I'd known for a while that she had a competitive streak.

Even when we first met face-to-face, we ended up in a battle of wills that culminated in an accidental lip collision in the carriage. She's fundamentally a person with a strong competitive nature.

It's not that she lacks compassion. When Selvia changed the heart-fluttering maid café experience into something Cthulhu-related, didn't I panic and try to stop her from the sidelines?

Going further back, when I met Selvia in her hometown, she was always subtly concerned about things. She definitely has a kind heart.

And her hatred was strong enough to burn that nature to the ground.

Competitiveness and compassion.

Keeping these aspects in mind and pushing forward, I could quickly become close to her. I pounded on Yuri's door and gave the performance of my life.

"Yuri! Shampoo got in my eyes and I can't open them!"

Details are important in acting. That's why I actually washed my hair. And it was true that shampoo had gotten in my eyes.

Yuri opened the door with an expression that suggested her blood pressure was rising, then let out a "Gah!" when she saw me. Young Yuri was quite expressive with her emotions.

"How many times is this now? Just go die outside or something...!!"

"You said you'd give me a free pass when I got destroyed at chess yesterday! I'm using it now, so hurry and bring me a bucket of water...!!"

"I never said anything like that?!"

"It was written in small print on the contract!"

"That's a fraudulent contract!"

She should have read the contract carefully.

It wasn't a serious contract, of course. I'd teased her with "You're terrible at chess," and got her to sign something with clauses saying the loser would become a dog, just to mess with her.

If it had been the adult Frostlover, she would have shamelessly turned around three times and barked realistically without a hint of embarrassment, but Yuri had trembled with shame and reluctantly muttered, "...Woof."

It was cute.

So Frostlover also knew the joy of teasing others. I had that strange realization then, and I still feel it now.

Despite her huffing and puffing, instead of slamming the door in my face, she said:

"...Oh, really. You're such a...! I'll get a bucket of water, so wait!"

"If I go blind like this... will I never be able to see your face again...?"

"I said I'm getting water now!"

Crash, bang. I heard her rushing inside. I could also hear her muttering to herself, "Bucket, where's the bucket..."

After spending a few days as her neighbor, I had not only approached her in a friendly way but also proved that I had excellent control over my sexual desires.

That doesn't mean I dropped my pants or anything.

Succubi can tell at a glance whether a person is sexually aroused or not. It's only natural, isn't it? Wouldn't that be a necessary ability to select prey?

Yuri naturally has this ability too. It made things easier.

Thanks to my lust suppression spell, she saw my calm and tranquil heart every time we met, and she gradually began to open up.

I wedged myself into that opening with my whole body, and this is the result.

Splash—!!

Cold water pours down on my head like a waterfall. I quickly wiped away the shampoo bubbles. After pouring all the water, Yuri asked:

"Do you need another bucket?"

"Ah, I'm mostly clean now. But another half bucket would be nice."

"If you're mostly clean, do it yourself!"

Yuri threw the wooden bucket at me. I caught it while staggering, then followed behind her with quick steps and struck up a conversation.

"Hey, why so cold? Do you have a towel at home?"

"Are you planning to steal it again?"

"I didn't steal it—I just borrowed it temporarily to wash and dry it properly before returning it. Besides, my upper body is all wet now. What if I catch a cold because I don't dry off?"

"That's your problem!"

Though she says that, she shows no sign of chasing me away. Translated from tsundere language, it means I can use a towel.

I walked into Yuri's house with a bright smile. Having infiltrated like this whenever I had the chance, I'd roughly figured out the internal layout.

I'm sure the dry towels were this way. I think they were stacked near the bathroom.

Found them. I grabbed one and shook my head vigorously. As I did so, I heard Yuri shouting from the kitchen area in the distance.

"Put it in the laundry basket when you're done! And don't think about stealing it this time!"

I had no intention of stealing it this time. Since I'd already secured a reason to visit her home by returning the towel, I didn't need two towels.

When I went to put the used towel in the laundry basket, I found something already inside.

Underwear made of poor quality, cheap fabric—plain with no design or aesthetic value. Pitiful.

Unable to contain the deep sense of pity welling up from the depths of my soul, I grabbed the underwear and ran to the kitchen.

Yuri seemed to be preparing to make stew. She was wearing an apron. With the underwear in my hand, I condemned her.

"Girl, what kind of underwear are you wearing?"

"...Ah, aah...!! W-what are you holding, what are you doing?!"

Yuri stared blankly like someone who'd been hit on the head with a hammer, then her face turned bright red as she flew into a rage. She was clearly trying to mask her embarrassment with anger.

