31. Gwen (1)
31. Gwen (1)
"Huh?"
Seeing Narim suddenly faint and fall backward, I caught them so they wouldn't hit their head.
They fainted so out of the blue that I thought there might be some health issue, so I tried to pull up my Holy Power—which I'm reluctant to use—to cast Heal, but then I realized they had just fainted.
And I realized I had made a mistake.
"Ah. Right."
I hadn't been considerate of Narim at all.
I was so used to human corpses that I had handed the severed head to Narim without a second thought.
'I shouldn't have handed it to Narim, I should have held it myself.'
It's only natural for an ordinary human not to be used to severed heads. Plus, they hadn't been in this world for long, so they didn't seem used to this world yet either.
Since their Unique Ability was cooking-related, they probably had never fought monsters or killed a human.
'Though I'm probably the youngest in this world.'
My mind is that of a strapping young man, but the moment I "woke up" was when I broke out of the Cocoon. It's been a little over a month since then, so in this world's age, I'm only one year old.
The Queen's consciousness was telling me to just kill the woman who was supposed to cook for my children since she fainted, but I, being human, decided to let Narim off the hook.
Because I am human.
Humans are usually good people who are considerate of others.
I picked up the fainted Narim and spoke to Evolute before heading back to the bedroom.
"Sorry, Evolute. Please just be satisfied with this for today."
[ It is. Not. A problem. This. Alone. Is. Sufficiently. Satisfying. ]
Evolute moved the tentacles that acted as its legs sareureuk and grabbed the decapitated torso and head.
I was about to turn back with Narim in my arms, but I stopped.
Come to think of it, Evolute doesn't have a mouth where a head would be.
It just has a single eye.
I had never once seen Evolute eat anything, so I suddenly got curious.
I watched Evolute's mealtime while holding Narim in a princess carry.
Evolute grabbed the dead meat with its tentacles and started stuffing it directly between the legs that were made of countless tentacles.
'Oooooh, as expected!'
Just as I expected, Evolute had its mouth on the underside, like a squid or an octopus.
Evolute's body moved kkultteok-kkultteok a few times, and then it was gone.
'That's incredibly fast...'
As expected, the [ Overlord ]-class kids have insane eating speeds. If Evolute digests this quickly, how much meat would Gluttony, who boasts the largest appetite among my kids, need to eat to be satisfied? It's scary.
Gluttony boasts the best combat power among us, but it also requires that much fuel.
Even now, since it can't eat humans, Gluttony is just eating the other kids nearby.
'I really need more humans.'
If we keep waiting for the human farm, we're going to self-destruct first.
==
Late at night. I returned to the Orphanage and tried to sleep, but I couldn't drift off.
It was because I had too many thoughts while worrying about what to do regarding the kids' food shortage.
The Human Farm and the Orphanage are running well, but since I can't see immediate results, the food supply ended up disappearing quickly.
I kidnapped over 1,000 people and used about 700 of them as food, but the amount the Creatures eat is much larger than I expected.
I had intended not to move for a while, but that seemed impossible.
Cannibalism is increasing again.
Feeling the kids eating the weaker Creatures among themselves through the Hive Mind made my heart ache even more.
"Huu."
I sat on the edge of the bed and exhaled smoke.
My complicated head cleared up a little.
Indeed, it makes no sense to just keep my kids cooped up in a cave.
No matter how much I hold the leash through the Hive Mind, no one knows when or where this will explode.
In the end, my kids want humans as food, and they want war.
But Medherun City is a no-go.
The reason is simple. Because the Orphanage is there.
The Orphanage is currently operating very well.
The human children who will be future food are growing up very well. The problem is that most of that growth is thanks to the money the city donates to the Orphanage.
Since I was once human, I know how difficult it is to donate.
Donating money just so children can grow up well without getting anything in return? That's truly amazing. But that donation is only possible when one is safe and has peace of mind.
I need a city where countless humans live.
I need countless humans.
I need a war overflowing with blood and flesh.
Knock. Knock.
At the sound of the door being knocked, I said, "Come in," and Amber, wearing a maid outfit, entered.
"Lea-nim, I have returned."
"Good work. Has Narim come to their senses?"
"Yes. It seems they have calmed down to some extent."
Amber answered as if to reassure me.
I concluded that it would be impossible for Narim to cook humans until they got used to them after fainting.
Since they were seeing the ingredients for the first time and weren't used to corpses, I decided to give them enough time.
I think that once they butcher humans a few times, thinking of that tonkatsu taste, they will provide gourmet meals to our [ Overlord ] kids.
"Amber. Is there a city nearby with many humans?"
