“Umm…….”
“Oh, awake, are you?”
As she stirred in her sleep with a cute voice, I, who was sitting beside her and watching, spoke up, causing her eyes to shoot open.
“Good morning, Ojou-san. How are you this morning?”
“Huh!? What are you talking about! With such a filthy man…a man…eh? Why am I… Ed?”
“…Phew, it seems like you’re alright.”
According to Hamokin’s experiment, it would take approximately one week for the women to be rid of Donatella’s influence. However, I believed that it would be faster for Tia due to her much stronger mental power and the fact that she was under Donatella’s influence for a shorter period. That prediction was spot on.
“Having said that, it’s remarkable to see you recover overnight. Should I say, as expected of Tia?”
“Stop it! There’s nothing remarkable about it! Ugh, why did I do something like that…”
As I tease her a little, Tia’s face turns beet red. Her ears were turning red too, a sure sign that she was genuinely embarrassed.
“Humph!”
“Hey, don’t thrash about. I’m untying you now.”
“…………”
Considering what happened when the mind control was still active, Tia’s limbs were tied to the four corners of the bed. But the restraint was not that tight, it just kept her from lunging at me unexpectedly. She could still easily roll over.
Even though she could untie herself once she’s calm, Tia, who had become completely like a boiled elf, doesn’t seem to have the leisure to do so. So, I untie the ropes wrapped around her wrists and ankles gently. Once released, Tia sits up on the bed.
“Let’s begin by understanding the situation. Do you know where you are?”
“This is… Donatella’s bedroom, right?”
After looking around, Tia gives her answer. Well, it’s impossible for her to be wrong. According to the story, she’s been sleeping here ever since we arrived in this world.
“Correct. Do you remember what happened last night? How much do you remember?”
“Um…Ed attacked Donatella, and I intervened to help…I kept poking at Ed, and then suddenly I was made to sniff some weird medicine…”
“…Y-Yeah, that’s correct.”
When I heard her explain, it indeed sounded like we were the definite criminals. No, that’s not it. What we did was an unavoidable act of justice, a legal action based on exceptional measures…I don’t know if there’s an organization that enforces law in this jungle.
“Huh? So what happened to Donatella? Don’t tell me you…killed her?”
“No way! Donatella is a hero, and the women in this village are family to Hamokin and the men. Well, I guess I should explain that.”
Seeing Tia’s inquisitive attitude, I briefly explained what happened yesterday. Yesterday’s plan involved Hamokin and the others taking the village women while I fought against Donatella and Tia.
If I had lost to Donatella at this time, I would have had to wait for the huge task of carrying out the village women one by one, but I won…or rather, I managed to incapacitate Donatella by enduring until the surprise attack by Hamokin and Gargado was successful, and by isolating Donatella outside the village, in the cave that Hamokin and the others were using, I was able to get the village women out of the influence of her power.
“So, that’s why Donatella is in a cell we made in a cave a little bit away from here. She’s pretty much restrained unlike Tia, but there’s not much we can do about that.”
Donatella’s strength was real. No, she might not have been that strong if she wasn’t against me, the Demon King, but even so, she’s not someone to be taken lightly if you’re fighting her without a surprise attack.
As for Donatella’s own mind control, I don’t know what to do about it for now. So even though she’s not bad, I have no choice but to restrain her.
“Hmm, I wish I could do something for her, but I really don’t know what to do.”
“Right? We’ll think about how to deal with it later, for now we’re just dealing with the village women.”
“? Don’t they go back to normal once Donatella is away?”
“It does, but it takes time. There are men like family members and friends for each woman, and in a one-on-one situation, men won’t lose, so I think it’s okay, but can you talk to them too? If Tia, who has been living with them as the same sex for a while, speaks to them, they’ll probably listen more than the men.”
“Understood. Should I go right away?”
“No, before that, let me confirm a few more things.”
