“What?”
Ayra’s heart thudded. She had painstakingly inched the favorability up to 4, point by point—and now it had dropped by 3 in one go? Shocked, she imdiately summoned Janus’s Stat Window.
HP: 9,999,999
MP: 32
Physical Attack Power: ???
Magical Attack Power: ???
Favorability: 4♡ (-3♡)
[View Details]
Her heart pounded as she checked the favorability number. Next to the original score was the amount it had dropped, listed separately. That hadn't been the case when Nilma Argan’s favorability had fluctuated before. ...Did he really view the Lord of Solar and as different people? Well, if the numbers weren’t imdiately being sumd together, that was a relief.
Still, it’s unsettling. That must be what the parentheses an—maybe the values will be rged later.
Like, for example, when he realizes “Ayra = Solar’s lord”... That was a pretty likely scenario. Ayra quickly reviewed the complints she’d given earlier.
What was the problem? I just talked about a competent and handso lord—who wouldn’t like that? Does he hate people with good character or sothing? But I’m pretty decent myself...
She couldn’t understand it and kept frowning in confusion—until a thought suddenly struck her.
Wait... could he be jealous?
That would explain it. Her lover getting jealous because she was complinting soone else. But still, it didn’t make much sense. If she were to list the people who hovered around 4♡ favorability, it’d be... Jinas, back when he’d first arrived in Solar? That’s about how thin the relationship was.
It’d be nice if he were jealous, but... let’s not get our hopes up.
At the very least, she resolved not to bring up the Lord of Solar in front of Janus again. No need to provoke unnecessary drama. Before the favorability dropped even further, Ayra quickly diverted Janus’s attention.
“Let’s stop talking about our lord. You’re just going to sit there like this?”
She’d decided to wear herself out a little more to try and raise his favorability again. She’d carved out this rare bit of free ti just to share a al with Janus, and that potential –3 just now had hurt. A few days of less sleep wouldn’t kill her...
But it wasn’t just about the favorability. Part of her was genuinely looking forward to sleeping with him. Janus had never once disappointed her.
Not bothering to hide that anticipation, Ayra cupped Janus’s cheeks with both hands. Her desire ca first; instead of kissing him, she licked his lips before she even realized it. As she gazed into those red eyes, the suppressed joy and excitent she’d been holding back welled up all at once.
A dragon. A dragon is right in front of .
Her blue-gray eyes sparkled. Even if he looked human on the outside, inside he was unmistakably a dragon. Even that absurd HP stat of 9,999,999 felt adorable to her. ...Though his MP was weirdly low.
To think soone with such soft, warm lips could destroy an entire city if he wanted...
Her hands, which had been cradling his face, slowly slid to his neck. She ran her fingers through the soft red hair at his nape, ssing it up, and licked the lips pressed into a firm line. His body temperature was 2 or 3 degrees warr than a human’s. As she repeatedly licked the gap between his lips, his red eyes curved in a smile.
His lips, slick with saliva, parted, and his tongue—warm with heat—slid out. The tip t hers, slow and deliberate. Wet flesh slipped and mingled, pressing together. It was a small point of contact, but her body heated up faster than usual.
Janus’s lips curved like a crescent moon. As if he couldn’t take it anymore, teasing with just his tongue, he swallowed her whole into his mouth. With a loud, wet sound, he sucked her in and kissed her greedily.
Their tongues twisted and tangled, mixed together, sloppy and wet. The red muscle flickered between their parted lips. Ayra’s gray eyes began to glaze over, drenched in heat. Her dark pupils dilated, glimring with moisture and disarray.
They were tugging at each other’s clothes, already half-undressed, when—
Ding!
A notification window appeared with a louder-than-usual sound effect.
Chief Administrator Jinas is seeking the lord for a report.
Seriously? Right now?
Ayra, panting and halfway undressed, considered ignoring it—but another alert popped up.
[※WARNING: If you do not return to the castle within 30 minutes, approval ratings will drop by 1–3%.]
A small stone rolled out and fluttered its tiny round hands within Ayra’s line of sight. Approval rating drop? That was sothing the lord of Solar couldn’t afford to ignore.
