Chapter 718 - 718: I Would Kneel and Call You Mother!

Though he was coaxing Hikari like a child, what Itsuki Shima said wasn't entirely a lie.

In the past, she had no physical form and could only absorb offerings like incense and exert spiritual influence over her followers.

After gaining the ability to manifest an avatar, aside from that time she possessed Munakata Rurie and was forcibly interrogated by someone, the very first person she performed the Queen ritual with after formally taking human form was indeed Hikari.

So it really wasn't wrong to say Hikari was her first since she came into existence.

As for the "last" part, that was definitely just coaxing a child.

After all, a mere human like Hikari would probably be reduced to bones in a grave after she drained him for half a year to a year. At best, she might burn him a stick of incense out of mercy.

But despite seeing the thick black aura churning above Itsuki Shima's head, Hikari acted as if he hadn't noticed her turbulent inner thoughts and instead put on an eager expression as he asked, "Itsuki-nee, is what you said true? You'll only perform the Queen ritual with me? Even if the Founder demands it of you, you won't perform it with him either?"

At the boy's strong possessiveness, Itsuki Shima sneered inside.

But after tasting Hikari's exceptionally high-quality sweetness, until he died, she truly couldn't see any other man as worth her time.

So Itsuki Shima nodded affirmatively, "Yes, I promise Hikari-kun that I will only perform the Queen ritual with you. Even if the Founder demands it, I won't change that."

"After all, Hikari-kun, you're also a Junior Founder, and your potential may be far greater than his."

"Besides, as long as Hikari-kun obediently listens to Onee-san and contributes more to the Queen's Society, Onee-san will grant all your requests~"

"As long as you behave, the Founder's seat will be yours, the female followers of the Society will be yours, and Onee-san herself... will be yours~"

A captivating smile curved at the corners of Itsuki Shima's mouth, her sweet, soft voice dripping with temptation.

"I will engrave the Queen teachings and Itsuki-nee's words deep in my heart!"

Hearing the thrilling pie Itsuki Shima painted for him, Hikari wore an expression of utter fascination while sneering inside.

'As expected of an evil god, she sure knows how to buy people's loyalty, her skill at painting rosy pictures is remarkably polished.'

But Hikari was well aware that Itsuki Shima was only talking sweetly.

She made it sound like as long as he obeyed, she'd give him anything he wanted.

But that was unquestionably a complete lie.

Trivial matters might be overlooked, but if his interests ever conflicted with Itsuki Shima's even slightly, that promise would likely dissolve in an instant.

The reason Itsuki Shima agreed to keep Yoshino Ayaka from performing rituals with others was probably because it didn't affect her own interests.

After all, to this evil god, everyone in the Queen's Society, even the current Founder, Mitsuishi Mitsuyuki, was no more than an ant. So naturally, she couldn't care less about the affairs of ants.

As for the matter of deciding who Itsuki Shima herself performed the Queen ritual with, Hikari knew that given her arrogance, she probably wouldn't willingly perform it with anyone at all.

A puppet Founder like Mitsuishi Mitsuyuki would never get to perform any Queen ritual with Itsuki Shima. So that seemingly rare promise she gave was nothing but a joke to amuse an ant.

Though he saw through Itsuki Shima's schemes completely.

On the surface, Hikari naturally put on a moved expression as if to say, "If you'll have me, I pledge my life to you."

As though he'd been thoroughly won over and would obey her every command from now on.

Seeing the docile expression Hikari feigned, Itsuki Shima nodded approvingly.

"Alright, I'll go explain your situation to the Founder in a bit. He'll forgive you."

"But remember, don't let it happen again."

Itsuki Shima extended a finger to hook under Hikari's chin, her tone teasing.

"Understood. I'll certainly heed Itsuki-nee's teachings from now on," Hikari nodded in agreement.

"Good boy, mua!", Itsuki Shima pulled Hikari into an embrace as if rewarding him.

First came a generous dose of "face wash."

Then she lowered her head and planted a firm kiss on his cheek.

