Chapter 22: A Playful Provocation and a Peculiar Mission

Allyrose’s black-stockinged foot gave a light, playful tap.

Her sly eyes fixed on Luo Jia’s delicate face, the girl’s mischievous smirk immediately ignited an inexplicable fury within the Demon Lord.

‘Oh, you clever girl. She’s treating me like a pawn in her game!’

‘But… but…’

Luo Jia turned his head, glancing at the somewhat wary Jason before him, and could only grit his teeth, silently taking a deep breath.

‘No, I must endure. I have to resist this wretched woman’s provocations first! Her fiancé is still here. Even setting aside my plan to approach the Hero and the new Saintess… if I’m discovered… the scene could get particularly ugly.’

After a moment, Luo Jia could only raise his head, gritting his teeth as he silently answered Allyrose’s question.

“Y-yes, I am utterly loyal to my mistress~!”

“Exactly~ This Luo Jia isn’t just obedient, he’s also… incredibly hardworking and never complains, no matter how much I torment him~ He can handle all the tasks by himself. Hehe, besides, darling, I also need a bodyguard to protect me when you’re not by my side~ What’s more, this little guy doesn’t ask for much money and provides a good deal of emotional value. I’ve already decided, I’m going to keep him~”

As she spoke, the black-haired girl’s black-stockinged foot began to move even faster.

‘Oh~ it seems I even stepped on a rather firm piece of fabric~’

‘But the little white-haired one is completely stiff and unresponsive right now, without any reaction at all. So, it should be fine, right?’

‘After all, if the little white-haired one were uncomfortable, he’d run away~’

“Ah… I-I see…”

Jason nodded, yet he kept hearing a faint rustling sound in the air. He couldn’t quite discern if it was a mouse that had scurried into the library, but it left him feeling vaguely unsettled.

However, perhaps because his lover was nestled so close beside him, her face near his, allowing Jason to admire his fiancée’s captivating beauty up close, a long-dormant thrill suddenly surged within him. It was the same heart-pounding sensation he had constantly experienced years ago.

Jason had originally thought he’d grown somewhat tired of the girl’s appearance, but today… that heart-pounding sensation suddenly reignited. For some inexplicable reason, Jason sensed that Allyrose had changed recently.

From the formerly naive, kind, and somewhat boring woman she once was, she had transformed into someone he couldn’t quite fathom. She now exuded a wondrous, mysterious charm from head to toe, especially with that playful smile that made Jason both slightly afraid to approach and yet utterly unable to resist her.

After a half-second of stunned silence, he remembered that the person before him was already his fiancée. He then gave two soft coughs, inwardly sighing at how wonderful it would be if he could have both Allyrose and Vivian in his harem. Then, he wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist and spoke softly.

“Alright, alright, I’ll agree to whatever you want. I trust my wife to know her limits~”

“Hmph~ fine, you stinky husband, so you don’t believe me~ Hmph! What a joke, I’m clearly pure and devoted to you~”

As she spoke, Allyrose feigned a slight pout of anger. With a heart full of disdain, she gently pushed Jason’s hand away, then, suppressing a laugh, she finished her sentence. She turned her head again, looking at the wide-eyed—no, the utterly speechless little Luo Jia across from her.

“Hey, Luo Jia, isn’t that right~? Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you. This person beside me is my childhood sweetheart, now my fiancé, Brother Jason~ To you, he’s your master, you know~ So, please make sure to show my Brother Jason the same respect you show me. Can you do that~?”

As she spoke… the girl then slipped off the shoe from her other foot, and her left foot also gently extended beneath the table.

‘Ugh…!!!’

Caught in a pincer attack from the wicked woman, Luo Jia immediately gritted his teeth, speechless. Then, with a look of utter exasperation, he turned to glance at Jason, who still appeared like a clueless fool beside him.

‘I beg you, Hero! Even if we are sworn enemies, at least look under the table! Does this woman *really* seem like she wants me to respect you?!’

Jason, completely oblivious, looked at Luo Jia triumphantly, as if showing off. ‘See~ She’s my fiancée, of course Allyrose would side with me. You insolent male servant dared to disrespect me yesterday, but today you have to obediently bow your head to me~’

Noticing the other’s smug gaze, Luo Jia was left utterly speechless. After a moment, the Demon Lord could only turn back and nod helplessly at his sworn enemy’s fiancée.

“Yes…”

“That’s better~ So, little white-haired one, don’t you dare get any wrong ideas about me, or my Hero fiancé will beat you up~ You really can’t beat him, you know~”

‘Damn it—!’

Listening to Allyrose’s playful voice, Luo Jia, deeply aware that both he and Jason were being toyed with in the palm of her hand, couldn’t help but burn with rage. For a moment, thoughts identical to those of Shinji from a certain anime Allyrose had watched in her previous life even arose in his mind.

‘Doesn’t she just love to show off her beautiful black-stockinged legs?’

‘She really should be tied to a bench, and then, right in front of her fiancé, thoroughly ‘played with’ for a whole year!’

****

[Ding-dong, New Sponsor Demon Lord Army mission released: Host, within twenty minutes, secretly allow Luo Jia to caress your leg for ten minutes in front of Jason, without Jason discovering it. Mission completion reward: Gold-tier weapon—”Sword of Holy Light Psionics,” and fifty thousand Sponsorship Points. Failure: the footage from under the table just now will immediately play in Jason’s mind! Mission completion countdown: 00:19:59!]

****

‘No, wait, huh?!’

Allyrose, who was secretly in the midst of teasing the little white-haired one under the table, suddenly heard an electronic notification sound float into her mind. And then… she heard the news of a new mission from the system.

After listening to the entire message, the black-haired girl immediately blinked her eyes in utter confusion. A moment later, she couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

‘Wait, wait, hold on! Isn’t this mission content a bit strange, hey—!’

‘No, no, no… is this mission actually real? Am I sure I’m not hallucinating? Is the system definitely not malfunctioning?’

‘And the most important point is…’

‘This, letting the little white-haired one touch my leg—what kind of “sponsoring the Demon Lord Army” is this, hey?!’

‘C-could it be that giving this little white-haired demon a benefit counts as sponsoring the Demon Lord Army?!’

‘This sponsorship is a bit too peculiar! What abstract contribution is this making to the Demon Lord Army?!’

‘And, and…’

A faint blush spread across Allyrose’s face. Although she was currently quite enthusiastic about teasing the little white-haired one, still…

All of a sudden, she would go from being the active party to the passive, letting *him* touch her, and in front of Jason, no less…

‘Ugh—!!!’