Chapter 1282: 40. The Game

The sky gradually darkened, yet the inside of the carriage remained as bright as day.

But this was not because of the magic stones embedded within the carriage.

Instead, soft, sacred light naturally surrounded the girl.

Liya was still dressed in the Saintess's ceremonial robes. The flower crown atop her head shone brighter than the stars, while the intricate white gauze dress further emphasized her flawless purity and holiness.

As the "Purifying Saintess," acting on behalf of the Goddess of Light, Liya's supreme holiness and purity had long since been acknowledged by countless believers. She was already regarded as an existence akin to a goddess descending into the mortal world, untouched by even the slightest stain.

Beautiful beyond compare.

Yet even someone as dazzling as her could not overshadow the presence of the girl beside her.

An stood quietly with both hands folded over her lower abdomen.

Her black-and-white maid uniform was neat and crisp. Not a single strand of the long hair pinned behind her head was out of place. Her upright posture and dignified, beautiful face seemed to embody proportions as exquisite as the golden ratio itself.

Two girls.

One holy, one dignified.

They were entirely different, yet each radiated her own dazzling brilliance. For a moment, it was as though they were competing for beauty within the cramped confines of the carriage, making it impossible to look away.

And yet......

Of these two, a certain Saintess was currently moving her five slender fingers back and forth in a somewhat "lecherous" manner, regretting that the sneak attack she had launched earlier had fallen just a tiny bit short of success."

Meanwhile, a certain maid was sternly condemning the former's improper behavior, yet her eyes kept wandering toward a certain place, and whenever they landed there, even her breathing became heavier......

—Clearly they were peerless beauties, yet at this moment they looked more like lustful brutes who had just laid eyes on peerless beauties.^

It completely shattered one's expectations.

"You two......can't you come up with a more normal way of appearing?".

Muen had no idea how to even begin complaining. He could only hold his forehead with a bitter smile and sigh:

"You show up and immediately launch a sneak attack on my defenseless little comrade. Doesn't that go against your identities?"/

An aside, if Liya's believers ever learned that the moment she reunited with a certain blond-haired man, she immediately used such an indecent move on him, whether they believed it or not, that blond-haired man would probably cease to exist in this world both biologically and socially.

Just thinking about it made Muen's scalp prickle. Even though he knew perfectly well that there were no witnesses, he still instinctively glanced around the deserted wilderness outside._

But looking at it from another perspective......

As always, it was kind of exciting.^

"Hmph, wasn't I just punishing you a little?"

Liya was clearly very dissatisfied with Muen's reaction. She puffed out her cheeks and said, "Who told someone to get kidnapped by an evil dragon and then vanish without a trace for so long? If I don't punish you at least a little, how am I supposed to feel better?"*

"You know I was kidnapped......" Muen said helplessly. "That counts as force majeure. How can you blame me?"

"Force majeure? You certainly looked like you were enjoying yourself."_

"Who said I was enjoying myself?"

"You weren't? According to my sources, you were having quite a wonderful time!" Liya snorted, her cheeks puffing up adorably again.

"......"

Sources?

Had the Church's intelligence network already become this terrifying?

They could even find out about......

No, that was not the point.

The point was, when exactly had he been having a wonderful time?

This trip with Miss Dragon had been one long stretch of risking his life with his head practically hanging from his belt. Where exactly had the fun been?

He was not some kind of masochist.

"Can't any of you just trust me for once?" Muen sighed again.

As Belrand's number-one good man, why did everyone keep treating him like some glib-tongued scoundrel......

"Young Master, I believe you."

Fortunately, there were still considerate people in this world.

A soft little hand reached over and took Muen's hand, conveying warmth and concern.

Muen raised his head and saw that dignified little face had somehow already drawn close.

The girl had directly abandoned her usual flawless composure and, with a gaze filled with countless twists of emotion and endless attachment, looked deeply into his eyes.

"Young Master, no matter when it is, I will always believe you unconditionally."

"An......"

Muen was deeply moved.

See?

No matter what happened, his sweet little maid would always stand on his side......

"So let's go kill that dragon!"

An's voice suddenly turned cold, and frost began to spread across her dignified little face.

"She actually made Young Master suffer so much. That filthy, lecherous dragon deserves to die. Young Master, let's think of a way to......"

"No......wait!"

Muen hurriedly cut off those extremely dangerous words, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.

How had the conversation suddenly jumped to something like this?

And what was with "filthy, lecherous dragon"......Miss Dragon had not even done anything, yet everyone had already decided that was her true nature?

