Late at night, the men were causing a commotion outside the dormitory building, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"It won't come off! It won't come off!!"
"Damn it, someone bring the idiot here quickly!"
The men were struggling desperately to remove the metal contraption attached to their groins.
Earlier, after hearing Berius's words, the men had agreed to wear the chastity devices for just one day, driven by their anxiety.
They knew they shouldn't tamper with items from the Demon King's Castle storage, but their own safety came first, so they had secretly put them on.
However, when evening came and they needed to relieve themselves, they found themselves standing in front of the restroom with their pants down, looking ridiculous, as the chastity belts wouldn't come off.
"Hurry up! I'm freaking desperate! …Who's there?"
From the direction of the dormitory building, a man and a woman were walking toward them.
It was Patricia and Berius.
She frowned as she saw the men striking ridiculous poses in front of the restroom.
"What are you guys doing… Why are you standing here half-naked?"
"Well, you see…"
The men, flustered, tried to pull up their pants, but before they could, Patricia's eyes fell on the chastity belts.
'They really wore them…'
Patricia had overheard the Suho's plan to force the men into wearing chastity belts while she was by his side.
Moreover, she already knew that the chastity belts she and the other women wore were different from the ones the men had on.
'Hehe… For my sake… He'll definitely take me with him next time he visits, right?'
Patricia, lost in her own delusions, mistakenly believed that Suho had made the men wear the chastity belts to protect her.
Looking at the men's chastity belts, Patricia asked, "You guys are wearing those too?"
"Yeah! What about you… You too?"
"Yeah, all the women are wearing them."
Patricia cautiously brought up Suho and proudly boasted about having received the gift.
"…The world's been dangerous lately. He gave me this useful item, so I accepted it gratefully."
Hearing this, the men immediately clamored, asking how to remove the chastity belts.
"How do you take this off? Tell us quickly!"
"Well… It's simple… Let me take mine off first, then I'll tell you. Come on in."
"Ugh… Let go! I'll go in by myself…"
Patricia grabbed Berius by the collar and started dragging him into the restroom.
"What, what's going on? Why are you two going in together?"
"Shut up! I'm annoyed too…"
Although Patricia felt a sense of superiority while wearing the chastity belt, it was still awkward for her to enter a restroom with a man.
Patricia lifted her skirt in front of Berius.
"Haa… Haa…"
"…"
Berius reached under her skirt, unable to take his eyes off her thighs and lower abdomen.
'This guy is supposed to be a prince…'
Patricia scoffed at Berius's behavior.
Berius stood dumbfounded in the restroom after unlocking the chastity belt.
His gaze was fixed on Patricia's crotch.
Berius didn't even realize that Patricia was watching him.
'Ah… This guy is really ridiculous.'
Patricia scoffed and scolded him.
"You pervert… Turn around!"
"Ah, okay…"
Berius, holding the chastity belt, sullenly turned his back.
'Ah, but having someone like this around does make me feel better.'
Though embarrassed, Patricia felt refreshed knowing there was someone who idolized her.
While she relieved herself, Berius kept sneaking glances at her.
After finishing, she stood in front of him with her skirt still lifted and said, "Put it back on."
"Ugh…"
Berius, frustrated, couldn't take his eyes off her groin.
Patricia smirked and dragged Berius out.
She explained everything to the men.
Only Berius could unlock the belts, and if they stayed off for too long, their penises would explode.
"You're kidding! Are we supposed to live like this forever!?"
"Yeah. So, who told you to wear them? They weren't even made for you guys in the first place."
"That's nonsense! Hey!"
Lorian shouted at Berius.
Already intimidated, Berius answered nervously.
"What… What?"
"Get in here! Unlock it!"
"Let go of this!"
Lorian dragged Berius into the restroom and forced him to unlock the belt.
Berius, feeling nauseous from Lorian's aggressive behavior, unlocked the chastity belt.
"It's off! Now it's done!"
"Wait! Just leave it like that!"
"Shut up! You think I'd believe that?"
Lorian pulled up his pants and bolted out of the restroom.
Watching this, Patricia smiled bitterly as she saw Lorian's retreating figure.
'Goodbye, idiot.'
Shortly after, Lorian was found in the middle of the dormitory hallway, blood streaming from his groin.
***
"How is it? Not bad, right?"
"…"
As soon as I returned to the guest room, I called Beatrice and proposed that she leave with us.
But Beatrice's reaction was different from what I had expected.
Rather than refusing, she looked sullen and deflated.
'What's wrong? I thought she'd be happy.'
[There might be another reason. It's better to ask.]
I quietly asked Beatrice, who was bowing her head.
"Ah, do you not want to go with us?"
"…That's not it, nya."
"Then?"
"I've always been alone, nya. Even after coming here, even if everyone dislikes me, at least I'm not alone anymore, nya."
Beatrice said that, apart from her parents, she had never really interacted with anyone.
She had been ostracized by the cat tribe and ignored by the succubi.
Her parents, who had been by her side, had passed away, and this place was her last sanctuary.
Even though she knew everyone disliked her, she was still trying her best to befriend them.
