In gambling halls, there are instances where players go all-in, convinced they are holding a guaranteed winning hand.
When they witness the reality that their opponent had a better hand, they become speechless, frozen in place.
There could be many reasons for this.
Regret over why they made that decision.
The emptiness of having lost all their money in just a moment.
And so on.
At that moment, the outsider before me was experiencing just that.
The confident demeanor she had moments ago, gripping my cheek, was nowhere to be found; she now stood three steps back, a look of despair marring her face.
Of course, it didn’t seem she had lost control over her skeletal muscles to the point of freezing up completely.
The despair etched on her face began to twist into a palpable fear.
Well, I suppose it was to be expected.
She herself had said, after all.
That ‘sensual things’ were alright.
Moreover, she hadn’t mentioned the ‘frequency.’
If I were to declare here, “You will be mine forever,” the probability of her accepting that would be quite high.
Words can always be interpreted in myriad ways.
Now, she probably didn’t have to be bound by this chain any longer.
After all, being a construct of the dream world, it must strongly affect my psyche.
I merely exerted a bit of strength in my arm, and it shattered into pieces, turning into dust.
“Hi, hiik!”
As the sound of the chain breaking echoed, perhaps her sense of reality returned at last.
The succubus’s eyes, now fully dilated, were trembling as she looked at me.
“You— you could’ve broken it all along….”
“Well, that wouldn’t be fun, would it?”
I smiled slightly at the outsider succubus as I spoke.
“It’s just a ‘game,’ after all.”
The reason for this outsider’s defeat was her ignorance of who I truly was.
My Super Coward Mode effectively barred outside interference, yet she had willingly stepped into that field.
In short, the outsider succubus was simply an unskilled woman with slightly better physical abilities, at least when it came to me.
The disruption of communication with the external succubus seemed to stem from the fact that my super cowardly mode didn’t apply to my party whistle.
Even now, I had attempted to connect with them in various ways, but there was still no response.
Ah well, I figured this was a problem that would resolve once I blew the party whistle again.
I smiled at the succubus outsider.
“Well then, it’s time to pay the ‘price,’ isn’t it?”
“Th- this is cheating! I can’t accept this!”
As the outsider succubus attempted to take off, I seized her ankle.
It left me unintentionally slamming her down, producing a soft ‘thud.’
“Gah!”
From the outsider’s perspective, being dropped from the air wouldn’t feel insignificant.
Yet, even in that moment, she scratched the ground with her fingers as if trying to escape me.
“No! No!”
“Stay still! How could I know what I’ll make you do…!”
“I don’t want this kind of ending!”
Now writhing her entire body to escape, I lost my grip on her, and before I knew it, she flew high up into the sky.
“Dammit!”
In an instant, the succubus outsider vanished from view, and the world seemed to turn white.
…Before I knew it, I found myself propped up on the bed, panting heavily.
What an annoying outsider she turned out to be.
She tries to escape without keeping her end of the bargain?
Well, that just means I’m left with options.
As related to dreams, her abilities weren’t as unfettered as one would believe.
This meant that fleeing to another town or a fief outside of Rondan was impossible.
The reason I hadn’t recognized this outsider before was that, as long as there was someone sleeping in Rondan, she could flee to anywhere at will.
But now, if there was no one sleeping?
If this ‘dream world’ exists solely within my unconscious mind?
I quickly pieced together a solution and dashed to the Knights’ headquarters without even thinking of changing clothes.
I dashed past the still-warm first floor and rushed down to the deputy director’s office, banging on the door.
“Enter.”
The calm voice of the deputy director greeted me, and I swiftly opened the door, saluting as I entered.
Breathless from my sudden sprint, I fought to maintain my posture.
Noticing my appearance, the deputy director’s eyes widened with concern.
“Tanton.”
I called out to the deputy director with an unusually raised voice.
“Please ensure that all citizens of Rondan stay awake for exactly one hour! I implore you!”
The deputy director’s eyes widened in shock.
While I had spoken hastily, it was indeed a sudden request without any explanation.
Though it was a circumstance where I had asked for their assistance, it was entirely understandable for him to request an explanation given the abrupt nature of my demand.
After all, careful consideration was mandatory when mobilizing forces.
Yet, perhaps sensing my urgency,
the deputy director nodded with a determined expression, getting up from his seat.
He headed toward the area where communication with the princess was facilitated by burning firewood.
Before I could even guess what he aimed to do with it, he took a deep breath.
“All units, assemble!!!”
His voice rang out with an overwhelming resonance that might leave one’s ears ringing.
Receiving the deputy director’s command as energy, an unrealistically large spark soared into the sky from the firewood.
“All units, assemble!!!”
The echo of his voice seemed to amplify threefold, resonating throughout the entirety of Rondan.
