The Pig's Counterattack (1)
The alcohol from Mekrak seemed to have an especially potent effect on the residents of Earth. Or perhaps on magical girls in particular. Otherwise, no matter how drunk they were, they wouldn't have been able to accept a reality drenched in that level of madness. In any case—
Danae, who had been rampaging through the mansion and scribbling on every expensive-looking decoration she could find, ended up getting caught in one of the anti-intruder traps. Kei had passed out in the dining hall after drinking Kual's liquor, but not long after Kual left, she woke up groggily and made her way into the kitchen's wine cellar. After forcing her way through all the security systems and robot guards without caring about her injuries, she drank herself into oblivion on the remaining alcohol as well. Danbi, who had been swinging her hand axe like a mad killer while covered in blood, was finally subdued after a fierce battle against the mansion's security system that Kual activated once he regained his senses. She was dragged away, her movements sealed by heavy restraints.
The mansion had been turned into a complete wreck after an entire day of chaos, but fortunately, the petrified statues of the women remained completely unscathed. Even while drunk, they must have unconsciously held back from touching those.
“.......”
[.......]
And now—
In the dedicated maintenance room for the high-end android Rudolf, Kual stared gloomily at the monitor before him. Displayed on the screen was Rudolf's face. Though his hardware had been brutally smashed by Danbi's hands, Rudolf—linked to the mansion's systems—had managed to evacuate his consciousness data into the system before his body was completely destroyed.
That mechanical body was only temporary anyway. For Rudolf, who frequently disassembled and rebuilt his body whenever new technology was updated in the Bank, having it wrecked was hardly an issue. Still, since it had been broken so messily by Danbi, gathering new parts to repair it would take some time.
“......Rudolf....”
[My apologies, Master. This was my negligence.]
“No, it's not that. It's not... I never imagined magical girls would be such demons....”
Kual adjusted the bandages wrapped around his face and trembled. Beneath the bandages, Engineering Seals and special tools were being used to heal him. In another hour, the wounds would be completely gone without a single scar. However, while the physical injuries would heal, the terror from that moment would not fade. That merciless rampage. That terrifying violence.
“What the hell! Weren't women supposed to become obedient after a little whipping?! I was taught that females were like that!”
[My apologies, Master. It appears magical girls are not ordinary females.]
“Rudolf, you useless android!!”
Kual screamed in frustration.
“You're supposed to be a high-performance android! And yet you ended up like this against magical girls whose magic was sealed...! You couldn't even manage them properly! Do something, you incompetent scrap heap!!!”
The Rudolf on the screen didn't change his expression at all. Of course he wouldn't—being an android, he felt nothing no matter how unfairly he was treated or what happened to him. Yet even an android without human emotions possessed programmed loyalty.
[Master, what will you do now? Shall we petrify them all?]
“...We can't do that! These are magical girls I worked so hard to obtain!”
Kual's eyes widened. Despite being thoroughly beaten by the magical girls, his pride as a noble had not been broken.
[In that case.]
Rudolf continued.
[How about training the magical girls yourself this time, Master?]
“Those bitches are clearly beasts without reason! They didn't react at all to my whipping!”
[Whether they are mindless beasts whose brains have been eaten by rats or some kind of demon yaksha, the ones locked up right now are still magical girls... females. There is a way to train them.]
“......Really?”
[There are women in this world who won't submit to ordinary training. Unfortunately, these women simply happen to be that type.]
“......Is that so?”
[Yes. But even for such women, there are methods to train them. Please trust me.]
“Then until Rudolf's new body is rebuilt....”
[That will not do.]
Rudolf immediately rejected the idea.
[The more time and freedom you give them, the more they will start having strange thoughts. To put it coldly, those ignorant magical girls might even be thinking that the great Kual-nim has some openings they can exploit.]
“W-what?!”
They weren't just thinking it—they were openly looking down on him. But Rudolf, following his high-level etiquette programming, chose words that wouldn't displease his master.
“But after everything that's happened... can I really do it....”
[Of course. Even if we only list a small portion of Master Kual's greatness, it would be countless. Furthermore——]
Using the persuasive skills he had learned from the Bank's data, Rudolf skillfully guided Kual's decision. He was practically flipping Kual's timid heart over in a frying pan, twisting and grilling it thoroughly.
[If this humble one were to offer a small piece of advice to the supremely great Master, and if Master were to faithfully follow that advice to train each magical girl, the simulation results would be as follows——]
Rudolf's words were now practically hypnotizing Kual's consciousness. No, not "practically"—they actually were. Through specially modified high-performance speakers and peripheral devices emitting special sound waves that affected the mind, combined with subliminal effects applied to the brainwashing images constantly flowing across the screen without Kual noticing, it was actual hypnosis. Kual's mind was undergoing a personality modification-level change at the hands of Rudolf right now.
“I... can do it...?”
[Yes, that is correct. Because Master is an excellent and capable person.]
“I-I can do it... Yes... I'm an excellent human... I'm capable... Hu-ho... Hu-hohohohoho...!”
