At this moment, everyone had been bound with heavy iron chains and cold shackles. The clanging of metal striking metal echoed sharply through the silent hall.
"I'm not some kind of devil either... If you cooperate honestly, I might spare your lives," Ash's voice echoed through the hall, carrying a trace of seemingly merciful persuasion.
"Mr. Ash, did you forget? You were a demon to begin with, weren't you?", Sophia quietly reminded him from the side without thinking.
"Quiet, Sophia. Don't interrupt when I'm talking about something serious."
"Yes, yes. Sorry," Sophia smiled awkwardly and wisely stepped back behind him.
"I'll punish you later," Ash shot her a glare, then was just about to gather himself and continue when the female elf below, Oka, looked up with tears filling her eyes. Unable to suppress the grief and anger in her heart any longer, she shouted, "Y-You... Why are you doing this? Why are you treating my students like this?"
"Didn't I already say?", Ash felt as though he had experienced a similar scene and conversation before. He unconsciously looked back at the girl behind him, who was yawning, and asked, "Did I?"
"I'm not really sure, but I don't think you explained it specifically? You only told them to behave themselves as prisoners?", Sophia tilted her head, trying hard to remember.
"That basically counts," Ash didn't care about the details. He waved a hand and looked at the elf below, "Anyway, it's for justice. As long as the goal is right, the method doesn't matter, does it?"
"That's not true at all! If you use any means necessary, then what kind of justice is that?", Oka shouted emotionally.
"Oh? That's what you're saying? There may be some truth in what you said, but you're the one person who has no right to say that to me, Teacher Oka," Ash casually raised a hand, signaling for her to calm down first.
Because what Oka had done was clearly no better than what he had done. No... at least he knew exactly what he was doing, but this woman seemed not to?
Earlier, when Ash had passed by Oka and touched her for an instant, he had already read her memories.
But Oka had noticed nothing. She even took his words as an insult.
"Don't compare me to you!", Oka roared hoarsely, trying to draw a clear line between them. She refused to be treated as the same kind as this demon, but...
"Compare you to me? You? You're worthy of that?", The corner of Ash's mouth curled into a mocking smile as he sneered, "You heard your cheap father's orders, and you've killed quite a few people following his instructions."
"That was..."
"And all over the world, your people either bought innocent children with money, lured them away with sweet words, or simply took them by force. During that process, plenty of those children's parents were killed or injured, weren't they?", Recalling what this teacher had done, he spread his hands and asked, "You forcibly took them away, imprisoned them in a tiny area inside the elf village from childhood onward, and took away their freedom... Why did you do that? For your sense of justice? Your responsibility to protect your students? Or because your skill showed that some of them might die in the future?"
"H-How do you..."
"Protection is protection, sure. But isn't that just deciding someone else's life for them? And they had to cooperate with Potimas's research unconditionally too, didn't they? To put it bluntly, how is that different from raising livestock?"
You could call it protection, but when a real animal protection organization finds an injured animal, it treats it first and releases it back into the wild after it recovers. The elves forcibly captured them, kept them penned up, and used them as test subjects.
"Th-That... that was for their safety! And Potimas's experiments were all within safe limits! Compared to dying... what's wrong with giving up a little freedom!"
"Well said~ But that's just you saying 'I'm doing this for your own good,' isn't it? Protect them if you want, but why must you restrict their freedom?"
"Th-That's... If we let them out, it would definitely be dangerous... definitely!"
Although she couldn't understand why he knew all this, as Oka desperately tried to defend herself, her expression twisted beyond her control.
Because beside her, the student who had always trusted and respected her was now looking at her with shock and suspicion.
She found those eyes unbearable. They pierced deeply into her heart.
Even though she had always tried to hide these things and had never told anyone about them, even she could hear how weak her own voice sounded.
That only proved that everything Ash had said was true.
In fact... he hadn't exaggerated anything at all.
Otherwise Oka would have denied it directly instead of only insisting it was for everyone else's safety.
But the trust that had always existed between companions was something Fei couldn't accept all at once. She couldn't help asking,
"Teacher... Wh-What exactly have you done? Was everything he said true? You always told us everyone was living well... Protected by the elves... Was it actually imprisonment? Trading freedom for safety? Even being treated like experimental animals?"
"N-No! Although they couldn't leave that area, there basically weren't any other restrictions! They only had to cooperate with a little research occasionally! And Potimas promised me he would never conduct research that harmed them!"
Oka turned around, trying to show that what she had done was reasonable.
But... even though Fei was an earth dragon, the disappointment in her eyes was impossible to hide.
It had completely failed to produce the reaction Oka had hoped for.
Watching close companions turn against each other made Ash smile.
"Excellent~ As expected of an earth dragon... Now you understand who the truly evil side is, right?"
"The elves."
'Why can't you understand? As long as you're alive, there's hope.'
With her head lowered, Fei honestly chose to stand on Ash's side. She wanted to sigh but held it back.
She thought neither side was good, but compared to an open villain, a hypocrite who had hidden beside her all this time was frightening in a different way. And the stronger side held all the cards... She wasn't about to throw her life away over pride.
