Chapter 79

### Chapter 78: How to Steal a Woman from an Extra (?)

“Huh? There’s no need to make that request.”

“….”

Upon hearing Seongsuho’s words, Lena began to tremble as if her body was shaking from the cold.

She couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason for her trembling. Was it due to the disappointment of not having her request granted, or the anxiety of Seongsuho being disappointed in her? She couldn’t tell.

But despite her trembling, she gathered all her courage and spoke.

“I’m sorry… I said something unnecessary….”

However, she couldn’t finish her sentence.

As she bowed her head, a sense of emptiness enveloped her body.

Lena closed her eyes tightly, enduring the overwhelming emptiness.

‘No… I don’t want to leave this last impression… like this…’

Her heart, wrapped in disappointment, grew cold with anxiety.

Then, she heard Seongsuho approaching.

Lena managed to lift her head.

Seongsuho, standing tall in front of her, placed his hand on her shoulder and said,

“…Let’s go.”

“…What?”

..

..

Seongsuho took Lena to Gardia.

Confused, she followed him, and they arrived at a restaurant.

Lena, who had to serve, sat at the table with him and they began to eat.

After hearing the reason for the invitation, which she couldn’t understand, Lena asked with a puzzled look.

“What do you mean…?”

“Just as I said.”

Summarizing what Gardia had told her, it was about guaranteeing the basic living conditions of the people of the Principality of Feron, including the Grand Duke.

Gardia also mentioned sending letters to the vassals in the Principality of Feron, promising to cure the Grand Duke’s illness.

Lena laughed bitterly, thinking to herself.

‘It’s a dream… a terrible dream… Why is my master showing me such a dream…’

The line between dream and reality was blurred.

Lena believed that Seongsuho was showing her a dream.

This illusion delivered the final blow to the sandcastle in her heart.

She fainted.

***

“Is she okay…?”

After Lena fainted at the table, Seongsuho carried her to a guest room and laid her on the bed.

The chair Lena and I had been sitting in was custom-made for the Demon King’s table.

From that high chair, I was surprised to catch her as she fainted and fell, but I also fell, causing a mess.

Falling with her in my arms, I broke my ribs and shoulder.

It was truly amazing that I could heal such injuries with 100 Enel.

Armonia seemed to be dissatisfied but didn’t say anything else.

In the guest room, only Lena, lying on the bed, and I, sitting in a chair, were present.

Viola and Beatrice had gone sightseeing, as this was their last day at the Demon King’s castle.

“Was I too harsh?”

[No. I also believed in Lena de Feron’s trust, but I think it’s important to be certain. I believe she will listen to you better now that she’s completely broken.]

Joy exists because of despair.

Without despair, all beings might not even know if joy exists.

I had delayed telling Lena this fact as much as possible, hoping to give her a greater joy when she was in the deepest despair.

And as Armonia said, she would listen to me better this way…

Still, I didn’t expect her to faint like that.

After some time, Lena groaned and opened her eyes.

“Where am I…?”

“Are you okay?”

“Hah!”

Lena, realizing her surroundings, tried to get out of bed in shock.

I calmly told her,

“Stay in bed.”

“But….”

“Stay in bed.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Despite her discomfort, Lena followed my instructions.

She lay still, eyes closed.

After a moment of silence, she spoke.

“Why… did you show me such a dream…?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“If my request bothered you, I apologize… But that dream….”

“….”

Lena was crying with her eyes closed.

‘She thinks it’s a dream…’

[It seems that for Lena de Feron, it’s that unrealistic.]

I climbed onto the bed and placed my hand on her forehead.

Her pink eyes reflected me.

“It’s not a dream.”

“But… that’s… impossible….”

I explained that everything Gardia had said would become reality.

Lena, lying down, looked at me with a bewildered expression, tears streaming down her face.

“No, that can’t be. There’s no reason for him to help our country….”

“There is a reason.”

“What… reason…?”

“Because I asked, and he agreed.”

“Ah… Ah….”

Lena, clutching my clothes, looked up at me with a pitiful expression, crying.

I stroked her forehead and said,

“This time, I’m asking you.”

“What…?”

Lena, choked up, couldn’t answer properly.

I proposed to her,

“Come with me. I need you.”

“Ah….”

“Hey!”

Lena fainted again.

..

..

“She can’t faint again.”

“I’m sorry….”

I explained everything to Lena.

She understood all of it while conscious.

“So… you want me to assist you on your journey?”

“It won’t be that difficult. And there are other things to do as well.”

Like Viola’s education?