[Ah, one who is worthy of becoming the king of this universe. Please thoroughly subjugate those magical girls who are not even worthy of being cosmic dust.]
“Yes... Yes! I am the king! I am! There's no way this great body of mine couldn't subjugate those pathetic magical girls!”
Kual grabbed the bandages covering his face and tore them off with a ripping sound. The healing Seals attached to the bandages all fell away as well, but he didn't care. A little blood trickled out, but Kual, whose brain was already half-paralyzed, felt no pain. What did it matter if a few scars remained on his face? This body was that of a king. Kual's eyes gleamed with a strange, sinister, and dangerous light.
[Then, Master. I will play the necessary materials for you to review. I have arbitrarily calculated the techniques needed to subjugate the magical girls, accessed the Bank's data to learn them, and run simulations.]
“Good... Good! Teach me! Teach me how to subjugate the magical girls!”
[That is the spirit. Master will surely succeed.]
The incompetent, trembling pig from moments ago was gone. In his place stood a bold and dangerous villain backed by an excellent advisor.
* * *
“Hehe~♪ What the hell, for a noble he's a total piece of shit~♪”
Locked in a prison-like solitary cell, Danae rolled around on the bed while humming. All the restraints that had bound her limbs were now removed. Though she hadn't told anyone, with her Picking magic, she could remove the restraints anytime she wanted. Since she had drunkenly forgotten to put them back on, wearing them again now would have felt awkward, so she simply left them all off. Since Kei and Danbi were also locked up in separate cells, there was no one to see.
‘Even if that noble bastard sees, I don't really care~.’
Danae's consciousness was completely relaxed. After all, the memories from when she was drunk remained intact, and Kual's pathetic behavior had left an overwhelmingly strong impression on her. An idiot. A moron. A fool and a half-wit. That was her evaluation of Kual. Even this cell proved it. Apparently that dim-witted pig noble couldn't even imagine a room without a bed, so he had locked up even these slaves who had caused all sorts of trouble in rooms with beds. Then he had huffed and puffed about how it was "a prison befitting slaves" before disappearing.
Honestly, she had expected to be thrown into something like a livestock pen. ‘Ah~ The air is so nice~!’
This room had an air purifier, aromatic candles with a pleasant scent, a window despite the iron bars, and even a high-performance clean bathroom equipped with all sorts of functions. There were even manga books to keep her from getting bored! This was supposedly "a room befitting a slave"—Danae couldn't help but be amazed at the lack of imagination from that pig noble Kual. Thanks, pig!
‘At this rate, should I just ask to be kept as livestock~? No, but I still need to rescue Peanut... Hmm~ Yeah, I can't let a rich idiot slip away. I'll catch him tight with my honey trap and control him like a puppet from behind... Uhehehehe...!’
Queen Danae controlling Kual from behind! Uhat! That sounds fun!
While rolling around on the bed and reading a Mekrak manga with fascinated eyes, Danae suddenly felt a presence and looked up. The sturdy mechanical steel door had a small glass window, allowing a slight view of the outside. And beyond that glass window—two gleaming eyes were staring at her.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
A g-g-g-g-g-ghost?! No, wait, those eyes are....
Clunk! The door opened, and the figure standing in front of it waddled inside.
“You seem to be having fun, magical girl.”
“E-ehehehe... Nooo... This room is so harsh... Danae has never even lifted anything heavier than chopsticks... Just being in such a cramped room makes me feel so~~~ suffocated...”
“.......”
“Ah, is Master alright~? I heard Danae did something terrible while drunk~ Eek, eek, bad Danae! Bad Danae! Danae is sorry for doing bad things~~~!”
Danae lightly tapped her own head on the bed. While doing so, she subtly shifted the position of her legs, conscious of Kual's gaze. The already short hem of her skirt rolled up, fully exposing her fresh thighs and leg lines.
“Aang~ What should Danae do if Master is angry~~! Danae is... Danae is scared... Sob sob...!”
Danae glanced at Kual's expression and pretended to cry, covering her eyes with her pale hand.
‘Huhu, at this rate that pig will be helplessly captured!’
Even though she had lost her succubus traits, her skills at seducing men were still intact! Come on, Kual! You incompetent rich bastard! Submit to me!
‘......Huh? Why is it so quiet?’
Danae peeked at Kual's expression again from behind her hand. Kual was staring at her with a sullen face. Even though she was begging so cutely! Sullenly! Why?! No, more than that, he seemed somehow angry....
“Ohoho... You wanton magical girl bitch... Hu-hohoho. Fine, you want to be doted on, don't you?”
Still, a pig was a pig. Though his expression was a bit strange and that bothered her, Danae was certain he had fallen into her honey trap. She placed a hand on her lips, tilted her neck slightly, and spoke with as much aegyo as possible.
“Yeees... I want Kual-nim to dote on me....”
“Good, fine. This great Kual-nim will specially dote on you.”
Kual approached slowly, his plump belly jiggling.
‘Ugh...? What...? Why does the atmosphere feel...?’
Watching Kual approach, Danae felt an inexplicable chill. It must be her imagination...?