Chapter 23: Counting the Chains of Love on the Night Before the Decisive Battle

The forces dispatched from the royal capital were closing in, only a few days’ march from the frontier’s borders.

Around the golden log house, thousands of monster girls who adored Allen had set up camp. An eerie silence and a fighting spirit, on the verge of an explosion, swirled through the air.

On this night before the decisive battle.

The master, Allen, had been placed under house arrest — no, under protection by Luna in the “deepest part of the magic barrier” — in other words, her private room.

“…Listen, Allen. Tomorrow’s battle will hinge on your ‘Curse Chains.’ …But before that, we have to saturate your mana circuits with our ‘love (mana).’ …This is a strategic replenishment.”

Luna removed her glasses and gazed at Allen with moist eyes. She had already cast aside her indigo robe and was wearing only a thin negligee.

(…Luna, that’s… the third time you’ve said that. …I’m already full of mana…)

Allen tried to flail his short mascot limbs, but he couldn’t escape Luna’s soft embrace.

Just then, the door opened without a sound.

“…Oh my. …It’s not fair for only Luna-sama to have him. …The most efficient way to cool down Allen-sama’s ‘heat’ is with my freshly molted skin.”

Misha appeared, her emerald scales undulating in the moonlight. She crawled onto the bed without hesitation, sandwiching Allen from the opposite side of Luna.

“…Master. …Let me join in too. …Tomorrow, when I run with you on my back, if your scent isn’t steeped into me… I won’t have any strength.”

Ferris slipped in from Allen’s feet, her silver tail wagging violently from side to side. Her body temperature was constantly high due to her lightning mana, radiating enough heat to practically scorch Allen’s fluffy fur.

(W-Wahh, everyone…! It’s cramped — and besides… everyone’s feelings are transmitting directly through the chains… it’s suffocating…)

The chains around Allen’s neck resonated with their “love,” flashing violently with a golden light.

“…Allen. …Please indulge my selfishness just for tonight. …If tomorrow, those two… Elizabeth and the others… really do take you away… I won’t be able to live anymore.”

Luna buried her face in Allen’s golden head and whispered with a trembling voice.

Her words sent ripples through the other girls’ hearts as well.

“…Indeed. …If anyone tries to steal Allen-sama away, I will bite them to death, even if they are a god. …But a world without you… to me, it would be the same as total darkness.”

Misha’s long fingertips affectionately traced Allen’s paw pads.

“Master… I’m so glad I got to be your knight. …I won’t say something like ‘I’d gladly die to protect you.’ …I want to be with you, and get even more… even more physical with you!”

Ferris pressed her nose against Allen’s chest, tears spilling from her large eyes.

Pee, Kuu, Aria, and Sui also entered the room one after another, forming a “fluffy mountain” with Allen at the center. Pee enveloped everyone with her golden wings. They passed around a warm mana drink prepared by Kuu, Aria wove the “threads of bonding” that connected them all, and Sui kept Allen’s body temperature stable.

Rather than a ritual for warriors prepared for death, it was the desperate clinging of maidens who refused to lose the one they loved most.

(…Everyone. …Thank you. …I’m not going anywhere. …Because this place where you all are — this is my “country.”)

Allen’s telepathic voice seeped directly into their hearts. At that moment, the Curse Chains shone “white” brighter than ever before.

“—Kh, this is…!? The color of the Curse Chains is changing…!?”

Luna cried out in shock.

Elizabeth’s “Purple (Domination)” and Sylphi’s “Red (Monopolization)” — those two colors were filtered by the monster girls’ “pure love” and Allen’s “resolve,” sublimating into a pure, unadulterated “platinum light.”

“…Allen. …I understand now. …The key to Curse Breaking, it’s…”

Luna picked Allen up and looked at him dead on.

“…It’s not about ‘breaking’ the curse. …It’s about enveloping you with this ‘warm love’ we’re feeling right now… and forgiving those two, overwriting their twisted, frozen love entirely.”

(…Forgiving… Elizabeth-ane-sama and Sylphi?)

“Yes. …If they try to bind you, then you turn those chains against them and ‘save’ them. …The only one who can do that is you — a mascot, a prince, and our ‘King’…”

Allen touched the heavy chains around his neck. Until now, he had thought of them as “an enemy to escape from.” But right now, these chains felt like Elizabeth and the others’ “screams” to him.

(…Can I really save them? …Those two who turned me into this…)

“…It will be alright, Allen-sama. …We will follow you anywhere. …If you say you will forgive them, then we will be the shield that guards your back.”

Misha gave Allen one final, encouraging kiss on the cheek.

The night grew late. In the deepest part of the log house, surrounded by the body heat of the seven maidens and the resolve of his thousands of subordinates, Allen quietly closed his eyes.

The next morning. From the other side of the frontier forest, the thunderous march of the royal army echoed. His golden fur gleaming in the morning sun, Allen stood at the edge of the terrace.

Around his neck were the “Newborn Curse Chains” shining in platinum. Behind him was the strongest army of monster girls, driven mad by love and burning with loyalty.

(…Now, let’s go. …To settle our freedom, and their love.)

Allen’s roar dyed the frontier sky gold.

The Kingdom’s Army: Fifty thousand. Opposing them, Allen’s Territory: Three thousand.

The war with the most “overbearingly heavy love” in history had finally begun.