"Gah!" I shouted out, almost falling off the bed as the level-up sound ripped me out of my dreams with all the subtlety of a foghorn.

I blinked blearily, trying to make out the message. Defeated... Alipheese the 16th?

...What?

My gaze swept across the room, then went downward to discover Alice laid out on the carpet. Her eyes were rolled back, and she was sporting a positively radiant handprint on her cheek.

Oh.

Oh no.

It didn't take an investigative genius to put together what happened. The night at the Sutherland Inn was the first time Alice would "play" with Luka.

I'd had to force myself to be largely ambivalent about it since I had believed it inevitable. I certainly hadn't been looking forward to it. Having no choice in the matter was off-putting, even if I wasn't entirely indifferent to the prospect of experiencing a monster girl's skills. Moreover, not being able to view Alice as a potential long-term partner made the thought uncomfortable, but that was all something I could tolerate.

In my mind, this resolution was far worse than the alternative.

Alice must have attempted to assault me while I was sleeping, and this body's angelic half retaliated automatically. But even though the holy abilities were overwhelmingly powerful, it shouldn't have been enough to knock out the Monster Lord. Perhaps she hadn't recovered from her fight with Ilias as much as I'd expected.

I lightly poked her twice in the non-glowing cheek, but she didn't so much as twitch. She probably wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

Great, I take a small nap, and it instantly leads to the Monster Lord likely being mad at me and my body poisoning itself. Any other horrible developments I should be aware of?

I could only hope that whatever I did wouldn't damage me too severely.

The unknown price was made even harder to swallow since neither my life nor future had been at stake. If I had fallen asleep in battle from a hypnosis skill, I would have barely been able to accept the use of divine energy. But for it to happen like this was incredibly aggravating.

The additional levels would have been a solace if they could actually change anything. As it was, any opponent that would have wiped the floor and/or their girl parts with me could still do so, albeit with the slightest modicum of effort. Whereas anything I could defeat now, I would have likely also been able to by following the normal progression.

I briefly considered running away, but there was no point. There would be no escape if Alice was intent on vengeance, and trying to would only make things worse.

I sighed and locked the door to my room. Alice had, at some point, morphed back into her snake form, so it would be bad news if the inn's owner came to check on us.

Brimming with newfound strength and being utterly exhausted was possibly the most contradictory and strange combination of feelings I've ever had. Judging from the orange glow filtering in from the window, barely any time had passed since I nodded off, and I was only more tired for it. As a result, I was firm of mind to make all this tomorrow me's issue.

'Because fuck that guy, right?' I smirked wryly.

I was about ready to leap back into bed when a pang of pity shot through my haze of fatigue at seeing Alice's insensate body on the floor. Power up or not, I would probably sooner break my back than manage to lift someone as heavy as her onto the bed... I probably should never tell her that, though.

I could still try to make her a little more comfortable down there. Lifting up her head, I placed a pillow below her and then tugged her in with a blanket. The unbidden and silly thought to complete the scene with a kiss on the forehead came to me, but that would have been entirely inappropriate.

Having done the bare minimum, I crawled back into bed. I doubted my sleep would be quite as tranquil as before, with even more worries added to my mind. Still, I would be damned if I didn't utilize this comfy bed while I had the opportunity.

And so I drifted off, hoping nothing would go terribly wrong this time.

----------------------------------------

-Elsewhere-

"Are you certain of this, Promestein?" Asked the woman known as La Croix, wearing a plague doctor's garb.

"I am. I do not know where she is, but Ilias is gone for now. Eden has also holed herself up in the temple, quoting an important mission of her Goddess. And as an effect of the recent partial collapse of Heaven and the absence of their leaders, the other angels are running around like headless chickens." The angel in a labcoat chuckled in a rare show of mirth. "This is an opportunity to conduct our research without the oppressive gaze of Heaven looming above us. I will dedicate myself to my own projects soon, but I wished to let you know and ask whether you need any further supplies first."

