Why Do I Have to Get Naked? Am I Annette's Property? What the Hell Does That Mean?
I stared at her, completely flustered. “W-what do you mean by that? Why would I be your property, Annette?”
Annette crossed her legs, took a delicate sip of her tea, and asked calmly, “You don’t have any mana, do you?”
“Huh? No, I don’t.”
“And you can’t use swordsmanship either, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Are you any good in a fight?”
“Of course not. I’m just a teahouse owner.”
When I answered in a panic, Annette let out a long sigh, set down her teacup, and continued.
“I knew it. That’s exactly why you have to become mine. There’s no other way.”
“W-wait, what? Please explain this properly! Why would I—”
“Have you ever heard of a Grim Reaper’s acolyte?”
Acolyte? What the hell is that?
I shrugged. “I’m just a regular human who didn’t even know the Divine Realm existed until I met Charlene. How would I know what a Grim Reaper’s acolyte is?”
Annette stared at my face for a moment, then burst into bright laughter.
“Looking at you now, that sharp, pouty expression is actually kind of cute. I think I finally understand why Charlene chose you.”
“Huh? W-what do you…”
Ugh. This is the first time an older woman has ever said something like that to me. At a glance, Annette definitely looks a little older than me. Wait… she’s a Grim Reaper, so maybe she’s actually ancient. Well, whatever.
I fiddled with my teacup and spoke again. “Please explain it in detail. What exactly is an acolyte?”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like—a servant who helps a Grim Reaper with their duties. Elite Grim Reapers like me can create acolytes. Unlike that idiot Charlene, I don’t make stupid mistakes because I’m actually competent at my job.”
Was that just a humblebrag?
“Yes, yes, how wonderful to be such a competent Grim Reaper. But what I’m curious about is this acolyte thing…”
“If you become my acolyte, you’ll be able to borrow my power. You’ll become a human who can use a Grim Reaper’s divine magic.”
What?
I shot up from my seat in shock. “R-really?”
“Of course. Grim Reapers don’t lie.”
Annette answered casually and took another elegant sip of her Lumina tea.
Ooh… If that’s true, does that mean I could become as strong as Charlene?
“So? What do you think of my offer?” Annette asked, gazing at me with deep, captivating eyes.
Ugh… This feels like a demon’s temptation. Well, technically it’s a Grim Reaper’s temptation.
“If I become your acolyte, are there any penalties? Like, will my lifespan get shorter or something…?”
“No, nothing like that. If I had to name a downside…”
Annette tapped her finger against her lips, thinking carefully before answering.
“I suppose you’d be destined to become my little toy?”
“Toy?”
What the hell does that mean? When I made a dumbfounded face, Annette set down her empty teacup and continued.
“Even without that old man Hades suggesting it, I think turning you into my acolyte would be a good idea. I happen to like cute boys. You’ve caught my eye.”
Huh? C-cute?
When I instinctively took a step back, Annette stretched with a languid “Mmm~” and spoke again.
“Don’t worry. Even if I call you my toy, I’ll just watch over you for a while. Get ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“The acolyte ritual.”
…How the hell was I supposed to know what that ritual was? And did I even have a choice in this? Damn it. These Grim Reapers really do whatever they want.
Normally I would have refused no matter what, but… with the Demon King running around turning the world into chaos, the offer of real power was an incredibly strong temptation.
Ugh… Fine. Let’s escape this pathetic life as a teahouse owner. I’ll save the empire, defeat the Demon King, and become a hero. Come to think of it, when I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming a warrior or a mage. Somehow I ended up running a teahouse just to survive.
I nodded firmly and stood up from the table.
Yeah. Let’s do this. Who knows? Maybe this is where my life completely changes for the better.
At that same moment, deep inside a cave.
Apocryon was coughing violently, spitting up blood. With every cough, thick black blood poured from the Demon King’s mouth.
Sephirot, watching the scene, spoke coldly. “The Demon King looks like absolute shit. Did that maid do this to you too?”
Apocryon wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and shook his head.
“Haa… Haa… No. It wasn’t that maid.”
“What?”
“Someone else interfered in the fight. Someone with overwhelming power.”
Sephirot let out a heavy sigh. Ever since that problematic maid showed up, everything had been going wrong. Just who the hell were they?
Apocryon, who had barely managed to sit down on a chair, spoke again. “It looks like the Divine Realm has intervened.”
“What?”
“No one but gods from the Divine Realm could be that strong. Sephirot, we need to change the plan. In our current state, we cannot destroy this empire.”
The Divine Realm… Why would a god from the Divine Realm get involved in this fight?
After thinking for a long time, Sephirot fiddled with a wine glass sitting nearby before hurling it with all his strength.
—Crash!!
The glass shattered into pieces with a loud noise.
“…Even the Demon King can’t stand against a god?”
