Chapter 261 Scheme to Divide -9
Chapter 261 Scheme to Divide -9
The barracks garden in the daytime.
Jiha sat in a chair, drinking tea.
Seated across from him was Asira Hellrunner.
Not in her usual leotard, she wore a dress that covered her knees, and she was fidgeting with her hands atop her lap, visibly nervous.
"What about your weapon?"
Now that he thought about it, her greatsword was absent as well.
This was the barracks, Jiha's own base. Wasn't she being a little too careless?
At his remark, Asira grew flustered before shaking her head.
"Ah, I thought it might be in the way, so I left it behind... Should I go get it?"
"..."
Jiha had merely told Asira to set aside some time for tea.
She seemed to have taken it as something more.
He watched her quietly. Face flushed, she bowed her head demurely, reacting like a girl on a first date with her beloved.
They had already tangled their bodies together countless times, and had even done so with Yura as a threesome, yet she was honestly and purely delighted by this simple time spent together.
She was the kind of woman any man would inevitably fall for.
"How's the training going?"
Jiha steered the conversation toward work.
Asira smiled gently as she spoke.
"It's coming along well. At any rate, it's clear their motivation is overflowing. They might not quite match the demons' elite soldiers, but they wouldn't be outdone by anyone else you could put them against."
Jiha stared straight at her, then asked,
"Do you know what I'm trying to do?"
"Huh? Aren't you trying to keep the peace in Waris?"
"..."
Asira was kindhearted and noble.
A demon knight, a person of integrity reminiscent of the holy knights of old, admired by many.
Even in loving Jiha, her character had not changed.
'Enril, Leticia, and Yura will follow me no matter what I do. The same goes for Narsha and Barjet, but...'
Asira was a knight, a person who sought to do the right thing.
While she had taken on the role of training Jiha's troops, she remained completely unaware that he was preparing for independence.
She even thought the investigative committee was simply a measure to sort out the unprecedented chaos of the Summoning War.
"Asira."
"Speak, Jiha."
"..."
In any case, Asira had to follow whatever Jiha did.
If Jiha died, Yura would die shortly after... and Asira, who cherished Yura more than herself, could never simply stand by and watch that happen.
But he didn't want to force her compliance through rough coercion.
Asira was his woman, and he wanted to embrace her as gently as possible.
Jiha spoke calmly.
"What do you think happens from here on out?"
"Well... once everything is settled, you, Yura, and I will get married, I suppose."
Asira lowered her voice, her face blushing as if she were shy.
Jiha calmly pointed out,
"Do you really think it all ends once Shade is dealt with?"
"Is there something else?"
"..."
He could just use Ouroboros as an excuse and leave it at that.
The upper echelons of both factions had ties to Ouroboros, so no one could be trusted—a justification Jiha planned to exploit when he eventually declared independence.
Asira would surely have no retort to that reasoning either.
'No, that has its limits...'
Asira was one of his closest aides.
Her command ability was outstanding. Among his Uniques, was she not the strongest in mass combat, the demon knight herself?
Truthfully, she was a talent far too valuable to be playing the role of a mere instructor.
To liken it to the ROK Army, it would be as if a brigadier general were personally training GOP troops.
Yet Asira, without a trace of doubt and even with joy, carried out Jiha's orders.
"Jiha?"
When he stared silently, Asira asked with a puzzled expression.
"I'm going to become independent."
"..."
Asira's face went rigid.
She was a good person, not a dull one.
She realized in an instant that the independence Jiha spoke of meant a new faction, a rebellion against Blue Seal.
"W-wait a moment. Why? If I submit a direct petition to Lady Cheonho myself, you could be guaranteed a position higher than anyone else..."
"I'd still be under a Legend."
Jiha spoke evenly.
"I no longer wish to live bowing my head to anyone. I intend to fight, win, and seize this world in my grip—to rule it."
"What kind of..."
Asira wore a face that said she had just heard something preposterous.
Even though she was deeply infatuated with Jiha, she'd had no clue about his ambition.
Now, she had suddenly learned the truth.
"If you're going to cut me down, now's your chance. We're alone, just the two of us."
"..."
Asira's crimson eyes trembled with shock and instinctive rejection.
Only now did Asira realize she stood in the very heart of a coup d'état.
And that the troops she had been teaching were the private soldiers Jiha was cultivating for that very task.
"You must have had some idea..."
"I, I..."
Asira was by nature quite intelligent.
But she had the flaw of not suspecting people.
What's more, she could never have imagined the man she had fallen so completely for—enough to give him her body and soul, her first love—was preparing a rebellion.
Gazing at Jiha with pained eyes, Asira slowly shook her head.
"...How could I ever cut you down? You might as well kill me instead."
"..."
She meant that since she could never kill Jiha, she would rather die by his hand.
With tear-brimmed eyes, Asira spoke listlessly.
"Yura once told me... happily so. That if you die, she dies too. But that isn't the reason I'm doing this now. I..."
Asira covered her eyes with her palm and sighed.
"I can't cut you down. How could I ever do such a thing? Just sitting here having tea with you alone fills my body and heart to bursting with happiness. It's a sensation I've never once felt with anyone else. Just sitting here talking with you makes my heart pound and my spirit flutter... how could I? I... I truly..."
"Asira."
Jiha reached out and gently removed the hand covering her eyes.
As she looked at him with tear-soaked eyes, Jiha spoke calmly.
