Chapter 69: Fierce Battle with the Human-Faced Dog – Round Two Begins!

"Stop changing the subject!"

"Explain properly why you suddenly gave up your position as Classics Literature Club president—especially right after I approved your leave."

There it was. The unavoidable issue.

Shirakawa had already prepared an answer. Facing Shizuka's suspicion, he spoke casually.

"The main reason is because I'll be taking a long leave of absence. If I'm still president, it'll be hard to keep the club running smoothly."

"So I figured it'd be best to resign."

A clean and logical explanation.

So flawless that Shizuka couldn't find a single flaw. Watching Shirakawa's calm expression, she even started to feel a familiar pressure—like Haruno Yukinoshita's.

The reason she wanted Yukino to share a clubroom with the Classics Club was to have her interact with Shirakawa, hoping it'd help her develop a better personality. She didn't expect Shirakawa to pull the rug out from under her.

"Fine. If there's nothing else, just go. Looking at you gives me a headache."

Shizuka waved him off, defeated. Dealing with Haruno was already a pain—and now her most promising student turned out the same.

Her sleep had been awful lately.

She kept dreaming about a dog that seemed to have a human face, and her condition was steadily worsening. She grabbed the black coffee on the desk and chugged a mouthful.

"What the hell is up with that weird dream?"

But—

Shizuka didn't realize Shirakawa was already long gone. Without so much as a goodbye, he'd left Sobu High and taken the train back home.

"If I remember right, the human-faced dog doesn't have a specific area where it appears. The clues are way too vague. If that's the case..."

"I might have to ask Hanako for help."

In the original plot, Hanako was the one who tied all the urban legends together. Even Kuchisake-onna approached Shirakawa because of her.

As another urban legend—

Hanako should know how to contact the human-faced dog. That'd save him a lot of time and effort.

But thinking about how he'd have to perform an exorcism made Shirakawa feel very weird. While the human-faced dog did take a female form...

If he remembered correctly—

Some parts of the body were still canine. If he had to use his forced exorcist methods...

Wouldn't that mean... he'd literally slept with a dog?

Not metaphorically. Physically.

"Forget it for now. Best case, I'll just convince her to leave Shizuka alone. If she's reasonable and loyal..."

"Maybe she could become one of the Chosen of Pleasure?"

He didn't dwell on it much.

As the train pulled into the station, Shirakawa returned to his apartment. Now that Hanako and Kuchisake-onna had been fully purified, they were quite close with him.

When he opened the door with his key, he found them all playing cards together.

The most innocent-minded of them—Mary—had her face plastered with sticky notes.

And that wasn't the only thing at stake...

It was obvious from the scattered clothing that they'd bet their clothes too. Mary's exposed midriff revealed her distinctive dark-purple butterfly mark.

The first to notice him—

Was Mary, who had lost everything. Her body was covered only by band-aids and paper slips.

"Lord Shirakawa!"

"They're bullying me because I don't know how to play cards!"

Hanako and Kuchisake-onna both smiled awkwardly and greeted him too, but before they could say anything—

Mary immediately cut in.

"Lord Shirakawa, did you come to purify me?"

"..."

"No, not really. I actually came to talk to Hanako."

He had no plans for intimacy right now. His focus was on the last urban legend in the current arc. Shirakawa thought it was necessary to find her—

At the very least, to make sure she wouldn't pose a threat to the people around him.

Although he was still just a high school student, and Shizuka was his homeroom teacher, maybe after graduation there'd be a chance to turn teacher and student into something else...

Without explaining everything—

Shirakawa asked directly, "Hanako-chan, do you know the human-faced dog?"

"I do..."

"She used to be a friend of mine. Not particularly evil or anything. Did she do something bad to you?"

Hearing that it involved a friend—

Hanako instantly tensed up. If her friend had done something wrong to Shirakawa, she knew the consequences could be severe.

"You could say that."

"Her actions are causing a lot of trouble for my teacher."

Now that he could contact her, things would be simple from here. Shirakawa chuckled and shook his head. In the original work, the human-faced dog wasn't exactly known for intelligence.

He said casually, "Hanako, could you get in touch with her for me? If she can come directly to the apartment, that'd be best—I have something to handle."

"Okay, Lord Shirakawa."

