Ch.195Side Story 2. The Aftermath: Milia (3)

The Story After, Millia (3)

“N-No, I refuse.”

A statement of conviction.

“No way.”

A firm rejection.

“Lug, I can’t always go along with your stubbornness. I’ve been very accommodating until now, so this time I’m going to be stubborn too.”

“No, what are you saying…”

Millia spoke with an expression like she was scolding a child who refused to eat their vegetables.

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t speak, but thinking about it carefully, her logic wasn’t entirely wrong.

Whether by her own will or external forces, Millia’s plans had never succeeded.

Even though I knew this was complete nonsense, I could tell it would be impossible to persuade Millia.

After all, for Millia, this decision was simply common sense.

Even if I sincerely hated it, there was nothing I could do.

Just like in the past when I joined the hero’s party despite knowing the journey would be difficult and painful.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“No, how could I not be…”

“Safety is guaranteed. It will hurt at first, but after that, you won’t even feel the pain.”

“So it will hurt? Is pain a given prerequisite for the procedure?”

Couldn’t she at least consider performing the procedure without causing pain?

Of course, even if there was a painless method, I couldn’t agree to a procedure that would turn my body into a tentacle monster.

“When you were in danger, my heart hurt even more.”

“No…”

She says that at a time like this? And with such an expressionless face?

Anyone would think she was lying.

“Lug, you don’t understand magic as well as I do, so I can see why you’d think that. But since I’m much better at magic than you, could you please keep your mouth shut?”

“…”

An unexpected statement.

I never imagined she would shut me down like this.

No matter what I said, she would probably think I was giving advice despite being worse at magic than her.

This was impossible to argue against.

So I cried.

Accepting the desperate situation, I sobbed all night long.

Millia embraced me with her big heart, but…

Unlike usual, my mood didn’t improve this time.

***

I must have fallen asleep after crying for a while. When I quietly opened my eyes, it had grown dark around me, and Millia was nowhere to be seen.

The situation is desperate.

I have never once succeeded in persuading Millia, and this time will be no different. It can’t be helped.

For Millia, this is an unavoidable sacrifice and a trial that must be endured for the future.

Considering that all her actions stem from good intentions, it’s impossible to persuade someone like her who doesn’t listen in the first place.

“Lady Esmeralda…”

Have I ever missed Esmeralda’s presence this much?

They say you only realize what you had after losing it.

I could finally appreciate Esmeralda’s importance.

She, and only she, would understand this pain and resolve it.

Of course, her method would be violent and barbaric, like inflicting pain on those who cause pain.

But for someone trapped in their own world like Millia, there could be no better approach.

Survival of the fittest.

The law of nature that one must follow regardless of differing values.

To persuade Millia, I must follow that natural law.

“Ah…”

But Esmeralda isn’t here. And it’s hard to believe she could find this place.

Millia would have deliberately created this space, making it impossible for someone as straightforward as Esmeralda to even get a clue.

In other words, there is no hero to save me.

No one can save me.

Then…

“I… I have to save myself.”

If no one will save me no matter how much I cry or shout.

I have no choice but to become the hero who saves myself.

After curling up and sobbing for a while, I stood up.

When I was sitting down, I was nothing but a weak little lamb, but now that I’ve stood up, I’ve become a warrior.

But I am weak.

It’s impossible for me to overpower Millia by force.

And even if I had good speaking skills, persuading her would be nearly impossible.

So I need to convince her in a completely different way.

Not through strength or wisdom.

I need a fundamental solution to the problem.

“Lady Millia is worried about me.”

Yes, that’s the premise.

Me, who has lost not only the power of the celestial deity but even magic, who is so fragile that I could be on the brink of death from just one minor spell.

To her, I must look like a delicate glass artwork that needs careful handling.

So Millia chose to make the glass artwork stronger.

Then I should show her.

That I am not just a weakling.

That I possess a different kind of strength than hers.

I need to explain that there’s nothing for her to worry about.

Yes, my own way.

The way I’m most confident in.

“Lady Millia, we haven’t spent our first night together yet, have we?”

