Changes in the Fairy's Body
After pondering the changes in the fairy's body for a moment, I nodded, and Tier flashed a bright smile before charging out through the underbrush. Clop-clop-clop. Her opponents were just three lowly trolls. Without a second thought, Tier shot forward in an instant, swinging her twin blades.
The sword from her left hand sliced horizontally across the nose bridge of the troll right in front of her, burrowing straight into its skull with a single strike. Squish!
"Grng! Kyang!"
Only then did the other two jolt in surprise, grabbing their wooden clubs and assuming combat stances. Tier, as if declaring the ambush over, lifted her tail high with a smirk curling her lips.
"Grrrm..." Her low growl echoed through the left flank.
What the fuck? A wolf beastkin wielding twin blades faced off against two trolls. The fantasy tension hung thick in the air, gripping like a dramatic scene straight out of a game, but I couldn't help swearing anyway.
Where the hell did those boners come from?
As predicted, the idiots were pretty dim-witted. Even with their comrade's head split open and dead, they stood there with raging hard-ons, drool spilling from their mouths. I'd seen it occasionally with goblins before, but never this blatant.
Is it because Tier looks similar?
Just like my own rising anger at the sight, Tier bared her fangs sharply the moment she clocked it.
"Grrrm..."
What kind of clothes do primitive monsters even wear? Just some simple leather or woven grass tied around their waists. And monsters tended to have big builds by nature. That painted a clear picture of what Tier was seeing.
I glanced sideways to see Leon grimacing like he'd witnessed something horrific, and Daphne wearing a puzzled expression. Catching Daphne's subtle glance my way filled me with smug pride, my shoulders squaring automatically.
I'm bigger, right? Heh heh.
While my emotions swung hot and cold, the battle in the clearing kicked off. Horny trolls posed zero threat to Tier's life. She danced around their desperate attempts to capture her, evading effortlessly.
Shwick. In a burst of sudden acceleration, Tier brushed past them, and with it came the sound of slicing flesh.
Thud. Something hit the ground, and one troll dropped to its knees, unable even to scream, just dribbling saliva. A pink sausage lay on the dirt, twitching and spurting blood.
Oof... fuck. Despite them being monsters, a pang of sympathy hit me—and Leon—right in the crotch for a second.
The last troll snapped out of it upon seeing its buddy collapse clutching its groin, desperately trying to back away, but Tier's blade had already swept through its lower body.
Thud.
"Kreee... grk..."
Soon, the battlefield's center held just two pink sausages and a pair of kneeling trolls, drooling helplessly. Tier shoved a blade into the back of each defeated troll's head, snorting derisively.
She looked just like a loyal dog who'd finished her job, and I couldn't stifle a chuckle.
"Boss! Did you see that?"
Tier, having vented on the corpses, sauntered over with a cheeky grin.
"Y-yeah... sure did."
We all instinctively backed away from the blood and milky fluid coating her twin blades.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Tier, uh... go clean those swords."
Daphne finally spoke up when the guys couldn't muster words. Tier finally noticed the weird gunk on her blades, her face crumpling as she clung to Daphne.
"D-Daphne! Where's Undine?!"
"Uh... she doesn't wanna come out."
"Eek?!"
And so, we pressed on through the forest heart, frantically hunting for water.
+++
"Phew... just the floor boss left now?"
A quick scan showed troll corpses strewn everywhere. It'd been a week since hitting the 6th floor. As I'd sensed from our first troll encounter, our party's combat power was way overkill for this level. So we'd shifted focus from rushing floors to grinding guild quests for funds first.
From the 6th floor on, the terrain sprawled wide, so most adventurers hurried up to the 11th to shed their newbie status. But floors 1 through 10 only let you clear once—no redos. With the game turned real, Leon figured there had to be some hidden rewards, so we decided to exterminate every last troll.
Setting that absurd idea aside, I agreed with him anyway.
Money's nice, but this builds experience too.
From the 11th floor, we'd start running into other adventurers, so prepping on all fronts was smart.
"Yeah. Knock out the 10th floor boss, and we'll probably start bumping into real competition."
While collecting troll byproducts, I spotted Daphne nodding thoughtfully as she summoned Undine for cleanup.
Wait, seriously? Has she gained weight?
Unlike her usual form-fitting gear, Daphne wore some baggy outfit from who-knows-where. The standout? Her once-slim figure now sported a protruding lower belly.
Elves can't get pregnant, though...
Our party's tension-free routine of mowing down trolls had bonded us tight. With everyone's skills and looks on point, getting chummy was natural. Daphne and I had shared plenty of chats—like how Tier was always yapping about her boss and love bites.
Through her, I'd learned elves "born" from World Tree branches lacked reproductive ability. No offspring, even in interspecies marriages. Long story short, experts chalked Daphne's gut up to simple fat gain.
But that doesn't add up... just the lower belly?
Noticing Daphne waddling around tidying up wasn't just me—Leon shot her suspicious side-eyes too. Her sudden shift from tight dresses to this? Totally warranted.
Especially in just a week...
Daphne's belly ballooning to pregnant proportions after nights peeping on me and Tier? My head throbbed with unsolved mystery.
As awkward vibes thickened around us, Tier wrinkled her nose thoughtfully and approached Daphne.
"Daphne."
"Yeah? What, Tier?"
Innocent as ever, believing it was just chub, Daphne beamed at her friend.
"Got a sec today?"
"Huh?"
Tier shot me a meaningful glance. She planned to crash in Daphne's room tonight—and probe her condition while at it.
That's how a proper head of household acts.
Tier's deference thrilled me; I nodded right back.
"No, sleep together tonight."
"Ah... sure! Sounds good!"
Daphne frowned briefly at missing a peep show but soon linked arms with Tier, humming happily. Seemed she figured secondhand details from Tier beat nothing—her smile stuck while Tier stayed dead serious.
"Hey... let me know how it goes later."
Leon sidled up, sensing evening fun, and I smirked silently before nodding. He grinned and got back to work.
Sigh... time to ditch him soon.
+++
"Hm~ Hm-mn~"
Back at the inn after today's delve, Daphne hummed as she stripped off her gear—boots, leather vest, the works—revealing her lithe fairy figure bit by bit.
"Too much booze lately?"
She gently stroked her protruding lower belly, at odds with her sleek frame. Undine showed her reflection: pure pregnant silhouette.
A flicker of unease rose.
"Nah... impossible. Heh heh."
But she shook it off, forcing a smile. She was an elf, after all—fairy folk conceived on World Tree branches. Some wed other races, but infertility meant no heirs. Plus, Daphne was a virgin, untouched by any man.
A vague wand memory surfaced, but it was just an object, right? Shaking it off, she tidied the room. Tonight, she'd bunk with Tier for the first time in ages. Had to restore order after all the peeping messes.
Gripping her heavy belly, she and Undine cleaned for a while.
Knock. Knock.
"It's me, Daphne."