Hey, shouldn’t we stop blinding ourselves? Maybe life is just about accepting what presents itself. Maybe everything that happens occurs for a greater cause. Your role as a living entity is to resolve yourself, give up what could and would not, and resign yourself to pursuing what is already here—this fleeting moment on the scale of the universe, which is already over by the time you realize it’s there…

“So? How’s it, Alev? Did they find what they wanted?”

“Sera said everything went well, and she got what we were after. As for the hero, well… he jumped from denial to acceptance so quickly that it’s become frightening. But he’s now stuck into an endless cycle of depression followed by renewed enthusiasm. I hope your hubby pulls himself together, or we can't count on him to fight.”

But on the other hand… life is meaningless, so looking at the past may be just as good. Rather than expecting the future and living through the present, I should focus on benefiting from joyful, lingering memories of the past…

No! I live through the bitter present so I can taste sweet futures. Surely, I have plenty of delightful experiences awaiting me! Giving a new and unique taste to life, each one more enriching than the other.

Coming from all horizons, of all colors and forms. If I stay strong, many renewing opportunities will naturally cross my path and come into my embrace!

“Ah?? How so? That can’t be that bad. Are you sure he isn’t just pretending? I’m sure he only wants to make you feel sorry so he can ask you some inappropriate pervy demand again. Wait and see; I’ll knock some healthy thoughts in his brain. I've got just what you need. Nothing’s better than a spoon for that kind of handling, and it just so happens that one escaped the bandits plundering.”

“... Suit yourself, but he won't budge and doesn't react to any physical stimulus no matter what. In his condition, I’m afraid he won’t notice unless he’s seriously injured. He does make me feel sorry for him indeed.” In the background, I could faintly hear Lily and Alev arguing about my condition, although it was useless. I was fine.

“Wait, really? Poor thing, maybe it was too much after all. I didn’t think he would’ve lost his sanity over this. Hey hero! Hold yourself, would you? Alev said she agreed to let you have a peek after her and Sera's lovemaking!”

“Wait wha!… Well… Alright, but touch is prohibited, and only my being. Sera must remain out of the frame and unseen.”

Everything was fine, and I just felt a little low sometimes. My mind was preoccupied, and I couldn’t stop myself from worrying about everything and nothing. Thinking about philosophy and the sense of life… W– “WHAT!!!!?? Really? If you truly keep your word and let me see, I’ll pay for it!” Why rack your brains about useless stuff, such as life meaning, when you can literally have a taste of it?!!

“Ohhh? How are you gonna pay? Do you have any hidden savings, dear? No, never mind. It doesn’t matter; take that joke any further, and I’ll expose your kink to my sister. She will be delighted to learn how you played your ‘role’ to perfection.”But, of course, Lily was here to spoil the joy. There was no way she would allow me something like this.

Perhaps she would’ve given in if I was in a really pitiful state. Would she? For once, her threats seemed weak and meaningless to me… She mentioned the spoon earlier but didn’t even take it out.

“Uh? What do you mean?”

“You know, Sera said you were beautiful there as if you were born for this very moment.”

“Ah? I fear I don’t understand your words. Could you spell your thoughts in detail? All I did was to escort her, standing next to her. Nothing worth mentioning.” As the hero, it was a perfect fit for this rôle, but that doesn't seem to be what she's talking about.

“... Didn’t you say the denial phase was over, Alev?”

“Ahem, sorry, I thought you knew… ”

“Can someone explain to me? I– ” “Shut up Hero! Rather than trying to figure out something you erased from your world, come here now that you are once again aware of your surroundings. I don’t want you to dive back. ” As I was asking them for some explanation, Sera broke into the discussion and forcibly caught my attention.

Ah, that's right, there she was, the reason for my dismay. The woman, nay, the monster, reduced me to this state with only a few sentences. Some statements, some observations, and a few conclusions of her were enough to annihilate my confidence. The worst part is that it was all my fault, if only I hadn't provoked her...

“Hey!! That's your fault and… You know what? Let’s drop the matter and start anew like friends, okay? I won’t insult you anymore, and you won’t disclose my physiological and mental issues, Okay? Let’s resume our strategy meeting as if nothing happened between us.” I had to make amends, or my mind would have much worse and more worrying things to deal with than a possible attraction to Loli.

…

“Sorry, Lily, I should have clarified. He really dropped the denial, but it wasn't about his latest predicament. That one, he somehow completely erased it. It must have traumatized him deeply because even Sera, using her power, couldn’t find any trace of memory about what happened…”

“I was referring to the argument Sera and the hero had over that fact. One thing led to another, and he ended up insulting her in a rather vulgar way, saying she was sexually frustrated, among other things. In response, Sera unintentionally spoke some inconvenient truths out loud and strongly suggested that he had been turned on by the old guys' intense gaze and had chosen to forget everything because of it.”

“... But why would it put him in such disarray? Unless… ”

“Unless he truly can’t remember, and this makes him uncertain. Anyway, who knows? Sera refused to tell me if she was joking, which perplexed him even more.”

