Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Momentum Far Exceeding the Goddess's Expectations (1)
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"So... that's what happened."
I rushed straight to the imperial palace and made my report.
The recipients were Liliana, the overall commander of this operation.
And as a bonus, Empress Luna.
Their reactions were, as expected, far from positive.
"Does that even make sense...? Not only did a high-ranking demon come charging in naked, but she offered to hand over her own kin and begged to be taken as a slave?"
"But Your Majesty, the only explanation for her leaving peacefully is—"
"Liliana, be quiet. I know that, but still, this is too much."
"...You're right."
Everyone looked utterly dissatisfied.
I mean, I probably would've reacted the same way.
If it had been someone like Hilde saying this, I would've just shrugged it off as 'her doing her usual Hilde thing.'
But who am I?
The man who's already aided the empire with countless strategies.
A master tactician rivaling Zhuge Liang and Si... Sima Yi.
There was no reason for them not to trust my word.
That was why I could report this so confidently.
"I confirmed it myself~? At the very least, within the range of my blessing, I didn't detect any malice from her."
"If the empire's sage says so."
"......"
'So they believe me just because it's me, right?'
It felt like they trusted Minerva's words more, though.
Probably just my imagination.
I ignored it and continued.
"Anyway, I have a proposal."
"Yi Hyun?"
"—Let's find the 'Hero' already."
The Hero. The one who slew a high-ranking demon before I arrived, publicly recognized as the empire's strongest.
Her strength was unquestionable.
The phrase I heard most often was 'to follow in that Hero's footsteps,' which said it all.
Searching for a powerhouse like that would
"Be a huge help in future high-ranking demon subjugations."
'Since my attack power is lacking, after all.'
When another demon on Saleos's level comes charging in someday.
She'd serve as the sword to hold him at bay.
Lumine and Minerva's gazes locked onto me.
"Yi Hyun...! You mean...!"
"Hyun, you're serious? Not that I mind saying it, but if she comes back, your position..."
"Frankly, my strength is overhyped compared to hers. The empire needs a proven powerhouse like her."
I replied without changing my expression.
This was genuinely for the empire's sake,
"So that more innocent blood doesn't have to be spilled."
'How long are we going to rely on Lumine's holy—death spear alone?'
Honestly, I hadn't liked this operation much.
It worked out fine, but if things had gone normally, countless adventurers would've died.
No one enjoys operations like that.
Ideally, no one dies at all.
It was a childish thought, even by my own standards,
"Yi Hyun...♡"
"You really know how to make a person feel embarrassed. In this way, you're just like our Hero."
Not just the former Hero party's members,
"Sigh, you're too good-hearted for your own good."
"Isn't this the makings of a hero?"
"No helping it, then. As his companion, I'll just have to guide him well."
Even the sisters pretending to be mother and daughter didn't object.
My nose naturally lifted in pride...
"Once you're married and inherit the throne, you'll be busy enough. Leave him to me."
"...Why do you keep calling my companion 'that one'?"
"What's wrong with the title~? Anyway, Liliana, no news on the pregnancy yet?"
"Yi Hyun and I will handle it, so don't worry, Mo... Your Majesty."
"......"
Uh-oh, why are they suddenly in a staring contest?
Maybe because they've been busy with Saleos lately, they turned off skills for sex or something.
Everyone's discipline has gone lax.
"Leave the pregnancy to me. I'll work hard on it."
'Consider tonight sleepless, you two.'
I activated the 'Heat Pheromone' skill and looked at them.
When the skill level was low, I had to bring my dick right up to them to trigger it,
Skill 'Heat Pheromone' activated.
-Tremble tremble.
"Hngh...♡"
"D-don't say that in front of people♡"
Now it triggered just from a whiff of cocaine.
The females growling at each other in their power struggle instantly fell silent.
A swell of pride brought a smile to my face.
...Until I heard the sound of water.
-Drip drip.
"Mmmngh♡"
"......"
'Oh right. Lumine.'
Sorry, I didn't mean to turn you into a pussy juice dispenser too.
I bowed my head deeply.
This one felt genuinely bad.
-Mumble mumble.
"Crazy, no way all of them..."
Minerva's mutter reached my ears, making it even worse.
Permission for the Hero search itself came easily.
"I'll send orders to Vice Captain Blanc of the 2nd Knight Order. Have the Imperial 2nd Knight Order conduct the search."
"What about Lumine and Minerva? We need them."
"Request denied. Their identities are top secret to the empire."
The hard part was recruiting the former Hero party.
I couldn't even blame them for refusing.
Even Minerva alone had blessings superior to mine in certain information aspects.
Lumine was basically an anti-demon death spear.
From the imperial family's perspective, they wouldn't want to send out such dangerous assets.
The parties themselves bowed their heads without protest.
They seemed to accept it as unavoidable.
'But I can bend the rules a bit, right?'
"Come on, don't do that."
Of course, I was the exception.
The imperial sisters' gazes fixed on me.
"You mean..."
"The search will go better with people who know the Hero well."
"But Yi Hyun? Those two are the empire's—"
"If I get busy searching for the Hero, I might not be able to visit as often."
"...That makes sense. Not that I'm waiting for you or anything!"
"His words ring true a hundred times over, Liliana."
"If even Your Majesty says so, no choice then."
They flipped their stance immediately.
Maybe they got desperate thinking about being cooped up alone while I was out.