An act familiar to me.

But surely an act that would be her first time.

I’ll win through this difference in experience.

***

Lug waited for Millia with a calmer mind.

Sitting on the floor unnecessarily to create an atmosphere was just a bonus.

It was a declaration of intent to show his changed self.

“Lug?”

Millia could also sense this changed atmosphere.

Since Lug had shamefully cried like an adult all night, the gap was greater than expected.

“Are you done crying now?”

“Yes, I’ve shed all my regrets and attachments in my tears.”

“…?”

What nonsense.

Millia tilted her head at Lug’s incomprehensible behavior, but soon realized this was typical of him and nodded.

“That’s good then.”

“Lady Millia.”

“Yes?”

“You’re keeping me here and planning this procedure because you think I’m weak, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then what if I’m actually not weak?”

“After being kidnapped?”

“Then who do you think kidnapped me?”

“…”

“How many people in the world do you think could kidnap me from the Demon Lord’s castle, which is like an iron fortress?”

This incident stemmed from Lug’s escape. Therefore, it would be virtually impossible for someone to kidnap him from outside.

Millia must know this too.

After all…

“If there were beings who could break through the magical traps you set up and infiltrate from outside, the result would be the same even if I underwent this procedure. Surely you know that, Lady Millia.”

“…”

“You know, don’t you? You deliberately didn’t ask. You knew my kidnapper wasn’t from outside, but inside.”

Of course, he was kidnapped by herself.

This was a self-created drama, but Millia believed he had been kidnapped.

The fact that she made this judgment despite knowing it was nearly impossible meant there must be someone capable of doing it.

Yes, not from outside, but inside.

Members of the hero’s party who were strong enough to break through her magic.

Millia was convinced that Lug’s kidnapper was a member of the hero’s party.

Yet she didn’t ask because…

“You were afraid to ask, weren’t you? Afraid that I might have been influenced by my kidnapper and accepted that life.”

Millia secretly has low self-esteem.

In the past, at the fortress city, she even cried fearing that Lug might leave because of her inadequacies.

Even she thought other people were quite attractive.

So she could understand if Lug chose someone else.

But there’s a big difference between understanding and accepting.

Millia couldn’t accept that fact, so she forced her way.

It’s the same now. She wanted to strengthen her connection with Lug, even if she had to be forceful.

And that plan, born out of impatience, had many holes.

“Actually, I was kidnapped by Lady Tina. It was due to side effects from the dragon’s blood.”

Lug boldly threw Tina under the bus to persuade Millia.

He didn’t think about what Tina might suffer from Millia later.

He had to save himself first.

“But I was in the process of persuading Lady Tina to return to the Demon Lord’s castle. That’s when you summoned me.”

That’s not wrong.

Lug had imprinted the hierarchy on Tina, gaining the possibility of escaping from the underground cave.

He was summoned by Millia before he could use it.

“Lady Millia. At that time, Lady Tina was much more coercive and selfish than you are now.”

“But I’m a kind person overflowing with consideration?”

“…Let’s just call that a difference in perspective.”

It’s impossible to make someone with different common sense understand your own common sense.

“Anyway, Lady Millia, you saw it too. How Lady Tina was at the ancient ruins.”

“She abandoned her comrades and kidnapped you. She was crazy.”

Millia would do the same without hesitation if given the chance, but she didn’t miss this opportunity to criticize. After all, it was a justified opportunity to criticize without pretending to be nice.

“Well, I persuaded that Lady Tina. Using the power I possess.”

“…”

Millia looked at Lug with suspicious eyes.

But there was credibility.

Tina was undeniably a good person, even Millia had to admit that.

If someone like Tina had done something like kidnapping, it could only be because the dragon’s blood went berserk, just like in the past.

And Lug said he persuaded such a Tina. Surely he wouldn’t tell such an easily exposed lie, so this must be based on fact.

“From now on, I’ll show you what that power is.”

“…Power? How?”

Lug spoke.

Yes, to seize the initiative, he spoke domineeringly yet confidently.

“Take off your clothes.”

It was an incredibly trashy statement.