Hanako didn't refuse. After all, this was a task from her god or master. Without hesitation, she used a special method of spiritual communication to summon her.

To this very apartment.

She even boldly guessed—could it be that Lord Shirakawa wanted to help purify the human-faced dog's lingering resentment? That would be great!

Helping to dispel her inner grudge might even let her live here too. Then she could see her friend every day, and they'd have way more fun together.

With that thought, Hanako said, "I've sent the message. If the human-faced dog receives it, she should be here soon."

"..."

"Woof woof woof! Is this Hanako's place?"

Before Hanako even finished speaking, a mature-sounding voice rang out from outside the door—without any intention of knocking.

She didn't barge in exactly.

Hanako walked over and opened the door herself. A wave of strong resentment followed—and standing there was a small dog with deep-blue fur.

"Hanako!"

"It's been so long!"

The moment she saw her friend Hanako, the human-faced dog transformed from a canine into a human form.

She was clearly half a head taller than Hanako.

With short deep-blue hair and fluffy ears, a pretty, mature-looking face, and wild golden eyes. When she smiled, a small canine fang peeked from the corner of her lips.

But—

She had no concept of wearing clothes. Her flawless figure was completely exposed before Shirakawa. A red collar hung around her neck.

Her arms and legs still had features of a dog demon.

Seeing her familiar friend again, the human-faced dog wagged her tail energetically, clearly in a very good mood.

However—

As soon as she caught the scent of a human in the room, her expression immediately turned wary.

She walked into the living room and spotted Shirakawa standing next to Mary and Kuchisake-onna.

"Who's that?"

"I smell human on him. Did you invite me here just to feed me? If so, thanks in advance, Hanako!"

It was awkward.

Hanako hesitated, then asked, "Have you… done anything bad recently?"

"Bad things?"

The human-faced dog poked her cheek with a finger, thinking. Then she beamed. "Actually, yeah—just two nights ago."

"I met a kind lady."

"She gave me a bunch of food. I thought I'd found someone who'd feed me long-term, but she didn't try to take me home!"

"So I went to visit her in her dreams…"

That explained things.

The canine part of her still had that loyal nature. Hiratsuka Shizuka had fed her out of kindness, and she misunderstood it as a sign of being taken in.

The gap between expectations and reality...

So she haunted Hiratsuka with nightmares.

Shirakawa's face stayed calm. He finally spoke seriously, "So you've just been tormenting her with nightmares?"

"No!"

"I was just trying to remind her—to take me home!"

She hadn't realized the gravity of her actions and answered without thinking. But then she caught herself and became alert.

Looking at Hanako, confused.

She suddenly flared with dark energy and snapped, "Who are you? Are you the one who forced Hanako to summon me here?"

"..."

She didn't give Hanako a chance to explain. The human-faced dog sniffed around the room, and quickly noticed something.

Not just Kuchisake-onna—

Even Mary.

None of them had any resentment left. That left only one possibility: this weird human had already purified them!

"I don't know who you are…"

"But you're the one who made Hanako, Kuchisake-onna, and Mary like this! Your plan won't succeed with me!"

"I'm a righteous exorcist, not a villain."

Shirakawa shook his head. The human-faced dog was a dog demon, quite different from the urban legend spirits. She had solid melee abilities.

However—

That might work against ordinary people, but compared to Shirakawa—who stood at the peak of the daily-life world's power scale—her aura was weak.

He didn't even give her a chance to attack.

Kuchisake-onna and Mary immediately appeared beside her. Despite having been purified, their spiritual strength hadn't dropped at all.

They restricted the human-faced dog's movements on the spot.

"Mary! Kuchisake! I'm trying to save you! What are you doing?!"

She struggled helplessly as her movements were locked down, eyes flashing with panic. She tried using her resentment to awaken their original selves—

But it was useless.

All she could do was watch as Shirakawa slowly approached. Fear took root in her heart, and she couldn't resist.

Hanako stood beside him, her voice filled with a bit of pleading. "Lord Shirakawa… she hasn't hurt anyone. She's just a dog demon twisted by resentment. Please purify her."

"..."

"An exorcist?"

"So that's it… You're the one who made Hanako act weird!"

Now fully convinced, the human-faced dog's eyes flared with fighting spirit. If it weren't for Kuchisake and Mary holding her down—

She would've lunged.

"You'll never get the chance to purify me!"

