The Eve of the Storm (5)

---

Inside this mansion, one becomes unusually sensitive to the flow of Mana. This is because the Mana content in the air is extremely low compared to other places. Even the spirits that always hovered around Aileen avoid the mansion, and to use magic, one must gather external Mana and produce several times stronger output.

The magicians of Lecante wondered if I had cast a wide-ranging anti-spell, but contrary to their expectations, it’s not my fault.

Shuriel… a branch of the World Tree that expels magical energy and gathers Mana. It sprouted in the form of horns, but the structure is not much different. The difference is that it only gathers Mana and does not release it to the surroundings.

However.

A massive flow of Mana was detected in the room where Shuriel was.

“…What are those two doing?”

And this was the result.

A provocative pose with legs straddling the edge of the bed, their bodies overlapping. If it had just ended there, I could have brushed it off as a happening-but the problem was that Shuriel’s limbs were tied with rope, and Aileen’s face was flushed to the point of explosion.

‘I kind of expected it…’

Would Aileen be demure just because I was around? The signs of her obsession with Shuriel were getting worse day by day, to the point where she was even acting spoiled.

Well… no matter how bad it got, it never went beyond that, and whatever she did was just cute to me, but the problem was that she had started wielding her own body as a weapon.

“Oh, Mom?”

“…It was irresistible.”

Yeah, it must have been irresistible.

I had been expecting this day to come.

I ran a hand over my face and carefully closed the door. I even soundproofed it in case Pani followed.

“I suddenly felt a huge amount of Mana, and I had something to say, so I came to check what was happening… this is, um. Really…”

“T-This, Mom, I mean…”

However, unlike the bitter feeling, I wasn’t too worried.

Compared to his flamboyant technique and hip movements, Shuriel is suspiciously oblivious to women. It’s not that he has little experience with women. Just as stimulation becomes dull with repetition, women were just a boring, energy-draining emotional drain to him.

The way he violated me was like… a soldier returning from the front lines, unable to cope with the stress, raping a prostitute.

“…I’m not going to scold you, so don’t worry, Aileen. More than that, more than that… Shuriel?”

Still, I should make sure to confirm the facts.

“…You didn’t do it, did you?”

-Twitch.

When I spoke in a slightly tense voice, Aileen trembled like a cat raising its fur and turned her eyes away.

I narrowed my eyes and scanned the room. There was no smell of Semen or Vaginal Fluid. I didn’t sense any drugs or stimulants either.

…It didn’t seem like anything had happened.

“First, get up.”

With a light gesture, the rope binding Shuriel’s limbs disappeared. Shuriel, whose limbs were now free, stared blankly at Aileen, who was still on top of him.

Aileen looked around for a few seconds, then lifted her hips, looking longingly at Shuriel’s lips. However, placing her palms on his chest and shaking her pelvis was clearly a riding position. Did she even know what she was doing?

“…This one’s invalid. Got it, Daddy?”

Using her firm thighs, she pressed down on Shuriel’s waist and pelvis. Then, with a sticky movement that I couldn’t tell if she was using to support herself or to seduce him, she stood up. Aileen looked at Shuriel with honey-dripping eyes and smiled.

“…That might have been dangerous.”

Shuriel, who got up next, sat on the bed, sweating profusely.

“Come here. I’ll wipe off your sweat.”

I made a handkerchief and wiped Shuriel’s sweat.

When I reached out to his neck and pushed my shoulder forward, a fragrant scent lingered faintly, tickling my nose. It was a fresh and pure scent, but at the same time, it also smelled like a ripe woman. It was Aileen’s scent.

Normally, when we were this close, I would be overwhelmed by the flood of male scent and become aroused. But when Aileen’s scent was mixed in, I felt a little different. Not the sweet and exciting feeling I usually felt, but a confusing and seductive feeling.

Unconsciously.

I glared at Aileen, who was blankly watching Shuriel.

It seemed like the atmosphere had cooled down because I had interrupted, but the desire in her eyes hadn’t cooled down. Still burning fiercely. The eyes of a predator who would pounce at any opportunity.

Aileen watched enviously as Shuriel obediently accepted my touch.

“Mom is so lucky… she gets to be with Daddy all the time.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so busy. I don’t like leaving you alone all the time…”

“I understand. But, it’s free time now, right? It’s also one of the few rest times in a day…”

I felt a slight dissatisfaction in the nuance of her words.

A tone that seemed to be asking why I had interrupted.

“S-Sorry for tying you up so you couldn’t move. I, I really didn’t mean to.”

But she apologized, knowing she was wrong. I put the handkerchief in my arms and said.

“Aileen.”

“Yes?”

“Do you want to play with Daddy?”

…Really, really unfortunately.

Aileen’s ‘obsession’ was a destiny determined from the moment she inherited the blood of an Arch Mage. Even if it wasn’t love for Shuriel, it might have materialized in some other way someday.

This is something that not only I, but any transcendent who has mastered the world, inevitably experiences. Since they cannot live in the world from the perspective of an ordinary person, they create something to cling to and obsess over to establish their identity and ego.

Dragons, the most numerous among the transcendents, live in the world with arrogance. They cannot maintain their ego without being arrogant, so they cling to high positions. Therefore, they do not believe in gods. Dragons are beings who think that all beings, including gods, are below them.

Once an obsession is formed, it does not change without a dramatic change of heart. Just as I cannot escape the pleasure of pain, it is too late to change Aileen.

Suppressing her here would only make the situation worse.

“Do you want to kiss, hug, and rub your cheeks as much as you want?”

