Unable to move my limbs due to the Binding Bullets, I could only endure as Ireh repeatedly explored my lips.

"Mmph, hmm, slurp..."

Her sticky, persistent kisses made my head spin.

I knew intellectually this was wrong. But my body responded honestly, and I could feel myself swelling below.

What made it worse was that Ireh had straddled me, twisting her body back and forth.

Since I was also under the aphrodisiac's effect, maintaining my sanity was difficult.

Nevertheless, I squeezed out my last bit of reason to resist.

"Lady Ireh! You mustn't do this! You'll definitely regret it later!"

"But my body, my body is so hot! If I don't relieve it right now, the pain will drive me insane...!"

"You know it's because of the foreign god! If we surrender to instinct here, both of us will be in trouble later!"

I feared ruining the harmonious relationship between Ireh and my two wives. But even more frightening was the possibility that Ireh would fall into self-loathing once she regained her senses.

Having relations in this situation would only make victims of us both. But someone like Ireh would undoubtedly consider herself the perpetrator.

Becoming a lust-crazed beast who violated her comrade.

I knew Ireh's personality well. I could clearly see what dilemma she would fall into and what mental anguish she would suffer.

"Please bear with it a little longer! And release these bindings! I'll find some way to resolve this...!"

But my desperate plea was cut off like rice cake sliced mid-sentence. Ireh had covered my mouth again. A sweet fragrance mercilessly invaded my nostrils.

"I'm sorry, truly sorry, brother... but I've really reached my limit! If I must do this with someone, I'd rather it be you...!"

"This is rape!"

"...!"

Rape. The crime Ireh despised most. The situation was so urgent that I blurted it out harshly without thinking.

"R-rape? No! Men always enjoy it when women do this...!"

"Any man with proper sexual values doesn't mix bodies with just any woman! At least I don't! You're not my lover, Lady Ireh! When there isn't even consent, what is this if not rape?"

"Ah..."

It was working. Ireh showed signs of hesitation.

Of course, I wasn't saying this because I lacked desire. I was trying to prevent something that I knew would be impossible to fix afterward.

Having broken her momentum with my forceful words, I thought I could now speak more gently.

"I know you're struggling with your urges right now. But please endure a little longer. You've lived through difficult times and persevered until now. If you can just get through this hurdle, I'll take care of the rest..."

"...because of you."

"Pardon?"

"You, it's because of you. Because you always show me your cool side, because you've sacrificed yourself for me so many times, I've changed like this...!"

"What are you saying now! Ugh!"

I felt her warmth from below where blood had gathered. Despite only being touched through my pants, the pleasure was amplified dozens of times due to the aphrodisiac, racing up my spine.

"Wha, whoa..."

Ireh's eyes lost focus as she fumbled with my body. Drool dripped from her mouth, staining my clothes.

Saliva wasn't the only thing falling. Her tears, formed like dewdrops, landed on my cheeks.

"H-honestly, you don't dislike me either. If you disliked me, you wouldn't have done so much for me all this time. So... this isn't forced. Yes, it's just an accident. An unavoidable accident..."

She had completely lost it. At this point, her reason had been devoured by lust. It would be fair to say Ireh was now moving and speaking purely on instinct.

After bombarding me with several more kisses, Ireh suddenly stopped moving.

"N-next. What comes next...?"

Could she really not know?

No, that couldn't be. Someone talented enough to get into Stellarium College couldn't possibly be ignorant about how relations between men and women proceed.

She was probably asking to confirm that what she was doing wasn't a crime. It was the last bastion of reason remaining within her.

"Get off me and release these bindings!"

"That's not it!"

Even that final bastion crumbled under the wave of lust. Ireh began clumsily removing a layer of my clothing.

Just when I thought everything was completely ruined—

"Young Master!"

Whirr!

A caliper flew from the direction of the voice, striking Ireh's arm. She lost her balance and staggered. Simultaneously, the spiritual binding on me was released.

It was Sonia, without a doubt. She quickly grabbed Ireh from behind and chopped her on the nape with the side of her hand. Ireh made an "ugh" sound before collapsing onto me.

"Sonia!"

"Are you alright, Young Master?"

"I'm saved thanks to you. You came at just the right time."

Sonia sighed as she supported the unconscious Ireh and slung her over her shoulder.

"Really, doing it is fine, but I wish you'd choose the time and place. What kind of behavior is this in the sacred spirit chamber?"

"It's not Ireh's fault. It's the foreign god's doing."

"Even considering that... Sigh, never mind. This isn't the time to discuss such matters."

Sonia's abruptly cut-off final remark bothered me, but I decided not to press the issue. If she wasn't willing to talk about something, there was no point in forcing it.

