"..."
When Maria and Mosou Shizuka passed through the light gate and arrived at the Inquisition, everything before their eyes rendered them completely speechless—this was, in fact, the normal reaction of almost any civilization that had not yet stepped into the interstellar era.
Resplendent, golden temple-like architecture.
Massive stars and rivers of galaxies visible beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
It was so unreal that one might believe they were dreaming.
"Th-this is… where…?"
Kentō Kanami spoke tremblingly, her gaze darting around uneasily, as if she could not comprehend where she was or what she had encountered at all.
"Welcome to the Inquisition's mothership… Mm, strictly speaking, we should give you a tour next, but before that, there's something that needs to be done."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai opened a door. The girls, still dazed, followed his guidance almost instinctively and entered the room.
This room was different from the others—it resembled a luxurious private theater.
Duanmu Huai gestured for them to sit, then pressed a button.
Soon, images began to appear on the screen before them.
"..."
Although Kentō Kanami, Maria, and the others were born in a world of swords and magic, the chaotic nature of that world's setting meant they had still seen things like television before. Now, they raised their heads and focused on the images.
"Mm… this should be about enough."
Watching everyone sit quietly, fully absorbed in the footage, Duanmu Huai nodded with satisfaction.
This was actually very simple—much like a corporate culture promotional video. It was mainly used for people who wished to join the Inquisition, allowing them to understand the Inquisition's duties, operational principles, the three major doctrinal paths, and various rules and regulations.
After all, having to personally explain everything every single time was a waste of time. Duanmu Huai found it annoying as well, so he had simply recorded a promotional video and let others watch it themselves.
In addition to the regulations, the footage also contained many scenes of Duanmu Huai and others fighting on different planets. These scenes were perfectly integrated with the Inquisition's rules, clearly explaining why the Inquisition acted as it did, along with its reasoning and motivations.
For example—
The extermination of the Cabal was because, as an alien species, they threatened human civilizations under the protection of the Guardians. Therefore, the Inquisition eliminated them.
The suppression of the Beastmen and the Luminescent Clans on the war planet followed the same logic.
The Forerunners and the Covenant in the Halo galaxy were handled under the same principles.
Of course, there were many ways to protect humanity. Beyond defending humans and eliminating invaders, the Inquisition would also proactively strike other alien races for the sake of human interests—
Pandora was a prime example.
In addition, the relationship between the AI crisis caused by Skynet and the Inquisition's absolute prohibition on artificial intelligence possessing autonomous conceptual thought was, naturally, indispensable.
Thus, this was not merely propaganda.
For every Inquisition regulation, corresponding footage was played to explain its background and cause, making it far more persuasive than dry explanations alone.
Incidentally, most of this promotional footage was provided by Feilin.
The Dragonkin princess was a hardcore shut-in who disliked going outside—but loved traveling everywhere. So every time Duanmu Huai went on an adventure, she would remotely control a drone to follow along, filming and watching everything.
Because of that, Feilin never lacked footage. Only the Pandora segment was recorded personally by Duanmu Huai.
As more materials were gathered in the future, each regulation would have its own dedicated footage. At the very least, it was more convincing than words alone.
Of course, every Inquisitor had their own doctrinal path—
In the game, the vast majority of players (over 98%) chose the Radical path.
After all, there were plenty of players eager to get "intimate" with the Eldar.
People like that—just like their so-called spiritual mentors, the Blue Smurfs—ought to be purged.
Duanmu Huai's Inquisition maintained a roughly 50% Puritan / 50% Radical balance.
On one hand, he strictly adhered to the Inquisition's principles and systems.
On the other hand, when facing certain xenos, Duanmu Huai would occasionally choose to show leniency—
Provided that they did not threaten human existence.
Otherwise, only purification awaited them.
Furthermore, based on the history excavated by players and the outcomes of countless missions they had experienced, Duanmu Huai rejected the Radical doctrine of "using the enemy's methods against them"—using Chaos to fight Chaos.
This was not merely heretical.
History had proven that even if an Inquisitor resolved immediate problems using such methods, it would inevitably create far greater disasters in the near future.
Thus, in this regard, Duanmu Huai leaned closer to the Puritan path—
Though he did not indiscriminately exterminate all heretics, xenos, and Chaos entities.
That was only under the premise that they posed no harm—or potential threat—to humanity.
