The white fox girl sat on her wide bed, hugging her bent knees. She curled into a tight ball, burying her head. Her ears drooped slightly, and her fluffy tail coiled around her body. With lips faintly pouting, it was clear she wasn't in a good mood.

"Ugh... What... what should I do..."

The girl, forced to abandon her original name and now called only "Lily," sighed and muttered to herself.

Where should her future lead? What should she do? Must she obey the Overlord completely, becoming his sharp sword? Slay anyone—even former companions?

But rebellion? Though alive, her body and life were his gifts. He controlled her flesh, so defiance was impossible.

Was rebellion even necessary? If freed, what then? Return to the nation that betrayed her? Become a wandering Sword Saint?

And what of Hawthorn, left behind? Countless questions flooded the Sword Saint girl's mind. She realized a truth: after three hundred years, she felt utterly alone, unsure who to turn to.

"Sigh... Those vows I promised seem impossible to keep now."

She sighed again, then noticed something. "Hawthorn's been gone a long time... Why hasn't she returned?" Lily lifted her head to search for her daughter—

"Yo, still not asleep this late?"

But the moment she looked up, a handsome face loomed close.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Smack!"

The room echoed with her panicked scream, followed by a crisp slap.

"...Damn, why do you two love slapping my face?" I tilted my neck, rubbing my aching right cheek. "A normal person's head would've flown off. Hiss, lucky this Overlord stays fit."

"Ahhh! You scared me on purpose!!!" Lily's ears and tail shot up, fluffed out as she bared her teeth. "Don't you know you were terrifying!? Really terrifying!"

"...Sigh, if you let me sneak up like that, don't blame assassins."

"I-I was just thinking! You're the Overlord! How could I sense you—"

"Oh? But you're the Champion." I tilted my head at Lily. "That excuse doesn't quite fit, does it?"

"Ugh... W-who cares!" Lily glared, face slightly flushed, but stubbornly snapped back. "Anyway, why are you here now!" She scooted backward, hugging her tail instinctively. "It's so late—why aren't you sleeping? What do you want..."

"Ah, right, why *am* I here so late?" I grinned, sliding onto the bed beside her. "What do you think I'm here for..."

Lily trembled, staring intently as she inched back until the wall blocked her escape.

"W-wasn't I supposed to be alone!? If you want lewd things, find that young elf girl and the demon! They obey you, don't they!" She grimaced, clearly imagining something indecent.

"Well, what if I came after they both collapsed from exhaustion?" I kept smiling on the same bed. "I can't touch Hawthorn. Cecilia refuses physical relations. So I came to you."

Lily's body still trembled, desperately pressing against the unyielding wall. "I-I warn you... you... be gentle..." She turned her head away, avoiding my gaze, whispering faintly.

"Hmph, seems you're mentally prepared." I sat beside the seemingly resigned white fox girl, smugly humming. Then I reached out, pinching her soft beast ear with thumb and forefinger.

"Eep!?" Lily yelped instantly, having been looking away.

"Y-you! Why did you suddenly pinch my ear!" She whirled back, cheeks puffed angrily as she glared at me.