Chapter 250: The Loathsome Life of Lua (8)

After High Priest Peta Lucius of the Archdeity Church left the Western Coastal Region, another guest visited the territory. The new guest who arrived in the territory after a fortnight was Hero AA. Flustered by the hero's unexpected visit, the lord hastily went out to greet AA.

AA scanned her surroundings with consistently sharp eyes, but soon relaxed her face at the lord's hospitality and shook hands with a silly smile. The lord had deep respect for AA, who had defeated the Demon King and was dedicating herself to the Evangeline investigation.

"Welcome, Sir Hero. To think you would visit us like this... If you had sent word in advance, we would have prepared a proper reception."

"No, it's fine. I am just grateful for this hospitality."

About half of AA's reputation was a resulting counter-effect that soared due to the catastrophic actions of her fellow hero's party member, Peta Lucius. Rather than elevating the name of Lucius, who had a messy private life and a truly horrific sexual preference, the kingdom focused on promoting AA's minor good deeds that took place in Ahildern.

While Lucius was quite popular among youths in their teens and twenties, AA was highly popular among the middle-aged demographic in their forties and above. The lord held AA's hands and asked.

"So, Sir Hero. What brings you here?"

AA recalled the contents of the letter Salina had delivered. The letter, secretly handed to her with the claim that Lucius had sent it directly, contained the following message.

[I captured and killed Lamia Lua, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, in the Western Coastal Region. However, after returning and thinking about it, I couldn't sleep at night due to doubts about whether I had handled the job properly. Since my abilities are shallow, I am inferior to you in terms of search and tracking, and I ended up returning hastily due to the backed-up work in my territory. I would greatly appreciate it if you could investigate the Western Coastal Region one more time on my behalf.]

Ominous news that the Four Heavenly Kings had appeared. AA simply felt sorry for missing such an important matter while spending time with Erina. The view of the city she had entered showed efforts to forget the scars of the massacre, but it was still messy and gruesome.

The wet planks scattered across the pier smelled of blood, and the knights patrolled the streets while stroking their emaciated horses. A glimmer of hope could be seen in the eyes of the people who faced AA, but they were hollow, exhausted from fatigue and pain.

The lord tried to divert AA's gaze as she stared at the city and spoke.

"Please do not worry too much. Everything will return to normal soon. High Priest Lucius handled the matter very cleanly, so..."

The lord patted AA's shoulder and headed toward the mansion. At the entrance of the mansion was Alu Ted in a wheelchair. AA recognized him and showed a sign of slight surprise. It was because he hadn't been such a broken human being when she encountered him in the kingdom in the past. The lord spoke with a sad expression.

"He became an idiot after eating potato salad at the ball, they say. It's a misfortune."

"I... don't know what to say. I'm sure he will recover."

"Thank you. What do you plan to do starting tomorrow?"

AA showed him the letter Lucius had sent from her pocket and spoke.

"Sir Priest requested my help."

The lord clicked his tongue and said.

"After he personally executed the lamia and proceeded with the burning at the stake for the merfolk, there has been no news of anyone being attacked at sea. Peace has returned once again."

"That's a relief. Then, do the mermaids no longer appear on the sea routes?"

"Lately, we have been... attempting to have a dialogue with the mermaids. They haven't met with us yet, but our envoy is persistently trying to communicate, so I believe there will be a change."

"A dialogue with the mermaids?"

"It was a matter that the High Priest repeatedly emphasized and requested before he returned. He said the cause of this situation partly lay in the irrationally cruel mermaid hunting and our own turning a blind eye to it. That's why he told us to stop hunting the mermaids once this situation settled down. Sir Priest even mentioned he planned to directly submit a report to the kingdom stating that the mermaids played a huge role in resolving this case."

"The issue of massacring the mermaids..."

AA stroked her chin and nodded her head. She was weak with these kinds of political issues. It was because she had lived her whole life thinking that everything would end once she slashed the Demon King. To her, talks of conflicts remaining even after the Four Heavenly Kings were dead, or needing to clean up the aftermath, were somewhat unfamiliar concepts.

"Then, is mermaid hunting no longer permitted here?"

"Officially, that is the case for now. We plan to thoroughly enforce the ban on mermaid hunting, and we will even provide sea route guidance around mermaid habitats to prevent any unnecessary clashes. Sir Priest mentioned he plans to propose a prohibition on mermaid-related luxury goods to the kingdom, but I'm not sure how that will turn out."

"Sir Priest is quite a fascinating person."

AA said so. From AA's perspective, her assessment of Lucius was that he was starved for sexual desire and a bit eccentric, but a comrade she always had to stick with. He was also a person with a strong cold-hearted side, yet he took good care of his own people. The lord asked.

