I let out a small sigh. I had just made contact with my grandmother by telepathic communication.
She didn't ask me to bring Hayes alive. She only asked me to bring her the head.
Hayes' face twists, but he seems to be smiling. I can't read his mind, whether he has already made up his mind or whether he is absolutely confident that he will not be killed. But I can tell you this, if this fox is kept alive, he will continue to target Rico forever. If he is not careful, he may even make a move on Mei, Sadie, and Soleil, in addition to Rico.
For a moment, I thought about correcting this man, but I gave up on that immediately. He had already had his life saved once by the great-grandmother. He must have experienced many times when his life was in danger because of his behavior. Despite that, he has not changed his mind at all, and has been acting according to his own desires. I don't know all the details, but I can easily imagine that he has probably made quite a lot of people unhappy.
"...... Hey, one thing... you want to make a deal with me?"
Suddenly, Hayes speaks to me. In contrast to his bullish attitude earlier, he is now showing a bearish attitude.
"What's wrong? Now you're begging for your life?"
"Oh. I knew it. I was afraid for my life. What do you think? If you help me, I'll give you anything you want. Money, women, status. ....... You know what I can do. What do you think?"
I'm afraid I'm not interested in any of that.
"I see. But I promise you this. I will never attack your family again. I will never touch another woman again. Meek and I will live together in secret. I will give you everything I have. I will leave here naked with Meek. You can decide where we go. What do you say?"
"Well, it looks like the elf princess is your favorite."
Of course. Of course. That's the woman I love with all my heart. I made her just the way I like her. I'd hate to lose her."
"Why would you touch Rico when you love her so much?"
"Meek was a woman I enjoyed nurturing to my liking. But Ricoulette was my ideal woman. The color of her hair, her face, her body, her voice ...... were all to my liking."
"What, just looks?"
"What's inside doesn't matter. Once she's mine, she's all the same. I'll just change them to my liking. Love will come in time. Besides, I liked the married woman ....... I could take her from her husband and violate her mind and body: ....... It was just one more step...... one more step......"
"...... you big a**h*le."
I look around the room slowly, feeling like I want to vomit. Then I see a long-eared elf girl slumped in a loft-like space.
"......Yo..."
I take the girl and sit her in a chair by the bed where Hayes is. Then I put a ward on her to take away her freedom, and then I wake her up.
"What the hell! I can't move my body! I can't move my body! Ughhhhh!"
She was behaving in a way that was not unlike a princess, making strange noises and flailing about, trying to move her immobile body. As I watched her, I spoke to Hayes in a tone of exasperation.
"You're like an animal."
"What are you doing?"
Hayes stares at me, his face contorted. I continue speaking to him.
"Okay. Then, if you prove that you are loved by this princess, I will allow you to live out the rest of your life together, as you wish.
Haze's face twisted into a nasty, sneering smile when he heard those words. It seems that he is absolutely confident that he is loved by the elf princess.
I slowly stand in front of Meek, who continues to scream and thrash about, and place my palm on his head.
After a while, Meek's expression changed from the one that he had been wearing wildly, and he looked ecstatic. His eyes are wide and his mouth is half open. Hayes, who sees this expression, exclaims in surprise.
"What the ...... are you doing?
"I'm manipulating her spirit with spirit magic. I'm giving her the greatest of pleasures right now."
"What?"
"I can't believe that you and this princess are connected by love. What connects you is pleasure. If you are connected by love, it is difficult to tear you apart, but if you are connected by pleasure, it is a different story. Give them more pleasure than they've ever had before. This is why I said I would wager with you. If you are truly loved by this princess, you will survive. ...... I'm sure I've thought of a cruel way to punish you. I'm not the kind of man who thinks like this, though, am I? Well, in case you're wondering, there was a time when I was a great demon king back in the day, so maybe that still has an effect on me, huh?"
"The Great Demon King? You, you can't be ......"
"Shut up and watch."
I don't answer Hayes' question and slowly remove my hand from Meek's. After a few moments, she looks flustered and pleads desperately with me.
"No, why are you stopping me? I don't want you to stop. I want more, I want more. Please. I want more ...... of that."
"Okay, good."
"Yes, do it quickly! Come on, come on, come on.
"If you want me to do it again, kill him."
I un-wire her, take the rope out of my pocket and hand it to her little hand. She runs like a rabbit toward Hayes' bed. She gets on all fours, straddles his back, and wraps the rope around his neck. I see this and release the warding around Hayes' neck.
"Gghh......guaaaahhhh...... or ...... stop it...... Meek ...... Meek ......"
Meek shows no hesitation and continues to strangle Hayes, relentlessly pulling the rope as hard as he can. Gradually, Hayes' eyes bulge out, and at the same time, his mouth is opened and his tongue begins to drip out.
"Looks like you lost a bet. That won't absolve you of your crimes, but first, sleep, demon fox Hayes. The woman you love most will take your life. ....... You've made many women weep, and this is the most fitting end for you."
As soon as I had finished, the light went out of Hayes' eyes. Meek continues to strangle Hayes as hard as he can. The sight was too bizarre.
I slowly approach her and tell her to stop.
"Is it okay? Is it good? Is he dead already? Then hurry up, that thing you just saw. Then get him, get him, get him.
Miek pleads with me, his eyes moist and his tongue licking my lips. I murmur that it's okay, put my palm on her head again, and let her sleep.
"......Thank you for everything you've done for me. From now on, you're going to spend your life with someone who truly loves you and will love you. Rest for a while."
I took her in my arms, activated the transfer warding, and disappeared from the scene. There was only a corpse with an ugly, distorted expression on its face, with no trace of the man of color who had been the object of my affections.