"My facility was already shielded against scrying. My directive remains unchanged." Answered a robotic yet childish voice. "However, with additional materials, the experimental cloning machine could be completed. A higher number of subjects would greatly accelerate the pace of research and energy accumulation."

Promestein nodded. "Very well, Laplace. I shall look over the list later and make sure you get everything you need. How about you, Lily?"

The only human in the room sighed. "I have enough test subjects, but progress is slow."

This time, La Croix interjected. "Tentacles and worms, correct? I believe I still have some copies on the subject from my family's library. I shall lend them to you if you desire."

Lily's eyes lit up in cruel anticipation. "Oh, that would be wonderful."

"As for myself, a supply of corpses from powerful creatures would be appreciated as always, but I can retrieve them myself if necessary." La Croix added.

"I will provide you with some of my Chimeras. I am curious to see what you can accomplish with them," Promestein declared.

"Now about the matter of accepting further kindred spirits into our ranks. The scientists from Grangold show promise but will likely take years to fully assimilate the technology I have provided them. The other human nations are in an even more unfortunate state due to Ilias' suppression of knowledge. The angels are too blinded to see the truth, and most monsters refuse to rise beyond their instincts. Currently, the only one I see as possibly being a worthy addition to our ranks would be the small necromancer of the Natalia region." Promestein's statement was met with silence.

"What's wrong, La Croix? Silence does not befit you. I thought you would relish the opportunity to compare notes with a fellow practitioner of the Dark Arts," she questioned.

"...I do not object to any support you may provide her. However, I do not wish to face her, not before my research has finally borne fruit." La Croix stated.

"A connection from your past, I suppose? Very well, I won't inquire further." Promestein said and once more addressed all of her fellows. "Now, if that was all, I shall take my leave. Never forget, we are the Seekers of Truth. We shall overcome all obstacles and pave the path forward. Any who would bar the road to deeper knowledge will meet with our fangs, be it a Monster Lord... or a God."

Promestein's declaration was met with a host of agreement, and she chuckled darkly as she left. It may not be tomorrow or the day after, but eventually, Ilias would regret her tyranny. She could attempt to hold up scientific progress for as long as she wanted. Promestein would make sure the weight would crush her.

----------------------------------------

-Back in the Sutherland Inn-

I woke up to repeated flashes of light, and a frustrated shriek of "Why isn't this working?!" coming from the bathroom. Alice came storming in a few moments later, and her gaze fell on me, her eyes narrowing.

Was it too late to pretend to still be asleep?

"You, We need to talk." She said, and I cringed instinctively. Relationship or not, I doubted any man would be happy to hear those words.

"Tell me, do you know what this is?" She asked, gesturing to the luminous mark still evident on her face.

I hesitated a moment before stating the obvious. "A glowing handprint."

"Indeed. Do you have any idea how that could have gotten there?" She inquired further.

"...No?" I tried. Alice didn't look particularly impressed.

"I see. Allow me to give you a hint, then," she said as she yanked my arm almost hard enough to rip it out of its socket. She held out my hand over the print. Of course, the two were a perfect fit. She then let go of me.

"Does that ring any bells as to what may have happened?" She continued.

"Well, how about you tell me? It may be hard to believe, but I don't usually go around slapping people in my sleep." I responded, annoyed she was trying to shift the entire blame onto me and at being manhandled.

"That..." She averted her eyes. You just lashed out randomly when I happened to be close," she lied. This time, it was my turn to look unimpressed.

"Okay fine, I may have still been hungry after I finished the Dango," Alice conceded. "But that's not the issue here. The problem is that you're obviously not fully human."

"Neither are you. So why not just call it even and stop here?" I offered. I really didn't want to be having this conversation, so I thought I could at least try, even if it was unlikely to work.

"Haha, very funny." She deadpanned before sighing. "Look, you are clearly hiding much, and I shan't force you to confide in me. But as it is, you can consider my offer of leaving as void. You have professed a desire for monsters and humans to live peacefully. And you do not seem to bear any malice either, despite your ability to use the same detestable energy as angels. However, the fact that this power may eventually pose a possible threat to monsterkind as a whole remains unchanged. Until I can ascertain you either will not or cannot have a change of heart, I will watch you... and deal with you myself should I absolutely have to."

