Chapter 110: Respect

Erik looked at Meira, who was holding one of his arms, then at Elowen on his other side. He let out a helpless sigh.

Mother and daughter had clearly agreed beforehand that he would not be allowed to remain on the battlefield tonight. But before Erik could make a decision, the brown-haired captain stepped forward.

She stopped more than a meter away from him, both hands unconsciously clenched in front of her stomach as she seriously called out, "Lord Erik."

Erik could already guess part of what she wanted to say from her expression, but he still asked, "You want me to go back too?"

The captain pressed her lips together slightly before nodding. "Yes."

Erik lowered his gaze to his arms. Apart from the red marks from directly blocking the spider’s leg, he did not feel there was anything seriously wrong. He answered calmly, "They’re only a few red marks. Elowen just checked me."

"I know." The captain tightened her fingers faintly, her voice trembling as she recalled what had just happened. "But when that leg came down, I saw everything."

Erik fell silent.

The woman before him clearly had not fully calmed down yet. Her battle armor was torn in several places. Her brown hair was stained with both blood and dust. Her eyes were red after surviving a battle that had nearly taken her life.

Yet what frightened her most right now did not seem to be the spider Meira had just turned to ash.

The captain took a deep breath before raising her head to look at Erik.

"When the spider dragged me away, I truly thought I was going to die. Strangely enough, I wasn’t as afraid as I thought I would be. Maybe it’s because we’ve lived like this for too long."

The Succubi behind her gradually fell silent.

No one argued.

The captain looked at the companions she had fought beside for many years and continued, "Whenever monsters come, we all understand that someone might not return. Today, it might be someone else. Tomorrow, it could be our turn. Over time, even fear becomes something we no longer have the strength to think about."

At that point, her gaze returned to Erik.

"But when I saw you run beneath that spider’s leg..."

The captain’s voice suddenly caught. She needed several seconds before she could continue.

"I was truly afraid."

Erik paused slightly before asking, "Because you thought I couldn’t hold it?"

The captain immediately shook her head. The corners of her eyes reddened again, but this time, she did not avoid his gaze.

"No. I just didn’t want you to get hurt because of us."

A Succubus who was having her shoulder bandaged slowly stepped forward as well. She held her injured arm with her other hand. When Erik looked toward her, her face reddened slightly, but she ultimately gathered her courage and spoke.

"You may feel that what happened just now was nothing significant, but it’s different for us."

She paused, as though unsure how to express it. The woman beside her saw this and softly continued for her.

"We have never seen a man voluntarily rush toward a monster to save someone like that."

The surrounding area grew quiet.

Another Succubus lowered her eyes and said, "The men responsible for enhancements in the past would leave the outpost as soon as they received word that the defensive line might collapse. We didn’t blame them, because from childhood, all of us were taught that men were more precious than Succubi and that protecting them was only natural."

She looked up at Erik, the corners of her eyes slightly red, but her voice calm.

"It was only today that I learned there are men who will run toward danger when a Succubus is in trouble."

Erik frowned faintly and corrected her, "Meira is not merely a Succubus to me."

"We know." The captain smiled gently. "You love Lady Meira, which is why you did that."

Before Erik could answer, she continued in a completely natural voice, "And because we know that, we respect you even more."

Many of the Succubi around them slowly lowered their heads.

It was unlike the way they bowed before members of the Council. Nor was it the posture of servants before their master. The movement was gentle and entirely voluntary, simply the way these women wished to express what they felt.

The captain placed one hand over her chest and looked at Erik.

"Lord Erik, I don’t know whether I have the right to say this."

Erik looked at her for a moment before nodding. "Go ahead."

The woman took a deep breath before speaking.

"This morning, many of us truly thought the outpost would fall. Some had even prepared themselves to die here."

She looked toward Meira, then Elowen.

"Lady Meira saved the outpost with her strength. Lady Elowen kept the wounded alive. And you..."

The captain’s gaze softened.

"...made us feel that if we can live until tomorrow, perhaps that won’t be so bad."

Before Erik knew how to react, familiar points of light began to appear in his vision.

At first, there were only a few pink lights. But very quickly, they increased into dozens. Among them were pure white points of light Erik had seen before.

[Intense emotions detected.]

[Gratitude.]

[Admiration.]

[Heartfelt attraction.]

[Trust.]

[Faith detected.]

Erik silently watched the white points of light continuously fly toward him.

This time felt completely different from when he had cooked at the outpost or allowed the Succubi to hug him. Those earlier emotions had mostly come from friendliness, gratitude, and desire toward a man willing to treat them well.

What he felt now was one level deeper.

They trusted him.

Not because of a Contract or Primal Charm—which Erik had never activated from beginning to end—but simply because of what he had done in front of them.

A purple-haired Succubus suddenly dropped to one knee.

Erik immediately frowned. "Stand up."

The woman froze slightly. "Lord Erik..."

"I don’t like people kneeling before me."

She looked at him for several seconds before truly standing. But instead of stepping back, she placed a hand over her chest and bowed deeply.

"Then please allow me to thank you this way."

This time, Erik did not stop her.

The woman said softly, "Thank you for coming."

A Succubus beside her slowly lowered her head as well. "Thank you for staying."

The third woman looked at Erik, then followed suit. "Thank you for not seeing us as tools."

Very quickly, the more than twenty Succubi in the area lowered their heads almost at the same time.

No one had ordered them to do it. Meira had not said anything, either. One person started, the others saw and willingly followed, because they too wanted to express what had been building within their hearts.

Erik looked at the women before him.

Their battle armor was torn. Their hair was still stained with blood and ash. Some even needed to lean on their companions just to stand upright.

Yet their eyes as they looked at him were bright enough to leave Erik slightly unaccustomed to it.

Meira, standing to his right, did not say anything.

Elowen, on his left, only quietly tightened her hold on Erik’s hand.

Within his vision, the white points of light continued to fly toward him.

[Faith is increasing.]

In the end, Erik could only let out a breath and say, "You don’t need to go this far."

The captain raised her head, then unexpectedly shook it.

"You cannot decide how we feel."

Her answer left Erik speechless.

Seeing his expression, the captain laughed for the first time since the conversation began. A rare hint of playfulness appeared in her smile.

"Just like how you said earlier that we didn’t need to use crystals in exchange for a hug."

Erik immediately understood what she meant.

The captain stepped a little closer while still maintaining an appropriate distance. Then she looked directly at him.

"So you don’t need to give us anything in return to receive our respect."

A Succubus behind her immediately nodded.

"That’s right."