Chapter 271: To Fall In Love with a Captive, How Much Incompetence Is Needed

Benjamin had been playing with Grey Ivy in the extravagant hall.

The young titan girl’s laughter ringing out brightly as he gently tossed her into the air and caught her again, her small body twisting with delight each time she sailed upward.

The vast chamber echoed with their playful sounds, sunlight filtering through tall arched windows and casting warm golden patterns across the polished marble floors.

Grey Ivy’s silver hair bounced wildly with every catch, her innocent eyes sparkling with pure joy as she reached out for another toss.

A large-built woman with small horns poking out from her forehead suddenly arrived at the entrance of the hall, her heavy footsteps announcing her presence before she fully stepped inside. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

She was Ragna, the red-haired ogress who had visited alongside Dynamis the day before.

Her muscular frame filled the doorway impressively, broad shoulders and powerful arms speaking of countless battles, while her fiery red hair cascaded down her back in thick waves.

She had come specifically to pick Benjamin up and escort him on the next part of his journey.

Counting this very day, it had been four full days since Benjamin first arrived in Fairylynch.

The time had slipped by in a blur of unexpected events and quiet moments within the fairy realm.

And it had been eighteen days—nearly a full month—since he was kidnapped by Sakura from his previous location.

Roughly thirty days had passed since he first set foot in Elyndor, the weight of all those days settling heavily on everyone who had been part of the unfolding events.

He was already brimming with noticeably more power than the last time Ragna had seen him, an aura of strength radiating subtly from his form that startled her deeply as she observed him from across the hall.

Not to mention, to her, he seemed to have tamed a small group of titans who now openly called him Papa or Father.

This was a development that had happened almost overnight and left an impression that was hard to ignore.

[If I do not think much of it, I win] Ragna shook out the unnecessary thoughts that began to creep into her mind, pushing them away firmly before they could take root.

Thoughts of Benjamin possibly being a god or some superior spirit in disguise flickered briefly before she dismissed them with a mental shrug.

And only by glancing toward Dynamis, the fairies there--Isabelle, Tera, and Tesa--had their expressions visibly diminished, the earlier lightness in the air fading as reality pressed in.

Isabelle looked at Benjamin once more, her gaze lingering on the pretty man as he playfully shoved Grey Ivy toward the side of the hall, encouraging her in a gentle voice to go get ready for his upcoming diplomatic journey.

His tone was warm and fatherly, full of quiet affection as he ruffled the young titan’s hair and sent her off with a soft laugh.

When he finally left the extravagant hall—not the throne room this time, but a different, equally grand chamber adorned with intricate tapestries and floating crystal lights—the remaining ladies began to talk among themselves, their voices lowering as the heavy doors clicked shut behind him.

"Do... you think the Amazons will forgive us...?"

Tera wondered aloud, her usually stoic face showing a rare crack of uncertainty as she stared at the closed doors, her silver hair framing her features like a veil.

"If we are talking about the Amazons," Tesa responded carefully, crossing her arms over her chest while leaning against a nearby pillar, "they are a bitter bunch that can hold grudges for centuries. I do not see them letting this slide easily, no matter what excuses we offer."

Isabelle bit her lips hard, her green eyes reflecting a deep, aching pain that seemed to well up from somewhere far inside her.

She voiced her words in a nearly shattered tone, the sound fragile and trembling as it left her mouth.

"But...! But, Benjamin assured us yesterday, no? H-He said he will speak to Queen Elara. He said she will surely understand and... and..."

Tera squeezed her normally emotionless face into a sad, forced smile, her eyes closing just a little as if trying to hold back the pain threatening to spill over.

"Use your head, Isabelle..." Her voice came out lower than she intended, carrying a heavy weight of realism. "We had a ton of fun. It was not even our hunt in the first place. We were only stupid enough to involve so much emotion into it, letting ourselves get carried away when we should have known better..."

Tesa nodded slowly in agreement and stated the harsh fact plainly, her tone steady yet laced with silent resignation.

"If I were Elara, having had Benjamin stolen from me and then forced to take responsibility while facing the possible ire of the entire sisterhood of the Spire... I would not let him out of my side ever again. I would keep him close, protected, and far away from anything that could take him for a second time."

"Benjamin is extremely unusual and lucky," Tera started, shifting her face slightly so that her long silver hair fell forward and hid the single tear that rolled silently down her cheek. "In a normal occurrence, Benjamin must have either been brainwashed, or stripped of his power completely. Or worse, sealed away somewhere deep to be used as nothing more than a living power supply for whoever captured him."

Indeed.

After all... the world of Elyndor was unforgiving for the innocent in ways that Earth could only imagine within the pages of the most fitting fantasy tales...

Where mercy was rare and consequences came swift and ruthless for those who let their guard down even for a moment.

Benjamin had let his guard down numerous times already.

Ragna stood quietly at the side of the ornate chair she had abandoned earlier, her massive barbed weapon hanging heavily across her back as she listened to their conversation without interrupting.

The ogress’s sharp eyes scanned each of the women in turn, taking in their slumped shoulders and pained expressions.

[Hmph... Clueless maidens. To fall in love with a captive, how much incompetence is needed to achieve such a feat?] Ragna thought to herself, a hint of dismissive amusement mixing with her usual stoic demeanor.

Then Tera smiled brightly, an expression that looked almost unbecoming on her normally stoic face.

Then she turned to face the ogress who stood some feet away near the edge of the hall.

"An enormous amount!" She chirped suddenly, her voice lifting with surprising cheer even as another tear slipped free and traced down her cheek. "It takes a ridiculous volume of idiocy to forget your duties and fall in love with the other side... But you see, Ragna, love is so unfair... In that it makes you not care about the consequences at all. Love might be one of the most selfish drives known to any being, yet it is so unbelievably complex at the same time..."

Ragna’s eyes widened sharply in surprise, a flush of deep embarrassment coloring her fair skin as it spread rapidly across her cheeks and down her neck.

The realization that her private thoughts had been so easily read left her momentarily speechless, her powerful frame shifting uncomfortably where she stood.

"F-Forgive my rudeness..." she murmured, lowering her head in a respectful bow, her red hair falling forward like a curtain to partially hide her flushed face.

Yet even as she straightened up, her mind continued to turn silently over the question of what kind of person Benjamin truly had to be.

How could one man reduce three such formidable women to this level of utter misery?

The former Superior Spirit of Storm, the former Superior Spirit of Darkness, and the globally renowned strongest mage of this generation—all of them there with downcast eyes and heavy hearts because of him.

"I’m back!"