After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

And it was at this moment that the little nun, curled up in his arms, mumbled:

"You're wondering why they didn't run away, right?"

"Yes."

"...Perhaps the problem is simple. If they continue to run away, they will completely lose themselves—leaving aside what the witch is thinking, Cecilia's mental state is no longer sufficient to support her continued escape?"

Theresa muttered to herself, then rolled over onto Yang Hao to face him. She adjusted her position slightly, then reached out and hugged his neck before letting out a sigh.

Ignoring the feeling of her stretched-out clothes rubbing against Yang Hao's chest, the little nun just squinted and said, "Don't forget the pressure the Holy Maiden is under right now."

Cecilia's previous escape had already put Yang Hao in such a predicament, and also plunged the Roman Empire into even greater ruin... This time, her escape would be nothing short of a catastrophe for the Protestant Church.

Moreover, in the past, she could easily escape if she wanted to.

Because she had the authority of Patriarch Peter above her, and even higher up, there were Yang Hao and the government officials of the Roman Empire. As someone who considered herself a "small person," her shirking of her responsibilities wouldn't be a big problem in a sense... at least not for her at the time.

But now?

"Saint Cecilia now not only carries the hopes and pressures of the Protestant people, but more importantly, she can no longer abandon her ascetic vows and run away."

For Cecilia, the current ascetics are "friends" she cannot abandon. Having already experienced the devastating news that her escape nearly led to the death of her beloved, how could she possibly have the courage to risk causing the ascetics to suffer the same fate again by running away?

At least that's how Teresa saw it. Cecilia had nothing left to sacrifice to support her escape.

but...

"But frankly, if she really wanted to run away, she could have just abandoned the nuns, right? If she only cared about herself and Priscilla... and just ran away like that, who could catch up with them?"

"...It seems so?"

"...So I personally think...maybe her mindset has changed."

If running away was the best option for her before.

Once her mindset changed, she no longer had the ability to escape.

Just like a boy growing into a man...

Once a boy understands the deeper meaning behind responsibility and shoulders that responsibility, he transforms into a man and naturally stops trying to shirk his duties.

Now, Cecilia has transformed from a naive girl into a full-fledged adult. She didn't choose the easiest path; she chose to torment herself... but at least this is the first time she's made a choice for herself.

...I should be happy about her changes.

But I don't want to see her again. I can't completely let go of past prejudices like a saint, so... let it be.

Yang Hao nuzzled Theresa's cheek. At her inviting "hmm~", he kissed her forehead and eyebrows.

After fully understanding that Cecilia had truly chosen to give up on him simply because she was running away and had been deceived, his resentment towards Cecilia was no longer as intense as before.

But to put it bluntly...

He didn't want to see her again.

Perhaps she didn't do anything wrong. She was also a pitiful victim—but as someone who was unintentionally hurt by her actions, Yang Hao didn't have the magnanimity to say "it's okay."

It's fine as it is now. Now that Cecilia has grown up and chosen to take the most difficult path, let her go for it.

There's no need for strangers to judge each other's choices.

"...By the way, it seems like there's still some time before you leave?"

"Ok?"

"Well...hehe...I think little Anna is really cute, but I still want a child of our own...you know...that kind of thing?"

"...Theresa? Let me mention this first—maids might come by at any time, you know?"

"It's okay..."

Listening to the little nun's giggles in my arms.

Yang Hao smiled too.

There's still a long time before he goes out to work—perhaps he really should spend more time with his family.

.............

Meanwhile, at the command post of the Issugard colonial army, Nia the Black Dragon, exhausted from flying to her destination at top speed, was resting against the wooden wall of the camp, panting, while observing what the aid workers from the United Nations were doing.

It must be said that although the United Nations likes to trick people, they will eventually deliver on their promises.

Watching the elven mages provide aid to soldiers exhibiting mutation symptoms in certain areas, and seeing the magic storage devices in the camp that were clearly sent from within the United Kingdom... Nia felt a surge of gratitude towards Yang Hao, and at the same time, she truly realized that she couldn't expect the main force to escape from the Demon Realm on its own.

"Looking at those mutated areas... it'll probably be even later... But speaking of which, what would happen to my near-magic immunity in the Demon Realm? If it's a physical mutation... wouldn't that be a huge problem for me?"

Black Dragon muttered to himself, then suddenly realized a problem.

As it stands, the mutations on the soldiers are primarily related to physical ailments. These mutations don't seem to be magical creations... In other words, the Black Dragon's vaunted near-magical immunity might be largely rendered useless here.

Nia wasn't afraid of death... she simply felt that if a black dragon mutated into a monster in the Demon Realm, it might cause massive damage to nearby friendly forces... especially if this "mutation" was truly a physical mutation...

If she gets infected, she won't even be able to receive treatment from the elven mages... In other words, she probably won't be able to enter the Demon Realm with Yang Hao and the others this time, right?

Nia sighed, gazing at the distant demonic barrier, when a thought suddenly occurred to her that was both laughable and exasperating:

While other world leaders are personally leading their troops to the front lines, I, as the highest-ranking diplomat on the scene, can only anxiously await good or bad news from the rear...

What's this all about? It's fortunate that His Majesty Yang Hao isn't the Regent of Isgard yet. If he, as Regent, were to don armor and lead the charge while I'm just sitting in the back...