I gulped. "I... I think I can live that." Even if it was laid out clearly now, it was ultimately not much of a change to the situation as I understood it. And, to be perfectly honest, she was being shockingly reasonable, at least by her standards.

She nodded. "Good. Now, let us leave. We have plans for today."

I blinked. "We do?"

That was certainly the first I heard of it. I obviously had plans, but Alice had no way of knowing those. Unfortunately, she was not about to elaborate, as she was leaving through the door, now back in her human form. Our plans were likely incompatible, but I didn't have much choice other than to indulge whatever whim she had cooked up.

I rushed after her before I was left behind. We soon came upon the innkeeper, who was busy doing laundry.

Alice called out to her. "We decided to look into the honey shortage for you." Ah, so she was angling for some honey. I'd feared worse, so I was relieved it was only that.

"Oh my, that's wonder—" She started in a chipper tone but stopped in her tracks when she turned and met with Alice's shining countenance. "...Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.

"I am perfectly fine, I assure you," Alice said and kept walking, clearly unwilling to continue that conversation. I gave the confused matron a slightly awkward yet friendly nod in passing.

I was still slightly annoyed since Happiness Village was one of the very few sidequests I was hoping to just skip. It wasn't particularly unpleasant or dangerous, but it was technically not required.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The current Queen Harpy was a pacifist and was, therefore, virtually guaranteed to not join the rebel monster faction. And the issue plaguing the village could easily be resolved if anyone involved stopped being an idiot for about five minutes.

...Perhaps that was too much to ask, considering how long the kidnapping incident had been going on. Oh well, since I was going there anyway, I might as well help them reach the same conclusion as in canon. But not with the same method. No way in hell was I going to fight Queen Harpy. If she didn't hold back for some reason, I'd be fucked, literally.

"Can we at least do some shopping before heading out of the city?" I asked, already resigned to a refusal.

Alice grimaced as her mark of shame drew more than a few gazes in the bustling road. "Unless we are going to starve from a lack of supplies, absolutely not. We can do that when we come back."

I sighed. It seemed like I'd have to wait a bit longer to buy better armor.

"How many?" Alice suddenly asked as we passed the city gates.

"What?" My brow furrowed in question.

"I am asking you how many levels you got off of me, idiot." She elaborated.

"...A solid dozen. I'm level fifteen now." I supplied truthfully.

She blinked and stared incredulously at me for a moment.

"That is all?! I admit I was hardly at my best, but that is just straight-up offensive! I am worth way more than that!" She complained, leaving me befuddled. That was a line of protest I hadn't expected.

Alice ranted for a while longer as we made our way to the east.

We'd been walking for about an hour when I paused briefly and looked behind us.

We missed the worm girl, didn't we? She was rather forgettable, but the fight served as an introduction for Angel Halo, which was the reason I remembered.

I shuddered, thinking of what the weapon did to Heinrich. But as dangerous as the eldritch-looking blade was, it was also indispensable. Being able to take down monsters non-lethally and being able to damage angels would both be essential in the future, so I couldn't forego it. I wasn't entirely sure how to extort the weapon out of Alice while having to pretend to not even know about it, though.

Originally, Luka couldn't seriously attack monsters as he could not bear the thought of wounding or even killing them. Suffice to say, his already poor fighting ability suffered even further from that. So Alice gave Angel Halo to Luka to fix that problem and make sure his journey wasn't cut short for a silly reason.

I had never been in a proper fight for Alice to watch, and even if I started now, it likely wouldn't lead to the same result. My willingness to kill opponents would also depend entirely on the foe I was facing. Ironically, that made Angel Halo harder to deal with than being a total pacifist. I don't know how it would react to the death of monsters, but killing angels would be disastrous. Unfortunately, out of all angels that appeared in MGQ, I would likely want at least half of them dead after spending more than ten seconds in their presence, and that was a very kind estimate.