Take Regnis, the Dragon Kingdom, for example.
Because Gureya was there, and because Regnis was allied with Anne's nation, Manaria, Duanmu Huai had refrained from destroying it.
But that did not mean he would never destroy it.
Limited cooperation.
Constant vigilance.
That was Duanmu Huai's stance toward alien races.
After all, humanity had already proven through countless bloody lessons—
Those who are not of our kind will never share our hearts.
That said…
After leaving the screening room, Duanmu Huai once again pondered the issue of the Duel City world.
Based on the clues he had obtained from Demon King Jill's memories, this world was currently under the control of a mysterious existence.
If explained using a game analogy—
Duel City was the core game itself.
The entire continent surrounding it was a massive MOD created using the base game.
This perfectly explained why the civilization development of this continent was so bizarre. After all, MODs could only use assets from the original game.
And since Duel City was fundamentally a fighting game, with a near-future background setting, things like television naturally existed.
Moreover, because fighting games featured all kinds of melee weapons, those assets could be reused directly…
That was essentially how it worked.
If it were only that, the game's official operators would have intervened.
Unfortunately, this game seemed to have no "official" anymore.
So it had been seized through underhanded means.
Duanmu Huai would never tolerate such behavior.
If nothing else, the mere fact that the creators had devised a "Demon King" and "Hero" game that entertained itself through the mass slaughter of humans was enough to land them on the Inquisition's purification list.
The problem was—
He still didn't know who the other party was.
And after so many years, tracking them down…
Hmm. It looks like I'll have to start from the Demon Kings again.
After all, Jill was a sealed former Demon King.
Which meant that this world should still have a current Demon King.
Click.
As Duanmu Huai was thinking, the screening room door opened.
A group of people walked out in a daze.
"Yo. Finished watching?"
Duanmu Huai greeted them casually.
Maria lifted her head uneasily and looked at him.
"Inquisitor… can we… really work here?"
"I don't know how to put it, but… it feels like we've come to an unbelievably incredible place…"
Kentō Kanami's face was pale as well, clearly at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, Mosou Shizuka frowned and stared at Duanmu Huai.
"If all of that footage was real, I don't think Maria can really contribute much to the Inquisition. The gap is simply too great…"
"I know that," Duanmu Huai replied calmly. "But you should also have seen that the Inquisition is currently understaffed. What I need from Maria isn't mechanical theory—it's experience."
"Experience?"
"That's right. You understand how strict the manufacturing processes in mechanical engineering are. And since you managed to build a Leman Russ tank, you already have a basic grasp of the Inquisition's craftsmanship and workflows. Knowledge can be learned—but experience is what we lack most right now."
After all, Duanmu Huai didn't have time to set up on-site training like some vocational school.
Poaching experienced professionals was the most convenient option.
"Then… what should we do?"
"I've already called someone. She'll be here soon… Ah, here she comes."
"Sir Knight!!"
As he spoke, a voice rang out.
Kukulu came running from the other end of the corridor, completely out of breath.
"Hah… hah… I heard you were adding manpower?"
"That's right. It's them."
Duanmu Huai pointed at Maria and the girls of the Tulip Corps.
"They successfully built a Leman Russ tank in their own world using existing designs and processes. They have practical engineering experience. I'll leave them to you."
"Ah! Thank you so much!"
The moment Kukulu saw Maria and the girls, her eyes lit up.
Her biggest problem had always been the lack of manpower. Dolls could handle repetitive or simple tasks, but there were many things only humans could do.
Now that help had finally arrived, Kukulu looked like she was about to cry.
She rushed forward and grabbed Maria's hand.
"Hello! I'm Kukulu. I work in the Inquisition's Mechanical Military Department—"
"Ah—hello, I'm Maria—"
"Introductions later! Come with me, quickly!"
Before Maria could finish, Kukulu dragged her away in a hurry. The Tulip Corps followed after them.
"I'll go take a look too."
Mosou Shizuka nodded at Duanmu Huai and followed.
Only Kentō Kanami remained, standing there blankly.
She swallowed nervously and looked at Duanmu Huai.
"…What should I do?"
"Well, you—"
"Ah—found her!!"
Before he could finish, Anne's voice rang out.
Turning his head, Duanmu Huai saw Anne running over with Gureya and Odelle, surrounding Kentō Kanami.
