Comprehensive: Beginning with the Killer Queen

"..."

Altluchi's body stiffened.

The cold expression on the girl's delicate face did not change at all, but in this moment of silence, in response to Roland's question, some kind of extremely amazing courage was emanating from her.

This reaction made Roland smile slightly.

——Although Altuluci performed very well and even endured wearing a maid outfit, she looked like a subordinate who was unwilling but had to obey.

But Roland knew very well that the girl had never let go of her arrogance.

This does not mean that her previous behavior was all fake. On the contrary, the attitude and emotions that Heiji had shown before were real and pure, and completely came from the heart.

But these emotions are more out of a sense of active sacrifice, just like the candidates who stay up late to review for the exam.

Although they may complain about being tired and asking for trouble during the process, subconsciously, the candidates feel that this behavior is valuable, so they do not really feel any personal impact because of it.

This is what Arteluci is like now.

Her goal is to release the contract and take back her own power.

When her opponent was Roland, she also knew that she had no capital to fight back, so she could accept paying some price to make a comeback.

Anyway, as long as she regained her power, she had plenty of choices, whether to retreat or to organize her forces and make a decision later.

This is the glorious record of Arteluqi in the past years and the pride deep in her blood.

Although her style of doing things tends to be more like the solitary style of the ancestors born in the new era, as one of the oldest Dead Apostles, in the other world, Kurohime truly owns territory and is the ruler of the castle, a true princess.

After all, the original reason why the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostles were established was that this group of immortals wanted to get rid of boredom, so they set up their own factions and played the game of fighting for power.

Such a tenacious mentality was naturally not something Roland was happy to see.

Just as one of the important reasons why Altluqi chose to stay beside him was to stay alert and test whether Roland was thinking of planting a chess piece that could be used casually in her behavior.

Roland did have ill intentions towards Altluchi to some extent...but the target of his ill intentions was not because of her identity or power, but because of her herself.

Women like Altuluchi, who are always in a strong position, will only feel shaken and have flaws in their hearts when they suffer a complete defeat.

Once they find an opportunity, the other side will turn this defeat into nourishment and grow further spiritually.

Heiji’s performance in the past two days is the best example.

Roland did not impose any additional restrictions, and he had Fu Fu as a backup measure to deal with the contract, but under such circumstances, the girl still gave up the tempting option of escaping, and took the initiative to accept the reversal of status and followed the enemy.

While quickly adapting to her role, her willpower has undoubtedly increased significantly compared to before.

If she could successfully retrieve the power that had begun to subtly rise after absorbing Roland's blood, then Artelucci would most likely completely get rid of the title of Princess and even march towards the throne of the Moon King.

Although it is not a bad thing to use absolute strength to play with the reborn Heiji again in the palm of your hand and turn the other party's plan of dying rather than surrendering and destroying both sides into a luxury.

But Roland generally wouldn't have such bad thoughts about those who couldn't block his way and whose enemies weren't even considered weaklings... or rather, they weren't bad to that extent.

All he wanted was to open a small door for himself to enter and exit at any time before Arteluqi recovered.

Therefore, now you should keep the initiative and break the other party's bottom line step by step.

As long as you take the first step, no matter how small it is, you will fall completely into the entrance of the abyss from which there is no turning back.

A gleam of light flashed in Roland's pupils, and he revealed a playful smile.

"If you don't adapt from now on, given your personality, you will definitely be exposed by then, right?"

"……indeed so."

Artluqi frowned and nodded.

"But—what if I refuse?"

For Altluci, being taken advantage of by Roland through the contract or having to wear a maid outfit was just a temporary sacrifice.

Although she was extremely ashamed and angry, she could still use the excuse of her goal to convince herself unless it was in a form that completely destroyed her dignity.

But when it comes to the master-servant relationship, Heiji can't accept it so easily.

She was created by the Moon King, but was considered by him as a spare that was not up to his standard.