The rich fragrance and moist warmth radiated from the kiss mark, searing hot against his skin.

"This despicable evil god, never missing a chance to seduce people..."

Watching the swaying, seductive way the Queen swayed her hips as she left, Hikari sighed inwardly, raising his hand to wipe off the lip print still bearing traces of evil power.

It had to be said, Itsuki Shima truly was a deity.

Even as an evil god, her energy was still overwhelmingly abundant.

Even with Hikari's current astonishing physical capabilities, he wouldn't dare claim he could decisively overpower her.

'But sooner or later, I'm going to thoroughly crush her!'

Hikari's confidence wasn't in vain.

Right after rescuing Yoshino Ayaka from Mitsuishi Mitsuyuki, the Pure Love System had given him several notifications.

[Ding! Host successfully prevented the evil Founder Mitsuishi Mitsuyuki's actions, altered female lead Yoshino Ayaka's fate, and promoted the spirit of pure love!]

[Ding! Host personally stepped into the fray, performed the ritual himself to neutralize the effects of the Wake Orchid Incense on Yoshino Ayaka, saved the female lead from misfortune, thwarted the schemes of the evil deity Itsuki Shima, and successfully promoted the spirit of pure love!]

[Congratulations, Host! Reward: Pure Love Points +400!]

[Congratulations, Host! Reward: Queen Power charge progress +15%!]

[Current Queen Power total charge progress: 15%!]

Apart from the usual Pure Love Points notification, there was also a charge progress update for Queen Power.

His earlier guess had been right, by interacting with female leads like Yoshino Ayaka, he could indeed gain power to suppress the evil god Itsuki Shima.

After all, this was the shadow world. A beautiful and seductive female evil god like Itsuki Shima was bound to have weaknesses of one kind or another.

When Hikari had just wiped the lip print off his face, he'd used a bit of the Queen Power gained from Yoshino Ayaka and found it remarkably effective against her evil god power, like a natural nemesis.

"But the amount is still too small. I'll need dozens of times more Queen Power to have full confidence in suppressing this evil god."

"To keep acquiring Queen Power, I'll probably need to work on the four female leads the Pure Love Radar pointed out earlier. I'll have to find the other three as well."

"And judging by the 25% each distribution, I haven't fully extracted Yoshino Ayaka's Queen Power yet either..."

Thinking this, Hikari glanced down at Yoshino Ayaka.

The plump, alluring lady was still unconscious, her fair and charming face flushed with two rosy patches. The corners of her lips curved slightly, her brows soft, she wore an expression of satisfied allure.

After scanning the disheveled scene before him, Hikari withdrew his gaze and continued contemplating how to stabilize his plan to suppress Itsuki Shima.

After a while, movement finally came from the tatami mat.

Yoshino Ayaka, who had soared to the clouds and passed out, suddenly gave a faint flutter of her eyelashes.

"Mmm..."

A slightly hoarse yet sweet moan escaped her red lips, as soft as silk threads dampened by spring rain.

Hikari looked over and saw her long lashes flutter a few times like butterfly wings.

The beautiful woman's tightly shut eyes slowly opened, still veiled with a hazy layer of waking moisture, misty and fragile.

"Miss Ayaka, are you alright?"

Seeing her awake, Hikari immediately stepped forward, his tone carrying just the right amount of concern.

"D-Don't come closer!"

Just regaining consciousness, Yoshino Ayaka flinched as if pricked by a needle, her body tensing up sharply.

Her face filled with panic, she instinctively curled up, arms wrapped tightly around her chest, her beautiful eyes full of wariness.

The image of Mitsuishi Mitsuyuki's hideous face and his menacing approach seemed to flash before her eyes again.

Only when her gaze focused and she recognized the young, handsome face before her did her taut nerves finally relax. Her voice came out hoarse and dazed from just waking, "It's... it's Hikari-kun..."

"It's me," Hikari softened his tone and comforted her gently, "It's just you and me here. No one else. Miss Ayaka, you don't need to be nervous."

