The Noble Lady of Lust

Chapter 438: Price

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*****

”... Please, forgive this mere mortal who failed to keep my promise.”

’Ugh... my dear goddess Aeloria, please help me get through this.’

There I was, kneeling before higher beings, begging for mercy for my life and safety.

At the same time,I mentally prayed to my patron goddess for strength... the situation left me no choice but to resort to such a desperate measure...

”My lady, I can’t speak for the rest, but I assure you I’m not upset.”(Elena)

”N-no?”

Yes, those higher beings were the girls.

Finally, after a tense moment in which my life or death was being decided, I survived.

I didn’t even need Astrid’s intervention; when I fixed and cut away the deformities, I suddenly felt a surge and my pulse returned strongly.

Honestly, it seemed a little strange; it was as if I were generating a strong pulse of vitality and energy.

which led me to think it was due to my high vitality stat combined with my regeneration ability and all the spells they cast on me.

In the end, I made it out of the danger zone, and I was able to fix everything that was wrong with me, though I remained unconscious.

But after everything calmed down, I saw how everyone—except Selene and Cordelia, who stayed by my unconscious original—looked at me, the innocent but conscious doppelgänger.

So the first thing I did was kneel down and ask for forgiveness.

When I arrived all injured from rescuing Ciel, I swore to all of them at that time that I would never do something like that again, and I was truly confident I would keep my promise.

I mean, I hadn’t planned on doing something like what happened with Ciel again.

But who would have thought that not long after, it happened again, and I even returned in a worse state.

I thought they were angry because I hadn’t kept my promise.

But according to Elena, that wasn’t the case. Even so, I didn’t stop kneeling, since I felt an oppressive aura coming from them; even Silvia was looking at me with a complicated expression.

On the other hand, Lys and Aurora, who were more like spectators, seemed not to fully know or understand the situation.

”My lady, it doesn’t seem like you were lying when you mentioned the safety of the expedition, though you obviously left out some details.”(Elena)

”Ugh... so you noticed.”

I told Elena I was only going to get materials from Rosy, leaving out the part about the sprout and saving my brother. It seems that, even though she didn’t mention it, she had noticed.

I’m not surprised—and it’s not just Elena; the rest of them are also very perceptive. In fact, I recently realized that the girls know I’m hiding something from them; it seems they’ve known for a long time, even from the very beginning, but none of them ask me about it.

It’s not that they lack interest, but curiously, it seems they trust me enough to think that if I haven’t told them something, it must be for a good reason.

Well, Eira and Lily seemed to want me to say it, but they both acted a little tough: Lily because she likes to figure things out on her own.

Eira because of her tsundere personality, and because the others never questioned me, she avoided asking me directly.

I don’t know if they’re all just really sharp or if I’m not trying hard enough to hide it; in fact, they even know that Silvia is the only one who knows.

’Haaah~ I guess it’s useless to try to hide something when Elena can literally read minds.’

”눈_눈, I can’t read minds, my lady.”(Elena)

”Saying that right at the perfect moment just confirms it even more!”

I’m in apology mode, but I couldn’t help but complain. She must really be doing something to trick the system.

”That isn’t important right now, my lady. I know you weren’t lying when you said the trip wouldn’t endanger your life and that you wouldn’t do anything risky.”(Elena)

”Yes, I thought it was safe, too.”

I thought I could easily get the materials from Rosy and didn’t plan to risk my life if my brother’s situation was beyond my capabilities.

As for the seedlings, it was just a matter of going to confirm they existed.

It was very different from when I went out to look for Ciel; back then, I knew that, depending on the situation, it could be very risky, but I didn’t think of this outing that way. I even took the liberty of leaving my doppelgängers behind.

”I understand that what happened was beyond your control, and that’s why you don’t need to apologize to me, because I’m not angry...” (Elena)

I’m glad that at least in situations like this, Elena is reasonable.

”ufff~... I was already prepared to—ugh!”

