...... Well,

　I was summoned to a dimly lit room. Where am I? I know it's a room in the First Test Mansion, but I can't figure out which room of the house it is.


'Thank you, Anko,'

　As I was about to thank Anko for [Dark Summoning] and [Repatriation], I noticed that she was staring at me with eyes like she was expecting something. Her tail was wagging lazily from side to side.


'Sit.'

As you wish.


　When I gave her instructions on a whim, Anko happily obeyed.

　'I don't know, for some reason it feels so good.


'Wait.'

　I wanted to give her something, so I took out a piece of kompeito from my inventory. It was the leftover from the second morning's tea service when I stayed at the inn with Light. It's been a while, but it's probably not something that will go bad.


''Good.

　With the kompeito picked, I held it in front of Anko's mouth and made her eat it.

　Then Anko snapped her fingers and sucked Konpaku into her mouth.

　Anko's soft tongue snatches the sugar from my finger, which is wrapped in the warmth of my mouth.

　When I pulled my finger out, Anko rolled the sugar on her tongue and then showed a swooning look on her face.


'Good girl.'


　When I said that while stroking the back of the wolf's ear three times back and forth - I repatriated the bean paste.


　Dangerous. I don't know what it is, but it was a dangerous moment.

　I have to restrain myself from feeding them too much from now on: ...... It's going to become a habit.



"--!


　Suddenly, the door to the room opens with a clatter.

　There was the wide-eyed figure of Yukari. Her face was one of surprise, as if to say, "There you really are. Maybe Winfiled had told Yukari the time and place of my expected return.


'Welcome home, Master.'

　She quickly regained her composure and bowed reverently.


'I'm back, Yukari. How are you?　

Yes ......


　Yukari, whom I hadn't seen in about four weeks, looked incredibly attractive. Or rather, she looked much s*xier. The reason is obvious.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.

　And then she shot through me with the eyes of a wild beast hunting its prey and approached me with wind-blown speed.


''Oh, come on,''


　Yukari dives into my chest like a tackle and swooshes in a breath that fills my chest so vigorously that it cools my bosom, then gives me a tight hug and pushes me to the couch with a giggle.

　I had no choice but to fall onto the couch and support Yukari's body.


''Hah ...... hah ...... master!''


　Yukari is breathing hard and gets her face close to mine.


'Yukari: ......'



　It took you ......, you idiot!


　What choice do I have?　You just can't say it out loud. You can't just shoot me in the face.

　Today is the day to win the battle. I will defeat this dirty elf and win the title of the night: ......

　It's 9 a.m. now. Fortunately, we have plenty of time. We're ready to go. We've trained, we've worked out a plan. During the four weeks I was in the Empire, I worked diligently on myself. There was no way I could lose. There was no way I could lose.

　Now, let me show you what I've got.

　The game is on!








　Arm in arm with Yukari, we walk around the grounds.

　The time was already past noon. It had been a little over three hours of deathmatch.

　I'm exhausted, I can say I'm the most exhausted I've been in four weeks, but inside I'm filled with a sense of accomplishment.

　We didn't win, but we drew. ......!

　We drew with that Yukari. This is a big step towards getting back in the game.

　You can do it if you do it, man. It may not be long before I'm the holder of a s*x appeal.


"How was your vacation, master?

　Suddenly, Yukari, who looked a little softer than usual, asked me about that.


'It was a lot of fun, but ......'

　As I answered, I suddenly remembered.


'Yukari, you knew I was brainwashed,'

...... Yes. I'm sorry.

'No, you don't have to apologize. It's okay, because now I know that the brainwashing was necessary. In the process of unraveling it, I realized something significant, and it was my motivation for moving up in the Empire, and it was the best countermeasure against Spica's brainwashing magic, and the moment Spica used the brainwashing magic, I knew it was brainwashing magic. In other words, it was a move that killed four birds with one stone.


　When I praise Winfilled, Yukari shows her protest by squeezing my crossed arms tightly with a blank expression.

　She must be jealous. She's still a difficult character, but that's the cute part.

　I opened my mouth, scratching my cheek with my unclasped hand to cover up.


'Uh, what I'm trying to say is ...... I just wanted to say thank you for your decision.'

Gratitude, sir?


　Yukari asks back with a surprising look on her face.

　You can already tell by that reaction. Yukari, who has been called cold-hearted, cold-hearted and venal, is really a kind woman after all.


''Strengthening Raz's Black Fal, allowing Winfiled's brainwashing magic, and so on. I felt that this was a decision that clearly shows how much you are thinking about me. I'm glad you're taking that stance.


　I was pissed off when they made me forget about being number one in the world, but that doesn't mean I hate these girls.

　It was a rough treatment, but it gave me a chance to rethink my dreams in this world.

　There is no malice in these women, no malice at all. There is only pure goodness.

　They love me. They sent me off on vacation, knowing that I would hate them. It's free love.

