Late at night in Axel, the streets were filled with a subtle atmosphere known as "male romance."
Kōichi and Kazuma, both panting hard, pushed open the wooden door marked by a pink heart-shaped sign. Under the teasing gazes of several scantily clad Succubus ladies, whose tails ended in little heart shapes, they filled out an utterly ridiculous [Prison Visit · Supreme Luxury · Sweet Dreams Application Form] with trembling hands.
"U-um, please assign your very best Succubus-san to the magic-sealed cell in the Lord's Manor dungeon," Kazuma said, wiping away a cold sweat. "The target is that blond thug named Dust. As for the dream theme... just use the one he requested, 'King of Axel and His Harem Prosecutors.'"
Kōichi added from beside him:
"We'll pay the full cost! Please make sure he has such a good time tonight that he forgets he's getting executed tomorrow! Also... when Dust-san wakes up, could you ask him whether he needs us to prepare any escape tools?"
The Succubus lady covered her mouth and giggled, her seductive gaze sweeping over them.
"Oh my, what touching brotherly love. You're willing to splurge on such an expensive package just so your friend can have one last sweet dream before he dies. Don't worry, we're professionals. Places like prisons are basically our backyard. We can come and go as we please."
...
Meanwhile, in the Lord's Manor dungeon, inside the magic-suppressed cell.
The atmosphere here should have been solemn, oppressive, and heavy with the smell of death.
But around Dust's cell, things had taken an extremely bizarre turn.
"Hehe... hehehe... Sena, baby, don't run away... pour me another glass of wine..."
Dust lay on a pile of straw with an incredibly sleazy, almost unbearable look of bliss on his face.
His body twitched from time to time as he muttered all kinds of lewd nonsense that would make an innocent young girl faint on the spot.
Outside the cell, the guards assigned to the overnight watch were now going through the most painful ordeal of their lives.
"Hey, did you hear that?" Guard A said, pale-faced and clamping his hands tightly over his ears. "He just called the Prosecutor's name... and said that maid outfit looks good on you... Am I even allowed to hear something this blasphemous? Am I going to be silenced tomorrow?"
Guard B was drenched in sweat, his eyes wandering, his entire body tense as a drawn bow.
"Damn it, why does the air suddenly smell so sweet...? And why am I actually a little jealous when I look at that death row inmate's face? That attitude of 'I may die tomorrow, but tonight I'm going to enjoy myself to the fullest.' Is this the sheer scale of a Demon King's General?!"
Even worse, Succubi released a faint pink aphrodisiac mist when casting dream magic, so every guard on that dungeon floor was now trapped in an extremely delicate state of excitement.
They had to endure Dust's maddening sleep-talking while also resisting the primal urges stirring deep inside them.
"I can't take this anymore..." One young guard suddenly dropped his spear, clutched his head, and crouched on the ground. "I want to go home... I miss my wife. She may look like an Orc, but she has such a gentle personality... This Demon King's General's mental attack is way too strong!!"
And Dust, who in his dream was currently surrounded by women on both sides and even having Sena massage his feet, had absolutely no idea how much mental pollution he was inflicting on the real world.
...
On Friday, Axel Square was so bright and sunny it almost felt ironic.
What should have been a solemn execution for a traitor was instead packed with Adventurers and townspeople who had come to watch the show.
Kōichi and Kazuma blended into the crowd, both with heavy dark circles under their eyes and unsteady steps, looking like dried-up corpses that had just been drained of their last bit of life force at the Succubus Shop.
As they looked at Dust on the execution platform, bound hand and foot and not even gagged, both of them felt as if their hearts were being clawed at by a cat.
"Hey, Kōichi," Kazuma whispered, his voice carrying a rare heaviness. "Look at Dust. He's about to die, but he's still smiling... That grin isn't because he's still riding the afterglow of last night's supreme luxury dream, is it?"
Kōichi looked at Dust on the stage, his mouth crooked, his eyes unfocused, actually because he still wasn't fully awake, and that smile on his face downright disgusting. Then he let out a deep sigh.
"Yeah, probably. Honestly, even though he's usually a piece of trash who steals other people's quests, flirts with female shop clerks, and even peeks at his neighbors bathing, when it really matters... he's a good guy."
"Yeah." Kazuma sniffed, as if he were genuinely moved. "To protect us, to protect Wiz, he was actually willing to bear the certain-death title of Demon King's General. Dust, go in peace. Every year on this day, I'll go to the Succubus Shop and order the most expensive package... then I'll look at your portrait and share that joy with you in my dreams."
"That's right, Dust!" Kōichi couldn't help calling toward the stage as well. His voice was not loud, but it was full of sincere emotion. "Your sacrifice won't be in vain! We'll carry your share with us and keep living shamelessly in this cruel world!"
On the execution platform, Sena stood in a jet-black Prosecutor uniform, her expression cold and solemn.
She raised the staff of justice high and announced loudly to the entire crowd:
"Criminal Dust! For colluding with the Demon King's Army, attempting to overthrow the nation, and using these means to control the innocent Adventurers Kōichi Hayashi and Kazuma Satou, you are hereby sentenced to death! Effective immediately!"
The executioner had already raised the massive beheading axe. Its cold metallic gleam flashed under the sunlight, and the entire crowd held its breath.
Just one second before that giant axe came down.
Dust, who had been immersed in some unspeakable afterglow with that awful grin still on his face, suddenly snapped his eyes open as if he had been stabbed with a needle. A razor-sharp, cunning light flashed through his golden eyes.
He drew in a breath and roared with enough volume to blow the roof off the square:
"Wait!! I'm recanting my confession!! I'm recanting, aaaaaah!!"
"Clang!"
The startled executioner's axe slammed straight into the wooden boards of the platform.
Sena nearly choked on her own spit. In disbelief, she rushed up to Dust, grabbed him by the collar, and screamed:
"Are you insane?! Didn't you already confess everything yesterday? The Bell of Truth... no, wait, you turned yourself in yesterday without even using the Bell of Truth! What do you think recanting now is supposed to accomplish?!"
Dust flashed a smile even brighter and more punchable than before. He winked at Kōichi and Kazuma, who were staring up from below in stunned silence, then turned to Sena and shouted:
"Oh, well, I slept so well last night that my head got a little foggy. I suddenly remembered that I'm not actually a Demon King's General at all. I'm just a crazed fan who admires those two heroes so much that I wanted to take the blame for them! Sena-san, hurry up and bring out the Bell of Truth! I'm going to prove my innocence right now!"
In that instant, it was as if all the air had been sucked out of the square.
Kōichi and Kazuma stood below the stage, and that deeply moving brotherly bond from moments ago was instantly burned to ash by the flames of rage.
Their eyes widened, so bloodshot they looked ready to pop out of their sockets, as they glared at the blond bastard on the stage who was winking at them.