Chapter 54
It had already been half a day since I opened my eyes after collapsing from taking medicine whose ingredients hadn't even been verified.
“How are you feeling?”
“…It still tingles, but I can move for now.”
I was going through an extremely uncomfortable time.
For some reason, even my flames wouldn't come out, so I had no way to heal my body.
“More importantly.”
“Yes?”
After chasing those two brats, Huey and Lucy, away, I turned to the witch Frederica, who was nursing me.
I decided to ask about something that had been bothering me for a while.
“What the hell are you wearing this time?”
“Oh, this?”
A white coat unlike the one she usually wore, clinging tightly to her entire body.
She was wearing a short skirt that didn't even cover her thighs.
Her upper chest was half exposed, as though she'd given up fastening it because the clothes were the wrong size.
She smiled brightly.
“How is it? Pretty, right?”
“I don't know.”
…Looking closely, though, there wasn't anything different from usual.
She'd still look like something obscene if left out on the street.
“These are clothes an otherworlder I met long ago gave me.”
She said they were a gift—clothes worn when nursing sick people in another world….
“In what insane world do people nurse the sick dressed like that?”
“Oh, such a world might exist. You're so prickly.”
“…Do whatever you want. Jeez.”
Apparently, she'd never worn them in front of the person who gave them to her.
“More importantly, when you say it was long ago, how long ago are we talking by your standards?”
When I asked, baffled, Frederica lightly smacked me on the head as if she'd been waiting for it.
“Hey!”
“Ow. Is that any way to treat a patient?”
“I'm going easy on you because you're a patient. How many times do I have to tell you that asking a woman that is rude?”
What's rude about that?
“You're 150 years old and still worrying about things like that.”
“…Witches can live to be 500! I'm still in my prime!”
I really don't understand the sensibilities of people born into long-lived races.
Oh, wait.
“Well, in human terms, you're over thirty, so I suppose you have reason to be in a hurry….”
-Wham!
“Peep!”
That one connected properly this time.
“You certainly have a lot to say.”
The hand-edge strike was powerful enough to make me see stars.
Wondering if it had caved in my crown, I struggled to move my tingling body and covered my head.
“Peepii….”
“Honestly, you really do go looking for a beating.”
Even afterward, while making small talk,
Frederica carefully checked over my body.
“Well, there don't seem to be any major problems. The reason you can't move properly is that your bones and muscles have been strained, so you'll be completely better if you rest well for a few days.”
“Since when did you study medicine?”
“Anyone who wants to be a puppeteer needs to know the body's basic structure. That's just the basics.”
With that said,
“Then, shall we get to the main subject?”
She pulled over a chair that had been by the window.
Then Frederica sat beside me and asked with a serious expression.
“What did you talk about at the end?”
“Oh, that.”
Remembering what I'd told Huey and Lucy earlier, I opened my mouth.
“I was told to beware of a blue-skinned incubus named Valor.”
Apparently, the person in question remembered nothing after falling for that man's persuasion.
A blue-skinned incubus. It must have been that bluish fellow I'd glimpsed in passing last time.
“Probably some kind of mind manipulation. Since he's an incubus, it must be related to dreams.”
“Well, I don't know about that. He did at least ask me to let him die in his right mind.”
He said he no longer had the confidence to keep living after going so far as to do those things.
“Oh, right. Speaking of that man reminded me of something.”
“Huh?”
Just then, Frederica clapped her hands as though she'd only just remembered.
“I found something fascinating in that man's corpse.”
As she spoke, she pulled out a fingernail-sized red fragment that looked like something I'd seen somewhere before.
“Something like this was embedded in both eyes.”
“That….”
…It was definitely the same thing that had sprouted from the mutated ogre's forehead not long ago.
“I notified my client that the contract was terminated and did some investigating yesterday, and the results were quite interesting.”
“What is it?”
“This seems to be a medium for receiving divine power.”
I sure have been getting entangled with gods and their ilk a lot lately.
“But… I couldn't figure out which god's power it was drawing on.”
“Is that possible?”
“Well, that's what the results say.”
She compared it with the samples she had on hand, each containing
one of the Six Gods' divine powers, but not a single one matched.
“Anyway, I plan to investigate this further.”
Right after saying that,
Frederica's expression shifted.
It went from serious to one that plainly showed she was having indecent thoughts.
“…Stop.”
“Mwehehe, but I haven't said anything yet.”
“I said stop.”
Frederica surreptitiously placed a hand on my stomach.
“Our Ren is growing an egg in that belly now, too. You've grown so much, haven't you?”
Watching that,
“Judging by the situation, it should be out within a day at most. Shall I remove it for you?”
Overcome by terror, I ended up screaming.
“Pyaaaaaaak―!! Captain―!!”
“Hehe. The captain is in Arcadia for his regular report, so he's not here right now, you know?”
