Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Living as a Sheep in the Lion's Den #4
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Elga von Liones was a girl with incredibly strong pride.
Thanks to that, she harbored a massive inferiority complex and jealousy toward Aira, and when Aira fell from grace, Elga had unwittingly played a major role in it.
In other words, Elga was like the key to a bad ending.
If it was a key like that, it would be best to get rid of it entirely.
Or, if that wasn't possible, make sure it was thoroughly under my control.
"Hey, Theo, tell me. Why'd you move forward with the talks without me? I was the one busting my ass fighting those barbarians and handling all the dirty work—does that mean I'm worth shit?"
"That's not—. I told you, it wasn't finalized yet, so I was keeping it secret for now."
"Don't make excuses—!"
Elga's shout roared like a lion's. It was so loud that I flinched and wanted to cover my ears.
You might think someone would come running to the training grounds at that volume, but this place had solid soundproofing barriers, so no one would hear and show up.
To exaggerate a bit.
Even if I screamed my lungs out while Elga murdered me with her bare hands, no one would come to help.
"Don't make excuses, Theo Gospel. You just flap your mouth every day. You think I don't know your little plan? You're trying to run away."
"Pardon?"
"When Aira enrolls in the academy, you'll follow her under some pretense of being her aide, right?"
That was true. That had been my aim from the start.
But Elga seemed to interpret it differently.
"You're trying to run away from me, aren't you? Because I've been... educating you every day?"
Did she just admit to harassing me indirectly? But that wasn't the reason I was going to the academy, so I shook my head.
"No, that's not it."
"Really?"
"I'd love for you, Lady Elga, to enroll in school with me."
To be honest, I was the type who wanted Elga by my side.
Not because she was easy on the eyes, but because, as I mentioned earlier, a dangerous key needed to be under my constant watch and surveillance.
But for some reason, Elga misunderstood my intentions. Her face, which had been flushed red with anger just moments ago, turned an even deeper crimson as she panicked intensely.
"W-What? Why would I go to school now? That's ridiculous. Hah, unbelievable."
"Don't you want to go?"
"Tell me, Theo Gospel. Do you think I need to go to that stuffy academy and learn anything?"
Elga's question was reasonable enough.
School was for people who had things to learn.
And Elga was, in a way, close to a "finished product."
Of course, personality-wise, she needed to be sent to some old-fashioned schoolhouse for a good caning, but saying that might get my head chopped off right here as karmic retribution.
So I held back.
Instead, I decided to calmly explain why she had to enter the academy.
"Lady Elga. You're already perfect as you are. But your magical aptitude isn't exactly impressive."
"What did you say, you punk?"
"But if you go there, you could improve in magic, where you're vulnerable. You might even acquire a Magic Jamer item for great magic."
"Magic Jamer—. I've heard of those, yeah."
"And you could learn to wield your magic halberd even better."
"......"
Elga shut her mouth. When people get hit where it hurts, they don't just stammer—they clam up completely.
It was depicted in the novel that Elga had a complex about magic because of Aira.
And that she couldn't fully wield her holy relic, the halberd "Crusher," treating it merely as a sturdy weapon.
That's right.
Elga was a hero chosen by a holy relic.
More accurately, she had inherited it, rather than being chosen.
Anyway.
"If you go to the Ark run by the Church, you could get advice on your holy relic and elevate your skills as a hero even further."
"Shut up. I don't need that crap. I can handle my family's treasured weapon perfectly fine."
"So, you're not enrolling in the academy?"
"Well—."
Elga's words caught in her throat again.
At this point, anyone who couldn't read Elga was an idiot.
She wanted to come with us, but her pride was so strong she couldn't forgive herself for accepting it outright.
So, if I gave her a satisfying reason, she'd pretend to reluctantly agree.
But even after listing the benefits of the academy, she wasn't bending, which meant her pride was higher than I'd thought.
Should I change plans?
Honestly, I didn't want to use this method.
Step.
