The Royal Guard Corps garrison was a place most townsfolk found intimidating to approach.

Sent by the lord about six months ago, the guards made a significant contribution to maintaining public order, but...they tended to be a little too serious.

They strictly enforced the law even on petty crimes like littering, and kept their interactions with the locals to a minimum. Most residents would say with a wry smile, "They're not bad people, but..."

So, unless they were in dire straits, no one would go near the barracks.

But today, the place was constantly filled with people.

"Hello everyone! We've come to deliver an extra large pancake set!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting~. This is an on-site nail care service~."

“’Sup! I’m here for a full-body massage!”

"Yes, please come in."

Allen greeted the waiter who brought the platter of pancakes, the manicurist, the masseuse... whoever he'd arranged for, with a smile, and ushered them into the barracks.

The barracks were bustling with people, and the usual stuffy atmosphere seemed a lie.

And that's because the supposedly strict members of the group were letting loose.

They had set up tables to share pancakes, were having their nails done, or getting massages. At first, everyone had been confused by the captain’s order to ‘do something naughty’, but by now they seemed to have adapted well enough.

Thanks to this, the barracks was filled with bright air and a sweet smell, giving it the appearance of a girls' dormitory.

And deep inside――was the imprisoned leader, Giselle. Allen walked up to her and grinned.

"So what do you think of this full course of naughty things? It's about time you gave up."

“Ugh…! Th-That’s underhanded, Allen-dono!”

Giselle cried out, her face pale as a feather.

She wasn’t restrained, but she was immobilized nonetheless.

She was sitting in a reclining chair, her feet soaking in a tub of hot water, having her nails done by a manicurist and being fed pancakes by Miaha.

Incidentally, her armor had been removed and she had received a full body massage just before this. She was dressed in comfortable clothing, and her face was shiny, probably thanks to the foot bath. She was completely defenseless and at their mercy.

“To rob me of my freedom and force me to do such meaningless, unproductive things…! I wasn’t told it would go this far! Release me at once――”

“Yes, say ‘ahh’! Lots of cream for you~”

“Mmph… ugh…! Th-this lump of sugar, dairy fat, and wheat… it’s obviously terrible for my health… so why… can’t I… refuse…!?”

Giselle grimaced as she chewed the pancake.

Her expression was pained, but she seemed to be enjoying the taste nonetheless. After swallowing the bite, she glared sharply at Allen――

“Fine, I’ll overlook the sweets for now. The massage earlier was… not unpleasant. But what is the meaning of this nail decoration? This will clearly interfere with my duties――”

“Ah, please don’t move yet, ma’am~”

“Ahh…! S-sorry.”

Scolded by the nail artist, Giselle instantly wilted. The nail artist smiled sweetly at her.

"Don't worry. Our nails are enchanted with special protective magic so that anyone, regardless of their occupation, can enjoy them. Even if your skin is burned by the highly acidic slime, your nails will remain intact!"

“I-I see… Well, if that’s the case… ah, you’re painting patterns on after the polish?”

“That’s right! Do you have a design in mind? We can do custom requests.”

“In that case… perhaps constellations…! Ah!? N-No, I don’t need such frivolous things!”

“Understood~. Then let’s arrange these gems into stars.”

"Wow... they're sparkling..."

Giselle watched the manicurist's meticulous work with a blank expression.

It was hard to hide her excitement.

Allen chuckled at this.

“Kuh kuh kuh… I really must thank Miaha. Messing with nails is an idea I never would have thought of. I’ll make sure to give you a little extra for arranging all this.”

“Yay! That’s why you’re the Demon Lord~ Please keep me in mind for next time too~♪”

Miaha saluted with a beaming smile.

Miaha gave a cheerful salute. She had arranged everything, from the pancakes to the other services, and done an excellent job.

If it had been Allen alone, it probably would have ended with just feeding pancakes.

"Hmph... I guess I still have a long way to go. I need to broaden my perspective and expand my repertoire of naughty deeds. For now, I'll have Charlotte play with my nails next..."

“Where are you planning to take this, Demon Lord? And it’s not ‘messing with nails,’ it’s ‘nail art.’”

Miach watched with a half-smile as Allen scribbled notes into the notebook he'd taken out.

Just then, someone knocked loudly on the garrison door. Before anyone could answer, it opened and Geoh and his crew poked their heads in.

"Great Demon Lord, I followed your orders and patrolled the city, but..."

"An elderly man from the countryside got lost, so I escorted him back to his grandson's house."

