walking with her. And Summer was diligently attending the night party, too. They were both surprisingly conscientious, huh?

“Greetings, Princess Mephy, Lady Rokuko, Lady Soto.”

“G-Greetings, Lady Koreha... Lady Summer. I-I say, wearing the bunny girl outfit again, are we?”

“Yes, Princess Mephy. I decided to attend as a bunny girl this time!”

I seemed to recall the bunny girl outfit being officially approved formal wear. Surprised that held true for a night party hosted by royalty, but okay.

“I think I’ll go as a bear next time. What do you think, Keima?” Summer asked, turning her gaze to me. Oh yeah... We hadn’t told her yet.

“Er, Lady Summer. Mind if we talk over there for a second?”

“Ohmygosh, you’re finally going after my pants? I’m in! Later, Lady Koreha!”

“Wait, Lady Summer! This party is meant to celebrate the return of the student council! You are their lover, so, why would you... Aaah, good grief...” Lady Koreha facepalmed. From her perspective, the protagonist she had been on reasonably good terms with had suddenly exploded with insanity and started wearing a bunny suit everywhere. Given she had Japanese values forced onto her mind, it was probably pretty headache inducing.

In any case, I invited Summer to the balcony and headed that way with my arm locked with Rokuko’s.

“Whew, doing all the things I’ve been holding back on has felt amazing! Eheheh, since we’re going to loop anyway, I really think I want to spend the next go-around in a bear suit,” Summer said, having the time of her life.

“...Alright, I’m just gonna say it. There’s not gonna be any more loops.”

“Bwuh?”

“I’ll say it again. The looping is over. Time won’t go back anymore.”

Summer blinked rapidly.

“B-B-But, um, but, she... Um? Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“No waaay...! You have to be kidding, right?”

“Sorry, but it’s the truth.”

Summer paled, looking sick. That was when Rokuko interjected.

“Summer, it’s all thanks to you. I mean, don’t you think this is the kind of trick that evil god would pull? Breaking the loop after you embarrassed yourself by dressing as a bunny girl the whole time?”

“Oh, oh...! CURSE YOU, CHAOOOOOOS!” Summer ripped the bunny ears off her head and slammed them on the ground. “AAAAH! CHAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!”

She stamped on the bunny ears hard, over and over. I leaned toward Rokuko.

“...Why’d you lie?” I asked, in a whisper.

“I didn’t lie, though? This is the same trick you always pull, Keima.”

We actually had won in part thanks to Summer sharing her information with us, and she had merely suggested this was a trick Leona would pull, not that she had actually done it. Yeah, that was a classic trick for me.

“There’s no need to tell her anything that would get her mad at you, no?”

“Ah, yeah, good point. I’m the one who kinda inspired her to make a fool of herself.”

Thus, Summer directed her anger toward Leona. That felt morally fine, too, since Leona was the one most at fault for forcing the loop in the first place.

“Ahem... Rokuko. Do you have any spare dresses? Er, like, one I could put on now...?”

“Even if I did, it wouldn’t be your size.”

“It’s fine! I’m a Succubus, I can alter sizes a bit!”

“Well, I don’t have one anyway.”

Summer gritted her teeth and, reluctantly, picked the bunny ears back up.

Wait, the bunny outfit becomes rude without the ears? Seriously? What kind of rule is that?

“THE FIRST PRINCE, PRINCE HARKES DAIDE, HAS RETUUURNED!”

What incredible timing. The first prince had arrived at the party.

“Oh shit,” Summer said, grimacing as if she had bitten down on a bug.

Yeah, that’s about how I’d react if I were wearing that, too.

“Summer! Summer, where are you?! Oooh! There you are, Summer... Summer?!”

The first prince launched a mad dash this way with his two lackeys, then froze in place.

“...Wh-What a cute outfit! Aaah, you are my one true love!”

“Prince H-Harkes! Umm, er, w-welcome home!”

Despite being picked up and swung through the air like a child, Summer put on a smile so cute one could practically hear a sparkling sound effect in the air. She was a pro. A pro heroine. Was the first prince really fine with her wearing that?

“H-Hey, Crusch. What’s with that lewd outfit? I’m getting all sweaty here.”

“You aren’t familiar, Kenho? It’s a bunny suit, and completely respectable formal wear. Lady Summer is quite the scholar, as expected.”

“Step off! She’s mine!”

“E-Erm, welcome home as well, Lord Kenho, Lord Crusch.”

The two lackeys smiled happily after Summer greeted them. They really were fine with that?

“Hrm? Who is this man?” the prince asked, glaring sharply at me.

