Ch.330Leona (3)

After declaring myself a scoundrel, Lucia began to reveal her true feelings one by one.

What she was concerned about was that I might discriminate against Leona and only give affection to other women. She doesn’t care how many women I have.

As long as Leona isn’t lonely, and she doesn’t regret choosing… no, selecting me, that’s fine.

It seems she received less affection as the third wife of the previous Warchief, likely because she was human.

Despite beastkin typically being prolific breeders, she only had one child, Leona, which says a lot.

Fortunately, Leona maintained good relationships with her siblings; otherwise, she would have lived quite a difficult life.

“But how did you, Mother Lucia, come to be with the previous Warchief?”

That’s what I was most curious about. What kind of wisdom did she offer to become the Warchief’s wife?

As you know, humans and beastkin have very poor relations. From the racial war 300 years ago to the present, they can’t be called friendly.

Currently, the rivalry between elves and demons is gradually increasing, but humans and beastkin have been at each other’s throats since ancient times.

Dwarves are… well, they’re content as long as they sell their weapons well. But they’re closer to humans due to humans’ dependence on “tools.”

Anyway, in such circumstances, Lucia becoming the previous Warchief’s wife means she must have been very helpful.

Even though Leona is considered unattractive by beastkin standards, I wonder how much more so for Lucia as a human. I’m a bit curious.

“There wasn’t much advice to speak of. Currently, Animus is developing day by day. I simply informed them about the importance of food supplies in advance, nothing more. Though they can handle droughts with sorcery, Lord Hirt can’t assist forever, can he? So I advised them to focus on preserving food. There was a severe drought the following year.”

“That alone seems sufficient. Beastkin consume several times more than humans.”

I glanced at Leona while saying this. There’s no need to be discreet anymore; Leona is happily inhaling cookies baked by Adelia.

Judging by her swaying tail, they must have hit the spot perfectly. I poured milk into her empty cup, telling her to eat slowly.

Lucia watched our affectionate interaction with a graceful smile and shared a piece of information.

“It’s surprising that Leona likes them so much. She inherited her sense of taste from the beastkin side, making her quite picky.”

“Picky?”

“Yes. You know how beastkin are divided into carnivores and herbivores, right?”

“I do.”

“For some reason, carnivorous beastkin have duller taste buds, while herbivorous ones have more sensitive ones.”

I nodded. This information sounded familiar.

It must be due to the distribution of taste buds. This means Leona’s sense of taste is closer to that of a carnivore.

That explains why she loved seasoned steak so passionately. The bland academy food must have felt like chewing rubber.

The same goes for the cookies she’s eating now. Something stimulating would be much better than not tasting anything at all.

With chocolate pieces embedded throughout, she can simultaneously experience sweetness and nuttiness.

“That’s good information. If she lives in the mansion, I’ll definitely exclude vegetables.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Leona, who had been focused on eating and hadn’t heard our conversation, blinks and asks. Her blue eyes have already returned to golden.

It seems her eye color only changes when she reveals her true nature. I patted Leona’s head, which conveyed more cuteness than ferocity.

“Is it delicious?”

“It’s incredibly delicious! Can you make more?”

I met her sparkling eyes and silently looked at Adelia. After all, she’s the one who baked them, not me.

Adelia seemed pleased and immediately returned to the kitchen. I couldn’t help but smile contentedly at the peaceful atmosphere.

But regardless of the atmosphere, there’s still something left to address: precautions.

From now on, Leona will become my wife, which means she’ll be more exposed to the danger of demon worshippers.

Unlike Marie, since we haven’t made an official announcement, there’s no immediate threat, but they might attack simply because of her association with me.

“Mother Lucia.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“If you wish, I can provide accommodations for you to stay in our territory.”

“I would be grateful for that.”

Lucia accepted my offer without any suspicion. Currently, she lives in a small village near the capital.

She doesn’t have much to move, and with support from our family, she can live comfortably.

There’s no danger from demon worshippers. Who would dare invade with both the Church of Luminus and the Church of Mora established?

Moreover, with personnel dispatched from both Helium and Alfheim, it would be impossible to infiltrate.

