My first coherent thought the next day was, 'Please, no.' as my feet left the bed and met something soft rather than the floor. I froze, wrenched my eyes shut, and prayed it wasn't what I thought it was. A breath of relief escaped me when I opened my eyes again and saw it was only a pillow. My gaze then wandered further to the unconscious form of the harpy who had brought said pillow.

'Damn it, not again!' was my second thought.

After making sure that the poor girl was still alive, I sighed. Why couldn't I have a nice start to the day for once? My guilt was somewhat alleviated since she had to have tried something to end up like that... or at least, so I hoped. Still, I would have felt bad leaving her like that, so I carried her to the bed. Unlike Alice, lifting a harpy was easy. I also gave her a Healing Herb, which seemed to ease her from unconsciousness to regular sleep. Probably the first and last time those would come in handy. It didn't do anything against the handprint, however. She would have to live with that, likely for the rest of the day.

I swear, at the rate I was slapping faces, I was liable to turn into a Xianxia protagonist. And if there was one thing that could make my situation significantly worse than it was even now, it was a genre shift into that madness.

I gathered the bedding scattered on the ground and safely secured it in my inventory before heading outside, where Alice was already waiting. Her smirk made me seriously consider running back inside and spending more time nursing the harpy just so I didn't have to deal with her.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" She asked, her smirk not faltering for even a moment. She totally knew.

"Not really, but the awakening was worse," I answered, already tired again. Maybe I should go back to bed and cuddle with the harpy a bit to make up for accidentally hitting her.

"I have to say, you are likely the most violent sleeper I have ever met. And that is considering some areas of my castle are still flooded from when Erubetie last stayed over and had a nightmare."

I blinked. "Shouldn't someone deal with that?" From what I knew, Erubetie had holed herself up in Undine's spring for quite a while. Her stay in the Monster Lord's Castle must have been weeks, if not months ago.

"Someone probably should," she agreed with what was likely the stance of the entire castle on the matter before her grin grew further. "Heh, I will never forget Tamamo's expression after she opened a door and was met with a wave of water."

I sweatdropped. "Guess someone is in a good mood this morning, at least."

She nodded. "A good bit of schadenfreude and anticipation for finally getting some honey will do that to you. Speaking of which, we should go collect our reward."

"Sure," I said with a shrug. Of course, I could have objected about it technically being my reward since I had done all the work, but I had intended to let Alice have it in the first place. Not to mention that if I tried to keep it from her, she would likely be more than happy to give an in-depth demonstration of what the bee girl had intended to do to me.

I looked around as we walked. We were far from the first to be up and outside. The villagers were already hard at work and started fixing everything that had fallen into disrepair over the men's several-year-long absence. The harpies were no slouches either. They pretty much embodied the 'The early bird catches the worm' proverb.

...that's totally an innuendo in this world, isn't it?

I was broken out of my musings as Alice suddenly started sniffing the air. "I can already smell the sweet scent of honey!" she declared and took a sharp turn.

I had to race to keep up, even as limited as she was by her human form. When we finally stopped, I could see Alice approaching a large pot next to a warehouse of some kind, surrounded by many smaller pots.

"Surely they won't mind if I take some in advance," she reasoned.

Something was clearly off about this scene. To reiterate, that pot was large, massive even. Most people likely wouldn't be able to lift it while empty, much less filled, a fact someone as ludicrously strong as Alice likely didn't realize. That thing was probably spacious enough to hold two or three fully grown men. There was no way the villagers should have had enough left over for such a giant...honey...pot...

Oh.

"Wait!" yelled out a nearby villager before I could say anything, but it was already too late. A number of tentacles arose from the pot and dragged Alice inside.

"Ah, I tried to warn her..." said the woman now next to me. "...Shouldn't you be trying to help your friend there?" she asked, seeing no indication of me being about to move away from my spot.

I waved her off. "Eh, she's fine."

"W-Wait, what are you doing?! S-Stop that!" came a high-pitched voice from inside, and the woman beside me raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, that wasn't her."

"Delicious. Give me more. Hora, Hora!" That was her.

"Kyaaa!"

The mimic-type monster would likely absolutely wreck me at my current level, but against Alice? It was hardly even a contest.

