"All you need is my blood to make the transition from phase two to phase three.

　Kyousuke wonders about Beni's words. Her face, which has come so close, takes on a s*xy hue in the moonlight.
　You'll be able to get a good idea of what you're looking for. Asuka's fine skin with no roughness to be found on it. The more you look at it, the more it takes on a demonic beauty, as if it were not of this world.

　Kyousuke couldn't move at all, barely able to ask: ''What do you mean...

''What do you mean, what do you mean...?''
You know. What do you think it means?

　Turning around, Benii took two or three steps forward.

'If you're asking me that, then Utsurogi hasn't noticed yet.
What.
It's a little early to be clearing things up.

　As it was, Asuka Benii walked on the bright red carpet with her leather shoes.
　Benii is hiding something. With just the words he just said, it's already confirmed.

　There are plenty of things to be concerned about. Why did Beni know more about the side effects of an ability he hadn't even used very well? Why are Beni and Inugami the only ones who have transitioned with little to no change in appearance? How did they know the conditions for transitioning from Phase 2 to Phase 3? Beni knows something about the series of tripping incidents.
　As well as those who call themselves the "Red Moon Blood Tribe" (Red Moon).

Wait, Benii!

　Kyousuke chased after Benii, forcing his body to move like he was in a gold bondage.

　She turned around in a huff.
　For a moment, the pale moonlight coming through the window turned red as if dripping blood. It's as if there are only two people in this large royal palace. You feel as if you've wandered into a new world, separated from the one you were in before.

　The red moon peeking through the window.

　Immediately after Kyousuke grabbed Benii's arm, she turned her sharp gaze to him.

''You're in my way.''

　Immediately after, a strong impact pushed Kyousuke's body away. The body was blown wide open for several meters and rolled on the carpet. Strangely, the bones did not fall apart. After a moment of frustration and anger, Beni's eyes were returning to their usual lazy queen look. A supernatural gaze, glaring at everything but himself, turned to Kyousuke.

'I'll tell you the rest of the story when the opportunity arises. Utsurugi, you just need to remember what I said earlier.
Wait, Benii.... Let me ask you just one question.
Don't tell me what to do.
Please.

　Kyousuke bowed his head as he finally got his body free. Beni said while fiddling with his nails.

''So, what?''
''When the base was attacked for the second time, the one who defeated the Red Winged Demon... was it Beni?
Yeah, I figured that out.

　Beni's mouth loosened slightly, drawing a slight arc.

'Or maybe Sachi told you. Either way, though.

　Her words were meant to be an affirmation. I knew it, Kyousuke thought.

'I won't say any more. The more people who know, the easier it is to get noticed. I didn't have much time to spare, so I was in a hurry.'

　Sighing, Beni said something uncharacteristic. He looked up at the moonlight from outside the window.
　The glow of the moon in the night sky has regained its usual cool colored glow.

'I told you I'd still be strong, didn't I?'
'I've said it, but that's still a long way off. Utsurogi needs to work out his own problems.
'Problem?　Me?　Is there such a thing?
I wouldn't look so lame without it.

　I won't say any more, and it seemed like Benii was giving her a lot of hints in her own way.
　But Kyousuke didn't understand. What is the meaning of being in this form? What is my problem?

　Suddenly, he thinks of Goubayashi. He judges that the demon inside him is the cause of his own transformation into an ogre, and sets out on a journey to confront it. What meaning can he give to his own form? What does it mean to be confronted with it?
　I don't know.

　When Kyousuke suddenly looked up, before he knew it, Benii Asuka was gone.




　The next morning, Himemizu Rin was visiting the large bathhouse.
　There is a culture of morning baths in the royal capital. To be precise, it is a culture brought in by the transplanted Japanese. From the southern part of the continent, where there is a culture of public baths, they went to the trouble of calling in a large number of bath engineers from the southern part of the continent to build baths all over the royal palace and the capital. Rin thinks she's read about such a manga in the original world.
　So, Rin visited the big bath in the palace. Basically, it is used for guests and nobles who stay in the palace, but if you are a guest of honour, there are only students from class 4 of the second grade now. Therefore, the large baths, both male and female, have now turned into monster baths.

　But to put it bluntly, Rin doesn't like public baths.

　It's not that I don't like baths. She hates public baths. The public baths and hot springs are no good.

　The reason is simple: they make you feel inferior.
　In the human era, Rin found out about her own stunted development at the forest school in junior high school. Some might argue that there's no such thing as stunted growth for a junior high school student, but Rin's sheer, cliff-like breastplate stood out badly among the girls who had reached or completed their second s*x drive. And they laughed at it. That was a bittersweet memory for Rin.

