Well, this sure isn’t your typical situation.
“Patty Sindarin is my full name.
The Sindarin clan is a small and ancient branch of the wood elves.
By my generation, there are very, very few young elves left.”
Patty, blushing, explained to a bewildered Torina.
“You’ve probably heard the story, right? In ancient times, the arrogance of the elves angered the God of Love and Art.
A huge number of male elves died as a result, and ever since then, the gender ratio among elves has been severely skewed.
Plus, male elves are all naturally frigid!”
“Uh, yeah, I know.
That’s why the elven birth rate has always been low.
I heard that some tribes on the brink of extinction even resort to capturing human or even orc males to, uh, work hard at ⭐️…”
Of course Torina knew all this.
In the original story, the elves were all worried about the survival of their race.
Why did the author write it that way? Obviously, to give the male lead a reason to throw a silver party with the elves.
“Using males of other races as breeding tools is really messed up.
At least our Sindarin clan would never do that.
Different tribes have different ways of dealing with the low birth rate.
Our solution is girl-girl reproduction! We can even get pregnant without ⭐️!”
“Huh… what?” Torina was even more confused.
That was part of the original setting, sure, but it never said girl-girl worked too…
“There are already so few young people in our clan, and my body is the most suited for childbirth.
So I’m asking you—please!”
“Wait, wait, hold on.
So basically, you just need someone to help carry on the family line? Doesn’t have to be me, right?”
“Because I like you.”
“…!”
“I know this kind of thing is a hassle, but if I had to choose someone, it would definitely be you, Captain.”
“This…”
“Besides, in our clan, everyone raises the newborns together.
You wouldn’t have to do anything.”
“But even if it’s just for reproduction, to your parents, I’d still be the one who knocked up their daughter, right? Wouldn’t they be mad?”
“This is for the future of our people.
They’d be thrilled.”
“That casual, huh…”
“Is that… not okay?” Patty’s voice and expression were heartbreakingly sweet, her emerald eyes shimmering with tears.
She looked so pitiful it tugged at the heart.
Torina looked at her.
Stared into her eyes for a long time.
“Patty, everything you just said… is it all true?”
“Of course it is!”
“I see… So to sum it up, you want to pretend to be a couple with me, have a baby, and then get your parents off your back, right?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm…” Torina thought for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“Alright… fine.”
“Really? Yay! Thank you so much! I love you, Captain!”
“And about your confession… sorry, I can’t give you an answer right now.
Can we talk about it after all this is over?”
“…Yeah, I guess that can’t be helped.”
“Also, about pretending to be a couple, I need to explain it to the teammates.
We’ll need their cooperation, or it’ll be easy to slip up.”
“…”
Patty’s expression froze for a second—but only for a second—before she quickly replaced it with a gentle smile.
“Okay, let’s do it your way.”
———————
The next day, after gathering everyone and explaining the situation—
“Pretend to be a couple???? With Patty??” Milora slammed the table.
“Yeah, just temporarily.
A few days.”
Torina quickly tried to calm her down.
“That’s still super weird!”
Gravity runes flared out of control, and the purple-black ripples increased the gravity wherever they passed.
The table and chairs creaked, and even Torina nearly fell on her butt.
“Waaah, Milora’s so scary…” Patty, also under the pressure, clung pitifully to Torina’s left arm, looking like a bullied little wife.
Torina was glad she’d only mentioned the fake couple part and not the baby-making part.
“It’s just to deal with her family, okay? Calm down, calm down,” she soothed.
“Even so, it’s not right…” Milora hugged Torina’s right arm, puffing her cheeks slightly and looking up at her with big eyes.
“Captain~~” Patty clung tighter to Torina’s left arm, pressing her body against her.
On the left was Patty’s petite A-cup.
On the right was Milora’s youthful C-cup.
Both sides… felt amazing! What is this? The perks of being the harem lead?
“Count me in too~” Laxis suddenly appeared, kneeling at Torina’s feet and hugging her calf.
Her lower leg sank into the unexpectedly deep valley.
“Huh? Is this some weird team-building activity? Should we all be hugging?” Lanifi scratched her head.
“N-no need! We’re talking about serious stuff here!” Torina quickly pulled herself free, mentally branding the lingering sensations on her arms and legs into her brain.
She barely managed to convince Milora with the excuse, “Patty helped you a lot back in Valhalla City, even trained with you.
Just think of it as repaying her.”
“Phew…” Laxis sipped her half-finished stockings milk tea while watching the scene with amusement.
———————
After the meeting, Milora couldn’t shake the bad feeling in her chest.
She knew Patty had helped her in Valhalla City, and she should return the favor.
But pretending to be a couple? That was just too much.
And besides… the way Patty clung to Torina, all soft and sweet… it was kind of… how to put it? Infuriating, but also…
Milora couldn’t find the right word.
After all, in this fantasy world, the term “green tea” only referred to a drink.
(I hope Torina doesn’t get charmed for no reason… Hmph, she’s got me, the champion of the martial arts tournament, right here…)
The more Milora thought about it, the more annoyed she got.
Sure, she’d won the tournament to help Torina deal with the engagement, and of course they weren’t actually getting married.
But… did Torina really not have any feelings for her?
Torina often got close to her, but it felt more like she saw her as a best friend, a little sister, or even a daughter to spoil.
Or maybe she was just sneakily copping a feel.
There weren’t any clear signs of love…
(…This won’t do.)
Milora’s Feng Aotian spirit quietly ignited.
As everyone knows, a Dragon AoTian would never let anyone else touch their beloved.
Likewise, as a Feng Aotian, she couldn’t tolerate this either.
At that moment, Milora’s jealous streak awakened!
(That’s right! I have to do something to make sure I’m number one in Torina’s heart! She should be bathing around now… I’ll go to her myself!)
Driven by jealousy and brainworms (?), Milora rushed back to the inn, stripped down in seconds, threw on a bathrobe, and headed to the women’s bath.
By the way, knowing Torina’s XP all too well, she left on only her white thigh-high stockings.
Embarrassing, sure, but the effect? Unmatched!
Little lady, your AoTian is coming~~~
Milora flung open the door to the women’s bath and shouted:
“Torina! I’m here to scrub your back—huh?”
What she saw was Torina, looking so relaxed her face was melting, and Patty, completely naked, pressed up against her, giving her a bath.
