Conquest Complete, So Why Is the Affection Dropping? - Chapter 70
A festival was held in the evening.
Looking at how quickly they organized such a lively festival for what wasn’t even that big of an event, it seems the demon race must naturally love hosting events.
“Ah, finally I can drink to my heart’s content after so long!”
Mason, who just yesterday had drunk himself into a stupor, shamelessly rewrote history. Maybe he should switch careers from repairman to launderer. Did he perhaps choose the wrong profession?
“Marvis, what are you doing?”
“Choosing hair accessories.”
Isn’t it a bit much for a man to put so much effort into grooming? His face looks good with anything, anyway. Of course, I hope he doesn’t choose anything too dangerous like that rabbit headband from before, since my heart might get unexpectedly assaulted.
Pushing such nonsense thoughts aside, I approached him, and Marvis held out a black ribbon with artificial flowers.
“Are you going to wear that? I don’t think it’ll suit you.”
“What are you talking about? I was choosing it for you.”
Ah, was that it? If this was going to be a player transformation event, he could have given me some warning. I jumped to the wrong conclusion.
As I shrugged and reached for the ribbon, Marvis pulled his hand back and shook his head.
“Turn around, Joo-ah.”
Is he going to style my hair himself? Now that the affection level has risen this much, I suppose this much skinship is acceptable. As if detecting my thoughts, the status window finally displayed the affection explanation again.
[Marvis]’s current affection: 70
High enough affection to offer entertainment when asking for favors rather than making requests empty-handed.
I can’t tell if this means he has genuine affection or just thinks I’m materialistic.
Of course, nobody dislikes being treated well! But I’d listen even if he just asked normally. Usually, that is.
“Marvis. If you have something to ask me, just say it.”
“Oh? Why do you think that?”
“Just. All I did was fix the heating pipes. It doesn’t seem like something deserving this much hospitality.”
“Do you not realize what you’ve done?”
“What realization?”
“The central heating system is Niflheim’s core. Even if it seems trivial, it was a situation where tens of thousands of lives hung in the balance.”
“Didn’t that system break down too easily? And there wasn’t even anyone managing it.”
“That’s the kind of world this is.”
Marvis skillfully braided and pinned up my hair, decorating it with the black ribbon.
“In this world, we can’t survive on our own power alone. We can lose our lives over the smallest problems, so without your salvation, we’re nothing but candles in the wind.”
So a ‘dying world’ isn’t just about the world ending at the finale, but rather about how seemingly minor but fatal problems frequently occur even before that.
Come to think of it, even the Holy City’s barrier breaking was story-wise trivial since it only affected NPCs represented by numbers in the game. But for them, it must have been fatal.
“We can’t survive without holding onto you.”
“……”
“All done. You look pretty.”
Marvis finished styling my hair and brought over a mirror. I was surprised to see my reflection looking as elegant and noble as a magazine model.
This guy, why is he just being the leader of a dark city with these skills? If he’d opened a salon, he could have won over the hearts of the Holy City people and resolved racial conflicts in one go.
“Marvis, you’re quite skilled.”
“I suppose I am.”
While Marvis’s hair is longer than most men’s, it’s not long enough to be called long hair. Being this skilled at hair styling means he must have practiced countless times.
“Have you done this a lot?”
“Well, there’s nothing else to practice down here.”
“Is that so?”
I can’t let that comment slide.
Mickey, Morgan, and even Mason all had short hair. That means he must have touched some other woman’s hair, not just the demon race around here.
Come to think of it, this guy was suspiciously skilled at kissing too. Even when his affection was at rock bottom, one kiss was enough to make me weak in the knees.
Marvis is 150 years old, and there’s no way other women would have left this walking R-rated man alone. It’s frustrating, but I can’t deny it.
“Marvis, be honest. What number am I?”
“What number?”
“How many women have you been with?”
“How could I be with other women when I’m exclusively yours? Of course, you’re my first.”
…I thought he’d try to dodge the question, but he came in with a flirt instead.
Is this just his natural personality?
“And you’ll be my last.”
“…Ahem.”
For a moment, his words could have been mistaken for a confession, and I stumbled trying to find words to scold him.
He was that skilled without any experience with women? Is this what they call a ‘virgin s*x god’ or whatever?
I examined Marvis’s expression through the mirror. He looked satisfied, apparently pleased with how he had styled me.
‘Rather… cute.’
Despite walking around with his indecent chest exposed, he wasn’t actually promiscuous. Though it’s a bit of a forced setting, I welcome this kind of twist.
