"Do you want me to use the one you slept with Hernán in last night?"
Sharpie looked at Hernán with sleepy eyes.
"Please."
It was still early enough that no one else had woken.
Hernán had already risen with a clear head, washed himself thoroughly, and now stood before the Demon King's room.
"Hernán... Who else did you 'pound rice cakes' with, besides the hero?"
"Mind your words. Someone might overhear and misunderstand."
Although, truthfully, there was nothing to misunderstand. Still, Hernán silenced Sharpie with a stern look.
"Fine, fine. If that helps you sleep at night."
"Thanks."
"Later, you'll find out something darker, won't you?"
Sharpie grinned and winked playfully, but Hernán closed the door without another word.
"Hey! What?! Why aren't you answering?!"
The Demon King muttered behind the door, but it remained closed.
Now, it was time to wake up Potty and help her clean herself.
As long as that cursed elf with the keen nose was around, the scent had to be eliminated. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to pretend nothing had happened.
Fortunately, Potty woke easily.
She got out of bed with a slightly awkward gait — probably due to how intense the night had been for her first time.
Trying to suppress the memory, Hernán told her to wash up.
She obeyed quickly, emerging from the bathroom soon after.
Potty's mood seemed entirely different from yesterday.
"Um... Thank you. These last few days, I've been forcing myself..."
She greeted him shyly, then retreated to her room, timid and awkward.
The obscene, desperate creature from the night before had vanished like morning dew.
So it had been the heat cycle after all?
That meant he wouldn't have to regularly deal with Potty's sexual urges. A relief.
He could go back to dealing with his own desires by negotiating with Karine again.
Hernán's mind cleared — maybe thanks to the cool-down he'd had the night before.
Pregnancy, too, was statistically unlikely from just one encounter.
He could set this whole Potty situation aside until her next heat.
While Hernán was still thinking, people began to emerge for breakfast.
Tension lingered from yesterday's arguments, but aside from Silnia, no one showed it openly.
"Every time I open my eyes, I'm still stuck in this shithole."
Hernán rolled his eyes at the elf's crude morning grumble.
At that moment, the Demon King and the hero exited their rooms simultaneously.
"Hernán! How could you leave me in bed all alone?"
As soon as Sharpie saw him, she threw her arms around him.
"Oh..."
The saintess, in the middle of braiding her hair, gasped and covered her mouth.
The elf raised a brow, muttering morning curses.
But Hernán's focus was on Karine's reaction.
"... You two seem close."
She was clearly angry.
Even if her face didn't show it, the veins in her clenched fist gave her away.
The Demon King noticed too and chuckled awkwardly, praising the previous night's sleep.
But even she stiffened a little under the warrior's icy stare.
Should he apologize for last night?
Maybe talk it out after breakfast?
In that stormy silence, the hero finally spoke.
"Let's eat first. Then we'll resume the escape discussion."
"Hey, hero. Aren't you going to say something to me?"
"No matter how much I searched, there's no way out on our own."
She ignored Silnia's interruption and stared at the center of the table.
"It's time we seriously consider what the life guide said about escaping."
"What the hell is up with you today?"
The shift in her tone shocked everyone.
Silnia, hot-blooded as always, snapped.
"You're fine with the Demon King and Hernán screwing around, but now you're talking about babies again? Humans age fast, but are you already senile?"
"Silnia."
Karine turned toward her, her tone cold.
"How old are you?"
"Seventy-eight."
"So, mid-twenties in human terms."
"So what?"
"Elves live around 300 years, right?"
Silnia gritted her teeth. "Get to the point."
"It'll take you 230 years to die of old age."
The elf's mouth opened, stunned.
"Imagine dying alone after 230 years of meaningless isolation. We'll grow old and die in just fifty. You'll still be stuck here — alone."
The hero turned her gaze to the Demon King clinging to Hernán.
"And you — do you even know how long a succubus lives? Can you two be happily ever after in this prison?"
"Hero!"
The saintess raised her hand to interrupt.
