CHAPTER 110: | HER INTELLECT

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  "Then there she goes, escaping all on her own after all the drama they've created..."

  I smiled.

  My plan had successfully fooled Amara into thinking she had escaped from my grasp with her sharp judgment.

  But oh boy, she had been completely deceived by me into thinking that she had escaped with her own capabilities.

  But in reality, I let her escape so that she could grow into something stronger and more beneficial.

  Now, it was time for me to settle down for a while and wait for the fruit to ripen into something delicious.

  For now, I should deal with Lumicor.

  Since how could a god surrender?

  Especially Lumicor, whose belief in his intellect and talents was as high as the heavens... the thought of surrendering wouldn't cross his mind, nor will he ever truly commit to obedience, even after I've subdued him.

  I've experienced it multiple times from the subordinates that have sworn their loyalty to me.

  There are two types of those people, one, the ever-loyal, faithful zealots like Solia who still harbor a bit of desire to kill me, or the soon-to-be-subordinate, Lumicor, who would likely openly show his hostility and disobedience.

  But it was okay, since I could just create something to chain him down to me, like a family that I could threaten.

  Since who would abandon their own family, if not a beast like me?

  Hmm...

  I couldn't help but ponder my current situation.

  Now wasn't the time for me to chase Amara, nor was it the time for me to build my empire.

  So what should I do in this desolate place?

  The populace of this place would gradually replenish as the dungeon pulls records from the outside world, so food wouldn't be a problem.

  "..."

  I pondered for a bit more, then walked straight to Samantha, who was now elegantly sitting on the rubble, chatting with Ishtar.

  Ishtar was playing with an ornate silver revolver.

  "Then beautiful sister! Why do you use a revolver that only syndicates use?!"

  Ishtar was curious.

  She grew up in the slums and saw that syndicates would carry firearms such as revolvers or hand cannons, not a sword or a rapier, or in rare instances a trident that nobles use.

  "Hmm... you ask why I use revolvers as my weapon?"

  Samantha couldn't help but smile at Ishtar's questions, of why she, a noble, wasn't using a rapier or a sword that most nobles use, or a trident that some rarely use.

  Instead, why did she use a revolver as her main weapon?

  "The reasons are quite simple... exactly, how do I say it? Well firstly, I use a sword, a rapier, and a trident, since it's a noble's obligation to learn them. But I prefer guns, such as these twin revolvers, since I pretty much won't have to dirty my hands, unlike those weapons."

  Even after hearing Samantha's words, Ishtar was still confused. What was an 'obligation'?

  And why use a revolver when traditional weapons were more powerful, and she knew how to use them?

  Samantha cackled at Ishtar's confused face, amused.

  How could she not be, when a lovely child was racking her brain for answers?

  Samantha wanted to tease Ishtar more but restrained herself, since now was not the time.

  "So what brings you here, dearest~"

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I smiled at her words, then bent down and sat beside her.

  Ishtar jumped right at me enthusiastically, then unexpectedly asked me.

  "Mister! Handsome mister, are you this beautiful noble's husband?!"

  I nodded at Ishtar's words.

  Samantha, who was sitting right beside me, trembled slightly, embarrassed by my answer.

  I couldn't help but smile at how cute she was right now.

  "Then mister, are you two married? Then mister, when will we visit my mother? Mister? Mis..."

  It was weird that I wasn't answering any of Ishtar's questions, when I should have been answering them to build my relationship with her.

  But instead, I was drawn to the breathtaking cuteness that Samantha was showing me right now.

  Her freckled face, blushing mildly under my gaze, was extremely cute.

  Her eyes darting away from me... I found that cute, too.

  It was a first, that I felt something like this...

  'How disturbing... that I am only seeing her cuteness now...'

  Samantha fidgeted at my intense gaze as she covered her face with her hands, then muttered bashfully, her ears red.

  "D-don't look at me this intently... i-it makes me e-embarrassed..."

  Samantha was stuttering.

  It was cute to see her not so composed, unlike her usual self.

  I'd love it if she would show me more of this side of hers, only to me.

  "No... I won't stop looking at you. How can you be so adorable, Samantha, while being cool at the same time?"

  Samantha covered her face with her hands as she flushed harder from my words.

  She couldn't believe it, that someone had actually told her that she was adorable.

  'M-me? Cute? This... this is something new...'

