Chapter 396: Then Kiss Me (7K, Please Subscribe)

"……"

After Herbert finished speaking, the room fell into complete dead silence.

Oh, it wasn't entirely quiet either — Valentina's steady breathing and the sound of her drooling were still serving as background white noise.

"You, just now, what did you say?"

The corner of Miss Devil's mouth twitched uncontrollably. She narrowed her eyes and stared at the boy outside the hole in the door.

Kreti raised a hand, first pointing at Herbert, then, after a moment's hesitation, pointed at herself.

"……Mm?"

"Mm."

"By the way, when I say that, I mean your thoughts are lewd, not that your body looks lewd… oh wait, no, it seems like both are pretty lewd."

That said, Kreti's devilish figure really is lewd.

"You—!"

Watching Herbert nod slightly as if suddenly understanding, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her face twitched, and she nearly lost her breath.

"You son of a— cough cough!"

After coughing twice, Miss Devil finally managed to catch her breath and said with difficulty: "You said, I'm… lewd?"

Me!!?

"That's right, Kreti, you really are lewd!"

Outside the door, Herbert actually nodded quite seriously and sighed: "I really didn't expect that you were actually this kind of devil! You actually harbor such improper thoughts toward me!"

Kreti: What kind!!?

"I…"

Looking at the nearly-frantic Kreti, Herbert's smile grew even brighter. He even considerately said: "But, Kreti, it's fine, I understand you."

"Yes, you're not wrong, so what if you're lewd? Just be lewd! That's a healthy thought!"

"It's really nothing! You don't need to suppress your own thoughts at all."

What's wrong with wanting to be naughty?

Nothing!

Being naughty is no crime!

He nodded vigorously and said seriously: "Moreover, someone like you having a reaction to me, producing special fantasies — that's a perfectly normal response, an understandable human nature."

"You're not the first, and you certainly won't be the last."

As Herbert spoke, he poked his face out through the broken hole in the door, gazing at Kreti with deep affection, and said sincerely: "Don't worry, Kreti… I'll forgive you!"

"It's all fine, I forgive you for your disrespectful thoughts toward me."

"You should forgive yourself too~"

"Keep it up! You can definitely overcome it!"

"Mm, if you really can't overcome it, then it's fine not to overcome it! I won't be angry—"

Herbert encouraged her with great magnanimity, displaying a broad-minded, unworried-by-trifles bearing.

As it turned out, these few sentences directly broke through Kreti's defenses.

She abruptly lowered her head, biting her lip hard — of course, this reaction was definitely not because she was moved.

It was because she was furious!

After Herbert's relentless harassment, the Miss Devil who had been both embarrassed and annoyed earlier now had only fury left in her mind.

"Tch!"

What the hell kind of bullshit are you spouting here!!?

What kind of nonsense are you mumbling over there?

Who needs your forgiveness?

Who needs to overcome anything?

And also!

Who has improper thoughts toward you!!?

At this point, Miss Devil's defenses had been thoroughly broken through.

Moreover, she also discovered that when it came to stirring people's hearts and making them feel angry, she was simply no match for this guy.

She lost.

As an outstanding devil, she had lost so thoroughly in this aspect.

Her tricks for bewitching people's hearts were nothing in front of him, completely unfit for the stage.

"Damn it…"

She was unwilling to accept it!

How could she lose to him!!?

Compared to being teased by Herbert's words, this was the real reason her defenses had been thoroughly broken.

Additionally, the reason Kreti could maintain such clear-headed thinking was not because her resistance to Herbert's "sweet words" was particularly high.

It was because Herbert's current look was really too bizarre.

The current Herbert proved one principle — no matter how handsome a face is, it can't be used so recklessly.

A head poking out from a hole in a door — no matter how you look at it, it can't be that cool.

Especially when there's another head on the not-far-away wall echoing it from afar, the abstractness of the whole scene goes up yet another level.

No way, your look is way too weird!!?

Too painful to look at directly.

You damned Holy Knight—are you messing with me?

"……Hah!"

Although she couldn't help cursing in her heart, Fu Leimei actually understood in her mind that Herbert was indeed toying with her.

He had never seriously tried to "seduce" her at all—he was merely joking around with her.

And the worst part, the thing Fu Leimei regretted most—was that she simply had no way to refuse.

It's all that contract's fault!

"……Damn it!"

The moment she thought of that contract, Fu Leimei's anger flared even more.

