Chapter 6: A Step Closer to Success

Song Ze looked up in shock, meeting Aliel’s eyes, which held a trace of a smile. Although Aliel quickly suppressed the smile upon noticing Song Ze’s gaze, they couldn’t hide the reddening of their ears.

[Aliel’s affection increased by 10. Current affection: 91.]

The system notification sounded like heavenly music to Song Ze.

He was so moved he could cry! Unlike the affection he could farm by casually clicking options in the game, now he was putting his whole body and soul into it, risking his life multiple times just to raise his wife’s affection!

Now, finally, success was only one step away. It was incredibly touching.

If the situation around him weren’t so dire, Song Ze would have wanted to kiss Aliel wildly to express his excitement.

****

On the other side, facing the ever-increasing horde of magical beasts, the others felt their spirits sink. They thought they were doomed, and some even wanted to give up struggling.

The next moment, a massive beast lunged at them. Almost everyone had given up hope.

But at that instant, several flashes of cold light streaked through the air, and the giant beast was sliced into pieces. Blood sprayed down onto the faces of several people who were about to be hit. They were stunned.

“Giving up now is still too early,” Aliel said coldly, looking down at the crowd. “As students of the Holy Knight Academy, dying at the hands of magical beasts would be the greatest disgrace, wouldn’t it?”

Aliel’s words struck like thunder in everyone’s hearts.

They felt ashamed and were stirred into fighting spirit, engaging the surrounding beasts in fierce combat.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Although they were trapped in the beast tide, the beasts that came were relatively sparse and weak, allowing the Holy Knight students to hold their own.

Song Ze understood the reason best. Of course, it was because the high-level magical beasts could faintly sense the lingering power around Aliel and instinctively feared getting close. As for the low-level beasts that sensed nothing, they were simply delivering themselves to be slaughtered.

Knowing he was perfectly safe, Song Ze stayed close behind Aliel, glancing around to make sure no vines would strike from behind, and occasionally cheering Aliel on.

“Aliel… go, go!”

“You’ve got this… Watch out, there’s a beast coming—”

Every time Aliel heard his voice, they would turn and give a small smile, then quickly suppress it and say, “I’m fine. Just take care of yourself.”

Of course, that was just a formality. Under the protection of a level 99 Aliel, it would be a miracle if any of the level 20-something beasts could even touch Song Ze.

Song Ze didn’t want to be a kept man either, but he was only around level ten. Going out would be suicide!

Besides, this game was designed to satisfy the fantasies of otaku—a weak male protagonist loved by many powerful heroines. He was just going along with the rules of this world.

As they fought the beasts, the group quickly retreated toward the outside.

Suddenly, the demonic energy around them condensed, and a blinding white light fell from the sky. The exhausted group suddenly felt refreshed.

In the distance, the beasts seemed to grow fearful and dared not approach.

Looking up, they saw a massive holy light protective magic array that had somehow already covered the edge of the Dark Forest, trapping the beasts inside. In the sky, they could faintly see various powerful magics ready to strike, and many high-level beasts were desperately trying to break through the barrier, causing the ground to shake violently. The scene was brutal.

One perceptive person immediately understood: “This magic array requires six priests to activate together! We’re saved!”

“Of course, with such a commotion, the Holy Temple couldn’t have missed it.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t dare linger. They hurried toward the outside, not knowing how long the barrier would last.

Song Ze quickly followed Aliel toward the camp outside. But after just a few steps, he couldn’t keep up…

For the others, this walk was easy, but Song Ze was just a weak otaku. He had already exhausted most of his energy fleeing from the demon princess, and the mountain path was rough. He was barely keeping from falling.

The next moment, his foot caught on a thick tree root, and he stumbled down the slope.

“Help! Help—”

Song Ze cried out instinctively, but Aliel caught him effortlessly and, in one smooth motion, lifted him horizontally in their arms. The others hadn’t even registered what happened.

This time Song Ze truly breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Aliel gratefully. “Thank you so much! If you hadn’t been here, I would have fallen…”

Besides, though he should be used to it by now, being princess-carried by the heroine was still a bit thrilling!

“Next time,” Aliel said calmly, their eyes fixed on Song Ze, making him feel a bit creeped out. Then they continued, “If you’re tired from walking, just tell me.”

It was just for this kind of thing!

“I-I didn’t want to trouble you…” Song Ze said instinctively.

“Hm?” Aliel’s eyes turned cold.

“I didn’t want to trouble you…” Song Ze quickly corrected himself, looking obedient. “Next time, no matter what happens, I’ll tell you right away!”

“Good.” Satisfied, Aliel’s eyes held a hint of a smile.

