episode_0160

Helena, pressing her lips together, slowly raised her head.

A thin line of saliva stretched between Ian and Helena’s lips.

Helena, who was looking down at it, kissed her lips again, wiped her saliva, and lifted her head.

Helena glanced at her lips and swallowed.

Ian, unable to resist as he was being held captive by Helena, looked at her with a frown and complicated feelings.

Helena, who was sitting on top of him, looked down as if she was going to hold him in her arms.

“Ian… .”

“… … .”

“Me… Please own it.”

Ian had a dizzying headache.

How on earth did this happen?

At this point, do you really have a problem with yourself?

Suddenly, something Mercy said as a joke came to mind.

Like this sinful man.

… Was it really his own sin?

For a moment, Ian seriously considered whether he should first educate him about the correlation between love and possessiveness and proper coming-of-age rituals.

But it was meaningless.

“First, let’s go down a bit.”

At those words, Helena looked as if her world had collapsed.

“No… . I can barely resist getting closer, but I can’t back away any further… .”

‘It’s going to turn.’

Ian’s headache got worse.

Won’t the warriors you raised before get kicked out after they become stronger than you?

After the hero raised this time becomes stronger than himself, he ties him up with force and clings to him as he pleases.

“I know.”

“What?”

“What happened with Katy and Vivian? .”

“… … .”

Right.

Ian admitted his defeat.

The problem was that out of consideration, they vaguely withheld their confessions.

That shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

It can’t be overturned now.

It’s a rumor.

Excessive consideration became toxic.

“I’ll tell you in advance, I’m not kicking back. The way the two of you look at Ian is so blatant… There was no way I didn’t know.”

Ian was dumbfounded at having to explain his situation again.

I never thought I would convey those words to so many people in my lifetime.

“So. Unless there is someone Ian has made up his mind on yet.”

Helena ran her fingertips up Ian’s neck, then cupped his face and lifted him towards her.

She made direct eye contact with Ian, licked her lips as if she were going to eat him, and spoke.

“Please give this irreverent believer who dares to be equal to you a chance.”

That opportunity could be a blessing from heaven or a severe punishment.

Ian ignored the seemingly incomprehensible words.

Unusually for this sticky situation, he was madly curious about one thing.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“Why did I become the god of Helena?”

Since when?

Helena frowned at that question.

The reaction was somewhat absurd.

Soon, she pulled out one of Ian’s arms wrapped around her legs.

He takes his hand, lifts it up to face level, and kisses the back of it.

Helena raised her eyes and looked at Ian while kissing their hot lips.

It’s as if you still don’t understand.

“… Ah.”

Only then did Ian realize it.

The day I destroyed the Mine Laboratory with Lescentimants.

Helena asked for an answer, and Ian gave his thoughts.

The answer, in summary, was ‘Believe in yourself.’

At that time, Helena said she would do the same.

However, he didn’t know that it was his real self (Ian) and not Helena.

Mercy’s voice annoys my ears.

‘Oh my, you sinful man.’

… Everything was self-defeating.

Eventually, Ian confessed his situation to Helena.

I was dumbfounded as I spoke, and thought in vain that I might end up saying this to Lucia later.

And I cleaned it up right away.

For some reason, I felt anxious that it might come true.

After listening to Ian’s story, Helena understood why Kati and Vivian stayed at such an ambiguous distance.

After hearing everything, she was silent for a long time.

The one word uttered after silence was heavy.

“… You must not die.”

“Aren’t you struggling not to do that?”

“… … .”

Helena quietly came down from above Ian.

“It was not the time to be like this.”

“Yes?”

“This is not the time to be complacent. The devil as soon as possible… .”

Ian saw Helena’s fists shaking.

“There is no need to rush. The victory in the war is gradually decreasing.”

“… … .”

Helena lowered her head and remained silent, then ran up to Ian and hugged him again.

“I will protect you… .”

It was clearly Helena who was being hugged, but Ian felt as if he was being hugged because of the strength that had suddenly become stronger than himself.

What Helena said was true.

Because killing the Demon King is something that Ian cannot do with his own hands.

In the end, the only ones who could protect him were his warriors.

“I feel reassured.”

So, Ian had no choice but to lean on it.

But it wasn’t something to just lean on.

Even though I was in the position of the weak, I had to fight as hard as I could.

The leadership is planning a strategy to seize victory.

Ian had to participate in the operation as an advisor.

*

After stopping the great advance at the start of the war, there has never been another attack of that scale.

