The passage was pitch black. Completely devoid of light. Same goes for sound. It was so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat. There was even a nice cool breeze~ Made me wanna sleep forever~ Thankfully, I resisted my most basic instinct and decided to follow the breeze. After all, where there is wind, there is an exit.

After walking for about ten minutes, I reached a dead end. The strange thing about this end, was that two torches were hung on either side of it. The stranger thing, was how there was a glowing glyph producing wind on the wall. Feeling curious, I touched the glyph. All of a sudden, the wall dropped.

In front of me, was sadly not a naked woman. Guess I’m not a lucky pervert huh? That said, it was in fact a woman in front of me. She was the 15th princess I ran into just now. She was currently sitting on a bed and looking at me with a gaze that said, ‘took you long enough’.

“Hoh? So you were expecting me?” I asked about the gaze.

“Well, I figured you’d distract them, slip away and venture off on your own.” She sounded a lot less reverential when she spoke this time.

My curiosity only grew as she spoke, so I said “Ouch! That hurts! You make sound like a little kid. So what made you think that?”

“The way you glanced about. It seemed casual, but reminded me of a thief scouting out an area and plotting escape routes. Also, you clearly held great distrust for father and was on guard when talking to the guards. After all, you only mentioned the obvious defences when you clearly saw a lot more. This was proven by the condescending ‘I’m looking at retarded gorillas’ look you gave them. So, after I called them his loyal lapdogs, which you double confirmed, it was an obvious conclusion that you would slip away. After all, it was clear that you wouldn’t get anything remotely near what you wanted from them.” She coolly replied.

“Wa-ow… Nice deduction skills~ The how did you know I’d go to you?”

“I turned off all the lights in the passage, put a breeze glyph on the hidden door, and sealed off all other pathways. The only place you could’ve gone was here. As for how I was certain you would’ve taken that specific passage, that’s because it was the best way out. You don’t know the trick to opening the rest of them and the hallway is wide and empty. The only possible way to leave was that hidden passage you saw me closing on my way back in. Anymore questions?” She stated matter-of-factly.

“…Now that’s just cheating. That said since you like playing with me so much, mind if I do a cold reading on you?” If I let myself get toyed with just like that I’d have no pride left as a man and an intellectual. So, I tried to steal back the initiative. That said, she was more than a mere pretty cute, and she didn’t bother hiding that asshole side like her daddy, so I gave her the respect of letting her choose to be messed with.

“Cold reading?”

“Yep, it’s similar to what you did at first~ I’ll try to guess your past, innate personality and motives based on what I see~” I kindly explained to her.

“Very well, go ahead. I’d like to see what someone who father had a field day with can do.”

“Sigh~ You’d be a lot more attractive if you talked with emotion and smiled a bit. So just stop it with that persona already~ Oh well, on with the reading. The persona you’re using right now, it’s something forced upon you. Based on the slight tan and healthy glow you have, you were a very energetic kid that grew more reserved and lifeless as time went on. Likely because of emotional wear and tear due to the formal environment of the castle and the threat of that demon lord fella. This is further reinforced by the slight muscle tone on your calf and arms. Barely noticeable doesn’t mean not there.”

“ The cold look on your face and apathetic tone? Simply hiding extremely turbulent emotions. Even psychopaths show slight traces of emotions and desire. Since you’re seemingly completely lacking, you’re obviously mildly experienced in hiding them but not enough to perfectly mask them. Only reinforcement I can give for that is ‘been there done that’.”

“ The micro-expression you gave when you saw me. It wasn’t sadness was it? I’m guessing it’s closer to disappointment. When we first met, you were simply cold, but now it’s closer to hostility. Chances are you have a grudge against me. I’m going to guess the reason is because I won’t be playing the [Hero] anytime soon. Or maybe it’s because of how I cussed at that respected old douchenozzle? Or perhaps, it’s the engagement? Oooh I see resignation there so it’s probably not that last one. As for the first two, I’m betting on the former. You don’t seem like you care much about that guy considering how you didn’t react to me blatantly insulting him. That only leaves the first. Meaning I crushed your hope by refusing the quest? Yep seeing that anger flash by and the ever so slight tremble of your arms, I’m probably right.”

