After I finished my healing session with Lyra and she left to continue working, I went to tell everyone what happened in the supposed meal with Erevain’s brother.

“…which is why I deeply apologize, Erevain, Erica. I chose not to bring Mary with me because it was too risky given the circumstances.”

 “My lord…”

“Master…”

Yes, I’m lowering my head. And yes, it was too risky since the staff had already heard her scream and if she disappeared it would have been way too suspicious. After all, everyone knew that I was the only other person there. I have no doubt that Licht would’ve used that to mess with us.

“Please raise your head, My Lord. It was the right choice…a public accusation of kidnapping would have not only affected us, but her Holiness too as the one who welcomed us into the Capital. Regardless of how useless it would have been, there is no need for it. Not with how close we are to dealing the decisive blow. As for…”

Erevain might seem calm…even reassuring…but I can see it in her eyes…she is hurt…not because of me…but because of…

"...Licht...Mary..."

She is hurt to the point that she is clenching her fists with enough strength to make them tremble while looking down at the table.

"...it pains me to think of them as enemies but...considering their actions now and in the past. I cannot keep believing in their innocence just for who they are. I need to look at them in the eye and question them about everything. And if they are guilty...then I...I..."

Yet more than hurt…more than the wounds that might be resurfacing in her heart, she is afraid of what she might need to do…

But…she won’t be alone then, nor now.

"Then we will be with you, Leader. Doing what needs to be done."

Something that Gabrielle makes clear with her words and her hand Erevain's on shoulder.

"Indeed. You will not be alone, Erevain. But remember something, hope dies last."

Something that I too make clear with my words, all while grabbing her fist, opening it, and holding her hand.

"I...yes, My Lord...and thank you, Gabrielle."

Says Erevain looking up at us.

"We will find our answers, Leader...so that we can truly move on..."

So says Erica...and yes, she took it badly too...

Just look at her expression, it has written ‘Why…?’ all over it.

"Licht played us then...and tried to poison Master now. He needs at least a corrective beating even if he is innocent. I'll hold back, I promise, Leader."

Says Bertia with a smile. Still, I don't know if saying that you are going to beat him up will help Erevain, but I can see that she is saying it for her sake.

"Haha...yes I...think so too."

Oh, Erevain chuckled at that! Good job, Bertia!!

"Um, I always found him a bit weird. Like he was thinking too much about something, just like Mika!"

Says Lucy with her usual cheery smile and spunky attitude that could either be out of place or soften the mood even further.

"You! This is a serious matter! Even if his eyes did give off that image of thinking on something far away in a creepy manner! You can't say that! And what is that about me being weird?! I am not weird!"

But you already did say that Mika...

"Ow, ow, my ear, Mika stop pulling it...it hurts...also you already said it..."

"...! Oh, no! I'm so sorry Leader!!"

"Owowowowowow! You're tearing it off! Masteer heeelp mee!"

Mika! Your grip! It clearly got stronger after you got nervous!

"Mika, let go of her ear."

"Ah! Yes, Master!"

"Thank you Master...*sniff*my cute ear *sniff*..."

They really know how to drain all the tension...

"You two...I cannot even...haaa…thank you, everyone."

And it seems that they did have that effect on Erevain, even if only a bit, she’s a little better now.

Erica too.

That makes me glad...because I was close to thinking that I shouldn't have said a thing...really…

"No, dear. That wouldn’t have been right. You have a ‘no secrets’ promise with her after all."

I know, darling. Even if I had thought that before telling her, I would've still told her.

I can't hide something like that.

Well...I did omit how I dealt with Mary, but that is not something essential.

Erevain and everyone else knows that I defeated her quickly. That is enough, right?

I will tell her eventually or if it ever comes up...

"Fufufu~~, looking for legal gaps within promises is not a good habit, dear. But I will give you a pass this time because some of them already figured it out. Even if they then threw that thought away almost immediately. Still, I think you should do something a bit more shocking in the general sense, lest that turn into the first thing they always think of when it comes to you dealing with someone."

