Chapter 284 A Good Day to Have an Affair (1)

The Carriage of Alio Festa came to a halt right near Ahildern. After AA and I dropped down right before Ahildern via teleportation, we had been moving forward with the coachman's help. The coachman, visiting Ahildern for the second time, was grinning broadly as he looked out at the Forest of Ahildern. He seemed to be the only one convinced he would gain something from this journey.

Leaning against the window, I gazed at the scenery outside. The forest leading into Ahildern had trees stretching in various directions, loosely filling the space. Estimating each empty patch with my hand, I reconsidered what I needed to do from now on.

AA was filled with concern. She was staring at the floor with a face like a cow being dragged to a slaughterhouse. Was the Hero different down to her cochlea? Despite hanging her head low in the swaying carriage, she showed no sign of motion sickness.

I could tell she didn't believe in Erina either. Wanting to believe and actually believing were two different things. The former always contained doubt.

"It'll be the royal palace soon."

Even though I spoke to her, AA just stared blankly toward the window. Her anxiety symptoms had worsened the moment we arrived in Ahildern, and she was soothing her mind by looking outside the window or rubbing her hands. Tapping AA's shoulder lightly, I spoke.

"Sir Hero?"

"Ah, yes? Ah. Yes. Um...... what did you say?"

"I said it'll be the royal palace soon."

"Right."

AA spoke with an awkward smile. Seeing her soft-hearted self suffer made my own heart feel like it was tearing apart. Fucking Erina as soon as possible to liberate AA seemed like the only solution. The carriage we rode in was cutting across Ahildern's city center. Amidst elegant buildings fitting for the verdant forest, a massive castle rose tall. The ivy and lush branches tightly packed with green leaves looked just like stained glass painted emerald.

Following the smooth curve of the castle walls upward, the carriage stopped in the courtyard set up on the outskirts. Even within Ahildern, no one recognized the Carriage of Alio Festa. Everyone seemed to think the royal family had merely loaned AA a carriage bearing the royal seal. Stepping down from the carriage, we ascended the castle amid the elves' hospitality.

We had to greet Salina. Since it had been a long time using the back door via the Carriage of Alio Festa, the audience greeting felt quite unfamiliar. In the audience chamber, Ahildern Salina sat on the throne accompanied by escort guards. Without either of us prompting the other, we fell to our knees and bowed according to Ahildern's royal etiquette. Ehildern Salina waved her hand and nodded, and AA first explained the treaty document and mediation process regarding the recent incident.

"......And so, the incident that occurred between Peta Lucius and the Archdeity Church has been settled."

"You have done well, Hero. Go and rest."

Salina skimmed the treaty document and handed it to an attendant. Now, that treaty document would be duplicated by mages in a tamper-proof manner and delivered, one copy each, to me and the Archdeity Church. AA nodded and stood there with an anxious face. Ahildern Salina looked back at me and asked.

"Peta Lucius. What business brings you here this time?"

On her face rested a faint dissatisfaction asking why I hadn't visited through a personal route and instead come officially like this. Smiling, I spoke.

"I have come because I have something urgent to ask the Queen. Queen, could you spare me a moment of your time? It is not something fitting to ask in an official capacity......"

"......Come to my room after the audience ends."

"....It isn't that, right? Sir Priest?"

"What isn't?"

AA asked, looking at me with an uneasy face. She seemed worried that I might jump Ahildern Salina or something.

"Don't worry. It's nothing like that."

To worry now was far too late. We thus concluded the audience, and AA rushed off to Erina, leaving me behind. Erina seemed to be devoted to childcare in the nursery today as well. Humming, I made my way to Ahildern Salina's room. The royal guard standing outside Salina's room gave me a polite bow and spoke.

"We have received word from the Queen. Well then, we shall step aside."

"Yes. Thank you for your work."

Crossing the hallway, as soon as I opened Salina's room door again, she threw herself at me without a shred of decorum. Falling flush against my chest, Salina grabbed my cheeks with her hands, planted a kiss on my lips, and sucked my tongue. I closed and locked the door, grabbed the back of her head, and pushed her onto the bed.

Stripping the clothes off her body sprawled out on the bed, I thrust my cock deep into Salina's already soaking wet cunt.

"Ah......"