However, battles large and small continued to take place.

Humanity fought back safely.

We prioritized the preservation of our troops’ military power and did not go too far in chasing or searching the remnants.

As a defensive strategy, we moved forward slowly like a turtle, but what is important is that we continued to move forward without retreating.

However, only the first warrior party was still deployed to the most dangerous area.

As it was defensive, the frequency was small, so there was no break time.

In times of war, managing a soldier’s condition is more important than anything else, and as long as their fighting power is back to what it was before, they cannot be treated carelessly as criminals.

However, humanity was concerned that Sylvia was enthusiastically participating in the battle with the intention of destroying her own body.

Ian’s party also actively participated in several battles.

They were always at the forefront, gaining and embodying as much experience as possible.

The skill that was improving day by day was noticeable.

Humanity was happy, thinking that maybe there would be new hope beyond just the four members of the first party.

Then one day, the advance camp leading from the 8th gateway.

Grace came to a safe location.

After the war, she continued to visit soldiers all over the battlefield along with the imperial pastry chefs.

This is to hand out sweet donuts or cakes.

This was also part of maintaining morale.

“Why does that person keep coming?”

In Lucia’s eyes, it was not very desirable.

That’s because it often overlapped with the places Grace visited.

The reason, of course, is Ian.

Helena next to her also followed Grace with mischievous eyes.

The sight of her smiling brightly and distributing desserts looked like a little fairy that didn’t fit into the battlefield.

“I accepted it again because it was good… .”

Lucia also knows that Grace’s actions are very helpful in maintaining and boosting morale.

The fact that the princess came this far meant that the area around here was safe.

It also gave hope that humanity had a high chance of winning.

Apart from that, a complaint is a complaint.

“Everyone! Let’s eat together!”

At that time, Vivian waddled over to me, holding a bunch of donuts and cake in her arms.

Lucia looked at her with narrowed eyes and sighed.

“Why, why are you like that… ?”

“Sister. It’s food brought by a fearsome princess targeting the innocent Ian. What should I do if I get treated so carelessly?”

“Well, not really… . It’s delicious… .”

Helena trembled at Lucia’s words, but Lucia did not see her.

Lucia said the same thing, but she also enjoyed the donuts and cake.

There is no sin in food.

“Helena.”

Lucia called.

“Yes?”

“Why do you keep avoiding Ian these days?”

“That, that, that’s not true… !”

“No. I heard you’re avoiding it?”

“… … .”

Helena averted her gaze.

Vivian, who was chewing on her cake, stared at her.

“What happened to you two?”

What happened.

Those words reminded Helena of something that happened about two weeks ago.

Something like that happened in the confessional of an abandoned cathedral.

Thinking about it made me dizzy.

Since that day, I have never had the courage to look at Ian directly.

I definitely wasn’t that embarrassed at the time.

“Nothing happened… .”

“Hmm. The problem is that Helena avoids it too awkwardly. The problem is that Vivian chases after me too much… .”

“Neeh? Sigh, you’re chasing me… !”

“Sister, I thought you wouldn’t know? Every time I see where Ian is, he’s running next to him.”

“Yeah, but… . Because I like Ian too… .”

“Is it true?”

“I’m not saying I don’t like it, so… .”

“Hmm… .”

Lucia, who was scratching her head, alleviated her uncomfortable feelings by chewing and swallowing a donut.

When I look at that fierce and innocent sister, I feel like scratching her, but I end up cold.

At the same time, it may seem like the tone is subtly deceptive, and it is complicated anyway.

It’s not a child, what are you doing?

“Oh my, Ian’s warriors?”

Grace suddenly approached.

“I see you are enjoying the dessert I brought! Thank you so much!”

Grace grinned as she looked at the donuts and cakes in the fruits’ hands.

“By the way, where is Ian? I would like to give you a cake that I made myself and filled with lots of my love! I can’t see you anymore today!”

“… … .”

“Oh, is it over there? Then I’ll leave!”

Grace ran away at a brisk pace to avoid the three warriors’ murderous gaze.

Vivian muttered as she watched the blonde chick walking away.

“… I’m annoyed.”

However, he did not let go of the cake and donuts he was holding.

Lucia looked alternately at Vivian and Grace, and at Helena, who was also looking at Grace with disapproval.

I look at the sky with a frustrated heart.

‘It’s annoying.’

More than Grace, more myself.

I was annoyed at myself for being jealous and keeping my precious colleague in check.

‘… ‘When did this happen?’