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“…Looks like they have also settled their outcome.”

I took back my gaze from the mobile fortress «Centipede» which met its end, the flames of destruction dancing on its body in the distance, and resumed my action of pushing the saber against Otomaru’s body who was squealing like a stuck pig.

Otomaru’s HP was far from reaching the yellow zone, let alone the red zone, but he had already lost his will to fight due to the pain and blood he was letting out.

That’s why I said that the game and reality are different……

“This concludes the battle between the two sexes… and, as I’m a woman now, victory belongs to females, to me. So, will you now be kind enough to speak about the identity of ‘That Person’ who put the Fenrir in you without missing any details as we had promised earlier?”

Otomaru replied to my answer with a resentful gaze.

“N-No way…… in hell will I tell a coward like you…”

Oh well, I had already predicted such a response.

But a coward huh… I don’t think I want to hear this coming out from someone who prepared a squadron of more than a thousand monsters in a mobile fortress, and as if that wasn’t enough, even shifting the battle to a duel space where I couldn’t call for reinforcement, and on top of that, pulled the strings to use the boss of TIM impossible.

Well, saying it would be just a waste of time either way. People like him just like to blame everything on the other party when they don’t agree with them.

“Fine, if you’re so adamant about reneging on our promise, I can only do my best until you’re ready to spit out everything.”

While saying that, I pulled ‘Gilles de Rais’ out from his torso, and instead
stabbed him with his saber, lightly twisting the blade in the process.

I wonder if this will be enough to bring his HP to the yellow zone.

Nevertheless, doing this made me once again realize we are still flesh and blood beings who are vulnerable to pain no matter how high our HP becomes in the end. I must be careful not to overdo it and break his will.

“Gyaaaaaah!!”

I pressed Otomaru down with my left foot as he writhed around in pain.

“My bad, but I had to take my ‘Gilles de Rais’ back. If you’re curious, I just don’t want it to be contaminated by your blood. But hey, I am returning your saber to you. And一”

I quickly pull out five spare swords from the inventory. The swords materialize in mid-air and wedge themselves into the ground, their blade pointing downward.

“It’s regrettable that I don’t have any knowledge about torture. First, I will repeatedly stab your body until you’re ready to talk. 一Oh, but worry not, even if you die by chance I can bring you back to life.”

“Wha一”

I didn’t wait for Otomaru’s protest who momentarily forgot the pain as his eyes widened and stabbed him with one of the spare swords.

“Guaaaaaaaaahhh!!”

“Sure enough, it must be due to the pet unison state with Fenrir. Your HP has still not fallen to red.”

I picked up the second sword while muttering in amazement.

“…… By the way, when will this duel space open up? Don’t tell me I have to kill my opponent to do that?”

“S-Stop it! I give up! I will talk about anything!”

At the same time as Otomaru said [Give up], the strange feeling as if I was being locked into a strange space disappeared.

“一I see, so there’s that kind of mechanism.”

In other words, it’s a mechanism where the duel space is lifted when either of the duelists declares their surrender.

If only I had known it, I could have just shouted “I [Give up]” quickly, lifting the restriction and allowing me to call out to Tengai.

Though it’s too late to think of it now, I thought while stabbing the second sword into Otomaru.

“So, who’s the true mastermind?”
“T-That is…… ”

Just as the Otomaru was about to say something一

『Be careful, Princess!』

A throwing dagger suddenly came flying and pierced Otomaru’s neck almost at the same time as I jumped back at the warning of Utsuho.

Even so, the damage dealt was only a few % for the current Otomaru’s HP who is in a pet unison state with Fenrir, not something on the level that may prove to be troublesome. The only visible change was that his HP goes down slightly, falling into the red zone, however……

No sooner had his HP entered the red zone that Otomaru let out inarticulate cries while clawing at his chest as if he was in death’s throes, simply incomparable from any of the status he had shown up until now.

『Not good. It seems Fenrir is about to go on a rampage. Please distance yourself, Princess.』

As soon as Utsuho said that, Fenrir jumped out of Otomaru’s chest with a shout and was engulfed in flames which instantly burnt the two of them to cinders together.

While I was stunned by the sight of ground that had melted and hardened like a bowl due to high temperature, I heard the bitter voice of an unfamiliar third person coming out from behind my back.

“Another failure. The tendency to go into a frenzy when the HP drops to red is still existent, there is still room for improvement.”

I quickly turned around while discarding the spare sword and readying my ‘Gilles de Rais’. What appeared before me was the figure of an unbelievable person.

From his appearance, he looked like a young boy of around 18 years old from the human race. With his narrow eyes, short black hair, a bulging rucksack, baggy coat, and an apron that is practically screaming “I’m a merchant”, the boy’s appearance clashed with the surrounding scenery but for me, he was someone whom I had been awfully familiar with.

“…Kagerou?”

Kagerou, who nodded with a slightly happy expression on his face when I tried calling out to him in confirmation, was a fellow guild member in the past, a legendary super merchant with the alias «Wandering Calamity», and also someone feared as ‘Shapeless Peddler’’ for his terrific assassination technique he had pursued to the extreme and his looks that had no natural sense of presence if he’s not there.

“Yes. It’s truly been a long time, My lady. I’m delighted to the point of tearing out to be able to meet you again, but the current me is serving another Master so I can’t enjoy this short tryst with my beloved lady…… ”

A look of regret appeared on Kagerou’s face when he finished his words in the end.

No-No, are you still going to continue with the ‘secret love between a master and her servant’ play we had done in the guild?

“Serving another master, you mean the same employer as Otomaru?”
“Please forgive me but I can’t tell this even if it’s you, my lady.”

Hmm, this logical aspect of him firmly adhering to rules regardless of what his outward appearance entails is truly unchangeable like the past.

Then I tried asking him about something that suddenly came to my mind.

“Speaking of which, Big sister Chloe from the Rabbitkin tribe said she purchased her magic staff from a wandering arms dealer.”
“Ahh. You mean that big and sturdy Miss, Indeed I have sold that to her.”

So he’s indirectly acknowledging his involvement.

“一I was thinking of going somewhere to chat and rekindle our old friendship for now, what do you say?”
“I’m sorry but I had been given the strict order to return immediately by my Master. I’m truly sorry, My lady.”

The figure of Kagerou as he said his heartfelt apology gradually assimilated into the scenery around him.

That was Kagerou’s favorite trick, “Total Concealment”.

“Wai一!”

Before I could react and stop him, he had completely disappeared from my sight.

I sighed as I felt the clue that was almost in my arm’s reach slipping out of my hand while glancing at the elated figure of Mikoto and others returning.