Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Time for Proof
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Elfin was making it obvious she didn't want to talk to me, but unfortunately, she had nothing else to do right now, so I couldn't grant her wish.
Earlier, it had ended with just scaring them off, but if she lashed out at some innocent person due to her period stress and accidentally killed them because she couldn't control her strength, we'd become an undeniable terrorist group of murderers. And Elfin would carry that trauma for the rest of her life.
I'd been living with the sole purpose of making the defeated heroines happy—I couldn't let something like that happen.
"Get lost? That's way too harsh to a comrade you've been eating and sleeping next to every day. I'm hurt."
As I joked around, Elfin, who had been polishing her bow, widened her eyes and glared at me.
Her gaze was so sharp it looked like it could shoot out beams.
"A comrade you've been eating and sleeping next to every day? Was I even that much to you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't even care about me that much. If you're just gonna pretend to look after me on the surface, then just get lost. Don't act like you're interested out of pity. Just leave me alone."
"Hey, even if it is that time of the month, aren't you being too sensitive? What are you gonna do when reality hits you later after snapping at everyone like this?"
"That time? What do you mean? It's not that time for me."
So she did all that while fully sober?
That was scary in its own way.
Realizing I'd misunderstood something, Elfin got even more heated and yelled.
"No, wait. So you thought I was just overreacting because it was that time, without even realizing what you did?"
"...It wasn't?"
"Argh... Get out!!!"
Elfin, furious to the tips of her hair, screamed at me and grabbed her bow, heading toward the forest.
"Hey, at least tell me why you're mad so I can make it up to you—instead of just blowing up out of nowhere and storming off—"
Whoosh—
At that moment, plants burst up from the ground and attacked me.
"Gasp!"
I dodged in surprise, but whether it barely grazed me or she never intended to hit me for real, the plants only brushed my clothes.
The problem was that my outfit got splashed with the digestive juices from those Paris Hell lookalikes from earlier, melting part of it away.
She probably didn't summon them to actually dissolve me, but just letting them graze me was threat enough.
No matter how upset she was, how could she attack an ally like that?
Fuming, I tossed aside my melted, rag-like shirt and chased after Elfin.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
She didn't summon any more plants after that one stress-relief attack, but she didn't turn back at my words either.
I huffed and puffed after her, and Elfin suddenly stopped at a certain spot, standing still with her back to me.
"Even if you're mad, there's a line—you don't attack your own side! My clothes melted! What's your problem? I haven't done anything wrong to you!"
"You haven't done anything wrong?"
"Yeah, nothing! No, you're the one in the wrong! Attacking the imperial army—well, that was unavoidable, so fine. But why keep acting all prickly afterward? Are you a kid? If something's bothering you, say it so we can sort it out instead of sulking alone..."
"No, about a year ago, I could've chalked up you attacking me for no reason. But not now. Why are you suddenly acting like it's a year ago and taking it out on me?"
"......"
"Hey, if you've got a mouth, say some—"
At that moment, Elfin turned toward me.
The sight of her left me speechless. She was crying.
"You really think you haven't done anything wrong? To me?"
"Why... are you crying?"
"You bastard, you said I was important. You said I wasn't useless! You even kissed me! Twice! I thought that meant you liked me... that you were considering my feelings, comforting me so gently, even kissing me because you liked me! So I opened my heart to you, even though I hated you so much!"
Elfin irritably wiped away her tears, but fresh ones welled up immediately.
With a voice thick with sobs, she spat out her words.
"But to you, I guess I'm not worth that much, huh? Ever since that kiss... no, since you stripped me back at the academy, I can't forgive it, but my feelings are all jumbled up—I've been agonizing over it so much!"
She approached and pounded my chest with her fists.
"I was agonizing and agonizing, so I confessed to Ravi about what to do, and right after, I see you naked with her, having a blast? With Lenis there too? How pathetic did I feel, huh? One of us is losing her mind over just two kisses, while you—the guy in question—are out in broad daylight with two girls, outdoors... Ugh..."
As she spoke, Elfin choked up and forced down sobs, hiccuping.
Only then did I understand why she was so thorny all over.
She must have seen me, Ravi, and Lenis tangled up naked before coming here.
According to Ravi, Elfin had started liking me and asked for advice on what to do. But mere minutes after spilling that, she walks in on a threesome...
Ravi got moody hearing it and went aggressive, Elfin saw us and got pissed and prickly, and it snowballed.
Elfin desperately tried to hold back her tears, but once the dam broke, she couldn't control it. She made weird gulping noises trying to swallow sobs while stuttering on.
"Ugh... D-Do you not even see me... hic... as a woman? Ravi's... ugh... sweet and kind... hic... Lenis is human like you, so she listens to you in the end? Sniff... So you do it with them but not me? Just kiss me and toy with me?"
Now Elfin couldn't hold back and just cried as she spoke.
"Sniff... I always cursed you out at the academy, hated you openly, so you're just playing with me! Ravi and Lenis weren't that bad, so only them! And I can't even complain because you saved me and my clan! Look at me now! Waaah... Even when Brayden dumped me, it didn't feel this bad—what right do you have to make me so miserable..."
Elfin collapsed to the ground and wailed pitifully.
Seeing her blubbering with snot and tears was heartbreaking, but also kind of cute.
Feeling left out made her old insecurities flare up again, causing this mess.
Even in that mental state, she'd scared off the imperial army without killing anyone—impressive, really...
I approached Elfin and tried to hug her, but...
"Let go!"
She shoved me away while crying.
Yet she just stood there, sniffling nonstop.
I stood before her and quietly asked.
"Should I just go, then?"
"Yeah, go! Get lost! I don't even want to look at you!"
"You want me to really leave?"
"...... Waaah! Uwaaaah!"
Glared at me like a viper, then—as if her status as the elf elder's granddaughter meant nothing—she burst into childlike sobs.
I approached the crying Elfin and hugged her tight. She struggled in my arms.
"Let go, you damn jerk! Someone like you... someone like you..."
"Tch."
I made a soft clicking sound to quiet her, and she soon fell silent, trembling in my embrace.
"Sniff... You jerk... Bad guy... Making a girl feel this pathetic... Trash... Beast..."
"I never imagined you'd seen that. I didn't mean it that way—sorry for hurting you."
"Anyone can say words like that! Damn... Why do I have to feel like this because of you? Thinking back, you stripped me in front of everyone at the academy... Why did I ever..."
"I swear on everything I have—I don't think of you any differently from Ravi or Lenis. Uh... sounds bold, but I love all three of you equally. You hated me so much, I was worried pushing too fast would just make you resent me more. I didn't know you felt that way. I love you, Elfin."
"...... I heard you say that exact same thing to Ravi and Lenis, you shameless pervert perv lecherous libertine..."
Hmm, no lies there.
But what can you do about a guy with a lot of girl troubles? Especially in a world where harems aren't illegal.
"Still gonna say I love you. Because it's true."
"......"
Silent for a moment, Elfin shoved me hard, knocking me to the ground.
This felt eerily like what happened a few hours ago...
Elfin straddled my bare upper body—exposed after ditching my clothes—and glared down at me with tear-filled eyes.
"Because of you, I've got nowhere left to fall. You made me this pathetic—you take responsibility for making me like this. Prove you like me too, not just Ravi and Lenis!"
That's just code for wanting sex, right?
Thrilled inside, I gently stroked her smooth legs.
"I can prove it all day long."