Chapter 214: Book 16(4)
Chapter 214: Book 16(4)
I couldn't hide my shock after hearing Leona's answer. Just a few days ago, Kate was asking for my "seed," and now it was Leona.
Leona, in particular, had once boldly declared in front of Mari that she would become my wife. While that had been a misunderstanding caused by a difference in common sense, the situation now was slightly different.
Leona was in a position where she might actually become the Grand Chieftain. And in that situation, she was saying she would bear my child to repay her debt of gratitude.
Was this also part of beastkin culture? Since she explicitly mentioned it was a local custom, it was more or less certain.
"...What on earth are you talking about? Last time you were saying you'd be my wife."
I asked quietly, not even thinking to wipe the coffee that had dribbled from my mouth. The shock hadn't worn off yet, leaving me utterly dumbfounded.
Leona scratched the back of her head with an awkward smile at my question.
Even though she was the one who said it, she seemed to find it quite embarrassing.
"I want to emphasize that this is only if I become the Grand Chieftain. We beastkin consider bearing the descendant of a Grand Chieftain—the descendant of a lion—to be the highest form of repayment. If someone has done a personal favor or been a great help to the nation, we grant them the honor of possessing the blood of the lion."
"What if the genders are the same?"
"We might ask a family member or relative of the Grand Chieftain, or vice versa. Or, in the distant future, we might give them our own child. Either way, as long as a descendant with the Grand Chieftain's blood is born, it's fine."
"Wow..."
To consider bearing the Grand Chieftain's descendant an honor. It was a custom that was truly barbaric yet quintessentially beastkin.
It wasn't for nothing that she had boldly declared she would be my wife in front of Mari. With that kind of culture as a foundation, a clash of common sense was inevitable.
I let out a hollow laugh at the astonishing beastkin culture and looked at Leona. She was scratching her cheek, looking awkward despite being the one who brought it up.
"...You said beastkin consider it an insult if a reward is refused, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then does that mean if you become the Grand Chieftain, we're stuck getting married no matter what?"
Leona looked upward, thinking deeply about my question before answering.
"Hmm... We can get married if you want, or not if you don't. As long as a descendant is born, that's all that matters."
"Who raises the child?"
"You could raise them, or I could. If you want, you can just father the child and act like you don't know them. Human culture and beastkin culture are different, so I can handle that much."
"... ..."
I was so flabbergasted I couldn't find the words. But there was one thing to note here.
Leona didn't show a single hint of shyness. She seemed a bit embarrassed, but there was almost no reaction that could be called "bashful."
I'd thought this since she confidently said she'd be my wife last time, but like a true beastkin, she viewed herself as a "prize."
While I was feeling the disconnect caused by our differing common sense, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
If she becomes the Grand Chieftain, I have to have a child with her. Let's set that aside for a moment—what if Leona doesn't become the Grand Chieftain?
Could it be that the actual Grand Chieftain would offer Leona as a "prize" instead? The thought struck me, and I hurriedly asked.
"W-wait a minute. That's the story if you become the Grand Chieftain, but what about the opposite? What if someone else takes the position instead of you?"
"Probably? If the Grand Chieftain has a daughter, they'll give her to you. If they can't wait, they might send me instead. Either way, as long as the blood of the lion flows, it's fine."
"Oh, god."
Why do my bad premonitions never miss the mark? I had simply offered advice using knowledge from my past life, but the situation had become hopelessly tangled.
I could understand such a culture existing because of lingering barbaric customs. However, that was from the perspective of a third party; it was incredibly difficult to accept when it involved me directly.
How am I supposed to explain this to Mari and Cecile...
I buried my face in my hands, feeling dejected. My relationship with Adelia was already complicated enough, and now Leona was about to be added to the mix.
To be honest, as a man, it made me happy that beautiful women expressed their affection for me. But after accepting Cecile, I realized all too well that reality isn't so simple.
Fortunately, Mari and Cecile got along well and were making concessions for each other, but I couldn't predict what would happen if the number increased further.
Even now, they were engaged in a subtle power struggle over our nights together. What would happen if there were more women to deal with?
I wasn't some stamina king out of a manga or novel; it was obvious I'd be in for a grueling time.
"...Do you hate the idea of me being your wife that much?"
Just as I was despairing over the dark future, Leona grumbled, seemingly taking my reaction the wrong way.
I took my hands off my face and looked at her. Her pride seemed wounded; her lips were pouted, and she had a huffy expression.
She looked less like a brave lion and more like a prickly, cute cat. I stared at the sulking Leona for a while.
To get straight to the point, Leona was beautiful. There was no denying she was a beauty with chestnut hair and golden eyes that glowed like a predator's.
Her beauty, highlighted by a sense of wildness, and the two ears perked up on her head triggered an impulse to touch them. She was usually fierce as could be, but her current pouting state offered a charming contrast.
