Chapter 72 — The Dog and I (6)
Chapter 72 — The Dog and I (6)
Roan, still wearing his robe, rose. He had servants bring a few things to the room, then quietly seated himself beside Helen.
A cool sting made Helen open her eyes.
"Nngh...?"
"I woke you."
Helen forced her eyes open though they barely obeyed.
Roan was wiping her body clean.
From her ruined hair down to her toes, he dipped a towel into lukewarm water and carefully rubbed away the traces he and Helen had left on her skin.
"Your Majesty... Master..."
Her voice was raw from a night of screams and moans. When Helen hesitated, Roan smiled.
"Call me whatever you like."
Helen shut her mouth for a moment.
"Follow your heart."
Even through half-closed eyes, Helen smiled.
"...Master... nngh."
When the towel touched her back, Helen flinched.
Roan glanced at her face once, and his hands grew even gentler.
With her face buried in the pillow, Helen pulled a smile back onto her previously grimacing face.
Once he had wiped away all the semen and fluids that remained on Helen's body, Roan this time dipped his fingers into something in a small bottle.
"An ointment. The chief apothecary of the castle made it, so it should help quickly."
And indeed, wherever Roan's hand touched, the pain noticeably lessened. Her back had felt as though it had been torn open.
His long fingers slowly rubbed in the viscous substance. Across her back and buttocks, over the wounds on her thighs, and down to the cleft of her lower body, swollen from their violent lovemaking. The ointment-slicked fingertips lightly pressed into the edges of her entrance.
"Ahht... nghk... Mas... ter."
"Hm, a lewd bitch makes things difficult."
A wet, squelching sound began to accompany the fingers spreading ointment. Roan slipped a finger in deep to tease her once, then withdrew it.
"Nngh... ah, nngh...!"
"I can't very well hurt you again the moment I apply the medicine, now can I."
When Helen wobbled and tried to sit up, Roan stroked her hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
In that moment, Helen's eyes glistened.
Wearing an expression that looked deeply moved, she suddenly burrowed into Roan's embrace.
A gesture she had never made toward anyone before.
She was being spoiled.
And her gentle Master, without pushing her away, patted her for a long while.
"You have to stay quiet."
"Yes..."
Helen held her breath in soft gasps, nestled in his arms and savoring the sound of his heart and the warmth of the Goddess's power.
'Hm, now that he thought about it, he still hadn't checked the skill.'
Roan held the quietly exhausted Helen and brought up the skill details.
[ — Charisma Lv3:
A skill that demands high charm and wisdom from the caster.
Even an ordinary tone and demeanor can captivate the target's heart and break their will, producing miracles that should not be possible.
The greater the disparity between the subject and the skill holder, the higher the skill's success rate.
If there is no disparity between the subject and the skill holder, or if the target's level is higher, the skill has no effect.]
This was also a skill he had seen in the game.
Though he had never acquired it from Helen before.
The skill was already at Lv3. It was a power strong enough to shake even Minoreus.
The 'Appeal' skill he already possessed conveyed emotion. While it could change a listener's heart, there was no guarantee it would translate directly into action.
But 'Charisma' carried an element of compulsion. The target might question their actions later, but in the moment the skill took hold, it could likely produce even the most extraordinary turn of events. ...The more he thought about it,
'the more of a game-breaking character she was.'
In the game, the standard strategy had been to obtain combat- or holy-magic-related skills from Helen.
Because her holy magic and combat-related skills were stronger than those of the other romanceable characters.
Yet she apparently had a social skill like this too.
If Helen had not been suppressed by the Order, she probably could have become a peerless enchantress—the strongest in the world, mowing down everything in her path.
Feeling Roan's steady gaze on her, Helen opened her eyes wide.
"Master...? What are you thinking about so deeply?"
"...Hm."
It seemed he had also gained a new holy magic spell.
'Star Cloud Shield.'
Helen already knew that he possessed holy power. He could test it in front of her.
"Star Cloud Shield."
It was called a shield, so perhaps it took a handheld form.
Keeping Helen in his arms, Roan extended one arm and concentrated the warm holy power at his fingertips.
