The succubus foreign shard was still trembling, lying face down on the ground, seemingly unable to shake off the aftermath of my "punishment."

Given how much preparation I’d put into this, her response was quite satisfactory.

“You crazy, perverted human…”

Even her dramatic assessment made me feel a sense of accomplishment. If the performance had been that moving, she could have said so earlier. I had an encore ready.

“A-aah…”

The succubus foreign shard, with a frightened expression, made eye contact with me, and her face sank into deeper despair.

Wow, I didn’t expect her to be this overwhelmed.

“Did you enjoy the show, miss?”

“Hic…”

“...You’re not saying anything, so I guess you didn’t enjoy it. In that case, let’s prepare a new performance until you’re satisfied…”

“No, no… please, I don’t want to go through that again…”

Hmm. Judging by her reaction, it seems she’s had enough for now.

Honestly, I wanted to give her an encore for how irritating she was, but my stamina wasn’t exactly up to it.

Alright, then. Enough with the venting, now it’s time to get down to business.

I walked over to the succubus foreign shard, who was still shaking, and plopped down right in front of her. Despite her trembling shoulders, she slowly adjusted herself into a kneeling position. She looked rather pitiful.

I didn’t think the punishment was that harsh. Maybe it was a matter of pride.

To be an outer god, not defeated but captured and humiliated like this—she must have felt extreme shame and helplessness.

If someone saw this scene, they might think I was forcing her into something terrible.

…Anyway.

“So, friend?”

“U-uh, yes?”

“Why are you messing around in the human world? What’s going on?”

I tried to speak as gently as possible to calm her down, but her trembling only intensified.

Sigh.

She’d settle down eventually through conversation, I figured.

I waited a little longer, and when she seemed to have gathered herself, the succubus foreign shard finally began to speak.

“I-I’ve always lived here…”

“Huh?”

What kind of nonsense is that?

If she had always existed in the dream world, she wouldn’t have suddenly made her presence known like this. And at this scale, she was likely a high-ranking shard.

My surprise seemed to startle the succubus, and she flinched.

“I-I’m sorry! I-it’s all my fault… hic…”

Oh.

Wait.

Why—why is she starting to tear up?

“Uwaaah!”

Ah.

Damn.

Now I, Raidan Tanton, have become the guy who made an outer god cry.

I spent a good amount of time comforting the succubus foreign shard, wiping my cold sweat away as I tried to calm her down. Fortunately, after some time, she stopped crying.

It had been a long time since I’d seen an outer god cry like this, not since Lia or some lesser gods.

“There, there, good girl.”

“Hic, sniff…”

I even patted her on the head, speaking softly, and she finally started to calm down.

What the hell am I even doing?

“So, now that you’ve calmed down a bit, can you tell me why you did this?”

“Sniff… It’s because…”

The succubus foreign shard took a deep breath before speaking again.

“...No one wanted to play with me anymore!”

“…What?”

What in the world is this nonsense?

I frowned in disbelief, and she clenched her fists, as if protesting my reaction.

“When humans are awake, I’m always alone! The others who could play with me are always too busy or ignore me unless they need something! Even the humans, when they fall asleep, treat the world I create for them as just a ‘dream,’ calling it fake!”

So, by "others who could play with me," she must mean the other outer gods. Considering their characteristics, they likely had their own work to do, making it understandable why they’d ignore her.

In any case, the succubus foreign shard continued venting her frustrations.

“That’s why I did this! I wanted everyone to remember me! I didn’t want to be alone anymore!”

So, in this world, the "dreams" people experienced were actually the realm created by this succubus foreign shard, and we humans simply perceived them as dreams?

And because she hated being treated that way, she decided to launch a mass killing spree?

This is like a lazy bum whining that they want more money without putting in any effort!

“You killed people for that?”

“I didn’t kill them! They’re just fulfilling the contracts they made with me…”

I raised my voice slightly in frustration, but the succubus shard responded as if she were being wronged. She was justifying her actions, despite the fact that people had literally died in the real world.

Sigh, I wanted to hold back from giving her the encore performance, but…

“N-no! I can show you proof!”

The succubus shard quickly ran to the far end of the space and reached into the darkness. She pulled something out with a firm tug.

It was a human, seemingly a man in his twenties, with a dazed and unfocused expression.

“See? I didn’t kill them. I just trapped their consciousness here.”

“Wait, so that ‘game’ you mentioned to me…?”

“I just wanted to play… please believe me…”

Judging by the fact that she had full control over their minds, it seemed these men had been tricked into a fraudulent contract, lured in by the mention of “sensual things,” just like she had done with me.

For men in their twenties, hearing such provocative words, especially in a dream, was more than enough to make them lose their senses.

But how could they be so easily swayed by an outer god’s appearance?

