Chapter 144: Hungry Hounds (Part-2)

“What— What are you doing here!?” Zakira shouts angrily.

After the shocking appearance of Naomi, we all have finally settled down a bit— well, except Zakira. Her appearance wasn’t exactly princess-like when she shrieked and jumped, and thus, she’s still fuming about it.

“Oh? But I thought you already know why I am here,” Naomi says, tilting her head playfully.

“I… I do, but don’t you think that it’s extremely rude to sneak inside someone’s house and listen to their private conversation!? I must say, I didn’t expect this behavior from the Goddess of the Beastkins,” Zakira replies scornfully, targeting her position.

“Now, now… I am not being that rude, you know? Jacob is closer to me than you think— after all, he’s seen my naughty side. I think I should be allowed to do this much, at least,” Naomi says, winking at me.

My cheeks turn a bit red. I can clearly remember the scene in the infirmary where I woke up (after being thrown down the stairs by Alex and his goons), only to be greeted by Naomi in her sexy (and skimpy) nurse outfit.

“Wait, what does she mean by that?” Zakira looks at me sharply, suspicion in her eyes.

…

“I-I have no idea. Anyway, you’re here to get the answer to your invitation, right Miss Naomi?” I ask, quickly changing the topic.

“Yup, but it can wait for a while. Why don’t you go and receive the two Elven princesses first? It wouldn’t be nice to make them wait outside,” she says.

…?

“Are they here already? But I didn’t hear the doorbell…” I say with a frown, looking at others to confirm.

While Layla and Maya look equally puzzled, Zakira seems to concentrate on something with her eyes closed. Though the next moment, her eyes flutter open and she gives me a nod.

“Yes, they’re here,” she confirms.

…

I see, they’re using magic to find out, aren’t they?

“I will go then,” I give a nod in return, getting up from the sofa and walking back to the front door of the house.

The doorbell is still not ringing, making me doubt again if there’s anyone outside or not. But well, I still go ahead and open the door.

“Oh…”

To my slight surprise, Ilyrana and Leena are actually standing there. In fact, Leena’s hand is outstretched as well— just inches away from the doorbell.

I guess Naomi timed everything perfectly…

“Jacob! How are you doing? I am sure you must be surprised to see me— I mean, to see us here, but it’s official business. Can we come in?” Leena asks the moment she sees me.

Official business…?

Oh wait, now that I think about it, Leena is the only one who hasn’t invited me to her country yet.

I look behind them, noticing the cars and the guards standing outside the gate. Through the area looks a bit cramped now (with Zakira’s cars present as well), there’s more than a healthy distance between the White Elves and the Dark Elves— just like the two princesses. It’s completely unnecessary, but both Leena and Ilyrana are standing at least a couple of feet apart.

“Yeah, sure. Come in,” I say, stepping aside to let them enter.

Leena walks in first, flashing me a bright smile as she passes by. On the other hand, Ilyrana just issues a soft, almost inaudible harrumph. Once both of them are in, I close the door and walk back to the living room with them.

“By the way, I didn’t get the chance to say this at school, but congratulations for the spectacular victory in today’s duel, Jacob. As your teacher and mentor, I am extremely proud of your performance,” Leena says superiorly, looking very much delighted.

“Thank you,” I say with a smile.

Even though Leena is speaking to me, her eyes are constantly flickering towards Ilyrana— trying to see her reaction. And well, to her joy, Ilyrana does look quite pissed.

She looks as if her dearest wish got fulfilled just now…

“Wonderful! The Elven princesses are here! We can finally start!” Naomi declares, clapping her hands together the moment we enter the living room.

“Zakira, Miss Naomi…” Leena mutters, looking really surprised to see them. Ilyrana is no different, though she’s more focused on Zakira than Naomi, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Don’t just keep standing there. Come, sit down!” Naomi says, patting the sofa.

“Please excuse us then,” Ilyrana says with a tiny bow, moving forward and sitting down next to Naomi. Leena follows suit, sitting next to Zakira.

And then, silence falls…

Everyone is looking at each other, but no one is saying anything. Layla, Maya, and Rebecca look especially nervous and fidgety— it’s quite overwhelming for normal people to be in a room full of VVIPs.

[Damn… To have three princesses under your roof— you lucky bastard! All that’s left to do is to bang them individually, and then have a hot, steamy foursome with the royalty! The good news? Zakira is already in the bag!]

… Are you fucking serious?

[…]

[S-Sorry, this tense atmosphere is getting to me.]

…

“Alright, this won’t go anywhere if we just keep waiting for each other to speak first. So, let me take the initiative!” Naomi says after a few seconds.

“Princess Leena, you’re here to invite Jacob to your country, right?” she asks.

“Y-Yes,” Leena answers, a bit startled by being addressed first. “But you’re here for that as well, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I invited him ages ago— so did Princess Ilyrana and Princess Zakira. Only you’re just a tad bit late. Today, we’re here to get his answer,” Naomi tells her.

Leena looks genuinely shocked for a second, though she quickly fixes her expression.

“Why would you guys ask him before… no, never mind. It doesn’t matter if you guys asked him earlier or not. What matters is that Jacob didn’t give you his answer. Of course, he must have a good reason to wait. And I am sure he will make the right choice now,” Leena says with confidence, looking at me meaningfully.

Eh… I assume the right choice is you, huh.

“I agree! And anyway, I believe you’ve had enough time, Jacob. Please give us your answer,” Naomi says. “If you want, you can even decline all of our invitations,” she adds with a smirk.

Yeah, and get kidnapped in the middle of the night. No thanks.

…

Unlike Leena and Naomi, Ilyrana doesn’t say anything to me. She just continues to listen to everyone in silence, waiting for me to answer.

“Alright, I have decided,” I finally say, grabbing everyone’s attention.

This is fairly simple—Leena is, in fact, the right choice.

Why?

Because clearly, choosing Zakira is out of the question. And for obvious reason, I don’t feel comfortable going for Naomi either (as Zakira said, she’s just too suspicious). Now, out of the remaining two— Leena and Ilyrana— one is quite friendly to me while the other one is incredibly pissed off right now.

So, yeah…

“I will accept your invitation, Princess—”

I abruptly stop myself, my heart pounding.

Shit! That was close! How can I forget something so important!?

[Wait, what happened?]

I-I will tell you in a second.

…

“Oh man… so I am already out, huh? But still, you cannot hang us on that, Jacob! Which princess are you talking about? There’re three of them here,” Naomi asks with a laugh. She doesn’t seem remotely sad or angry about the fact that I didn’t choose her.

Fuck it…

“It’s— It’s Princess Ilyrana.”