#073 Should I Like This, or Not?
At first, the shock seemed quite significant.
Yet, as if proving the mental fortitude that had kept her sane through nearly a thousand years of sealing, she quickly calmed herself and regained her composure.
Then she sat demurely beside me and poured drinks as if serving her husband.
We drank together while I listened to her story, piece by piece.
From events long ago to the tale of her sealing.
"The elf queen Sielin is a demigod like me. We were born on the same day, at the same hour."
She said she couldn't remember how they were born.
Nor who their parents were.
In fact, she didn't even know if such beings existed at all.
"Still, if you're a demigod, shouldn't you be able to roughly guess one of the races?"
"No. People think a demigod means half divine blood, but that's not it. It's just a lie made up to deceive those who know nothing about this world."
"Then what is it?"
"A demigod or god is determined by how freely they can manipulate this world. It's like a badge or status."
She added that the false information had been created by dragons.
A fabrication to maintain their race's privileges and prevent other races from reaching the divine realm.
Dragons naturally attain the demigod state after five thousand years.
"Becoming a god means being able to handle this world as freely as one wishes... That's why Sielin wanted to become a god from a young age. She was a child full of curiosity and greed."
Forest elves and sea elves had once lived together, she said.
Settling along beaches and riverbanks.
Their relationship wasn't particularly good, but it wasn't bad either.
Then one day, a god visited them and planted the seed of misfortune.
"He told them that if one killed and absorbed the other, they could become a god."
Themis said she had dismissed it as nonsense and immediately cast it from her mind.
But the problem was Sielin.
That greedy woman, already desperate to become a god, would never let such words go unheeded.
Themis had quickly led her people into the sea, but Sielin's greed knew no bounds.
She allied with a blue dragon, another demigod, and attacked Themis hidden in the ocean.
"With two demigods attacking, there was no answer. Yet they couldn't kill me either."
"Why?"
"Heh. Because it was the sea."
Though cornered, Sielin, protected by the forest's blessing, lacked the power to finish her.
In the end, they settled on a second plan...
They combined their strength to seal Themis and her people as krakens, arranging for the seal to weaken around this time each year so they would suffer, remembering the pain of their kin being devoured by fish for an entire year.
"...You're joking, right? That's real?"
"Yes. As you'll see when you meet the wretch in charge of the seal, he probably wasted time circling above the sea on purpose before descending."
Indeed.
Audrey had been spinning playfully above while waiting for Themis to awaken.
"They do it on purpose. To make me and my people writhe in agony. Giving us hope that the seal might break this time, only to crush it and break our minds..."
"Why go that far?"
"Because even a goddess becomes nothing more than a beast once her mind breaks."
"So she couldn't let go of her desire to become a god until the very end."
Themis nodded.
If they were born on the same day and hour, were they sisters?
Yet to go that far...
I found myself wanting to see her face.
— You'll get the chance soon enough. You want to teach those elves a lesson too, don't you, Kael?
"Is what Beres said true?"
When the goddess clasped her hands together in delight, I started to speak but simply nodded instead.
Sometimes a single action speaks louder than words.
"That aside, my lady."
"Ugh... Just call me Themis, please."
The blue-haired goddess adorned with countless stars looked embarrassed.
She said she simply couldn't get used to that title.
Tch. She didn't even appreciate how happy I was to finally have a wife in both this life and the last.
— (Whistling) Cheer up~ You'll get used to it in no time~
Anyway, as we walked together, I stated my business.
"Themis, I'd like you to give me that elf."
But the goddess drew a firm line.
"That won't do. Not just me—my children are all furious. She must be made an example."
"But you know the promise I made with her. Promises are important."
"Still..."
"You don't want your husband to be the kind of scoundrel who breaks promises, do you?"
The goddess bit her lip.
Wow... How could any expression she made look this beautiful?
It was truly a mystery. The mystery of the century.
Enjoying the sight of the troubled beauty's face, I continued negotiating.
"I'll hand over all the elves in the human territories. After all, if the mermaids tried to capture elves on land, there'd be casualties."
"Right now, the mermaids don't care if they die. Whether they live or die, they only want to vent their rage. I've told them not to attack Florian for now, but that anger could turn on humans at any moment."
Hmm. This was getting complicated.
