○
Thus, one day while Arpina was spending her increasingly boring days at the magic school.
"I want to erase my memories, can you help me?"
She made a great discovery that became the source of new pleasure and desire.
It was from a student of the magic school who came to her as always.
"Alex. Are you okay?"
"Professor... I can't remember... Really...! Thank you!"
The memory that the student, who was that day's client, had begged to forget.
The memory of childhood abuse disappeared from his inner self, but.
[I'm sorry! I'm sorry...!!]
[It was mom who did wrong!!]
In Arpina's mind, it was being clearly replayed.
That student's childhood, and the result of that childhood.
As if she had experienced it herself.
"You, come here...?"
"Professor...?"
The first subject of a new experiment.
The handsome student fell for Arpina's seduction just like that.
It was the first time she killed someone that day.
However, there was none of the revulsion or nausea that mercenaries who had killed people on the battlefield had testified about.
"You... you're more beautiful when dead."
The pale, taxidermied appearance of the student looked only beautiful in her eyes.
Because.
She realized that after stealing the most important memory and ability the student had, she could permanently possess that ability by killing its original owner.
"This is it! This is what I truly wanted!"
She felt her body and mind filling with pleasure as if they would explode.
The utmost ecstasy.
"From now on...!"
That climax of the moment of stealing everything from others!
○
Just before the morning sun rose, the time before the whole world began to move in earnest.
Jarax finally made a decision.
"We'll slip away quietly."
"Already, sir?"
To his subordinate's puzzled voice, Jarax, the Lizardman chieftain, nodded.
It was a very firm and confident gesture.
"Their movements have changed recently. The strategy of intensifying their war through confusion in the rear has succeeded. They may not know our identity, but further attacks are dangerous."
The subordinate said "already," but it was already the fifth day since they started their raids.
Enough time for the enemies to notice. If they were to escape, it had to be now.
The worst-case scenario was if even one of them was caught, and the next worst was if it was discovered that they were behind the raids.
"But it's a shame... If we get more prey, we can feed our children more..."
"There are still many achievements we can make..."
Despite the chieftain's decision, some subordinates expressed slight regret.
The human food they had obtained over four days was enough to feed them abundantly and more, and all the leftover food was embraced by the Harpies and sent to their territory.
The children's fullness is the parents' joy.
It was natural for the Lizardmen to feel regretful.
Also, having new great achievements to present to the new great master meant they could receive rewards.
They wanted 'tribal status' as their reward.
For the Lizardmen who had already lost a chieftain once, 'stability' held great value.
But the chieftain firmly shook his head.
"Our next battlefield is already prepared..."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. We're going north. Lady Yuran is waiting."
These river raids were enough to awaken the warrior instincts that had been dormant from hiding for so long.
And in the north, a battlefield awaited for the Lizardmen who had become warriors again.
"Ooh...!"
"Understood."
The Lizardmen quietly exclaimed and burned with enthusiasm to maintain their concealment. They soon began preparing to leave the river.
The chieftain straightened his back among them and looked at the river.
The wide river, and several bridges spanning it.
The place that had become their blood-red stage all this time.
"...We will return again. And then, we will be the masters of this land."
With regret and anticipation, the chieftain turned around.
His gesture was still solemn but light, and his heavy steps were full of determination.
"Let's go. To the next battlefield."
He had already drunk enough blood.
Enough to resolve his resentment towards humans related to the previous chieftain, and to have hope for the future.
Jarax, son of Drenix, had now obtained the mindset to completely devote himself to his current master and great master, free from the past.
○
"What? Why can't I get any information?"
As Arpina's sharp voice pierced his ears, the man standing before her lowered his head, sweating.
"Well... because there really is nothing...?"
His trembling voice was exceedingly timid, unlike his burly physique.
But this wasn't simply personality, it was a 'characteristic' that Arpina had deliberately implanted.
By giving such contradictory traits, she wanted to confirm her dominance.
"Huh? Really? You mean there's information that even the deputy chief of 'Gray Eyes' doesn't know?"
It was a mocking voice, but in fact, Arpina was feeling puzzled.
Unlike his appearance, this man was an executive of one of the continent's top information organizations.
"But really, nothing comes up...!"
He cried out desperately and resentfully.
"Nothing! I've searched everywhere, even the Information Guild side, but really nothing comes up... I'm sorry, Miss Arpina...!"
"Okay, okay. I got it. Come here."
"Miss Arpina..."
Embracing the muscular man, Arpina fell into thought for a moment.
While patting his firm back and taut buttocks, which were to her taste, her mind grew increasingly complex.
'Nothing? But that demon clearly said they were there.'
It was strange.
The existence of the demon was certain, yet even the continent's best information network couldn't find their location.
And not just once, but failing five times.
Even Arpina, who hadn't engaged in deep thought in daily life for a long time, could only reach one conclusion.
'They're hiding. And extremely thoroughly at that.'
A sadistic smile appeared on Arpina's lips.
She already knew the appearance of the opponent, and through the demon, she knew the rank of the opposing Dungeon Lord.
Although they strangely didn't tell her about their forces, the more she learned, the more new aspects they showed, so her curiosity only grew.
'They clearly said it was a young Dungeon Lord.'
If so, no matter how strong, they shouldn't be a match for her.