　Still, Rin comes to the bath every morning. It's to communicate with her classmates. It's called naked socializing.
　However, the large bathhouse that she visits after becoming a slime is something that somehow accelerates her inferiority complex in a useless direction.

''Oh, hey, it's you, Slinky!''

　The first person to call out to me as I slipped into the steam-filled bathhouse was Aya Sugiura (Scylla).

　Scylla is a monster whose upper body is a girl and its lower body is an octopus. An octopus on the bottom half of her body reminds me of the villains in Disney movies, but Sugiura doesn't have that magnificent waist.
　Rin stares at Sugiura's body from the tip of her tentacles to the tip of her head, devouring it as she speaks to him in a friendly manner.

'You like to take a bath, Sarin. Can you wash that body?
'No, it's not like I can wash it.... But I'll take a dip in the hot water for a while to get rid of all the excess waste from my body and cleanse it.
What? That's bad manners...
'No!　What are you imagining!　I'm not that free!

　By the way, Rin's father and brother often do it in the bathroom. When they are found out, they preach with their mother.

It's a good idea. Howdy.
Oh, Itomi.

　Walking in with a crunching, crunching sound is the girl with the lower half of a spider's body, Itomi Kumazaki (Arachne).
　Scylla and Arachne's lower body occupies several times the area of an ordinary person's, so just the two of them lined up in a row makes the bathhouse feel awfully cramped. Rin, still once again, followed the head-to-toe of Kumozaki with her gaze closely. The good thing about slime is that even if you stare at it lickety-split, it's hard to be noticed because you don't have eyes.

'd*mn, they're all good.... They have faces and tits........

　After all, that's what Rin's emotions are all about.
　We've all been reincarnated as monsters, but most of the girls are left with faces and tits. Things are big and small, and though they come in all shapes and sizes, they're there. Sugiura's things were rich, and Kumozaki's things were beautiful.
　That's not to say that faces and breasts are everything. Rin's weapon in the human era was a healthy leg line. The resilience that was her other weapon has not been lost even now that she has become a slime.

　However, a visit to the bare space of a bath stimulates Rin's inferiority complex as a girl.

'It's fine. Even if you don't have tits.''

　It was Nekomiya Miya of Ket-Sea who said that in a pretentious voice from behind.

　Her appearance is the cat itself. A cat-eared beastman is not a pampered figure. A complete black cat. The difference is that it can stand upright, but it's mostly just a cat.
　If she soaks in the bathtub as it is, it will be full of hair, so she draws a large tub of hot water and soaks in it.

'This is what my face is too,' she says. Well, I'm proud to say that this is a 'typical' look that suits my charms.
I've been wondering, do you have a lot of nipples, Mya-chan?
Don't ask me those geeky questions. After all, it's your tits.

　Nekomiya's expression is blatantly cloudy. She comes to this bath every morning despite the fact that she is a cat, in fact she is simply a bath lover.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. Totoha-chan?
I guess so. You're right. I'm a beautiful girl, and that's the third most disappointing girl in my class with me, you and him. And then there's Hakoiri and Kawano... oh no, Kaoruko.
Oh, Kaoruko-chan. I wonder how she's doing...

　Kaminari Totoha, a reincarnated Thunderbird, is too big to enter the bathhouse. To begin with, he's a hubby from the morning baths because soaking in hot water electrocutes everyone.
　The only thing Rin can think of when she thinks of a Thunderbird is her father's favorite puppet show, but if you ask her, it seems to be a divine bird that has been passed down among the Native Americans. The existence of the Thunderbird has been confirmed in this world as well, but it seems to be extremely rare, and in terms of potential, Serena's opinion is that it should be comparable to the dragonified Ryuzaki. However, because of her feeble character, her power has never been demonstrated. It was fatal that he was afraid of lightning in the first place.

　Rin flushed the waste from her body and then soaked in the hot tub. She tried not to absorb the hot water.
　Nekomiya crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling.

'Kannari too..... That guy is going to say he's going to stay in this country too.''
Oh, so you're good friends with Mya?
We're in the same theater club. Well, we've known each other longer than that, and I was the one who asked him to join. I wanted to be an actor, but I ended up in the background because of my personality.
"Uh-huh.

　Nekomiya's voluminous narrative was sumptuous, just because it was a theater club. Rin listened to her words as she countered.

