The moment Grin sensed that Meili had slipped beyond the tracking range of his beast instincts, a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes.
Then it was swallowed by a surge of near-manic violence.
"Stop talking like you've already escaped. A Cursed Doll like you can't have many resurrections left, right?"
Elsa, whose figure was already beginning to blur and fade, looked genuinely startled by that.
"Wow… Beast-kun really does know a lot. Could it be related to that organization…?"
Before she could finish, Grin's thumb slid down against her abdomen and pressed in hard.
The pain cut her words off instantly.
A suppressed groan escaped her throat, and every muscle in her body seized up.
"Come to think of it," Grin said coldly, "has Miss Bowel Hunter ever seen her own intestines before?"
Pfft—
His fingers suddenly drove in harder.
Elsa's abdomen caved under the pressure as flesh and organs were crushed inward.
Then Grin pushed with his thumb like he was squeezing a tube from the bottom up, forcing everything inside her toward her throat.
"Blegh—!"
Blood, shattered tissue, and broken organs burst from Elsa's mouth.
Yet even then, a morbid ecstasy still burned in her scarlet eyes.
"My intestines… ha… hahaha… beautiful…"
By that point, the poison had already spread through her whole body.
The burning grew stronger.
Bone after bone began to crack and collapse.
Her body curled in on itself in a grotesque shape as flesh and skeleton both began to fail under the venom.
Within only a few breaths, the body that always seemed able to crawl back from death completely lost its human shape.
Only a section of blackened arm remained, frozen in the posture of holding a knife.
Then even that shattered in the wind and scattered across the dead leaves.
Grin stood there for a moment, his dark-gold slit pupils fixed on the black ash among the fallen foliage.
"What a tenacious monster…"
…
By the time they returned to Arlam Village, Grin had already changed back into his human form.
Villagers carrying torches had gathered along the forest fence.
The firelight flickered so brightly that the whole village entrance looked almost like day, driving away the lingering stench and malice of the night forest and warming the land that had only just escaped disaster.
And within that sea of torchlight, there was no fear left—
only gratitude.
Petra's parents were the first to come forward.
Their eyes were red, their steps unsteady, and before Grin could even react, they dropped to their knees with a thud.
"Lord Grin! Thank you… thank you for saving our child! Thank you for driving those monsters away!"
"Haha, it's Brother Grin! I knew he could do it!"
"If Lord Grin hadn't been here, our whole village would've been destroyed by those beasts!"
"It was terrifying! Even from this far away, we could hear those horrible roars and crashing sounds!"
Petra shoved her way out of the crowd and jumped straight into Grin's arms.
"Waaaah… Brother Grin, thank goodness… thank goodness you're okay…"
Ram leaned weakly against the fence and watched with a tired, unimpressed face.
"He makes little girls cry the moment he shows up. Truly disgusting."
Rem looked at Grin with a complicated expression.
Only after confirming that there were no visible wounds on him did she quietly let out a breath.
Grin patted Petra gently and said,
"Good girl. You were even braver than Little Red Riding Hood today."
Then he looked around at the villagers and raised his voice.
"There's no need to crowd around here anymore. It's late, so everyone should head back and rest."
"From now on, we'll also inspect the forest barrier regularly. We won't let monsters get this close to the village again."
But the villagers still did not want to leave.
Some of them hurriedly offered him warm wheat cakes, insisting with complete sincerity,
"Lord Grin, please take this. It's only a small token of thanks. The night air is cold, so at least have something to warm your stomach."
Some of the women brought cloth bags filled with clean bandages and ointment, insisting he accept them in case he had hidden injuries from the battle.
Grin did not refuse much.
He casually took a piece of bread, nodded to everyone, and smiled faintly.
"Thank you, everyone. I'll accept your kindness."
"But I still need to return and help protect the mansion, so I can't stay longer tonight."
He gently eased Petra out of his arms, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and said softly,
"Go home and sleep, Petra. The village is safe now."
Petra nodded hard, grabbed at his clothes one last time, then ran back toward her parents while looking back every few steps.
Seeing that, the villagers naturally parted to make way, their eyes full of reverence.
"Lord Grin, take care! From now on, if you ever need anything, everyone in Arlam Village will help!"
Grin raised a hand in farewell.
Then he turned, glanced at Ram leaning against the rail, then at Rem standing nearby, and his voice regained its usual teasing tone.
"Come on, let's head back to the mansion. But Ram looks like she can barely walk. Want me to carry you?"
Ram snorted and slowly forced herself upright against the fence.
"Ram does not require the help of a scoundrel. Rem, support me."
Rem stepped forward at once and firmly took Ram's arm.
