After crying my eyes out while being held in the man’s arms, I was finally able to settle my emotions and body enough to feel somewhat better.
My body is still in pain, but at this point, I should be able to walk or at least swing a sword to defend myself. My emotions have calmed down enough that I can pretend to be composed.
I could feel the warm blood flowing between my legs had dried up.
…More than anything, how long does he plan to keep holding me? Though it’s been too long since someone embraced me other than Mother Nature, I think it’s enough by now.
“…Thank you, I’ve calmed down because of you. Hmm. Can you… let go slowly?”
“Ah… If you didn’t like it, I’m sorry. But… I couldn’t think of anything better with my head…”
“I didn’t dislike it… It’s just been too long since I felt someone’s body heat, so it feels awkward. Don’t misunderstand and think I enjoy being hugged.”
Because aside from Mother Nature’s embrace, the only other hugs I’ve received were predatory bear hugs. For someone who could only feel warmth through others’ blood, this hug felt incredibly comforting.
…It’s not like I developed any romantic feelings for him. Maybe I’ve gained some trust in him as a reliable person.
Literally, if he had split open my chest and taken my heart, I could have lived happily ever after. But instead, he threw away that chance himself and even warmly embraced the one who threatened him.
I never thought there would be someone trustworthy in this world, but it seems like I’ve gained one just now.
“…Sorry for running off recklessly. I didn’t want to give birth in front of all of you. As you saw earlier, I get extremely weak when laying eggs. Besides, I lose my abilities and detection skills drop, so I was feeling uneasy.”
“That could happen. I don’t blame you. If I had lived the way you did, I wouldn’t have trusted anyone either. Still, if something like this happens again, please don’t suffer alone and let us know. Like I said before, you’re not alone anymore.”
He talks nonsense with such confidence despite his embarrassment. I tried to ignore the excitement of being understood by averting my gaze.
I thought he might say something embarrassing if I stayed, so I tried to stand up, but Myungho suddenly covered his eyes and turned his head. I wondered why until I noticed my lower garment rolling on the ground far away.
Oh, right. I took it off to give birth. The scales that used to cover me fell off, leaving me completely exposed. Thankfully, the egg partially concealed my private parts… I think.
I covered myself with my tail anyway. Even though the most important part wasn’t seen, my face heated up realizing how vulnerable I had been.
Even if it’s natural for me, I didn’t want to expose myself that much. There’s a limit to perversion.
“…Did you see?”
Though I know he definitely didn’t, I asked just in case. Myungho vigorously shook his head in panic, denying it.
“No, no! I absolutely didn’t see! I swear to the Goddess! Really!”
The guy who was just confidently talking earlier now looked like someone you wouldn’t even feed crumbs to.
It’s not like I care about him, but seriously, how can he be so unmanly? Forget marriage; I doubt he could even date. After briefly putting down the now-cold egg, I picked up and put on my lower garment.
…And the bandage around my chest too. Soaked in blood, the touch was terrible. I’ll need to wash these.
“I’m dressed now, so you can look.”
Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded if he peeked once, but since he didn’t even glance, my opinion of him dropped further.
Not that giving him a chance would make him run away. He seems like a good person but doesn’t appear to be a good man.
“Got it…? That’s a relief… Hmm. Alterra, about what you laid… Are you taking it with you?”
Of course, he’s asking an obvious question. Am I supposed to leave behind the thing that caused me pain? I’ll take it and ensure I get compensation for the trouble it caused.
Besides, this is proof of my weakness, so there’s no way I’d abandon it somewhere. It needs to be destroyed—by eating it.
“Yeah, I’ll take it and eat it. It tastes pretty good raw.”
It’s rich and full of nutrients, and eating it replenishes magic power. How wasteful to let such a thing rot when it’s so nutritious.
“Eating… huh. You have quite the stomach, huh…”
“Mother Nature doesn’t keep children who complain about their food. If you can eat it, you should eat anything.”
Even though food is abundant now, I don’t want to waste something edible.
“Right, we’ll think about that later. Let’s head back first. We agreed to meet at the square, right? This time, don’t disappear on your own, okay?”
“I’m not a kid.”
