EP 22 - Hero & Lucius vs EVIL(3)
Elves marry the strong. So, hearing the rumors that the hero who would defeat the demon king would be her husband, Princess Erina fled the elf kingdom. She claimed that she was leaving to conceive the seed of the hero.
Too vulgar of an excuse? Well, it’s an eroge, so that’s par for the course. Of course, this ridiculous excuse was nothing more than a facade. Her real intention was to defeat the demon king herself and put an end to any marriage talk.
However, as soon as she left the forest, Erina was chased by vicious monsters and ended up being saved by the hero, joining his party afterward. And in the ending where the hero chooses Erina, she would say.
“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. You’re the hero who defeated the Demon King, after all. But if you marry me, you won't be able to go on adventures you enjoy, and as you're not an elf, you can't ascend to the throne. Is that okay with you?”
As I was pondering Erina’s story early this morning, I suddenly had this thought. If Erina left the forest under the pretext of bearing the hero's child, couldn't I have sex with Erina if I defeated the demon king?
Facade aside, Erina is the princess of the elf kingdom in an eroge. No matter how independent or bratty she may act, a princess must continue the bloodline. If the hero was human, the result was a half-elf, but if it's a half-elf, the child would be a full elf. From the elf kingdom’s perspective, Erina marrying me would be better.
I started considering the idea more carefully. If I defeated the demon king instead of Erina and then smashed the hero's skull when he was exhausted, no one would know if the hero died at the hands of the demon king or me.
I could just put on a mournful expression, carry the hero's corpse, and hold a grand funeral. That would leave me as the only one who defeated the demon king, and I could f*ck Erina. Of course, my relationship with Erina wouldn't be good, but who cares? Having an elf princess reluctantly submit her body to me had its own appeal.
Imagining Erina, who once looked down on me with disgust, being pinned whimpering beneath me—it was thrilling! The only problem was that to make this plan work, I'd have to replace Erina in the party, ensure the hero dies, and find someone to manage the territory while I was away.
The lord of the neighboring territory couldn’t be used as a proxy. That lucky NTR bastard hasn't suffered any damage because our territory has been acting as a breakwater against the monster waves. If he had even sent some soldiers to help, it might have made a difference, but no, it was like he was praying for my downfall. Not a single soldier was dispatched.
One day, I’ll definitely kill him.
While I was busy contemplating sex, a few days passed outside. According to Robin's occasional reports, Erina and the hero were doing a great job of repelling the monsters. As the time for the demon king’s resurrection drew near, monsters seemed to be gathering at the resurrection site. Unfortunately, my territory was right in that path.
Three days later, I stepped into the mansion courtyard, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. There I saw Erina and the Hero A.A., both exhausted. A.A.'s trademark hairstyle was completely disheveled, and Erina’s pale skin was covered in dirt. When I checked their statuses, I was slightly taken aback.
In just three days, their levels had increased significantly.
“I think... we've done enough...”
A.A. said to me. And like he said—he had done an outstanding job. I had no reason or excuse to keep them here any longer. I had the warehouse be opened and asked A.A. and Erina to follow me.
The warehouse, which had not been maintained for a long time, was filthy. I picked up a helmet that was sitting on top of all the junk, like a Christmas decoration, and brought it down. Both Erina and A.A. looked at me with incredulous expressions.
“You stored a holy relic like that?”
“Well, it hasn’t been used in a long time.”
In the original game, it simply said, [The hero received the holy relic from Lucius!], so there was no way to know how it had been stored. But since I hadn’t rearranged its location after reincarnating, I could only assume that Lucius had always kept it like this. I was also a little curious why Lucius had stored the relic like that. Does he hate relics? RΆ
“Truly an amazing guy! With skills so low you had us defend the village for you...”
Erina began to criticize me with that characteristic elf arrogance. But this was good. For me to enjoy the NTR sex with Erina, this b*tch had to go wild here. I took off my gloves and waited for the timing.
“Erina!”
Erina scoffed at my words.
“A half-elf like you, thinking you can beat me? Go ahead and try. So, you want me to act as your regent? I'll do it! But if I win, you'll strip naked in front of me and apologize with your head bowed! No, in front of your territory! I’ll have you grovel naked before every citizen of your domain. Understood?”
She's asking for a naked apology? For a priest and a fairly popular lord like me, this was akin to character deletion. If I grovelled naked in front of everyone, I wouldn’t be able to maintain any dignity as a priest or as a lord.
I hesitated briefly, then nodded.
Naked apology VS elf NTR sex buildup, the latter was a no-brainer. It was worth staking my dignity. After all, they say a life of challenges was a beautiful one.
I resolved to win. I grabbed my mace and said to A.A..
“Act as the official witness for this duel, hero.”
A.A. still looked uneasy. Understandably so—this was a high-stakes match the likes of which he had probably never seen before.
As we stepped into the courtyard, Robin looked at us with a puzzled expression, sensing the ominous atmosphere. I addressed him directly.
“Robin, make sure no one comes near this area.”
“What’s going on, My Lord?”
“The Elven Princess, Ahildern Erina, and I, Lord Peta Lucius, are having a duel.”
Robin blinked a few times, looked around, and then looked back at me, tilting his head.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to fight that elf.”
“Yes?”
“We’re dueling. Robin, do you understand? A duel. D-U-E-L.”
“Ah...I...why are you dueling...”
“Just say, ‘I understand,’ and follow my orders, Robin.”
“...I understand.”
Robin turned away and began assigning personnel to control the area. As I loosened up my body, I glanced at Erina. She already had an arrow nocked on her bowstring.
And so, the legendary all-or-nothing duel began.
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