[No title provided in translation]
With the emperor's permission, Lillia decided to secretly take death row inmates who had committed heinous crimes to the cult using her abilities as guinea pigs.
It might look like selling out fellow humans, but these were irredeemable scum with records of murder, rape, human experimentation, and other inhuman acts, so there wasn't much guilt involved. If anything, shouldn't they be grateful that they could contribute to our operation? They were trash that couldn't be recycled any other way, but at least this helped save lives.
"Mars~ Give me some essence before I go~"
"Yeah, sure."
A promise was a promise. I had no idea what was so great about my energy, but at the mention of essence, Lillia's eyes sparkled like a dog's at the word "treat." It was a bit of an odd comparison, but that's exactly how it was.
"Then shall we go to another room? An empty one..."
"Hey, cut the crap and do it right here."
Lady Celine growled sharply at Lillia, who was trying to drag me away. Her glare was like a tiger's at the zoo, radiating such intense pressure that even Lillia—and I—felt a little intimidated.
"Tch. Fine, we can do it here. But you guys are the ones who said to do it here, got it?"
Lillia sat me down on the nearby sofa and straddled my lap, facing me. As I flustered at the rather indecent sight for onlookers, she seized the moment and leaned in toward my neck.
"Here I go~ Nom nom— Gyaaaaah!!"
"You're not getting any."
But before her lips could touch, the princess grabbed Lillia's hair and yanked her back, foiling her plan in an instant.
"Listen up, Noctus."
"Y-yes? Your Highness."
I turned at the princess's summons, which oddly used my family name instead of my given one—
"Why didn't you dodge her? You could have easily..."
"Ah, well... It all happened so suddenly that I couldn't react properly..."
"...You?"
Yeah, fair point. Honestly, someone like me could have easily blocked Lillia's advances. Just a burst of aura from my body would have sent her flying.
Still... there are times when a man has to just sit still and take it. Even as an enemy-aligned villain, Lillia's looks were the kind anyone—100 out of 100—would call stunning. Add her sensual aura on top, and no red-blooded man could refuse her approach unless his equipment was broken.
Even when I first saw her at the mansion, I'd suppressed my emotions because her behavior was so suspicious, but her beauty had still stunned me. When a woman like that throws herself at you saying she likes you, pushing her away would just be rude...
"Well, I was surprised and couldn't react... and for her, it's basically just a meal, so no real reason to refuse... and also... uh, sorry."
Under the cold, wordless stares of the three women, I just apologized quickly and moved on. If they'd yelled or called me a pervert and hit me, that'd be one thing, but they just stared, making me shrink automatically. Guess I'd be the type to obey my wife unquestioningly even after marriage...
In the end, Lillia's essence absorption happened right there in front of everyone, with a simple handshake. She grumbled that hand contact reduced efficiency, but as soon as the saintess channeled her holy power, she sucked it up in a flash and hurried off to her mission.
With that, we agreed to receive updates on Lillia's progress through the imperial family and returned to the academy.
"The Grand Martial Festival?"
What greeted us wasn't just classmates and professors, but news of a special event.
"Yeah. Things got a bit messy in that territory you went to, right? That's why your return was delayed, and we're only telling you now."
The Grand Martial Festival. Beyond our Amor Academy, there were plenty of other top academies in the world. Sure, Amor was set up as the best for the game's stage, but I'd heard the others were elite institutions churning out talent too.
The Grand Martial Festival was a clichéd event where academies selected a host each year for friendly duels among cadets from various schools, inviting rivals to compete and measure strengths.
Ours was originally scheduled for next year, but the designated host academy had their campus damaged in an experiment's aftermath, making it hard to accommodate participants. No casualties, apparently, but all involved students were expelled, and their professors and chairman were tearing their hair out over the fallout.
"We understand the situation, but wasn't the festival next month? Can you prepare in just one month?"
"Yeah, we can."
"How?"
"We've got money."
"Ah."
I nodded in understanding at Professor Idrus's words. Money made it possible.
"Anyway, that's why I called you all. I want to ask you to participate. You're all top talents in your fields—perfect for upholding the academy's prestige."
Our club lineup was indeed stacked. Lady Celine was the only daughter of the magical powerhouse Euse family; Polo was the heir to Aura Lord Helios Count; the saintess went without saying; and though the princess might lack in martial prowess, she was a tactical genius versed in strategy from her emperor training. No wonder the professor eyed us expectantly.
"What about me?"
"Hm... You're out."
"Pardon? Why?"
"You want a grown adult crashing the kids' fight?"
"Ah."
If I joined the duels, it'd be in swordsmanship. The problem? My Aura Lord status was public knowledge. My opponent from another academy would end up clashing blades with a continental powerhouse. It might be an honor for them, but it'd shatter balance so badly that complaints were inevitable.
"So I just get to chill and watch?"
"Nah? You're sparring Helios Count. Already contacted them—they accepted gladly."
"What the hell."
"Ugh... How did it come to this... Maybe I can back out now... Nah, too late."
One of the Heaven God Cult's executives, Lillia, stood at the rendezvous point with her prior contact from the cult. Behind her, a dozen or so men stood in a neat line, staring blankly at the sky with unfocused eyes.
"They look a bit rough... but will they buy it...?"
Their poor state came from curses cast by imperial mages before she took them. Handing them over as-is would just bolster the enemy, so they'd been cursed to prevent them from turning their weapons on the empire even as bioweapons.
It made sense for the emperor prioritizing the nation's safety, but Lillia—the subject—fidgeted anxiously at the risk of her betrayal being exposed.
"Ugh... For now, focus on gathering intel. Gotta prep an escape route just in case."
Intoxicated by Mars's sweet essence, she'd forgotten: the Heaven God Cult was terrifying. If they discovered her leaking info, she'd become an experimental subject herself, toyed with until death.
Shivering at the thought, she forcibly changed the subject. "Come to think of it, why didn't my charm work on that guy?"
The other man with Mars: Polo Helios. Mars was an Aura Lord with strong mental defenses, fine—but Polo was just an immature swordsman from the Helios line, talented but green.
"Hmm... Something special about Helios blood, maybe?"
As she pondered, fog suddenly enveloped her.
'This fog... definitely 'that guy''s...'
"Long time no see, Lady Lillia."
"Oh? Uh... yeah, long time."
From the fog, a figure approached, speaking to her. The subtle mist had thickened unnoticed, blanketing everything until visibility was mere feet. The emerging man greeted the awkward Lillia with polite poise.
His face was shrouded in fog, hazy and indistinct, but his subtle joy at her return seeped through.
"It's been a few weeks. Have you... secured the subjects?"
"Yeah, over there. Surveillance is tight, so I couldn't get many."
The fog man clapped approvingly at the lineup of men behind her.
"Excellent. Not a huge number, but we're grateful for any. Others are bringing one or two each—not bad at all."
They used to turn whole villages into pens, but recent events ramped up imperial watch, nixing bold moves. They dispatched agents for kidnappings now, but only one or two at a time—no one matched Lillia's bulk hauls.
"But... all men?"
Lillia flinched.
"W-well... My power's weaker on women. Hassle if they wake up mid-transport, so I killed the women and took the men. For combatants, men are better, right?"
"Hm... Fair enough. Good work."
Lillia sighed in relief as the fog man turned and led her deeper into the mist. The unconscious prisoners followed, and soon the fog lifted—leaving no trace of the dozen men in the forest.