Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: The Cinema of Lies
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Victoria and I entered the place called a cinema, our arms linked. Its interior looked like a well-decorated ballroom.
“How is it? This is a VVIP-only cinema. A place specially created for you.”
An ornate chandelier brightly illuminated the space, and a sweet scent brushed the tip of my nose, tempting every sense. The place was filled with figures whose heads were half missing, shadow-like beings—everyone except us.
“Disgusting. Velamora, just how many people’s souls have you taken as collateral and turned into slaves?”
- They’re all just remnants of memories. Fakes that mimic their living forms, devoid of emotion or soul.
Victoria grimaced, clearly displeased as she watched them. To her, a Saint, these shadows must look like the succubus queen’s underlings.
“…I haven’t counted. They’re just the lifeforms I turned into shadows after creating what I consider masterpieces in film.”
Velamora counted on her fingers as if doing a simple tally, then shook her head vigorously, as if giving up on the calculation.
“That ‘film’ you mentioned, isn’t it just a reconstruction of other people’s memories or lives?”
“Exactly! A person’s life is inherently unique, after all! Even identical twins differ in appearance, age, and even the environment they grew up in! You have a discerning eye…!”
Velamora smiled, baring her fangs as if praising me, and tried to wrap her arms around my other empty arm like Victoria.
“…Get lost.”
“How mean. I might cry, you know?”
I brushed off Velamora’s physical contact and shot her a contemptuous look. She even pretended to wipe away fake tears.
“You’re not crying, but your acting is superb.”
“Oh my, was I caught? I thought all your intelligence went to your chest, but I guess not.”
Velamora immediately looked at Victoria’s chest and began to disparage her, as if envying the large pouch of divine power at the end of her gaze.
“With those meager breasts, will you even be able to properly feed a child later? I think one would starve if they weren’t at least this size…”
Victoria let out a soft laugh at Velamora and pressed her chest even tighter against my arm. Her substantial presence was vividly felt through my arm.
- To provide breast milk for eleven children, my current size might be insufficient. I’ll have to ask Astal-nim to massage them later. They say they grow bigger when touched by someone you like!
Hearing her inner thoughts as she licked her lips while looking at me with a lewd expression gave me goosebumps. Where does she even get such information?
“Ultimately, isn’t being a good wife determined by more than just breast size?”
“I understand the jealousy of not having what you desire, but frankly, I find it ugly, Velamora.”
- I think I can be infinitely more lewd than that succubus when it comes to Astal-nim…
The sight of the Saint dressed like a harlot and the pure Succubus Queen picking at each other’s flaws was enough to give me a splitting headache just from listening.
“Don’t you think I could give you a more ecstatic experience than you, a Saint? Intercourse with a succubus is inherently different from that of an ordinary human.”
“Is that so? My partner only gets sexually aroused by my figure, so I doubt such a thing would happen.”
Velamora provocatively smiled at Victoria, who, like a snake crossing a wall, showed no sign of backing down.
“Oh my, can I check if that’s really true? I doubt they’d wear out even if I just touched them a little with my hands.”
“My apologies, but I’ve already applied saliva to these first.”
Victoria glared at her rival, showing a fierce possessiveness over me. The fiery exchange of glances sent a chill down my spine.
“Did you two suck and lick each other behind my back? It doesn’t seem you’ve gone that far yet… Then doesn’t that mean I still have a chance?”
“Is that all a lowly wench who hasn’t tasted Astal-nim’s substantial member can imagine? Your imagination is as impoverished as your chest. Ah, and your chest, of course.”
- Later, I really want to make Astal-nim spend a hot night crying out my name. Sharing passionate lovemaking while his waist trembles and his toes curl.
Listening to the increasingly explicit remarks, my head began to throb. Victoria’s inner thoughts were spiraling out of control to counter Velamora.
“…Could you two maybe tone it down a bit?”
I let out a deep sigh and spoke to Victoria and Velamora.
I thought I’d experienced enough jealousy and envy among women during my time at the Magic Tower, but I hadn’t expected it to be this intense.
I’d seen two female juniors who sent me love letters fighting and pulling each other’s hair from afar, but now it felt like they were wielding blades on their tongues, just not using physical violence.
“No matter what anyone says, my lover right now is Victoria. Whatever you do, Velamora, that fact won’t change.”
I gently stroked Victoria’s head as I spoke. I had to make Velamora not doubt the fact that we were lovers.
After all, the reason we came here was to kill the Four Heavenly Kings before defeating the Demon King.
I didn’t want to miss the chance to see my parents again, who didn’t even leave behind a tombstone.
“You… What’s gotten into you, saying such commendable things?”
- Head pats, I like…
My words divided Victoria and Velamora’s joy and sorrow. The Saint hummed a happy tune as I stroked her head, while…
“Ha…? You’re taking the side of that milk-boy who only knows how to lewdly shake his chest like that? I didn’t take you for that!”
The Succubus Queen threw the accessories she was wearing to the floor and stomped her feet, looking so much like a child throwing a tantrum that it was confusing who was the succubus and who was the holy woman.
How many men in this world are loved by two such contrasting women? I rubbed my forehead with my other hand, pondering what to do next.
“…You really are a pervert. Well, that part is manly and lovable too.”
Then, Velamora slightly loosened the front of her dress, trying to seduce me. The rustling sound revealed pale skin with faint veins visible.
“Well, can I excite you like this too? I don’t think my size is something to be ignored either.”
Velamora asked with a confident smile.
It was a figure and appearance that would easily seduce any other man, but I instead felt a bitter taste in my mouth.
“My eyes feel like they’re rotting.”
