The Woofing Collar

Without realizing it, Natsume Oto noticed that the restraints on her body had been removed.

Should she take the chance to run?

But according to her instincts, she couldn’t sense any threat coming from Florna at all—she seemed just like an ordinary person.

That, instead, made Natsume Oto even more cautious.

Besides, Silver Moon was still in their hands.

Placing the collar into Natsume Oto’s hands, Florna said in an unquestionable tone, “Put it on.”

Natsume Oto hesitated as she looked at the collar.

“This is…?”

“As you can see, a very special collar,” Florna replied with a meaningful smile.

“Once you put it on, whatever I tell you to do, you’ll do.”

Hearing Florna’s words, Natsume Oto felt intense resistance in her heart.

Wouldn’t that mean she’d become a s*ave to be manipulated at will?

However, Florna’s next sentence shattered her psychological defenses.

“It seems you’re not very willing to wear it.

I think Silver Moon would be quite happy to.”

With that, Florna made as if to head out.

“Wait!”

Natsume Oto hurriedly called out to stop her.

“I’ll wear it.”

Florna chuckled lightly.

“Wouldn’t it have been better if you’d done that from the start?”

Holding the collar, an unnatural flush spread across Natsume Oto’s cheeks.

Half of it was shame and anger, the other half helplessness.

She gripped the collar tightly, her knuckles turning white, yet she couldn’t hide the subtle trembling running through her body.

When her fingers touched the collar’s slightly cold metal clasp, her breathing stalled for half a beat, her heart tangled with hesitation.

Do I really have to put this on?

She glanced at Florna, who was smiling calmly.

Gritting her teeth, Natsume Oto made up her mind.

It’s just a collar.

For Silver Moon, I’ll endure it!

She fastened the collar around her neck.

With a soft click from the clasp, the collar’s icy touch made her skin flush even hotter.

She instinctively lifted her chin.

The cross swayed lightly with the motion, making her slender neck appear even longer.

After several minutes passed, Natsume Oto didn’t feel the so-called control Florna had mentioned.

Instead, her mind felt much clearer, and the malicious murmurs that had plagued her ears were gone.

“That should do it, woof…”

A cute bark slipped uncontrollably from Natsume Oto’s mouth, startling her into quickly covering her lips.

“Woof—why am I talking like this!

Woof!”

“Pfft!”

Hearing the laughter, Natsume Oto immediately shot an angry glare at Florna, who was covering her mouth.

“This collar doesn’t actually have the ability to make the wearer obey every command,” Florna explained, suppressing her laughter.

Her fingertip lightly tapped the collar at Natsume Oto’s neck.

“Its true effect is ‘forced lucidity.’

It helps anchor your consciousness in a clear state, preventing mental interference.”

“The cost is simple.

When you speak, you’ll add ‘woof’ as a verbal tic.”

“That cost is way too weird, woof!”

Seeing the embarrassment on Natsume Oto’s face, Florna couldn’t help but smile.

The cross collar was an outfit-type item from the Ever-Changing Wardrobe.

According to the goddess, no matter how severe the injuries, it allowed the wearer to remain conscious, making it extremely suitable for the mysterious ‘alphabet domains.’

As for what alphabet domains were, Florna didn’t really know.

The goddess probably meant that the collar was ideal for berserkers.

Originally, Florna had intended for the berserker in her team to wear it.

But after using it once, that person refused on the grounds of “native language conflict.”

Whenever a berserker entered a berserk state, their physical abilities increased dramatically, but the price was a loss of reason.

The collar’s effect perfectly avoided that downside.

By the same logic, Florna could use it to help Natsume Oto temporarily avoid being controlled by malice.

Natsume Oto looked at Florna suspiciously.

Was she really being this kind?

“Woof, I’ve already put the collar on.

You should keep your promise now and properly treat Silver Moon, right?”

Compared to herself, Natsume Oto cared far more about Kirishima Shiro.

“I never promised to treat Silver Moon.”

