"Wait, wait, wait! What the hell are you talking about!?"
"……Eh? I’m just saying that I belong to Lord Albert now."
"No, no, no, no! How did you even reach that conclusion!?"
"Because I lost," she chirped. "That means my life is yours, Lord Albert. The lives of the weak belong to the strong. The weak simply do as they’re told, right?"
What kind of insane life philosophy was that!?
She needed to go back to elementary school and redo her moral education from scratch. This girl was in desperate need of a lecture on ethics and basic human rights.
"That’s just the way of the world I’ve always believed in, you know?"
……Then I remembered.
In the original game, Milia frequently made comments along the lines of, "In the end, this world is just survival of the fittest." Most players had interpreted it as the typical arrogance of a top-tier boss—but apparently, it was her literal, genuine philosophy on life.
In the source material, Milia never suffered a total defeat at the hands of the Hero, Leon. Consequently, the game never explored what would happen if the girl who preached "survival of the fittest" actually lost a fight.
—So this was the result!
If this was a philosophy drummed into her since childhood as an assassin, it wasn't going to be easy to change.
"……Alright, I get it. I get it, so for now, just let go of me."
"I don't want to."
"It’s not a request. Let go."
"Nooo."
She started flailing her legs like a stubborn child. I tried to push her away, but she wouldn't budge an inch. The core strength of the world's strongest assassin was clearly forged of solid steel.
"Just go home for a bit! Don't you have to report your mission failure or something!?"
"It’s fine, really. They’ll figure out the mission failed when I don't show up for my scheduled report. Usually, if an assassin fails, they just end up dead anyway. Isn't it better to just move on from a story that's already finished?"
"Even if that's true, there’s no reason for you to be clinging to me like this!"
"Ehehe. To tell you the truth, I get lonely very easily."
With that, she squeezed me even tighter.
It was going to snap! My spine was actually going to snap! Her precious new master was going to die before he could even give an order!
The door clicked open.
"Lord Albert, we have completed the monster subjugation."
"Albert-kun, that distraction was a real pain. Was I actually helpful?"
Luna and Silvia stepped into the training hall. We had arranged beforehand to regroup here once the monsters were cleared.
As usual, my habit of thorough preparation was my undoing. I had never hated my own competence more than I did in that moment.
To anyone walking in, the scene was ripe for misunderstanding. I was currently being grappled by a petite, pink-haired girl with the physical strength of a hydraulic press.
"L-Lord Albert……? Who…… who is this person……?"
"Albert-kun, isn't this a bit much? Ah, so that’s why you sent me off to play decoy? You wanted to sneak away for some naughty business?"
Oh, no…… the situation was spiraling in a very bad direction.
"Is this the first time we've met? I'm Milia. I've 'become Lord Albert’s'!"
Stop! Don't just hurl chaos into the fire!
"'Become Lord Albert’s'……?"
Luna’s face twisted into a terrifying mask. Her aura was so intense it felt like her hair was about to stand on end from sheer rage.
"Even I…… even after all that time and all my pleading to be 'Lord Albert's'…… and yet you, a complete stranger……?"
"……Eh? 'Albert-kun's'……? Even Luna-chan? You're already in that kind of relationship? I haven't even held his hand yet…… Wait, wait, wait!"
The fire had jumped to the person next to her and was now a full-blown inferno. The phrase 'Lord Albert's' was far too loaded with metaphors!
"Wait, wait, wait! It's a misunderstanding! I haven't made anyone 'mine'!"
At that, Milia let out a cry of protest.
"Eeeh? But I just said I became 'Lord Albert’s'!"
You did! You were the one who said it!
Don't drop the subject of the sentence! Look, Luna’s expression is getting even more monstrous!
"No, that’s not it! I wasn't the one who—gebagabagobogebe!"
Milia increased the pressure of her hug—or rather, her back-breaker—and cut off my ability to speak entirely.
"I have been enduring it for so long…… Lord Albert, may I also embrace you?"