…

I don’t have any doubt!! … I can’t afford to. My heart can’t take any more. At worst, I’d prefer to think I’m into Loli… NO!!!!

Let's say I’m into Sera instead. She’s older than her look may show, and she is not human, so that’s not a problem, right? Humph–good, I’m into Sera, which caused me to…

But I’m NOT into her!!! Firstly, I definitely can’t be aroused by a child's body! Second, even If I w–NO and NO, Never!!

So that means… Have I really opened myself to the fetish of exhibitionism?? Did I awaken some dark and repressed impulse by inadvertence and become aware of such desire… And what’s more, you’re saying they were men!???

No… surely there is another possibility… Sera must’ve been joking!!... Oh, my heart… If only I could remember what happened a few minutes ago…

…

After another low spirit phase, we did a strategic debriefing regarding Sera’s discovery,

not without some disturbance, according to the wave of my mind. We finally got what we were searching for at first, and although I hoped that some crucial information would reach us, which would justify even a little of my suffering, nothing seemed to measure up to what I had undergone.

Well, even if I had learned the secret of the universe, it wouldn’t have been worth the burden I had suffered.

Lucas was notified of our unanticipated escape attempt right after we rushed out of jail and entered the galleries. He was then informed of our actions around the time we got stuck in the dead end, which was our current spot, and gave his order to surround us and wait as planned.

From what Sera-chan saw, reinforcements were coming soon if they hadn't already. A few groups had converged here more quickly than predicted.

Unlike the original plan, the bad guys were scattered throughout the facilities because it was still early, and everyone was busy with their different occupations. This led them to be at different distances, some far, some close to us. As a result, the first would be here in advance, while Lucas's main force would be delayed.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The most important and worrying thing was that Lucas would only have half of what he was supposed to have under his direct control. In contrast, many groups would gather directly on our position instead.

We should’ve plenty of time to rest before Lucas led everyone to attack us. But it also means that those idiots could very well start the assault beforehand, assuming they didn’t need to wait for the full force and were enough to force us to submit. If they waited just for a bit and started the fight before Lucas's arrival, but after they gathered together, this could give us some trouble.

I feared they would act hastily. But hey, they were given a strict order to wait, so I shouldn't worry about it, shouldn’t I?...

Well, because I was literally bathing in misfortune lately, I was almost sure of the opposite. The many lucky charms that surrounded me were indeed pretty but rather ineffective, and four of them were carrying strong curses instead.

Bah… at least a fight will be better than this mental agony… and perhaps it could stop Alev, Lily, And Anna from looking at me with pity while having trouble holding back laughter.

As for what happened before, which I seem to have forgotten, one thing is certain. True to the rule, if I ever disgraced myself, I should have done so in accordance with Article 27… Or was it the 25th? ‘Forever publicly gentleman, whatever privately.’ As they said, lines can be twisted, so you don’t have to cross them as long as you’re careful not to break them.

“Hero!! They’re coming!” Anna, whose watchover shift had come, interrupted the flow of my thoughts by warning me of the long-awaited unexpected event.

What the f***, what about the labor code!! Are you gonna deny my few minutes of rest like I was a working slave? Perfect, come here. Daddy needs to stretch a bit, and nothing’s better than a workout to divert and calm the mind. The more contestants, the better.

Whatever the reason, be it misfortune or their total lack of brain, I don’t care. I was certain this was coming, and I was right. And now, I’ll use this opportunity to process the faint mist surrounding my shame into an inscrutable crimson fog!

Here we go! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD, SKULL FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!

***

“What does it mean? How so?”

In a dark and distressing gallery, a very important discussion was taking place. A talk that would deeply interfere with our Hero’s future and would cause quite a lot of disorder.

“Just as we’ve said to you, the team keeping watch has gone mad, spouting nonsense about God revealing itself and passing upon them a message of forgiveness and peace. We tried everything possible to bring them to reason, but nothing worked, and they refused to move. They said that only demise is waiting for anybody daring to assault our precious merchandise, and we’d better stop and pray to cleanse our soul before it’s too late.”

My subordinate answered my questions by repeating what he had just told me. What a useless man! Can’t I have someone competent under my order for once? Anyway, the situation was rather troubling, and the few men I had let on scouting duties had become religious fanatics.

Damn it!! What could’ve happened and made them turn like this? Did the prisoners cast some spell or curse?

An illusion or mind-disturbing magic could’ve got those effects, but none should’ve been a magician, let alone a sorcerer. Did someone hide his power throughout his whole captivity just for this moment? But why would someone this powerful be arrested in the first place?

Moreover, I can’t feel any mana disturbance. Not that I’m particularly sensitive to this, but AOE magic in an enclosed space is bound to leave some trace unless you are very competent.

“If you ask me, they’ve been brainwashed. A full-scale magic or something made them mentally retarded.” Again, as if his last sentence wasn’t sufficiently useless, my brainless henchman opened his mouth.

