Martha looked at me over her glasses and said.

“I was just about to call for you. The emperor has sent the sacred artifact.”

She said she had exchanged several letters with the emperor.

The reason the emperor had been feeling pain every night was because of the Bannaku sacred artifact he had brought back as a trophy, and when she proposed to neutralize the curse if he sent the artifact, the emperor finally agreed.

And she added the justification that she learned all these facts thanks to capturing a Bannaku shaman while passing through Mount Kroom, just as I had advised.

“The sacred artifact has been taken to the farm where the shaman is. I must rely on you once again.”

I immediately understood what this meant.

It was my turn to control Raku and make him break the curse.

“Leave it to me.”

I smiled confidently.

“I trust you.”

“By the way, I also wanted to talk to you about something. I’d like to showcase a form of entertainment at the banquet….”

“Go ahead.”

“Pardon?”

I blinked at the unexpectedly easy answer.

“Aren’t you going to hear more details… is that really okay?”

I was certain that Martha would only give permission after hearing the business content, purpose, and costs in detail, followed by sufficient consideration…. That’s why I was wondering if I should prepare a presentation.

“I told you I trust you.”

Martha said as if it was obvious.

“I admit I have a suspicious nature. But failing to trust someone when you should is worse than failing to be suspicious when you should.”

I didn’t know Martha had this side to her.

I thought she was just a rigid and calculating person… but surprisingly, she had a flexible and generous side.

‘This is why they say you have to live with someone to truly know them.’

And that “trusted person” she just mentioned, that’s me, right?

Although telling the emperor about the treatment method and going to Mount Kroom in her place were all actions with ulterior motives, hearing such words made me feel better than I had expected.

“However, I can’t oversee it personally, so you’ll have to handle the preparations yourself. I’ll provide whatever you need.”

“Of course! Thank you.”

“Good. I’m counting on you.”

After saying goodbye to Martha and leaving her office, I headed straight to the farm where Raku was being kept.

Now, let’s see what services my new pet can provide.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Miss Lize.”

The knights guarding the cage bowed as they saw me.

After responding to them with a faint smile, I glanced inside the cage.

There was Raku, gagged and restrained in the exact same state as when I had seen him a few days ago.

“……!! Mmph!!”

Raku’s eyes widened with apparent joy when he saw me.

“I’m glad to see you too.”

After waving at him with a smile, I asked the knights.

“The sacred artifact?”

“It’s over there.”

One of the knights pointed to a cart placed in front of the cage.

A large cloth covered the cart.

‘So it’s inside this?’

When I slightly lifted the cloth covering the cart, I saw a statue of a girl with wings.

‘Hmm, with this shape, it’s understandable why it was mistaken for a sacred artifact.’

I carefully picked up the statue.

The knights were startled and called out to me.

“Ah— Miss Lize!!”

“You must be careful! That object is…!”

“It’s alright. Just touching it won’t cause any harm.”

Though I told them to relax, the knights still looked uneasy.

I nonchalantly held the sacred artifact and approached them with a request.

“Would you open the door for me?”

A knight who had been briefed on the situation unlocked the door, and I stepped inside the cage.

“……!”

As I approached, Raku’s eyes seemed to fill with joy.

“Hello, Raku. Have you been well?”

When I greeted him with a gentle smile, Raku nodded vigorously.

To say he’s been well in this state—what a funny question with an even funnier answer.

It’s something I always notice, but I’m not the only one who’s not right in the head; this man isn’t either.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable staying like that? I could make you more comfortable…. If you would just do as I ask. What do you think? Oh, you can’t answer.”

I carefully removed his gag.

Still looking at me with joy-filled eyes, Raku breathed roughly.

“Haah, Goddess….”

“Miss.”

“Miss… Goddess.”

I showed him the statue I was holding.

“Do you know what this is?”

Seeing the statue, Raku looked surprised.

“That’s the guardian deity of Bannaku…. The messenger who serves the Bannaku god…. How did Goddess— no, Miss Goddess…?”

Raku looked back and forth between me and the statue in confusion.

I continued calmly.

“You know there’s a curse on this, right?”

“Curse…? Ah, you must mean the protective spell?”

Protective spell?

‘Well, from the Bannaku tribe’s perspective, that’s what they would call it.’

“Would you neutralize that so-called protective spell for me?”

At my words, Raku’s eyes wavered.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“If I do that, I might incur the wrath of the Bannaku god.”

Raku muttered anxiously.

I threw my prepared trump card at the hesitant Raku.

“If you grant this request, I’ll set you free from this place.”

“……”

“I’ll let you out of here and allow you to stay close to me.”

