Chapter 89: Waiting for Her to Confess First
At this moment, Roger appeared at the bottom of a deep sea.
Strangely, he could breathe directly in the seawater without suffocating.
Having experienced the Heart Demon Domain, he understood this was a characteristic of a subjective world.
As long as one subjectively believed they could do something, they most likely could.
Magicians universally acknowledged places like the Astral Plane as dangerous, requiring extreme caution with every exploration. This was because their rules differed greatly from the material plane, often defying common sense.
In a moment of crisis, there was no time to think, and relying on muscle memory from the material world could lead to disaster.
Reckless adventurers with insufficient experience, no matter how strong they were, could be toyed with and killed by the native inhabitants.
It was Roger’s first time entering the Sea of Consciousness, but as he was sent in by the Empress of Eternal Night, he trusted her power and believed he wouldn’t encounter danger. This directly saved him from drowning in the initial wave.
Observing the pitch-black seabed that stretched as far as he could see, he was just glad he didn’t have bathophobia.
Not far away, he found a young girl with dragon horns, her eyes red and an obstinate expression on her face.
She was wearing only a thin nightgown, artfully tied with seaweed, her beautiful figure fully displayed, possessing a sacred yet unholy beauty.
Her sad, pitiful, helpless, and angry mixed expression on her pretty face involuntarily reminded Roger of the Empress of Eternal Night on the city wall.
Her Majesty’s figure was much better nourished than the half-dragon princess. If she were to wear something like this, and be tied up…
Kinda hot!
Damn it, that woman’s shadow… no, why does she feel so omnipresent now?
Roger realized something was wrong with him.
Roger, Roger, you pervert have fallen!
Facing a beautiful girl with white hair, red eyes, and dragon horns, he felt nothing, yet he only wanted to rush towards the Empress, who was becoming more inscrutable, even learning to seduce people?
Roger stood still, not rushing to greet Tasika. He felt he needed some time to calm down.
After the encounter in the Heart Demon Domain, the Empress of Eternal Night had changed greatly after overcoming her inner demons.
But he himself seemed to have undergone significant changes as well…
The most obvious was that his lust and boldness towards the Empress had both increased significantly!
In the game, her character art, model, and CG were all superb, and she was voted the most popular female character of the year.
However, after transmigrating to this world, apart from certain moments, Roger was actually a mix of respect, fear, and helplessness when facing the Empress of Eternal Night’s powerful aura.
He definitely desired her body, but with her strength and personality, he felt he had no chance.
It was like an ordinary student daring to pursue the school beauty was courage, but daring to pursue a big star was a joke.
Roger was certainly not an ordinary student in this world, but the Empress of Eternal Night was not comparable to Earth’s top traffic stars.
She was indeed the nation’s idol, but she was also the absolute leader who truly held the power of life and death, the architect of this country’s glory, and its military guarantee.
Calling her a human nuclear weapon was not an exaggeration, right?
So, Roger had always wanted to stay far away from this trash empress, even further, to avoid getting himself involved.
But fate was a mischievous little brat. He came to spectate a war, and just happened to encounter the Empress of Eternal Night being ambushed by the Eris magical worms.
After seeing the fragile, helpless Empress of Eternal Night in the Heart Demon Domain and even holding her in his arms, Roger’s mindset inevitably became a bit inflated.
The invincible Empress of Eternal Night was, in essence, just a gluttonous girl, a girl who needed psychological counseling, or she would cause trouble for herself?
If he tried hard, maybe he would actually have a chance!
His current mindset was different from a pervert occasionally flirting and talking about sleeping together; it was just talk, not something he would act upon.
Now, Roger “Pufferfish” was already thinking about how to conquer the Empress of Eternal Night.
This was the difference between a plan and a daydream.
A plan was about how to achieve something, while a daydream was about how to enjoy it after it was done.
The latter was pure fantasy and harmless, as no one would know, but if the former failed…
It could really cost him his head!
Alas, this empress was also unethical, how did she turn into a siren?
Roger felt that this round should be initiated by the Empress of Eternal Night.
So, he analyzed the Empress of Eternal Night’s behavior and found it quite unfathomable.
Men were creatures who, upon seeing a beautiful woman on the street glance at them, would start pondering which elementary school their child should enroll in…
So, from a hindsight perspective, the Empress of Eternal Night’s attention and care towards him were actually quite considerable.
This wasn’t just a glance in the crowd, but a chase all the way to the Great Library…
This was completely beyond the expected attention for an ordinary subject or a best friend’s younger brother, right?
And the magic beacon on her leg…
Could it be that the Empress actually had feelings for me?
Roger analyzed.
He discovered that his greatest advantage was the lack of competitors!
In the vast empire, there were probably tens of millions of men who admired the Empress of Eternal Night, but currently, none dared to act or had the ability to act.
