Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: EP37. Heat Cycle?
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A blazing hot afternoon.
The beastkin's face was flushed bright red, like she was drunk, as she ran along the road.
But the beastkin hadn't been drinking in broad daylight or anything.
"Not like I'm in heat or anything!"
Lulu cooled her burning cheeks with the back of her hand.
She snapped out of it after dashing away from the gate for a while.
"How could I do that to the guy next door...!"
The man she'd first seen at the neighbor's place—she'd thought he was a spy planted by her sister.
But apparently not; he was working as a gatekeeper.
So she'd secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't one of her sister's people.
The problem was... she'd lied about her name to the gatekeeper.
It was a crime, sure, but a minor one. A bit of money should smooth it over.
As long as he didn't demand an astronomical sum.
But the real problem came after that.
Grabbing the gatekeeper's hand and rubbing her cheek against it, or flaunting her body in her underwear...
Such utterly vulgar behavior.
"Uwaaaah..."
Just thinking about it made steam feel like it was rising from Lulu's head.
It was the first time in her life she'd shown such a side to anyone.
Her face burned with shame at the memory.
"Haah..."
She suddenly halted her brisk steps.
Lulu had arrived at her destination.
A secluded spot a bit removed from the western region.
A forest thick with trees and grass, not a soul around.
Lulu slowly walked into the woods along the path.
There, incongruous with the surroundings, a long line of empty wagons stretched out.
"Miss Shasha... no, Miss Lulu. We've been waiting."
"Uh..."
An elderly man with white hair and beard, the butler Hosphil.
He stroked his completely silver beard as he approached Lulu.
He was the old man who had always been by her side, serving her since childhood.
He was the one who'd prepared this hideout in the western frontier.
Even now, he'd stuck with her through every plan.
"On your way here, Miss..."
Hosphil was saying something to her, but it didn't register in Lulu's ears.
Her mind was still preoccupied with what had happened earlier.
"Could my heat cycle not be over yet?"
Lulu bit her lip, head bowed.
Squirrel beastkin went into heat once every six months, for about a week.
And according to her cycle, Lulu's had ended two days ago.
"It's never lasted nine days before..."
In her 23 years of life, her heat had never stretched to nine days.
The longest was a week.
It followed a precise schedule and didn't change without some extraordinary event.
Usually only if her life was in danger or she was sick...
She'd fled to this remote border to hide from her sisters.
And she'd prepared meticulously so her heat wouldn't be delayed.
That's why she'd chosen this battlefield-ridden western frontier, set up a base here, and stayed at an inn with a bald innkeeper...
She'd waited so long. Nearly half a year in hiding.
"...Miss."
"......"
"Miss Lulu!"
"Huh...? What?"
Lost in her thoughts, Lulu hadn't even noticed Hosphil calling her.
Only his sharp shout snapped her out of it.
"You're about an hour late. Did something happen on the way?"
"Oh, no. Nothing happened."
"Did you get lost again...? I told you to memorize the route here every day. When are you going to fix this habit...?"
"......"
Hosphil pinched the bridge of his nose, assuming she'd gotten lost as usual.
Lulu averted her gaze from his lecture.
She couldn't exactly tell him the real reason for being late.
How was she supposed to say she'd gone into heat and rubbed her cheek on a man's hand?
She felt wronged but couldn't make excuses. Didn't want to, either.
Besides, no matter what Hosphil said, all she could think about was what happened with the gatekeeper.
"Why... why did my heat come back all of a sudden?"
Lulu had no idea why the heat symptoms had flared up again.
"Yesterday, I was sure it was over—no symptoms at all..."
It usually ended after seven days, but she'd double-checked anyway.
Yet today, the moment the gatekeeper grabbed her tongue for the second time, something switched on inside her.
A stinging in her lower belly, her mind going blank... heat surging to her cheeks, an unbearable itch.
Unmistakable heat symptoms.
Female beastkin released pheromones from their bodies during heat.
The gland locations varied by species, but for squirrel beastkin, it was in the cheeks.
So instinctively, during heat, they rubbed their cheeks against males they liked.
A form of marking.
A warning message to other beastkin.
Beastkin divided allies by these pheromones.
For Lulu, who'd never marked anyone despite going into heat many times, it was bewildering.
Truth be told, the warning signs had started the first time he touched her cheek.
The warm sensation on her cheek.
Normally, beastkin didn't even get aroused outside of heat.
But when the man's hand cupped her cheek, she felt a faint heat rising in her body.
Every time his finger brushed her teeth, a ticklish tingle shot through her fingertips.
Heat was an agonizing time for beastkin.
Because... it was a desire that could only be sated by mating.
She always had to handle it alone.
And even that relief didn't last long before it came back...
So when the man first grabbed her tongue, she was shocked.
She thought he'd gripped too hard, but what she felt was relief from that ticklish sensation plaguing her body.
A liberation she'd never experienced before.
She hadn't known the itch could be resolved like that.
She'd thought it was a lifelong shackle.
