Naofumi Iwatani watched Itsuki Kawasumi and Malty S. Melromarc put on their little double act, and he shook with anger.
"Are you idiots? If I really had that kind of power, do you think I'd be in this situation right now?"
Malty "helpfully" reminded them, all sweetness on the surface.
"Be careful, Itsuki-sama—and Ren-sama too. The Shield Hero is about to use his Brainwashing Shield on you."
Hearing that, the utterly convinced Itsuki immediately backed away several steps. Even Ren—only half-convinced—couldn't help retreating a few paces as well.
"Naofumi, don't sink any deeper," Itsuki said. "Don't be stubborn and refuse to repent."
"Yeah," Ren added. "Hand over the Second Princess right now and confess. It's not too late."
Watching those two "brilliant" Heroes, Naofumi didn't even know what to say. He could only sigh.
"You… ugh!"
"Naofumi…"
Just then, he felt a hand pat his shoulder.
He turned—and saw a familiar smiling face.
"I believe you."
"Kiriko-san…"
Kiriko stood at Naofumi's side—just like back when he'd been framed as a rapist and she'd still been willing to trust him.
Naofumi rubbed his eyes without thinking.
Something must've gotten in them…
While Naofumi had been arguing with them earlier, Kiriko had already gotten the full story from the wolfman who'd been staying by his side.
So that little girl—Melty—was actually the Second Princess of this kingdom.
Naofumi had met her while traveling as a merchant. At the time, he hadn't realized she was royalty—he'd assumed she was just the daughter of some noble house or a merchant.
But when he tried to escort her back to the royal capital, the knights attacked without warning.
Naofumi saved her. After that, he protected her as they fled from place to place, until they ran into Kiriko.
Of course Kiriko believed Naofumi. There was no such thing as a Brainwashing Shield, and it was obvious he'd been protecting Melty.
"Since Mother-in-law-sama believes Naofumi, then I, Motoyasu, will not shrink from my duty either!"
Motoyasu Kitamura stepped out of the house and took his place beside Kiriko.
"Kiriko-san… Motoyasu…" Itsuki's eyes narrowed. "So Naofumi really did control you with his Brainwashing Shield?"
"I told you," Naofumi snapped, "I don't have any Brainwashing Shield."
"If you truly haven't been brainwashed, then come here, Melty."
Malty extended a hand toward her.
"Come to your sister. Come back to the castle with me."
Melty didn't move. She was afraid.
Afraid of what?
Malty was the First Princess—her own older sister. What was there to fear?
There was plenty to fear.
Melty might be the Second Princess, but she was first in line to inherit the throne. Malty might be the First Princess, but she was second in line.
And "second in line" meant one thing: once Melty became queen, she could marry Malty off "for an alliance" to some remote, bitter backwater—exile her for life, never letting her return to Melromarc.
Whether Melty would actually do that someday, Kiriko didn't know.
But it was enough that Malty believed she might.
The royal family was always the most merciless.
"[HELLFIRE]!"
Malty's expression turned icy. Her crimson lips spat out the spell like a death sentence.
A roaring surge of magic condensed into a fireball in her hand and shot straight toward the unprepared Melty.
Forget Melty—even Itsuki and Ren, standing on Malty's side, didn't react in time.
They simply hadn't imagined the Malty who'd been begging them to "save her little sister" would try to murder her in the next breath.
BOOM!
The fireball exploded against a shield. Sparks burst outward and winked out in the air.
Naofumi, who had blocked the attack for Melty, roared.
"Hey! Are you trying to kill your own sister?!"
Ren's face twisted as well.
"Princess Malty—what are you doing?!"
"Ren-sama, didn't you see?" Malty said coolly. "Melty has already been brainwashed."
"Even if Princess Melty has been brainwashed," Ren shot back, "that doesn't mean you get to kill her!"
Malty didn't flinch. Not a trace of guilt for nearly "accidentally" murdering her sister—only a smooth, rehearsed justification.
"I won't sit by and watch her become the Shield Demon's puppet. If she can't wake up… then I'd rather end it with my own hands."
Ren—already bad with words—was left speechless.
Naofumi pointed right at her.
"That's your real goal, isn't it? You want the Second Princess dead so you can inherit the throne yourself!"
"Say whatever you like, Shield Demon. Even with the Heretic Witch and the fake Spear Hero helping you, you still can't possibly defeat us. Justice is on our side."
"Justice my ass," Naofumi spat. "You still have the nerve to talk about justice? What a joke."
As Naofumi and Malty traded blows, even the two Heroes who'd been backing her—Itsuki and Ren—started to waver.
Itsuki was one thing. But Ren—who only cared about leveling and soloing—hadn't wanted to wade into this mess in the first place. He'd only come because Malty's rhetoric had cornered him into it.
And what she'd just done shook him hard.
No matter how socially inept he was, even he could tell something was wrong.
But while Ren was still processing, Malty finally lost patience and barked an order.
"Enough. For justice's sake—kill the Shield Demon and the others."
At her command, the knight soldiers drew their swords. A chorus of steel rang out all at once.
But Ren stopped his own companions, who had also started to draw their weapons.
"No one in my party moves."
His companions stared at him, stunned.
"B-but, Ren-sama…"
They didn't understand what was happening, but the situation in front of them was clearly off.
And with what had happened before in mind, Ren chose neutrality without hesitation.
"Shut up. Follow orders."
Ren was the type who spoke as little as possible and explained even less. The adventurers who'd stuck with him this long had learned how to live with it.
So even though they were unhappy, they sheathed their weapons and fell back to Ren's side.
It wasn't only his companions who were shocked by Ren's move—Itsuki was too.
"Ren… don't tell me Naofumi controlled you with the Brainwashing Shield too?"
"Itsuki," Ren said flatly, "can't you tell something's wrong?"
"What? What could possibly be wrong?"
"Our job is to rescue Princess Melty from Naofumi," Ren said. "But Princess Malty just tried to kill Princess Melty."
"That's because Princess Melty is under Naofumi's Brainwashing Shield!"
Ren's eyes narrowed.
"By that logic—if you were under Naofumi's control, Itsuki, would you have no right to complain even if I killed you?"
Itsuki had no answer.
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T/N: sigh.... if only malty wasnt hot...