A breath of admiration burst from Helen.
"Ahh..."
A luminous, starry mist—a swirl of violet, white, and blue light—materialized into a round shape. It was roughly large enough to partially cover a body, around 50 centimeters in diameter.
But rather than the hardness of a shield, it billowed like smoke, radiating light from within.
It looked exactly as if a cluster of stars from the night sky had been transported here.
It was an indescribably beautiful sight.
"Master, this is... ahh..."
Helen unconsciously reached toward the shield. Her hand, extended from inside the shield, passed right through empty air.
As if she had tried and failed to grasp a cloud, Helen's expression briefly clouded with melancholy. Yet soon her face became serious again.
The look in her eyes was no longer that of the lewd Saintess who had writhed in bed, begging for the lash and for cock.
"This is the first time I've actually seen it... the Star Cloud Shield."
"Actually... seen?"
"I have read about it in books. About ancient divine magics that have been lost."
"Ah."
For a moment he considered taking Helen to the library, but quickly dismissed the thought. If she saw the statue of the Goddess covered in demonic king sigils or the scriptures, she might foam at the mouth and collapse.
"It hasn't been long since I became able to use it."
About three hours, maybe?
"It's a shield, yet it can be passed through. From the outside, though..."
From outside the shield, Helen's thrusting hand reached the starry cloud. The fingers that were about to pass through the softly billowing cloud suddenly struck an invisible barrier with a thump and bounced back.
"Hm?"
"It appears to block attacks from the outside."
Squirming out of his embrace, Helen sat in front of Roan and examined the shield from every angle. The curiosity on her face was the face of a knight.
A knight kneeling naked first thing in the morning. Hm.
Nice.
Suddenly she swung her right arm. It wasn't at the level of a sword strike, but the force was fairly sharp. And then—
"Kh...!"
With a firm thud, her arm bounced back. It felt like swinging an arm at full force into something taut like an exercise ball, only to have it rebound.
Massaging her shoulder, Helen said,
"It repels external attacks. When I poked it carefully at first, it felt as though it deflected or blocked lightly, but it seems to return force proportionally."
Roan peered at the shield.
This might actually be somewhat useful.
At last, something genuinely usable had appeared.
Or rather, maybe it was only because he had Helen that he'd discovered its utility. Alone as before, he probably never would have even thought to experiment with the shield after creating it.
"Master, since when have you been able to wield holy power?"
At Helen's question, he looked back.
"About... four months."
"And yet you're this... proficient. For a newly initiated priest, it takes years to learn anything beyond basic light or blessings."
He couldn't very well say that a game message window had simply given it to him. Roan just nodded absently.
Helen concentrated power in her palm and summoned something of a similar shape. It looked like a semi-transparent golden shield.
Her speed was far faster than Roan's, and the size of the shield was much larger too.
"Holy magic shares similarities with the sword. Focus and train, and both your activation speed and its power will grow much stronger."
Helen dismissed the shield. This time, he could sense holy power flowing to her fingertips.
So this warm flow had been holy power, not mana. He hadn't realized it when he felt only the faint current inside his own body, but now, sensing the energy that surged through Helen's body like a tidal wave, he could clearly tell the difference.
Then Helen summoned light.
Gah, blind attack!
...He'd braced for it, closing his eyes, then opened them.
The light was clearly incredibly bright, yet it wasn't dazzling.
Helen smiled.
"It causes no pain to those who share in the Goddess's power. This itself is clear proof that the power you hold, Master, indeed belongs to the Goddess."
...Wait, had that been the holy magic counterpart to Starlight? Roan recalled his own Starlight—which had been no better than a tiny bulb—and felt a little embarrassed.
Extinguishing the light, Helen said,
"If we had materials on ancient divine magic, I might be able to find something that could help you, Master."
"There is a book."
"Aha. Then, Master, did you read that book and learn the spell from it?"
...No, the message window had just given it to him....
And furthermore, he couldn't read the ancient language....
Roan's face reddened slightly. Helen's eyes went round.
Roan said, a little awkwardly,
"Well, I'm, not yet very familiar with the ancient language."
Helen clamped both hands over her mouth.
