"Ohhh~ my heavens~ Mister Kurose Akira~ look at this dazzling holy light~ haa~"
"Isn't it truly beautiful?"
"Even if I were to pray to Him ten thousand times, I would gladly do so."
Ivsha's gentle, breathy words echoed beside Akira's ears as the scene of a nun in prayer unfolded right there in the guild hall.
As the bearer of Holy Light himself, Akira couldn't help but sigh inwardly in relief. Thank goodness Loserine and the others went out on a mission—otherwise I'd definitely be corrupting those pure elf sisters…
Just as Akira was basking in the succubus nun's "devout prayers," Alice slowly stirred awake from her slumber.
"M-Master…"
Alice softly rubbed her eyes. The very first thing she wanted to do upon waking was to go see her master.
But at that moment, she suddenly sensed something strange—a faint fluctuation of soul energy permeating the surroundings.
"Huh? What's this?"
Curious, Alice extended a fingertip and gently touched that faint, bluish-glowing magical aura.
The instant her finger made contact, her soul was abruptly pulled into another space.
And within that space, in a fleeting, breathtaking glimpse, she saw—
Her master's soul.
"Master!"
At the same time, Akira suddenly felt that within the space created by the high-tier spell Natasha had taught him—Soul Star Whisper—there seemed to be an extra presence…
A soul?
He immediately entered the soul space to see what—or who—had appeared.
"Alice?"
Seeing Alice standing inside his soul space, Akira was momentarily stunned.
…Wait. Could this be because of the Soulmate trait?
Did that trait allow Alice to freely enter the soul space he created?
"Master! Hug me~"
Alice's sweet, soft voice made Akira's heart tremble. Like a small, adorable kitten, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and gently rubbing her cheek against his chest.
"Master, did you know? Even though we've only been apart for a few hours, my longing for you is already beyond words. Your embrace… your scent… they make Alice feel so safe and comfortable," she whispered tenderly.
The contact between souls caused Akira's very soul to quiver.
"Alice…"
He wanted to say something, but the tremor rising from the depths of his soul lodged his voice in his throat, leaving him unable to continue.
"Master~ your soul smells so good~ sniff~"
Alice hugged him even tighter, pressed against his chest, clearly sensing the throbbing pulse of his soul.
And then—she seemed to discover some kind of treasure.
"Master~! May I…"At the instant she saw that treasure, scenes flashed through her mind—lessons once taught by her succubus seniors.
Her love for Akira made her desperate to offer everything she had to him.
"Alice!"
"Chu~"
Akira stared at her in shock, calling out her name in an attempt to stop it all—
But what answered him instead was…
Ivsha?
"S-Sir Akira…"
Hearing Akira call out Alice's name, a flicker of jealousy flashed through Ivsha's eyes.
She leaned down, whispering softly into Akira's ear, her breath warm and teasing.
"How could you call another woman's name while you're with me, Sir Akira? That makes me a little angry… and I can't let you off so easily~"
As her words fell, she increased the rhythm of her swaying, filling the entire space with a mesmerizing cadence.
"Master~"
"Sir Akira~"
(What follows is an extended depiction of soul and flesh dancing together. The next two hundred thousand words are omitted…)
...
"Fireball!"
With the spell's activation, a blazing sphere of fire tore through the air and slammed heavily into a magical beast that resembled a saber-toothed tiger. The creature collapsed instantly, blood pooling beneath it.
"We did it! We killed it!"
Beafly and Beafro cheered with joy. Under Loserine's leadership, the elf sisters had successfully completed the two missions Akira assigned to them.
"Well done. Let's head back," Loserine said, sheathing her sword as she led the sisters back toward the guild.
"Yes, Senior Loserine!"
The two replied gratefully.
"Senior…"
Hearing that title, Loserine seemed momentarily affected. A distant memory flickered through her mind, but vanished just as quickly.
Expressionless once more, she said, "Keep up."
"Mm!"
White light flooded the teleportation array, and the three figures reappeared inside the guild hall.
