Hoo…
Mia began to explain.
“Yulia Petenburg. The elf known as the witch of Petenburg was actually the priestess of the World Tree.”
“……”
For Yoo Jin, it was nothing surprising, just a list of facts he had memorized about the main heroine, Yulia included.
But he couldn’t let that show, so Yoo Jin twitched his eyes slightly and pretended to be surprised.
“But she was stripped of her priestess position due to a tragic incident and left Elvenguard.”
Mia spoke the name of the previous priestess without hesitation.
It would have been inappropriate if it were another priestess, but it was different for a witch. She had left Elvenguard under unfortunate circumstances.
“Why did Yulia come here?”
Mia suddenly found herself lost for words.
Yulia.
Just Yulia, neither ‘Yulia Petenburg’ nor ‘that elf.’
Yoo Jin was casually calling the witch by her first name. And he didn’t even bother with the context, asking outright why she had come.
No matter how you looked at it, the relationship between the witch and Yoo Jin didn’t seem ordinary.
‘She must have heard my name from the witch.’
Only then did Mia’s question clear up.
How did Yoo Jin know a name that Mia herself had nearly forgotten? It was evident that the witch had told him.
When her name was given to Mia by the World Tree, the witch was surely there with her.
“About a week ago, Yulia Petenburg secretly infiltrated Elvenguard. She must have worried about being discovered and expelled. Or perhaps she was simply ashamed to be found out having returned to Elvenguard. Yulia Petenburg came right into the sight of the World Tree and sought me out.”
“What was her purpose?”
“She asked me to teach her how to give away an elf’s lifespan to others. So I told her, as far as I know, no such thing exists.”
“A lifespan…”
Yoo Jin shut his eyes tight. The idea of sharing an elf’s lifespan was too much. It didn’t take a genius to guess who she wanted to share it with.
Me.
She was planning to give it to me. Lifespan that I hadn’t even asked for…
‘There’s no doubt left. Yulia has regained her memories and is pursuing me…’
Certainly, Yulia was smarter than the other main heroines. By quietly searching without making a noise, she had managed to hide the fact that she had regained her memories.
But that wouldn’t last long. Thanks to Mia, she’d already been caught.
‘No need to worry too much.’
Yoo Jin took a breath and calmed himself. It was an overreaction. Just hearing the name Yulia triggered PTSD.
Could it be that things were going according to her grand scheme again? Was I playing into Yulia’s hands once more?
That anxiety surged, but he quickly shook it off.
Unlike the past twelve cycles where he had to maintain a narrow human relationship to avoid suspicion of infidelity, this time he wasn’t alone.
There were plenty of allies to help him.
He had early warning systems like Mia, who could alert him before trouble struck.
So there was no need to worry excessively.
“Um…”
“I’m sorry. I made the atmosphere too serious.”
“Oh, no.”
“More importantly, I’m starting to get hungry. Is the food ready yet?”
“I’ll bring it out right away!”
Jumping up, Mia went to warm the food, feeling slightly uneasy.
She couldn’t concentrate on anything else, worried about the relationship between Yoo Jin and the witch.
The pioneer who raised the formidable free city.
A genius that could attract wealth with no peers.
And a cold ruler.
Yoo Jin seemed to have strong feelings for that witch. Whether it was good or bad, she couldn’t tell.
‘But why am I so curious about this…?’
Yoo Jin must have his own personal life.
And Mia had no right to interfere in that.
So normally, it would have been something she shrugged off without a second thought.
But Mia couldn’t help but keep glancing back, trying to read Yoo Jin’s mood.
She had always been indifferent to others, but every time she looked at Yoo Jin’s face, her heart raced and her cheeks flushed for the first time.
That made her feel even more bewildered.
Was it because Yoo Jin was a rare species hard to find in Elvenguard?
No, that wasn’t it.
Other humans had come to Elvenguard multiple times before, but she hadn’t felt this tingling sensation back then.
‘This must all be due to the alcohol.’
It was all the fault of the alcohol.
Mia decided that was her conclusion.
The alcohol she had never had before was just too bitter, causing her to feel this way.
Sniff sniff. I hope I don’t smell…
Halfway through warming the food,
Mia quietly slipped into her room and checked for any scent coming from her.
She just suddenly got self-conscious.
Oh? This…
A fleeting thought crossed her mind about changing her underwear when she suddenly realized how her situation might look from the outside.
