"Ah...ha...ah..."

The slim woman on top of the bed right now tries to get up, but her legs are trembling so much that she falls on the bed right away. Her waist trembles, slightly moving from left to right.

"Hmmm...!"

She tries moving again and fails, showing her lack of endurance...

"Stop moving or I will tie you to the bed."

I say with a reproaching tone while straddling her and moving my hands on her naked back.

"But...it...hmmm!"

"Weren't you going to endure everything I did to your body? Of course, it feels good! I'm doing your body a favor dealing with all these knots you have in your back."

Well, that's not the only reason why but it does feel good for her so...who cares?

"You...! AHN!"

"Oh, this is a big one. I can see that working for your boss is plenty stressful. Wouldn't it be better to serve me?"

"As..hyiii! If...!!"

"Do believe me when I tell you that my offer can beat whatever your boss is paying you."

Goddess...her shoulders are so stiff that it's a wonder how she was able to move those arms. I shall use this as a practice for the time I reward Erevain with a massage. My boss taught me that they increase productivity and they did so back in the office. So, I'm going to put that in practice here, can't let my maid-knights have a sprain because of stress or something like that.

Hm? How do I know how to give a massage? That is an easy one, my grandma, Nana, she hammered it into my head until she considered me worthy enough to be the one who massaged her tired back.

Love ya, Nana!

"You...ahn...turned me...haa..innn..to a womannhnn!"

She turns her blushed face around and tries to glare at me.

ME! THE OWNER OF THE EDGE ALTER GLARE! HAHA! AS IF!

HERE!! THIS IS A GLARE!!

I put some mana into it and my eyes turn red, just like Nerinne and I wanted when we were making this body.

Her attempt to glare at me quickly crumbles away by fear.

"Eeeek!"

Cute little yelp there.

I get close to her face. Close enough to be able to whisper into her ear.

"Yes, I did turn you into a woman. And a beautiful one at that. But it is necessary, or would you have preferred to keep your old and easily identifiable face when you betrayed your boss? Also, since we are on the subject, for them you are already a traitor and a loose end since you got captured. You know that, right?"

She opens her eyes widely and then bites her lip in a frustrated grimace.

I press a bit more on one of her back muscles. She holds her voice down. I just need to look at her eyes to know the reason.

"Hoh~~, you still have time to fear them even though you are locked in a room with a Dragon Lord. That means they are powerful enough to be my equal, at least in that head of yours."

Hearing me say that, her expressions go to a forced stop. Sumanai, but that only serves as confirmation.

You’re asking how do I know that? Well, I had to learn to read people if I wanted to make money to invest in the love for my waifu. Now it is something I do almost subconsciously for my narration type inner monologue though.

Anyways, let’s give her some options since the human mind likes options.

"Is it a merchant?"

Her eyes don't move, and her body is as relaxed as she could be.

"No? Then, the guild?"

Which Guild you ask? Heh, I just made that up, but it seems her body tensed up just a little. Huh, so there might be a guild out there somewhere. Interesting.

"The kingdom? To be more specific, a hidden faction within it?"

Her body tenses up in a way she wouldn't be able to control and that my sensitive hands are able to pick up on. I already knew it was something related to the kingdom, but not the hidden faction part. That was just another of my additions. So that makes it still a 'bingo' scene.

"A hidden faction then...hmmm."

"...!"

She is trying to move again. What a stubborn person. Is she deaf? She is in a locked room with me. Unless she is some secret op isekaid she won't be able to escape.

Very well, it is time to put my offer on the table.

"You know you can't move. Hear what I have to say."

I say while putting a bit of strength on her shoulders.

"Ahn!"

"What I'm offering you is a chance to redeem yourself and your only way to get out alive of this one. Even if I let you out of here, you know that they will find you and kill you wherever you run to. Serve me and you won't need to run away, serve me and you will have a place to live. You will be able to eat three times a day and train to realize your upmost potential. You will be part of something much greater."

Uwaaa...I almost feel like a devil offering a 'too good to be true' contract with all those lines, but it is honest to goodness what you get if you join me, and it has no downsides that I can think about. Just ask the maid-knights.

"..."

I stop my hands as I finish saying that and she closes her eyes. She is thinking about it. Considering all her options and so on.

Perfect moment for a little push.

"But if all of that is not to your liking, then just think that serving me saves you from the divine punishment of being vaporized by the Goddess Nerinne for taking part in a plot that desecrates her name."

"...!"

I let my whisper slither away into her mind and I give her some space.

But not even a second passes and she grabs my hand.

"You got me with having a place to live."

She says so while getting up and sitting on the bed. She is trying to pass it off with a smile and a strong front, but I can see that it was a difficult choice for her. She is still afraid of them more than she is of me. Her reaction when she saw me was raw, in the moment, but her expression at the times when I mentioned her boss and the hidden faction were some of the most deeply engrained forms of fear I have ever seen.

Ah, she is half naked too, but she doesn't seem to care. Heh.

"You made the right choice. After we finish with the pact spell, you will tell me everything you know."

"Yes, I will. There is also something else that you need to know..."

_________________________________________________

While the 'interrogation' was starting, the sun set outside the inn and hues of orange painted the sky.

A red-headed woman entered the bar just in front of the inn. She was wearing a mainly red maid outifit with some armored additions here and there. On her back one could find a sword so big it looked more like a slab of metal with a handle than a sword.

All the men and women stared at the stranger who had entered.

And she stared back at them, looking at their weapons and light armor.

Most if not all of them were hunters.

One thing someone must know about this village's hunters, is that they are not your run of the mil deer hunters. No. They hunt in a forest that is filled with monsters and beasts that could kill the inexperienced in seconds and the experts in minutes if taken by surprise.

In other words, they are strong, and she knows that.

As such, that brings a smile to her face.

"I will beat every single one of you in an arm-wrestling match while breaking all of your drinking records."

She declared, confidently and loudly, as she started walking towards her first target, a burly man, maintaining that fierce but oh so alluring smile.

"If I manage to do it, every single one of you will tell me everything you know about this so-called curse of the goddess. The whys, the hows, the crazy theories you have and so on. And if there is something reaaaaaaaally important here for someone to try to kill the whole village for it, don't forget to mention it, alright?"

With that, she sat loudly in front of the man that was drinking alone and gave him a challenging look.

He smiled.

"An' wha if ya don't, missy?"

Said the man with a heavy accent readying his arm. It was a battle hardened arm full of scars and rough skin. Just like how her arms used to be before her transformation. She got a bit nostalgic, but she remembered that she still had the only scar that mattered to her. The one on her cheek. So that nostalgic feeling was quickly thrown away.

After all, nostalgia is useless in a match.

Those were her thoughts just before putting her strong looking, but a tad slender and feminine, arm on the table.

"Then my master will pay the tab of everyone here for as long as we stay in this village. It can be a day, it can be a week, but no one will pay a dime. IF, I lose, of course."

““"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."””

Almost everyone was laughing and cheering for the man.

"Show this maid how it's done!!"

"Get me mah free mead, man!!"

The red-headed woman looked around and chuckled.

"Ya' on, missy!"

Exclaimed the burly man in front of her.

In response, she took the man's beer mug and drank its contents dry. Afterwards she cleaned her face with her hand while showing eyes full of confidence.

All while she kept smiling.

After all, she was going to enjoy this.

To be continued...(cue image of things getting rowdy at the bar!)