Chapter 42: HIGI! Rope Binding!

"……"

Three suspicious figures wearing strange masks appeared before us—one unsheathing a sword, another raising their fists, and the last gripping a pair of short blades in both hands.

They stood ready to face us.

…And then, Kamina calmly stepped forward, positioning herself between me and them.

She held her rapier with both hands, body slightly turned to the right. Her profile looked—honestly—terrifying.

Yeah. Definitely not the kind of opponents you can afford to underestimate.

After all, these were the so-called Paladins—some of the strongest among humankind. Even for someone as powerful as Kamina, facing three of them at once was no small feat. It’d be harder not to feel tense.

Still, I wasn’t the least bit worried.
Well—no, there was one thing I had to make sure of. I turned around to face a certain someone.

"Listen carefully, Lord Maor. Whatever happens, you must not go all out. Understood?"

"Hmm. You mean I need to hold back?"

"No killing. Absolutely no killing, got it?"

I wagged my finger at the Demon Lord, who stood behind us without a care in the world.

"Yeah, yeah, fine."

Maor raised both hands in mock surrender, as if to say, "whatever you say."

"How confident of you… facing us with such ease."

The Paladin with twin short swords muttered in a low voice. He had short, dull blond hair and wore a mask—judging by his tone, probably a man.

…Wait. That voice sounds kinda familiar.

"Paladins, listen. I’ll let you walk away right now if you turn around and leave quietly."

I offered them a chance to retreat—because honestly, I hate troublesome situations.

"Sonia! …Ains, please step back."

Kamina’s sharp voice cut through the air, stopping me before I made things worse. Clearly, she could tell from experience that these guys weren’t to be taken lightly. Her tone was much harsher than usual.

By the way, these Paladins—within the eroge Brutal Violation Princess—were the ones who infiltrated the Demon Lord’s fortress, Gaikoku, which was crawling with monsters, in an attempt to rescue Princess Sonia.

In truth, they were the Church’s pet project—elite assassins trained for divine execution. Their mission was simple: hunt demons. Nothing more, nothing less. Fanatical zealots, every one of them.
Psychopaths, basically.

Still, from Princess Sonia’s perspective in the game, they were dependable allies—storming a monster-infested fortress to save her without regard for their own lives. Noble, in a way.

…But objectively? Not exactly the kind of people you’d want as friends.

And despite all their lofty ideals and edgy names, they were instantly annihilated by the Demon Lord in the game.

Much like what was about to happen before my very eyes.

"Keep spacing out and that cute little head of yours is gonna roll!"

The small Paladin with reddish-brown hair shouted—and in the same instant, vanished from sight. Judging by the voice, a young girl.

"Fuh-bep!"

A dull thud rang out as she slammed into the park wall. It happened so fast you could barely even see it.

"…!"

"…!"

The other two Paladins stiffened, clearly unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Tch!"

The one with twin blades flashed a hand signal—and in the next moment, the area around us was engulfed in light.

But when the light cleared… nothing had changed. The Paladins were still standing there, unmoved.

"W–What?!"

The tall Paladin who had been readying his fists finally spoke, shock written all over his face.

So he can talk.

"Trying to escape with magic, were you? Doesn’t work near me."

The Demon Lord said it like it was nothing.

"…Guh!"

The brawler Paladin’s limbs began to glow—

"GAH!"

—and the next moment, he joined his comrade, neatly embedded in the wall.

I had no idea what he was even trying to do.

"…!"

The last remaining Paladin spun on his heel and tried to flee—yeah, tried.

Too late.

"GUHAA!"

He was sent flying and ended up plastered against the wall beside his companions.

The three of them lined up like that made for quite the surreal scene.

"Um, Lord Maor… these people aren’t dead, right?"

"Relax. You told me not to kill them, so I held back. Though, they might’ve broken a few ribs."

He shrugged casually.

"I-I see. Thank you for that, at least."

"…Sonia, Ains. It’s fine now."

Kamina, still cautious, approached us after scanning the surroundings.

"Lord Maor… you’re truly strong. Lord Zex did mention it beforehand, but seeing it in person…"

"…Huh? Well, yeah, I guess."

Maor scratched his head, looking awkward.

"Uh, Kamina—what do we do with these guys now?"

Not wanting Kamina to press any further, I hurriedly changed the subject.

Then, all of us turned to look at the Paladins embedded in the wall.

Hmm. Guess there’s nothing to do but leave them there for now.

"…Well, at least they seem to be alive."

Kamina approached the wall and carefully checked each of the Paladins’ conditions.

Despite what Maor had said earlier, she made sure to confirm that every single one of them was still breathing.

