CHAPTER 168: EX 168. DOUBT

Nikko’s flush lingered longer than she probably wanted, but Leon saw the way her breathing steadied. Her gaze softened into something... speculative.

’I wonder how it would feel...’ The flicker of thought was gone almost as soon as it formed, replaced by a quick shake of her head.

Elizabeth caught it though. Leon didn’t miss the slight grin curling at the corner of her mouth. Very soon, she seemed to think, like she was already plotting something devious.

To break the weird tension hanging over the room, Leon leaned against the arm of the couch and asked,

"Nikki... why are you here?"

That seemed to pull her fully back as she told them the reason.

"I’ll be following you into the Trial World,"

The words hit like a pebble in a silent pond, small, but the ripples went wide. Elizabeth’s grin vanished. Even she blinked at that, lips parting slightly. A second later, both Leon and Elizabeth spoke at the exact same time:

"What!!!?"

Nikko didn’t flinch. She went on to explain how the Governor himself had assigned her to Leon’s team, giving her a false crystal that would let her enter the Mortal Zone alongside them.

Leon understood immediately.

’The old man really thought of everything.’

Elizabeth, on the other hand, frowned in visible confusion. She knew exactly how rare a false crystal was.

’Why would the Governor hand one over so casually, and for Leon?’

She didn’t bother holding the thought in.

"But why would he do that for Leon?"

Nikko’s head tilted slightly, her curiosity now fully piqued.

"I was wondering the same thing."

Two sets of eyes, equally sharp and equally gorgeous, locked on him.

Leon didn’t even hesitate.

"It’s because I’m his successor."

Silence. Then, as if their brains were trying to catch up with the words, two voices overlapped again, this time tinged with disbelief.

"What!!!?"

****

Leon hadn’t planned on hiding it, not anymore. After the mess he’d made by keeping his talent from Elizabeth, he’d promised himself he’d be completely open with his women from now on. So when Nikko and Elizabeth pressed him, he didn’t flinch.

"I’m the Governor’s successor,"

The words dropped like a blade in the quiet room. In hindsight, he probably should have eased them into it. Warmed them up. Maybe thrown in a soft lead before hitting them with such a bombshell. Instead, he got the full recoil of his decision in the form of a barrage of questions.

Elizabeth’s voice came first, sharp but not angry.

"You’re the Governor’s heir? How? Did he adopt you? What about your family?"

Before he could even draw a breath, Nikko fired her own shot.

"Leon... are you being threatened? The Governor’s known to be... perverted, and I’m afraid he’s coming after you."

That one caught him off guard, blinking at her in pure disbelief. But there was no stopping them now, their questions kept coming, bouncing off each other like rapid fire.

Leon held up a hand and answered as cleanly as he could.

"I’m not adopted, it’s more like an appointment." Then he turned to Nikko, a dry edge in his voice. "And Nikki, I think you should reduce your interaction with Lizzie. She’s influencing you negatively."

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed.

"Hey."

Leon ignored the jab, shifting into something more serious. He told them, at least, the parts he could, that the Governor had chosen him because he believed Leon could change the world’s destined doom. He kept the man’s talent to himself; it wasn’t his secret to spill. But everything else? He laid it bare.

The room grew heavy.

Elizabeth finally asked,

"But... why you, Leon?"

Nikko’s agreement came in a slow, concerned nod. Why him? Why did he have to be the sacrificial lamb?

Leon caught the looks they gave him and shook his head in mock disappointment.

"I can’t believe it."

Nikko tilted her head. "What can’t you believe?"

That cocky smile spread across his face, an expression that made both women’s hands itch suddenly .

"I can’t believe you’d even ask that after seeing what I’m capable of. Destruction of the world? Ha. It’s a millennium too early for that to happen while I’m around."

They didn’t answer right away. But as the words settled, both Nikko and Elizabeth found themselves thinking the same thing: when they stripped away their emotions and thought logically, Leon had already done things most people considered impossible. If anyone could stop the world from ending, it was him.

That confidence was reassuring... until he added, almost casually:

"After all, it’s just a year. Plenty of time to get ready."

The air in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

Elizabeth was the one to voice what they were both thinking.

"...fuck me."

****

The room’s earlier tension thinned like mist in sunlight, replaced by the quiet hum of preparation. They were leaving soon for the trial world.

Leon’s gaze drifted to the faint glimmer of his status screen, still open in the corner of his vision. He hadn’t bothered to accumulate points today. At first, the growth had been intoxicating, each point a tidal wave when his combined stats were in the hundreds. Now, with everything towering past six thousand, the same effort felt like tossing pebbles into the ocean.

’A hundred points used to shake my whole body...’ now they barely make a ripple.

He exhaled slowly, jaw tightening. If this continued, the stat gains would soon feel like nothing at all. That was why he needed the trial world. Somewhere in that dangerous expanse, there might be a way to push his talent further, beyond this plateau.

But even if his progress had slowed, Leon wasn’t without options.

"I’ll just have to ask Nikko."

When he’d revealed to Elizabeth and Nikko that he was the Governor’s successor, he’d also told Nikko about his EX-rank talent. She had the right to know. Now, she could give him the help he needed to boost his gains for the day.

Leon glanced at her, Supreme Heir of the Federation, hair catching the light like molten gold, as she tightened the straps on her gauntlets. He was about to experience something that might change his sexual preferences. "I hope it doesn’t,"