Their romance storyline only begins on the second playthrough

Her initial statement, "I will protect them and make them submit willingly," refers to protecting them under the Dragon God and the Witch.

Indeed, given the dangerous situation ahead, the Dragon God's hatred would undoubtedly be the best way for her to show her power.

Rod smiled slightly: "Not bad."

"Then, where is your so-called protection of me?"

Suddenly, Rhodes became interested and asked another question.

Lilith's delicate body stiffened, and her emotions clearly rippled after those words.

Because it's like asking her to go out and "show off" and say, "I'm strong, I'll protect you."

She felt a little embarrassed and her ears were warm, but she still spoke:

"Hmm... well, there are many things to say. Rhodes, you are the one in the most dangerous situation. It seems like you don't need to say it to know."

“That’s true.” Rhodes leaned back on the sofa, his purple eyes gradually softening. “Alright.”

The conversation ended.

Or rather, everything that needs to be done next is very clear.

The issue of divine sacrifice was no longer a thorny problem for him; the real issue he had to face was clearly the position of the Demon God.

But clearly, even on the side of divine positions, they not only have an easier time obtaining divine status than Cecilia and the others, but also...

Cecilia intends to exploit the people's despair to enhance her witch power, so she will definitely anticipate the empire's collapse after the divine sacrifice before attempting to break through the seal set up by Lilith.

However, by that time, Lilith had already obtained the Celestial Bow and recovered some of her strength.

Moreover, Charlotte—should probably be able to get there and support him.

Cecilia was unaware that Charlotte was planning to help him, because while Charlotte was recovering, she secretly slipped away to put herself into another body.

Yes.

All of the witch's plans were easily thwarted in their eyes.

However, discussions on paper are ultimately just empty verbal debates, and the real balance may not necessarily be completely tilted in their favor.

As expected, everything can only be settled once we return to the capital.

Dragon Goddess... If she can return to normal, the danger in the situation would obviously not have existed in the first place.

The problem is, he's still a long way from touching the thorny crown in his mind, let alone entering the [Fallen Demon God's Domain] to free that guy.

"If only I could quickly become stronger and then go in to free the Dragon God."

Rhodes exhaled slightly.

Ultimately, the key is to quickly break through to the fifth level of advancement and reach the rank of [Hero].

With this in mind, Rhodes's goal became clear and definite. Obviously, there was only one thing he needed to do now—to conserve his energy and wait for tomorrow.

"Well then, get some rest, Lilith. We need to prepare to leave tomorrow morning."

“Mm,” Lilith replied lightly.

Rod dusted himself off and decided to get up and leave.

but--

He had barely taken a step up when the girl's slender fingers once again grabbed the hem of his aristocratic suit.

The perfect amount of force—enough to shake him off with a strong flick, yet enough to create resistance—

Rhodes turned his head.

However, before he could even ask a question, he clearly sensed Lilith's thoughts.

Even with caution and meticulousness, this emotion and expectation were still clearly visible in the shimmering blue eyes.

Indeed, Lilith no longer had that indifferent expression; her face clearly showed the words "request for reward."

"Are you... leaving already?" Lilith turned her head away, her ears turning bright red, but she still pursed her lips and forced herself to say those words.

Shame, it really is shameful.

She can still occasionally act cute, as long as she's alone with Rod.

“I need to get more information from Cecilia. She said she would tell me some secrets tonight.”

"Stay with me a little longer."

Lilith felt she had gone a bit too far with her sentimentality. She cleared her throat, her voice becoming less slurred and more crisp and clear as a bell as she added three more words:

"Just a little while."

What else is there to say?

Since he's so willing to stay, why not just stay a little longer?

Rhodes nodded slightly and sat down next to Lilith, following her seating position.

"Okay." Then, a belated voice of agreement followed.

The two people sat side by side.

The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

It's been a long time since we've spent so much time together quietly, and even longer since we've enjoyed time alone together like this.

Therefore, Lilith appeared cautious and careful, or rather, in that moment of overflowing happiness, she was truly flustered and didn't know what to say.

But after a few seconds of feigned composure and restraint, an even stronger longing emerged—

Right.

She felt that, as someone who was "atonement," she should be the one to voice her thoughts first, and then let Rhodes have them.

Because, although she said she wanted to act ahead of Felicity and the others, in essence, the [identity swap] in this cycle had not changed for Rhodes.

She is still the passive person.

But now... it's wrong of her to force Rhodes to stay with her.

She also needs to give Rhodes some feedback.

But what can she do now?

Leaning against Rhodes, should we kiss? Shake hands? Play some games with him?

No, no, no, that won't make him happy; it will only be a hassle for him.

that--

How about we make it a little simpler?

Upon thinking of this, Lilith's eyes trembled slightly with nervousness, but remembering that if one thing happened, another might happen, she cautiously and discreetly reached out and gently poked Rhodes's thigh:

"No...shouldn't we do something?"

Upon hearing this, Rhodes' body stiffened.

"Do you want to do something?" He turned his head and asked Lilith.

Oh no, I startled him suddenly, and now he's acting like a virgin.

"I...I don't know either." Lilith pursed her lips, looking rather embarrassed, and regretted saying those words.

But since I've already gone all in, I might as well just be direct—

"Well, didn't I ask you to do some things before? Anyway, I'm glad that Rhodes understands my true feelings, but... well, actually, we can continue to do some things."

"?"

A question mark suddenly appeared above Rod's head.

"You mean those thousands of unfulfilled requests?"

"Ah...yes, it's okay, you can think about it, I'll try my best." Lilith's ears were red, and her whole body was flushed with heat, her face turning a maple red, but she still forced a nonchalant expression.

That's interesting; that really shows what makes Lilith so fun.

What they say and what they do are completely different.

However, Rhodes understood perfectly well that once the teasing element was stripped away from those demands, weren't they just the typical playful interactions between young lovers?

Lilith actually started playing it?

However, when the emotions are confirmed to be real, and she is asked to "atone" or something, even the word "atone" takes on a strange connotation.

Make her wear a maid outfit and call you master or something?

Of course, Rhodes still wanted to know whether Lilith really wanted to make him happy this way, or whether she just thought it was exciting.

The more I think about it, the more my scalp tingles.

After thinking for a moment, Rhodes cautiously and thoughtfully began to speak:

"Are you telling me to ask for whatever I want just to make me happy, or... do you want this yourself?"

Instead of keeping it bottled up, it's better to just be upfront and say it.

Whether she will admit it or not is another matter, but at least it's good that he asked.

“I…” When Lilith’s self-deceiving lie of atonement was exposed, she seemed to evaporate and began to sweat profusely.

Yes.

She was indeed only using the concept of atonement to create a tiny bit of desire within herself to play with Rhodes.

After all, this feeling of identity reversal was extremely new to her, and it made her even more excited when she was facing someone she liked.

Perhaps... it's because she's had fewer opportunities to experience "compliance" growing up that this problem naturally arises.

“Me…? What?” Rhodes asked again.

Can I lie?

“Oh, no need.” Rhodes shook his head.

"what."

After Rhodes said "No need," Lilith immediately covered her mouth.

Wait, wait...!