With the Emperor’s approval, Lilia secretly decided to take death row inmates who had committed serious crimes to the beggars’ den using her powers.
It felt like selling out fellow humans, but there wasn’t much guilt. After all, the ones chosen as test subjects were irredeemable scum with histories of inhumane acts. Like murder, rape, and human experimentation.
If anything, shouldn’t they be grateful that they could at least be useful to our operation?
They were trash beyond redemption, but now they could at least help save people.
“Mars~ Give me some energy before I go~”
“Hmm, shall I?”
A promise was a promise.
I still didn’t get what exactly made my energy so great, but at the mention of receiving it, Lilia’s eyes sparkled like a dog hearing it’s about to get a treat.
It might sound a little off, but that’s really what it was like.
“Then should we head to another room? One that’s empty…”
“Hey, cut the crap and just do it here.”
As Lilia tried to drag me away, the princess growled sharply.
Like a tiger in a zoo, her eyes alone radiated a terrifying intensity. Enough to intimidate not only Lilia but even me.
“Tch. Fine, I’ll just do it here. But remember, you guys said to do it here, alright?”
Lilia sat me down on the nearby sofa, climbed onto my lap facing me, and straddled me.
The posture was a little too inappropriate, and as I was flustered by the scene, she seized the moment and leaned in toward my neck.
“Thanks for the me–eeeeaaaal!!”
“You’re hopeless.”
But before her lips could touch me, her plan was instantly ruined. Thanks to the princess, who grabbed Lilia by the hair and yanked her back.
“Hey, Noctus.”
“Ah, yes, Your Highness.”
Something felt off about her calling me by my surname instead of my name. When I turned around—
“Why didn’t you dodge her move? You could’ve easily done so, couldn’t you?”
“Ah, well… it all happened so suddenly that I couldn’t react properly…”
“…You couldn’t?”
Yeah, fair point.
Truthfully, someone like me could’ve easily stopped Lilia’s approach.
Even just releasing the aura inside my body would’ve knocked her away in an instant.
Still, well… there are times when a man knows what’s coming but chooses not to stop it.
Even if she was a villain on the enemy’s side, Lilia’s looks alone were what you’d call top-tier beauty with no exaggeration.
Add her seductive aura into the mix, and what man wouldn’t falter when someone like that comes at him?
Unless his reproductive organs were broken, no sane guy would turn that down.
Even the first time I saw her at the mansion, while I was suspicious of her actions and forced myself to stay detached, I couldn’t deny I was struck by her appearance.
And now a woman like that was throwing herself at me out of desire. If I pushed her away, well… that’d just be a lie, wouldn’t it?
“Well, you know… I was too surprised to react, and… to her, it’s basically like eating, so I didn’t see much reason to refuse, and also… Actually, I’m sorry…”
As the three women stared at me in utter silence with cold eyes, I just gave in and apologized quickly.
If they’d just yelled or called me a pervert and hit me, I might’ve handled it better. But the cold, unblinking stares made me shrink like a scolded child.
Maybe I’m just the type who would be completely obedient to my wife if I ever got married…
In the end, Lilia’s energy-absorbing ability was put on display for all to see as she shook hands with me.
She complained that absorbing energy through the hands was inefficient, but as soon as the saintess channeled her divine power, Lilia quickly absorbed the energy like nothing was wrong and went off to carry out her mission.
And with that, we arranged to receive updates on Lilia’s mission progress through the Imperial Family and were finally able to return to the academy.
“No entrance exams?”
What greeted us wasn’t just our classmates and professors. It was news of a special event.
“That’s right. Things got a bit messy in the territory you visited, didn’t they? Because of that, you returned late, so we’re only now able to inform you.”
No entrance exams.
Besides Amor Academy, there were many other academies around the world.
Of course, to justify it being the setting of the game, Amor Academy was advertised as the best, but I heard that the other academies were also top-tier institutions that trained exceptional talent.
The “No Entrance Exam Festival” was a cliché-filled event where students from these academies gathered for friendly duels. Each year, one academy was chosen as the host, and students from other academies were invited to compete there.
Originally, our academy was scheduled to host next year, but the academy that was supposed to host this year suffered severe damage to its facilities due to a failed experiment. As a result, they couldn’t accommodate the participating students.
There were apparently no casualties, but all the students involved in the experiment were expelled, and their professors and the Headmaster were now stuck cleaning up the aftermath.
“I understand the situation, but isn’t the festival scheduled for next month? Can we really prepare in just one month?”
“Oh, we can.”
“How?”
“We have a lot of money.”
“Ah.”
I nodded in understanding at Professor Idrus’s words.
Money makes anything possible.
“That’s actually why I called you here. I want to ask you all to participate. You’re all top students in your respective fields, right? Perfect candidates to uphold the academy’s reputation.”