Cradled in their arms, Song Ze pushed aside the strange feeling of being held by a heroine and regretted not speaking up earlier. He had suffered so much for nothing. Anyway, what was being princess-carried by a girl? He had already done more shameless things…

Behind them, the others stood dumbfounded, feeling like they had been force-fed a huge spoonful of dog food.

What was going on? Why, in such a serious, brutal, and completely inappropriate place for romance, were they, who had been terrified and traumatized, being subjected to such blatant lovey-doveyness!

****

“Hurry, the camp is just ahead! We’ll be safe soon.”

Two people who looked thoroughly ragged were trudging through the Dark Forest toward their destination. They were also students from the Holy Knight Academy; their companions had all died in the beast tide, and only they had escaped.

The next moment, a sinister black mist suddenly surrounded them.

Their faces drained of color. “Th-this place is already outside the Holy Light Protective Barrier, so how…?”

Then, from within the black mist, a seemingly ordinary black-haired youth stepped forward. His face wore an innocent smile, like a lost traveler.

But the sudden chill in the air made it clear that what was about to happen was no simple matter.

“I might need your help with something.”

————

In the camp, the few who had fled were resting in the open area outside.

By now, the camp had expanded several times compared to the temporary student quarters, and many official clergy members were coming and going.

After all, a beast tide was an event that could shake the entire continent. But no matter how powerful the monsters, the empire and the sages could be called in to slay them. What really frightened everyone were the doubts behind this incident.

That was why the Holy Temple had dispatched so many personnel and set up camp here—they were clearly planning a long-term operation.

But such high-level secrets were not for students like Song Ze to know. After being checked and found physically fine, they were allowed inside.

The incident had cost the Holy Knight Academy dearly, with many students dead on the spot. That Aliel’s group had survived so many surprised others, but when they saw that the leader was Aliel, they felt it was only natural.

Aliel was immediately taken to the higher-ups of the Holy Temple with respect, apparently for a private debriefing.

Before leaving, they squeezed Song Ze’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back to you soon.”

“Mm!” Song Ze nodded quickly. But just as he was about to enter, he felt a sharp sting on the back of his hand.

He instinctively turned around and saw only two ordinary, disheveled students, whose faces were somewhat familiar—probably just classmates.

‘Was I imagining things?’ Song Ze shook his head and didn’t think much of it. After all, the camp was basically safe, and nothing happened in this part of the game’s storyline.

What he didn’t see was that one of the two ordinary students seemed to glance back at him intentionally, a glint of red flashing in their eyes.

****

Because of the shortage of personnel, Song Ze and the other survivors had to stay and help, recounting what happened in the Dark Forest. Those with high combat power were even sent to slay magical beasts.

Song Ze’s strength? He was of course kept behind.

He worked until dark before he could rest. Returning to his tent, as an otaku used to solitude, he found some peace of mind.

But then, the stinging sensation on his hand returned. Song Ze looked down and saw a red pattern on the back of his hand.

“Wh-what?! When did this happen?”

He recognized this pattern. Something similar had happened in the game…

In the game, once, the protagonist and the elf princess were walking in the Dark Forest when Aliel was accidentally pricked by a demonic thorn. Although Song Ze didn’t know why, and the game company never explained, the demonic thorn somehow had an aphrodisiac effect.

At that time, a similar pattern appeared on Aliel’s body. Of course, it was a one-time thing; once the matter was resolved, the demonic energy would dissipate.

Under the influence of the aphrodisiac, Aliel couldn’t maintain the appearance created by magic, revealing both their true form and the fact that they were the elf princess. Then, because of the aphrodisiac, Aliel pounced on the protagonist… and the rest was obvious.

Thinking of this, Song Ze felt terrible. His face instantly turned bright red. He had played that game countless times, even gotten tired of the adult scenes…

But if such a scene were to happen in real life, he would still be very embarrassed! Before transmigrating, he had never even held a girl’s hand! After transmigrating, he had only held the hand of Aliel, who was disguised as a man!

And the effect of the demonic energy was indeed fierce. While Song Ze was still thinking, a wave of heat rose from his core.

Song Ze: “WTF?!” Was it supposed to work this fast?

While he was panicking, the tent flap was pushed aside by a fair, slender hand. Aliel’s face seemed to brighten the dark tent.

“Song Ze? I’m back—”

Aliel’s gentle voice rang out, but then they noticed the boy sitting in the tent, his face flushed, eyes moist, looking over in panic like a startled rabbit.

“A-Aliel, why are you…”

Song Ze felt completely unprepared! He shrank back slightly, as if resisting.

Seeing this, Aliel’s face instantly darkened.

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