Chapter 63: Reaping the Harvest - 16
Chapter 63: Reaping the Harvest - 16
Leticia's interrogation.
Jiha simply looked baffled.
"What are you talking about? You think I told someone I slept with you?"
"...That thing earlier."
When Garaon had mentioned her "fur."
Leticia hesitated, finding it difficult to say outright.
Her pale cheeks flushed.
Normally Jiha would have exploited that weakness and shaken her up, but this time he deliberately played along.
"What Garaon said? You misunderstood."
"What?"
"It's about when we first met at the bar. Don't you remember?"
Leticia flinched and tried to retrace her memories.
Jiha put on a slightly hurt expression.
"Wait. Did you actually think I was the kind of guy who'd go around bragging about something like that?"
"Uh, n-no. That's..."
Some men loved to boast about sleeping with a stunning woman, treating it like a badge of honor, a war story.
But Jiha's position was different.
His relationship with a Purple Unique like Leticia had to be handled carefully and discreetly.
The success or failure of this plan, and even of his scheme to seize control of Waris, hung in the balance.
Once Leticia realized she had jumped to conclusions, awkwardness set in.
She didn't even flinch when Jiha subtly drew closer.
"What? So that's really all it was?"
"Y-Yeah. No, I mean..."
She had come here ready to beat Jiha down if necessary to seize the upper hand, yet now Leticia was the one feeling apologetic and flustered.
Jiha let out a heavy, pointed sigh.
"Ah, fine. I get it. So that's how it is."
"..."
"Anyway, Galak is in a bit of danger now. He's managed to turn a whole lot of elves hostile."
As Jiha pretended to worry, Leticia mumbled hesitantly.
"N-No, I mean. Did you have to speak to them so harshly? And why bring a half-elf..."
"I have my reasons. Besides, you didn't get engaged out of love either, right?"
"..."
A flicker of agreement crossed Leticia's eyes.
She spoke cautiously.
"Fine. I'll help you out. So don't worry too much. I'll smooth things over... properly."
Leticia flinched mid-sentence.
Jiha had casually slipped his arm around her and placed his hand on her ass.
Their bodies had been drawing closer, and he had done it so naturally, so smoothly.
"..."
The situation was so absurd it took her breath away, and Leticia couldn't even get angry right away.
Jiha just spoke calmly.
"I'm gonna feel you up for a bit."
"Wh-What?"
"It might be the last time, right? And since I'm doing all this for you, this much should be fine."
If anyone took a moment to think about it, Jiha's logic right now was a complete mess.
He was slyly implying the whole situation had escalated because of her.
But Leticia couldn't see through it.
The feeling of a man's hand suddenly groping her ass was too shocking, and besides...
"..."
She did feel a bit guilty.
She had suspected Jiha, felt deeply insulted, and had been ready to smash him to pieces.
But now it seemed it was entirely her own misunderstanding.
"...Ah, no. Stop it."
Leticia twisted her body as she spoke, but she wasn't really trying to shake him off.
Jiha placed both hands on Leticia's ass and buried his head against her shoulder.
Silence.
When Jiha pulled her close and stopped moving, Leticia froze too.
If he had been roughly groping her, she would have shaken him off. But Jiha had abruptly just embraced her and stood still.
The hands pressing on her ass bothered her a little, but...
She could accept it as a strange sort of embrace.
Hesitating, Leticia awkwardly patted Jiha's shoulder. Tap, tap.
Very clumsily.
"Sigh..."
And whether she liked it or not, she had to cooperate with him to handle the current situation...
Just as Leticia was steeling her resolve, she flinched.
A sensation pressed against her lower abdomen.
She could feel the thing straining against his pants.
'...Huh? What?'
It wasn't that she didn't know what it was.
But something that had clearly been quiet earlier had now swollen huge and was pressing insistently against her clothes, against her skin.
Distinctly noticeable, even through their garments.
Leticia instinctively tried to pull her hips back to avoid it, but froze.
Because Jiha's hands had her ass held tight.
He wasn't gripping her hard. But if she moved, it would just turn into grinding.
"U-Um..."
"..."
Jiha just let out a low sigh.
He sounded so weary that Leticia felt awkward saying anything.
It was embarrassing for her to point out the situation herself.
