The Time I Betrayed the Busty Hero Party That Power-Harassed Me ～The Demon Lord Gave Me Land, So Now I’ll Live Free, Develop My Territory, and Punish Those SSS-Rank Bitches～ - Chapter 04; Interlude

Interlude: The Busty Hero Party Plots Their Escape

It was night.

Inside the cramped, sweltering little room, Mei finally snapped.

“Ughhh!! I’m so pissed off!! My butt still stings!! That bastard—someday I’ll roast him alive with my magic!!”

“Calm yourself, Mei.”

“Aye, aye. Giving in to anger won’t do us any good.”

“How am I supposed to calm down!? Just think about what he’s doing to Marie right now!! I bet he’s pinning her down and forcing all sorts of horrible things on her!!”

Mei’s fury only blazed hotter as she pictured their kindest companion being ravaged by the man who betrayed them.

“If not for this damn ancient magic, I’d pound him into the dirt myself!!”

“Mei… are you saying that even your magic can’t break through his spell?”

“…That’s right. It’s impossible.”

At Lunatia’s question, Mei gave a bitter shake of her head.

Though beastkin normally had little mana, Mei was a rare exception—born with magical power rivaling an elf’s.

Because of that, she’d been enrolled in a magic academy since childhood and had mastered all kinds of spells.

And yet, even she admitted it was impossible.

“Ancient magic isn’t something normal people should even be able to use!! That bastard’s insane—those techniques were lost thousands of years ago!!”

“…I see.”

Lunatia only nodded quietly, already turning her thoughts toward how they might possibly survive this nightmare.

And then—

The door creaked open.

Marie, who’d been ordered to stay behind by their hated captor Hyuga, slipped back into the room.

“I-I’m back, everyone—”

“Marie!! Did he do anything weird to you!? Are you okay!?”

“N-No, Lord Hyuga didn’t do anything to me.”

“Really!? He didn’t grope your boobs or grab your ass or anything!?”

“I-I’m fine. Truly, nothing happened.”

Pressed by Mei’s frantic questioning, Marie averted her eyes with a guilty look, nodding awkwardly.

Noticing that, Lunatia tilted her head.

“Something did happen, didn’t it?”

“N-No, um, well…”

“If something happened, I want you to be honest. We’re comrades, aren’t we?”

“—”

The word comrades made Marie flinch. Slowly, hesitantly, she began to confess.

“What!? You mean you were the only one who got to eat something tasty!? That’s not fair, not fair at all!! We only got stale bread and lukewarm soup!! I wanted to try that ‘hamburg steak’ too!!”

“A-Ah… I-I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist the temptation…”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you for telling us, Marie.”

While Teresia whined like a spoiled child, Lunatia kept her eyes fixed firmly on Marie, reassuring her—then let her expression harden.

“It seems he’s trying to favor you alone, Marie… to drive a wedge between us.”

“Eh!? C-Could that really be true?”

“Of course it could!! That wimp would totally pull something like this!! He’s the lowest of the low!!”

“…But that also means we have a chance.”

At Lunatia’s use of the word chance, the others all tilted their heads in confusion.

“A chance? What are you planning?”

“We’ll contact the outside world. Until help arrives, we’ll have Marie keep his attention on her.”

“Huh? Contact the outside world? You do realize we can’t even leave this room thanks to his orders, right?”

Mei tapped the glowing crest on her neck as proof.

Lunatia nodded—she knew that already.

“It’s true we can’t disobey his commands. We can’t step outside without his permission, nor can we lay a hand on him. But… there’s still a way.”

With that, Lunatia reached into the chest plate of her so-called “legendary armor”—now reduced to a bikini—and pulled something out.

It was a small slip of parchment.

A magic scroll—an item that let even the non-magically gifted unleash the spell written on it, simply by channeling mana into the paper.

“That’s—!”

“A scroll handed down in my royal family. It sends out an emergency signal. With this, my country will learn of our plight. Reinforcements should come immediately.”

“Oooh! Well done, Lunatia!!”

“When the succubus modified my armor, I feared she might discover it… but it seems my worries were unfounded. Perhaps it was the blessing of the First Hero.”

“Then let’s use it right away!!”

The busty heroes lit up, hope finally breaking through their despair.

But among them, only Marie’s face clouded with unease.

“I-I’m not sure this is wise… If Lord Hyuga finds out what we’ve done, what will happen to us? M-Maybe it’s better not to stir things up and just keep him in a good mood…”

“Don’t be such a coward!! Once help arrives, it’s all over for him!!”

“Indeed. If someone else takes him down, we’ll finally be free. …Though I would’ve preferred to exact vengeance with my own hands.”

Lunatia poured mana into the scroll, whispering a plea for rescue.

In response, shimmering particles of light burst forth, shaping themselves into a bird. It flapped its wings and flew straight through the wall, vanishing into the distance.

“The message will reach my kingdom, but it’ll likely take a month for aid to arrive.”

“Ugh, that long?”

“In the meantime, we must make sure he suspects nothing. We’ll carry on as if nothing’s changed.”

“Yes!! And when this is all over, I’ll make him serve as my slave for the rest of his miserable life!!”

“You’re too soft, Teresia!! Even if he cries and begs for mercy, I’ll use him as my magical test dummy!!”

The busty hero party laughed and plotted, their massive breasts jiggling with every boast—completely unaware.

They hadn’t realized the truth.

The scroll they’d just used had already been tampered with. Cyril had discovered it earlier and quietly altered the destination.

Their entire plan was already exposed.

―――――――――――――――――――――

[Afterword]

A Random Tidbit

The busty heroines’ room is cramped and sweltering, thick with sweat and pheromones. At least they won’t keel over from heatstroke—there’s a water dispenser installed, so they can drink as much as they like.

Author’s Note:

Daily Ranking: #20!! Weekly Ranking: #34!! Next stop—#1!!

And if you found yourself thinking: “I can’t wait for their punishment,” “Of course their plan got exposed, lol,” or “Let me in that room already,” —then please leave a comment, bookmark, ★ rating, or review!