The Bandit King stood there and held out his arms. He didn’t appear to be charging Carmine at all. Rather, he had his arms spread out, and dark shadows were crawling around his body. It was clear, especially with the light Carmine was throwing off, that he was planning on casting a really powerful spell. With Carmine barreling forward, I realized I had no choice but to follow along.

The five of us followed Carmine as she raced down the hallway. The hope was that we could reach the door before his spell went off. The amount of time and mana he was pulling told me that this spell was particularly powerful. I didn’t know how strong the Bandit King was, but this was at least at the level of the strongest spell that Celeste could cast, and that could chop apart monsters like sushi.

“Salicia!” She screamed.

“Carmine! Let us see if you still have what it takes, sister!”

Sister? We reached the door, but just as we did, I could feel the explosion of power coming from the Bandit King. Carmine took two steps forward past the door and then slammed her sword down. A massive pillar of light exploded around her. Just as that happened, the darkness slammed into her.

The force of the powers colliding caused my ears to pop. She was almost shoved back as blackness curled around her shield of light. Some of the darkness still managed to get through, and her robes were torn asunder in various places. Underneath, a chainmail armor made of pure white was revealed. On her chest was a noticeable cross.

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“A… Paladin?” I guessed.

Lydia nodded quietly. “She’s from the church. I know Master fancied her, but the church is notorious for disliking beastkin. That’s why she’s mostly ignored us since we got here.”

Miki nodded. “The church is willing to take on multi-tailed foxes, but only as slaves. We would be treated as tools. Some would say that is better than complete rejection, but after meeting Master’s kindness and speaking to those from Chalm, I’m no longer sure I feel that way. When I saw her dismiss me in her eyes, I really didn’t like it.”

“Eh? Is that why we didn’t like her?” Celeste touched her lips. “I just didn’t like her because her boobs are almost bigger than mine.”

“Geh!” Miki made a noise like she had been struck.

“R-really… I didn’t notice.” Lydia looked away, blushing.

I had noticed that too. Not her breast size, but that fact that she didn’t stand near any of the other girls, and she only ever addressed me. It was almost like the slaves didn’t exist in her sight. It appeared like there was some prejudice there.

Well, either way, she had put her life on the line to block that spell. Her white light was waning and the darkness was starting to win. We could have ducked into the boss room, but this girl had put her life on the line to protect me. Maybe it was more about challenging this sibling, I didn’t know, but she protected me and the girls nonetheless.

“Well, likeable or not, I should probably do what I’m best at… support.”