"An, aren't you going a little too far? Miss Dragon didn't do anything to me......" Muen hurriedly tried to persuade her.

The other girls might merely be talking, but with An's personality......

She might genuinely have already begun planning how to kill Miss Dragon!

So whether he looked at it rationally or emotionally, he had to stop this dangerous idea immediately.

"Too far?"

An tilted her little head in confusion.

"Isn't eliminating vermin that hurts Young Master the most basic solution?"

"No, what I mean is......"

Muen racked his brains.

"Miss Dragon didn't hurt me. On the contrary, she saved me. She's a good dragon! A genuinely good dragon!"

"Even so......"

"Don't spend all day thinking about fighting and killing. Peace, peace! Peace is what's truly important in this world."

Muen tugged on that little hand and, taking advantage of the motion, pulled the maid directly into his arms.

The moment his arms wrapped around her, the little maid who had been overflowing with murderous intent immediately went limp.

The icy aura around her melted away as quickly as snow beneath the warmth of spring.

In the blink of an eye, her eyes had already turned hazy, her little face slightly flushed as she eagerly inhaled Muen's scent, looking as though she wished she could merge with him on the spot.

"Young Master......"

"Be good. Listen to your Young Master and throw away that dangerous idea."

"......Mm. Since it's Young Master's order......"

An gently buried her little head in Muen's chest.

No matter how sharp her killing intent was, faced with this tenderness she was completely unable to resist, it could only temporarily disperse like smoke.

As for that evil dragon......

She could think of some way to kill her later.

"Ah, despicable!"

Seeing An occupy Muen's embrace so naturally, Liya immediately became unhappy and threw herself over as well.

"Me too!"

"All right, all right......"

Muen was still helpless. He could only wrap an arm around Liya as well and gently pat her back.

"You too. I'm sorry. I was gone for too long."

"Hmph. At least you know."

Liya rubbed herself firmly against Muen's chest, but could no longer bring herself to say anything about punishment.

"Huh?"

A certain fierce girl beside them suddenly raised her head.

"Damn it! I only got distracted for a little while. How did two seductive hussies suddenly appear? Where did you two even come from?"

Ariel, who had spent all this time rubbing her butt, still had not figured out what was going on.

But instinct had already made her spring upright and squeeze directly into Muen's arms.

"Me too!"

"......"

Muen was speechless, but could only accept everyone who came.

After staring blankly for quite a while, he silently turned his gaze toward his upperclassman on the other side.

Anna blinked.

"It's already so crowded. Who would want to join?"

"You're not coming......"

Muen let out a sigh of relief.

Good.

If she did not come, that was fine too.

He was very proud of his pectoral muscles, but they were not infinitely broad.

He was already almost being suffocated.

"But......"

Anna suddenly swept back her hair and giggled.

"Since junior wants me so badly......"

Before Muen could even finish exhaling, Anna squeezed over as well.

"Let's all do it together......"

"Ugh!"

Muen's eyes immediately rolled upward.

Four soft, fragrant bodies pressed into his arms, each impossibly wonderful in its own way.

They wriggled against him, sometimes secretly battling with one another and playing dirty little tricks, other times brushing and teasing against his body.

Yet Muen could only spread his arms as wide as possible.

Beyond that, there was nothing he could do.

He could only allow those mischievous little hands to do as they pleased.

And so pleasure and pain intertwined.

Muen felt like he was about to ascend to heaven......

Fortunately.

After messing around for a while, the girls finally settled down.

Perhaps they had grown tired.

Several small heads peacefully rested against Muen's chest, no longer competing with each other, no longer moving their hands around.

Muen let out a long breath and enjoyed this hard-won peace.

So this was what life without a battlefield of jealousy felt like?

Wonderful.

Muen tilted his head back and stared at the patterns drawn across the carriage ceiling.

For a moment, he seemed to forget every worry in the world.

Even though the pressure remained, he wished time could freeze forever at this very moment.

This was how things should be.

Peace.

He was a pacifist.

And what he loved most was peace!

However......

While Muen was tilting his head back and enjoying the peace, he completely failed to notice that the girls in his arms suddenly exchanged glances with a faint sense of mutual understanding.

"It's about time......"

"Hm? Time for what?"

Muen lowered his head in confusion, only for Liya's delicate little face to move close.

"Muen, can you tell us what happened during this trip with that dragon?"

"Of course!"

Muen was delighted.

Honest communication was the best way to dispel misunderstandings.

These jealous little gluttons kept obsessing over Miss Dragon only because they were afraid something had happened between him and her.

If he explained everything properly, they would definitely understand!

