Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

Page 117

Above the top of the space, concealed by materialized memories, an incredibly pure... pink "emotional power" composed of herbs such as Wolf-like Tiger Grass, Midnight Passion Flower, and Royal Beauty Fruit surged into the dream space.

In an instant, the entire dream was enveloped in a pink filter without anyone noticing.

As Artotai said, the content of dreams is not entirely the same as memories. Sometimes, even when the person's subconscious ignores it, the dream begins to undergo an unknown transformation—bringing up some positive emotions.

"I'm done!!!"

In the dream, "Mino," veins bulging on his forehead, looked at "Lena," who was sprawled on the wooden table exuding an aura of utter defeat, and vented all his pent-up frustration in his voice: "Lena, listen up!!!"

"It's coming!" Lena immediately conjured a slice of watermelon in her dream, and while munching on it, she anticipated Mino's fierce attack on her in the dream, as if she were watching the most exciting part of the plot: "The big one is coming!"

Even now, she still remembers with perfect clarity the anger, helplessness, exasperation, jealousy... and so on in Mino's voice. Jealousy?

Lena blinked, somewhat bewildered, and then saw "Mino" in her dream gritting her teeth, saying to her, word by word:

"Woman, from now on, I'll be the one to pay your bills, understand?!"

His handsome, sunny face now held a twisted possessiveness as he looked at me with a mixture of helplessness and tenderness. Anyone could sense the deep jealousy in his words…

"Eh?"

The melon rind fell to the ground and disappeared. Lena stared blankly at the scene before her.

This...this doesn't seem right, does it?

Was Mino's art style like this around that time? It doesn't seem likely at all.

"Uh, it must be a joke, yes! It must be!"

Lena regained her senses and chuckled to herself. After all, it was a memory from several years ago... It was normal for her to forget some details, but the general direction was definitely correct.

"Scold me! Scold me hard!"

Lena clenched her two little fists simultaneously, staring at Mino's face in the dream, which she felt was much more handsome for some reason, and urged him in a slightly weaker tone.

"You, you."

In the tavern, Mino shook his head.

Then, without hesitation, he took out his meager savings purse, tossed it to the tavern owner, and politely apologized:

"I'm sorry, Uncle Phil, my Lena has caused you trouble... She's a little short on money, how about I wash the dishes for you to make up the difference?"

"Huh?" Lena's eyes widened in surprise.

Wait, wait, wait... She remembered very clearly that Mino had taken out her money pouch with a pained expression, and for the entire month afterward, he had been scolding her every day because of it.

And... what does "my Lena" mean? Why does it sound like a man spoiling his wife? Who's the older one here?

I can't tell the difference! I really can't tell the difference!!!

Lena felt a chill run down her spine. Instinctively, she wanted to resist, but for some reason, a strange emotion welled up inside her, seemingly quietly dismantling her proud "superhuman resistance to men."

Lena's eyes glazed over, and she began to doubt herself... Could it be that she was really drunk?

How did Mino become so affectionate and gentle?

Lena instinctively wanted to doubt that the dream was real, but she quickly recalled Mino's declaration of love conveyed with roses on the battlefield half a month ago—

Since he had fallen in love with her before he was captured, that feeling must have been planted years ago. This scene, in fact, makes quite sense!

Lena's face suddenly turned red, as if she were drunk.

"No, no, no, no!" Lena shook her head frantically.

"It's just a common way of putting it. I've used phrases like 'my Mino' before when Mino caused trouble. Yes, it's just social slang. Yes! That's it!"

Lena tilted her head back, as if trying to convince herself: "At least in this memory, Mino didn't express any feelings for me, so I can't be wrong!"

At this time.

In the dream, Mino's expression became incredibly gentle and mature, radiating a unique allure. He stepped forward and took "Lena's" hand:

"Lena, stop drinking... at least, don't drink because someone else's blind date failed, okay?" Mino said, looking very seriously into "Lena's" eyes.

boom!

Lena's heart skipped a beat, and her eyes showed a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

She was a worldly-wise adult, and no matter how Mino interpreted her words, it was clear that there was an extra emotion involved... that very obvious feeling that belonged only to a young boy.

A blush quickly spread across her pretty face. Lena clutched the hem of her dress and said softly, "This...this is just concern for my older sister, isn't it...is that right...Mino?"

Lena wasn't sure who she was asking for confirmation. In the dream, Mino obviously wouldn't answer, but instead continued to hold Lena's hand and softly said:

"Lena, shall we go home?"

"Go home! No!" In the dream, "Lena" shook her head angrily. "I can't walk anymore. Carry me, Mino!"

As Mino grew taller and stronger into adulthood, Lena would often jokingly ask him to carry her on his back, to see how the little boy who used to follow her around had grown up.

Looking at her own obviously unreasonable demands in the dream, Lena actually felt relieved.

