Chapter 187: Mentor (4)

༺ Mentor (4) ༻

What Miruam showed me, along with her sudden demand for a deal, was one of the 4 treasures of the Danann, the Stone of Destiny Lia Fail, which determined the next King of Gods.

Why does she have this?

"Why do you-"

"Is that important? What's important, more than the reason why, is that it's in my possession right now."

She said with a confident smile before falling on the bed while still holding onto Lia Fail. Her crimson gaze, rumpled clothes, and crossed legs that defenselessly revealed her thighs waited for me to join her on the bed.

"You are fighting Tates Valtazar, and you need this to beat him, do you not?"

"So?"

"Embrace me. Ravage me and pour out all your sexual desires... Help me achieve my goal, and I will give you everything I have."

Miruam suggested an astonishing offer.

"How does that sound? A great deal for my hand in marriage, right?"

"..."

Indeed, rationally speaking, taking her offer would be the right choice. Taking it by force would simply make me a sinner who tried to steal a princess's belongings.

That wasn't what the Legal Immunity was for.

All I had to do was turn my eyes away once and embrace her.

I walked towards the nest of the serpent, who was defenselessly revealing her skin.

"Come here. It is fine to do me as you wish. You have the permission of this very princess."

Her sensuous set of gestures, coquettish voice, sweet body scent, and captivating gaze were certainly very powerful. It appeared especially sweeter since I had tasted it beforehand.

Anyone would say that I was the one winning on this deal.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"For a long time," she replied.

I remained silent without saying anything back to her.

Right, this was the type of woman she was - burning herself to the ground, and only realizing what she had burned after looking at the ashes.

"Give me your hand."

Reaching out, I locked my fingers with her long and thin fingers. It was a perfect fit as if our hands had been made for each other.

"Yes. Just like that..."

"Shh."

Her lips momentarily turned stiff. She was surprised by my ill-mannered 'shush', but smiled before long, as if none of that mattered as long as she could obtain her goal.

She was a venomous serpent, and I knew that all too well.

Her hands and her suggestive gestures were constantly provocative and painfully attractive.

She was a woman I had once embraced and a wife I had promised a future with. Although the start of our relationship had been through drugs, I knew best how enticing her body was.

Everything from the mole on her thigh, which only I knew of, to her soft belly, bouncy breasts, and sweet tongue...

I definitely couldn't deny that there was a burning desire and lust inside me, urging me to take the addictive woman for myself one more time but...

『...I love you. Sorry for... saying that so late. I love you. I really love you, Korin.』

My brain rapidly started to work. She almost enticed me again with her explicit actions.

Placing my thumb on her lips, I ran it across and rubbed it.

"...Sir Korin?"

A questioning light appeared in her seductive and coquettish voice.

"...Fuu."

She appeared to have sensed my rejection from that sigh, as her eyes immediately turned cold.

Ah, I bet she hates me now.

"Right. I see... so that's your decision."

Unlike the first time we met in this iteration, she did not try to even conceal her disappointment and anger.

She said with a sharp voice.

"Did you say the reason you refused my offer regardless of the conditions was because of pride?"

"..."

"You've made a grave mistake. If you embraced me, I would have willingly bet everything on you."

Then, she declared that there was now an unclosable gap between us. She must have deemed it worthless to try other conditions, now that I even declined Lia Fail.

Leaving those words behind, Miruam stormed out of my room.

***

That night, with unresolved pleasure and silence, I bent my back with a deep sigh.

"She's angry."

***

Miruam knew that Estelle had feelings for Korin Lork. After all, the endless proud repetition of stories of how he saved her from the Tower of Mages had been digging her ears out.

However, she was confident that she could entice Korin Lork and make him hers. It was because she saw the future through Lia Fail; how he helped her achieve her goal and showed her the corpse of that son of a bitch.

"Estelle... There's no way she would cooperate."

That damn bitch and traitor, who became the 1st Princess despite being a child of the second wife after her mother's death.

If Korin Lork spent time next to her, a protectionist of demi-humans and a practical leader of the New Faith, there was no way that he would help her because Estelle wouldn't allow it.

'Has destiny been... changed? Did I do something wrong?'

Miruam thought to herself as she gazed at the Stone of Destiny in her hands. Apparently, according to Valtazar, none of the fates were set in stone except for those who were born with a great destiny.