How many men could refuse such a beautiful woman volunteering to be their wife? However, I had to seriously consider my current situation.
I need to tell her that Cecile is also my lover...
If I did that, I would absolutely have to reveal that I am Xenon. The beastkin culture was making my position difficult in many ways.
First, let's soothe the sulking Leona. The longer I stayed silent, the more it might hurt her.
"It's not that. It's because of my situation. The thing is... I actually have more than one lover."
"Ah. That Demon Princess?"
"Wh-wha... How did you know?"
I was genuinely flustered. Mari aside, my relationship with Cecile was a secret to everyone except my close acquaintances.
Because of that, I was careful when we went on dates and tried my best to avoid suspicion. For our nights together, I would secretly slip out of the Academy and handle everything in Helium.
Yet Leona had figured it out instantly. She even acted as if it were no big deal.
Seeing my panicked reaction, Leona pointed her index finger straight at me and answered.
"Scent."
"Scent?"
"Yeah. As you probably know, everyone has a unique body scent. In your case, it's the scent of lilacs. That girl Mari has a fresh scent like lemons, and the Demon Princess has a sweet scent like peaches. And occasionally, while you smell like lemons, you also smell like peaches. It's impossible for body scents to mix unless you've... joined bodies."
"... ..."
"So I just guessed, 'Ah, the Demon Princess is becoming his wife too.' But there was no reason for me to tell anyone else, right? So I kept my mouth shut. Don't underestimate a beastkin's sense of smell."
Leona wagged her finger as if to say, "I've got you."
An animal's five senses are far superior to a human's. Naturally, the same would apply to a beastkin.
I felt hollow knowing that all my efforts to hide it had been meaningless, but at the same time, I felt a sense of relief.
I stood there with a blank expression for a while before finally letting out a hollow laugh and speaking.
"...Aren't you curious why Lady Cecile became my lover?"
"Not at all. If your hearts match, you become husband and wife, right? Or maybe you have some hidden power."
I flinched slightly at that. However, her thoughts were leaning that way because of her beastkin mindset; she hadn't actually guessed the truth.
"You have a surprisingly easygoing personality, don't you?"
"Call it being 'beastkin-like.'"
Leona replied proudly, puffing out her chest.
So this is how the difference between races manifests. I shook my head as I watched her.
"So, is it hard to accept me because you already have two lovers? Because they might refuse?"
"It's closer to that. It's awkward to refuse, too. They might take it as an insult. Is there no other reward? Like a material one?"
"Think of that material reward as being me."
"Ugh..."
My head was spinning. The barbaric customs unique to beastkin were so deeply ingrained that I couldn't deal with her using normal common sense.
Should I just relax and accept it? It was a problem whether Leona became the Grand Chieftain or not.
From the look of it, Leona had already made up her mind... no, wait. It seemed like she just didn't have many thoughts about it at all.
Even if she had learned about human customs while living at Halo Academy, her beastkin common sense was already deeply rooted. That's probably why she felt nothing about becoming my wife.
How could I politely refuse? Regardless of whether I liked Leona or not, there were many practical problems.
While I was narrowing my eyes and thinking seriously, Leona spoke up with another easygoing comment.
"One way is to just accept it without feeling burdened. And if I become the Grand Chieftain, you can just have the kid and ignore me, right?"
"You might not know because you're a beastkin, but I'm human. I must take responsibility for my child."
"Then I guess I should take the route of not becoming the Grand Chieftain."
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"If I become the Grand Chieftain, I have an obligation to produce many descendants. So I'd have to take other men as royal sons-in-law besides you."
I frowned. Normally, it was common for a male to have multiple females, but I had heard the opposite happened occasionally.
And the Grand Chieftain was the king of the beastkin. Since authority was also power, it was a position no one could challenge.
In other words, if Leona became the Grand Chieftain, she would have to accept other men besides me.
Honestly, I hated that. If Leona were a complete stranger, I would have brushed it off as a unique custom, but not when it came to the situation of her bearing my child.
Whether it was because of the memories of my past life or my own greed, I felt a strong aversion to that. I was already uncomfortable with the idea of having a child out of wedlock in the first place.
"...I'm a bit reluctant about that. Can't you change it?"
"It's hard to change this. That's why I don't want to be the Grand Chieftain. It's much better to be your third wife."
"...Leona."
"Yeah?"
I looked at the giggling Leona with a complicated expression before letting out a sigh.
Perhaps sensing something from my sigh, she stopped laughing and put on a relatively serious face.
Eventually, as a subtle silence settled over us, I began to reveal my inner thoughts one by one.
"It might be because I'm human, or it might just be my personal view. I believe that there should at least be affection between two people before they have a relationship, and the result of that is a child. I don't think of it as a 'reward' or an 'obligation.'"
"... ..."
"It's not that I dislike you. It's just... I don't like the idea of you treating yourself like an object. At the very least, I want to cherish and value my people. Not as objects, but as lovely women."
