Chapter 63: Alone – Part 3

Chapter 63: Alone – Part 3

Darean is stunned, then his expression goes from supreme delight to absolute horror in an instant. "NOOO~...! YOU RUINED IT ALL! HOW, HOW CAN YOU CAST [GATE] INSTANTLY?!" He bellows.

"STOP!" I yell in [Godly Language], and he freezes.

"WAIT! WHAT HAPPENED?!" The guard questions us.

I guide Hana and Aoi to stand in front of the guard and to look menacing.

"Call Lord Confiel, but leave us! This is more important than your life!" Alissa yells.

"Do you have any other hidden tricks?" I question Darean.

"No, they took away my [Wind Blade] gem that was hidden between my ribs. This was my last chance at killing you," he immediately admits.

A bunch of other guards arrive, and a standoff begins. The initial guard runs off down the corridor, hopefully to report to Confiel.

"Were you involved with the heretics that destroyed the Innocent Nymph inn?"

"I don't know anything about that inn. The only heretics I met were Wicked men working in the Dawn of Fire... Stop! You're messing with my head!" He grabs his long hair and starts pulling hard on it.

"Did you manipulate Dawn of Fire into attacking us?"

"Yes. I convinced them that the Este Escort Company had some very, very valuable targets to capture."

"Did you incite a mob of thieves to attack us?"

His face distorts in exertion, but he can't resist my skill. "Yes, I wanted to test your capabilities and hired a Summoning mage to spy on you. It didn't work very well... ARGH! STOP!"

"Back in Rabanara, did you hire a group of kidnappers and use Farana to lure me into an ambush?"

"Yes, I did. And because of you, I lost my FUCKING [GATE] SCRUBBER! BECAUSE OF YOU, MY MASTER TRIED TO KILL ME!"

"Who's your master?"

"He used a fake name, obviously. I only know that he's likely imperial royalty."

Royalty? Does he mean part of the emperor's extended family?!

Ciel winces and looks at him with disbelief and anger. "You are lying!" She yells.

"It's only logical! He had wa~y too many resources to fuck with the Anara-...!" Darean yells back at her, and another coughing fit starts.

"Baseless speculation! Slander!" Ciel yells.

"Ciel, stop," I warn her, and she bites her tongue, then returns to glaring at the line of guards in front of the girls. Yunia stands behind them, perfectly still, and completely unsure of what to do.

"Why did you target us?" I continue the interrogation.

This time, he answers without [Godly Language] forcing him to do so, "Because you killed my brother! He was the only family I ever had, and you fucking killed him like a goblin! I HOPE YOU DIE TO A BREEDER!" He crawls forward to the cell grating and slams his good hand against it, barely making it rattle. "AND THEN YOU STOLE FARANA FROM ME! YOU LEFT ME ALL ALONE IN THIS REALM! YOU TOOK AWAY EVERYONE I'D EVER LOVED...! I'VE BEEN DEAD ALREADY FOR A LONG TIME, SO FINISH THE JOB THAT YOU FUCKING STARTED!"

That tirade took all of his energy because as soon as he finishes, he collapses, gasping for air and coughing heavily.

I kneel and glare at him with more anger than I've ever had.

All this pain and suffering, all this manipulation that caused so many innocents to die, it was all the work of a mad man turned Wicked. He deserves no pity, he deserves no mercy, he only deserves to pay.

The women that saved me from depression and insanity were repeatedly endangered by his evil thirst for revenge. He wanted to avenge a Wicked brother that was rightfully killed for being a fucking rapist!

Scum of the earth, with a broken mind, a darkened heart, and a complete lack of morals. An existence too pitiful to be left alive. But with crimes too heavy to receive the mercy of death.

Darean clutches his broken hand, and his face pales. His whole body starts shivering, and his scared eyes remain locked with mine, as if he simply can't look away.

"You won't die so soon. You'll be sent to Vanea for her to extract whatever she might need from you," I say in a calm and deliberate tone, but still seeping with anger in every word.

"No... no... please, not her! She's as Wicked as me!" He begs.

I get up and look down at him with contempt. In the end, we're all responsible for our actions, and the dark path he chose was bound to only bring misery onto himself.

"She's not Wicked, Darean. She... is what you deserve."

That final word breaks his mind. He slowly lays himself down on the ground and curls into a fetal position as he whimpers incomprehensibly.

I turn to the guards, and they flinch.

I don't have the patience to wait for Confiel, so I state, "He tried to kill us with a large, cracked magic tool. I merely saved all our lives by teleporting the gem to the outside."

The guards mumble between themselves with uncertainty.

They need some more "persuading," so I grit my teeth and release some of my anger, "Out of my way! I have no more patience to deal with any of you! If any of the Lords want to talk to us, we'll be at the imperial mansion that we were assigned."

With a nudge, the girls sheathe their weapons. Ciel and Lina immediately copy them, then we make a single-file line. We walk forward with Hana in front, and her glare is the last warning that's needed to convince them to move out of our way.

We quickly reach the first guard we met here and order him to open the portal to Goloria.

I sit down on the sofa and sigh. My whole face feels cramped, so I massage it with my hands.

Hana walks up to me and suddenly straddles me. I look at her with a bit of confusion, then I see her hungry eyes as she bites her lip, and I immediately understand. She loves it when I show power and confidence, and my expression from before was enough to make her wet.

I move my hands under her shirt and feel her tight abs as her lips repeatedly brush against mine with unusual gentleness. These kisses are like small waves heralding the storm to come.

