Chapter 59: Maternal Love
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59: Maternal Love
The title of "Hero" referred to a few champions from the distant past who had saved humanity from magical beasts.
Notable examples included King Arthur of Britain, who cleared the first S-rank gate, and Genghis Khan, who repelled the hordes of magical beasts that had swept through Central Asia.
There were others, but in modern times, they were little more than figures in children's fairy tales.
“You know it's a bit hard to accept being suddenly called a Hero, right?”
Even if I made a huge concession and accepted it because this was another world, that wasn't the only strange thing.
“Besides, you're telling me to save the elves. Didn't you say Peledeia was fine?”
The nuance was as if the entire elven race was facing a great crisis.
I felt a sense of unease seeing the World Tree unable to readily answer my question born from that doubt.
“...That was a lie.”
“What?”
In that moment, a bad premonition flashed through my mind.
“The elves are now on the verge of extinction.”
I was so dumbfounded I was beyond baffled.
Why do my bad feelings never miss?
'Is this just my fate?'
To be honest, I couldn't care less whether a country that had imprisoned Iris for 200 years fell to ruin or not.
In fact, it would be better if it did.
But the moment I imagined Iris writhing in agony as she looked upon her devastated homeland, what I had to do became clear.
“This will be faster than an explanation.”
At the World Tree's gesture, something like a small water droplet appeared in mid-air.
“A Memorial. It's an artifact that allows you to see stored memories.”
The droplet glowed with a golden light. Beyond it, countless scenes were being projected.
The ever-changing scenes looked like a montage of various video clips.
When I carefully touched the droplet with my fingertip, my vision inverted.
Like a panorama, memories—whose, I didn't know—flashed rapidly through my mind.
'Are these the World Tree's memories...?'
Most of it was fragmented information, but the sheer volume of the records was extraordinary.
Two hundred years of Peledeia's history, from the day Iris was imprisoned here to just a few days ago, pierced through my brain.
“Guh!”
The overwhelming amount of information inevitably caused my brain to overload.
An intense headache and dizziness made it difficult to even stay upright, but I managed to feel much more comfortable by activating my mana circle to forcibly cool down my brain.
Still, just in case, I took out a vitality potion and drank it.
Once I had a moment to catch my breath, I was able to process the contents of the memories I'd glimpsed through the Memorial, and I finally understood the meaning of what the World Tree had said.
“...It's a total mess.”
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Peledeia collapsed.
Even to me, who knew nothing about state affairs, Peledeia's current situation was the worst it could be.
Over the past 200 years, the people's lives had been endlessly devastated by murderous tax rates, forced labor at meaningless construction sites, and various forms of corruption and problems that pervaded society.
To make matters worse, a week ago, a place called the Northern Empire declared war on Peledeia.
As far as I knew, Peledeia was a neutral nation.
The powerful influence of the Goddess religion, spread across the entire continent, had supported this status. But perhaps things had changed over 200 years, as almost no country was taking Peledeia's side.
Instead, the Northern Empire used the reinforcements Peledeia had sent to the Santala Kingdom 200 years ago as a pretext, claiming they could no longer be considered a neutral nation and crushing even the slightest dissent.
Furthermore, they issued a stern warning, threatening to declare war on any nation that sent reinforcements to Peledeia in this conflict.
Even I, who knew nothing of this world's international politics, could glimpse the Northern Empire's power from such a diplomat's insolent attitude.
And so, Peledeia, forced to prepare for war with the Northern Empire, began to falter right from the preparation stage.
It was inevitable.
The people were already worried about where their next meal would come from, and now, under the guise of war preparations, all the able-bodied young men were being dragged away.
The country fell into disarray with protests, large and small.
Public sentiment was in tatters, so there was no way the country could function properly. Public safety, the economy—everything was hitting rock bottom.
Just the fragmented information I'd received was this bad; imagining how much more tragic the reality was made me frown.
Does Iris know about this?
“...The child does not know.”
The World Tree avoided my gaze.
In a way, it was overprotective, but I couldn't say I didn't understand the sentiment.
I, too, was relieved to hear that Iris didn't know.
Even if she were to find out, now was not the time.