I took one step toward Elga. Crossing the one-meter emotional distance, entering her striking range.
Close enough for her to rip out my throat with her bare hands. But Elga was the flustered one.
"What? Why are you coming closer all of a sudden? Get back, get back!"
Elga backed away bit by bit. I kept advancing toward her.
"Lady Elga. I'd really love for you to be with me."
"Me? What are you saying out of nowhere? You idiot—."
I gently grasped the tips of Elga's fingers. For hands that had rolled in the battlefield, they were surprisingly warm and soft.
"Don't you understand my intentions yet?"
"What... intentions? Don't tell me—you like me or something...?"
"......"
"Not Aira, but me...?"
Instead of answering, I gazed at Elga with sparkling eyes.
She met my eyes for a moment, then slyly looked away.
"...Well, yeah, it would be weirder if you didn't like perfect me. After I let you kiss me a few times, you fell for me. This is tricky...."
She even ran her fingers through her bangs, spouting things I never expected.
"But I'm the lady of the great house of Liones. I can't accept the feelings of a slave like you. Sorry, kid."
...Huh?
The reaction was different from what I'd expected.
"...Well, I kinda saw it coming. I get it. You have those feelings for me, ahem—. This is awkward. Not Aira.... But what now."
"......"
"Kid, obviously I can't accept your feelings."
Wait, did she just reject me?
For real?
This wasn't in the plan. Getting rejected by a girl. By Elga von Liones, no less.
It was more scheming than genuine confession, but I never imagined she'd turn me down.
I'd thought she definitely liked me. Otherwise, why pretend to bully me and then kiss me?
I'd pegged her as a classic tsundere.
Could a girl like that really reject me like this?
As I reeled, Elga drove the nail deeper into my heart.
"What are you, anyway? You're not even my type. I'm kinda tall—. I want a guy taller than me. You're not short, but whatever."
Psh, pew pew—.
The nails kept hammering into my heart.
"I want a guy I can, like, rely on...? Not sure why I'm telling you my ideal type. Hmm, just give up."
Elga rejected the confession with familiar ease.
Well, even as a tomboy with a fiery temper, she was a noble lady who suited the term "beauty" perfectly.
Having spent time in the field with burly men, she'd probably received countless confessions and turned down just as many.
I just never thought I'd be one of them!
Ah.
This sucks.
I'm genuinely embarrassed now.
I wanted to crawl into a mouse hole. What do I do? Say it was a joke? But it's not April Fool's.
No, that's too pathetic.
Think, brain—. Think—.
As I desperately calculated, Elga looked at me like a pitiful fool and added,
"This guy, who chattered away even with a knife to his throat, is totally speechless now. You must really like me that much. Now I feel bad. Hmm...."
"...So, Lady Elga, you kissed a guy you don't like?"
Elga had kissed me.
Even after I drank and puked, with my mouth all gross from marching, kissing a guy like that without liking him seemed impossible.
At my question, Elga scratched her forehead with her finger.
"That was—. Kisses are just like greetings, right? That's common sense for us noble ladies...? Yeah, 'common sense.' You wouldn't know, huh? Being a former slave and all?"
Common sense?
That snapped me awake.
Even Aira knows that's not common sense. Who gives candy kisses to someone they don't like?
Seeing Elga casually say it but fidgeting uneasily, I realized.
She's happy about my confession but pretending to reject it out of pride.
Once I saw that, it became annoying, but for some reason, this thug-like girl seemed a tiny bit cute.
Realizing her true feelings put control back in my hands.
I wouldn't fall for a spoiled beauty like Elga, and she already had feelings for me as I was now.
Hoo—.
I steadied my breath and decided to act deeply saddened.
Deception and manipulation.
That was what I was best at now.
"I've thought of you every day, Lady Elga. This really hurts my heart. I truly thought we liked each other. I believed a love transcending status... was possible."
"Yeah? W-Well, sorry about that. Um.... Love transcending status isn't possible. Not like in fairy tales or novels. Um...."