“As for Leona…”

“There’s no need to worry about Leona. She’s stronger than she looks.”

“Strong?”

I looked at Leona with surprised eyes when Lucia vouched for her strength. Leona raised her nose proudly with a smug expression.

I know beastkin possess powerful physical abilities, but many live normally, setting that aside.

Seeing my questioning look, Leona spoke with a confident voice. Her swaying tail was a bonus.

“We of the Lions clan undergo rigorous training from childhood. And as a half-blood, I had to work even harder to be acknowledged.”

“So how strong are you?”

“I’m not sure. After being recognized by the clan and growing up a bit, I focused only on studying. Though I still do basic physical training.”

“Hmm…”

Should I use Leona as a guard? But that’s something to consider much later.

She’s still a student, and soon she’ll be my teaching assistant for historical exploration. She’s already caught Professor Elena’s eye.

There’s no need for her to be a guard. Instead, it might be better to keep her in shape just in case.

Of course, training at the academy would attract attention, so I plan to do it during vacations.

‘I should start building up my strength too.’

Adelia and Kate are reliable guards, but I can’t rely on them forever.

Demon worshippers won’t try to break through the guard wall; they’ll definitely try to lure me outside.

Charging in would be suicidal. But we can’t rule out suicide attacks.

“Alright. It’s not something to think about right now, so let’s put it off. Leona, you just focus on your studies. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s stop talking about demon worshippers. Are there any precautions I should be aware of? Not about that, but about daily life—it would be good to know in advance.”

Everyone has their preferences and sensitive points, but sometimes there are aspects that are hard to understand.

Without going far, just as I found it difficult to understand beastkin culture, our lifestyles might be drastically different.

It’s better to know these things in advance to make living together easier in the future.

“Since Leona is a half-blood, her lifestyle is similar to humans. Unlike in the past, she now focuses on her studies, so she’s not aggressive. If anything, maybe fur management?”

“Fur management?”

“Yes. Unlike other races, beastkin have a lot of body hair. And depending on the season, their fur becomes either more abundant or falls out tremendously. It’s shedding season now. Do you have a comb?”

While explaining, Lucia looked for a comb. I glanced at Adelia, who immediately went to find one.

After bringing the comb and handing it to me, Lucia said:

“Try combing Leona’s hair.”

“Should I untie her hair?”

“Yes.”

Leona usually wears her hair in a ponytail. Following Lucia’s instruction, I untied it.

As soon as I did, her abundant chestnut-colored hair cascaded down like a waterfall. I hadn’t noticed because she always wore it in a ponytail, but her hair is quite long.

And it’s rough. That’s an unavoidable characteristic of lion beastkin.

*Swish*

“…Huh?”

“It falls out a lot, doesn’t it?”

As Lucia said, just one stroke of the comb and a handful of hair came out.

Disbelieving, I combed a few more times, and an unbelievable amount of hair got caught in the comb. This is excessive, even for a cat.

“It’s called shedding, a racial trait of beastkin. The hair grows back as much as it falls out, but the problem is the sheer amount that falls. You’ll need to manage it well.”

“I see. But it’s not a major concern.”

“Shedding is fine, but the biggest concern is… the heat period.”

“…”

“…You know what that is, right?”

Of course I do. Leona spoke about it proudly without a hint of embarrassment.

Like human menstruation, beastkin go into heat once a month. It’s the biggest reason beastkin can’t suppress their instincts.

After hearing Lucia’s words, I laughed awkwardly and looked at Leona. She seemed unconcerned, tilting her head in confusion.

“Are there any precautions I should take during her heat period?”

“Not particularly, but… it will be very challenging for you. Beastkin stamina is very difficult for humans to handle. Fortunately, since Leona is a half-blood, it’s less intense, but you should prepare thoroughly. The bigger problem is that I don’t know more than that.”

“I’ll handle it. Before that… Leona?”

“Yes?”

“When was your recent… heat period?”

This is the most important part. Now that I’ve received Lucia’s permission, there’s no reason to avoid it anymore.

Originally, I planned to establish a relationship after concluding things with Adelia. It was only delayed because I needed Lucia’s permission.