When they returned, they were stunned to see Ivsha and Alice kneeling on the floor, seemingly undergoing some kind of punishment.
Meanwhile, Akira sat calmly on a wooden chair, lightly sipping his tea as he asked sternly,
"Do you know where you went wrong?"
"We know~"
Ivsha and Alice answered in unison—yet the corners of their mouths held deeply satisfied smiles.
They didn't know a damn thing.
Loserine said nothing about it. With a neutral expression, she reported to Akira, "The mission has been completed."
"Good work."
Akira smiled and nodded at the three of them. In his heart, he couldn't help but sigh—as expected, Loserine is the reliable one.
Compared to her, Ivsha wanted to drain his life-force magic, while Alice wanted to squeeze out his soul power.
He quickly submitted the mission and then took out a coin pouch, handing it to the elf sisters.
Seeing the noticeably heavier pouch, Beafly and Beafro's lips curved upward like blooming flowers.
At that moment, a notification popped up in Akira's vision.
[Beafly (Beafro)'s Favorability toward you +5! Current Favorability: 65!]
"Thank you, Guildmaster~"
The sisters bowed respectfully.
"No need to be so formal," Akira said with a calm smile. "This is the reward you earned. And besides… I hope you'll treat this place as your home. We're all family here."
"Home…?"
[Beafly (Beafro)'s Favorability toward you +3!]
There was actually something this good?
Beafly and Beafro exchanged glances, then smiled sweetly.
"We understand~ Guildmaster~"
"Now then…"
Akira paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the experience pool.
The accumulated experience from missions had reached 50,000.
It was time to level up.
He chose Ivsha as the first target.
Ivsha was currently level 14, and each level required between 2,800 and 3,800 experience.
Without hesitation, Akira raised Ivsha directly to level 20!
Experience -19,800!
A pale, ghostly white light descended as Ivsha's level skyrocketed to 20 in an instant.
"Thank you for your generosity, Sir Akira~"
Feeling the power flowing into her from Akira, Ivsha's lips curved into a blissful smile.
She had become even stronger now~Which meant she could drain him even more recklessly…
"Next is Alice."
Akira turned his gaze toward her. Alice was only level 5, and at this stage, each level required just 500 experience.
Thus, Akira directly raised Alice to level 15.
Experience -15,500!
"Thank you, Master!"
Having received Akira's blessing, Alice beamed with excitement.
This left 15,000 experience remaining.
Akira then evenly distributed the remaining experience between the elf sisters, allowing each of them to gain three levels.
Experience -13,200!
"We get some too?"
The elf sisters stared in disbelief when they realized Akira had granted them experience as well.
"Of course."
Akira replied evenly. As a capable guildmaster, he wouldn't favor one member over another.
"Thank you, Guildmaster!"
Beafly and Beafro happily expressed their gratitude.
And then…
Akira looked toward Loserine.
As the guild member who had contributed the most during the mission, how could he possibly forget her?
Of course she deserved the best reward!
"Come on~ Loserine, I'll reward you with a Guildmaster's hug~"
Loserine: "..."
"Just kidding~"
Akira waved his hand with a grin, then continued, "Come with me."
He led Loserine to the door of a room within the guild—a door that seemed to conceal some kind of secret.
"This will be your room from now on, Loserine."
Akira said softly.
Ever since joining the guild, Loserine had lived there, but as an undead, she could sit on a wooden chair for an entire day and night without issue.
Now that she had regained her memories, Akira felt she deserved a more comfortable living space.
Perplexed by Akira's mysterious actions, Loserine pushed the door open—
And froze.
The familiar surroundings left her completely stunned.
Akira had recreated, down to the smallest detail, the room she once lived in within Yerman Castle. Even the plush toys she used to keep were perfectly replicated.
Faced with this unexpected "reward," Loserine didn't know what to say.
A fleeting smile crossed her cheek.
"…Thank you."
That single smile made Akira freeze.
Loserine…
Smiled?
It was the first time he had ever seen her smile.
As for why he didn't level her up—
One level cost nearly 10,000 experience.
He really couldn't afford it.