Chapter 64 Rules



"What are you doing, Echidna?" Dantalian spoke, looking at the woman in front of him, sitting on an ice chair, staring fixedly in the direction where Freytan and the other two girls would be.

"I'm counting how many monsters each of the girls kills" Echidna replied to Dantalian, without taking her eyes off the three girls.

'Again, gambling?' Dantalian thought.

"Hmm, so what are the current results?" Dantalian asked, standing next to Echidna.

"Fifty-three for Fiona... No, wait, fifty-eight. Freytan has fifty-five, and Amanda is in last place with forty-six."

"I see. Do you know the reason for this competition?"

"I'm not sure, but Freytan was complaining about a special event that's going to happen when I arrived here."

"I think I know what that event is. But it's strange that Freytan lost one before. Why have another one?"

"Speaking of that, sir, your taste is quite questionable. Bunny outfits? What's so appealing about them?" Echidna asked.

"Ah, so you've been listening closely."

"Just what's confusing in the conversation between Freytan and Fiona is that, from what I understood, the issue wasn't about the bunny outfits but something else." Not understanding the reason, Echidna felt a chill run down her spine as she spoke, "For some reason, I felt disgusted by you, Mr. Dantalian."

Upon hearing those words, Dantalian felt as if hundreds of arrows had pierced his body. 'These two need some correction.'

"Don't get me wrong, Echidna. The outfits and this event were all Echidna's idea, but I can't lie to you. It's something I enjoy, but it should be a personal matter between me and them, you know." For the first time since his arrival, Dantalian noticed a reaction in Echidna's expression.

"I apologize for what I said. I'm not accustomed to such pleasures. Again, I'm sorry, Mr. Dantalian."

'Rules. While they make her an extremely boring person to converse with, they also make her one of the easiest to manipulate. You just need to know exactly where to touch.' 

Dantalian coughed, saying, "Echidna, can you tell me about the content of the conversation you overheard?"

"What? I know you're their master, but I can't. It was a private conversation, Mr. Dantalian."

"Private? But you heard it, so why couldn't I? Besides, you've already told me quite a lot."

"No, because you asked, so... Wait, no, I can't believe I did that!" Echidna spoke, remembering the conversation up to that point.

'She was so focused before that she didn't realize she broke one of her own rules about not revealing entrusted secrets.'

Dantalian quickly glanced at the forest. 'From what I gathered, Fiona was preparing a surprise for me, and now Echidna accidentally revealed it.'

"Echidna, can you tell me the results for each of them?" Dantalian spoke, with his right arm just inches from her face as he pointed towards the forest.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Mr. Dantalian?"I think you should take a look at

"What? I'm talking about the bet my servants made without my consent," Dantalian replied.

'What do I do now? I can't leave. I promised them I would count the monsters so they could focus on the hunt.' Echidna thought.

"Well, if you say so, I must have misheard, right?"

'I feel terrible for lying to someone, but it's for the greater good. I can't spoil their happiness.' Echidna clenched her fist tightly, looking at Dantalian in a way that allowed her to keep an eye on the competition of the girls through her peripheral vision. "That's right, Mr. Dantalian. I think the battle against Áclis left some sequel. Would you like me to check it for you?"

'Fiona is at eighty-four, while Freytan is at eighty-six, and Amanda is at only sixty-nine.'

"I think you're right. I've been feeling some pain in my body, you know? It starts from my chest and goes down to my thigh." Dantalian spoke, taking Echidna's hand and placing it exactly where his heart would be located.

'Let's see how you handle this.' Dantalian quickly noticed the change dilated pupils.

Due to Echidna's heightened senses, especially in this moment when she was using her ability to focus on counting the dead monsters, the sound of Dantalian's heartbeat, when detected by touch, gave her the sensation of being in front of a massive speaker turned up to the maximum volume.

Echidna quickly pulled her hand away from Dantalian, almost losing her focus on the count. "Mr. Dantalian, that's wrong. You can't do that kind of thing. I could report you for harassment, and my mother would condemn you. So don't do it to other women, okay?"

'For a moment, it felt like I went deaf.' Echidna closed one eye, then the other, sighing and saying, "Did you understand, right?"

Dantalian patted Echidna's head. "Don't worry. It was just an apology. It seems my previous action really shook you, but that wasn't my intention." Dantalian activated his divine hand, covering Echidna's head and ears with golden energy, removing any impurities and relieving her pain.

"That feels great," Echidna spoke, almost closing her eyes. 'I can't...' Echidna sighed in relief, realizing that the count would remain perfect.

"So, did you like it?" Dantalian asked.

Echidna looked at the strange golden energy now floating above Dantalian's palm. If she paid close attention, she could see that all the dust and blood from some monsters that had splattered on her during her hunt before the girls started their bet were now gone. "This golden energy is even stranger than I thought."

"Strange? So, you didn't like it?"

"Sorry, I used the wrong way to express myself. It's actually more amazing than I expected. It was so good that I almost fell asleep."

"Really? I'm glad to hear that. I'm happy."

'Right, I can't completely distract her, but what should I do now?' Dantalian thought, smiling at Echidna.

"I know I heard wrong, but I'm sure there's something in the forest. The girls are hunting, right? And something involving them?" Dantalian spoke, watching Echidna stand up from the ice chair, saying, "It was cold, hahaha. I think I got a little confused and said nonsensical things."

"But it didn't seem that way. Are you sure there's nothing? Because you spoke with such conviction," Dantalian said, pointing towards the forest.

"Regarding that... What do you think about us checking it out ourselves?"