novelraw Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Ch.60 “He’s a womanizer!”
Selena washed up and lay down on the bed.
‘If only the merfolk hadn’t shown up then… would I have kissed Hans?’
She didn’t even understand why she’d closed her eyes at that moment.
It just felt like the right thing to do—so she did.
“What was I thinking…?”
At the memory, Selena’s face burned crimson.
Hans was the enemy of her organization.
As someone tasked with killing him and reclaiming divine power, she had no right to even consider kissing him—she could only blame herself.
And by gently closing her eyes… hadn’t that been silent consent?
“No! It’s not because I love him!”
She kicked the bed in frustration, desperately trying to rationalize what had just happened.
‘It was just… just a tactic to make him fall for me, to lower his guard.’
She said it out loud—but deep down, she knew the truth:
it was she who was falling deeper by the minute.
“Ugh… maybe I could turn him into an ally instead?”
Hans clearly understood divine power well—and he was even the wielder of ‘Equality.’
If he joined her organization, he’d become an immense asset.
After all, prophecy named him the one destined to destroy both her organization and their god.
‘But our organization…’
Her group bore a fearsome reputation across the world—so notorious that rumors claimed they sacrificed children as offerings.
‘That’s not true at all…’
Selena had grown up in the organization’s orphanage.
She knew they’d never commit the cruel, evil acts people accused them of.
The very first lesson they taught orphans like her was compassion:
Love the poor and hungry.
Never forget the grace of God.
Always care gently for your neighbors.
Only then would God protect you in the afterlife.
Yet their sect had been dismantled—crushed under slander and false rumors spread by the Papal See and followers of other gods, branded as heretics.
Her current organization was the direct successor to that sect.
“But… what if he refuses?”
From her observations, Hans was clearly a romantic.
He knew how to read a woman’s heart—evident in his thoughtful gifts and the lighthouse date—and approached with genuine warmth.
He didn’t seem complicated at all.
Misreading him completely, Selena assumed the odds were fifty-fifty:
either he’d join her organization for the woman he’d fallen for, or he’d believe the false rumors and try to dismantle them.
‘If he refuses… I’ll have to kill him.’
She knew her god was truly merciful.
Her organization was far purer and more selfless than those who hoarded tithes and donations for their own gain under the guise of divine authority.
A god followed by such a group must surely be a benevolent deity.
“Heh heh… He’s already head over heels for me. If I make him fall even deeper, then casually mention good things about the organization, he’ll start feeling more favorably toward it, right?”
And so, she began justifying her plan.
***
It started with the merfolk…
—Zzzt!
Full-scale combat erupted.
“Carlos! Don’t let those bastards board the ship!”
Selena and I unleashed lightning magic on the merfolk climbing one side of the vessel.
—Aaargh!
The relentless battles against the merfolk had worn us down mentally and physically.
We couldn’t rest—not when attacks could come at any moment.
Then—
“W-what is that?!”
“A dragon?!”
A massive dragon made entirely of water loomed over the deck.
Huh?
“Merfolk Spiritcaller!”
There had to be a spiritcaller among them—someone summoning elemental spirits to attack.
—Boom!
Selena blasted the water spirit’s head with fire magic, shattering it—
—but it instantly reformed.
—Kreee!
Enraged, the spirit unleashed a torrent of water onto the deck.
—Aaah!
—Splash!
As crewmen were swept overboard by the powerful jet, I aimed ‘Equality’ at the spirit and fired.
In an instant, the water spirit lost its form and vanished.
“We have to eliminate the spiritcaller!”
Even if we dispelled the spirit, the caller could summon another at any moment—we had to act fast.
“Hmm…”
Selena frowned, then pointed below the ship.
“I sense magic down there!”
I nodded.
“Got it! I’ll take care of it and be right back.”
I stripped off my shirt.
“What are you doing?”
I gave her a bright, reassuring smile.
“Gotta handle this. I’ll be quick.”
“Hans!”
Ignoring her worried call, I dove into the sea.
Hundreds of merfolk clung to the hull, scrambling to climb aboard.
Disgustingly many.
—Splash.
Underwater, even more merfolk clung to the ship’s bottom, pounding the hull with stones.
I had to act fast—or the ship would sink.
I drew Levi’s Dagger with my left hand.
Down here, no one would notice.
Poison!
I began releasing toxin into the seawater.
As the dark violet aura from Levi’s Dagger dissolved into the ocean, I scanned for the spiritcaller.
