Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Heart-Opening Back-to-School Season #5
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“Follow me.”
Elga grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the even more secluded rear of the temple grounds.
It was a spot so poorly maintained it was hard to believe it was part of the grand cathedral’s premises. Weeds sprouted up between cracked tiles on the ground.
Statues—whether of gods or people, it was impossible to tell—stood with their faces and arms shattered, wrapped menacingly in vines.
“No one should come here.”
Whatever the case, it certainly seemed like Elga was right—no one would show up.
Here in this deserted place, it was just Elga, with her chest half-exposed, and me, with my dick rock-hard. The situation was incredibly erotic, making it tough to keep my composure.
Without my talent 《Calm Thinking》, I probably would’ve pounced on her.
Yet, ironically, amid that masculine excitement, I also felt a twinge of fear.
It reminded me of that childhood feeling when I’d play doctor with the girl next door, just the two of us, knowing full well we’d be in deep trouble if any grown-ups caught us.
“Perfect. No one will come here. Hoo…”
Elga, her cheeks flushed tomato-red, stared right at me.
Her sharp eyes, usually so fierce, were unusually misty and dewy. That blue was as clear as the sky after a rainstorm.
I realized anew just how beautiful her eyes were.
Someone had once compared Elga standing beside Aira to Chunhyang’s sidekick in the pavilion, but that didn’t mean Elga wasn’t pretty.
If anything, Elga’s toned body was firm and sleek, overflowing with her own intense allure.
“You… Theo Gospel. You…”
Elga stammered, as if she had something to say but couldn’t get it out. After swallowing several half-formed sentences, she finally managed to speak.
“Do you think you can handle it?”
“Handle… it?”
“Yeah. The great Lioness family, rulers of five territories, bearers of the primordial blue blood. Are you sure you can bear that name, Theo Gospel?”
Elga’s expression was deadly serious.
I’d never seen her look this earnest before, which helped cool my boiling excitement a bit.
“So, you’re asking if I’m prepared to become part of the Lioness family?”
“That’s right. But it’s not just that. To win my heart, you’ll need to become at least as strong as me. I’ll make sure you do. Are you confident in that?”
“Confident…”
“I told you before—I like a man I can rely on. I have no desire to end up under some weakling.”
I’m no fool or blockhead. If I were, my political enemies would’ve done me in long ago.
So I could quickly and accurately infer what Elga really meant.
She was asking, in all sincerity, if I was prepared to lay hands on her body.
Touching Elga’s body wouldn’t be some one-night fling.
As she herself had said, she was a member of the Lioness family, renowned across the continent for their valor—and the eldest daughter, no less.
She was far too significant a figure to touch out of mere boiling lust, and she wasn’t the type to ruin her position over fleeting passion.
I’d thought she was some reckless delinquent girl. Turns out she’s surprisingly serious about this stuff.
“Are you prepared? Prepared to make me fall for you?”
“…”
Urged by Elga, I quietly let my eyes drift over her half-undone chest, her slim waist, the calves peeking from beneath her hiked-up skirt.
Finally, her slender, beautiful ankles.
If I was prepared, could I make all that mine?
“Haa, haa…”
Now that I noticed, Elga’s breathing was ragged and urgent, like someone desperate to get to an important meeting. Even so, she was asking me if I was prepared.
Hmm.
Two choices seemed to present themselves before me.
Yes or no.
Either way, it would bring massive change.
As I pondered for a moment, Elga spoke up.
“If you join the Lioness family, there might come a time when you have to turn against Aira. You might even have to make enemies of the whole world. That’s how we’ve lived.”
Yeah, that figured.
The Lioness family never bowed to anyone.
They were lions, after all.
That’s why they were the first to bare their fangs at the Demon King Angmar. Their defiance sparked uprisings everywhere.
In the novel’s story, the biggest reason Queen Aira ended up on the execution block was the irreparable rift between her and Elga, setting the family on a path to ruin.
Elga and her Lioness family.
They could become my greatest, most perilous enemies… but if I could bring them to my side, under me, they’d be the most reliable allies imaginable.
To test Elga’s sincerity, I lobbed a little probe.
“But even if I’m prepared, I’m just a lowly slave-born nobody. I’m not sturdy enough for you to rely on. Isn’t that why you rejected my confession…? Is resolve alone enough?”
“Yeah, you were a slave, and you’re scrawny. But if you’re ready to face the storms of life with me, I can make you a Lioness. As in, a son-in-law.”
“…”
“And I can train you to be strong.”
Elga seemed utterly sincere.
But I already knew the truth.
I was of Demon King Angmar’s bloodline.
I could never truly become a Lioness.
Still, the only acceptable answer here was ‘yes’.
The Angmar blood in my veins seemed to scream at me to impregnate the daughter of the family that rebelled against us.
━Graaah…! Bear Angmar’s child…!
Revenge for the family.
Corrupting the Lioness into my Angmar baby factory.
It’d be like mass-producing quarter-nymphs from half-nymph stock to enforce quarter-nymph rule.
“I—”
“No need to answer. Your other head’s already speaking for you.”
As I opened my mouth, Elga cut me off.
I felt her blue eyes slowly drifting downward, toward my lower body.
She was probably staring at my cock, straining to burst through my pants. I flinched and pulled my hips back a bit.