Then she lifted her eyes to Grin, the complicated emotion in them already fading again.
"Grin-kun, let's go."
Grin nodded and said no more.
Together, they left the village.
…
After walking for some time, Grin noticed that Ram's breathing had become disordered.
Her condition was not much better than his.
She had long since exhausted her mana.
He stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, then suddenly, as if seized by impulse, bit his own finger and pressed the bleeding wound against the broken horn scar on Ram's forehead.
That was one of the most sensitive parts of Ram's body.
The instant he touched it, her whole body trembled.
"Grin, what exactly are you doing now?"
"Don't move, Ram. I'm trying something."
Rustle, rustle.
Around them, trees began dropping dry yellow leaves.
Grin quietly activated the Blessing of the Forest, not enough to create a beast body this time, but enough to draw life energy from the nearby plants.
That life-rich blood slowly soaked into the broken surface where Ram's horn had once been.
Because those vessels were still part of a living body, the blood did not bloom into flowers this time.
Instead, it seeped into the scar layer little by little.
"Do you feel any better, Ram?"
Ram felt warmth at the broken horn, along with a faint trickle of returning mana.
This was the first time she had encountered such a method of restoration.
It was far gentler than direct mana transfer.
The extra power inside her was not truly coming from Grin.
Rather, under the stimulation of that life-blood, the remnant of her severed oni horn had briefly regained a fragment of its original function, allowing it to absorb ambient mana once more.
Ram's expression remained deliberately cold.
But her fingertips curled slightly, and her lashes trembled as the faintest flush passed through her eyes.
"That's enough, Grin."
She turned her head sharply away and cut off the contact.
Her mana had indeed recovered a little.
But it could not continue any longer.
Because if it did…
the sensation was pleasant enough that she might actually make an embarrassing sound.
Grin looked genuinely confused and answered in a serious tone,
"What's wrong, Ram? You exhausted yourself helping clear out the cursed beasts for my sake. I just wanted to thank you."
The moment Beatrice had said the curse could only be broken by killing the caster, the sisters had driven the dragon carriage straight into the forest.
Because they could not identify which Ulgarum had cast the curse, they had simply decided to exterminate everything in sight.
Then Grin had suddenly appeared in giant beast form—
which had nearly scared the sisters half to death.
After only a moment's hesitation, Rem had charged the giant beast head-on with her Morningstar, apparently reasoning that the biggest monster in the forest had to be the one responsible.
"Hmph."
Ram gave a small, proud snort.
"Do not flatter yourself, you common beast. Ram merely went into the forest to pick mushrooms."
"Haha, Ram, you're pretty cute too."
…
Back at Roswaal's mansion, Grin returned to find Emilia waiting.
He raised both hands as if going through an inspection checkpoint and obediently submitted to her examination.
Emilia kept glancing at his arms, then at his clothes, and even bent down to tug up one of his trouser legs.
Only after finding no obvious injury did she finally let out a breath of relief.
"Phew… at least this time you don't have any strange wounds."
Grin looked a little speechless.
"I can't possibly be that unlucky every single time, can I?"
"Really, though—why did you come back so late? Everyone was worried about you."
Emilia stood with both hands on her hips and looked at him reproachfully.
Grin straightened the clothes she had just rummaged through and replied,
"Well, the villagers were just too enthusiastic. Especially the children."
The villagers of Arlam were honest and straightforward people.
If Grin and the others had not already been exhausted, they probably would have ended up dragged into a bonfire celebration.
In fact, by the time they finally left, the dragon carriage had already been piled high with gifts, and even the poor Earth Dragon looked as if it were plowing a field under the load.
"By the way," Grin asked, "where did Rem go?"
He looked around, but could not find her anywhere.
Emilia pointed toward the second floor of the east wing.
"She was hurt pretty badly. After treatment, she went back to her room to rest. She'll probably need a few days."
"Oh. I was planning to thank her in person."
Grin looked disappointed for about half a second.
Then suddenly his eyes lit up.
"Oh! Then how about this? While she's recovering, I'll take care of Rem."
Emilia immediately gave him a suspicious look.
"You? Take care of Rem? But Ram told me that all you really do is eat. Are you sure you're capable of that?"
"What?! She said that about me behind my back? Fine. Tomorrow I'm challenging her to a competition and proving who can make the better nutritious breakfast!"
…
After saying goodnight to Emilia, Grin dragged his exhausted body back toward his room.
He pushed the door open with his eyes half closed and stepped inside entirely on instinct.
After the endless fighting that day, all he wanted was to collapse into bed and sleep.
So, trusting his memory, he took a confident leap toward where the bed should be.