If fate gave Fu Leimei a chance to return to any point in the past and choose again, then the her of now would, without the slightest hesitation, go back to before she signed that damned contract.

She regretted it so!

Compared to being schemed against by Herbert, she loathed her own stupidity even more deeply.

How could a person commit such a grave mistake?

The request—she herself had raised it, insisting the other party help her raise her strength.

The contract—she herself had taken the initiative to propose signing it, so the other party couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.

The terms—she herself had drafted and reviewed them, and had already reached perfect consensus with the other party.

Although Herbert was by no means innocent in this matter, she herself was outrageously, ingeniously stupid.

From beginning to end, from start to finish, it was all brought about by her own hands—there was simply no one else to blame.

Under all these constraints, Fu Leimei simply had no way to resist this contract.

Such shame and vexation nearly drove the Young Lady demon to shut herself off from the world.

The reason it was only "nearly" was entirely because her emotions had now been steered by Herbert in another direction.

If she weren't being disrupted by Herbert's absurd antics right now, Fu Leimei would very likely have fallen into painful regret and unwillingness at this moment.

Burning her own soul in the fire of unwillingness, suppressing it, gradually heading toward the extreme.

And this, in fact, was the true purpose behind Herbert's not forcing her to bow her head and instead putting on this "absurd" act.

He truly did not want to see the Young Lady demon genuinely come to hate him.

Playing jokes with a fool—no big deal.

Fools possess a self-awareness of their own lack of cleverness; even if they get schemed against, at worst they'll be angry for a while before accepting their bad luck.

The same goes for clever people.

Clever people, the instant they get schemed against, will see the light and accept their loss, acknowledging their own failure.

They won't get hung up on momentary gains and losses; even if they fail, they'll only think about winning it back later through other means, reclaiming their dignity.

And the most painful thing in this world is none other than those people caught in between.

Half-foolish, not quite; half-promising, not quite—that is the hardest to bear.

They have no clear self-awareness of themselves, fancy themselves clever people, yet are always treated as fools and toyed with.

In truth, blind overestimation of oneself is not confidence—it is merely torturing oneself pointlessly.

Recognizing oneself is the first step to becoming a clever person.

Only by being clear on this point, by letting oneself off the hook, can one truly succeed.

And among the monster girls Herbert has come into contact with, there are quite a few "clever people," such as Fu Leimei and Sifani, and "fools" are also not few, such as Valentina and Elisa……cough cough cough!

Of course, everything Herbert thought was merely a metaphor—the actual facts are absolutely not so.

And Fu Leimei belongs to that category of people who have not recognized their own position.

She is by no means stupid, but neither is she a genius—just an ordinary person.

This is not a put-down, but Herbert's heartfelt assessment.

If Fu Leimei were truly clever, she would never have come into any conflict with Flora, but would instead have become friends with this only roommate of hers.

Rather than harassing her every now and then, earning herself a round of "beating."

But Fu Leimei isn't stupid either—she's stayed put inside the Bronze Fortress the whole time, never leaping into the lava lake to fight Flora to the death.

To conquer her, what is the most important point?

Is it to leave a deep impression in her heart?

That point is necessary, but it is not the most important.

What truly needs to be done is actually "not hurting her."

Not hurting her feelings—for example, that means not letting her realize that she really is a Bai Chi.

And also, not using overly forceful means from the very start.

Proceeding step by step, advancing gradually, nibbling away at her heart little by little—that is the correct approach.

Herbert putting on these absurd antics is also nothing more than to transfer Fu Leimei's anger toward herself onto him—the hatred has been redirected.

Although the Young Lady demon will still be very angry, she will not blame herself, but will instead "hate" him even more deeply.

This is what Herbert wants.

As everyone knows……the conversion between "love" and "hate" is very simple.

Just because of one small matter, a person can completely give up on a lover they originally loved to the extreme, and a pair of sworn enemies can become lovers bound by life and death.

Human emotions are very complex, and also very easily disrupted.

Although those who toy with feelings may very well end up gaining nothing in the end, Herbert is not afraid, because he has always been sincere.

As long as the portion of heart I give is all sincere, then everything I get in return will all be sincere.

As for how much sincerity I have……that's none of your business!

In any case, I am sincere!

Besides, this whole set of principles also includes other mental tricks, like what you'd call "modeling for opportunity," "length for sound," "technique for position"... ahem.

Holding fast to this "heart for heart" principle, Herbert kept teasing the Young Lady devil, smiling as he sighed, "I really understand your current state. You're not wrong! You've just been too repressed!"