I felt a small wave of relief wash over me.

"I did tell you they were alive, didn’t I?"

"Y-Yes, but Lord Maor, you do have a habit of going a bit overboard, so I just wanted to make sure."

"I’m perfectly capable of holding back when I want to…"

The Demon Lord grumbled under his breath.

"In any case, we can’t just leave them like this. Let’s tie them up for now."

"Ah, please do."

Kamina efficiently went about restraining the unconscious Paladins one by one.
…Wait a second, that tying technique looks kind of… intricate.

"K-Kamina? That way of tying them…?"

"This? It’s a capture technique passed down from my father. Why?"

"Ah… no reason."

Kamina’s father, huh…?
Well, maybe I shouldn’t think too hard about that.

Then, I began removing the masks from the immobilized Paladins one after another.

Some had young faces. Others, older and more seasoned. And among them—one familiar face.

"…This person is—"

"Someone you know, Sonia? Ains?"

"…Eh? Ah, yeah. Sort of."

It was October, from the Church Headquarters.

I had a feeling when I heard that voice earlier.
So it really was him. His mission clearly wasn’t some ordinary assignment—he must have been sent to pursue the Demon Lord.

…Still, why go after Maor in the first place?

Maybe my thoughts showed on my face, because when I glanced toward Maor, our eyes met.

"Hm? I’ve no reason to be targeted. Must be a case of mistaken identity."

He said it so casually, like it was nothing.

Lord Maor—ever the stone-faced one.

"More importantly, Ains—how is it that you know who they are?"

Uh oh.

How do I dodge that question?

…

Nothing good came to mind. Looks like I’ll just have to wing it.

"It’s a maiden’s secret ♥"

I tilted my head, placed a finger to my lips, and said it playfully—with a wink for good measure.

"Hmph. Very well, then."

Looks like I managed to talk my way out of it.

"...Honestly, you all really are blessed by trouble, aren't you?"

While I was still wondering what to do with the holy knights, Zex just happened to wander in. Whether it was coincidence or fate—who could say?

"Ah! Lord Zex!"

Beside me, Kamina turned bright red and froze up.

Hey, come back to reality, girl.

"I'm not particularly blessed by trouble. That would be Ains, wouldn't it?"

The Demon Lord—so quick to dump all the blame on me—spoke as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Rude, much?

"Um, Lord Zex, do you happen to know these people?"

"More or less. Though... this is quite the crowd, isn’t it?"

He then turned his gaze toward the Demon Lord and stared quietly.

"Hm? What’s with that look?"

"Oh, nothing at all."

Zex smiled faintly.

"Anyway, we’ve got to do something about this lot. For now, Ains, Kamina—you two can head back. Zex and I will take care of the rest."

"Uh..."

I looked at the two of them, then at the holy knights led by October. This was clearly beyond what we could handle.

I gave a small nod and smiled at the pair.

"Then, if you’ll excuse us."

"Wait—are you sure about this, Ains?"

"Mm. This is out of our league. We should leave it to the specialists."

"...Understood."

Kamina hesitated for a brief moment before nodding deeply.

"Then, we’ll take our leave."

"Yeah. See you around. Get home safe."

"Until we meet again."

After exchanging farewells, I took Kamina with me and returned to the castle.

Alright, time to get out of this deathtrap before it swallows us whole!

"Now then, what shall we do about these people?"

"Indeed... The simplest method would be to rewrite their memories."

The Demon Lord and Zex pondered for a moment.

"If you would allow me, I would be most honored to take care of it."

Suddenly, a boy dressed in a black tailcoat appeared before the two of them.

"Oh? And you are...?"

Zex narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Hm. You—Berial, was it?"

The Demon Lord greeted him in his usual relaxed tone.

"Yes. My sister is indebted to you, Your Majesty."

"Here, I go by the name Maor. Keep that in mind."

"As you command. For certain reasons, I am currently residing in Sugarcreek, but please rest assured—I would never act against you."

"Hmph. Understood."

The Demon Lord nodded in satisfaction.

"If Maor doesn’t mind, then I’ve got no objections. …Though, did I hear you say you’d take care of this?"

"Indeed. This Berial has a certain... fondness for the art of mental manipulation. Altering these people’s memories is a trivial matter for me."

"Very well. I’ll leave it to you."

The Demon Lord agreed without hesitation.

"..."

Zex gave silent consent with a small nod.

"Then, I shall implant within them the memory that everything went perfectly according to plan."

"I’ll leave the details to you."

"As you wish. Then, I shall see to it..."

And with that, Berial vanished into the darkness along with the holy knights.