“…!”

Ankexikaao suddenly fell silent. That struck me as odd, so I fixed my gaze on him.

His two ‘feet’ shuffled restlessly, hands fidgeting over them while his body kept inching toward one direction.

“Unsteady breath, restless heart, darting eyes, cold sweat dripping… Hey! This is textbook guilt! Don’t tell me you’re actually a pervert!”

“H-how could I possibly be…!”

“No excuses! If you’re not a pervert, swear on the goddess!”

I knew oaths to deities here carried the same weight as toxic vows back home—a gamble of dignity and faith.

At my words, Ankexikaao went quiet again. But the next second, he slammed his palm on the table.

“That’s right! I *am* a pervert! So what if I am?! What’s it to you? In fact, it’s *because* I’m a pervert that I feel alive, that my existence has meaning! I’m proud to be a pervert! Don’t you dare look down on perverts! A truly great pervert is terrifying!”

The sheer contrast to his earlier demeanor stunned me. I stared blankly as he grew more fervent, spouting incomprehensible rants until he thrust both hands skyward, head tilted back.

“Being a pervert is absolutely amazing!!!!”

“…Calm down, bro. What’s wrong with you?”

Though I suspected his skull was packed with dung, I still needed him to let me out. One wrong move and he might lock me here forever…

*Prison kink?*

*Ugh. What am I even thinking.*

“What’s wrong with me?” Ankexikaao glared down at me. His face… well, it lacked actual features to read, but the *vibe* radiated fury.

Why was he angry?

He jabbed a finger at my nose, voice brimming with self-righteous indignation.

“You, who aren’t a pervert, have no right to judge a true one! You know nothing of a pervert’s joy! Nothing of its true meaning! How can someone who won’t even accept being a pervert understand ‘integrity’?!”

I nearly lunged to strangle him. This was the second time I’d wanted to kill this bizarre creature.

After a long while, Ankexikaao finally calmed down and apologized.

“Sorry. I tend to obsess over trivial things sometimes…”

“Yeah… *real* trivial…”

“Then… will you give me your answer?”

“Why do you even care about this?!”

“I’ll explain later. Just tell me!” His expression turned dead serious.

Sighing, I relented. “I choose… the maiden…”

*THUD!*

I blinked at Ankexikaao, who’d leapt up again, finger once more stabbing toward my nose.

*Here we go again?*

“So you *are* a heretic!”

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell me you prefer sour, throat-burning green apples over ripe, sweet red ones!”

“I still don’t get why you care about this nonsense!”

“I *can’t* not care!” Ankexikaao roared, passion flaring. “I cannot tolerate anyone who dislikes married women! To me, girls who haven’t grown into ‘women’ yet are literal demons!”

“They’re not *that* bad. Maidens have their charms too…”

“What do *you* know!”

Ankexikaao stomped onto the table, voice booming with conviction.

“Married women are a creed!!! The greatest blessing this world offers! Married women…”

He took a deep breath.

“SUGOI!!!!”

*Sigh… So it’s come to this after all.*

I’d held back my fury with every ounce of willpower. But sorry—I lost control.

Something about his pious expression ignited my rage.

I stood up. Under Ankexikaao’s confused stare, my hands closed around his neck.

“I’ll strangle you! I don’t care if I never leave—I’m ending you today! You never shut up! I’m killing you even if it’s the last thing I do!!!!”

I squeezed hard. Ankexikaao crashed to the floor with a *thump*.

He was ridiculously weak. Couldn’t even handle me, a measly Lv.16… Wait, Lv.16 now.

Just as he’d said—Dora would annihilate him.

“Transform!” Ankexikaao croaked, then suddenly bellowed.

I stared dumbly at what I held.

After shouting “Transform!”, he’d activated a disguise spell. His body was no longer humanoid. It was… panties.

Yes. Pink panties with bright red strawberry embroidery. Sweet-looking ones.

“Please use me.”

He spoke.

I chuckled darkly, crumpled him into a ball, and dropped him. Then I raised my foot.

“GRAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!”

I stomped wildly.

Ankexikaao wailed in agony.

“Waaah~~~~”

Half an hour later, I glared across the table at Ankexikaao, now back to his original form. He panted heavily, staring back.

“My faith won’t bend to violence!”

“I’m not trying to change your perverted beliefs! Just finish your damn task and let me out!” I slammed my palm on the table.

Ankexikaao flinched, likely still shaken by my earlier rampage. He shrank back and nodded.

“Those three questions… were a future divination for you.”

“I’ve never heard of black hair, big breasts, and maidens predicting futures.”

“Why not? It might not work for others, but for a Hero like you—it’s perfectly valid.” He named my class. I froze. I’d never told him my profession.

*This guy’s got some skills after all.*

Then Ankexikaao pulled out two brushes…

*Seriously? I’m not even—fine, whatever.*

“Hmm… let’s see…” Ankexikaao fished a parchment scroll from his pocket—*how does he even—* and studied it. “Choosing the black-haired, big-breasted maiden… Hmm… Your life is peaceful but dull. You crave chaos, passion, collision. Yet you fear change. Fear the unknown future… Am I right?”

He looked up at me.

I paused. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what I want… What if I chose a blonde, flat-chested married woman?”

“What bizarre combination is that?! Anyone who picks blonde but skips big breasts is terrifying!” Ankexikaao huffed in disapproval.

I: “….”

The divination ended. Ankexikaao tossed the parchment aside.

“Now,” he said, fixing his eyes on me, “share your thoughts on this world.”

I recalled all its absurd rules and groaned. “In one sentence…”

“What?”

“Any sane person arriving here would go completely mad!”

“So you’re *not* sane?”

“You wanna die?”

Ankexikaao flinched at my glare. “But… once you get used to it, does this world still feel like something only a lunatic would create?”