"Don't worry, it won't take long… I'll bring you the last Sacred Treasure
before you know it…"
"P-please wait!? Phinis-sama!?"
Phinis-sama disappeared into the black aura on the ground as if being
sucked into it, paying no heed to my call.
Honestly, I'd still got a lot to ask her, and I was worried about Iris and her
sisters, but it'd likely be difficult to find them even if we searched for them
given the current situation, so we decided to return to the dwarven village
for the time being.
On the way.
"So simply put, that gloomy goddess just wants to have a kid of her own,
and if she has one, she'll not only leave humans and demi-humans alone,
but she'll also release the old hag and Iris and the others?" Ophir asked.
"Summarizing what she said, that's more or less it. Well, as to whether or
not she'll stay true to her word, we can't say," Zana said.
"But if she actually meant what she said, wouldn't we be able to avoid
further unnecessary conflicts…?" Magmell brought up the question
reservedly.
However, Arca shook her head, "But in exchange, our husband will be
reborn as a transcendental being. Not to mention, there's no guarantee that
his personality will stay the same. There's a chance that he'll turn into a
completely different person who only loves Goddess Phinis and their baby,
you know?"
"T-that's true, but…" Magmell stuttered.
"I mean, she wants to have Exa's child before I, the legal wife? That's
unacceptable. What about you guys? You just going to let her get ahead of
you?" Arca asked, then the girls complained one after another.
"Hell no! If that gloomy goddess thinks we're just gonna do as she says,
then she couldn't be more wrong. To begin with, what she's tryin' to do is
basically to steal other women's husband, right in front of 'em, to boot—the
cheek of her!"
"I second that. But Ophir, I think you should reflect on yourself before
saying that."
"What's that, ya little!?"
Zana continued, neatly ignoring the mad Ophir. "I do feel some sympathy
for her circumstances, but that doesn't give her the right to do whatever she
pleases."
"Mm. I concur. You too right, Exa?"
Receiving Tirna's gaze, I naturally nodded, "Yeah," and said, "I understand
Phinis-sama's desire to have her own child, but she's already involved and
hurt a lot of people, be it the saints, the innocent demi-humans, the
goddesses that she'd absorbed, and also Iris and her sisters. She must be
punished accordingly."
Needless to say, I don't mean we should hurt her, okay? When I added that,
Magmell seemed to be convinced, "Indeed, I agree with what Exa-sama
says."
As such I continued, "Mm. So let's quickly go back to the dwarven village
and have Shiva-san take a 'look'. Phinis-sama may interfere again, but it's
better than doing nothing."
"""""Roger that!""""""
After the girls nodded, we hurried back to the dwarven village as fast as
possible.
◇ ◇
Meanwhile.
There were eight figures including Goddess Phinis in the dark hall where
the saints used to use to hold their meetings.
The figures beside Phinis-sama were six girls with the same faces and a
young man with a fearless look. A magic formation was drawn on the
ground centering around the young man, and from there restraints branched
out, binding the girls.
The magic formation was faintly glowing, and it also served as a light
source to illuminate the hall.
"…What are you going to do with us?"
At the question of Iris, whom despite the situation still had a firm look on
her face, Phinis answered with her usual composed expression, "I already
told you before, didn't I…? I just want your cooperation…"
"In that case, please release our restraints now. This is not cooperation. It's
just 'coercion'."
"My, my, ufufu… Yes… You have a point there…"
"!?"
At the hand that suddenly reached out toward her, Iris closed her eyes in
reflex.
"…?"
However, Phinis just gently stroked her head, causing Iris to be confused.
Then.
"Okay, let's get started…"
Saying so, Phinis let go of her hand, then the faintly glowing magic
formation began to shine brighter.
――Crackle crackle crackle!
""""""Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?""""""
At the same time, the six girls, including Iris, screamed.
"Stop!? Can't you see they're hurting!?"
As the young man protested seeing the situation, Phinis calmly approached
him, and—
"You are a little noisy…"
――Stab!
"—Gah!? Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!?"
She mercilessly thrusted the Sacred Treasure into his chest, and a black aura
wrapped around him.