I stopped Tia, who was about to rise from the bed, with my hand. Taking care of the village women is important, but the priority is to figure out Donatella’s power.
“What I wanted to confirm is, do you remember the time when you were under the influence of Donatella’s power?”
“…Yes, I remember everything.”
“So, what was it like during that time?”
“That was… hmm, what was it? Rather than saying my mind was controlled, it felt like an absolute value was being instilled in me? The thought that men are terrible beings who betray and belittle women with their foolish desires was there in me as soon as I woke up in the morning, as unquestionable as the fact that when morning comes, night breaks and the sun rises. So I don’t think it was about being controlled. I think all the women in this village had a common understanding that “men are terrible beings”, but there were people who thought “so we’ll defeat them” and people who thought “so we’ll stay away from them”. In my case, because I had the power to fight and because I was called a hero by Donatella and relied on, I moved in the direction of eliminating men… Ed while also guarding her.”
“I see, so it’s more about being coerced to dislike men, not necessarily moving to eliminate them.”
This is quite valuable information. If their actions were made identical to Donatella’s and the women of the village were united in seeking the elimination of men, depending on the situation, it could have led to a real fight to the death… oh, that’s scary.
“Alright, that’s about it. Now let’s exchange information between us—“
“Wait. I won’t ask for information from you.”
“Hm? Why?”
“Because if I get close to Donatella again, I’ll betray you even though I know it, right? If that happens, there’s no way to keep the information secret, but if I don’t know anything in the first place, I can’t tell anything, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but… is that okay?”
“It’s okay. This time, I was just dragging you down.”
In response to my question, Tia gives a self-mocking smile. Her somewhat downcast expression clearly blames herself for falling into the enemy’s trap… that’s why I pinch Tia’s cheek.
“Hyo!? What are you doing!?”
“Because you’re unnecessarily beating yourself up. This time it was just an unavoidable first-kill, there was nothing wrong with you, Tia. So it’s a mistake for you to worry and be depressed!”
“Muuu, but…”
“But nothing. Don’t forget, Tia, there’s no word like “betray” between us. I won’t do anything like that to you, and if there’s ever a time when you seriously point your sword at me…”
“Yuehh…?”
Tia, whose cheek was being squished, looks straight at me with her jade eyes. Caught by that tender glow, I inadvertently let out a smile.
“At that time, I’ll happily let myself be killed. If you say you have to kill me, it’s definitely because I did something wrong.”
“Zat’s No Ho!”
“Don’t you understand? Well, yeah, it’s all about the situation at the time. But I can make mistakes all the time. I would never think that I am a perfect being, no matter how hard I try.”
If I were really such an entity, there would be absolutely no need for me to make an erotic doll to deal with Gargado. That imperfection is the proof that I am me… that’s why I’m always prone to mistakes.
“But, I’m sure I won’t die. Not even a god can completely obliterate me. The only one who can end me is always myself. So…”
I let go of Tia’s cheek with my right hand and instead gently grab her left hand and press it against my chest. My heartbeat then transmits to my hand through Tia’s palm, throbbing steadily.
“If you come to genuinely believe it’s better for me to be gone, and if you are driven into a situation where you must kill me… I will end myself then. I’ll give you the only authority over my life and death in the world, one that even God does not possess… at that time, please live carrying the responsibility of ending me.”
“…Baka.”
Tia’s right hand took my left, and pressed it against her chest. The quiet rhythm of life pulsed through to my palm.
“Do you think I’d let you go alone? If that time ever comes… I’ll go with you. Ah, don’t try to change my mind! This is my own will, so even you can’t bend it!”
The gaze coming straight from Tia did not waver for a moment. My face reflected in her jade eyes was letting out a wry smile, as if I can’t help it.
“Ha… sorry for pressing something heavy on you.”
“That’s fine. I cherish that weight.”
Feeling each other’s pulse, we both let out somewhat exasperated smiles. What was exchanged in our time together after a long while was a silence more eloquent than words.
