CHAPTER 62: FRUITS AND SWORDS

That same evening, while Shion and Haru surrendered to their desire and passion, Rouhuo and Ayame sat facing each other on the mattresses.

"Rouhuo, what did you want to tell me?" Ayame asked, her voice serious.

"M-m-my lady, I..." The half-lioness turned her head away.

"Does this have to do with your weird behavior since I kissed you? Don’t think I didn’t notice, Rouhuo."

Rouhuo blushed even harder.

"Yes," she whispered, lowering her head. "I’m sorry, my lady. Ever since... that day, you awakened something in me. I don’t know if these are feelings I might have had for you before. You’re so wise, kind, and noble, and at the same time a loving mother, and..."

"Well, that’s my fault," Ayame sighed. "Honestly, I didn’t do it just because it was needed."

"Huh?!" Rouhuo blushed, staring at her in shock and disbelief, yet also with a spark of hope.

"To be honest with you, Rouhuo," Ayame said shyly, turning her head aside, "Lan Yue hasn’t really spent time with me lately. Over the past year, I’ve felt a bit lonely and left on my own, but I’d never cheat on him with another man. I couldn’t do that. So I started thinking about what it would be like... with a woman. You were closest to me, so I often thought about doing... different things with you."

"M-m-my lady, b-but... even if... we c-c-can’t..."

"Oh, Rouhuo, don’t you know the saying that forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest?" Ayame said, then pressed her lips to hers in a passionate kiss.

At first, Rouhuo was startled, unsure how to respond, but then she gave in to her lady.

"M-my lady, I..."

"When it’s just us, call me by my name," Ayame said, smiling seductively.

"Ayame... are we really... I-I mean..."

"Well, I don’t see another way to satisfy me needs without feeling guilty. I didn’t think lionesses could be so timid."

Rouhuo exhaled in relief, which Ayame hadn’t expected.

"They’re not," Rouhuo replied proudly. "I acted cautiously because I didn’t know how far I could go with you, but since you insist so much, then here I am – the real me, Ayame!"

Rouhuo pushed her lady onto the bed, hovering over her with her strong, sculpted arms. She looked directly into her eyes with desire.

I can’t believe such a beautiful woman – and the woman of my lord – is going to be mine tonight, Rouhuo thought, right before she slid her tongue into Ayame’s mouth.

They kissed for a while, until the half-lioness pulled away.

"Rouhuo, I didn’t expect you to go straight for it after just a little teasing," Ayame panted.

Rouhuo, like a completely different person, smiled with pride.

"Ayame, did you really think that going to bed with me, a half-lioness meant I’d be the bottom, huh?" she said with a slightly playful smirk.

"Rouhuo, I... I don’t even recognize you..." Ayame whispered, both in admiration and desire.

"I don’t even recognize myself. But the thought that tonight I’ll take my lord’s own woman... awakens a predatory instinct in me I never knew existed. I suspected my lioness nature would eventually surface, but it had stayed quiet... until Ayame kissed me.

Ever since that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Rouhuo thought as they exchanged even more fiery kisses.

"Ayame," she said, daring to speak her name in a seductive yet tender tone for the first time. Both of them were slightly breathless from constant kissing. "I want you to know that since... you kissed me that day in the library, I’ve wanted you so badly..."

"Me too. At first, I thought it would just be an innocent joke or experiment, but then I realized how much I’ve missed having someone close in bed over the past year. And I wanted to do this with you so badly, Rouhuo."

"Apparently, I’m not the only one who had... naughty thoughts about you, heh," Rouhuo said, caressing her hand over her body while sitting on top of her.

Ayame’s heated breath filled the air.

Rouhuo moved her seductive hand over her body, eventually moving down, kissing her from neck to stomach, lower and lower...

*

Meanwhile, Shion Ginsei Kōjin plunged his glowing blade into yet another god. He killed it amidst the rice fields on the outskirts of the Hoshigane Kingdom. The farmers working in the fields passed by, oblivious to the battle.

Some could sense a strange, unsettling aura and felt uneasy, others felt a cold, piercing wind. But the wind wasn’t against them — it bore Shion Ginsei Kōjin’s hatred toward the other gods .

The god pulled his bloodied katana from the other god’s body, breathing furiously.

I’ve only been in this world for two days, and this is already the twenty-fourth god I’ve killed. I don’t know what kind of man King Shion is, but I can tell for sure that the strong will and determination I carry were shaped in his image.

Shion Ginsei Kōjin looked at the hardworking people in the rice fields, then at the god’s corpse, which was melting into the earth as quickly as sand constantly soaked with water. The sky that day was cloudy, though it didn’t rain.

These hardworking people don’t deserve the foolish whims of inferior beings like these so-called gods, created by a dangerous, malevolent entity.

I can feel his aura; it disgusts me. It makes me feel suffocated and almost makes me vomit just before a fight, but my spirit allows me to hold it back.

Shion Ginsei Kōjin exhaled with relief.

Thank you, Prince, for giving me life. After all, I was born from the faith these people have in their king. I am his spiritual equivalent, and I will protect them to the last drop of my blood. These kind, humble farmers deserve the best life possible.

The King-God noticed an elderly man taking a break. His legs and arms were trembling as he sat on a nearby rock. The King-God looked at his frail, aged body.

Shivering from the cold?

No, he has a fever, yet he still works. Can’t afford medicine?

The King-God approached the old man and reached out toward his head.

The shivering stopped. The elderly man looked directly into Shion Ginsei Kōjin’s eyes – and then he saw him. His lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out before the vision disappeared.

The old man rose from the rock as energetically as he could for his age, then shouted:

"People! God Shion is real! I just saw him!"

Unfortunately, no one reacted. Everyone continued their work. Some assumed the old man was delirious from exhaustion or heatstroke.

And so – even though the old man had been healed and soon returned to work – their lives continued as usual: calm, full of hard work and simple pleasures.

Their lives quietly passed under the protection of Shion Ginsei Kōjin.