Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Unconscious Flag Planting
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Twitch, twitch.
Fidget, fidget.
Roll, roll.
That’s the kind of sounds El’s fidgeting would make if it had a voice.
Her fingers couldn’t stay still, her lips pursed cutely, and her eyes darted around endlessly like she was about to do something naughty.
Her behavior made me feel like we’d been caught in an affair, which was awkward as hell.
...Honestly, it was kinda turning me on.
“U-um...”
Unable to figure out how to break the ice, she suddenly shot her hand up in the air.
"H-hi!"
She spread her arms wide like a kid crossing the street at a crosswalk, her face flushed with embarrassment—it was painfully awkward.
But I’m a nice guy, so instead of pointing it out, I greeted her back politely.
"Hello."
Why’d she come here?
From her presence, it seemed like she’d come alone...?
Did El have something personal to discuss with me?
The thought of a beautiful girl sneaking into a guy’s room late at night... damn, turning me on again.
But nah, she probably didn’t have ‘those’ intentions.
El loved her boyfriend enough to elope with him, after all.
So why would lovebird El come here, risking misunderstandings?
My eyes drifted to what she was wearing.
It was lighter than her usual outfit.
In other words, a bit more revealing.
Not by much—just her shoulders showing—but the fabric was so sheer, it was kinda see-through.
If I squinted, it almost looked like I could see right through to her skin. Flowy, translucent fabric.
Driving me crazy.
My current status: hadn’t jerked off in over a week.
And here was a girl with a sharp personality but a drop-dead gorgeous face, dressed like that.
I barely restrained the black dragon in my pants from making its presence known.
We’d just started getting along with El—couldn’t go full mast the second she visits at night?
‘Gross.’
I could almost hear El’s contemptuous voice.
And how would I face Flat??
So, endure it, Yedre.
That aside. Her petite, childlike frame made me think her chest would be small too... but nope, pretty decent—actually, quite impressive volume.
I swear I only glanced at her chest for a split second before looking back at her face.
Girls are super sensitive to stares; they notice that shit instantly.
“U-um...”
Too late, apparently.
El must’ve caught my gaze—her cheeks flushed the tiniest bit pink, and she twisted her body.
Her chest twisted along with it... fuck, no. Hold up.
Why was I still ogling her body even after telling myself to hold back?
My upstairs brain and downstairs brain were locked in a bloody battle.
Outwardly calm, but inside, reason and instinct were flipping back and forth.
El was just that attractive.
"Um, listen..."
"Yes."
Holy shit, startled me.
Lost in dirty thoughts, I snapped back with a loud reply.
She flinched like a cat after starting the conversation herself, then squeezed her eyes shut like she’d made up her mind and shouted.
"Y-you’re strong! You!"
"......?"
"So... respectable."
Her eyes sparkled when she opened them again.
Maybe she came to say thanks?
"Ah! N-no, that’s not it! I came to say thank you! I didn’t expect you to end up that battered because of me..."
Yep, came to thank me.
The weird arousal faded, replaced by a warm feeling in my chest.
"No need. I was just testing out some new techniques, so don’t worry about it."
"R-really?"
Awkward conversation.
But a pleasant one, full of mutual consideration.
Somehow, it felt... emotional.
That El, who’d first looked at me like What the hell is this idiot?, was now showing me goodwill.
After a brief silence, El spoke up brightly.
"You’re enrolling in Prynar Academy too, right?"
"Not entirely decided yet."
"I see... But I think you should. It’s a place where all the big shots strut around, and even outsiders dream of getting in but can’t. If Dre enrolls, you’d be the first outsider to do it."
Her eyes full of genuine excitement made me smile.
"I’ll think positively about it."
"Yeah! If you do, you’ll have to head to the capital, right? Wanna go with me—er, us?"
That initial "me" part caught my attention, but I didn’t show it.
"Appreciate the offer, but I already promised Gold I’d go with him."
"Oh, Gold, yeah. Right."
She looked a bit down, but probably my imagination.
Still, seeing her like this was cute.
Just two days ago, she’d only been an annoying brat in my eyes.
