Chapter 3: The Exploding Curse Chains and the Steel Beetles

An abandoned shack sat quietly in the Twilight Frontier. It had probably once been filled with the noise of miners, but now it was turning into a safe haven for strays.

Allen sat on an old wooden box in the middle of the shack. Faint golden mana kept leaking from his mascot body. To him, it was just the remnants of a curse, but to the mana-starved monster girls, it was a wonderful scent and a sign of hope.

【…Is everyone feeling a little better now?】

When Allen released his telepathic message, the three girls surrounding him all raised their heads at once.

Pee, the Harpy with a broken wing.

Kuu, the Orc with a chipped horn.

And Sui, the Slime, whose form had been murky and collapsing.

“Kyuu… Allen-sama’s mana, it’s so warm…”

“Ah, the power… The stump of my broken horn feels hot. With this, I feel like I can fight again.”

The girls who received Allen’s golden mana changed in dramatic ways. Golden streaks appeared in Pee’s wings, Kuu’s muscles became stronger and more flexible, and Sui’s cloudy body turned into a clear emerald green. The core at her center now glowed with gold.

However, the changes didn’t stop there.

The look in their eyes was starting to go beyond simple gratitude.

“Allen-samaa… Can I get closer? Even closer?”

“Ah, no fair, Pee! I want to touch Allen-sama, too. That fluffy… tail of his.”

Misha saw this and pulled Allen into a hug, not bothering to hide how possessive she felt.

“No way, you girls. Allen-sama is still exhausted. I will be the one closest to him, protecting him!”

【W-Waah, everyone, calm down! If you crowd me like this, my body is going to get buried!】

The four monster girls crowded around Allen, who was now just a golden ball of fur. Misha pressed him against her chest, Pee wrapped her wings around him from behind, Kuu gently nibbled his ear with her big hands, and Sui tried to cover his feet with her cool body.

“Haa… What a wonderful scent. Allen-sama, I never want to let you go…”

“Allen-sama, won’t you shower me… and only me, with your affection?”

Their eyes showed both longing and loyalty. It reminded Allen of the way Elizabeth and Sylphi had looked at him when they cornered him at the royal castle.

(…This is bad. If this keeps up, I’ll end up trapped in a different kind of ‘prison of love’ right here!)

Just as Allen started to sweat—or rather, let out drops of mana that looked like sweat—something happened.

An eerie sound, like the rumbling of the earth, echoed from outside the shack.

Skitter, clack-clack…!!

An unpleasant sound, like metal scraping A harsh noise, like metal scraping on metal, filled the air around them.laring outside with a fierce expression.

“This sound… A swarm of Steel Beetles!? Why would they come up to such a shallow part of the frontier…?”

【It’s because of my mana. …I’m sorry. Because I was here, I ended up attracting them.】

Allen’s golden mana was much too pure. For magical beasts, it was the perfect prey and could even help them evolve.

Black, shiny beetles with huge pincers burst through the shack’s walls. Their shells were made of real steel, so regular swords couldn’t even scratch them.

“Allen-sama, please step back! We will handle this…!”

Misha lifted her tail, and Kuu grabbed a rusty axe. But they still weren’t fully healed. Facing so many steel beetles, fear showed clearly on their faces.

(No. I can’t let them fight. …I have to protect them. Because I’ve decided to become their “King”!)

Allen leaped from Misha’s arms and bounded right into the middle of the beetles.

A small golden animal stood in front of the huge iron beetles. It looked reckless, but also strangely noble.

“Allen-sama! Please come back!”

【It’s okay. …This time, it’s my turn to protect you all.】

Allen sank his consciousness deep, deep inside himself.

Two powerful, cursed chains were wrapped around his neck—one purple from Elizabeth’s obsession, and one red from Sylphi’s desire to keep him for herself. Allen pulled them out of his body to use as power.

【—Curse Chain Release!】

Click. It sounded like a lock opening deep inside his heart.

Two giant chains erupted from the neck of the golden mascot.

One chain was purple, as dark as a still night. The other was red, like burning blood.

The chains moved through the air like living things, showing their fangs at the beetles around Allen.

【Become heavy…! Just like Elizabeth-nee-sama’s suffocating love!】

When Allen gave the order, the purple chain spun in a circle and hit the ground. Suddenly, a huge force pressed down on everything nearby. The beetles’ steel legs snapped, and they were crushed into the earth, as if stomped by a giant no one could see.

【And… burn them to ashes! With the sheer intensity of Sylphi trying to monopolize everything!】

Right away, the red chain snapped out like a whip. Covered in red flames, it cut through the beetles’ shells in one quick move. The hardest steel split and melted, just like a hot knife cutting through butter.

KRA-THOOM!!

With a loud blast, the beetle swarm was wiped out in seconds. Only broken pieces of iron and the smell of burnt earth remained.

Having finished their duty, the chains were once again sucked back into Allen’s neck.

【…Haa, haa…】

Allen fell to his knees. Using that much mana had taken a lot out of him.

But then a strange feeling came over him. By sending the curse chains out as weapons, the transformation mana holding his body together had become weaker for a moment.

“A… Allen-sama?”

Behind him, Misha gasped.

The golden fur seemed to peel away, and from it, a human right arm appeared. It was strong, graceful, and full of a young prince’s elegance.

With that human hand, Allen gently touched the cheek of the dazed, frozen Misha.

【Were you… Hurt at all?】

“A-Ah…”

Misha’s face turned bright red right away. Her wish to care for a mascot was suddenly replaced by romantic feelings for a man.

However, that miracle did not last long.

(…Ugh, my head, it’s heavy…)

From the royal castle far away, a massive amount of mana flowed backward through the chains.

【Hehe… My little Allen. Do you like my power that much? Very well, I will pour it into you until you run dry…】

【Onii-sama, use more of it! I’m going to dye your whole body red!】

Throb, throb. An affection akin to madness was poured into him.

Allen watched as his right arm turned back into a small golden paw. Worse still, he couldn’t handle the sudden rush of mana, and his mind quickly faded into darkness.

“Allen-sama!? Please hold on!”

“Allen-samaa! Please don’t die!”

As Allen started to lose consciousness, he noticed the monster girls holding him felt much warmer and clung to him even more than before.

“…Hey, everyone. Did you see? Allen-sama is actually a truly wonderful prince.”

“Yeah… So strong, and so gentle… I will absolutely never let him go now. I won’t hand him over to anyone.”

In the eyes of Misha and the others, an “affection” that had already transcended worship flickered like a flame.

The power Allen wielded to protect them had, as a result, transformed their love into something deeper, heavier, and far more “dangerous.”

Surrounding the sleeping Allen, the monster girls quietly but firmly swore to each other.

They would make this fluffy king theirs, and theirs alone.

It was the beginning of a “chain of love” just as heavy — if not heavier — than that of the heroines back at the royal castle.