"May I ask the reason?"
"I'm planning to let the kids out."
"In that case, I recommend targeting the city of Besares in the Holy Kingdom, located on the Highmore Continent, which is attached above the Ardenia Continent."
"What is the reason for that?"
"First of all, the city closest to this city is Besares in the Holy Kingdom. Besares City especially has many humans blessed by the Goddess. And it is currently in a chaotic state due to the Saintess Selection."
"Saintess Selection?"
"Yes."
Amber began to explain the Saintess Selection in detail.
It's not like the Goddess just says, "You, be the Saintess," and the Saintess is decided.
Among the women loved by the Goddess, they undergo various trials, and after selecting women with clear and noble characters who have overcome those trials, the Goddess chooses the Saintess from among them.
However, it is said that the Goddess doesn't necessarily choose a Saintess.
It's literally up to the Goddess's whim, so it's possible that no Saintess emerges.
"Then, how often is the Saintess Selection held? Is it about every 50 years?"
"There is nothing set. That, too, is up to the Goddess's whim."
"What?"
"As far as I know, this Saintess Selection is being held for the first time in about 150 years."
"Then there hasn't been a Saintess for quite a long time, has there?"
"Yes. It is said that the Goddess usually selects a Saintess when she judges that the world is in danger."
"Ho-oh..."
The thought, 'Is it because of me?' immediately crossed my mind.
But then something is strange.
It was said that if the Goddess sets her mind to it, she can give or take away her Holy Power.
The reason the world is in danger is very likely me.
I have a legion that could wipe out half the living creatures in this world just by unleashing all my Creatures right now.
Then why on earth is she leaving the Holy Power I have alone?
Earlier, I mistook Narim's fainting for a problem and used Holy Power to cast Heal, and it worked without any issues.
As expected, this world is full of things I don't know.
First, there is something I must do before moving to the Highmore Continent where the Holy Kingdom is.
It's true that attacking Medherun City would cause losses, but I can't just leave it alone.
I won't be able to keep hiding the Orphanage forever.
A day might come when hiding it becomes difficult.
And there is a female human I really want to obtain.
Gwen.
The strongest human in this city.
Most Creatures either have children among themselves or are hatched by Evolute using various materials; it's one of the two.
However, Creatures can also be hatched through humans.
It's just that right now, I need more humans, so I've just been making humans impregnate humans.
Gwen is the strongest human I have seen in this world so far.
That's why I'm curious.
If Gwen were to become pregnant with a Creature and give birth to one, how strong would that Creature be?
That's why I've been acting to get as close to Gwen as possible recently.
I wasn't really a woman, nor did I become a Saintess in the Saintess Selection in the Holy Kingdom, but having lived as a man and watched countless manga, novels, and even anime, I acted as Saint-like as possible.
It's acting that I wouldn't have succeeded at if I were a man in the past, but now, with the consciousness of the Queen, I possessed sufficient acting skills.
I even feel that my acting is amazing while I'm doing it.
I definitely want to take Gwen as my pet.
The problem is that Gwen is the Knight Commander of this city.
She is in too famous a position to immediately make her my pet.
Then what should I do?
I just need to thoroughly break her down so that no humans like her anymore.
This is one of the things I am most confident in.
==
To outside eyes, Medherun City seemed to be stabilizing to some extent.
The new Spider Monster showed no movement after entering the Forbidden Forest, and as numerous troops and Adventurers began to increase in Medherun City, the number of people visiting Medherun City began to rise again.
There were even people who thought this was an opportunity, so it was quickly regaining its vitality, but internally, it was more chaotic than ever.
Narim's disappearance.
It's ambiguous to even call it a disappearance.
It had only been about a day since they simply vanished. However, Gwen knows that Narim was kidnapped by the monster that recently plunged the village and Medherun City into terror.
If an ordinary person had claimed it was a disappearance, no one would have believed them, but Gwen is the strongest person in this Medherun City and someone everyone trusts.
There are some nobles who don't like her because she is a woman, but Gwen was someone trusted deeply by everyone to the point that they believed her skills and words completely.
What on earth should be done?
It was almost certain that a monster had hidden in the city.
The problem was how to ferret out and catch that monster. And the point is, is there really only one monster in this city?
What if that monster isn't the end?
What if that monster hid here for reconnaissance?
There was no knowing when or how the monster legion that was in the Forbidden Forest would advance on the city again.
"Knight Commander Gwen. Can you track the monster?"
At the Lord's words, Gwen said firmly.
"I can. I will definitely catch it."
As soon as those words came out, the eyes of some nobles gleamed, and they smiled at the corners of their mouths.