able to catch Madam Elisabeth by surprise! Right now, the best thing we can do is wait here and watch them!" Hina gave his calm words of reason a nod. She clenched her fists tight, but she sat back down all the same. Meanwhile, Elisabeth's mood visibly shifted. However, the man didn't notice the change. The Torture Princess gave him a sweet smile. "I see. So you claim to be imitating me, of all things..." Such were Elisabeth's words as she gently guessed at the reason the man wanted the Torture Princess on his side. Then she made him an offer in a voice as intoxicating as poisoned liquor. "First, I must confirm something. Bring me to this meeting place of yours, and I shall see for myself if you've prepared a throne befitting the Torture Princess." "Y-you're serious? You'll become our sponsorâ€”our figurehead?" "Enough blathering. 'Tis rude to make a lady repeat herself." Elisabeth gently raised her fair hand, and the man extended his in kind. His fingers were tremblingâ€”perhaps in fear, and perhaps in delight. Elisabeth elegantly took his hand in hers. Then out of the blue, she yanked him toward her. After bringing her lips close to him, she whispered something in his ear. His eyes went wide. Then he hurried off with Elisabeth in tow. The driver opened the carriage door, and the two of them boarded it. Hina and the Butcher were many things, but they were by no means willing to let the opportunity before them slip away. In a flash, the two of them were on their feet. "Our time has come, Ms. Lovely Maid!" "I'll roger that with a big old hurrah!" Then they broke off at a dash in perfect unison. As the carriage began moving, the two of them lined up side by side and leaped on board. They held on to its roof with their hands and managed to skillfully place their feet so they were only just barely protruding. The frame lurched. The pair panicked, worried they'd been found out. Fortunately, though, the horses' strength won out. The driver assumed that the ride had just hit a rock or something, and the carriage continued on through the forest as though nothing had happened. The dawn was yet unbroken. Under the cover of night, the two of them continued their stealthy pursuit. After exiting the forest, the carriage kept going for a good while longer. Eventually, though, it came to a creaky stop. Hina looked up. They were beside a dilapidated manor. However, Elisabeth and the others ignored the main building. Instead, they entered its attached chapel and used the secret staircase beneath its altar to head underground. And Hina and the Butcher followed them. Taking care not to let their footsteps echo or the reflection from their lantern light shine down the tunnel, Hina and the Butcher continued shadowing the other group. As she quietly strode across the pooled groundwater, Hina let out a whisper. "Thank goodness you had a lantern on you, Mr. Butcher. Little holes and bumps would never be enough to trip me up, but it's certainly nice not having to worry about accidentally stepping in mud and having it splash everywhere." "Hmhmhm. It's a wonderful thing, having a lantern and a fire slime in your sack! No gentleman should leave home without them! Why, in two years' time, everyone'll be carrying a pair around! Ha-ha-ha!" The Butcher struck a bizarre pose as he laughed. He seemed oddly confident in his prediction. Either way, his preparedness had allowed them to make good time down the tunnel. Suddenly, though, Hina stopped in her tracks. However, the Butcher obliviously strode on, so Hina had to grab him by the scruff of his cloak. "Mr. Butcher, please wait!" "And a heigh-deeâ€” Hmm? What's... Ah. They stopped, then?" Hina nodded. Around the corner, the other party's light had stopped moving. It would appear that Elisabeth's group had reached their destination. The Butcher set his lantern on the ground and blocked its light with his sack. Then the two of them stuck their heads around the corner to start observing. Elisabeth, the man, and the driver were standing in front of a door. After exchanging some sort of passcode, Elisabeth and the man went inside. The driver stayed behind. He rolled his shoulders, then set off. There was probably some sort of antechamber he was heading to. Hina and the Butcher exchanged a glance. Hina nodded. The Butcher grabbed his sack. Then he took off and shot down the tunnel like an arrow. The driver turned, but it was already too late. With one fluid motion, the Butcher drew his signature weapon from the sack. "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers!" His war cry was quiet, but he made up for it in vigor. As the cry echoed down the passageway, his meat on the bone collided with the back of the driver's head. The weapon was blunt, but even so, the force from the blow was enough to make the driver collapse. However, the Butcher swooped down and caught him the moment before he hit the ground. In a pointless display of kindness, he even gently plopped the man's head down on his lap. Hina gave him a small round of applause, to which the Butcher replied with a big thumbs-up. "The man is down!" "That was a very impressive 'cheers,' especially for how quiet it was!" "That's what you're gonna comment on?!" Kaito cried back at the castle. However, there still wasn't anyone around to hear him. Over at the actual site, Hina suddenly looked up. She quickly rushed over to the door. "Now then, our one obstacle is out of the way! Allow me to check on the situation!" Just like she had at Kaito's room, she pressed herself against the door. There was a fleshy, nude etching of the Saint carved on its wooden surface, but Hina paid that fact no