Bell had no idea that, while he was unconscious, he had nearly lost the most important thing in his life.
Thankfully, after recalling that the rabbit boy's soul was pure and spotless—and that his so-called Liaris Freese was nothing more than a desire for an older sister, a family—Renjiro finally managed to calm down.
There was no helping it.
After all, this matter involved a certain "one-and-only goddess."
Anyone would've had an extreme reaction.
"Phew~"
In any case, thanks to Syr's desperate, full-body restraint, Renjiro ultimately didn't do anything too outrageous.
But…
Once he calmed down, it meant she calmed down as well.
And then—
The moment when Renjiro would suffer… arrived.
You see, when Renjiro lost control and "went dark," Syr would at least behave obediently, trembling in fear.
But once things were "cleared up"…
Whitewashing weakens you by three points.
And so—
"Sniff sniff~"
"Renjiro-kun, you were mean to me just now."
"You even cornered me against the wall and did… all sorts of things."
The black-haired young man's eyelid twitched violently.
He looked at the girl—no, goddess—sitting duck-style on the floor beside him, pitifully wiping tears that didn't exist from the corner of her eyes, and his mouth began to twitch.
He knew it.
Nothing good was about to happen to him.
Sure enough—
"I'm going to complain to Freya-chan."
Syr puffed out her cheeks, looking like she was throwing a little tantrum.
Yet her eyes curved into crescent moons, a trace of cunning clearly hidden within.
Damn it. Renjiro had almost forgotten about this.
He had promised Syr earlier that he'd go on a date with her—using a disguised identity.
With no choice, and to stop her from continuing to milk the situation…
"When's your day off?"
"Tomorrow!"
Damn. That answer was way too fast.
Clearly premeditated.
"You really are…"
Renjiro shook his head helplessly, a fond and resigned smile appearing on his face.
Seeing that—
"Ehehe~"
Syr stuck out her tongue slightly, looking incredibly cute.
=======
A little over ten minutes later…
"Mmm~"
As Bell gradually woke up under Lili's diligent fanning and "cooling care," the first thing he saw—
"You're awake."
The rabbit boy shuddered violently.
There sat his captain right beside him, smiling gently.
It wasn't a scary expression at all.
And yet, right now… it looked terrifying.
For a moment—
"U-Um… Captain?"
"Bell, I have a very important mission here. I've thought it through carefully, and I believe you're the only one I can trust with it."
Under the rabbit boy's trembling gaze, Renjiro reached out and—
—a chokehold!
Ahem. No, that wasn't it.
He slung an arm around Bell's shoulders, pulling the timid junior close, his smile growing even brighter.
"Tomorrow, Syr is going out shopping with the chief goddess of Orario's strongest familia—Freya."
"I think you should accompany them the entire day and ensure Syr's personal safety."
"Can you do that?"
The moment he said this—
"Uh~"
On the surface, the mission sounded perfectly reasonable.
Protecting one's own goddess… that was exactly what a familia member should do.
But…
"When you say 'protect,' you basically mean carrying bags and following along, right?"
The boy at least knew how to connect the dots.
"That sounds pretty easy… probably."
After thinking it over—
"Please rest assured, Captain. I will complete the mission."
"That's just—wonder—ful~"
Renjiro patted Bell hard on the back, making the young man cough repeatedly.
And at this very moment, precisely because the rabbit boy couldn't see Renjiro's face, he completely failed to notice—
The utterly horrifying expression on it.
Every inch of it silently screamed:
"If I'm suffering, you're not getting away either."
Even Syr, standing not far away, wore a gaze filled with pity… and unmistakable anticipation.
As for Lili—
She knew nothing.
She saw nothing.
After struggling for so long in the Soma Familia, the girl had long mastered the art of reading the room.
Right now—
"Bell-sama, good luck."
Lili clasped her hands together. "I'll pray for you."
=======
That night's gathering didn't last very long.
