Morning. Hornless Ogres, Bull Ogres, and Trot Celesta offered us rustic bread baked at the dungeon-front camp, a bland stew churned in huge cauldrons, and mare’s milk from the one-horned steeds.
It wasn’t some special feast for us. Gathered here to guard the dungeon and its surroundings, the camps set up outside lack both a family as a unit of living and any backing for food production; by their very nature, it’s hard for residents to manage their own sustenance. When young people from many clans come in irregularly, securing meals becomes even harder.
That’s why they say meals are served under Dier’s name, soliciting ingredients from each clan and serving them like a military cafeteria ration.
“I wish I could partake of food as well,” Blakecore said, sounding regretful. “Though my immortal body won’t be poisoned if I eat it, it goes to waste, which is maddening.”
“Hmm…”
I thought it’d be more enjoyable to join the circle of diners, but it’s awkward knowing that we’re consuming food transported from the Clan Hall with great care by someone from the Red clan, even though my body doesn’t need it.
”…That’s right. Instead, offer me your flesh.”
“Stop! Please discuss something like that at another time.”
Even if a holy beast’s body can regenerate infinitely thanks to the support of “qi,” I’d prefer not to have someone smiling right in front of me saying, “This is my flesh, eat as much as you want.”
After the meal, we took off again on Lyra.
While Dier the village chief, Gant the blacksmith, and Blakecore waved goodbye, Lyra set course back toward the Clan Hall.
“What an elaborate wild ride the master put us through after all this time!”
“And yet there’s a completely different atmosphere from when we’re alone, huh? Such requests between the two of us are quite charming too♪”
“S-so is that so?”
Chibi-Lyra and Aurora looked strangely satisfied. Though both their sensibilities differ from ordinary folk, I don’t really get the logic behind why the two of them prefer being with a crowd. Well, for me, or rather for the male side, it causes no trouble at all; but on the female side, the intervals are long and they look bored.
“I’d rather enjoy this one-on-one… but I can’t deny what the Azure Princess says.”
“Really?”
“After all, whether looks or status, you’re boasting about such a prestigious face. Seeing the faces you’ve chosen so devotedly makes me deeply satisfied.”
”…I don’t get it.”
No matter how luxurious other faces might be, I think… I want to have my beloved girl all to myself.
”…Oof.”
Considering that, maybe my tastes are pretty terrible after all.
“What on earth are you thinking… well, I can guess anyway.”
”…I must be so selfish.”
“Completely so.”
Ayris chuckled softly.
“But don’t worry. That’s something I fully expect. When Apple started talking about female slaves, it was because you gave up your sole position as my wife and still wanted to be mine, right?”
”…I thought you said something like that before.”
“That’s fine. It’s sad, but you can’t keep us with you until we grow old. One-on-one love or marriage only makes sense among recognized same-species pairs sharing the same lifespan because it allows mutual commitment; it’s what lets them swear forever. …You don’t fit that mold. There’s never true equality from the start. …Just show your own kind of love.”
“Even if I’m forgiven by Ayris on her own… It feels like being a coward…”
“Yeah, you’re a coward. What you gave me can only be described as cowardice. Shattering any longing for mere marriage or conventional love, wanting to give you more and more… W-well, what am I saying?”
”…You are so.”
If she thinks it’s okay to say something embarrassing like that openly, she suddenly covers her face in shame.
Are she gutsy or a fool? She’s a girl who’s truly difficult to read.
But.
“If you keep saying such cute things, you’re going to get pregnant.”
“……t-there’s no way I can do that…♪”
Irina made a happy face.
“Hah. That’s fine, that’s just fine,” little Lyra laughed.
“You’ll never be given eternity. You have too much love; you knew all along from the start. And yet, you fell in love with me… You can remain as you are. Just as usual, let your affection be driven by impulse.”
”…Don’t tell people I’m just a horny ape like that!”
He knew his own argument lacked any real force.
”…Um, please keep talk of that nature among ourselves…” Neia, who had drawn the brim of her hat lower, made a modest request to that effect.
They reached the clan manor of the Crimson at noon.
There, with an expression full of solemnity, Irina turned back toward the other girls.
“Tomorrow we’ll surely return to Porca. So from here on out, could you two not go along together?”
“Well—”
Diane put a stop to whatever Neia was about to say with a bitter smile.
“I understand.”
“Eh, but—”
“That’s fine… I’ve heard where we’re heading next and know you’ll be safe without us.”
Diane paused for a breath.
“Aurora must also want to return to her hometown town and become the protagonist, at least around the time she catches a man and makes it back?”
”…Yes. That’s right,” said Aurora with some realization. After taking a moment, she chuckled softly.
Lyra nodded as well; Neia alone wore a slightly baffled expression of “what?”, but she was pushed right along and spun in a full circle.
“Ta-ta!”
“My apologies!”