I'd have to be extremely careful once I got my hands on that blade.

I usually held a vehement hatred against all things even tangentially related to mind control. Still, if that was the only thing that could get me out of the unpleasant choice between being eaten by a Lovecraftian sword and death by angels, I might have to ask someone to hypnotize me into not wanting to kill anyone ever.

And so, while I was quietly scheming about how to obtain and utilize Angel Halo, it just so happened that along with a call of "Here, catch!" it hit me straight in the face.

I dazedly looked at the horrifying weapon now lying on the ground before me. It was supposed to be a sword, but the grey mass barely even resembled one. The molten angels it consisted of may have been initially poured into the mold of a sword, but their tormented writhing had since twisted the form tremendously. Bodies and faces of angels emerged from the blade like cancerous growths, warped in agony.

At its tip, there was the circle it derived its name from, and just below were five blood-red protrusions that appeared like eyes. I likely would have screamed if I wasn't already aware of Angel Halo and its general appearance.

...on second thought, maybe knowing precisely what it was and what it did was even more of a reason to scream when it was suddenly right in my face.

Having thoroughly reasoned it out in my mind, I let out a yelp, drawing a snort from Alice.

"That was the slowest reaction I have ever seen." Alice snarked. "Go ahead, pick it up. I want you to use that sword from now on."

"Why?" I asked as I looked toward Alice.

"Angel Halo will not kill so long as you truly mean no harm. While it is not to the extent I expected, you are still overleveled for most of this continent. I won't have it be my fault if you accidentally kill someone," she explained. It was as much a test as it was a peace offering.

I nodded even as I had to suppress a shiver when a moan resounded from the sword when I picked it up. Not the pleasurable kind at that. That thing was going straight into the Inventory and not coming back out until it was time for battle.

"Thank you, Alice," I said sincerely.

"Hmph, that's all? I was expecting more of a reaction. How boring." She remarked, dismissing my thanks.

That was one problem solved. ...But the timing for it was honestly rather suspicious. I looked at Alice. She can't possibly have read my mind, right?

'Hey Alice, if you can hear this, foxes are way better than snakes.' I thought. Despite how obvious of a bait this was, she would never be able to resist trying to refute such a claim. Her lack of an immediate reaction told me all I needed to know.

Her brows furrowed. "Why are you looking at me so intently?"

"Oh, uhh, I was just thinking that the mark is starting to fade. With some luck, it will be gone by the time we reach Happiness Village." I said, fumbling for an excuse. It was true, too. It almost hurt to look at when I first saw it, and now it was barely emitting any light.

"Finally." She sighed in relief.

We kept traveling for a while until Alice decided to strike up a different topic. "So you don't particularly like the baptism, but what about the rest of Ilias' drivel?"

I hesitated slightly before answering. "I'm not the most religious person, but I can see the wisdom in some of her teachings." Much of it was also complete nonsense, but I didn't dare criticize her when she might be listening in.

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

I nodded. "Yeah, like the commandment to not have intercourse with monsters, for instance."

"Seriously?" she asked, practically spitting the word out in disgust. Did you not say you want humans and monsters to coexist? Do you even realize what it would mean for monster girls if everyone followed that commandment?"

I shrugged helplessly. "I do, and I didn't say I like it, but without the barrier that the commandment represents, both species could easily go extinct."

"Explain," she demanded.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. "It's not apparent right now, given the divide between our species and the fact that humans outnumber monsters about ten to one, but there would eventually be a huge problem if we mingled freely. Allow me to illustrate."

I picked up a solid piece of wood from the roadside and started drawing stick figures in the dirt. A regular one and one with a dress to symbolize man and woman.

"First, we have the human side. Any offspring is going to be split roughly fifty-fifty between male and female, thus preserving the balance." I explained and added two more figures below the first pair.

Then I moved to the right and drew another male figure and one with triangular ears and a large tail.

"Could you not use those of all things to symbolize monsters?" Alice protested.

I rolled my eyes at Alice's gripe even as I smiled slightly. I replaced my previous figure with one that had a huge snake tail as its lower half.

