CHAPTER 26: TRIGGERED NIGHTS

The group were seated in the cluttered living room.

And... wow.

Even Nero felt embarrassed.

The room looked like a magical hoarder’s nest.

Countless spellbooks were piled up in wobbly stacks and some leaned like they would fall over.

Half-open scrolls dangled off the arm of the couch as if they had just given up halfway.

And a few suspicious-looking vials rolled lazily under the table, like little critters.

Vivianne’s dull crimson eyes scanned the mess.

She had a very judgmental look on his face.

"Still as messy as ever..."

Merlin gasped so loud the glass on the table shook.

Then she lunged in to pinch Vivianne’s soft cheek and pulled excitedly.

"VIVI is still as cute as ever!!"

Merlin declared proudly.

Vivianne’s cheek was stretched like soft mochi as Merlin giggled and tugged it left and right.

"Ow... Merlin... stop..."

Vivianne sighed with a kind of tone that said she’d been through this many times already and didn’t really have the option to complain.

She just had to deal with it.

Then she muttered flatly under her breath.

"You should probably get a student who actually knows how to clean after their teacher."

Her eyes slid pointedly toward Nero.

Nero frowned back at her.

『What did I do?? I haven’t even said shit! Why’s she on my case already?!』

He turned away sharply.

『Whatever. She’s not important right now.』

His eyes locked onto Lancelot.

Or more specifically, the floating blue status window that appeared the moment he focused on him.

[STATUS REVEALED!]

[Name: Lancelot Bravel]

[Level: 98]

[Race: Human (Blessed)]

[Rank: S-Class Swordsman]

[Title: Paladin of the White Order]

[HP: 34,900 / 34,900]

[MP: 12,500]

‣ Affiliation: The White Order

‣ Attribute: [Barrier Magic] [Light Magic]

‣ Skills: [Sword Mastery] (EX), [Radiant Cleave] (EX), [Sunheart Fortress] (S), [Divine Smite] (EX), [Blade of Light] (EX), [Heavenstrike Rush] (S), [Aegis of the King] (S), [Hero’s Spirit] [Golden Luminance]

Nero froze hard.

『WHY IS HE BUILT LIKE A FINAL BOSS!? These are MAIN CHARACTER stats!! Does that mean he can steal my position as protagonist!?』

His side-eye shifted... slowly.

From thoughtful → to annoyed → to outright hostile.

"Eh?"

Lancelot blinked when he noticed the dramatic scowl aimed directly at him.

"Something wrong, Nero?"

He gave a gentle, friendly smile and waved.

Nero’s eyelid twitched.

『Oh my God. His face pisses me off... he legit looks like the generic hero protagonist from every RPG. I don’t see myself losing to this guy. Not that I’m trying to be arrogant here but he seems like an easy challenge.』

His fist clenched so hard his knuckles popped.

CRACK.

Lancelot leaned closer.

He stroked his chin as he stared straight into Nero’s pretty blue eyes.

Nero leaned back with a scowl.

『GET YOUR FACE AWAY FROM ME.』

"You okay there?" Lancelot asked.

"Of course I am..." Nero said with a strained smile.

Lancelot placed a hand on Nero’s shoulder gently.

"Don’t worry about that thing for now."

He reassured Nero with a gentle voice.

"I’m not planning on stealing it from you yet."

He paused then smiled.

A very slow, sinister smile.

"Well. Not yet at least."

Nero’s pupils shrank.

His blood boiled.

His fist tightened with so much force it sounded like bone cracking.

Lancelot casually leaned back in his seat, crossed his legs, and gave Nero another side-eye before turning toward Merlin and Vivianne again.

Nero’s rage slowly faded...

Leaving behind an emotionless, blank expression.

Which somehow looked much worse.

『He called Merlin an "it" he... he really did. He’s one of THOSE guys? The arrogant bastard type who sees women as... objects?? I genuinely want to hurt him. I feel insulted that the game would even set him as my rival.』

A ball of flame swirled to life in Nero’s palm.

He didn’t care about the difference in level.

All he wanted was to see Lancelot screaming.

『I’ll make him apologize for that.』

Until—

"Nero~?"

Merlin’s warm voice interrupted the moment.

The fireball vanished instantly.

"Y-, Yeah?"

Nero blinked like he’d just woken up.

Merlin smiled sweetly.

"Could you dish out the food now? We should start planning tomorrow’s exploration."

Nero nodded, still dazed. "Uh... sure."

Lancelot lifted a hand.

"I can help, if you want!"

"No."

"But, I can—"

"Are you deaf? I said no."

Both Merlin and Lancelot jerked in surprise.

Vivianne merely shifted her eyes toward Merlin.

Then gave a single, tiny nod.

"Yeah. That tracks."

