After watching Anastasia flee in a fluster, Hayashi Maki saw Priscilla sauntering in at a leisurely pace.
Behind her, as always, followed that one-armed, helmeted man, Al.
"Yo, Hayashi Maki-kun, we meet again."
Al waved cheerfully with his remaining arm, looking friendly and just a bit ridiculous.
"Yeah, we meet again, Priscilla-san."
Hayashi Maki smiled and nodded, completely ignoring Al as his gaze locked onto the girl in the crimson dress.
More precisely—onto the white fullness at her chest.
That deep, shadowed cleavage… any normal man would have a hard time not staring.
"Hmph. This lady merely heard something amusing and came out for a walk. Just happened to wander over here. It's awfully noisy, though."
Priscilla stood tall and proud in front of him, the very picture of arrogance.
She didn't mind in the slightest that he was blatantly eyeing her chest. On the contrary, she shifted so her figure looked even more stunning.
"Can't be helped if it's noisy," Hayashi Maki said lightly. "There are just too many ordinary folk desperate for the goddess's healing. As you can see, the Axis Church has only just opened a chapel here, and we're very short on hands.
"But Anastasia-san was just here speaking with me. She plans to help us spread Aqua-sama's Axis Church into the western nation of Kararagi."
He spoke with an easy smile, his eyes never leaving that deep valley at Priscilla's neckline.
Priscilla's expression brightened with interest.
"If you are short on manpower, why not entrust the Axis Church to my Crimson Front to manage?" she suggested. "What do you say?"
"I'm afraid I must refuse," Hayashi Maki replied smoothly. "Unless Priscilla-sama herself joins our church and becomes one of our high priestesses, I cannot accept anyone trying to take over or meddle in our organization."
"Oh? How bold of you—to refuse me." Priscilla's lips curved. "Very good. You've successfully piqued my interest.
"If you want me to join your church, you'll have to prove your worth first."
Her red eyes shifted to the man behind her.
"See the ugly man behind me? Heal his face and his arm, and this lady will provisionally acknowledge that you lot have value."
Priscilla's words were harsh, but in truth she treated her subordinates fairly well.
Right now, she was clearly asking Hayashi Maki to heal Al.
Al's eyes lit up with expectation, though there was something complicated and heavy behind them as well.
Axis Church… goddess…
These were all factors he hadn't anticipated.
If necessary, he would have to make a decisive choice…
Hayashi Maki turned his attention to Al and nodded lightly.
"Sure. Then Al-bro, step inside with me. Priscilla-sama, feel free to wander around out here. Once I'm done treating him, I'll bring him back to you."
With that, Hayashi Maki led Al into a spacious room within the chapel.
Al watched his back, and his hand quietly started to reach out…
Just as his palm was about to land on Hayashi Maki's shoulder, Hayashi Maki turned his head with a faint, knowing smile.
"Brother Al, lie down over there, will you? And take off the helmet. I'd really like to see just how ugly you are, to make Her Highness despise you so much."
"Hahaha, sure thing. Just don't be scared when you see it."
Al pulled his hand back, scratching at his helmet as he laughed.
Once he was lying flat, Hayashi Maki raised both hands and cast his water healing art.
His healing was different from Aqua's.
His was stronger—and could reshape the body with magic.
In other words: taboo-level human transmutation.
If a normal human tried this, the price would be terrible. But Hayashi Maki was a demon—such rules didn't apply to him.
And he was quite curious about Al.
Rumor had it that this Al was a copy of someone else; in the original timeline, Priscilla had even died. Yet Al kept guiding the Royal Selection from the shadows…
Plus, his ability was strange.
He could revive after death, and could drag opponents into a separate space to duel one-on-one. In that arena, he could revive endlessly, while all damage dealt to his opponent would remain—even if time reset. Eventually, no matter what, the opponent would die.
As Hayashi Maki's spell took effect, Al suddenly felt his face itch like crazy, and the stump of his arm started to respond.
His mind reeled.
This made no sense.
He'd always had the ability to revive, but even with resurrection, his ruined face and missing arm had never been restored.
Yet now… they were?
Impossible.
"All done, Brother Al. Your treatment's finished," Hayashi Maki said lightly. "As for the payment, I'll discuss that with your master. Let's head out."
He turned his back and walked toward the door—
And suddenly, the scene warped.
Hayashi Maki found himself standing on something like an arena, facing off against Al.
And that face… unexpectedly resembled Natsuki Subaru, the boy Hayashi Maki had already erased from this timeline.
Al was radiating a strange aura—something close to the world's laws themselves.
"Brother Al, that's not very nice, is it?" Hayashi Maki drawled. "I heal you, and you repay me like this?"
Al touched his newly restored face, flexed his recovered arm, and gave a wry smile.
"Can't be helped, Hayashi Maki-bro. You're an irregular factor. I have to erase you.
"Once you're gone, everything connected to you will vanish, and the world will return to its proper track."
"So now," he continued, eyes hardening, "let's enjoy ourselves. Only one of us leaves this place alive."
…
Ten minutes later, Hayashi Maki glanced down at his damaged body—and chose not to heal it.
Backed by the arena's rules, Al's strikes could actually get through his defenses for once. It was mildly entertaining.
Al's duel ability was indeed shameless: any damage dealt to him would partially backlash onto Hayashi Maki.
Meanwhile, Al himself was like an undying cockroach—every time he died, he would simply respawn back at the start of the duel, good as new.
An hour passed.
Al stood over a battered-looking Hayashi Maki, his face expressionless.
"Sorry, Hayashi Maki-bro. It's time to end this.
"You never should've interfered in the Royal Selection. Someone like you isn't supposed to exist at all.
"So I'm going to seal you away."
He raised his hand and produced a violet sphere, then hurled it at Hayashi Maki.
In the next instant, however, Hayashi Maki casually snatched the sealing orb out of the air.
His previously ragged appearance vanished. His clothes were neat and clean again, not a scratch on him.
In Al's stunned gaze, a crimson light flashed from Hayashi Maki's eyes, piercing straight through Al's skull.
"Absolute Dominion."
"Sorry, Brother Al," Hayashi Maki said lightly. "I've been faking it from the start. I've had an invincibility effect this whole time—and from the very beginning, your so-called duel arena has been inside my duel space."
He'd only pretended to struggle in order to see what tricks Al still had up his sleeve.
Now that this sealing orb—containing a shard of the world's own authority—was in his hand, there was no reason to keep up the act any longer.