Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Chapter 10 - Accusation
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“By the Sun God, good heavens…!”
Nefer, seeing Jenny, drew her daggers, her body tense. Jenny’s very existence seemed to repulse her.
A creature, mimicking the traits of various species,
Devouring everything in its path,
Its birth a sacrilege.
“Elder, stay behind me!”
“Go, fight. Prove your loyalty.”
“Uh… she’s not like that.”
I tried to calm Nefer, then greeted Jenny.
“Jenny!”
She approached me, just like she used to, her head resting on my outstretched palm.
“It’s been a while. Where have you been?”
“I was with her, and then she just abandoned me.”
I patted Jenny’s head, then jabbed my elbow into Amy’s side. It seemed Amy’s lies were a serious problem, something that couldn't be corrected with a simple scolding.
She was supposed to be devoted to me, to prioritize my escape,
But her actions suggested otherwise, as if she had her own agenda.
“She probably wanted to see Daddy all by herself. Acting all innocent… right, Daddy?”
“Doctor, I was simply trying to find you more efficiently…”
Based on the information I had gathered, this brief respite had been a deception.
She had abandoned Jenny,
Attacked Nefer…
“Amy, untie the rope.”
I wanted to make her kneel and lecture her for hours,
But with Jenny here, I decided on a different form of punishment.
“You wait here. I’ll think about what to do with you.”
“Doctor, but-”
“Don’t talk back. Just do as I say.”
I ignored Jenny’s gleeful chuckle at Amy’s predicament. This was Amy’s fault.
“Huh? Daddy, wait.”
But Jenny, not yet finished, tilted her head, sniffing the air, her body low to the ground, her gaze sweeping across the shelter.
She stopped, her tail wagging,
“What’s this? Did you hide this for me?”
And pulled something from a hidden crevice.
And the object she held in her mouth, as she turned to face me,
Was the severed hand I had asked Amy to retrieve.
“That… I was carrying that…”
“Why is Daddy’s hand here? Daddy didn’t put it here… hmm, maybe she hid it? Did you know about this, Daddy?”
Jenny, having rejoined our group, was now using every opportunity to attack Amy. I knew this was a deliberate act of provocation.
“Huh! Then maybe… that thing I ate earlier… was also Daddy? Hmm?”
But then, Jenny presented undeniable evidence.
She retched, and a wet, fleshy object landed on the ground.
We all recognized it instantly.
“Cough, it was stuck in my throat. Daddy, is this… your foot?”
A foot, covered in digestive fluids and saliva,
A hand, withered and mummified…
My severed limbs, a grotesque and unsettling sight.
I had tried to endure everything,
But this was too much.
“…I had given up on finding them. But thanks to Jenny, I’m saved. And my hand was hidden here?”
I took my hand and foot from Jenny.
She nuzzled her cheek against my thigh, asking to be petted, and I complied, stroking her head,
And then…
Slap-!
I slapped Amy with my reattached hand.
“Doctor…”
Amy, of course, couldn't feel pain. My slap, though forceful, hadn't caused her any physical harm.
But she blinked, stunned, as if trying to process the meaning of my actions.
“…Kneel. Hands on your head. Analyze your mistakes, in one-second intervals, and report them to me, in detail, when I return.”
Having issued my command,
I left the shelter with Jenny, riding on Nefer’s back.
Only Amy remained behind, a lone, pathetic figure. I felt a twinge of pity, but I knew that if I didn't discipline her, she would never learn.
“Elder, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Nefer asked, her voice filled with concern, but I tried to sound nonchalant.
But I couldn't hide my disappointment. I wanted to keep Amy with me, but her actions were endangering even my immediate safety.
I didn't know what had caused this change in her. But one thing was certain…
“Doctor.”
Her cold eyes, when they looked at me, were still filled with a strange, gentle affection.
She acted like,
A girl in love.
I could no longer deny her transformation.
