A Tale of Strategies For the Throne - Chapter 7
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- A Tale of Strategies For the Throne
- Chapter 7 - Definitely Has a Perversion for Youngsters!
Galran stared blankly at the lion’s copper bell, his mind was blank. He was subconsciously holding the sweetly sleeping baby lion in his arms, his body tensed, his eyes widened, and his lips pale with fear.
The enormous lion, an absolute beast in his eyes, looked down at him, slowly lowering its huge head. Galran saw it seemingly opening its mouth, causing his shoulders to flinch involuntarily.
Suddenly, a large hand stretched out from the side and slapped the lion’s head.
Then, under Galran’s horrified gaze, the big hand grabbed the lion’s mane and yanked it back hard, tilting the huge beast’s head to one side.
Looking up, he saw a tall young man who had appeared at some point, pulling back the lion that had tried to lean in closer.
The young man was tall, with dark, brown skin, long limbs, dressed in simple clothes, and had slightly curly brown hair. The muscular pecs exposed by his loose clothing, as well as the bulging muscles on his dark, brown arm, made it clear how robust his physique was.
No wonder such a huge lion was pulled back so gently by him – it would be impossible without a robust body.
The baby lion was completely unaware of what was happening around it and was still sound asleep.
Galran held it, his little head raised, staring at the man.
The lion-taming man was very tall; Galran’s head barely reached his waist. He had to strain his neck to look up.
Dressed casually in simple clothes, and clean without any jewelry, the young man glanced at Galran and gave a smile.
His face was marked by rugged lines, clear contours, high nose, deep-set eyes, reminiscent of sweeping marble sculptures, tempered by thick, dark brows, creating a rough yet resolute look. His chin had a few short stubbles; although he was tall and robust, he didn’t come off as intimidating.
The young man smiled at Galran, his smile as bright and refreshing as the burning sun in the sky, inviting, and inducing a spontaneous desire to get closer.
“Kid, what are you doing here?” he asked, reaching out to ruffle Galran’s hair lovingly.
After ruffling once, he squinted as if he liked the feeling and ruffled once again.
He didn’t stop and ruffled once more.
Galran was shocked seeing the man brutally pull the lion back by its mane and was scared for his life, thinking that the lion might get angry and bite the man’s hand off, throwing everything into chaos.
Who knew, after the lion was roughly pulled back by its mane, it simply growled a little in discontent, raised its paw, and licked it slowly, showing no signs of anger. It seemed as habitual as it was annoyed, almost as if it were too lazy to be angry.
This man…since he’s so familiar with the lions, he must be someone responsible for taming and caring for them, right? Galran remembered that the Lion park of King Kamos was taken care of by his trusted men, and only specific people were allowed in.
Because lions are considered sacred animals of the kingdom, only high-ranking nobles were allowed access to them.
It’s probably because the baby lion accidentally got lost, and this man brought the big lion along to look for it.
But who is this man? He can’t seem to remember anything.
If he’s a high-ranking noble serving in the palace, at least he should have some recollection of him, right? But he seems to have never seen this man in the palace after so many years…
Galran thought so, as he held up the little furry ball sleeping in his arms for him.
“It’s not stolen. I just found it here,” he said, trying to appear innocent, wanting to convey that he wasn’t a kidnapper.
“Here’s your child back.”
The little cub was sleeping soundly, suddenly leaving the warm embrace and being lifted up, so it raised its fluffy little head in a daze, looking around.
Seeing a large brown hand stretch out toward itself, the little cub unceremoniously opened its mouth, howled, and fiercely bit down on the hand.
I don’t want you! You go away!—
Galran, handing over the lion cub: “…………
Someone who tried to pick up the cub and was viciously bitten: “……… Tsk.”
The brown-haired youth clicked his tongue, pried open the cub’s mouth with his other hand, and finally retrieved his finger that had been firmly bitten by the cub. Luckily, the cub’s teeth were not sharp, and his hand was full of calluses, rough and tough, so he didn’t get hurt.
