Chapter 113
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: 29. Graduation Ceremony (9)
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Did I just hear that wrong?
Sex.
Or copulation, in other terms.
That wasn't something you'd expect to hear from Ellie, who had just become an adult... Or maybe it was precisely because of that milestone that it came out.
"You had sex with Mom, right?"
Unlike her first question, the second one came out with far less trembling in her voice.
As if she'd gained conviction from watching my reaction.
"I... I saw it. That night. I was on my way to the bathroom and just happened to..."
Ellie had witnessed Diana and me in the middle of our pseudo-sexual act.
Regret flooded over me. I shouldn't have lost control that day. At the very least, we should've locked the door properly.
But it was too late for regrets now.
Ellie had already seen Diana and me copulating, and she'd come to stand before me to confirm the truth.
I couldn't lie in the face of that courage.
"Yeah."
"...!"
When I nodded to her question about sleeping with her mom, Ellie swallowed hard.
Truth be told, something similar had happened before.
The time Ellie had seen Diana's [Curse of the Lewd Frail Corruption Pattern] suppressing her lust and misunderstood us as being in that kind of relationship.
Back then, I'd barely cleared it up after suffering through the labyrinth. But somehow, over the past few months, Diana and I had actually ended up in that relationship.
In the end, my denial turned out to be pointless effort, and now I'd even admitted to the sex.
Ellie must have thought that explanation was a lie and felt deeply betrayed by me.
But there was one thing different this time.
"Then, just tell me one thing, Oppa."
The Ellie now didn't run away like before.
On the contrary, she met my eyes and hoped for an honest answer.
"Can I... keep thinking of you as Oppa? Or should I... think of you as Dad?"
This was her asking me to choose.
Whether to not deepen things with Diana any further and just keep living together at the inn as a boarder.
Or to advance our current relationship and truly become one family.
I lowered my head at Ellie's question and thought deeply.
'Family...?'
Until now, my only family had been my little sister.
Nam Soeun. My one and only little sister, my sole family.
At the same time, a family I couldn't see right now.
Our tiny family of just two was about to mix in new people.
I tried imagining it for a moment. A future with this family.
Laughing, chatting, occasionally fighting, getting upset over petty misunderstandings and crying, then reconciling to laugh even happier...
I couldn't picture it well.
"...Sorry. I... don't know, Ellie."
In the end, what came out was an indecisive answer.
Family.
I still didn't know the true value or meaning of that word.
I wasn't in a position to seriously consider a family future, and I needed more time to mull it over.
So I couldn't answer Ellie rashly.
"..."
Ellie fell silent at my words for a moment, then spoke again.
"...Then. Can I just think whatever I want?"
"...Huh?"
Hmph.
Ellie, now in haughty mode, snorted.
"You said 'yeah,' right? Then I'll just think whatever I want. Whether you become Dad or stay Oppa."
The title of "Dad," which stirred strange paternal love and protective instincts, and "Oppa," which felt friendly and ticklish in the heart.
Ellie declared she'd use both for me.
It meant acknowledging my relationship with Diana while also leaving room for another possibility.
"...Is that okay?"
"I like Mom as my adoptive mom, and I really like Oppa too."
"..."
"And you said you don't know either, right? I don't really know either. Isn't it fine as long as our hearts align?"
...Is that so?
Ellie was right.
Law, ethics, morality—none of it mattered much.
In the end, everything in the world works out if hearts align.
Extreme examples: incestuous sex, impregnating your own daughter, polygamy, threesomes, mother-daughter donburi, sisters donburi, gangbangs, etc.
If hearts align, anything goes.
I felt like I'd gained some enlightenment. My view of the world had broadened.
Who knew I'd get enlightenment from Ellie of all people.
It's just that her drunken blackouts and immature behavior left that impression, but Ellie was far more adult than I'd thought.
"Anyway, Oppa, you're awful. All that explaining in the labyrinth back then was a lie?"
"No, it wasn't a lie back then. It just kinda happened..."
"...Heh..."
Ellie perked up her long elf ears, listening intently to my words.