His tone reminded me of a parent telling a child to follow along, which made me chuckle softly. With one hand holding a stone knife and the other carefully cradling the egg, I followed him.
When we stepped outside the building, the fungus monster we saw earlier was coming toward us at the same sluggish pace as before.
“…It seems to be reacting to my blood.”
“Yeah. But at this speed, we can just ignore it and go. Alterra? Didn’t you say that cutting them releases ghosts… Oh right, the necklace protects you.”
I tested one by striking it with the stone knife, and it crumbled like a sand dune.
The ghost that emerged screamed and lunged at me, only to be blocked by the glowing barrier from the necklace.
Thank you, Mother Nature. You must have endured great pain to give birth to me too.
Gratefully thanking Mother Nature, I slashed through the fungus monsters blocking our path, filled with indignation. I am not powerless.
“…Hmm, Alterra. Your slashing is great, but don’t you think too many ghosts are sticking to you?”
Looking behind, the spirits clung to me like waves, pounding against the protective wall. Though it remained unscathed, their noise was irritating.
“You can just cut them with your brush.”
“It’s true that I can cut them, but… each time I do, my magic power gets drained. It doesn’t consume much against these kinds of spirits, but… hmm… there are too many. I’m not sure if my magic can handle it…”
Ah, so it’s not unlimited after all. Myungho tilted his head, picked up his brush, and drew a large stroke toward the wave of spirits.
Listening to the dying screams of the severed spirits, I watched him confidently draw another large stroke.
“This should be enough…”
Cutting through fungi and souls, we marched forward confidently, and just as he said, a wide-open space appeared.
This place was also covered in fungi and unknown things, but it was clearly a square.
A fountain with clear water still flowing and benches surrounded by buildings. There were traces here and there where lovers or families once strolled.
“Hey, hey. Akashi. We found her. She was near a house close to the city wall. She… left to lay the egg because she didn’t trust us. What? No way, how could you say that? Stop teasing. Anyway, come back soon. Yeah.”
Myungho muttered into his ear as if he was using some kind of long-distance communication…
Since I can’t see the flow of magic, I scratched off some fungus nearby out of frustration.
“…Everyone will be coming back now. Akashi cast a spell that allows us to talk from afar, even when we’re distant. His personality might be questionable, but his skills are undoubtedly impressive.”
“That’s… true.”
Regardless of his character, his magic is certainly admirable. However, there’s an instinctive uneasiness deep within my heart. Something feels wrong.
Is this the voice of my heart saying it’s not right?
“…So, do you really intend to eat that? It… came from you, after all.”
Myungho, perhaps bored while waiting, looked at me and asked if I really planned to eat something that came from my own body.
Of course, I have to eat it. In the past, I foolishly discarded it, but to compensate for the strength and magic power consumed during childbirth, eating it is the best option.
It tastes good too. Even in the previous world, they had placenta cuisine, and this looks much better than that.
“As I mentioned before, I’ll eat it.”
I’ll eat it out of sheer stubbornness if nothing else.
No matter how you look at me, my decision won’t change. Once he tries a bite, his thoughts will surely change.
I gathered plenty of fungus nearby and collected dry wood pieces from his backpack.
Then I approached Myungho and asked him to start a fire since I couldn’t find any flint.
He seemed surprised when I spoke to him, but after hearing my explanation, he nodded earnestly and ignited a flame at his fingertips.
It burns well. I was worried the damp air might prevent the fire from catching, but it seems these fungi burn easily.
Sitting on top of the fungi feels unpleasant, so I peeled off all the nearby ones and used them as fuel.
Then I curled up inside the fountain and wiped off the blood stains on my body. It’s strange that the water remains clean despite all the fungi around, but every sense I have confirms it’s just water.
It’s just regular water, suspiciously pristine.
Although I didn’t bring it to my lips to drink due to discomfort.
While washing the blood-soaked clothes and bandages, Yuna and Akashi returned from afar.
“…Let’s postpone discussing Alterra for now. I understand what happened.”
“Really? What happened?”
Then Akashi, with a serious expression, told Myungho something.
“Because of what you said, I’m certain. These creatures have collectively received God’s blessing.”
