I Married the Beautiful Female Protagonist In Order To Survive

62. No more peeking at naughty books!

Zerola, who’d once been practically tripping over himself to follow Flora, a self-confessed “simpering admirer,” felt a sudden urge to put some distance between himself and the girl. To let her “cool down” a bit, perhaps?

After all, who could have foreseen that Flora, who once looked at him with a hint of barely veiled “threat,” would, after the metaphorical “switch was flipped,” become so…insatiable? Or, to put it more delicately, so “proactive”?

The “offering” from earlier this evening, and now this… Surely the esteemed halls of this grand Albion academy weren’t meant for such things? Had Flora been reading some scandalous literature, developing some rather, shall we say, “misguided” ideas about the goings-on between lovers?

“Um… Flora.”

Afraid to dwell on it any longer, Zerola swiftly grasped Flora’s wrist, preventing those hands from embarking on any further, even more audacious, endeavors. “I’m not sure where you got your information, but… literary works often employ exaggeration. It’s… not to be taken literally. No one in their right mind would do these things in the halls of the academy.”

Honestly, Zerola thought his conjecture was a bit far-fetched. Flora wasn’t some naive, unworldly girl, after all. Surely someone with an elite Albion education understood these things?

But then, in a flash, Zerola realized: he was, in fact, completely right—Flora had indeed been reading something she shouldn’t, and now sought to extrapolate, to apply its contents with gusto.

Flora’s face flushed crimson. An awkward silence lingered for a few seconds before she wrenched her wrist free of Zerola’s grasp. “What kind of thoughts are swirling around in that head of yours? I simply wanted you to rub my shoulders.”

Whose head was more preoccupied with “what kind of thoughts,” exactly? Rub her shoulders… and what was with loosening her tie then, Flora? It wasn’t like she was about to ask him to give her cupping therapy.

Still, if she wanted a rub, he was more than willing to oblige.

However, they were, after all, in the academy, not Flora’s room. They couldn’t just do whatever they pleased, whenever they pleased.

The approaching sounds from outside the student council room snapped Zerola from his reverie. He looked up to see Flora had hastily smoothed her jacket back on and slipped behind him, using his frame to shield the rosy blush—evidence of “what had just transpired”—still lingering on her face.

Then, the student council door swung open, and a familiar figure stepped inside—the sylph Mel.

It couldn’t be chalked up to “deliberate cockblocking,” as the student council president was quite within her rights to visit her own office. However, today was different, because…

Trailing behind Mel was a sylph girl, wearing the academy’s student uniform, whose face was unfamiliar to Zerola. Compared to Mel, who radiated almost excessive “siren-like allure,” this sylph girl was a bit more “petite” and “flat as a board.” Her dark hair also marked her as being distinct from your average sylph.

But more than that, Zerola was struck by the girl’s very presence. The student council… certainly didn’t have anyone like that, did it? In fact, there were hardly any sylphs at all in the Albion academy. Why had President Mel brought along such a follower today?

“President Mel, the girl behind you…”

“What, is your interest piqued again? After all the time you spent longing for Flora?”

Mel blinked mischievously, filling Zerola with a sudden sense of urgency.

His interest wasn’t piqued, not at all. Even Flora, whose jealousy could simmer quite easily, understood that he was simply curious about the sylph girl Mel had brought along.

After all, this was the student council of the Albion academy’s highest institution. Even for a student-run organization, there were still many things considered “classified,” and ordinary students weren’t allowed to come to the student council room without permission.

So, this sylph…

Their questions were finally answered by Mel in the following moment.

“Since you two are here, I might as well use this opportunity to explain.”

Mei’er, still speaking, stepped aside, presenting the elven loli she had brought, “Her name is Horus. Zerola, you’re always thinking about various women, you probably wouldn’t know, but Filora, you should remember? Wasn’t she one of the two elven students who first came to the academy?”

This was unknown to Zerola, so he dared not presume anything.

The only thing clear was: President Mei’er did not appear to be “held hostage,” even finding the mood to joke around. Still, Zerola instinctively felt the strangeness of the whole affair, because: Filora’s response seemed so hesitant.

“Uh, yes… it seems there were two.”

Filora rubbed her forehead, “I’m sorry, Mei’er, because of Ludwig, I didn’t pay much attention to the other elven student.”

“No matter, you’ve been dealing with ‘that’ sort of thing. As an acquaintance, I wanted to lend a hand. I remembered when I was looking through student files, Horus came to the academy with Ludwig. Although elves aren’t so closely connected to each other, we can at least learn something about Ludwig’s behavior, whereabouts, and so on from Horus.”

“This Horus also knows something about Ludwig, so… can Horus participate in this investigation later? Otherwise, Ludwig’s whereabouts won’t be so easy to find.”

Zerola wasn’t keen to agree, he had a bad feeling, and… chasing after that white-haired elf should have been his mission. Be that as it may, he couldn’t let his possessiveness delay Filora’s quest to recover her power, so…

He pursed his lips, and in the end, Zerola said nothing, watching as Filora thought for a moment before nodding in agreement.

“Then, Horus, please explain what you know about Ludwig, who came to the academy with you. Tell us everything you can, introduce as much as you can. Because… she’s done some wrong things and is being pursued. We’re all elves, we can’t choose to protect her, can we?”

But the next moment, the smile revealed by this elf named Horus, a smile full of profound meaning that didn’t match her small frame at all, made Zerola more and more uneasy as he recalled it.

“Of course, I will do my best to help Miss Filora.”

The true age of an elf can’t be observed from their appearance, Zerola understood that. But this Horus, just standing there, made Zerola uncomfortable.

Hopefully, it’s just because he’s in a relationship with Filora and can no longer tolerate other women.

But, was there really such a student in the academy?

At least, Zerola didn’t remember everyone discussing another elf besides Ludwig, or… was he mistaken?

Shaking his head, Zerola stopped thinking too much, and instead listened carefully to this elf Horus’s description of Ludwig’s whereabouts, identity, and so on, without missing a word.

For Zerola, retrieving Filora’s power was the most important thing.