Devote Yourself to the Witch! - Chapter 6

I brought Pafimel home.

The moment I stepped through the door, I almost thought disaster had struck.

Contrary to the System’s prediction, Von—whom I had forced to remain at home—had not calmed down as his mana reawakening neared completion.

Far from it. He was as frantic as a bee blindly battering itself against a window.

He had turned the house upside down. In the center of the living room, he had even built a crude nest out of my clothes and bedding.

When Pafimel and I entered, Von was writhing around inside this “nest,” moaning my name.

At the sound of the door, he looked up with shining eyes.

Then he saw Pafimel behind me and instantly transformed into an enraged beast.

Von charged over, the leash hanging from his collar trembling with his fury.

“Mistress, who is he? Why did you bring an outsider into our home?!”

Sensing Von’s undisguised anger, I felt the strange pride of seeing my pet dog finally learn to bare his teeth.

“System, look. Three days apart, and he’s a whole new man. This fellow knows how to get angry now.”

The System was equally moved.

[As expected of the adult Demon King during his mana reawakening! How considerate of him to give us such a wonderful surprise the moment we return.]

Behind me, Pafimel nervously tugged my sleeve.

“My friend, does the demon you brought home perhaps object to my presence?”

Only then did I remember to introduce them.

“This is Pafimel, my friend. He’ll be living with us for a while.”

Silence filled the house.

Before I could introduce Von, his choked growl cut me off.

“No. I don’t want him living here!”

I froze.

No amount of teaching had worked before. No matter how I had humiliated and tormented Von, he had meekly endured it.

Yet over something so trivial, he had finally learned to refuse me and resist.

Unfortunately—

“Objection denied.”

One sentence crushed Von’s protest.

If Pafimel’s presence could inspire him to resist, that gave me even more reason to keep the elf here.

I had a feeling my mission was about to make rapid progress.

The System used a special method to calculate that progress.

It manifested as each villain’s world-destruction value.

During my time with Von, his value had been falling slowly but steadily.

After Pafimel moved in, however, the System displayed a second progress bar.

“What does ‘corruption value’ mean? Does it affect my mission?”

[Corruption value is unrelated to mission progress. As long as every villain’s world-destruction value reaches zero, your mission will be complete. Corruption value is calculated separately. For your own safety, however, it would be best not to let a villain’s corruption value rise too high before you finish.]

Understood.

In other words, it did not affect my mission and could be ignored.

I promptly forgot all about it.

Compared to some mysterious corruption value, the way those two interacted gave me a much greater headache.

Von now behaved like a dog whose favorite bone had been stolen. He glared murderously at Pafimel every day, and if I took my eyes off him, he looked ready to pounce and bite.

Pafimel, meanwhile, was far too magnanimous.

When Von poured out his breakfast, he smiled and said it did not matter.

“I am an elf. A little dew is enough to sustain me.”

When Von summoned hellfire and burned the copy of *A Guide to Avoiding Swindlers* I had bought him, Pafimel still did not argue.

He merely looked at me through innocent, tearful eyes and asked:

“Did I do something wrong and upset him? None of the rest matters, but could you ask him not to destroy the gifts you give me? It… makes me a little sad.”

I should have summoned my junior sisters so they could witness what a naturally gifted schemer looked like.

Except Pafimel was not putting on an act. He truly did not want to quarrel with Von.

He believed he was being perfectly friendly. In reality, every gracious “concession” sent Von’s corruption value soaring.

At the same time, however, Von’s world-destruction value was dropping rapidly.

“Is it because he learned to fight back?”

He had done far more than that. Pafimel’s unconscious provocation had awakened Von’s demonic nature. He had become extremely aggressive.

[Yes. More importantly, the Demon King’s power will be fully restored once his mana reawakening ends. After that, no one will be able to hurt him, and he will have no reason to contemplate destroying the world.]

Learning that Von’s mission was nearly complete made me happy, but also a little reluctant to let go.

Because I had decided to send him back to the demons the instant his world-destruction value reached zero.

[Do you truly have to drive him away? The villain obeys you so well. Would it really matter if he remained at your side?]

I shook my head, resolute.

“Von’s hostility toward Pafimel is interfering with my mission. Only after I send Von away can I concentrate on dealing with Pafimel.”

More importantly, the Demon King’s memories would return sooner or later.

After all the ways I had humiliated and tormented him, keeping him beside me would make revenge far too convenient.

The System lavished praise on my commitment to the mission before offering encouragement.

[Keep going! Victory is close! Once you help Von complete his mana reawakening, you can begin the next phase of the mission.]

Something sounded wrong. “Hm? Help him complete his mana reawakening? How?”

The System sounded equally puzzled.

[What? You didn’t know? His true form is an adult succubus. Naturally, he needs to feed properly at least once to complete his mana reawakening.]