“Oh, um... He’s the husband of my friend Lady Rokuko.”

The first prince glared at me, but this time Summer backed me up. His expression flipped in an instant.

“I am Rokuko Tsia, an exchange student. Lady Summer and I are good friends.”

“Ah, I see. You are Summer’s school friend, and he is your husband! Hrm... You weren’t discussing taking Summer as a second wife, were you?”

“I would never dream of it. I have eyes for only one woman. Right, Rokuko?”

“Indeed. Goodness, my husband did just the most incredible thing for me the other day.”

“Hrm, I see. I appreciate loyal men like that. After all, I’m just as loyal to Summer,” the prince said. Crap. He began yet another flirty tirade that I really couldn’t care less about.

“Incidentally, prince, should you not go greet your father?” Rokuko interjected once the ranting calmed down a bit.

“Oh yes, that’s right! If you’ll excuse me, Summer, I’ll be right back.”

“Right...” Summer watched the prince and his retinue go with a bit of a tired expression.

“Seems like you’re gonna have it rough in a bit. What’s your plan?”

“I’m not really sure. Time’s not going to loop, right? The second prince will become the crown prince for sure, so... Ah, I really didn’t think this far ahead.”

“Explain yourself to him, alright? Stop that idiot prince even if you have to use {Charm}.”

“Right...” Summer let out a heavy sigh.

“So, Keima,” Rokuko said. “I just called you my husband, but... Is this my second time doing that?”

“Oh, yeah. It actually is.”

“That explains why you’re so calm. Well, keep it up, papa; we have a child now.”

...Yeah, I’m gonna need to improve my anti-Haku armor when we get back.

“I say, welcome back.”

“Heya!”

We returned to the party after splitting from Summer, and found everyone else enjoying the food. Koreha was gone since, just like the last loop, she was off to talk to her older brother Crusch.

“Here, big sisses, open wiiide.”

“Welp, an order’s an order! Maids gotta obey! Aaaahn.”

“Nom nom.”

“This is the roast beef from earlier, Keima. It’s pretty good,” Wataru said.

“Sure, send some my way. I missed out on eating some last time, actually.”

I took some roast beef from Wataru and tried it out.

Whoa, it’s soft, and the sauce has a great meaty flavor. I wanna put it between two pieces of bread.

“Keima, give me some, too,” Rokuko said.

“Yeah, sure... Oh, wait, it’s about time,” I replied, pausing. There was a stir at the entrance to the party.

“THE SECOND PRINCE, PRINCE JEDHA DAIDE, HAS ARRIIIIIVED!”

It seemed the second prince had brought his egg.

“Oh, looks like he’s coming this way,” Wataru observed.

“I say, it feels as if he is looking at me,” Mephy said. Though that wasn’t just a feeling; he was blatantly staring at her. The same was true last time, and it was definitely the same look the first prince gave Summer.

As the second prince approached, the cart being pulled by a maid behind him became more visible. A large, white egg about the size of a child was atop it.

Hmm... Seems whiter than last time.

“Princess Emmymephy. Good evening.”

“My my, if it isn’t Prince Jedha. Good evening. What might that large egg be, may I ask?”

“Certainly. It is...” the second prince paused to kneel, take Emmymephy’s hand, and look up at her. “The egg of a Dragon. I have defeated a Dragon, and this egg is proof. Aaah... I am told that defeating a Dragon was a requirement for proposing to you. Princess Emmymephy, please, accept my feelings.”

A hushed silence fell over the party as he announced it was a Dragon egg and proposed. All eyes gathered on them, as people inhaled and awaited Emmymephy’s response. Thanks in part to my advance warning, Emmymephy wasn’t particularly surprised.

“A dragon egg... I say, do you speak true?”

“Yes. I challenged a Dragon, and won this egg as proof. Though, of course, I did have companions with me. We defeated the dragon, and upon exploring its nest further, discovered this egg.”

Emmymephy glanced our way. “I say, at times like this, I have experts on Dragons determine whether the proof is real or not!”

“That is... Wataru the Hero. I have no reason to refuse a Hero who infamously defeated a Dragon himself.”

“And so, give it a look, Keima!” Emmymephy exclaimed.

“Wait, me?”

Despite being a bit thrown off by her pointing at me instead of Rokuko, I gave the egg a look.

...Ah, yeah. Pretty sure this is just an enlarged chicken egg. I think I remember Toi mentioning that being her plan, too. At the very least, it’s tinier than the Wyvern egg from last time. It wasn’t even a half-Dragon egg.

“Wait a moment, Princess Emmymephy. You will not be having Wataru look at it?”