After all, a big part of why people pay more for new products is the satisfaction of being the first to unwrap them!
“Shin Joo-ah. That’s quite an expression. Having some rather lewd thoughts?”
“Ah-buh-buh! You’ve got it wrong.”
“If you’re hoping for more than that, I’d certainly welcome it.”
“Urk.”
I accidentally bit my tongue at his unexpected response. Though it hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes, that wasn’t the important thing right now.
What did he just say?
“Marvis. What exactly did you mean by that?”
“This is what I meant.”
His large hand wrapped around my shoulder, then slid down to cup my b****t. When I twisted in surprise, his hot lips found the exposed nape of my neck.
Gasping, I froze as Marvis slowly caressed me, languidly sucking on my skin. The back of my neck burned with a slight stinging sensation. Did he bite me?
“Ah, Marvis…”
“Push me away if you don’t like it.”
His caresses were too skilled to push away.
I swallowed hard, suppressing the urge to suggest we head to bed. Though it wouldn’t be impossible at this affection level, since we went straight to bed even when it was rock bottom, but I’d decided to go the opposite route this time.
‘Holding back might make me sick, but…’
Shin Joo is immune to illness. So I can endure it. I had to endure.
When I shook my head, his sensual touch withdrew cleanly.
“You don’t want to miss the festival, right?”
The moment Marvis touched me, all thoughts of the festival had vanished. I just felt that now wasn’t the right time for physical intimacy. Though I had no basis for it, a woman’s intuition shouldn’t be ignored.
“Did you practice this too?”
“Well, throughout history, pillow talk has always been the most effective form of persuasion.”
Don’t you know about anti-graft laws? The entertainment allowance limit is 30,000 won!
“Did I seem that materialistic to you? It’s pathetic to offer your body to that kind of woman. You should hope I’m a good person instead.”
“I don’t mind if you’re not a good person.”
“…Huh?”
“Even if you turn out to be the worst person possible, my feelings for you won’t change. Isn’t that convenient?”
Anyone can love someone’s good points. But accepting their flaws is impossible unless you truly love them.
Is Marvis trying to say his feelings won’t change even if I act materialistic and selfish? Though for that, his initial affection level was frighteningly low.
“Being a good person is hard work. If you try too hard to look good to others, you’ll quickly burn out. I don’t want you to leave because you’re tired.”
“I’m not that lacking in patience…”
“I promised I’d make sure you wouldn’t regret choosing this place. You can be as lazy as you want, Joo-ah. I’ll cover everything for you.”
The man who initially made me worry about getting a bad ending when I first saw his affection level was now wrapped around my finger like a tongue in my mouth. If I’m not careful, I could lose my humanity in an instant, getting swept up in this.
Could this place actually be the Hell of Sloth rather than Niflheim?
“Marvis, I don’t really like getting things without effort.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
After actually experiencing it firsthand, I know for sure. Rewards given without effort only make me anxious.
“If you find 100 won on the street, you feel lucky, but if you find a bag with 10 billion won, you get scared.”
I decided to forget about demanding 50 billion from Cedric. I learned something good from Mason.
“I understand. I said I’d adjust to you.”
Marvis smiled refreshingly and held out his hand.
“Shall we go then? Joo-ah.”
“Sure.”
As we stepped out the door, holding Marvis’s hand, bright artificial sunlight poured down. Even though it looks only as big as a soccer ball from far away, it’s this bright – they must have upgraded the electrical system to make it shine brighter.
‘Artificial sun, heating pipes, and even a firework show.’
For an underground dark city, they sure love light and heat, don’t they? Does the rule that you desire more what you can’t have apply here too?
‘Since this is the city Marvis cultivated for me, I want to do something more for it too.’
Come to think of it, Soo-young did say that giving gifts to romance targets makes their affection rise easily.
‘Should I buy something from a street vendor too?’
While I was pondering this, I suddenly noticed an unconfirmed mark in the corner of my status window.
‘This exclamation mark… ah.’
It’s the bonus roulette I got for clearing the heating pipe quest. I forgot to spin it because of all the chaos that happened in between.
‘If I desire something for myself, the greed sensor will probably make something useless come out. But…’
If I wish for something helpful for Marvis and the citizens of Niflheim, since that’s an altruistic thought, wouldn’t something useful come out?
It seemed like sound logic.
“Joo-ah, what’s wrong?”
When I stopped walking, Marvis asked with confusion.
‘Just wait. This savior will give you a nice present!’
I flashed a grin at Marvis and confidently spun the bonus roulette.