In the hearts of the empire’s people, the Empress was supreme, greater than gods. How could she possibly fall in love…
So, no matter how outstanding the Empress of Eternal Night was, no man sent her flowers or lipstick, no man wrote love letters to her, and no man used shameless tactics to pursue her relentlessly…
As long as someone was brave enough, the Empress would take maternity leave, right?
Roger quickly covered his mouth, afraid of letting out a stupid chuckle and scaring Tasika.
Calm down, calm down, don’t be blindly optimistic.
All these thoughts were just fantasies; they couldn’t turn into reality like a pufferfish.
Steady, don’t get carried away!
What if she had no such intentions at all, and I was just being wishful thinking, only to receive a disgusted look and hear, “I prefer your sister,” wouldn’t that be incredibly awkward?
She might even get angry and say, “Ant, you’re delusional,” and my life would be in danger.
After all, she was the Empress; what kind of talented young men hadn’t she met?
As a transmigrator, I might be promising and invincible in ten years, but now I’m still a younger brother who needs protection.
However, staying by the Empress’s side to observe more and first understanding the Empress’s attitude, there shouldn’t be any problem with that, right?
Roger gradually calmed down and realized that he actually had quite a few opportunities to interact with the Empress of Eternal Night.
In the short term, there were negotiations with the Orc Tribe; in the medium term, there were the “New Arcana” and the Tianming Army; in the long term, there was the identity of Dio as a cabinet minister that could reconnect them.
Even if the Emperor had profound thoughts, wouldn’t time eventually reveal people’s hearts?
Moreover, with these opportunities for interaction, he could also seize the moment to showcase his charm and abilities, making her accustomed to his presence, indispensable, and even dependent on him!
In any case, as long as he didn’t confess, he wouldn’t lose. He just needed to continuously improve her favorability.
One day, when he unleashed a high-end operation and created the powerful bombardment and combat robots that the Empress had long desired, wouldn’t that put him in a great position, waiting for her to confess first?
After careful consideration, although Roger couldn’t be sure of the Empress of Eternal Night’s feelings towards him, he had decided not to think about running away anymore.
Now, as long as the Empress dared to confess, he would dare to accept!
On the surface, this was just a small step forward, but it was a significant step in their relationship…
Well, perhaps. I can’t wash anymore!
…
…
Roger shifted his attention back to the agave princess in front of him.
After realizing the Empress “might have feelings for him,” he felt that the Empress sending her for negotiations might also be a test.
Otherwise, why would she suddenly understand strategy?
She wanted to test me with something impossible!
It was like an interview; you had to pass the first round to get to the second. Failure meant being eliminated, right?
But the problem was, this test was hard to answer…
Roger scratched his head. The Empress of Eternal Night had given him too much freedom.
She hadn’t given him any bottom-line conditions, just told him to negotiate first and then report back.
It was like being given “Untitled” as a writing prompt; being too open made it difficult to start.
He was skilled at writing a perfect essay with an existing prompt, but when faced with complete freedom, he was a bit stumped.
Roger pondered Princess Tasika’s personality, the current situation of the Orc Tribe, and the empire’s current needs…
He felt that simply negotiating for a vassal state that paid tribute annually and pledged allegiance would not be a perfect outcome.
He needed to turn the Orc Tribe into a staunch ally, one that would actively oppose the tyranny of the gods.
The good news was that Tasika was only a devout believer of the War Goddess, not a fanatic.
So, there was room for maneuver in this situation!
Roger formulated a general strategy in his mind and moved directly in front of Tasika.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his black noble robe fluttering without wind, appearing powerful.
After all, this was a subjective Sea of Consciousness; as long as he believed he was strong, he would shine!
He had watched so many anime, movies, and games; he knew how to strike a pose.
A handsome man suddenly appearing before Tasika naturally caused surprise and shock.
Roger didn’t give her much time to react. He raised his hand slightly, untying the seaweed binding her, and his voice boomed with a reverberating echo: “Tasika Kachenie, you are a sinner of the Orc Tribe.”
Based on his experience in debates, the first step was to slap a big hat on the opponent, lowering their status. Whatever he said next would carry less weight.
The real Tasika, though in despair, had been watching the battle between the Orc Allied Forces and the Imperial Army.
She naturally recognized Roger as the “young powerhouse” by the Empress of Eternal Night’s side, the key figure who single-handedly turned the tide of battle and inflicted heavy losses on the Orc Allied Forces.
Facing the victor, the losing side was already at a disadvantage. This single sentence, “sinner,” directly broke her down.
It was the truth!
