Ch.127Victory Condition (10)

# Victory Condition (10)

It started with a light kiss.

An act to prove that Millia was indeed an attractive woman.

But would it end with just that?

At least Lug might have thought so. This was merely a proof. So anything beyond that was unnecessary.

But, as always, the seven emotions and six desires that captured his body.

They melted his mind into a sticky mess, making him fall into lust.

And…

“Mmm…”

The same was true for Millia.

Unlike Eirene who might have pushed Lug away in surprise at such a sudden situation, or Tanha who only made brief contact to express joy at their reunion.

She was someone who openly expressed her feelings without hiding them.

So their kiss continued longer than ever before.

“Haah…”

The two separated only when breathing became difficult.

At zero distance, a transparent thread of connection still stretched between them, having gone beyond even that boundary.

With dreamy, unfocused eyes and a reddened face, she smiled softly.

“Ah.”

Only then did Lug realize his hand was being held by Millia.

And that the hand she held was touching her chest.

Trying to escape from the sticky chains of lust that had robbed him of his reason, Lug pulled his hand away and muttered.

“I value premarital chastity…”

“I don’t care.”

But Millia, whose restraints had already begun to loosen, wasn’t bothered.

Can’t get married?

“Even if you don’t marry me, we’ll be together forever.”

She had no reason to hold back for something that was merely a formality.

Her love took a deeper, more solid form than that.

*Slide*

Millia moved closer to Lug.

Just that was enough for Millia’s chest to press against him.

An overwhelming presence, weight. His hand trying to rise again of its own accord.

“So, Lug. If you’re going to push me away, this is your only chance.”

Millia pushed him down and climbed on top of him.

Until then, Lug couldn’t think of anything.

At this rate, they would go all the way.

And if they went all the way, Lug’s excuse of premarital chastity that had temporarily blocked relationships with others would no longer work.

Then the haphazardly developed relationships between Lug and others would also fall apart, and the hero’s party might collapse before accomplishing their goal.

But he couldn’t refuse.

The seven emotions and six desires that captured Lug’s body were stopping him.

And above all, Millia’s flushed face as she pushed him down and straddled him was too captivating.

It doesn’t matter anymore.

Just as that thought melted the reason in his mind…

“Millia! Something terrible happened! An attack! We’re under att—Aaaah?! What are you two doing?!”

Esmeralda, who had rushed in urgently, flung open the door and was shocked.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

A terrible reality she didn’t want to acknowledge.

An awkward scene she didn’t want to face. And more than anything else…

“I told you to comfort him…! I clearly told you to comfort him!”

But not like this.

Reality is painful. The situation escalating to this point is even resentful.

Moreover, what angered her most was…

“Hmm?”

Millia’s gaze as she tilted her head and looked at her was painful.

‘Damn it!’

The woman who would normally glare at her as if wanting to kill her now looked at her with contempt, having arbitrarily designated her as a rival and being confident she could win.

‘I’m not even interested!’

Esmeralda was so angry she was nearly in tears at how everyone around her kept trying to pair her with Lug.

Of course, she didn’t yet realize that to others, it might look like she was sad because the man she liked was being taken by someone else, right before her eyes.

“Damn it!”

It seemed like every situation in this world was unfolding just to torment her.

It was already confusing enough that enemies had invaded, but now she had to directly witness someone comforting their comrade in such a strange way.

Moreover, that comrade looked down on her and even mocked her.

How could she, Esmeralda, suffer such humiliation?

What had she done wrong?

“Hurry up, get dressed and come out!”

The saddest thing was that she too was in a position likely to cause such misunderstandings. She didn’t want to get involved, but what could she do when enemies were invading?

The misunderstandings gradually piled up, and Esmeralda could only shed tears of blood.

“…I’ll be right there.”

Esmeralda sighed while holding her forehead, Lug bowed his head as if ashamed, and Millia continued to sneer at Esmeralda.

***

The hero’s party, except for Millia and Lug, climbed onto the fortress city’s walls to check the approaching army.

The difference from Esmeralda’s expectation was that there wasn’t just one approaching army.

“Eirene… What do you think is happening?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.”

There were two armies.

One consisted of human soldiers, specifically the Imperial Army.

