Chapter 169: The Dragon Princess Knows No Love (3)
"...This is outside my calculations."
I never imagined that after Lilith, even Hoaran would hole up in the bedroom for two straight days.
Lilith being a succubus, I could write that off, but Hoaran? That was truly unexpected.
Sure, fox yokai and werebeasts with fox traits were known for their strong libidos, but still.
Hoaran had maintained her chastity for centuries, enduring countless heats with ironclad self-control.
Just as I started thinking her mana might be drying up, making this dangerous, it happened.
"Nngh..."
The bedroom door, which hadn't opened once, finally swung wide, and Hanjo stepped out.
For a split second, I didn't even recognize him.
...He's gotten stronger.
Having embraced Lilith and now Hoaran, Hanjo was undeniably far more powerful than before.
To the point where it was hard to believe it was the same guy.
His aura had swelled so dramatically, anyone could see it at a glance.
But.
"......"
Despite acquiring in days what a normal human would need decades of training to grasp, Hanjo looked utterly exhausted—unlike the power he'd gained.
No, it felt more like he was barely holding on thanks to that newfound strength, teetering right on the edge.
Seeing him like that, even I felt bad about asking for his semen now. But as he looked at me, Hanjo spoke up.
"Yustitia, you have any of that left...?"
"...Left? What?"
What the hell was he—
Before I could ask, he took a deep breath and let it out.
"The Overdrive Pills. You have some left, right?"
Those? Yeah, I did.
No way...
"...Those put a serious strain on your body, though...? You already know from trying them..."
"Never mind that. If you have them, hand them over quick."
I flinched.
Hanjo, who always used formal speech with me, said it so curtly that I was a bit startled. Staring at him, I soon opened my subspace and pulled out the few remaining Overdrive Pills—the ones customized as a Gift just for him.
"This is all that's left..."
Whoosh—he snatched them from my hand and dumped them straight into his mouth.
All at once?
Shocked, I watched him.
"Huuuuh..."
Swooooosh...
His aura, which should have gone berserk from the pills, just circled calmly inside him.
I blinked as he absorbed the surging energy, compressing it into a tiny pearl-like orb and sealing it within.
Different from a succubus's Level Drain...
It had to be the kumiho trait... Hoaran's racial ability.
The power to create extra mana organs outside the body: tails and fox orbs.
Unlike a dragon heart innate from birth, kumihos accumulated and stored power externally over their lives—that was their racial gift.
Each tail or fox orb couldn't match a dragon heart, but Hoaran had nine tails and nine orbs as a celestial fox.
Combining them all, she wielded mana on par with mine—a grand sorceress.
Hanjo had clearly absorbed her ability, using it to temporarily store the rampaging energy from the pills in a makeshift fox orb.
"Now it's your turn, Yustitia."
He gripped my wrist tight and yanked me toward him.
Dragged into the bedroom, the first thing I saw was Hoaran, still naked and not even dressed yet.
She slipped under the covers to hide herself, glancing between me and Hanjo before speaking to him.
"Not bad for a first time, but Hanjo. That's not how you handle a fox orb."
"Yeah?"
"Right now, it's just raw energy clumped together, no different from any spirit's inner core. A fox yokai's orb isn't merely 'clumped'—it's more like they flow together in harmony..."
"...Like this?"
Listening to her, Hanjo nodded, and the clumped energy inside him plunged downward... pooling in one spot.
"Yes, that's the way. You're a natural. But... why gather it there of all places...?"
"...No idea. It just kinda went there on its own."
Hoaran gave a wry smile at his "must be 'cause it popped out like a tail" excuse, then rose.
"Then this lady shall take her leave."
"Sorry, Hoaran."
"No need. I was prepared... And what you must focus on now isn't this lady, is it?"
She kissed his cheek, tails swishing, and added,
"Focus only on Yustitia for now."
"...Yes, ma'am."
"Good answer."
Nodding at his response, she left the bedroom. I stared blankly after her.
The door creaked shut behind her.
And from outside, she sealed it with a spell—locked tight.
Was Hoaran... always like this?
