Morning.
We were served simple bread baked at the labyrinth’s edge camp, a hearty soup made in a large pot, and unicorn milk.
It wasn’t some special feast just for us.
Since we gathered to protect the labyrinth and its surroundings, and the camp lacked the support of households or food production, it was difficult for residents to sustain themselves. With young people coming irregularly from many clans, securing meals became even harder.
So, under Dier’s name, they collected ingredients from each clan, and these meals were served as frequently as military rations.
“I wish I could eat too,” Breakcore said wistfully. “This immortal body won’t be poisoned by food, but it feels wasteful to consume it.”
“Hmm.”
It would be more fun to join the meal, but consuming provisions that took so long to transport from the Red Clan’s village when my body doesn’t even need them… yeah, I’d feel bad about that.
”…Then, instead, offer me your flesh.”
“Stop. Please consider that at another time.”
Even though a saintly beast’s body can infinitely regenerate with the support of ki, I’d rather not have someone smiling and saying, “Here’s my meat, eat as much as you want.”
After the meal, Lila took off again.
As the village chief Dier, blacksmith Gant, Breakcore, and others waved, Lila set a course for the clan village.
“That was quite the show from your master,” they said.
”And Andy’s different when it’s just the two of you… that kind of mutual pursuit is fascinating too!"
"R-Really?”
Lila and Aurora looked strangely satisfied.
Their sensibilities must differ from ordinary people, but I don’t really get why they prefer so many people around. Well, not that I mind as a guy, but the women probably get bored with long intervals between… things.
“I’d prefer one-on-one myself… but I can see where the Sky-Haired Princess is coming from."
"Is that so?"
"After all, she’s someone to be proud of, both in appearance and status. That so many faces are infatuated with the man I chose is also satisfying."
"…I don’t get it.”
As for me, no matter how impressive the other faces were, I’d want to monopolize my favorite woman… or so I think.
…Ugh.
Thinking about it that way, my tastes might be pretty awful.
“What are you thinking about… well, I can guess."
"…I’m selfish, aren’t I?"
"Indeed.”
Aireena chuckled.
”But rest assured. I know all of this already. The reason Apple started calling her a female slave is because she wants to remain yours even if you abandon her position as your only bride."
"…She said something like that."
"It’s fine. Sadly, we can’t keep you with us until we grow old. One-on-one love and marriage only make sense when the same species, the same lifespan, are involved. We can pledge eternity… but you don’t fit that mold. There was never any equality to begin with… You should have your own kind of love.”
“Even if Aireena lets me off the hook… I feel like a cheater…"
"Yes, it’s cheating. What you gave me can only be described as cheating. Shattering the mere marriage, the longing for conventional love… I wanted to give you even more… W-What am I saying?”
”…You, you know.”
She said something so brazenly embarrassing, then suddenly hid her face in shame. Whether she was bold or innocent, I honestly couldn’t tell with that girl.
But.
”If you keep saying such cute things, I might just get you pregnant."
"…H-huh? That’s… a problem…”
Irina looked delighted.
”Oh. Good. Just good.”
Chibi-Lyra laughed.
”You can’t be given eternity. You have too much love. We all knew that from the start. Even so, I fell in love with you. …You’re fine as you are. Just like always, with your impulsive affection, hm?"
"…Don’t say things like a monkey always getting horny around people.”
I knew my argument lacked conviction.
”…Um, could we keep that kind of talk internal, please?”
Neia adjusted her hat brim and spoke timidly.
We arrived at the Crimson Clan Village around noon. There, Irina turned to the other girls with a solemn expression.
”I’ll definitely be back in Polka tomorrow. So, would you two mind if we went on from here together?"
"Well—”
Diane-san cut off Neia’s protest with an amused smile.
”Understood."
"Eh, but—"
"It’s fine. …I’ve heard where you’re heading next, and I know you’ll be safe.”
Diane-san paused for a breath.
”Aurora probably wants to return to her hometown as the hero of her own story, right? Even if she caught a guy?"
"…Yes. That’s true.”
As if understanding something, Aurora chuckled after a moment. Lyra nodded in agreement. Neia alone wore a slightly confused expression, but she was gently pushed from behind and spun around.
”See ya."
"Sorry about that.”
Diane-san and Irina exchanged a light wave. Then, Irina took my hand and led me to the irregularly shaped teleportation magic circle.
