CHAPTER 56.5 - Auction. Part 2.

Kei was sure that Terkiana would accept to help him and not give up. She has lived a very long time, considered an elder among the Elves, who are a race that on average live 1,000 years. She has lived more than enough. It's like asking a 100-year-old human to risk their life and save the world. It's an offer that almost no one would refuse. Besides, she is an Elf, belonging to a proud warrior race. Dying in battle is an honor for them, especially against formidable enemies like a Goddess.

Terkiana is not a warrior herself, as she spent most of her life taking care of orphans, but that doesn't take away the fact that the blood of a proud warrior race runs through her veins.

But Nerka is only 22 years old. She is still young, especially considering she is an Elf. For the Elves, Nerka is still like a little child. She still has a long life ahead of her. Will she accept the risk and stay with Kei?

Kei really doesn't want to risk Nerka's life in vain. She has the slow development of the Elves, and even though Kei has [Double Points], that won't help her become as powerful as Drin or even Eris. Nerka knows this perfectly well, she knows her weaknesses, which is why she is willing to train as hard as Kei, regardless of each training session leaving her almost dead, literally speaking. Thanks to the healing magic of Drin and Kei, she has managed to achieve a power that a normal Elf would take 10 years to achieve, and she achieved it in less than a year. Yes, that's incredible, but considering that the final battle could be in a couple of years, that's not enough.

Kei really didn't want to have her with him, it was too risky, but seeing her putting so much effort into the training and being willing to move forward, he doesn't dare to expel her.

He already knows the answer he will receive, but after what happened with Treka, Kei hopes that Nerka will reflect on her decision.

He doesn't want any more deaths in his life, let alone deaths in vain.

"Well..."

Kei activated a soundproof field and created earth walls around them, so that no one could see them, as he wanted privacy. He created a fireball for illumination.

He took a breath, trying to relax and maintain a smile on his face, to show confidence in his words.

They just looked at him in silence. Nerka wanted to make a joke about the serious atmosphere, but she bit her lips to avoid saying anything stupid, as even they know what Kei will say, and making a joke would be very imprudent on her part, considering that Kei is taking this matter very seriously.

"You know, I have lived for a long time. 30 years. Ah, I'm already old..."

"Well, 30 years for us is like adolescence. You are far from being old, Kei," said Terkiana, caressing his hand.

"Exactly! You are only 8 years older than me! For us, it's like you are only one year older than me in human time. Oh, I think I didn't explain it well. It's like I'm 15 years old and you're 16. Don't worry about your age, my dear husband! Come on, come on, don't be discouraged by that."

Kei opened his mouth slightly to answer Nerka, but he realized what they were trying to do. They wanted to change the subject so that he wouldn't continue torturing himself with the problem with Treka, but he decided to let out everything he had kept in his heart.

"My life is nothing to envy, but it's normal. I had a normal childhood, a normal family, normal friends. I am satisfied with my life... Ah, what I'm trying to say is that I am ready to die," he said, smiling.

They were startled by the cold and chilling words that came out of Kei, which he said with a smile on his face, as if what he said wasn't something so eerie.

They can't detect lies like Drin and Kei, but Kei's expression said it all: he wasn't lying.

"What?! Ready to die?! What are you planning to do, my dear husband?! Don't tell me you're planning a suicide attack against Fravi?!"

"Well..."

"Kya! I told you not to tell me! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to, I don't want to!" she shouted, covering her ears and shaking her head.

Terkiana covered her mouth and stopped her head.

"Let him keep talking. Kei, what do you mean by that? To die? Do you really think that? Don't you want to go back to your world?"

"I'm 90% sure I will die in my fight against that useless Goddess. Yes, I want to go back to my world, and that little hope of seeing my family again helps me keep going, but that doesn't change the fact that I am realistic about my situation."

"Kei, look, I know you're still tormented by what happened with Treka, but don't torture yourself anymore, please. Stop thinking about it," Terkiana said.

"Girls, our adventure will be more dangerous from now on. I'll be very honest, maybe some of us will die. Maybe I will die before... I am willing to sacrifice myself for you, but... I'm useless. Treka died because of me."

Terkiana and Nerka tried to complain after hearing those painful words, but Kei was smiling and didn't seem sad, on the contrary, he seemed like his usual self, and that made Nerka happy because she believed Kei was regaining hope, but it made Terkiana very sad because that smile seemed very genuine to her, but deep down she knew it was a fake smile.

"I don't know if I can protect you... I love you all. You are my family. I don't want to lose you, but I have learned that life is a bitch. The future is unpredictable. Maybe Drin will die tomorrow. Maybe I will die in a week... Death is inevitable... Happy endings are hard to come by. There isn't a guide to help me find the good ending to my story... And to find it, we must survive. Pain, sadness, frustration, fear... We will feel all of that in the future... We will suffer a lot... That's why I ask you to think carefully about your answers. Will you stay by my side or will you leave? Honestly, if I were you, I would give up. First of all, I would never fall in love with a guy who has many girlfriends. I would never accept being in his harem... I hate myself. I hate my new life so much... But I also enjoy it. I am a man, I can't help it... Girls, do you really want to be with me? Do you really not mind that I have other girls by my side? Because..."

Kei couldn't help but cry, his smile trembled and he lowered his gaze. He tried to maintain his fake smile for longer, but as he continued with his words, the pain hidden in his heart gradually manifested. The pain of losing the woman he loved, the woman who died protecting him.

They could only stare at him, unable to say anything in response, mainly out of fear. Kei's mental state seemed unstable, and they were afraid of making him feel even worse with their words of comfort.