...

I don't want that!

_____________________________________________

"It is ready, Master."

Says Allegra after suddenly coming out of the secret tunnel in the living room, all while holding a small spherical glass container in her hand.

Also…YES!!!

TIME TO TRY OUT THAT SPELL I WAS THINKING ABOUT!!

“*ASMRSTAAAAARE*”

And Allegra looks just as excited as me, to the point that her eyes are pretty much telling me to ask her about what she is holding.

So, I shall oblige. Heh.

Ah, also, it has been less than hour after the sun went down, so it is practically night. Just in time.

"Excellent, Allegra. Where there any problems?"

I ask that and she shakes her head lightly as she starts.

"None at all, Master~~. There was only the challenge and the fun of brewing this since I had to mix the properties of various poisons~~. Like the one that comes from the Gralif flower, which is odorless, but it only gives stomachache. Or the poison that belongs to the Bir frog, which is quick to take effect, but it can kill a humanoid without the appropriate resistance or antidotes.”

So says Allegra while pulling out samples of each poison the moment she mentions them and storing them away when moving on to the next.

“So, just like I did with the ‘insta-crisper’, I used my equipment to separate the properties needed and used another poison as the base. The hardest step was maintaining the efficacy of the poison while making it airborne instead of one that needed to be ingested or injected. But after a process of trial and error, I managed to brew one that had a perfect balance between all the characteristics that Master requested. Of course, the second it touches the skin it will start acting too. Ah~~~, this was quite the day for me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Master~~."

Yep, she just said all that with her ASMR voice. So, you can understand if I tell you that I have been doing my best not to…melt while listening to her.  And boy, do I want to melt with that voice of hers…

I mean, I did pay attention. After all, I can guess which piece of equipment she used for her work. It was most likely that weird magical artifact-looking thing that had the strange symbols that meant 'to separate'. Kind of obvious, right?

Now…she did mention the ‘insta-crisper’, so I need to ask her about something very important.

"There is nothing to be grateful about, Allegra. I knew that your abilities were more than enough, and you fulfilled those expectations. Besides that, how is it called?"

I say that in my usual edge alter way of talking.

Felt I haven’t mentioned that in some time now.

Anyways, knowing her naming sense, I bet it will be something along the lines of 'insta-sleep'.

"Fulfilling those expectations by experiencing a good challenge brings happiness to me, Master. And I was waiting for that question! Knowing that Master understands the intricacies of my naming sense, I can presume that Master already thought of one. Like, 'insta-sleep'."

"Hooh~~, indeed."

I say in complete honesty. I mean, pretty much read my mind.

She giggles while nodding.

"That was one of the options, yes. But I decided to name it the 'quick-sleep'. It sounds better and less derivative. Right, Master?"

The moment she finishes saying that all the maids facepalm at the same time.

And amm...

"It is...nice...right, dear?"

Yeah...she just changed a word for another one with the same meaning, but...yeah...it is kind of nice if you think about it.

"Hmph, as expected. It is better, Allegra."

"I knew that Master would understand~!"

“Of course. Now…let us get ready.”

Yep, now that the educational is finished, it’s time to get ready and enter the tunnels.

Why?

We've got a cave to reach.

____________________________________________

"We have arrived, Master."

So whispers Allegra while coming out of the narrow hidden tunnel she found a couple of days ago.

Unlike in the ones that Greese mentioned, there are no strange symbols here. Although Allegra said that such absence is probably due to a cave-in that happened when the tunnel was under construction.

Back when she and Luca discovered it, they had to use their enhanced strength and some corrosives to deal with the rocks blocking the way in a silent manner. At least until it was good enough to go through but not that open that it would be immediately noticed.

And yes…there was a moment I got stuck because of my boobs being too big...

Erevain noticed and tried to act as if she hadn't...but her ears had a tinge of red...

And Gabrielle looked as if she wanted to help but didn’t know how and was a bit nervous because of it…

Both were so cute…

Still…

How embarrassing...