“ Last deduction. You dragged me here to use the honey trap method. And more likely than not, it wasn’t under your father’s instructions. The biggest clue was the shoes. Based on the design, they are clearly meant to be used for special occasions. Also, you’re obviously unused to them. When you were walking away, your steps were slightly unsteady. The second giveaway was the dress. Comparing the skin revealed by your clothes with that of the ladies, young and old, I saw in the summoning room and the maids outside, yours are arguably immodest. ”

As I went full monologue, she managed to keep that apathetic facial expression. But when I gave the third and fourth deductions, I saw a good amount of killing intent in her eyes. That said it only flashed by for an instant before being replaced by despair. Then, it was swapped out with seduction.

“You guessed it. So, will you accept me?” She coquettishly cooed, her eyes showing false desire.

“Of Course! Not. I may be a desperate virgin male but I’m still a proud member of the moral and scrupulous closet perverts! There’s no way I’d take advantage of you like this. Besides even if I did have sex with you right now, your heart still wouldn’t be mine. That’d ruin my dream life fantasy which includes a happy, fulfilling, love-filled marriage. So the answer is no.” I replied without any hesitation.

Hearing what I said, she stood up and started leaning on my chest. Her arms were placed in such a way that they emphasised her breasts. Her small, perky butt was clenched and pushed out. Her lips closed in on mine and just before they touched, she whispered, “are you really going to refuse me just because of that? Look, you’re already hard down there.” Then, one of her hands started reaching towards my pants.

I immediately took a large step back. Then I said, “nope, that was mostly bullshit. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t extremely tempted. The problem here is death by snu snu isn’t something I want. If I was stupid enough to jump on you right from the get go, I’d be easy prey to manipulate. I was honestly considering doing so, but that’d be an insult to what semblance of pride and shame I do have. If I took the first offer, I’d be someone intelligent and capable but ruled by lust. Meaning I’d still get manipulated by you. Again, insulting to the principles I follow. As for this second offer? I’d be murdered by whatever you’re hiding under your pillow. Don’t think I can’t see that it’s placement is off. There’s clearly something pushing it up. In the first place, this offer isn’t an offer it’s practically reverse rape. You were trying to override my conscious and subconscious minds via pure unconscious instinct weren’t you? Then, before I could do anything to you, I’d be dead and you people would summon another poor sap.”

“………… How did you even think of that?” Her expression was one of puzzlement and confusion. However, she didn’t deny my speculations meaning they were probably true.

“Your personality duh. Remember when you said you closed off all other passages? Most people would find it unnecessarily troublesome. Or, they’d just assume that I’d follow the breeze anyway since wind tends to signify a way out which I’d be looking for after being in total darkness. Then there’s you manipulating the situation. You prefer to guide the situation and get the future scenario you want. However, you’re also cautious and prepared for many different scenarios.  More likely than not, you have a contingency plan for this one too. After all, if I, a [Hero] bearing a grudge against your kingdom, proves too much to handle, it’d be a very big problem. So, is this the part where I die or the part where plot armor kicks in to save me?”

I was surprisingly calm despite knowing I was screwed. Whelp I guess that’s how cowards like me work. We’re a rare breed who fear everything but turn completely fearless(not brave) when the wheels of fate start turning. Without having the courage to stand up, we get hit by turbulent waves in which we swim in anyway. And by the end of it, for the sake of useless pride, we say ‘it was nothing much’. Coping with the pain when it appears and yet forgetting it when scars are all that’s left of our wounds.

“Plot armor? What’s that? Anyway, I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to talk.”

It was my turn to be dumbfounded.

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Author’s note: Early chaps will have a lot of conversations~~ Sorry if it get’s draggy because of them. I’ll try to make them as interesting as I can. It’s how I plan on conducting world-building as well as slight character development of MC along with giving him a motive. P.s. sorry I’m not 18 so R-15 is as far as I can take this chappy. If I ever decide to add a H-scene, I’ll either look for volunteers or check with actual H-novel writers I’m acquainted with. P.p.s FEED ME MOAR SUPPORT! and I’m still looking for someone to make a cover image for me pro bono. Again, ORZ if it’s not as good as the previous ones. I’ve been running low on xianxia MC level enlightenment recently. Maybe I should I do a chapter drunk

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Written By H0RR1BL3CPU

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