The weight of the helplessness she would feel, trapped in a prison and unable to do anything, was something I couldn't dare to imagine.
The more I tried to sort out my thoughts, the more complicated they seemed to become.
Only heavy sighs escaped my lips, one after another.
“By the way, didn't you say you couldn't know what was happening on the surface because of a problem with the connection path to your symbolic entity?”
For someone who supposedly couldn't know, the memories I saw contained an overly detailed account of Peledeia's last 200 years.
“...Those are not my memories.”
For a rare moment, the World Tree's voice trembled faintly.
“They are the memories given to me by a child who was executed not long ago.”
“Ah.”
I finally understood why the World Tree's expression had been so grim.
For someone like me, who doesn't know how to comfort others, saying nothing was the best I could do.
“I still remember the birth of the child who was executed. She was a bright and brave child.”
Beyond the World Tree's brilliantly shining eyes, a vortex of countless emotions swirled.
Longing, guilt, and various other emotions were mixed together.
There was once a bestselling philosophy book on the topic of whether gods could feel emotions.
The book's conclusion was that gods do not feel emotions.
The reasoning was that if gods felt emotions and had compassion for humanity, our lives would not be so miserable.
Having read the book, I hadn't thought much of that conclusion.
It wasn't a book I had wanted to read anyway.
But if I could go back to that time, I'd want to leave this review.
'Gods feel emotions too.'
I don't know about other gods, but at least the one before me was a humane god, one who could shed tears for her followers.
Calling a god humane.
It was a truly ironic expression, but I suppose a being that could be clearly understood wouldn't be a god.
The World Tree, who seemed lost in thought, spent a long time with her eyes closed.
“I implore you, please save my children.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
I'm trapped in a prison, just like Iris.
To get the artifact in the deepest part, I'd need at least a few more years.
No, I don't even know if a few years would be enough.
“The gatekeeper on the 3rd floor of the underground dungeon holds an artifact that can get you out of here.”
“...Why are you telling me this now?”
If you'd told me sooner, I would have pushed myself to get to the 3rd floor.
“At that time, I was not certain about you. Whether you were truly the one to save the elves, or just a scoundrel playing with this pure child's heart.”
Ha, this scoundrel finds that absurd.
“If you seriously think that, you must be a poor judge of character. I don't care what happens to any elf other than Iris.”
“Is that so?”
I felt something unsettling in the World Tree's gaze.
“Do you have the confidence to stand by impassively and watch the child's tears as all the elves die?”
I forgot that this damn tree can see right through people.
“But you know there's a limit to what I can do with my current skills, right?”
Of course, with enough time, stopping the war with the Northern Empire and saving Peledeia from the ruin Resilia caused would all be possible.
Yes, with enough time.
I wanted to get a way to shorten that time from the World Tree.
'It would be nice if I could get another one of those elixirs I ate earlier.'
Elixirs are definitely good stuff.
I'd have to test it in a real fight to be sure, but one thing was certain: my pre-elixir self couldn't beat me now.
Crackle-
I felt like I could even handle the lightning element skillfully now.
“What of it. I do not intend to ask this of you for nothing.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the World Tree suddenly approached me.
So close that I could feel her breath.
'...This is strange.'
It's Iris, but it's not Iris.
Those once gentle and soft eyes were now endlessly cold and sharp.
“It seems you have already shared intimacy with the child.”
“...Did you see?”
“There is no need to see. This child is the follower most strongly connected to me. I can know without looking.”
I felt a little embarrassed, as if my mother-in-law had caught me banging my wife.
“Unfortunately, as I lack the authority to intervene on the surface right now, I have no suitable reward to offer you. I cannot give you another of the fruits you ate.”
I honestly expected as much, but I couldn't help feeling disappointed.
I felt like if I ate just one more of those, I could break through to the next realm on the elixir's power.
“Instead.”
The already close distance between us shrank even more with the World Tree's sudden step.
Our skin touched, and we could feel each other's body heat.
Before I had time to be surprised by this change, the World Tree's furtive hand touched my thigh.
“I can do something a boy like you would enjoy.”
A faint smile, one I had never seen before, bloomed on the World Tree's face.