“Miss Goddess, does that mean…?”

“It means you can serve me by my side.”

Raku’s golden eyes flashed.

“By Miss Goddess’s side… serving Miss Goddess….”

“That’s right. Don’t you want to be rewarded in the ‘life after death’?”

“I want to be rewarded… I want to be rewarded…!!”

Raku exclaimed with desperate voice, his eyes flashing.

I stroked his white hair with my merciful hand.

“I promised you, didn’t I? If you just obey, I will save you. Trust me. I won’t let anyone harm such an obedient dog. Even if it’s a god.”

“Aah, ah… Miss Goddess… So you really came to save me….”

I brought my face close to his.

“Which would you choose—the wrath of the Bannaku god or my affection?”

When I asked with a grin, there was no need for further words.

“Miss Goddess… let me serve you.”

Raku looked up at me with an expression full of ecstasy and said.

“I’ll drive away the wicked heretical spell for you.”

The hesitation he showed just moments ago had completely vanished.

Even though it was the god his tribe worshipped until recently, it seemed to have already become heretical in his mind.

In his golden eyes, only I was reflected.

“Thank you.”

With a smile and a word of thanks, I asked the knights to remove Raku’s restraints.

Hearing this, the knights looked even more anxious than when I had picked up the statue.

“Then could you at least free his hands for a moment?”

They exchanged glances for a moment, then finally, as if they had no choice, removed the handcuffs binding Raku’s wrists.

“Don’t try anything funny—”

Along with a sharp warning.

But Raku paid no attention to their words.

With his gaze fixed only on me, he just murmured as if in rapture.

“Miss Goddess… thank you for allowing me to serve you.”

The knights frowned in disgust. Of course, Raku didn’t care about that either.

“Miss Goddess, please place the object in front of me.”

I placed the statue in front of him as he asked.

Looking down at the statue, Raku spoke.

“Please remain quiet while I chant the spell.”

The two knights who received his glance flinched.

“Then I shall begin, my Goddess.”

With restraints still on his ankles and neck, but with his freed hands, Raku began to form hand signs.

“ɵʞØß, ɵʞđ…! ɵʞØß, ɵʞđ…!”

Along with hand movements whose meaning was incomprehensible, the unfamiliar language I had heard on Mount Kroom flowed from his mouth once again.

Unlike before, however, this time it had a rhythm, as if he were singing.

Though invisible to the eye, a strange energy could be felt circling inside the cage.

“Uh, is it just me or is it getting a bit darker in here—”

“Hey, keep quiet…!”

Perhaps tense from the exotic atmosphere, the knights watched Raku with faces full of vigilance.

Though they tried not to show it, they looked quite frightened.

No wonder—the unfamiliar language resonating like a melody and the bizarre hand movements created an increasingly eerie feeling.

The knights’ observation that the cage was getting darker and hotter was also true.

‘Wait, this feels like… watching an occult movie in 4D…?!’

Of course, I was finding it rather exciting.

Small beads of sweat had formed on Raku’s forehead as he chanted the spell in the unfamiliar language without pause.

“ɵʞØß, ɵʞØß, ɵʞđ…!”

With that final cadence, Raku pushed the statue hard with one hand, knocking it over.

A moment of silence followed.

“…It’s done, Miss Goddess. As you commanded….”

Raku, breathing heavily, smiled at me and said.

Only then did the knights come to their senses and hurriedly approached with handcuffs, but there was no need to put the handcuffs back on him.

Thud—

Because Raku collapsed forward, losing consciousness.

“Hey—!”

A startled knight rushed over and placed a finger under his nose.

After a few seconds, the knight said with relief.

“He’s still breathing. Seems he just fainted.”

“Please call a doctor.”

I approached Raku, brushed back his sweat-soaked white hair, then picked up the statue and stood up.

Just before leaving the cage, I called to the knight who remained by Raku’s side to guard him.

He was about to put handcuffs on his unconscious hands.

“Oh, there’s no need for that. Remove his other restraints too. We won’t be keeping him here anymore.”

“What? But Miss Lize… this man is dangerous.”

“Well, he may be the first pervert I’ve ever seen in my life… but I’ve decided to trust him.”

“Failing to trust someone when you should is worse than failing to be suspicious when you should.”

“That’s what I was taught.”

“Pardon?”

I gave the knight a small smile and walked out of the farm at a leisurely pace.

With this, the emperor’s curse was lifted.

‘Now, let’s start preparing for the banquet in earnest.’

Preparing to showcase a new concept, ultra-special entertainment that no one had ever experienced before.