“You—”

Natsume Oto was about to flare up, but Florna cut her off quickly.

“Relax.

She’s already been safely sent home.”

Florna reached out and turned on the computer.

On the screen, Kirishima Shiro was sleeping peacefully, showing no sign at all of having been seriously injured.

Saintesses throughout history had served as the hero’s steadfast support, and healing was their greatest specialty.

Florna was no exception.

As long as she was fine, that was all that mattered.

Natsume Oto finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Next, it’s time to discuss your problem.”

“My problem?”

Florna produced a mirror and held it up in front of Natsume Oto.

In the reflection, Natsume Oto clearly saw her own appearance.

Blood-red patterns traced eerie veins across her cheeks.

From the front of her right temple, a single curved demon horn jutted out, adding a ferocious air.

Compared to Florna, Natsume Oto felt that she now looked far more like a monster herself.

…

In a pure white space, Uru paced anxiously, clearly troubled.

Because of Florna’s interference, the plan to turn Natsume Oto into a witch had already failed.

He was agonizing over whether he should report this matter to his boss.

The problem was, he still hadn’t figured out who the person interfering even was.

Based on his understanding of his boss, if he reported in such a muddled state—

Nine times out of ten, what awaited him would be merciless punishment.

He needed to find a way to probe the other party’s identity.

During that battle, the opponent had chosen to possess Kirishima Shiro to save the situation.

That alone showed how much she valued Kirishima Shiro.

Even the inexplicable dissipation of malice on Kirishima Shiro’s body was probably her doing.

If that was the case, then wouldn’t placing Kirishima Shiro in danger force her out into the open?

With that thought, Uru stopped pacing.

Just so happened, he had a chess piece on hand that was perfect for testing this idea.

A soft sha-sha sound of threads rubbing together came from ahead.

Uru lifted his gaze and saw a figure emerging within the light.

“Ku ku ku, you’ve arrived, Web-Weaving Witch.”

The woman’s upper body was wrapped in a dark purple bodysuit, her face beautiful.

But below her waist was the body of a spider.

Her abdomen was covered in glossy black armor, and the tips of her eight legs gleamed with a metallic sheen, now obediently tucked to her sides.

She lowered her head slightly, long hair falling to cover half her face.

“Master.”

Seeing the Web-Weaving Witch’s respectful demeanor, Uru felt a surge of pleasure.

This was how a witch under his control was supposed to look.

That disobedient half-witch, Natsume Oto—sooner or later, he would find a way to turn her into a true witch.

“I order you to immediately send monsters to Qingteng City to create chaos, ku ku!”

“As you command.”

…

After clearly explaining the dangers posed by both witches and Uru, Natsume Oto looked at Florna, her tone tinged with helplessness.

“I don’t know where Uru is either.”

“Before, I could contact it through this transformation device, but now…”

She raised her hand, gesturing toward her wrist.

Her transformation device was a deep crimson bracelet.

After she became a half-witch, the bracelet disappeared.

Contacting him through the transformation device?

Florna shook her head.

“Not very feasible.”

Although Kirishima Shiro’s transformation device was still intact, this kind of one-sided contact was unstable to begin with.

When Uru didn’t yet know of my existence, it might have been worth a try.

But contacting him now would be the same as openly telling him that my target is you.

Once our intentions are exposed, catching Uru will only become even harder.

“Then I don’t have any good ideas either,” Natsume Oto said as she tugged at the collar around her neck.

“By the way, this collar won’t come off?”

Seeing this, Florna offered a gentle reminder.

“I’ve applied a fixed effect to the collar.

Once we find a way to restore you to normal, the fixation will be lifted.”

As for how to help Natsume Oto recover—

They first had to obtain the contract Uru signed with the magical girls.

Only by thoroughly understanding what tricks Uru had embedded in the contract could Florna prescribe the right solution.

This gave Natsume Oto a massive headache.

Didn’t that mean she’d have to keep talking like this—

Woof woof—

from now on?