By this point, Kleitie's emotions had been completely stirred up by Herbert; she had entirely forgotten her earlier setback on the contract and was glowering fiercely at him.

Yes, the poor Young Lady devil had already become a toy in the Holy Knight's hands. JPG

"I didn't… huh? Repressed?" Even in the midst of raging fury, Kleitie still froze for a beat.

What repression?

"Don't understand? Sigh, you really have been repressed too long in this Commandery, you didn't even realize the problem yourself!" Herbert shook his head regretfully, working hard to suppress his upturned lips.

Clearly repressed.

"Hmph!"

Even though she didn't fully grasp Herbert's meaning at this moment, Kleitie still understood his gaze—he's mocking me!

The Young Lady devil continued to rage.

What repression or no repression, what lewd or not lewd.

You're slandering me!

Pure slander!

And, taking a step back, even if I really did have lewd thoughts, what about you?

How do you have the face to say that?

How is it your turn to judge me?

What did you just do?

Taking off your shirt is one thing, but what do you mean by taking off your pants!?!?

"Eh, did you just roll your eyes at me? You know what? That's actually also a sign of repression…"

"Aaaargh!"

……

After being toyed with by Herbert for quite a while, Kleitie's fury gradually faded, and she rolled her eyes at him repeatedly.

"See, you're repressing again."

"Tch!"

In the end, unable to bear it any longer, the Young Lady devil finally gave up, unable to hold back her anger: "Fine! Stop talking! I'll cooperate with you, alright?"

Isn't it just a kiss?

Go ahead and kiss!

Stop bothering me!

Kleitie had resigned herself to fate; frowning, she closed her eyes and waited for Herbert to come take her lips.

But in the end, she waited and waited, and Herbert never came over to kiss her… he hadn't even entered the room.

"Hmm?"

She opened her eyes uncertainly, found Herbert still standing in place, grinning at her as he said, "Why are you looking at me? I can't come in, so why don't you come over?"

Kleitie:?

Still pretending?

The devil's lips curled, she gave a cold snort and cast a sidelong glance at the Holy Knight.

"Heh!"

Are you f*cking kidding me?

Your "Battering Ram" is sleeping right over there; if you want to come in, who could stop the two of you?

But no matter how Kleitie hinted, Herbert simply refused to enter on his own, standing outside the door smiling at her and beckoning her with a crooked finger.

Come over~ come over~

"Hmph!"

Kleitie glared at Herbert, bared her teeth: "Don't think you can make me go over!"

I'm not going over!

"If you won't come over, then fine, let's change the method…"

Herbert looked at Kleitie, suddenly smiling eerily, and said softly: "How about this then, you come over and kiss me."

Hmm?

"I don't want to!"

"Be good, come over and kiss me!"

"No—way—"

Kleitie's eye-rolls were practically reaching the heavens.

Letting you kiss me is already something I'm very unwilling about, and you want me to kiss you?

Don't even think about it!

After holding out, in the end Herbert was the first to take a step back, saying: "Fine, fine, given how fake-coy you're being… I'll take another step back. This time you only need to kiss the back of my hand."

"That should be fine, right?"

"I've already conceded this much; if you refuse again, then I'm really going to use other methods, you know."

After saying that, Herbert silently looked over at the Young Lady Battering Ram, who was stuck in the wall.

Although he didn't say anything outright, the threat was written all over his face.

Either, you come over.

Or, I let her come over.

You choose for yourself!

"……"

Perhaps unwilling to keep entangling with Herbert any longer, and perhaps not wanting to clash head-on with Valentina, after much internal struggle, Creti finally agreed—reluctantly—to Herbert's proposal.

"It's a deal—once I'm done, you're not allowed to bring up any more conditions!"

"Relax, I definitely won't go back on my word."

She walked slowly to the door, knelt on one knee before the hole in it, took hold of the slender hand Herbert had reached in, and in the manner of a hand-kissing greeting, lightly brushed the tip of her nose against the back of his hand.

In its earliest form, the hand-kissing greeting was not an actual kiss on the back of the hand; to truly press one's lips there was considered a rude provocation.

Creti wanted to let go right then, but she knew perfectly well that at this point Herbert would absolutely not let the matter rest.

"……"

So, after half a second's hesitation, Creti closed her eyes, steeled herself, and let her crimson lips fall onto the back of Herbert's hand.

She had originally planned only to skim a feather-light kiss and then let go immediately, driving this annoying fellow away.

