Event Side Story - Chapter 3

"Pl-please, save us!"

"Lord! Please, save us! Huhu!"

The prize that Ravikato mentioned was none other than the people who had gone missing due to the Dungeon Sync.

"I wish to meet the owner of the theme park."

Tesilid searched for a quick way to rescue the hostages. However,

<Why are you suddenly looking for the employer? Now that I see it, you're just a nuisance. Unfortunately, our employer is not someone who is interested in management. He won't be coming to the theme park unless a hidden event occurs.>

"Hidden event?"

<A special mission will be created for selected guests if the seventh mission happens... Whether that's true or not, we can't know.>

The system organized the gathered information in the form of a quest.

[ 'Mission Stamp Collection' (Difficulty: Unknown)

In order to lure the Dungeon’s owner, go around the theme park and collect six stamps.

Chapel (0/3)

Confession Room (0/1)

Wedding Hall (0/1)

Secret Basement (0/1)]

<Well then, enjoy your disgusting and perverted time.>

The devil rabbit doll, which had winked, disappeared. Tesilid sighed as he looked down at the stamp card in his hand.

"I guess we have no choice but to follow the dungeon's rules."

"Right. Let's head to the first location."

The directions were well organized. The interior was decorated with statues of fallen angels, devils hidden in stained glass, and bizarre hellish murals of skeletons.

Each of these held a sign with an arrow, pointing the way.

As they walked, the sound of a pipe organ grew louder. It was low, as though crawling on the floor, and the dissonant, twisted cacophony seemed to warp their minds.

"Let's go in."

"Yeah, kid."

Opening the door at the end of the hallway revealed the first location: the chapel.

In the center, there were three rabbit dolls that resembled Ravikato. However, their colors were different, and they were dressed in ceremonial robes.

The purple rabbit holding a thick book spoke.

<Humans are said to sit in the chapel and read the Bible. However, since the Bible is a forbidden book in the Demon Realm, we will substitute it with readings from Demon Realm literature.>

Next, the pink rabbit, who was cutting a cake, spoke.

<Humans perform a ritual called the Eucharist, where they eat unleavened bread. It's terribly tasteless, so instead, we will serve strawberry shortcake with plenty of sugar and butter.>

Lastly, the blue rabbit, who was stirring water in a basin with a ladle, spoke.

<Humans are baptized with holy water. However, holy water is prohibited in the Demon Realm, so we will use hell spring water instead.>

Having listened to the explanation, Tesilid and I whispered to each other.

"The mission details aren't as bad as I thought?"

"Don't /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ let your guard down, kid."

Tesilid, who remained vigilant, asked the rabbits.

"Can only one person receive the stamp?"

<Well, that's possible. But since you came here for the experience...>

"Good to know. Kid, stay here."

Tesilid stepped forward, clearly assuming the role of the one to make the sacrifice.

His back, walking toward the purple rabbit holding the literature book, looked sturdy—just like a hero who had repeatedly protected others.

"...You want me to read this aloud?"

<Yes! It's a very trendy genre these days. Each sentence is like a jewel!>

What kind of literature could cause Tesilid's eyes to tremble so violently?

Could it be worse than "50 Ways to Corrupt a Perfect Knight"?

[The 'Soul Judging Scales' gently informs that this is a 19+ reading material with a harem theme.]

[The 'Tower Architect of Trials' shows an interest in the harem genre.]

Wow. This must be a mental attack on Tesilid.

"...Is there another book?"

<Ah, are you perhaps into saintly stories? There's a 29+ reverse harem one...>

"Give it back. I'll take this one."

I could briefly enjoy the pitifully trembling voice of a young man reading out loud.

"Good job, Terry."

"Yeah..."

No matter how much he washed his face, the redness on his face didn’t seem to fade. He gave up and stood in front of the pink rabbit cutting the cake.

<Please think of this strawberry shortcake as the great chaos demon's flesh and consume it.>

"...My stomach doesn’t feel right. Can I take just one bite?"

<Yes.>

Now it was the last step. All that was left was to receive the hell spring water baptism from the blue rabbit.

Tesilid knelt and closed his eyes.

Indeed, as a paladin who had lived as a religious man for many lifetimes, his posture was reverent, like a picture.

