To be honest, when Duanmu Huai saw Kentō Kanami beside him, he was completely dumbfounded. After all, he was absolutely certain that there had been no one next to him when he went to sleep. And yet, in the blink of an eye, there was no way he had sleepwalked, right? If he had, that would have been far too outrageous.
However, once he came back to his senses, Duanmu Huai's first reaction was to check on Kentō Kanami's condition. After all, he remembered very clearly that one of the pieces of dark history players had dug up about the God-Emperor was that his psychic power was simply too strong for ordinary humans to withstand. As a result, most women who had been involved with him had ended up exploding. That was why the Emperor believed himself incapable of reproduction and instead went on to create the Primarchs…
Although Duanmu Huai was nowhere near the Emperor's level, still… he had no experience in this sort of thing…
Mm, good. She was alive.
After confirming that Kentō Kanami had not turned into a corpse, Duanmu Huai finally let out a sigh of relief. Then he looked around.
"Olgis? Where's Olgis?"
"Master?"
Hearing Duanmu Huai call out, Olgis poked her head out from a corner nearby, tilting her head curiously as she looked at him.
"What is going on here?"
Duanmu Huai pointed at Kentō Kanami in confusion. Olgis thought about it for a moment.
"Mm… last night, she came to the Master's room on her own initiative…"
"Huh???"
"From there."
As she spoke, Olgis pointed up at the ceiling. Duanmu Huai looked up, only then noticing a small hole in the ceiling.
Is Kentō Kanami some kind of rat or what?
But wait—according to Olgis, this had been her initiative? Why?
But before that…
"Why didn't you stop her?"
Duanmu Huai glared at Olgis unhappily. After all, every night when he slept, Olgis was always on standby beside him. Dolls did not need rest, and Duanmu Huai trusted Olgis completely. He had never imagined something like this could happen. Logically speaking, if Olgis had not left last night, that meant she had watched everything between him and Kentō Kanami the entire night…
What the hell were you doing?
Olgis, why were you just watching? Don't tell me you betrayed me too?
"Because previously, Master said that such matters must be done with the woman's consent. And also…"
At that, Olgis tilted her head.
"I am also very interested in human reproductive behavior."
"..."
My little cotton jacket isn't just leaking air, it's rotten through and letting in drafts from every direction. Where the hell do I even go to complain about this?
"Uu…"
Just then, Kentō Kanami slowly woke up. Her eyes were unfocused as she looked around, and when she saw Duanmu Huai, she immediately shuddered. As if remembering something, she hurriedly curled herself into a ball.
"I-I'm sorry, please don't… um… I really can't take it anymore…!"
"All right, all right, I'm not planning to do anything to you."
Looking at the trembling ninja girl who resembled a frightened deer, Duanmu Huai felt nothing but speechless.
"Anyway, get dressed first, then explain to me what happened."
"Yes…"
After that, the two of them washed up and changed clothes. Only then did Kentō Kanami finally tell Duanmu Huai the truth.
"…So you want me to go rescue the princess of Lisnas?"
"Yes. Her Highness… she is absolutely not that kind of person. She must have been brainwashed by the Devilmen…"
"Mm…"
Looking at Kentō Kanami kneeling in front of him, Duanmu Huai fell into deep thought. He more or less understood what she was trying to say. Given the current situation, now that Princess Lia had publicly announced her engagement to Prince Barton and called on resistance forces everywhere to surrender, the internal situation in Lisnas was bound to descend into chaos. Under such circumstances, if one wanted to rescue Princess Lia, there was no choice but to head straight into the royal capital of Lisnas.
And that place was now a gathering point for Devilmen. One could be certain that Devilmen were stationed right beside the princess.
Under these conditions, rescuing her was practically a fool's dream. The only person who might possibly be able to pull it off… was Duanmu Huai.
That was why Kentō Kanami ultimately chose this method to beg Duanmu Huai to rescue Princess Lia.
"J-just as long as Her Highness can be saved, you can do whatever you want to me… Please, I beg you, save the princess…"
"Mm…"
Listening to Kentō Kanami's plea, Duanmu Huai couldn't help but feel conflicted.
How should I even put this…
In games, players often joked about NPCs saying things like "I'll do anything," implying that they might as well offer themselves. Of course, that was just players joking around, since everyone knew Star Ocean Online was an MMORPG and absolutely wouldn't include 18+ content. Still, the forum was flooded with doujinshi built around that very premise, which clearly showed how interested the masses were in such beloved tropes.