"So, uh..." I started, trying my best to ignore a variety of... interesting sounds. "Why exactly is there a Honey Pot in this village?"

She stared at the pot for a moment before registering my question. "That... We don't know where Mitsuko came from; she just showed up one day. Apparently, she likes being able to blend in." Her eyes wandered over the other, far smaller, containers. "...to some extent," she amended.

Perhaps my question had been worded poorly. The blending in part certainly made sense, but I wasn't asking where she came from. Being an undead type, she likely didn't even come from anywhere. It had possibly just been a random cloud of mana that took possession of a pot and caused it to monsterize.

"Nobody had any problem with a monster living right here in the village?" I asked, my brow scrunched up in confusion.

"Well... we realized soon enough that she didn't mean any harm. Also, with all the men gone, many of us were lonely, and those tentacles..."

I raised a hand to stop her. "I... think I get the gist; no need to go on." She nodded with a slight blush. It seemed the men might not be the only ones incapable of being satisfied with a human partner anymore. That might turn out as a problem down the line, but it sure as hell wasn't mine. Aside from being unable to do much about it, it was far too early in the morning to deal with this kind of nonsense.

"I'm still surprised you were able to be friendly with a monster despite your issues with the harpies at the time."

"Oh, it's not like she was the first one. We were trying to keep it secret, but we've been somewhat friendly with the local bee girls for ages. Our honey is as good as it is, thanks to them. But... they came less and less after the harpies started taking our men." She looked wistful for a moment before giving me a smile. "It's a good thing you came when you did. We wanted to solve this entire matter quietly and didn't have much money anyway, so we relied on traveling heroes, but any longer, and we would have had no choice. Sending for soldiers from Iliasburg would have put us in debt and likely caused the bee girls to flee or, worse, throw their lot in with the harpies."

"Unlikely," Alice rebutted as she heaved herself out of the pot, licking a last bit of honey-like slime off her lips. "The latter part, that is. Monsters usually only care for their own. While friendships between members of different species aren't too uncommon, an alliance between large groups of completely different types of monsters is almost unheard of. Well, unless the respective Queens were friends for some reason or the matter was forced by the Monster Lord. Aside from that, monsters do not let go of territory easily. The bee girls likely would have returned once the commotion settled down, so your fears in that regard were unfounded."

There was silence for several seconds as we digested Alice's words. It was eventually broken by a whimper coming from the Honey Pot. "Fueee, I feel violated..."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a baby; I barely even did anything." The scariest part was that she likely actually believed that. "...Besides, it is your own fault. It's a hundred years too early for you to even think of tentacle raping me. Also, anyone else may have been hurt by being dragged into your pot so violently. Just peeking into your pot is no ground for self-defense. You are lucky I left it at that for this time."

"...Sorry..." You didn't have to see her to imagine her teary eyes as she apologized.

"I... best get back to work since you're alright and all that," said the villager and backed away quickly. I didn't blame her. I would likely also be unsettled if a strange woman came along and bullied the local tentacle monster into submission with seemingly no effort.

With her gone, I turned to Alice. "Did you, of all people, seriously fall for a mimic-type monster?"

She huffed. "Don't be ridiculous; I just had to make sure she was not a threat to anyone here."

"...using your tastebuds?"

"Yes," she answered. Seeing my flat stare caused her to elaborate. "Taste is my most sophisticated sense. So it is only natural I would use it for important things."

"Riiight," I drawled. "So, how about we keep going unless there are any other monsters you need to bully?"

"I don't want to hear that from a guy who likely gave two harpies a concussion within just as many days," she shot back but still fell in step beside me almost casually. I was honestly surprised and somewhat apprehensive I would or even could mouth off to Alice like this. Still, it wasn't like she was discouraging it. Maybe we were just getting used to each other. But it was probably better for my health to not overdo it.

Alice's little detour took us a distance away from our original destination, which gave me some time to think. If the villagers were friendly with some monsters to begin with, why did any of this happen? If the bee girls visited with any regularity, it was unlikely the harpies never saw any. Although if the relation was being kept secret, the harpies might have just assumed the other monsters were doing the same as themselves. As for the human side, it was likely all too easy to believe that the monsters they already knew were the exception rather than the rule, with the monster-hating tenets of the Ilias faith being so rampant on this continent. So, was everything just a massive misunderstanding from all sides? What an irritating conclusion to reach.