At that moment, the hand of the blue rabbit doll holding the ladle trembled. The other rabbit dolls seemed to notice and asked.

<What's wrong, baptism in charge? The incubus customer is waiting, isn't he?>

<No, it's just... I feel strange.>

<What kind of feeling?> 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

<I don't know. It feels like I shouldn't be the one giving baptism to this guest... Instead, it feels like I should receive baptism myself...>

Tesilid's cold voice interrupted.

"Quickly finish and stamp it."

<Aah, yes...>

Hell spring water poured from the ladle, flowing down his sculpted cheekbones and jawline, the smooth curve tracing his features.

This scene, though mundane, might appear sensual because of the harness's 3x charm bonus.

I silently sang the hymns of the Language Cult in my mind, calming myself. Thankfully, it worked.

"Alright, it’s done."

"Really worked hard, Terry. Here’s the towel."

"Thanks."

Conveniently, the stamp was automatically applied. Three empty circles on the tour card were now filled with the demonic rabbit symbols.

Tesilid, drying his silver hair with the towel, glanced back toward the exit.

"Let’s move to the next place, kid."

"Before that, hold on for a second, Terry. Are you okay?"

Tesilid had eaten the devil's food and received the devil's baptism. It was only reasonable to suspect poison or curses.

Tesilid smiled kindly.

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. The Demon Realm's curses usually don't affect me."

"Ah, right. You’re an ex-..."

"Anyway! That's why I stepped up."

"Listening to you, I feel better. But just in case, if you feel anything strange later, you have to tell me, okay?"

"Got it. If I get hurt, I’ll make sure to ask for treatment."

It was then.

[ Warning. Your partner has contracted the status ailment 'Pure Flame.']

Huh? A status ailment?

I looked back at Tesilid in surprise.

"Terry?"

"...Why?"

His answer was a little slow, but his expression and voice were calm.

Had he resisted the debuff? After all, our Tesilid wasn’t ordinary in the Demon Realm, right?

This was his harem, so a debuff was nothing.

Seeing his clean face, it seemed like there was truly no problem. He urged me, as if dismissing my concerns.

"Let’s hurry to the next place."

"Yeah. Let’s do that."

✠

Tesilid, walking about half a step ahead, hoped his nervousness wouldn't be noticed.

With the 3x charm effect from the Demon Harness, he had already been tested in restraint. But after completing all the missions in the chapel, the urge had grown stronger.

It wasn’t just a feeling of wanting to touch or kiss, but impure thoughts began to invade his mind.

The balance between impulse and restraint that he had barely kept intact was falling apart in real time.

‘After living an unrestrained life for so many years, did I lose my self-control...?’

Habitually, Tesilid looked for the cause inside himself, overwhelmed by guilt and torment.

"Terry, we’ve arrived. The Confession Room."

"..."

It was exactly the kind of place Tesilid needed. He wanted to confess his impurities to the Language God and be forgiven for his sins.

The problem was, this wasn’t a real confession room but rather a stage prepared by the devil for play.

✠

A green rabbit doll holding an upside-down cross rosary welcomed us.

<Welcome to the Confession Room, Demon Couple Guests. This place is often seen in Demon Realm literature, so many of you may be familiar with it. Incubus guest, would you care to explain it?>

Tesilid, being pointed out, could only give a proper answer.

"It’s a place to confess sins and ask for forgiveness."

<Wrong! It’s a place to boast about and praise evil deeds!>

"..."

<And not only that. It’s also used to commit evil deeds. The cramped little room is quite thrilling...>

"Explain the rules."

I cut off the rabbit doll’s ramblings to block any harmful content. I couldn’t let our pure paladin's mind get tainted.

But.

"How could a Confession Room be like that...?"

Tesilid, having caught a glance, quickly wiped his red face.

"Terry, are you alright?"

"Yeah. No. Yeah..."

[‘Soul Judgement Scale’ laughs sheepishly, as if he understood the thrilling use.]

[‘Heavenly Secret Inspector’ laments that it is clear that you have been influenced.]

[‘Balance Adjuster’ wholeheartedly agrees and submits a list of novels in your integrated library as evidence.]

[‘World-Building Word Spirit’ banishes the gods, telling them to stop talking and get to work.]

The Demon Rabbit Doll begins explaining again.

<From now on, random elements will be added to the mission.>

“Random elements?”