From then on, Mino took him home, to avoid him continuing to "misunderstanding"...

however.

"Carry me? Forget about it."

In the dream, Mino suddenly smiled.

With a swift movement, he scooped up the woman on the bench with his strong arms and lifted her up easily in the legendary "princess carry" position.

"If I carry you on my back, I won't be able to see your face."

A voice, almost biting at the ear, rang in my ears.

Lena stood there, stunned.

Was she seeing things? — How come in this dream scene, Mino is suddenly surrounded by a romantic floral background reminiscent of a shoujo manga...?

Chapter 157 A good horse deserves a good saddle; flowers bloom await the young man.

"What...what's going on?" Lena touched her burning cheeks, feeling a little dizzy and lightheaded.

Was I...that drunk that night?

Lena was mesmerized as she watched Mino being gently lifted up in a princess carry in her dream, a gesture she'd only ever seen in stories.

Looking down at Lena with a touch of intimacy, Mino said softly:

"You've been on so many blind dates, yet you can't sense my feelings, Lena...?"

"You're really something, you've gone on a blind date like this—"

Pfft! ! !

Lena's eyes darted around in panic. He said it! He really said it!!!

But why didn't she have any memory of it? She did remember the phrase "a blind date turned out to be a waste of time," but she remembered Mino saying it while cursing. ...When did she become so hard of hearing?!

Oh no! Did Mino whisper sweet nothings to me, a deaf person?! Oh no! Why didn't I realize it sooner?!

A flutter of excitement stirred within Lena, and she stammered to herself:

"He's clearly just a little brother, why is he pretending to be so affectionate? It must be, it must just be a spur-of-the-moment thing! Yes, that must be it!!!"

"If he really had that idea, why didn't he just tell me?"

Forcing a smile, Lena finally found an angle that could convince herself, and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when something suddenly occurred to her, and she froze...

Could it be—because of my age?

Lena's body began to tremble, and a strange emotion welled up in her heart, naturally leading her to think of this "immoral interpretation"!

Yes, he probably understands that his feelings are taboo, incomprehensible to the world, and beyond the realm of normal fantasies—

That's why Mino suppressed her feelings deep inside, unwilling to break through that barrier and tell herself directly!

Her hands trembled slightly as she covered her mouth, her eyes filled with heartache.

"Mino, how much pain must he be in?!"

Her heart began to pound wildly, half shy and half excited; in her chest, her pure heart flashed with a rapid light.

"Hey! Wait a minute, he's in pain? Am I not in pain?!"

"Holy Maiden, what happened to not giving things away for nothing?! Look at me, look at your heartless idiot!!!"

A chill ran through her, and Lena jolted awake, the blush on her cheeks fading, her eyes revealing her utter bewilderment.

"Ah, oh right." Lena quickly composed herself and forced a dry laugh:

"Even if, even if Mino really likes me, it doesn't mean anything... Lots of people like me, right? (very quietly)?"

"Mino probably just had a fleeting thought, yes, that must be it! Boys' crushes always come and go quickly... It's just a delusion caused by hormonal surges, right!"

Thinking of this, Lena's tone gradually calmed down: "Yes, his feelings for me have just changed a bit, it's not true love, that's right."

"And most importantly, how could anyone possibly fall for an old woman who's nearly thirty, has absolutely no feminine charm, is better at swordsmanship than him, and is lazy, useless, and has a fragile heart... Waaah." Lena's tone gradually became dejected.

"Don't make yourself emo just to convince yourself!" Iceheart was shocked.

As the dream began to fade, Lena watched Mino gradually disappear from the dream, her heart clenching slightly, feeling a strange sense of reluctance.

No, no... If you take it seriously, you'll lose, Lena!

You should be the most clear-headed one. Sometimes it's not about liking a person, but about liking the feeling itself! Yes, Mino was definitely in that state at the time, he just didn't realize it.

"Mino wasn't like this a long time ago! He and I were just friends! Yes, you see!"

Forcibly biting her lip, Lena quickly reached for another part of the dream.

Although the specific details were a bit blurry for her, it was five or six years ago, before Mino was even an adult. Back then, the other person was just a carefree and thoughtless guy! Surely there won't be any problems, right?!

As her emotions gradually calmed down, Lena was once again enveloped in her dream memories, and the surroundings transformed into a clear blue sky with white clouds.

"Sigh, another blind date failed..."

On the grass, the girl who had just finished practicing her swordplay stuck her wooden sword into the ground, hugged her knees, and complained to the boy beside her with a hint of resentment:

"I thought their complaints about my age, personality, and family background were outrageous enough... but this time it's even worse! They actually complained that I'm not a rich woman! These useless men are just trying to get everything in one go! Those lousy men have no sense of appreciation whatsoever!!!"

"Mino, you better say something fair to me!"

Looking at the lively boy beside her, Lena seemed to already see the scene of him revealing a hateful smile.