Words won't bring Treka back to life. It's true that words can help people feel better, but they are also useless in situations like this. What Kei needs are not words of consolation that he possibly expects to hear, what he needs are actions, and they know it.

A "everything will be fine" doesn't solve anything, but a hug is an action that conveys love, warmth, affection... support.

They hugged him and said nothing more, but that hug was enough for Kei's smile to stop trembling and remain. And although the tears kept flowing and the sadness didn't diminish, that hug is a reminder that he is not alone, that he has the support of many people, and at the same time, those people need him.

Allowing oneself to be consumed by sadness would only bring negative consequences, so it's not an option in his life.

"I... I do hate it. All I want is to live a peaceful life... But I can't. I will keep moving forward and fight. I don't know if I will achieve victory, but at least I will try... Treka saved me. I won't let her death be in vain... I will kill Cris first. I will kill her. And then... I... I..."

Kei's breathing became accelerated, his heart rate increased even more than it already was, a cold sweat ran down his forehead, and his body trembled.

Anxiety consumed him. The anxiety of not knowing exactly what to do.

The anxiety of not being prepared for the dangers of the future.

"I... I..."

"Kei..."

Terkiana caressed his head and kissed him on the forehead.

Nerka, upon seeing that action, smiled, as it was exactly what Terkiana did with Nerka when she saw her sad, and although most of the time Nerka only cried when she lost a fight or when she couldn't catch the animal she wanted, that action worked quite well with Kei because when he felt Terkiana's hand running through his head, he stopped trembling and looked up to meet her gaze.

Terkiana was smiling at him while caressing his hands.

"You are very good. You have too much stress, don't you? 'What if they hate me for having many girlfriends? Am I a terrible person? What if they feel used? What if they hate me?' You are wondering about that, aren't you?"

"... I..."

"Listen, we are all by your side by our own choice. You don't force us to be by your side. You don't take advantage of us either. On the contrary, we take advantage of you."

Upon hearing that, Kei felt a chill as he remembered all those times when Drin, Eris, and even Nerka "forced" him to have sex. They didn't force him as such, but they pressured him so much that he didn't dare say no.

Kei does not enjoy sex as much as the women do, which is why it is inevitable that sometimes he feels like a mere sexual toy for them.

"Day after day...

"I'm sorry for that, but we became addicted to you," Nerka said, smiling and winking.

"I know very well how dangerous it is to be by your side. We all know it. I have seen many die in front of my eyes. Anger and frustration would invade my body when that happened. 'Why couldn't I save her? If only I were stronger.' I know very well the pain you are feeling for Treka's death. You feel useless, but you're not. Kei, you saved my village. You saved me. You saved Eris. If Drin had attacked you, she would be dead right now, but you decided to give her a new chance at life by your side. You showed mercy to a being that hates humans. You do not discriminate or reject anyone. Mio and Nem now live peacefully and can proudly say that they always have food on their plates. Thanks to you, they now have a home and friends. You are too good, that's why I love you."

Terkiana began to kiss Kei, and he turned completely red because the kiss caught him off guard. He thought they would only talk; he never imagined that Terkiana would kiss him, as she is usually the one who waits for Kei to take the initiative, not the other way around.

If an Elf saw this, they would be shocked and quite disgusted. Terkiana is considered an old woman. It's like a 70-year-old woman kissing a 15-year-old boy. It looks very strange, but for Kei, it's not strange. Terkiana looks like a 20-year-old girl, and it doesn't seem uncomfortable to him.

Age is just a number for him.

"It's not fair, grandma! It's my turn!"

Nerka took Kei and started kissing him, but more intensely than the previous kiss, as if it were a competition.

Kei tried to separate his lips from Nerka's, but she sucked them so much that he could only stretch his lips in a rather painful way to watch.

And since the auction was about to begin, he couldn't kiss her any longer, and as Nerka showed no signs of wanting to stop, Kei squeezed her nipples while activating his ability on her. And as he did so, a large notification that said [Orgasm, Nerka] appeared in front of him, at the same time that Nerka separated her lips from Kei's just to start moaning in pleasure, something quite uncomfortable to watch for both Kei and Terkiana, as she not only moaned but also caressed her nipples.

"Kei, you went too far," Terkiana said, looking away so as not to see her only granddaughter doing that.

"I-I'm sorry, I panicked. Let's change the subject!"

Kei turned to look at Terkiana, while Nerka continued moaning and... masturbating behind him, caressing Kei's leg with her bare breasts.

[Seduce women], a simple but deadly ability.

"Can't you deactivate it?" Terkiana said.

"I-it's already deactivated," Kei said, embarrassed.

"Oh."

"Girls, thank you for your words! I needed to vent... I hate protagonists with harems. I hate NTR. I can't help but feel bad and hate myself... But it's a hatred I have to endure. It's for the good of the world. I have to suffer so that the world keeps existing," Kei said, smiling.

Terkiana tried to cheer him up once again with a kiss, but Nerka beat her to it.

"Uwaaaah! What are you doing?!"

Nerka pulled Kei by the legs, knocked him to the ground, and sat on top of him, inflating her chest to better show off her bare breasts.

"Fufu. You used your ability on me, so face the consequences."

"At this moment?!"

Kei quickly exchanged glances with Terkiana, pleading for help, but she looked away and sat down.

"It hurts a lot if we hold back," she said, caressing her arm.

"My grandmother is right. Give me your injection to feel better, my lovely husband."

"Why did this sudden change in atmosphere happen?!"