[Armed Palace, Royal Guest House, Guest Chambers]
Slap!
Slap!
Slap!
Holding Lumis's hair tightly, Vritra slapped him across the face several times, trying to provoke a reaction.
"Hey, wake up already."
Lumis's expression seemed almost blank, and there was no sign of feeling in his eyes.
Maybe he had given up.
『No, he wouldn't dare…』
It was too early for that. If Vritra wanted to get all the rewards from the system's side-quest, he needed to leave Lumis in a miserable state.
He wanted him to cry like a child.
SLAP!
Prince Vritra smacked the young Deva across his battered face again, then shoved two fingers into his nostrils and pulled on them like they were strings.
"Oho? You're not gonna retaliate? Trash!"
He looked very amused, waiting and hoping for some tears.
smack────SLAP!
SMACK!
He slapped Lumis repeatedly, but still got no reaction.
This quickly frustrated Vritra, and he started slapping Lumis even more while expressing his irritation.
"You disgust me! You're no different from the bosses I had to deal with in my previous life──always with their elitism! I work my butt off, only to get paid peanuts while my boss enjoys the rewards of my labor.
SLAP!
"And then there's people like you, who fate seems to favor so much! My whole existence is just to make you look good in front of those useless people and that bitch, Luciana!
SMACK!
"You're a failure! After all that investment from fate, you're still a pathetic loser! Here I am, humiliating you as I please, and you can't even lift your head to defend the woman you say you love.
SMACK!
SMACK!
"Come on, get mad! Or are you just going to lie there while I fantasize about all the ways I could mess her up in bed and leave her splayed like a vegetable on the floor? Well, more fun for me!
"Bahaha! I'll pound her so hard she'll make faces you never even knew were possible!
THWACK!
SLAP!
"You're a sad, pathetic, worthless normie with no skills or bitches. Just an NPC, a side character in your own story!"
Just as Vritra delivered the last backhand slap, two more of Prince Lumis's teeth flew out, and he spat out blood.
cough────COUGH!
This time, Lumis didn't hide his pain──he grunted furiously and clenched his fists tightly.
Huff~! Huff~!
His breathing grew faster and hotter, almost like an beast's.
A smile returned to Vritra's face.
"Ahah~ that's what I like to see…"
He was surprised to see Lumis gaining more confidence and trying to speak despite his throbbing headache and the blood pooling in his mouth.
"Luciana… don't spea──!"
Lumis barely managed to get the words out before Vritra slammed his fist into the back of the young Deva's throat with a sickening punch.
… UuuUURrgh~!
The young Deva's eyes bulged as if they might burst, and then he fell unconscious.
Prince Vritra sighed and released Lumis's head, letting it drop and slam into the ground.
"What a disappointment... I honestly thought you'd last at least a few more minutes. I suppose I was wrong."
The young Asura stood up straight and clasped his hands elegantly behind his back as he looked down at Lumis's battered form. He noticed how Lumis's body twitched with unbearable pain and how he let out small grunts and cries.
The "hero" was clearly suffering.
Vritra tilted his head and hummed.
『Did I… go too far?』
He looked as if he was trying to feel sorry.
But there wasn't any pity in him to offer.
[Congratulations! You have successfully humbled the "hero" Lumis Nela Deva.]
[Your rewards are currently being processed in the System's warehouse. They will be handed over to you in twelve hours.]
When he received the notification, nothing else seemed to matter. Vritra smiled like a child who had just received a gift from his mother and swiped away the system's alert.
"I should take my leave now."
He closed his eyes and smiled blissfully.
… Hm?
But before leaving, he glanced back at Prince Lumis.
To relieve some of his lingering annoyance, he rushed over and delivered a hard kick to the unconscious prince's side.
The act helped ease some of his stress.
"Now, I really should take my leave."
Vritra extended his hand to create a man-sized portal using his [Spatial Magic].
With that, he stepped through and disappeared.
━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━
[Armed Palace, Royal House, Vritra's Chambers]
"Hu…"
Prince Vritra sat on the bed with his legs crossed in a lotus position and his arms folded. He looked a bit tired as he stared up at the ceiling instead of the status board in front of him.
He wasn't distracted, though.
In fact, it was quite the opposite──he was carefully analyzing the other notifications he had received from the system just a few minutes ago.
[Ding! Your target, Esmeralda Kirkwood, has been thinking about what a gentleman you are. Her affection for you has gone up by 25 points.]
[She talked about you with Princess Luciana. The heroine's affection for you has increased by 30 points.]
[Your chances of seducing Esmeralda is now 78.3%]
[Your chances of seducing the "heroine" Luciana is still 0%]
… Sigh~
Vritra glanced wearily at his status board and let out a cold snort as he took in the numbers.
『Honestly, I'm not too disappointed with the current affection stats. My plan seems to be coming together nicely. I just need to do a little more push and pull with Esmeralda to get her to say more good things about me to Luciana.
『If the previous owner of this body were in my place, I'm sure he would've raped Esmeralda the moment she came to check on him in his chambers. But luckily for her, I'm me──and much smarter than the original owner, too. I made sure to show more concern for Esmeralda's well-being than interest, so she sees me as a gentleman and realizes I'm different from the rumors about Vritra.
『Next time she visits, I'll create some sexual tension and make sure she's the one who tries to push for something to happen. That's definitely possible, given her current affection level for me. Once she makes a move, I'll stop her halfway to show my self-control, which will surely have her talking more about me to Luciana.
『This way, not only will Esmeralda be fully attracted to me, but I'll also be able to get Luciana's affection level out of the negatives.』
Vritra already had a sinister smile on his face.
Lately, it had become a habit for him to smile like this without even realizing it.
Suddenly, he would notice that he had a wide, sadistic grin.
The pleasure he got from crushing and taking everything from the "hero" Lumis Deva brought him a deep, indescribable joy.
DING!
The notification sound from the system grabbed his attention, and when he looked at the screen, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Whoa!"
Genuine child-like amazement spread across his face as he leaned closer to the status board, gasping slowly in wonder.
"No way this actually exists!"
He was almost about to kick his feet up in excitement.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new feature called the Appeal Enhancement Menu. This lets you upgrade different aspects of your physical, psychological, and social appeal. Would you like to see some examples?]
[YES]/[NO]
Vritra immediately clicked [YES].
---Appeal Enhancement Menu---
[Skin Texture and Tone: 7/20]
[Facial Appeal: 5/20]
[Muscle Tone and Definition: 7/20]
[Posture and Body Language: 10/20]
[Dick Size: 9 inches]
(+30 More)
Vritra stopped scrolling and folded his arms, a smug smile briefly appearing on his face. One moment he was smiling, and the next he wasn't──he was clearly trying to hold back his excitement.
… Hrmmm
If he weren't so disciplined, he would probably be screaming like a little girl right now.
『I don't trust myself enough to use this responsibly.』
Finally, the system was giving him the princess treatment.
...
Meanwhile, in the hallway, there was an incredibly attractive and well-built woman. She had a tall, curvy figure with noticeable large buttocks and exceptionally big breasts, larger than any other woman's.
She was dressed in the attire of the head maid.
Yes, it was Esmeralda.
『Wh-, Why am I here…?』
There was a strong redness on her slightly sweaty but beautiful face.
『God Vritra doesn't need to see me for any reason, but I have a strong urge to come see him. No, my urges are stronger than that…』
She tightly gripped the sides of her dress and pressed her hands against her plump, sensitive thighs.
『Between my legs, it feels so warm and excited…』