Laugh all you want.

"Fufufu~~ well dear, it was quite funny. You even had to make them smaller to go through. Fufufufu~~~."

It felt kind of good in its own way...you know how they say...less size more sensitive nip...wait...no!!!

I'M SORRY BESTO WAIFU!! I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO SLOW DOWN EVERYONE!! I LOVE THE ORIGINAL SIZE OF THESE GLORIOUS BAGS OF HOPES AND DREAMS!! I MEAN IT!! DON'T BE ANGRY!!

"Fufufufhahahaha…hahaha…I think...haha…she would be embarrassed, dear…hahaha…"

M-Moving on!

As we all come out from the tunnel and hide ourselves behind some rocks, I can 'see' all the people working here as well as the massive door with my OP senses.

Some people carry rocks, some use pickaxes to scrape away at the rocks, and others use precise magic to do both things.

They also seem to have been working on reinforcing the cave's structure by installing pillars in strategic places.

Heck, they even made something like a net to catch any falling stalactites the moment they fall. Which is probably a measure they took after the incident Greese mentioned.

One thing I must say is that this is nothing like what I expected from a villain's operation.

Like…there are no whips, no chains, and there are no slaves of any kind here, not even relatable criminal ones.

Such...isekai heresy!! Where is my slave with a sad background story?!

Instead, this gives the image of a normal operation. Heck, there are even some workers taking a break at the eatery they have set up for themselves, and others are just snoring away in their personal tents.

Just like a normal full-time job...

Don't you worry, snoring man. Your coworkers will soon follow you into the dreamlands and you'll have the best sleep you’ve had in decades.

Anyways, this cave is big, like big enough to fit a street of my childhood neighborhood. It even has a lake.

And man, I so want to bathe in it.

The water looks so fresh that I just know it would feel good on my body. You know, I used to take a dip in underground rivers at least once every vacation period I had. All to cleanse the gacha salt and stress from work.

It was sooo good...

Ooops, can't get distracted with nostalgic feelings.

"Erevain."

I whisper while giving her the ok with a nod. Which is me telling her that no one has noticed us.

Why am I doing that? Because Allegra is our only scout right now and she is busy prepping the 'Quick-sleep' for deployment. So, I volunteered to help with that or more like, I said I would do so with my edge alter tone.

Also, that name really rolls off the mental tongue, huh.

"Everyone, we have already discussed My Lord's plan while coming here, but there is no harm in reminding you of it. It is simple, we wait until the poison takes effect and take out of commission those who manage to resist it. Understood?"

Says Erevain to all the Maid-Knights that accompany us. Them being Erica, Gabrielle, Mika, Lucy, Bertia and, obviously, Allegra. As for Luca and Sophie, they are still gathering information about the ball's guests.

""""Yes.""""

Everyone says so in their loudest of whispers.

"I am ready, Master."

Says Allegra with a confident smile and a hand-crossbow on each hand. Said hand-crossbows are loaded with a special type of bolt that she made while working on the poison. It is a type of bolt that can pierce hard rock while not making much noise. But that is not what makes them special. No, what makes them special is the delicate plastic-like 'bubble' that will break on impact and release the poison into the air.

Poison that will spread quickly throughout the cave since it will be shot at four different locations within it for maximum efficiency.

Not only did she make the stuff, but she also made the way to deliver it. She really is impressive, right?

Now, I'll just deal with the cave's surveillance spells since it obviously has them. And those seem to be quite the rage here in the capital going by what Luca and the rest have told me.

Which is yet another similarity with my former world. After all, big cities have cameras pretty much everywhere, while small towns have little to none. Just like Illumbee village.

But I digress.

"Space, bend to my will, obey me and surround this area with a lie of normalcy, [Liar Space]."

As soon as I finish that chant, a faint pulse comes out of my hand, which makes its way throughout the whole cave, covering it in its effect.

Anyone who is keeping an eye on this place will just see everyone in the cave acting as normal, regardless of what's about to happen.

