Ch.126Victory Conditions (9)

Victory Condition (9)

It was a bit of a detour, but Lug managed to reach Millia’s room. Yes, he was an ascetic. Always a loser who got lost, derailed, and fell behind.

Yet because he could always return to the path, Lug achieved transcendence.

‘So, what just happened was merely inevitable. In the end, I returned to the path as usual.’

Isn’t that enough?

Lug added such excuses to his actions.

Indeed, this shamelessness was the driving force that allowed Lug to move forward again, leaving behind all his past loves and relationships.

Lug knocked on the door where Millia was resting with a dignified appearance.

“Lady Millia. Are you there?”

“Mmm…”

At Lug’s call, there was a brief rustling sound from inside before Millia peeked her head through the door.

She looked somewhat disheveled, as if she had been sleeping until just now.

“You were sleeping, I see. Should I come back later?”

Just as Lug thought he had picked a bad time.

“Come in.”

“Yes…”

Millia opened the door wide and invited Lug into her room.

However, Lug couldn’t move hastily. He could now see what had been hidden behind the door.

Now he understood why she had only peeked her head out when checking who it was.

Millia was…

“Uh, um. Thank… no, that’s not it, I’m sorry.”

She was wearing only her underwear.

Millia tilted her head, wearing a black negligee.

She couldn’t understand why Lug was apologizing to her.

He wasn’t just anyone—he was the person she liked, so what was the problem?

She was the one who opened the door in the first place.

She had given permission.

“Aren’t you coming in?”

“…I should.”

And Lug was already a man with a bewitching charm who had captivated countless women.

This much couldn’t stop him in his tracks.

Of course…

‘Wow, seeing her like this really makes my heart feel majestic.’

His gaze could only remain fixed on one spot.

Even when usually covered by loose robes, her presence was impossible to hide, but now that she was wearing such a revealing negligee that showed her skin, Lug couldn’t help but be overwhelmed.

What he knew before wasn’t everything. It was just the tip of the iceberg.

Yes, even to him who had lived for countless years, Millia was extraordinary.

“…?”

Millia looked curiously at Lug, who was staring blankly at one spot like a blind man even after entering the room, then realizing the reason, she tilted her head and said:

“Do you want to touch my breasts?”

“Is that allowed?”

“Isn’t that why you came?”

“…”

Freeze.

Lug’s hand, which had been slowly reaching out, stopped.

Even someone like him knew he shouldn’t affirm this now.

If he were to touch Millia’s breasts here, whatever he said afterward would be prefaced with “after touching her breasts.”

Lug came to comfort Millia.

He came to listen to her concerns, think them through together, and cheer her up.

He couldn’t let himself be swayed by carnal desires and lose sight of his purpose.

‘At least not now!’

Lug shook his head, swallowing tears of blood. Then, trying to look as composed as possible, he moved toward the chair…

‘There’s no chair in this room?’

Only after entering did Lug realize there was nowhere to sit.

No, that wasn’t quite true.

There was a desk and a chair in front of it. However, they were completely covered with magic-related books and materials that Millia had spread out.

As if the desk wasn’t enough, the chair was covered too.

He could sit if he cleared them away… but Millia didn’t seem inclined to do so, and Lug was afraid to touch the mysterious magical items.

“Sit here.”

Pat. Pat.

Millia climbed onto the bed first and called Lug to sit beside her.

“…”

Lug broke into a cold sweat.

Was this seduction? Or was it just another careless action from Millia, who lacked social awareness and common sense as usual?

At this point, neither would be surprising.

But now was not the time.

Really, it wasn’t.

“Ahem, ahem.”

But that aside, he needed somewhere to sit.

Lug perched on the edge of the bed where Millia was sitting.

The gaze he felt from beside him was much more burdensome than usual.

“You’re not going to touch?”

“No.”

“Well, can’t be helped then.”

Millia sighed regretfully and wrapped herself in the blanket.

Seeing this, Lug could only swallow more tears of blood.

Isn’t it too much of a waste? But now was the time to fulfill his duty.

Lug endured Millia’s temptation with that single thought alone.