'I'm going back. I want to be an actor. I could try to be a Ketsey stage actress over here, though.
They have a lot of experience from their college days.
'It was a long time ago. But I'm not so sure about Kannari. He doesn't seem to be as excited about it as I am.

　Indeed, Kannari Toriba's name was on the list that Ryuzaki had shown him. He's one who needs to be rooted out.
　Oh yeah. In order to get this kind of information, a naked association is essential.

'You should have invited Mya-chan to come home with you.
"I've been swinging around so much with my selfishness that I don't want to put myself in a situation where my life could be at stake.
Hmm. He's not very honest.

　Friendships are a messy thing, as it turns out.

Hanazono is going to say he's going to stay too...

　Sugiura also mumbled to himself as he soaked in the bathtub.
　I see. Rin nodded. It's just as Ryuzaki said. Everyone does not want to be separated from their friends. Even Sugiura has a dream to take over his parents' Japanese restaurant. That's why she wants to return to her home world.
　However, she can't involve her friends who want to live a safe and peaceful life in order to achieve her dream.

　On the one hand, that statement is true on the one hand, but on the other hand, it is wrong.

　Even Rin wants to go back to her world, if possible, with all of us. If possible, we all do. This is what we have to do now to make that happen. Formerly the highest reigning class caste, Himemizu Rin's political skills are on display.

''Hey, Sarin.''

　Rin, who was making up her mind, was poked and prodded by Sugiura.

'Hmm, what?　Aya.
I can't find any water in the tub.
"Geez.

　Before I knew it, I had drunk it all.




　I'm going to head out to root for the group that wants to stay behind. Before that, we have to wait for Rin from the long bath to come out.
　Kyousuke and Ei were passing the time in the salon set up in the royal palace for guests. They looked for something to pass the time, and to their surprise, they found a game of shogi. I wondered if someone had brought it in from Japan. There is a good number of board games such as chess and cards. Ei might burn it if it was shogi, so he decided to play chess. The pieces are made of stone, so there's not much risk of burning them.

''Kyousuke, did something happen yesterday?''

　While moving one pawn, Ei suddenly cuts in sharply.

''You understand? Oh my god.........
'Of course. I don't know how many years we've known each other.

　If you ask me if something happened, of course it happened. The one with Beni. But Kyousuke was not afraid to talk about it. It was because she didn't seem to like the idea of the information she had mentioned back then being spread around. As a matter of principle, Kyousuke doesn't do many things that people don't like to do.
　When Kyousuke was silent for a while, Ei let out a small sigh.

'Well, that's fine. Then you don't have to tell me.''
Sorry.
'It's not something to apologize for. It's just that this is how it's always been with you.

　Ei was right, Kyousuke and Ei's relationship has always been like this. Ei, who had few friends, always had Kyosuke next to him, and it was always Ei who admonished him for his dangerous attitude. He never interfered more than necessary and tried to respect Kyousuke's autonomy as much as possible.
　However, Kyosuke's indecisiveness often causes him to become indecisive and inconsolable, and he often makes Ei angry.

　The silent chess game continues for a while.

'Kyousuke.'

　Ei unexpectedly spoke up.

''That's what Himemizu was talking about yesterday...''
Oh, yeah?　What was it?
You don't remember. You're the....
"Checkmate.
"....!　Wait, wait, wait, wait. Kyousuke!　Huh!　When did that happen?!
Ei is still bad at board games, isn't he? You act like a brainy character.

　It's been that way since he was a child. Ei, who had always loved tokusatsu heroes, always wanted to play blue or black when he played Sentai Gokko in kindergarten. He would then make Kyosuke play Red. However, it was usually during the middle of the gokko games that Ei would get hot and act like a hot-headed idiot.
　Since Kyousuke is like this, Ei is often seen as a cool, handsome, or smartass general strategist, but in fact, after some thought, it often backfires on him. The recent incident where he tried to hide the identity of Full Cross is one such example. Well, that was a half-hearted hobby mixed in, too.

''Once more. Kyousuke, let's do it again, this time with a flying kaku-uchi!
No, it's not.

　As the two men are rearranging the chess pieces on the board, they hear a slightly louder voice talking from outside the salon. A familiar voice. It's Serena.
　The princess of this country. It is Princess Serenade. The tone of the voice was somewhat tense. Kyousuke and Ei looked at each other (not at Ei).

''Oh, is that true!　Ta, isn't it a big deal!
Yes. So please keep this matter as confidential as possible...

　He wondered if he should show his face in the midst of such a conversation, but it was bad enough that he was talking loudly in front of the guest salon. Kyousuke and Ei walked out unapologetically without fear.