”Next is White."
"Yeah.”
The White Clan Village was just a typical mountain village. A lake and a river were nearby, with houses scattered sparsely, and the forest stretched endlessly, embracing the gentle hills.
“This is…,"
"The final destination of this journey. The last place I wanted to show Smayson… though, there’s not much to see, really."
"Nah, that’s not it. …It’s actually pretty interesting to think about how Eirina grew up here."
"Hmph.”
An elven child peeks cautiously from behind the trees of the forest.
Inside the village, with its gentle atmosphere, people move slowly, and I can intuitively grasp how Eirina might have grown up here a century or so ago.
Peaceful, kind, utterly ordinary.
A place that could be described like that… surely.
She must have been loved and raised straight as an arrow.
“Mm, hmm… I feel like they’re staring at me strangely."
"Don’t worry about it.”
After a while, adult elves rush over to Eirina, who looks uncomfortable. Looking back, there are children behind them, so they must have told the adults.
”Eirina-sama!"
"Eirina-sama, welcome home!"
"This human is…"
"Smayson-dono. You’ve surely heard of him—the hero of the Holy Beast incident."
"Yes… welcome. I am Dahl, and I serve as Eirina-sama’s attendant."
"And I am Ritz."
"I’m Margaret.”
I feel awkward as the elves one after another make a blessing gesture.
All three, as expected, are young and beautiful in appearance, but they exude an air of caring attendants that is quite endearing.
”More importantly, we must entertain Smayson-dono! We’ve toured countless clan estates, so let’s prepare a feast worthy of the occasion—lest White be underwhelmed!"
"Yes, sir!”
The three elves quickly obey Eirina’s words and rush off.
Then, Eirina takes my hand and leads me to the lake.
”You can expect a good dinner… until then, shall we take a walk by the lakeside?"
"Sure.”
I had taken Lady Diarne’s words—that I would be the protagonist of this return trip—at face value, expecting something grander, but it seems not.
Eirina holds my hand and we slowly walk along the lakeshore near the clan estate.
The lake is about two hours’ walk around its circumference.
Though there are paths around it, I doubt many people use them often.
”Are the Whites also experiencing a decline in population?"
"Well… yes. You could even say some clans are dwindling rapidly.”
Eirina says with a hint of sadness.
”There’s an ancient ruin in this lake. The sunken palace is said to be the center of an ancient ward.”
Iriina stepped, step by step, into the lake’s surface. My boots kicked up a spray of water without hesitation, but Iriina walked across the water without so much as a ripple.
Then, after only a few steps, she turned back.
”White has been given the grave responsibility of guarding the keystone of this barrier… The collapse of the barrier would mean more than just losing the elves’ protection. If that warped space were to be unleashed unchecked, it could bring ruin upon the entire continent… And yet, Father intends to pass the chieftainship to a mere girl like her. He has no one else? So if the chieftain falls ill, he’d rather burden this naive, magic-obsessed simpleton than anyone else… That’s why I support Kristi’s research. The decline of the elves isn’t just a natural phenomenon, it’s not something we should accept as inevitable. There must be something we can do.”
”…Iriina."
"Forgive me for complaining… but I wanted you to hear it at least once. Even I… carry my own burdens.”
Iriina smiled slightly, looking troubled.
”Just like any other woman, I want to believe that even then, you’d still embrace me.”
So.
…That’s why she wanted to come back with just me.
Not because she needed another pillar of support, but to confirm—to prove—that even as herself, she could still reach out to Iriina.
“I don’t much care for being put to the test like this."
"Forgive me."
"But… well, I’ll play along. Even then, I won’t let you go. You’re always mine."
"…Is that so?"
"No, you’re my bitch. I’ll get you pregnant with my child. Like any other woman, I’ll keep doing filthy things to you until you die. Iriina, it doesn’t matter if you’re an elf or a chieftain. It’s because you’re cute that I claim you as mine."
"…Yes, I see… Ah, as I thought, you would say that… ♪”
Iriina took my hand.
She led me across the lake. This time, my boots didn’t sink.
Fixating on the blue water, I could clearly make out something resembling a palace.
Right above it, in the very center of the lake, we embraced, the water’s surface our bed.
”Iriina…"
"…Fufu, the reason I became so skilled at this water-walking magic is because I’ve been gazing down upon this place for years."
