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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 148 - The Academy Visit of Lormane (14)
After many twists and turns, they finally succeeded in recruiting Kaiden, the fifth member, and the Demon King Slaying Special Force was officially formed.
From now on, their journey had only one goal: to kill the Demon King, no matter the cost.
Lormane felt nervous.
But it wasn’t fear of the difficult future awaiting her.
She was afraid of making a mistake or falling short of expectations, thus disappointing Dian.
Dian was her savior, the one who had rescued her from a bleak reality.
For Dian, Lormane was ready to do anything.
A priest is meant to serve only god, but that had never applied to Lormane.
Dian saved me.
But what had god ever done for me? Nothing.
So Dian is my god, and I am his devotee.
Serving one's god is the most basic duty of a cleric.
Lormane worked diligently.
She threw herself into battle, and she tried her best outside of it too.
"Lormane… what is all this…?"
"I washed everything, Dian. I thought it might ease your burden a bit."
When Dian discovered a pile of his underwear, freshly laundered, stuffed into his bag, Lormane had expected him to thank her, to praise her.
But instead…
"Don’t do this again."
"Eh?"
"I’ll handle my own underwear. No wonder I couldn’t find any…."
Dian began awkwardly gathering the scattered undergarments, stuffing them back into his bag with a troubled expression.
That’s strange. I did this for Dian, so why is he reacting like that?
"I don’t understand, Kaiden."
That night, while they were camping, Lormane confided in Kaiden.
Since Kaiden was a man of few words, who listened carefully and thoughtfully, Lormane often sought his counsel.
"I followed your advice, Kaiden, but did I do something wrong?"
"You did nothing wrong, Priestess Lormane."
Kaiden replied in a gentle tone.
"Dian was simply embarrassed. Anyone would react the same if someone else handled their dirty underwear."
"Is that so…?"
"Yes, so don’t give up, Priestess Lormane. Someday, Dian will surely come to understand your sincerity."
"Thank you, Kaiden."
Lormane smiled.
"Talking with you always clears up my confusion."
"I'm glad to hear that. But please remember one thing, Priestess Lormane."
Kaiden smiled softly, raising a finger.
"Never confess your feelings to Dian first. If a priestess like you were to do that, Dian would feel an enormous burden and distance himself even further."
"Understood. I’ll be careful, just as you advised. Thank you, as always."
In this way, Kaiden was often there to support Lormane as she longed for Dian’s affection.
"Priestess Lormane, how about making a tonic to invigorate Dian?"
"That’s a great idea, Kaiden."
Lormane knew how to make basic healing potions as part of her clerical training.
She carefully crafted the tonic, planning to secretly mix it into Dian’s food as a surprise.
But…
"Keuk…!"
For some reason, after consuming the tonic, Dian’s body became paralyzed during battle, and he nearly lost his life!
"Lormane! Explain yourself!"
Linus, furious, glared at Lormane, who was cowering on the ground.
"What did you give Dian?!"
"I-it w-was… just a simple… recovery potion…."
"A simple recovery potion that causes paralysis?! How does that make any sense?!"
"I’m so sorry… I only wanted to help Dian… I don’t understand what happened…."
"Linus. Enough."
Dian, still lying on the ground, stopped Linus from berating her further.
"It’s fine as long as I didn’t die. Besides, Lormane’s divine healing broke the paralysis in the end."
Linus looked at Dian and let out a heavy sigh.
"Lormane, I hope this never happens again."
"I’m so sorry…."
Lormane couldn’t understand what had gone wrong.
She had made a very basic, standard recovery potion. It was impossible to mess up such a simple recipe. So why had this happened…?
After that, things continued to go awry.
She did everything for Dian, but somehow it always backfired.
The more this happened, the more anxious and desperate Lormane became.
Her mind was plagued by fears and compulsions, and as time went on, her mental state deteriorated.
Then, some time later…
The special unit managed to capture a high-ranking succubus and were escorting her to the rear command post.
Succubi wield powerful abilities to cloud human minds, so they blindfolded her, gagged her, and restrained her hands and feet.
"Lormane. Celine. She’s all yours."
That wasn’t enough, so the succubus was kept strictly under female supervision.
Even when camping, she was bound near the women’s section.
"They say she can make men lose their senses, huh?"
Lormane muttered as she kept watch near the succubus.
"I wish I had that kind of power. Then maybe Dian would love me without it being so hard."
[Such a lewd little priestess.]
A sudden voice startled Lormane, and she looked over at the succubus.
To her shock, the succubus’s blindfold and gag had somehow come loose!
"W-what…?!"
[A priestess obsessed with a man, desperate with lust. How utterly pathetic.]
The succubus’s red, slit-like pupils glinted as she grinned, her teeth showing in a smile that was both disturbingly beautiful and bone-chilling.
[I’ve seen everything. You, squirming and drooling, desperate to be dominated, your legs trembling with want.]
Lormane found herself paralyzed, unable to breathe, locked in the succubus’s gaze.
