Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Why Didn't You Come to Me First...?
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"Should I raise our kids without a dad? Well, I'd be okay with it somehow. I'd do my best to raise them well. No choice, right? They've learned only the best from their grandpa, after all?"
"...Yeah, I get it. I'm sorry. I won't abandon you."
From a human perspective,
my actions ultimately make me nothing more than an irresponsible man who abandons his pregnant wife and family to wander around.
I can't abandon Arachne. She's practically family now. Sure, it's a family forced upon me in many ways... but it's also true that she provides comfort and reassurance in all sorts of ways.
However, unlike Arachne, who's preparing to become a mother, I'm a husband with a ton of problems.
And I even have multiple women.
Excluding Jenny and Amy, that's already four. Aria, Arachne, Alraune, Nephyr...
No, I guess I have to include Amy now too. That makes five.
"...Since you've apologized, I'll let it slide for today. So, shall we make up now, my little one?"
I might genuinely need to be grateful that Arachne lets it go with just this much. Every time she mentions the child, my heart sinks... but for now, at least...
Three hours later.
"Ow."
Every step I take makes a creaking sound. My pelvis aches terribly up front, and my lower body is so exhausted that even the slightest movement sends sharp, stinging pains through it.
"Agh."
True to her sharp fangs and claws, Arachne had pounced on me relentlessly for three full hours. This wasn't some joyful reunion between husband and wife—it was pure, one-sided predation.
To be honest, once a man reaches climax a few times, he's completely spent. Anything beyond that is straight-up torture.
That's why married men talk about "duty defense battles" and avoid intimacy.
Women come at you with their ripened desires, but men get swept up in that fiery lust and suffer for days afterward.
"Ahh..."
And the women here have even better stamina and are wildly aggressive. In this ambiguous tribal society that hasn't fully shed its wild instincts, they live freely, unleashing their desires without restraint.
If Alraune weren't around, I'd have died long ago. Squeezed dry until I withered into a jerky-like mummy. For real.
"What's wrong? Does it hurt a lot?"
"N-No... I'm fine..."
As if sensing my inner turmoil,
Arachne, walking beside me, strokes my head with a worried look.
"Aww, you're so cute~ We didn't even do that much, so why are you all wilted like this?"
Is she actually worried?
Or just teasing me.
Maybe half and half.
In any case, the two of us head toward the altar cave together.
After our messy lovemaking, Arachne's mood had lightened a bit, and she insisted on coming along because she wanted to see the new woman with her own eyes.
Plus, it was a good chance to show off the ember crystals and loot we'd brought back.
Arachne's the curious type about these things, so I figured she'd be thrilled by our haul.
It could improve our relationship and maybe even have a positive effect on her hysterical tendencies.
Especially, I hoped it would ease tensions with Amy a little.
"Elder!"
As we reach the cave entrance, a cheerful voice calls out early. From inside, Nephyr comes rushing to greet us, wagging her tail excitedly.
"I've been waiting...!"
For some reason,
it feels like reuniting with a big dog after being away from home for ages.
She's making a huge fuss, inspecting every inch of my body,
hugging me tight as if to brag about how long she'd waited...
"I was so worried! Sniff... Th-that smell... it's weird..."
She even pinches her nose at the scent of another woman clinging to me from my time with Arachne.
It seems like a real ordeal for Nephyr. I wonder if it's that bad, but anyway, she ties her hair back to wash off the "foreign substance"...
"Wait, hold on!"
"Yes?"
"What are you doing?"
"I have to clean you up."
She lunges at me so matter-of-factly that I'm left speechless. Right, Nephyr's from the desert, so she doesn't know local customs well.
"Th-there's plenty of water here. I'll wash up later myself. More importantly... introduce yourself to this friend first..."
But ignoring Arachne right next to me to focus solely on me sours the mood again.
Only then does Nephyr notice Arachne's massive spider legs, her snow-white hair, sharp and prickly face, and straighten her clothes.
"Oh dear, how rude of me at our first meeting... Pleased to meet you. I am Nephyr of Aptukemän—"
"Joo-ho, what is she saying? Her words sound a bit strange?"
Oh, right, I forgot.
Their languages are awkwardly mismatched.
They share a common origin,
but long isolation between regions has caused their structures to diverge slightly.
There's a lot to iron out. I can understand both, but I might need to teach Nephyr the language for smooth communication among the women.
"Hmm..."
"..."