"Better." She smirked triumphantly.

"Right, anyway. When a human male and a monster girl have offspring, it will be almost exclusively more monster girls." I continued and added two more snake figures under the pair.

"As you can see, the second generation has a higher monster-to-human ratio than before and, more importantly, fewer males. If this single new man were to be snatched up by either of the monster girls, then that'd be it. A third generation of only monster girls and nothing afterward."

"That is simplifying things immensely," Alice noted.

"It is, but the underlying principle remains the same. And that's not even taking things into account like monsters having vastly higher sex drive. Or that if monsters and human women had the same starting line, the monster would win a man's heart about 99 out of a hundred times. A society where monster girls only give birth to more females is simply not sustainable."

"At least you acknowledge monsters as superior." Alice grinned slightly, but it quickly faded. "So another insurmountable obstacle, yet you still preach in favor of coexistence. What could you possibly hope to accomplish against fundamental biology?" she asked, her face deliberately neutral.

Even if Alice played the part of the cynic, she still wanted to bring forth her mother's dream if possible, so this likely felt like another blow to her. That was fine. I felt like a manipulative bastard, but this needed to be done. She needed to understand that sacrificing herself was not a be-all-end-all solution. Showcasing a problem against which it would do absolutely nothing was a good start.

"As far as I know, some high-level monsters are capable of intentionally bearing male offspring. It might be possible to spread that method among the others with widespread education. Alternatively, it may be possible to develop technology that raises the chance for the mutation that leads to monsters having male children to occur. I can think of some other ways, but those would be considerably more... dystopian in nature."

"I see... It is good to know your head isn't entirely full of rainbows and hot air. I honestly would not have expected this sort of reasoning coming from a country bumpkin like you. But your way of thinking is still naive. Even if those methods were possible, they would require massive amounts of resources. And even then, monsters are quite a willful bunch. You can expect most of them to try to resist any kind of change you want to implement. Accomplishing something like that on a global scale would be virtually impossible." She said, and there was probably a compliment in there, even if it was covered in insults.

"That doesn't mean it's not worth trying." I insisted.

"Hmph, don't come sobbing to me when you inevitably fail." She jeered.

"Alas, it seems I must find another pair of arms to cry myself to sleep in, then." I sighed theatrically. It was a joke, but it wasn't actually such a bad idea when I thought about it.

"Idiot," Alice said but couldn't keep a small smile from forming on her face.

"One more thing," She said after a short pause. "You are giving Ilias far too much credit. The only kinds of thoughts that went into her so-called "teachings" were her hatred of monsters and how to stroke her own ego. Though I do not doubt she would gladly have her priests preach this as an intentional and malicious act to further spread hate."

"I... see," I said simply, unable to think of another way to respond without offending anyone.

Unbeknownst to either of us, Eden was watching from Heaven and frantically taking notes.

She was absolutely ecstatic. It was no wonder Ilias favored the son of the Daystar so. He had barely even begun his journey yet was likely already one of the greatest Heroes to ever live. He not only managed to stand toe to toe against one of the strongest monsters alive, he even struck down the Monster Lord herself. And on the very next day, he unveiled a deeply hidden scheme to destroy humanity, likely planned for by the Dark One herself. Oh, Ilias would be so proud of her for noting this discovery.

She had to admit it was upsetting to not hear him openly praise Ilias' name, but it was clearly just a clever ruse to trick the Monster Lord into a false sense of security. Ilias would likely wish to reward this Hero herself when he inevitably slew Alipheese the Sixteenth, but if not... Well, there was certainly a spot in her garden for a man of his stature. Oh, what a joy it would be to personally welcome the son of her traitorous sister as a loyal adherent of Heaven. But until that day, she would wait and watch over him patiently.

Meanwhile, we, unaware of a certain Seraph's delusions, continued our travel.

"By the way, do you know why it's called Happiness Village?" asked Alice.

"Whoever came up with that name was probably too busy playing with Harpies to think of anything else," I answered.

