The Second Strongest Has Returned

Chapter 45

Magic Tower

Consciousness grew hazy, and her mind turned white.

The only thing she could clearly feel was the sensation in her body.

Even though she hadn’t kissed yet, nor done any of the things written in the books, her entire body began to heat up distinctly.

It was as if her body instinctively found the warmth that could satisfy the man in front of her.

So, this is my true nature.

I’m the kind of woman who is faithful to her instincts.

Nature, temperament, physiology, impulse, instinct…

Her body, every part of it, was craving him.

If things deepened any further… really…

“Then… now, let’s…”

“Let’s do what, you son of a bitch?”

The saliva-drooling Leo was sent flying with a kick.

“…Huh?”

The hazy mind cleared once again. Although it was disappointing, the scene in front of her was shocking enough to make her forget about it.

“Leo…?”

“My lady, ignore that bastard and let’s get out of here quickly.”

Ariasphil couldn’t help but be bewildered by the paradox of him telling her to ignore him and leave. Meanwhile, the fake Leo, who had been kicked away, brushed off the dust as he got up from the bushes.

“…What the…? You…? You’re as clueless as you look…!”

“Who the hell are you? You look so different from me that I almost didn’t recognize you.”

It was a bizarre scene where the same person was belittling each other’s appearance. Ariasphil felt a continuous wave of dumbfounded confusion.

“Who… No… Why are there two Leonardos?!”

“There aren’t two of me, obviously. Anyone can see that bastard is…!”

“That one’s the fake!!”

The fake Leo was the first to make a move.

“What the hell, you bastard!?”

“Think carefully, Aria. If I were the real one, wouldn’t I willingly accept being with you? Isn’t it weirder to just leave a woman like you alone?”

It was such an absurd remark that it barely qualified as a retort. Even an idiot would be outraged and tell him to stop spewing nonsense.

Look, even now, Aria…

“…Re-Really…?”

Aria was on the verge of being swayed. Her face was flushed red, her eyes lost their focus, and her fingers were twitching—anyone, even the oblivious Leo, could understand.

“Snap out of it! It’s a trap!!”

“You must be the trap. I don’t know who you are, but you’ve got some nerve to polymorph into me and try this… You must have a death wish.”

Whether it was polymorph or whatever else, anyone could tell that the one desperately trying to hide that this was a dream was the fake.

‘…Should I just kill him…?’

Leo grabbed the black stone. But soon after, he loosened his grip.

‘…No. That would put me at a disadvantage.’

This place was Ariasphil’s dream, so her thoughts were the absolute rules here.

The reason that Leonardo had become so overwhelmingly powerful was because Aria believed it to be so.

“Heh, this is ridiculous. Do you really think I love Aria?”

So, he had no choice but to deal with him in a way that fit the laws of this place.

“…What do you mean by that…?”

“If you were really me, and if you really loved Aria, would you do something like this in the middle of the road?”

Leo tried to stiffen the muscles in his face as much as possible, but it was impossible to suppress the burning emotions and blood surging through him. However, unless he endured this humiliation, it would be impossible to save Ariasphil.

“Ariasphil is a noble, and not just any noble—she’s the young lady of a hero’s household. Do you really think it makes sense for her to be rolling around in the dirt, in the bushes, entangled with someone like that?”

He had to endure it. He had to suppress his emotions and somehow hold on. If he collapsed here, everything would be over.

“Ugh…! That’s… true, but…!”

The fact that Arias was agreeing with him was a relief, but… it made enduring this all the more painful in another way.

“Well, is that really the case?”

But for some reason, the fake remained remarkably composed, as if he had more to say.

“I actually think Aria wants it.”

“What the hell are you…!”

“Then why didn’t she resist when I laid her down in the bushes?”

Ariasphil, who was blushing all over, twisted her thighs together in a struggle to contain her shame.

“Hey, you pinned her down, and now you’re saying…!”

“Is that so? In terms of aura, Aria is stronger than me, right? Her arm wasn’t broken, and her core wasn’t shattered, so… why didn’t she push me away?”

