Chapter 309

Upon hearing Lilith’s words, the expression on the warrior's face subtly hardened. It was as if he hadn’t expected what she was about to say.

Lilith, sensing the tension and thinking that her words may have displeased the warrior, quickly tried to clarify what she had just said.

“Yes, the heroines that you're planning to abandon. To be honest, I feel attached to each and every one of them. I’ve told you before, haven’t I? I saw the ending 24 times in my previous life.”

“Yes, you did mention that.”

“I don’t care much about the male characters, but the female characters? I’ve seen all of them have their own endings at least once. From my perspective, they all deserve happiness. Watching them pine over you, struggle, and eventually face heartbreak... I can’t bear to see that. It’s just not in my nature to watch someone suffer through unrequited love, knowing they won’t get anything in return.”

“……”

“I'll try to make sure that I don’t interfere with the main storyline too much when I help them. Your party to defeat the Demon King is pretty much complete, anyway. No matter how much of a protagonist you are, I won’t allow you to treat these heroines like garbage any longer.”

Though Lilith spoke with resolve, after saying it, she felt a twinge of fear. She couldn’t help but be cautious, worried that the warrior might see her as an obstacle to the story and take action against her. However, to her relief, the warrior’s reply was reassuring.

“Yeah, do as you like.”

“…Huh?”

“After hearing you out, I’m wondering why I didn’t think of this sooner. Honestly, I’m kind of grateful for it.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I never intended to be with any of the heroines in this world. If they can find a way to be happy after I’m gone, that would be for the best.”

The warrior’s unexpectedly indifferent and hollow reply made Lilith’s tension dissipate. At the same time, she felt a strange sense of anger toward him.

If it had been her, she would’ve been overjoyed to receive such attention, yet here he was, brushing off the heroines' affections as nothing more than a nuisance.

“Fine, do whatever you want. But I’ll do things my way too.”

“Alright, I’m counting on you, Lilith.”

“…Tsk.”

Unable to hide her dissatisfaction, Lilith stood up from her seat.

“For now, I’ll leave the main heroines alone. If I try to pull them away from you at this point, it’ll only backfire and have a negative impact on the story progression.”

“That’s inevitable.”

“But from now on, I won’t let any other girls fall for you. Just so you know.”

“Understood, Lilith. Do your best.”

“…Damn it.”

With a curse, Lilith left, leaving the warrior alone with the drunken elf who had passed out.

Watching Silena, who had boasted that elves never get drunk but had now collapsed after drinking as if it were water, the warrior murmured quietly.

“Ugh, hero... I’m an elf... Elves never lose in the forest….”

‘I’ve never once thought of my relationships with these women as trivial.’

In fact, these women had become so precious to him that he was preparing to part with them in a way that would cause them the least amount of pain. However, that misunderstanding between them would only be resolved far in the future.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The next morning, in the carriage of the Blackwood family.

About thirty minutes after boarding, Isabelle, sitting across from Ethan and me, carefully observed my expression.

“Lilith, are you feeling unwell?”

“Hm?”

“You’ve looked a bit off since earlier… Are you getting carriage sick after all this time?”

“Is that true, Lilith?”

The conversation with the warrior the previous evening had left me in a bit of a sour mood, and it seemed I hadn’t done a good job of masking my expression.

Judging by Isabelle’s concerned gaze, my face probably wasn’t a pleasant sight. Even Ethan seemed to have noticed my mood belatedly.

“It’s nothing, Master Ethan. I’m just a little... out of sorts because of what happened last night.”

“Last night? Did something happen?”

“…I might have drunk a little too much. It’s not because of anything else.”

I couldn’t exactly tell them that I’d been talking to the hero about my knowledge from a previous life, so I came up with a suitable excuse.

“Really? Are you feeling sick? Should we stop and rest for a bit?”

“It’s not that bad. The distance from the Luminar Academy to Blackwood is quite far, so if we stop now, we’ll be delayed. Besides, there was that one time we almost had a major incident while camping.”