The Imperial Army advancing toward the fortress city, and the Demon King’s army attacking their flank.

And the fortress city’s forces, who were “currently” pouring attacks toward the Demon King’s army from between these two groups.

‘Judging by the Imperial Army’s atmosphere, they definitely didn’t come as reinforcements.’

Eirene first observed the Imperial officer dealing with the Demon King’s army’s attack from a distance.

She knew this person.

A soldier with a fairly high position within the Imperial Army.

The selection of personnel seemed too politically motivated to be coming to support the fortress city, and Eirene recalled the suspicions Esmeralda had mentioned.

“…The first assumption is that we might not be the only ones who noticed Lord Fellheim Senova’s betrayal.”

“If that’s the first, is there a second?”

“The second is a reversal of cause and effect. The Imperial Army was planning to take down Lord Fellheim Senova first, and noticing this, Lord Fellheim Senova colluded with the Demon King’s army… I think it’s more likely this one, what do you think, Hero?”

Eirene’s analysis cut straight to the core.

Her reasoning, considering the selection of Imperial Army executives, Fellheim Senova’s position, and the direction of power struggles—all things she was familiar with due to her usual involvement in Imperial politics—was nearly perfect.

“…I think that’s right too.”

Esmeralda recalled her conversation with Fellheim Senova.

What had shocked her was that Fellheim Senova took pride in defending this place.

But if the Imperial Army had decided to bury Fellheim Senova, then her betrayal was understandable. Rather, not betraying would be foolish.

“Seeing how the Emperor acts, sometimes I question my role as the Hero.”

“Right? I feel the same. The Empire is the one who made me like this. In a way, aren’t I a victim too?”

“Do you always have to defend yourself like that?”

“I’ve noticed that recently your gaze has become not just arrogant but bordering on blasphemy.”

“…”

Esmeralda couldn’t refute.

She had indeed been looking at Eirene that way.

When she said Fellheim Senova might have betrayed them, Eirene had perfectly grasped the situation without even having the Emerald Tablet.

Wasn’t that because she had done similar things in the Imperial political arena?

“Well, what should we do now?”

Esmeralda turned around and muttered.

There, she saw Millia climbing up to the wall with her usual expressionless face, having finished her preparations.

‘Where the hell did Lug go? Well, even if he were here, he honestly wouldn’t be able to do much…’

***

Fellheim Senova was watching the two armies from a position somewhat distant from the hero’s party.

The Imperial Army, marching to purge her as a traitor.

The Demon King’s army, extending a hand to her and urging betrayal.

-%$%@#$#^$!!

“Don’t rush me so much. Anyway, as long as you’re intact, your army of the undead won’t have any problems even if we attack them a little. Here…”

The fortress city is attacking the Demon King’s army as if they know nothing.

Not all of her soldiers know that she is being purged by the Imperial Army.

Openly siding with the Demon King’s army here would rather decrease efficiency.

She has already turned her back on the world.

Would she feel guilty about deceiving her subordinates and sending them to their deaths?

That would be laughable.

She is a commander, after all.

Even before betraying humanity now, she was the one who pushed countless soldiers to their deaths with all kinds of sweet talk and appeals to honor.

It was because she lived that way that she could protect the fortress city.

Sacrificing others.

Such things no longer bother her at all.

Then what is she aiming for? Fellheim Senova looked at the hero’s party still observing the situation from the wall and said.

“Isn’t it best to catch two rabbits at once?”

Fellheim Senova raised her hand. In her hand was the emblem of a commander, and with her usual solemn expression, she declared.

“All troops, prepare.”

She’ll do as initially promised.

To deceive the hero’s party, she’s currently holding back the Demon King’s army.

The Demon King’s army attacking the Imperial Army as per their contract with her.

And the hero’s party who agreed to infiltrate the Demon King’s army through a contract with her.

Two rabbits, she said?

No, that’s wrong.

‘To gain the upper hand in negotiations, I need to bring them down to an equal position.’

She aims for three rabbits.

The Imperial Army, the Demon King’s army, and the hero’s party.

She intended to pull them all down to a position lower than herself.

To ensure she would never be purged like this again.

‘I will secure the most advantageous position in this situation.’

That was her perfect victory condition.