It felt as if a scream might leak out.
Her beautiful Master, looking slightly crestfallen and embarrassed with his gaze lowered a little...
He was utterly adorable!
The corners of Helen's mouth rose above her covered hands.
"I will translate it and instruct you."
Grünent also knew the ancient language, but she wanted to help her Master herself.
However, Roan hesitated, avoiding her eyes.
"No, still... I think it's better to read it... myself. So... it would be nice if you could teach me the ancient language..."
Helen nodded seriously.
At the words Roan added next, she had to bite down on her teeth to suppress a smile.
"...Keep it a secret, from Grünent."
At that boyish adorableness, Helen felt her heart melt all over again. Her Affection slipped quietly up by +2.
"Of course. Master. It shall be a secret belonging only to Master and myself."
"Ah."
As though her words had suddenly made him recall something, Roan moved toward the table on the far side. He retrieved something from a box on the table.
Helen's eyes flew wide open.
"This... is..."
"It's for you alone."
Helen's blue eyes trembled.
She grinned despite herself.
On her cold face—which could not deny instinct—a smile as though boiling up from within was etched.
"Will you wear it now?"
"Ah... yes. Master..."
Helen answered, nodding. Roan reached his arms around the back of her neck as if to embrace her.
A cool metallic click of a buckle rang out.
Helen stroked the leather strap fastened around her neck.
"It is the token that you are my bitch."
"Master's..."
Helen's eyes began to grow wet.
"A stray dog is dirty. That can't be helped. But once it meets its true master and gives its loyalty, the filth from before is washed away, and it becomes an excellent dog.
What is right, and what is wrong. I will decide that. Your duty is one thing only: to follow my words."
"Master..."
The Demon King smiled kindly.
In that sight, the Saintess
felt the warmth of the Goddess.
"By day, my hunting dog. By night, my bitch."
The Demon King's violet eyes gleamed.
"Will you follow?"
The semen from the night before that couldn't fully stay inside her womb trickled down between her legs.
The naked, corrupted Saintess beamed brightly.
"Yes. Master."
*
Seeing light for the first time in ages, Matthias could not open his eyes. After so long under torture and imprisonment, few parts of his body remained properly intact. His toenails had been pulled out, making it impossible for him to walk properly.
He was dragged out into the sunlight.
"...!"
The execution ground was simple.
A platform and a single executioner.
On the dais facing the platform were two spectators.
To be precise, one spectator and one bitch.
The Commander of the Order could not believe his own eyes.
With a languid expression, the Demon King sat on his chair, chin resting on his hand, and gazed at the Commander.
Meticulously licking his boots was
the naked Saintess.
The Saintess was gently swaying her hips, cleaning the Demon King's shoes with her tongue.
Through the cleft of her raised buttocks, her sex glistened.
The leash from the leather collar fastened around her neck was held in the Demon King's grasp.
"Carry out the execution."
"Yoouuu wreeeetch!"
The Commander screamed as though spitting blood.
It was a voice carrying a strength almost unbelievable for a man about to die.
Yet the two in the audience merely wore the same expressions as before—and continued the same actions as before.
"You dog-like whore! A filthy wretch who rolled in the sewers! When the mercy of the Goddess took you in!! You dare betray the Goddess! You whore yourself to the filthy Demon King! Do you think the Order will let you be!"
But the Commander's voice seemed to not reach the pair. Having finished licking the boots, Helen playfully buried her face between the Demon King's legs. As if coveting his groin. The Demon King laughed and smacked the Saintess's bottom.
"Nngh...!"
"You're a mischievous bitch, aren't you."
"Eheh, yes, now give me a reward...!"
There was distance between them, but in the silence of the execution ground, that lewd and affectionate exchange reached the Commander clearly. Even as he was dragged to the platform, Matthias continued to shriek.
"The Goddess's divine punishment! Upon the traitor!! Shall be...!"
The severed neck could produce sound no longer.
The Saintess leaned against the Demon King's knee, gazed at that neck, and smiled.
Wordlessly, the Demon King stared at the bulging, lifeless eyes, and for a long while, he stroked his bitch.