But I was angry too. How could she be so careless about what she wore?

"Fashion is only complete when you pay attention to the parts that aren't visible. You earn decent money, so why are you buying and wearing things like this!"

"P-put that down right now. I'll kill you?! I'll really kill you—!"

"I'll die from heartbreak before you can kill me. Look, you're just wasting that pretty face of yours. Before even talking about liking or disliking men, this is a matter of waste... Ow! That really hurts!"

"Put it down! Put it back right now!!"

Yuri silenced my opinion with a barrage of powerful punches. With this vulnerable avatar, it's difficult to perform the Heavenly Demon-Moving technique. I can't fight back.

I had no choice but to surrender to the external pressure and return the underwear.

"...Even considering functionality, that rag is terrible. I understand if you don't want to dress up, but at least pay attention to quality? The comfort is completely different!"

"Aish, really—!!"

I got hit one more time while grumbling.

===============================================================

It's mealtime. Yuri placed the hastily made stew in the middle of the table, ladling it into wooden bowls for us to eat.

I took a big spoonful, tasted it, and gave my cold assessment.

"It would have been better with about 2.5 pinches more salt."

"...Then you make it yourself!"

"Alright. Tomorrow morning, I'll be the stew chef. Leave it to me."

"If it tastes bad, you'll have to pay for the ingredients!"

Fine.

With that, I secured a reason to visit tomorrow as well. This is how the unstoppable wheel of friendship keeps rolling. I've sufficiently appealed to my character, and Yuri, despite her grumbling, seemed quite pleased with my presence.

Aren't humans social animals?

In a life surrounded by thugs always asking for handouts, having an acquaintance with whom you can comfortably joke around and talk must be quite positive.

If I continue to steadily build up time like this, restoring our original relationship isn't just a dream.

I can completely close the remaining awkward distance and become friends again. But...

That alone isn't enough.

I haven't forgotten my purpose. I've been constantly reminding myself that I'm here to save Frostlover, and I need to get clues to reach the second basement floor.

This world, the first basement floor, is a reconstruction created by modifying Frostlover's mental barrier. It's like a tightly closed castle gate, meant to block those trying to reach the deeper part of her mind, the second basement floor.

So I suspected that "permission" might be the key point.

Young Yuri, the gatekeeper, needs to trust and acknowledge me, opening the path to the second basement floor. That's why I've been building intimacy like this.

I also found evidence supporting this theory: the existence of the "Key" that Yuri always wears around her neck. It hangs dangling on a string.

It's an object with a suspiciously large amount of information. And it feels highly artificial. It must be something the Queen had a hand in.

Once, when I asked her, "What's that key?"

"You don't need to know."

Young Yuri showed an extremely defensive attitude. It was twice as strong as the wariness she showed me when we first met.

After very gradually and carefully extracting related information, I learned that she has a compulsive urge to protect this "Key," and memories have been implanted in her of all sorts of people trying to steal or take the "Key" from her.

She even told me about a friend from the Annihilation Squad who she was relatively close with, but they tried to steal her "Key," which ultimately led to the end of their friendship.

At that moment, I realized that if I tried to approach the key any further, all the relationship building I'd done would collapse. So I've been pretending not to be interested.

I had never heard Frostlover talk about such an important key necklace. She tended to hide her past, but... there's a difference between having some clues and having none at all.

I check my memories. Frostlover showed no signs of having worn a "necklace" in her behavior, habits, fashion, or any other aspect.

So this is an object deliberately created by the Queen.

Instead of scattering clues throughout the world, the Queen seems to have concentrated the clear condition into one clear symbol: the "Key."

Therefore, to go down to the second basement floor, I need to obtain that "Key."

This proposition seems true.

As I was smiling and observing Yuri while organizing my thoughts, she must have felt my gaze because she looked up at me with a blank expression and blurted out:

"...What are you looking at?"

"You look pretty when you eat."

Her face turned bright red. Young Yuri has defenses as low as a Magic Tower Master. She gripped her spoon like a knife, pointed it at me, and tried to hide her embarrassment by pretending to be angry.

"Are you really a eunuch...?!"

"Want me to show you?"

When I pretended to take off my pants, she quickly turned her head away.

I felt a deep sense of victory rising from the depths of my chest. I won. I'm dominating Frostlover...!!

After constantly being on the receiving end of beatings, it feels satisfying to be the one doing the beating.

Well...

While the best scenario would be to gradually gain her trust and have her willingly hand over the "Key," I'm also considering physically stealing it if the situation doesn't allow for that.

After sufficiently lowering her guard, I could attack at a decisive moment and get the key.