Self-blame and guilt surged within her, draining all of Tasika’s strength. Losing the support of the ropes, she slumped to the ground, kneeling, and looked up with a bitter smile: “Lord Charles, you are absolutely right. If I hadn’t been blind to the Grand Priest’s treacherous intentions, the Orcs wouldn’t have suffered such a disastrous defeat.”
She had thought countless times: if she had resisted to the death when Old Joestar first arrived, if she had confronted the Orc Allied Forces army head-on against the Rommel Legion, even if the Orc Empire had lost, they wouldn’t have ended up with Skrena City being massacred and the remaining tribes unable to fight back.
What was most unbearable now was that her own people hadn’t blamed her, but the imperial people found her actions laughable.
Roger hadn’t expected his single sentence to achieve such a good result.
No way, little sister, you’re confessing already?
I thought I’d need the spirits of Gomeimon or Naruhodō to win!
The princesses in this world truly have a strong sense of responsibility and are full of the spirit of taking the blame…
The enemy’s quality was too high, which made Roger feel a bit uncomfortable. He felt like he had become like those self-media outlets he most disliked, like Mimeng.
But then he thought, if Tasika didn’t cooperate, the Orc Tribe’s fate would only be worse. Helping her recognize reality faster was a good thing.
Using thunderous methods with a Bodhisattva’s heart.
He wasn’t like Mimeng, just trying to make money by exploiting human tragedy.
He continued to speak at full volume, as if reading a judgment:
“The Orc Grand Priest Joestar created the Audu Blood Night, harming 100,000 innocent imperial civilians. His Majesty is enraged and demands the Orc Tribe repay a hundredfold, with blood staining the desert; and you set a trap, sacrificing the tribal leaders as offerings, ambushing His Majesty and the Rommel Legion. Just now, His Majesty has already ordered the extermination of all Orcs!”
Tasika’s face turned pale, devoid of any color. Her teeth chattered as she gritted them.
The Empress of Eternal Night truly lived up to her reputation as a vengeful, cruel, and merciless woman…
The Joestar father and son were also bastards! Why did you provoke her!?
Just as she sank into despair, her vision darkening, Roger’s tone suddenly shifted:
“But I believe Orc lives also matter. I will fight for you for one last chance at atonement. Whether millions of innocent lives in the tribe can be saved depends on your performance.”
Roger tried his best to keep his voice calm and emotionless, to appear indifferent to the lives of the Orcs.
Although Tasika didn’t understand before, after days of Old Joestar’s teachings, she knew her beauty had a price. She immediately understood what “performance” meant and put on a pitiable look.
Though she felt disgusted, she steeled herself, pulled down her nightgown slightly, exposing her collarbone and half of one breast, looking as helpless as a delicate white flower: “My lord, I will perform well and offer you everything. As long as you are happy, I will do anything…”
Compared to Old Joestar selling his wares to over thirty buyers, the young man in front of her was at least good-looking and strong. If he could really save the Orcs, it wouldn’t be a loss…
Maybe even a gain?
Roger raised his hand, and a wave of water flipped Tasika over: “Don’t play these petty tricks. The empire conquers in all directions. Are there any fewer beautiful princesses with higher status than you in the Abyss Mill?”
Tasika looked up and saw his face full of disdain, her heart immediately in turmoil.
So, Lord Charles’s idea of performance wasn’t this kind of performance?
I was being wishful thinking. What else can I do?
I’m just a princess with nothing, trapped in the depths of the Sea of Consciousness. What else can I offer?
Roger saw her panicked and helpless expression, knowing his strategy of attacking the heart had succeeded.
Since he appeared, he first aroused Tasika’s guilt towards the Orc Tribe, then made her aware of the tribe’s dire situation.
He then gave her a glimmer of hope, seemingly threatening her beauty.
When she decided to sacrifice herself, he immediately told her she had guessed wrong, shattering her last pride and defenses.
This was a chain of deliberate psychological torture.
As a princess whose nation was ruined and family destroyed, her usual pride in her beauty was dismissed with disdain. Having lost her last trump card, how could she not panic?
Tasika’s mind went blank. She desperately wanted to save the Orc Tribe but truly didn’t know what to do.
Roger’s opening salvo had beaten Tasika to within an inch of her life. Now, he switched to a gentle demeanor.
He bent down to help Tasika up, a robe appearing in his hand, which he draped over her. His voice was as warm and gentle as a spring breeze, warming Tasika’s body and soul: “There is an empire proverb: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I know that the true culprit of the Audu Blood Night is the War Goddess. As long as the Orcs are willing to contribute to the cause of resisting the gods, I can fight for a glimmer of hope for you before His Majesty.”
Tasika, who had been in despair, heard Roger’s soft words and the clear, logical path he offered to save the Orc Tribe. It felt like a light shining in the darkness, and suddenly, she had hope.
Was the young man before her the miracle she had been praying for?
