Chapter 188: Records of the 1st Irregular Meeting - 2
Chapter 188: Records of the 1st Irregular Meeting - 2
The Blue Seal barracks.
Having extracted information from Dudinel, Jiha sorted through his thoughts in the library.
Over the past few days, under the guise of a fact-finding committee, he had quietly merged Waris's Blue Seal and Purple Liberation.
And the one sitting at the very top of that structure was Jiha, a Common.
The rank-and-file might be drifting along in a daze for now, but they would soon feel the true weight of it in their bones.
"The justification is on my side."
It was Jiha who had fought a life-or-death battle against Lungtao—the man who was then slain by those mysterious forces.
If he used that fact as his cause, it would be accepted to some degree.
In a few more stages, even the lowest-level grunts would recognize the reality that Jiha was the head of the organization.
After that, he would change the name and cement his power.
The hour to rise up at last was finally in sight.
"......."
Jiha pressed his palm to his forehead, deep in thought.
But why had they targeted Lungtao specifically?
'In the end, it came down to magic stones and Mana. Lungtao used Mana in public, where everyone could see—and that's why they punished him....'
That was probably what Lungtao had meant by all that talk of magic stones and experiments.
'In Warsland, grade mobility is basically impossible. From birth, Normals and Rares are distinguished. Uniques awaken during childhood. The closest thing to a rise in status is going from Rare to Super Rare....'
Those born without Mana could strive for a hundred years and never wield it.
The same went for the Commons summoned from other worlds—they all uniformly lacked Mana.
'But I can use it. And yet, no one suspects a thing when they see it. They can't imagine I suddenly developed Mana. They assume I could always use it from my own world and just kept it hidden.'
The Uniques themselves—whose blood he drank to increase his power—didn't seem to give Jiha's Mana much special thought either.
Sure, things like the Mind Realm and Information Concealment had their effect, but that wasn't the entire reason.
The idea of a man with no Mana suddenly developing it was simply an impossibility in Warsland.
It was as absurd as a human waking up one day with a pair of wings.
'Artificial Mana... Lungtao was subjected to human experimentation by someone. And the moment it was exposed in front of an audience, they killed him to shut him up.'
Warsland's entire ruling structure was defined by power, represented by Mana.
If you compared pure physical ability alone, the lion beastman Garaon or the tiger beastman Lungtao would overwhelm even Uniques.
Hell, if they fought without Mana, even Jiha—before he'd acquired his vampiric Mana—would have had a fair chance in a death match against them.
Mana was the very core of Warsland's logic of domination.
This alien power was something you were born with; there was some room to develop it through effort, but no one who lacked it could simply manifest it later.
"It would shake the foundations of society...."
Even with aphrodisiacs, the real point wasn't the drug itself, but its effect of rendering the victim unable to use Mana.
After turning the matter over repeatedly, Jiha reached a conclusion.
'If I dig into Lungtao's past, I'll inevitably uncover who's behind this scheme. Let's proceed with the current work while keeping that in mind....'
Clack.
The sound made Jiha open his eyes.
The librarian, Bisel, was setting a cup of tea in front of him.
When Jiha gave her a quizzical look, she spoke softly.
"It's... tea. Please, have some."
"Since when did this library turn into a tea shop?"
"It's... to cheer you on."
The fact that Bisel would approach him first and offer tea genuinely surprised Jiha.
She did eat and drink, of course—but even though he'd seen her face every day for over three months, this was the first time she had ever initiated a conversation.
"I'll enjoy it."
At Jiha's reply, Bisel didn't immediately retreat. She spoke slowly.
"You have... visitors."
Holding a secret conference with Bisel around was less than ideal, whoever they were.
Jiha might use this library often, but the caretaker was Bisel, and she wasn't one of his people.
"I'll head out."
As Jiha moved to stand, Bisel shook her head.
"I'll... step out for a bit. To buy some books. Please speak comfortably."
"Alright."
That made things easier.
Bisel didn't leave right away. She gazed at Jiha for a moment, then added one last remark.
"Please... don't do anything lewd in the library."
"......."
Jiha watched Bisel's back as she hurried away with quick little steps.
That first time with Yura had been in the library, hadn't it?
'So that really was Bisel back then....'
Jiha tsked and sipped his tea.
He didn't have any particular taste for tea, but it was clean and pleasant.
The moment Jiha set down the teacup, he heard approaching footsteps.
Four women.
Enril, Yura, Asira—and even Leticia. All of them had come together.
"What's this, all at once?"
Rare enough to be a sight.
As the four women exchanged awkward glances, Jiha tapped the table lightly.
"There's not even enough room for all four of you to sit. And I'm pretty sure I gave each of you separate tasks. Enril—investigating Shade. Yura—visiting and compensating the civilians wounded during the incident and still hospitalized. Asira—maintaining public order. Leticia—reconnaissance on Narsha's escort guards. If you've come to report, do it individually."
"......."
Jiha's crisp words made each of them flinch and avert their eyes.
When they were alone with him, that was one thing—but in normal times, he drew a clear line.
Right now, he had even more of a knife-like edge than usual.
A mass visit from subordinates was normally the kind of behavior you saw during strikes or collective protests, after all.
After a stretch of silence, Asira stepped forward and spoke.
"So, the thing is—would it be alright if I helped Leticia out a little? The situation with the escort guards seems chaotic."
"Did all of you really come here together just to tell me that?"
Asira hesitated at Jiha's question.
She was fundamentally a bad liar.
At that, Enril stepped in to provide supporting fire.
"This isn't a matter of elven competence. With Lungtao, their linchpin, gone, they're running around in confusion, and Narsha is staying silent, so it's a state of chaos. I would have been the same."