Luna took a heavy, deliberate step forward.
Wait, had she actually activated 'Frenzy'? Was that really necessary right now?
If I got caught in a hug by Luna while she was in a 'Frenzy' state, my back wouldn't just snap; it would be pulverized by the dual pressure.
Not to be outdone, Silvia stepped forward as well.
"Unbelievable…… so I'm the only one being left out, Albert-kun? After I worked so hard on that distraction, after I treated you at the food stalls…… In the end, I'm just a convenient woman to you, aren't I……?"
It was over. Someone, anyone, please stop this……!
"No! Lord Albert is Milia-chan-sama's master! I’m not sharing!"
Creeeak! My spine finally let out a sickening groan!
"No, I am the one who belongs to Lord Albert! I will not yield!"
Crunch, crack! Now Luna had joined in, utilizing her 'Frenzy' strength!
"Waaah, I don't want to be the only one left out in the cold, Albert-kun! I'll serve you even better, so don't abandon me!"
Gishi, crunch, snap! With Silvia’s weight added to the pile, I finally reached my breaking point.
A-a-a-a-ah!
My chest was being crushed so hard I couldn't even draw air—!
As oxygen deprivation set in, I slipped into unconsciousness, the sounds of the three girls bickering fading into the black.
—It took a considerable amount of time after I woke up to explain everything to Luna and Silvia and clear the air. It was, without a doubt, the most exhausting experience of my life.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
In a quiet corner of the Royal Capital, a figure dressed in black nimbly vaulted over the wall of a sprawling estate.
The intruder landed silently and sprinted across the grounds at an incredible speed, moving through the mansion with practiced ease.
Under normal circumstances, an infiltrator would move with caution to avoid the guards, but this man didn't hesitate. It wasn't surprising; he was following a specific route provided by the master of the house—one where he knew for a fact there would be no guards at this hour.
The man in black hurried into the study.
"—You are a full week late. What happened?"
The question came from Georg von Eldridge, the master of the estate. He was the father of Victor von Eldridge, the boy Albert had humiliated during the exams, and the man who had commissioned Milia for the assassination.
The man in black was a liaison from the Assassin Guild.
"My deepest apologies. An unforeseen situation arose……"
"I am asking you what that situation was."
"I will be direct. Milia failed, and she has disappeared."
"—!"
Georg was struck by a simultaneous surge of fury and shock.
"You! Did you not claim that Milia was the strongest assassin in existence!?"
"……I did. And I stand by those words even now. However, the reality is that we have lost all contact with her."
"Is she not still at the academy?"
"We do not know. I sent guild members to investigate, but—"
The man hesitated for a second before continuing.
"None of them have returned either."
"Did Albert von Kronstadt do something……!?"
"I cannot say for certain, but the possibility is high."
As Georg ground his teeth in rage, the man in black delivered the final blow.
"I have a message from the Guild Master. This matter is to be recorded as a failure, and the guild wishes to withdraw from the contract."
"……Wait. I will not permit that."
For a man as prideful as Georg, humiliation was a poison he could not swallow. His son had been trampled upon, and now his revenge was failing—he had no intention of living with such a stain on his name.
A failure was only a failure if you stopped before you succeeded.
"Assign other assets."
"That is impossible. Now that Milia has failed, we have no one else of her caliber—"
"You still have 'The Six,' don't you?"
He was referring to the elite assassins ranked second through seventh within the guild, the direct subordinates to Milia herself.
"……With all due respect, even they are inferior to Milia."
"Individually, perhaps. But what if all six went together?"
The man in black gasped at the sheer audacity of the proposal.
"A-all six of them at once……?"
"Yes. If you deploy them all, the odds change. Tell your Guild Master that I will pay the rewards for all six. No, tell him I will double the amount!"
"……I understand."
With that, the man in black glided out of the room as silently as he had arrived.
Georg leaned back into his velvet chair, his eyes burning with malice.
"This is all-out war, little Kronstadt. You shall learn with your final breath exactly who you’ve crossed!"