It was like suddenly understanding how prey feels when eyed by a lion.
“…Then, tomorrow morning, wait for me in the inn lobby.”
Tadap, tadadap.
Elga bolted off at full speed.
Left alone in this hollow ruin, I felt a chill wind blow through, leaving me a bit flustered.
What?
We weren’t about to have sex right now?
* * *
“Theo, I was looking for you.”
I tucked away my erection and returned to the banquet hall, where Aira approached me with a rather stiff tone.
Her face bore a slight flush.
Probably from the church’s holy wine—she’d gotten a little tipsy. Drunk Aira spoke in lofty, queenly diction.
Which she actually was, of course.
I glanced around and said,
“Have you finished talking with the priests?”
“Talking? It was more like a poetry slam praising my beauty. Anyway, I haven’t seen Elga since earlier. Do you know where she is?”
“…”
My chest stung like a hornet’s jab.
I tensed up, wondering what face Aira would make, what reaction she’d have if she knew about my conversation with Elga.
I was honestly curious, but not reckless enough to test it.
“I heard you and Elga left together for a bit. You really don’t know where she went?”
“Well, we parted ways midway. Probably to the bathroom or something?”
Aira shook her head at my vague reply.
“Elga doesn’t go to the bathroom. She has no need to.”
Someone who didn’t need the bathroom?
Come to think of it, Aira was the same way.
As my curiosity stirred about this bizarre physiology, Aira said,
“There’s some event for Elga, apparently. No helping it. Since I can’t meet the saintess anyway, there’s no point lingering at this banquet. I’ll return to the inn and rest. Attend me.”
“Ah, yes.”
We’d crossed the distance in ten seconds via teleportation magic, yet she wanted to rest? But maybe using such powerful magic left you drained—I shrugged it off and nodded.
“This is Queen Aira’s chambers. It’s temporary, but they’ve prepared the temple’s finest room.”
The room the church had set up was as vast as three of the one-rooms I’d lived in before combined.
No idea why there was a fountain inside, but the antique furniture, velvet carpet, and ceiling frescoes made it flawless.
Srrk.
“I’ll lie down.”
Aira didn’t even change clothes before flopping straight onto the fluffy bedding.
It was still early evening, well before nightfall, but if she was going to sleep now, she must’ve been truly exhausted.
Probably more mental than physical fatigue?
Aira pulled the covers over herself and slowly opened her eyes to look at me.
Her obsidian-black eyes were as deep and dark as ever, an abyss that drew you in with terrifying pull.
“Theo, what’s on your schedule tomorrow?”
“Your schedule tomorrow is…”
“No, your schedule.”
My schedule tomorrow?
I might end up touring Gracia’s streets with Elga.
But as I started to say it, I suddenly clamped my mouth shut without thinking.
What would Aira do if I said I was meeting another woman for a date—or worse, marriage? That’s what nagged at me.
Ever since things got this complicated, I hadn’t had the luxury to date or get a girlfriend, so I’d never had a chance to find out.
For now, I’d bluff.
“Tomorrow looks busy. I’ve got enrollment procedures to handle, and meetings with city and church officials.”
“I see. You’re always so busy, Theo… Such a model retainer, it’s commendable… Soon, a reward…”
Aira yawned hugely, mouth agape.
It might’ve looked undignified on anyone else, but on her, even a yawn became charming aegyo.
I barely resisted the impulse to stick my finger in that mouth.
“Now… I’ll sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll read in my chambers, so… keep that in mind…”
Srrk.
Aira’s eyes finally drifted shut.
Snooore, snooore.
Once she was out like this, nothing short of an earthquake would wake her. She’d sleep straight through till morning.
I let out a sigh, easing my tension, and turned to leave the room when something occurred to me.
What about Aira’s status window?
I had the ability to peek at it.
With her asleep now, maybe I could get a safe look.
So I cracked my eyes open and activated my talent 《Ten-League Eyes》.
This was a good chance to learn about her skills, class, aptitudes, and such.
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Name: Aira von Tarantara lv. ??
Class: Queen lv. 2
Ruler lv. 7
Peerless Beauty lv. 9
Saintess lv. 6
[Locked] lv. ?
Talents: [Locked] [Locked] 《Tarantara》
Disposition: [Locked]
It is advisable to kneel before the Queen of All Things and pay homage.
Bow your head, kiss her feet, and beg for mercy and affection.
She is hiding a fatal truth from everyone.
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As expected, lots of locks.
Probably because our overall levels differ so much.
Still, like with Elga, the revealed info was impressive enough.
Her classes alone were dazzling.
The text wasn’t plain black—it glittered gold, with effects setting them apart from normal classes.
What is this? Cash shop item effect?
They screamed high-difficulty, rare hidden classes.
Maybe this was the upgraded class Marmar mentioned before?
Like evolving from little devil to archdevil.
Could be something similar.
「Calm Situation Assessment!
Gained experience via talent 《Calm Thinking》.
All class EXP +5」
Yup, thought so.
Queen, Ruler, Peerless Beauty. And Saintess—what’s that?
I wanted to tap each one for details.
But what really grabbed my attention was the final line.
‘She is hiding a fatal truth from everyone.’
Hiding a fatal truth from everyone?