Chapter 69: I’m Angry

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Translator: Soafp

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I kept stroking the tails of the drooping-ear fox girl and the kunoichi fox girl.

“N-no♡ I-I'll admit defeat, just don't… don't torment the tips♡”

“Kuh♡ Kill me♡ Ah♡ Don't rub the base♡ My hips♡ My hips are rising♡”

“Hmm… this texture… rivals the tail of Gal, which I meticulously groomed…”

Mitsuha—the drooping-ear fox girl—had a tail with cuticles, shiny and smooth.

Meanwhile, Futaba, the kunoichi fox girl, had a tail with fine, silky strands.

I could stroke them forever…

“I-I'll talk♡ I'll tell you everything♡ Please stop♡”

“M-Mitsuha♡ You'd betray Kokonoha-sama!?”

“I-I can't take it anymore♡ Being teased like this is driving me crazy♡”

“Huh? You don't have to say anything if you don't want to.”

I just wanted to touch their tails, after all.

“…Master. Advancing further is recommended.”

“Ah, sorry.”

Right, right.

I had to remember—I needed to cure the zombie disease tonight.

I stopped stroking Futaba and Mitsuha's tails and pressed onward.

Still, wandering aimlessly through the jungle could take hours before reaching the mastermind.

I turned to Futaba and Mitsuha.

“I have a favor to ask. Could you show me the way?”

“H-huh!?”

“Th-There's no way we could!!”

Of course, they glared at me.

So I flexed my hands, and they flinched—

“F-Fine!! I'll tell you!! Just… please stop touching my tail!!”

“Mitsuha!? I'll report this to Kokonoha-sama!!”

“Do whatever you want! I’m more afraid of this boy than Kokonoha-sama! If you don’t like it, then he can just touch your tail!”

“Th-That's… ugh…”

In the end, Futaba agreed to guide us.

“Th-this way.”

“H-Humiliating…”

Following their lead, we moved through the jungle for a little over an hour.

Finally, we discovered the stairs leading to the next level.

And, like before, a particularly energetic fox-eared girl stood at the top of the stairs.

“Fuhahaha!! I've been waiting for you, intruders!! I am Mutsuha!! Kokonoha-sama's loyal servant!! But you moved surprisingly fast—wha-what are you doing!?”

“I-I'm just guiding the way.”

“Huh!? You betrayed us!?”

“N-No!! This isn't betrayal! I—I just guided someone who was lost!! It's purely an act of kindness!!”

“Who shows kindness to intruders!!”

That's fair.

“I'll take care of you and your traitorous allies!!”

““Wha!?””

Mutsuha, the fox girl, lunged with her claws out.

But then—

A golden sword flew from somewhere and struck Mutsuha's head critically.

“Ugh!?”

She rolled her eyes and collapsed unconscious.

Looking at the source of the sword, I saw Belchika dragging the other two fox girls along.

“Finally, we've reunited, No-Face-san!!”

“Hmm… And those you're dragging?”

“They were spying on me while hiding. I managed to neutralize them. They were stronger than expected.”

“Impossible… even Hitoha and Nanaha were taken down!?”

Hmm? One of the fox girls Belchika was dragging seemed familiar…

Ah, I remembered.

She was the woman who had spoken to me when I went berserk from a spiked drink at the Maidol before.

She was also a middle-schooler with a delusional syndrome my underdeveloped mental magic couldn't cure.

I wonder if she's involved in this incident too.

Come to think of it, delusional types in another world seem dangerous.

Curious.

“Well then, let's move forward.”

“Agreed.”

We descended further and finally reached the third basement level.

Compared to the first and second basements, it felt narrower, though still fairly spacious.

At the center was a large stone slab, and countless geometric magic circles were etched across the walls, floor, and ceiling.

—Thump.

My heart skipped a beat.

Even though I'd never been here, the place felt vaguely familiar.

A strange, unsettling sensation.

“No-Face-san? What is it?”

“…Nothing. But the mastermind doesn't seem to be here.”

Ah, right.

“Lauren, check if anyone's around—”

“—Distortion Eye.”

““!?””

It happened in an instant.

Lauren's torso twisted violently, followed by a small explosion, and then silence.

“…A traitorous puppet… shall not serve the king…”

“Kokonoha-san!!”

“…Belchika… it's been days… you're well, I see…?”

I realized there was a woman at the center of the room.

A fox-eared beauty with nine tails, long pure-white hair, and golden eyes.

Ah, this was the woman who suddenly hugged me after my date with Victoria.

Where had she been hiding? Another illusion spell?

No, more importantly…

“…What should I do… Lauren's broken.”

I wondered if the artisans in Nainai chinchin Village could fix her.

The upper body was fine, but the lower half was completely shattered. Maybe impossible…

Wait.

If the upper body is intact, perhaps I could have it rebuilt as a crawler—turning Lauren into a tank-type machine.

Flight might be impossible, but a tank form has its own appeal.

Or maybe a quadruped or reverse-legged design could be interesting.

Anyway.

“…Hey, why did you break Lauren?”

“Eh, N-No-Face-san?”

Belchika looks at me in shock, probably because I’ve stopped playing No-Face.

But I didn't care.

Because someone important to me had been broken, and I was angry.

“…That's… because it is not… meant to be beside the king…”

“Huh? The king? What are you talking about? Can you tone down the chuunibyou a bit?”

“…I see… you do not remember me… but…”

At that moment, the magic circles on the walls and floor of the third basement began glowing ominously.

The fox beauty smiled.

“…Please… leave everything to me… I will restore your true self…”

“W-what…?”

“…This place… was once your personal project… a reincarnation magic experiment facility… it requires immense magical power and… long preparation…”

At that moment, a tremendous headache suddenly struck me.