"I'm planning on having Kokoro act as a spy within the church."
Following a slightly strange turn of events, I ended up entering into a "Contract of Master and Servant" with Carrie, and soon after this, I had a plan in place to head to the Fang King Federation in an extremely short space of time and without being seen by anyone.
Alicia and I asked Carrie to go ahead to the Gaoh Federation.
At the same time, we reunited with Claire and the others and began preparations for departure.
The first topic on the agenda was how to deal with Kokoro Anarski, the assassin sent by the church. I had been thinking about how to deal with this for a while, so I was the first to offer my idea.
"I'd like Kokoro to spread false information that we have fled in the opposite direction from the demi-human nation, and disrupt the church as much as possible. Someone of the Thirteen Holy Swords' calibre might be able to find out why the church became corrupt, and even identify allies and enemies within the church."
"I see... It's true that if Kokoro doesn't return, the church will become more vigilant, and having this villain accompany us when trying to gain the trust of the demi-human nation would be a bad move. It would be better to have him act as a spy."
Claire nodded at my suggestion.
"However, in that case, I am worried about Kokoro's betrayal. Erio's
"Yes, so as a countermeasure, I'll order Kokoro in advance to warp away immediately if she senses any signs of the contract being terminated. In addition, I'll ask my familiars to keep an eye on her too. Is that okay, Pepe?"
"Yes. I'll use my clone to hide inside your body and keep an eye on you so I can tell Master if anything happens right away. I'll be separated from you, but I'll have you keep the real me. If you call me I can return my consciousness to my real self right away, so we can eat meals together."peopleKokoro
"Yes, nice to meet you."
It's a little sad to send Pepe off as a lookout, since he's become a familiar after all, but I want to be extra careful. But like Pepe said, I can talk to him whenever I want, so it's not a problem.
Just as the matter was about to come to an agreement,
"...If you're looking to deal with betrayal, I have another idea."
"picture?"
"...I hope Erio and Kokoro get along a lot better... and become true friends..."
"Alicia?!"
I raised my voice in response to Alicia suddenly saying something strange.
But Alicia seems serious.
"...I think Elio would feel better if we could become friends without any relation to the Master-Servant Contract, like we did with Liza and Stacey... Besides, if we're going to deal with the church...we should do everything we can..."
I thought that maybe Alicia just wanted to get along with Kokoro... but I was overwhelmed by Alicia staring at me with such serious eyes -- and the next morning.
"Shit... Shit ❤❤ It's humiliating for me to ask for that brat's thing of my own accord...! I'll definitely kill her one day... And is that woman, a
Kokoro's face turned red as he tried his best to look away, and with Pepe still inside of him, he returned to the church.
I-I wonder if it's okay.
When we were getting close, she was quite passionate about me, but when she came to her senses, didn't her murderous intent towards me increase instead?...Anyway, the countermeasures are sufficient with the Master-Servant Contract and Pepe watching over us, and I'm sure she'll do a good job as a spy.
As I continued preparing for my trip, time passed quickly and three days later.
"So this is the Fang King Federation..."
"This is my first time here too! It's quite a majestic piece of land!"
I activated my local wife ability on Carrie, who was ahead of me, and was stunned by the exotic sight that unfolded before me.
A vast forest spreads out at the base of steep mountains.
There spread out a land that was far more wild than the Empire.
As its name suggests, the rugged scenery perfectly matches the image of a country formed by the gathering of various beast races.
And beyond that view is our destination for today.
The fortress city of Seadoor was built to protect the border with the Holy Kingdom of Romalia.
Looking at the sturdy city that stands in the distance, blocking the road between the mountain ranges, I finally realized that I had escaped the eyes of the church and arrived in the territory of the Demi-human nation.
"Okay, then you can come out now."
After making sure there was no one around, I entered the "sex room" and called out to the people inside.
"...Amazing. What a view."
"...! I didn't doubt it, but to think I would actually be able to travel to a demi-human country in an instant. Even after experiencing it for myself, no, it's hard to believe because I experienced it."
The first to come out were Alicia and Sister Claire.