“An incident? Did something happen that night while I was asleep, Lilith?”

“……”

“…The campfire went out once. We hurried to relight it.”@@novelbin@@

“Losing warmth in the early morning is dangerous. That’s all I meant.”

“Ah, I see. Yeah, keeping warm while camping is important…”

Ethan and I had decided not to tell Isabelle about the time we fought off bandits in the middle of the night. It was all in the past now, and even if we told her, she probably wouldn’t be too shocked. But I still preferred for her to remain as innocent as possible.

I know it sounds odd, considering we’d brought her to an academy where power struggles, violence, and even occasional bloodshed occur, but still…

“If you’re tired from feeling ill, you can rest on my shoulder, Lilith.”

“No, it’s not that bad. I’m not really that uncomfortable.”

“If you’re not up for my shoulder, would you like to lie down on my lap?”

“…What?”

“There’s no one else here today. Father’s not with us, so even though the carriage is small, there’s enough room for you to lie down if you’d like.”

“……”

For a brief moment, I fought the sudden temptation to lie down and resisted. No matter how close I was to Ethan, acting on my desires so openly… was still a bit embarrassing.

“I’ll be fine, Master Ethan. You don’t have to worry that much.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter if you’re not feeling sick. You can lie down on my lap if you want.”

“…What?”

“I’d actually prefer if you did. It’s a long ride to Blackwood, and it would be nice to pass the time this way.”

“……”

“There’s no reason to be shy anymore, Lilith. You’ve already held my hand and walked arm in arm at the academy.”

“Well, that’s true…”

I didn’t really have a counterargument to that. Over the past semester, I’d indulged in many things with Ethan.

Considering that I only had about two and a half years left to stay by his side, I did have a desire to experience as much as I could while I was still his lover. Even if my body had become that of a woman, the desire to enjoy a relationship was still strong.

But even though I could be bold in front of strangers, doing such things openly in front of someone specific—like Isabelle—was a bit more uncomfortable.

“…It’s fine. Isabelle might feel a little uncomfortable if Ethan and I engage in affectionate behavior.”

“Oh, me? No, not at all! Don’t worry about me. You can stay close to Master Ethan if you want!”

“See, Isabelle’s fine with it, Lilith.”

“Well, still… It’s embarrassing to be seen, even if Isabelle doesn’t mind…”

“Lilith, my eyes are closed! I’ll keep them shut the whole time!”

“You’re still bothered by it, Lilith?”

“……”

Honestly.

I had no idea why they were both so in sync when it came to moments like these. If anyone saw this, they might think Isabelle was Ethan’s personal maid.

Of course, I knew that Isabelle was reacting this way out of concern for me.

In the game, Isabelle was a character who would betray the Blackwood family if it meant ensuring Lilith’s happiness. And now, I suppose she thought my happiness lay in my relationship with Ethan, which is why she was acting like this.

It was both endearing and a little embarrassing. It almost felt like I was reporting to her about my romantic interactions with Ethan.

“Lilith? I told you, my eyes are closed!”

“Lilith, come lie down here.”

“……”

In the end, I couldn’t resist their insistence—or rather, I pretended I couldn’t. Quietly, I rested my head on Ethan’s lap.

A lap pillow between lovers.

Somehow, it felt a little different from what I had imagined in my previous life, but it wasn’t bad. I accepted it.

After all, the person I was in my past life was gone, and now, at least physically, I was a woman.

“Wow… This is… Wow, wow…”

“…Isabelle, your eyes are closed, right?”

“Oh, y-yes! Don’t worry, my eyes are definitely closed, Lilith!”

Her response, though shameless, was unmistakably the kind that suggested she was peeking at us through barely open eyes.

Until we stopped for a break, I spent the whole time resting my head on Ethan’s lap, letting the sourness in my mood dissipate. During that time, I met Isabelle’s gaze about five times.