She fixed lust-glinting eyes on me, her face flushed with excitement as she flicked her tongue and breathed heavily—
She was the very picture of a traitor, by anyone's standards.
“It's all Ren's fault for becoming so cute. Right…?”
I somehow tried to move my tingling body and escape, but
“Mwehehe. Don't worry. You know who I am, right? I'll make you feel good, so….”
Frederica's magic threads bound my body faster than I could.
“Pyaaaak―!! Help―!! Heeelp―!!”
“Screaming won't do any good. I've already set up a barrier, so everything's ready.”
Thinking that, if this continued, she would definitely have her way with me under the pretext of removing the egg,
I was screaming at the top of my lungs when
-Pfft. Serves you right.
As if it weren't enough to fan the flames,
the voice that had been sulking and refusing to speak to me ever since I drank the medicine chimed in.
-If you say you're sorry, promise never to drink medicine like that again, and admit you're an idiot and a fool, I'll help….
“I'm sorry! I'll never drink medicine like that again! I'm an idiot and a fool! Aaaaaah―!!”
“…Ren?”
Pride be damned, I couldn't stand this one!
It'd definitely feel so good I'd go insane, so no―!!
-Uh… um… r-right. For now, could you try relaxing your body a little?
This time, I decided to follow the voice's instructions obediently.
And so, the moment I relaxed my body,
-Fwoosh.
Flames sprang from my wings.
-Well, there might be some side effects, but the important thing is to get out of this situation first, right?
After spreading the flames and burning away the magic threads,
my body began moving against my will.
“…Gasp.”
Rather than escaping, my body charged straight at Frederica and hugged her.
“Re, Ren? I like that you've suddenly become so forward, but… if this keeps up, this big sister is really going to lose control, you know?”
Frederica's voice whispering in my ear sent chills down my spine.
Right afterward,
-What are you talking about? Go to sleep.
Along with those incredulous words,
my body pulled away from Frederica and landed on the bed.
-Fwoosh.
Frederica's body.
More precisely, from her back, where my wing had brushed her moments earlier,
“Huh, wha…?”
Flames blazed up, wrapping around Frederica's body as though it were a cocoon.
-The Cocoon of Healing. It's a healing spell that maximizes the regenerative abilities inherent in living things.
The drawback is that the patient falls asleep while healing.
-Well, if you sleep for about a day and wake up, even your stiff shoulders should feel better.
The voice sent the cocoon-shaped flames flying out the window.
-There, all fixed!
Listening to the voice hum cheerfully, clearly pleased with itself,
I opened my mouth at the strange sensation I felt.
“…Hey. What's wrong with my body?”
Until just a moment ago, it had only been tingling.
Now, pain was surging continuously through my entire body, as though I were being pricked by needles.
-I told you. There would be side effects.
After telling me to enjoy myself, the voice's presence faded,
leaving me staring blankly at the ceiling in disbelief.
“Ren. Some strange ball of fire fell into the yard… Why is your room such a mess?”
Perhaps Frederica falling asleep had released the barrier,
Huey came into my room without even knocking, as casually as ever.
“Because an idiot went berserk.”
“…Are you okay?”
“For now.”
I forced my gaze away from his fingers, toward which it kept drifting on its own, and gave a vague answer.
“Well, if you're okay, that's all that matters.”
Huey sat in the chair Frederica had occupied until just moments ago, as though he had something to say.
“There's something I need to talk to you about. Do you have a moment?”
“Does it really have to be today?”
Even when I tried not to think about it, I couldn't concentrate on the conversation because my lower abdomen kept trembling on its own.
I suggested we talk about it later if possible, but
“Um… I need to write the letter as soon as possible.”
Huey merely scratched his head with an apologetic, troubled look.
“Ugh. Then keep it as short as possible.”
“Yeah. Before you leave for the north after recovering, there's somewhere I'd like to visit briefly.”
That was how Huey began his explanation.
“My condition's been a little strange since I used my power this time.”
Maybe it was because he'd used his power twice in such a short period.
He said that, even though he'd properly used the sealing talisman, much more power than usual was leaking out.
“I think I need to go back and get myself examined.”
What, that's all?
“Then you should go.”
“Will you be all right with that?”
“Yeah. I don't mind.”
Even if I went north, all I'd be doing was serving as Beatrice's test subject.
My absence shouldn't interfere with the research for now.
“So, was that all you wanted to say?”
“Oh, and tonight's dinner….”
“I'll skip it today.”
Huey hesitated, looking worried, right up until the end.
“…All right. Call me if anything happens.”
After watching Huey leave the room for a moment,
I exhaled deeply, as though expelling the heat building up inside my body.
“Haa….”
Ever since around the time Huey came in,
the pain I felt throughout my body had gradually been turning into pleasure.
“What a damned body.”
As I wondered when I'd finally be able to escape this damned body,
I decided to prepare to lay my fourth egg.