Come to think of it, it was strange… but if you asked her directly, she’d probably say…!

“T-That’s… that’s because…! I… didn’t want that… I mean… since Leo was pinning me down… I… I couldn’t help it…”

Her whole body was drenched in sweat, and now not only her thighs but also her entire body was slowly curling up as she spoke, her words coming out sluggishly.

“Didn’t you actually want to be taken like a beast? The truth is, it doesn’t matter if it’s a bed or the bushes, as long as we’re together. If it were me, I could turn you into a beast too, Aria.”

“That’s…! I mean…!”

“You don’t want to? Well, I don’t want to force you, so…”

“No!! It’s not that…!! I just want it… to be a little more… gentle…!!”

…There was no way to deny it now, even if he wanted to.

Somehow, the fake seemed to understand Aria’s psychology better than the real one. After all, the fake was created based on Aria’s knowledge and imagination, so it might have been impossible to win using this kind of strategy.

“So, Aria, let me ask you something.”

Emboldened, the fake aimed to drive the final nail in the coffin.

“What can a guy like him do for you?”

At those words, Ariasphil was thrown into intense conflict. To be honest, she liked both of them… and if they didn’t fight, she wished she could enjoy them both together.

“For your information, I can make you melt… How about it?”

But now, it seemed like she was about to give in to that beastly Leo. Resisting a man like him was too overwhelming.

“…Ha… Seriously…”

The other Leo muttered as he clutched his head.

“…She won’t remember this anyway… Fine.”

Then, as he lowered his hands, Leo spoke as if he had made a decision.

“…Make her melt? Aria?”

“Yeah! In a way a guy like you couldn’t even imagine…!”

“I’d like to melt your face too. Physically. But before that, let me ask you one thing.”

Leonardo let out a sigh before asking his question. That sigh carried with it all kinds of agony, hesitation, torment, and suffering.

“How was your first experience? You wouldn’t be talking like this without having one, would you?”

“F-First… experience…?”

1, 2, 3, 4, 5… As time gradually passed, even after 10 seconds and then 15 seconds, that Leonardo continued to stutter without giving a clear answer.

It was inevitable.

There was a more fundamental problem than what Ariasphil didn’t know.

“Ah… So, my first experience was…!”

After about 30 seconds, that fake seemed to have finally made up a lie and tried to answer. However, the real one had already beaten him to it long ago.

“I haven’t.”

“…Huh… what?”

“I’ve never done it. I’ve never had a first experience, and I’ve never dated a woman.”

Humiliation surged through his entire body, but Leonardo had no choice but to speak. He had to take comfort in the fact that neither Ariasphil nor that fake knew he was a regressor who had lived long enough.

“…What the…? Are you a virgin?!”

“If you were me, you’d know right away. That’s proof that you’re the fake in this dream.”

“No way…”

The fake Leonardo’s body gradually began to melt.

“Wait, why is this happening…?!”

“Goodbye. Thanks to you, I’m melting away.”

Ariasphil’s heart had already tilted towards the Leonardo who had no experience, and she realized that all of this was a dream.

In the end, the fake disappeared like smoke melting away.

“…Leonardo…! The thing is… I…”

Ariasphil was relieved that Leonardo had no experience, but she couldn’t laugh.

“…”

Leonardo’s expression was frozen in an unprecedented way.

“It’s not like I wanted to have this dream…! More importantly…! I promise I’ll keep the secret, so if you could just cheer up…!”

“…My Lady.”

Leonardo spoke with a stern face. His voice was cold, tinged with frost.

“…Let’s talk after we reach the exit. Staying here any longer would be dangerous.”

“Ah… right…”

Ariasphil had learned many things from Leonardo for the first time. Skills, experiences, knowledge, and even emotions.

And now, what Ariasphil felt for the first time was…

‘…I’m scared…’

It was fear.

The fear born from stillness could not be compared to the fear elicited by screams or dying gasps.

Because there was nothing, because she couldn’t see anything, the fear could swell endlessly.

With the sound of footsteps echoing, Leonardo headed towards the edge of the forest.