He could tell her mind was still trapped in the fearful moment before she'd been knocked out by the Wake Orchid Incense, the moment Mitsuishi Mitsuyuki had threatened her.

"Ah... I-I remember now!"

Scattered memories broke through the fog, piece by piece assembling in her mind.

Yoshino Ayaka's eyes gradually cleared, carrying fear but also a trace of gratitude, "It was Hikari-kun... you saved me..."

"The Founder looked so terrifying... and then my body felt so hot for some reason..."

"It felt so strange at the time... like I was about to die..."

"It must have been the filth in my soul acting up... Hikari-kun, you helped me..."

"Helped me remove the filth... helped my body recover... return to normal..."

She murmured to herself, her cheeks gradually reddening.

The fragmented memories from when she was affected by the Wake Orchid Incense slowly resurfaced in her mind, and Yoshino Ayaka gradually recalled everything that had happened.

First, the conversation with Founder Mitsuishi Mitsuyuki in the Founder's Hall, then his ferocious expression as he ignored her protests and forcibly tried to purge her filth.

Then Hikari had arrived just in time, stopping Mitsuishi Mitsuyuki from laying a hand on her.

Then he'd taken her away from the Founder's Hall, and in this room, driven by the "filth in her soul," she'd thrown herself recklessly at him.

And in the end, it was Hikari who performed the Queen ritual with her, helping her... helping her purge the filth?

"Mmm!"

Recalling the scenes of Hikari performing the Queen ritual to cleanse the filth from her soul, Yoshino Ayaka's face burned crimson, her cheeks scalding.

But somehow, perhaps it was because the Queen ritual had already united them body and soul.

Or perhaps her body still vividly remembered the sense of safety he brought and the comfort of having the filth purged.

After waking, she found her body unconsciously shifting closer to him, her cheek lightly brushing against his palm hanging at his side, the motion as natural as instinct.

This intimate, subtle gesture jolted Yoshino Ayaka fully awake. Startled, she jerked back.

But the next second, she noticed something wrong.

She was completely unclothed, her dress scattered messily on the tatami, the fabric wrinkled and stained with traces of disarray.

Shame flooded over her.

Yoshino Ayaka hurriedly covered her chest with her arms, head bowed low, her voice barely a whisper, thick with embarrassment, "P-Please... don't look at me!"

Though under the influence of the Wake Orchid Incense, she'd already completed the Queen ritual with him.

But now that she was clear-headed, recalling those images only made her feel mortified, wishing she could crawl into a hole.

Yet despite her words of protest, her fingers moved as if with a will of their own, unconsciously hooking around Hikari's calf.

Her slender fingertips pressed slightly, carrying a faint, barely perceptible trace of lingering dependence.

Seeing her flustered expression, Hikari naturally understood her embarrassment now that she'd regained her senses.

He turned his head, "Alright."

Seeing Hikari obediently look away, Yoshino Ayaka let out a quiet sigh of relief, a hint of gratitude surfacing in her eyes.

After all, she felt utterly disheveled in her current state.

As a woman approaching thirty, married, appearing in such a state before a boy was utterly unprecedented in its impropriety.

Flustered and humiliated, Yoshino Ayaka quickly grabbed her scattered clothes, trying to get them back in their proper places.

But she'd forgotten that she'd only just completed a two-hour Queen ritual.

Energy was always conserved.

The energy she'd expended then had left her completely weak and limp now.

She tried to lift her knit top over her head, but even raising her fingers was a struggle.

Biting her lower lip, she shyly murmured in a low voice, "Hik... Hikari-kun~"

Perhaps because of her exhaustion, the pleading tone that reached Hikari's ears was soft and sticky, laced with a hint of coquettishness.

Hikari turned his head at the sound and immediately saw Yoshino Ayaka gazing at him with tear-bright almond eyes, looking pitiful and aggrieved.

A thin layer of sweat covered her forehead, and her clothes lay scattered around her. He instantly understood the situation.

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