“—So what I’m saying is that he got entangled with the White Devil and is now trapped inside her.”

[What about the movements of the other Vessels around him?]

“Do I even need to say it? Everyone is rushing in with a fire in their eyes, trying to suck that amnesiac bastard dry.”

Talker, a.k.a Spinning Fire Wheel, spat out such words to the Prophet, who was on the other side of the video call.

His next words were accompanied by a burst of laughter.

“The extent of the fierceness of their competition is absurd as well. It made me wonder what it would feel like if women of such caliber are fighting over me to monopolize me?”

[...What do you mean by that, Talker?]

At the slightly thorny voice that responded, Talker giggled inwardly before opening his mouth.

“Ah, of course, I understand that you are disappointed for not being able to join in this revelry, Boss. But, considering how he has a fake personality at the moment because of the artificial soul inside him, I’m sure such emotions are a bit—”

[Cut the nonsense. Did you call me just to say that?]

“I’m kidding, kidding. Don’t get mad at me.”

Strictly speaking, considering that he failed to fulfill the mission that the Prophet entrusted him, Talker’s attitude was utterly shameless. However, neither the Prophet nor him seemed to be concerned about that.

In the first place, he was the strongest Cursed Speech User in history, a legend whose name was carved in both the Eastern and Western Continents’ history. Neither party seemed to care much about going head-to-head to some extent.

In that regard…

“...Anyway Boss, that guy is a more dangerous variable than I thought.”

The fact that someone like him uttered these words in such a serious manner meant the situation must be more severe than expected.

Although his frivolous smile was still hanging on his face, the glint of his eyes clearly conveyed the gloomy feelings that he had.

“I know that he acts as the ‘Key’ for all the Devils. But the speed at which the Devils are gathering around him is much faster than anticipated.”

[...]

“Originally, the White Devil was supposed to imprison him around this time in ‘a different worldline’ as well, but this is the first time that he had formed such close relationships with other Vessels.”

[...]

Talker continued to speak towards the silent Prophet.

“If this continues…”

At least, when uttering this sentence…

“The ‘End’ will come before we can do anything, you know?”

His usual smile vanished.

“There’s not much time left, Boss. We need to take some measures before more Devils are unleashed.”

[...I know.]

The Prophet responded in a low voice.

[I also know this is our last chance. That’s why...]

Though low, the voice still carried an undeniable ‘resolve’.

[...We should start considering a method to use it. The Key.]

A key generally had two functions.

Unlocking a lock and locking a lock.

Up until now, the ‘Key’ known as Dowd Campbell had been incredibly successful in performing the former task.

To Talker’s knowledge, not a single precedent existed where a soul constitution like his rapidly gained the love of Devils yet managed to survive.

However…

What the Prophet and Talker intended to do was not the act of ‘unlocking’ but of ‘locking’.

“...”

He let out a wry smile.

The situation was funny to him.

Though this woman bore the title of the Leader of the Devil Worshipper, she was in fact the most devoted and fervent person in regards to locking all the Devils away. Such an irony, barely anyone in the continent would know about it.

“Alright. Using the Key is one thing. But before that, how are we supposed to get him away from that white punk? You know that if a Devil decides to imprison a soul, there’s no way for it to—”

[That doesn’t matter.]

“...What?”

[The gender of this round’s Vessels are all female. From the way I see it, the reason that man has been holding up this well is because of that, yes?]

“...”

[As long as the White Devil is female, it will somehow work out.]

‘What was with that unwavering trust?’

It was as if there was a firm belief that, as long as the opponent was female, they had no chance of winning against that man.

But…

About that…

It felt a bit…

“...Boss, for some reason…it feels like you’re talking from you own experience—”

[Rather than that, what about the current state of the Red Devil?]

The Prophet abruptly cut off Talker’s words and continued as if nothing was amiss.

But it was clear to anyone that she didn’t want to talk about this topic, so Talker just responded with a wry smile.

“If it’s the Red Devil, then… It’s that one, right? Fae…what was it? Faenol? What about her?”

Among all the Devils, she was currently the most docile and calm. While the others were all growling at each other, each trying to be the first one to strip Dowd and feast on him, she stayed so quiet that one couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she was up to.

‘Is she even worth paying attention to?’Her current attitude was enough to invoke such a thought in his mind.

[Well, I don’t know about that. At least, I wouldn’t think that way.]

“...What?”

[Keep a close eye on her, Talker. Besides the White Devil, she is the most likely to cause trouble.]

Without a doubt…

[It’s always the quiet cat that starts trouble first.]

Those words carried a profound implication.

“Unni and His Holiness are coming in a few days.”

Young Yuria, who was walking ahead, brought up such a topic in a careful voice.

Her tone and expression were stern…or at least that was what she thought.

“Within that time, I will instill in you the perfect manners and etiquette, so you can present yourself as my servant without bringing shame to me. Do you understand?”

It felt more like she was pleading with me to think of her as strict, rather than actually being strict.

I had felt it before as well, but she really did seem somewhat awkward when using this manner of speaking.

It wasn’t just a feeling I had; Anyone would notice that her current demeanor was one she was not familiar with.

So much so that it was blatantly clear that this timid girl was desperately trying to maintain an attitude that didn’t suit her.

“...W-Why are you looking at me with such a weird expression?”

“...”

When she said that, I touched the corners of my mouth, which had relaxed into a fatherly smile.

