The World Is Mine For The Taking

Chapter 1445: Intermission 8: The Future With You (1)

Hertrude’s POV

I was dreaming.

At least, I thought I was.

In the dream, I was lying on a bed while kissing a man. Everything around me felt hazy and soft, almost like it was covered in a thin layer of fog, but somehow, the sensations themselves were unbelievably clear.

The man had black hair.

Dark black hair, like the feathers of a raven. It framed his face in a way that made him look strangely familiar even before I fully realized who he was supposed to be.

And then he started touching me.

His hands moved slowly across my body, almost like he was taking his time exploring every part of me. One of his hands slid over my waist while the other grabbed one of my breasts, squeezing softly before kneading it in his palm.

Then he lowered his head and licked it with his tongue.

"Hnghhh...~"

A moan escaped from my mouth immediately.

Honestly, that alone should’ve been enough to make me realize something was wrong with me.

Even though it was just a dream, the feeling was way too vivid. My body reacted to every touch naturally, like I wasn’t imagining any of it at all. The warmth of his hands, the wetness of his tongue, the pressure against my skin, all of it felt disturbingly real.

Dreams were not supposed to feel like this.

At least, I seriously hoped they weren’t.

Then he grabbed both of my legs and pushed them upward.

Before I realized it, my legs were folded against my body, raised high enough that my feet were practically above my head. The position made me feel embarrassingly exposed, and somehow that only made my face feel hotter.

I could barely even move.

Not that I was trying very hard to resist in the first place.

Then he stuck his tongue slightly out of his mouth before leaning down toward my crotch.

I couldn’t properly see what he was about to do from my angle, but honestly, I already knew.

And somehow, that anticipation alone made my body tense.

He was going to lick me there.

And the moment he finally did, a strong shiver ran straight through my body.

"Hhnhaaaaa...~"

Another moan slipped from my mouth before I could stop it.

The sensation shot up from my spine all the way to my head, making my body tremble against the bed. Even inside the dream, it felt incredibly real. Too real. My mind honestly couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

At that point, it barely even felt like dreaming.

It felt like it was actually happening.

Then after that, he pressed his body against mine, and I felt something stretching my crotch from below, like something was slowly pushing itself inside me.

That was the exact moment my eyes snapped open.

I sat upright in bed so quickly that I almost tangled myself in the blankets.

"...What the hell?"

My breathing felt uneven while I stared blankly ahead for a few seconds, still trying to process what I had just experienced.

That was Leon in my dream, wasn’t it?

There was no way I could mistake him after thinking about it properly.

But why the hell would I dream about something like that?

And not just a normal dream either. No, apparently my brain decided to throw me directly into some embarrassingly detailed fantasy like it was trying to ruin my morning.

I immediately felt heat rushing to my face again.

Then I noticed something else.

An uncomfortable sensation was lingering between my legs.

I froze.

Slowly, I lowered my hand toward my crotch before touching it carefully, only to realize that it felt embarrassingly soaked down there.

"...No way."

I scooped some of the juices onto my fingers before staring directly at them. When I slowly spread my fingers apart, the liquid stretched between them clearly enough that it made me want to bury myself alive on the spot.

This was horrible.

Actually no, horrible wasn’t even the right word anymore.

This was humiliating.

I quickly wiped the juices onto the bed before drying my hand against the blanket like I was trying to erase evidence from a crime scene.

Then I covered my face with one hand while blushing hard enough that my cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"What the hell...?" I muttered under my breath.

Seriously, what kind of dream even was that?

And the worst part was that it didn’t even feel random.

That was the problem.

Normally I would’ve brushed it off as some weird dream and moved on with my life, but the feeling lingered in my head way too clearly. Every sensation still felt fresh in my memory.

Especially the part where it felt real.

Which brought me to the very uncomfortable question currently floating around in my mind.

Was that really just a dream...

Or was it another future vision?

Honestly, I really hoped it wasn’t.

Because if that future actually happened, I didn’t even want to imagine how awkward things would become afterward.

Actually no, scratch that.

The more terrifying part was the fact that some part of me clearly didn’t hate the idea nearly as much as I should have.

Which was honestly its own separate problem.

***

Since I had already graduated from the academy, I was working now.

And after thinking about it for a long time, I ultimately decided not to become a magic knight.

Honestly, I still understood why so many people admired the position. Magic knights were respected everywhere in the kingdom, and becoming one practically guaranteed a stable future along with prestige.

I had trained for it for years too.

So technically speaking, I probably could’ve become one if I really wanted to.

My father and mother certainly wanted me to pursue that path. Especially since my brother had already become a magic knight himself. If anything, my family probably expected me to follow after him eventually.

But no matter how much I thought about it, the idea never fully clicked with me.

I couldn’t really explain why.

It just felt... wrong somehow.

Not bad exactly. Just not something I genuinely wanted for myself.

And after spending enough time thinking about it, I finally realized that forcing myself into that life would probably just make me miserable later on.

So I chose not to do it.

Instead, I ended up working as a consulting adviser for the Leonamon Mercenary Guild.

Charlotte and Ella, who had both studied alongside me at Milham Academy for Magic Knights, also chose not to become magic knights after graduating.

Instead, the two of them went in a completely different direction and established their own mercenary guild.

And somehow, against all expectations, the thing exploded in popularity.

The Leonamon Mercenary Guild became one of the most successful guilds in the kingdom surprisingly fast. Mercenaries from all over kept gathering there because the benefits of becoming a member were honestly ridiculous.

Good pay, proper support, reliable management, fair treatment.

Apparently that was enough to make mercenaries swarm the place like starving people spotting free food.

Honestly, good for them.

And now I was working there as one of the guild’s consulting advisers.

My job was fairly simple overall. Most of the time, I just acted as a consultant whenever the guild needed advice regarding missions, logistics, management, or other related matters.

Compared to becoming a magic knight, the workload was significantly more comfortable too.

Not only that, but the pay was honestly amazing.

Seriously, every time I remembered my salary, it became harder and harder to regret my life choices.

I was genuinely satisfied with my current situation.

Well...

Mostly satisfied.

Because lately, there had been some kind of strange thing happening around the guild...