Gaining a new ally didn't bother Kuchisake and Mary. Originally, they had only immobilized her limbs. But knowing this could help a friend find peace—

They increased their hold, pressing her to the floor.

This time, it was a proper purification ritual. There were no weird intentions.

From above—

Her body really was stunning. Her fur was soft, and the red collar around her neck confirmed her identity.

With things already going this far—

The cute human-faced dog.

If he didn't carry out this "justice," wouldn't it be a betrayal of his identity as a forced exorcist?

Even with other urban legends around—

"First of all, I must state clearly—I am a proper exorcist, not some perverted furry. Second—"

Shirakawa said sternly.

He swiftly pulled out the Ex Curry Stick, and targeted the weakest part of her defenses. With her movement restricted—

It was easy.

The holy sword pierced through her spiritual defenses. The divine energy it carried naturally suppressed all urban legends.

She couldn't resist.

She felt the grudge inside her burn away. Her senses overwhelmed, her eyes rolled back, and she completely lost control.

"You..."

"What the hell are you doing?! Take your dick out now!"

Even without Kuchisake and Mary holding her, she had no strength left. Shirakawa shook his head, saying calmly, "My exorcism method is a bit special."

"So please bear with it for now."

"..."

Bathed in holy light, she was overtaken by a ripping sensation. All her strength vanished. She could only submit.

But—

For Shirakawa, the righteous exorcist, even the sins lying in front of her chest had to be judged by justice!

"..."

"This'll break her, won't it?"

Standing by as she watched, Mary had never witnessed such a powerful exorcism before. If such immense energy was unleashed, her own puppet body would definitely fall apart!

Now fully transformed into Shirakawa's shape, the slit-mouthed woman had hearts in her eyes. She too wanted to be exorcised this roughly!

"She's still not fully purified..."

Holy light constantly bathed the human-faced dog, but seeing the adult woman still resisting, Shirakawa could only feel:

The more resistance,

the stronger the urge to conquer.

As the god of pleasure, if he couldn't even handle a basic urban legend, that would be embarrassing.

What made it trickier was that she was a dog yokai.

In all aspects, her physical capabilities were much stronger than a regular adventurer, and her physiology was slightly different from humans, providing a strangely tight sensation.

Continuous output of holy light broke through her last defenses. Weakly, she kept begging for purification.

Not just the resentment in her body—

even her spirit was on the verge of collapse.

Staring into Shirakawa's righteous expression, the human-faced dog finally submitted. Weakly pleading, she said:

"Please... please... stop... I promise I'll never bother that woman again. If you keep exorcising me, my mind will fall apart..."

All evil

must be judged.

It only took less than 10% of Shirakawa's energy to completely purge the remaining grudge inside her. He hadn't held back during the fight.

Now...

It was time to show some real skill.

"Evil!"

"Be!"

"Gone!"

He poured pure holy light into her without restraint. Her earlier hostility was gone, and her consciousness began to fade.

The crazed smile on her face, was the joy of rebirth after her inner grudge had been cleared.

The human-faced dog even began to believe that she no longer needed to cling to her identity as a yokai.

"I'm falling apart!!"

"What a powerful exorcist! No wonder Hanako lost and was purified by you! I feel like my whole body's been scrambled!"

She spoke weakly.

As the last bit of grudge inside her vanished, the time was just right. Shirakawa withdrew his dick that had pushed her to her limits.

Holy light overflowed from her body.

"It's about time..."

Judging her current state, this was the perfect moment to make her a Chosen. Shirakawa activated the [Divine Mark] skill.

A soft pink light shone from his palm.

Without hesitation, he placed his hand on the human-faced dog's abdomen. With the brief surge of divine energy, the pink glow filled the entire living room.

As existing Chosen of Pleasure Hanako and Kuchisake-onna felt the heat radiating from the Divine Mark on their abdomens,

they knew—

It was time to pledge their loyalty again.

[System notification!]

[Current Chosen of Pleasure: 11. Overall attribute increase: 110%]

[Check panel for details.]

"Finally done."

Looking at the dark purple tattoo engraved onto the human-faced dog's body, Shirakawa gave a sigh of satisfaction. But just as he was about to get up—

He met the expectant gazes of Hanako, Mary and Kuchisake-onna

Looks like... the battle wasn't over just yet.