26-68

EP.68 Problem Solved 

"Graaaah!!" 

It was a scream that seemed to wrench out his very soul. 

Everyone stared at him, frozen in place. 

Even the knight he had brought looked clearly flustered. 

"Uh... Lord Dredley?" 

"Ugh...!!!" 

Dredley clenched his fists and trembled. 

No one dared to speak to him. 

Even the usually composed Milleiyu blinked in surprise. 

"You... you bastard...!" 

"...?" 

I could only look puzzled. 

He was the one who had barged in here. 

We had no real connection until now. 

But the way he glared at me was full of murderous intent. 

It was as if he’d met a lifelong enemy. 

Even meeting a parent’s killer couldn’t provoke more rage than this. 

"How dare you... lay your hands on my property...!" 

"Laid my hands...? Ah... don’t tell me..." 

"That elf was destined to be mine! You, not knowing your place... how dare you touch my possession...!" 

No one could follow the conversation. 

The knight tilted his head, wondering if something had happened in the past, 

and Milleiyu looked puzzled by the sudden outburst. 

Only I understood. 

He’d realized what had happened in this room. 

‘So the rumors about him being an elf maniac were true.’ 

His energy was overwhelming, 

hard to believe for someone so fat. 

It was a roar filled with his life’s conviction. 

"To act so innocent after what I’ve just seen... that’s some talent..." 

"Shut up!!!" 

For some reason, my head hurt. 

He was the one who’d fallen into the trap. 

"For elves, there are grades! You’ve ruined that!" 

"What are you talking about..." 

"How ignorant! Elves are graded by their heart, skill, and physical state!" 

"...Never heard of that before." 

"How ignorant you are!" 

I couldn’t bring myself to stop him. 

He continued his explanation with incredible force. 

"A heart that only thinks of one master! Pure innocence with no knowledge of lewd acts! And finally, an untouched virgin body! You’ve ruined such precious value!" 

Everyone had no choice but to listen to his theory. 

Reactions varied. 

Some looked dumbfounded, others looked at their lord as if he were pathetic. 

"So you want to preserve that as much as possible?" 

"I want to claim it for myself! Such precious value should exist for me!" 

"So in the end, you just want to take a virgin for yourself, with all this theory as an excuse." 

"Ugh..." 

No one could deny it. 

Not the innkeeper, not even the knight who was supposed to follow him. 

They all turned away as if dealing with a stranger. 

"S-shut up! I won’t let this go! Get them!" 

At Dredley’s gesture, the knight stepped forward. 

He didn’t seem to like the situation, but followed orders. 

"...You must have a hard time with such a weird lord." 

"..." 

He neither agreed nor disagreed. 

But silence was as good as agreement. 

He just couldn’t answer with his lord behind him. 

He offered a warning, as if to ignore the situation. 

"You’re no match for me. Surrender quietly. And the elf behind you should forget about using magic." 

The knight’s armor was unusual. 

It looked thinner than normal, with strange magic circles drawn on it. 

"There’s a mana-blocking spell on the armor." 

"Does that mean it’s dangerous?" 

"No. I can easily dismantle it. The result might be a bit... brutal, though." 

"Then I’ll handle this." 

I stepped forward confidently. 

I could easily take on one knight. 

He hadn’t brought any reinforcements. 

"You’re rushing to your death." 

"He may look like this, but his swordsmanship is excellent-he’s been thoroughly trained." 

The knight immediately drew and swung his sword. 

His armor was light, but the sword was closer to a greatsword- 

a thick, sharp weapon that sliced deeply through the air. 

Shiiing- 

"Coming here alone was a mistake." 

I dodged nimbly and threw my sword. 

The unexpected move made the knight brace to deflect. 

"Such tricks won’t work..." 

"You’re the one using tricks!" 

I followed the thrown sword with a kick. 

It was hard to react quickly to a second attack. 

When the sword was knocked away, I felt a solid impact with my foot. 

Thud-! 

"Guuh...!" 

The metal plate was badly dented. 

If it had been made thicker, things might have been different. 

A sturdier shape would have absorbed the shock, 

at least preventing it from caving in. 

If he hadn’t worn armor, he might have bought more time. 

With less restriction, he could have tried dodging. 

