Chapter 137: Affection(3)
Chapter 137: Affection(3)
It was after Kerry had left.
Lina wore an anxious expression. The moment Kerry left, the looks on Natasha and Victoria’s faces had begun to sour.
It was as if the trauma from that time Kerry had been gone for quite a while was resurfacing.
‘One day should be fine.’
So Lina believed.
But her prediction was wrong. The peace didn't even last half a day.
It was during dinner, when the party had gathered after Kerry’s departure that morning. Natasha spoke up.
“Lina. Will my husband be alright? What if he gets lost in the elven forest? And he shouldn’t run into any bad people after he leaves the forest, either...”
Natasha had started to worry about Kerry. A little worry was fine. The problem was that her worrying was endless and showed no signs of stopping.
Victoria was the same.
Her lust cooldown had already been up, even when Kerry was still here. Now that he was gone, there was no way for her to suppress her boiling desires.
The stress from her unsatisfied urges led directly to hysterics.
“This food tastes like garbage. It was fine yesterday... Lina. My head hurts. Can you get me some headache medicine? I doubt the elves have any for humans...”
Each time, Lina tried to soothe Natasha and Victoria.
Please, just be patient. Kerry will be fine. He has the strength to protect himself now.
Of course, it was completely useless. The more she spoke, the deeper she sank into a quagmire.
On top of that, a new, unexpected opponent had emerged.
It was the Saintess.
‘What’s wrong with the Saintess now?’
The Saintess’s attitude had changed abruptly.
When Kerry was around, she was always huddled up timidly, but her current aura was reminiscent of her past life.
‘That arrogant gaze that looks down on people is back... I was so sure she had changed.’
Just looking at her was enough to make Lina’s past-life trauma resurface.
The only saving grace was that Ego was preventing the Saintess from doing anything too reckless.
But with Kerry gone and no one to keep her in check, the Saintess’s glare was as fierce as it had been before.
She looked like she might pick a fight with a party member at any moment. Just watching her was stressful for Lina.
Of the three, there wasn't a single person Lina could control.
All she could do was desperately wait for Kerry to return quickly.
Natasha and Victoria had worried about Kerry all night long.
Lina, who had to listen to all of it, was worn to a frazzle.
It wasn't physical fatigue, but mental exhaustion.
To make matters worse, the Saintess maintained her prickly, past-life attitude, adding immensely to Lina’s stress.
Fortunately, Kerry returned before Lina could collapse. He had come back in a day, just as he’d promised.
“I’m back.”
Kerry looked the same as he had yesterday.
He was a little later than planned, though, thanks to the White Witch clinging to him and begging him not to go. Her possessiveness seemed to be getting a little worse lately, which was a concern.
Upon seeing Kerry, Natasha and Victoria’s faces lit up.
“Husband! Waaah! I missed you.”
“We were only apart for a day, Natasha.”
“It wasn’t just a day! It was a whole day! Please don’t go anywhere else. I was so worried something might happen to you.”
Victoria watched them with a pleased smile.
Judging by the lewd sign she immediately flashed him, it seemed her lust cooldown hadn't been resolved yet.
Kerry glanced at the silent Saintess.
Her suppressed instincts must have resurfaced in his absence, as she sat with her legs crossed arrogantly, her eyes gleaming.
‘Lower your eyes while I’m still being nice.’
When Kerry shot her a look, the Saintess flinched in surprise and slowly uncrossed her legs. Having reverted to her cowering mode, she greeted Kerry meekly.
“K-Kerry. You’re here... I’m glad you returned safely.”
Thankfully, it seemed no major incidents had occurred. Right. No matter how dysfunctional they were, it wasn't like some huge disaster would happen in a single day.
But why does Lina look like that?
Lina, who looked like she hadn't slept well, greeted Kerry with faint dark circles under her eyes.
“Kerry! Welcome back. You came back in a day, just as you promised. I’m so... so glad!”
Lina grabbed Kerry’s hands and welcomed him with intense relief. She’s a little too happy to see me.
Only when Kerry returned did Lina finally feel at ease.
Even the Saintess, who had been acting arrogant and looked ready to cause trouble at any moment, was now perfectly docile.
Lina didn't know how Kerry controlled the Saintess, but just seeing the time-bomb-like woman behave like that was enough to make her feel the full extent of Kerry’s influence.
Lina approached Kerry, who was talking with the others.
“Kerry.”
“Yes, Lina.”
“If you have business to attend to next time... please, just send me instead. I’ll go.”
“...”
He appreciated the sentiment, but some things he just had to do himself.
Sensing that Lina would keep insisting if he refused, Kerry deftly changed the subject.
“More importantly, what’s the situation with the pervert incident?”
Lina shook her head. Phew. So nothing’s been discovered yet. It seems Arwen hasn’t remembered anything either.
“The elves sent word today. They said they have something to tell us.”
From the elves? Could Arwen have remembered something and told them?
But for that to be the case, Arwen had greeted him quite kindly today.
Though, that was only in comparison to her usual dislike of humans.
“Don’t worry, Kerry. The elves have a favorable opinion of us for saving Scandinavia.”
I hope it’s nothing serious, just as Lina said.
The time to meet with the elves arrived.
The elves were gathered, and the one who stepped forward as their representative was Arein.
“Thank you all for gathering here.”
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed less like a meeting proposed by the elves as a whole and more like one initiated by Arein himself.
As a prince of the elves, Arein certainly had that much influence. What was interesting was that Queen Titania was also in attendance.
It was a bit surprising to see Titania, who usually wore an expression of perpetual boredom, at a meeting like this.
