All I Wanted Was Affection and Donations from the Beautiful Girls Who Left the Orphanage... sobs - 08 [Third Person's Perspective]

Chapter 08 [Third Person’s Perspective]

Time advanced to the royal conference room.

“…S…Ris…Eris!”

“Fue⁉︎”

“Don’t ‘fue’ me… Really. Why do you think I went through the trouble of summoning the busy Divine Seven? Please, concentrate.”

Princess Letifa admonished Saintess Eris.

Eris, who had left the orphanage in the dead of night, remembered being embraced by the great sage Leon, her cheeks flushed, and her breath warm, as if cherishing the memory.

To anyone observing, it was clearly a case of lovesickness.

“Being a woman, maybe she was thinking about Leon?”

Suggested Rebecca, the Sword Saint.

The kingdom’s strongest knight, she joined the [Knights of the Round Table] at the youngest age, quickly earning the title of “King Arthur,” and became the kingdom’s foremost swordsman.

“I-I-I’m not thinking anything indecent! Stop making such accusations, Rebecca!”

“…I didn’t say anything indecent. But the fact that you came up with such words might mean you were actually fantasizing about it?”

“No!”

Eris, blushing furiously, denied Rebecca’s insinuation. She had hit the nail on the head.

Incidentally, the night Leon embraced Eris did not lead to a romantic relationship. 

Leon, still a virgin, had fainted at the sensation of her breasts. His expression was one of happiness.

In the end, Eris took care of Leon and let him rest in the bedroom. Leon slept deeply, like the dead. 

Eris and the others, mistaking his fatigue for the toll of his hard work, decided to leave the orphanage on the day of their departure without waking him.

When Leon woke up, he gazed at the crimson-stained sky and wept over the reality that they had left for the royal capital without exchanging goodbyes—this was yet another story.

“Rebecca, please refrain from calling Leon-sama informally.”

“Hmm? I’m afraid that’s a request I can’t honor, Princess. The privilege of calling Leon by his name is mine alone”

Rebecca replied with a feisty smile.

Her words—can’t honor, mine alone, privilege—were not meant to provoke.

However, it didn’t take long for the others, who saw Leon as a father, mentor, brother, and a man they admired, to overreact to her special treatment.

“Only Kuu can call father ‘Father’. It’s not just Rebecca.”

Retorted the creation alchemist, Kuu. 

Despite her short stature typical of dwarves, she had large fox ears that twitched noticeably. Contrary to the usual burly male dwarven stereotype, Kuu’s fox ears and tail were a result of atavism*.

“Only Kuu can ‘fluff’ Father. He even happily uses the mansion I built for him. It’s my privilege.”

Kuu, adept in handling fire and earth attributes, had constructed a mansion for Leon using alchemy before leaving the orphanage.

Leon, who loved to live off others’ talents for food, clothing, and shelter, gratefully accepted and cherished the mansion.

Shion, the great merchant, gently stroked Kuu’s head as she steered the conversation towards the true purpose of their gathering.

“So, why have we been summoned? Surely it’s not to determine who is loved by Leon, right?” 

Shion, with hair as lustrous as obsidian and as smooth as silk, brushed her hair aside with her hand.

It was a simple gesture, yet it caused her to accidentally knock over the tea she had been offered.

“Aah! The tea—ouch!”

In her haste to deal with the spill, Shion tried to wipe up the hot tea, only to burn herself. She was a beauty with a clutzy demeanor, a sort of stylistic presence in the room.

“Please calm down, Shion.”

“I am calm—ouch!”

“…Sigh. The reason I’ve gathered you all is about Leon-sama. You’re aware that he has once again declined his reward, aren’t you?”

Letifa broached the main topic while Shion continued her struggle, reminiscent of someone trying to grasp a sizzling hot teppanyaki plate with bare hands.

“This makes it the 127th time. With such achievements, it wouldn’t be surprising if he were already king. Yet, he says, ‘The amazing ones are my proud students; I’ve done nothing’… He always elevates us, which is nice, but I wish he’d realize and accept that he has the makings of a king.”

The reality was that Leon was far from a selfless saint.