"What do you think of the High Priest, Sir Hero?"

"Huh? About what? Huh? No, we're obviously friends? Comrades, right?"

At the sudden question, AA sprang up from the bed and began rambling. The lord chuckled, perhaps finding AA's reaction strange, and spoke.

"You are an amusing person, Sir Hero. I was curious about your assessment of the High Priest. He was an unpredictable person to me. Honestly, when he brought mermaids in as his wives, I truly thought this territory was doomed. Since he was a human bringing mermaids into a mermaid problem, I thought I shouldn't expect a proper resolution at all. But I was wrong. Sir Priest uncovered the true cause of the problem, restored peace to the territory, and gave us time to soothe our grudges. Personally, I have respected you the most, Sir Hero, but lately, my heart is leaning toward the High Priest."

"Support bases get divided over things like that, too."

AA seemed fascinated by the fact that people were divided into support bases between her and Lucius. The lord nodded his head and asked.

"Aren't you curious who is more popular?"

"Well... maybe a little?"

"Your popularity is high among the aristocracy and in the capital region, while the High Priest's popularity is high in the regions. They even say that his sexual desire is an appeal point."

Was the comment about sexual desire being an appeal point a joke? Seeing the lord laugh heartily, AA had no choice but to let out a forced "haha." After laughing for a while, AA felt her mind grow troubled again at the thought of Lucius.

"Haha..."

It was because she remembered Erina in Ahildern. Lucius's massive cock. While AA had stepped away, Erina was being pierced by that cock, crying out, Aang-aang. The moment AA witnessed that sight, she felt a ticklish sensation in her mind followed by the feeling of something snapping. AA unconsciously let out a sigh. The lord asked.

"What is the matter?"

AA recalled what happened between Lucius and Erina and shook her head again.

"It's nothing. I just remembered something troubling."

"Please, tell me anything. Since you came all this way, Sir Hero, I can at least listen to your worries."

The events of that day surfaced inside AA's head. That day, when Lucius and Erina were engaged in fierce sexual intercourse, AA had no choice but to watch the scene from in front of the nursery door in Ahildern. She couldn't charge in. Erina's expression was drenched in a level of ecstasy AA had never seen before. And because... AA found herself wanting to make that kind of expression, too.

Even now, whenever she thought about it, the inside of her thighs tickled and her lower abdomen throbbed. The sensation of Lucius thrusting into her back at the Dragon Mountains felt vivid. However, no matter how much she heated up her body to feel that sensation again, her body couldn't reach that level of ecstasy.

It was the same back then. She had frantically pulled down her pants and rubbed her private parts, panting along with Erina. And when Lucius shoved his cock in front of her face and told her to "suck it," AA made eye contact with Erina. AA was nowhere to be found in Erina's expression. Instead of looking at AA sitting on the floor, she was staring at Lucius's cock.

"...I just can't, um... achieve deep engagement in a certain matter. I keep getting distracted by something else. What should I do at times like that..."

"You have quite a trivial worry, Sir Hero."

The lord said. AA chuckled at those words and nodded her head. In a way, it was a trivial worry. In fact, there was only one rational option. If she thought rationally, she had to draw a line with Lucius. But after drawing that line, would AA be able to satisfy Erina? And, would AA truly be able to satisfy herself?

"Right. It's just a matter of my own heart..."

"At times like that, you should just lay it all bare and go for it. A lot of things get resolved that way. Let me tell you a story from my youth. Back then, I..."

The rest of the lord's words didn't reach her ears. Her chest was pounding. Lay it all bare and go for it. Be honest. At the same time, all sorts of thoughts raced through AA's mind.

But I was married. And I clearly had a wife, and we promised to be together forever, and since I was originally a man, I shouldn't be thinking about things like this. Honestly, sexual desire wasn't even that important, and as a hero, shouldn't I be able to hold back this much? I was a man, no, I used to be a man. I had worked so hard to return to being a man, but now? Erina would be disappointed. Would she really?

...Erina was the one who cheated first, wasn't she? So, wouldn't it be fine for me to do it, too?

A sudden emotion surged up and struck AA's chest. Biting her lip, she looked at the lord.

"Thank you for the advice."

"Aigo, I am glad to have been of help to you, Sir Hero."

The lord bowed his head to give his greeting. The next day, AA immediately began her investigation. It was said that the sight of her deep engagement in the investigation was more passionate and serious than ever before. After thoroughly scouring the entirety of the Western Coastal Region, the investigation results came back as 'No Abnormalities'.