[You want to seduce him, don’t you? Want to know how? Planning to use it on that male over there?]
The succubus extended a clawed finger, pointing across the campfire to where Dian was sleeping.
[Then let me show you. I might as well teach you how to mate with him, too. Hehehehe… Hahahahahaha….]
The succubus laughed, a sound that made the hairs on Lormane’s skin stand on end, as she began to rise to her feet.
What? She’s going to seduce Dian? How dare she—?!
There’s no way I’ll let that happen!
Overcome with rage, Lormane drew her dagger and plunged it into the succubus’s back.
Die! Die! Just die! How dare you—! How dare you try to take Dian—!
After stabbing the succubus multiple times, Lormane staggered over to where Dian lay.
"Dian. Dian, wake up."
Dian awoke to see Lormane, drenched in blood, standing over him, and he sprang to his feet.
"What—?! What’s going on?!"
"That thing tried to seduce you, so I took care of it."
Lormane pointed at the succubus, blood dripping from her dagger.
"Oh god!"
Dian gasped when he saw the dead succubus.
"What… what have you done…?"
"Now you’re safe, Dian. I made sure of it."
"What are you talking about?!"
Dian shouted.
"Seduce? Get a grip, Lormane!"
Why…? Why is he angry…?
I did it to protect him… I did this for Dian…?
"Kyaaa! Linus! Linus!"
Celine, awakened by the commotion, screamed in horror.
"What in the world happened? Explain yourself."
Linus, assessing the situation, approached Lormane.
"The succubus taunted me, tried to trick me and seduce Dian. So… so I… um…."
Lormane stammered, looking back at the succubus, and her words froze.
The dead succubus was still blindfolded and gagged, her hands and feet securely bound to the tree.
"I… she was definitely speaking… she got up, I swear…."
Lormane stammered, trembling.
"She was… I was trying to protect Dian… I didn’t want him to be in danger… I had to keep him safe, so I… with my dagger, I…."
As Lormane rambled, she caught sight of Dian’s expression and went silent.
The look in Dian’s eyes at that moment… she would never forget it, even ten years later….
Lormane snapped back to the present.
"Maya."
"Yes, Chief Administrator."
Maya, seated across from her, responded.
"You can stop writing patient logs on Professor Dian."
"Is there a specific reason for this?"
"There is. Professor Dian doesn’t like it."
"Understood."
Maya nodded without hesitation.
After that, Lormane fell silent.
The reason she had come to the Academy was exactly as Dian had guessed.
She had seen the patient logs written by Maya.
According to those records, Dian was associating with various women at the Academy.
But Lormane didn’t take them at face value.
Maya was a young priestess who had been raised by the Church since she was very little.
She didn’t understand the complexities of love between men and women.
So she had a tendency to interpret any interaction between a man and a woman as some sort of romantic entanglement.
That’s why Lormane disregarded the earlier records and focused on the last entry—about the pure-blooded elf, Ismera.
The rest were merely acquaintances. This elf was the real concern.
Lormane was curious.
Who was this elf? Was she truly worthy of being with Dian?
And how did Dian feel about her now, ten years later?
To resolve these two questions, Lormane had made a special visit to the Academy.
After meticulously observing Ismera, Lormane had come to a conclusion: this woman was truly exceptional.
It was a brief encounter, but Lormane could tell.
And she also confirmed how Dian looked at her.
As she had somewhat expected, Dian was wary of her.
After all, there were the events from ten years ago, and they hadn’t seen each other since then.
To Dian, those events must still feel as if they happened just yesterday.
Could she change his feelings now?
It seemed unlikely. Especially when he had someone like Ismera by his side.
And even if she could change his mind, what would be the point?
Lormane was now the Chief Administrator of the Church. Ten years ago, things might have been different, but now she couldn’t just walk away from her duties.
Dian still didn’t like her, and she couldn’t shed her clerical robes. Meanwhile, a wonderful woman like Ismera stood by his side.
Given the situation, Lormane decided to help Dian and Ismera find happiness together.
Rather than clinging to a faint hope, it was better if Dian had something certain to hold on to.
Lormane had worked tirelessly to make Dian happy, only to fail time and time again.
As a result, Dian had come to hate her, but Lormane didn’t mind.
As long as Dian could be happy, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t with her.
Seeing Dian happy would be enough to make her happy.
Because to her, Dian was like a god.
No, perhaps even more than a god.
Gods might make grand promises to save the world someday, but Dian had already saved her.
But I’m not a woman who suits him.
No matter how much I long for him, I’ll never be able to reach him.
Dian needs someone more normal, more ordinary, by his side.
And Vice-Headmaster Ismera… she’s… she’s…
"Ugh…"
Lormane bowed her head and let the tears fall.
"Please… always be happy… I’ll pray for it for the rest of my life…."
Maya, sitting across from her, silently watched as Lormane sobbed, her shoulders shaking.
[TL/N: What a plot twist. Kaiden was the mastermind all along, manipulating her…]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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