“He can look, too. I say, have at it.”

“Wait, me too? I dunno, I’m not too confident here... What do you think, Keima?”

“Let me see here... Ah.”

I investigated the egg, and tragically discovered the stamp on the bottom. It was a very familiar stamp. Man, Toi really didn’t put much effort in it.

“Pretty sure this is a chicken egg enlarged with magic,” I said, honestly.

“Wh... How dare you say that?! My allies and I risked our lives to acquire this egg!” the second prince barked back, protesting with all he had.

“Which farm did you get this from?”

“F-Farm?! It’s one insult after another with... you...?”

I flipped the egg around and showed him the stamp on the bottom. It was an expiration date, set for May 31st. And beneath it was some kind of insignia.

“Th-That’s... the seal of the Nyarlathotep Hatchery?! B-But why is it there?!”

“Th-There’s no mistaking it. I don’t know why it’s so large, but that’s unmistakably an egg from my hatchery, which produces all the eggs consumed in this country!” Koreha said.

Aaah. I was wondering why the expiration date was so much like the ones in Japan. Guess this is Leona’s influence, too.

“I’m afraid you’ve been tricked, honorable prince. This is almost certainly not a dragon egg. And since the expiration date is today, you might want to eat it,” I said, stepping back. The second prince flapped his mouth open and closed.

“I say, I will have Wataru look at it, too, just to be sure. How is it?”

“There’s a thin layer of mana on the outside hiding it, but I don’t feel any power from the inside. As Keima said, this is probably a chicken egg enlarged with magic,” Wataru said, which sent a stir through the crowd.

“Mm. I say, I have no interest in marrying a prince who must risk his life to accomplish basic daily chores.”

“B-But this can’t be... Ngh, Tindalos! You deceived me...!”

In any case, Emmymephy’s problem was resolved without issue. The second prince stomped the ground angrily. The party was abuzz as everyone tried to figure out exactly what was wrong.

“Everyone! Be silent!” came a booming voice. The king stood up and looked down upon the crowd from the second floor. His call brought silence to the hall.

“What is the meaning of this, Jedha?”

“F-Father. I...”

“Far from successfully slaying a dragon, you were tricked and given a chicken egg? That is so shameful that Harkes would yet be a better choice,” King Daide said with a sigh of disappointment.

“Father! Does that mean I’m the crown prince now?!” came the first prince’s voice, from the dance hall. Beside him was Summer in her bunny suit.

Beside him was Summer in her bunny suit...!

“...I shall postpone my decree of the first prince!”

“Wha?! What’s the meaning of this, Father?!”

“F-Father!”

The king’s declaration sent the princes into a panic. And in the midst of that, Emmymephy muttered to herself.

“Well, I say, King Daide is still young and only just came to the throne. I don’t see the need in hurrying to select a successor.”

Those words were heard by all, due to the silence the king commanded.

Also, Summer was striking a celebratory pose and shouting, “Heck yes, I get to put it off!”

Anyway, from there, the party was brought to a quiet—quiet...?—close without Leona appearing.

Emmymephy could finally go home, since Daide had embarrassed itself so many times nobody could blame her for refusing to stay any longer.

Whew, Daide’s gonna have a pretty rough time recovering from all this, but thanks to Leona, they have ridiculously advanced technology, culture, and exports that they could pretty easily use to gain a lot of wealth. Not that I care!

“I say, I feel that things are about to get quite complicated here. Should we really be leaving?” Emmymephy asked.

“I mean, why bother caring? They’ve been managing up until now. We’re imperial citizens in the first place, so we should just let Daide handle Daide things.”

...That said, I’m pretty sure Toi was managing things a lot herself, and now she’s frozen inside Soto’s {Storage} dungeon. Oh well. They’ll learn to manage.

＊ ＊ ＊

Anyway, I went to the room in Soto’s dungeon where Toi was restrained. It was strangely bright for a time-stopped dungeon without any light sources. Toi was tied to a chair in the middle of a small room, with a blindfold on. This was all as per my orders.

“Heya, Toi. How are you feeling?”

“I have never felt worse, Keima. May I ask you to execute me?” Toi asked smoothly without a moment of hesitation. She was blindfolded, but probably recognized me from my voice. “After all, as my name implies, the Toi series consists of one hundred and one copies. My continued existence does not make a difference.”

“That’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“Who can say? I did not tell a lie, but perhaps it is not true, either. It is just a little joke. Ahaha.”

One hundred and one dogs? Is this an animated movie?

“Might I ask you to explain the meaning of this joke to me? I do not understand how Toi equates to 101. I asked Leona, but she refused to tell me. I would at least like to know the meaning of my words before I die.”

