“B-Because I haven’t had him yet! I want to be the first elf to have sex with him!”
Artemis blurted out the words without a break, but as soon as she realized what she’d said, her cheeks flushed a deep red, the color spreading up to the tips of her pointy ears.
“O-Oh, no! I-I didn’t mean that!” she stammered, trying to backtrack.
“What exactly didn’t you mean?” Queen Solaris’s grin widened, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she watched Artemis squirm.
“I-I didn’t mean anything,” Artemis mumbled, her gaze dropping to the floor.
The Queen’s smile widened, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Say, Leon. Have the two of you had sex yet?”
“Well, we explored the backdoor, but nothing other than that,” I admitted.
“Backdoor?” The Queen tilted her head cutely, clearly puzzled.
Oops. Seems like she didn’t understand what I meant. “Anal sex,” I clarified.
“L-Leon?! Why are you telling her that?!” Artemis exclaimed, her face turning an even deeper shade of red.
The Queen’s eyes sparkled with amusement, and she laughed softly. “Fufufu. Anal sex, is it? How bold of you, Artemis, to get your anal virginity taken before your vaginal virginity.”
“M-Mother?!”
“So, now you want to get your vaginal virginity taken, huh?” said the Queen, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Hmm… Okay, I guess I’ll have to wait for my turn then. Artemis, why don’t you straddle him now and get started? Oh, but impregnating an elf with human sperm isn’t going to work that fast, so you two will have to do your best to make it happen.”
“N-Now?” Artemis stammered.
“When else? It’s better to act now than to wait. The faster you can conceive a child, the faster I can have my turn too,” the Queen insisted.
Artemis looked at me, hesitation clear in her eyes. I guess doing it in front of her queen was too much for her right now. Well, it was too soon for that anyway.
“I suggest we postpone this for a later date, Your Majesty,” I said. “Artemis doesn’t seem comfortable with the idea. At least, not yet.”
“Oh, I see,” said the Queen, her voice softening. “I might be pushing you both too hard. Please understand, I only do this because I desperately want the elven race to thrive. And as a woman, I want to experience it at least once. I may be millennia old, but I’m still a woman who longs to be held by a man.”
“Y-You really want to do it, huh, Mother?” Artemis asked, her voice trembling slightly.
“Well, yes,” the Queen replied. “But as Leon suggested, we should postpone it. You’ve just returned, after all. Now, you should rest for a while. There’s not a lot of room here in Yggdrasil, so would you mind if you two shared a room? I think your room should be fine, Artemis.”
“Y-You want me to share my room with Leon?”
“Why not? You’ve already ‘explored the backdoor,’ so why hesitate now?”
“T-That’s different!” Artemis blurted out, her cheeks turning a deep crimson.
“Come on, Artemis. We’ve already shared a bed together. Remember last night? You were sleeping so soundly, using my arm as a pillow,” I teased, a sly grin spreading across my face.
“Leon!” Artemis’s cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red, her embarrassment palpable.
This elf woman was undeniably adorable, especially when flustered. The contrast of her regal composure with this sudden vulnerability was captivating, making her even more irresistible.
***
That night, the Queen summoned me for a private conversation. Artemis looked at me with concern and asked the Queen if she had any intentions towards me. The Queen assured her that there was nothing of that sort planned. Artemis, still worried, reluctantly allowed me to proceed with the conversation.
“Uh, where are we going, Your Majesty?” I asked as we walked towards our destination. It didn’t seem like we were heading to her room.
“You’ll find out when we get there,” Solaris replied. “And please, just call me Solaris.”
“Isn’t that a bit inappropriate, especially since you’re the Queen and much older than me?” I remarked.
“Oh, come on,” the Queen chuckled with a playful air. Despite her millennia as a mother, she exuded a youthful charm that defied her age. “Titles like ‘Queen’ are just labels. And age? It’s just a number. No need to be so formal with me. By the way, you have no tact, do you? I can’t believe you just casually mentioned that I’m much older than you. Even elves with long lifespans are touchy about their age, you know?”
I realized my bluntness might have been a misstep.
“Here, Leon,” she said, leading me towards what looked like a basement. “I haven’t shown this place to anyone, not even Artemis. My mother told me that when I crown Artemis as the queen, I’ll reveal this.”
“Why are you showing it to me?”
“It’s because… you are our savior,” she said.
I still didn’t understand this “savior” thing. She mentioned it earlier, but I hadn’t received any explanation yet.
“You still look like you don’t understand,” said Solaris. “But it’s as simple as this. Being our savior doesn’t mean you’ll become our hero. Well, in a way, it’s a fitting title since you’ll essentially save the dying race of Elves. But that’s the extent of it. You’re not obligated to do anything other than father children for the Elves.”
“Why was I chosen?” I asked.
“Well, it’s because of your skill, Leon,” she explained. “The power to copy any abilities from those you’ve had sex with. It’s a very potent skill. Lilith, the original owner of that skill, was incredibly powerful with it. She could replicate anyone’s abilities just by gazing into their eyes once. That’s how formidable she was.”
“Lilith can replicate it just by gazing into their eyes?” I asked, seeking clarification.
“Yes. Unlike yours, which still requires having sex with others to copy their skills, she can do it by looking into her target’s eyes. I have no idea why she made the skill she gave you much weaker than the original. I suppose if she split herself and then transferred one of her skills to each one, there would be some kind of backlash weakening the original.”
Huh. So it’s similar to my skill… interesting. If I copy a skill from a woman without fully dominating her, then the skill I copy is weaker than the original. I wonder if it works the same for Lilith.
“Now, let’s discuss this as we go deeper,” Solaris urged, leading the way down the staircase. I followed, the steps winding deeper and deeper into the earth until we finally reached the bottom. My eyes widened in astonishment as we arrived.
“What’s… this?” I exclaimed, my attention drawn to the intricate murals that adorned every inch of the walls.
It depicted a long battle involving a woman with black hair, red eyes, and an emotionless face. She wielded a sword with an eye near its crossguard, and behind her were black wings with two horns protruding from her forehead. She was not clothed in the traditional sense, but her draconic skin covered her private areas. Despite being a mere painting, she exuded a captivating and breathtaking beauty.
“That’s the war that occurred centuries ago. The conflict lasted for a hundred years,” Solaris explained, gazing at the murals. “It was a brutal and protracted war between humans and demons, the longest and most savage since ancient times.”
The murals appeared ancient, their age evident in their weathered appearance. Yet, this did not diminish their beauty.
“That woman there…” Solaris began, pointing to a portrait of another woman. She appeared human, riding a winged white horse and charging towards a horde of demon enemies with a sword in hand. Beside her stood an elven woman wielding a bow. “is the legendary woman who won that war for humans. I believe she’s now revered as the Goddess of War in human territories. Beside her is my mother.”
Those two women appeared to be fighting against the seven women on the opposite side. I knew exactly who they were.
“You must have realized they are the seven princesses of Hell,” Solaris remarked. “That’s right. They are them.”
“So they were the ones leading the war back then?”
“Yes. But they were also being commanded by the demon lord at that time,” she explained.
“So those were the seven who defeated Lilith?”
“Some of them, yes. But others have passed their titles to their heirs, and those heirs were the ones who took down Lilith. These here are the first generation of the seven princesses; some played a role in Lilith’s defeat, while others were from the second generation.”
Both of us fell into a contemplative silence as we stood before the ancient murals, their vivid depictions casting shadows across the chamber.
After a while, Solaris turned to me with a serious expression. “Now, Leon, what do you think sparked the war?”
