I rolled to the side and the first thing that greeted me was a thick cloud of dust that nearly choked me.
When I got to my feet and looked down, I saw the Fang Demon pinned to the floor, impaled by Kronos like a giant cork.
The beast roared with a mix of rage and pain, swinging wildly in the air as he tried to tear the sword out.
I couldn't let him free himself, but I also couldn't pull Kronos out.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, a faint glint caught my attention.
I turned my head and there it was: Dikon's sword, lying just a few steps away. It must have been dropped when the kid went flying earlier.
Despite the unbearable pain, I dragged my feet over, picked it up, and examined it. It was surprisingly light. The hilt was ostentatious—gilded and encrusted with gemstones. A blade truly worthy of a noble.
I wasn't a noble, of course. But that didn't matter. For this, it was perfect.
I raised the sword high, ready to cut off the monster's hideous head.
And then…
"Noooo! Stop, please!"
Startled, I spun around and saw a blonde girl running straight toward me.
"Please…" the girl continued, "Please… don't hurt Master Demian!"
"Huh?"
Her eyes were red and glassy with tears. She threw herself over the demon and hugged him tightly.
"Master Demian is a good man… He took care of me this whole time and stayed with me… and that's why… that's why I… I love him! I love him and I want to stay with him forever!"
Faced with that declaration, all I could do was stand there with a completely dumbfounded expression.
Wait a second.
Blonde hair… green eyes… This girl is clearly a noble. Could she be…?
"Are you Tia Lyamnsen?"
"Huh? Do I know you?"
"Your father sent me to rescue you."
Well, technically they were going to pay me, but she didn't need to know that.
"M-My father?!" the young woman exclaimed, startled.
"Don't worry…" Demian suddenly spoke. He gripped Kronos with both hands and slowly pulled it out, leaving a trail of blood. "I promised we'd be together, and I intend to keep that promise."
Little by little, he began reverting to his human form.
Together? What the hell is he talking about? Wasn't this guy supposed to be the villain?
"My goddess intuition tells me they weren't kidnapped," said a voice behind me. I turned around to find Aqua.
"Did you free her?"
My companion shook her head.
"That door led to some kind of dungeon, just like you guessed. But all the cells were empty."
"What do you mean, empty?"
"It means there's nothing inside," Aqua explained.
"I know what 'empty' means!"
"Well, why would I be inside a cell? Are you stupid?" Tia Lyamnsen's words were cold and haughty.
"Anyway, I'm not going back. Tell my father thanks, but no. I pass."
"What do you mean 'thanks but no'?"
Did this girl have any idea what I went through to get here? I barely knew her and I already felt like slapping her.
"Lady Tia… weren't you kidnapped?" Dikon asked, staggering over. Thankfully the kid had survived that brutal hit.
"Of course not! Master Demian invited me to come live here with him, and I simply accepted."
"But my lady, your father is very worried about you."
"The only thing my father cares about is squeezing every last coin out of the citizens. To him, I'm nothing but an asset. I bet he just wants to marry me off to some feudal lord to increase his fortune."
"Even so, he's still your father," I said, raising my sword threateningly toward Demian. "And this guy is a demon. He needs to be exterminated."
Tia quickly stepped between us, shielding him with her body.
"Tia… my dear, please…"
"No! I won't let you hurt him!"
This spoiled brat!
"Hey, Kaizer."
"What?"
"I don't know… I was thinking, if they're really in love, maybe we should just leave them be."
"Have you lost your mind? Aren't you the one who can't stand the existence of dark creatures?"
"Yes," the goddess admitted. "But if they're truly in love… as a goddess of the Axis Cult, my duty is to respect those feelings. Whether it's someone of the same sex, a demon, a trap, or even a furry—the goddess forgives everything."
"As if we could trust a cult of deviants!"
"Hey! I already told you not to talk about my followers like that, you stupid hikikomori!"
Still, I had to admit Aqua's words made some sense.
If these two lovebirds were genuinely in love, who was I to tear them apart?
I took a quick look at Tia Lyamnsen. She looked only a few years younger than me, so there was a noticeable age gap with Demian. But this was a medieval world… people probably didn't care much about that kind of thing when love was involved, right?
"Master Demian! Is Master Demian here? Don't hurt him!" a second voice cried out.
I turned around and saw a young brunette girl in a pink dress.
If Tia looked 15 to 18, this girl couldn't have been older than 12.
What the hell is going on?
"Ah, my beautiful and gentle Lidia…" Demian said, taking the newcomer's hand. "Everything will be fine… don't worry…"
Lidia, now in tears, held the demon's hand like it was the most precious treasure and pressed it to her cheek.
"I won't leave you, Master Demian! I want us to get married! You promised!"
"Yes! And me too!"
"And me!"
Before I could even process what was happening, a small crowd of young girls had gathered around us, all joining in the marriage proposals and begging us not to kill their beloved.
Well, I guess we found the kidnapped girls, I thought.
"I can't understand. Can someone please explain what's going on?" Dikon asked. I was thinking the exact same thing. Aqua probably was too.
"T-There's not much to explain," a blushing Demian replied. "I mean… isn't it obvious? All these young ladies agreed to come live with me, and I've promised to marry every single one of them. Hehe."
The Fang Demon—who I had been fighting to the death just minutes ago—was now smiling ear to ear like a lovestruck teenager.
And what the hell was that "hehe"?
"Hey, Kaizer," Aqua whispered discreetly, covering her mouth with her hand. "What do we do now? It's not that I don't want the reward money, but if all these girls are here of their own free will, I doubt there's anything we can do… right?"
"I suppose you're right. If the guy wants a harem and promised to marry them all…"
"I… I don't want you to hurt Master Demian either…" came a sudden sweet, innocent voice.
When I turned around, a chill ran down my spine.
The three of us fell completely silent.
Standing before us was a tiny girl in a white nightgown, clutching what looked like a stuffed rabbit.
She couldn't have been more than six years old.
"He's nice… He bought me Mr. Rabby."
"What… the fuck…" were the only words I could manage.
"G-Gentlemen, please!" Demian started stammering. "This isn't what you're thinking! I swear! It's just that… humans live such short lives that I had to take measures for my future. Don't demons have the right to be happy too? Look at it as… as a long-term investment!"
What he was saying was so wrong on so many levels that I didn't even know how to respond.
"Aqua, I don't know about you, but I think we should—" I started, then paused. "Huh? Aqua?"
Beside me, the goddess's body was trembling with pure rage…
…and an incandescent flame began forming in her fist.