"I want to be with you too."
Asira was a useful card, an absolute necessity for the large-scale war he planned to wage in the future.
But for Jiha, that wasn't the only reason.
Resonance of true feelings.
Asira genuinely loved Jiha with all her body and heart.
Faced with such transparent, unblemished affection, Jiha revealed his true feelings as well.
That he didn't want to lose her, not just as a subordinate, but as a woman.
"So stay by my side and fight as I say."
"Th-that's..."
Wasn't he essentially asking her to join a rebel faction?
Jiha calmly laid out his reasoning.
"I'm going to create a new world... but I'm short on people with virtue around me."
This was something he had been thinking about for a while.
Enril and Leticia had far too much pride.
Yura lacked the charisma to sway the masses.
Narsha was a little queen who had lived as she pleased.
And Barjet... he'd rather not say.
"In the battles to come, I won't hesitate to do dirty, underhanded things, dark deeds. If it means victory, if it means I can save even one more of my subordinates, I'll slaughter a thousand with cunning tricks."
"..."
"You will watch that from my side, and if you think it's truly against all principle—even if I might not listen—then advise me against it."
Asira possessed a nobility that made anyone who met her hold her in high regard.
Meeting and being tamed by Jiha hadn't changed her inherent kindness, nor the goodwill with which she treated others.
If Jiha used Lijin to manage his women, he intended to use Asira to win the favor of the public.
Where Jiha was harsh, Asira would be gentle—together, in harmony, they would serve as the carrot and stick for those who followed him.
"..."
Asira, who saw Jiha's expression, hesitated.
She had been at the very center of the rapidly progressing plans, yet until moments ago, she had been completely in the dark.
Blinded by love, quite literally, she had never once suspected Jiha's movements.
"...You could have just deceived me."
"That wouldn't last. And besides..."
Swallowing his inner thoughts, Jiha took her hand and pulled her to him. Her chair toppled over as Asira's face was drawn against Jiha's chest.
"If you're my woman, then follow me without a fuss. You'll be more than satisfied."
Contrary to his rough words, Jiha's hand as he stroked Asira's hair was gentle.
Feeling the touch that carried an apology for making her cry, Asira looked up at him with a dazed face.
The demon with the pale blue skin, beautiful and with uniquely dark sclera, was so lovely and yet subtly bewitching.
But the moment Jiha's touch reached her, her face became so innocent and pure.
Jiha lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.
Even with her face wet with tears, Asira reflexively closed her eyes and parted her lips to accept him.
A soft kiss, a gentle taste of each other's lips. When Asira reflexively wrapped her arms around his neck, Jiha grasped her back, lifted her, and settled her onto his lap.
"Ah..."
At Asira's sigh of sweet distress, Jiha sucked on her upper lip as if to melt it.
A sweetness stifled itself within her parted lips.
"Haa... mmm."
At that voice laced with obedient happiness, Jiha pulled his lips away and gazed intently at Asira.
Seated on a man's lap in such an embarrassing pose, Asira flushed her cheeks anew.
Jiha spoke firmly.
"It's too late to try running now. And I won't let you go."
"..."
"I told you before. The moment I saw you, I resolved to make you mine."
As a woman, and as a subordinate.
There was already no escape for Asira from Jiha.
Sorrowfully, yet tenderly, Asira looked at Jiha's face before she leaned in and pressed her lips to his first.
A loving kiss where their lips just barely touched.
"...You don't have to say such things. I've already given you everything. If you need more, I'll give you whatever it is."
Asira lamented,
"Yes, even Lady Cheonho isn't without faults, and neither am I. Where in the world is anyone without fault? But even so, you accept and try to mend them."
Asira buried her face against Jiha's shoulder and spoke warmly.
"If you truly do something bad, I'll be there beside you to stop you. If you act sharp, I'll soften you. Just as gently as you treat me, I'll make you gentle to others."
"..."
"Telling me all this to my face is already an act of affection. You could have used Yura's life as a threat, you could have blackmailed me, or you could have kept deceiving me until a decisive moment and then forced my hand. Yet you deliberately took the time to tell me so honestly."
The woman was happy.
At the heart of the man who was thinking of her.
"I can't live if I leave you... so I'll work hard to make what you and I do into something better, Jiha."
When Asira spoke affectionately and looked at him, Jiha impulsively drew his head closer.
The daytime garden, a place where people passed by—he no longer cared. He wanted to hold this woman.
"Ah, we can't..."
Flustered, Asira blocked Jiha's mouth with her hand.
Ignoring her resistance, Jiha's hand wandered up her thigh.
Though she knew the man's desire, Asira shook her head.
"It's daytime now, and this is outside. Let's go inside..."
"I've done it here with Yura before."
"..."
Asira went still.
A flicker of jealousy passed through her trembling eyes.
Even though it was something that had happened before they'd met and fallen in love, and even though it involved Yura, whom she treasured.
She couldn't help the anxiety that rose in her heart.
Lightly pressing the back of Asira's head, Jiha smiled as he spoke.
"Back then, Yura was terrified that you, who were about to arrive any minute, would be furious. She suggested we run away together. I refused, and as I held Yura, I made a promise. Since things had already come to this, I'd devour even you the moment you arrived."
"That..."
This was a story she had never imagined. Asira could only blink.
Kissing her, Jiha whispered.
"Now it's time I devour you."