'Hey, Serena-san.'
Oh my God!

　Princess Serenade jumped up with a scream that didn't sound like a princess at all.
　The one with Serena is the leader of the kinsmen knights that are often seen in the royal palace. She giggled, not used to the sight of Kyousuke and the others.

''I didn't hear much, what's going on?''
'Hey, it's nothing!　It's nothing!　It's not true that a band of wild thieves who were being escorted to King's Landing stabbed a knight on guard and escaped!
I see...
'Ah!　I'm sorry!　Forget it!

　Serena waved her arms around and screamed, then put her hands on the wall and nodded in dismay.

''Ugh........ Please scold Serena for being so careless and incompetent........''
Well, as I said, it's our business to keep this to ourselves.

　The knight of the Kingsguard spoke to Kyousuke and the others with a bitter smile. Kyousuke and Ei nodded.

''I understand. I won't say anything else. But it's a bit of a mess when it comes to that.''
''Yes. It's troubling that he was able to escape not far from the King's Capital. However, I'm an ordinary human, so it might not be too scary to you all...''
You can kill a man without batting an eye, so how can you not be scared?

　From Serena, I have gained a general knowledge of the monsters in this world.
　There aren't that many people in the whole world who are able to compete with monsters on a single combatant or more than equal footing. Special training and natural talent. The presence or absence of power to control magic and fighting spirit. The difference in such things makes a big difference.
　To the average citizen who had no power and didn't try to train, even the horned rabbit is a dangerous monster. Just having a Kyousuke (skeleton) walking around the city is actually a huge mess.

　It seems that the wild thieves in this country are usually squire crumbles who couldn't become knights. They have a reasonable amount of training, but well, at best, they are on par with Kyousuke alone.
　It is very regrettable that I am used as a unit of combat power, but well, it is easy to understand the analogy. Probably the fighting strength of the escaped wild thieves is one Kyousuke each. Since they can kill people with impunity, it's potentially much higher, maybe even two Kyousuke.

''But since it's only two reveries, wouldn't it not be difficult to capture them if a few knights in this country gathered together?
Ei, are you going to use that unit?
''That's right. However, even though we were careless, the knight who was stabbed to death must have been as good as three or four Utsurogi-san, so maybe it will take longer.
"To the knight in shining armor.

　For three or four Kyousuke? He's a horrible opponent. I hope they are caught soon. It's strange to say that I just fought a red-winged demon as well, and I'm scared of human criminals, but after all, sometimes such a familiar villain is far more frightening than a clear enemy entity.

'Anyway, anyhow!　We need to make sure that we don't touch them outside the city walls.
''Yes. We need to make sure that there are people on the ground around the King's Landing as well.

　Outside the walled city of the king, there is a vast area of agricultural land. The country has well-developed water control technology, and thanks to irrigation canals drawn from the northern mountain range, there is a thriving agricultural industry here and there. There are plenty of fresh vegetables and river fish available, which isn't too bad.
　However, the spread of farmland means that there are a lot of farmers. In most cases, the people of King's Land are working as hired farmers, but large landowners with vast farmland have built their mansions outside the capital. It was possible that these houses would be targeted by wild thieves.

''I hope you all don't go outside the royal capital too often.
'Oh, yes. I understand, just so you know... but...

　Kyousuke's reply was strangely crisp. The Konoe Knight made a dubious face.

''What's wrong?''
Oh no, maybe...
Uglysses!

　That's when Himemizu Rin, with her bouncy voice, came over with a bouncy voice, literally bouncing her body as well.

'I know where Toriba and Hana-chan are!　You know, it's a farmland outside of King's Landing!
I thought it would be something like that.

　The Konoe Knight and Serena looked at each other as Ei spoke for Kyousuke's feelings.




'Kannari and Hanazono are being abducted and held captive by thugs?

　The knights in the choke point were overturned because the female knight who entered the choke point did not have a headband.
　This is the knights' choke point set up on the outer wall of the royal capital. The news that a band of thieves in convoy had stabbed a knight to death and escaped, had caused a sudden tension in the royal capital. A few minutes ago, Her Majesty and the Royal Court of Justice Council have given their permission to prioritize the capture of the knights if it is unavoidable.

　So, there are about four people there who are not knights.

　They are Kyousuke, Rin, Ei and Serena.
　If you add in Kenzaki Megumi (Dullahan) who just opened the door and walked in, there are five of them.

''Where did the message game come to be like that...''
Tsurugin, no! Toriwa and Hana-chan are outside. And it looks like the thugs are hanging around in that outside area.