"Still, I am surprised you decided to deal with your lust by yourself." Alice's words snapped me out of my thoughts once more. "I am certain a lot of harpies would have happily shared your bed even if it was just for a single night had you just asked."

I hesitated a moment before answering. "Well... aside from my reservations about Critical Ecstasy, I don't particularly care for casual sex. And conversely, since being human means I'm not exactly suited for ranked competitive sex, that only leaves something more affectionate. It doesn't have to be true love, even if that'd be nice, but I'm not really comfortable with hopping into bed with a stranger."

I expected Alice to berate me for my naivety, but instead, she froze for several seconds, then shuddered with enough intensity to make me worried she'd had a stroke. Finally, her head snapped to me. "If you know what is good for you... and everyone else, for that matter, you will never mention the concept of ranked competitive sex anywhere in the vicinity of Alma Elma. She will try to make it a thing, and even I fear the prospect of a determined Succubus Queen... especially since I would be one of the prime targets."

I winced. Never mind Alma Elma; Minagi herself would probably find a way to circumvent the Ancestors' Seal out of pure spite at not being ranked first. That was not something I wanted to subject this world to; The Ancestor of succubi, like most of her sisters, was better left locked up indefinitely.

"Those words will never leave my lips again," I promised.

Alice nodded tersely. "Good."

"So..." I started after a few moments. "You aren't going to make fun of me for the rest?"

She seemed to ponder this for a moment before answering with a shrug. "Not really. I can at least somewhat relate to that feeling."

Ah right. It was easy to forget at times, but Alice was also still a virgin, wasn't she? A monster being a virgin in her twenties was probably rarer than Qilin horns or Phoenix feathers. Possibly literally, considering both species existed, at least in the Paradox version of this world. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that most lost their virginity as children since monster biology made it feasible, and mothers would want to teach their young how to secure a mate/food source early on.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It didn't take us much longer to find the acting village chief, who seemed about ready to throttle her husband. I considered for a moment sitting back and watching the geezer get his comeuppance but decided to call out after all.

Her attitude quickly changed when she saw us. "Ah, the young Hero. We are quite grateful for your help." Her lips then turned into a slight frown. "...Even if the result isn't exactly what we expected. It will probably take some time to get used to our new... neighbors." She shook her head. "Either way, I'd say you well deserve your reward, even though we haven't much to offer right now."

A large jar of honey appeared in her hand, which she then handed to me. That was when it truly dawned on me that I wasn't the only one with an Inventory. I'd known as much on a surface level but hadn't really internalized that fact or its implications. This likely changed matters of logistics drastically and made harpies even more valuable as couriers than I initially realized.

"Queen Harpy told me you would leave today, but please, feel free to come back whenever you'd like." She then turned back to her husband with a not-so-friendly smile. "Now, don't think I forgot about you, dear."

The man in question gulped and turned to look at me wide-eyed in a silent plea for help. I smiled at him and slowly shook my head, watching as a look of resignation appeared on his face. Content in my work and, unlike yesterday, happy to not be on the wrong end of this kind of situation, I left the old couple to enjoy their reunion in peace.

"Here you go," I said, holding out the honey jar towards Alice.

But instead of immediately snatching it as I expected, she stared at it for a moment, then looked at me. "You don't want it? I just had quite a bit of honey, or an equivalent, I suppose."

"I mean... I kind of only agreed to this kind of reward because I thought you wanted it," I answered, confused at her spurning of food.

"Hmm, how thoughtful of you. I will keep it for later then," Alice said as she pocketed the jar and then noticed my stare. "...Why are you looking at me like I grew a second head?"

First, not devouring any food placed in front of her and then a genuine compliment? Was she sick? Well, it wasn't like I was actually going to say that. "Oh, it's nothing, really." was what I eventually decided on.

She looked at me suspiciously for a moment before letting it go. "Whatever, let's get going. If we keep wasting time, we might have to camp before reaching Iliasburg again." Not particularly likely, as the distance should only take a few hours, but I was happy to take her up on that offer.

