Ken, having finished his business in the holy city of Venarium, replenished his travel supplies and promptly left the city.

The task of crafting the sword, entrusted by Reinesis and Adrian, was complete.

Now, all that remained was to deliver the sword to Reinesis, who was waiting in the capital. Once that was done, the mission would be over.

Afterward, he could return to a peaceful life once again.

With urgency, yet with a light step, Ken embarked on his journey.

However…

"My legs hurt… Can we take a break for a bit?"

Unlike the journey to Venarium, the path to the capital had an added burden—a rather troublesome one.

Zeri von Perleon.

Since starting the journey, Zeri had taken every opportunity to complain—she was tired, hungry, her legs hurt—all while holding up the party's progress.

Ken glanced back at her.

'There's no way I can just leave her behind.'

Zeri was a high-ranking demon who sought the cursed sword that Ken had made.

Before the timeline had changed, she might have been an infiltrator like the other demon lord's spies who had sought Raphne’s information at the academy.

So, if he left her behind, she would certainly try to steal the cursed sword again.

Zeri was skilled enough to do just that.

"If you want to rest, go ahead. But you won't be getting dinner today."

"Wha—! That's just..."

Ken knew what she was up to.

She wanted to slow them down and create an opportunity.

It was clear that she hadn't given up on the cursed sword.

Or perhaps she was just being an annoying burden to make Ken want to abandon her.

Whatever her motives were, Ken wasn't planning on falling for them.

"Ugh, you're mean. Using food to threaten me."

Thankfully, the 'my legs hurt' excuse was clearly a lie. Once Ken spoke firmly, Zeri quietly followed them again.

It seemed she was quite serious about her food, as she didn't complain further when it was used as leverage.

However…

"Aaah! I really can't take it anymore! I'm exhausted! Walking this much without a break is way too much!"

"Are you really part of the demon lord’s army? Don't they train you with marches or anything?"

"Hmph! I'm indeed part of the demon lord’s army, but I'm a high-ranking demon! It’s like being a noble among you humans!"

"Even nobles here receive basic physical training if they serve in the military," Mary retorted.

"Well, that’s human business!" Zeri snapped back, before throwing herself dramatically on the ground, as if daring them to leave her there.

"I’ve had it! Whether I starve or collapse from exhaustion, I'm going to die anyway!"

She lay stiffly on the dirt path as though begging to be left behind, refusing to move.

Ken sighed.

He really couldn’t leave her behind.

He briefly considered whether he could sell her to some slavers if he ran into any, but discarded the idea.

As much as she annoyed him, he didn’t want to show such inhumane behavior in front of his fiancées.

‘Still, I don’t want to waste time either.’

Resting wasn't an issue.

But if these incidents kept piling up, the journey would take longer and longer.

And who knew when another demon like Zeri would come after them?

Ken wanted to deliver the cursed sword to Reinesis as soon as possible.

“How about we do it this way?”

Mary, who had been watching Zeri indifferently, raised her hand slightly.

From her fingertips flowed mana that soon turned into frost.

—Rumble.

“Waaah!”

An icy hand sprouted from beneath Zeri, lifting her up.

“This way, you won’t need to walk. Isn’t that fine?”

“Wouldn’t that be too exhausting for you, Mary?” Ken asked, concerned.

It was a simple spell, but maintaining it would require sustained mana consumption, which could be draining for Mary.

Mary gave a gentle smile and reassured him.

“For me, ice magic has very low mana consumption, so it’s fine. Plus…” Mary turned her gaze towards Zeri, who was now sitting atop the icy hand.

Gone was her defiant face—now, she was pale, her teeth chattering as she looked at Ken.

“C-Cold… s-so c-cold…”

A faint breath escaped from between her trembling lips.

The massive hand was entirely made of ice, and sitting on top of it felt like being inside a refrigerator.

“If she can't endure it, she’ll get down and walk. Moving will generate warmth,” Mary concluded.

“That makes sense. Great idea!” Ken approved.

“Great idea? Are you trying to freeze me to death?!” Zeri protested.

With this, if she complained about her legs, she'd be made to ride the ice hand. If she complained about the cold, she'd have to walk.

Problem solved.

“Well then, let’s hurry. We need to reach the next village before nightfall,” Ken said cheerfully, setting off once again.

Zeri lay on the icy hand, glaring resentfully at Ken as he led the way with Raphne and Emily.

Mary followed behind at a relaxed pace, the ice hand gliding smoothly behind her.

As Zeri lay atop the frozen hand, her expression shifted into a sly smile.

"Hey, sorry for causing trouble. Your name was Mary, right?" Zeri said, peeking her head out from the edge of the ice hand.

“Yes, if you're truly sorry, feel free to get down and walk.”

“No, no! I’m still too tired, so I’ll just stay here!”

Currently, the rest of the party had moved ahead to fight off some monsters that had suddenly emerged from the woods. The battle kept them at a distance from Mary and Zeri.

Zeri used the moment to speak to Mary.

"So, you're one of his fiancées, huh? And there are three of you? That guy sure has a way with people."

“…What do you mean by ‘a way with people’?”

“I mean, he’s a jerk!”

—CRACK!

“Gah! O-Okay, okay, I’m sorry!”

Mary had summoned a coil of ice to wrap around Zeri’s neck, and she tapped it urgently in apology. Mary, with a cold gaze, dispelled the ice.

"Okay, maybe 'jerk' was too harsh. Haha."

"Know your place. I may not kill you, but I can certainly break a limb or two."

“Y-Yes, of course…”

Though she had just received a warning, Zeri didn’t hold back. She kept chatting, undeterred.

Despite her bravado, Mary sighed in irritation, glaring at her with half-lidded eyes.