That in turn meant that she could change her future and fate depending on her actions.

"Show me... my future. My destiny."

She poured mana into the stone and Lia Fail responded to her call.

A bright flash covered her sight.

It was a frosty and cold world.

A world full of snowy-white plains.

She knew where this was.

The world of the Northern Frost Giant - a world protected by the giant god of the northern myth, who joined hands with Valtazar.

The fact that she was here... meant that the plan must have succeeded. She must have come here after that success to pay the price that she had promised with Valtazar.

"Ha, haha... I see. I made it."

Miruam was satisfied with that result. That was when she spotted a woman vomiting out blood on the white plains.

『Cough...!』

That was her.

That woman, who looked the same as herself, was vomiting blood with a spear piercing through her, and on the other side of the spear was Korin Lork.

"..."

Is this the new destiny now?

Well, this was good in itself because she managed to confirm that Korin Lork was now her enemy.

Although it seemed that she would be dying in the end, the world afterward did not matter to her as long as she could achieve her goal.

『You stupid woman... I, I told you to wait.』

But for some reason, even though he was her enemy, he hugged her dying body with a sorrowful light in his eyes.

Why? He's her enemy. He's the one who killed her so...

Why did he look so...

That was the end of the future shown by Lia Fail.

"Huht...!"

Due to an overuse of mana in an attempt to glimpse into her fate, Miruam was sweating buckets as she shot out of her bed.

The frosty world was gone and what remained was a dark ceiling. She was back inside the Academy in her own room, and the white snowy plains just then were nowhere to be seen.

However, she knew that was no mere illusion. She had experienced beforehand an existing form of her destiny.

"I made it."

What she could tell from that glimpse into the future was that she succeeded before dying to Korin Lork, her enemy.

More than anything, what was important was that she succeeded.

"Yes... That's enough. The thought that I needed someone's help for this was wrong in and of itself."

I can do it even without his help - that's the most important takeaway from it.

『You stupid woman... I, I told you to wait.』

"..."

But why did that man, who killed her with his own hands... look so sad?

She couldn't continue that line of thought for long because someone knocked on her windows.

"Come in."

A lady opened the window and came in before getting down on one of her knees.

"Your Highness Elizabeth."

"Youngest daughter of Kalatin, correct?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

The lady slowly stood up after a polite greeting.

"What is it?"

"There has been an urgent notice from my father. He said they spotted a 'wolf with silver fur'..."

"...!"

Her eyes widened into full circles.

The wolf with silver fur - the main culprit behind the tragedy 10 years ago; the wolf she had been chasing after her whole life.

"Hah... Finally after ten years of silence."

She immediately stood up. Now that they found the silver wolf, she could not wait any longer.

"We set out immediately."

"...Please give me a moment."

The youngest daughter of Kalatin waved her hands and summoned a large crow and Miruam got on it without making any preparations.

"What should I say to the Academy?" she asked.

"It's going to be annoying so... Yes, you can go to the Academy in my stead."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Saying that, Arba, the youngest daughter of Kalatin, gave another wave which immediately changed her outer appearance to be the same as Miruam.

The three daughters of Kalatin the Wizard were all masters of illusion, summoning and using familiars, so changing their appearance was nothing difficult for them.

The crow summoned by Arba carried Miruam and soared off into the skies of the Academy. Due to the mask of illusion, no one saw the crow disappearing into the horizon.

***

"Korin-dongsaeng~"

Ever since Mag Mell, Estelle was always rather excessively intimate whenever she saw me.

She would give me a surprise hug from behind, play around with my cheeks as if they were slime, ask if she could touch my arms and do it... or even give a short kiss to my cheeks.

"...Korin?"

The problem was that she would do all of that regardless of the time and occasion.

"Wow..."

Ron, the younger brother of the wolf siblings, sighed as he saw the clingy Estelle.

"Still hitting on more girls, Big Bro?"

"What?"

How could Ron say such a thing to me? Ren?! Can you train your little brother a bit better?

"Hmph...!"

I turned to Ren with a questioning gaze but she flicked her head away in response.

"Big Bro... you only need one spouse in your life. Any more than that... will just hurt you."

"W, what are you talking about?"

Ron replied with a sincerely worried look on his face.

"Sometimes when I look at you, it feels like you live without thinking about what might happen."