As we passed through the village, a small crowd of humans and harpies gathered to see us off, including Reina, who waved one of her wings at us in goodbye, which I made sure to return. I was a little surprised at not seeing Queen Harpy again, but she was likely busy ensuring the ongoing unification of villages went smoothly.

And thus, we departed from Harpiness Village.

We'd only been walking for a few minutes when Alice raised her voice. "I could not help but notice you did not deny the words of that woman earlier or the harpy's yesterday, either." It took me a moment to realize that was all she would say. I looked over, but she didn't meet my eyes.

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that, I'm afraid," I finally responded.

Her gaze flitted over before turning away again. "You know... when they said I was your... friend."

I blinked. "Oh, uhh, I mean... I figured since we're already traveling companions and all... unless you don't want to?"

She cleared her throat. "I suppose I do not overly mind," she said with closed eyes. Her face was impassive, but since she'd turned back into her monster form to travel, I could see the tip of her snake tail happily wave about.

Coming to think of it, did Alice ever have friends before? Even the Heavenly Knights were more subordinates than anything else, with the exception of Tamamo, who'd been like a second mother to her. And the other fox girls she grew up with... well, that was more of a bully or be bullied kind of situation. I understood the necessity of redirecting her ill will away from humans after what happened to her mother, but it was sad nonetheless.

"So, what exactly do humans do with their friends?" She asked eventually.

I opened my mouth to answer but realized, to my horror, that I didn't have one. My friendships from before were characterized mainly by playing games together and exchanging the occasional meme. Neither applied any longer.

"You too, huh? I guess that makes sense," Alice muttered, seeing my hesitation. Surprisingly, it was loud enough for me to make out. She then looked back up at me. "I suppose if you do not know, we will have to figure things out on our own."

"R-right," I said, still a little shaken. Then my mind went to something else that had been worrying me. "So... no hard feelings about what happened that night in Iliasburg? N-no risk of you killing me?"

"I guess I did overreact a bi—...kill you?" She asked as if it was the first she'd heard of it.

I gaped at her. "You... You said you'd deal with me if I became a threat to monsterkind."

She stared at me incredulously for a few moments before facepalming with so much force that the noise was likely audible for several hundred meters. "Nonlethally, you idiot!" she hissed. "I am not so uncouth as to kill someone who helped me before! There are literally dozens of other methods!"

"Oh... Oh..."Originally, Alice had been willing to kill Luka if he challenged her before leaving Ilias Continent. However, events diverged for me since the beginning, and we met under somewhat different circumstances. I may have been too hung up on my preconceptions.

...Though her phrasing certainly didn't help matters any.

Nonetheless, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Admittedly, the actual danger Alice posed was minuscule as long as I didn't fuck up on a colossal scale, but every time I'd looked at her, I was reminded the chance was there, and I could do nothing to stop it if it happened.

"You have absolutely no idea how much of a relief that is," I said.

She sighed. "Idiot, that should have been obvious." But even if she said so, it really hadn't been. She opened her mouth again but then looked into the distance with an annoyed expression. "Seriously, her again? And now, of all times?! Ugh, just finish this quickly." She was gone the next moment.

A yellow shape slowly approached from a distance, and, before long, I recognized the familiar monster.

"Aren't you that suicidal bee girl from yesterday? How are you already unsealed?" I asked after she'd come close enough.

She scowled at me. "I got some magic energy from my hive mates. Also, who are you calling suicidal, you damn brat?"

"I mean... you willingly took a hit that would have at least severely injured you with any other weapon." The only response I received was a huff.

"So..." I continued after a few seconds of silence. "Are you here for a rematch or just heading for Harpiness Village?"

She stiffened slightly. "And why exactly would I be going to..." She blinked. "Did you say Harpiness?"

"Harpies ended up joining the village. The men are back, too," I answered with a shrug. "As for why you'd go there, one of the villagers told me."

"So the nekomata is out of the bag, huh?" She muttered. "Oh well, no point keeping it secret with the birds there anyway. Maybe I should check whether they're willing to share if they're acting more reasonable now."