"Hah, probably." Alice agreed. "You can likely guess what the problem stems from. Hmm?" She suddenly looked up at the road and vanished.

Straining my eyes, I could see something large and yellow lumbering toward me. It was a massive honeycomb with a bee girl attached to it.

After coming closer, she called out to me, "Oh, an unbaptized traveler. You look... disappointed?" She finished, not expecting my reaction.

I flashed an apologetic smile. "Sorry. It's just that I thought a bee girl would look a bit... fuzzier."

"But... I have fuzz right here." She gestured at the wrists of both her humanoid and insectile pairs of arms as well as the base of her neck.

"Well, yes. But I was referring to the overall look." I explained. Everything below her bust was chitin with no trace of softness.

She frowned. "Can we just skip this and get to the part where I slather you with honey and slowly lick it off?"

"Afraid I already have plans for today. Also, my traveling companion would probably be rather cross with me if I indulge in some honey before her." I turned down her invitation.

The monster blinked and looked around. "What companion?" She asked doubtfully.

"Eh, don't worry about her. Even if you somehow beat me, she would probably sooner try to snatch some honey while you aren't looking and proceed to watch like a voyeur than try to help me." I "reassured" her.

She looked slightly disturbed before settling into a look of determination. "I guess I will have to force you then."

"You may try," I said as I took out Angel Halo.

She stared at my sword hesitatingly for a moment, then shot forward... is what I would have said, but she was actually pretty slow. Carrying around a honeycomb twice your size didn't really help with speed. Who would have thought?

"Hold still, damn it!" She growled as I evaded her with ease.

"You know, you could always take that thing off." I supplied, pointing at the honeycomb.

"Then how would I pour honey on you!?" She asked, outraged.

I shrugged. "Suit yourself," I said and then stabbed toward her.

To my surprise, she didn't even try to dodge or block. Instead, she merely took hold of my arm as Angel Halo bit into her.

"Hah, got you now!" She called out triumphantly as her other pair of arms dug out some honey and poured it over my arm. I quickly dragged it away as the deluge of honey weakened her grip.

I took some distance, and a pleasant thrill went up my spine as the cloyingly sweet smell assaulted my nose. I scraped off what I could, but the remainder sticking to my shirt and skin left behind a tingling sensation. That stuff was undoubtedly laced with aphrodisiacs.

"What... is this?" the bee girl panted as her power escaped through the glowing injury my weapon left behind. She probably regretted tanking that hit by now.

I was about to land another blow to finish her when her body dissolved into particles. When the sealing process was complete, only a regular bee was left. Realizing her state, she quickly flew away.

'Huh, must have counted as a crit.' I thought and put away my weapon.

"How rude," Alice remarked as she came back. "I am no voyeur. I would have only watched out of a sense of duty." Apparently, she was not even going to try to argue about the rest. She didn't look genuinely offended, either.

"A professional voyeur then." I snickered, still riding a slight high from the honey. I took off my shirt and pulled out a wet cloth to wipe away what was still sticking to me. She stared at the shirt but didn't say anything. Suckling out the little bit of honey was too low even for her, although she was probably thinking about it.

After I finished wiping myself off, I put on one of the spare shirts I was storing in my Inventory. It was still a little unexpected, to be honest. I would have bet money that my pants would be the first thing I'd have to change.

"I almost feel guilty about how the poor bee girl lost against you despite how amateurish your technique is," Alice said.

"Hey, cut me some slack. That was the first real battle I was in. And if you really think my technique is so bad, you could always teach me how to do better." I mock complained.

She scoffed. "So you can bully weak monsters even harder? I think I'll refrain." Darn, there went my chance to learn any of the Cursed Sword skills anytime soon.

"Also, there is no need to worry about her. Even in a sealed form, a monster won't die easily. She should also return to normal after a while or if someone shares some power with her." Alice explained.

"Ah yeah, I figured as much," I returned quickly, worried I might have seemed like a dick for not asking about that.

We kept walking, and a few minutes later, we arrived at Happiness Village.