Chapter 107: Juliana the Beastkin Mage (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107: Juliana the Beastkin Mage (4)
Immediately after hearing from the pigeon that Juliana was heading to my mansion, we threw on our clothes and rushed back to the Magic Tower.
Elina, seemingly shell-shocked by the fact that her sisters back home were in danger, was restless, her hand trembling in mine.
“O-Oppa. You don’t have to go to the Magic Tower. I don’t mind being bedridden for a few days. Just take all my demonic energy right now. We have to get back quickly. Please… okay?”
“Then you’d have to stay at the Magic Tower to recover. That’s out of the question.”
“But why…? Sien and Fria are there too…?”
“If Juliana’s target is just me, it’s fine. But if she’s after both of us, the entire Magic Tower might get dragged into the fight.”
“Isn’t the Magic Tower… really important to humans? No matter how desperate they are, I don’t think they’d attack it….”
“The Magic Tower was never particularly friendly toward the Empire to begin with. The only reason things have been peaceful so far is that the high-ranking mages of the Empire had connections with the current Tower Master. If Juliana isn't acting alone but has joined forces with Aris and is receiving help from the Empire, they won’t just leave the Tower Master alone for trying to protect the Demon Goddess.”
“Hic…. Because of Elina… I d-don’t want my sisters to be in danger….”
“Right. Just in case, you’re safest by my side. So, save your demonic energy as much as possible, and let’s ask Sien to send us home.”
Elina became profoundly depressed.
“Oppa, I’m sorry…. Because of a s-stupid goddess like me… everyone is in trouble… hic…. A goddess who’s nothing but a nuisance like me… doesn’t deserve to have friends…. Sob….”
I grabbed Elina by the waist with both hands and hoisted her up.
“Hyak?!”
I turned her light body around and sat her securely on my right shoulder.
“O-Oppa…?”
“Elina. Listen carefully. If you say such depressing things in front of me again, I’m never letting you eat the cock you love so much. Consider yourself warned.”
“Hik?! That’s… that’s too mean…!”
“I don’t mind, but the others might get really depressed if they hear you talk like that. Nothing disastrous has happened yet. Instead of blaming yourself, focus on getting home and taking care of your sisters.”
“Is… is that okay…? Am I being… a-a goddess with no conscience…?”
“No one is going to think that. Besides, once your pussy’s been claimed, you’re my bitch for life.”
I wrapped one arm firmly around her legs.
“Hold on tight so you don’t fall. We’re running; there’s no time.”
Startled, Elina wrapped both arms around my head and pressed her body close to mine.
A brief thought crossed my mind: if her tits were just a little bigger, I might have felt a soft cushion against the top of my head.
“Oppa. My sisters…. They’ll be okay, right…?”
“Yeah. I told them to run if things got dangerous. It’ll be fine.”
“Mm…. Then I’m a little relieved….”
Elina began to rub her meager milkers against the top of my head.
“Tonight, I’m going to sleep between Seri and Bell.”
“Why? You want to be pampered?”
“Mhm…. They said I could come and act like a baby whenever I’m scared to sleep alone. I feel like I’m going to have a really scary nightmare today. I’m going to suck on my sisters’ tits and drift off to dreamland….”
“…Fine. Maybe if you suck on those, your own milkers will finally grow a bit.”
“You look forward to it too, Master. Elina will definitely become a big-breasted goddess, just you wait.”
“Well, the odds seem low. For now, let’s go see your sisters. Hold on tight.”
I held onto Elina, who was trying her best to smile, and sprinted toward the Magic Tower at full speed.
Crash—!
“Eek?!”
“W-What just went past us?!”
Apologies to Sien, but immediately after a hole the size of my body appeared in the Magic Tower’s barrier, giant question marks popped up over the heads of the nearby guards, and a loud alarm began to blare.
“I-I understand! I made this in advance after getting your mansion’s address from Fria, just in case I missed Elina and wanted to visit. You can use this scroll.”
“Master. Junior. Give us the signal anytime, and we’ll rush over through a portal. Please, stay safe.”
Thanks to Sien, who had even prepared a portal in advance, our return went smoothly.
“Hic. Sisters…. Senior…. Elina is coming home to catch that bad fo—mmpf?!”