‘Feels like the queen keeps looking at me. Must be my imagination, right?’
Arein’s boring opening remarks dragged on. Just get to the point already. What’s the point of gathering all these people just to ramble?
After his long-winded preamble, Arein finally got to the main topic.
“This is what I want to say! The truth is, we may not need to investigate to find the pervert at all.”
Arein, who should have been the most eager to catch the pervert, was saying there was no need to investigate. Everyone was puzzled.
“That’s right. There’s no need. If you look back through history, the ones who commit such vile acts against female elves... have always been human men!”
Arein pointed an accusatory finger at Kerry.
“A pervert who has never once appeared before. That pervert appeared the very moment a human male was allowed into Scandinavia. Isn’t the culprit obvious?”
“...”
A silence fell over the hall, as if to say, What kind of nonsense is this?
Arein was a little flustered by the reaction, which was different from what he’d expected.
However, among the elves who had harbored a long-standing grudge against humans, there were some who agreed with Arein’s words.
Not that they would dare speak as rudely as Arein to the heroes who had saved Scandinavia.
There was another reason for the silence in the hall.
It was because of the hero party, whose expressions had turned icy the moment Kerry was accused of being the pervert.
Natasha, in particular, glared at Arein with wide eyes. For a moment, Arein felt a chill run down his spine at her terrifying gaze.
“Do not... insult... my husband. If you do it one more time... I will not forgive you.”
“...”
She was speaking formally, but Natasha’s eerie aura left Arein speechless.
‘What is this? Their reaction is much more intense than I expected.’
He knew the hero party cared for Kerry. In fact, seeing it had ignited a fire of jealousy in Arein’s heart.
Jealousy and his hatred for humans. Those two things had driven Arein to display this foolish hostility toward Kerry.
Victoria didn't stay silent either.
“What a rude elf. Is that any way to speak to the man who saved your village?”
“Saving the village was a transaction made for the Spirit Sword Endymion, so I believe we owe no debt. Besides, wasn’t the main force behind saving the village Lina, not that man?”
Arein looked at Lina as if asking her to take his side.
The decisive reason Arein had been driven mad with jealousy.
It was Lina. In all his long years, he had never seen a woman as beautiful and with such a noble air as her.
Arein had fallen for Lina at first sight.
But Lina’s gaze was always directed at someone else.
At Kerry. Others might not have noticed, but Arein, who often stole glances at Lina, knew.
He had seen the tender way Lina would sometimes secretly look at Kerry.
‘If only that man... if only that man were gone!’
If Kerry were gone, he might have a chance to win Lina over. Arein sincerely wished that Kerry was the pervert.
That was why he was taking such a drastic gamble now.
Lina stared coldly at Arein and said, “You are being truly rude, Arein.”
Lina’s calm demeanor. Arein felt a flicker of hope at her composure. Right. Lina isn’t as seriously infatuated with Kerry as the other women.
If Kerry were to disappear now, he might be able to make Lina his.
“I am not being rude. This is all karma for what humans have done.”
“There is no reason for Kerry to bear the weight of that karma.”
“Human male. You answer. While Arwen was missing, where were you and what were you doing?”
“I asked you not to be rude to Kerry.”
Lina’s expression was steadily souring.
“I am not asking you, Lina. Human male! Are you a coward who hides behind women? Speak up. Tell us in detail who you were with and what you were doing at that time!”
“Arein. Your disrespect toward Kerry... please stop. I’m... asking you.”
Lina’s aura went beyond cold and began to harden. But Arein, focused on his goal of taking Kerry down, failed to notice.
“I have observed human men for a long time, so I know! That man is undoubtedly the pervert!”
Finally, just as Natasha and Victoria, unable to hold back any longer, were about to rise to their feet and shout at Arein, someone else acted first—someone no one expected.
SLAM—
“!”
Lina had slammed her fist down on the desk in front of her. The usually composed Lina was clearly agitated.
Everyone’s eyes widened in shock at the calm Lina’s sudden outburst.
“...My apologies. First of all... Kerry... is not the pervert. I will vouch for him on my name as a hero. Please do not insult Kerry any further, Arein.”
After calming her excitement, Lina spoke politely as usual. But her eyes were filled with hostility toward Arein.
“...”
Arein despaired at the sight of her. Even Lina was completely smitten with Kerry. Her attitude made it certain.
“That will be enough.”
It was Titania who mediated the escalating situation.
“Arein, it was too much to corner Kerry without any evidence. That was not like you. No matter what, these people are the heroes who saved Scandinavia. Maintain some decency.”
“...My apologies, Your Majesty.”
Not only the queen, but the surrounding elves were also giving him looks that said he had gone too far.
But Arein’s eyes did not look like he had given up.
On the contrary, he glared at Kerry with a gaze more venomous than before.
‘No, this is fucking ridiculous. Seriously.’
Kerry felt a little bitter himself. But what happened with Arwen was an accident. It wasn't his intention.
Looking at Arein’s glare, it didn't seem like he had given up on framing Kerry as the culprit.
It looked like he desperately wanted Kerry to be the one.
Kerry smiled at Arein. Fine. Let’s see who wins this.
Just then, the queen spoke.
“On behalf of my people, I offer you my apologies. Arein... that child lost his father at a young age, and his resentment toward humans grew because of it. It is all my fault for not raising him better.”
“I am sorry, Your Majesty.”
Right. How was it the queen’s fault?
“Ah, and speaking of which... I have something to say. Kerry. You are to come see me after this meeting is over.”
Me...? Why all of a sudden?