“So, Leona told you to tell that joke?”

“Correct.”

It seemed Toi didn’t understand Japanese. The Japanese pun in her name was simply beyond her grasp.

“It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out if you think for a second. To can mean 10, and I can mean 1. Line them up and you get 10 1, or 101.”

“My my! Now that is something else! I see, I see. I understand, and have learned. You have my gratitude. Aha, ahahaha!”

Toi laughed, endlessly amused at something or another. It seemed like she was getting pretty self-destructive.

Still, I couldn’t read her expression. She was supposedly more expressive than Niku, but her expression was even harder to read than Niku’s. Not due to the blindfold, either. It was because her ears and tail were absolutely rigid, never moving an inch.

“Alright. Now, for how we’re going to deal with you.”

“Oh yes, do as you like. You may even cut off two, three of my arms and play with them as you like. Would you like me to piss myself while trembling and screaming in fear? I am told men like that sort of behavior.”

“You only have two arms... And why’re you so calm about this?”

“I have simply accepted my fate. After all, I am a mere toy. It is only natural that a useless toy be broken and disposed of. I remain a toy until that occurs.”

“I guess it is beastkin nature to be obsessed over one’s name. Honestly, I’m impressed you’re this loyal to Leona.”

“Of course I am. The beastkin were created by Lady Leona, you know.”

Wait, what? That’s the first time I’m hearing about this. Is it true? But I mean... I guess this is Leona we’re talking about. She must have seen the lack of beastkin in this world, then been like, “If there aren’t any beastkin here, I’ll just have to make them myself!” and got to work. After all, this is Leona we’re talking about. This is Leona we’re talking about. This is... Leona...

“There’s something I want you to see. I’ll be taking the blindfold off, don’t struggle.”

“Certainly, but what is it you wish for me to see?”

I removed Toi’s blindfold, then showed her the scroll Leona had given me.

“It’s a message from Leona. It says to obey me.”

“Ah! From Lady Leona!” Toi rattled her chair, straining her head toward the scroll.

“Closer, bring it closer, Keima. Aaah, Lady Leona, Lady Leona, Lady Leonaaa!”

Despite being a bit disturbed, I stepped closer, and Toi pressed her nose against the scroll, inhaling deeply.

“Lady Leona... Aaah, sniff sniff, nnhhh, nhhh, fwaah! There’s no mistaking it, this is Lady Leona’s scent. Aaah, yes, yes, understood, Lady Leona! No, I mean I won’t, yes, no, aaah, this order, I, I, I-I-I-I, aaaaah! Fwaaaah!”

Toi trembled as she read the message on the scroll. Her tail was whipping back and forth through the air, unlike anything I had seen from her before. A pool of liquid was forming beneath her on the chair and dripping to the floor; she had apparently pissed herself. I went ahead and used {Purification} on it. This was Soto’s dungeon, after all.

I took another look at the scroll. Strange, it only said to listen to my orders. Why was she freaking out? It was honestly disturbing, in a real sense.

“H-Hey, what the hell happened? Is there something on the scroll?”

“Yes, yes, do allow me to answer. It has Lady Leona’s orders. It says to obey you, Lord Keima, and to never obey her again.”

I squinted, ignoring the “Lord” there, but didn’t see that anywhere... Oh, but this was something Leona had written. If it were in Japanese, wouldn’t I be able to read it while Toi couldn’t? And in turn, it could have some instructions Toi would understand but I didn’t?

“Where and how does it say that?”

“It’s the smell, Lord Keima. The smell says everything. By lining up the smells in these illustrations, I can deduce the order directed to me.”

It was a hidden message one could only decode with a dog beastkin’s sense of smell and an understanding of the methodology. All this, hidden within the very words she wrote. Friggin’ Leona. She pulled this right in front of me, in the span of a few seconds.

“Aaah, the inherent contradiction of obeying an order to not obey. What a heart-wrenching order; it is both a punishment for me, and a new life mission. Aaah, there is nothing sweeter than being toyed with by the whims of my master. This is what makes life as a toy worth living! I shall obey Lady Leona’s last orders, and henceforth obey you, Lord Keima. Say anything you like.”

To be honest, I couldn’t trust Toi, and thus didn’t really want her to serve me.

“Lord Keima, shall I lick your feet? Or would you like me to show my stomach, for you to rub or step upon? Aha, or how about attaching a leash to my collar and dragging me around, to the point of choking me? Should I continue wearing clothes? Or would you prefer me to strip?”