And so, using language as simple and concise as possible, Muen recounted everything that had happened along the way.

He concealed and softened the more dangerous parts, making them sound less terrifying so the girls would not worry or become frightened in hindsight.

Naturally, when it came to the most important part, Muen also explained the origin of Miss Dragon's so-called "eternal companion" in the calmest and most objective manner possible.

"Understand now? Miss Dragon only sees me as some kind of eternal companion because I woke her up at the critical moment, and she thinks we're kindred spirits walking the same road. She's a dragon who has lived for a thousand years. How could she possibly have those kinds of thoughts?"

"......So that's how it was."

Liya nodded vigorously.

"Sorry. We misunderstood you."

"It's fine. Being able to feel how much you all love me already makes me very happy."

Muen tightened his embrace, even more moved as he enjoyed the warmth and affection the girls brought him.

Wonderful......

This was wonderful......

No conflict, all misunderstandings cleared up.

Was there anything better in this world?

He truly wished things could remain like this forever.

Battles of jealousy and all that nonsense should have been swept into the dustbin of history long ago!

......However, what Muen failed to see was that after hearing his story, the light flickering in the girls' eyes had not weakened in the slightest.

Was this idiot deliberately deceiving himself?

Or did he genuinely not notice?

Either way......

Forget it.

Proceed according to plan!

"Muen, you worked so hard."

Once again, Liya, that harmless-looking little white rabbit, affectionately moved closer.

"It wasn't hard at all. As long as all of you understand me, then none of it was hard." A blissful smile appeared on Muen's lips as he gently rubbed his forehead against Liya's.

"Then......"

Liya pouted slightly, a hint of jealousy appearing in her voice.

"Muen was gone for so long, and you were traveling alone with that dragon the entire time. Leaving aside whatever feelings exist between the two of you, during all that time......did you miss us?"

"Of course."

Muen answered smoothly.

"I missed you every moment."

"You're not just saying something nice, are you? After all, weren't you happily strolling around with that dragon before?"

Liya suddenly puffed up angrily again.

"Of course not. I sincerely mean it. I love all of you." Muen hurriedly soothed her.

"Really?"

"How could that be fake?"

"You love every single one of us?"

"My heart is completely devoted to each and every one of you!"

Muen declared it with such righteous conviction that he was only one step away from swearing an oath to heaven.

"I see......I'm so happy."

Liya's eyes reddened slightly, as though she had been completely moved.

"But......"

As she spoke, her little hand traced circles across Muen's chest.

The teasing sensation left Muen too distracted to think about anything else.

"You disappeared for so long. Something like this......shouldn't you prove it?"

"Prove it? Of course I can prove it. Prove it however you want!"

With beautiful girls in his arms and everything going exactly his way, Muen felt more heroic than ever before.

Prove it?

Hmph.

After surviving so many battles of jealousy, after enduring the days when these girls would start fighting the instant they met each other, was he really going to be afraid of proving something this minor?

"Let's play a game," Liya whispered beside Muen's ear, gently blowing warm air against it. "A game that can prove you love all of us."

"Let's play!"

Muen waved his hand grandly.

"Whatever game you want."

"Muen is the best."

Liya blinked and gave him a sweet smile.

Her delicate hand also slid downward along Muen's chest, continuing lower until it disappeared beneath her own......skirt.

"Hm?"

Muen was still wondering what kind of game this was.

He had already made complete preparations in his heart, confident that his sweet-talking......no, his sincere and truthful words would leave these jealous little gluttons completely dizzy during whatever game followed......

But in the next instant, his vision abruptly went dark.

A strange piece of soft fabric carrying a girl's fragrance and warmth was pulled over his head with lightning speed.

"What's this?"

He instinctively reached up to grab it, only for a little hand to gently stop him.

"No moving. This is the most important prerequisite for the game."

"I'm not allowed to see?"

Muen's expression became strange.

"Don't tell me we're playing hide-and-seek. This carriage is tiny. Where could any of you possibly hide?"

"Of course it's not something that boring."

Liya huffed.

"Didn't I tell you? This is a game that proves you truly carry all of us in your heart."

"Oh? Then what exactly is......"

"It's very simple."

At some point, all the girls in his arms had disappeared.

Muen sat alone in darkness.

He was naturally forbidden from spreading out his perception as well.

With both his sight and sense of smell completely sealed, only his sense of touch became extraordinarily sharp.

And then, a certain girl gently blew beside his ear and revealed the answer with a playful laugh.

"The game is very simple. Its name is—"

"Guess Who I Am."