“And there were some drunks making a racket, so we… physically quieted them down.”

“Good, good. Keep it up.”

“Yeah, yeah. Honestly, what do you take us for…”

Grumbling, Gros’s crew closed the door behind them.

Allen had hired the idle group as temp workers so the Guard’s actual duties wouldn’t be neglected.

But Giselle didn’t seem happy about it.

“Patrolling is our job. If you’d just send the subordinates here, we wouldn’t need replacements.”

“Don’t be like that. They deserve a little break.”

“My subordinates have no interest in such weak indulgences.”

“You say that, but… take a look at them.”

Allen pointed carelessly at a nearby table, where several members, armor off, were eating giant pancakes.

At first glance, their solemn expressions suggested they didn’t enjoy them, but...

"Wow... that place's pancakes are as good as you'd expect."

“Yep. We’ve snuck over there a few times, haven’t we?”

“Sweet things just hit the spot…”

Their hushed conversation was filled with heartfelt appreciation.

Giselle’s eyes went wide.

"You bastards! Have you been eating these high-calorie sweets without telling me?! I always said that maintaining health is important for those in public office...!"

“Ugh… sorry, Captain…”

“We may be the righteous Royal Guard, but we’re still women, you know…”

“This place makes amazing parfaits too. Great Demon Lord, can we get seconds?”

“You’re still eating? Well, order what you want.”

“Yay! You’re surprisingly nice for someone with an evil face!”

The chatty guards began excitedly discussing what else to order. Everyone was smiling happily.

Seeing this, Giselle froze in place, then lowered her head with a pained expression.

“So… they were just holding back because of me. Was my approach wrong all along?”

“No, there’s nothing wrong with living with discipline.”

Allen smiled gently.

“What’s important is the occasional break. Someone who can’t make themselves happy can’t protect anyone else’s happiness either, right?”

“A break… huh.”

“Ma’am, your nails are done~”

The nail artist had finished. Giselle looked at her hand, light pink polish dotted with tiny gemstones.

"This is my first time decorating my nails like this, but... it feels strangely good. If it weren't for you, I'd probably never have known this. So, naughty things... are necessary to broaden one's horizons. Is that right?"

"Huh? Hmm. Yeah, I guess so."

“How shameful I was to misunderstand. You weren’t abusing Miss Charlotte, you were expanding her world. So deep… Naughty deeds are so deep…”

“Mm, mm. Seems you’re starting to get it.”

Allen chimed in as Giselle began to realize something.

When asked if he'd thought that deeply about Charlotte when he took her in, Allen was at a loss for words. All he wanted was to make up for all the abuse she'd suffered up until then by giving her a good time.

(Anyway, it seems like everything worked out somehow... but I still don't understand what's so fun about messing with your nails.)

It might be like scribbling corrections all over someone else’s sloppy magic thesis, he thought.

But then, he suddenly imagine Charlotte painting her nails to dress them up.

Wondering what color to choose, what design to go for, and then beaming at the finished nails...

"Oh, that's good. That's great. Yes."

"What are you talking about?"

“Ah, nothing.”

Keeping his daydream to himself, Allen smiled cheerfully.

Miaha gave him a suspicious squint, but he pretended not to notice.

"My subordinates' expressions are great, and from now on we'll be using our social gatherings to tackle some naughty things. That's why, Allen...no, Master!"

Giselle stood up and grasped Allen's hand tightly. Her gaze was shining with respect as she looked directly at him.

"Master! Please teach me even more naughty things!"

“Fuhahaha! Very well! Then let’s finish with some ramen! Anyone who can still eat, follow me!”

“““Yes!”””

Perhaps craving something salty, many of the members rose to their feet.

However, Miaha was startled and began to panic.

“Wait, you’re going outside, Demon Lord? I really think that’s a bad idea…”

"What are you talking about? We’re just going to eat ramen, what's the problem?"

"Well, ramen is fine, but――"

"Then there's no problem! Let's go, everyone!"

"Yes! Master!!""

It was hard not to feel good to hear that unanimous response.

Allen ignored Miaha's warning and triumphantly opened the door to the barracks.

The barracks faced the main street of town, so he could see many people coming and going.

And among them...

“Huh? Allen… and…?”

“Ah…!?”

There was Charlotte, with Gousetsu and Luu in tow. At first, her face lit up when she saw Allen, but when she saw Giselle and the members of the Royal Guard behind her――all of them young women, of course――her expression quickly clouded over.

Allen froze on the spot.

(Oh no…! This is… very, very bad…!)