Behind him, the large lion made a noise from its throat, as if mocking him.
“Alright, time to return the child.”
The brown-haired youth spoke without looking back, casually pointing his thumb in the direction of the lion behind him.
He seemed to be aware that the little furball didn’t like him, so he didn’t attempt to grab the cub himself. Instead, he signaled for Galran to bring the cub to the large lion.
Galran looked at the mighty lion, which was so big that he wouldn’t be enough to fill the gaps between its teeth, and felt a little apprehensive. He thought about it, placed the cub on the ground, grabbed its round, fluffy bottom, and pushed it toward the large lion.
The furball, which was still a little confused after being put down by the child, sat on the ground, looking left and right. After being pushed, it saw its father and immediately became excited. It scrambled up, toddling on its four short legs toward its father. When it reached the large lion, it let out a howl at its dad.
The large lion made another noise in its throat, lowered its massive head, and licked the cub with its thick tongue. Then, it picked up the playful cub by the scruff of the neck and turned around to reenter the bushes from which it had emerged not long ago. The sounds of the rustling bushes quickly faded away.
After confirming that the fearsome beast king had left with its offspring, Galran’s heart finally settled down.
He nearly died of fright.
This was the first time he had been so close to such a terrifying creature. In his previous four reincarnations, he only saw these lions from a distance after Prince Kamos’ return from battles.
As soon as Galran relaxed, he felt something was off. Someone was stroking his hair, and it hadn’t stopped since earlier. Galran looked up in confusion, and the man who had been rubbing his head was looking down at him with a smile.
Seeing Galran look up at him, the man grinned mischievously.
That pair of eyes stared at him, seemingly glowing, with something rippling in them, revealing a hint of uncanniness.
Galran felt uneasy under the man’s gaze.
He couldn’t be sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that there was something off with the man’s gaze.
“Do you live there?” the man asked, pointing his chin in the direction Galran had come from, and took another stroke at Galran’s head.
Feeling increasingly uneasy with the man’s gaze, Galran lifted his hand to block the man’s touch, taking a step back.
After noticing the man’s disappointed expression, Galran became even more cautious. He thought for a moment, crouched down, and tightened the loose shoelace tied to his leg.
“Yes,” he answered while tightening the shoelace, acting nonchalantly.
At this point, the upper-class nobles in the palace should very well be aware that the residence in question was inhabited by crown prince candidates from all over the country. If this man wanted to do something to Galran, then knowing Galran’s status as a royal relative and a prince candidate would certainly make him think twice.
Although Galran was capable of dealing with children bigger than himself, his small limbs didn’t stand a chance against this muscular man, who could easily pull a lion with one hand.
Unfortunately, his response didn’t deter the man with ulterior motives.
As Galran pretended to tighten his shoelaces while kneeling on the ground, the man spread his legs, rested his elbows on his knees, and nonchalantly squatted in front of him. He smiled and said, “Do you want something delicious? Big brother will take you to get some food, okay?”
While saying this, he spread his hands wide.
“Come on, big brother will carry you~~”
This obviously tempting tone made Galran even more cautious.
Having reincarnated four times, Galran knew that some hedonistic upper-class nobles had specific preferences for children. And his current appearance, with soft and tender whiteness, was very appealing to those people.
What was the difference between this man’s words and actions and those of the kidnappers from Galran’s original world who said, “Come with me kid, and I’ll buy you some candy”?
Galran stared at the man’s outstretched arms, stood up, and cautiously took a step back, shaking his head.
“No, I have to go back.”
“Is that so?”
Seeing his refusal, the man showed a clearly disappointed expression, resembling a dog with drooping ears, causing Galran to be even more puzzled.
However, the man soon cheered up again, laughing.
“Before we part, let big brother hug you.”
The man said with a playful smile, seemingly oblivious to Galran’s wariness and caution. He stretched out his arms, pulled the child closer, and hugged him, rubbing and nuzzling him.