The grass gradually receded from the ground, and the trees slowly dwindled. It wasn’t just that the background was changing; it was as if the coloring and sketches of the world were peeling away, leaving only a white void around them.

“…This place…”

“That’s the exit.”

What stood before them was an incongruous, massive gate. Written crudely in large letters on the gate was, “The test is over, so leave.”

“…Then… should we go out…?”

Though she felt uneasy about leaving, staying here seemed far more dangerous.

“Ariasphil.”

But before that, Leonardo spoke.

“…Honestly… it might sound stupid, but the truth is, I didn’t notice.”

Leonardo was expressionless. Not only his face but also his tone and the entire atmosphere seemed devoid of emotion. It was only now that Ariasphil understood what Chief Anus had meant.

“No… when I think about it, I probably had plenty of chances to notice. I just turned away because I was too scared to see and admit it.”

His self-deprecating words continued, tinged with a sadness masked by indifference.

“……”

“…Now I understand everything. Why things were the way they were, why you reacted like that, and why you stayed by my side.”

Leonardo no longer seemed indifferent. Instead, it felt as if he was submerged in deep, cold sorrow.

“My Lady, no matter how resistant your mind is, I won’t be able to remember what happened here. In the worst case, it might be the same for you, Ariasphil. We entered this place with that in mind.”

The side effects of this modified telepathy spell included memory loss and mental instability. Though not extremely dangerous, it was enough to prevent even Leonardo from remembering what happened here.

“So, no matter what answer you give, I’ll be okay with it.”

Leonardo asked with a smile. But there was no joy in that smile; it was filled with nothing but sorrow.

“…Do you… perhaps have feelings for me?”

“Well… that…”

Ariasphil couldn’t answer. It wasn’t just because she was embarrassed. It was because she didn’t know what kind of answer Leonardo wanted to hear.

She was too afraid of his reaction to open her mouth.

“…As expected… it’s the same this time.”

Leonardo grasped the door.

“Sorry. That was too heavy a question…”

“It’s not just about liking you.”

Leonardo turned to look at her again at those words. No one knew what answer he had expected or what reaction he should show.

“Leonardo, I love you.”

And so, the girl summoned her courage.

“…Then you’ll get hurt.”

It was the boy’s warning.

“I already know that. But that’s something I’ll have to endure because I love you.”

It was the girl’s love.

“I’m not someone worthy of receiving such love…”

It was the young man’s self-deprecation.

“That doesn’t matter. I didn’t fall in love with you because of your worth.”

This was her love.

“If you knew about me, my past, and my sins, your feelings would change. I’m a much more wretched person than you think.”

It was the regret of the middle-aged man.

“I don’t know about your past or your sins… just like you said. But my love for you isn’t because you’re not wretched.”

It was what she loved.

“Just as I’ve become your goal, you’ve become my goal too. I fell for you the moment we first met, and no matter what reason I attach to it, all my feelings for you will always lead to love.”

This was her way.

“…If this is the first time, if this really is the first time…”

It was the old man’s regret.

“It’s okay even if it’s not the first time. I love you. No matter what happens, I will always love you. I hope you love and obsess over me just as much as I do over you.”

This was the way she loved.

“Whether you love someone else or no one at all, it doesn’t matter. I will make sure that I become someone you find lovable, someone you love more than anyone else.”

“…Why are you saying all this? To me…”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

Her love was enough to silence him completely.

“If words aren’t enough, I’ll make up for it with actions from now on.”

Ariasphil spoke as she pulled away from his lips.

“…”

The boy, whose lips had been taken, blushed.

“This is your punishment for thinking about my feelings on your own, Leo.”

Her love was stronger than warnings or self-deprecation, warm enough to melt away regret and remorse.

“Let’s go now. Next time, I’ll take something even more.”

“My Lady. Thank you.”

Leonardo held the girl’s hand.

“I’ll be sure to wait.”

Then he pulled the girl close and kissed her again.

“…Uh… Wh-what?!”

“This is your punishment for not speaking up a little sooner.”

And with that, Leonardo opened the door.

It was truly a dreamlike moment.