...Nah, that insane curve of her plump ass made her look anything but a kid anymore.
And that faint perfume scent was totally my type...
......
Fuck.
Thoughts drifting that way again.
Guess I’d need some self-comfort time after she leaves.
For now, change the subject.
"By the way, what happened with Prostia?"
"Huh?"
"That day. Didn’t the heirs of the Ten Great Families say they had questions and stay behind?"
Not just Gold—Clarit and El had stayed to interrogate too.
"Nothing much. Asked some questions, but she dodged most with excuses about restrictions."
"Conversation go smoothly?"
"Once you vanished, she got cocky. But she flinched every time we mentioned Dre."
"I see."
Getting cuter the more I think about it. Prostia.
"Yeah. Seriously, incredibly impressive. No exaggeration—Prostia’s an ancient dragon called a god beyond dragons. Beating something like that... Do you even get what that means?"
Waiting for my answer, El stepped closer.
My bad—she didn’t smell like perfume.
It was that feminine scent, her body’s natural aroma piercing straight to my core, making me tingle.
Now close, she whispered.
"You’re a Dragon Slayer."
Nah, that’s not right?
Dragon Slayer’s a title you earn by killing dragons, right?
But my voice wouldn’t come out.
My eyes were glued to her stunning, pale face.
"Even in Prynar Academy, crawling with monsters, no one’s accomplished what you have. Maybe the headmaster, Renea, at best."
"You flatter me. Prostia didn’t even use half her power. Anyone could’ve..."
My words trailed off naturally. El’s mouth hung open, cheeks red, eyes sparkling like she was in awe.
"Amazing! Prostia said the exact same thing! How do you know an ancient dragon’s condition so precisely?"
"Well..."
"No, asking about someone’s skills is rude, huh."
It wasn’t a skill—it was the gods dumping it on me—but whatever.
"Oh right. You asked about Prostia? Being that powerful, we couldn’t do much. Left her in the cave."
"That okay?"
"No choice? She swore on her name, so no danger. She clammed up about why she targeted us, but we got one harvest."
"Harvest?"
"Vague, but... the true Demon King might revive."
True Demon King? What’s that even mean?
Wanted to ask, but didn’t wanna seem ignorant now that El was warming up to me.
"Prostia told you?"
"Kinda... She tried hiding it, but it slipped out during talk."
That dumbass ancient dragon. How’d she give it away?
"Not even fazed by ‘true Demon King’? Must be big for outsiders too."
Her eyes screamed Dre’s different from other outsiders! Super burdensome.
Why? What’s this true Demon King guy even about?
"Anyway, we’re leaving Prostia be, but her movements are under watch by all Ten Great Families, allies like the Holy Kingdom, Adventurer’s Guild, knights, outsiders—everyone."
"Got it."
Oh, and El added that they hadn’t revealed it was Prostia to outsiders—just called it a dangerous creature.
"We’ll handle daily monitoring, but if controlling that dragon gets too tough, we might have to rely on you."
"That’s scary."
No joke—I don’t wanna tangle with that lizard again.
30% power nearly killed me.
And she didn’t even use magic, her dragon specialty. If she went all out, I’d get wrecked for sure.
...Wait. Is that why she came?
Maybe El wants me to regularly beat down Prostia to keep her in line?
I don’t know much about the dragon’s status, but it’s clearly huge. Taming something like that would be insane honor, right?
El’s thoughtful and makes sound judgments, but she’s still an heir to a prestigious family.
Plenty of reason to act for her clan’s benefit.
Not hating it, but not thrilled either—sneaking into a guy’s room at night for that? Plausible.
If that’s her intent, I respect her humanity aside, but it’s a tough proposal.
If it’s just occasional talks for smooth comms, hard pass.
Change topic.
"By the way, El."
"Just El’s fine!"
She stepped forward saying that, so I took a step back.
Swallowed hard, inhaling her intoxicating body scent.
"We’ll... take it slow."
Blurted it out, and her face turned red.
"R-really? S-slowly? Yeah... makes sense, since we’ll see each other more..."
Her reaction was weird.
Could easily lead to misunderstandings.
