After defeating Lady Dahlia, the remaining demon forces scattered and escaped to fight another day. Defeat wasn't exactly the right word, since Kanae and his party had every right to lose that battle. However, thinking outside of the box saved them a whole lot of pain. Throwing her into her own portal would buy them plenty of time until the next invasion if they still intend to invade.

"Will Orturic be alright? There's a good chance Lady and her forces will be back," Kanae warned Duke Kroenig as they, his party Arenade and Edina included, feasted together in the dining hall of his manor to celebrate.

"We'll have more time to prepare and solicit help from Radevic. The next time the demons come, they will be met with a greater army and defenses that won't pull their punches!" Duke Kroenig guffawed happily from his seat at the head of the table.

And hopefully the adventurer's hall wouldn't drink themselves into a stupor before battle.

To his left, Kanae noticed Edina inconspicuously slipping silverware into her satchel between her thighs. He snatched her wrist as she was about to put in a butter knife next.

"What are you doing…"

"N-Nothing." Edina let the satchel to the floor only for it to clatter with the sound of many utensils.

"Huuu~ Hey, duke! You have any more of this? Maybe drop us another bottle to-go?" Arenade waved the now empty bottle of wine she had been drinking all dinner.

"Of course! Anything you want, as long as it is within my power to do so, please do not hesitate to ask. I cannot thank you enough for saving Orturic. It is a precious place and important in raising blossoming adventurers such as yourselves." Duke Kroenig smiled, gesturing for Thedia to fetch another bottle.

The 'anything you want' part sobered Arenade up in an instant. She didn't even react when Thedia returned with a full bottle to gift her. Kanae thought she was going to ask for something outrageous, but a very different request erupted from her lips instead.

"You have maybe 30 kids without homes and parents in Orturic, living on the streets with rats and insects, digging for scraps to eat, and huddling up together every winter to stay warm. Whatever I want? If the city is so precious, I want you to give them a damn place to live!" Arenade stood up from her seat, planting both hands on the table.

Her selfless request seemed to take Duke Kroenig by surprise, who was likely expecting her to ask for something that would be to her sole benefit. Unfortunately, by the look on his face, it wasn't a favor he would easily accomplish.

"My lady… Your request is a most humble one, but it is also a very tall order," Duke Kroenig said.

"Says the guy living a lavish life! What's wrong with you people? Don't you care about their future? If you were in their place, you would want someone to look after you, too!" Arenade cried in an attempt to appeal to their hearts.

Although her words didn't fall on deaf ears, the duke and Elvira traded uneasy glances.

Elvira continued in his place. "There are countless lives that the duke is responsible for in his dukedom. It isn't as though he hasn't tried, but there is only so much one noble can do. If he were to provide aid to every struggling child, the coffers would run dry, and he wouldn't be able to help anyone."

"Tch… It doesn't matter what era it is. That's how it will always be, huh…" Arenade cursed and excused herself from the table. She stomped back to grab the new bottle of wine, then stormed out of the dining hall.

"I-I'm sorry about her," Kanae apologized on Arenade's behalf. "Ever since we came to Orturic, she's been spending gold out of her own pocket to help those orphans."

"It's alright. Her outrage at me is not unwarranted. If more people were like her, then every abandoned child in this world would have a warm bed to sleep in. However, history has shown that noble sacrifices and charity do not work," Duke Kroenig explained.

"History? What do you mean?"

Edina stuffed her mouth full of food and exclaimed. "Oh, I know the story! Thousands of years ago, some high born elven duchess spent her entire family fortune trying to end poverty. Didn't work. People stayed poor, she lost everything, and her fellow nobility kicked her out of their group or something. If I was alive at the time, she should've given it all to me so I could gamble it away. Goes to show nothing good comes from being charitable."

Everyone gave her the stink eye.

"What? It's true!" she insisted.

"Who was this elven duchess?" Kanae asked.

"Duchess Arenade Ehmvier, a beautiful high elven woman with a heart of gold," Duke Kroenig answered.

Arenade? It couldn't be their Arenade, right? After all, Brightwind and Ehmvier were two very different last names, and the one in his party was a demigoddess. 

"I see the confusion on your face," the duke continued. "Arenade is a fairly common name amongst low born elves. I believe it is their way of honoring the one noblewoman who tried to help them."