Both of them were amazed at the sight before them, their eyes shining with excitement.
And chasing after him came out the bodyguard, Sylvia, her face bright red.
"Guh, what is that other dimension...?! Am I crazy!? No, it's an exceptional condition that all I have to do in exchange for this abnormal warp skill is for Lord Elio and Lady Alicia to do that, but why did our voices echo so loudly in such a large space...? I was doing my best to cover Lady Claire's ears, and the passionate voices of the two of them ended up stuck in my mind...? Damn it!"
Wh-what's going on?
I'm worried, but whenever I get close he jumps back, screaming, "Ahhh!?", so maybe it's best to leave him alone...
And then, from behind Sylvia, the last person came out timidly.
"...Wow."
It was Sophia Bernard, the warrior princess who had fully recovered after some time of recuperation.
His eyes lit up more than anyone else present at the sight before him, and the werewolf's ears stood perked up.
Just as I was thinking that she seemed happy, her expression suddenly became anxious. As I was wondering what was wrong, Sophia grabbed my finger,
"...Um, was it really okay for me to come along...? I've caused everyone a lot of trouble..."
"Of course."
Sophia-san is an earnest person who seems to continue to feel guilty despite being a victim of the black mist. I made a firm statement to dispel her anxiety.
"Sophia-san is evidence of the church's secret operations. It would be too scary to leave her in that town trapped in the black fog. Besides, Sophia-san, your dream has always been to go on adventures with your companions, right?"
"picture"
"So, you know, I want Sophia, who has been through so much hardship up until now, to have a lot of fun. It might not be an easy journey, but I wanted her to be with me."
"...!"
Sophia then waggled her werewolf tail and muttered something quietly.
"...Uuh, I'm not supposed to be in my period yet... but I'm in heat..."
I felt like I heard something rather lewd said... but well, I'm glad that Sophia was able to dispel her fears.
"Well then, I will return to the fortress city, but please come again if you need me! I am a half-elf of gratitude. Not only have I been forgiven my debt, but I can now have a penis for free, so I will not hesitate to cross a dangerous bridge like overthrowing the church with you!"
And with that, Carrie warps back home as a "local wife."
The plan is for Carrie to continue working as a courier under Rouge for a certain period of time so that she does not realize that she is "one of our friends."
"Okay then, let's go."
And so, after checking our luggage once more, we set off towards Seadoor, the first city of the Fanged Federation that could be seen in the distance.
Since Seadoor is the gateway to the Fang King Federation, you must pay a tax and show identification to enter.
However, since it wasn't wartime, the rules regarding identification were fairly relaxed, and entry was permitted with a guild card issued by the adventurer's guild that allowed using an alias.
Sister Claire and Silvia had made false name cards at the adventurer's guild beforehand, so they could enter without any problems if they presented them.
As Claire stood in line, preparing her ID, she was not wearing a nun's uniform, but something similar.
"The Fang King Federation is very hostile towards the indoctrination of the church. If you were to wear a nun's uniform you would be unnecessarily viewed as an enemy. Even though you are entering the country to gain the support of the demi-human nations, revealing your identity too early would only lead to unnecessary misunderstandings and conflict."
Perhaps thanks to such consideration, the queue to get in moved forward without any major issues.
(I heard that in sensitive towns along the border, if you have some kind of trouble or stand out, you might not be able to enter. Claire-san told me about various things to consider beforehand, which was helpful, I guess.)
Well, since everyone in the queue wants to get into the city, there aren't really any strange problems.
And at that moment, I was quietly waiting for the line to move forward without any particular alarm.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
"picture"
Above your head. A watchtower set on the castle wall, high enough to make you look up.
The alarm bell hanging there was ringing violently.
What's this!? I thought, and put my hand on my weapon,
"Hey, hey! Look at that!"
"Waaaaaah!? Let me inside the castle walls quickly!"
A scream came from the back of the line.
I rushed out of the line and turned towards the source of the scream,
"Grrrrrrrrr!!"
"Monsters?! And what's with these numbers?!"
It was as if they were waiting for us to stand in line.
A swarm of gigantic wolf-like monsters were charging towards us.