The hellhound squealed in pain as another barrage of arrows pierced its entire length, followed by a strike from a giant ball of fire. It couldn’t retaliate, for the spark bats were wreaking havoc in the inner ear that largely disrupted whatever balance it had managed to achieve. It stood up with wobbly legs and growled stridently as the lightning struck him again, and encampment by boulders surrounded it on all the sides. The mages cooked inside the large array of hardened mud, and the hound let out another variety of pitiful wails.

The ranks of the soldiers digressed, now forming a single straight line before the mutt that had been forced to the end of the alley. The boulders were still substantial, and the fire barrage hadn’t stopped yet, but the heroine was busy casting the incantation circle for sealing. Smoke shrouded the hound soon as it struggled to get back on its feet and more explosions rained down on it, the destroyed houses reverberating despite the blazing flames.

Each time to mutt healed and got back on its feet, its life force decreased. But it had enough to last for another thousand deadly strikes, so it bore the assaults of the mages with much rage, watching them sweating profusely. The royal knights descended from their horses on the crown prince’s orders and marched past the shields by snuggling through the gaps until boulder was the only thing separating them from the mutt.

More strikes followed, the spears gouging out the eyes of the mutt, followed by his gut until it had become marred flesh with queasy blood flowing out uncontrollably. It stood up again and went down immediately, but Mylan was having a hard time sustaining the summoning spell.

“Almost done, lady Mylan,” Elert said, kneeling beside the heroine who was drawing the incantation circle in the middle of the four-way street. The crown prince nudged him aside, Allen joining the fight for the heroine’s favor soon, as they guarded her against invisible foes. Stupid they were, but I was amused, nevertheless.

Lady Mylan wiped the swipe from her forehead, and her gaze landed on me. “Who is that cloaked silhouette?”

“Some benign being, honorable mage,” Gladiata replied, pausing briefly to glance at me. “I saw him when the hound first ravaged the city–“

“Is that the bastard mage?!” Allen was overactive despite being a puny moth that I could crush instantly.

“No,” the heroine denied immediately, writing the incantations inside the circle. “If he was, then the repercussions of losing such large amounts of mana would have taken a considerable toll on his body. And neither could be the one who summoned the demon because he isn’t interested in helping it out. He is a spectator in simple terms.”

“Spectator?” Elert asked, now staring in my direction with his narrow eyes. I never looked in their direction, but my [Devil eye] was doing the job.

“A high-level mage,” the heroine corrected herself, and I almost laughed out loud. This was amusing, though my lady would punish me for exposing myself. “Someone unconcerned with the workings of the world.”

“What does that mean, Gladiata?” Allen asked for the crown prince, who was too proud to accept his ignorance. It surprised me that rival members of the harem were helping each other.

“I have met one before,” Gladiata said, not shifting her focus. Even Mylan appeared genuinely interested in the conversation, despite the stress of the summoning spell. The mutt was more or less sprawled on the ground, taking spears after spears before regenerating. “They call themselves sages. Those not concerned with the world and live in the wilderness. They have the power unseen by us, more potent than any mage in all the kingdoms. They occasionally travel around the realm, keeping themselves connected, but never interfere with the world.””

That was news for me. Were there more undead like me in this world?

“How did you meet one, Gladiata?” Mylan asked, wiping her forehead. A hairpin fell on the ground, but she didn’t bother picking it up.

“I had helped an unconscious man back when I was young, and he turned out to be a sage, or so he claimed. But he was young, hardly older than twenty. He promised me a favor for helping him out, and I was attributeless at that time. That’s how I got the holy attribute. His blessing helped me out, or rather he unlocked the potential inherent in me by teaching me external casting.”

“External casting?” the crown prince asked, but his face had turned green at the mention of another harem member. Even my interest was piqued on the so-called sages, but for a different reason.

Gladiata got up and stared in the direction of the hound. “I’m done.”

I chuckled. The heroine wouldn’t share her secrets so quickly now, would she? She was scared that it would make her weaker than the promising bunch of the academy. Despite her apparent selflessness, mortals couldn’t deny their selfishness, no matter how noble the person. If they did, they would slit their throat, for their very existence is the ultimate selfishness.

“Get that demon here!” The crown prince knew his responsibilities well, and the shield flanking the hound marched backward until they covered all roads spanning the four-way street. The blood lining glittering in the light of the mana lamps and blood-red incantation circles glowed in strange light as Gladiata channelized mana to the circle.

The spearmen retreated soon, followed by the walls surrounding the hound, and the latter stood up. Fury blazed out of its eyes, and it tried to cast [Explosion] toward the four-way street, only to succumb to another lightning inside his ears. The mutt had lost its rationale now, and it charged erratically at the shields before it got stuck inside the incantation circle of the heroine. Bright circular light filled the distant skies, and the demon growled loudly as the light disappeared instantly as if it was never there in the first place.