　Yes, a vacation. Yukari, who was so opposed to me spreading my knowledge, gave her tacit approval by calling it "a month of spreading knowledge and cultivating others" a vacation.

　How could she be so understanding of her boyfriend's hobby?　That's a rare occurrence.


"Could you become an emperor?


　Receiving my honest opinion, Yukari smiled a small smile of happiness and uttered that.

　It's rare to see Yukari tell a joke. Maybe she's buoyed by the fact that it's been four weeks.


''I made a job offer, but I gave it to the prince.

............


　And the cold, jaded look on my face, which I haven't seen in a while.

　I feel like I'm home.


By the way, what are you guys doing here?　You've already had your lunch, right?


　They've now moved from the house on Lake Vanilla to the southwest to a house in the woods to the north, apparently.

　There's also a summer resort on the property, so that's convenient.


'Oh, by the way, how are Alpha and Gloria doing?'


　I suddenly remembered.

　As well as asking what everyone else is doing, I'd like to hear how the two of you are doing now.


'Alpha is in charge of Raspberry Belle, as instructed by Master. For more information on Master Gloria, please visit .......


　As soon as the subject of Gloria comes up, Yukari gets a reluctant look on her face.

　What on earth is wrong with her?


'I'm sorry about that ....... I have taken the bed into the storeroom at my own discretion.


　Well, we got it all figured out.


That's good. I had a feeling you were going to do that.


　I knew that guy would never come out of the stacks.


No, it's like if you leave it ...... alone, it won't eat or sleep, and it only moves when it's defecating.

............


　It was more than I expected.


'You have servants to look after you?'

'Yes. I had a hard time stopping him because he would try to bring the book into the bathroom as well.

It makes my head hurt. ......


　Yukari is imploring me to do something about it.

　It can't be helped, I was the one who invited her.


I'm going to take it out and open the storeroom from 9am to 5pm. Then let them use any room they have, and they can live a human life, or even an elf life.

I'm sorry, sir.


　d*mn, that's some welfare elf.

　What was he doing at home?　Hmmm, I'm curious.



'Master. Back to the point, I thought everyone had just finished lunch and were having a quick quiz contest.

A quick quiz show?　...... ah ......


　Razz. There was a time when quizzes were popular in Mevion. They even devised a fast-pressing button for the "game crown" setting and held fast-pressing quiz competitions.

　So Raz decided to use the quiz as a training tool for everyone. I see, it's just like him. The quiz and Mevion's PvP have a lot in common. It's a great way to learn how to think.

　I was relieved to hear that it's a quiz. If it's like this, the Alpha must have grown dramatically.


Do you take quizzes, Master?　Raspberry Belle was proud to say that Sempai was awesome~.

No, not at all. There are a lot of guys that are better than me.


　I don't know enough about it to begin with. Until I was about 20 years old, I even thought New York was the capital of the United States.

　But in one area, I'm confident that I'm second to none.


Is this your humility?

That depends on the problem.

'I see. I, too, am confident that I can quiz you on your master.

...... haha.


　It was supposed to be a happy joke, but for some reason it sent shivers down my spine. I'm scared that he's going to guess the order in which I wash myself in the bath, or the day I last cut my nails, or something like that, and he's going to be stubborn.

　I open my mouth anyway, trying to stay off topic.


'It's nice and cool in the forest. Oh, so the house is this way. That was closer than I thought.

Yeah.

　About ten minutes down the forest path, the log cabin finally appeared.


'Yes, I don't want to interrupt the quiz competition, so I'd like to meet Winfiled first.

　I tell Yukari that I want to talk to her for a bit before I go inside and slam down.


''Yes. Then please wait in the living room as I summon you. I'll be excused from my seat for a while.

Thank you.


　What, it's unoccupied in the log cabin right now. The fact that the living room is empty means that everyone seems to be having a quiz tournament in the sub-arena or somewhere else.

　The forest house is made up of three parts: the main large log house, the sub-log house, and the large gymnasium located a short distance away. The gymnasium is divided into two parts, the main arena and the sub-arena, and the reasoning is that the smaller sub-arena would be a good fit for a quiz tournament.

　I thought it would be nice to have a log cabin and gymnasium in the forest, and it's nice to know that people can use it like this, isn't it?

　The forest is cool, you can catch as many cool bugs as you want, and there's a river nearby where you can play in the water or have a barbecue.

　Yeah, it's pretty nice here in the summer. It was the right move.



"Mr. Second," you said. Hi, hi. How've you been?


　I was sitting on the living room couch, waiting, when Winfiled wandered in.

　He was still talking drowsy-eyed and mellow.


'Long time no see. Thanks to you, it's been fun, mecha.

'Yes!　Then, thank goodness.

　Winfiled smiles happily and sits down next to me.


'Hey, I'd like to ask you something: ...... No.'