She seemed ready to leave but then looked around. "So where is that elusive companion of yours? Or did you just make her up to mess with me?"

I was about to dismiss her question when an idea struck me. "Actually... she is right behind you."

I received a sardonic smile in response. "Hah, as if I'd believe that old—"

"Boo!"

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee girl with a giant ass honeycomb attached to her behind should be able to fly. Yet despite that, she shot into the air with what wasn't technically flight but defied logic nonetheless.

...Screw you, Promestein; physics are a sham.

After the bee girl landed and ran off far faster than I'd thought her capable, I turned to Alice, who bore a satisfied smile.

"Heh, I think I understand why those damn foxes love pranks so much; That was pretty funny."

I chuckled slightly. "Honestly, I'm surprised you actually went along with it."

"I may have been slightly annoyed at her for interrupting," Alice admitted. Her face then turned more serious. "Anway, since we were apparently in the process of getting burdens off our chest, there is something that has been bothering me." She fixed me with a stare. "You know far too much."

The grin on my face crumbled as dread took hold. This didn't bode well.

"Can... we not talk about that... please?" I pleaded. Even if Alice herself was unlikely to harm me, considering we'd just pledged friendship, the same didn't apply to Ilias, who was likely watching. There was no way she hadn't realized anything was off, but actively talking about just how fucking suspicious I was wouldn't help matters.

"I won't force you to talk if you don't want to, but at least hear out my thoughts, alright?" I'd much rather not, but I still gave a reluctant nod.

"There was the matter of you seemingly knowing about the Four Heavenly Knights in advance. Although if it was just that, I would have likely completely dismissed it, given they have been active for a while and rumors travel fast. Secondly, you seem far more educated than anyone from a hovel like Ilias Village has any right to be, even to the point of knowing relatively obscure facts about monsters, like there being a chance to give birth to human males or the existence of skills like Eye of Recovery. So my next thought was that you might be some manner of noble, possibly even the descendant of a survivor of Remina. But there was one thing that stood out even among the rest. It was when you said that humans outnumber monsters ten to one."

She took a moment to study my expression, then continued. "Do you know why I take issue with you knowing that? Because I did not. Do you have the slightest idea how ludicrously difficult it would be to take a halfway accurate census of monsters? Many monsters live on their own or in small communities, leading nomadic lifestyles or hidden in caves and such. It would be difficult enough to find all of them on land, but the aquatic monsters? I do not happen to be fond of the idea of scouring every single crevice in the ocean."

I considered that for a moment. "Couldn't you order them to gather in specific places?"

She shook her head. "Even if all of them followed that kind of decree, it would still leave the issue of monsters that can't understand words or largely immobile ones. Besides, gatherings like that would be the perfect opportunity for Ilias to call down lightning and wipe out monsterkind in one fell swoop."

I was about to object that she couldn't do that but quickly snapped my dumb mouth shut. If I was lucky, everything that was said until now would only arouse curiosity. But if I gave the tiniest hint of knowing about the Dark Goddess, the Ancestors, the seal they were stuck in, and especially its release condition after Ilias did her best to completely wipe any knowledge about any of those subjects from history, instant death would likely be the least of my worries. And to be honest, I couldn't say with certainty Ilias wouldn't do something stupid under the temptation of being able to erase all of Alipheese's progeny in an instant.

"So, with that in mind, there is only one person who may want to know the total number of monsters and also has the capability of finding out," Alice continued.

"Wait, do you think I'm..." I started.

"An agent of Ilias?" She finished for me. "The idea occurred to me, but no. Your actions would make absolutely no sense in that context. My current theory is as follows: Given your ability to use holy energy, you likely received angel genetics either naturally or through some manner of experiment. Ilias noticed and intended to groom you into a weapon against monsters. You were taught all manner of things, but when it came to the prospect of learning to slaughter us, you faltered. You could not force yourself to do it. You refused to kill me even when she served me to you all but on a silver platter. So now you are trying to forge an alternative path that requires no death. I am unsure why she would let you go. Perhaps because she truly considers monsters evil and believes you would come to share that opinion naturally... that is what I think is the case."

What.

