Do you think I...

In an enclosed space hidden from outsiders, the following conversation took place.

"Come here! Let me smell you!"

"No!"

"Be good! Let me have a look!"

"No!"

"Tch! Are you coming over or not?"

"Bro Jie, no!"

"...Bro Jie? Who's Bro Jie? What have you been going on about this whole time?"

Valentina gave Herbert a puzzled, exasperated look, unable to understand why he was clutching his chest as though he would rather die than submit.

What?!

I just want a good sniff to figure out what that smell is. Do you have to be so nervous?

It's not like I'm going to eat you!

"Hmph! Fine, don't let me smell you. What's so special about you, anyway?" Valentina snorted and turned her back to the bars in a huff.

Rustle...

But shortly after she turned away to sulk, she heard footsteps approaching, accompanied by an increasingly rich fragrance.

"...What?"

Valentina folded her arms, suppressing the urge to turn and look back.

No.

I can't turn around!

I don't know why, but if I turn around now, it'll feel like I've lost to him...

By then, Herbert had walked up to the dragon lady's cell, stopping just a little more than an arm and a half's length away from her.

He narrowed his eyes at Valentina, whose body language betrayed her struggle to hold back, as various thoughts flashed through his mind.

When he first heard the dragon lady's baffling remarks, Herbert's immediate reaction was to wonder whether she was sexually frustrated and planning to have her way with him.

But he soon realized that something about him must have changed.

What could have changed overnight?

All the clues pointed in one direction-that, uh, demon mark.

Was it caused by the Evil God's blessing?

It was also then that Herbert realized something else: he had completely ignored the draconic pressure radiating from Valentina.

Unlike yesterday, when he had forced himself to endure it, he felt absolutely nothing now. Had he not remembered, he would have forgotten about it entirely.

Had Valentina deliberately reined in her draconic pressure?

She probably wasn't that kind.

O great Evil God, just what blessing did you force on me?

Or rather, is this really a blessing?

It couldn't be some indecent curse, could it?

Remembering that unreliable god of comedy, Herbert felt his scalp prickle and nearly recalled last night's terrifying nightmare.

Urgh... cough, cough!

Forcing down the images threatening to surface in his mind, Herbert tried hard to distract himself by talking to Valentina.

"Ahem. Miss Prisoner, let's give you a little test. Can you tell what's changed about me?"

"Heh. You just smell a little nicer."

Valentina did not even turn her head. She stubbornly held her neck rigid, struggling against her instinct to look back.

"Nicer? You mean as food?"

"Huh?"

Valentina froze for a moment, then whipped her head around and glared at him. "Do you think I'd have any interest in that body of yours?!"

Who would eat you?

"Looks like it! You look like a starving ghost who hasn't eaten in centuries... Oh, wait. You really haven't."

Valentina: ?

"Hey! Are you picking a fight on purpose?"

"Of course not! Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry. I just accidentally forgot that you haven't eaten for cen~tu~ries~"

You're still going on about it?!!

Valentina was about to explode, but when she saw the corners of Herbert's mouth curl up, she realized he was deliberately provoking her. Swallowing her anger, she turned away again.

Hmph!

Say whatever you want.

I'm not falling into your trap.

"Lady Demonflame?"

"Hmph."

"Miss Valentina?"

"Hmph!"

After that, no matter how Herbert teased her, the determined Valentina gave no response beyond a cold snort.

What are you, some kind of snorting monster?

Come on, turn around and look at me.

If you turn around, I refuse to believe there'll be nothing in your eyes!

Besides...

Though it might have been a little rude to say so, the sight of her stubborn back kept reminding Herbert of the Shiba Inu owned by the young woman next door in his previous life.

Whenever it was time to go home after an outing, the dog would present its owner with the same resolute back of its head.

One leaned back and pulled hard, while the other tried to burrow its head into the ground. Connected by the leash, the two creatures formed a motionless sculpture of balanced opposing forces.

The two of them kept up this tug-of-war for a while longer. In the end, Miss Stubborn Dog won through sheer tenacity, and Herbert could only give up helplessly, turning to head deeper into the prison.

"All right, then. Stay here and face the wall while you reflect on your behavior. I'll go see the others."

Fine. If you won't cooperate, I'll find someone who will.

We can part ways. The next one will be better behaved!

Just as Herbert was about to leave the area covered by the seal around Valentina's cell, a call came from behind him, its emotion difficult to discern.

"Hey, kid."

"Hmm? Finally had a change of heart?"

Herbert turned and saw that Valentina had finally turned around inside her cell. She was staring at him with an inscrutable gaze.

Seeing him look back, she snorted coldly, put on a vicious expression, and threatened him fiercely. "If you're scared, then get the hell out of here!"

With that, she withdrew straight into the shadows of her cell without giving Herbert a chance to respond.

"..."

Herbert stood looking back for quite a while, then shook his head thoughtfully and answered with a smile, "Heh. I will."

There was no response from the cage. He had no idea whether Valentina had even heard him.

So, was she worrying about me?

Can't be sure.

I'll keep watching and see.

Maybe it's one of life's three great delusions...

Regardless, Valentina's warning did make Herbert a little more vigilant.

Could there be someone among them who bears me serious ill will?

With that thought, Herbert continued deeper into the prison.

The second zone.

Unlike the first zone where Valentina was held, the air here was noticeably better, though the humidity was probably above seventy percent. The dampness was palpable.

"Oh? You're back. I thought you'd already run away."

Inside a massive sphere of water floating in midair, a prisoner with a human torso and a fish tail opened her eyes, looking at her visitor in mild surprise.

"In courage alone, you're better than the warden before last."

"Oh? What happened to him?"

The mermaid curled her lip and said with a giggle, "He was a coward who came here to see how the other half lived. The angel farther inside scared him out of his wits, and he ran out crying. He never showed up again after that day."

"Whoa..."

Herbert raised an eyebrow. He had not expected to learn a secret about his predecessor.

The mermaid laughed at his expression and leaned most of her upper body out of the water, letting Herbert look. "By the way... do you think I'm pretty?"

"Hmm?"

Herbert looked her up and down, then nodded without hesitation.

"I think you're very pretty."