Diane and Irina lightly exchanged parting waves.
Then Irina took my hand and led me to the oddly-shaped clearing where teleportation magic could be cast.
“The next place is White.”
“Yeah.”
The clan manor of the White was a humble mountain village, nothing out of the ordinary.
Nearby were lakes and rivers; houses were scattered here and there, and the forest spread endlessly over gentle rolling hills.
“This is…”
“The final destination of this journey. The last place I want to show His Grace Lord Smaison… No, there isn’t really anything worthy of such a display.”
“No, it’s not like that either… It’s pretty interesting just imagining that this is where Irina grew up.”
“Ah?”
A child elf peeked nervously from behind the trees of the forest.
The atmosphere in the tranquil village was calm; people walked slowly, and with an intuitive sense one could imagine what it must have felt like for Irina to grow up here over a hundred and thirty years ago.
Tranquil, kind, utterly unremarkable.
That’s how it would feel on such a land.
She must have been loved straight and clear, raised in peace.
“Mm… Mmph… I get the distinct feeling they’re looking at me with strange eyes.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
After a brief pause, several mature elves rushed over to the visibly uncomfortable Irina. Given that children were trailing behind them, they must have been instructed by their elders.
“Welcome back, Lady Irina!”
“Your Excellency has returned in fine fashion!”
“This human is…”
“Sir Smaysone. You should know his name; he’s the hero of the Sacred Beast Incident.”
“Yes… welcome. I am Dhal, your attendant, Lady Irina.”
“I’m Litz.”
“And I’m Margaret.”
One after another, the elves bowed to offer their congratulations, making me feel rather overwhelmed.
All three were, as usual, young and beautiful, yet they exuded an air of anxious caretakers that was endearing in its own right.
“Now then, it’s time to host Sir Smaysone properly! He’s guided countless clans to their manors; so prepare a feast so lavish that no one will find our efforts lacking!”
“Hai!”
Obedient to Irina’s command, the three elves dashed off immediately.
Then, Irina took my hand and led me toward the lake.
“Don’t hold back your expectations for dinner. In the meantime, let’s take a stroll by the shore.”
“Not bad,” I replied.
I had assumed that Diane-san would make of me the protagonist of some grander scheme, but it seems there’s nothing of the sort.
Holding my hand, Irina and I began a leisurely walk along the lakeshore beside the clan estate.
It was an outer-ring lake roughly two hours’ walk in circumference.
While the surrounding area had been paved as a proper path, it hardly seemed to see frequent foot traffic.
“Looks like the Whites are suffering from low birth rates too.”
“Well, yeah. You could say some clans are declining particularly sharply.”
Irina said this with a look of melancholy.
“There’s an ancient ruin beneath this lake. The sunken palace is said to be the heart of an ancient barrier.”
Splash, splash, splash—step by step, Irina advanced across the water’s surface. My boots raised small waves, but she walked over the lake without disturbing a single ripple.
After just a few steps, she turned back to face me.
“The White is entrusted with the heavy burden of guarding this barrier’s core… If that barrier were to collapse, it wouldn’t merely strip the elves of their defenses. To release such a distorted space directly would risk the destruction of the entire continent. Yet, my father has left the leadership of the clan to someone as insignificant as me… There are no other candidates. Should the current leader fall ill or perish, I alone must shoulder the mantle, despite being an ignorant child with nothing but this magical ability to my name. That is why I support Kristie’s research. The decline of our people isn’t just a natural phenomenon; we cannot give up on notions of ‘racial degeneration.’ There must be something we can do.”
”…Irina.”
“My apologies for the venting… but I needed to speak with you, at least once. Even I carry burdens heavy enough to…”
She offered a faint, troubled smile.
“Like all women, I want nothing more than to be embraced by you.”
That was why…
…that is why she wanted to return with just the two of us.
Not because I sought some other form of support, but to confirm that she would still reach out to me as me—as myself.
“I don’t particularly enjoy being tested quite so bluntly.”
“My apologies.”
“But, well… fine. I’ll take you up on it. Even if things change, I won’t let you go. You’ll always be my woman.”
”…I see.”
“No, you’re my concubine. I’ll have your children for me. Just like any other woman, I’ll keep making love to you until the day you die. Irina, it doesn’t matter to me whether you’re an elf or a clan leader. I claim you simply because you’re cute.”
”…………Yes, that’s right…… ah, as I thought, you always say just that to me……♪” Irina took my hand. She led me out onto the lake. This time, my boots didn’t sink into the water.
If I squinted at the blue expanse, I could clearly see something resembling a palace beneath it.
Right above, in the very center of the lake, we were embracing as if the surface itself was our bed.
“Irina……”
”…Hehe, my ability to walk on water comes from long years gazing down at this very spot.”
“So it ends up back here as a place where I become pregnant with our memories?”
“It’s fated, isn’t it?”
