R4STWH - Chapter 95
Chapter 95
Elias stared at me intently, without even blinking, after my confident answer.
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true."
"No, I believe you."
"Then why are you staring at me like that?"
"Because you're too..."
As if time had finally begun to flow again, he blinked. His long eyelashes fluttered slowly, casting shadows over his lowered blue eyes.
"Beautiful."
"...!"
Despite having heard this countless times before, my cheeks suddenly flushed.
It was because his expression, still tinged with melancholy as he bit his red lips, reminded me of a certain moment in bed.
'How can you make such a face when Baeksa is here...!'
Feeling anxious, I hurriedly pulled his face into my embrace to hide it.
Despite the uncomfortable position that forced him to bend his waist significantly due to our height difference, Elias didn't try to break free and remained obediently in my arms.
"What are you doing?" Baeksa asked curiously.
"Th-there's just something about this. You'll understand when you find someone you want to keep by your side forever."
"Hmm... is that so?"
Though he tilted his head in confusion, Baeksa didn't press further. I awkwardly smiled and responded to his invitation.
"I'll discuss it with Elias and visit as soon as possible. So you should get going now."
"Alright, understood. See you soon."
Baeksa waved lightly and disappeared over the window as swiftly as he had arrived.
Only then did I release Elias with relief.
Perhaps he hadn't been able to breathe properly while pressed against my chest. When he raised his head, his face was flushed red.
"I'm sorry...! Was it suffocating?"
When I asked while cupping his cheeks with both hands, he leaned his forehead against mine.
"How do I look?"
"Like you're struggling."
"That's right. I feel like I'm about to burst down there."
When I unconsciously lowered my gaze, I saw something that looked ready to tear through the fabric at any moment. Its imposing presence made me involuntarily gulp.
"Since it's come to this... will you take responsibility?"
His long, dark eyes tinged with a rosy hue were sensual.
"Hmm? Ilesha."
Why did he try to seduce me like this when my body, heart, and soul were already entirely his? Why did he draw me into this terribly alluring and dangerous swamp?
Something I would never have done in the past.
I unhesitatingly chose the path that would leave me most vulnerable, in a completely open space without any safety measures.
That is to say, I lifted my dress hem and accepted him.
I couldn't understand his intention in choosing such a location. Perhaps he had become so aroused that he couldn't even bear the short walk to our room.
However, this uncomfortable encounter where we couldn't freely make noise or remove our cumbersome clothes brought more thrilling pleasure than ever before...
'So this is what outdoor play is...? Books truly are a treasure trove of knowledge.'
It was definitely an experience worth risking my life for.
Early in the morning, the Saintess burst in.
This was because Elias, who had said he would contact her after returning, had completely forgotten due to various circumstances.
For the Saintess, who believed this world might face destruction depending on my well-being, that period must have been an immense trial.
That's why she was sobbing like this.
"You don't know how shocked I was... Lady Ilesha..."
"I understand how you feel, but you should either eat or talk, not both at once."
"But this is really... so delicious."
...So it wasn't because of me but because the tart was heavenly that her eyes were glistening with tears.
Since I too acknowledged the exceptional skills of Tenaclad's main castle's chef, I pushed my plate toward the Saintess as well.
After the dungeons opened, the priests and holy knights of the Amern Religious Order, including the Saintess, had been working incredibly hard.
Following my assertion that more dangerous dungeons yielded greater rewards, they had been deployed to various locations in teams with Tenaclad's knights.
Moreover, even when they weren't actively conquering dungeons, they couldn't rest easy.
Due to stupid and incompetent lords who had rejected our help, several dungeons had burst open within the Lucendria Empire alone, and across the continent, there were over a dozen.
While Tenaclad took the lead in exterminating the monsters that emerged, there was no way to help those whose lives had already been destroyed.
That's when the Amern Religious Order stepped up to help them.
'I will absolutely endure and protect the Order until they return when all this is over.'
The relief activities of priests and holy knights who had gained titles and awakened their characteristics must have seemed like divine miracles to those who had lost their homes and fallen into sorrow and despair.
Perhaps because of this.
Unlike our world, which lost its humanity amid chaos and madness, the people of this world were holding up well.
Instead, the Saintess was increasingly... coming to resemble my past self. In other words, she was becoming more and more disheveled with each passing day.
'Well, she probably doesn't have decent food or lodging.'
Life couldn't be comfortable when sharing relief supplies for meals and sleeping in temporary shelters.
The Saintess, who had lived quite well as a precious talent of the Order, now looked terrible.
Her cheeks had become gaunt, and she looked so filthy that even I, who rarely sympathized with others, was moved to share my food.
"You should take it easier..."
"Even if I try to think that way, when situations arise, it just doesn't work out like that."
The Saintess, who had cleaned all the plates that had filled the large dining table, grinned with all sorts of crumbs around her mouth.
"Thanks for the meal, Your Grace."
Elias, who had been watching her state with an expression neither frowning nor smiling, nodded slightly.
"Let's get going."
"Do you have plans? Are you going to a dungeon?"
"No, to the imperial capital."
The Saintess's eyes widened at Elias's answer.
"Why there?"
"A Demon Lord has appeared."
"...What? Y-you're joking, right?"
...Elias seemed to have roughly defined Zero and Yumi's identities as Demon Lords.
When no words declaring it a joke came from Elias's mouth even as time passed, the Saintess's eyes began to waver.
"Lady Ilesha... please say something..."
"Well... it's something similar..."
"N-no way...!"
It had been a while since I'd heard the Saintess wail like this.
"The Demon Lord is too much... how could the world do this to me... give me back my romance fantasy full of love and struggles..."
After letting her mumble to herself with her face buried in her palms for about 30 seconds, I patted her shoulder.
"Stop despairing and let's go."
Perhaps she was truly upset, as tears were welling up in the Saintess's eyes when she looked up.
"Go where?"
"Together. We plan to stay at the temple in the imperial capital."
If it weren't for such a reason, why would Elias have waited so patiently for the Saintess?
We had decided to use the Saintess to enter the imperial capital quietly without catching Zero and Yumi's attention.
"You want me to go with you to where the Demon Lord is?"
"Yes."
"I don't want to be sacrificed...!"
"What are you talking about?"
"So that's why you let me enjoy a last supper..."
I pushed the Saintess, who was spouting incomprehensible words while lost in some imagination, to take the lead.
Crow, who had been resting separately with the accompanying holy knights, came running with a puzzled face.
"Where are you going?"
Come to think of it, Yumi had said she liked this one's face.
"Crow, you come too."
You never know. Like me, she might fall in love at first sight and want to settle in this world.
"...?"
Explanations could wait until we were on our way. I first pushed both of them into the temple's carriage.
Meanwhile, Elias loaded the bag he had prepared beforehand onto the carriage and brought Callen to sit as the coachman.
"Don't want to be in a hero's party... let the world just end..."
I sat down next to Elias opposite the still reality-avoiding Saintess and the confused-looking Crow who just kept blinking.
"Why are you so scared? Demon Lords are common in SS-rank dungeons. They're nothing special. Think of them more like district representatives."
I tried to comfort the raggedy Saintess, who seemed very shocked, as kindly as possible, but it was of no use. Instead, she burst into louder tears with a 'hueeeng.'
It seemed that for now... it would be better not to honestly reveal the fact that two beings more powerful than Demon Lords were holding hands and planning world destruction.
Comments
Post a Comment