Chapter 399

……It was another unpleasant incident .

[Pandora-san! Stop it already! This isn’t something I can show on TV anymore!]

[……I raised that girl . ]

[Don’t look so smug over there! For goodness’ sake, make Pandora-san stop!]

[……Yeeeees . Pandora, leave it at that . Don’t make Kaito-san see gore . ]

[Hahh! By your will . ]

After hearing Alice’s words, Pandora-san finally stopped moving, and in front of her was the slumped Kong-san, bound by a large number of chains that had appeared from the void .

Pandora-san’s scary . Seriously scary…… I mean, she was so lively while torturing Kong-san…… She might even be scarier than Eden-san .

Anyway, Alice’s command stopped Pandora-san, and soon, Kong-san recovered with Alice’s magic .

I was worried about his mental health after being tortured like that, but he seemed to be fine as he cheerfully said “I won’t lose next time” .

After receiving the second stamp from Kong-san, I felt like my stomach is aching as I walked out of the arena .

[……P- Pandora-san . Thank you for your help . ]

[No, it’s no problem . My apologies, but I have to return back to work . If you need me to act as your proxy again, please call me anytime . ]

……No thanks . Seriously . No thanks . My stomach can’t bear it anymore .

After parting with Pandora-san, I headed to a stall a short distance from the arena .

I knew that it was a bad idea to move around while waiting for Lilia-san and the others, but right now, I needed something to soothe me .

After all, for the second time in a row, a very dangerous person came to help me…… . I’m starting to get worried that another dangerous person would appear next time too .

Please, can someone decent…… come next time……

[Master!]

[……Ehh?]

Hearing a familiar voice, I turned around to see Anima running toward me from a short distance away .

Wearing a black jacket with a starry sky pattern on it and pants of the same color, clothing that I prepared for her for the Six Kings Festival, Anima ran up to me with a gentle smile .

[I’m sorry I’m late . I’m glad that I could meet u——– Fueehh!?]

[Anima!]

[M- Ma- Master!? W- W- W- What are you……]

I wasn’t particularly conscious of it, but when I saw Anima’s face, I reflexively hugged her .

I could clearly see the blush on Anima’s face, but she didn’t resist and fit snuggly in my arms . She looked very cute and soothed my depressed heart .

A battle maniac who wouldn’t listen to me even when I told him to run away, and the God of Earth who was trying to make him vanish from the world . A gorilla who I couldn’t converse with, and the Phantasmal King’s subordinate who fights so cruelly that it would even make the devil turn pale……

And then, there comes Anima, refreshing my weary heart……

[……Errr, Anima . Ummm, sorry . I got a little carried away……]

[N- No! Master is tired after all, so it can’t be helped . Y- You don’t have to mind about me . ]

I don’t know if she lost herself because I hugged her or not, but I apologized to Anima, who was as red as a boiled octopus, while looking at me with her mouth opening and closing .

When Anima heard my words, she immediately shook her head, but her face was still red .

[……E- Errr…… Speaking of which, aren’t Lilia-san and the others with you?]

[……No, I came here by myself . ]

[Is that so?]

[Yes . Lilia-dono and the others are still in the process of collecting ten stamps . ]

Fumu, it seems like Lilia-san and the others haven’t finished gathering enough stamps yet .

[I thought that we should head over as soon as I saw Master’s hummingbird but…… Lilia-dono and the others looked like they wanted to take on the War King’s Five Generals, so I suggested that I head out on my own first . ]

[Fumu…… wait, arehh? Is Anima fine with that though?]

[Yes . I’m not interested in fighting against them . I thought I would need ten stamps to help Master, but after seeing Master’s hummingbird, I decided that I didn’t need the stamps if I act as Master’s proxy, so I came here . ]

What the…… So, there are also angels who walk on land huh…… I’m really glad that Anima is thinking well of me .

[I see, thanks . ]

[N- No, as Master retainer, this is something natural! Ahh, Eta and Theta were about to head this way too but…… They’re Bacchus-sama’s former subordinates . I thought they might have something to talk about with him, so I ordered them to stay behind at my own discretion……]

[Unnn . I’m fine with that too . ]

How should I say this…… Well, it’s kind of charming that she seems to be completely comfortable with her position as my retainer .

As I reached out my hand and stroking Anima’s fluffy hair, she narrowed her eyes in comfort .

Stroking Anima’s head for a little while, when I took back my hand, she nodded once before speaking again .

[……So, what do we do now? It will take some time before Lilia-dono and the others arrive . Shall we challenge the second arena first?]

[Ah, no, I’ve actually already cleared that . ]

[R- Really!? T- To have defeated two Count-level Demons in such a short time…… As expected of Master!]

[N- No, it’s not like I was the one who fought them……]

I couldn’t stand Anima’s respectful gaze towards me, so I recounted the events up to this point .

Thereupon, I went back to the topic of what I would do now .

[……Hmmm . I don’t really want to rush Lilia-san and the others, so now that Anima is here anyway, why don’t we head to the next arena first?]

[Yes! It’s alright! As Master’s proxy, I will definitely seize victory!]

[U- Unnn . I’ll be counting on you . Well, since we’re here anyway, why don’t we look at some of the stalls along the way . ]

Soothed once again by how adorable Anima’s salute was, I checked the guidebook for the location of the next arena and moved on .

I also sent a hummingbird to Lilia-san and the others that I was going to the next arena with Anima, so there should be no problem there either .

Or rather, quite frankly, I just want to see the stalls . Since it’s a festival, let’s just take it easy on the way to the next arena, since I’ve only been seeing violent scenes today .

[……Speaking of which, Anima . When you said that Lilia-san and the others were still collecting stamps, I guess they were going to fight against someone huh?]

[No, there were different kinds of things they could do…… but it seems like most of them were sports . I don’t know much about them, but there’s that ball game called “squash”, then there’s that “bowling” game . ]

[……The heck is that, that sounds fun……]

That’s weird, isn’t it? What I experienced just now was certainly a refreshing change of pace, but you know, I would have preferred playing those games, you know!?

N- No, there’s no need to panic just yet . The Six Kings Festival has only begun…… We could also just go around now .

[Anima . ]

[Hahh!]

[From here to the next arena…… Let’s go on a date . ]

[Hahh! ……Hwoehh?]

[Alright, let’s go!]

[M- M- M- Master! W- What are you saying? G- Going on a date…… Awawa, w- wait a moment!]

It’s quite the distance to the next arena, so let’s play at the booths and facilities where we can get stamps in the meantime .

It would be a shame to just walk straight to the arena with such a cute Anima by my side .

Probably because of the backlash from what I had felt until now, but I was feeling a bit excited as I walked towards the stalls, pulling the flustered Anima’s hand .

Dear Mom, Dad———— In the midst of this series of violent development, a refreshing being appeared…… namely Anima . Thanks to her, I felt much better and decided to go on a date with her . Unnn, I’ve already given up about the fact that I would have to challenge the War King’s Five General, but it’s a festival after all———— If you don’t enjoy it, it will be your loss .