Chapter 57: Dragon’s Den Holy Artifact? She Actually Believed It!

**[Warning! Unknown contact detected!]**

**[Vivian’s Blackening Value has increased by 3%! Current: 90%!]**

**[Alicia’s Blackening Value has increased by 3%! Current: 93%!]**

Lynn felt a jolt of surprise and immediately reached out to stop Lilith.

“No need. I… I’m not cold,” he said, forcing a smile.

Lilith tilted her head, her smile fading slightly.

“But… Brother used to let me warm the bed,” she said softly.

Cold sweat began to pour down Lynn’s back.

‘I don’t know if this was a setting in the game. But I know I can’t go along with her right now.’

“That… that was before,” Lynn said dryly.

“You’re grown up now; you have to sleep on your own.”

Vivian’s gaze swept over, and Alicia opened her eyes as well.

Both women watched Lynn and Lilith.

The Blackening Values did not drop; instead, they crept up a bit higher.

Lynn knew he had said the wrong thing.

Lilith’s lips trembled, looking as if she were about to burst into tears.

“Brother, do you not like Lilith anymore?”

**[Lilith’s Blackening Value has increased by 5%! Current: 100%!]**

A blood-red alarm exploded in his mind once again.

Lynn’s heart skipped a beat.

100%! This was the number he feared most.

He knew he couldn’t hesitate any longer.

He wanted to live.

He opened his arms and pulled Lilith into a hug.

“I don’t dislike you.”

Lynn held Lilith in his arms and kissed her forehead.

“Brother just… just wants you to grow up too, and sleep in your own bed, okay?”

He kept his voice very soft and gentle, trying to soothe her.

**[Lilith’s Blackening Value has decreased by 3%! Current: 97%!]**

“It worked!”

Lynn breathed a sigh of relief.

Lilith leaned against his chest and muttered quietly, “But… I just want to sleep with Brother.”

“Not today,” Lynn said.

“Tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow we’ll sleep together.”

He was trying to buy himself some breathing room.

**[Vivian’s Blackening Value has decreased by 1%! Current: 89%!]**

**[Alicia’s Blackening Value has decreased by 1%! Current: 92%!]**

Lynn felt Vivian and Alicia’s gazes soften.

They didn’t like Lilith monopolizing him, but they also didn’t want him to reject her completely, fearing even more troublesome consequences.

Lilith nuzzled against him and finally nodded.

“Then… alright. But Brother must make sure to stay covered.”

Lynn escorted Lilith back to her own bed.

Only then did he carefully climb into his own.

He lay in the large bed in the middle, with Lilith on his left and Alicia on his right.

Vivian slept in the bed closest to him.

Three sets of eyes seemed to be watching him in the darkness.

He didn’t dare close his eyes.

Lilith’s breathing was steady.

Alicia remained motionless.

From Vivian’s direction came the faint sound of a scabbard rubbing against something.

Lynn rolled over, trying to turn his back to Lilith, only to find that she had already quietly drifted closer.

Her hand rested lightly on his waist.

He didn’t dare move.

He rolled over again, trying to turn his back to Alicia, but he found that Alicia had moved closer too.

Her fingertips, cold as ice, touched his back.

He dared not move even more.

He felt as if he were pinned down on this bed, under attack from three sides.

He was trapped.

The only sound in the room was the faint crackle of wood burning in the fireplace.

Lynn stared at the ceiling.

What kind of inn was this?

This was clearly a mobile cage.

Lynn didn’t dare fall truly asleep all night.

As he lay on that middle bed, Lilith’s warm breath brushed against his neck on the left, while Alicia’s icy fingertips felt as if they were enchanted, glued to his back on the right.

The occasional metallic friction from Vivian’s side served as a reminder that she was right there.

This wasn’t rest; it was a high-difficulty game of extreme survival.

He stared at the ceiling until the world outside the window began to grow pale.

When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the gap in the window and into the room, he finally felt his nerves relax slightly.

“Morning, Brother.”

Lilith’s soft, sweet voice rang in his ear.

He felt her arms tighten as she pulled him into a closer embrace.

**[Lilith’s Blackening Value: 97%]**

Lynn’s body stiffened, not daring to move.

Using the smallest possible motion, he turned his head to look at Lilith.

Her eyes were bright, filled with the satisfaction of a good night’s sleep.

“Morning,” Lynn forced a smile, his voice a bit raspy.

Alicia sat up on his right.

The holy nightgown she wore didn’t have a single wrinkle, as if she had maintained a seated meditative posture all night.

Her gaze swept over Lynn and Lilith before looking out the window.

“The sun has risen,” she said in a cool voice.

Vivian was already fully dressed, her heavy armor making metallic clanking sounds as she moved.

She walked to the fireplace and added a few pieces of wood, causing the flames to instantly roar to life.

She glanced at Lynn.

“You didn’t sleep well last night,” she stated matter-of-factly, though it made a cold sweat break out on Lynn’s back.

Lynn climbed out of bed.

He felt his body was stiff, as if it had been filled with lead.

He headed toward the washroom, trying to clear his head with cold water.

He needed a plan — a plan to escape this situation.

He couldn’t go on like this.

When he stepped out of the washroom, Lilith had already dressed and was sitting at the table eating snacks.

Vivian was wiping down her sword.

Alicia stood quietly by the window, looking outside.

Lynn walked over and picked up a piece of bread.

He took a bite; it tasted bland.

“Where are we going next?”

Vivian sheathed her sword and looked at Lynn.

Her question was direct, devoid of any emotion.

Lynn’s mind raced.

He couldn’t say “back to the Academy,” as that would only lead them there and cause even more trouble.

He also couldn’t say “let’s find a place to hide,” as that would mean losing his freedom entirely.

He needed a goal — something they would believe for now, and something that could move the plot forward.

“The Holy Artifact,” Lynn blurted out, his voice firmer than he had expected.

The three women looked at him simultaneously.

Lilith stopped chewing her snack.

Alicia withdrew her gaze from the window and turned toward him.

Vivian raised an eyebrow, her gaze sharp.

“A Holy Artifact?”

Vivian repeated, a hint of suspicion in her tone.

“Yes.”

Lynn pushed forward, knowing he had to make this lie believable.

“Back when I… when I was being hunted by the Holy Church Knights, I was carrying a very important Holy Artifact. To keep them from getting it, I hid it somewhere near Black Iron Town.”

He began searching through the game’s lore in his mind.

Was there anywhere near Black Iron Town where something could be hidden?

It was best if it were somewhere dangerous enough that they wouldn’t rush there immediately.

“The Dragon’s Den.”

His eyes lit up as the words left his mouth.

“I hid it in a Dragon’s Den. That place… is very dangerous.”

After saying this, Lynn stared at Vivian.

She had once been a Knight Commander, so she should be familiar with various legends and geography.

If she spotted a flaw, he would just say he had misremembered.