Ah~~ so soft, so small, so cute~~
The man holding the child in his arms was instantly satisfied, one hand constantly stroking the child’s head, his chin resting on the child’s forehead, rubbing against it.
Ouch ouch ouch, it hurts~~
The child’s skin was delicate, rubbed somewhat raw by the hard stubble on the man’s chin. However, Galran was too anxious at the moment to care about the rubbed raw forehead.
This man definitely has a perversion for youngsters!
He seems like a decent man, but who would have thought…
Gritting his teeth, he thought: how should he deal with this? This man was strong, too strong for Galran to fight or pull away from.
Galran looked around anxiously, hoping someone would come by. But this place was remote, and he couldn’t see anyone else around.
Seeing that the man seemed to want to stand up, and to bear him away in his arms on their way, Galran panicked even more.
This won’t do!
If he’s really carried away by this man, he could end up in unknown territory.
Steeled in his resolve, Galran saw the perfect opportunity as the man was about to stand up, hurling towards the man’s eyes the sand that he slyly grabbed from the ground while bending down to pretend to tie his shoelaces.
Then, with gathered strength, he kicked hard between the man’s legs. Even if the physique was robust, a man’s privates were always the most vulnerable.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack from the soft and adorable little bunny he was holding, the unsuspecting man dodged the sand coming at him, but not the child’s subsequent strike – his eyes bulged wide in shock from an indescribable pain emanating from “that” area, causing him to gasp in a breath.
Seizing the chance when the man was rigid from the intense pain, Galran shook off the arms around him, turned around, and ran away swiftly.
“Wait – you – hiss – dammit!—”
Kneeling on the ground, the man gasped for breath. Watching the child disappearing without a trace as quickly and as alarmed as a deer, and recalling the disgusted look in the child’s eyes the last time he looked at him, he finally realized what had gone wrong. His lips twitched as he was caught between laughter and tears.
He was mistaken for a…
Although he wanted to get up and chase after the child, to tell him that he really wasn’t “that” kind of person, but the intense pain emanating from a sensitive area that had started to make him break out in cold sweat, left him drained, only able to kneel on the ground, legs tightly closed, unable to stand up.
Dammit!
He cannot be seen in this state by anyone!
The man, whose face was typically bright and clear, was currently twisted in despair, kneeling in the most pathetic posture he’d ever had in his life. His thick eyebrows twitched as his hand was wrapped protectively around his privates, gnashing his teeth.
This reincarnation was utterly terrible! A constant run of bad luck!
Ironically, Galran, who had just managed to escape from the man with a peculiar fondness for children, thought of his unfortunate circumstances.
The moment he reincarnated, he encountered his mortal enemy, Heymos.
Having driven away Heymos, a horde of wild children appeared.
Got rid of the wild children and a terrifying lion showed up.
After much difficulty when the lion finally left, a strange man intent on luring children arrived…
Life is tough.
Life is dangerous.
As a son of fate, Galran is also struggling in this difficult and dangerous life.
The author has something to say: Heaven will test those it plans to give great responsibility to, torturing their willpower and exhausting their body.
Galran retorts: “Screw your testing! Screw your exhaustion!”
Translation Notes:
“那啥人”: Is a euphemism in Chinese that hints towards “a person who is morally questionable” without specifying the exact type of moral indecency. The exact meaning depends on the context of the conversation.
“天將降大任於是人也,必先苦其心志,勞其筋骨”: Is a famous saying from a Chinese philosopher, Mencius. It means “Before Heaven puts great responsibility on a man, it always tests his resolve, exhausts his body, and makes him suffer great hardships”.
“敲你馬!苦你馬!”: Is a humorous and slightly coarse slang expression in Mandarin. Normally “你馬” would mean “your mother” in a rude context, but in this quote, it is used as a form of exasperation towards the situation, not referring to anyone’s mother. The actual English equivalent varies depending on the context.
Storyteller One Shameless Bookworm's Words
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