A definite drop in approval rating... or a potential drop in Janus’s favorability?
Ayra chose the forr.
With a sigh, she pulled a small mineral from her subspace and slipped it into her pocket. Shivering as his hand continued stroking her waist, she reluctantly activated a spell on the mineral.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
A sharp alarm rang out. Janus winced, imdiately stopping.
“What the hell is that goddamn noise?”
His senses were twice as sharp as any human’s. He raised a hand to block his ears. Ayra quickly pulled the small crystal out of her pocket. As the red light flashing on the mineral dimd and the alarm ceased, she gently pushed Janus away.
“Sorry, I have to go. That’s a signal from the castle—they’re calling .”
Janus stared daggers at the mineral fragnt, clearly irritated. It seed the noise had aggravated his hypersensitive hearing—but fortunately, his favorability didn’t drop. With a disappointed sigh, Janus nodded.
“That sucks, but it’s work—I get it.”
He stood up and began dressing Ayra, piece by piece, in the clothes he’d stripped off her. Honestly, he was a very devoted dragon when it ca to his lover. Knowing how easily she got cold, he even pulled the hood up snugly over her head. The tenderness of that gesture sent a small ripple through Ayra’s heart.
Sotis, a person’s favorability could rise from such small things. She realized in that mont that her feelings for Janus had deepened. A faint sense of defeat swept through her mind like a cold wind.
“Next ti... I’ll stay a bit longer.”
“Yeah. Next ti.”
Leaning against the doorfra, Janus gave her a lazy smile. The season had just begun to snow, yet—perhaps because he was a dragon—he stood bare-chested and unbothered by the cold. Ayra swallowed her regret and turned to leave.
But for a long ti after, she didn’t find ti to stay longer than that day.
❄
The reason Jinas had urgently summoned Ayra was now standing stiffly before her, radiating a cold gaze.
“My apologies for the delayed greeting. I am Aterra te Act.”
The man gave his greeting, then slowly nodded his head a beat later. His rare black hair—a color uncommon in Solar—shifted softly with the movent. Even without the Stat Window, Ayra could feel that he didn’t like her. Still, she summoned it to check.
HP: 1452
MP: 895
Physical Attack Power: ???
Magical Attack Power: ???
Favorability: –13♡
[View Details]
When Ayra simply nodded without speaking, a chilly light flashed across his pale northern face, as if offended. Of course, Ayra felt no need to treat him warmly. Even if her territory was small, she was still the lord. And this man had barged into the castle without any prior notice—plainly disrespectful.
As Botello brought out warm tea to soothe her frozen body, Ayra silently stared at him.
Aterra te Act.
The young man dressed in pure white—just as he had been when she first ran into him in the slums with Janus—not much had changed. Even his eyes, watching her, looked the sa as they had then. Ayra figured he might’ve realized she was the lord back then. Elder Dalrok Logia had figured it out just by seeing her face.
Or maybe he was just an unpleasant man by nature...
After a few relaxed sips of tea, Ayra finally opened her mouth.
“Yes, your greeting is late. I took over the lordship a month ago.”
“Yes. I’ve been busy caring for the people of the territory and haven’t had ti to co.”
Excuse ?
Did he just say, to the lord’s face, that he was busy looking after her people?
That was practically picking a fight. Jinas, standing beside her, stiffened at the rude remark. The man hadn’t even properly introduced himself beyond his na. But Ayra remained calm and simply took another sip of tea.
I really don’t want to stir conflict with the Morunka Temple if I can avoid it.
Most of her people were devout followers—picking a fight would ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) only tank her approval rating. Ayra would bet 1 Cell that her citizens respected this High Priest more than they did her. So, as she set down the teacup, she tried to stay civil.
“The weather’s cold. Since you’ve co all this way, why not stay for a al before you go? It wouldn’t be right to send off the High Priest empty-handed.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I must decline. I have much to do today.”
Act’s tone was far from appreciative. Ayra matched him with an equally indifferent tone.
“Is that so? Pity. Well, I’ve received your greetings—off you go then. Safe travels.”
The tension in the room was icy, with neither side yielding an inch.
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