What kind of talk is this?

Black Dragon muttered to himself.

At that moment, a siren working on site, after looking around and breaking out in a cold sweat, approached her.

"Lady Nia? Do you have time to come and take a look? It's just... holy crap, our flesh magic seems to have a very strange effect on the things inside the barrier! Could you come and take a look?"

"Huh? Okay... I'll be right there."

What effect?

Nia followed the Sirens in a daze until she reached the barrier.

What she saw, however, was inside the barrier.

The scene depicts the Sirens' flesh magic "repairing" the corrupted land.

Chapter 5: The Demon Servant: Regent, you want to come in?

"Ahem... I know this might be hard for everyone to accept... but it's true, our Sirens' [Flesh Magic] does have the ability to fight against this monstrous place..."

While coughing, Sirencino explained their latest achievement to Nia and the others standing outside the barrier: a mass of "flesh" artificially created within the Demon Realm.

Compared to the purplish-pink meat chunks mutated in the Demon Realm, the pink meat created by the Sirens has a better texture and is more vibrant. But more importantly, after digging into the meat created by the Sirens, substances that have had their mutation characteristics removed are present in a very special state in the place where the meat was previously.

Simply put—

Sirens can transform corrupted inorganic matter back into its original form.

Although it's only temporary in the Demon Realm, if the repaired items can be transferred out of the Demon Realm, at least high-value military supplies like armor can return to the human world in their normal form.

...Although Nia knew the value of the military equipment, there were other things she cared about more than the equipment itself...

"Kino...can you bring out some of the mutated chitinous soil from the Demon Realm?"

"Huh?"

“Bring them out. Let’s see if they change here.”

Under the Black Dragon's orders, the Sirens working in the Demon Realm brought out some of the Demon Realm soil in glass boxes.

These chitinous soils maintained their vibrant life force even after leaving the Demon Realm. They continued to attempt to assimilate the surrounding materials, but it seemed they had lost the ability to assimilate matter after leaving the Demon Realm.

Just like a man who has emptied his bladder and can keep preparing to fire but can't actually release the ammunition, this corrupted soil is engaged in a chillingly futile endeavor. Black Dragon Nia observed everything and quickly realized a problem:

Anything contaminated by the Demon Realm will remain in its contaminated state until it is effectively dealt with.

Perhaps they have lost the possibility of continuing to infect the land, but who can guarantee that they are completely safe items?

Besides, this chitinous soil doesn't seem suitable for cultivation, does it? More importantly... who wants to step in a wriggling pile of dog poop every day for no reason?

Although the eroded soil wasn't quite that bad... that was certainly the impression Nia had.

They are all unpleasant products.

She smacked her lips, and after confirming that these things wouldn't revert to their original state on their own, she ordered the Sirens to attempt to repair them using flesh magic.

puff--

The chitinous soil was transformed into pink flesh and blood, which was then carefully peeled away by the sirens.

What appeared beneath the wounds was no longer a purplish-red carapace, but rather what should have been stones and soil.

"...It seems the Sirens' flesh magic has found a new use." Nia breathed a sigh of relief. "At least this military operation by the colonial army should ensure a result—but that means the number of Sirens will have to increase."

The Sirens can restore the corrupted land to its original state, although the quality may be lower. But it is still better than the land never being suitable for cultivation or habitation in the future. In a sense, it is the best possible outcome.

Moreover... since the Sirens have a way to "repair" this corrupted land... does that mean that things that were burned to ashes in the past can also be repaired within the Isogardes region?

Nia was pondering, and just then, the Siren, who was working, sighed and said:

"Of course. Let's not even talk about the fact that we're nominally citizens of the United Nations. Even if we all went to war right now, what could less than a hundred people do?"

Sirencino pursed her lips, and after moving the glass box back into the Demon Realm to prevent any accidents, she left her companions and only came over after being examined and treated by the elven mages.

“But I have a question, Lady Nia… If we don’t solve the problem of the ‘core’ that supplies energy to this area, no matter how much we repair it, we won’t be able to keep up with the assimilation speed. So my personal suggestion is that we shouldn’t deal with anything outside the ‘barrier’ for the time being. That would just be a waste of time.”

“I know. So General Piss will be adjusting your work direction soon... More importantly, is the mutation situation alright?”

"You mean this? Well... as a non-human, the speed of mutation seems to vary from person to person? But generally speaking, it's faster than that of ordinary humans."

In response to Nia's concern, Kino simply showed her the area where he had recently mutated.

Compared to humans, the mutation rate of alien races in the Demon Realm seems to be faster.

If it takes about a week for an ordinary human to be completely assimilated into a monster, then for a race like Kino, the fastest race might only need a day to complete the mutation. And for a Siren like Kino, it would take longer, but still much less than a week for a human.

In other words, are alien races extremely dangerous in the Demon Realm...?

Nia frowned. She stared for a long time at the misty world within the barrier. Under the shroud of mist, even the strongest light source that the Isugard colonial army could provide could not offer any guidance to units more than a kilometer away.

She recalled that in the colonial army's composition, besides the vast majority of human soldiers, there were also alien races with their own affiliations and roles.

In other words... human soldiers might be able to hold out until rescue arrives, but what about those alien races? Will they all die in the Demon Realm?