The Mad Princess's New Collar
The mad bitch princess Iris lay powerless on the floor.
She was panting heavily, all sticky.
"Hah... hah..."
I'd just finished one round of torturing her.
I approached the sticky one, who was drained from screaming and thrashing around.
Click-
A metal collar engraved with special runes clicked onto her slender neck.
"......"
Sticky didn't resist—not even as the artifact clamped around her neck. She just watched me with that infuriatingly relaxed expression right up to the end.
Of course, with her face smeared in tears and snot, it looked less relaxed and more like some desperate lunatic to me.
Anyway, she didn't fight it. Seemed like she'd accepted the situation.
"Hmm... that should do it. I just did exactly what you were gonna do to me, so no hard feelings, right?"
"Heh heh... How could I not know the fate of a traitor? If a revolution fails, the guillotine awaits—that's only natural. Use me as your flesh slave or kill me, do whatever you want with this lady. Thrashing around is pointless now that the artifact's on."
"......Yeah."
When it first latched onto me, I'd instinctively sensed how the artifact worked.
With my cognition boosted way beyond normal human levels thanks to dungeon sync, I could intuitively grasp its activation conditions and effects, even without prior knowledge.
It felt like it was clamping down on my soul from the neck outward, trying to erode my reality and imprint restrictions on me. I'd blocked it by instinctively countering with my own distortion of the space around me.
The artifact's use was ridiculously simple: slap it on your target, and done.
Once equipped, the wearer couldn't harm the equipper in any way and had no choice but to obey their commands. Total bullshit mind control.
Like the restriction Joodak had used, but baked into an artifact. Way simpler than a restriction spell—no prep needed—which made it even more vicious.
Getting blindsided by it on Sticky had startled me for a second, sure.
Phew... If this'd been outside the dungeon, that would've been chilling... Who even makes shit like this...?
Luckily, artifacts were lost tech, so I didn't have to worry much about more popping up...
Plus, I had a vague feeling that even if one snuck on me outside, stepping into a dungeon would release it.
Anyway, with this, Princess Iris—aka Sticky—was now incapable of defying me.
"Sticky. So, about that elixir you promised?"
"......"
She clamped her mouth shut. The artifact was already on—what was the point of rebelling now?
"One more motorcycle ride?"
"......"
"Or should I just command it through the artifact?"
She finally spoke up, belatedly.
"......This is a first for me. To think someone dared such vulgar torment on this lady... Now that I feel it, the humiliation is beyond words."
Yeah, had to be. Probably no one else in the world would pull this insane shit.
Sorry, Elise... I promised I wouldn't anymore...
My teacher... Capricious, foul-mouthed, and lately developing this weird possessiveness, but strip that away and she was a damn good mentor to her disciple.
"Hmm... not talking? Guess it's artifact time then..."
"...Commands with that are best avoided. Absolute obedience has a limited number of uses."
"Don't lie to me."
I scanned the artifact closely through dungeon sync, just in case...
It was true. The artifact's power wasn't infinite.
"As this lady knows, only three uses left. Oh, and a command for eternal obedience lasts a month at most, FYI."
"...Why tell me that?"
"What? Whether you command it or not, if you leverage this incident for influence in the shelter, the Empire's done for. Hell, tell Joodak and it's over anyway. The moment the artifact failed on you, my resistance became meaningless. Why not use this chance to practice your torture skills on me?"
I got the first part, but what the hell was that last bit? Practice torture on her?
"......"
"Heh heh... Getting this lady to talk won't be easy. Go ahead, try as much as you want."
"......"
I stood there silently, and she hiked up her skirt a bit, saying,
"What? Not coming? How often do you get to torment someone as noble as this lady to your heart's content?"
This... no way...
"As you'll see, this lady is renowned for her beauty. Even without status, finding looks like these is rare. Well? A chance to utterly break a woman like me."
Iris flaunted her body with a bewitching smile. Soaked in the hot spring water, her clothes clung provocatively, radiating an aura that didn't just stir male urges—it threatened to blow them up...
"......"
I showed zero reaction.
I'm holding back while thinking sad thoughts, but still...
"...Not gonna? This lady betrayed you, so torturing me for pain is only right. That 'motorcycle' thing earlier? It shattered my chastity and pride—nothing more effective. Make me a total mess right now."
"......No."