Then he froze.
The feel beneath his hands was all wrong.
"Wait a second. Why is my bed so small? And why the hell are there two pythons in it?"
Fighting off his drowsiness, Grin forced one eye open—
and immediately went still.
This was not his room at all.
It was Beatrice's Forbidden Library.
And instead of his own bed, he was currently sprawled across a delicate princess bed.
"You rude creature. How long exactly do you intend to remain on Betty's lap?"
Beatrice frowned at him in open irritation, her small brows tightly drawn together and her tone full of disgust.
"Oh. It's Betty."
Grin visibly relaxed, completely ignored her glare, leaned back down, and shut his eyes again as if this solved everything.
"It is truly infuriating, the way he always acts so close to Betty."
Beatrice clenched a little fist and lightly tapped him on the forehead.
The touch was so faint it felt less like punishment and more like a head massage.
In truth, it was one of the girl's little disguises.
The instant her fingers touched him, she quietly activated magic and inspected his body from top to bottom.
Fortunately, this time there was no lingering curse or spell on him.
Beatrice let out a tiny breath of relief.
The weight pressing on her chest finally eased.
This gentle Great Spirit simply could not bear watching someone she knew die in front of her.
"Betty nearly got dragged into disaster because of that half-baked fool."
She waved one small hand at him irritably.
"Get out. Leave immediately."
Having already noticed her little trick, Grin not only refused to move, he shamelessly pulled both legs fully onto the bed as well.
"No, no. I'm severely wounded in spirit. I have no choice but to make do here tonight."
Beatrice's fierce expression gradually lost momentum.
"Sigh. Your skin is so thick it could probably block magic. Do you not have a room of your own?"
At that, Grin suddenly looked inspired.
He sat up, clasped both hands together, and pleaded pitifully.
"Big Sister, I really have no strength left. Please, oh benevolent and virtuous Great Spirit, allow this poor little one to stay and receive your protection."
"I'm begging you, the gentlest Great Spirit in the world, Betty."
"That is enough. What a troublesome man."
Beatrice stepped off the bed and moved aside to make room.
Complex emotions stirred in her bright blue eyes—resistance, hesitation, and something hidden even from herself.
After a long pause, she let out a heavy sigh, walked back to him, and held out one small hand.
Grin immediately brightened and placed his palm against hers.
Beatrice looked away and muttered,
"Betty will honor the temporary contract and guarantee your safety while you are in a weakened state. For now, you may rest at Betty's feet."
…
The next morning—
"Good morning, Rem-chan!"
Grin pushed open the door to Rem's room carrying a tray with that day's carefully prepared "nutritious breakfast."
Rem was sitting up against the headboard with a worn housekeeping notebook spread open across her lap.
Hearing the door, her fingers paused.
Then she looked up at him in surprise.
"Good morning, Grin-kun."
"Why are you awake so early instead of resting?"
Grin pulled over a chair and set the tray down on the bedside table.
Rem was wearing a loose off-white set of indoor clothes.
Freed from the neatness of her maid uniform, she looked softer and a little more fragile than usual.
She pointed to the notebook full of densely packed tasks.
"Rem cannot stay in bed doing nothing. There are still many things Rem needs to do."
Grin waved dismissively.
"Forget that. Just relax and recover. I already took care of all the chores you were supposed to handle."
The instant he said that, Ram's furious voice echoed from somewhere in the corridor.
"That damned rat—where has it gone now?! It didn't even rinse the mop before using it. There are streaks everywhere. Ram will kill it when she finds it!"
"Holy hell!"
Grin immediately sprang to the door and quietly eased it shut without making another sound.
Rem clutched at her stomach and finally burst out laughing, as though she had been holding it in for far too long.
"Haha… hahaha… Grin-kun… you really do always manage to create incredible disasters."
"Ram is just too picky. That's exactly how I used to get by in school."
Rem wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"It seems Grin-kun's teachers had a very difficult life too."
"Hey, don't bring that old devil up. Come on, try my homemade mashed potato and meat porridge."
As he spoke, Grin lifted the breakfast bowl and scooped up a spoonful of porridge with a silver spoon.
Then he paused awkwardly with the spoon midway in the air before her lips.
"…You should blow on it yourself. I'm a guy, so doing that for you feels a little inappropriate."
Rem froze for a moment, and a faint blush crept into her cheeks.
She instinctively started to lift her hand to take the spoon—
but Grin gently pressed her wrist back down.
"Don't move. You're injured right now. Just use your mouth."
His tone was unexpectedly firm.
And the warmth of his fingers, even through the fabric, made Rem's heart skip for no clear reason.