“O-Oh… yes! A-And… the kisses aren’t on the ch-cheeks, but on the lips…”

“I understand.”

Shuriel looked at me with meaningful eyes. A suspicious look, as if wondering what I was going to do again.

“I’ll let you do whatever you want. Shuriel, is that okay?”

“…What are you planning to do?”

“Instead of that, isn’t it okay to ‘play’ with her once in a while? I’m used to administrative work, so I can handle it somehow on my own…”

Joy and sorrow cross paths.

Aileen was so excited that her face turned red, and Shuriel stared at me with sharp eyes, unable to say no in front of his daughter.

“But.”

However, it can’t be just like that.

“There’s a condition.”

Aileen and Shuriel widened their eyes and watched me. I quietly recited in the midst of the swirling gazes.

“The Academy.”

Dream a dream higher than the clouds and become a star in the high sky.

The motto of the Academy.

“You have to enroll in Astra.”

Enrollment applications will be accepted soon. If you miss this opportunity, you’ll have to apply at the end of the year… by then, I might be fighting a Great Demon.

“Then I’ll let you play with Daddy as much as you want.”

I smiled and suggested.

The reason why it has to be the Academy is that, as Alpenris said, she might be able to make friends and find other values. It was a hundred times better than the social circles where even a single word was exchanged in the midst of thorough calculations of gains and losses.

Astra operates on a completely meritocratic basis.

Well… it’s not an absurd institution that advocates democracy alone in a society based on the caste system. It’s just that there are many different races among the students. If you demand a hierarchical relationship from them, who are used to freedom and the law of the jungle, they’ll just get pissed off and run wild.

“Hmm…”

Aileen pondered my suggestion for a few seconds, then asked a question.

“…If I go there, can I meet Mom and Dad?”

“Not often, but you can see us every weekend. You can sneak out with teleportation. Or, you can install a portal in the dormitory. Just don’t get caught.”

There is an anti-spell barrier in the sky above Astra… but if Aileen is determined to break it, she can easily break through it. More than anything, you just have to not get caught, no matter what you do.

Aileen seemed to think it was a good suggestion and immediately answered.

“…I’ll do it!”

“And… can I ask you for just one thing?”

“Yes! Just say the word!”

“…I have to accompany you while you’re playing with Daddy.”

Her mountain-high shoulders slumped. Aileen looked at me with desperate and resentful eyes.

“B-But…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll just be watching from the side. I promise.”

When I said that, her shoulders, which had sunk to the ground, rose again.

When had Aileen ever been aware of my presence? She would cut me off like a knife when she was clinging to Shuriel, so I just avoided the situation.

“T-Then! I’ll go change my clothes…”

Tadadak. A refreshing breeze blew as she lightly kicked off the ground. Aileen disappeared like the wind.

“…”

“…”

A moment of silence.

Shuriel said to me, who was making a somewhat bitter expression.

“…What are you thinking?”

“It’s too late.”

“What?”

I quietly took a shallow breath and turned my head.

“It’s no use no matter how much we appease her and send her back. Aileen… won’t change. She’s like me. She’s obsessed with one thing and never gives up… It seems like she’s found something she wants to crave, even at the cost of her life and value.”

“…That something is?”

“You know, don’t you?”

“Damn it.”

Shuriel said, biting his lip.

“…That’s not the look a daughter can give.”

“The look of someone in love.”

“Yeah, Aileen doesn’t see me as her father.”

“But love is an unchanging truth.”

That was the biggest problem, though.

Only love exists without the awareness that the other person is her father.

All that’s left is lust.

“For now, let’s try to prevent it from going any further astray.”

“Damn it.”

“…Please don’t hate Aileen.”

I said, looking at his stiff face. I was worried that he might end up hating Aileen.

Shuriel said, pressing down on his throbbing head.

“If you’re going to blame someone, you should blame me. It’s all my fault that the situation has come this far. If I had paid a little more attention, she wouldn’t have changed this much.”

Both I and Shuriel were pitiful humans who were not used to love. I nodded slightly and turned around.

---

If you were to consider recognition in Lecante, Aileen would be the first, followed by Shuriel. But I, the owner of the territory, unfortunately didn’t make it into the rankings. Because I never go outside the mansion.

Shuriel took on all the external activities, so many people knew the owner of this place as the man with the golden horns.

-Isn’t that the lord?

-There’s even a fairy dancer on his right.

It was a combination of Aileen, the most famous fairy dancer in Lecante, and Shuriel, the territory’s representative. Naturally, eyes gathered.

“Hehe…”

Aileen, who had been promised time with her father in exchange for enrolling in the Academy, immediately took Shuriel and ran out into the street.

-Who’s on the left?

-…Isn’t that his daughter?

-I haven’t heard that the lord had a child.

She proudly smiled, linking her arm with her father’s right arm. The spirits who feared Shuriel followed at a slight distance, and the procession of light seemed to resemble a wedding.

“Daddy, is your promise to grant my wish still valid?”

“…Is there something you want?”

“Of course. There are so many that it’s hard to choose…”

Aileen stopped talking, conscious of the gazes around her. Instead, she moved a little further and entered a slightly secluded back alley.

I sighed inwardly and quickly followed. I felt like my stomach was twisting. The alley that Aileen had found was… the alley where I had been indebted to Shuriel when we had outdoor play.

‘…She’s not going to ask for that as soon as we come out, is she?’

But, I couldn’t move because I had promised not to interfere. I could only hope that Shuriel would keep the line within reason.