But just as Creti was about to do exactly that, she suddenly froze.

"Mm!!?"

She kept the posture of kissing the back of his hand and abruptly widened her eyes.

Hmmm—

In that very instant, her soul heard a single grand, resonant hum.

What… happened?

Creti was only dazed for a moment; she quickly realized what she had heard—that was the sound of Herbert's soul.

She had indeed kissed the back of Herbert's hand, but what she kissed was not merely flesh.

She had touched Herbert's soul.

As everyone knows, souls have always been the resource devils love most.

Devils stir up trouble everywhere and trade with all manner of fallen souls, all for the sake of obtaining souls.

They love souls in great numbers, and favor those that are powerful!

And Herbert's soul was the most unique one among all the souls Creti had ever seen in her life.

She could hardly find a single precise word to describe what she was seeing at that moment.

Creti felt as though she were looking at an enormous, magnificent jewel.

Complex, dazzling, ever-changing, brilliant and profound—it drew her in without her realizing.

But at the same time, she also felt as though she were standing before the most terrifying abyss, able to feel the bone-chilling cold drifting out of the darkness.

Making her tremble even as longing welled up in her heart, wanting to claim that soul for her own.

And just as Creti was about to be utterly consumed, that sweet soul suddenly and of its own accord withdrew from her.

"No! Don't go… ah!"

The devil instinctively reached out, wanting to seize it firmly, but the next instant she came to her senses and realized what she was doing.

But before Creti could feel any shame, her hand was gently taken hold of.

"If you want, I'll stay right here with you." Herbert's gentle voice rose from beyond the door.

!!?

"You… let go of me!"

The Young Lady devil, having come back to herself, snatched her hand back in a flash—but she had clearly been worrying over nothing; the other party had no intention of keeping her hand.

Herbert watched her pull her hand away and gave a soft laugh: "Heh-heh, shy?"

"…No!" Creti bit her lip and turned her head away.

"Mm~ is that so? Heh-heh, well, let's just leave it at that."

The holy knight laughed pleasantly, not puncturing this all-too-obvious lie, and said with a smile: "Alright, per our earlier agreement, I'll let you off the hook this time."

"But you'd better be prepared—next time, it won't be as simple as today."

Next time, it won't be as simple as a little kiss on the back of the hand.

Creti knew this perfectly well, and had no way to resist.

But after a moment of silence, just as Herbert was about to leave as promised, she suddenly spoke: "…Herbert."

"Mm?"

"Does this kiss… really work?"

Creti was somewhat doubtful. Although Herbert's soul was extremely alluring to her, she truly did not believe that merely kissing the back of his hand could do anything to raise her strength.

Does it really work?

To this, Herbert immediately gave his answer.

"No."

"Mm!!?"

The youth answered with utter candor, smiling: "Yes, you didn't mishear, and you didn't misunderstand—of course it doesn't work."

"If a single kiss could raise your strength, where in the world would such a fine thing exist?"

?

Creti's eyes went wide and she blurted out: "Then why did you make me kiss the back of your hand!!?"

If it doesn't work, then what on earth was I just doing?

"Don't get so worked up, calm down a bit."

Herbert, for his part, replied with the ease of an old hand: "It wouldn't be quite right to say it's completely useless… at the very least, I had fun, didn't I?"

"Creti, did you have fun?"

???

The Young Lady devil, teased over and over again, finally snapped and shouted in a flustered voice: "I'm happy my— ah!"

A great flood of Abyss slang poured from her mouth, and Herbert couldn't stop the corners of his lips from curling upward.

How amusing.

"Hahaha, whether you're happy or not, I'm certainly quite happy."

"Alright, that's enough for today. See you next time."

"I hope you'll be ready by then."

Herbert listened for a moment, laughed heartily, waved his hand, and prepared to turn and leave.

"Oh! Almost forgot."

The moment he took a step, Herbert immediately turned back, hurriedly twisted his head, and pulled "Miss Siege Hammer" out of the wall.

Pop.

"... Mm?"

And even though the earlier tremendous impact hadn't made a sound, Valentina, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly reacted the moment Herbert embraced her.

Her eyelids trembled slightly, and she let out a murmur in her sleep:

"... Mm?"

The next instant, Kreti, who had been still running her mouth, abruptly shut up—she was witnessing what true Epic dragon majesty really looked like.

Boom!

A violent pressure instantly swept across the entire Bronze Fortress, even spreading throughout the entire Lava Hell.