She just had to wait for this hug to end.
Leticia tried to endure it that way, but it wasn't easy.
Because the erection straining behind his pants had swollen even larger.
'Did it... get even bigger?'
Even if she tried to dodge it, her ass was caught, leaving her unable to move.
*Squirm.*
Instead, she ended up rubbing herself against him first.
"...Ah."
The masculine sensation pressed more heavily against her.
Barely suppressing a yelp, Leticia glanced at Jiha's reaction.
But Jiha just stayed still, pretending not to notice.
*Swish. Sweep.*
"Uh..."
Instead, his hand lightly caressed her ass.
After a couple of repetitions, Leticia flinched and tried to pull away.
*Press.*
"...Ah."
This time, conversely, she ended up pushing her hips forward and pressing against his manhood.
Startled, Leticia was about to struggle blindly, but at that moment Jiha tightened his grip.
*Squeeze.*
"Agh!"
The pain made Leticia freeze in place.
A signal to stay still.
But she couldn't push him away now, and it was awkward to make a big scene over it.
No, truthfully, Leticia had come here prepared for a violent confrontation.
But with just a few words from Jiha, she had blamed herself for the misunderstanding and let her anger dissolve.
Leticia wasn't a truly cold-hearted woman to begin with.
If she were that kind of woman, there was no way she would have left Pamin alone.
'Give her room for understanding, room for sympathy, and she'll connect the dots on her own and behave.'
At this moment, though embarrassed and struggling to endure, Leticia had arbitrarily convinced herself that Jiha, who had to act similarly tough, must be having a hard time too...
*Knead. Squeeze.*
Jiha relaxed his grip slightly and slowly kneaded Leticia's ass.
"W-Wait. What are you..."
Leticia tried to squirm away in surprise.
Though it only made her grind against Jiha's member once more.
Jiha whispered in an even lower voice.
"I said I'm gonna feel you up."
"N-No, I mean... Hnngh."
Just then, Jiha's confined member pressed right between Leticia's legs.
The precarious stimulation stopped Leticia's resistance cold, and her body trembled.
'I could do it here and now...'
Jiha fell into thought for a moment.
Leticia was already halfway into his hands.
He could perform Bloodsucking, or if not that, push forward any number of ways.
Now that her spirit had been broken, she couldn't resist anyway.
And even if she did, there were plenty of ways to smooth things over.
Besides, while he had played with Enril before coming here, Jiha himself hadn't been satisfied.
His pent-up lust was surfacing again.
"..."
Leticia trembled, not knowing what to do.
She was already a caught fish, but he needed to reel her in more securely.
Jiha removed his hands and stepped back.
"...Ah."
Leticia flinched and looked at Jiha.
She must have been steeling herself for all sorts of possibilities, lost in her own thoughts.
Jiha spoke lightly.
"Handle it the way Lijin said. Go and whisper in Galak's ear."
"..."
"Leticia."
"Y-Yeah. Uhhuh."
Leticia nodded hurriedly and then rushed straight out.
Left alone, Jiha dusted off his hands.
'For now, I'll just draw a line: she can't defy me. If Leticia tips completely over to my side, things could get complicated because of it. I'll drive the wedge in next time.'
Didn't they say a woman's heart is like a reed?
Sometimes letting it sway freely in the wind is the better approach.
If you let it sway to its heart's content in the palm of your hand and then harvest it, it will never leave.
Jiha looked down.
The arousal that had rubbed against a dark elf and then an elf, but in the end had tasted neither.
It was fully stiff and practically screaming for attention.
He could go back and seek out Enril again, or head straight to Yura's room, but...
"Sigh..."
Jiha exercised patience instead.
He would hold it in, keep holding it in, and then release it all at once.
Into Leticia's body.
An afternoon café.
A terrace seat on the second floor with a clear view of the street below.
Jiha was lost in thought, looking down at a pen and paper.
He was in the middle of running several simulations: how to completely annihilate Galak and his elf crew, and how to keep Purple from using it as a bone to pick.
Realizing the coffee in front of him had gone completely cold, Jiha raised his head.
Sitting across from him was Lijin.
She had been sitting there silently for over an hour, without saying a single word.
She hadn't touched her coffee, either.
"You don't need to watch my mood. If you have things to do, go somewhere else and rejoin me later."
