The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 88 - The Sword Festival, Part 2 (6)

After that, it was time for the next match. The crowd was already buzzing with complaints, their voices carrying a mix of irritation and impatience.

"Not another boring fight!" one man yelled, his voice rising above the others.

"Make it longer this time! At least give us something worth watching!"

The noise grated on me, making the atmosphere even heavier. My seat felt suffocating, the pressure from the collective frustration of the crowd pushing down on me. I shifted uncomfortably, my fingers fidgeting with the hem of my sleeve as I tried to tune out the chaos.

As I stared blankly ahead, lost in my thoughts, a small movement next to me caught my attention. Yr stirred, her head shifting slightly before her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, disoriented, then stretched one slender arm above her head with a soft yawn escaping her lips. Her delicate frame arched slightly as she stretched, her movements unhurried and feline-like. She looked impossibly cute, like a kitten just waking from a nap, her hair slightly messy and her expression adorably groggy.

It wasn't hard to see why Leon had entertained the idea of adding this girl to his harem. She had that irresistible charm, an innocent allure that made you want to protect her, yet selfishly keep her all to yourself. I couldn't blame him—I wanted to keep her too.

"Hmmm... Leon isn't here yet?" she murmured, her voice still heavy with sleep.

I glanced at her, her half-lidded eyes making her look even more vulnerable. "Well, he's talking with Sir Johanne," I said, keeping my voice calm despite the growing noise around us. "I think it's something serious. From the way Johanne looked at Leon earlier, it felt like some kind of man-to-man talk. Something only guys would get."

Yr tilted her head, her expression turning curious. Her eyes locked on mine, glimmering faintly in the dim light. "Only men? Hmm... but Leon is talking to a girl."

Her words hit me like a slap, leaving me stunned. I blinked at her, the confusion evident on my face. "Uh, girl? What do you mean, Yr?"

She didn't answer immediately, instead blinking slowly like she was trying to piece together her thoughts. Then, without warning, she yawned again, her head lolling slightly to the side as if sleep was pulling her back under.

"W-Wait, don't fall asleep now!" I panicked, my hand reaching out instinctively to nudge her.

"My ability... lets me travel through the astral plane when I'm asleep," she murmured, her voice soft and dreamy. "It feels like floating... like my body is gone, and I'm just a soul. I can see the souls of anyone I meet... The person Leon is with... their soul isn't male. It's a girl..."

Her words hung in the air, heavy and surreal, before her head tilted forward. And with that, Yr conked out, her head slumping forward.

"W-What is she saying...?" Trill asked.

I turned to Trill, my thoughts racing. "I need to get out of here for a bit," I said quickly, trying to suppress the growing tension in my chest. "This noise is too much—I can't think straight. Trill, can you carry her? We'll talk somewhere quieter."

Without hesitation, Trill scooped up Yr as if she weighed nothing. Her strength as a beast person made it look effortless, but Yr's light frame didn't hurt either. Trill was far stronger than me, and even though Yr was light, I couldn't manage to carry her. We made our way out of the crowd, leaving the suffocating noise behind us.

Once we were far enough away, I exhaled, the quiet air around us feeling like a reprieve.

"This feels like someone just punched me in the gut," Trill muttered, her ears twitching as she adjusted Yr in her arms. "Johanne's a woman? I mean, we had doubts, but this... this wasn't what I expected at all. She doesn't give off any kind of womanly vibes. Everything about her screams 'man.' Even her aura feels masculine. Hell, I even considered making him—her—my mate before I met Leon. But..."

"I don't think Yr is lying," I said, my voice firmer now. "If Johanne is really a woman, why would she hide it? It doesn't make sense. Her physique is so... masculine. But then again, some women can have builds like that. Still, it's strange. Does her wife know about this?"

Johanne was married to a woman named Tris. Leon had even attended their wedding and witnessed the whole ceremony. That should've erased any doubts about Johanne's preferences. I mean, I'd once suspected Johanne might be into men—especially given the way she looked at Leon.

But seeing her happily married to Tris had put those suspicions to rest.

Which meant my suspicion about Johanne being someone who preferred men had been laid to rest entirely.