They must be a fragile existence that would simply crumble if pushed like an ogre.
That's why they're hiding like this. Until they become strong.
But their ability to conceal themselves couldn't be ignored.
Even she, who had temporarily gained one of the continent's best information networks, couldn't find them.
'Such an existence...'
Arpina's breathing became rough.
'How thrilling would it be if they were in my arms, acting coy...!'
The fact that she knew about an existence that even 'Gray Eyes' couldn't discover.
And at the thought of being able to get her hands on such an existence, her lower abdomen heated up intensely.
"Come here, baby!"
But that was only a future matter.
She was in a position bound by a 'contract' anyway, and immediate pleasure was more important.
"Yes!"
"Forget everything that happened here! Everything! All! Mmm!"
"Huk...!"
While roughly handling the muscular man, Arpina fell into sweet fantasies.
The unidentified black woman.
Making the Dungeon Lord, said to be the noblest existence among the demons, kneel at her feet, or a future one step beyond that.
'I wonder what kind of dreams she has...'
Her lips twisted strangely.
'It must be delicious...!'
Dreams were her power. Her dream self always becomes reality.
This was a 'truth' that would surely happen this time.
There was no way the two failures that had occurred in her past would happen again this time.
Absolutely not.
○
In a noble mansion in the Heisen Kingdom.
A heavy silence had fallen over the banquet hall converted into a conference room.
Sergius stood before his subordinates and asked in his usual calm voice.
"What is going on?"
However, all his subordinates just bowed their heads in silence, with no one answering.
None of them could answer proudly in this situation. Including Sergius himself.
"Not only have we failed to collect all the information about the Marquis's daughter..."
Sergius continued speaking with a voice mixed with a sigh.
"We couldn't find her whereabouts even after begging the Information Guild for clues... and now we even have personnel who have left without permission...?"
With each word, the subordinates' heads bowed deeper.
There were only two representatives standing in front of them, which was a clear anomaly.
After all, there were three deputy chiefs under Sergius Dodge, the head of the 'Gray Eyes' Heisen Kingdom branch.
The fact that there was a deputy chief who was absent without permission from the general meeting was a serious matter deserving of disciplinary action.
"What was the last report from the Oison deputy chief?"
In fact, this general meeting itself was convened because of that very matter.
The regular report from the deputy chief stationed in Oison Castle and the report submitted by his monitor did not match.
The Oison Castle deputy chief had concealed the existence of a 'lover' he met regularly.
He had violated one of the conditions that must be disclosed to the organization for professional reasons.
In the face of such unauthorized departure of deputy chief-level personnel, the failure to track Michaela's whereabouts was rather a minor issue.
"That... It was probably about the 'Witch of Dreams' entering Heisen."
To Sergius's question, the aide standing at attention beside him answered.
Sergius's eyes contorted at that answer.
Of all people, it was the deputy chief in charge of the most important task in the current situation.
This was something that made another possibility come to mind.
"Defection?"
At Sergius's word filled with suspicion, the two deputy chiefs standing in front rushed forward simultaneously, panicking.
"That's impossible, Branch Chief!"
"Our loyalty is...!"
There was a reason they hurried forward.
The betrayal of a deputy chief was tantamount to a signal calling for an inspection of all deputy chiefs within the organization.
As 'Gray Eyes' was a group gathered by self-interest, many corrupt practices were overlooked as long as loyalty to the leader was maintained.
However, being subject to inspection was a completely different matter.
Even the deputy chiefs who didn't mind committing corrupt practices themselves couldn't help but panic in this situation.
"Calm down, Deputy Chiefs. I never said it was voluntary defection."
In this matter, Sergius himself couldn't be confident either.
As he smiled and soothed the deputy chiefs, they inwardly sighed in relief, but then...
"However."
They tensed up again at their superior's words.
"Anyway, this failure must not leak outside. Do you agree, Deputy Chiefs?"
"Yes!!"
"Then, from now on, I authorize all aggressive actions against Oison."
The deputy chiefs swallowed hard, sweating.
Sergius's words were essentially telling them to erase everything that could become a disgrace to the branch.
"Then, right away...?"
"No..."
In front of them, Sergius quietly shook his head.
After being lost in thought for a moment, he soon spoke with his usual gentle smile.
"We're not starting right now."
"What do you mean?"
Although he didn't particularly like taking action directly, this was unavoidable.
The opponent was certainly at least high-ranked.
Then, someone with matching power or status from our side had to step up.
Both of those pointed to himself.
"I need to contact that witch first. Withdraw all personnel from around Oison. I'll go myself."
"Yes!"
"Go do your jobs immediately. We need to move before the losses grow larger."
"Yes!!!"
After all the subordinates had left, with only the aide in the guise of an old nobleman remaining.
"Wine."
"Yes."
Sergius ordered a drink from his aide.
Soon holding the wine glass reverently offered, he enjoyed the aroma of the red liquid in the glass and swallowed it very slowly.
Right after.
"Witch of Dreams..."
Crunch!
The glass 'folded' in his hand.
By delicate control of strength, the glass was quietly compressed without a single shard flying out.
Despite not using any magic power during this act, not a single wound remained on his white hand.
"I'll make you regret messing with us."
Sergius's two eyes flashed ominously.
This happened 3 hours before the information about their movements reached Libertas.