  At first, it was her heartbeat drumming harder and harder, threatening to jump out from her chest.

  Then, it was her body unknowingly burrowing itself into my embrace as my scent covered her.

  "Do you... mean it?"

  I smiled at her words, lost in her beauty.

  My hands moved on their own, brushing through her hair. My mouth followed soon.

  "Yes... I mean it."

  Samantha smiled softly, then snuggled deeper into my robes until her forehead touched my bare skin, as she smiled foolishly in my embrace.

  "Those words earlier, Samantha... did you mean them?"

  Samantha flinched at my words, embarrassed at how she acted earlier, since proclaiming someone as your own isn't what a noble should do.

  "I apologize if I upset you with my words earlier..."

  Disheartened, Samantha admitted it, and I couldn't help but comfort her.

  "No, you didn't upset me... I-I'm just happy that you want me to be yours."

  I smiled at how bashful she was compared to that time.

  It would be great if she was more confident than this, but it isn't so bad, I guess, since I can see this adorable side of hers.

  Samantha couldn't understand why, but the deeper she dug into my embrace, the calmer her mind became.

  She smiled softly, then pointed at Lumicor from a distance away.

  "Alister... what should we do with that guy?"

  I thought that we were going to be all lovey-dovey after the battle ended, so it was quite unexpected for her to ask me what we should do to Lumicor.

  I could see Samantha's smile hidden by her bangs. It was her usual smile, elegant and calculating, telling me that she had yet another amusing plan to present to me, just like what she did in every cycle we met.

  "Well, I would bind him with my authority into subordination... but it's quite weird that you haven't asked me why I let Amara go."

  Samantha's eyes gleamed momentarily as she swirled her index fingers on my chest, then down to my abdomen, before smiling with a knowing face.

  "Hmm~ from all of the information that I've gathered about you, my lovely man... your body is on the point of breaking down from the wound that Amara dealt you, and..."

  She left her words unfinished, then glanced at me with a knowing smile as she reached out to one of her revolvers strapped to her waist.

  "Alister... you truly don't possess an omnipotent regeneration, right? This ability to instantly close your wounds, regenerate your missing limbs... it doesn't come from your regenerative ability, since you don't possess one. Am I correct?"

  Her voice halted in an interrogative manner, then her smile widened as she reached out to my ear, then whispered coldly.

  "It isn't your body's natural regeneration, but rather the ability to control your muscles in a molecular manner, right, Alister? Just like how you stitch a hole in your clothing... you control your muscles on a molecular level to reconstruct that certain area, or regrow an entire arm, right?"

  Her voice was extremely cold, to the point that it was scary to listen to her explanations.

  Everyone nearby hearing her voice would run away, just like Ishtar, who was now hiding in Solia's skirts.

  But Samantha wasn't finished yet.

  "While it couldn't truly fix the existing wound that your body incurred, still, it's a great fix, especially when it allows you to move and fight... so it is an impressive idea, Alister."

  Her gaze was predatory, almost to the point that she was going to devour me whole.

  It was scary.

  Samantha's mind, that could accurately deduce anything that she so desires with only peculiar hints, was something that I wouldn't want anyone to possess.

  "Indeed. You are correct in your deductions... so why did I let her be, when I could catch her if I so wished to?"

  Samantha frowned at the words that I spoke.

  The main question wasn't about my regenerative factor, but something else.

  It was, why did I let Amara escape?

  "Indeed, that is your question to me, and not about your regenerative factor... so silly me, if I strayed too far from the original question. Fufufu!"

  She chuckled softly at my words, then she coldly pressed the cool metal of her revolver's barrel into my skin while smiling cutely as she pulled its trigger.

  CLICK. BANG!

  It was an unexpected situation.

  I was shot in my abdomen, by none other than Samantha, who was thousands of times weaker than me.

  It was unnerving that she had bypassed my danger sense, allowing her to shoot my abdomen.

  My carapace-like armor must have been relaxed enough to let a bullet slip by.

  "But I didn't start that conversation because I was feeling smart after discovering that you merely possess a minor regeneration skill... but it was because you couldn't chase her. And there was no need, since you could smell the opportunity if ever you let her go, correct?"

  With her words finished, I felt a chill running down my spine, since her assessment was correct.

  After all, I did possess a minor regeneration, and I did let her escape because of the danger...

  "Indeed... you are correct."