"You're Kentō Kanami, right?!"
"Ah—yes, um…?"
Being stared at like that made Kentō Kanami nervous.
Anne smiled gently.
"Oh, don't worry. We just want to ask you a few things. Sir Knight, we'll borrow her for a bit, okay? Don't worry—we won't bully her."
"…What are you planning to do?"
"Just ask her a bit about her and Sir Knight. Some things are best answered by the people involved, after all."
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
Duanmu Huai and Kentō Kanami froze simultaneously.
"How do you know about that…?"
"Of course Olgis told us! Don't worry, we're not jealous or anything—just curious. Curious, that's all."
"Uh… alright."
With no other choice, Duanmu Huai could only nod as Kentō Kanami was taken away.
Wait a second… Olgis, you little cotton jacket—leaky is one thing, but you come with a built-in loudspeaker?!
Is that really something you can just tell people casually?!
Watching Anne push Kentō Kanami into a guest room, Duanmu Huai was speechless.
He thought about eavesdropping—but that felt wrong.
So he waited.
After an unknown amount of time, the door finally opened.
Anne came out smiling, holding Kentō Kanami's hand.
Kentō Kanami's face was bright red.
Not just hers—Gureya and Odelle were blushing as well.
"What exactly were you doing in there…?"
"Oh, just asking the young lady a few questions. Odelle, she's tired. Take her to rest."
Anne smiled playfully at Duanmu Huai.
"Sir Knight still has things to talk about with us."
"Yes."
Odelle nodded and led Kentō Kanami away.
Duanmu Huai followed Anne and Gureya into the lounge.
"Uh… Anne, Gureya, how should I put this… you both know it was an accident. I'm not trying to dodge responsibility, it's just—"
"Pffft—"
Anne giggled and cut him off.
"Sir Knight, don't worry. Gureya and I aren't angry with you."
"Eh? You're not?"
Duanmu Huai was genuinely surprised.
After all, strictly speaking, he was already engaged to Anne and Gureya.
Wasn't this cheating?
"Mm, not at all. In fact, after hearing Miss Kanami's explanation, I actually felt relieved… Whew. I'm really glad I wasn't the first one. I'm scared of pain, you know. If that had happened to me, I probably would've cried."
"Uh..."
Duanmu Huai had no idea how to respond.
"Besides, Sir Knight doesn't need to take it too seriously. Nobles having multiple wives and concubines is perfectly normal. To be honest, Gureya and I actually hope you'll get more practice."
She winked at Gureya.
"That way, you can be a gentleman who satisfies us on our wedding night. Right, Gureya?"
Gureya's face turned beet red as she lowered her head and nodded.
"Mm… yes…"
"..."
This is… allowed? Huh? Wait a second?!
"But didn't Odelle get dumped because that young noble found someone else he liked?"
Duanmu Huai still remembered that incident.
"Oh, that's different. Nobles all know that marriage is mostly political. That idiot's biggest mistake was canceling the engagement in public. If he'd just kept the other girl as a lover, it would've been fine."
"..."
I see.
"So work hard, Sir Knight. If you hurt me, I'll cry, you know?"
With a playful smile, Anne pulled the blushing Gureya away, leaving Duanmu Huai sitting there in silence.
So… does this count as Anne hinting that I can build a harem?
No. That's not a hint. That's a straight-up declaration, isn't it?!
That aside…
Duanmu Huai opened the system again and looked at the prompt.
[Special Divine Duty Quest Completed]
[Additional Divine Authority Acquired: God of Desire (LV1)]
Accept?
This prompt had appeared the night he attacked Princess Lia.
He had never claimed it.
On one hand, he wasn't sure what kind of power the God of Desire represented.
On the other hand, he had noticed something.
This system seemed to be guiding him—
Toward another path of contending with the power of the Chaos Gods.
[God of Destruction] ↔ [Rage of Brutality]
[God of Desire] ↔ [Sin of Obsession]
If that was the case, then he should have at least two more divine authorities he could potentially hold—
Those corresponding to Corruption and Deceit.
In other words…
Was the system trying to have him seize the domains and followers of the Four Chaos Gods this way?
Still…
Looking at the system prompt, Duanmu Huai felt somewhat speechless.
Why is it the God of Desire?
Wouldn't the God of Love sound nicer?!
(End of Chapter)