< Event Info >

▶Sweet Play◀

[ Persuade target ‘Yuria/White Devil’. ]

[ Your assigned ‘role’ is ‘Lady Yuria’s exclusively contracted servant’. Do not break character! ]

[ A time limit of 3 days is given. If you break character or fail to escape the Image World within that time, you will be trapped in the world in question forever! ]

Anyway, I had these restrictions placed on me, so I couldn’t just act recklessly.

“A-Are you looking down on me? With just one word from me, someone like you—!”

‘Oh dear.’

Tears welled up in Yuria’s eyes as she puffed up in anger. I crouched down to match our eye levels.

It wasn’t like I had any choice but to do this. Not only did she have a small body, I also had the body of a grown man.

“How could I possibly do such a thing, My Lady?”

When I spoke in a serious voice, she immediately closed her mouth, despite her being on the verge of shouting something.

Even so, seeing that her eyes were still filled with tears and her fists were waving without purpose, it didn’t seem like her mood had entirely improved. So, I brought her hand to my lips and gently kissed it.

She definitely said this was the proper etiquette, right?

“Of course I will make every effort to fulfill the duties you have entrusted to me, My Lady.”

“...!”

Her expression brightened rapidly upon hearing my words. But immediately after, she had a look of realization, and hurriedly managed her expression.

“A-Anyone can t-talk the talk! S-Show me how you w-walk the walk!”

She puffed out a breath through her nose, creating a sound. Then, she waddled ahead with quick steps, desperately trying to control her expression that was about to soften again.

“...”

Of course…

From such an appearance, a nagging and uncomfortable question followed.

This girl…

Exactly what kind of experiences had she gone through?

How did such an easy-to-read yet innocent child end up thrown into such a harsh environment, thus growing up to become a gloomy loner? How was she so deeply afflicted by loneliness?

“...”

I looked around silently.

There were more oddities that had been nagging at me continuously.

While being dragged out under the guise of escorting Young Yuria, I realized this was one of the most sinister buildings inside the Holy Land.

At first glance, it appeared to be a noble’s mansion that did not have a single flaw. There were servants and they all treated Yuria kindly when they met her.

However…

There would be no reason for those things to exist in an ordinary house.

I looked at the warm sun-drenched garden and the birds on the trees turning their heads in sync with our movements.

To someone who was unaware, these would seem like unproblematic elements.

But for me, it wasn’t the case. I knew the eyes of the birds were embedded with ‘Arrays’ using mana stones.

They were not just simple birds, but artificial life forms that were intentionally created; Homunculi.

And it didn’t stop there. Items which purpose was to monitor a certain target’s every move were placed all around the mansion.

Moreover, I didn’t see any on the path leading outside the mansion. As if it was intentionally omitted from the design.

Judging from all these facets, one thing was certain.

This…was not a house.

Rather, a bird cage.

Created to strictly confine and rear someone.

I was following Yuria slowly while thinking as such when she suddenly stopped in the middle of explaining various things about the mansion’s interior.

“Ah, this place is…”

It was a black door.

Even among the luxurious interior of the mansion, its presence stood out.

“...The office of His Holiness.”

Yuria mentioned in a slightly scared voice.

“T-This place… I don’t really know much about it either, but…”

“Excuse me?”

“U-Unni and His Holiness told me… to never even come near here…”

It seemed she had been educated numerous times never to enter here.

Her appearance, with tears hanging heavily to her lashes, was pitiful.

“If it’s a place we cannot enter, then you can just tell me about it later, My Lady.”

“...No, I can’t.”

Hearing my words, Yuria clenched her fist tightly.

“E-Educating the s-servants is my responsibility. So, if I don’t do it properly!”

“...”

She really had an unnecessarily strong sense of duty.

If it wasn’t allowed, then I could just find out on my own later, though.

“P-Please w-wait here. I'll ask if other people can enter!”

“Ah, wait…”

Before I could say anything more, Yuria dashed off down the corridor.

‘Look at her go. She really is great at taking action, huh?’

As I let out a sigh with such thoughts in mind…

“Ah, excuse me.”

Someone nearby struck up a conversation with me.

When I turned around, I saw a servant dressed similarly to me.

“Pleasure to meet you. You are the new exclusively contracted servant that just arrived, right?”

“...Yes. Have I done something wrong?”

I couldn’t think of any other reason why someone would suddenly approach me like this.

However, the person who heard my words just shook his head with a friendly smile.

“No, it’s not really that. I just wanted to offer some advice. Since you don’t seem to know anything about this place.”

“Ah, if you are willing to tell me, I will listen with a grateful heart.”

Seems like a nice person, huh.

Right as I was quietly gazing at the servant with such thoughts…

“It would be better if you did not get too close to the young lady.”

Such words…

Came up out of the blue.

“...”

I stared intently at the servant who had just given me this advice.

This was the same punk who had greeted Yuria with a bright smile, just a moment ago.

There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary at first glance.

So, why would this bastard suddenly say something like that?

“...”

It felt like my gut was being wrenched.

After barely suppressing a frown, I continued the conversation.

After all, I needed to extract more information about the current situation.

“...What do you mean by that?”

“You are new here, so it is understandable that you do not know, but…”

The man continued in a whisper.

“That bitch is a monster, born without parents. A cursed life form, if you will.”

“...”

“There is no way anything good will come out of sticking next to her.”

The face of the servant who spoke…

Was filled with a contempt and disgust that he didn’t even attempt to hide.