It was so cute I couldn't help but smile.
That was why Minerva and Lumine were stuck to my side as I left the palace.
-Step step.
"Phew~ It all worked out."
"Hyun, what are you? How did you convince the royals?"
"They all recognize my loyalty to the empire."
"As expected of Yi Hyun♡"
"No, sigh... Our Lumine is too naive for her own good..."
Minerva seemed to have guessed about my harem.
She kept sighing heavily.
Then she glanced at me,
-Whisper whisper.
"You don't care who it is, as long as it's a woman?"
She started with an absurd accusation.
As if on cue, her robe parted naturally, exposing her cute navel down to her hairless pussy.
Of course, I didn't bat an eye.
'She's definitely twenty-six, right? All her nutrients must've gone to her brain. Poor thing.'
"As if. I'm not some brute who chases women indiscriminately."
Look, even with a naked body right in front of me, no erection, no reaction.
I'm a gentleman, you see.
I only did naughty things with mutual consent.
No reason to get scratched by baseless gripes.
Surprised by my reaction, Minerva muttered softly.
-Mutter.
"Hng... Staying unflustered even seeing this body of mine. Guess he's pretty ascetic after all."
"Your princess syndrome is too severe."
"What? You heard that? Why are your ears so sharp for no reason... Wait, princess syndrome? Why doesn't my blessing show that?"
"It's the disease where you think you're a princess."
"This kid really?"
But that lasted only a moment.
She chuckled and pinched my cheek.
Her gal-like casualness was refreshing, unlike Hilde, who was just an idiot.
"At this point, I can trust you with it. Not that it's anything new."
"The Hero search?"
"That too, and other things."
Then her eyes shifted to the opposite side.
To Lumine, who'd been walking awkwardly since earlier.
Her face was unbelievably flushed.
-Fidget fidget.
"Haa, hngh...♡"
"......"
'Even after turning off the cocaine skill.'
She hadn't said a word since the palace.
Minerva and I pretended not to notice, but she kept wiping her love juices with her clothes.
It suddenly felt a bit grim.
How does she even function in daily life?
-Whisper whisper.
"You mean you trust her with Lumine?"
"Hng~ Not completely clueless, huh?"
"I can't cure that either. Maybe send her to the countryside for a year of rest to desensitize her?"
"Not that... Oh, perfect timing."
We were whispering about Lumine's daily functionality when
Minerva suddenly stopped.
There was a fairly large statue.
"Know who this is?"
"No idea? It's so eye-catching I've seen it once or twice passing by, but I'm not into this stuff."
"Our Hero."
"Oh."
My indifferent gaze sharpened instantly.
Even as a statue, those voluptuous midsection curves were palpable.
Leagues above Minerva.
On par with Luna, right?
"Her breasts are huge."
"Pfft, careful saying that to our Hero or she'll scold you? She hated them so much, the sculptor even made them smaller."
"Whoa, this is smaller? Seems like it'd get in the way of fighting."
"She was insanely strong anyway. And she had the justice to match."
As I stared blankly up at the statue,
Minerva's voice softened.
She pulled over Lumine, who'd been twitching since earlier.
-Squeeze.
"Lumi, remember this?"
"Mmph...? W-what?"
"The night before the Shax subjugation, what we talked about at the inn."
"Th-that... I remember talking about all sorts of things after drinking."
"We talked about what we'd do once our battles ended and the world was at peace."
"......"
Lumine's ragged breathing eased a bit.
Partly because it was a serious talk,
-Rustle.
'Gotta step back for serious talks.'
The living aphrodisiac me backed off.
About ten meters?
Of course her arousal would subside.
I had good ears and could hear everything anyway.
"Remember we talked about marriage too?"
"...Yeah, we did."
"The Hero balked, saying she hated that stuff, and you laughed and said you wanted three kids."
"Minerva said she wanted a rich man. It was so you, I remember smiling."
"Right. And if any of us got married, we'd stand as each other's officiants. Remember?"
"Yes, we did. Fond memories."
The empire's strongest Hero party reminiscing.
It warmed my heart just listening...
"......"
'They stacked death flags to the max before leaving, huh?'
To me, it sounded like a conversation that screamed 'why do death flags the night before a big fight?' but anyway.
Minerva lifted the corner of her mouth.
Her eyes turned to me, far away.
-Whisper whisper.
"The Hero's watching, perfect time for a confession, right?"
"...?"
'Huh?'
What? Why confession out of nowhere?
My brain froze at the sudden development.
But Lumine reacted completely differently.
"Th-that is."
"I'll watch over you and the Hero here. Go on."
"...Okay."
-Step step—
She approached me with quick steps.
As if they'd planned it beforehand, her expression was incredibly resolute.
'No way she fell for me in the meantime? Ha, what to do with this magnetic man...'
Finally grasping what was happening, but...
———As always up to now.
Lumine showed yet another level of footwork this time.
"Yi Hyun. I, I, I...!"
[A 'Confession' is added to the target's Erotic Wall.]
"I am a lewd... one♡ Mmmngh♡"
"...Lumine?!"
"Lumi? Lumi!!?"
Before the Hero's statue.
Lumine couldn't hold back and climaxed.
-Squirt squirt...
"I li-like ittt♡"
"......"
Hey, Minerva.
How are you gonna salvage this awkward atmosphere?