The Birth of Arthur and the Evolution of the Orc
Lily regained consciousness. The fever that had made her body feel as if it were floating in the clouds had subsided, and she covered her face with both hands. "Sob, h-hic...!" She was in despair. Beyond the fact that she had given birth to an egg in front of everyone, she was devastated by the reality that she could no longer return to being human. A human had laid an egg. And not just any egg—a monster's egg. Lily was now an enemy of humanity, a body that could no longer hide among people.
The Goddess Church. As the center of the Human Alliance and the most zealous faction in the war against the Demon King's army, the followers of the Goddess Church hunted down anyone who consorted with monsters. Most of those who had gathered in the slash-and-burn village were people who had committed crimes or broken taboos. Beyond the taxes, they had burned trees and cleared land to build the village to escape the fanatics of the Church. The followers of the Goddess Church killed monsters without exception. They killed everyone who consorted with monsters, too. Since she had not only consorted with a monster but had even received its seed and laid an egg, Lily had nowhere left to go.
"Sob, h-hic, h-hic...!" And above all, what plunged Lily into self-loathing was the 'pleasure.' In her thirty-seven years of life, she had never felt such pleasure. Not even the joy of earning her first paycheck, nor any pleasure she had ever experienced during sexual intercourse in her life, could compare to the ecstasy of laying that egg. She wanted to taste it again. Lily couldn't lift her head from the shame.
"E-excuse me..."
"......What?" Lily snapped back at the other female hunter who had approached her, her tone sharp without her meaning to be. She hadn't forgotten the look on the woman's face—the way she had frozen in shock when Lily laid the egg, even though she, too, had been bedded by the monster.
"W-well, that is..."
"Why? Disgusted?" Lily sneered, scanning the other female hunter. Everyone else was eating their late meal, gulping down slime fluids, but no one offered Lily food or would even eat near her.
"Ugh." One of the female hunters who made eye contact with Lily nearly spat out the slime fluid she was eating. It seemed the scene of Lily laying the egg had flashed back to her; the way they looked at Lily went beyond seeing her as dirty or unclean—it was as if they didn't even want to be in the same world as her.
'Unbelievable.' Lily had realized it the moment she laid the egg. Was she really the only one destined for this fate? She was simply the first in line. 'It's better to be taken by that monster.' Even if the monster had 'used' her once, at least it would pay some attention to her in this group of slaves. 'Otherwise, I might get eaten by other monsters.'
It was better to be eaten by an Orc. Grrr. Those corpse-like monsters might not have their lower halves right now, but the higher-tier monsters certainly did. For Lily, who had seen a colleague retire due to the trauma of being violated by those monsters in the dungeon, she didn't want to experience that. But she had laid an egg, and she even found herself wanting to do it again. Lily felt like crying.
"H-here..." The female hunter held out a wooden cup. It was full of slime fluid she hadn't even touched yet. Lily couldn't understand why this woman was approaching her without hesitation.
"Isn't it dirty?"
"......." The female hunter glanced at the others and shook her head. Then, she asked in a very quiet voice, "Was... was it good?"
"What?" Lily's voice rose in absurdity. The female hunter jumped in surprise and shushed her.
"Your voice is too loud...!"
"Asking if it was good? Is that what you should be saying to me right now—"
"I've never seen you go like that when you were with me."
"......." Lily fell silent. The woman was someone she had shared a bed with a few times, and they were people who had ended up in the slash-and-burn village for the same reasons.
"Hey, was it really that good? Better than when you were with me...?"
"I don't know... try it yourself."
"......Can I?"
"You crazy bitch." The woman was serious. Lily felt a surge of anger at the thought of someone wanting to share a bed with a monster just for the sake of pleasure.
"Do you think that makes any sense?"
"...But, we have to live here now." The woman was resigned. Ghouls were still perched all over the wooden fence.
"The monster said it. We can't live outside anymore. So, might as well just..."
"Hey, I-I support you." The man with premature ejaculation approached with a wooden cup. The monster might not know, but the three of them had once rolled around in bed together. "I-it's already happened, so what can we do? We have to live like this. We can't just die."
"You.... Haah." Lily lamented. In the subtle factional struggle within the lowest layer of the pyramid, Lily had tried to wear a crown made of dirt, but unfortunately, she only had two allies. 3:4. The female hunters, and even the man, seemed deeply shocked by Lily laying an 'egg.'
Thud. Thud. Suddenly, footsteps were heard. The seven hunters jumped in surprise and gulped down the slime fluid they were eating.
"Hmm. Seems you're getting along well." A blonde woman with a cold impression, whom they had never seen before, looked down at the hunters with the disciplined posture of a knight. The hunters bowed their heads at that arrogant gaze. The opponent was a being far above them. Having lived as the lower class for a long time, they could feel it immediately from her appearance. The woman was heavily scented with the smell of the monster. That made Lily momentarily annoyed.
"Ahem. Greetings. I am Eila. I am the Master's knight."
"...What brings a knight to this place?" Since no one else spoke, Lily stood up and answered. And then, Lily spotted a new monster standing behind Eila.
"Oh...." The monster, no, the man, was smiling refreshingly at her. He was muscular like the monster that had violated her, but his stomach was devoid of fat—just hard, chiseled muscle. And at the sight of his massive member, which even his pants couldn't hide, Lily's heart sank. It was the same green skin, but it wasn't disgusting. It was actually lovely. And Lily was certain that she had gone insane for thinking such a thing.