It was true. Our team lineup was no joke.
The noble lady was the only daughter of the prestigious magic family, Eus Duchy. Pollo was the heir of the current Aura Lord, Count Helios. The saintess needed no explanation, and though the imperial princess might lack in martial skills, she was a genius when it came to strategy and tactics.
Apparently, she studied all kinds of military doctrines to prepare for becoming emperor. She was clearly in a league of her own.
It’s no wonder the professor was looking at us with such high expectations.
“What about me, then?”
“Hmm… yeah, not you.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Would you really feel good about a grown adult stepping into a kids’ fight?”
“Oh.”
If I were to participate in the duels of the No Entrance Exam Festival, I’d enter under the swordsmanship category.
The problem was, word’s gotten out that I had reached the Aura Lord level.
That would mean any student from another academy who goes up against me would be forced to duel an Aura Lord.
It might have been an honor for him, but at the same time, the balance would be far too broken, so there was a chance people might raise objections to my participation.
“So, I just get to sit back, relax, and watch?”
“Nope. You’re gonna have a match with Count Helios. I’ve already contacted him. From what I heard, he gladly accepted.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
***
“Ugh. How did I end up in this mess… Is it too late to back out now…? Probably not, huh?”
Lilia, one of the high-ranking members of the Heavenly God Church, stood at the meeting spot arranged in advance with a member of the sect.
Behind her, about a dozen men stood in a row, blankly staring up at the sky with unfocused eyes.
“They don’t look too good… I wonder if they’ll be easy enough to fool…”
Their condition had worsened because they’d been cursed by the palace mages before being brought here.
Bringing them in as they were would only serve to strengthen the enemy, so before using them as test subjects, a curse had been placed on them to make it harder for them to raise their weapons against the Empire, even if they became living weapons.
From the Emperor’s point of view, it was a natural precaution to protect the Empire’s safety. But for Lilia, who was the one betraying them, the fear of being exposed left her extremely anxious.
“Ugh… I should focus on gathering information for now. I’ll also need to set up an escape plan in case things go south.”
Though she’d been drunk on the sweet taste of Mars’ energy and forgotten for a while, the Heavenly God Church she belonged to was a truly terrifying place.
If she were caught stealing their information, she wouldn’t even be allowed to die. Instead, she’d be turned into a test subject and tormented until the day her life was finally snuffed out.
Just imagining it made Lilia shiver. Forcing herself to change the subject, she shook off the thought.
“Come to think of it, why didn’t my charm work on him?”
The other man who had been with Mars. Pollo Helios.
Mars, being someone who had reached the level of a Lord, likely had strong mental defenses. But the Helios family’s young heir who had stood beside him was still just an inexperienced swordsman, even if he was talented.
“Hmm… maybe even rotting, Helios blood is still Helios blood.”
Was there something special about the Helios bloodline?
As she pondered the thought, she suddenly realized that mist had crept in all around her.
This mist… it’s definitely his…
“It’s been a while, Lady Lilia.”
“Huh? Oh… yes, it’s been a while.”
At that moment, a figure emerged from the mist and spoke to her.
The mist had risen so silently that she hadn’t even noticed it forming. Now, it covered everything, making it hard to see more than a few steps ahead.
From within it, a man stepped forward and greeted her with a polite demeanor, while Lilia responded with a somewhat awkward nod.
His face remained blurred, as if veiled by the mist, making it hard to see clearly. But the subtle warmth in his voice made it clear he was pleased with her return.
“It’s been a few weeks since we last met. So… were you able to secure the test subjects?”
“Yeah. Over there. The surveillance has gotten tighter, so I couldn’t bring too many.”
As he looked at the line of men behind Lilia, the man in the mist clapped his hands in satisfaction.
“Excellent. The quantity may be small, but for us, even this is a blessing. Others are bringing in one or two as well, so it’s not a bad outcome.”
In the past, they could have turned an entire village into a breeding ground. But due to a series of incidents, the Empire had drastically increased its surveillance, making such bold actions impossible.
Now they had to make do, dispatching people to kidnap suitable subjects. Though at most, they could bring back one or two at a time.
No one else had the ability to deliver as many at once as Lilia.
“But… I only see men here?”
Lilia flinched.
“Well, you know… my power doesn’t work so well on women. If one of them woke up, it would’ve been a huge hassle, so I killed the women and only brought the men. They’re better suited for combat use anyway, right?”
“Hmm… yes, that makes sense. Good work.”
With that, the man of mist turned his back to her. Lilia who was breathing a quiet sigh of relief followed him deeper into the fog.
Soon, the unconscious prisoners trailed after her. Moments later, the mist lifted and just like that, the group of several dozen men vanished from the forest without a trace.
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