Lancelot sat beside Merlin and whispered—

"I don’t think Nero likes me..."

Merlin sighed.

"Be for real, he’s not that kind of person."

"He could... and you wouldn’t know."

"What are you insinuating?"

"Nothing. Just be careful."

Lancelot yawned and laid back in the chair.

–

–

–

A little later.

Nero walked back into the living room balancing a huge tray of roasted meat, vegetables, dipping sauces, and several bottles of strong alcohol.

He set it on the table.

Lancelot clapped once. "Alright! Tomb planning!"

A dull Vivianne cleared her throat and slid a rolled map across the table.

She opened it with a single graceful motion.

"This is the location."

She said in her quiet, deadpan voice.

"One of the legacy caves of the Spirit King."

Nero blinked. "Spirit King... what?"

Vivianne tapped the map.

"Avelnarogius is the ancient Spirit King. He has six legacy caves scattered across the world. Each contains a fragment of his ultimate inheritance. Our team attempts one every half decade when the magical tides align."

She drew a route with her finger.

"We’ll depart from the Bramble Region..."

"Cross the northern ridge..."

"Then enter the Red Desert where the tomb is."

Merlin nodded thoughtfully.

"And what should we expect inside?"

Lancelot lifted a thick, well-used special handbook.

"Oh! I wrote a guide for this!"

He flipped it open.

"It’s based on some of the experiences we’ve had in the Spirit King’s other legacy caves."

He called out some monsters to expect there.

Sand Wraiths were weak to sound-based attacks.

Bronze Crawler Golems were resistant to fire, but weak to high-impact force.

Mirage Serpents were weak to ice and immune to all forms of lightning magic.

He also warned about Cave Scarabs who detonated the moment they were hit.

"Then how do we deal with them?" Vivianne asked.

"We’ll get some «Dragon Branches» they mimic the scent of a dragon when lit. That should be enough to scare away these critters and a few other creatures."

He pointed at the diagram of a Dragon Branch.

She side-eyed him. "You put drawings in it too?"

Lancelot puffed out his chest. "Of course!"

He flipped another page.

Next were the environmental notes.

Fire magic will be heavily suppressed inside.

Wind magic gets unpredictable.

No metal sliding on sandstone as it causes echo lures.

Merlin nodded in approval.

"Wow, you really prepared."

Vivianne added:

"The biggest threat is the inner sanctum. The guardian there changes shape depending on the intruders’ dominant mana. It adapts."

Nero sighed.

"Great."

Vivianne rolled up the map.

"That’s everything."

Merlin clapped her hands loudly.

"Alright! Let’s all eat, drink lightly, and sleep early tonight! We need to be strong for tomorrow."

Vivianne nodded. "I’ll sleep in your room."

Merlin instantly threw an arm over her shoulders.

"Of course! Who else?"

"Fair enough."

They all finished their food.

Discussed a few more details.

And one by one, they drifted off toward their rooms.

Tomorrow...

The ancient tomb awaited.

══════

The small guest room was pitch black.

Not peaceful-black. Not comfy-black.

Just... awkward-black.

Nero lay on the messy bed with eyes wide open as he stared straight at the wooden ceiling.

His bed was usually neat, so he figured that Merlin must’ve missed him so much she slept in it and probably rolled around in it the whole time he was gone.

It wasn’t unlike her.

Meanwhile, a travel-worn Lancelot lay on a thin mattress on the floor beside the bed.

The silence was so thick.

Enough that even breathing felt illegal.

Minutes crawled by.

Nothing moved.

Nothing made a sound.

Everything was stiff, oppressive, and—

"Hey, Nero."

Lancelot’s voice finally spoke out.

Nero blinked.

"What."

There was zero interest in his voice.

"So whose tits do you think are bigger?"

The words were so random Nero didn’t believe it.

But Lancelot finished his question off with—

"Merlin’s or Vivianne’s?"

Nero almost levitated off the bed.

"Huh!? What the hell kind of question is that!?"

His face scrunched up in pure disbelief.

"Why are you thinking about that!?"

Lancelot snorted.

"Come on. Don’t even try to pretend you haven’t thought about it too."

He laughed shamelessly.

"I saw you stare at Vivianne’s tonight. Hard not to when they’re that massive."

Just talking about it made him picture their bounciness.

Perhaps the best part was that Vivianne never wore a bra either so you got the full experience.

"I don’t have a shot with her, but still..."

A lecherous laugh squeezed out of his mouth.

Nero winced.

That laugh made the room feel contaminated.

"Tch."

He rubbed his face vigorously.

"Fine, fine, okay. I did look... once. But only because they caught me off guard. If I remember correctly Elves aren’t supposed to have... whatever those are. After all I’ve seen Aldura and her’s aren’t THAT big."