"Are you Lily?"
"......." Lily just nodded. Eila stared at Lily for a long time before pointing to the Orc youth behind her and opening her mouth. "He is your son."
"????"
"The egg you laid has become a son." The humans fell into chaos. It hadn't even been a few hours since Lily laid the egg, fainted, and the monster entered the dungeon. And yet, an Orc who looked like a full-fledged warrior was Lily's son? Lily herself couldn't believe it.
"Ah...." But Lily couldn't say anything because of the sense of déjà vu she felt every time she looked at the Orc, Arthur. The way he smiled at her with his whole face was too similar to the father who used to hug her long ago.
"Oh.... That guy looks a bit like you?" The man pointed back and forth between the youth and Lily several times. They definitely looked alike.
"W-wait a minute. I-is he really my son?"
"Of course. It hasn't even been two days since you laid the egg by the grace of the Master. Just as ten months were reduced to two days, his growth is very fast. If it's complicated, just think of it as the Master's grace. I don't know the details either." Eila answered readily, shrugging her shoulders, and pushed the Orc's back. The Orc stood in front of Lily with an awkward look.
"Oh.... Should I call you Mom, or Mother?"
"Haah." Lily's common sense as a human collapsed. But her emotions and instincts began to stir with clear feelings toward the Orc.
"...First, what is your name?"
"Arthur. Father said my name is Arthur."
"......." Someday, she had thought, if she had a son, she would name him Arthur. But to think a son would suddenly appear like this.
"......Phew." Lily steeled her heart. Looking at him from top to bottom, he was such a handsome man that it was hard to believe he was born from that monster. Above all, she liked his slim waist. 'If only he weren't my son.'
"......Ahem. What am I thinking." Lily cleared her throat and blushed. Arthur was so refreshing in appearance that he made her feel attracted as a woman before she could think of him as a human. In other words, conversely, Lily was recognizing Arthur as a 'son,' not as a clear romantic interest. It was something like an instinct that was hard to express as a rational thought.
"Arthur will live here and help you all. He will train with me inside the dungeon to build his strength, but he will live with you most of the time."
"Wait a minute. Who are you to..."
"Let's just say I was a knight of a prestigious family. And I intend to make your son my squire." Eila bowed to Lily with a disciplined posture. "Please, let me teach you and the Master's son."
"A-are you really a knight?"
"Of course." Eila's posture, at least, was beyond reproach. Lily didn't think Eila was lying.
"......Asking for permission or whatever." Lily squeezed her eyes shut. Giving permission was the same as acknowledging Arthur as her son. But. Lily was a person who valued survival more than judgment and ideas bound by common sense. "...Please take good care of my son."
"Thank you. Then Arthur, I will return to the Master for now."
"Yes, Mother Eila."
"What...?" Lily didn't understand for a moment. But she couldn't continue speaking at the sight of Arthur-her son-standing proudly before her.
"Father said to do as you say, so what should I do first?"
"......." Lily glanced at the other hunters. They were all astonished that the egg had become a sturdy man in just a few hours. But Lily's intuition was clearly sounding an alarm. The female hunters were scanning Arthur up and down, drooling, and the man was shrugging his shoulders, avoiding Arthur's gaze.
"......First, Arthur." Lily took a deep breath and held out both hands to Arthur. "Call me Mom."
"...Yes, Mom!" Arthur smiled brightly with an innocent face.
* * *
I've evolved others before, but this is my first time evolving myself. My evolution took place in the summoning facility as well, and I could feel my body twisting little by little. Evolution. Awakening to a new existence. Just as Lime evolved from a plain slime to a Slahole, I might be able to transform into a completely new being.
'Though it seemed there was only one evolution tech tree.'
What kind of being would I become? I calmly waited for the fog to settle.
"Puh-hoo." ...Is it harder to breathe than before? I touched my belly first.
"No." There was no change in my belly fat. There was no change in my body either.
"What is this?" I wish I had a mirror. I pushed the fog aside with my hands, and soon, Ryun greeted me first—
"Eek." Ryun was terrified the moment she saw me. Did I really become a monster? "M-Master...!" Ryun called me Master, but she was scared. Why? Why?
"M-Master is.... Hwaaang!" Ryun burst into tears on the spot. I lifted my arms in a sudden sense of anxiety.
"Whoa." My arms hadn't changed. But strange brown clothing had appeared on my arms, and when I pulled them back, geometric patterns had formed all over my body.
"No, what the hell?" I threw off the strange-looking robe that had appeared on my body. My muscles and belly fat hadn't decreased, but the geometric patterns that started from my arms were engraved all over my body.
"No way, no way!" I pulled down the underwear that had appeared below. Fortunately, there was no strange tattoo on my dick. "No, no, what is this nonsense...."
I checked my information with a trembling heart.
Shaman. Shaman, of all things. No, the job didn't matter. What was important were these geometric patterns surrounding my entire body. Scratch, scratch, scratch. No matter how much I rubbed them with my hands, they wouldn't erase. Ryun sniffled while looking at me, and I wanted to cry too.
"M-Master's body has graffiti on it.... Sob, h-hic...!"
"D-damn it all...." The price of evolution was harsh. I had become a 4-star, and an Orc with muscles and tattoos at that.