heed. She brought her head next to its carved breasts and leveraged the full power of her automaton hearing capabilities. "W-was there something wrong with the sacrifice?" "Oh, shut up. I have one question for you lot, and one question alone." She could hear Elisabeth talking to someone. Her eyes went wide, and she pulled away from the door. When she turned back toward the Butcher, he tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What seems to be the matter, Ms. Lovely Maid?" "The situation is bad! At this rate, things are definitely going to come to blows!" "Oh my! Are they preparing for a fight?" "Lady Elisabeth is pretending not to, but in truth, she actually is! Only someone who knows her as well as I do would be able to tell, but that's her super-mega-ultra-angry tone!" Hina rapidly nodded up and down. And in no time at all, her conjecture was proven true. Screams started echoing out from inside the room. Hina pressed herself back against the door to check what was going on. When she did, she was greeted by a voice dripping with bloodlust and rage. "'Just like the Torture Princess,' eh? You have nerve, I'll give you that... I must admit, though, this banquet you've thrown truly is not unlike my own. I may be unto a demon, but you lot are no different. Very well! I recognize you, then, as having deviated from humanity's path!" Hina narrowed her emerald eyes, and her expression contorted in sadness. Behind her, the Butcher tilted his head in puzzlement and stroked the area that was probably his jaw. "The thing is, Ms. Lovely Maid...it would appear these enemies are demon worshippers. The means Madam Elisabeth has every reason to fight them, and to be honest, I can't imagine there being the slightest chance they'll best her... So even if a battle breaks out, it is what it is. Wouldn't it be fine just to leave her to her devices?" "No! Why, I could never do such a thing!" Hina violently shook her head. She glared at the door. His interest piqued, the Butcher let out a long exhale. His next question had a strange weight to it. "Are those your feelings as an attendant speaking, perhaps?" "That's correct. Right now, I can't leave her alone. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I did." Hina answered without a moment's hesitation. The Butcher gave her a slight nod. Meanwhile, Elisabeth spoke once more. Her voice rang out proud and true. "And as such, this is a task well befitting the Torture Princess! For killing those who are unto demons is a task that belongs to those just as wretched!" Even Hina knew. Sometimes, the only thing that could kill evil was a different brand of evil. That was one of the world's many truths. And yetâ€” â€”in Hina's opinion, that was far too sad a truthâ€” â€”and at the same time, far too contradictory. The automaton had some thoughts about the words of man. What exactly was evil that killed evil? The righteous would never have been able to reach that underground banquet. Would people praise someone who had been invited there and gone on a rampage, then? The answer was no. They would attack the person who reached the banquet and point fingers at them, all while singing the praises of righteousness. And the Torture Princess wouldn't even get mad at them. She'd laugh, saying that theirs was a natural reaction. But Hina also knew someone who would get mad at them, who'd rage at them with all his might. It was her beloved masterâ€”Kaito Sena. You're looking down on someone who got their hands dirty to slay evil while you got to keep yours clean?! he'd shout. Righteousness is a difficult thing to pin down in this world and in every other. Everything can be right, and anything can be wrong. But... ...believing in your beloved's words was what it meant to love someone. Hina reached into her leather bag, a magic device that had no bottom, and pulled out a halberd longer than she was tall. She aimed its brutal blade at the door and launched a swing to break it open. The Butcher immediately let out a yelp. "No, no, no, no, no, think it through! It's dangerous to smash down the door all of a sudden! Why, you might well hamper Madam Elisabeth's focus! Stand dooown!" "Howâ€”veryâ€”rightâ€”youâ€”are!" Hina nodded. However, she was already far enough in her swing that stopping the halberd was no longer an option. In an unbelievable display of strength, she changed the blade's course and cleaved through empty space. As the handle spun up into the air, Hina righted her stance. Her silver hair rustled as she lowered her head. "I'm very sorry. My composure was lacking. I offer you both my thanks and my apologies." "I must say, for you to be able to restore your posture from that position... You never fail to impress, Ms. Lovely Maid. Now then... It would be nice to find a key that could open this door quietly, or perhaps a different entrance we could use in order to take our enemies and just our enemies by surprise. And both would be even nicer still... Glance." The Butcher looked down at the driver, whose head was still resting on his lap. He rapped him on the cheek. He landed several such strikes before the driver woke up. When the man realized what was going on, his expression froze. It was a reasonable reaction. After all, anyone would react that way upon discovering that their head was in a mysterious, dark figure's lap. The man began to cry Aaaah, a monster! but was stopped; the Butcher spoke in a deep murmur. "Heh-heh-heh. Be quiet, now, and we won't have to hurt you." "Mr. Butcher, that sounds suspicious in a whole different way!" "Ha-ha-ha. You say that, but you're giving off a far more threatening vibe than I am... Now as for you,