　I don't know what it is. There must have been a lot of questions I wanted to ask, but when the time came, they didn't come up.

　Besides, I got lost at the last minute. I thought it was tactless.

　I was like, "Was that the right thing to do? What's the point of asking--


There is no such thing as a good answer.


　...... quintessential Esper. He knows I'm hesitating to ask. Yeah, you can ask me now.


"Is the Empire going to be okay?


　When I ask him that, Winfiled takes one look at my expression and then opens his mouth.


Hmm. Well, it's going to be a while, but it's going to be fine. It's not going to be anything that Mr. Second is worried about," he says. Or rather, I won't let him.

Okay.


　Apparently it's not going to be bloody.

　Thank goodness. If Winfiled says it won't, then I'm good. The method of doing so is a great mystery, but since you can get this far in a month with me, there's nothing to worry about.


'By the way, Second-san, you're still amazing. This one is the best one I've ever thought of in my path.


　Hmm?


What do you mean?

In the most beautiful way, I guess. Some of the roads are only two weeks long, and there's a good chance they'll be the same.

'Yeah, ......, so you're saying there were all sorts of patterns?'

Yes. Because I only gave Mr. Second one thing to do.


　Indeed. All I was told was to disguise myself and go to Alpha's family home with Gloria.

　I see, so there were various routes and their end points all led to the collapse of the empire.

　So there was a future where the empire was busted without getting close to Wright and others, then?

　............ scary.


　Ah, scary reminds me.


"And you brainwashed me, though.

Oh, ...... I'm sorry, I'm sorry.


　Winfiled apologizes to me for spilling out, with his eyebrows in a C shape.


''I'm not mad at you,''

Lies. I was angry, but now I'm not. So I'm sorry.


　You're right.


Well, now from me, thank you.

.......


　When I replied, Winfiled nodded a small nod, as if embarrassed.

　In this way, she looks like a charming and cool woman, but she's a stubborn military strategist.

　Especially this time's deed was really bad. I'm not going to be able to compare it to the days of political strife in the Castal Kingdom. Could it be that Winfiled has grown up too?


Where were you actually reading?　Did you read about me getting along with Wright?

Well, you know. I thought they were perfect for each other. Cigarone, too.

What's Nato?　And Olympia.

Nato Shaman may or may not have been a good friend of mine, but he didn't have much of an impact on me. I don't know that Olympia guy very well.

　Oh, man.


"To answer your question, I only read parts of it, but I didn't connect the dots, and those dots were all done by Mr. Second. I put all the pieces together and Mr. Second put them together to make the puzzle complete. We had a two-piece puzzle.


　Mysterious high fives.

　I put the dots on the line ...... No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no again. It's not there.


"Lie, like?　But I'm not lying. Hmmm.


　Winfiled smiled happily at Nimanima as he intertwined his fingers between mine in a stream of high fives.


'But, you know, that's only possible if you're familiar with my personality. You'd have to have a prediction of how I'd draw the line and have a point ready, wouldn't you?


　I try to say that back, even though I kind of guessed the answer.


Of course. If there was a quiz on Mr. Second, I don't feel like losing, you know.


　Well, now we have a quiz. You sound just like your master. I wonder if he's being paralyzed.


And this time I had more time to think than last time, you know? I made use of the time I spent thinking about last time. I feel like I did a good job with my preparations and the depth of my reading. So, the strategy to replace the Emperor was a great success.


　Winfild made a peace sign with only his index and middle fingers up as he and I held hands and looked at each other.

　Operation Switchover ...... switched my dream from the world's number one to the Emperor, switched the Emperor from Gordo to Seven, switched Seven to me, and switched me to Light. I see, it's her kind of quadruple-meaning.


'I'm impressed. You, when you said there was a chance I wouldn't have chosen this route, you actually didn't think much of anything other than this route?


　I thought it was such a beautiful route. It was like her aesthetics to jam it with the exact pieces she held, but she even sighed, even though she had time to think about it, she didn't think it would go this beautifully.


''Well, what do you think?''


　Winfiled's lips, blurred, were slowly closing in on hers.

　I could softly smell the perfume, and at the same time her beautiful eyes were closed.


　...... most beautiful shape, huh?

　I've been told by Yukari earlier that today is the twenty-sixth day since I left.

　It's a little strange. I'm sure that Winfilled is the most beautiful form, so I thought it must fit into the period of one month.

　A month is usually defined as thirty days or thirty-one days. Twenty-six days is a bit of a halfway mark.


Hey, Winfiled.

What?

What's happening in five days?


　When I ask him that, Winfiled ducks with a graze of his lips, puts his forehead to my forehead with a knot and mouths it.


"I think he's coming,

Who?


　She let out a huff and then said.



'The new emperor.'





　And five days later, I was summoned to Castal's castle.

　Suddenly, the new emperor Marvel showed up in secret and I was freaked out by Mein.