At this late hour, an invitation to a single woman’s house for a meal.
It was clear how this would be interpreted by Yoo Jin.
Uh, what should I do?! I wasn’t trying to seduce him!
This was a disaster.
Mia felt like her feet were pacing back and forth in a panic inside her room.
Surely, Yoo Jin must have been thinking all those things while accepting the invitation.
Food and drink were just excuses; he was probably thinking this was all a buildup for something else.
It was an entirely plausible misunderstanding.
What am I supposed to do…?
Suddenly, the prophecy she had heard in the past crossed her mind.
– A human man will take the priestess of the World Tree.
Could that prophecy be referring to today?
To take the priestess didn’t mean to forcefully assault; did it mean the priestess would willingly submit?
As those questions piled up, Mia’s head felt like it was going to explode.
“I’ve warmed it all up. Enjoy your meal.”
“The smell is nice.”
“Is it? This is elven traditional food… I’ve never seen a human like it before.”
“Well, I happened to have many chances to eat it, so I got used to it.”
In the end, she ended up being late because she had to change her underwear.
Mia set the plates down while sneakily watching Yoo Jin’s expression.
Yoo Jin’s attitude hadn’t changed a bit since earlier.
Only Mia had changed.
When will ‘that’ begin? she thought, never letting her guard down.
Humans are said to have… those desires strongly…
Unlike elves, humans had a strong reproductive capacity.
In just a 100-year lifespan, a couple can average three children.
Sometimes it even goes over six or seven.
Considering the ideal pregnancy age for human women, it turned out they had kids roughly every three years.
Waaah… Humans are a really lewd race…
Mia felt her face flush but tried her best to act nonchalant.
Of course, it didn’t really work.
There are issues on this side too. But…
It was true she had opened a door, creating a situation that could be misunderstood.
If a lewd human were to perceive it that way, it was likely they’d think so.
I’m just not ready yet…
But Mia was still unprepared.
Her knowledge on the matter came only from the tedious sex education passed down through elven generations.
The idea that a stork brings a baby when a man and woman lie down hand in hand was barely better than folk tales.
Should I resist, or should I not?
The prophecy of the World Tree was absolute.
But it didn’t mean that the human man mentioned in the prophecy was Yoo Jin, nor that the priestess of the World Tree was Mia.
So if Yoo Jin did demand her body,
Would she have to meekly accept as the prophecy said? Or should she reject him to protect her purity as a priestess?
Her mind became a jumble of confusion.
“Mia. I have a favor to ask.”
“Uh, y-yes?!”
Here it comes.
A favor, which surely meant something like that.
That thought made Mia’s face turn crimson to the tips of her ears.
Ahh!
Thud!
She pressed her knees into the table from the tension in her body.
She did it quite hard.
She gritted her teeth, trying to suppress the pain, but ultimately gripped her legs and fell sideways.
“Are you okay?”
“Y-Yes! I’m fine! I’m fine, I’m fine…!”
“You’re bleeding. Let me see that leg.”
Yoo Jin approached closer.
The desire-monster human was closing in.
Mia, not ready in her heart, felt her heartbeat quickening so much it felt like it would burst.
“Uugh!”
“What’s with all the commotion? Stay still. I’ll put some potion on it.”
It was a small scrape on her knee.
If it were a wound on Yoo Jin, he would have probably ignored it, but it didn’t suit the fair skin of an elf at all, so he couldn’t just let it be.
Yoo Jin poured some of his lower-grade potion, cleansing and healing the wound at the same time.
Since it was a small injury, it healed quickly with just a touch of the potion.
No bandage was even needed.
“All done. Oh? Mia?”
Mia’s leg was trembling immensely.
Curious about what was going on, when Yoo Jin looked up, he found Mia’s eyes shimmering like she was about to cry.
Her gaze was that of an animal caught by a predator.
Mia quietly murmured in a trembling voice.
“Since it’s my first time… please don’t make it hurt…”
“What do you mean?”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“……?”
“……?”
A moment of silence passed.
Yoo Jin tilted his head in confusion,
While Mia’s eyes widened.
“Oh, the favor I was about to ask was…”
“I was going to ask if it’s possible to focus on the prophecy regarding Yulia Petenburg given by the World Tree.”
“Oh…”
She had misunderstood completely!
It wasn’t the humans that were lewd; it was her!
The chaotic thoughts in Mia’s head cleared like a blank sheet.
She just wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and hide.