I have... absolutely no idea what you mean, Ron.

"Anyway," I changed the topic. "Estelle-noona, sit down for a bit. Let me finish off with these kids first."

"Hing~. Make sure to play with me when you finish, okay?"

"I have mentoring after this as well. You can join if you want to."

"That real-life practice thing? Miru would hate it but, oh well~ I'm bored, so I will join."

Anyway, today was a combat practice day with Ren and Ron. Their skills were getting better and better these days, and it might be time to introduce them to Mound.

"Leaving Ron aside, I think you grew a bit, Ren."

"D, do you think so too? Nn... I did get a bit taller."

"Yeah. You look around 12 years old now."

"I am 17 years old, okay?"

"Yes yes. I'm just talking about how old you look."

The different growing speeds of beastmen were yet to be fully researched, especially for 'golden wolves' like them, who were as unique as Elders or Lords for vampires.

Ren and Ron appeared as grown-ups in the game, and the only difference between that and now was that they weren't sold as slaves. Whatever the case, this must be a better life for them, because there was no way that living as a slave would have led to a good life.

"By the way, how's everything going with your friends? Are you doing fine?"

"Yes... except for one."

"Princess Miruam?"

"..."

The siblings didn't reply but their silence already gave it away. They must have somewhat sensed the deep sense of hatred and hostility she had against their race.

"But these days... she's a bit more mild."

"Hnn?"

I asked back, not understanding what Ron meant.

"Even when our eyes meet, these days she doesn't have the cold... killing intent? Or anything in her eyes."

That Princess Miruam not having a reaction against beastmen... and werewolves at that?

Is that even possible?

***

After the lesson was over with the two of them, I headed off to meet Miruam for mentoring. Things did end on a chilly note last weekend, but that was something we had to resolve over time.

"Are you really coming?"

"Nn~. It's not often that we sisters can play around together, so why not?"

"Haa..."

Estelle wanted to come with me by all means but since I knew about the nature of their relationship, I was worried that it might end up lighting up the fuse of a bomb.

"Sometimes I wonder if you know everything about our relationship," Estelle said.

"...I do know that you're siblings."

"With different mothers."

Estelle was the daughter of Queen Asher, the current queen, but she wasn't Miruam's mother. Miruam's mother was Queen Maria, the previous queen of King David. Queen Asher was originally a concubine, so the 1st Princess of the El Rath Kingdom was technically Miruam.

"I can understand her hatred against beastmen," she said. "If the direction of her anger was right, I wouldn't have stopped her either but..."

"That's what revenge is. You never know where it'll bounce off to."

"Fufu... Looks like you know it, but how? It's a story that even the royal court is trying to hide."

"Although I might look like this, I am fighting to save the world. There are a few things here and there that I have to know about."

There was nothing wrong with Miruam's anger itself. Anyone would agree to that but...

"I don't want her to become a monster."

"Me neither. That's why you wanted my help right?" Estelle asked.

"Yes."

"That certainly is a bold move. Not sure if it will be possible though."

"Well, it will work out one way or another."

Estelle giggled after hearing the certainty in my voice and asked.

"Is it because I will be blessing you?"

"There's that too. Because that will increase my chance of success by several-fold."

"But are you sure you'll be okay? Wouldn't it be better to use me or your other teammates? Honestly, the power level of your guild is unimaginable, and it will be a lot easier that way."

She wasn't wrong. Marie, Hua Ran, and Alicia... Even with just the help of those three, I would be able to manage a full-frontal fight.

But that wasn't an option. Any help I received from someone else had to be to the degree where it could be kept a secret.

"I have to do this by myself. Because I have to be the only 'traitor'."

"...So that's what the Legal Immunity was for."

We needed 'justification', and this was the only way to stop Miruam.

While having a light discussion about our plan, we arrived at the office of our Guardians Guild and found Miruam who had been waiting for us already.

"You're here. Sir Korin and... Estelle."

Her eyes immediately turned cold the moment she saw Estelle. Estelle returned an awkward wave but Miruam didn't even reply back.

That was a very accurate response. Miru would have responded that way to Estelle.

But... what was it? Something didn't feel right.

For half a second, I skeptically scanned through her and immediately noticed it.

"So, what are we doing to—"

"Who are you."

This woman isn't Miru.