Still in the carriage at last night.

After the siblings received the video Hecate had sent, Floire fell into a deep thought. Shortly after, she suddenly asked Hecate in a harsh tone.

"What's your condition?" (Floire)

"Condition? What do you mean?" (Hecate)

Something was not right.

Hecate couldn't help but frown with the unexpected hostility from the bunny girl.

"Aren't you gonna blackmail us with the video? " (Floire)

"...Why should I do that?" (Hecate)

"Don't play dumb! You want to turn us into your meat slave, right?! If we didn't obey, you'll spread our video over the net, or something like that?!" (Floire)

Floire suddenly shouted with an angry voice as she hugged her rabbit body tightly. Her eyes filled with resentment stared straight at Hecate.

She acted as if her innocence was about to be violated by the loli in front of her.

"What a vicious girl!! Behind your cute face, I didn't expect you to hide such a horrible side!" (Floire)

"Weh...?" (Hecate)

Hecate could only be dumbfounded. She didn't expect that she would get this accusation.

At first, she did not think of interacting with them at all, much less blackmailing. They were just strangers anyway and doing so would be just a waste of time.

As for why she asked them friend requests, it was just for pleasantries and she had planned to delete them at a later time.

'Meat slave? Blackmail? This bunny girl's imagination is too rich!'

'...But, maybe that's not a bad idea?'

However, Hecate immediately dispersed that thought.

She would rather win these siblings' hearts by increasing their favorability than blackmail. It would be a pity if she were to turn them into enemies. After all, people with a "cultured" mind like them were rare and hard to find!

With that kind of thinking, she let out a kind(?) smile.

"Rest assured, I won't do such things. After all, I want to befriend you two." (Hecate)

"Really? Hecate...-chan, can I call you that? Then the video..." (Kaire)

"Sure, I will delete the video and show you the evidence." (Hecate)

With a swept of a finger, Hecate shown them the deleted screen.

Of course, there's still a catch that deleted videos can still be recovered from the recycle bin, but Hecate did not forget to show them the emptied recycle bin.

"Yes, it has been deleted." (Floire)

Floire lowered her guard after confirmed the video had been deleted. Kaire also breathe a sigh of relief.

However, they didn't notice.

There were still two copies of the video in Hecate's two Private Messages, and they weren't deleted. And deleting the PM on their side would be useless, because Hecate could still retrieve the video from her Sent Folder.

But, Hecate was not obliged to tell them that fact.

"Now that the video is gone, do you believe my sincerity?" (Hecate)

"...Okay, we believe you... But first, I want to ask you a few questions." (Kaire)

Even though Floire lowered her guard a bit, she was still wary of Hecate. Now it was Kaire who asked suspiciously.

"Go ahead." (Hecate)

"So Hecate-chan, why are you here? What is your purpose in recording us?" (Kaire)

The carriage they were in now had clearly been protected by Floire's barrier that prevented anyone from entering. It wasn't a very strong barrier and could be broken easily by anyone.

However, that would be enough to inform Floire that someone was approaching, so she could stop their "exercise" immediately before they could be discovered.

And yet, Hecate was here while the barrier was still stood unscathed.

"Hmm... Why am I here, you ask? I just logged in and here I am..."

Hecate was silent for a moment trying to arrange her words, before continuing.

"...Then, unexpectedly there was such an interesting scene in front of me, so I recorded it!"

The siblings looked at Hecate incredulously after they heard her answer.

She logged in and appeared in that spot, then she recorded them because she felt it was interesting. There wasn't any conspiracy or anything like that. Was it really that simple?

"In other words, it was just an accident?" (Floire)

"I suppose so." (Hecate)

Hecate nodded, it doesn't look like she lied.

Kaire and Floire let out a sigh.

While it was certainly embarrassing that their "exercise" were seen by Hecate, but it didn't seem like a big deal. After seeing her behavior just now, it was unlikely she would tell anyone else.

But before they could relax, suddenly Hecate dropped a bomb.

"Now it's my turn to ask... So, how do you feel of being seen?" (Hecate)

"Eh? What?" (Kaire)

"I mean, you guys got aroused when you were seen by me, right?" (Hecate)

"...!?" (×2)

Instantly, both Kaire and Floire's became flustered. Kaire froze on the spot and seemed to be at a loss for words. Perhaps his mind was overheated and temporarily stopped working.

