Chapter 149: Humiliation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149: Humiliation
The Shrine Maiden Clan that guards the Barrier of City D is famous enough that even ordinary citizens know of them.
While there are many renowned families known to the public—such as the Four Founders, the Graham family that consistently produces 12 Zodiac-class mages, and the Daihara family of the strongest mages—the Shrine Maiden Clan piques public curiosity due to their unique nature.
A clan where only women are born, a forest cut off from the outside world, shrine maidens, and the ritual to receive the "seed."
If the aforementioned families command simple respect, the Shrine Maiden Clan evokes a sense of mystery alongside their skill, stirring up lewd imaginations. This has led to the creation of much "underground" content centered around them.
In a sense, they were more famous than the other prestigious families, especially among men.
As the forest opened and the shrine maidens, once hidden in secrecy, began to emerge, the onlookers watched with intrigued eyes.
Their thin shrine maiden robes failed to hide their figures, which were far more provocative than their supposedly demure and chaste attire suggested. Each possessed a different kind of charm, but their uniformly beautiful appearances captured the gaze of everyone, particularly the men.
Everyone stared blankly at the shrine maidens as they approached slowly, their steps so steady they seemed to glide across the ground.
Akito was no exception; he was captivated by their mystery and heart-stirring allure.
Noticing this, Shiori grew jealous and tightened her grip on Akito’s arm, which she was already holding, but he was too entranced by the shrine maidens to notice.
“I am Rank 5 Agent Berengel, the commander of this mission. Thank you for the hospitality.”
Berengel struggled to maintain his composure as he offered his greetings.
The shrine maidens were charming enough, but the attire of the woman emerging under their escort was extraordinary.
Unlike the simple robes of the others, her clothing was ornate—reminiscent of a royal concubine recorded in history books—signifying her high status.
“Welcome. I am Teresa, the leader of the Diana Clan.”
“…Te-Teresa-sama? The head of the clan came personally?!”
“It is only natural, as you have come to help our people. Besides, we have a precious guest among us.”
Berengel was stunned; he hadn't expected Teresa, the head of the Shrine Maiden Clan, to appear in person.
People knew her name, but how many had actually seen her face?
One could not enter the forest without an invitation, and since cooperation or contact with the government was handled by subordinates, almost no one had actually met Teresa. Her face was virtually unknown.
Everyone in the vicinity, including Berengel, stared at her in shock. Teresa smiled with a relaxed air, as if enjoying the attention.
Her garments were adorned with brilliant decorations and intricate patterns. Though they looked cumbersome to move in, the shimmering jewels enhanced her voluptuous charm. Her smile alone was enough to capture the hearts of many men.
Gulp—
At the sound of someone swallowing hard, Yeon-woo smirked and looked back at the Comedy Duo.
However, contrary to his expectations, the source of the sound was Fei.
It seemed that to Fei—whom Yeon-woo called "Bukgeuk-jwa" because of her intense love for women—Teresa was overwhelmingly attractive.
Feeling Yeon-woo’s gaze, Fei looked away, appearing embarrassed.
Fortunately, the others were too preoccupied with the radiant Teresa to notice her.
“As your team leader, I’m embarrassed, so everyone fix your faces.”
“… …”
“Dammit, not a single one of you is answering.”
“O-Oh! Right, Yeon-woo!”
Only Angelica, who had been staring blankly at Teresa, snapped out of it and replied. The rest were still dazed.
Even Akane had forgotten her duty for a moment. Takeo and the Comedy Duo stood with their mouths agape, unable to look away. Only Yukina, who had been here once before, remained her usual self.
Teresa possessed a charm that enchanted people just by standing there.
Looking at her, everyone present vaguely realized why Teresa rarely appeared before the public.
It wasn't just simple beauty; an imperceptible power seemed to seize people's hearts. Akito, too, couldn't take his eyes off Teresa, oblivious to the jealous glares of his followers.
He watched Teresa’s red lips as she spoke with Berengel. Her long collar and sleeves hid most of her body, but that only made her figure seem more tantalizing. Every time she moved, the ornaments on her body swayed, drawing the eye.
Like most men there, Akito stared intensely as if he couldn't afford to miss a single detail of her. After a brief exchange with Berengel, she turned her head.
Akito grew tense as she began walking toward him with graceful steps.
Because she was surrounded by shrine maidens, when Teresa moved, the entire group moved with her. The crowd standing in her way parted like the Red Sea.
As the people moved aside, a path naturally formed leading straight to Akito. Teresa approached.
“She recognizes Brother after all.”
“Akito-dono, she is a noble person. Prepare to show proper etiquette.”
At Shiori and Kurumi’s words, Akito snapped out of his daze and straightened his posture.
While everyone mistakenly assumed Teresa was coming to greet Akito, only Chika felt something was off, though she remained silent.
Akito’s team and the shrine maidens surrounding Teresa stood face-to-face, drawing the focused gaze of the crowd.
“It is an honor to meet such a noble person. I am Daihara Akito, the one entrusted with this request. I will surely capture the entity threatening the Diana Clan. Please, place your trust in me.”
Justina felt a surge of annoyance—who was this "noble person" when she, an Elf, was being ignored?—but she kept her mouth shut for Akito’s sake as he gave his greeting.