'If she keeps wandering around, who would like her…'
[She's perceptive, but she doesn't seem to realize her own position.]
In the end, the reason she couldn't leave with us was simple.
She was fine with not being able to adapt if she went with us, but she was anxious about not being able to return here afterward.
'Ah! Then maybe we can do this?'
[…?]
'Let's ask to slow down the planet's time for a while.'
If she couldn't adapt after a month, we could just send her back.
If we activated the time dilation system, a month there would only be about three days here.
[That seems possible. I think Zodiac would be able to accommodate such a request. But it's better to keep it as a personal request and not make a big deal out of it.]
'Right…'
It would be ridiculous to ask for the time dilation system just to help a cat girl and a succubus adapt.
I explained to Beatrice that time flowed differently on our ship compared to here and made the proposal again.
"Really, nya? You're not lying, nya?"
"Why would I lie about that? I just want you to… huh?"
"I'll do it, nya!"
Beatrice jumped into my arms, her eyes sparkling as she accepted.
Viola was the happiest to hear this news.
***
"…"
Lena stood by the window, gazing endlessly at the sky outside.
The clear, cloudless weather gradually darkened, and a large full moon rose.
Since returning to her room in the morning, she hadn't moved a single step, just staring out the window.
She hadn't drunk a drop of water or thought about anything, just staring at the sky.
Some noisy sounds and commotion could be heard around her, but she paid no attention.
No, she didn't even notice.
Dressed in her maid uniform, she stood motionless, just blankly staring outside.
Looking at the large full moon, she murmured softly.
"The last day is passing."
With her words, sadness washed over her.
But she knew.
That, neither happy moments, nor difficult ones, nor painful ones would stop time…
"Even though I knew I shouldn't hope…"
Even this broken woman had once held onto hope.
But Lena, being as sharp as she was, quickly realized how foolish her hope was.
Because she knew so well, she could feel despair even more deeply.
Waiting for just one person's visit, she could now be certain.
"…He's not coming."
Lena, with a heart full of despair, prepared to leave her room to end the day.
It was time for the headcount.
It was already quite late.
As Lena opened the door, she wiped her flowing tears with her sleeve.
"After all… A woman like me…"
"A woman like you, what?"
"…"
She couldn't see ahead.
Her vision was blocked by her sleeve, so she could only hear the voice.
But she knew immediately.
Who the voice belonged to…
Lena wiped her tears with her sleeve and, regaining her composure, asked, "What brings you here…?"
"…Do I need a reason to come see my woman?"
"Hueup!"
The man outside the door kissed Lena and pulled her into the room.
***
"…"
Berius lay on the bed, still in his clothes, staring blankly at the floor.
The task he had to do from today on was simple yet absurd.
He had to wait around with the chastity belts.
It was a task unbefitting a prince, but Berius had no choice.
"If you do well, I'll make the princess yours later."
"Really… If I do this… Will the princess really be mine?"
"Yeah, I'll make her yours."
The words of the man who had been surrounded by women on the bed, exuding an air of superiority, came to mind.
"Haa..."
The images of the women's naked bodies, imprinted in Berius's eyes earlier that day, had been haunting him all day.
He had always made excuses to avoid hard work, clinging to Lena.
But the task of waiting with the chastity belts, though trivial, stirred a base excitement in him.
Berius justified his actions by telling himself he needed to save Lena to suppress his desire to see the women naked.
"Princess… I'll save you…"
The man had said that if Berius performed well, he would release Lena quickly.
But while Berius outwardly called her "princess," images of Patricia and other women's naked bodies filled his mind.
"Haa… Haa…"
As Berius squirmed and burrowed into the bed, a sound came through the wall.
-"Master…"
-"You're mine, so I can judge you as I please, right?"
-"I'm sorry…"
"What, what's this…"
Berius, still aroused, pressed his ear against the wall.
From the room next door, Lena's voice carried clearly, along with a man's voice.
-"I should thank Duke Feron. For giving birth to such a woman."
"This... this can't be!"
The man was saying things to Lena that even Berius couldn't bear to hear.
Just as Verius was about to leap out of bed, Lena's voice stopped him in his tracks.
-"I... Lena de Feron... was born to serve you as your humble servant..."
"No, no... There's no way the princess would say such things..."
The name "Lena de Feron" carried such weight that even Berius felt its immense significance.
For a princess of such stature to use her name for a man's amusement was a devastating blow to Verius.
-"Please... enjoy the daughter of Feron... to your heart's content."
"No... no... The princess... would never say such things...."
Berius, overwhelmed with despair, couldn't stop his tears as he pressed his ear against the wall.
The man's words from earlier echoed in his mind.
"When I threatened her, she immediately spread her legs and submitted."
Berius began to blame himself as the man's words replayed in his head.
"It's because of me... the princess... ugh... waaah..."
Afraid that his sobbing might be heard in the next room, Berius covered his mouth with both hands and wept.
"Sniff... I'll save her... I'll definitely save the princess... Waaah..."
With his ear pressed tightly against the wall, Berius listened to the sounds of the two and vowed to rescue Lena.
***
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