Sephirot’s shoulders trembled with rage as he tried to steady his breathing. Apocryon coughed again before answering.
“…It seems that way. Even the lowest god from the Divine Realm possesses transcendent strength.”
Once he had calmed his emotions, Sephirot asked again. “Was that maid also from the Divine Realm?”
“Almost certainly.”
Apocryon coughed again, vomiting more black blood, then continued. “I took too much damage from that golden-haired woman’s single attack. I need time to recover. You should stay hidden for a while too.”
“Why?”
“If gods from the Divine Realm have intervened, even you can’t handle this situation as a mere human. The best option right now is to hide and observe how things develop outside.”
At Apocryon’s advice, Sephirot slammed his fist into the cave wall with a loud bang!
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Apocryon breathed heavily and spoke. “Don’t get so worked up. The Human Realm has always been a noisy place.”
“What?”
“Even without us, the empire is already on the edge of a cliff. Just watch for now.”
Sephirot nodded at those words. “Fine. We’ll stay hidden for the time being. What about the army you summoned…?”
“I’ll recall them all. I won’t forget today’s humiliation. That maid, the humans of the empire—I’ll chew them all to death. I’ll make sure they can’t even gather their bones.”
Apocryon bit his lip so hard that blood trickled down his chin.
Sephirot saw this and gave a twisted smile for the first time in a while. As expected of the Demon King.
He stared at the cave entrance where light poured in and muttered to himself.
“So we have no choice but to stay hidden for a while…”
That night, Charlene returned from grocery shopping.
She set down her basket and said, “Master? They say all the Demon King’s forces have disappeared.”
What?
I was washing dishes and hurried over to her in surprise. I wiped my hands on a towel and asked, “Charlene, is that true?”
“Yeah. It looks like Apocryon got beaten up by Annette and ran away.”
Whew. In that case, this was probably for the best.
I asked urgently, “Where did Annette go? Why hasn’t she been around since earlier?”
“There’s a festival starting tonight to celebrate repelling the Demon King’s army. She said she was going to check it out.”
What? …Even Grim Reapers go to festivals now?
But what about the acolyte ritual? Were we just going to pretend it never happened?
When I tilted my head in confusion, Charlene approached me, looked straight into my eyes, and asked coldly, “Master? Are you happy about becoming Annette’s acolyte?”
Her expression didn’t look good.
“I-I’m not exactly happy, but in this dangerous world, getting power is reassuring. Why are you glaring at me like that? Hm?”
“…Men really lose their minds over women. Hmph.”
Charlene grumbled, sat down at the table, rested her chin on her hands, and continued.
“I have no idea what that old man Hades is thinking. Why did he make you Annette’s acolyte? What the hell is that old geezer plotting?”
“…How would I know what a god from the Underworld is thinking?”
“Master. I’ll give you one warning.”
Charlene blinked her red eyes and glared at me as she spoke again. “During the acolyte ritual, don’t fall for Annette. Got it?”
“What do you mean, fall for her? Isn’t the ritual over quickly?”
“It does end quickly. But both Annette and you have to take off all your clothes.”
?
What the—??
I jumped up in shock. “Y-you mean we both have to get completely naked?”
“Yes. You have to take everything off. That’s the custom. In the Divine Realm, customs during rituals are absolute.”
Having said that, Charlene grabbed her own hair and shouted.
“Ugh, so annoying! If only you became my acolyte, everything would be perfect. Why does it have to be Annette? So annoying. So annoying.”
We have to get naked? Heh— t-this is actually a pretty good opportunity.
Oh crap. I must have failed to control my expression.
Charlene, who had been staring at my face, muttered, “Pervert. You’re having dirty thoughts right now, aren’t you?”
“N-no I’m not!”
“And don’t even think about losing control during the ritual and jumping on Annette. If you do, your upper and lower body might end up separated by my scythe.”
“I said no! Why do you always look at me like that?”
“Because Master, all your emotions show on your face.”
Right at that moment, the door burst open and Annette walked in, her face flushed bright red.
“Human festivals really are fun. So much fun~”
Annette muttered to herself and let out a bright “Hohoho” laugh.
“Ah, Kailon. Perfect timing. Shall we begin the acolyte ritual now?”
“Annette? During the acolyte ritual… do I… really have to be naked?”
“Of course. We both have to take everything off. It’s a ritual, after all.”
Annette answered and glanced sideways at Charlene.
Charlene looked furious but unable to do anything about it. With an irritated “Hmph!” she stood up abruptly and stomped upstairs with heavy footsteps.
“Oh my. Charlene’s upset. Kailon, you should comfort her later.”
“Yes. I’m somewhat used to that by now.”
Annette kicked off her shoes and said, “Come on. Let’s go up to the room.”
“Huh?”
With her face slightly flushed, Annette swept her golden hair back and answered.
“We need to start the ritual.”