Because deep into the night, Renjiro still had other business to attend to.
Namely—
To completely smash the Grand Casino El Dorado Resort.
Speaking of which—
"No wonder people still remembered my old name even after lying low for years… turns out there were impostors stirring up trouble outside."
"Meow's coming too! If those two bastards can't produce ten billion valis, they'll just vanish from the world, meow!"
At noon that day, Lunoire and Chloe had watched the War Game broadcast and naturally learned about the two men impersonating them.
The real Black Fist and Black Cat were thoroughly displeased.
So tonight's operation to destroy the Grand Casino El Dorado Resort—
They both changed out of their waitress outfits, disguised themselves, and tagged along with Renjiro for the fun of it.
As a side note, the hotheaded Allen's little sister, Anya, had also wanted to join in.
But that idiot… Renjiro was convinced she'd suddenly burst out laughing "Meowhahahaha~" during stealth, making her completely unsuitable for covert operations.
So he entrusted Ryuu with forcibly keeping her inside the Hostess of Fertility.
As for Mama Mia… with Xiangling around, she no longer cared about Renjiro constantly "kidnapping" people.
Especially after hearing about the filthy dealings inside the Grand Casino El Dorado Resort…
Well, if this were the past, she might've gone personally.
And it was also that very night—
The headquarters of the Ganesha Familia, Orario's City Guard, received an anonymous letter.
The letter detailed that the current owner of the Grand Casino El Dorado Resort was not the real Terry Cervantes,
and listed every crime committed in the past by the casino swindler known as Ted, information Ryuu herself knew well.
Back when the Astraea Familia had spared him, Ryuu had been present.
Now realizing that her goddess's compassion had been repaid with betrayal, the useless elf—no, former elf—was furious.
Honestly, if Anya hadn't been causing such a ruckus, she might've gone along to beat the criminal herself.
Of course… perhaps there were other reasons now why Ryuu felt she was no longer worthy of enforcing justice in the name of righteousness.
Still, she fully supported Renjiro's actions.
Thus, a few hours later—
The Grand Casino El Dorado Resort was seized by the Ganesha Familia.
Captain Shakti Varma, bearer of the alias Ankusha, personally confirmed the impostor Ted's identity using the "key-opening potion" and officially took him into custody.
The two men who had impersonated Black Cat and Black Fist were also beaten senseless by Chloe and Lunoire before being sent to prison as well.
Before being hauled away, they could only think—
"We never should've gotten involved with the Frigg Familia… Zanis that bastard really screwed us over."
It seemed they felt no remorse at all, believing their downfall was merely a case of bad luck.
In that case—
"Even though it's a bit troublesome… Chloe, are you sure they'll live at most three more days?"
"Of course, meow~"
As expected of a former top-tier assassin, Black Cat's skill with poison was second to none.
Around three-thirty in the morning.
Having already "clocked out," Renjiro, Chloe, and Lunoire gathered on the edge of a high-rise near the Grand Casino El Dorado Resort, watching the Ganesha Familia members below release the beautiful women Ted had abducted.
Captain Shakti, a Lv.5, was upright and incorruptible—someone worthy of trust.
Next, she would properly arrange for her subordinates to escort those women back to their hometowns.
For those with nowhere to return, she'd help them find suitable—and legitimate—jobs.
At the very least, Shakti would never send them to the Pleasure Quarter.
As for the culprits who had once harmed them—
"The poison meow mixed is colorless and tasteless. As they keep eating, it'll slowly corrode their stomachs.
When the time comes, they'll die very painfully~"
When Chloe smiled with narrowed eyes, sharp fangs peeked from beneath her lips, giving her an eerily wicked air.
This was her long-sealed true self.
Who would've thought that years later, returning to the path of assassination would be for the sake of saving people—of punishing evil and upholding justice.
And the one who caused all of this change… was standing right before her.
"…I really want to 'eat' him."