Floire instinctively tried to refute, but Hecate quickly interrupted her. 

"Th... that's not..." (Floire)

"Don't be too quick to argue. Try to remember that feeling, during the time you realized I was watching." (Hecate)

With her words, the siblings couldn't help but recalled the earlier feeling. Their expression instantly turned red as tomatoes from embarrassment.

Just as Hecate said, when they realized that Hecate was watching, they became extremely stimulated and their "exercise" became fiercer than before. The feeling of guilt, shame, and immorality really spice up their lustful feast, which then elevates their sense of pleasure to a higher level.

Regardless of the current situation, it was indeed an unforgettable experience.

Meanwhile, Hecate let out an evil grin after seeing their change of expression. However, her smile at this time was completely different than the previous kind(?) smile that she showed earlier.

Devilish and malevolent, without the trace of kindness yet still sweet and adorable.

It was the smile of a little devil who had found two new toys to play with. But regardless, the siblings who saw her smile couldn't help but be attracted to her, like a moth to a flame.

She then whispered to the siblings.

"Are you interested in experiencing that feeling again?"

...

And so that night, Hecate obtained two cute pets.

♦♦♦

 

 

Time jump to the present.

The wolves ambush has ended with an unexpected result. Because of the divine(?) interference, the wolves has been annihilated with zero casualties on the escort group.

A middle-aged man observed the kneeling guards in the rain from inside the luxurious carriage.

"The Goddess has helped us?"

The merchant, Mr Georg listened to his subordinate's report from the window with a surprised expression. But soon later, his surprised expression replaced with an undisguised joy.

"I see, then go back to your post. Tell everyone to resume our trip after 10 minutes." (Georg)

"Yes, my lord!" (Guard)

Merchant Georg stopped paying attention to the guard and leaned back in his seat. Then, he rolled up his left sleeve and chanted 'Praise to the Goddess Norn' inside his mind with a pious expression.

On his revealed left arm was a tattoo of two coiled snakes eating each other's tails, forming the symbol of infinity.

If Leon was present in this place, he would be able to recognize this tattoo as the Ouroboros sign. This tattoo was a sign that this person is a member of the Umbra Church, otherwise known as the Dark Church.

The Dark Church was the opposite of the Light Church in teaching and ideology.

If the Light Church attaches importance to virtue and promotes harmony, then the Dark Church attaches importance to power and promotes chaos, even if it means neglecting harmony.

Because of this difference, the Dark Church was treated as dangerous and heretical, even inside the Empire.

But even so, the influence of the Dark Church has been deeply rooted within the Empire. The reason was because their church provides a quick and easy way to gain strength for their believers, even if it was in a heretical way.

Additionally, Georg also has one more identity. Georg Bernard, the third son of Duke Bernard of the Gemmerio Empire. 

Duke Bernard, also known as General Bernard, was the one who led the Imperial army in the war against the Beastkins of the Croissa Kingdom. Bernard family was just one of the many secret believers of the Dark Church, and they had been utilizing the church's power to achieve their lifelong desire.

That was to occupy Croissa Kingdom and establish the human supremacy!

The task originally went smoothly as every soldier empowered by Umbra's power became very strong. They were capable of routing the Beastkin and they were about to occupy a strategic place.

Unfortunately, before they could do so, the spider outbreak happened and the war ended up into a truce.

Georg let out a smile as he stared at one of the wagons, or more precisely, something inside that wagon.

"If the Goddess Norn helping us, it means that she has blessed our actions, and our aim is just!"

During his stay at Nerkia City, he accidentally obtained something important to the Beastkins. In fact, he already expected the attack when the wolves made an ambush. It was their greatest treasure and something they had to get back at all costs.

Perhaps this treasure could make the flow of negotiations with the Beastkins in the Empire's favor. 

He also received a secret message from spies residing in the Rosenweil Kingdom through a certain merchant player. From this message, he managed to obtain many important information.

The Empire had no schedule to attack Rosenweil Kingdom for the time being, but they were still gathering information as a precaution.

"All For the Greater Good!"

Georg lit up his tobacco pipe while stroking the tattoo on his left arm.