I'd half-suspected, but Sticky wasn't even fazed by my motorcycle move...
"Why? Think again!! I'm your war trophy now—where's your manhood?! Handle me rougher!!!"
Sticky crawled over and clung to my waist. Not enough—she wedged my leg between her thighs and started grinding.
"Come on, do it already?!!"
"Gah, you crazy bitch!!! Get off!!!"
I shoved her away with my other foot.
"Kyaa!!"
"Huff... huff..."
Did I push too hard? Nah, I steeled myself.
No, she's a traitor. Even if Sticky helped me before, it was all part of the plan. Don't go soft.
"Hah... hah... Shoving this lady away with your foot, so rough!! Ahahaha!! Like before, stomp here too and wreck me!!!"
"Crazy..."
Human incompatibility... human incompatibility. Even back in chat, facing the abyss in Sticky's soul made me shrink—and it was the same in reality.
"Hah... hah... More!! Trample and ruin this lady further!! I'm begging you!!"
"Crazy bitch... you're not right in the head..."
Sure, I could just give her what she wanted.
But from what I knew, her mental game was deep.
This psycho pervert act could be calculated too.
So this was probably...
"Hey, one more question. What's with that spell you stuck on me earlier?"
That one, I couldn't quite figure out...
"Ahahat! That? Curious about it? Nothing special. You already erased it anyway, right? Meaningless. Anyway, it's too hot. All soaked and sticky—might as well strip."
Sticky started peeling off her clothes.
"Hey, don't dodge. 'Become my slave forever and answer all questions truthfully without lies, obey my words.' That's an order."
Forever my ass—a month tops, per her.
She clutched her neck, grimacing in pain for a moment, then spoke.
"Kkh... The spell was insurance. A ritual to make you dependent on this lady."
"Dependent?"
"Yes... A spell to make you love this lady. More like inducing those feelings, really."
...Insurance, huh. Even if I broke the artifact somehow, it'd keep me from betraying her.
Of course, love wouldn't guarantee zero betrayal.
"Hah... So this shitshow—isn't this you trying to seduce me too?"
"Heh heh... Busted? Surprising. Most men would've lost it and lusted after this lady... Unless you're impotent? Nah, doesn't seem so."
She glanced at my crotch and corrected herself.
Oh right, sad thoughts incoming.
Anyway, you couldn't drop your guard with this one. Collared and still this unnerving?
For a psycho like her, pain torture might be pointless. Kill her to eliminate loose ends?
"Going so far with that sleazy acting to control me. Why? I get it's for the Empire's revival, but the world's gone to shit—why not just drop it and live normally?"
"First, a correction: this isn't sleazy acting—it's sincere. See? Everywhere else is dry, but between this lady's legs..."
Sticky slowly lifted her skirt, revealing her suspiciously drenched pale thighs...
"Stop!! Hey, enough—tell me the reason."
"No fun... A chance to glimpse a princess's secrets... Fine. You're no royal or noble, so you won't get it, but orders are orders."
Her explanation boiled down to this:
Shelters existed under names like Empire Shelter, Magic Tower Shelter, Kingdom Shelter, etc., but affiliations were a total mix. Nobles and royals had lost their old clout.
Rulers needed to manage the masses for support, but everyone was too busy surviving.
In some places, commoners who'd bankrolled shelter construction outranked royalty.
No point running a nation in a ticking-time-bomb shelter anyway. Even elites had abandoned governing, focusing on day-to-day survival.
It was every-man-for-himself era—class systems crumbling, minimal order holding society together.
"Then you showed up, and the shelter's deadline got extended indefinitely. Claim you, and unifying into an Empire wouldn't be hard. The world needs a focal point, Dungeon Master. Your surface reclamation needs unity too, no?"
"Hmm... So you tried making me a slave?"
"Slave... Could see it that way. No excuses."
Sticky writhed, gauging my mood.
"S-so... punish me..."
"Nah, that's not punishment for you—it's a reward. Enough. Hand over everything useful from your imperial stash. And for the next month, no tentacles or masturbation."
Sticky's face fell like she'd lost her kingdom.
The most wretched expression yet, her words laced with desperate resolve.
"You can't!!! Have you no heart?! Kill me after raping me instead!!! Here!! Take my cherished virginity!!! No attachments left!!!"
"Crazy bitch..."