## Chapter 195 – Aser’s Decision (1)
After spending a pleasant time with Jane and returning to District 7, Ryu’s mind was filled with complicated thoughts. He couldn’t treat Jane the same way he used to. Perhaps, if they found themselves alone together, they would engage in a relationship as naturally as they did yesterday. The only way to alleviate the guilt that arose from this was through Lahart’s words.
According to Lahart, it was good to have relationships with multiple women, but what about the emotional rifts that would occur as a result? It wasn’t Ryu’s place to say, having already embraced Jane, but he had his own principles. At least, he didn’t want to do anything that would sadden Aser, Charlotte, or Row, whom he cherished the most.
While he was lost in thought, Charlotte was the first to greet him upon his return to the mansion. Having delegated many of her authorities to Hilda, she was dressed comfortably and drinking tea, appearing more relaxed than before.
“You’re back?”
“I’m back.”
Charlotte approached Ryu, cupped his cheeks, and examined his face before speaking in a blunt tone.
“Judging by your face, it looks like you had a good time with Jane.”
Though she said that, Charlotte’s gaze wasn’t directed at his face. She was mainly staring intently at his neck and chest. Ryu sensed it immediately. Charlotte had already found out. Jane had said carelessly that it was fine, but Charlotte wouldn’t notice the faint kiss marks on his neck? That was impossible.
As Ryu remained silent, Charlotte spoke casually as usual.
“Oh, I have good news.”
Good news in this situation? Ryu thought it was a joke, but she pulled out a piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to him. Something difficult was written on the paper, but the phrase at the end, “Permission is granted for the student above to be promoted to the 5th Circle,” caught his eye.
Ryu looked at Charlotte with a puzzled expression.
“Considering the symbolism Claire has shown so far and you defeating him, the academy held a meeting and exceptionally raised you to the 5th Circle, Quintus.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“Of course. For an average student without talent, it’s a position that many can’t reach even with a lifetime of effort.”
For Ryu, who had aimed for the 7th or 8th Circle by proving that he could use magic, it didn’t feel real. Charlotte gently patted Ryu’s head and playfully said,
“Congratulations. With this, you won’t have to worry about getting stoned to death in other districts, right?”
The rise in rank was synonymous with having a legitimate identity. The days of living on the brink of death as a slave were now gone. Realizing this, a sense of belated emotion washed over him.
He wanted to tell Aser this news. Looking around with excitement, Ryu noticed something strange.
“Where is the Demon King?”
When Ryu asked about Aser, Charlotte avoided his gaze and sighed deeply instead of answering. Could something have happened to her? Ryu looked at her with a worried expression.
“Ah, you don’t need to worry that much. She’s fine, but instead…”
Charlotte thought it would be quicker to show him directly, so she grabbed Ryu’s wrist and headed to Aser’s bedroom. Opening the door without permission, he saw a round bundle of blankets on the bed.
“She’s been like that ever since she came back from the awards ceremony yesterday.”
He could guess the reason. It still felt like he could clearly hear Aser’s screams. Charlotte approached the blankets, leaned over, and spoke to them.
“Demon King? Ryu is here, is it okay if you don’t show yourself?”
“I don’t know!”
Her voice sounded deeply sulky.
Aser was hiding under the covers on the bed, refusing to show herself. Ryu followed Charlotte’s lead and spoke with as much apology as possible.
“Are you alright?”
From inside the blankets, he heard Aser’s dejected reply.
“I’m not alright.”
He heard a sniffle, and then Aser muttered as if to herself.
“I wanted to go… Why did you choose such a strange method…”
Those words pierced his heart like a dagger. After all, the choice Ryu had made was nothing more than a selfish one that abandoned everyone. Ryu sat heavily on the bed, wondering what he should say to make Aser feel better.
“I want to go to a better place with Aser next time. Let’s enjoy it together, just the two of us.”
After a long silence, Aser peeked out, and the area around her eyes was red. It seemed she had been crying alone in her room afterward. It made his heart ache even more.
“…Is that for real this time?”
“Of course.”
Aser held out her pinky finger, and Ryu naturally hooked his finger with hers, making a promise. Only then did Aser smile brightly, as if satisfied. He was envious of the fact that she could smile happily at such trivial things.
Then, she asked with a slightly nervous expression.
“Nothing happened with Jane, right?”
He hesitated to lie to that innocent face. But he didn’t want to ruin Aser’s mood, which had finally lifted. He could deal with it later if the lie was discovered. What was important to Ryu right now was the present.
“O-Of course not. You’re the only one for me, Demon King.”
Aser grabbed Ryu’s wrist and pulled him towards her. The first thing Ryu saw as he was pulled into the blankets was Aser’s seductive face, which was starting to turn red. She slightly lowered her clothes, revealing her cleavage, and said,
“T-Then, shall we start now?”
“Come on, hurry up and come into my arms. Let’s feel good together?”