Lancelot nodded in the dark so enthusiastically Nero could hear his hair flop.

"Exactly! That’s what makes Vivianne top tier."

He pictured her dull face gracefully carrying the weight of those two masses of meat.

"Other elves? Flat. Cute, but flat."

He drooled a little — actually drooled.

"But Vivianne? That girl’s packing a thumper. Aldura’s got decent tits for an elf and all, but if I’m drinking milk, I want the gallon, my friend."

Nero rolled his entire soul through his eyes.

"Can you even hear yourself? Enough. I refuse to have this talk with you."

He turned his back to the room then furiously dragged his blanket up.

That sleep-provoking silence returned.

For a moment, it felt like there might be some peace.

Until Nero suddenly muttered quietly into the dark.

"I’m not letting you win, yunno."

Lancelot blinked. "Hm?"

"I know what you’re up to. Those nice-guy tricks aren’t gonna work. The smiles? The helpful comments? I’ve lived as a kind person long enough to recognize a fake person when I see one."

He took a motivating breath.

"So no... you’re not stealing anything."

He shut his eyes.

Lancelot’s voice came soft.

"May the best man win."

══════

A few hours later.

Nero’s eyes snapped open.

He looked dead inside.

Lancelot’s snoring shook the room like a dying walrus trying to breathe through a harmonica.

"......"

Nero accepted defeat.

He rolled out of bed with the posture of an old man.

He scratched his butt.

Then scratched it again.

Then lazily shuffled toward the door like a zombie.

The small corridor was dim, except—

"Huh?"

Nero looked down.

"Ugh, Merlin forgot to turn off a lamp..."

He rubbed his eyes, yawned, scratched his rear one more time out of sheer principle, and lazily stepped into the living room.

A second after he froze.

Like his soul left his body.

Merlin was sprawled elegantly on the couch.

She wore a thin, transparent white nightgown... and nothing underneath except underwear.

It was so visible it felt illegal.

And at the same time shamefully arousing.

Her curves were highlighted by the lamp like some painter’s masterpiece.

He could see her breasts squeezing against the fabric of her gown each time she turned a page. It was almost like they were ready to rip apart the threads of her bra and hang out like two weighty melons.

Her hair draped over her shoulder.

A heavy magic tome rested on her meaty lap.

She absentmindedly took a swig from a bottle of booze beside her.

Her face was strangely bored... and oddly sexy.

Nero tilted his head slowly.

"Master?"

She lifted her sleepy, half-lidded eyes and tilted her head back at him in a slow motion.

For some reason, that also felt sexy.

Perhaps because of the way her collarbone peaked out from her dress.

Or was it the way her abundant chest pushed out?

He couldn’t tell but the item between his legs twitched.

"Oh?~" she smiled. "Nero. Can’t sleep?"

He trudged closer.

"Yeah... Lancelot sleeps like a pig."

Merlin snorted a laugh.

"Ha. I know. Even when he was a kid, his snores would ruin the whole party’s rest."

There was a warm, nostalgic smile on her face.

Like she missed something from long ago.

Nero sat down across from her.

"You miss it?"

Merlin shook her head.

"No. At least... not the way people think."

She swirled the alcohol in her glass.

"I’ve gone on adventures my whole life."

She pressed the glass against her silky rose lips.

"And in doing so... I missed other intimate things."

Nero blinked.

"What kind of... intimate things?"

A "ding!" echoed in his head.

[ⓘ FLAG TRIGGERED!]

Merlin inhaled softly.

Then exhaled a moan so warm, so breathy, that Nero saw the steam leave her lips.

It was like she craved something badly.

Her cheeks reddened.

Her thighs pressed firmly together.

Her fist gently pressed against her crotch.

"Nero♥️..."

She whispered suggestively.

"I’m cold. Could you... come warm me u—"

She didn’t even finish.

Nero stepped in front of her instantly.

Face stone-hard and voice deep as a cavern.

"Say less."

The System screamed in his ear:

[ⓘ EROTIC SCENE TRIGGERED!]

[ⓘ WARNING! HIGH-RISK ROUTE ENTERED!]

‣ If you successfully deflower Merlin without using up all her Hidden Events, reward tier: MYTHIC.

‣ Rewards flashed:

• [Mythic Treasure Chest]

• [Astral Seed Core] Births a personalized Mythic spell

• [Spirit King’s Blessing Fragment]

• [Stellar Grimoire] Forbidden high-tier spellbook

• [Primordial Contract Shard]

And a final line.

[Proceed with caution. Merlin’s affection + desire levels are critically high.]

Merlin looked up at him through her lashes.

"Come here... Nero..."

Her voice trembled with heat.

Her fingers slid up his wrist as she slowly tugged him down toward her.