Chapter 56: If I Asked You Not to Go, What Would You Choose?
Seeing Shelley acting as if nothing was wrong, Elena was about to nod with a smile, but then she caught the faint scent of blood on him.
Her brow furrowed slightly. Elena said softly, “Did… something happen down there?”
Are you okay?
Shelley smiled and shook his head. “It’s nothing, Lady Elena. Let the knights go back.”
If something had happened, I wouldn’t have been able to get out! Those weren’t a bunch of idle vagrants in there; they were all Professionals. If I hadn’t intimidated them with my killing intent, they would not have been an easy bunch to handle.
“They were very quiet and cooperative. I also found out what I wanted to know.”
Lilith: In a sense, they were indeed very cooperative.
Elena nodded, then turned and walked toward the statue. Shelley automatically followed behind her, and they came to stand before it together.
“Shelley, I… I…”
“Lady Elena, is there something you want to say?”
Shelley didn’t rush Elena’s hesitation. He stood behind her, his expression unchanged, but he was laughing inwardly.
If you have something to say, just say it. Being a tsundere won’t get you anywhere! Little one, you have to be brave and make the first move so I can respond. Otherwise, I can’t just make a move myself. After all, I have a persona to maintain! A shy paladin who is deeply in love with you, and who has recently done some things that fill him with guilt… He can’t possibly be the one to speak up.
“Hah, it’s nothing… I just wanted to ask, what do you plan to do in the future?”
Shelley’s internal translator said: Will you come to my side in the future?
“I haven’t decided yet, but my future will likely take me away from the Kingdom of Fente…”
“I want to go out and see the world. I don’t want to be a bird in a cage anymore. I want to adventure in other parts of the world.”
“To purge evil, to uphold justice.”
Although he didn’t want to say it like this, this was indeed Shelley’s plan for the future. Whether Elena was willing or not, he had to tell her in advance, to give her a heads-up. Otherwise… when the time came, whether he left without a word or suddenly disappeared… it would definitely cause a huge problem.
The kind of problem that ends with…
“Let’s split him.”
“I’ll take the head, you take the body…”
That kind of yandere ending…
Hiss… I have a long and arduous road ahead of me. The path of the harem is not an easy one to walk in a high-fantasy world like this. One wrong step, and it becomes a bloody path, ending only in a painful death.
Nodding sadly, Elena bit her lip, then knelt on one knee before the statue and said softly, “Is that so.”
“It’s nothing. I was just asking…”
Though her posture was as sharp and capable as ever, Shelley could sense a trace of sadness and stubbornness in her silhouette.
“If you don’t ask me to stay, I will never take the initiative to keep you here”… is that it? Sigh.
Standing behind Elena, Shelley shook his head in pain, sighed, and also knelt on one knee.
A child who doesn’t cry won’t get any candy…
On the surface, Shelley wore a solemn expression of prayer, but his mind was a blank slate. He was contemplating the future, analyzing the women he had met in these short five days.
“Nadia is the Queen of the Half-Elves. She can’t abandon everything for the half-elves right now, and she won’t be staying in Lunt for long…”
The first possibility for the future: go with Nadia to the half-elven kingdom and be the king’s woman. No, the queen’s man. It sounded nice, but he wouldn’t be able to improve his strength… and there would be other problems in Ir. Too many unknowns.
“I’m just her lover. I have neither the power nor the status to stand against those who oppose this.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the half-elven nobles wouldn’t agree to suddenly have a human… queen’s man… above them.
“My current strength is not enough to resist them… unless Nadia can be ruthless enough to go against the majority for my sake…”
“But as it stands now, she can’t let go.”
Although Nadia was completely compliant with him, Shelley realized from the fact that she had made Lilith his guard that… Nadia had a very strong will of her own.
“The nobles who can sway the entire half-elven kingdom definitely weigh more on the scales than a young human lover like me.”
Sigh, what a headache.
“It seems I’m still not… tempting enough. I need to study up, learn some more ‘holy white lotus’ techniques.”
And she’ll also take my little maid, Lydia, with her…
“Lydia will definitely go with Nadia to the half-elven kingdom. It will be some time before we meet again.”
As for Elena, this cute, self-conquering tsundere princess, she had just been provoked by Nadia and was unwilling to give up and back down.
“But I will definitely have to leave the Kingdom of Fente in the short term to travel the Material Plane and increase my strength…”
With the advantage of his rebirth, Shelley could acquire some suitable magic equipment, and even legendary items. In contrast, staying in Lunt was a dead end. Right now, he might be protected by Elena and live a comfortable, pampered life, but once the Time of Troubles arrived…
Useless! All of it, useless!
“But she is the First Princess of Fente, and the captain of the knightly order… she can’t leave with me.”
“So in the end, the only one who might be able to come with me is Lilith…”
“If we’re forming a team of adventurers, we’re still a few people short. We need a priest, a warrior… and most importantly, a magic-based damage dealer.”
Just then, Elena stood up. She seemed to have figured some things out. She gave Lilith a look, then said to Shelley, who was still in a prayerful posture, “Shelley… come with me.”
What? What are you going to do to me? A boy has to protect himself when he’s out and about! A necessary vigilance is a must!
After finishing his internal monologue, Shelley silently stood up, nodded, and followed Elena’s retreating footsteps with a look of confusion.
Lilith, on the other hand, was left helplessly before the statue…
“A life where I can’t afford to offend anyone…”
She looked up at the statue of Tyr, feeling the different kinds of light emanating from it, and narrowed her eyes slightly.
“So this is… a good god?”
It’s somewhat warm…
Shelley and Elena arrived at a confessional. Elena went directly into one side, while Shelley could only go to the other, into the priest’s position. In this small, dark space, he couldn’t see her face, only hear her somewhat nervous breathing.
Shelley felt a sense of tranquility and solemnity. He let the smile fall from his face and waited quietly for her to speak.
Elena took a deep breath and extended her hand through the small opening between them.
Looking at the delicate, pale hand that didn’t look like a warrior’s, Shelley hesitated for a moment, then reached out, grabbed it, and… intertwined their fingers.
As if strength was being transmitted through the gesture, Elena took a deep breath and said, her voice trembling, “If… if I asked you not to go, what would you choose?”
If I wanted you to stay by my side forever, what would you do?
⁂
