"So that's what happened. Refusing to confess in order to protect that gentle Lich lady... I didn't think you two had that kind of Knightly spirit in you." Dust chuckled, his gaze moving back and forth between them. "Still, once a charge like that sticks, you really will end up decorating the guillotine tomorrow. Unless..."
"Unless what?!"
Kōichi and Kazuma lunged to the iron bars in unison, like drowning men grabbing at their last straw.
In the dim dungeon, Dust's face, which looked especially punchable under the faint firelight, somehow gave off the air of a mysterious expert.
He slowly withdrew those three fingers, a confident, wicked smile hanging on his lips.
"Deal! As long as we survive, I, Kōichi, will cover one full month of the sweet dreams package at the Succubus Shop!" Kōichi grabbed Dust's hand tightly through the iron bars, squeezing as if he were about to crush the lifeline in his grip. "It's just essence! I'm a young, healthy adventurer. That's the one thing I'm not short on!"
Kazuma nodded desperately beside him, even starting to pull out his crumpled Succubus Shop membership card.
"Right, right! Dust, you're my real brother! As long as you take the fall for this treason charge, you can walk sideways through Axel from now on, and I, Kazuma Satou, will be your personal attendant, meaning I'll carry your bags and dodge your bills!"
Dust patted the backs of their hands in satisfaction and lowered his voice.
"The plan is simple. I'll just admit I'm a Demon King's General. All you two need to do is pretend to cut ties with me. Leave the rest to my performance. That violent woman Sena wants to grind my bones to dust right now. The moment I admit I'm a hidden General, she'll short-circuit from excitement and won't even bother using the Bell of Truth. She'll turn all her attention to me."
Kōichi looked at Dust's completely confident expression. Although a sliver of hope rose in his heart, what he felt even more strongly was absurdity.
Kōichi frowned and looked at him with concern.
"Hey, Dust. We mess with each other all the time, but this isn't a joke. Once the title of Demon King's General sticks to you, you might be dragged straight to the execution ground and beaten to death after tomorrow's trial. Do you really... have a way out? Don't throw your life away for a few dirty dreams."
Kazuma also showed a rare trace of conscience and eyed Dust suspiciously.
"Yeah. You're a thug, sure, but you're just an ordinary punk warrior, right? Are you actually a hidden max-level boss? Or are you planning to perform a disappearing act at the execution ground?"
"Hmph, hahahaha!"
Dust suddenly let out a low, magnetic laugh. He released their hands and leaned back against the pile of hay, a deep, unreadable gleam flashing in his eyes, something Kōichi had never seen before from this blond punk.
"Execution? That sort of thing is for weaklings with no way out." Dust turned his head and gave the two of them an incredibly bright, and incredibly annoying, smile. "Relax. I have my own way of handling this. In this world, some rules are made specifically for certain people, and I... just happen to fall outside those rules. All you need to do is prepare my payment at the Succubus Shop, then wait to be acquitted."
After saying that, he pulled the tattered blanket over his head, giving off the air of a big shot going to sleep and refusing to be bothered.
Kōichi and Kazuma looked at each other.
The unyielding tough-guy image from the interrogation room instantly collapsed, replaced by the limp exhaustion of surviving a disaster.
"Kōichi," Kazuma muttered as he slumped to the floor, "don't you think the weirdos in this town are scarier than the Demon King's Army?"
"Yeah." Kōichi looked thoughtfully at the lump under Dust's blanket and stroked his chin. "If he really pulls this off, then this guy's background is definitely even more unfathomable than Aqua, that idiot Goddess. But for now... we should worry about acting like victims."
The torches in the dungeon crackled, lighting up Dust's face, which had "I'm going to enjoy this" written all over it.
He suddenly kicked the iron bars of the cell door, producing a deafening clang that scared the dozing guard so badly he almost stabbed his own foot with his spear.
"Hey! You over there! Go call that violent woman Sena for me!" Dust stood with his hands on his hips, acting so arrogantly it was as if he were the warden. "I've thought it through. A life spent waiting to die in a haystack doesn't suit a noble soul like mine! I'm turning myself in! I'm confessing! I'm the Demon King's General who infiltrated Axel and played these two idiots like fools!"
Less than ten minutes later, accompanied by rapid bootsteps, Sena rushed into the dungeon with a gust of cold air.
The instant her bloodshot eyes landed on Dust, they flashed with unprecedented intensity. It was the ecstasy of a hunter seeing the prey walk into the trap on its own.
"What did you just say? Dust, say that again!"
Sena's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
Dust picked his nose and pointed impatiently at Kōichi and Kazuma.
"I said these two idiots were just shields I brainwashed with evil magic. I'm the real Demon King's General! The intelligence, the sabotage, all of it was my work alone! What do you think? Aren't I worth arresting more than these two deadbeats?"
Kōichi and Kazuma immediately showed Oscar-level acting skills.
Kazuma dropped to his knees, covered his face with both hands, and let out a piercing dry wail.
"Ah! My head! My memories... They're coming back! So it was you! Dust! You despicable bastard! You used such filthy methods to control us and make us work for the Demon King's Army!"
Kōichi was not about to lose. He leaned weakly against the wall, swaying as if he might collapse, and pointed at Dust with unfocused eyes.
"No wonder... No wonder I've been feeling sick every time I saw you lately. It turns out my righteous soul was resisting your evil magic! Sena-sama, please punish this Devil severely! We truly are innocent victims!"
Sena was completely overwhelmed by this sudden "truth."
In her eyes, Dust, a hooligan with a long record of misconduct who had even harassed a public official, fit the role of an evil General much better than Kōichi and Kazuma did.
She did not even bother taking out the Bell of Truth. She simply waved her hand.
"Since the ringleader has confessed, release Kōichi Hayashi and Kazuma Satou immediately! As for Dust... lock him in the deepest cell! Tomorrow morning, I will personally read your death sentence in the square!"
The cell door clanged open, and several guards politely escorted Kōichi and Kazuma out.
Just as they passed by, Dust suddenly reached out and grabbed the hems of their clothes tightly. His gaze was so grim it was as if he were leaving his final will.
"Hey, you two." Dust lowered his voice, his tone filled with impatient urgency. "I took one hell of a blast for you. That month of sweet dreams... I'm starting the first one tonight! Go register me at the Succubus Shop right now!"
Kōichi froze for a moment and instinctively glanced at the sinister, terrifying cell behind him.
"W-Wait. Dust, are you misunderstanding something? You're a death row inmate now. You're spending tonight in prison! In this situation, you still have the nerve to think about dirty dreams? Can a Succubus even get in here?"
Kazuma also looked deeply pained as he retorted.
"Yeah. You're getting dragged to the square for execution tomorrow, and tonight you're still thinking about dying from draining yourself dry? Your heroism really puts me to shame."
Dust chuckled, revealing a row of white teeth that looked especially eerie in the dim dungeon.
"Hmph. A true warrior never complains about the environment! As long as you fill out the prison visitation package on the form, those professional Succubus ladies will naturally find a way to slip in. You two... wouldn't be planning to skip out on the bill, would you?"
As he spoke, he deliberately raised his voice and shouted toward Sena, who had not gone far.
"Prosecutor-sama! Actually, regarding those two's accomplices..."
"Shut up! We're going right now!!"
Kōichi and Kazuma were scared out of their souls and bolted from the dungeon as if fleeing for their lives.