A soft gasp slipped from Salina's lips, and we frantically rocked and tangled our bodies over the sheets. Quite a long time passed until the round of sexual intercourse finished. Before we knew it, we were caressing each other's chests in our naked bodies. Gazing with a blank stare at each other's collarbones, our eyes drifted back to each other's lips and shared a light kiss.

I had many things to ask her. I needed to figure out a method to extract Mimir, and I also had to take her to Ati to set her head straight.

Stroking her hair, I spoke.

"Salina. I have something to ask about Mimir."

"What is it?"

Glancing slightly upward, Salina looked at me. Kissing her forehead once more, I spoke.

"I want to liberate Mimir, is there any method to take her out?"

"Liberate Mimir?"

Salina opened her eyes wide with a surprised face. I narrowed my eyes slightly at that reaction. Could it really be impossible? No matter how much pleasure she felt in obeying orders, was she feeling repugnance toward an act that was practically selling out all of Ahildern?

"Is it impossible?"

"No. Um...... I was pondering what to do...... because Mimir is currently connected to the entirety of Ahildern. That is to say, she is both the host of the magic that enriches Ahildern's soil and the vessel that preserves the spirits of Ahildern's ancestors, and very powerful magic is cast on her directly, so she can't just be pulled out as one pleases."

"What happens if she's pulled out forcibly?"

"If something goes wrong, Ahildern itself could blow up and be wiped out. In an explosion of that scale, Mimir would die too."

She said it was just like ripping out a person's heart by force. Since Mimir herself was the power source sustaining Ahildern, she said one would have to be prepared for massive side effects the moment she was torn away. I couldn't help clicking my tongue at those words. It meant Ati had to come in person if we were to save Mimir.

But to rescue Ati, I needed to become stronger than I was now. Then only one destination remained. Sioter, Ati's friend in the Dwarf Kingdom. Just what did Sioter look like? Since it was the Dwarf Kingdom, was it a giant female dwarf?

"Um...... if you still wish to extract her somehow, I can send you inside together with the Carriage of Alio Festa. If you take Mimir and use teleportation...... it might just work."

"That's a bit......"

I didn't like that method. It didn't solve the problem completely, and there was no telling how far the fallout from the explosion would reach. It was right to safely remove the magic connected to Mimir and then beat some sense into her to wake her up.

"Then just pretend you didn't hear this. And now, Salina, I'd like to release the Oath of Meiga placed on you."

"Pardon?"

Choosing my words for a moment, I shook my head. Come to think of it, releasing it now wouldn't be any fun, and if her memories remained intact, Salina might stand in my way. Once Mimir blew up all of Ahildern, both Salina and Erina would be jobless vagrants without a kingdom, so I could take them to Ati's cave as much as I pleased. Shaking my head, I spoke.

"Never mind. I was just talking to myself, so pretend you didn't hear it."

"I'm happy right now, do you perhaps not like me?"

Shaking my head, I hugged Salina tightly once more.

Just like that, I discovered that Ati definitely had to come to awaken Mimir. Now, all that remained was to leisurely and tantalizingly seduce Erina over the ten days to make AA my woman. Strolling down the corridor, I was relishing the leisure. By my estimate, Erina would hold out for about four days.

Even if she held out for the full ten days, all I had to do was have Salina forcibly make her have sex with me. No matter how much AA believed in Erina, would she believe her if she cried, 'Mother ordered it!'? If anything, she would only feel more disillusionment rather than embrace her with love.

And so, I returned to my assigned room and loosened up. I polished the mace brought along as my prized possession and changed into comfortable clothes. Since I was already here, I planned to take the treaty document with me as well. I wanted to see AA's face again, but when I asked an attendant, he said AA had hastily disappeared into her room with Erina.

By now, the two of them were probably having furious sex, weren't they? Imagining Erina and AA having sex made my cock throb rock hard again. Lying leisurely on the bed, I closed my eyes. Taking a nap seemed like a good idea.

Yet the world didn't seem willing to grant permission even for a nap. Having thrown myself onto the blankets and closed my eyes, a grating, low knocking sound reached my ears. I could sense urgent, trembling fingers.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Who is it?"

Just who was interrupting my leisurely afternoon hobby? Getting dressed again, I opened the door. With her face flushed red, Erina awkwardly pressed her body tight against the door. Looking around her surroundings, she stamped her feet in a rush and spoke.

"P-Peta Lucius...... Hurry, hurry and open the door. What if AA sees us, why are you stalling like this?"

How the fuck could she not even hold out for a single day?