”Some of us might not be angry, but I am, you bastard, because every time you go out, you come back on your deathbed!” (Eira)

Elena was right when she said she wasn’t speaking for everyone, and just when I thought the situation wasn’t so bad, an angry Eira stepped forward, grabbed me by the neck, and started shaking me.

”Gh... Eira, calm down, aggression won’t—”

”Calm down!? ... Do you think I can calm down when you came back like that? What’s wrong with you, you bitch!!?...Sniff”(Eira)

Yes, Eira was more than just angry.

Her eyes spoke volumes, and in fact, it seemed she couldn’t hold it in; as she yelled at me and got angrier, she started to tear up.

Normally, seeing Eira tear up is one of my greatest pleasures, but in this case, I felt a lump in my throat.

I really didn’t know what to say to her or how to calm her down.

It wasn’t my intention to end up like this, but the truth is that I ended up in a state that wasn’t far from being a corpse.

I owed them at least an explanation—and not just Eira, but everyone else too, who were looking at me with complex expressions, including Elena, who had just said she wasn’t angry.

Maybe the time has even come to...

’Huh? Oh!’

But just as I was thinking about how to handle the situation, I saw my main self get up and look around in confusion while Selene and Cordelia nearby hugged him.

That finally put my mind at ease. I really didn’t know when I wake up, but I woke up even faster than last time.

I guess I’m tougher than I thought I was.

Perhaps noticing the little commotion Selene and Cordelia caused, the rest of them noticed it too, including Eira.

And finally, as if something that had been held back had finally broken, starting with Alice and Astrid, they stepped forward toward my original self, followed by Lily and the rest.

Eira looked at me again and abruptly let go of me.

”Tsk! Get lost.”

”Y-yeah, don’t be too hard on me , I still fragile.”

Eira treated me as if I was no longer worth paying attention to, and, like the others, she turned toward my original self...I always think there was no difference between us, since we are the same person, but I suppose the fact that my real body had gotten up meant something different to them.

So, even though I felt like some kind of temporary substitute, I didn’t complain.

I just reminded Eira of the state of my original body and went to look for number two, who had slyly slipped away and left me alone at some point.

’It’s all up to you, original.’

’Huh?’

*****

’It’s all up to you, original me.’

’Huh?’

My head hurt and my body felt numb, but my mind gradually cleared, though I didn’t understand what one of my parallel thoughts was referring to until I began to make sense of my surroundings.

”Sniff~ you’re so mean, you’re so mean.”(Selene)

”...snuff”(cordelia)

I was in my bed, with Cordelia and Selene on either side of me.

Both of them were hugging me; I could feel Selene crying, her tears soaking my pajamas. On the other hand, Cordelia also buried her face against me, but I didn’t feel any tears—just her breathing heavily.

I’m going to believe it’s because she’s holding back her tears and not because she’s just sniffing me.

I wanted to comfort them, especially Selene, but suddenly what had happened came to mind. After emerging from that state of wildness that left my body in such bad shape that, the moment I ran out of mana or energy, I would die from my injuries, in that last moment of consciousness and mana I could see my doppelgänger’s feet.

I realized it was thanks to Qetesh’s active intervention that I was able to survive, and seeing what my doppelgängers went through, I really was in a very dangerous situation.

”Waaa!, big sister.” (Alice)

”Honey, sniff, I thought I’d lose you.” (Astrid)

”Darling, don’t ever do that again!” (Leyla)

”I’m glad you’re okay.” (Eirlys)

Before I knew it, Alice, Astrid, and Leyla—and even, to my surprise, Lys—had come over to me and started crying while hugging me.

”You...” (Eira)

I also saw Eira approaching me, and I know what she was doing to my doppelgänger just a moment ago, but right now that might not be good for my body.

”E-Eira, calm down, you know I’m injured and—”

”Hmph! I’m not stupid enough to hit someone who’s injured... just don’t do it again... ~idiot.” (Eira)

Just when I thought Eira was going to finish what she’d left unfinished with my doppelgänger, she didn’t.

Although she was still glaring at me, she just said that and, like the rest, came over and joined the group surrounding me.

’Hey, what’s with the double standard?’

