“Will you marry me?”

Be my political scapegoat? Nope!

Ah! How about you be my queen then!

After chewing through the dizzying translation, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“No, I don’t want to.”

“…Huh?”

Eve looked completely bewildered, as if she couldn’t process what she just heard.

But soon enough, her face turned pale as she seemed to understand my words.

“W-why?!”

“Why, you ask? Well…”

“Although I used to be a queen, I didn’t feel the need to step back into that role, but I could if I wanted to.”

“Power? I could get that too, just like becoming some saint or something.”

“What about money? I may lack the skill to earn big bucks, but the other elves don’t! If I ask, they’ll gladly hand over gold.”

“That might be true, but the money collected by the temple is probably more than what all the continent’s elves have combined.”

“Gah…”

“More importantly, I’m not marrying for money… If you thought I was that shallow, it makes me a little sad.”

“N-no! I swear by the World Tree, I never thought that!”

“Hmmm, well, I guess that’s fair. But it’s still true that there’s no reason for me to marry you.”

“That’s….”

Stuttering, Eve finally shut her eyes tight and shouted, “Then what about looks?! I know it’s weird for me to say this, but I’m quite confident in my beauty and figure among elves.”

“Wow… So first money, now looks. You do realize what you just said applies here, right? I’m not marrying for looks any more than I am for money.”

“……!”

Eve completely lost for words, hung her head low.

Of course, looks are a significant consideration, and I wouldn’t mind someone like Eve at all… but not now. There’s a proper order to things.
Eve’s rank is barely number 3…!
Muttering this in my head, I looked up at Eve, who couldn’t bring herself to meet my gaze.

Her face stained with shame and self-doubt. I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Maybe, just maybe, like you said, I could be your fate. You might not meet any other man besides me… But isn’t that your problem, too?”

“……”

“Sure, it’s tough for you. But I don’t have to devote my life to you out of pity. I have my own goals and circumstances.”

“……”

Right. Eve, desperate as she was, had to have realized by now.
She had just proposed to me because she got swept up in the mood and situation!
Honestly, it’s not a bad feeling. In this reversed world of the Pan Continent, a woman’s appearance has some value, but it’s not overwhelmingly significant… at least not to me.
Having someone like Eve claiming she has no options but to give me everything, including money and power, how could I possibly refuse?

The thing is, as I mentioned earlier, I have a darker subplot to settle in this world.
And I want to face the Goddess of Love in the labyrinth as well, if possible.
Right now, having gotten through just the first level, I can’t get tied down to Eve.

I don’t mean she’s going to constrain me. But whether we’re ruling as king and queen or living as symbolic figures, it’s clear my journey ends there.
No matter how diminished the queen’s presence is in elven society, or how reduced the World Tree’s influence, there’s no way I’m letting the king or queen’s husband just stroll through the labyrinth.

For that reason, I need to put a stop to Eve’s plans here. I should leave some room for error, just in case I accidentally darken her heart myself.

I reached out and held Eve’s face.
Soft.
The smooth feel of her cheeks. Though her face was slender and devoid of baby fat, her skin was just genuinely soft.
Eve, startled, cautiously opened her eyes. But even then, they were merely squinty eyes that had barely been closed.
Adjusting my angle slightly, I made her look directly at me.

“Eve, please don’t look away, just face me.”

“I-I…”

“I know, I know. You’ve felt lonely for a long time, haven’t you? The circumstances have pushed you this way.”

“Do you understand?”

“Of course I do. The World Tree has fallen into eternal slumber for the future of elves, and the surviving elves were left in despair. You had to fight against this grim reality as the queen arranged by the World Tree. It must have been difficult, especially since you were young.”

“That’s true… I was blessed with many things, but experience isn’t one of them.”

But now, with all the experience I’ve gotten, I’ve got no weaknesses!
Wait, would I actually be forgiven for actions like that…?
Hmm… If Eve’s translation engine is starting to work again, that means she’s had a little bit of room to think.

In other words, it’s a sign she’s slightly back to her senses.
I gently stroked her cheek, continuing.
“Carrying the fate of your race alone isn’t an easy task. Seeing the truth isn’t always a good thing… and not having anyone to share that pain must have been your greatest sorrow.”

“…I’m okay. A queen must be a noble being.”

Gratitude for understanding, but pity is just an insult.

Will this guy understand my preferences even in bed?

Really, what’s going on in Eve’s head…?
As regrettable as it might be, if she’s lived a thousand years holding it in, it’s understandable. I gently pulled on her hair.
As it slowly came down, her head bent down until it was at an angle her neck couldn’t bend anymore. She leaned her body and knees to match me. I didn’t stop there and kept pulling her closer.
Her former taller view soon matched mine and then dropped lower.
Her back, once a symbol of a queen’s dignity, was now bent, and her knees were kneeling on the floor.
While I was looking up at her before, now it was Eve looking up at me, and I couldn’t help but smile faintly.

“I understand why you’re so attached to me, Eve. But it’s a no-go.”

“Does that mean I have to live like this forever? Never knowing when this long life will end…?”

If I hadn’t known hope, I’d rather have lived without knowing it…!
Should I just close my eyes and kidnap her instead?
Good grief.

What if, just what if, I dared to, in this wild assumption…
Eve might have darkened her heart because she was rejected by the protagonist?!
It has a vibe of “If I can’t have you, I’ll just ruin you.”
I thought she was wise in governing the nation and was still living a morally upright life while adhering to the classical elven lifestyle, so how could she possibly turn dark over being rejected? But…
Seeing the way the translation is coming out, it might actually be possible.

I concealed my shock as I pulled Eve in for a hug.
Her face nestled into my chest. This unexpected turn of events made her flinch as I gently caressed her light green hair.
Just like soothing a child that’s had an accident.
Slowly, Eve’s trembling subsided. Only after completely calming down did she whisper in a quiet voice,
“No, that won’t happen. I won’t let it.”

“Eh?!”

Eve looked shocked at my words as if repeating them back to me.
It’s sincere. While I can’t live for Eve alone, she is still someone I have to protect.
Having lived nearly 50 times my age from my past life… no, my senior… uh, whatever. Even as an immortal, that part doesn’t change.
Eve is my child.
With that thought in mind, I tightened my grip around Eve’s head.

“I’m not saying I don’t want you. I’m just saying I can’t marry you right now.”

“So does that mean it’ll be different later?”

“Of course! By then, I’ll be an adult, right?”

“Ah… I didn’t even notice your age because you’re so mature.”

Well, it’s necessary to restrain myself, as marrying a minor could be frowned upon!
This is a sharp opportunity for some fun!
I decided to drag Eve back to reality as she slipped back into her fantasies.

“And there are other people as well.”

“Ot-Other people? What do you mean…?”

Stop the NTR!
3P… maybe!
I leaned closer to Eve’s long elven ears with no way out.
“I have another woman I’ve promised to marry. And you might not be the last one.”

“……!”

Now that she seems to have grasped the situation, Eve gasped.
I whispered into her ear with mischief unable to be concealed.
“Sorry, but my lower half is a little busy right now.”

“……?”

Oops! I only meant to soothe her…!
Eve reacted so honestly that I accidentally slipped up.