I stared at Alice, my brain refusing to work correctly for several long moments. What even was that thought process? Wait, did Ilias basically groom Luka? She totally did, didn't she? Actually, despite the absurd leaps of logic, a lot of what Alice said was at least semi-accurate to canon, strangely enough. Not that it made it any more applicable to me.

She must have taken my silence as assent because she clapped me on the shoulder with a shit-eating grin. "So if that is the case, allow me to be the first to welcome you to the dark side. We are not perfect, but I am certain you will find most of us to be much better company than that pompous, two-faced bitch. Especially if you get over your reservations on sex. According to tradition, I would also offer you the complimentary cookies, but I kind of ate them." Her smile dropped slightly. "Don't tell Tamamo."

"T-Thanks, I guess," I responded, still somewhat befuddled. "Were they delicious, at least?"

She nodded. "Sinfully so."

I wasn't entirely certain how to react to a development this weird. I risked a stealthy glance upward. No clouds, no signs of incoming thunder. I'd say I was relieved, but honestly, I was growing uneasy at Ilias' continued lack of involvement beyond beating up Alice. I almost wished she appeared just so I could get it over with. It was like the difference between ripping off a bandaid quickly or slowly. But not only was it being peeled off slowly, but it also kept being reapplied to give me a full body hair removal treatment... figuratively speaking, of course. I didn't even have any body hair as one of the perks of being a shota.

But seriously, what the hell was she doing?

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

"Class One Cross-world Contact detected, initiating—"

"Oh, be quiet, you nuisance," Ilias called out as she reduced the bizarre creature back to nothingness with a backhand.

She frowned as she looked around. Opening up the spatial distortion had been easy enough when there was no risk of collateral damage. Except it seemed that wasn't actually the case. Reality itself seemed to distort around her, and the surroundings didn't manage to maintain any degree of consistency. Patches of snow were intermixed with desert, grassland, rock, and more. Fortunately, the phenomenon didn't seem to be spreading any further than the initial range.

The beings that dared attack her were also far from ordinary. They were no monsters, not as Ilias knew them. All monsters had a wisp of darkness at their core, no matter how weak or diluted it may be. These things were different. Although they were barely more powerful than the lower echelons of monsters, Ilias could not tell their true nature at a glance, which unsettled her. She had also been slightly startled when the first of them had materialized out of thin air.

She was seriously questioning if Luka was even worth all this hassle, but she put too much effort into him to give up now.

...Admittedly, that may not be the most intelligent way to go about things. In fact, if Promestein was here instead of planning her pathetic little rebellion, she'd likely be blathering about sunk-cost fallacies or some such. When she wasn't too busy gawking at the laws of reality breaking down around her, that is. But, alas, she was no more than a traitor. It would be straight back to the cave for her once she'd outlived her usefulness.

Either way, it didn't matter, as Ilias had principles. Nobody was allowed to steal from her, and she would recover what was rightfully hers, no matter what.

She proceeded through the place that seemed to have sprung from a fever dream and erased anything that stood in her path. Eventually, she reached a door. She pushed against it, then pushed harder to the point regular iron would have folded in on itself, but the unknown metal didn't even budge.

The door had no knob, keyhole, keypad, or another obvious way of opening. She could feel that what she sought lay on the other side. It seemed difficult to pass through, but why bother with the door in the first place?

Balling one of her hands into a fist, she struck the wall, and it crumbled like wet paper. But when she went to the other side, all she saw was more of the same and, even more curiously, no backside of the door.

She scowled. 'Fine, the door it is, then,' she thought as she returned. Ilias attempted saying aloud any passcode she could think of, even the various passwords Promestein used for her devices, just in case. But to no avail. She paused to think a moment, then smiled. She had ascertained long ago that Luka would never be beyond her reach. This trick, in particular, was something she'd prepared for the possibility of a monster, or more specifically, the Monster Lord, trying to abscond with Luka into a pocket dimension.

She manifested the tether she'd laid on Luka's soul; as expected, it was jammed in the door. She tugged, and the door cracked open ever so slightly. That was all she needed. With her hands now able to find purchase, it was easy to open the door all the way, slamming and embedding it in what little remained of the wall for good measure so it would not close on her. She stepped inside, and a bright light enveloped her. Soon, she would regain what was hers.