“I’ll be back once I’ve settled things. If you hear any news about Juliana, let me know immediately.”
With those final words, I stepped into the portal with Elina.
“Oppa. Why didn’t you mention that wicked fox bitch?”
“They’d only worry. Besides, knowing Sien’s personality, she might not have been able to help herself and would’ve followed us.”
“Ah…. R-Right. Sien seemed like she wanted to meet the other bitches as soon as possible.”
Up to this point, there were no major issues.
However, as soon as we stepped out of the portal and the familiar scenery came into view, my mind began to race.
Within the party, Juliana was often evaluated as being childlike despite her mature body.
The fact that she would cling to me at every opportunity and rub those massive milkers against me with all her might said it all.
But that was only when her characteristic playfulness was in effect.
Once in combat, while she wasn't exactly cold-blooded, she was a mage who at least knew how to separate the professional from the personal.
It was she who argued that they had to protect the humans who looked like drug addicts while being consumed by corruption.
And it was also she who, in the end, offered an apology to those who had finally fallen and become closer to demons, before gathering them together and burning them alive.
‘Our party…. My people…. I have to protect them. I want to. That’s why I’m taking responsibility for this.’
A mage who knew how to utilize her magic to its fullest to get the job done when the goal of protecting her own was at stake.
If she had excluded me from her "people" and come to my mansion solely to protect her own, there was a high probability she would take action regardless of collateral damage.
Furthermore.
‘You’re going to teach me how to deal with you?’
‘Yeah. As you know, Oppa, beastkin like me are vulnerable to corruption. Just in case I completely fall and end up attacking you, keep this in mind.’
‘Is it okay to tell me something like that? What if I stab you in the back?’
‘Oh, stop~ Where else could I find a knight as kind as you, Oppa? Besides, the party can manage without me, but we can never defeat the Demon King without you. If you ever harbored ill intentions, it would be over for us anyway. I have to trust you unconditionally.’
‘…Well, I suppose so.’
‘So listen carefully. If I ever truly have to face you, I won’t even allow you to get close. I can manage to block the Holy Sword Yerin swings, but yours is honestly a bit much to handle. Even Yerin’s arms ache all day after taking one of your hits head-on; imagine how it would be for me. So, I’ll lay down a dense field of trap magic starting from twenty meters out—my effective range.’
‘Hmm. That sounds like a pain.’
‘Exactly. But you can avoid them if you watch your step. Oh, for the record, I like to set fire traps that explode when stepped on far away, and freeze things up close, so remember that~’
If what Juliana said before was true, I would have to be careful of explosions from the moment I stepped into the garden entrance.
A single step could completely shatter the peace of this place.
“……Oppa. Be careful.”
One fortunate thing was that a serious Elina was quite similar to Juliana.
A large tail manifested behind Elina’s back.
It was a form I hadn’t seen once since our first meeting.
The tail, its tip as sharp as a trident, extended straight forward.
“She’s inside.”
“Do you feel any mana underfoot?”
“No. None at all. But…….”
Elina bit her lip hard before speaking.
“It looks like there was a big fight inside. The mana traces are incredibly thick.”
“……Let’s go in.”
I passed through the garden with Elina and headed for the main entrance.
“Hi, Oppa. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
The moment we spotted Juliana sitting on the stairs, Elina’s entire body was shrouded in pitch-black demonic energy.
“Sihyeon Oppa. The sisters… they’re still alive, right…? I’m not sensing it wrong, am I?”
“…….”
I nodded without a word.
In Seri’s case, she had simply fainted on the floor, but Bell, who stood frozen, had several icicles like frozen stakes embedded in her abdomen.
I remembered that spell.
A magic that detonated icicles to tear apart demons several times larger than the caster.
Fortunately, perhaps thanks to the armor I had gifted her, the bleeding had stopped and the wounds were completely closed.
Of course, that wasn't enough to suppress the sudden surge of rage.
If I killed Juliana right now, the ice embedded in Bell’s body would explode.
I had to think as rationally as possible.
However.
“How dare you do this…….”
Elina didn’t seem to have any intention of doing that.
Her tail, thick with demonic energy, aimed straight at Juliana as she took her first step.
Then, Elina’s body vanished from sight.
In the next instant, a series of massive crashing sounds erupted from the direction of the stairs.