"I don't know why you suddenly changed your mind, but why not wait for breakfast and for Potty to come out first?"
Breakfast?
The word triggered something in Hernán's mind, but he couldn't focus with everything else going on.
"Why isn't that cute little wizard out yet?"
"She said she's had stomach pains since yesterday. She'll be late."
Karine gave a cold, dry reply, and the others waited as the saintess had suggested.
Eventually, the meal appeared.
Ordinary food came out first, followed by a luxurious meal.
Hernán's breath caught when he saw the contents.
"Ah..."
"See? Didn't I say it didn't mean anything?"
Sharpie teased him as the elf brought the tray.
"Sorry for being late..."
At that moment, Potty emerged.
"Did the menu change again?"
Silnia pointed at the lavish tray — fine meals prepared in pairs.
Pies and honeyed bread topped with fruit and cream.
Meat dumplings shaped like rabbit faces.
Candies and a thick, chocolate-scented drink.
Potty paused at the sight, smiling briefly — before her face turned pale.
"The meal of Hernán Terotas and Potty,"
Karine read aloud from the paper she'd snatched from the Demon King.
"So it does change depending on who you sleep with."
Crushing the paper, she stared at Hernán with an icy glare.
Hernán swallowed hard and gently pushed Sharpie away.
"Karine... You know this isn't—"
Before he could finish, Karine's arm lashed out.
Her hand grabbed Potty by the collar like a viper.
"Kyaa! Kyaaa!"
Potty kicked and struggled, but Karine, tall and strong from noble blood, held her easily.
"I thought the rabbit ears were just for show. So you really are a beastkin."
"Karine!"
"Hero!"
Hernán and the saintess rushed forward, but Karine hurled Potty into the wall.
"Why do human girls have rabbit ears?"
Silnia's voice was dazed, but no one answered.
"Terotas!"
Hernán froze.
The saintess rushed to check on Potty, who was trembling and groaning.
"Don't move."
Karine's command halted him.
It wasn't fear — it was familiarity. He always listened to her.
"Move."
"Hero! Please, we're all comrades!"
"Move!"
The saintess tried to shield Potty, but Karine kicked her aside and stepped forward again.
"So you seduced Hernán? You moaned in the bathroom while fucking him, didn't you?"
"I-I'm sorry... I won't... Keck!"
Karine stomped on her ribs, and Potty convulsed.
Grabbing the long ears, Karine yanked them upward.
"You're not the Demon King. You're a comrade. You shouldn't be doing this."
She raised her free hand — fist clenched.
"Karine Paoliates!"
She stopped at the sound of her full name — one she hated.
"Put her down. Let me talk."
Hernán came closer, cradling Potty's ears in his lap as she whimpered.
"It was just a moment of madness. A headache."
"Don't lie. Potty lied yesterday too. You expect me to believe this?"
"Didn't you hear Sharpie brag about sleeping with me? That was a lie too."
The Demon King, startled, blinked.
"It was a lie I told you... just like Potty's."
Karine's teeth clenched hard.
"Can't you trust me?"
Hernán pleaded.
Potty, barely balanced in his arms, slipped — but Silnia caught her gently.
The saintess approached again, while Hernán stared into Karine's freezing gaze.
"Fine. I'll believe you."
It sounded less like belief and more like a truce.
Hernán nodded slowly, relieved.
He'd fix it all later — when they were alone.
But when he moved to take Potty away, Karine stopped him.
"Everyone, sit down."
"Shouldn't Potty rest—"
"Sit."
The saintess sighed, taking Potty — still sobbing — to the table.
"After breakfast, we're going to plan how to make nineteen more people."
"Now?!"
Hernán flinched, but Karine calmly raised a wooden fork.
"Did we ever skip meals during our travels?"
"We're not traveling anymore."
She ignored Silnia and stabbed a rabbit-shaped dumpling with her fork.
"The journey isn't over until we bring the Demon King back to the kingdom."
She chewed the dumpling slowly, then grimaced.
"Rabbit's not to my taste either."