"What’s so interesting that you keep talking? We may be an unusual case, but we're still just like any other couple," Mary snapped.

"Yeah, that’s what I mean! I totally get that," Zeri said, her eyes narrowing.

“…What?”

“If you’re just like any normal couple…”

Zeri leaned out further, looking down at Mary with a curious, teasing expression.

“Which one of you does he love the most?”

Mary’s eyes flickered at the question, and Zeri didn’t miss it.

But Mary forced herself to look straight ahead, ignoring her.

The ice hand moved along behind her as she walked.

The battle up ahead had just ended, with the group beginning to regroup.

“Stupid question,” Mary said coldly. Refusing to acknowledge it meant she was affected.

“It doesn’t matter who Ken loves the most.”

Mary turned her head, her gaze piercing into Zeri.

“What matters is how much I love him. That’s all.”

“Hmm… How romantic,” Zeri mused, her smirk widening.

There was something unsettling in the way Zeri looked at her, and it made Mary frown slightly. She waved her hand in the air.

The ice hand crumbled into powder, leaving Zeri to fall to the ground with a yelp.

"Looks like you’ve got enough energy to chat. You should walk," Mary said.

"Wha—! B-But I’m still exhausted!"

“Not exhausted enough. Get up and walk.”

“Wait, wait! Was my question too rude? I’m sorry, don’t be mad!”

Though it had been cold, it was still better than walking. Zeri shuffled closer to Mary, attempting to make peace.

"Come on, I’m just curious. He loves all three of you enough to propose, but he can’t love all three equally, right?"

“……”

“It was just a question. I didn’t mean to offend,” Zeri said, her voice taking on an oddly soothing tone.

She truly sounded like a demon, her words laced with something unsettling that seemed to dig under Mary's skin.

The more Mary heard her voice, the more agitated she felt, like Zeri’s words were tickling the deepest parts of her mind.

“If you collapse, I’ll carry you again. But not until then,” Mary said curtly.

“Y-You can’t be serious!”

Not wanting to engage with Zeri any further, Mary strode ahead, her footsteps unusually heavy.

Taking her irritation out on something more productive, she approached Ken.

“Mary?” Ken noticed her approaching.

“I’m exhausted.”

“Yeah, that makes sense… You’ve been maintaining that ice spell for a while.”

She clung to Ken’s arm, her expression softening as she sought comfort.

Zeri, watching them from the back, smirked.

Ken and his group managed to arrive at the village without being held back by Zeri’s constant whining, all thanks to Mary’s clever solution.

It was almost dusk when they arrived, and if Zeri had managed to stall them any longer, they might have been forced to camp outdoors for the night.

“Ahh~ Thank goodness! A bed is definitely better than a sleeping bag!”

The village only had one inn. After unloading their belongings in the room, Emily flopped onto the bed, hugging the soft blanket like it was her beloved.

“As we get closer to the capital, villages will be more frequent. If we hurry, we shouldn’t have to camp outside as much as before.”

“Really? We should move as fast as possible, then. Or maybe we should rent a carriage?”

“That would cost too much money, though.”

Once or twice would be fine, but traveling all the way to the capital by carriage would feel like a waste. They weren't short on money, but Ken wasn’t one to indulge in unnecessary luxury.

“I think traveling is fun, though.”

“That’s because you get to move around as much as you want, Raphne. But for a delicate girl like me, it's exhausting.”

“I-I’m delicate too, you know?!”

“A woman who can smash a Redstone Golem with a single hit doesn’t get to call herself delicate.”

“Ugh... K-Ken...”

“It’s alright, it’s alright. To me, Raphne is delicate.”

“Really?”

“Y-yes, really.”

Ken couldn’t lie to save his life, and his face betrayed his real feelings instantly, but Raphne was happy enough with his words that she threw herself into his arms.

Watching the scene with a complicated expression, Mary thought, ‘It worked after all.’

Ken was hugging Raphne and stroking her head, while Mary watched with an unreadable look.

Off to the side, Zeri, lying like luggage in the corner of the room, gave a sly smile.

The strange feeling Mary had earlier during their conversation was intentional—Zeri had used a type of magic available to any succubus: a Charm Spell.

The magic of a ‘Charming Voice.’

It was a simple spell where the caster infused their voice with mana, allowing the succubus’s charm to flow into their target through their ears.

Because it was simple, the charm effect wasn’t particularly strong. Still, anyone who heard Zeri's voice would find themselves easily swayed by her words, with the conversation lingering in their memory for a long time.

Usually, this spell was used to seduce men while disguised as a human, but it was also very effective for creating situations that Zeri desired.

‘These damned chains make the mana consumption way too high, though.’

The chain made of Mana-Absorbing Stone that Ken had used to bind Zeri was meant to prevent her from using spatial magic.

But Ken had overlooked one thing.

Mana-Absorbing Stones certainly absorbed magic power to prevent spell usage, but they didn't absorb all of the mana.

While the majority of the mana needed for spatial magic was absorbed and prevented its use, minor spells like the Charming Voice could slip through.

Under normal circumstances, the power of any spell would be too weak to use, so no one bothered trying.

But for Zeri, being a succubus, just having her Charming Voice was enough.

Even though it was terribly inefficient to use spatial-magic-level mana just to power this minor charm spell...

‘Still, with this, I’ve laid the groundwork…’

Late that night, when everyone else had fallen asleep, Zeri kept her eyes open, the mana in her gaze flickering.

She was exhausted, her breath ragged, her body drenched in sweat. She had used a tremendous amount of mana.

‘Sweet dreams, Mary.’

Zeri cast a weary yet mischievous smile toward Mary, who was sleeping soundly in the bed.

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