Chapter 31: I like the hero’s body fluids

But as it turned out, Jon was an honest kid—he never lied.

If he said he could do it, then he could, regardless of whether he fully understood the principles or not.

That was the charm of a numbers monster.

The next instant, Lya had no idea how the Hero moved, but several wounds appeared on her body.

After all, she was a battle-hardened Demon King.

At the critical moment, Lya activated her final time stop.

During that last time stop, her speed finally matched the Hero’s.

She thought that, with her body tempered through countless life-and-death battles and sword skills honed to perfection, she could at least fight the Hero to a draw.

But after over two hundred exchanges, the Hero was unscathed, while she took more than a hundred sword strikes.

Even her prideful swordsmanship was crushed by the damn Hero.

As time stop ended, Lya didn’t hesitate at all—she self-destructed on the spot, just to preserve a sliver of her life.

Even then, the Hero sliced her into over seventeen hundred pieces.

Of course, others were unaware of the complex time-stop duel.

To the onlookers, the scene appeared like this:

The Demon King and the Hero gazed deeply at each other.

Suddenly, the Demon King began chugging a massive blue potion.

Then, the two stared again.

Next second, the Demon King attacked, only to be blocked by the Hero.

The Demon King started chugging potion once more, while the Hero said something pretentious as the Demon King was busy with the potion.

After that, the two charged at each other, exchanging blows at blinding speed.

In the end, the Demon King was instantly defeated, bloodied and furious, then self-destructed in shame.

…The entire scene radiated a ridiculous stupidity.

Lya couldn’t even imagine how many infuriating Demon King jokes the Succubi would come up with after hearing this story.

“Mission accomplished.”

Jon walked over and gave the village chief a bear hug.

Lya took the chance to leap onto the Hero’s head, her expression dreamy, as if floating to the heavens.

[Wow—so this is what standing on the Hero’s head feels like? It’s wonderful. After being stomped by the Hero for months, I finally get to flip the script.]

[This Pet life is totally worth it!]

Jon grabbed Lya from his head, and seeing her so comfortable that she started softly humming and rubbing her legs, couldn’t help but grin, teasing her with his fingers.

“Lily, so you like me that much? Every time you get on me, you show this face?”

Lya’s body stiffened, her face flushing with embarrassment.

She quietly lowered her head, burying her little face into Jon’s palm.

“Hero-sama, she seems shy.”

The village chief remarked in surprise.

—Shy your head!

Lya nearly shouted in anger.

Fortunately, at that moment, Jon tucked Lya back into his collar.

Returning to this familiar place, Lya inexplicably felt relaxed and warm, like being back in the Demon King’s castle before its fall.

Damn! Am I going to get addicted to the Hero’s clothes from now on?

Lya pouted, snuggling in Jon’s embrace.

“Village Chief, I won, and the princess apologized to me. That fire dragon… does that mean the plan isn’t needed anymore?”

Settling his Pet, Jon asked the village chief cheerfully.

The village chief hesitated for a few seconds.

“Maybe.”

But his instincts told him, the princess wouldn’t surrender so easily—things were likely to change.

At that moment, Emil suddenly fluttered over, sobbing, her wings flapping in gratitude.

“Wuwah~~~ Hero-sama, thank you so much! You saved Miel’s life, so I have no choice but to offer myself to you!”

The other succubi, hearing this, all lit up.

—Right!

The closest succubus to Jon rushed forward.

“Hero-sama, I also have no way to repay you, so I can only offer myself~”

“Me too, me too!”

“Hey! Get lost! You’re squishing me!”

“If we can’t do business tonight anyway, why not all together?”

Jon struggled desperately but couldn’t escape the pile of soft, fragrant bodies.

He didn’t dare use too much strength, afraid of hurting these “companions,” so he looked pleadingly at Aila, the only one who could control the succubi.

But Aila played dumb.

“Hehe~ Hero-sama, you’re really popular.”

At the critical moment, Lya stood up—not out of concern for the Hero, but mainly because she was afraid of being crushed by the succubi.

Lya puffed up her cheeks, gathered water pressure, and unleashed a water-arrow Gatling barrage, aimed directly at the hearts on their tails.

The attack wasn’t powerful, but the effect was overwhelming.

Cries of “Ah~” echoed through the succubi, who collapsed one after another, giving the Hero a chance to escape their clutches.

“You saved me, Lily.”

Jon lifted Lya in delight, and without thinking, kissed her.

Lya: “???”

Why is there punishment after helping out?!

—Wait! Masaka! No! This feeling~~~?

A powerful, domineering magic surged from the “kiss” into Lya’s body, like a stream of scorching lava, making her entire body tremble.

Her face flushed bright red, and she almost couldn’t withstand the immense, solid force.

The amount of magic—nearly equaled the total she’d gained from sucking the Hero’s finger before!

In her daze, Lya suddenly understood.

She was a Pupu, and as a water eater, her absorption of “water” was the most efficient.

Naturally, the liquids on the Hero’s body counted as “water” as well.

It seemed the magic she absorbed from sucking the Hero’s finger was also due to trace sweat on his skin.