I’m not sure if she can get along with Viola…

Lena started to sob again.

“Really… really someone like me….”

“…If I have to say it again, I won’t take you.”

I don’t know how many times I’ve said that.

“Huh! …I’m sorry… I’m sorry….”

“No, don’t cry….”

Who’s at fault here…

I approached Lena and hugged her.

“I’m sorry… I just can’t… believe it….”

“I’m the one who’s sorry. I only heard the exact answer yesterday, so I couldn’t tell you earlier.”

“No… thank you, Master… I will serve you for life….”

At that moment, Lena, crying, hugged me tightly, delivering a moving line.

Click.

“Seongsuho! Beatrice… and….”

“Eh….”

Surprised, I couldn’t even think to let go of Lena as I looked at Viola.

She was…

“What are you two doing?”

“That… that’s….”

She was looking at us with the eyes of an angry cat.

***

“Damn… they just left us….”

“I might as well die….”

The men were lined up in front of the latrine, waiting to urinate.

For the rest of their lives, they would not be able to urinate freely, and they were depressed, complaining about their fate.

When they learned that Lena had left the Demon King’s castle in the evening after their work was done, they were furious.

They thought she had left without granting their request from the morning.

But that anger soon subsided, and they accepted the harsh reality.

“Still, I think this is better….”

“What, are you crazy?”

“It’s better than that guy.”

One of the men whispered as Verius came out of the latrine.

Verius, looking like he was about to vomit, was taking off and putting on the chastity belts for the men.

“At first, I was a bit envious of seeing the women. I can’t do that.”

“I also… definitely this is better….”

They looked at Verius and tried to see their situation in a more positive light.

The man who took off and put on the chastity belts for other men.

They all muttered that they would rather clean the latrines for life.

As another man entered the latrine, the conversation resumed.

“Hey, Lorian… is he okay?”

“He doesn’t have to wear a chastity belt anymore, so he might be more comfortable.”

“Crazy… I’d rather wear it for life.”

“It’s just talk… I can’t live like that.”

After Lorian’s scrotum exploded, he was taken away the next day.

They knew he wasn’t being treated well, even if it was for treatment.

They all knew that injured humans in this place didn’t receive good treatment.

“…Poor guy. Just listen.”

“No, honestly, if he hadn’t run away, I would have done the same.”

They all nodded.

No one would have believed that a penis could explode.

In the end, they would spend their lives with half a sense of relief and half a sense of anxiety.

***

In a shabby room, a man was tied up with his legs spread and a gag in his mouth.

Three purple-skinned demons, covered in cloth, were having a conversation.

“Oh… it’s completely burst….”

“How can we fix it?”

“No, we have to remove everything. But do we really need to operate?”

They looked at the man’s exposed scrotum and had a meaningful conversation.

They were medics who treated injured demons in the war.

Now, with the war over, they had less work, but they still treated the occasional injured soldiers.

To them, human surgery was one of the incomprehensible tasks they had to perform.

“How did we end up in this situation… treating livestock….”

“We have no choice. We have to do it to feed our families.”

“Let’s finish quickly and go for a drink.”

“Looking at this, I’m in the mood for some bull testicles today.”

They were having conversations that would shock humans, without any hesitation.

But to them, it wasn’t important.

Just as humans don’t hesitate to talk about slaughter in front of livestock…

To them, humans were just like livestock.

At that moment,

“Guh! Huh! Huh!”

Lorian, who had regained consciousness for the first time after his scrotum burst, looked around.

Seeing the purple-skinned demons, he couldn’t speak or move because of the gag and the bindings.

‘What… what is this? Where am I?’

The demons muttered as they looked at Lorian’s legs.

“Oh, he’s awake.”

“Should we anesthetize him…?”

“No, let’s not. We might get in trouble for using anesthesia without permission….”

“Isn’t inventory management too strict after the war? They used to anesthetize pigs for neutering after the war….”

“This isn’t a pig. They do it for the taste of the meat….”

“Shall we start…?”

“Huh! Huh!!!”

The demons ignored Lorian’s agonizing screams and calmly lifted a sharp instrument.

‘What… what are they going to do…?’

One of the demons checked the sharpness of the blade on a mana stone and said,

“First, we’ll cleanly cut off the remaining tissue and insert a urinary catheter. As long as he can urinate, that’s enough. And….”

“Guh! Huh!!!”

“We’ll cauterize the remaining parts with a branding iron to finish it off.”

‘Aaaaaah! Help me!!!!! Aaaaaah!!!!!’

Lorian’s muffled screams echoed through the underground of the Demon King’s castle.