Facing Zhu Yue who is superior to her, the girl both admires and fears the other's power, but also wants to surpass it to prove herself.

Because of this, although there is no ambition to restore the glory of Zhu Yue, which is our unshirkable ambition, Altluchi also pursued the illusion of obsession and built the Heiji faction, which is the de facto pinnacle among the Dead Apostles.

For Altluchi, the title of "master" is not as irritating as Josuke Higashikata's crew cut, but it is also one of the taboos that touches her bottom line.

however--

"You don't like the title of Master?"

Roland showed a puzzled expression: "It's not like there are no other options. You can call me master or something like that. If you can't accept that, then call me dad..."

"I didn't ask you to explain the other options! And doesn't the latter name sound more like cosplay? It has even surpassed cosplay and reached the level of erotic role-playing!"

The calm expression that Heiji had managed to maintain was suddenly broken.

She glared at Roland fiercely, took a deep breath, raised her head again and asked.

"I mean, what would you do if I refused to use this term of address that acknowledges the relationship?"

Her deep red pupils were as sharp as a sword, like a flower blooming alone in the biting cold wind, with a heart-shaking charm.

"So this is what you mean..."

Roland looked as if he had suddenly realized something.

Then, he answered without hesitation.

"Of course I did nothing."

"Hey, why?"

This unexpected answer made Heiji slightly stunned.

"Because the relationship between us is that you rely on me one-sidedly."

Roland tilted his head, as if he didn't understand why Altluchi asked this question.

"You need to give me rewards to pay for using your power, and you need to follow me to find an opportunity to terminate the contract. From the beginning to the end, I am just slightly adjusting what you have to pay according to the needs of the party being needed."

"The choice is always yours, isn't it?"

"This disguised name is the same. Anyway, when someone notices something unusual and you are tempted or attacked, you will be the one who has to use your strength. You still have to reward me then."

"Since I won't lose anything no matter what, why should I interfere unnecessarily?"

The words were merciless, frank and even a little harsh.

If it were any other Dead Apostle's Forefather, there would be no way they would be able to endure it any longer.

Being treated like a clown on the stage and treated with almost contemptuous generosity, the only way to vent this anger is with the death and blood of the enemy. For Heiji, who is far more arrogant than other ancestors, it is not surprising that she would explode like a powder keg after being ridiculed in front of her.

However, although the girl's eyes had turned cold again, Roland did not have even the slightest worry in his heart.

After all, it would have been fine before, but now Artelucci has experienced a series of events such as the loss of her first kiss, being seen naked, and being forced to wear a maid outfit.

After making so many sacrifices and paying so many sunk costs, if there is no clue to recover the lost power, ordinary people would be so unwilling that they would vomit blood, let alone Artluki.

Because even though it subtly touched her bottom line, Artluci did not refuse it without a second thought like she did with the nun's uniform before.

After all, she understood certain truths in the contract and had discarded certain fantasies, so she recognized that Roland's strength was worthy of this title.

What's more, the effect of this incident in disguise is indeed extremely outstanding.
——The girl now no longer has the power that followed her like a shadow in the past. She has changed into a maid outfit and her long black hair has been tied into a high ponytail.

When she saw herself in the mirror for the first time, even Artluchi herself was a little dazed.

If she really pretends to be like a maid again, I'm afraid that the black and white knights under her command will think they have recognized the wrong person when they meet again.

How could Black Princess actually become a maid serving someone?

Even her mortal enemy, the calculating White Wing Prince, could not believe such rumors.

Such a sophisticated disguise is as important to the place she is going next as an elemental bottle is to ashes.

Altluqi's eyes turned slightly and her gaze moved to Roland's pocket.

There, there was a half-exposed black envelope.

Bright red beeswax is pressed onto the crystal-like paper, and the seal with the theme of a wheel and an eyeball seems to be related to the angel of Christianity at first glance. Only those who know the inside story understand that this is actually a symbol with a long history.