Realizing this, Lya couldn’t help but imagine the Hero’s body fluids with denser magic, like blood.

But the next second, she dismissed the idea.

—Hilarious, as if a God would bleed!

—You think you can be like Bat-Man? Hajipupu?

Better not think about it.

For example… pfft pfft pfft!!!

Suddenly, Lya realized she’d fallen into a terrifying temptation.

Heavens! She almost degraded herself like those other pink Pupus! She’s the Demon King! Not that kind of thing!

At least the Pupu Demon King could “have great scholars defend her doctrine,” but that kind of Demon King was truly depraved! Forever notorious! Definitely!

Lya’s beautiful eyes widened, her mind shaken, teetering on the brink.

Unbeknownst to her, Jon also realized it, becoming shy and regretful.

Because he suddenly became aware that what he held was not just a round Pupu, but a “figure girl” a thousand times cuter than even the princess.

[Does this count as bullying her?]

Jon fell into contemplation, even fleetingly comforting himself.

[She’s a Pupu… She probably didn’t realize, right.]

But quickly, Jon steadied his resolve, despising his earlier thought.

[A man should be upright and straightforward. How could I pretend nothing happened just because she might not notice, and make excuses for myself?]

He gently rubbed Lya’s small head, speaking softly.

“Sorry, I did something a bit weird to you just now. I really am too uneducated—when I get happy, I lose control.”

At that moment, the village chief emerged from the ruins of the succubus shop.

Jon hurried over, seriously gripping the chief’s shoulders.

“Sir, please be my teacher. I want to learn.”

Then, suddenly remembering something, he picked up Lya, pointing at her.

“Oh, right! And Lily! Lily wants to learn too!”

Lya: “…”

No, I don’t.

The village chief smiled warmly.

“Alright, Hero-sama. To tell the truth, when I was young, my dream was to become a priest.”

“My father had high hopes for me and sent me to the Church School… But then he was injured by the Great Boiler while working for the Alchemist Workshop, and our family had to return to the countryside.”

The old man laughed heartily, though there was no sadness in his eyes.

“I can’t teach you much, but I do know how to read.”

He pulled out his last few Silver Coins.

“This is just enough to buy you an Enlightenment Book.”

“Teacher, let me pay.”

“Eh—”

The chief sternly lifted his cane and tapped Jon’s foot.

“The rule I learned at Church School is that for private teaching, the student’s first book is always bought by the teacher. If you call me teacher, I should buy it for you—regardless if you’re a Hero, a noble, or a common soldier.”

“Alright.”

Jon grinned sheepishly.

The village chief led Jon to a remote old bookstore in the city.

When he saw the price tags—much higher than he remembered—his heart clenched, but he forced a wry smile.

Jon noticed the look, but said nothing, instead carefully searching the shelves.

After a while, he found a very thin children’s picture book, the kind meant for four- or five-year-old noble children learning to read.

“Teacher, I want this one.”

Jon pulled the book out and showed it to the chief.

The booklet was smaller than Jon’s palm.

The village chief sighed helplessly.

“How can that do? That’s for little children—it’s not suitable for you anymore.”

“No, teacher, I hardly know any characters. This is just right.”

“But…”

“Please, teacher, I like this one.”

The village chief suddenly smiled, his clouded old eyes a bit moist.

“It’s rare to be begged by the Hero-sama. Alright, this one it is.”

When paying, the thin middle-aged man selling books was engrossed in a Knight Storybook, not even lifting his head.

He simply assumed the conversation was an old man amusing his foolish son.

Jon clutched his prized Enlightenment Book, holding Lya close.

The thought that he would soon be able to read and become a “cultured person” like Miss Margaret made his steps light.

No matter how positive one’s mindset, what young man full of vigor wants to be mocked by others forever?

He could swallow the teasing and humiliating words, but they still cut like knives, leaving him with pent-up frustration.

Lya’s mood improved, too.

She realized that during reading lessons, she could show off her exceptional “talent,” allowing her to read earlier.

Once she could “see” books, she could speak more freely, without worrying about breaking Pupu norms.

These days had nearly driven her mad.

The long street stretched ahead, the wind brushing their cheeks, carrying away the heat and leaving a touch of autumn chill.

Sometimes it felt cool, other times damp.

Rarely did it not rain on a cloudy day.

A Gugu Bird, returning south, flew over Jon’s head, its feathers floating lightly before landing on his shoulder like willow fluff.

He gently stroked the “Pupu girl” in his arms, wishing he could preserve this tranquility forever.

But nothing lasts forever in this world.

Only endings are eternal.

Outside the city.

The village chief and Jon looked toward the refugee camp.

From afar, the rising black smoke twisted their hearts.

They hurried back.

By then, the fire had been put out.

The sky was too damp, and even with oil, it hadn’t burned much.

The already dilapidated camp was now in ruins.

Wounded men lay everywhere, with women kneeling beside them, weeping.

Many gazes turned to Jon.

Like an infectious plague, as he appeared, more and more eyes fell on him, the heat making his back burn and his heart tighten like a drawn bowstring.

He knew.

Those were eyes seeking the last glimmer of hope from him.