"Done."
Kurose Akira set the towel aside.
After a full thirty minutes of meticulous, hands-on effort, he had finally finished cleaning Mare Rhine from head to toe. Every single dragon scale gleamed like a polished gemstone, refracting light in brilliant shards. Her skin—where smooth flesh met crimson-edged scales—was supple as jade, flushed with a healthy glow.
And yet, the dragon in question was pouting.
"Human, you definitely didn't use this much force last time," Mare Rhine grumbled, puffing out her cheeks. "It hurt like hell!"
Akira chuckled. "A dragon who symbolizes destruction can't handle a little pain?"
"—!"
Her slender body stiffened at once.
As a dragon born of ruin and annihilation, she could endure agony beyond mortal comprehension. But that didn't mean she couldn't feel it. Pain was still pain.
And in front of someone she trusted… showing a bit of vulnerability wasn't weakness. It was simply instinct.
"Human! I'm not some undead creature!" Mare Rhine shot back, eyes flashing with irritated fire. "Of course I feel pain! What, do you not? Let me bite you and we'll see!"
Before he could react, she lunged at him with bared teeth, clearly intent on sinking them in.
"Whoa—hey, hey! I'm sorry! I'll be gentler next time!"
Akira dodged quickly. There was no universe in which he intended to test a dragon's bite force firsthand.
"No! I'm biting you today! If I don't, I'm not Mare Rhine!"
She refused to let it go, charging again.
In the spacious bath chamber, man and dragon began an all-out chase.
"Wait!" Akira shouted, trying to get her to stop.
"You can't escape, human! If I don't bite you today, I'll change my name!" Mare Rhine roared stubbornly, eyes blazing with childish determination.
"Are you part dog or something?"
"I bite!"
She spotted an opening and pounced.
Her speed was terrifying—distance vanished in an instant. Akira twisted sideways at the last second, barely slipping out of the way.
But just as he thought he'd escaped, he saw her wings beat sharply midair. She adjusted her trajectory, angling down toward him again.
"You can't run!"
"I bite!"
She hurled herself forward without even considering what part of him she was about to clamp down on.
And then—
The moment she made contact, her body froze.
Her crimson eyes went wide. Trembled violently.
"Holy Sword versus Evil Dragon," Akira's voice rang out at that exact instant. "Fair match, right?"
"Draw your blade!"
(What followed was a classic scene of hero versus dragon. The next ten thousand words are omitted…)
...
By noon, the struggle between Akira and Mare Rhine had finally come to an end.
After a fierce battle, the evil dragon had thoroughly experienced the might of the Holy Sword and had been forcibly baptized in sacred light.
"You despicable human!"
Mare Rhine sat on the sofa in the guild hall, clutching a milk bottle and gulping from it furiously, as if trying to wash away the lingering, unfamiliar taste in her mouth.
Akira merely smiled faintly.
She was the one who dared challenge the authority of holy light. Actions had consequences.
At that moment, a letter drifted down in front of him.
He picked it up and skimmed its contents. It was from Edith.
[Edith: Have you been taking good care of Elum these past few days? Has she been eating properly? I'll be back in two days. When I return, I'll reward you.]
"Elum…"
Akira's gaze shifted across the hall.
Elum was seated with Ifsha, quietly reciting passages from the sacred scripture together.
He had promised Edith that he would "feed" Elum properly. But unlike Ifsha, Elum had never once approached him to say she was hungry.
That alone set her apart from the other succubus.
Ifsha practically declared starvation every two hours and demanded to be fed immediately.
Was Elum simply too shy to ask?
Akira considered the possibility—then dismissed it.
Her status panel consistently displayed "Mana: Full."
Meaning she wasn't hungry at all.
"?"
Elum seemed to notice his gaze. She looked up slightly and gave him a radiant, innocent smile.
Across from her, Ifsha cast him a slow, heated look—one that clearly implied she was already anticipating tonight's feeding.
"Cough…"
Akira rubbed his nose.
Lately, he had been feeling oddly drained. He could barely keep up with Ifsha's appetite anymore.
Was it because he hadn't been sleeping well?
Well… that was understandable.
The college entrance exams were coming up soon…
Just then, a flash of white light filled the hall. Beatrice and Flora returned to the guild.
They ran toward Akira, who was seated on the sofa, their faces glowing with excitement.
"Guild Master! We're back!"
"Welcome home."
Akira opened his arms and embraced the two little elves.
"Guild Master, let me tell you—!"
Beatrice launched straight into an enthusiastic recounting of everything that had happened inside the Mother Tree over the past few days, eager to share every detail.
What they didn't know was that Akira had witnessed the entire process.
He had even shared a rather… sweet exchange with their mother.
"Guild Master! We can help you even more now!" Flora beamed.
Akira smiled and gently patted both sisters on the head. "Then I'll be looking forward to what you two can do."
"Mm-hmm!"
The twin elves exchanged a glance and nodded eagerly.
With the sisters back, the only guild member still absent was Lucia.
The Holy Church had been unusually busy lately. Akira couldn't help but wonder what they were up to.
"It's getting late. We won't wait for Lucia," he said, rising to his feet. "Prepare for the final D+ mission."
With Roselyn and Mare Rhine participating, even without Lucia, they had more than enough strength to handle a Level 65 Star Knight.
"Understood~"
At Akira's command, the group rose and followed him toward the mission site.
Viola, Elum, and Alice remained behind at the guild to wait for their return.
A flash of white light.
They arrived at their destination.
According to the mission briefing, the target Star Knight was hiding within a manor in Azure Sky City.
Though the task description didn't specify whom the knight now served, after betraying the marquis, he had relocated to Azure Sky City—territory under Prince Telles.
The manor stood near the edge of a forest, some distance from the city itself. A perfect location for battle—far enough that Enforcement Knights were unlikely to interfere.
However, Akira didn't immediately move in.
Instead, he remained outside, observing.
Because someone unfamiliar had just entered the manor.
They were dressed like ordinary merchants—nothing remarkable at first glance.
But Akira sensed something.
A familiar presence.
The scent of witches?
"Who are they…"
he murmured under his breath, brows knitting in suspicion.
And then—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion tore through the air.
An ice-violet flower blossomed within the manor grounds—its petals unfurling in a violent surge of magic. In an instant, overwhelming mana flattened the estate into ruins.
Akira's eyes narrowed.
That ice-purple bloom—
Wasn't that the Violet Snow Ice Emperor Flower he had personally harvested?
Why was it here?