’Shut up, I’m here for an emotional moment, don’t interrupt, you simple doppelgänger.’

’Tsk, you bastard, after all the trouble I went through to keep you alive.’

Putting my jealous doppelgänger aside, I looked at Elena. Given her personality, I figured it was already good that she wasn’t scolding me or anything like that, and I didn’t think she’d hug me with everyone here, but before I knew it, she was gone—I didn’t understand what happened until I felt a pair of extra arms around me.

I couldn’t see her, but it was obvious it was her.

It’s weird to see her act so sweet.

..

”Aren’t you going to go hug her?” (Silvia)

”W-why would I do that? It’s not like I was worried about her or anything. I’m actually more concerned about figuring out what that big tremor from earlier was and everything that happened.” (Aurora)

”(一︿一), yeah, I guess having that kind of personality makes everything harder. Haaah~ I wonder if I really...” (Silvia)

”Huh? What are you talking about?” (Aurora)

”Nothing. Anyway, I’ll go join them before that idiot calls me out, saying I don’t get close to people because I’m a tsundere.” (Silvia)

I overheard the conversation between Aurora and Silvia, and in fact, I was just about to call them. It feels weird that they were the only ones not hugging me just because of their tsundere personalities.

I know they were both worried too; I can tell from their expressions that my doppelgängers saw while everything was happening.

Silvia approached, but I was basically already completely surrounded, so she had no choice but to hug Lys and Alice from behind, but I appreciated the gesture. As for Aurora—

”Ugh... fine, I’ll join in too, but only because it feels weird to be the only one not doing it.” (Aurora)

She finally approached with her tsundere attitude.

Although the moment was touching and I feel it’s a reward for the hard time I went through, I know this will inevitably lead to a time when I have to explain what happened, and it would be very difficult for me to do so without saying certain things.

’Alright... I’ll tell you everything if you ask me.’

I’ve always thought that the future and the story of my alternate self weren’t worth telling, since it could do more harm than good.

They wouldn’t gain anything by knowing about a future I’ve already changed, and most of it isn’t pleasant at all—they might even get overwhelmed by that information.

Even Silvia reproaches me from time to time for having transferred my memories to her.

But since they trust me, I must also trust that they can handle it, and if things turned out this way, it’s better to tell them everything.

’Yeah, after all, how do I explain the seedlings to them without—? Ugh!’

Now that I think about it, I destroyed the saplings, and the situation could get really messed up.

To begin with, the saplings were virtually indestructible. They were the embodiment of a law of the middle world, and unless the middle world was destroyed, they wouldn’t be destroyed.

But legacy bearers are exceptions to many things, including this. Legacies would easily sever the connections between the saplings and turn it into a normal, destructible plant.

And when I did that, I drew the attention of a dangerous being, and the world itself would have a violent reaction—which must have been the tremors.

I know this because someone else did it in the alternate timeline, but it was much further in the future and had its epicenter on the central continent.

On the one hand, I no longer had to worry about Noha’s father’s plans, but on the other hand—

[[Ding!!, strong presences from multiple divine sources detected]]

’Huh? Qetesh? What the hell are you saying now—?’

>> Protection of Lust (Ω)]] ”>[[Protection of Lust (A) >>> Protection of Lust (Ω)]]

[Hearken, mortals of Southern Aetheria.]

Before I could question Qetesh about what he was saying, I heard—no, everyone present heard a voice that came from no specific direction.

[The Gods have spoken.]

[Permission has been granted.]

That made me close my eyes in resignation... because what I feared had come to pass.

[Thus begins the Epic of the Crow, the Wolf, and the Crown.]

An ”epic”—one of the gods’ favorite forms of intervention—had been triggered in a place where it shouldn’t have happened, and it was my fault.

[Quest: Hunt the ”Wolf”

Objective: Find the destroyer of the Yggdrasil saplings

Reward: Quintessentia, divine artifact, increased chances of obtaining ’the crown’.

[Accept mission]

[Decline mission]

Consequence: heavenly restriction (F)]

And since the culprit would not escape the consequences of this Epic...

There was already a price on my head...