Chapter 13: Favorite Type

Pushing open the living room door, Ian bumped into Annie, who was just about to head out.

“Young Master.”

“I was just about to go call for you.”

Annie was a bit surprised that Ian appeared so punctually for the meal.

Over the past few days, Ian had often trained until quite late, forgetting the time to eat.

“Sister Annie, it’s because I was hungry, so the Young Master came to accompany me for dinner.”

Iris spoke up, standing timidly behind Ian. Seeing Iris, a few more smiles appeared on Annie’s face.

After what happened yesterday, Annie had grown incredibly fond of Iris.

She was cute, strong, and had even caused the Young Master to undergo such a change.

As a result, Annie had asked Iris to call her “Sister.”

This was partly because she liked Iris.

On the other hand, it was to prevent other maids in the manor, like Camilla, from bullying Iris again.

“Is it our little Iris who is hungry then?”

Annie crouched down slightly and rubbed Iris’s head.

“Training must be very hard, right?”

“It’s not hard; the Young Master is very considerate,” Iris replied.

“Alright, alright, it’s time to eat. There’s more training this afternoon.”

Ian interrupted their conversation somewhat impatiently.

Hearing Ian’s words, Annie stood up, stepped aside to make a path, and reached out her hand.

“Yes, Young Master.”

With her stepping aside, Ian caught sight of Aetheria sitting at the table, already dining. Ian frowned.

Although he didn’t particularly want to interact with Aetheria, just having a meal shouldn’t be much of a problem, right?

Subsequently, Ian led Iris over and sat on one side of the dining table.

“Sit down,” Ian said to Iris, who was still standing aside.

“This…”

Iris appeared somewhat hesitant.

It wasn’t surprising that she hesitated; as a servant, sitting at the master’s table was considered a great sign of disrespect in the Farah Empire.

If an ordinary servant did this, a light punishment would be a fine on their wages, while a severe punishment would be immediate dismissal.

“Are you not going to listen to my orders anymore?”

Ian spoke firmly to Iris.

“Yes, Young Master, I understand.”

Ultimately unable to withstand Ian’s insistence, Iris sat in the chair next to him.

Watching this scene unfold, Aetheria stopped eating, feeling deeply shocked.

Was this still the Ian she knew?

He actually took the initiative to ask a maid to sit and eat with him.

And thinking carefully, even his cultivation had become diligent recently.

Furthermore, I heard that this morning he even awakened magic for the maids in the Duke’s manor.

Could it be just as Ian said himself—that he really has changed?

No, I can’t think that way; this must all be a disguise! Aetheria denied her own thoughts internally.

She had experienced scenes like this before where Ian suddenly seemed to turn “good.”

She remembered that once, in order to hook up with a certain noble lady, Ian had also disguised a kind side.

Although the truth was eventually exposed, that incident left a very deep impression on Aetheria.

That time, Ian had disguised himself so well that everyone in the Duke’s manor, even Dir, believed he had truly changed for the better.

However, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

So, after Ian’s disguise was exposed that time, Aetheria never believed he would change again.

“Young Master, stop putting food on Iris’s plate; Iris can’t finish it all.”

“You’re still growing; you must eat properly.”

“Besides, there’s training this afternoon. How can you have strength without being full?”

While Aetheria was deep in thought, Ian was busy piling food onto Iris’s plate.

Looking at Iris’s resisting expression, Ian felt like he was raising a daughter—even though Iris was already 15 and not much younger than himself.

But due to malnutrition and late development, she looked like she was only around 12 years old.

Truly cute.

Watching Iris eat, Ian couldn’t help but sigh with emotion in his heart.

Even compared to all the games Ian had played in his previous life, Iris’s looks would be at the top tier.

Even in this yuri game, Iris’s looks were not inferior to the heroines.

And Iris wasn’t even a heroine!

For Ian, who was determined not to interact with the heroines, Iris was the best.

As for those heroines, they could all crawl far away.

As long as Iris grew up, given the relationship between us, she should be able to protect me.

Thinking of Iris’s terrifying talent and pure personality, Ian thought to himself that he had truly found a treasure.

With Iris protecting him, he should at least be able to survive until the protagonist’s party defeats the Demon God, right?

Once the protagonists defeat the Demon God, he could return home comfortably.

Wouldn’t that be a total win?

Having thought this far, the gaze Ian used to look at Iris became increasingly excited, as if he were looking at a precious gem.

This made Iris feel a bit embarrassed.

And just as Ian was immersed in this beautiful fantasy, suddenly, a loud bang echoed from the table.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

After slamming the table hard, Aetheria pointed a finger at Ian and questioned him.

Ian was startled by the loud noise.

Hearing Aetheria’s interrogation, his brow furrowed.

He hadn’t provoked her, so why was she actively provoking him?

“What have I done?”

Ian felt like he was suffering a disaster for no reason.

“Still putting on an act?”

Aetheria let out a cold snort; she shouldn’t have held any illusions about Ian changing for the better.

“Ian, do you like lolis now?”

Looking at Iris next to Ian, Aetheria understood everything.

Ian’s disguise was quite good.

She had also heard of this maid; she had a tragic background, sold to the Duke’s manor by her own father to pay for his gambling debts.

Originally, the Duke’s manor shouldn’t have accepted such a thin and weak maid.

But seeing how pitiful Iris was, the Duke’s manor still employed her as a maid, all to let her live a better life.

But she hadn’t expected that this mercy would actually become Ian’s accomplice.

He must be playing with Iris’s feelings!

First, he would make Iris feel a tenderness she had never felt before, then he would reveal his true colors, and finally, he would bring despair to Iris.

Ian was such a pervert; no matter what thoughts he had, none were surprising.

Aetheria conjured up a long segment in her mind of how Ian would deceive the pure and innocent Iris.

Looking at the innocent and pitiful Iris, Aetheria decided she would rescue Iris from Ian.

And at this moment, Ian still didn’t know that in Aetheria’s mind, he had already become a pervert who deceived innocent young girls.

Hearing Aetheria’s words, Ian was completely baffled.

What do you mean “I like lolis”?

Looking at Iris beside him, Ian realized Aetheria might have misunderstood his intentions.

He didn’t have those kinds of thoughts toward Iris.

However, he couldn’t simply explain that he didn’t like lolis right now.

Otherwise, it might hurt Iris’s feelings, which was something he didn’t want to see.

But he certainly couldn’t admit he liked lolis either.

That would definitely make Aetheria hate him and want to kill him.

After all, all lolicons should be sentenced to death!

Ian knew he had to answer carefully, ideally clearing up Aetheria’s misunderstanding without hurting Iris.

Finally, after deep consideration, Ian placed both hands on the table and spoke slowly.

“Actually, I like half-loli, half-onee-san.”