Later that night, Kanae returned to the bedchamber from the baths to find Edina knocked out in the large bed, and Arenade was outside on the balcony. He joined her by the railing and saw that she wasn't really looking anywhere in particular, just absentmindedly staring off into space and lost in her own thoughts.

"Is it that time of the night again to feed your lust?" Arenade asked and turned to face him.

"I thought about it, but I figured your heart wouldn't be in it after today," Kanae said.

"Sorry… about earlier. I didn't mean to blow up on the duke and ruin the feast like that." She sighed out her nose.

Arenade must have been here all night since Kanae hadn't seen her since she stormed out of dinner. Not being able to help those kids in any meaningful way seemed to really hurt her. Especially if she was so passionate about it. Neither she nor the duke were wrong. Just like back home, a lot of children were unlucky. Too many for the government to help.

However, it didn't have to be that way here. Duke Kroenig said 'if more people were like her', then change needed to start with Kanae, too.

"If you want, we can spend a few more weeks here and help those kids get settled before leaving. Pre-pay a few rooms, work something out with Dreizel, or even cut some profits from the store for them," Kanae suggested to her surprise.

"Do… Do you mean it?" Arenade stammered in disbelief, gazing into his eyes as tears welled up at the corners of her own.

"Yeah! We're making good money. When we go to Lograin next, we can open a store there, too. Start helping who we can and— mmph?"

Kanae jerked from Arenade, taken aback by her initiating a kiss for the very first time. They stayed like that under the moon and starlight for a while, lips connected, and chests pressed together. She finally pulled away and turned her back to him.

"D-Don't take that as anything more than what it was, alright? I still don't like it, and this is all purely under the deal we made to form a party!" Arenade cleared her throat and was about to head inside until Kanae grabbed her hand.

"If we go in now, we might wake up Edina," Kanae said, gulping hard and desperate for more than just a taste.

Kanae and his party were preparing to leave tomorrow morning for Orturic in a carriage. Duke Kroenig, Elvira, and Thedia came to see them off at the courtyard.

"Next time you invite me to the manor, send a letter instead of pretending to arrest me. Thank you for your hospitality though. We really appreciate it," Kanae said.

"Oh, please. It is the least I can do for the saviors of Orturic. But before you go, I have a favor to ask of you." Duke Kroenig stood aside for Thedia to step forward.

"I understand your party will be heading to Lograin. May I accompany you?" Thedia asked, still dressed in her black and white, frilly uniform.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't think we haven't forgotten you're a pirate. What the hell is that all about?" Edina questioned back.

"Pirate?" The duke turned to the maid.

"My, what a joke in poor taste. I am but a simple liaison sent by Lady Renya, representing Rown Nautical Shipping, a subsidiary of Rown Company." The cat girl maid smiled, narrowing her eyes at the party and sending shivers up their spines.

So the pirate part was still a secret.

It made a lot more sense that no one batted an eye at Renya when she showed up at Orturic a while back. Her public image was a captain of a shipping company and the adoptive daughter of a powerful businessman. To Kanae and her closest associates, she was a pirate lord that moved black market contraband.

"It's fine for Thedia to come with, but what for?" Kanae asked.

"Thank you very much. After concluding a trade deal with Duke Kroenig on my lady's behalf, I must return to inform her. I shall like to hope we arrive there safely," Thedia said, her tone urging them not to pry any further.

Seemed like they would have extra company, heading towards Lograin.

"Lady Arenade." Duke Kroenig raised his eyes to her, who had already jumped into the carriage. "I regret not being able to do more for those suffering across the lands. However, for the 30 or so children in Orturic, I can secure them spots at a boarding school in Radevic. It may be several months before they begin academia. Will that suffice?"

"R-Really? Yes! I can't wait to tell them— I mean… It's a start." Arenade turned the other cheek, but she couldn't hide her fidgeting excitement.

"As for you, Kanae, offering you sovereign land is not possible. This is the most I can do," the duke handed a rolled up scroll which Kanae recognized as enchanted parchment of the highest degree.

Arenade and Edina leaned over to see.

"What is it?" Kanae asked.

"This is a special deed enchanted and signed with my blood. It allows you to claim any unoccupied land, developed or undeveloped, anywhere in my domain or where property has been built in my name," he explained.