The suppressed demon had disappeared, and I sighed as cheers filled the entire locale. The heroine collapsed in the crown prince’s embrace as she watched my disappearing silhouette. I was done here, but these supposed sages interested me. They might be responsible for creating the cult, despite their ardent abstinence from getting involved in the matters of the realm.

I felt my tailcoat heavier than usual as I jumped down from the eaves, toward the streets far away from the commotion. A black silhouette was clinging to my tailcoat when I turned around. It was small in size, and I could scoop it in my gloved hands without any problem. The head was probably as large as its body, and chiseled fangs lined the end of it depressed stout.

“What now, mutt?” I sighed and tried to pull it off my coat. “Didn’t you have enough beatings already?”

My coat tore when the mutt didn’t let it go, and I kicked it away.

“Grr.”

The sealing had almost failed, but it had cost me a coat. Even though I should have been happy at the mortals’ failure, the suffering of my dear coat couldn’t be ignored. And neither did this little dog glaring at me with its tiny red eyes helped much.

“What? You want to follow me?”

“Grr.”

“I don’t know if that is a good idea. There is a more ferocious lady in the mansion who might decide to cook a meal out of your tender meat. Skinning that black fur is going to be a problem, though.”

“Gwar grr!”

Its vicious growl had grown cuter to match its size, and I couldn’t help but nuzzle its head. It had provided me amusement for the night, so it deserved that much that at least.

“I can’t take you home, hellhound,” I said, but that damn hound bit my hand. I shook it fervently but ultimately removed my glove and kicked it away.

“Grr,” It flipped blithely and landed on its feet.

“You want to fight?”

“Gwar grr.”

That meant no, or something close. “You want to serve me?” I asked with a grin.

“Gwar grr.”

The denial was followed by it showcasing its rosy butt that hadn’t changed much. “You want me to serve you, bastard?!”

“Grr.”

“Wait until I cook a good soup out of you,” I walked away, already sure that it would follow me back to my mansion unless I sent it to the hell realm. This hound deserved better for managing to entertain this undead. If my lady wanted to cook a mutt, it would at least die an honorable death by becoming food for the undead. Though, I was worried that it would regenerate inside my tummy and wreck my digestive system. Even the undead don’t like constipation.

When I reached the mansion, I sniffed my body for potential signs of contamination. I smelled all right, but I couldn’t say the same for the tiny demon who was glancing at the mansion warily.

I materialized a few fist-sized balls of water over it and hurled them at the mutt continuously. “You reek, bastard.”

“Gwar grr!” It denied, but it let me cast a few more [Splash] spells.

When I was done, it shook its entire body and looked presentable with the fluffy fur standing erect. I walked to the western courtyard, the hellhound, which was now a damned puppy, followed me without making any noise. The door to my humble abode was shut, so I entered cautiously, trying to minimize the noise to the maximum.

My lady had fallen asleep over the hard cot, and her eyes fluttered open as I stepped inside. For a moment, I thought she would freeze my legs and punish me along with the hound, but she just rubbed her eyes and smiled at me.

“You’re back, Rudolf,” she sat up and stretched her hands.

I moved closer, and she hugged me, sniffing my scent for a good while before pulling away.

“Grr.”

The mutt’s voice pulled her attention, and she was startled for a good while until her eyes stumbled on the hound that was standing at the door respectfully, seated on its butt.

Who the hell was this mutt trying to fool? Was he trying to get on my lady’s good side by acting obedient?

“And who’s this, mongrel?” my lady raised her eye at me, though her hands were quite itchy to pat the soft fur of the mutt. Well, I never knew she liked soft things. Maybe likes and dislikes changed with age for the mortals.

“Hellhound, my lady,” I said, taking a seat on the cot beside her. “It was originally as large as me, but after killing a few dozen mortals and succumbing to the heroine’s sealing spell, it became this brat.”

“You killed more people?!” she asked, surprised but not repulsive.

“I didn’t, my lady,” I denied immediately. “It did. I was just enjoying the carnage from the sidelines.”

“You mean this cut–“ she coughed, “mutt killed people?”

“That bastard is just acting meek in front of you, my lady,” I stared at the hound. “It even tore my tailcoat.”

“Gwar grr.”

My lady walked toward the mutt and patted its head. “Are you keeping it, mongrel?”

“I will if you want. Else, I’ll make a good soup after butchering it.”

“You will keep it, Rudolf,” my lady glared at me at the mention of soup.

“Yes, my lady. And he understands our language, unfortunately.”

That bastard hound had a triumphant look on its face.

“There is only one rule you need to follow, mutt,” she finally got up after petting the hound enough. “Rudolf belongs to me, so don’t you dare act cozy with him.”

Well, I doubt the undead and hellhound could ever get along, but I gladly returned the triumphant smile to the hound.

“That’s what you will get for messing with me, hellhound.”