"What about the support personnel?"

"They're coming this way, cleaning up as they go. I deliberately didn't bring them here in case something like this happened."

"Thank you. You've saved the Rheinland family."

If word of what just happened had somehow leaked to others or made it to the media, I can't imagine what would have happened. At minimum, our family image would have been severely damaged.

In the worst case, we might have been investigated for public indecency. That would have been a real headache.

Sonia slightly lifted the hem of her skirt and bowed her head.

"No need to thank me. I'm also part of the Rheinland household."

Afterward, we discussed how to handle the situation and what to do with Ireh. Since taking her to a hospital or finding lodging seemed ambiguous, we decided to put her on a private spaceship and restrain her with belts.

Even after regaining consciousness, Ireh wasn't in her right mind.

In fact, the foreign god's curse grew stronger over time, causing her to complain of pain and crave pleasure. Sonia and I were deeply shocked that the proud Ireh Hazlen could fall this far.

"Are you alright, Young Master?"

"I managed to take care of it myself."

"I thought you had the face of a sage. I, Sonia, could have helped you."

"I didn't want to pour my lust on you in this state."

"Perhaps it was that very quality of yours that made Miss Ireh lose control even more."

I recalled the words Ireh had spoken when she pounced on me. Indeed, she hadn't made any comments about desiring just any man.

Could some reason have remained within her?

It was puzzling. Since we couldn't contact Cartesia, I couldn't use her to read Ireh's true feelings.

Considering this, Cartesia was currently the most important factor. To face Powehi and Renatus, we needed to reestablish contact with her somehow.

Fortunately, Sonia had a method.

"Thanks to receiving the full power from that foreign god, I can open a gate to the imaginary space. Would you like to enter now?"

"We must. Even if we're not fully prepared."

Renatus and Powehi were foreign gods who moved spontaneously. In truth, perfect preparation was nearly impossible. If they moved unpredictably, we would have to respond with improvisation.

"Then I'll open the door."

Saaah.

A dark blue portal, resembling Cartesia's hair color, appeared. Sonia and I steeled ourselves before stepping through.

***

Having enjoyed himself thoroughly, Powehi headed to the Sagittarius black hole to see his master. It wasn't his master's stronghold, but a place they had agreed to meet after finishing their business.

"Master, I've arrived."

"Good. Did you absorb plenty of energy?"

"It was delicious, thanks to you. Look at this."

Powehi set down a package filled with Pron and Coin pairs.

"This entire galaxy is one big gold mine. Some of the intelligent lifeforms living here weren't affected by my mind control. It was quite interesting."

"A single nova among countless white dwarfs."

"I couldn't resist drawing out my true form to fight, and they were quite capable. Especially a man called Eidel von Rheinland—his physical power was modest, but his mental strength surpassed any entity I've ever faced."

"Eidel von Rheinland."

Renatus, the writhing chaos, shifted his gaze elsewhere and spoke quietly.

"Come to think of it, you have a history of making contracts with inferior beings."

The words Renatus threw out echoed in one foreign god's ears. With long navy blue hair and mysterious jade-colored eyes, she had taken human form unlike other foreign gods of the Descartes lineage.

"How much must you envy humans to walk around in that form, Cartesia?"

"..."

The God of Wisdom and Curiosity, Cartesia.

She had failed to repel Renatus's sudden invasion and was defeated. As the price, she had been stripped of all the Pron and Coin she had collected and was now bound by tentacles.

"Look. Wearing unnecessary clothing has left it all tattered. And like Maxwell or Descartes, you've unnecessarily increased your subordinates, making things so troublesome."

Her Gothic dress with abundant frills was torn to shreds, and her legion, led by Populus, had been completely defeated.

By just one being. Renatus.

She hadn't been careless.

The difference in power was simply too great.

If her opponent had been a foreign god of a different lineage, she might have been able to utilize their compatibility differences, but her opponent was the highest deity of the same lineage. A direct confrontation was futile.

And being bound by the "Chains of Restraint," she couldn't escape the black hole either. In other words, she was cornered.

'I was planning to kill this bastard first once that youngster made the weapon.'

Kill before being killed, or be killed before killing.

There were two options. And from the beginning, only the former fate existed for her.

"Anyway, daughter, you've worked hard gathering energy with your half-body."

Swish.

Renatus, buried in black mist, opened his mouth wide. He intended to absorb all her remaining enthalpy, Pron, and Coin energy.

"This won't stop the 'End,' but well, one exquisite dish before departing isn't bad, is it?"

"...You're garbage."

"Thanks for the compliment."

It was all over. Cartesia closed her eyes.

Crack—just as the black maw was about to engulf her.

"Hey, you bastards, what the hell are you doing to my godmother?"