Early the next morning.
The convoy arrived at Roswaal's mansion right at the scheduled time.
Upon arriving at the grand estate, the first thing the numerous girls had to do was arrange an order and take turns washing up in the bathhouse in batches.
Looking at the girls' exhausted yet eager expressions, and the lingering, satisfied blush on their faces, Regulus felt a massive sense of accomplishment.
After all, last night, in the truest sense of the word, all of his wives—except for the few who had proactively taken on the responsibility of driving the dragon carriages—had been thoroughly satisfied.
It was all thanks to Ryuzu Meyer.
To be precise, it was thanks to the Telepathy Authority he had plundered from her, and moreover, how this ability had mutated upon entering his soul.
This ability was no longer mere mental telepathy. After a whole night of vigorous verification and firsthand accounts from the girls who had experienced it, Regulus had obtained the exact answer he wanted.
This Authority could not only share the emotions in their hearts, but it could broadcast the pure, overwhelming physical sensations of their bodies across the entire network.
Next...
Regulus looked towards Roswaal and Beatrice, who had come out to the courtyard early to greet them.
"Echidna still needs to continue sleeping for a while," Regulus announced calmly.
"..."
Beatrice fell silent, her small hands gripping her dress. She no longer wanted to wait. She wanted to leave with Regulus immediately, right now.
As for Roswaal, his heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly.
"Is it because the materials collected from the Sanctuary weren't enough? Not enough to fully revive Teacher?"
"That's only one of the reasons," Regulus replied smoothly.
"I see..."
Faced with Regulus's lack of a detailed explanation, Roswaal had no intention of pressing further. The Lord of the domain was a pragmatic man. His gaze shifted calculatingly between Regulus and Beatrice.
As someone who had lived for over four hundred years and had known Beatrice for just as long, how could he not see the profound change in the Great Spirit's demeanor? She was entirely focused on the Archbishop.
"Master, I shall take my leave first to handle the estate's affairs," Roswaal bowed slightly.
"Mm."
Regulus nodded. This Roswaal fellow had pretty good perception; he knew exactly when to excuse himself.
After the flamboyant Marquis departed, Regulus reached out and pulled Beatrice, who was currently in very low spirits, directly into his embrace.
"There's no need to look like that," Regulus comforted her, stroking her cream-colored drills. "Although I haven't physically revived Echidna into the real world yet, I have brought her back."
"Huh!?"
Beatrice's butterfly eyes widened in shock. Brought her back? Could he be talking about Mother's physical body?
"Where is Mother, I suppose!?" she couldn't help but ask, her voice trembling.
She couldn't stray too far from the Forbidden Library, which severely limited her range of activity. The last time she saw her Mother was over four centuries ago, right before Echidna died.
"I'll take you to see her right now."
As he finished speaking, Regulus extended an invitation to Beatrice's soul. Though it was phrased like an invitation, in reality, it was more akin to forcefully pulling her consciousness into his newly plundered domain with a very assertive attitude.
Looking down at Beatrice in his arms, whose physical body had suddenly gone limp and seemingly fallen into a deep slumber...
Regulus also closed his eyes, sending a strand of his own consciousness into the Castle of Dreams.
Inside the Castle of Dreams.
Upon materializing, Beatrice was stunned for a moment. Then, her eyes revealed a look of absolute astonishment and disbelief as she gazed at the huge, luxurious mansion sitting on the grassy plains nearby.
It was Mother's presence.
And not just Mother's. There were several other terrifyingly powerful presences—very similar to Mother's, yet completely distinct and overwhelming—existing within the adjacent residence.
The next moment, before Beatrice could fully regain her senses, Regulus appeared beside her.
He directly picked up the dazed Great Spirit.
"Alright, I'll take you inside to see Echidna. And a few other old friends you'd probably never expect to see."
Having regained her senses, Beatrice looked up at Regulus as he carried her forward. She then focused more carefully on sensing those somewhat unfamiliar, ancient presences.
Strong. They were very strong. Some of them even felt inherently more dangerous than Mother.
If one asked if such beings existed in this world... naturally, there were. They were the other Witches of Sin, Mother's notorious friends, whom Beatrice had never actually had the chance to meet in person.
'Are they really the Witches, in fact?' Beatrice thought, trembling slightly in his arms. 'But... the Witches should have died long ago.'
But then again, the problem was that her own Mother had also died. Yet the presence inside that mansion clearly didn't feel like that of a deceased soul fading away. Then, was it possible the other Witches also survived in some form?
As Beatrice pondered incessantly, a blur suddenly appeared in her line of sight, violently interrupting her thoughts.
A petite girl with silver hair, wearing a restrictive, straitjacket-like outfit, was rapidly approaching. She was drooling heavily from her mouth. In a blink, she was already right before them—and then she pounced directly at the two of them like a starving beast.
At this exact moment, Regulus casually extended a hand.
He firmly grabbed the small cheek of Daphne, stopping her pounce mid-air.
"Mmmph~"
A soft, muffled whimper escaped her. Accompanying the whimper, Regulus felt the palm of his hand being enthusiastically licked by Daphne's wet tongue.
A bizarre sense of contradiction welled up in his heart.
If it were any other girl in his harem, this action could easily be interpreted as a lewd attempt to seduce him. But the problem was, this was the Witch of Gluttony. Her doing this only made one feel she was 'tasting' her prey, preparing to start eating at any moment.
And this 'eating' was not the metaphorical, intimate kind between a man and a woman, but the literal kind—devouring you clean, bones and all, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
But to be honest, Daphne was very beautiful. She was petite, yet possessed a surprisingly good figure, especially when highlighted by her tight, restrictive attire. It was truly alluring and had piqued his darker interests quite well.
"Betty, you go down for a while."
"Mhm." Obeying Regulus's instruction, Beatrice obediently jumped down from his embrace, staring at the Gluttonous Witch in fearful awe.
The next instant, Beatrice watched as Regulus directly spun the feral girl's body around and effortlessly tucked her under his arm like a sack of flour.
Daphne, her mouth now free from his grip, didn't resist. As she stuck out her tongue to eagerly lick her drooling lips...
SMACK!
A heavy, descending palm landed directly on her restricted buttocks. The loud, sharp sound alone made it seem incredibly painful.
But there was no cry of pain.
The assaulted Daphne simply turned her head to look back at Regulus—if her blindfolded eyes could actually "see," that is.
"After hitting me... will you give me a reward like before?" Daphne asked, panting slightly. "Will you let me choose what I want to eat?"
"Oh?" Regulus raised an eyebrow.
"What I want to eat most right now is Regulus... No! Wait! That won't do!" Daphne shook her head frantically, arguing with herself. "That's absolutely not allowed! Even though Regulus smells like he tastes very, very good, and I really, really want to eat him... Regulus cannot be eaten."
"And why is that?" Regulus smirked.
"Because if I eat him, no one will treat me to delicious food anymore!" The highly excited Witch of Gluttony fell into a deep, logical inner conflict.
Hearing these words, Regulus felt slightly relieved inside.
It was clear. Even though her monstrous appetite had been stirred by his arrival, her baseline reason hadn't completely disappeared. Her restraint was entirely pragmatic, not moral, but that was good enough. This way, he didn't need to worry about her accidentally taking a literal bite out of him when his guard was down.
But soon, Daphne's excitement surged again, her priorities shifting to the immediate craving.
"After you finish hitting me... I want to drink Rus Tea!" Daphne demanded, squirming under his arm. "Lots and lots of Rus Tea! Until I'm completely full!"
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