Watching this scene, Herbert couldn't help but shake his head; there was probably nothing more terrifying in this world than this kind of waking-up grumpiness.

"Ha..."

And just before Valentina truly opened her eyes, Herbert slipped one arm around her waist and held his other hand in front of her eyes, saying softly: "Awake? You weren't careful when you slept—you fell right off the bed. Did you hurt yourself?"

The instant she heard Herbert's voice and felt his presence, the dragon majesty that had been wantonly spreading instantly vanished.

The hungry dragon, who had been about to wake, once again felt a heavy drowsiness; her eyelids drooped low, she hugged Herbert directly, and murmured: "Mm... feels like, the top of my head, is itchy?"

"Then you probably bumped your head. Alright, let me rub it for you, keep sleeping."

"Okay, you sleep with me... sleep..."

"Mm-mm, together."

From the dumbfounded Young Lady devil's perspective, the ferocious evil dragon that had seemed ready to go out and destroy the world a moment ago was, the next moment, being coaxed into slumber like an embryo.

Crack.

The two departed, leaving only the silent Kreti and the two large holes "Miss City-Breaker" had punched through.

"..."

Thinking of everything that had happened between her and Herbert, she couldn't help but sigh: "This is truly absurd... I must be crazy, to actually have agreed to him."

But at the same time, another thought surfaced in her heart, spreading rapidly, growing wildly—what if it was real?

Valentina has appeared; she really has advanced to Epic. This is ironclad proof.

"And even if it isn't real, that feeling is real. His soul is just too..."

"Just kissing the back of his hand, I could feel something like this—so what if he kissed me?"

"What if, instead of kissing, it was..."

Kreti thought, her body trembling slightly; she gently swallowed, gulping down the saliva that had gathered in her mouth.

Gulp.

"..."

Bishop Rusty Nail frowned tightly, looked at the documents in his hand, secretly agonized, and fell into wordless contemplation.

"Who on earth should I choose?"

After receiving full authority from Bishop Ashes, he had been thinking nonstop about who to send to the Church of the Sun.

Mist Monastery wasn't large, but if one really had to pick, there were still quite a few suitable candidates.

After much deliberation, he had already singled out several suitable candidates.

These people were all quite capable, all able to handle this mission.

Yet he kept hesitating.

Bishop Rusty Nail wasn't unaware of the reason behind it.

The reason he was so torn was entirely because a bold idea had long since taken root in his heart.

"What if... it's him?"

Herbert.

That youth was the candidate he favored most.

Although he had mentioned it to Bishop Ashes, she had, at the time... looked, hmm, as if she wasn't very satisfied.

"So in the Watcher's view, Legendary strength is still a must, is it?"

"Then this is tricky!"

Bishop Rusty Nail shook his head and sighed helplessly: "Waiting for Herbert to truly step into Legendary—who knows how long that will take... mm!!?"

Jingle.

Just as he was sighing, Bishop Rusty Nail's expression changed at the crisp sound, and he snapped his gaze toward the bell on the table.

That was the communication magical tool the Archbishop had given him, used only in the most urgent of situations.

!!!

The Archbishop is contacting him!!?

What major event has happened?

Has something gone wrong with the Sealed Sanctuary?

The sealed object is acting up!!?

Unable to care about anything else, he snatched up the bell, wanting to know exactly what had happened.

"Your Eminence! Has something gone wrong with the sealed object!?"

Please don't let anything happen!

"Malcolm, don't be so agitated."

The flustered Bishop of the Rusty Nail then heard the Archbishop's voice, as calm as ever: "The Sanctuary is perfectly peaceful. It hasn't stirred in a long time. Nothing major has happened."

Phew!

The Bishop of the Rusty Nail let out a huge sigh of relief, then asked: "Then is there something you needed me for?"

Since the sealed object is fine, there probably isn't anything major going on…

"Herbert has already advanced to Legend."

Bishop of the Rusty Nail:?

"Huh!!?"

The Archbishop paid no heed to the Bishop of the Rusty Nail's bewilderment, and gently instructed: "Notify the others, and prepare the materials needed for his Holy Baptism ceremony."

"One month from now, I will personally preside over the baptism ceremony for him."

The Archbishop was still speaking, but at this moment, the Bishop of the Rusty Nail could barely take in any of it.

At this moment, his mind held only one sentence echoing over and over.

"Legend…"

"Herbert has already advanced…"

"Legend!!?"

(End of this chapter)