While it was already being used for communication, it was impressive to see it used like a loudspeaker.
I was still reeling from the surprise of it when, in less than a minute since that voice rang out—
Kchh-kah!
The sound of armored feet clashing rang in as knights began gathering in overwhelming numbers.
“Deputy Director!”
The knights saluted in unison toward the deputy director, and I could see that even Munyeon was mixed within the crowd.
The deputy director lifted one hand then lowered it, taking a breath before speaking again.
“From this moment on, all assembled must ensure that the citizens of Rondan do not fall asleep for approximately one hour! This is to mitigate the direst of situations for Rondan! Move immediately!”
He issued a succinct command filled with all the necessary information.
“Yes, sir!”
In unison, the knights responded, and they began to disperse as if they had rehearsed the movements beforehand.
Watching the situation unfold so quickly because of my single request made me feel somewhat disconnected from reality.
Once the knights had all scattered, the deputy director turned toward me, breathing heavily.
“Time was of the essence, so I acted without delay.”
“Thank you, Deputy Director.”
“It seems you encountered that creature.”
I proceeded to report the events I had experienced to the deputy director.
Of course, I adjusted the story to a ‘realistic’ account based on this world’s standards.
“…So, it was the outsider’s machinations after all. Tanton, had you not caught wind of this, it might have escalated into a calamity.”
The deputy director nodded, giving my shoulder a few pats.
“We will discuss this matter further once it is resolved. I entrust you with ensuring that everything concludes smoothly, Tanton.”
I met the deputy director’s trusting gaze and nodded in acceptance.
“Yes, understood.”
Just as our conversation ended, the dispersed knights reassembled in an instant.
Wait— did they all return already?
Their speed in handling matters was impressive.
It felt oddly touching that, despite usually shirking responsibilities, they moved this way for me.
“Use the resting area in the headquarters for now, Tanton. There’s a mattress available.”
“Yes, understood.”
No way I could take the time to run back to the branch now.
I headed down to the designated room marked “Knights’ Resting Area,” and laid my body atop the slightly worn mattress.
Alright, let’s go.
Time to take down that damn succubus.
#
As my consciousness dulled and I focused on the sensation of ringing in my ears, I was able to enter the dream world at a surprisingly swift pace this time.
Upon entering, I didn’t waste any time and simply surveyed my surroundings.
Soon enough, I found myself observing a scene where the outsider appeared to be flailing about, seemingly blocked by an invisible wall.
The despair that resonated through her groans confirmed my suspicion.
Gotcha.
This was my dream now.
I levitated through the air and dashed at the succubus outsider at speed.
Realizing I was upon her, she bore a look of sheer panic.
I seized her in both arms as I plummeted to the ground.
At last, I had captured the cowardly fugitive.
“No! No! What are you doing? Why can’t I go anywhere else besides here?!”
“Well, consider that carefully with your ‘not-so-great’ head.”
The desperate tone in the succubus outsider’s voice echoed, but I had no intention of releasing her.
I leaned in close, whispering into her ear.
“I did say I’d make you hear whatever I say, didn’t I?”
“Y- yes!”
Perhaps startled by the sudden whisper right by her ear, the succubus shivered.
Her ears turned red; perhaps it was blood rushing in response to fear.
“You now must obey whatever I say for the rest of your life.”
“T- that’s a slave contract, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s different. A knight can’t have a slave, after all.”
Leaning even closer to whisper softly into her ear, I added,
“You’re more like a ‘secretary bound by an unfair contract.’ Got it?”
“Hi, hiik!”
In tandem with my command, it seemed a pink ring materialized above the succubus’s head, gradually shrinking and then vanishing into her belly.
“Gah! No!”
Her body shone multiple times as she thrashed about but eventually fell limp, breathing heavily, lying on her stomach.
Did she plan on doing this to me?
Looking down at the succubus outsider with pitiable eyes, I gazed back down at her in disdain.
She really annoyed me.
So, I planned to give her ‘punishment’ from now on.
#
“Ugh, please! Stop, it hurts…! Ahh!”
“What? You’d ask me to stop? After causing so much misery and even leading people to die?! You dare ask me to stop?!”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
“I can’t bring myself to forgive you. I’ll keep doing this until my anger subsides. Take that!”
“Wait! No, don’t there!”
“Ah, so here, is it? I’ll target this area specifically. One more!”
“Ugh?!”
In the dream space, the voice of the succubus outsider echoed in high-pitched tones, filled with satisfaction as only the two of us remained awake.
Truly, ‘Leydan Tanton’!
What kind of taste do you possess?
Why do I feel a strange thrill while indulging in this act?
Is this really my preference?
No way!
Smack!
“Ugghh!”
…Who in this world would find slapping the outsider’s butt gratifying!
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