My chest tightened—running out of air.
I had to find him quickly.
Then I spotted him: a merman swinging a long staff with great force.
Found you.
I aimed ‘Equality’ and pulled the trigger.
—Blub.
The spiritcaller clutched his chest, blue blood gushing as he sank into the depths.
Meanwhile, the lethal poison dissolved in the water caused merfolk to clutch their gills in agony, their movements slowing until they went still, one by one.
Unable to hold my breath any longer, I surfaced.
“Haah… haah…”
Gasping for air, I savored the precious oxygen—when a rope dropped from the ship above.
“Hans! Hurry up and climb!”
I grabbed the rope Selena lowered and barely managed to haul myself back onto the deck.
Utterly exhausted, I lay sprawled on the planks, then barely lifted my head to thank her.
“Haah… haah… Thanks, Selena.”
She looked me over with deep concern in her eyes.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Felt good. Maybe this was why people got girlfriends?
Seeing such a beautiful woman worry over me sent warm tingles through my chest.
Not wanting her worry to grow, I sat up and smiled.
“No, I’m fine. How about it? Pretty impressive, huh?”
I tried to sound cheerful—but Selena’s expression remained stern.
“You idiot! Why take such a reckless risk? If there’d been more water spirits, you could’ve drowned!”
Fighting water spirits underwater was practically suicide.
Even a small whirlpool could trap a person with no escape—drowning was almost guaranteed.
And worse—drowning nullified the protection of the Goddess’s Wedding Ring…
If I hadn’t killed the spiritcaller, the ship might have sunk.
“But it worked out, right? Don’t be mad.”
I gently patted her slightly angry head.
“Seriously… you always make me worry. You’re terrible.”
***
Scarlet, Leah, Cecilia, Mia.
The four women sat together, their expressions grave.
Tension hung thick in the air.
With the Slave War nearly won, the only thing causing such anxiety could be…
“So… what are we all going to do?”
Of course—it was about Hans.
After a long, heavy silence, Scarlet finally spoke, studying each of their faces carefully.
She tried to read their hearts—but had no idea what they truly thought.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? We should punish Hans severely for toying with us… then dump him.”
Mia said it coldly—and Leah immediately nodded in agreement.
“Exactly! Master went too far! None of us should accept his affections. How could he treat us like this?”
Scarlet was inwardly shocked.
These were the same women who, before the Demon King’s defeat, would’ve given him their liver and gallbladder without hesitation.
“You’re right,” Cecilia added firmly. “Father Hans overstepped. How dare he approach all of us as if we were objects? I can’t forgive him.”
Scarlet noted the unexpectedly negative sentiment toward Hans—and a thought flickered in her mind:
‘If everyone hates Hans… maybe I can have him for myself?’
Just then, Leah turned to Mia with suspicion.
“But Mia, as far as I know, the ‘Elven Vow’ is binding for life—won’t you be in trouble?”
The Elven Vow was a sacred pledge to love only one person forever.
Elves took such promises as seriously as their own lives.
“For ordinary elves, yes—but High Elves are less bound by it. Besides, the vow requires mutual commitment: he must swear to love only me too.”
‘Ah… so Hans broke the vow by being unfaithful to multiple women, rendering it void?’
As Scarlet jumped to that conclusion, Leah whispered softly,
“Oh? Then that’s good.”
“Anyway, I hate how he treats women like possessions!”
Cecilia’s firm declaration helped Scarlet decide her next move.
‘First, I’ll join in criticizing Hans to weaken their attachment. Then, once everyone abandons him… I’ll take him for myself.’
“Exactly! Honestly, none of us are lacking—we’re all exceptional! Why should we compete and envy each other over a man like that? He’s the worst.”
At Scarlet’s words, Leah, Cecilia, and Mia nodded in unison.
“Right! Cheating is unforgivable!”
“Yeah! He’s a womanizer!”
“He’s such a pervert—he can’t even be satisfied with one High Elf!”
“Totally! Absolutely!”
They reached a consensus.
But none of them realized the truth:
Scarlet, Leah, Cecilia, and Mia were all thinking the exact same thing.
‘Good. Once this bad reputation spreads and everyone loses interest in Hans…’
‘Since they all hate Master now, I should take him. After all, we’ve practically been family.’
‘Clearly, they all lack true love! I’m different.’
‘This should make him back off on his own.’
Though their faces showed only disapproval, their inner thoughts were perfectly aligned.
They truly were a party of one heart and one mind.
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