***
Jenny, Nefer, and I,
The three of us headed towards the gates of Aaptukemen.
“Elder, did you truly defeat Homunculus?”
We had so much to discuss, so much information to share.
I told them everything.
Being captured by Homunculus, being tortured with His Majesty, how I had finally killed her, and then the day I had spent with Amy, the nightmare, the succubus…
“Daddy should just stay with me!”
Jenny, as if comforting me, nudged me with her head.
I patted her, my newly reattached hand still feeling strange, the nerves not yet fully recovered, but it would heal.
“Elder, we are approaching Aaptukemen.”
Nefer stopped Jenny before we reached the gates. She knew that Jenny’s appearance would cause a commotion.
“Wear this.”
“Ugh- stinks.”
She tore a large blanket and fashioned a makeshift cloak for Jenny. As long as she kept her tail hidden, she would be fine.
“Elder, I will gather food and water. You, on the other hand…”
“Yes. I should go check on His Majesty.”
A clear division of labor.
Nefer, who knew Aaptukemen and its people, would gather supplies, while Jenny and I would check on His Majesty.
Jenny, still eager to please me, readily agreed. In this regard, she was much easier to handle than Amy.
“Daddy would be lost without Jenny.”
But her playful taunts were a little unsettling.
Honestly, I couldn't quite decipher Jenny’s thoughts, her motives.
She was in her adolescence now, and she alternately tested my authority and craved my affection.
She challenged me,
But she also seemed to want me to be a father to her.
“Daddy can’t live without me~ Jenny saved Daddy again~”
“Yes, I know. Now stop it. Don’t draw attention to yourself.”
Jenny was gloating now. She believed she had earned a great deal of leverage, and she was eager to assert her importance.
I couldn't challenge her, not now. If I did, she would have every right to be angry, to bare her claws.
Thanks to Amy, Jenny had the upper hand. You stupid machine.
“Huh, Daddy. Isn’t that a… cock?”
“It’s not a cock, it’s a male… no, not a male, a man. Don’t use that word.”
“It’s a cock! The cock Daddy is looking for!”
But thanks to Jenny, I found His Majesty. I had been worried he might have been burned at the stake…
“Sinners, listen!”
But he was standing before the nobles, his voice booming.
“I, in my mercy, have spared your lives, but your crimes are too great to be forgiven! Guards! Off with their heads!”
He had shed his former, pathetic demeanor, and now stood tall, commanding the soldiers.
“Hurry! Or must I do it myself?!”
His Majesty, his body still weak and broken, bluffed, his voice filled with a newfound authority. He could barely move, but he used the [truth] to his advantage, consolidating his power.
“I have tolerated Homunculus’s transgressions for far too long! Who else dares to defy me?! Come forward, and face your doom!”
His Majesty, the friend of the chosen savior,
The legendary warrior who had single-handedly defeated Homunculus’s followers.
“The savior has granted me strength! No one can oppose me now!”
He had survived.
I stood with Jenny,
Hidden among the crowd,
Listening to his every word.
“I will soon-”
I didn't want to interrupt him.
But His Majesty, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, saw me.
He paused, then,
Finished his sentence.
“I am Aaptukemen! Bow before me!”
I felt a pang of shame.
The males who had arrived on this planet were all doing their best to survive. I didn’t have a duty to save them.
We were all simply struggling to live.
Sometimes, we helped each other, and sometimes we used each other. And sometimes, we had to kill each other.
The responsibility, the duty I had felt, dissolved into nothingness. Perhaps I had been mistaken.
The males here weren't pathetic creatures who needed my help.
They were survivors,
Clever and wise,
Men who had endured for decades.
“…The age of the savior has come! Aaptukemen will be reborn!”
His Majesty’s voice, as if directed at me, echoed through the chamber.
The crowd roared, echoing his words.
“The savior!”
“Ah, finally!”
And I, amidst their cheers, took Jenny’s hand and slipped away.