Although her friend's death hurt her deeply, she couldn't afford to think about it now. Besides, her friend's final actions had felt as though he wanted to drag her along with him.
Strangely enough, after Yamada died, the more she thought about it, the stranger she felt. She couldn't understand why she had trusted Yamada so much before or wanted so badly to help him.
Could that also have been the effect of the Heavenly Protection?
She really couldn't tell.
Meanwhile, when her own student spoke those words, Oka's face filled with heart-wrenching pain.
But... she couldn't say a single word.
'Am I... really wrong?'
Oka couldn't tell whether what she had done had been right or wrong.
She simply lowered her head and cried silently.
Unfortunately, Ash had no intention of saying anything more.
Or rather, the only reason he had said so much was to get rid of her strange ideas... and keep her from doing anything strange later that would make Kumoko upset with him.
Although he couldn't quite understand why Kumoko cared so much about this teacher, according to Oka's memories... Oka hadn't seemed to take especially good care of her either.
Unable to figure it out, he temporarily put the question aside.
After confirming once more that neither of them was the Hero, he had them taken away together.
And, out of a bit of malicious amusement, had them locked up in the same place.
———
After ordering the two captured reincarnators taken away, Ash cast space magic and instantly opened an enormous portal.
He then carefully adjusted the magic formation to ensure the portal could remain stable for a long time.
As the portal opened, groups of soldiers from the Tenth Army poured into the castle like a flood.
Their discipline was impeccable. They moved swiftly and efficiently, systematically taking over the royal palace and the defenses of the entire capital while assisting the First Prince in replacing palace guards and garrison commanders who refused to obey orders.
Since every one of those soldiers was Hero-class, they encountered no resistance at all.
Every sign of disorder was snuffed out before it could spread.
Everything proceeded according to Ash's plan.
Finally, with the cooperation of the human kingdom's soldiers, they moved to arrest the remaining three reincarnators still at the Royal Academy, completely unaware of everything happening in the capital.
At first, of course, they used a gentler approach.
In the king's name, they invited the distinguished reincarnators to the palace, claiming important matters required discussion, while also offering a few tempting incentives.
Although reincarnators possessed exceptional talents, their average strength was far below that of the Tenth Army's soldiers.
There was no need to worry about resistance.
"But do you think another Hero might appear among those reincarnators?", After the crowd gradually dispersed and the audience hall became empty, Sophia walked over to Ash, curiosity shining in her eyes, "If a new Hero appears, catching them might be troublesome. The bonuses that come with the Hero title are pretty significant."
"Not a problem. You'll handle it when the time comes," Ash answered without hesitation.
"Me?", Sophia pointed at herself in surprise.
"Of course. Once Shiro wakes up, you'll be my loyal assistant too. We have to share the responsibility. Though I don't think I have much responsibility in the first place," Ash said it as though it were perfectly natural.
Sophia's face immediately fell.
But before she could refuse, Ash patted his thigh.
"Don't even think about refusing. This is your punishment. As for the other punishment... lie over here first."
"W-What?"
"A spanking, of course."
"W-Why that? Didn't you always just smack my hand before?"
"Because you were a child. Now that you've grown up, naturally it has to change."
He looked completely matter-of-fact.
Sophia instinctively backed away, shaking her head so hard it looked like a rattle drum.
"N-No, no, no! Shouldn't you especially not do that now that I've grown up?"
"It's fine. I don't mind."
"I do!", Sophia cried anxiously.
"It doesn't matter."
Given Sophia's habit of ruining the mood, Ash wasn't going to indulge her this time.
He quickly grabbed her wrist, pulled her over in one motion, pressed the startled girl across his lap, then raised his hand and brought it down.
"Ahh?"
Smack!
The crisp sound echoed through the empty audience hall together with the girl's strange cry.
'Oh... The feel is unexpectedly nice. Soft and springy... As expected of the girl with the best figure out of everyone I know. But why does this feel a little strange?'
Even through her skirt, the odd sensation left him feeling somewhat conflicted.
The girl lying across his lap trembled as well.
Her face reddened like a ripe apple as she instinctively curled up.
The softness pressed against his thigh by that awkward position reached him from the side, making it difficult not to let his thoughts wander.
Sophia turned her flushed face back toward him with pitiful eyes.
Ash hesitated for a moment.
Then he freed one hand, nicked his fingertip, and held it out.
The moment Sophia saw the bleeding fingertip, the grievance on her face instantly vanished into delight.
"Thank you!"
She immediately bit onto his finger and greedily sucked the blood, all of her earlier grievance instantly turning into overflowing happiness.
Ash slapped her bottom again.
She merely let out another "Ah!" then unconsciously swayed her head, looking up at him with a slightly reproachful gaze that somehow looked especially... alluring.
'What do I do? I softened up and let her drink my blood, and now she's actually happy about being spanked. Why does this make it feel even more like I'm doing something weird?'
Ash secretly regretted giving her his blood.
Back when he was raising her, he had resolved to be a strict father.
