"Vmmmm—"
The black blade sliced the air, singing with a low metallic hum.
Its edge grazed the men's necks. Moments later, thin lines of blood surfaced.
He had avoided their major arteries—so the bleeding was minimal. But the raspy, gasping sounds from their throats filled the alley.
Only after they collapsed, clutching their necks in pain, did Takashina slowly sheath his sword.
From start to finish, it was clean, practiced, and efficient—after all, he'd repeated that motion thousands of times over the past two days.
As he looked coldly at the bodies, he felt… oddly calm.
This was his first time killing people directly. By all rights, he should've felt nauseated.
But he didn't.
It felt no different than cutting down monsters in the dungeon.
If anything, compared to grotesque creatures, the darkness in some humans was worse.
Behind him, Lili breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you… so much, Takashina-dono."
"Thank me? You're misunderstanding something…"
Takashina turned, smiling as he spoke. "I'm not some hot-blooded justice freak… Don't tell me you think I helped you because we teamed up yesterday?"
"I…"
Lili stared blankly at his grin. Her mind was scrambled.
This guy doesn't play by any normal rules!
"Then why did you save me?" she asked half-jokingly. "Could it be… you've fallen for me?"
To her surprise, Takashina nodded.
"That's not wrong. Ever since we teamed up yesterday, I've been thinking about you all morning."
He's… been thinking about me? All morning…?
Call the guards! We've got a creep here!
Lili stepped back, hugging herself. "Takashina-dono… you're joking, right?"
"Not at all. I'm completely serious."
His firm denial crushed her final hope.
And then he added, "I'm a practical man. I never do things without a benefit. So think about it, Lili—what do you have that's worth me going after?"
His casual tone made it sound perfectly reasonable.
And she couldn't argue.
What did she have that was worth this man's attention?
He was strong. In a place like Orario, there was nothing beyond his reach.
Fame, respect, power, money—he could have it all.
So what could she offer?
A tiny thought came to mind.
Loli…con?
It was a term whispered among the gods. Referring to men who preferred childlike girls, or those with petite frames.
That's not just "a preference"—that's a full-on pervert!
"N-no… Takashina-dono… I'm still just a kid… I couldn't possibly satisfy you…"
She trembled, clutching her robe tighter.
"Small's fine. I don't mind."
Looking at Lili, Takashina recalled yesterday's profits from the dungeon and smiled. "In fact, I think you're exactly what I need."
You don't have to think that!!
In Lili's eyes, Takashina now had little devil horns and a tail. That smirk on his face made her dizzy.
"I… I thought you were a good person… not like those thugs who hurt me…"
"Good person?"
Takashina pointed at himself. Then at the corpses. "Ask them—do I look like a good guy?"
"I see…"
Her eyes turned cold. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
So there were no good people. Her hope had always been just a delusion…
Was she going to surrender?
Despair crushed her chest. Tears welled up.
Plip.
A drop of sorrow hit the ground.
Hearing that voice, the smile on Kai's face disappeared.
"Lili, do you dislike me that much? I did save you just now. Even if it's just out of gratitude, shouldn't you at least consider my request?"
"To have overwhelming strength yet still pretend to be some gallant hero… trying to use both kindness and intimidation? As expected of Takashina-dono, your methods are truly masterful."
Lili shot Kai a cold glance and sneered, "If you're going to make a move, just do it. But my body isn't as wonderful as you imagine—flat and frail. Try not to hurt yourself."
Although the thought of dying rather than submitting flashed across her mind, in the end, Lili chose to endure.
The life of a small supporter like her was insignificant. No one would even remember her existence. To die so meaninglessly—she couldn't accept it!
Live… As long as she lived on, she would find a chance one day to pay back today's humiliation tenfold!
But just as she braced herself, eyes shut, waiting to be violated, she heard Chen Mo speak.
"Um, Lili, I think you may have misunderstood…"
Looking at the tightly shut eyes and trembling form of Lili like a scared hamster, Kai finally understood why she'd been so resistant.
This was all a huge misunderstanding!
"Misunderstood?"