Leona blinked her golden eyes at my question, put her index finger to her chin, and looked upward before quietly saying:

“Maybe… about a week ago? Around that time.”

“So we have about three weeks left?”

“I think so? Do you need something?”

“No, nothing.”

I need to prepare. I don’t know how strong Leona’s stamina is, but it will certainly be a challenging battle.

Moreover, I need to meet other women in between, and there’s the huge variable of Arwen.

In the worst case, Arwen’s gift and Leona’s heat period will overlap. I can’t postpone either situation.

‘Come to think of it, there’s Kate too?’

Add to that a sexually awakened priestess. Kate enters a state of heat just from holding hands, which is quite troublesome.

Recently, Marie jokingly called me a “public resource,” but thinking about it again, it doesn’t seem like a joke.

“Really? Then I’m looking forward to it.”

“Um… you don’t have to look forward to it that much…”

“Why? Are you scared?”

“…”

This girl! I raised an eyebrow at Leona’s comment, which directly challenged my male pride.

Looking at her, I saw she had one corner of her mouth raised in a cute expression. There was an underlying sense of mockery in that smile.

I let out a disbelieving laugh seeing that smile. Even with Lucia right in front of us, I couldn’t let this slide.

“Let’s see how long that smile lasts. Just wait exactly three weeks.”

“Mm. Mm. That’s how a male I’ve chosen should be. I’ll be fully prepared too, so just let me know anytime.”

Leona nods with her arms crossed. Seeing her like this, for some reason, a desire to conquer wells up within me.

She said before that she would make me feel possessive, and she’s fulfilling that promise.

I looked at Leona with a laughing face, and suddenly noticed her swaying tail. I’ve always wanted to grab that tail once, and now should be fine.

*Grab!*

“Eek?!”

When I suddenly grabbed her tail, Leona was startled. Like a cat bristling its fur, surprisingly, even her hair stood up.

I expected a reaction, but this is truly satisfying. I giggled while playing with Leona’s now stiff tail.

“Since you’re my wife now, I can touch it, right?”

“W-well… that’s true, but…”

Unlike her previous confidence, Leona is now embarrassed. With a reddened face, she looked at me and then turned to Lucia.

I also looked at Lucia while touching Leona’s tail. She watched our impromptu comedy with a strangely reddened face and cleared her throat.

Then she opened her mouth as if she had forgotten something.

“Um… Issac? There’s something I forgot to mention.”

“About the beastkin tail? I heard that spouses can touch it.”

“If you already know, that’s fine, but… please refrain from such pranks. She might scratch you out of surprise.”

“I understand.”

Hearing that, I released Leona’s tail. She glared at me with a pouty expression.

*Pat pat*

“…Purr.”

When I immediately patted her head, Leona made her characteristic purring sound. Having received permission, she now even rests her head on my shoulder.

I smiled at her cute pet-like behavior and then spoke to Lucia.

“Mother Lucia.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I promise to make Leona happy.”

Perhaps my declaration pleased her.

“Thank you.”

Lucia bowed her head in gratitude. I also bowed in return and then called Leona.

“Leona.”

“Purr. Yes?”

“Is there anything you want?”

“Meat!”

“…”

It’s fortunate that I’ve earned a lot of money.

*****

After accepting Leona, I moved according to schedule.

The schedule naturally included Volume 25 of the Biography of Xenon. Unlike usual, it was released late due to recent busy events, but readers waited patiently.

And then…

[Elven ancestors weren’t banished; they tore off their wings and descended voluntarily!]

[The truth revealed in the Biography of Xenon. Is this really the truth?]

[Considering the characteristics of elves blessed by the gods, the credibility is very high…]

The reactions were as expected. The hypothesis that elven ancestors weren’t banished but tore off their wings themselves and descended to earth.

From my perspective, I merely borrowed a cliché from my previous life, but it matched so well in many aspects that numerous scholars engaged in heated debates.

But since it’s deeply related to mythology, many more people asked the gods directly. I was among them.

I wouldn’t mind if controversy erupted, but I was personally curious about it too.

[What do you think?]

‘Honestly, the idea that they tore off their wings and descended to earth seems more convincing?’

[Then let’s go with that.]

‘What?’

What does that mean?