Shocked by something she'd never do normally, I felt Hanjo grab my hand firmly.
"Alright then, Yustitia."
"Y-Yeah...?"
Turning, I met his deadly serious gaze.
"Honestly, with you... I don't really know if it's true love, like with Lilith or Hoaran."
He said it just like that.
I flinched—for a split second.
Just a moment, but I saw Yustitia shrink back at my words.
But soon she nodded and replied,
"I get it. Honestly... I know what I did wasn't exactly noble."
So she did know.
She was aware how awkward it was to pull that "take responsibility" card with her life on the line.
I'd thought she was oblivious since she never showed it.
Anyway.
It wasn't about that. I gripped her hand tighter and continued,
"That's not why."
My uncertainty about loving her wasn't from that incident.
It didn't even cross my mind anymore.
Dwelling on the past felt pointless now.
The real reason I didn't know if I loved Yustitia was simple: I barely knew her.
She'd always kept some distance, and I never pushed for more.
We just didn't have the time, really.
Her sleeping all day, me buried in work.
No real conversations, no deep talks.
A simple exchange of favors felt like enough.
But.
"From now on, I'll find out."
I didn't have that gut punch of certainty with her like I did with Lilith or Hoaran.
It wasn't zero, but compared to them, it fell short.
Still, imagining giving her to someone else, her loving another, her leaving my side for someone else...
That pissed me off. Hard. Just as much as if it were Lilith or Hoaran.
"So I'll make sure that doesn't happen."
I scooped her up and tossed her onto the bed.
"Eep!" A short yelp as she landed.
I climbed over her.
"That's okay, right? Yustitia."
Not like I was asking permission, but I said it anyway.
Looking up at me from underneath, she replied,
"Saying you don't know if you love me... isn't that a bit harsh...?"
"I decided not to lie anymore. At least not to everyone."
Better to be upfront and take the hits than hide things and hurt them unintentionally.
I figured getting slapped around now and then was the cheaper price.
"Hnn... Then me too..."
She reached up, stroking my face.
"Maybe I should be a little honest...?"
Feeling around like she was confirming something.
"Yeah... Still nothing..."
"...Nothing? What do you mean?"
"You know how everyone talks about it...?"
From books, movies, all that knowledge she'd absorbed.
The classic "love" stuff.
"...Like looking into your lover's face, touching it, feeling their warmth... But even doing that to you... nothing."
Look, she said, guiding my hand to her chest.
Thump, thump.
Her heart beating steady as ever. Her warmth, just as always.
That confirmed it all.
"...Right?"
She said it, watching my hand on her chest.
If what she knew of "love" was real.
"...You said you don't know if you love me..."
Same here, basically.
"Seeing you doesn't make my heart race. Your face doesn't make me blush or heat up. Talking to you doesn't make me nervous or tongue-tied. Being with you doesn't fill me with joy or make me smile without thinking. If it's like I know... this isn't love..."
Her other hand still tracing my face, I nodded.
"So we don't really know each other."
"...Yeah, maybe."
Our eyes met as she gazed up at me.
One thing I knew for sure.
Her glowing blue eyes, reflecting only me—beautiful.
"Um... Hanjo."
She looked straight up at me and spoke.
Her hand on my cheek again.
"Will you teach me...? What love is."
I nodded at her words.
"You teach me too. Whether I love you or not."
I leaned down for a brief kiss.
Smack.
Pulling back, I asked as she still looked up from below.
"How was that?"
"...Hm, well. Still no feeling..."
She touched her lips—where mine had just been—and answered.
I wasn't expecting her to suddenly blush and get shy from a little kiss, so no real disappointment.
...Liar.
My heart was pounding like crazy from just that, but she was totally unfazed. Kinda frustrating.
Was my racing heart from kissing a beauty like her, or because I loved her? Hell if I knew.
The pills had my dick throbbing in pain from the erection, sure.
But that was just lust.
So.
"...Wanna try the experiment again?"
She nodded, staring at me.
I leaned in again.
And kissed her once more.
This time, longer.
"Smack..."
A bit deeper.