Axel slowly opened his eyes.

He wasn't sure how long he was out, but it couldn't have been too long.

If it were, then it wouldn't be Nina before him, but either God or angels. He could see two gentle hills before his eyes, barely covering parts of the large-brimmed hat further above. A large gash was opened in her clothes, revealing a lot of her skin.

Her face was filled with surprise as Axel woke up.

"S-Sir Axel!" she clamored. "You're finally awake!"

"I..."

Axel studied his situation casually. Feeling the soft things behind his head, he quickly realized he was lying on Nina's lap at the moment.

"Ugh..."

He slowly rose to a sitting position, holding his head, which faintly pulsed with pain.

His injuries were gone. And so were the other girls behind Nina.

With just a bit of thinking, he realized it was Navi who used his potions without permission once again. Otherwise, they couldn't have recovered so easily.

'Speaking of, where did that bastard go...?' He wondered as he brought up the window.

Checking the time in the system's menu, he realized it was already nearing dusk. He had been out for a few hours, at least!

"That's long..." he muttered in surprise.

Although weird, he quickly accepted it as a fact.

"Thanks for the lap pillow," Axel casually mentioned as he tried to stand up. "Then, let's get back to work..."

"U-Uhm... Sir...?"

"Hmm?"

Nina's hesitant voice made him turn to her in confusion. She looked anxious while staring at Axel, before moving her gaze somewhere behind him. As if prompted, he followed her gaze, seeing an unfamiliar figure kneeling on one knee just a few meters away.

"That..." Nina pointed a finger, hesitant. "What do we do with that...?"

"...Ah."

Axel finally recalled what had happened before he fainted... the fact that he lost his mount.

The gray-haired woman before him, kneeling respectfully with her head lowered, was none other than the beast Fenrir, who had almost killed their entire party. It was no wonder that everyone was wary of her.

Despite being naked and without a weapon, she still exuded a powerful intimidation that scared everyone, after all.

"Tsk..." Axel clicked his tongue in irritation. "You... really turned into a humanoid form, huh?" he grumbled.

"Yes, Master," Fenrir responded in her calm, cool voice. "Please order me anything. Your will is my command."

Hearing her say "anything," Axel was tempted to test it.

"Really? Then return to your giant wolf form to be my mount," he requested.

However, Fenrir raised her gaze, looked Axel in the eye, and shook her head.

"Unfortunately, I'm too weakened at the moment. I can't return to my wolf form," she clarified. "Still, if you want to ride me, then please don't hesitate and do so."

As she spoke, she turned around, lay on all fours with her butt facing Axel, and offered him a "ride."

Her gaze was extremely serious, but the piercing glares from the witches around hurt him for some reason.

"That's a different kind of ride... Stop joking," Axel growled before throwing a dress over to her. "Wear this for now. I can't have you pacing around naked all the time."

It was a simple white, one-piece dress—one that would normally be a good choice for summer wear when matched with a straw hat or something with a wide brim.

Though, of course, normal people wouldn't wear it as is, but add pants or underwear beneath.

"Yes, Master."

Fenrir didn't refuse.

She did as told, wearing the dress expertly.

"..."

However, due to her large assets on the front and back, the hem of the dress barely reached lower than her waist. With each step, Axel could catch a glimpse of the bushy paradise down below.

"Add this too," he said, throwing a pair of hot pants over.

Although it was still the bare minimum, at least with this, he wouldn't be troubled about where to place his eyes.

Fenrir, just like a slave, followed Axel's commands without complaint.

White dress, black hot pants, matching her pale white skin, long gray hair, and sharp blue eyes. Although he had just grabbed things from the shop randomly, he was quite surprised at how coordinated it seemed.

Rather, the base was so good that any clothes would look nice when she wore them.

As soon as she finished changing, she stood at attention, as if waiting for her next order.

Seeing her act like some sort of robot or slave, completely dependent on his commands, Axel was partially convinced she truly had sworn allegiance to him. However, he wasn't one to fully trust someone without anything solid as "proof."

"...Alright," he said, nodding. "We'll be working on restoring the fortress now. You will keep watch over the surroundings and not let a single demon come close. Understand?"

This command was a simple test to see if she truly was loyal, and at the same time, if she was willing to fight demons on his behalf. If she couldn't do it, then he'd just leave her behind or command her to return to where she came from.

"As you wish, Master."

She didn't even bat an eye and followed his command immediately.

She walked away, beginning to patrol the broken fortress as instructed, her sharp eyes glancing around, checking for demons, visible or not.

As he stared at her, he noticed something was missing.

"Oh, right... the Gleipnir—"

Just as he was about to ask where it went, at the mention of the word, a golden chain appeared, wrapped around his right hand, going up his arm, with the end lodged in the middle of his chest.

It didn't hurt, and he couldn't physically "touch" the part near his chest. Furthermore, despite its clanking, it didn't feel rough or cold like iron against his skin, but rather warm and smooth like silk.

He followed the other end of the golden chain and saw it wrapped around Fenrir's neck, forming a golden choker. As soon as it appeared, she stopped in her tracks, staring at Axel as if waiting for further commands.

"...Ah, it's nothing. Resume your patrol."

Axel said as he "released" the golden chain. As he did, the Gleipnir disappeared once more, as if it had never existed. Fenrir then resumed her patrol without deviation... As if nothing happened.

At that point, Axel felt worried.

'Is the Gleipnir merged with me...? Does this mean I can control Fenrir completely?'

Although having a powerful ally like her was a good thing, Axel wasn't worried about that. Rather, it was about the demons—or those who once watched over Fenrir before she fell into the demons' hands.

'If either of those parties comes looking for her with the intent of taking her back, and meets me...'

Axel could only imagine losing his life at that point.

Judging whether she's an ace or a joker card would take a bit more time.

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