“…I’ve only revealed my true form twice. With these people, I just used an illusionary appearance to make the contracts.”

That explained it.

She had likely tricked those unwilling to enter into a contract with her into playing harmless "games." But those who fell for her bait, like me, would get their minds bound to her, staying by her side out of loneliness.

Well, I could understand that.

Loneliness is one of the most severe emotional stresses, comparable only to fear. It consumes living beings, and being trapped in a falsehood where no one acknowledged her must have felt unbearably sad.

But this whole situation had also brought up a new point of irritation.

“Hey.”

“…Yes?”

“Games, by nature, are supposed to be fair. There might be a difference in skill, but the rules should apply equally to everyone.”

“…?”

She seemed to sense something ominous in my words but didn’t fully grasp my intent. I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the same position as before, like we were about to start another "performance."

Her body trembled like a vibrating device, seemingly terrified.

But I had no intention of being lenient.

For men, games are as serious as life itself. If you add hidden elements that only one side knows about, that’s an offense worth punishment.

Smack!

“Gyaaah!”

…Looks like we’re doing an encore after all, huh?

After delivering another "performance" that I was quite satisfied with, I finally allowed the succubus shard to return to her previous state.

“So, after putting everyone to sleep, the dream space will expand, allowing me to find and release the souls you’ve trapped?”

“…Hic, yes…”

The succubus shard, exhausted and bound by chains, confirmed my words.

Ah, the chains were something she had created to prevent herself from escaping my dream space.

“Alright, then. I’ll go put everyone to sleep. Stay here and wait.”

“Sniff, yes…”

Oh, how adorable she was when she listened so well.

Pretty girls are always more charming when they have a good personality to match their looks.

“Alright, send me out of this world.”

The succubus shard started drawing something with her finger, and as soon as she finished the motion, my vision shifted to the ceiling of the knights’ resting quarters.

That was… quite an ordeal.

Despite having slept deeply, my mind still felt hazy, as though it were shrouded in fog.

I slowly got up and made my way outside, where the knights, as well as the deputy commander, were still waiting.

Perhaps they hadn’t given the order to disperse in case I needed further assistance as soon as I woke up.

If so, it was a brilliant decision.

As I approached the deputy commander from behind, one of the knights pointed me out. The deputy commander raised an eyebrow and turned to face me, his mouth forming a small "O."

“Tanton.”

“Deputy commander, the situation has been half-resolved.”

“Half?”

The deputy commander frowned, seemingly displeased with the idea that only half the problem had been dealt with.

Sigh, people need to let me finish my sentences.

“I’m about to resolve the other half now. But first, may I make another request?”

“…If it can resolve the issue, I’ll consider anything. What do you need?”

The look in his eyes told me he was willing to do anything, which was a bit intimidating.

Of course, what I was about to ask was definitely a burden.

“I need everyone in Rondan to fall asleep this time.”

I figured staying awake was manageable with enough mental effort, but sleep was a different matter entirely. This seemed like a tall order.

But…

“Hm, alright.”

“Sorry, what?”

“Knights, gather all the sleeping potions from headquarters and distribute them to every citizen of Rondan. Once everyone has taken the potion, you too should all go to sleep. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

At this point, I was starting to believe there was nothing the knight order couldn’t do. Their efficiency amazed me. As they swiftly executed the plan, the deputy commander handed me something once again—it looked like the same candy-shaped sleeping pill from before.

“Do you need one as well? A sleeping aid?”

“…Just one, please.”

It occurred to me that, in this world, insomnia probably didn’t exist.

I returned to the knights' resting quarters and waited until the deputy commander came back with news that everyone had fallen asleep.

“I’ve informed the princess, and I’ll have Alpha and Beta report back before we all sleep. After that, I’ll go to sleep as well.”

“Thank you, deputy commander.”

“Don’t mention it. Ignoring the words of the hero who’s saving Rondan would be the height of foolishness.”

…His words made me feel strangely embarrassed.

With that, the deputy commander left after making sure all instructions were followed. I lay down on the mattress again and took the sleeping aid he gave me.

As I drifted off, I felt a strong sense of dizziness, and soon enough, the familiar dream space returned.

I sat up, looking around, and there she was—bound in chains, her face filled with gloom—the succubus foreign shard.

“Well, just like you asked, I put everyone to sleep.”

“...Are you the leader of all humans or something?”

“I just have some connections with important people.”

Technically, referring to them as my superiors would be more appropriate than saying I’m the leader. Still, I approached the succubus, and with a swift motion, broke the chains binding her. We both stood up at the same pace.

“Now, let’s get going. It’s time to release the trapped souls.”

“...I can’t believe I’m being used by a human…”

Hearing her incredulous tone made me chuckle. What else could she do but comply?

I followed the succubus foreign shard as she slowly led the way.