Teresa blinked a few times at Akito’s introduction, then soon broke into a charming, eye-curving smile.
“So you are Yukio’s son. Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you. You look very much like your father.”
“Do you know my father?”
“We had a bit of a connection.”
“I see… If you refer to him by name, I assume you were close. Perhaps—”
Driven by a desire to speak with her longer and the fact that she was an acquaintance of his missing father, Akito continued to press the conversation almost obsessively. Teresa, who had been listening quietly, cut him off with a bright smile.
“I’m sorry, but could we continue this conversation later if there’s an opportunity? I must attend to a precious guest right now.”
Akito hadn't noticed, but everyone else already had.
In truth, the fact that Teresa had listened to him this long was an act of kindness.
She had subtly signaled her desire to end the conversation, but Akito had failed to take the hint and kept rambling. To those watching, it looked like nothing more than rude pestering.
Belatedly realizing the situation, Akito finally felt the eyes on him.
His teammates, including Shiori and Kurumi, were either smiling awkwardly or looking away. The strangers participating in the mission were looking at him as if he were a nuisance.
For the first time in his life, Akito felt a chill run down his spine and heat rush to his face.
As Yeon-woo would put it, because this was a world of the protagonist, by the protagonist, and for the protagonist, Akito’s life had always been filled with love and success.
With his outstanding talent, luck that seemed blessed by the world, and an unknown power that made others sympathize with his ideals and feel affection for him, even the smallest things had always gone his way.
That was why he had never experienced such glares, nor had he ever made such an embarrassing mistake.
He had never known the misfortune or humiliation that Rio and Masayoshi had endured their entire lives. He succeeded in everything he did, as if the world itself were helping him to ensure not a single scratch marred his reputation.
Faced with his first-ever public humiliation, Akito froze in even greater panic.
“Ah, th-that… uh, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”
“It’s quite alright. I’m the one who should be sorry for not being able to spare the time.”
Teresa treated the frozen Akito warmly, speaking with kindness.
Seeing him stammering so unlike himself, Justina looked at his back with a gaze full of pathetic disdain.
Though not as much as Justina, Shunya also looked flustered, her eyes darting around at Akito’s foolish display.
For Justina, who valued dignity, pride, and class, and for Shunya, who desired a "masculine" male due to her beastkin nature, this was a blow. Both had joined the Magic Research Club after seeing glimpses of those qualities in Akito back at Yggdrasil, but the display he was putting on now was utterly wretched.
The atmosphere clearly signaled the end of the conversation. Teresa was waiting patiently for him to move, but Akito was so flustered he didn't even step aside.
As the awkward silence stretched on with Akito doing nothing and everyone watching wordlessly, the eyes of the shrine maidens guarding Teresa grew fierce at his rudeness.
“I’m sorry. He’s not usually like this, but he seems a bit flustered.”
“It is fine.”
As the mood turned serious, Chika quickly stepped forward to apologize and pulled Akito aside.
Only then did Akito realize he had been blocking the path. Startled, he tried to step forward again to apologize to Teresa, but Chika stopped him.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, no… I have to apologize…”
“You’re going to hold her up again after all that?”
At Chika’s words, Akito looked troubled but eventually gave up.
He looked dejected as Shiori and Kurumi clung to his sides, comforting him by saying it could happen to anyone. Chika left him to them and stepped back.
Normally, she would have taken his side like the other two, insisting he had done nothing wrong, but strangely, she found herself looking at the situation with calm objectivity.
Passing Akito, Teresa walked without hesitation toward someone else.
Everyone’s attention focused on her movement as Teresa stopped in front of Yeon-woo.
“The entire Diana Clan welcomes our honored guest.”
As Teresa lowered herself in a formal bow, all the surrounding shrine maidens dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.
The sight of the entire clan offering such profound hospitality to one person was shocking enough, but the fact that Teresa, their leader, had lowered herself left the crowd in utter consternation.
For someone of her status to bow her head and waist meant she was treating the other person as someone of even higher standing.
“Weren't we close? You don't need to go that far.”
“Fufu, dignity is important for those who stand above others.”
Teresa lifted her head and gave a playful smile.
When she had smiled earlier, it was so seductive it made men flush, but this smile looked like that of a girl in love, fluttering hearts in a different way.
"Those who stand above others." No one knew if she was referring to herself or Yeon-woo.
However, one thing was clear: the entire Shrine Maiden Clan acknowledged Yeon-woo and was treating him with the utmost respect.
“I shall escort you to the shrine.”
“Uh… I’m currently on a mission, so it’ll be difficult if I’m the only one who leaves.”
“I’ve already spoken with Mr. Berengel. And since they are Yeon-woo-sama’s teammates, they are all precious guests. I shall escort them as well.”
Yeon-woo, acting as if he had no choice, took his teammates and followed Teresa.
While permission had been granted to enter the forest, no one was allowed to enter the area where the shrine maidens lived.
A few other shrine maidens remained to assist Berengel and the others on the mission, while Teresa and Yeon-woo’s team drifted further away, as if this whole affair had nothing to do with them.
The crowd stared blankly at their retreating backs. Among them was Akito.
His eyes had always been filled with nothing but kindness, but now, they held a trace of jealousy—though Akito himself had yet to realize it.