Aser opened her arms, as if telling him to embrace her, and seduced him.
The blankets were warmed by Aser’s body temperature, and it would surely feel good to mingle inside. Just imagining their skin and sweat touching, sharing body heat, made him feel like he would ejaculate.
But their wishes were not fulfilled.
They heard Charlotte knocking on the door from outside.
“Demon King? You have a guest.”
Aser, who was about to have a good time with Ryu, screamed.
“Tell them I’m not here!”
“I wish I could, but I don’t think that’s possible.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than someone burst open the door. There was only one person who could open the Demon King’s bedroom without knocking.
“You’re not even tired in the middle of the day.”
Aser looked flustered at the sudden appearance of Row.
“Why are you here?”
Row naturally sat down at the table in Aser’s room and slowly opened her mouth.
“I have something to say… Lahart said he would tell you directly, but wouldn’t it be more comfortable for you if I came?”
Ryu could roughly guess what she wanted to say. Row naturally took out snacks from her bosom, placed them on the table, and gestured for Ryu to come over. Ryu cautiously approached her side, glancing at Aser.
Row grabbed Ryu’s wrist as he approached and placed him on her lap.
“Here, eat this cookie I made for you.”
Ryu said thank you and put the snack Row had prepared in his mouth. Row looked at Ryu with a satisfied expression, stroking his hair and hugging him from behind, expressing the affection she had not been able to show until now.
Aser, who had Ryu snatched away from her in an instant, sat opposite her with a resentful expression, not even bothering to change out of her pajamas, and said in a blunt tone.
“What’s the reason you came all the way here again? And what’s this about Lahart?”
Row didn’t delay. She briefly summarized what Lahart had told Ryu, that he should embrace many women to share the dragon’s life force, and explained it to them. Row finished speaking, hugged Ryu, and added.
“So, from now on, it’s best not to be too overjoyed or disheartened by Ryu having relationships with other women.”
There was no way Lahart would lie about something like this. Aser seemed quite shocked by Row’s words, as she staggered up from her seat and asked Row in a trembling voice.
“A-Are you okay with that? Ryu having sex with other women becomes a normal thing? And what’s the reason for that? To fight the Outer Gods? There’s no way I can send Ryu to such a dangerous thing!”
Aser rarely raised her voice to the point of straining her neck.
Having already experienced the pain of loss, she refused to repeat that cycle again. A life of merely prolonging her existence by passively consuming her body in pain, she had barely filled that emptiness, and now she was in danger of being deprived of it again, so Aser was desperate.
“Absolutely not!”
Row sighed briefly and said. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand Aser’s feelings. She was also one of the victims who had lost loved ones to the Outer Gods. Seeing Aser reliving the pain of the past and feeling the fear of loss, Row also felt a quiet pain.
But if they didn’t move forward when they had to, they would only be left behind. If an opportunity came, they had to seize it. Row spoke in a firm tone that was quite different from her usual gentle voice.
“This is this child’s will. A will he expressed himself to protect you, and to protect more people… Why do you think Ryu desperately participated in such a trivial competition? It was because he wanted you to know that he has the power to protect everyone. Ryu has done his best to prove it to us, and now there is no room for our will to interfere with Ryu’s will. A good relationship isn’t just about holding him in your arms forever.”
Row’s words were all correct. But she didn’t like the fact that this important matter was kept secret from her, and that he had consulted with Row. The fact that he relied on others at important moments made her question her relationship with Ryu.
Row gave a belated answer to Aser’s first question, perhaps to ease the atmosphere.
“And I don’t like Ryu mixing his body with other strange children, but in the end, isn’t this mother’s body the most satisfying?”
Aser was speechless at Row’s confident voice, saying that Ryu liked having sex with her the most.
“Give me some time alone.”
Ryu sensed the seriousness in Aser’s expression, which was different from her playful sulking earlier.
“Aser…”
“Honey, let’s do as this child says for now.”
Row took Ryu’s hand and quietly left Aser’s room as if it were her own home.
Row, taking Ryu to the drawing room as if it were her own home, spoke in a rather different voice.
“You don’t have to worry too much. That child will make the right decision. She’s not foolish enough to let her personal feelings cloud her judgment of what’s right and wrong, is she?”
Ryu still remembered Aser’s tearful eyes.
“But I made the Demon King sad. I feel like this is all that’s been happening lately.”
Row had no intention of denying Ryu’s feelings for Aser, taking this opportunity. She thought it was right for a parent to love the person their child loved.
“When everything is over… hug her tightly then.”
After saying that, Row slowly got up from the drawing room and created a rift in the air.
“Are you leaving already?”
Row nodded and opened her mouth.
“I’ve said what I needed to say… Finish sorting out your feelings by talking to each other, and when you’re ready, come to our district.”
Leaving only those words, Row disappeared in an instant, just as she had come.
