"Meow, meow, meow!"

"Little kitty!"

"...This is troublesome!"

Dekan held his head, now certain that this card's effect was somewhat dangerous.

If not used properly, it could lead to a total party wipeout.

"I shouldn't use this card casually in the future."

"Thank goodness I have strong willpower."

"Otherwise, if I lost control, the situation might have been unmanageable."

Teacher Cat bounced around Dekan, but Cornelia's every attempt to catch it brought her closer.

It felt like it couldn't escape anymore. With a feint, it dodged Cornelia and jumped into Dekan's shadow.

Even though Cornelia tried to apply the brakes, she couldn't stop in time.

In Dekan's terrified gaze, she crashed into him, pushing him onto the ground.

"Ah, it hurts!"

Dekan felt dizzy and disoriented from the impact. He hadn't expected that the first time a girl would tackle him to the ground would be such a near-death experience.

Fortunately, Cornelia had control over her powers; otherwise, he might have lost consciousness.

"Meow!"

Teacher Cat realized it had caused trouble, so it hid in Dekan's shadow and pretended to be dead, too scared to show itself.

"I'm sorry," Cornelia finally regained her composure.

She quickly pushed herself off Dekan and seemed a bit bewildered for a moment. She stared at Dekan, whose eyebrows were furrowed and eyes closed.

"Ugh..."

Dekan groaned in pain, slowly opening his eyes.

However, what he saw was Cornelia's delicate face up close, along with her red hair cascading onto his face. It made his skin itch.

His consciousness was gradually returning. The soft touch on his body became clearer and clearer, and the fragrance accompanied him, impossible to avoid.

He felt Cornelia's breath and heartbeat, the clearest he had ever heard.

It was as if he wasn't just hearing but experiencing it.

...

In the midst of the intense discussion in the observation hall, suddenly, everything went silent. All eyes were fixed on the screen.

After a moment of silence, a burst of cheers erupted, much like a pot boiling over. In comparison to the discussions about Dekan's witch identity and his new card, when they saw Cornelia tackle Dekan, everyone was exhilarated!

"Wow! Someone actually managed to bring Dekan down!"

"And it had to be Cornelia. Like attracts like!"

"Get a room already!"

"Does anyone remember the final boss of this Shadow World, Viscount Augustine...?"

Amid the clamor, Claire looked at Croix.

She had wondered for a while, and now she couldn't help but ask, "Are they like this all the time?"

Although she knew that Dekan and Cornelia would put on a show in the Shadow World, she was genuinely curious about their daily lives.

Croix scratched his head and replied, "They're usually... well..."

He had intended to say "quite normal," but the memory of that night when the three of them had coordinated a surprise attack and interrogation on the bewitched Ourola caused him to pause.

...

"Dekan, are you okay?" Cornelia asked anxiously, her hands cupping Dekan's cheeks. She stared into his eyes, filled with concern.

"I'm fine, don't worry," Dekan reassured her. He had initially been concerned that he might be affected by "Rampant Desires," but her collision had snapped him back to reality.

Cornelia breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension that had hung in the air finally dissipated.

Dekan said, "Alright, lets get up..."

However, just as Dekan thought she was about to stand up, Cornelia suddenly hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you," she said, her voice filled with guilt and remorse.

"..."

Dekan hesitated for a moment before gently patting Cornelia's back.

Dekan said, "I know you'd never intentionally hurt me. This time it was my fault. I'll be more careful with this card in the future, so don't worry."

Cornelia replied, "Okay."

"Wow, meow! Dekan, you're actually apologizing! Aren't you going to apologize to me too? I'm a victim too, meow!"

Teacher Cat finally leaped out of Dekan's shadow. Upon hearing its voice, Dekan immediately became animated.

He quickly asked Cornelia to get up from him, then reached out to grab Teacher Cat by the nape of its neck, giving it a stern look.

"Teacher Cat, if I'm not mistaken, you deliberately led Cornelia onto me while you were in a conscious state, right? You thought it was safe to use me as a barrier, didn't you?"

"Meow, meow, meow! I don't know! Cornelia saved me, meow!"

Teacher Cat suddenly found Dekan scarier than Cornelia and had to turn to Cornelia for help.

Cornelia quickly said, "Dekan, how about letting Teacher Cat go?"

Upon hearing her words, Dekan fell silent for a moment.

"Well, never mind; it's my fault," Dekan sighed in resignation and tossed Teacher Cat into Cornelia's hands.

Cornelia caught Teacher Cat securely after making sure she was safe. Teacher Cat stared blankly at Dekan.

"...Has this guy always been so easygoing?"

...

It seemed that Teacher Cat, in gratitude for Cornelia saving its life, chose to stay in her embrace and didn't jump down. Although it had initially resisted the idea and shivered in Cornelia's arms, it gradually realized that Cornelia wasn't as frightening as she seemed. After all, even Dekan hadn't suffered any harm from her bump.

Upon closer reflection, Cornelia was much less intimidating than Dekan.

A sort of invisible wall seemed to be breaking down between Cornelia and Teacher Cat.

The three of them walked leisurely into the living room.

There, the vampire Viscount Augustine lay writhing in agony on the floor.

"It's you! You're the ones who've caused me so much suffering!"

When he saw Dekan and Cornelia strolling in, he immediately recognized them as the culprits behind his bizarre ordeal.

Originally, upon his resurrection, he should have been in control, instilling fear and despair in the survivors of the mansion and compensating for years of hidden suffering with a bloody party. However, as soon as he emerged, for some inexplicable reason, he was overwhelmed by an almost manic craving for blood and had lost control.

Fortunately, there was a corpse right in front of him, oozing fresh blood.

So, Viscount Augustine instinctively pounced.

But by the time he snapped out of it, the intense pain had rendered his body virtually nonfunctional, even with his tier 6 power.

"You're the worst boss I've ever encountered. Even Olive is more dignified than you," Dekan shook his head and sighed, looking down at Viscount Augustine with a disappointed expression, as if he were iron that couldn't be turned into steel.

This only fueled Viscount Augustine's hatred. He couldn't believe that he was receiving nothing but disdain from this feeble human!