And you probably already guessed it, but this spell is based on that tactic of looping a video of an empty hallway in the security monitors of a bank, safe, etc. You know, like in heist films or in some anime. The guards think that everything is alright, but everything is actually getting stolen. Heh.

"Now."

Hearing my whisper, Allegra nods, takes aim, and shoots at the places that she had already thought as best for the poison to spread.

Something that I can see with my senses as the 'bubbles' break and release the poison.

Also, while not as outrageous as mine, everyone's [Abnormal Status Resistance] is high enough to not be affected by the poison.

And now we wait.

"So, dear~~. What are you planning to do? Are you going to try and go inside? You know that that could trigger a secret boss fight, right? Like Reaper-chan in the portable version, dear. That was a hard one…"

Heh, you say 'hard one' but you still aced it.

"Fufufu~~, of course! But it took me more moves, dear! That is more than enough."

Oh yes, of course, it’s not like it took me like five times to get it right…

But to give an answer to your question, darling.

It is a surprise!

So, no peeking into my thoughts when I start!

"But I as Goddess do not like surprises, dear~~."

Yes, I know. I just thought that it is nice to surprise your lover every once in a while.

I mean...I really like the face you make when surprised.

It's really cute.

"H-how am I supposed to refuse now that you made me blush this much, Auros?! Besides, you are already surprising me with those lines you...harem protagonist!"

Wha—?! But...but...I was just being honest!! You looked really cute when I surprised you back then in heaven!

"Again! You...! Surprising me twice in a row! I promise! I promise! It makes me really happy, but Ilya is going to start worrying if she finds me looking so red!!"

You are so cute, darling.

"Mou!!"

*thud* *thud**thud**thud**thud**thud**thud*

*thud**thud**thud**thud**thud*

*thud**thud**thud**thud*

Oh! Talk about making good on its name! 'Quick-sleep' indeed!

Everyone in the cave has fallen deeply asleep, except for me and the maids of course.

"That poison is truly worthy of its name. Well done, Allegra."

I say so while standing up since there is no longer a need to be stealthy with everyone taking a nap.

"I am glad you think so, Master. It has even surpassed my expectations by one minute."

Says Allegra with a satisfied expression on her face.

"That speaks volumes of your ability. Well then…Erevain, everyone, there is still the possibility that someone might come here, so be on the lookout."

Why? Because that is something that happens almost always when the protagonist is doing something in a stealthy way.

Be it looking for something in questionable drawers or having a wholesome moment with the girl they like instead of the 'annoying' first heroine who ends up winning at the end.

Someone is bound to interrupt them most of the time.

So, let's do this quickly.

"Of course, My Lord. Everyone."

With that, everyone nods and start walking in different directions.

They are probably going to do a full check of the place before regrouping where I am.

Or more like, where I’m going to be, as in the massive stone door that I am quickly approaching and…

"Uwaa...I already knew that it was massive thanks to my senses, but seeing it up-close is something else..."

It's so grand, mystical and clearly something that you will not see in another place except here.

And that that is pulsating from its center feels old…ancient…but it is weak…really weak…

Not only that, but my instinct is telling me that it will not be long for it to be broken if left like this.

Maybe one more night or two...hm?

"Oho...look at that..."

There’s some strange pickaxes and maces over there, a few meters to the right from where I am, and they are emitting a familiar black aura…it is dim, but it is still there…

"Dear, that is..."

Yes, it seems they have somehow processed the evil god's blood and turned it into tools...then what if I focus...

"...!"

Nerinne...all the tools in this place are the same!

They must have learned of a way to turn it into tools and use them safely, just for this!

Which means that they were simply extracting more of their main raw material when we arrived at Illumbee Village!!

"Making them use those tools...yes the effects on their bodies are minimal, but I can’t say the same for their souls if they keep up. I shall bless the innocent workers with protection, but...I will not forgive the ones who put these tools in their hands. Them doing this has given me even more reasons to end the dragon lords..."

Calm down, darling.

Your 'dark mode' is coming out...