"I thought it'd be better to stay together so the elves don't get suspicious. And I'm not particularly bored."
"Are you really twenty-two?"
"If you'd like to check my family register, it's in another city... Should I order a copy by courier?"
"You don't act your age."
When Jiha put down his pen, Lijin gave a bitter smile.
"Being a half-elf is pretty tough. If you want to live, you have to grow up early."
"..."
The moment the elves had seen Lijin, their eyes had blazed with undisguised disgust.
She must have been persecuted even before meeting Jiha.
There were even cases of them killing someone if they had no protector.
Combine that with her experience working at a bar, and she had no choice but to be perceptive in many ways.
"You don't really have to get involved. Galak will want to pick a fight with me even if I'm alone anyway."
He'd made sure of that with his deliberate harsh words.
Just to restore his crushed pride in front of his group, Galak would have to take revenge on Jiha.
"Once it turns into a fight, I can't guarantee your safety."
He had improved remarkably. Jiha was now more than three times stronger than when he had just acquired his Vampiric Mana.
Now, if he could just set the stage right, he had calculated that he could even compete against a Unique Grade.
But that was purely about individual combat. Jiha had never factored into his plans the need to fight while protecting someone.
"If it's a dangerous situation, you don't need to worry about me. If I become a burden, just throw me away."
Lijin said it lightly, but the content wasn't light at all.
It wasn't just an empty bluff, either.
As Jiha stared at her intently, Lijin shook her head.
"Ever since I got tangled up in the Madrum incident, I'm not safe anymore. Not that I was ever particularly safe to begin with. You're about the only person who gives me any thought, Lord Jiha."
"You say that even after seeing what I do."
Jiha wouldn't hesitate to kill if necessary.
He would commit even worse crimes and dangerous acts for his goals.
"But you're saying that to me now because you're thinking of me, aren't you? Lord Jiha, you are generous to your own people."
"..."
"I can tell just by looking at Lord Garaon."
Jiha's policy is indeed to take care of those who follow him and smash those who oppose him.
But it was somewhat surprising that Lijin, who hadn't known him long, had figured it out.
Jiha nodded slowly.
"Lijin, find out about Leticia's underwear."
"Excuse me?"
Warsland is a world ruled by women, so women's underwear has also developed considerably.
Jiha had learned this while taking them off; bras and panties were practically no different from those on modern Earth.
"Leticia either buys her own underwear, or her subordinates procure it for her. The high-end lingerie boutiques in Waris are Blin and Evis. She'll be using Blin."
Because Jiha had personally taken it off and checked the brand.
He hadn't played around with Leticia's underwear back then for nothing.
As Lijin nodded obediently, Jiha added.
"Bribe the staff there, or find some other way to figure out Leticia's lingerie preferences and sizes. And prepare a few samples."
"Yes. Are you planning to give them as a gift?"
Lijin, who had been flustered, immediately grasped the situation.
Jiha nodded slowly.
"It's not a normal gift, so don't wrap them. Handle it as discreetly as possible."
"Yes, understood."
In truth, Jiha already roughly knew her size from touching her.
Following his high-and-mighty tastes, he had cultivated an eye for women's lingerie.
But the reason he didn't give her the specifics was to test Lijin's ability to carry out a task.
"Let's drink our tea."
"Yes."
When Jiha picked up his teacup, Lijin finally brought her tea to her lips as well.
She was a woman who had learned proper decorum.
Jiha was inwardly nodding to himself when a boy approached.
It was the messenger boy Jiha had paid and sent to the Blue Seal Barracks.
"Here you go."
The boy, whose name he didn't even know, thrust a note into Jiha's hand and left.
When Jiha unfolded the note, it contained Uben's report.
The elves are planning a diversionary attack.
It seems they intend to raid you and the Barracks simultaneously.
The person who brought this information insists on meeting you in person, Boss.
"Look at these bastards, they've got some nerve..."
Jiha crumpled the note and laughed.
The young elves following Galak had hatched a bold plan.
The idea was to ambush Jiha and Lijin, while simultaneously charging into the Barracks to kill Kobold Deubang, the one believed to be the culprit in the Madrum incident.
"Come on, then."
Because he would clean them up, neat and tidy.