　Kyousuke and Rin mouthed, and Kenzaki nodded, 'Mu, I see,' and placed his own head on the table. A scream came from the surroundings.
　It seems that Dullahan is a monster that is clearly different in rank from skeletons, wisps and the like. It seems that many of the knights in the clogging station are seeing it for the first time, and a mixture of curiosity and fear is directed at her.

''Anyway, as a member of the Public Safety Commission, I can't overlook this. I'll help in the search. I've approached Okumura, Gokugawara and the others.
"Orcs, Dullahan, goblins.... It's somewhat over-specified to deal with a band of thieves...

　The novice knight captain was muttering with a somewhat puzzled expression.

''If you say so, even Hanazono and the others are Alraune and Thunderbird, so they're likely to be pinned down when they're attacked by the wildebeest.
''Well, I guess so. It's not a good reason not to go to help, but no wildling would come to attack a Thunderbird resting in the first place.

　Of course, there are plenty of normal people living outside the royal capital. Kyousuke and the others originally went out on business to Hanazono and the others, but they were here with the intention of helping to catch the bad guys if they were hanging around there.
　Already, the knights of the royal capital have formed a platoon and have begun to patrol the area. I've heard that they are also going around to the mansions of large landowners, sending out notices not to let the farmers back home or hide them in their homes.

　However, Serena made a difficult face as she read through the letter delivered to the Tsumesho immediately afterwards.


What is happening, Your Highness?

　When the knight captain asked, Serena nodded and handed him the letter. The knight captain's face also became a cloud as he looked at it.

''This is........''
They say the body of the knight who was stabbed to death has been turned into a ghoul.

　A murmur spread through the stuffy room at once. Kyousuke and the others also looked at each other.

　A corpse demon (ghoul). It's an undead monster that I saw so disgustingly in the battle at the fortress line the other day. I knew it was a corpse demon, I thought it was a type of human corpse that changed, but I didn't think I'd hear about it here.

''Serena-chan, what kind of monster is a corpse demon anyway?''
There are two main types of undead monsters.

　Princess Serenade, who has become Dr. Monster, holds up two fingers, "One is the one that has come to be established as a species in its own right, like Skeleton and Dullahan.

The first is a species that has become established as a species in its own right, such as skeletons and Dullahan, and the second is a werewolf that is forced by external factors to become a monster, such as a wolf. The other is that the dead are forcibly transformed into monsters by external forces, as in the case of wights.
"Uh-huh.
'There are some types that can raise the dead through spellcasting, but the werewolves add to their ranks through infection. Same with vampires.

　Hearing the word "vampire" reminded Kyousuke of Benii from last night. Blood. Phase 3. the problem he was having.
　He shook his head and forced himself to counteract the various words that came to mind associatively.

　According to Serena's story, if a person is killed by a corpse or one with the factor of a corpse, he or she becomes a corpse. But we don't know anything else. To begin with, the corpse demon itself is a relatively new monster that has been discovered in the last decade or so, which is why there hasn't been much research on it. Anyway, it is characterized by its high infectiousness, and one small village was once destroyed in the Empire.
　If it's not good, something similar could happen near this royal capital. Tensions among the knights rose all at once.

''I see, it's not just wild thieves. If you're a monster, there's no need to hold back.''

　Gun, said Kenzaki, slamming his fist into his palm. Ei nodded.

It's a good idea. I'm sure me, Kenzaki, and Kyousuke are all undead from the start, so they don't seem to be infected.
''The question is why the wild thief suddenly turned into a corpse. Were they already infected when they were captured by the Knights...?

　Serena is pondering with a serious face.

　Hearing that, some imaginations flashed through Kyousuke's mind. The Red Moon's blood race (Red Moon) was accompanied by a large number of new types of undead monsters that increased in number through infection. And the way the corpse demons increased their number of companions was similar to that of vampires.
　Vampires and the Red Moon. Asuka Beni Asuka, with whom he had exchanged words last night. Could the coincidence of the signs be a coincidence? In order to connect everything together, there are still some missing pieces in between.

''........Utsurogi-kun?''
Oh, no, it's nothing.

　Kyousuke looks up as Rin makes a worried sound.

''Knight Captain, we're going to go find our classmates. I don't care if it's just a wildebeest, but I'm worried if it's a corpse.......
I will. Have a good day.
'Kenzaki, when Okumura and Gomukawara get there, join the knights and help us kill the wights.
'All right. I'll find some other students who are available.

　The head on the table nodded. Kyousuke nodded to each other with Ei and Rin, and quickly left the Order's chambers.