I promise that what I will do will help you feel better.

"...fine, dear."

___________________________________________

I pass my hands along the crevice of the door and I can feel a bit of what is inside.

It feels...

"Sinister and disgusting."

Exactly, Nerinne.

Hmm…? There seems to be something written right on the center of the door.

Let’s check it out.

I summon a large 'space block', putting it beneath my feet and making it levitate with me on top it.

Yep, I am practically on a magical elevator!

It is so cool!

Ding! Second floor, strange symbols, and carvings!

Time to let my blessing do its literal magic.

It says:

'Let this be the eternal seal which bans you from this world. No more shall you bring sickness and hunger to the people. No more shall you spread the plague that is your gospel. Sleep eternally, Akramax, Emissary of the Evil God.'

That sounds familiar...

Wait…wasn't there something like that in the story Erevain told us back when they first entered the castle?

"It is, Auros. And this is…yes…it is indeed his mana. This sealing spell belongs to one of the original Knights of the Ever-Burning Will...but why did I not know of this being here? Was he being considerate of his Goddess?"

Waitwaitwait…weren't they supposed to have killed the emissaries? Even the last one died defeating one of them, right? Or is this a case of legend being grander than reality?

"I am afraid that that is the case, dear. Yes, some knights managed to kill some emissaries, even in exchange for their lives...but other emissaries were just too powerful to be killed. Thus, they resorted to sealing them...even if that incurred a great cost for some of them.”

I see…but why did you not know this one was here?

“Because the evil god’s influence interferes with my divine senses due to the clash of divinities. Knowing this, the Knights always told me where they had sealed its emissaries…except for one. The one that had been sealed while I was…fighting the evil god in another place. I was too injured, and I had to rest in my divine realm after the fight...which is why I think he was being considerate and took it upon himself to guard this seal. Ah! So that is why!"

What, darling? It seems as if something just clicked for you.

"It is exactly that, dear!! He survived the war and asked to live the rest of his days as a villager in a piece of land he had found a liking to! That dummy! That village was right here!! He named it Kyrie Village!! And whenever I asked him through the Head of the Church or divine messages, he would always say the same thing! 'Don't worry. The seal is fine, no one will find it. Not even by accident. I made sure of it.' Of course, it was fine! He was living above it the whole time!! Muu…even if he was being nice, I feel like I have been played with!! Hum!!"

C-cute...Nerinne pouting is cute...

"Deeear."

A-anyways, that means that Mister Founder of the Kyrie Kingdom pretty much created a Kingdom that would inadvertently protect the seal when they protected themselves.

"Yes! And he also probably introduced to his successors the weird tradition of adding more tunnels to the underground of it. Which made the place more and more difficult to reach as time passed! That dummy was always so good at making other's do his job and tricking people!"

Heh, he sounds like someone I could be friends with.

"Dear!"

Or not!

Amm...but it seems the seal is running on fumes now...which is most likely the work of Bryn’s Master, Violet Death, through the King and the tools we just saw.

And I really don’t like to say this, but if I purify them, they will know we were here so I can't do that.

I'm sorry, Nerinne.

"No, I understand, dear."

Thank you.

Then all that is left is to figure out what the dragon lords want to do with the emissary.

Do they really want to wake the emissary up? Or perhaps it is something else? Like…they want to break the seal because they have a way to siphon its power and use it for themselves.

I say that because those two are the most used options in isekais and my instinct is telling me that it is one of the two...

Man, I hate lacking information in these moments...

"But we can figure that out later. Darling, I'm starting. No peeking."

See? I even said it out loud, so you know I'm serious!

"I know, dear~~."

Good.

Let's see.

Darling is the cutest heroine of them all! I want to marry her and have lots of kids with her!

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING YOU DUMMYYYY AUROS?!!!"

WHY ARE YOU STILL PEEKING ON MY THOUGHTS, HUH?!!

"Ah!"

I knew you would try and just stay silent to trick me!

"Ehehe~~."