"I can own an actual home to live in?" Kanae was baffled by the very power in this piece of parchment.

The options were endless. A nice farm in the countryside, a mansion with more rooms than could be counted on two hands, or even an empty plot of land to build whatever he wanted. It wasn't quite like having his own land to rule, but he and his party could begin establishing themselves as more than just adventurers.

Kanae tucked the parchment safely away in his satchel and began to tear up. Coming to this world, he didn't expect to be treated so kindly. Most people he had met turned out to be genuinely good.

"I… I really don't know what to say. Thank you for this…"

Duke Kroenig gently wiped Kanae's tears with a handkerchief.

"There is no need to thank me." He smiled, then pressed the cloth to his nose and huffed it. "You have already given me more than enough! The bathwater you have steeped in… your used bed sheets… and this cloth shall suffice!"

"Okaaayyy, this is getting weird. I'm going to take my leave now!" Kanae jumped into the carriage, followed by Edina and Thedia.

"Before you leave, can I make a final request from you personally? Will you bless me with a succubus spell?" He pulled off the magic protection ring to show how serious he was.

"Y-You're really a perverted duke…" Kanae sighed.

"Your words intend to wound me, yet they also bring me great pleasure! Please, fire away!" 

Kanae pointed a finger at the duke as the carriage was driving away and casted Turn Horny.

"Aahhh~ Thank yooouuuuuu!" Duke Kroenig shouted as he fell to the ground in ecstasy.

Back in Orturic, everyone was pitching in to help fix the city up after the demons had run rampant. No one could look Kanae the same way again after he was seen raped for entire day straight. Men would bow their heads and cover their crotches, passing by. Women blushed up upon meeting his eyes. He had gone from Streaking Dragonslayer to Demon Cum Dump in the span of two days.

Thankfully, the town didn't suspect Kanae of being a succubus. He helped repel a demon invasion and kicked their leader out after all. A part of him wondered if now would have been the best time to reveal his true identity, and maybe people would accept him precisely because he fought against the demons.

It wouldn't matter all too much, since he would be going to a new city soon and be faced with different people.

"I shall wait in the adventurer's hall until departure." Thedia bowed.

As soon as Arenade hopped out of the carriage, she was swarmed by the orphaned children.

"Miss Aren, you're back!" They tugged and pulled on her robes to get her attention.

"Calm down and listen. I have a surprise for you all." Arenade knelt down to hold a few of them. "You'll be going to school in Radevic!"

All of them went sparkly eyed and dogpiled onto Arenade out of joy.

"Really?"

"Does that mean I can make more friends?"

"School? But Potts is too dumb to learn anything!"

"Will we ever see you again?" an elven girl asked, silencing everyone as it dawned on them that they might not see Arenade anymore.

"Of course. The next time you see me, I will have become the greatest hero you can brag about!" Arenade placed a hand on the girl's cheek and gave a reassuring smile.

It gladdened Kanae that he was able to see Arenade smile so genuinely. She held him to his promise and dipped into their savings to give the children a place to stay until school began. That meant they needed to make a little more money to support them.

Gazing at the enchanted deed, Kanae already had an idea. Lograin was supposed to be a significantly bigger city than Orturic. Opening a store there would earn a lot more money than a small place like here.

Leaving Arenade to say her goodbyes to the kids, Kanae and Edina headed to the store to settle things over there. However, neither expected to find the place ransacked. The shelves and display were broken. Takumi and Ingrid were missing. Most of the merchandise was stolen. Ichi and Manabe were groaning on the ground, looking banged up. They were being helped by Lina and Rog from the smithy.

"What happened?!" Kanae asked.

"I'm not sure. We heard a commotion. When I came to check, your friends were badly hurt," Lina explained, hands hovering above Manabe with healing magic.

"We were… attacked… by a bunch of… thugs…" Manabe mumbled, his face bruised up and had a black eye.

"They took… Takumi and Ingrid… I'm sorry, Kanae…" Ichi groaned before falling unconscious.

Attacked by thugs? Kidnapped? But why?

Could it be…

"I think I know why," Edina quietly said, demeanor contorted in anger. She was by the front counter, holding a letter. Hastily scrawled on the paper was only a few words.

The Outriders send their regards.