I thought we'd just fuck her and work out an agreement, but now I had to consider public sentiment.
"Beres, got any good ideas?"
— Hmm. How about this?
Both the goddess and I perked up.
Would Beres really be able to resolve our marital issue smoothly?
— Ah, fuck. Seriously... Don't say 'marital' like that, it makes my stomach hurt. Anyway, sister, how about this?
At Beres's words, the goddess widened her eyes, urging her to continue.
Two beings who could never have gotten along originally had grown closer than I was, bonded by the shared fact of being sealed for nearly a thousand years.
"What is it? I'm listening."
— Sister, you got pregnant today, right?
What the hell was she talking about?
It had only been a few hours since we had sex—how could she already be pregnant...
"Yes."
...Huh?
"Wait. What do you mean? Themis?"
When I asked in confusion, she explained.
Mermaids always had eggs ready, so the moment they received seed, there was a 99% chance of pregnancy.
And the same applied to Themis.
No, how could it be this fast?
We'd only just met today. Sex, marriage, and now pregnancy...?
— How long until the birth?
"About a week?"
Insane...!
I was about to become a father just one week after meeting her.
Should I be happy about this or not?
— But sister, you can't give birth every time because of the dragons watching you, right?
"Sigh. That does worry me."
— So let's use a surrogate. That arrogant elf bitch.
...Themis and I both smacked our knees at Beres's clever idea.
To think of such a brilliant plan!
— With this, you two should be able to reach an agreement, right?
"Thank you, Beres."
"Yes. Thank you, little sister."
Thus, the arrogant elf Audrey became the surrogate to bear Themis's and my child.
And this was immediately announced before countless mermaids.
Everyone cheered—except one.
"M-Master..."
"Don't worry. You'll be treated far better than livestock. Think positively, Audrey."
Yet the elf's face was deathly pale.
How could it not be?
She hadn't even lost her virginity, yet she'd become a surrogate.
Moreover, a surrogate for mermaids she despised to the point of death.
"I-I don't want this! Master, please..."
The struggling elf was firmly held from behind.
Meanwhile, the goddess approached and placed her hand on the elf's lower abdomen.
Apparently, since the surrogate was an elf, she was concerned about the child's safety.
So she decided to cast a slave spell.
A red light rose from the goddess's hand.
The elf, bound at both arms and legs, shook for a moment—then Themis's eyes widened as she cast the spell.
A deep smile spread across her face.
"Oh? You're a shamaness?"
"P-Please spare me. Please, spare me...!"
"An elf shamaness... Perfect! With so much spiritual power, our children will be born healthy."
"Please... S-Stop..."
The goddess tapped my shoulder.
When I looked up, she smiled and spoke.
"Husband. Ahem. Help me a little."
"How?"
"When I give the signal, tear her hymen for me."
If that was all, it was simple enough.
I stood up, still holding the elf.
Audrey was immediately forced into a piledriver position.
As I pulled her body down, Beres positioned the glans at her entrance on her own.
"Hik?! N-No...!"
Ignoring her pleas, Beres teased her by shaking up and down, scaring her.
A vulgar laugh echoed in my ears.
— In or out? In or out~ Come on. Ask her to start the countdown~
Meanwhile, the goddess placed her hand on Audrey's belly and shouted to the thousands of mermaids watching the scene.
"Today, we have been freed from the cursed shackles that bound us. We know who cast that curse—the blue dragon and the forest elves!"
A heavy silence fell.
Yet because of it, the immense rage boiling beneath was all the more vivid.
"I will repay them. Remembering the children who died under the curse, I will take my revenge! This woman is the beginning! Let us turn every forest elf into our breeding bags!"
Uoooooh!
A tremendous roar erupted.
Crushed by that spirit, Audrey could no longer resist.
Red energy gathered above the goddess's hand.
As it slowly took shape and finally completed—
"Now!"
Beres and I thrust with all our strength, piercing from the vaginal entrance through the cervix to the very depths.
In a single strike, a single blow.
Thrust!
"Kuaaaaah!"
The arrogant elf's beast-like scream echoed loudly across the sea.
Only to be immediately drowned out by the mermaids' cheers.
And on Audrey's lower abdomen, a heart-shaped slave mark was engraved.
A red pattern, just like the blood dripping down.