(EP-5.2) Flower Aira #5

005 – Evil Flower Aira #5

Raggedly exhaling, Elga placed her arms on both sides of my shoulders to keep me from escaping.

“Phew, slurp, heueu. Haeu, how is it, isn't it good? Eung?"

To be honest, Elga was as good as a teenage middle school student. There was nothing to say about the mood of the kiss. She had no skill, and she frankly just flicked her tongue back and forth.

It felt good in its own way, but it was not my style to just act passively.

So instead of keeping still, I tried to force my own tongue into her mouth.

Tshuup-

“Eueu, eueup!? Heueuaa!?”

Elga jumped away from me. She seemed really startled. She didn’t think that she would be attacked, did she?

"Wh, who told you to move your tongue? I told you to stay still, didn't I? Do you think it's funny?"

Elga was angry. Wondering if it was because it wasn't Aira who ordered so, or if I was just ignoring her because she wasn't the Queen, etc.

At this point, even an idiot could notice that Elga was secretly insecure towards Aira, the current Queen of Angmar. She always compared everything to the latter and she strived to always do better than the other.

Perhaps it was this inferiority complex towards Aira that was prickling her.

As she lived in the shadow of Aira every day, I guess she was trying to relieve that resentment by using me, Aira's servant. This was Elga Lioness' way of venting.

"Anyway, don't ever do anything I didn't ask you to do, okay?”

Elga wiped the saliva from her lips with the sleeve of her dress.

Her blue eyes shook violently from side to side. For a while, she seemed unsettled. Finally, she exclaimed, "Ah-", as if she had thought of something.

Seureureuk-

Elga then pulled something out from the deep cleavage of her dress. It was a small badge or an emblem-like object.

“What's that?”

“It’s something from the Barbarians who summoned the demon. It felt a little weird, so I took it. I'm wondering if you know what this is.”

When I received the badge from Elga, it felt warm. Perhaps it was because it came from her bosom.

‘So even a cold-hearted girl has warm breasts,' I thought, as I inspected the thing.

“It looks like a pretty elaborate piece of work, but the burn marks are so bad that it's unrecognizable.”

"Don't whine, that's the best one."

Don't whine? That was harsh.

But, seeing it this way, I was at least certain about the burnt and bloody smell that was still wafting from the charred badge.

I could vaguely picture the dangerous situations that Elga and her soldiers had treaded through.

The scene must have been like hell. They were fighting with the Barbarians of the South; who would take out the heart of a sacrifice and offer it to an evil spirit which was a Sun God or something.

Even with this kind of life, fortunately, I had never witnessed a battlefield with my own eyes. It was all thanks to warriors, like Elga, who would bleed in battle.

It was basically like, ‘Don't whine at me when you're just playing with numbers in a warm courtroom.'

"Anyway, it's too complex to be crafted by the Kukulzar (쿠쿨자르) Barbarians of the Southern jungles. If they had several of these things, I don't think it was just a coincidence."

I could have asked the dove Elder that I planted in the Court and maybe get something. But this woman in front of me just sliced his head off, leaving me in a pickle…

“Let me find that out.”

"Yeah, so, where am I going for an expedition next? You're going to encourage Aira to send me out on an expedition again, are you not?”

Elga was pretty sharp. But then again, if she wasn't sharp, she wouldn't be a field commander on the front lines.

I put the badge in my pocket and answered appropriately.

“You just returned from an expedition. You should stay in the Royal Capital and rest for the time being. Recuperate and if you have any injuries, get some treatment.”

Although the execution of Belmott was stopped and the rebellion was extinguished, a dangerous spark might still be burning somewhere.

For now, it seemed like it would be good in many ways to have someone like Elga and her guards stationed near the Royal Palace.

It was surprisingly helpful that Elga came back after finishing her expedition quickly. Hence, I said to Elga, with half thanks and half scorn.

“It might be too late to say this, but I’m glad you came back safely from the expedition.”

“… What do you mean? Do you know who came back early to receive such a greeting from you? Ah, I don't know, I'm drunk. I'm leaving. It's freezing out here!"

Swish-

Finally, as if losing interest in me, Elga turned towards the banquet hall. She came and went at will. She bullied and left at will.

I guessed I could get some rest now. That was a relief. Elga, who had walked quite a bit of distance, suddenly muttered in a low voice that was uncharacteristic of her without looking back.

“Hey, Tae-oh.”

“Do you have more to say?”

"If, a year ago, on Aira's birthday. What if I hadn't taken you to the Court—"

A year ago. Was it a year ago?

I recalled the moment when I had just possessed this character.

I still couldn't forget the memories of that time. I just suddenly found myself waking up in a cage. I thought I had been kidnapped.

A week later, I realized I was in the novel after hearing the name Elga Von Lioness, who had stopped by the market to buy drinking slaves.

I frowned, not really wanting to remember what happened back then…

Elga ended up saying "No" immediately after and went back to the banquet hall, treating it as if nothing just happened.

"What? That was surprisingly bland.”

I needed to go home. I was like a beggar working overtime. Was this how it felt to have a get-together with your boss?

I left the Court and returned to my private residence on the central street of Monarch City. It was a humble residence, a small two-bedroom family home.

Since it was far from the slums, the residential environment was quiet. There were no other advantages other than the fact that it was easy to commute to and from the Royal Palace.

Rumors said that ‘Tae-oh lives in a magnificent mansion, with heaps and mountain-like piles of gold bars in a secret warehouse hidden underground.'

In fact, I did not have much greed for such things.

I thought if I had a lot of gold, someone would definitely want to kill me for it.

Even if I didn't have gold, Aira would take care of all the items I needed and the security guards, so there was no reason for me to accumulate something that could lead to my death.

However, I must admit, the rumors were half true.

My home indeed had a specially made underground vault. It was a really great safe that none could open.

After making sure no one was around, I opened the secret door hidden under the living room carpet and entered the basement.

Inside were gold bars that wouldn't run out for a few years, and even more importantly, a scroll.

A scroll.

Yes, it was a scroll.

I opened it up for the first time in a long while and read what was written on it.

『Rebellion after the execution of Belmott. The Dawn Association gained power from the fringes with Belmott’s slush funds.』

What was written here was none other than the content of the novel, ‘Villain Hunter'.

Before I forgot the contents of the novel, I wrote down the big events I remembered. This was more valuable than any other treasure I had.

“Since the matter with Belmott's execution is over, the Dawn Association is good for now.”

Like checking off an item in a list, I put a small "X" next to what I wrote down. So, what was going to happen next?

My eyes went lower and lower, reading the words slowly.

『Hero appears.』

Swaet~

I quickly rolled up the scroll, lest anyone suddenly appeared. This was only for me to see.

Quality checked by: faker