That's why she'd covered her mouth—to hold back the desire she couldn't contain.
A lewd urge to lick the hand holding her tongue crept up on her.
She'd never felt anything like it before.
Wanting to lick a man's hand? How depraved.
She despised herself for it, tears welling up.
But then the gatekeeper wiped her tears with his sleeve.
As if to say it was okay.
So in the end, she let go of his hand right there.
And after that... she rubbed all the itch from her cheek onto him.
Like she was in full-blown heat, wildly, for quite a while.
Each time, her lower belly grew warmer and warmer.
She worried what the gatekeeper thought of her.
As long as he didn't see her as some slut...
She had to stay at that inn for another three months.
Which meant she'd inevitably run into the gatekeeper again.
"What am I gonna do..."
As Lulu pondered her relationship with the neighbor, a small jolt hit her shoulder.
- Tap.
"Miss, snap out of it!"
Hosphil grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"Huh? Huh...?"
"Do you know how many times I called you?"
Hosphil frowned at her.
"Well... I suppose with the plan we've prepared for so long, you're tense. Still, you need to pull yourself together, Miss Lulu. This has to succeed for you to become guildmaster. You planning to hand it over to Miss Lucy?"
"Ah, sorry, Hosphil..."
Hosphil was right.
For now, why her heat had lingered until today didn't matter.
She could worry about past events later.
Just charge forward.
Once this succeeded, Fleta Merchant Guild would be hers.
A long line of wagons stretched out before her.
Seeing it, a smile formed on Lulu's face.
It was a plan they'd prepared for so long.
She'd been waiting for this day.
"Guess I was a bit tense. Sorry, Hosphil. Let's get it together now and go. Time's tight."
Even starting now, it'd be close.
They had to load up quickly and head back west.
"Good thinking, Miss. But what's that sackcloth on your shoulder?"
"Huh? Oh, this. It was chilly, so... I borrowed it."
Hosphil narrowed his eyes at the cloth draped over her shoulder, wrinkling his nose like he'd seen filthy trash.
Lulu hated that look with a passion.
Because...
"Hmph... You should toss it now. It's filthy. Look at all these weird stains. I've prepared proper clothes for you, so change slowly and we'll depart."
"No, it's fine. No time—let's go right away."
It was always like this.
Hosphil hated her keeping personal belongings.
He wanted everything under his control.
If he thought something was beneath her station, he'd make that face.
It had been the same with food she'd bought at the market.
"Market slop is dirty—don't eat it," he'd say, dumping it on the ground.
Fleta was just a merchant guild, after all.
Lulu appreciated Hosphil's help, but she never wanted to see this side of him again.
"Hand that over, and get in that carriage there."
Hosphil pointed at the most luxurious-looking wagon with his index finger.
Then he reached for the cloth on her shoulder.
For some reason this time... she didn't want to give it up to Hosphil.
Maybe rebellion against his constant control over her things.
But truthfully, the faint scent of that gatekeeper wafting from the cloth on her shoulder... it somehow soothed her mind and body.
"No, I'll just get in."
"Miss!"
Lulu scurried into the prepared carriage.
She didn't want it taken away.
She'd always had her things snatched by the old butler, but this time, she wanted to hold on.
She clutched the cloth on her shoulder tightly.
Seeing her actions, Hosphil stomped up onto the carriage in anger.
"Give it here."
"No."
"Why are you throwing a tantrum all of a sudden!!"
"Kyak!"
Hosphil yelled at her and yanked the cloth off her shoulder.
Hosphil was human.
With their size difference—twice as big—she couldn't fend off his grab with her small hands.
"Hosphil!"
"You need to become guildmaster now, Miss. Walking around with trash like this? What's this... looks like a torn uniform."
"......"
Once again, it was taken from her.
Hosphil examined the cloth, then tossed it straight to the ground.
"If you're cold, I'll fetch something proper. You must be tired from the trip—get some rest. We won't arrive till tomorrow evening."
"......"
Lulu clenched her fists tight.
Her nails dug into her skin.
But the shame of having her possession taken outweighed the pain.
"Even if I become guildmaster, what will change...? Will Hosphil just take everything from me again?"
Lulu sat quietly in the carriage, leaning her head against the wall.
She worried if she could truly lead the guild when she couldn't even stand up to one butler.
Closing her eyes, she replayed the earlier events in her mind.
The sleeve that wiped her tears, his patience as she rubbed her cheek endlessly.
His unchanging expression no matter how much she acted out.
With those thoughts, Lulu drifted off to sleep.
...
Why did things turn out like this?
According to the quest, I should've just used her fake name as leverage to blackmail her here...
Where the hell did this variable come from?
I didn't do anything wrong here.
And it's not like I messed up elsewhere.
The process was a bit different, but the result was even better.
But...
"Huuung... Everyone hates me. I don't wanna be guildmaster. Gatekeeper, run away with me."
Why is she acting like this?
The woman collapsed on the floor, bawling her eyes out, snot and tears everywhere...
It was Lulu.