Chapter 10: The Golden Roar and the King of the Frontier

The footsteps of an unprecedented army echoed across the Twilight Frontier.

Vegetables and fruits changed after being exposed to Allen’s golden mana, and Misha and the others suddenly grew much stronger. News of these changes soon reached the ruffians hiding deep in the frontier.

“…They’re here. Judging from the number of earth tremors, it’s an Orc warrior band and an allied army of stray goblins… The numbers are no less than a few hundred.”

Luna spoke with frustration as she looked through a magic telescope on the roof of the log house. Her indigo robes whipped in the wind, stirred up by the clouds of dust.

“Hmph, relying on mere numbers. …Thieves are coming to steal Allen-sama’s mana amidst the chaos. I will melt every last one of them with my venom.”

Misha flicked her tongue out with a slurp, directing a sharp glare toward the forest border.

Allen dropped down to the ground from Misha’s arms.

He was in his mascot form, covered in golden fur. Around his neck, the Curse Chains of Elizabeth and Sylphi glimmered, and the snake crest made by Misha glowed softly. Each one was a different sign of love.

(…I can’t run away. If I run here, their peace, and this ‘home,’ will all be trampled and ruined.)

Allen let out a short kyuu! and broadcast a telepathic message across the entire area.

(Everyone, listen to me. …I hate fighting. But I won’t show mercy to those who try to steal our peace. …I need you to lend me your strength. Will you protect this place with me?)

“Oooooh!! / Master!!”

The roar of the monster girls made the forest tremble.

The battle opened with a strike from a giant club wielded by the Orc chieftain.

“Hand over the golden spirit! If we devour it, we can become Demon Lords!”

The Orcs, blinded by greed, swarmed the log house’s barrier.

“You filthy pigs. …To ‘devour’ Allen… you deserve to die ten thousand times over! –[Azure Judgment]!!”

A massive bolt of indigo lightning released from Luna’s staff instantly turned several Orcs in the vanguard into cinders. It was the true power of a Court Mage on display.

“I won’t let you escape. …[Amber Mist]!”

Misha opened her mouth wide and spewed a deadly venom mixed with golden mana. The armor of the Orcs that touched the mist melted, and they writhed on the spot, screaming.

From above, Pee rained down vacuum blades. On the ground, Kuu swung an axe enhanced with golden mana, blowing away three Orcs all at once. Sui permeated the ground, appearing right at the enemies’ feet to swallow and dissolve them one after another.

But the number of enemies was simply too great.

Gradually, Luna’s mana began to run dry, and Misha’s scales began to peel away under the enemy’s fierce assault.

“Ngh…! Relying on numbers…! Allen, watch out, behind you!”

A massive Orc King slipped past Luna’s guard and was about to swing its club down onto Allen.

(–I thought I told you to stop.)

Allen’s telepathic voice took on a cold, piercing ring.

Instantly, the chain around Allen’s neck materialized.

The purple chain, which showed Elizabeth’s domination, wrapped around the Orc King’s whole body and forced it down into the ground.

The red chain, representing Sylphi’s desire to keep Allen to herself, turned into many spears in the air and struck the Orc King’s heart with perfect aim.

An overwhelming trampling that didn’t even allow for a scream.

Golden light spiraled upward from Allen’s body.

The more he used the chains, the more the curse permeated him, and Allen’s form began to transform once again.

This time, it wasn’t just his upper body.

Golden fur draped over his shoulders like a king’s cape, and his lower body had the long, slim legs of a human. He wore royal clothes, but his eyes were sharp and wild. In the middle of the battlefield, the image of a ‘True King’ appeared.

“…Hii, aah… That person is… that is no spirit…”

The surviving Orcs dropped to their knees, paralyzed with fear.

They no longer saw a cute mascot. Instead, they saw a young king, leading the monster girls of the frontier and using the powerful love of two witches as his strength.

“…Leave. And never lay a hand on my companions again.”

When Allen declared this in a low but carrying voice, the remnants of the Orcs scattered like baby spiders, fleeing deep into the forest.

Silence fell.

“…Allen. …Are you really…”

Luna reached out a trembling hand to touch Allen’s cheek.

But right before her hand could touch him, another dazzling flash of light erupted, and Allen’s figure shrank back down into a palm-sized golden furball.

Kyuu…

Letting out a weak cry, Allen collapsed onto the ground.

Intense exhaustion. The temporary awakening brought on by using the Curse Chains came with too heavy a price.

“Allen-samaa!!”

Misha, Pee, Kuu, Sui, and Luna.

The five of them rushed to Allen simultaneously, scooping him up as if fighting over him.

“Allen-sama… You truly are our King after all.”

“…Yes. …My liege for the rest of my life. …No matter what kind of enemies appear from now on… I will become your shield.”

Luna, too, wiped away her tears and stroked Allen’s golden head.

“…It’s frustrating, but… If I’m with these girls, we might actually be able to protect Allen from those two. …Starting today, let’s officially establish this place as ‘Allen’s Territory.’ I’ll re-erect the magic barrier and turn it into a fortress that not a single human can pass through.”

And so.

Allen, once the Second Prince, now ruled as the ‘Fluffy King’ in both name and truth, together with the monster girls of the frontier and his childhood friend, a brilliant mage.

But amidst the festive atmosphere, the chain around Allen’s neck pulsed stronger than ever before.

Far away, at the royal castle.

Elizabeth smashed her wine glass against the floor, shattering it.

“…Luna. …That vixen. …She finally laid her hands on my Allen.”

Sylphi violently scrawled drawings of Allen all over the walls of her room like a madwoman.

“Onii-sama… became a King. …Those women surrounding Onii-sama… I’ll burn them, I’ll burn them all to ashes.”

The more Allen demonstrated his power, the stronger the Curse Chains’ function as a “transmitter” became. The fact that he had become the King of the frontier had been conveyed to the two in the royal castle as an undeniable reality.

The building of a new nation on the frontier. The accelerating love of the monster girls. And the premonition of the insane heroines joining the fray directly.

Allen’s days of ordeal were truly just beginning.