After a long while, Hayashi Maki finally let go of Aqua-sama.
Seeing her flushed face, he couldn't help teasing her.
"Looks like the goddess is awake. Do you need your humble archbishop to help you get dressed?"
"Hmph, absolutely not! Pervert."
Aqua rolled her eyes at him and started changing on her own.
She didn't care at all that he was still watching.
Anyway, if anyone was going to suffer from this, it wasn't her.
Hayashi Maki admired the view for a moment, then left the room with Beatrice in his arms.
He was definitely the one suffering here—Aqua-sama really was treating him less and less like an outsider. Changing right in front of him without a hint of embarrassment.
Then again, she was his woman now.
After breakfast, a villager from Arlam Village, within Roswaal's domain, suddenly came seeking help.
But Roswaal was no longer there. When he left the mansion earlier, Ram had guessed he'd gone out to reinforce the territory's magical barrier.
Now that beasts had infiltrated the territory, Ram couldn't help suspecting something had happened to Roswaal.
So the little maid stared straight at Hayashi Maki, silently reminding him of their promise.
He ruffled her hair, signaling that he hadn't forgotten.
Roswaal was a walking civil-war disaster, a madman who specialized in sabotaging his own side.
But Hayashi Maki had promised Ram he'd spare Roswaal's life, so he wouldn't go back on that.
"If Arlam Village is in danger, then we'll head out immediately and deal with this crisis."
"I'm going too!" Emilia said, face serious. "In name, the villagers of Roswaal's territory are under my banner as a royal candidate. I have to protect them."
If she couldn't even protect the people of her own domain, her strength as a candidate would be called into question.
"Alright, let's go together then."
"But someone has to stay behind and guard the mansion. Ram, Beatrice—who wants to stay?"
Hayashi Maki asked his two contracted allies for their opinion.
"Ram will stay," the pink-haired maid volunteered. "Please take Rem and Lady Beatrice to protect the villagers."
She knew reminding Hayashi Maki of his promise to protect Roswaal might have annoyed him.
So she couldn't afford to seem overly eager to check on Roswaal's condition.
Staying behind at the mansion also helped avoid suspicion.
She served Roswaal's household out of gratitude for saving her and Rem's lives and giving them a place to stay. That's why she chose to serve Hayashi Maki afterward.
What she really cared about was Roswaal's life. Guarding the mansion with her restored horn and power would be no problem.
By doing this, she could slowly repay Roswaal's kindness. Once that debt was paid, she could follow Hayashi Maki with a clear conscience and devote herself fully to him.
Hayashi Maki didn't mind at all. Knowing how to repay kindness was one of the things he liked most about Ram.
"Alright, I'll leave the mansion to you, Ram. I still plan on talking Roswaal into selling this place to me someday."
He said it with a grin, earning another eye-roll from her.
"Talk him into it?" she thought. "More like outright robbery."
But this world was that kind of place: strength ruled. With Hayashi Maki's power, who would stop him from forcing a sale?
To Roswaal, as long as he could resurrect Echidna, everything else—including his own life—could be tossed away. If Hayashi Maki could make that happen, Roswaal would hardly refuse him anything.
Once they settled that Ram would remain behind, Hayashi Maki headed out with Aqua, Rem, Beatrice, and Emilia toward Arlam Village.
He already had a pretty good idea what was going on.
After what happened with the little dog that bit Rem, and now this beast attack on the village, the culprit was almost certainly the loli beast-tamer, Meili Portroute, the partner Elsa had brought out of the Forest of Beasts.
That said, the beast tamer herself wasn't the real threat.
The biggest danger was the cursed bite from that small dog—and possibly the Witch Cult's involvement.
…
When they arrived, Emilia and Aqua went straight to evacuating villagers and healing the injured.
Hayashi Maki took Rem into the forest instead.
Some of the village children insisted that "Meili" had been snatched by monsters, and they desperately wanted someone to go save the little girl.
Following the trail of scattered footprints and the tug of magic, Hayashi Maki led the way forward.
Rem had already pulled a spiked flail on a chain out from under her skirt.
When Hayashi Maki glanced over, she instinctively explained, "It's for self-defense…"
Hayashi Maki nodded slightly without pressing further.
Though he was a little curious where exactly she had been keeping it under there, now wasn't the time. First they had to "rescue" this Meili loli.
Or rather—capture her.
As they ran toward the area where the beast tracks were densest, a pack of bristling, snarling demon wolves suddenly lunged from the brush.
Rem moved quickly, swinging her flail. In a few clean strikes she smashed in the heads of three beasts.
"Hayashi Maki-sama, be careful. These monsters aren't normal!"
Hayashi Maki grinned. "I know. They're all being controlled."
"Still, Rem's quite capable. Looks like you've been training a lot."
Rem shook her head. "Compared to Elder Sister, Rem's strength is nothing."
She wasn't much good at magic, so she couldn't stand there and clear the area with a single tornado like Ram.
Instead, she'd had to train her body, relying on raw strength to protect herself and others.
Hayashi Maki reached out and gently patted her blue hair. "Don't sell yourself short. Ram's magic is strong, sure—but your fighting ability isn't weak either."
"Come on, let's keep moving. I can already sense a life force ahead. Meili should be nearby."
He headed toward that presence, and Rem quickly followed.
Watching his back, Rem felt a warm little glow in her chest.
Unlike Roswaal, this new master truly was gentle. Even when she had written herself off, he acknowledged all of her and encouraged her.
Before long, they found a brown-haired girl lying under a tree, sprawled on the ground, seemingly unconscious.
Rem hurried forward to help her up.
But Hayashi Maki caught her hand. "Don't rush in, Rem. Let me handle it."
Rem froze, looking up at him in confusion.
"Let you handle it?"
Did that mean… he wouldn't even spare the loli?
Thinking about Beatrice's childlike body, she had to admit it was all too easy to imagine.
Her suspicion only grew as she watched Hayashi Maki conjure a rope out of nowhere and proceed to tie Meili up from head to toe.