Born with almost everything, Black Princess is always used to looking at things from a more subjective perspective.

But it may be because the bottom line has been constantly broken in the past few days, or it may be that the desire to restore strength is too urgent.

It was a rare case for Altluchi that her emotions overcame her rationality. She kept making excuses in her mind as if to justify herself.

After all, even the Moon King, who was too perfect for the world, had an accident, let alone the lives that survive inside the world?

Yes, such action is necessary.

"So, Arturo, what are you going to choose?"

Roland did not try to persuade her any further. He just stared at the girl quietly, as if waiting for her to make a decision.

"…Perverted maid control"

Artluci muttered softly, her small hands tightly grasping the lace skirt of her maid outfit.

The girl's pretty face flushed red. Under Roland's hot and expectant gaze, she tilted her head to the side, sighed helplessly, and slightly opened her red lips.

"--host……"

Her voice was hazy and light, like a wisp of drifting smoke, as if she had just woken up from a dream.

Even though he was so close, it was hard to hear what the girl had just said, but Roland's mouth corners unconsciously curled up.

"I'm sorry, my voice was too soft, could you please say it again?"

"...!"

The girl raised her head with a look of shame and indignation, and flames of anger were brewing in her gem-like clear pupils.

Although there was still some blush on her face, her eyes revealed an undisguised cold anger.

Fu Fu's ears had stood up like antennas, and she looked like she was asking for a beating. How could Roland, who could kill her with just one move, not have heard clearly?
Although he was pretending to sigh, she could still see the other person's complacency from the smile on his lips.

"I say - Master!"

Perhaps because she had given up so much, Artluqi no longer had so many concerns.

"Master, Master, Master!"

She kept repeating it with a voice almost like she was gritting her teeth.

"So you are satisfied?"

More than satisfied.

Roland felt as if he had gained new XP.

Maid play was not something new to him. After all, in his recent experience of traveling across time, he had learned that Einzbern, whom he fully accepted, was an expert in artificial maids.

But maybe because there are a lot of lolita mothers around, being called master by a lolita maid with a disgusted expression was unexpectedly pretty good.

...Is it because of the combination of the female imp's attributes that there is an attack speed bonus?

"Very good," Roland nodded with satisfaction while thinking about it.

"That's about it. If we lower the volume a bit, combined with our previous performance, even if someone really feels something is wrong, they will just think we are playing some special tricks instead of doubting the authenticity of this relationship."

"Isn't this, in a way, worse than before?"

"I can't help it," he shrugged. "It took you too much time to prepare yourself. I don't have much time to practice anymore."

Suddenly, Roland calmly turned his head and looked at the other side of the platform.

The pitch-black pure white fog had dissipated a lot at some point. Although it still had a strong shielding effect, it had revealed the rusty tracks and a few figures standing in twos and threes in the distance, which were also wrapped in the fog.

Looking at those figures, Artluqi also restrained herself a lot.

She was not surprised that there were other people hiding in the fog. This abandoned platform originally served as a starting point. Given the reputation of that place, it would be strange if there were no other guests.

Moreover, for new guests like her and Roland, the behavior of these regular customers can also serve as a reminder.

"Since the mice that were hiding have all come out, does that mean they're almost there?"

"Well, the timing is perfect."

Roland looked along the railroad tracks into the depths of the fog and sighed.

"It's so punctual, shouldn't we say it's worthy of being called the Magic Eye Collection Train?"

Hearing this name, a hint of barely perceptible anticipation flashed across Altluchi's face.

It’s not that she is excited about being able to personally participate in this urban legend, but for her now, this place means much more than that.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have resorted to such expedient means as calling Roland her master for the sake of disguise.

Altluchi narrowed her eyes slightly, with a golden light surging in her pupils.

The next moment, the figures in the distance in the girl's field of vision underwent changes that only she could see.

——It was a dark and ethereal black line that could not be concealed by the pure white mist, floating peacefully on the surface of the figure. (End of this chapter)