Dummy laughs do not suit you, Nerinne!

"Mou...fine..."

Ok.

My instinct is telling me that this time she did fulfill her promise.

So, now it is my turn to fulfill mine.

It is simple, I was letting my imagination run wild and came up with it at the same time as the [Liar Space] spell.

It is also something that I would've loved to see used in many isekais.

So, let us reinforce that seal as the first part of this. Shall we?

"Come! Holy Lance: Nern!"

I summon my holy lance and let its holy radiance show.

Got to be flashy with this, of course.

First, I take a mental photo of the seal, which will come in handy later.

Then, I let the lance's blade touch the part where the core of the seal is, lending it the holy power of the lance and part of mine.

With that, white-gold and black-red energies flow into the seal, reigniting its own shine, which is a deep hue of blue, and repairing any damage it had.

When that happened, the faint sinister feeling that was flowing out of the door vanished.

A clear sign of the seal's total recovery.

A seal that will now last pretty much forever thanks to the power of the holy lance and my mana.

What? You want hard quantities? Come on! It is just an outrageous amount of mana and holy power!

I am an OP isekai protagonist, I have enough of both to spare!

And I am about to do something even more outrageous!

"My Lord, what are you planning to do?!"

So exclaims Erevain as she sees me floating in front of the door while clad in my stormy mana. The rest of the maids are also there with her and have the same question in their eyes.

"Just watch!"

I say so with a firm tone before I move close enough to the massive door and I touch it with my hand.

"Space, bend to my will, obey me, take that which is in front of me to space like this. A reflection. [Mirror Space Transport]."

My mana starts swirling as cracks begin to appear in the space surrounding the door. No, not cracks, mirrored angles.

All reflecting each other to infinity as more and more appeared while sounding like a million crystals being moved on top of each other.

Until everything in the cave turns like this for a moment and then…it stops.

Silence reigns as I look behind me and everyone is gone.

I am alone in this mirror space.

"...!"

The structures, the tents, the beds and so on, everything is here except for the people.

As the name implies, this is a mirror space which is identical to where I was seconds ago.

And I just transported the whole sealing room to it. Even if it looks like it has not been moved at all. 

Why I didn't take it to the castle? I wanted to try out my spells, of course!!

Yep, it was totally not because my instinct warned me that suddenly taking the room to a completely different place might break the seal.

Nope, not at all.

Hm? You are asking if the heist movies and anime reference were about this?

Yes, it means exactly that. Well and a certain super-hero movie...heh.

So strange for me to be referencing a super-hero movie, right?

Oh, well. I just stole the villain's objective and put it in a place they will never be able to access.

And even if they do, the seal is so strong that the backlash from meddling with it will most likely kill them.

I mean, it would be stupid for me to know where the source of a possible problem is and just wait for the villains to wake it up or something, right?

Why not move it while they don't suspect it? 

Outrageous enough for you? Overkill? Isekai, man. Isekai.

Now unto the fourth part of the plan.

"EEEEEEEH? THERE IS MORE?!"

Of course, my cutely surprised darling! There’s more!

 

To be continued...(cue cutely surprised chibi Nerinne!)

From Auros' stat sheets: Kris' stat sheet

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much for reading! I know that I sound like a broken record, but I’m sorry for not uploading a chapter yesterday, I was too tired. But here it is! And one more is coming later! Also, thanks to the support of my Patrons and those who have donated to my Ko-Fi, I can now announce that the first official illustration for the story is in the works! It will be for an unreleased chapter, but don’t worry, we’ll get there sooner rather than later!

If you want to be a part of this effort to bring art to the story, then head over to my patreon or Ko-Fi! Either way, your support will go a long way!

Special thanks from the bottom of my heart to: EmbraceTheSleeb, Lord-Hollow, YukisoraRin, LordInquisitorSteele, Anon, Anon2, Tikku, Teresa, Ayth and Kinght_Redundant!

Please do not translate my work without my permission. Favor de no traducir mi trabajo sin mi expreso permiso.

See you all later!