"Yes. So, El... your family okay?"
"Huh? Family?"
"Yeah. Weren’t you and Flat on the run? Unless you rack up merits..."
"Oh, that? Sorted out last night."
"What?"
El flashed a confident smile.
"Remember when we gathered in the guild branch chief’s office for the strategy briefing?"
"Yeah."
"Apiz said I couldn’t be dissuaded for nothing? It was already settled with my dad."
"Uh... what?"
Exact same words I’d heard from Apiz.
So she really was protesting.
"So, Dre. From when they assigned you as my escort, Dad decided to let me have my way. Figured he couldn’t break my stubbornness, so he asked Apiz to keep me from doing anything too reckless."
Apiz had hinted the Graize family head would cave eventually.
Still, I worried a bit and asked.
"Isn’t that too optimistic?"
"Nah. Happened a few times before. And family’s family."
Didn’t seem overconfident.
Just stating the obvious.
"They’ve been dead set against us for ages, chasing me and Flat relentlessly. Punished any group helping us. Apiz is already demoted and laying low—why else would he support me so actively?"
"I see."
Made sense hearing it.
But Apiz mentioned a force to neutralize her self-destruction.
Even if conceding, half seemed forceful—hope that’s fine.
"Obviously, he told Apiz he had ways to neutralize my stunt to save face. Asked him to hold out till then. But no such thing exists? Dad knows exactly how I’d react if they came prepared!"
“......”
Somehow felt like Apiz and the Graize head were dancing in El’s palm.
"And Dad adores me."
"Really."
"Yeah. Now he’s finally cheering on his daughter’s love... or whatever."
El’s expression got complicated.
She glanced at me, blushed, looked down, shook her head—repeat.
......Wow. So damn cute.
Atmosphere turned steamy in seconds.
Wanna say something, but no topics.
Wait, there was one, but might be rude.
Silence was torture—more like, our sneaky glances, sealed lips, flinches... this sweet tension felt dangerous, so I probed gently.
"Um... that priestess who was with you guys—split up?"
"Oh, Remi? Heard she’s coming with her family."
Casual reply. With her family?
She’d fled with El and Flat—okay now?
If okay, she went.
Silence again.
El broke it first.
"Hey, Dre. If I had to rack up merits by raiding bandits, would you have helped?"
Teasing tone. She’s joking now.
Snickered inwardly and replied.
"No."
"E-eh... Isn’t that too blunt?"
A bit miffed but playful—cute. So I matched her tone.
"Instead, I planned to give you merits on par. If you need some now, I could hand over the Prostia subjugation credit."
"......"
Brief silence. Then El spoke.
"You’d do that much... for me?"
"......"
Her expression changed. Eyes hazy, lips parted slightly, looking up like she wanted something.
Suddenly felt hotter.
Her face seemed red...
Her eyes went behind me.
To the bed, precisely.
...This was heading somewhere bad.
Blurted desperately.
"Not just for you—for me too. Can’t go wrong cozying up to a Graize lady."
"T-talk about smooth! Yeah! Let’s stay friends from now on!"
She reached out like brushing it off—I went to grab her hand... but her eyes were on my crotch.
...Huh? Did I pop a boner without noticing?
Looked down—phew, no. But problem: my dick’s pretty big. Objectively huge.
So the outline was showing through my tight pants.
...Fuck.
"...Wow... Way bigger than Flat’s... by chance..."
"Uh, El?"
Grab! She suddenly clutched my hand. Crazy heat from her palm. Mad?
That instant, a flash burst from her body toward me.
What? Attack? No hostility.
No, not an attack.
"Se-service scan! I’ll check your body for you!"
Scan?
"Heard your abilities were sealed."
"Maybe Prostia loosened it? Graize exclusive—try it. No loss. If hand doesn’t work, back or stomach usually does..."
......Huh?
Something felt off.
Bad premonition if this continued.
But not life-threatening, so despite my flushing face, I nodded.
"Sure, thanks..."
"G-gonna do it?"
Her hand fidgeting...
Then the scan started.
No special effects.
But something churned inside me.
