#9 Eradicate the Heretics (Investigator Heart - Hypnosis Strip Interview) (2)
Of course, she wanted to help this city. Investigator Heart let out a quiet sigh in her mind as that thought surfaced.
Today, like always, she was swamped with tracking and investigating the heretics. And from today's reconnaissance, the presence and scale of the heretics in this city was all but confirmed.
Frankly speaking, she'd uncovered pretty much everything there was to know. All that was left was to report it straight to Eve and the Holy Light Kingdom.
That meant she could expect a hefty reward, separate from Eve's commission. The Holy Light Kingdom offered pretty generous bounties for tips on heretic activity.
But she couldn't do that, because the aftermath was all too predictable.
The Holy Light Kingdom would undoubtedly dispatch their holy knights. They'd seal off the city, slaughter every citizen who wasn't one of their own humans, and burn it to the ground.
Noa, when talking with Gaon, had phrased it as a "worst-case scenario" or "maybe," holding out hope it wouldn't come to that. But Heart knew better—that was just naive wishful thinking.
The Holy Light Kingdom rejected their enemies—especially heretics and "existences of ruin"—with fanatical zeal. Given the scale of heretics hiding in this city, the kingdom would almost certainly deem the entire place "contaminated."
No matter what happened, no matter what miracle occurred, the future where the Holy Light Kingdom wiped this city off the map was unavoidable. Even if it sparked chaos across the continent afterward.
"No matter how much the Heterorace Union grovels to the Holy Light Kingdom on the surface, they won't just sit back and let their own city and people burn."
Soon enough, the flames of chaos wouldn't stop at Stonevic. They'd spread between nations, and eventually engulf the entire continent.
It wasn't an exaggeration. Heart, having grasped the balance of power between nations and the tendencies of their leaders, could predict the fallout with near-prophetic accuracy.
That's why she couldn't stand by this time.
"The Heterorace Union has people I'm indebted to, friends too. Same with the Holy Light Kingdom. The Empire and neighboring kingdoms as well."
"No helping it. I'm just a single agent anyway..."
Heart pondered what she could do, what she had to do. Her personal strength was negligible against this crisis.
But if she leveraged her wits, maybe—just maybe—there was a way.
"...I'll think on it with this clever brain of mine."
"The key to breaking this situation... it has to be that man."
Gaon got a message from Lete. Heart wanted a meeting with him.
Gaon had been planning to check in on her progress himself soon anyway. So he was a bit surprised when she reached out first, offering to come to him.
No reason to refuse, though. Without any delays, Heart headed straight to the meeting spot Gaon had designated: Stonevic's city hall.
"Lord Gaon is on the top floor of this building."
Lete, handling communications with Gaon and escorting her, explained as much.
Heart sensed something off, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.
First floor, second... She climbed the city hall stairs, reaching the floor just below the top.
As she'd confirmed on previous visits, men were banned from here onward.
"Investigator Heart. From here on, you'll need to follow the dress code."
"Huh? What?"
"This floor has different rules from the ones below. Even Mayor Renoa, whom you met in the reception room before, dressed accordingly."
Such... rules existed? No, more importantly, back then she'd barged into the meeting without a care for her attire.
"The rules have always been there."
"No..."
"And when you visited before, Investigator Heart, you followed them perfectly. Just remember."
Did she...? Lete's eyes glowed red as she stared at Heart.
Looking into those eyes always gave Heart a strange feeling. Her mind went blank, nothing else mattered... and Lete's words rang utterly true.
......Yeah, definitely. She'd thought Mayor Renoa's outfit was odd back then, but she'd followed the rules too.
Why had she forgotten? The dress code was an ironclad rule.
But what was the dress code again...?
"Alright, you seem confused, so let me spell it out for you."
"First, tops. Only those exposing at least 70% of the upper body are allowed. Shoulders, upper arms, and navel must be visible at minimum."
Good lord. That was basically naked. A tank top baring the whole midriff?
Her frilly blouse definitely didn't comply. What a blunder—
Heart hurriedly stripped off her blouse.
"Next, bottoms. Skirts no longer than 30 centimeters above the knee—enough to flash a bit of ass, depending on your build. Some slutty outfits are exceptions for harassment purposes, but... those pants don't cut it."
No way... pants too... Heart felt a wave of shame at her failure to memorize the rules and quickly ditched her pants.
"Now underwear. You can't wear any in front of Lord Gaon without permission. It's etiquette, a sacred rule. Sorry, but off with that pink set right now."
Her face burning, Heart stripped off her bra and panties too.
Unlike the other clothes, she handed the panties and bra directly to Lete.
Only then did Heart realize her current state.
"Kyaa, kyaack~?!"
She hugged herself and dropped to the floor. What the hell? Why was she naked in city hall, of all places?
At least she knew no men were on this floor. Still, Heart warily scanned around.
No men, but a few female staff dotted about. Some stared at her startled yelp.
"What are you doing, Investigator Heart? Hurry up and meet Lord Gaon. How long do you plan to keep him waiting?"
"L-Lete...! B-But I... I'm... naked!"
"Why? That outfit suits you perfectly, by the way."
"Huh...?"
What was she saying? Heart was butt-naked. Puzzled, Lete pointed at her with glowing red eyes.
"You've dressed properly per the code. Sure, it's revealing, but don't sweat it."
Heart checked herself again at Lete's words.
"Wha—huh...?"
...Yeah, she was properly dressed. Meticulously following the dress code.
A bit skimpy, as Lete said, but definitely not naked.
Sheesh, what kind of mix-up was that?
Making a scene in the middle of city hall from a delusion. Now embarrassed for a different reason, her cheeks flushed hot.
"Better now?"
"Y-Yeah... sorry for the fuss."
"Then let's go. Don't waste any more of Lord Gaon's time."
Lete approached the risen Heart and, as punishment, squeeezed her bare ass hard.
The succubus's mana-infused touch sent a shiver through Heart, but she didn't shake it off.
With Lete kneading her ass, Heart headed up to the room where Gaon waited.
. . .
"Come on in. I thought my neck was going to snap from waiting."
"Ah, s-sorry... for being late..."
Seeing King Gaon again after days still sent chills down her spine just from his presence. Like he exuded some eerie aura.
But this being their second meeting, she didn't panic like before. Heart took deep breaths to steady herself, her eyes drifting to something else nagging at her.
"Um... those over there."
"Hm? Oh, my pets. I keep 'em in the office. Ignore them."
Where her gaze landed: two bitches leashed by Gaon. Noa the holy knight and Mayor Renoa, both naked, eyes glazed as they panted obediently on the floor.
To Heart, they looked like perfectly normal dogs. No issues.
She wondered vaguely why there were dogs in the office.
And somehow, staring at them tickled a memory of someone familiar. Like they resembled people she knew.
But nah. They were just pets—bitches in heat.
Right after entering, she'd freaked out at the sight... but after Gaon said a few words, she'd realized it was a mistake and apologized.
"Anyway, ignore these two. —Hey, while us humans talk, you two play nice."
Gaon unclipped their leashes with the command.
The two—no, the bitches—looked at each other, then pressed faces together in a kiss. Soon they were writhing, rubbing bodies slick and sticky.
Watching stirred heat in Heart too; she swallowed hard without thinking.
Her lower belly itched... like fever rising.