In the end, the knight collapsed to the ground, unsuited to his large frame. 

"W-what is this...!" 

His guard was gone. 

Dredley, who had been so furious, turned pale. 

He managed to turn to flee, but couldn’t escape Milleiyu’s grasp. 

"I can’t let you run away." 

Tree roots shot up from the floor, 

locking Dredley’s legs in place as he turned. 

"Ugh...! Let me go...! You filthy, non-virgin elf...!" 

"..." 

I froze for a moment. 

I thought Milleiyu would get angry. 

But her expression was calm. 

"That’s right. I’m not a virgin." 

"I knew it..." 

"I’ve given both my body and heart to Eldric here. So... you’ll never have me. You’re not worthy to be the elf queen’s husband." 

"E-Eldric...? Wait, you’re the elf queen...?" 

Dredley’s face hardened. 

He was probably piecing together all the information in his head. 

He could easily see this was the worst-case scenario. 

His thoughts didn’t last long. 

Milleiyu approached and covered his head with light. 

"N-no...!" 

Despite her calm demeanor, it was a chilling scene. 

Just as she had warned, her mind-control magic swirled through his head. 

He struggled, but the tree roots held him fast. 

"Spend your life atoning for your crimes against the elves." 

When the light faded, 

Dredley’s resistance ended as well. 

In the quiet that followed, Dredley spoke first. 

"I-I’m sorry!" 

"Do you understand what you’ve done?" 

"I insulted Lord Eldric and Lady Milleiyu without knowing my place...! I oppressed the elves! From now on, never! Never! I’ll never do such things again!" 

It was as if he’d become a new person. 

When the roots released him, he even prostrated himself on the floor. 

"I’ll release the elves immediately! I’ll even compensate them for all the oppression...!" 

"Normally, you’d be taken away for punishment, but since I have a favor to ask, I’ll let it go this time." 

"Th-thank you! I’ll repay this kindness with loyalty to Lord Eldric!" 

It seemed loyalty to me had also been implanted. 

Given Milleiyu’s skill, I had no worries about betrayal. 

He’d been thoroughly defeated by his obsession with elves. 

"At this point, I almost feel a bit sorry for him..." 

"No, no! Lord Eldric, you don’t need to worry about someone like me." 

"...Is that so. Still, you were quite obsessed with elves-can you really restrain yourself?" 

"Touching elves... is unthinkable for me now. From now on, I’ll be satisfied with a suitable virgin." 

I couldn’t help but ask. 

"What kind of virgin do you mean?" 

"I’ll find a pure-hearted and pure-bodied virgin and be satisfied with that! I won’t even look at elves!" 

His confident attitude was almost overwhelming. 

When I glanced at Milleiyu, she looked troubled for the first time. 

It seemed even her magic couldn’t touch his core beliefs. 

"So, it has to be a virgin?" 

"Ugh... If you order me to kill myself... I’ll obey without hesitation!" 

"N-no...! Never mind, just asking." 

His obsession was frightening. 

It made sense he’d come this far without fear. 

"Anyway, thanks to you, Milleiyu, the problem’s been solved." 

"If you hadn’t told me, Eldric, I wouldn’t have been able to save my people." 

"If I could ask one more favor?" 

"Of course. If it’s you, Eldric, I’ll do anything." 

Milleiyu’s abilities were frighteningly impressive. 

With her help, even complex problems could be solved behind the scenes. 

There was a living witness prostrated on the floor right now. 

"If you could sometimes win over other lords to change the Bastil Kingdom, that would help..." 

"That would definitely make for a peaceful solution. If you help and Princess Katrina provides information from inside..." 

She was right. 

It was a much more peaceful solution than war. 

They were plotting war, after all, so it was hard to feel too sorry for them. 

"If we act discreetly, we can change many things without anyone knowing." 

"Alright. But... aren’t you a bit tired after all this work?" 

Milleiyu approached with a gentle sway, 

like a spring breeze. 

I couldn’t resist her soft embrace. 

Maybe this was another kind of mind control. 

"Actually, there’s something I wanted to do for you, but I couldn’t because I was worried someone would come in...♥" 

Milleiyu’s gentle whisper. 

Her voice was soft, but laced with seduction.