"Ha..."
As a chill spread from between his brows through his entire body, Herbert slowly opened his eyes, raised a hand, and clenched it around empty air.
"So this is what it feels like to become an evil god's pact bearer? Hmm?"
Then Herbert raised an eyebrow and, uncertain, clenched his hand again.
Clench.
Clench!
Grasp of the Undying!
"..."
He furrowed his brows slightly and muttered in confusion, "Why does it feel like nothing's changed?"
That's not right.
That's not how it works on TV!
People always get stronger after turning to the dark side.
Three times stronger at minimum, with no upper limit.
At the low end, you can get revenge on your bullies. At the high end, you can punch through chaos itself.
So why hasn't anything changed for me?
The evil goddess quietly enjoyed watching Herbert experiment. Only after quite a while did she speak languidly: ["My ally, what are you doing?"]
"I'm investigating how much stronger humans become after falling into corruption, and whether a certain great evil goddess is really as generous as she claims."
Herbert looked up at the ceiling and said expressionlessly:
"Not giving me a single ability is a bit unreasonable, isn't it? If I die along the way, you won't have a partner anymore."
Come on, I'm not even asking for much.
Couldn't you at least give me three or five thousand as a token gesture?
Instead, you won't even give me a hundred bucks!?
Nenasya couldn't help laughing at Herbert's complaints. She only stopped when he was about to boil over, then explained:
["First, I need to correct you on one point-you haven't actually fallen into corruption."]
"Mm... huh?"
Herbert's eyes widened, and for a moment he didn't know how to react.
He had thought Nenasya was simply too stingy to grant him a blessing. He hadn't expected that he hadn't even taken the first step toward the dark side.
Was this one on me?
"That can't be right. Aren't you an evil goddess? I've become your partner and signed a pact with you. That still doesn't count as falling into corruption?"
Recalling the laws he had seen while looking into his case, Herbert quickly opened the holy scripture and soon found the three great sins that meant certain death for Penitents!
"Here, look."
-Blasphemers who couple with Magical Beasts shall be flogged, then burned at the stake!-
-The fallen who sign pacts with evil gods shall be beheaded, then have their bodies burned at the stake!-
-Oathbreakers who forsake their vows shall have all their teeth pulled out and their tongues severed, then be burned at the stake!-
Even reading them again, Herbert couldn't resist mentally snarking.
Seriously, are you an ascetic order or a barbecue club?
Why does every punishment end with a trip to the stake?
This sect's way of handling things really leaves an impression. It's pretty hard to forget.
But...
The evil goddess was utterly dismissive.
["How does that count as falling into corruption?"]
"It doesn't?"
["Heh, of course not."]
Nenasya scoffed at those rigid commandments and asked pointedly: ["If you can't understand, let me ask you a question."]
["Under certain exceptional circumstances in the past, the God of Order and evil gods have worked together. So... did all those Gods of Order fall into corruption at the time?"]
["And does an evil god turn over a new leaf merely by working with a human, becoming purified into a God of Order?"]
["Do you think that's possible? Of course not!"]
["So-called corruption and purification are nothing more than a fraud meant to control mortals."]
Listening to Nenasya, Herbert felt she had a point, yet vaguely sensed that something wasn't quite right.
["As for that commandment against blasphemers, where is the blasphemy? Most of what humans call Magical Beasts are simply distinct races created by various gods. What makes them evil or righteous?"]
["There are depraved murderers among angels and peace lovers among demons. Can you lump them all together?"]
["These commandments are merely chains around humanity's ankles, shackles they have placed upon humans!"]
Her seductive voice kept echoing deep within Herbert, drifting back and forth through his mind as though to steal his soul.
She kept feeding Herbert her own beliefs, influencing his thinking.
But Nenasya was worrying a little too much.
Herbert didn't need her to teach him. He had never been particularly interested in obeying commandments.
"Stop, stop. I said stop. Let's get to the point."
Nenasya also knew when to quit while she was ahead. Her beguiling manner vanished instantly, replaced by the easy informality of idle conversation as she drawled:
["Second, I did indeed give you an ability, but it isn't a combat ability."]
["Instead... it is unparalleled charm!"]
["Rejoice! With this charm, you will become irresistibly alluring to Magical Beasts. They will pursue you without end! They will yearn to make you theirs!"]
The more Nenasya spoke, the more excited she became. Her voice even seemed to tremble as she declared fervently:
["And you can use that opportunity to approach them, gain their power, and turn them into your slaves, acquiring servants of your very own!"]
["And right now, here in this monastery, some powerful Magical Beasts happen to be trapped in the same place. As long as you find a chance to slip inside, by the time you come back out, you'll already be able to become..."]
"Uh, hold on a second."
["Hmm?"]
Nenasya made a doubtful sound and asked in puzzlement: ["You don't like that sort of thing? Don't try to fool me! There is no resistance whatsoever in your soul. You've never been opposed to it!"]
"That's not what I'm talking about!"
Herbert scratched his head and spread his hands helplessly. "I know which Magical Beasts you mean, and I can go in whenever I want."
"But have you considered one problem-I'm no fucking match for them!"
Hello. Herbert here. Rookie Holy Knight.
Those Magical Beast girls are either legendary or epic. They're way past being big cars.
They're overloaded heavy trucks!
And if there's one thing I hate, it's heavy trucks!
Forget taking a heavy truck for a ride. I don't even have the strength to resist.
If I charge in blindly, I'll be throwing myself to the wolves. The only ending waiting for me is defeat: those Magical Beast girls beating me to my knees and turning me into their communal sex slave.
["My ally."]
"Hmm?"
["You can do it. I believe in you! You've got this!"]
["You're sure to win!"]
"But I don't believe in myself!"
Like hell you believe in me.
["Well, the problem you mentioned isn't impossible to solve."]
Fortunately, after joking around, Nenasya did offer a solution:
["I need materials from Magical Beasts. Any body part will do, and the higher the quality, the better... With those magical materials, I can give you a little help."]
"That shouldn't be too difficult, then. I'll look around the prison tomorrow and see if I can pick up a few."
Relieved by the promise from his Harmonic God-chan, Herbert was about to thank her when he suddenly remembered Nenasya's impassioned speech.
"...Oh, so that's why you were spouting all those twisted arguments earlier!"
["Ehe~"]
"So... once I become your partner, I'm bound to head down a wicked path of consorting with Magical Beasts and forsaking my Purity Oath?"
Blasphemy, oathbreaking, corruption... In the future, I'll rack up all three of the ascetic order's great sins.
What a lovely "trinity"!
Then I'll be flogged first, have all my teeth pulled out and my tongue cut off, get my head chopped off, and finally be tied to a stake and burned!
Put that way, even a certain Makoto got off with minor injuries compared to me.
["You finally understand~"]
Nenasya chuckled, her voice sounding delighted and innocent: ["I was going to warn you, but you were the one so eager to become my pact bearer... That isn't my fault."]
Hah. Like hell I believe you.
["Now that you've come this far, there's no chance to change your mind."]
["I will not allow you to disappoint Nenasya."]
"I don't want to fail either."
Herbert curled his lips weakly and grumbled, "After all, I'm the one who'll be getting tortured!"
It was a matter of life and death, and the pressure was immense.
He really would have to think carefully about how to win over those dangerous Magical Beast girls now...
At the same time, at that very moment, another strange feeling kept swelling deep within Herbert.
It seemed...
Everything was getting interesting!
Before you continue