Yet somehow he always softened at the crucial moment.
Just like now.
He found himself caught in the same dilemma again.
He raised his hand and gave her two more swats.
Sophia gave muffled cries, but with her flushed face and the blissful expression while drinking his blood, it looked exactly like some strange kind of play.
It even made him worry that if this continued, she would become a masochist.
So after a few more swats, he finally gave up helplessly.
Like a deflated balloon, he leaned back, gazing upward at a forty-five-degree angle, temporarily abandoning any thoughts of re-educating Sophia.
'Sure enough... bigger really is better! A well-endowed older-sister type is completely different from a girl! My hand doesn't even hurt from spanking her. It really feels great! But... but is this really okay?'
Although Ash didn't want to think such strange thoughts, they kept surfacing in his mind against his will.
All he could do was keep shaking his head, trying to drive them out.
Although Sophia wasn't really an older woman, her mature appearance and attractive figure matched Ash's preferences so perfectly that he unconsciously wanted to pat her a few more times.
The moment that thought appeared, Ash silently blamed himself.
He even felt like repenting.
Especially when Sophia got up from his lap with her cheeks still flushed and obvious reluctance.
She looked irresistibly charming, carrying an indescribable sensuality, as though the air itself had become filled with a suggestive atmosphere afterward.
Ash felt like banging his head against a wall just to calm down.
"Am I the one with impure thoughts, or is Sophia just too abnormal..."
Having barely finished repenting in his heart, he looked up to see Sophia licking her lips with lingering satisfaction.
That tiny, enticing gesture made him quietly avert his eyes once again.
Sophia heard him muttering but hadn't caught it clearly.
She tilted her head, "Were you saying something?"
"Don't mind it. I was thinking about a philosophical question."
"Philosophy... relativity?"
"What?"
Relativity suddenly appearing in philosophy made Ash's head ache.
He couldn't help covering his forehead, trying hard to reconcile with the part of himself that wanted to lecture her before she gave him an actual headache.
Not understanding why he reacted that way, Sophia reached out with concern and gently touched his forehead.
"What's wrong? Are you still worried about the world?"
"I'm worried about you," Ash shot her an exasperated sideways glance before letting out a long sigh filled with helplessness.
"Huh? Does that mean I'm as important as the world?", Sophia immediately interpreted it in her own unique way. Covering her mouth in excitement, she gasped happily.
'How is she this narcissistic? Did she learn it from Shiro?'
Ash's expression became extremely strange.
He had plenty to say, but the words simply wouldn't come out.
After living together for so many years, he more or less understood that although Kumoko looked like an icy beauty on the outside, inside she was probably an incredibly repressed person who could barely squeeze out a sentence.
In some ways, she and Sophia were oddly alike.
Kumoko seemed cold and aloof toward others but probably wasn't thinking much most of the time.
Sophia, however, genuinely believed what she had just said.
She even crouched in front of him, resting both hands on his knees and leaning forward slightly.
Her eyes stared straight into his, filled with expectation.
Just as Ash froze, wondering what he should do...
"My, my~ What are you two doing? Having an affair?", Ariel's mischievous little head suddenly popped up between them. Smiling brightly, she blocked their line of sight.
In an instant, the happiness on Sophia's face twisted into gritted frustration.
"Why are you here?"
"Of course my cheating-cat radar went off~", Ariel replied proudly.
"I knew Mr. Ash first. You're the cheating cat!", Sophia puffed her cheeks and argued back.
"But you were still a baby then."
"I still knew him first!", No matter what Ariel said, Sophia stubbornly insisted she had been there first. She quickly turned to Ash as though asking for support, "Mr. Ash, say something! That's definitely true, right?"
"What do you expect me to say?", Sitting on the throne, Ash spread his hands helplessly, "You're both important to me. It wouldn't be good for me to take either side."
"How not? You watched me grow up! But what about this woman?", Sophia proudly patted her chest as she declared something rather odd.
"So you're actually aware that you grew up under his watch," Before Ash could speak, Ariel stepped in front of him and looked Sophia up and down with amusement, "Come to think of it, did you forget that I watched you grow up too?"
"Uh..."
Sophia was left speechless.
"Enough, enough. Stop arguing over something so strange. We're all family. Why hurt our relationship over this?"
Seeing the two about to start fighting, Ash hurriedly stood up and gently placed a hand on each of their heads.
He looked at the older and younger girls helplessly.
"You're both adults already. Show a little restraint. Even if you're going to argue, wait until everything's over."
"Family?", Sophia immediately caught onto that particular word, her eyes sparkling strangely.
Ariel, meanwhile, smiled teasingly and deliberately dragged out her words.
"What kind of family?"
"I think I'll go see whether they caught the reincarnators."
Ash truly couldn't handle the completely different looks of expectation the two of them were giving him.
He had the feeling things would only become more troublesome if this continued.
He simply wanted to escape.
But he had barely taken two steps when both of his hands were grabbed from either side.
Neither girl said a word.
Yet their expressions clearly read: 'Don't think about leaving until you explain yourself.'