However, this kind of reveal only made things even more complicated.

"Now that I think about it, she doesn't smell male either, even though her physique is so masculine," Trill remarked thoughtfully. Her ears twitched as she spoke, clearly trying to make sense of it all. "I can typically smell the arousal of a male. Leon's arousal level is so strong, he practically reeks of it. Ah, but don't get me wrong—I like Leon's smell. I actually love Leon's scent and the way he's practically oozing with arousal. Women in my race are drawn to males who exude that scent, and Leon's... well, even men in heat from my clan can't compete with him."

"But Johanne doesn't have that scent at all?" I asked.

"Not even a trace," Trill replied, shaking her head. "Even men who have no interest in sex still have some faint scent to them. But Johanne? There's nothing—like, absolutely nothing. That's what's so confusing."

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Her words only made the situation feel stranger. "I actually felt something off about Johanne too," I admitted. "Especially when she mentioned experiencing a condition monthly. At the time, I immediately understood what she meant, but it didn't make sense to me."

Periods were something only women experienced—or at least, that was what I'd always known. Finding out that Johanne went through the same thing had been shocking back then. Now, though, it all made sense.

"Well, I guess Johanne really is a woman," Trill concluded, her tone carrying a mix of acceptance and bewilderment.

"Does Leon know about this?" I asked cautiously.

"Considering how hung up he seems on her, I think he does," Trill said with a small shrug. "Maybe Leon's planning to add Johanne to his harem?"

"But... how would that even work?" I asked, my voice dropping slightly as my cheeks warmed.

"Beats me."

It was entirely possible that Johanne's biology had been altered somehow, giving her the physique of a man but retaining the soul of a woman. If that were the case, then Johanne probably had something between her legs, like what Leon had—and used on us. If Leon wanted to have sex with Johanne, where would he even put it? The butt? Experience exclusive tales on novelbuddy

"You don't have to worry..." Yr's voice, soft and dreamy, suddenly interrupted my spiraling thoughts. She'd woken up just enough to speak, her eyes barely open as she murmured, "Leon doesn't have a preference for males... He's investigating how Johanne ended up in her current state. He's probably planning to have sex with her once he manages to change her body back to female..."

And just like that, she drifted off again, her head lolling to the side as sleep claimed her.

"Well... that explains a lot, I guess," I said, still feeling a little dazed as the pieces slowly fell into place.

Although I was still in shock, I think I've encountered enough bizarre things to brush this off without much fuss. If Leon wanted Johanne to join his harem—now that I knew Johanne was possibly a woman, which seemed highly likely, by the way—then I'd support him wholeheartedly.

***

Leon's POV

When I returned to the tournament grounds, where the matches were still ongoing, I realized my three girlfriends were nowhere to be seen. Where had they gone?

As I stood there, puzzling over their absence, a strange sensation prickled at the back of my neck. Eyes. Someone was watching me.

I turned around sharply, scanning the area behind me. Nothing. No one was there at all.

Was I imagining things? No, it felt too real to ignore. But where were they? And more importantly... who?

Before I could delve deeper into my thoughts, my girlfriends finally came back, their familiar chatter breaking through my trance.

"Hello, Leon! Sorry about that—Trill needed to take a bathroom break," Titania explained with a bright smile. "Did we keep you waiting long?"

"No," I replied casually, shaking my head. "I just got here myself."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, a teasing glint flickering in their depths. "Hmm? Where's Johanne? Weren't you talking with him... or, I mean, her earlier?"

That little slip wasn't lost on me. Titania was starting to piece things together, but for now, I had to act like I hadn't noticed.

"He already left," I said evenly. "Johanne mentioned heading back home to prepare for tomorrow's match."

"Ah, is that so? Well, that's fine then," Titania replied with a shrug. Then her gaze shifted, noticing my distracted expression. "By the way, Leon... why are you looking up there? What's got your attention?"

I blinked, realizing I'd been staring into the distance, still on edge from the earlier sensation. "Nah, it's nothing," I said quickly, brushing it off.

Even as I said it, though, the feeling lingered—a heavy presence in the air, as though the eyes that had been watching me weren't entirely gone.