One hand goes up to cup a large, juicy breast while the other goes down within her panties, and I'm greeted by the slick moistness of her desire.

The rest of the girls sit on the other chairs and sofas around us to watch the show.

With a moist noise, I slide out of Hana and stand up, feeling refreshed. Then I sit beside Aoi and pat her head while she cleans Hana. Alissa sets out a tray of tea and sweets on the "technically not coffee"-table, and I start drinking a mild one while Alissa polishes the Rod.

Roxanne twitches and wakes up, then she yawns happily, spiritedly pats her lap loli, and gives a loving squeeze to her breast pillow. "Hana's moans are a lullaby to me," she says and giggles.

Yunia sips her tea and subtly averts her eyes when I look at her. Her skin is a deeper shade of pink than normal.

"Meeting with Darean certainly didn't go the way I planned," I comment as I smile wryly.

"It was never going to go well," Ciel says and bats Roxanne's pervy hand away because she squeezed too hard.

"Well, you certainly weren't expecting him to try to kill us all with a hidden weapon, right?"

She rolls her eyes and gives me a sassy glare. "No, but I was expecting it to be a terrible experience for our hearts."

"You think we shouldn't have gone to see him?"

"I think we had to. We shouldn't avoid experiences just because they bring negative emotions."

"'Pain always brings an opportunity to learn,' a teaching from the God of Endurance," Hana says.

"Oh? You know the teachings of the Gods, now?" Roxanne teases her.

She sits and crosses her arms, pressing the weaknesses of men together. "Hmph. My 'Piety' is eleven. I know some things."

I lovingly kiss Alissa's forehead once she's done, then she sits beside me and I finally force the Rod to go flaccid.

Alissa serves me a cup of tea and I take it gratefully. I'm not necessarily hungry yet, but the tea and sweets calm my heart.

"Even though it was necessary, I didn't like seeing you so angry," Alissa says to me, and Roxanne, Ciel, and Lina nod.

"You know my opinion," Hana says and moans in satisfaction.

She awkwardly walks towards the room in question then stiffly stands in front of the doorway. I look inside and chuckle.

The room is completely packed. There's no furniture among it, but there are piles upon piles of wooden chests that fill most of the room. The piles are so tall that they even reach the high ceiling.

"I'm thankful that they've allowed me to keep all of my things, but... maybe it was unnecessary..." She comments and clears her throat.

"It's fine. Like the girls said, my 'Items' is seemingly infinite."

"Hopefully," she says in a low tone.

"Probably," I say and smirk.

They all fit. Thankfully, they are all labeled, so it's easy for me to take out the right one. She chose the one labeled "Clothes for a casual meeting in the evening." After reading all of the different labels, I'm convinced that she has many different dresses for every conceivable situation.

I pull out a table and a sofa for her, then I start walking away.

"Can you stay...? And help me choose?" She asks, with that last part seemingly added in a hurry.

"Sure," I say and pull out a chair for myself.

She nods subtly and undresses. Her pink lips look enticing as she bends over. Her cute nipples catch my eye as they move while she puts on a bra. Her glorious hair briefly covers her perfect face, then reveals her pink skin and adorable elven ears.

"You feel embarrassed, yet you still do this. Why?" I ask.

"You're my master. It's normal," she calmly answers and puts on a tiara, pushing her hair back and tidily revealing her ears.

"But you don't have to force yourself."

"If I don't force myself, then I may never be able to do it naturally."

I frown. "You don't have to 'do it.'"

She looks at me with a subtle smile, and I feel her [Mask] peeking out from behind her eyes. "I chose to love you, so give me the chance and the time I need."

I feel a lump forming in my throat. "I'm not sure how healthy it is for your mind to rely on [Mask] to hide your feelings, or to force yourself to love someone you barely know."

She shakes her head gently and blinks slowly. "It isn't healthy for anyone to know that their parents will get murdered one day, but that's just how life is. I may feel alone now, but with you, that'll pass, like all things. 'All wounds can be healed,' the God of Endurance once said."

"Your 'piety' isn't very high." I smile softly.

She narrows her eyes slightly. "Neither is yours, yet you're still Blessed by the Goddess of Knowledge."

I don't know what to say to her. I just don't really approve of what she's doing to herself.

"Why did you choose to love me?" I ask.

Her smile becomes a little pained, and I hear the screech of the [Mask] threatening to break. "It's what's best for all of us. I won't be the one to drive a wedge between you and the other wives. Your relationship with them is... too perfect, too pure. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ruined it."

Saying that there's anything "pure" about the relationship between me and the girls feels very wrong, but okay, I'll accept it.

I get up from the chair and approach her. I look up into her deep blue eyes and softly hold her cheek. Then I gently caress her with a hint of my spirit touch.

"Thank you," I say with genuine gratitude.

The [Mask] shatters like brittle glass, and silent tears start flowing down her cheeks.

I feel like kissing her, but our relationship isn't at the stage where there would be any love in it, so I just hug her, instead.

"I'll never let you feel alone again," I whisper.

"I'll never allow us to stray apart," she whispers and hugs me back, holding my head nuzzled against her neck.

"But don't forget to be yourself, too."

"Okay..."

She readjusts her chin and rests it on the top of my head.

Our words were like vows. Private, simple vows that conveyed more about our intentions and feelings towards each other than what we wanted from this relationship.

She may be forcing herself, but true love and trust only come with time. We'll cultivate this relationship and let it grow into something beautiful.

Announcement

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