“More like an ironic kind of fate.”
“I’m so happy…… You treat me not even slightly as if I were some wedge to be discarded, but dote on me as a woman……♪”
I slipped off her layered clothes while she was sprawled beneath me. She removed my own garments without hesitation.
Upon the most sacred facility of our clan, right in the middle of the lake.
A young matriarch and I entangled nakedly, devouring each other’s lips with desperate passion.
“Are you really hiding this illusion properly?”
“Don’t doubt me, Sieg. You’re the one who’d go to ruin from a game like this.”
“I suppose so.”
The water under my feet, enchanted by magic, felt like a bed made of soft cotton. Cool to the touch, though not cold enough to freeze my body.
In this vast and wide expanse of a sleeping place, I penetrated the ruler of this domain while she appeared childlike in form.
How liberating, how scandalous.
“Hehe…… Come now, Lord Saimson……”
After a fervent kiss, Irina spread her legs wide and beckoned me forward.
The flickering, ethereal background created a dazzling contrast against her pale, slender naked form.
“Stick your hips out more. Open your legs bolder… yes, exactly like that.”
“Hehe, you’re quite shameless aren’t you, old hag……♪”
“For the rest of our lives, I’ll keep making you do this. Never letting go again.”
“When you become an old crone, what kind of scandalous mistress will I have grown into? ♪”
Though for her own sake, the sense of guilt or liberation she felt was nothing compared to what I’m experiencing. Trembling with shame, her entire body flushed red as that small, hairless sex器官 leaked visibly thick lubricant just by looking at it.
“What the hell, this perverted slut!”
I could no longer hold back and lunged forward.
I rubbed against her inner thighs like an animal in heat, kissed her chest, stole her lips and sucked on them while frantically searching out her vagina with movements indistinguishable from a mating dog, rubbing my cock against hers. Pre-cum smacked all over Irina’s naked body.
“Haaah, ahh…… Lord Saimson, my pussy is right here…… yes, right here, get inside me…… make me unusable from the inside……♪”
“Yes, I’ll make you unusable. I’ll ensure you never forget your cock ever again. Every time you return to our clan headquarters, I want you to remember how you fucked me right here…… I want you to remember when I impregnated you with all my might!!”
“Yes, that’s good, defile me further…… stain me with your essence……♪”
“Haaaaah!!!”
“I’m pregnant…… Aaaahh!!!”
I thrust into Irina with tremendous force.
Her delicate limbs seemed like they’d snap even under the gentle weight of my own frail body.
Her cute face was completely stained with both stimulation and shame.
Every single limb was wrapped tightly around me, refusing to let go, unwilling to part.
She was desperately accepting my baseless desires, clinging to me with tremendous force.
Such a silver-haired beauty girl, I found it too delicious and couldn’t help but frantically thrust my hips back and forth.
I forcefully slammed my glans against her cervical os over and over again.
“Haaah! Lord Smithson! I—I am—! I am—!! C-cum, aaaaah!”
“You belong to me, you are my female slave, you will have sex with me for the rest of your life, and give birth to my children!!”
“Yes… yes, I am… I am, your—woman… harden up… You are, my master…♪”
“Aaaahhhhh!!!”
Irina’s eyes narrowed in a trance-like state of euphoria, while I could no longer see anything but excitement.
Perhaps the man and woman struggling desperately at the heart of the lake looked terribly foolish.
Thrusting my hips back and forth so hard it felt like my brain was about to burst from the effort, then…
“Wh-haa!!!”
Ejaculation.
I pulled away from Irina’s waist, splattering her lake-water body with my semen all around her.
“Haaah! Haaah… ah… ah… Su-Smithson, My-My Lord—?”
Slightly bewildered at my actions, panting heavily, Irina gave him a perplexed look.
”…Such an ungrateful fellow…♪”
“Heheh… phew…”
In the end, they shared a smile and both collapsed in relief.
The scattered semen drifted lazily in front of the ruins, strangely noticeable against the backdrop.
The next day, I returned to Polka alongside Irina.
“So now it seems Lord Smithson has decided to turn me into his female slave.”
Nonchalantly, Irina boldly asserted this before Diane and the others (in an exaggerated tone suggesting she was completely overwhelmed by my desires).
“Oh, Irina…?”
Is that a mutual agreement?
…A wicked, mischievous grin crept onto her face.
“Hold on, Andy, think about this calmly! Acting on impulse like that isn’t wise.”
“Andy-kun~? So when exactly are you going to start officially training my teacher?”
“Don’t fall for it, Anzeros or Hilda! This guy is surprisingly…”
“Heheh, excuses are pitiful, Lord Smithson! I have the proof! Didn’t you agree that from now on, I must have sex with me and bear my children?”
“But don’t just do it casually!!”
…May this be Irina’s own awkward attempt to cover her embarrassment.