"A dark elf defending an elf. The world's become a wonderful place. Is world peace scheduled to launch tomorrow or something?"
"......Don't talk like that."
Enril's voice was regretful as she said it, and Jiha closed his eyes.
Leticia might turn weak-hearted when alone with Jiha, but she was by no means incapable of speaking without Enril by her side.
Even for pride's sake, she would have come and spoken to him alone.
They were all just using this as a pretext to come see him.
When Jiha opened his eyes, Leticia was watching him with a worried face.
"Is this why all of you came? Because you were worried about me?"
"......."
No one answered, but every single face told the same story.
Jiha set his teacup down and let out a short laugh.
"Alright, I get it. Go back to your work. And Leticia—that report you submitted yesterday was fine. Don't push yourself. Just keep doing it that way."
"......."
The four women could only exchange looks.
Jiha had wrapped things up so neatly that they couldn't decide what to do, or whether saying more would make him turn serious.
Then Yura linked arms with Asira, took Leticia's hand, and smiled gently.
"Yes, we understand, Jiha. Then we'll see you next time."
"Wait, succubus...."
Yura tugged the other two along and left.
Left alone, Enril stood there blankly and gazed at Jiha.
Just the two of them now.
Enril spoke in a low tone.
"That half-elf, Lijin, mentioned you haven't been eating properly."
"I was just busy sorting things out. I'll eat now."
"Let's go together. Mayan is waiting."
At her suggestion, Jiha smiled calmly.
"As far as pickup lines go, that one's pretty weak."
"I'm worried about you."
Enril's firm retort genuinely startled Jiha.
She bent down to meet his eyes and spoke earnestly.
"You were severely injured, and ever since then you've only gotten treatment and kept working nonstop—without eating properly. I'm worried you'll collapse like this."
"......."
Jiha took a moment to put his thoughts in order.
It was true he'd been frantically busy creating the unified organization in one stroke. But it seemed that his single-minded focus had looked precarious to the women.
"Take it easy and get some rest...."
"Yeah, I will."
Jiha gave a perfunctory reply and looked down at the teacup.
A long while passed.
With Enril still rooted to the spot, Jiha chuckled and looked toward the direction the other women had left.
"By the way, what prompted the four of you to gather together so nicely?"
"......The succubus called us. Don't misunderstand—I'm not trying to shift the blame."
Enril let out a soft sigh.
"I have no idea what she's thinking, but...."
"And she left you here alone?"
"......."
Hadn't Yura practically taken Asira and Leticia away so the two of them could talk in private?
Enril shook her head silently, her words trailing off.
"There's no point in dwelling on something that's pointless to think about...."
Then Enril bent forward and knelt on the floor.
Setting both hands on the library's cold marble floor, she knelt there and pressed her body against Jiha's leg.
"......."
A sudden, intimate closeness.
Jiha was inwardly flustered.
A breathtakingly beautiful woman, a silver-haired dark elf, clinging to him like some oversized cat?
'No, a panther.'
Jiha corrected himself internally.
Enril was a feline predator, not a house cat.
The way she sat there so still, pressing her cheek to his leg—with a single word from Jiha, she would lunge and bite an enemy to death.
"......."
Absentmindedly, Jiha pressed down lightly on Enril's head.
At that, Enril pressed her cheek even more snugly against Jiha's leg—his thigh—and nuzzled against it.
As if this were the only way she could express her feelings right now.
"The floor's cold."
"......I don't care."
As long as she could stay close to him, she'd gladly do this forever.
Jiha was a little taken aback by Enril's sudden act, but a warmth spread through his chest.
Even though the spot on the sofa beside him was empty, here she was, deliberately kneeling on the floor and leaning against his leg.
Like a pet seeking affection.
Enril had instinctively judged that this approach would work better on Jiha.
"......."
And it worked.
If Enril had sat beside him and started a rational conversation, saying this or that, Jiha would have ended things succinctly.
But here was this proud predator, lowering herself willingly and expressing with her entire body that she cared about him.
At this unexpected advance, Jiha's heart stirred.
A beautiful, peerless woman with silver hair—offering comfort in her own way.
Wordlessly, Jiha stroked Enril's head and cheek.
The way you might soothe a cat.
"......Mm."
Enril narrowed her eyes and let out a soft, aching sound as she burrowed deeper against Jiha's thigh.
As if she had truly become a cat.
She had realized that Jiha had relaxed, that he wasn't shutting her down the way he had when everyone else was present—and she was happy about it.
"If anyone else saw this, they'd be utterly shocked...."
In Warsland, where violence and murder were everyday affairs.
And among them all, Enril, who was prouder and more aloof than almost anyone, was kneeling before a man and showing this much affection.
Enril murmured.
"......Don't tell anyone."
"Even if I did, no one would believe me."
Playfully, Jiha poked Enril's cheek—poke, poke.
Enril playfully made a biting motion at his finger.
Each time, Jiha pulled his finger back.
Snap!
Like a cat chasing a butterfly, Enril raised her head and followed the finger with her gaze.
After repeating this several times, Enril's body ended up between Jiha's legs.
"You're good at this."
"......."
Jiha rubbed his fingers along Enril's chin and stroked her hair.
As if delighted by her master's praise, Enril narrowed her eyes and accepted the touch while sitting perfectly still.
Then... she abruptly spoke.
"You won."
"......."
She was talking about the fight against Lungtao.
She knew that, despite the result, Jiha privately felt a hollow emptiness over Lungtao's death in battle...
The breathtaking dark elf buried her face between the man's legs, against his crotch, of her own accord.
And whispered intimately.
"The thing we left unfinished... can we do it?"
She was telling him she'd comfort him as a female.