On top of that,
the tense eye contact between the two women during this brief greeting makes my head spin.
They're glaring at each other despite not even speaking the same language. I can't imagine what'll happen next.
"Everyone, stop it and let's go inside first. Amy and Jenny are in there too, right? Come in and wait together for a bit. I need to bring one more person—"
I have to mediate properly. Otherwise, something irreversible will happen.
"Joo-ho...?"
...Yeah,
incidents like this.
A very familiar voice comes from behind.
The beautifully melodic voice I'd heard echoing countless times in this damp cave...
Damn, this complicates things again.
"I heard Joo-ho's voice, so I came..."
I was planning to go see her anyway,
but she couldn't wait and crawled all the way here for the reunion.
"It really is Joo-ho... Haha... But why didn't you come to me first...?"
Covered head to toe in mud from crawling straight from the water without waiting, Aria appears.
This is really...
Is someone like me even cut out to mediate?
"Aria, wait! I can explain everything...!"
I desperately cling to Aria as she crawls back toward the lake.
But her eyes are already hollow; she has no intention of waiting. She doesn't stop even as rocks and roots scrape her.
"I was going to come straight to you. For real! But something came up at Arachne's place for a bit...!"
"So you were going to her first after all. It's fine. You don't have to make up lies like that."
I can't let her go like this. Belatedly, I grunt and lift Aria up, carrying her back to the lakeside.
"Haha, I'm heavy—what are you doing this for? Ngh?..."
But all the while, Aria just wipes tears and sobs loudly,
and I, at a loss, keep repeating apologies as I hurry along.
Even after arriving at the lakeside, things don't improve. Aria won't even show her face, just stares at the ground and whimpers.
"C-come on, it's been so long—show me your face at least. You doing okay? Huh?"
"I knew it'd be like this... You don't even visit the lake, just go around seeding other land-dwellers..."
Aria now openly resents me. Running away here would cause a real disaster.
"No, I'm sorry..."
"Sorry? Haha, liar. Then you should've come to me first. You don't know how long I waited here. Yeah, of course. You're not interested in someone like me anyway. The sky flashed so suddenly—I was terrified you got caught up in it. I prayed day and night, worrying."
I don't know why I'm getting hit with one awkward situation after another right after returning.
With Aria acting like this too, I'm going insane. It doesn't feel like coming home—more like being thrown into a nagging in-law's house.
"You're right. Why pretend otherwise? Joo-ho, maybe I should just leave forever? To not be a burden, wouldn't it be best if I go far away and die quietly?"
"No... don't say that... I'll do better..."
Still, I'm sure she doesn't really mean to die.
Aria's just
acting this way because she wants me to pay more attention to her.
"Why waste your kindness on an annoying one like me... Just kill me and go. Live with the spider forever. Have kids with the others and thrive. I'm just a lump that can't even leave the water properly, right?"
I know that full well.
But Aria's cowed posture, slumped shoulders, and drooping arms stir my heart too much.
Aria's and Arachne's love is especially heavy and burdensome. Each shackles my heart in their own unique way.
How long do I have to live like this?
Will there ever come a time when they can all be more forgiving toward each other...?
"...Pfft."
But amid my worries, an unexpected laugh rings in my ear. In a situation with no room for laughter.
"Ahaha! Joo-ho, you're exactly the same. What, I thought the desert would've turned you into a whole new person... Pfft..."
Aria finally turns to face me, showing her expression. She's not as gloomy or depressed as I'd imagined.
"Still, I am disappointed, you know? You should've come to me first."
With a forced smile, she flicks my forehead, gives my cheek a quick kiss, and says,
"I was just messing with you 'cause you're so cheeky. Can't even tease you properly with that funeral face. Enough now—let's rest in my cave. Welcome back. I'm so glad you returned safely..."
Aria's eyes still bear red, swollen traces, and unshed tears quietly glisten.
She forces a brave front, generously wrapping things up so I won't suffer more. She's severed her emotions for my sake.
We've hurt each other so many times already, but right now, we share a bittersweet smile. I feel so grateful and sorry.
"Aria... I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
Aria's inner composure and generous forgiveness don't just mean progress in our [relationship] or [personal growth].
Her hand rests on her navel.
Before she even speaks, I sense it instinctively.
"Now I need to change my mindset too. It's not just me anymore."
Aria is pregnant.
In that tender moment before I left for the desert, when our bodies joined, a new life carrying my genes had taken root in her womb.