“Who are you to speak? Who asked your thoughts? Do you really believe this is something they’re capable of doing? Sure, that could explain everything if only one or two were affected or if they had lots of magicians. But this kind of spell is usually single-targeted, or its effect becomes too shallow and would only be enough to briefly disturb a group. Given their state, only a powerful opponent could’ve, and that won’t explain why no trace remains. ”

No, there must be something else. An Illusion seems much more credible, but that possibility was even less than them having a bunch of magicians to pull out grand magic. Only a dragon’s innate talent or a very specialized wizard would’ve been able to bewitch them completely without leaving a mark. And in that case, our men would’ve ended up dead, and we would’ve probably suffered the same fate by now.

“Any more useful data? They might be mentally ill, but they are still in full possession of their means, right? I want more details about the whole situation.” Something was odd, and I couldn’t quite grasp it as I would’ve liked.

“Well, the men guarding the laborer were few, meaning the women had little to no resistance to secure the place promptly and free the other captives. With the men, their force sum up to a few hundred. But most of the girls, who are the most numerous, are unable to fight. As for the men, they’re probably worn out by their daily work and won’t be an issue. I really can’t get what’s on their mind. Why wait, risking a dangerous fight of attrition? Even if they had a few elites, it’s not like they can take us all by themself.”

He had a point. From what we already knew, they immediately stormed out of the cell and went directly to where the boys were kept as if they were following a plant…

Maybe they sought help from the men who were more on the combatant side; most were adventurers, after all. But seeing as they are useless now, they should’ve dropped their strategy and bet everything in one go.

Some idiots think they’re simply unaware of our number and the huge strength difference, but I don't buy that. You won't fool me. They're neither dupe nor ignorant; I even know that some are rather clever.

So why are they waiting despite this… I really don’t think they have any powerful people capable of… Wait! The hero!!!

He should've been taken care of, but maybe it’s their hidden trump card. In that case, the chief’s in on it. A trap? Did he want to use the hero to his advantage to kill us? We all know that he is not fond of the circumstances and despises most of us for agreeing too easily to our new life…

“Ah! I remember now, they’d say that Anna is here too! I don’t know why tho. I guess she was doing odd jobs and scheduled our upcoming departure.”

THAT’S IT! Finally, something worth mentioning!

“Hey, wasn’t it you who said she was frequently visiting the merchandise recently?” an idea had been brewing in my mind, but I needed to be sure.

“Well, someone was babbling about how he saw her making round trips, and she said she had changed her duty to taking care of the girl as she was now unneeded when I asked her. So yes, but what does it have to do with our current affairs?”

“Everything, you idiot! That's why you’re just a minion, and I’m in command. I’m paid to think.” And you to die for me…

Anna has always been suspicious. She had almost unrestricted movement, and she was one of the few untamed slaves. As if that wasn’t enough, she was an absolute major key in the research on site and the only archaeologist. She was by far the smartest among us. Furthermore, She absolutely hated her former master and didn’t like us either. Now everything makes sense.

“She probably fooled everyone here!” She must’ve found something, an artifact or a powerful magic tool with a brainwashing effect. In short, it was just what we were looking for.

Completely absorbed by thought, I initiate a monologue.

“That would explain everything!” And she plotted against us, putting her scheme in place.

“It's probably been a long time already.” From the beginning, it was probably her plan. Free herself, free the girls, free the former adventurers…

“Maybe she even recapped the hero. No, she probably has!” Everything becomes possible with such a handy power.

“And we were playing by her rule all along” Fuck, seeing her action until now, her last move should’ve been a test to see the effectiveness of the artifact on multiple people.

She probably is waiting for everyone to group, and then… Then she will cast the same spell that made our men believe in god. Who knows, she might even reserve us an even worse fate. What if she persuaded us of something normally impossible? What if she makes us all like horny beasts and forces us into bestial acts between each other.

“She wouldn't go that far, would she… ?”

“Scuse me, division leader, I know you’re paid to think, but could you do it out loud? So that our lowly selves could understand?”

Again, why is this nobody interrupting the important flow of my mind? Who is he to dare? A chance I had other important matters at hand and couldn’t spare time to punish him!

“No time! Call all the men already gathered. We can’t afford to wait any longer! Let’s assault the tunnel immediately! I’ll stay behind to explain the situation to the upcoming groups.” I want to ensure I’m not caught in the area of effect if she uses her artifact again. “Believe me, something terrible is approaching if we do not neutralize them asap!”

“But… The boss said th–”

“Shut up. If you don’t want to end as a monkey raping another monkey while being raped yourself by yet another one at the same time, you’d better obey my order at once. You don’t want to become a monkey, reassure me?” Did I hear correctly? Was this idiot going to contradict me? Unacceptable! For that alone, he deserves death!

“No, sir! Right away, sire!” He ran away with the tail between his legs. Did I scare him? Serve him right. He shouldn’t have tried to take another man’s job or been clever enough to do it well!