Considering Lug’s usual behavior, this alone showed how superhuman his patience was.

But cruelly, Millia was not someone who would understand such things.

“You’ve seemed down lately. Has something happened?”

Lug got to the point.

He faced Millia with the most benevolent and gentle smile he could manage.

It was problematic that his gaze kept drifting downward, but fundamentally, Lug was someone who tried to look people in the eyes when conversing.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“I see.”

Lug knew. If she said nothing was wrong, it was probably true.

But what if it wasn’t her?

“You think the environment has changed, don’t you?”

“Lug, you’re smart.”

“I try to be when it comes to relationships with people.”

“Mm.”

Millia smiled brightly.

It was her unguarded emotion shown only to Lug.

That smile was the kind that made the viewer smile along, so Lug thought it was a shame he was the only one seeing it.

“You know, I actually know?”

But that smile didn’t last long. Millia soon lowered her head with a bitter expression.

Even normally, she often appeared intimidated and dejected, but this time was different.

It was self-deprecation.

“I’m not as pretty as Eirene.”

She knows.

Eirene is beautiful.

Even as a woman herself, that’s the first thing that comes to mind.

Eirene is skilled in scheming and can do many things that Lug would like. Unlike Millia, she’s socially adept.

She can do many things that Millia cannot.

“I’m not as versatile as Tina, nor do I have the talent to lead conversations pleasantly.”

And she knows.

Tina is bright.

She has a sunny smile that makes you feel warm just by looking at her.

No one on their journey showed as much versatility as her, and when conversing, she always had an intimacy that made the other person smile.

She can create an atmosphere that Millia cannot.

“I’m not as strong as Esmeralda.”

And she knows.

Esmeralda is strong.

She knows the reassurance of fighting at the forefront and standing firm.

When with her, you feel like you can overcome any hardship.

Even Millia, who doesn’t quite understand the noble cause Esmeralda upholds, finds it dazzling.

That’s why Millia knows.

“You know, Lug. I don’t have anything special compared to others.”

She has things only she can do. That’s why she hadn’t lost herself until now.

But from that day—the day she lost to Eirene—she felt it.

She noticed that the atmosphere between Eirene and Lug had changed.

It didn’t take long to confirm what had changed.

This time, the change in their relationship happened right before her eyes.

The attitude Tanha showed toward Lug. The attitude Lug showed toward Tanha.

The subsequent pact, ritual, kiss.

The change between the two afterward.

And Millia experienced it.

“The only thing I could be proud of was this body… but now even that doesn’t seem to matter much.”

That moment when Lug, who would have immediately accepted her seduction normally, rejected her.

She felt it.

That her value couldn’t improve beyond this, couldn’t grow, and would be difficult to build relationships with.

“I…”

Millia’s words caught in her throat.

She tried to speak, but the words were stuck as if something was swallowing them.

Plop.

Tears welled up in her eyes and fell.

Emotions she herself hadn’t clearly recognized poured out in physical form.

“I like you… but there’s nothing I can do for you…”

Normally, she would have gotten angry and attacked others.

Because she felt like something was being taken from her.

But amidst the changing relationships, only she remained unchanged.

When everyone else was bearing fruit, only she stood still.

She realized that what she thought was her strongest weapon was merely a matter of preference for Lug.

Even if not Eirene, even Tina had surpassed her.

What mattered wasn’t appearance but the change in heart and relationships.

“You know, Lug.”

Millia removed the blanket again and approached Lug.

She hadn’t changed from the past.

She had consistently loved Lug from before.

“I like you. I’ve always felt that way.”

“…”

“How about you?”

From that day they reunited at the magic tower.

Yes, from that day on, she had always been honest about her feelings.

Before Eirene, before Tina. Before anyone else, she had expressed her love explicitly.

But now she was falling behind.

Her possessive love, which had tried to take what she wanted even through violence, had lost itself.

She knows. She knows there are many people more attractive than her.

“I see,”

Lug understood Millia’s fear. He was someone who knew love and had been loved.

“This was my fault.”

So he knew what the most certain and simple method was.

If she had lost herself and her confidence.

“I should not have held back.”

All he needed to do was fill her with himself.