In fact, he often tried to sexually harass his female students, now grown into beautiful young women, and plotted to live off the wealth they earned with their talents—a scoundrel, a good-for-nothing parasite.

His delight in reading about his students’ achievements in the newspaper was partly because the more they succeeded, the larger the donations he received.

Of course, it was also true that he was proud and happy to see his daughters excelling in their respective fields.

“Declining rewards… as if that’s something new. Leon isn’t that kind of man.”

Rebecca declared, puffing out her chest as if to say she knew him better than anyone else. Her ample bosom was accentuated, exuding a sense of pride.

Letifa seemed to have thoughts about Rebecca’s behavior but chose not to delve into it, probably realizing it would delay the meeting indefinitely.

“…If things continue this way, Leon-sama will end his life as a commoner. Is everyone really okay with that? No, even if the Divine Seven allows it, I will not.”

“But isn’t that what Leon-san himself desires?”

Speare, now a bestselling author, interjected. Her traits: junior, devilish, and natural.

Her suggestive coquettish voice and upward glances were truly enchanting, and she managed all this naturally. Among the Divine Seven, she was regarded as the most formidable rival in matters of love.

“Certainly, questioning Leon-sama’s decisions is foolish. However—there is an issue we simply cannot overlook. And it concerns all of you as well.”

“What do you mean?”

Rebecca asked, prompting Letifa to pause, a master of rhetoric and manipulation.

Letifa, the princess, skilled in the art of persuasion and scheming, chose her words carefully to captivate her audience.

“A commoner cannot have concubines.”

“”⁉︎””

Letifa’s words etched deeply in the hearts of all the talented women present.

“Essentially, if things continue as they are, only one among us—or rather, one of his disciples—will be able to bear Leon-sama’s child. The ‘Sword Saint,’ the ‘Princess,’ the ‘Great Merchant,’ the ‘Alchemist,’ the ‘Great Mage,’ the ‘Best-Selling Author’… If we compete, it would be a bloodbath, and the capital might be engulfed in flames. You all are aware of nations that have fallen trying to obtain a single woman, right? Although our situation involves a man, humans are prone to repeating their mistakes. Who can guarantee that won’t happen?”

“”Continue, please.””

“Do you desire to bear Leon-sama’s child?”

“”Yes!””

Letifa’s words were like a devil’s whisper, a kind of brainwashing, putting these geniuses into a trance with mere words.

“Of course, we are women with our own desires for exclusivity. But, it’s not permissible for only one of us to receive Leon-sama’s affection. That is the consensus here. We lived under one roof as a family. It’s tragic to think of harming such dear ones just to have Leon-sama to ourselves. It’s something he himself wouldn’t wish for.”

The sound of swallowed saliva echoed through the conference room.

“However, please be assured. If you all cooperate with me, there is a way for everyone to be happy.”

“Stop beating around the bush and just say it, Letifa. Kuu wants to have Father’s child too.”

“In this country, the nobility—dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons—can marry more people as their rank increases. The only way for all of Leon-sama’s disciples who harbor affections for him to realize their love is for him to become the king. You all understand what needs to be done, right?”

“”Force him to rise in status.””

“Even if Leon-sama is disappointed in us, or even if he curses us, this is a woman’s battle. Born as women, there are things we simply cannot relinquish. You all agree, don’t you?”

By then, the Divine Seven had already completed their fantasy of being surrounded by children resembling Leon. It was the highest form of happiness they could imagine as women.

Thus, the Divine Seven’s plan to forcibly elevate Leon began, simultaneously with Leon’s adamant refusal to accept any titles, not wanting to work a day more than necessary.

☆

Meanwhile…

“Deliciouss! Eating barbecue funded by donations from beautiful girls is the best! Long live the commoners! Long live the plan of a freeloading, Loli Leech Spiral! Woooh, so tasty!”

Leon was relishing the meat funded by donations from the Divine Seven, blissfully unaware of the grand misunderstanding (revenge) that awaited him.

TLN:
1. Atavism: Recurrence of traits of an ancestor in a subsequent generation.

2. Teppanyaki: A Japanese dish of meat, fish, or both, fried with vegetables on a hot steel plate forming the centre of the table.