This was the killer of my parents trying to win my heart. I even felt the urge to gouge out my own eyes for having seen it.
Then, along with someone’s voice, my vision went completely dark. A soft, pleasant floral scent began to waft around.
“Don’t take in such sights. You mustn’t fall for that lewd harlot’s schemes, Astal.”
Victoria brought her lips close to my ear and whispered in a sweet, sticky voice.
“…I wasn’t going to fall for it in the first place.”
“You’re also a virile man, aren’t you? Lust is one of humanity’s basic desires, so please understand that I, as your lover, can’t help but feel anxious.”
Victoria had unwrapped her arm from mine and was now pressed tightly against my back. The sensation of her flesh pressing against and conforming to my back was vividly felt.
- Once this is over, I’ll give you a chance to touch my bare chest directly. Isn’t a large chest you can touch better than a small one you can’t?
“…….”
Hearing Victoria’s inner thoughts, I tightly closed my eyes, praying that this would pass without further incident.
The occasional sinister remarks that reached my ears made it hard to believe they were her thoughts.
“Hmm, then I’ll try another method. They say in romance films, you should first capture a man’s stomach.”
Seeing that seduction wasn’t working, Velamora clicked her tongue slightly and pointed to a distant concession stand.
With her one gesture, the shadows with half-missing heads busily moved about, preparing something.
“Would you like something to eat? Popcorn? Squid? Cola? Just name it! All the staff here will follow your orders, Astal-nim, since you have a VVIP ticket!”
Velamora smiled while chewing on the leg of a dried, twisted creature and a black liquid with bubbling foam.
“…Not really appealing. First of all, where do you even get these things?”
Looking at the array of foods I’d never seen before—except for the fried corn—a question began to form in a corner of my mind.
In this barren, blood-soaked Demon Realm teeming with demons and monsters, how could such miraculous items be sold?
“I saw the memories of lunatics who claimed to be from another world and had them imported directly. Thanks to that, I could build this cinema on a grand scale, so ultimately, it’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Lunatics who claim to be from another world…?”
There are other worlds besides this one?
Hearing this for the first time in my life, I widened my eyes, trying not to miss anything strange.
“Ah, explaining it like this won’t make sense! Sometimes the gods pick heroes from other worlds to send here to kill the Demon King.”
“…I’ve heard of that. There are historical records of otherworlders among hero parties.”
“Well, ultimately, no human can kill our Demon King, so calling them lunatics is a waste, but still.”
“That’s a harsh thing to say about the dead. I see the demonic nature is immutable.”
- They all probably became sustenance for Velamora, the Succubus Queen. Now I understand why this territory feels so different from the rest of the Demon Realm.
Victoria trembled upon hearing Velamora’s words. Seeing her clenched fists, it seemed she was barely restraining herself from swinging her hammer right then.
“Oh my, I didn’t kill them, though? I only enslaved those who voluntarily swore allegiance to me. My ultimate goal is for all life to live in happy dreams, after all.”
“And a bitch with such a noble purpose is using these husks, whose memories and souls have been completely sucked dry, as shadow employees?”
“Well, the memories were useful… but there were also many horny monkey bastards who sold their souls just to touch my chest once. See, I think you’re the only one for me, Astal-nim?”
Velamora grinned at me, and I suppressed the urge to cut her down right then and there at that detestable smile.
“Let’s buy popcorn and cola first, then watch the movie. I can’t watch without them! My recommendation is caramel popcorn!”
“…You and I will settle things after the movie ends.”
To see my parents again, I had no choice but to go along with Velamora’s words, distasteful as they were.
“May I take your order?”
“I’ll have caramel popcorn and that foamy white drink. Also that snack that looks tasty… no, give me one of everything here.”
“Victoria…?”
Victoria’s eyes sparkled as she ordered every single item on the menu. I had momentarily forgotten her love for delicious food.
“I need to check if there’s poison in the food Astal-nim will eat. What’s wrong with that?”
- It’s full of foods I’ve never seen in my life… Just smelling them, they look incredibly delicious…
I could practically hear Victoria swallowing her saliva. I suddenly imagined where all that food she was eating would end up in a certain part of her body.
“This is Velamora’s territory. How would we know what she might have done to the food?”
“Are you perhaps scared? No matter what tricks she plays, I won’t let Astal-nim be taken, so don’t worry. We’re a couple promised in marriage, aren’t we?”
Victoria raised the corner of her mouth as if it were nothing, watching Velamora grind her teeth in jealousy.
“Since you’re a dating couple, shall I give you a couple’s set? It’s a bit larger in quantity and comes with a special gift.”
Then, the shadow selling food shocked us with its words.
A couple’s set? I’d never even heard of such a culture.
“What kind of gift is it?”
“Well, something related to the movie currently showing. For Astal-nim’s life story… It’s a ring with a cosmos flower pattern.”
The cosmos flower—it was the flower my mother loved, the one my father personally obtained and planted in front of our house.
It was also what I used later when I returned to my hometown and held a modest funeral for my parents.
How could she possibly know even this?
I was starting to feel increasingly uneasy about this so-called film.
“Then we’ll have that, please.”
- A ring identical to Astal-nim’s on my left ring finger… This means we have to get married…
Victoria snatched the pair of rings from the shadow’s hand like an eagle seizing its prey.
“Hey, you shadow…! What the hell are you doing?! I told you to give that ring to me and Astal-nim secretly…!”
“Huh? Wasn’t that story meant for another shadow, not me? I didn’t hear anything like that.”
The ring, which was presumably originally prepared by Velamora, ended up in Victoria’s grasp.