"And now, that comes full circle, and you end up getting impregnated in a place filled with memories? Or something?"
"Fate, isn’t it?"
"I’d call it pretty ironic fate."
"I’m happy… You don’t care about such a thing as a chieftain, and treat me as a woman… ♪”
I stripped the clothes from Iriina’s body. She stripped mine off in return.
Right above the most important facility of the clan’s estate, in the very center of the lake.
Entwined naked with the young chieftain, devouring each other’s lips.
”You’re properly hiding us with illusions, right?"
"Don’t you trust me? If we’re caught playing like this, it’s me who’ll be ruined."
"True enough.”
The water beneath my feet, touched by magic, felt like a bed of cotton. Cool, but not so cold as to chill me through.
On that vast, vast bed, I defiled the ruler of this place in her youthful form.
How liberating, how utterly sinful a situation.
“Fufu… Well then, Lord Smayson…”
After a passionate kiss, Irena spread her legs, inviting me.
The contrast between the ethereal background and her pale, slender naked body was dazzling.
“Push your hips forward more. Open your legs wider… Yes, like that."
"Fufu, how immodest of you, milady…” ♪
“You’ll be doing this for the rest of your life. I won’t let you escape."
"By the time you’re an old man, who knows what kind of shameless mistress I’ll have become♪”
For her, the sense of transgression and liberation must be far greater than anything I feel. Trembling with embarrassment, her entire body flushed crimson, her small, hairless sex was visibly glistening with arousal.
“This perverted girl—“
I couldn’t hold back any longer and pounced.
Rubbing against her inner thighs hungrily, kissing her breasts, devouring her lips as if stealing them, I frantically searched for Irena’s vagina like a rutting dog, grinding my cock against her. My precum smeared across her body.
“Haa, ah… Lord Smayson, my snatch is here… right here… enter me… make me yours from the inside…♪"
"Yes, I’ll ruin you. Make you forget your own name. Every time you return to this clan’s territory, you’ll remember being ravaged by me here… you’ll remember being impregnated with all my strength!!"
"Ahh, good, defile me even more… stain me with you…♪"
"Uooooh…!!"
"Nng, haa…!!”
I thrust into Irena forcefully.
Her slender frame felt like it could break even under my weak strength.
Her lovely face was stained with both stimulation and shame.
And all her limbs clung to me. She wouldn’t let go, she wouldn’t be parted from me.
She squeezed me tightly, desperately trying to accept my base desires.
That silver-haired beauty was so precious to me that I slammed my hips forward recklessly.
I hammered my tip against her cervix with abandon.
“Haa, Lord Smayson, I… I… k, ahh…"
"You are mine, my female slave. You’ll be fucking me for the rest of your life, bearing my children!!"
"Y-yes… yes, I am… I am yours… chu… you are my master…♪"
"OOOOOOH!!”
Irena’s eyes narrowed in blissful ecstasy, while I could only see straight ahead from sheer arousal.
The couple desperately thrusting their hips in the middle of the lake must have looked terribly foolish.
My head throbbed as I pounded into her, and then—
“Hah!!”
I came.
I pulled out of Irena’s grasp, splattering my seed into the lake water with a plosh plosh.
”Haa, haa… ah… ah… S-Smayson, Lord…?”
Breathless from my act, Irena looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression.
”…You little bastard…” she purred, a wicked grin spreading across her face.
“Hah hah… phew.”
In the end, they smiled at each other, both utterly spent.
The scattered semen swayed gently in the air against the ruins—a strangely conspicuous sight.
The next day, she returned to Polka with Aileen.
”So, it seems Master Smisson intends to make me his female slave,” Aileen declared matter-of-factly to Diene and the others, framing it as though I’d completely dominated her desires.
“Ah, Aileen…?”
We agreed on that, right?
…A malicious grin was all she gave in response.
“Hey, Andy, calm down for a second. You can’t just rush into things like this.”
“Andy-kuuun? When do you plan to start properly training the professor—?”
“Anzalos and Hildegard won’t be fooled! This girl’s more… than she seems—”
“Heh heh, your excuses are pathetic, Smisson-dono? I’ve got you on record, you know? You heard me: ‘Have sex with me for the rest of your life, bear my children,’ right?”
“Just a little leniency!!”
…Hopefully, this is just Aileen’s way of being shy…