But when it actually happened in real life…
Yeah… honestly, it feels pretty damn good.
After all, Duanmu Huai wasn't a Space Marine—he was a man, and naturally, he had normal needs. Kentō Kanami was also a beautiful and cute girl. For such a beautiful and cute girl to throw herself at him, claiming he felt nothing at all, would just be hypocritical moral posturing.
More importantly, Kentō Kanami was human, which spared Duanmu Huai a lot of worries. As an Inquisitor, he certainly wasn't like certain blue-skinned guys who would fuck anything that moved. But on the other hand, Inquisitors weren't monks either. They had their own needs. That was also one of the reasons Duanmu Huai's attitude toward Ann was clearly better than his attitude toward Grea…
If this had been modern society, Duanmu Huai would never have entered into an intimate relationship so casually. But this world was different. The Chaos Gods were the greatest threat, and he didn't even know whether he could truly survive in the end. In the game, there had been countless players. In reality, there was only himself. Although he had obtained many rewards that players never could, relying on himself alone to confront the Chaos Gods was still extremely dangerous. No one knew when everything might suddenly end.
Under such circumstances, life was short—enjoy it while you could. If a beautiful girl willingly threw herself into his arms and he still refused, that would be a man's disgrace.
At the very least, when you die, you won't regret still being a virgin.
Moreover, once he had fully woken up, Duanmu Huai also realized that the power within his body seemed to have undergone some kind of change. Ever since arriving in this world, that faint sense of agitation had completely vanished. He felt more relaxed overall.
And besides…
Duanmu Huai withdrew his gaze from Kentō Kanami and looked toward the screen before him.
[Special Divine Office Quest Activated]
[Quest Requirements: ???]
This was something Duanmu Huai had only noticed just now. The system had shown no quests at all yesterday; it only appeared this morning. In other words, this divine office quest was probably related to Kentō Kanami's nighttime "assault" last night?
What kind of divine office quest could this be?
It's not going to be some 18+ divine office, is it…?
Forget it. He'd find out sooner or later.
With that thought, Duanmu Huai shook his head and looked back at Kentō Kanami.
"I can agree to your request, but I have one condition. You must serve as my retainer, follow my commands, and act according to my orders. Do you understand?"
"Yes! I understand!"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's response, Kentō Kanami immediately nodded happily and answered without hesitation. Originally, all she had wanted was for Duanmu Huai to step in and rescue Princess Lia. Now that he had agreed, she naturally didn't care about the condition he proposed. Whether as a slave or a retainer, she would not refuse.
What Kentō Kanami didn't know was that the "retainer" Duanmu Huai referred to was not a slave, but a retainer under an Inquisitor—essentially an assistant. Inquisitors were responsible for vast regions; it was impossible for them to handle every matter personally. Building an intelligence network and recruiting personnel was only natural.
Duanmu Huai's situation, however, was somewhat special. Although he possessed a Fragment World and Soul Cards, strictly speaking, the people within the Soul Cards were not retainers, but items. Duanmu Huai was a Soul Walker, and those individuals were Soul Cards. From a strict standpoint, they were his private property, not retainers.
In fact, up to this point, Duanmu Huai had granted retainer status to only three people: Eclair and Lumière, whom he had recruited from Sector 59, and now Kentō Kanami. If they performed well and contributed to the Inquisition, he could even promote them to Throne Agents—trusted assistants of an Inquisitor.
Having made his decision, Duanmu Huai wasted no time. After that, he went to the Liberation Front and informed Black Legion Commander Bares, Red Legion Commander Rick, and Supreme Commander Maria of his plan to head to Lisnas. The three were somewhat surprised by Duanmu Huai's intention to rescue Princess Lia, but none of them opposed it. After all, if Princess Lia could be rescued, they would have a legitimate reason to strike against the Hermann forces occupying Lisnas' territory.
Kentō Kanami was the most familiar with Lisnas, so naturally Duanmu Huai would take her with him. As for Yue Huasha and Olgis, Duanmu Huai left them behind to assist the Liberation Front. On one hand, this was to help protect Maria, in case she was captured. On the other hand, it was also punishment for his little cotton jacket's treacherous behavior—
Your master gets night-raided, and not only do you not stop it, but you watch with great interest? This cotton jacket doesn't just leak air—it's got reactive armor mounted on the inside!
Was this doll made out of some kind of rebellious material or what?
After confirming that everything was in order, Duanmu Huai set off together with Kentō Kanami, heading toward Lisnas.
(End of Chapter)