Elga scratched the bridge of her nose.
Her feet rubbed the training ground floor—shh shh. Sand scattered, forming a small pit.
Shhh, shhh, shhh—.
I'd been too flustered earlier to notice, but Elga was showing all the classic signs of someone anxious from lying.
I suppressed a laugh inside, let out a small sigh, and spoke as if resolving myself.
"It's heartbreaking, but as you said, Lady Elga and I have a status gap. Someone as lacking as me wouldn't appeal to you anyway."
"R-Right, yeah."
"So, I guess I should give up. Actually, thank you for rejecting me so cleanly. Now I can really focus on the kingdom's affairs."
"...Give up?"
"Yes, completely. I'll bury these feelings."
"Hey—. Your feelings for me are that weak? You give up that easily?"
Now Elga was yelling at me.
This damn girl. What did she want? Good thing I could view this objectively, separate from real affection.
If this were a Theo who truly loved Elga, how melted and trembling would he be at her attitude?
Is this the pain of men being strung along?
Truly nympho-phobic agony.
That thought suddenly pissed me off.
But without showing it, I played dumb and asked back.
"I have no choice but to give up, right? You're an insurmountable wall...."
"Hey, Theo, don't you know the saying about the axe that doesn't fall after ten strikes?"
What saying is that?
Why strike an axe? Strike a tree.
Oblivious to her slip, Elga fluently continued.
"You gotta keep challenging till the end. No grit. This is why bookworms suck. No perseverance."
"So, if I keep courting you without giving up, you'll accept me?"
"...Of course not."
"Yeah, figured. So, I'll give up cleanly. From now on, I'll live loyally for Her Majesty. That's my proper role anyway."
"Y-Yeah.... That's right. Um—. But you—. Can you really forget me cleanly? Huh? Won't you think of me? In dreams. Before bed. Looking in the mirror, boom, there I am?"
"You know it in pretty vivid detail."
"Well, that's common sense for cultured ladies—. Um. Yeah, forgetting at once ain't easy. Can't even quit mana grass cold turkey."
Shhh shhh—. Shhh shhh—. Elga was now kicking dirt back into the pit she'd made with her feet.
She looked super nervous and anxious, but I pretended not to notice and nodded slowly.
"Yeah, probably."
"I'm merciful, so for you, I'll give you chances to erase me little by little. Dates and stuff—. Slowly, bit by bit, forget. Like that."
"But—. I'll be entering the academy. Might forget surprisingly fast. Though it'll be tough days...."
"Academy? Oh—. Right. Being far away...."
Bubble bubble—.
I could almost hear bubbles boiling in Elga's head. Her face beet red like a tomato about to burst, lips twitching silently.
"Academy...."
"You said you weren't going, Lady Elga...?"
"I did. But I didn't exactly decide for sure. I do have some things to learn—."
Pitiful, flip-flopping like that.
Seeing her show such cute vulnerability, I worried even nonexistent affection might sprout, so I decided to settle it here.
"Lady Elga—. Then, forgive me for this, but on your benevolence. I, Theo Gospel, as a man, make one final, once-in-a-lifetime request...?"
"Once-in-a-lifetime? Why so dramatic?"
"It's a request made with death in mind. If you grant it, I can live on with passion and hope."
With death in mind.
She'd bite at those dramatic words for sure.
"...What? Don't tell me—accept your love, marry me, or run away together abandoning everything. Obviously can't do those."
Curiosity and subtle anticipation crept onto Elga's flustered face.
Whether I could keep Elga—who'd become a key ally in the villain hunter party—under my control hinged on this.
Thump thump.
I'd steeled myself, but even I felt my heart pound saying this. What if she refuses?
No, cross that bridge later.
Compared to advice I'd given Aira, this was easy.
"So, what’s the request? I'll hear it out....!"
To Elga, who seemed somewhat prepared, I slowly parted my lips.
"Can you let me touch your breasts just once?"