One might scoff and ask what kind of nonsense this was, considering I had already accepted Cecile and received a confession from Adelia. But I truly hated false affection.
Between people, there should be an exchange of genuine hearts, not obligations. At least, that's how I've been trying to live my current life.
This was also why I was implicitly accepting Adelia. She didn't know I was Xenon, and her affection for me was sincere.
"So for now, I have no choice but to refuse you. I'll help prevent you from becoming the Grand Chieftain as you wish, but let's think about you becoming my wife later. I'm saying let's build a relationship slowly as people, not as a reward."
"What if I say I will become the Grand Chieftain?"
"Then we'll have to act like the child thing never happened. It would be better for both of us to just stay friends."
In a way, it could be called selfish. I hated the idea of Leona having other men, yet I was also pushing away the idea of her becoming my wife based on the reason of "affection."
One might ask why I couldn't just close my eyes once and have a child, but pregnancy doesn't happen that easily.
Since the birth rate of beastkin was said to be similar to humans, their fertile periods would likely be similar as well. So we'd have to do it at least a few times.
There was no way feelings wouldn't develop during that time.
"Actually, you could call me selfish. I don't want you to have other men, and I'm refusing to let you be my wife because of affection. This is how I feel right now."
"... ..."
"What do you think?"
Leona had a mysterious expression after hearing my heart-to-heart. I waited anxiously for her to speak.
If she were an ordinary human, I wouldn't just be getting cursed out; I'd have no right to complain even if I got slapped. My statement was that level of "asking for a beating."
However, she currently perceived herself as a sort of commodity. This was exactly what I was most uncomfortable with.
I hoped that she would at least think of herself as a person, not an object.
"...I see."
After a moment, Leona nodded as if she understood. I tensed up inside.
What kind of words would come out of her mouth? Even though I was the one who said it, I couldn't help but feel anxious.
How much time passed in that silence? Just as I was waiting with bated breath, Leona's tightly closed lips slowly began to open.
"I like it."
"...What?"
"I said I like it."
A completely unexpected statement came from her. To add to that, she even wore her characteristic cynical smile.
While I was left dumbfounded, Leona crossed her arms and nodded to herself as if she had reached a conclusion.
"Yes. A male should naturally have greed. That ambition to keep his female all to himself and not share her with anyone. I really like that."
"No. That's not what I meant..."
"I know. So what you're saying is that you want to feel affection from me, right?"
Swish—
Leona said something I couldn't quite understand and then pulled her tail out from inside her pants. A tail with a brush-like tip, just like a lion's.
While my attention was caught by the swaying tail, she stood up abruptly and slowly approached me.
Then, after looking me straight in the eye, she smirked, slowly knelt down, and thrust her head toward me. Her perked-up ears dominated my vision.
"Touch them."
"Wh-what?"
"Touch my ears. Didn't you say you wanted to feel affection for me?"
I shifted my gaze to the two ears that were twitching. Touching the tail was an act only allowed between a married couple, but allowing someone to touch the ears meant granting them affection.
In other words, after hearing my words, she was letting me touch her ears as a sign of affection. She wasn't using metaphors; she was expressing it directly, like a true beastkin.
I didn't know what to do, but Leona thrust her ears even closer as if to encourage me. In the end, I had no choice but to touch her head where the ears sprouted.
Stroke—
"Purrr."
As I touched her head, Leona began to purr like a cat. I focused on the sensation felt through my hand with a dazed face.
When I stroked Mari's or Cecile's hair, I only felt softness, but perhaps because Leona was a beastkin, the sensation was quite different. It was more coarse than soft.
But it was strangely addictive, so I kept stroking. Conversely, her ears were soft and squishy.
"Purr. Purrrr."
Leona purred and rubbed her head against my hand as if to urge me to continue. I also stroked her head with a complicated expression.
It felt like I had gained a giant cat. As if that weren't enough to make my feelings complicated, Leona, seemingly intoxicated by my touch, went even further.
Lick—
"Ugh!"
An act common among felines: grooming. Leona grabbed my stroking hand and licked my palm with her tongue.
When I hurriedly pulled my hand away at the sudden action, Leona also seemed flustered and quickly apologized.
"Ah. S-sorry. I did it without thinking..."
"N-no. It's okay. I was just a little surprised."
"That's a relief. Anyway, did you confirm my affection?"
Leona was still kneeling on the floor. Because of this, she was looking up at me.
Behind her, her tail was swaying back and forth, and in front, her perked ears, full of expectation, blurred my vision. Finally, there was her face, which looked more cute than fierce.
Feeling my heart race, I covered my face with one hand. But that was the hand Leona had just licked.
After a brief moment of feeling grossed out, I let out a deep sigh and spoke.
"...I'll discuss it with the others."
the number of women was steadily increasing.