Since relationships between people can advance dramatically from something trivial like alcohol, she seemed to accept it in her own way.
Ellie told me about what happened while shopping with Diana.
"Actually, Mom and I talked about something similar last week."
"Really?"
She asked Diana if we'd had sex? Seriously?
I knew Ellie wasn't ordinary, but this level...
"Mom just brushed it off. She only blushed."
Given Diana's personality, she wouldn't have admitted it outright to Ellie like, 'Yeah, Balkan pounded me silly.' And besides.
"Well... technically, that wasn't full-on sex."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Ellie tilted her head in confusion.
"Strictly speaking, sex is putting your dick in a pussy and thrusting, right?"
"...Eek, y-yeah... right..."
Ellie blushed at my blunt words. But it was necessary for a simple explanation.
And for that, I had to reveal one of Diana's precious secrets.
'It's not just anyone—it's her foster daughter Ellie, so it should be fine to be honest.'
In case anyone was listening, I leaned close to Ellie's ear.
"Eek...!"
Ellie flinched in surprise, her shoulders jumping.
Seeing her elf ears turning redder, I whispered carefully.
"Diana can't have sex. Her pussy's blocked because of the curse..."
"Eh."
Ellie stared blankly upon hearing one of Diana's secrets.
Her face said she wasn't sure if she'd heard right.
"That's why she couldn't say it clearly."
"...W-wait a sec. Does that even... make sense?"
"Yeah. Hard to believe, but it's true."
"Then, what I saw was..."
I gave the puzzled Ellie one answer.
"There are ways to share lust without penetration."
What you saw was sumata, not insertion sex.
Ellie's blank face had her eyes slowly drifting downward.
Her red eyes instinctively lingered on my crotch before meeting mine, at which she startled and looked away.
"H-hmm..."
A strange moan escaped Ellie's lips as the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.
"Mom had that kind of curse... She was basically a virgin... Hehe..."
Was it just my imagination, or did that expression look less like pity for her adoptive mom and more like a female spotting an opportunity?
"So, what happens when you want a baby later?"
"A baby?"
"Yeah. Daughter or son. You might want kids someday."
"Hmm... Well..."
I couldn't answer her sudden question easily.
Just keeping up with Diana was tough enough for me right now.
Thinking about something as serious as kids was like chugging a whole jar of kimchi soup prematurely.
"...If, if you need one. I-I could help, you know?"
I stared blankly at Ellie during my pondering when she blurted that out.
What did I just hear?
"Ellie? What did you just say...?"
"I-if you need a baby... I could help..."
Ellie's hand moved cautiously.
Her fingers trailed down the dress Diana had gifted her, soon pressing gently against her lower belly... her womb.
"I don't have a curse denying my role as a female like that. I-I can bear as many kids as you want."
"..."
"One, two... however many Oppa wants."
Her wording hit me with massive arousal while making my head spin.
Even I, a man in his prime, couldn't match the creative lust of Ellie, freshly adult.
I grabbed Ellie's shoulders firmly with both hands and said,
"Ellie. You can't say things like that lightly. People might misunderstand, and you need to treasure your body more—"
"Shh, I didn't say it lightly!"
Ellie's voice carried out to the terrace.
Attention from around us focused briefly before scattering.
Ellie had stepped right up to block the view.
Only then did her face come back into view.
Flushed red. The sweet green apple scent of wine lingering on her lips.
No wonder she'd downed it in one go— the alcohol was finally kicking in.
"Ellie. You're pretty drunk right now—"
Thud.
Ellie's palm, which had been pressing her womb, covered my lips.
She caught her breath, her flushed face steadying, then continued slowly.
"...I didn't say it lightly. I said it because it's you, Oppa."
"..."
After hearing that, no other thoughts were possible.
Ellie... likes me.
"I like you, Oppa."
Slide—
Her hand lifted from my lips.
Her glowing red eyes stared straight at me.
More precisely, at my lips.
"...If you don't like it, dodge."
Half-lidded eyes, up on tiptoes, Ellie's lips drew closer.
And beyond her.
"...Eek...!"
I locked eyes with Diana, who was watching us with a face full of excitement.