“For your information, the child is asleep inside, so she knows nothing and can see nothing.”
I couldn't resist that smile.
*
When I nodded, the World Tree knelt before me.
With unhesitating hands, she pulled down my pants and poked my half-hard dick with her finger.
“Hmm.”
I felt like I was being appraised.
This was a first for me, so I didn't know how to react.
“I thought you might have a disease, but it seems that's not the case.”
“Huh?”
The World Tree, who had just said something that would cause a huge problem if anyone else heard, continued to inspect my dick from all angles.
She touched the head with her fingers and gently tickled my balls.
It felt less like a caress and more like a simple observation, but thinking about how my partner was a god, just that simple touch made my dick grow ramrod straight.
“...A human male's genitals shouldn't be this large.”
The World Tree seemed slightly surprised looking at my fully erect dick, but she quickly returned to her usual expressionless face and abruptly took it in her mouth.
“Sluurp, slurp.”
It wasn't just that she was sucking and licking only the head; those eyes looking up at me expressionlessly were driving me crazy.
It was Iris's face, but the atmosphere was completely different.
The thought that a god was inside her, that a god was personally sucking my dick, made me want to shoot my load all over that expressionless face right then and there.
But even if I were a premature ejaculator, it wasn't easy to cum from just the head.
As if sensing my reaction, the World Tree began to swallow the shaft as well, bobbing her head back and forth.
That alone was enough to make my hips tremble, but this crazy tree started to go one step further.
“Sluuurp, slurp, schluup.”
Thwack, thwack, thwack-
At the unbelievable sight of her giving me a blowjob and a handjob at the same time, I lost my mind and surrendered my body to the overwhelming pleasure.
Where the hell did a god learn to do that?
“Do you know this?”
Just as I felt myself getting close to cumming, the World Tree suddenly spat out my dick.
The handjob continued without stopping, but I desperately held back my orgasm, wanting to cum deep down her throat.
“Originally, elves and humans cannot conceive a child together. However, if you save the elves, I shall use my authority to allow you to impregnate an elf.”
It was a damn tempting offer.
“Th-that sounds good.”
Seemingly pleased with my answer, the World Tree took my dick back into her mouth and began to suck passionately.
The more she sucked, the more skilled she became, and a pleasure so intense it felt like my balls were shriveling washed over me.
The speed of her handjob also increased, and I found it harder and harder to hold back.
“Nngh?!”
Without thinking, I grabbed the World Tree's head and slammed my dick into her throat.
My dick, which barely fit all the way into Iris's pussy, disappeared completely, right down to the root.
The World Tree's throat-pussy was unbelievably tight and hot.
Squish, squelch, squish♡
“Gack, ugh, ghk...”
If this had been Iris, I never would have been this rough.
But thinking about how my partner was a god, I became rough without realizing it.
Blasphemy.
What a thrilling word.
Schlick, schlick, schlick♡
After a few thrusts, I drove my dick as deep into her throat as it would go and released my orgasm.
Splooge?! Splurt!! Spuuurt!!
Even as I came for nearly thirty seconds, the World Tree didn't push me away.
I finally understood why Iris called the World Tree her mother.
From this World Tree, who could willingly accept rough play like irrumatio and a thick, massive load of semen that lasted for nearly thirty seconds, I felt a sense of maternal love.
Even after I finished, I didn't pull out, savoring the afterglow.
When I slowly pulled back, my dick was covered in teeth marks.
“Are you... hic... satisfied?”
If I told her that cute little burp was making me hard again, would she give me another round?
“I'm sorry, but there isn't much time left, so that will be difficult.”
It was a shame, but there would be no greater disaster than Iris suddenly waking up in the middle of it.
“Now, I would like to hear your answer.”
“Ah.”
One way or another, when I thought of Iris, saving Peledeia was a foregone conclusion.
On top of that, the goddess had given me a satisfying release and promised the power to impregnate Iris later. There was no reason to refuse.
“If you are truly troubled, I shall make one more offer.”
The World Tree stroked her own lower abdomen—or more accurately, Iris's—with a strange expression.
It was where the uterus was located.
“If you wish, I, too, shall bear your child.”
“...Actually, my childhood dream was to be a Hero.”