Toi had gone into loyal-dog mode. There was a crazy look in her eyes, too... Who knew what she would have done if she weren’t tied to the chair.

“You don’t need to do any of that. Uhh, I’ll pass you over to Haku, so just tell her everything you know and help her with anything she needs.”

“Understood, Lord Keima. Ah, and the scroll, ah... Sniff, sniiiiff...!”

I held out the scroll, and Toi jammed her nose against it, inhaling sharply and overwhelmed with joy.

Haku has lie-detecting magic, so she’ll probably be able to manage somehow. Probably, definitely. Maybe.

Toi apparently gave a Hero’s worth of DP a day, so for now we decided to leave her locked up. Niku volunteered to look after her, a bit smugly, so I let her. Niku was the winner of their duel, after all, even if it was only through the Dungeon’s power. Have fun.

＊ ＊ ＊

And so, after returning to the empire, we ended up attending a tea party with Haku. It had become regular for us to give our reports at a tea party whenever something happened. I sat across from Haku, while Rokuko and Soto sat between us. Chloe, Niku, and Ichika were standing to the side as maids.

To start the tea party, I presented Toi, who was tied to a chair, blindfolded, and gagged.

“Pl—”

“You may take care of Chaos’s dog yourself, Keima.”

Haku shut me down before I could even say, “Please accept this gift.”

“Er, if I’m gonna be honest, I don’t really think I can handle her.”

“Fundamentally, she will listen only to Leona’s orders. Leona instructed her to obey you specifically, Keima. Thus, even if I accept her, she will not obey me.”

“Even if I order her to obey you and continue on the chain?”

“Indeed. She will look for even the slightest loophole to exploit and return to your side, so that she may prioritize Leona’s direct orders,” Haku said flatly. Toi bobbed her head in agreement.

Hey! Want me to block your ears, too, huh?

“Furthermore, there is nothing I wish to ask Chaos’s dog. Luckily, you sent Leona to me already. Oh, and she is currently lounging in a jail beneath the castle, calling it a rest break. She has even prepared her own bed and the like.”

H-Huh. I honestly kind of forgot I sent Leona to Haku already. Guess there’s no point interrogating a lackey when you’ve got the boss. Especially when the boss is still hanging around.

“I heard everything from Leona herself... Ah, excellent job landing a merciless punch on her face,” Haku said, looking a bit more morose than her praise implied.

“That’s right, Haku, Keima was amazing! He worked so hard for my sake!” Rokuko exclaimed.

“Indeed, I suppose I will... have to accept him as little Soto’s father,” Haku said, at Rokuko’s firm prompting.

Oh yeah, the whole point of this trip to Daide was to get Haku to accept me as Soto’s father! Good job, me! Now I can sleep without being afraid of Dolce assassinating me!

Suddenly, Rokuko tilted her head in confusion. “Wait, Haku. What about our reward for solving the problem in Daide that even Wataru couldn’t solve, on top of getting Leona in your prison? I think we deserve a payment, too.”

Excuse me?! Rokuko, don’t push our lu—

“Of course. My original payment for Wataru was going to be ten ivory coins, that is, a thousand gold coins, so with that in mind, I will award you ten million DP. Oh, yes. That includes payment for discovering a new way of using Wataru’s powers. Do you find this fair, Keima? I imagine you do.”

A hundred million yen as payment...?! At this point, I can just retire and spend every day sleeping, right?

It was so much I genuinely began to consider retirement. W-Was it even okay for me to get that much?

“Er, are you sure about this? You don’t have to pay us.”

“How do you intend to support Soto if you work for free? Humility is a common virtue for Heroes, but this is a step above that.”

“That’s right, Keima. You’re a dad now, you have to be more mature here!”

Ngh, good point. I’m a dad, so now it’s my responsibility to support Rokuko and Soto...!

“Rokuko, ten million DP is naturally quite a significant load, so I will spend two days thoroughly passing it over to you. Please do stay the night. Okay?”

“Okaaay, sister.”

Incidentally, I doubted that the new method of using Wataru’s powers would be especially effective, since one had to be as dangerous as Leona for his luck to take effect like that, but okay.

“So, Keima, there is somewhere I would like you to go,” Haku said, changing the topic.

“Wait, you want me to go on another investigation?”

“No. This is a search-and-destroy mission.”

Pretty serious stuff... You should ask Wataru to handle that kind of thing, not me.

“The Holy Kingdom. They are manufacturing artificial dungeons there somewhere. I entrust the rest to you, Keima.”

Er, I made bank off this, so I’d really like to go home and sleep, but... Oh, never mind, forget I said anything! I have a cute wife and daughter to support now, huh?!