Staring at the petite girl with short blond hair in front of him, Hayashi Maki frowned.
"So, Archbishop of Lust—Capella—luring me here on purpose… what are you trying to do? Kill me?"
"Kill?" Capella laughed. "No, no, no. I don't like killing."
She licked her lips, her pink eyes fixing on him like a predator.
"Compared to killing, I prefer the sound of prey struggling—those screams, that desperate expression. That's the fun part."
Then she tilted her head, voice turning mock-innocent.
"Hehe, little man… you're Hayashi Maki, right? You killed my 'children'—my people. Why would you do something so cruel?"
"Cruel?" Hayashi Maki let out a cold laugh. "To twisted monsters like you, killing you quickly is mercy."
Capella's smile widened, as if he'd entertained her.
"Ehehe… too bad. Since you've seen through me, I'll just have to punish you."
With a ripple, bright butterfly wings burst from her back. Her body swelled and warped, taking on the silhouette of a winged black beast—an ugly, shadowy "dragon" shape.
Hayashi Maki didn't bother commenting. He simply snapped his fingers.
"Alright. Let's count your sins—Judgment Fire."
Invisible restraints pinned the black "dragon" in place. Black flames ignited across its body in an instant.
Capella shrieked—genuine pain bleeding into her voice.
"How—?! That hurts… no, that's impossible! Your flames—how can they affect my true self?"
This "dragon" was only one of Capella's manifestations, but Hayashi Maki's flames didn't care about shells. They judged the soul itself. If the target was guilty, the fire found its way—through copies, puppets, whatever she hid behind.
Hayashi Maki's voice stayed flat.
"I'm not interested in bargaining with you. You don't deserve the time."
He intensified the flames. The shadow-form collapsed into ash.
Capella's scattered bodies and planted fragments across the world flickered and failed—her network snapping like rotten thread before she could even trigger whatever backup plan she'd prepared.
With Capella eliminated, Hayashi Maki didn't pause. He released a thread of power—mimicking the lingering aura of "Geuse," a familiar spiritual signature.
As expected, a figure wrapped in bandages, eyes blazing with obsession and rage, came racing in—the Archbishop of Wrath.
"You… you have his scent—!"
Hayashi Maki didn't waste words. The moment the "fish" surfaced, he reeled it in.
Another judgment flame—clean, decisive—ended the Archbishop's rampage.
Just like that, he acquired two more Witch Factors: Lust and Wrath.
As for the Archbishop of Pride… that one had already died years ago during an earlier assault on the capital. Hayashi Maki figured he could coordinate with Echidna later—if a matching factor still existed anywhere, they'd find a way to recover it.
In the face of absolute strength, elaborate schemes didn't matter.
Hayashi Maki was reminded again—power was everything.
And if power mattered, then gathering more capable allies—more high-quality contracted companions—was only sensible.
One remaining Gluttony slipped away in the chaos, hiding before Hayashi Maki could finish the set. Hayashi Maki didn't chase blindly. Instead, he spent time in Priestella with Emilia and the others, actually enjoying life for a while.
He even bought a residence in the city—he wasn't going to keep living under Anastasia's roof forever.
Along the way, he and Echidna helped resolve Anastasia's congenital limitation. With the right method, Anastasia could finally act as a proper spirit user—forming a true contract with her fox spirit and gaining a functional path to magic.
And yes—there was a "price," but it wasn't exploitation or coercion. It was a pact Anastasia agreed to with her eyes open: loyalty, long-term partnership, and a bond that would change her life. The night it happened, she cried—not because she was forced, but because she understood what she was giving up and what she was gaining in return.
During the same stretch, Kiritaka—angry over Liliana—started targeting the businesses tied to the Axis faith and their allies. Hayashi Maki didn't indulge him. He shut down the harassment, crushed the hired muscle's intimidation campaign, and used the opening to absorb Muse Company's assets into the larger coalition.
Kiritaka raged and threw tantrums back at home, but reality didn't care. Muse Company could no longer stand in Priestella.
Under his steward's advice, Kiritaka chose to retreat—quietly leaving the city.
Hayashi Maki didn't stop there. He sent Garfield to make sure the threats didn't regroup or retaliate.
At first, Hayashi Maki hadn't pursued Kiritaka too hard—after all, the man had helped promote Liliana's performances in his own way. But once Kiritaka crossed the line and tried to crush people with money and force, Hayashi Maki stopped treating it like a "misunderstanding."
If Hayashi Maki had been an ordinary person, the outcome would've been obvious: he'd have been beaten, ruined, and Liliana would've been taken back by a man who saw her as property.
That's how predators like Kiritaka operated.
Hayashi Maki refused to allow it.
With Muse Company gone, the alliance between Hoshin Company and the Axis faith became the dominant force in Priestella's trade. Money began to flow steadily—more resources, more stability, more influence.
Meanwhile, the Sword Saint's side remained quiet. With the Witch Cult's chaos disrupted early, Felt was able to develop her position more calmly.
Priscilla, for her part, stayed in Hayashi Maki's residence.
Sometimes she'd drag him around with that proud, high-handed expression of hers—demanding "new lessons," insisting she preferred being in control, acting like she owned the world.
But underneath the arrogance, she was still a woman with fears, ambitions, and scars of her own.
Over time, in the rare moments she let her guard down, Hayashi Maki even promised her something bold:
He would help her reclaim what she'd lost—her original homeland, her rightful place, her empire.
After all—
"Priscilla" wasn't even her true name.
She had once been a princess of another nation, driven into a forced "death" by palace struggle, forced to live under a borrowed identity while she rebuilt her power from the shadows.
The "Sun Princess" title wasn't just bravado.
It fit her—perfectly.