One was El’s Prynar, the other... mine?
Skill made a geeeeng hum—that was the only visible change. After 10 seconds, she pulled away.
Already over?
Her hand felt so soft, gripping it was nice... a bit disappointing.
......
Crazy bastard. How to face Flat?
Cursed myself, soothed my twitching dick.
Worried she noticed my downstairs state during the scan.
“......!!”
Something wrong.
El’s face pale as a ghost.
"......"
"El?"
"Listen, Dre."
"Uh? Yeah."
"This is dangerous."
......?
What’s dangerous?
"No way you don’t know. You’d be in agony."
"What do you mean?"
Not hurting at all?
"Your body’s imbalanced."
"......"
Do I look fat?
Or some deformity?
"Vessel way too weak for your power. And worst, your... body..."
El couldn’t continue.
What the fuck?
Her face dead serious. Not joking.
Why my body?
I feel fine?
"...No way. That attack nullification technique."
Pale El muttered.
Then looked up at me shocked.
"B-because of me...?"
"Huh? Yeah?"
What? Tell me so I can freak out too.
"......Dre."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Don’t use that technique anymore."
"You mean..."
"Don’t play dumb!"
Fuck, startled.
Sudden yell-fest.
But desperate expression, so I nodded.
"I’ll come back tomorrow."
She left with resolved look.
Made me feel like I had some terminal illness.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The Great Sword’s ? speaks.]
>Sorry. Bonus stats normally have no side effects, but giving you skills beyond your level at once caused this. Will investigate exact cause and fix soon.
What fix...?
Right after El’s ominous words, this god-like message—suddenly freaking out.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skill: Understanding of All Things activated. Informing you of your body’s status.]
Recent skill activation.
And its revelation was shocking.
⚠️ CRITICAL WARNING ⚠️ [High risk of physical collapse.]
[Two reasons:]
1. Multiple full assimilations with incoming power from massive attacks to endure them.
2. Sudden infusion of immense power/skills into weakened outsider body overwhelms weak vessel.
[On verge of collapse. Will dissolve into Prynar as-is.]
......What?
No warning signs, outta nowhere what?
Sudden death sentence, but too abrupt—no real panic.
Plus, unease. Notification felt... off from usual, nagging my senses.
"......"
After pondering, conclusion: So? Any fix?
None? Then I’ll go decapitate that Prostia fucker right now.
Stress relief? Tough shit.
Solution came quick.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 📋 Solution: Acquire body matching power for mind/soul. 🎯 Method: Level up. At least to Lv. 100. ⚠️ Collapse Rate: 78%
"......"
78 percent?
Almost 100??
How much rises daily? Hourly?
Like answering, another window.
[At current rate: +1-3% every ~3 days expected] "Thanks for the kind explanation."
Too random to even get mad.
How much hunting to hit Lv. 100?
Understanding of All Things answered again.
[Optimal efficiency in level-appropriate fields: ~1789 days estimated] "100% doomed, huh?"
Fuck no. Gods, show yourselves, you bastards.
Sudden power in weakened body—definitely the recent rewards.
Block Prostia and they fuck me up?
Blessing my ass—curse.
...No.
They’re arbitrary, but not malicious.
Probably didn’t grasp Know Thyself and Know Thy Enemy’s mechanics, assumed high level from my mystery skills, dumped tons—caused this.
What now...?
[Recommended Leveling Method.] Yes. Understanding of All Things—you’re all I got.
Best skill ever.
[Recommend combining unique skill Prynar’s Blessing with NTR, Netori, Plunder Love skill.] [Optimal efficiency: ~88 days estimated] .....
What to even say.
......This screams bullshit no matter how I slice it...?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Dre’s body was a total mess.
Left like this, it could break down anytime.
El felt her eyes heat up.
He’d endured that for people he’d never had good ties with—for them.
El felt pity, guilt... and a budding affection.
‘I won’t let you die.’
Whatever it takes, she resolved.
Yes. First, take him to the capital.
Use every Graize secret art to heal that body.
Just days ago, she’d planned serious progress with Flat upon return—now unaware she thought only of Dre.