"A major one…"
Facing the puzzled look from the little Pallum girl, Kai said helplessly, "I just wanted to ask you to join my adventurer party, to help me pick up dropped items and magic stones… I actually took a newbie from my Familia into the dungeon again this morning, but didn't collect many magic stones, so I really miss working with you yesterday."
"Eh…"
Kai's voice was sincere, his gaze clear—he didn't look like he was lying at all.
Plus, with his overwhelming power, he didn't need to lie to someone like her.
So… it was really just a misunderstanding?
"—Eh?!"
The moment she realized it, Lili felt a burning heat rush over her. She didn't need a mirror to know that her face was red enough to bleed.
The overwhelming shame made her want to vanish on the spot!
"Then, let me ask again."
Kai sighed and asked, "Lili, will you be my supporter?"
"Of cour—"
Mid-sentence, Lili stopped herself.
To her, being someone's supporter didn't matter—she always drifted between adventurer parties. But remembering the earlier misunderstanding, the words that had reached her lips were swallowed back down.
To put it simply, Lili was throwing a tantrum after embarrassing herself.
"Even though I don't know what level you are, with your strength, Takashina-dono, finding a supporter should be easy. Why insist on me?"
Tilting her head slightly, Lili muttered from beneath her hood, "Are you actually a perverted lolicon?"
…Where the hell did I act clingy? And why does lolicon need the 'perverted' prefix?!
Hearing her unreasonable claim, Kai shook his head helplessly. Despite being more mature than Bell in many ways, she was still just a kid.
And as an adult, Kai wouldn't argue too much with a sulking child. He forced a smile and said gently, "Then tell me—how can I prove I'm not a lolicon?"
"A perverted lolicon!" Lili corrected him immediately.
"Alright, alright, perverted lolicon…"
Apologizing in his heart to all the true gentlemen lolicons out there, Kai continued, "So how do I prove I'm not one?"
"You can't. Because you are one!"
"…"
For a moment, Kai seriously wanted to spank this brat.
Still, he held back and forced a smile, speaking in a coaxing tone, "Then how about this..."
As he spoke, he stepped closer and held up his right hand in front of her, pinky extended.
"…What's that supposed to mean?" Lili looked confused. "Some new insult gesture?"
In this world, some gods had introduced an upper-world culture where sticking out the middle finger meant disdain.
"Of course not."
Kai's smile twitched. "This is a contract gesture from my hometown. If both parties agree using this gesture, the promise can't be broken. Now, give me your right hand."
"Is it really that magical…"
Though skeptical, Lili still extended her right hand as instructed.
From her loose sleeve, a pale, pink-tinged arm emerged. Her pinky was soon hooked by Kai's.
Back home, the full version of the gesture included chanting "Pinky swear, whoever breaks it hangs for a hundred years," but Kai felt that was too embarrassing. So he replaced it with a local version.
"In the name of Lady Hestia…"
Looking into Lili's hooded eyes, Kai solemnly swore in the alley,
"I, Takashina Kai, swear I am definitely, absolutely, without question not a perverted lolicon, and I will never do anything bad to a little girl like Lili!"
At first, Lili felt the mood was serious due to the invocation of Hestia's name—but once she heard the vow's contents, she burst out laughing.
"What the heck? Swearing in your goddess's name… just for that? I'm going to tattle to Hestia-sama, you know?"
"Even if you do, she won't make a fuss over it."
Shaking his head, Kai opened his palm. "Lili, can you agree now?"
"…Hmph. Only because it's for Hestia-sama's sake."
With a smile forming at her lips, Lili high-fived him.
Smack!
As their palms met, Lili felt her heart skip a beat, and her face flushed.
"That's settled then."
Unaware of Lili's reaction, Kai nodded in satisfaction, turned, kicked aside some corpses blocking the way, and walked out of the alley.
"Let's hit the fourth floor this afternoon. I'm getting bored of the third—same old monsters again and again…"
Lili finally snapped out of her daze when his silhouette was about to vanish down the alley. Glancing at the corpses, she quickly gathered her coin pouch and caught up.
[Why don't you ask them if I'm a good guy?]
Was that even a question?
Yes, he killed without hesitation and always looked grumpy…
But Takashina-dono, strong as he was, never bullied the weak—he really was a good person.