In that case... young Yuri would certainly be hurt, but even so. Wouldn't I have to do it? Because I need to save her.

You could call it a sword hidden in a smile. I hid my dark intentions behind my smile and continued our everyday conversation.

"How are things lately? I heard the Annihilation Squad work is complicated. You're tracking a group of dark mages, right?"

"...It is troublesome. My seniors and I raided a location that the Defense Bureau told us was a base, but there were only small fry. We only gained one piece of information. Do your job properly, Defense Bureau."

"Our guys probably tried their best too. Still, it's good that you got some information. What is it?"

"Information about the hidden bases of the dark mage group 'The Red Regeneration' and their collaborators."

I'd heard that "The Red Regeneration," the group being tracked by the Annihilation Squad in the year 440, aims to obtain new, healthy bodies by sacrificing people.

They typically approach nobles, tempting them with attractive offers like fixing their ugly faces or transforming their weak bodies into muscular ones, and receive sponsorship in return.

"The documents are encrypted, so my seniors are working day and night... but once the analysis is complete, I think we'll be able to achieve results."

"There's going to be a bloodbath."

"A justified bloodbath."

Yuri expressed her hatred for the dark mage group with a sharp tone, as if she would tear them in half if they appeared before her.

I was resting my chin on my hand when suddenly, a current of thought flashed through my mind.

"......"

"...What's wrong?"

"No, I just remembered something I forgot. I need to send a report to the Imperial Palace."

After making that excuse to Yuri, I left for the time being.

===============================================================

I had been constantly feeling uneasy about the suspiciously quiet Queen.

She was still throwing warning shots my way, like inverting my vision or suddenly causing burning sensations, but... there hadn't been one big attack, so to speak?

The occasional pain that broke through my defenses was something I could endure. And the Queen would know that well.

She could have chosen any other time, but she deliberately chose this point in the year 440. There must be a clear intention behind it. She probably planned to use an incident that occurred during this period.

In that sense, I suspect that the matter of the dark mage group "The Red Regeneration" is, so to speak, the main scenario.

I had been guessing that this scenario was meant to make Yuri despair...

"...Did this bastard play a sneaky trick?"

After returning from visiting Yuri, I thoroughly searched the place where this body had spawned, my house. I lifted carpets and even pried up boards in the attic.

And in a secret space revealed by pushing aside a cabinet in the corner of the house, I found ritual tools used in dark magic and a petition with a bright red handprint on it.

I spread my palm and looked at it. When I compared it to the petition, it was identical.

This means that the identity of this avatar, which the Queen prepared to mess with me, is... a member of the dark mage group "The Red Regeneration." The very group Yuri is tracking.

So that's how you want to play it?

Fine. You want to entangle me in an adversarial relationship with Yuri. In that case, I'll just take the stance of a reformed villain. After all, the "me" who landed here hasn't harmed anyone.

I'll set the mood and say something like: I was led astray because I wanted to cure my sickly body, but seeing you made me repent. I'm sorry. But I haven't committed any crimes yet, so give me a chance. I'll cooperate.

If I approach it this way...

Wait.

Just a minute.

I... modified my ugly appearance. Before entering.

I modified the avatar's modeling, not overwriting the settings of this world itself. So I'm basically "a pig orc who suddenly became handsome."

From the outside, that looks like... I desperately rubbed up against "The Red Regeneration," sacrificed people, and finally changed my appearance.

Caught in my own trap!

"If I change the information now...!!"

Not a chance. The Queen had clearly caught onto something and was holding onto the relevant information with a defensive posture. She intends to cast me as the villain. This bitch.

I've suddenly become a villain obsessed with a hero (who, in a sense, protects the city's safety)...!

===============================================================

The Queen, watching all of this from "The Nest," finally relaxed and smiled. In her opinion, he seemed to have no way out.

His skill, which surpassed human capabilities, made her break out in a cold sweat, but...

A situation where he must obtain the "Key" to enter the second basement floor, the deeper part of the mind. However, he now has the setting of being a pawn of "The Red Regeneration," and Yuri Lanster is guarding the key very preciously.

Click, click, click.

Fate will flow toward his identity being exposed. Because the Queen will make it so.

Be cornered, magician. Become anxious and struggle. And at the end, when you're backed into a corner, shout that it's for Yuri Lanster's sake and take the key from her.

At that moment. When Yuri's consciousness, her mental barrier, defines the magician as an "enemy" due to her extreme sense of betrayal.

The moment this small world turns against him. The Queen will reveal her claws, hunt him down, tear him to pieces, and devour him.