Episode 19
Episode 19
Aron, who had returned from hunting, approached Mia lying on the bed.
She was asleep, hugging the blanket tightly with her face buried in it. Just that alone seemed to make her happy, as her legs twitched faintly.
Since she doesn't have a tail, are her legs reacting instead?
Thinking she was somewhat cute, he carefully sat on Aron's bed.
"No matter how I look at it, you seem to know nothing about beastkin instincts."
The act of deeply inhaling and exhaling with her face buried in the blanket.
This is the behavior of imprinting a scent onto oneself.
It was common among canine beastkin families.
They imprint the parents' scent on a newborn baby, or when getting married, couples imprint each other's scents so they won't forget.
A scent imprinted like that never fades for a lifetime.
"Then has she really never experienced an estrus cycle either?"
Since she was raised as a human, she wouldn't have had the chance to imprint on her parents.
That leaves only the first estrus cycle - though it's very rare, there are cases where it doesn't happen because there's no suitable male.
Coincidentally, there was one such person around Aron.
As he stared intently at Mia, lost in thought...
The door opened and an elf entered with a relaxed voice.
"My, what a cute child."
The elf who followed behind smiled sweetly.
Not pale skin and blonde hair, but bronze skin with silver hair. Not a common elf but a dark elf.
Aron reacted to her voice.
"Ah, Eri. She's the child I brought this time, but she seems to know nothing about beastkin."
"So that's why she's so diligently sniffing the scent. How cute. If she inhales it like that, she'll have no choice but to like you, Aron."
"Since she'll be my wife anyway, isn't it fine?"
"But is that okay? She seems like a wolf beastkin."
At those words, Aron looked at her with a flustered expression.
"Wasn't she just a dog beastkin?"
"She's a wolf. The energy I feel is completely different from a dog's. It won't be easy to meet other women after making her your wife, will it?"
"I didn't know this. I just assumed she was a common dog beastkin."
Wolf beastkin only take one lifelong partner and devote themselves to that person.
This didn't match well with Aron, who currently mingled with multiple women.
At Aron's lament, Eri lightly covered her mouth with her hand. She let out a charming laugh and lightly tapped his shoulder.
"Hoho. If you've brought her here and even imprinted on her, you must take responsibility. I'll come by frequently to check, so treat her well. And stop bothering our girls."
"It's not my fault I'm charming, is it?"
"To say such things while already having multiple women around you... How shameless."
At Aron's shameless reply, Eri smiled sweetly and approached Mia.
She placed her hand lightly on Mia's stomach and murmured.
A faint light spread from her hand, gently enveloping the lower abdomen, and a small pattern appeared on it. It looked like a grown tree.
"It's pregnancy prevention magic. I made it half out of worry, half out of jealousy, so don't tamper with it."
"Do you really need to go that far?"
"Even I would be displeased if another woman got pregnant first? And... will you be okay? That fox will be furious."
"No, that's... hmm..."
"Ah, of course, if you can handle the anger of the women who've endured for decades until now, it's fine. At that time, Aron just needs to take responsibility. You can do that, right?"
Aron was at a loss for words at these piercing remarks.
Since he had actually prevented pregnancy for a long time, he couldn't make any proper excuses.
"Did she notice by any chance?"
"I stopped her when she said she'd kill you immediately. She said if you got another female pregnant first, she'd tear off that thing down there."
Aron felt a chill down his spine and swallowed nervously.
"Anyway, now that Mia is here, everything will be resolved. So can you please endure just a little longer?"
"We're enduring because we know. So be careful."
"I understand. Then it's settled now, right? I eliminated that magical beast that appeared near the elf village this time, and Mia is fine too."
"Yes, thanks to you, it seems things will be quiet for a while."
"Then call me if you need help next time. I'll come right away to help."
"We frequently need help. Especially at night."
She lightly licked her lips and directed a blatant gaze at Aron. But after briefly looking at Mia lying beside them, she returned to her calm voice.
"Don't forget. This child is our hope. I allowed this somewhat strange plan because I believed you would handle it well, but please remember that everyone's future is at stake."
After Eri left, Aron quietly watched Mia. She seemed familiar with Aron's scent as he approached from the side, and she squirmed in that direction.
"Mmm... smells good..."
Even while sleeping, she sniffed and tried to grab onto Aron.
"Seeing her like this, she seems more like a dog than a wife. I should have just said I was getting a pet."
She was small and reacted interestingly when touched - exactly like a companion animal.
"I should prepare food for when she wakes up later. There are things I need to ask while we eat."
Aron gently patted the sleeping Mia's head and left the room.
*
While I slept, a strangely warm energy embraced me comfortably.
An unknown energy filled my body, and then I was drawn to a pleasant scent. I wandered searching for that scent and woke from sleep.
"Haaam... I slept well. Slept deeply for the first time in a while."
During my mercenary life, I had become sensitive and often couldn't sleep properly.
I thought it was an occupational hazard and remained indifferent, but after sleeping deeply for the first time in ages, I could feel how tired I had been, even if just a little.
'Is it because of the scent? It was incredibly comfortable.'
I thought I should ask about the perfume or soap Aron uses.
Even though I'd fallen asleep unconscious countless times during my mercenary life, saying I slept well because I was tired, I'd never slept this deeply before.
I slowly got off the bed, opened the door, and went outside.
"Wow, it smells good."
The source of the scent was soup being made in the kitchen.
I approached with quick steps and checked inside the pot - soup with meat and vegetables was boiling vigorously.
Curious about how it tasted, I took a bite using the ladle hanging nearby.
"Not bad. But the seasoning is a bit lacking..."
The vegetables and meat were cut to a good size for eating.
To adjust the lacking seasoning, I added some spices from nearby and stirred, creating a appropriately salty and mild flavor that lingered in my mouth.
"That's better now. By the way, I thought your brain was in your lower body, but you cook too... unexpected."
Though Aron's actions were generally annoying, his strengths were also clear.
Handsome, good body, and cooks well.
"If I were a normal woman, would I have actually liked being kidnapped? I might have said I wanted to live here."
As I muttered to myself, a voice came from behind.
"What are you doing alone?"
I quickly turned around at the voice and saw Aron holding bread.
Worried he might have heard, I avoided eye contact and answered.
"I woke up and smelled something delicious... so I tried a bite. Should I not have eaten it?"
Aron shook his head.
He slowly approached and placed the bread on the table.
"No. It's fine. So is it edible?"
"I just adjusted the seasoning. By the way, do you cook often? Or is it just delicious because you use good ingredients?"
"Since I live alone, I obviously need to know how to cook."
"Like bachelor cooking."
"Bachelor cooking? What kind of cooking is that?"
Thinking about it, something like bachelor cooking wouldn't exist in this place.
If you have a house, you have a family, and if not, you usually stay long-term at an inn or similar place.
"Just cooking my mom used to make often. I'll make it for you sometime if you want to try it."
"Really? Then let's have that next time, but first sit at the table."
"Huh? Okay."
His voice suddenly became serious.
I sat in front of him, slightly tense from the sudden change in atmosphere.
"Why? Is there some problem? Or is it because of the food or me?"
"No, it's not that. Do you know this?"
Aron placed a book on the table.
On the black cover was written 'Haim's Black Nightmare Guide'. I quickly picked up the book, opened it, and read the contents inside.
[ Black Nightmare Early Guide
From the beginning of Black Nightmare, you need to properly build your foundation so you won't struggle later.
If you don't, you'll face many restrictions in the later stages, and your base stats often can't keep up.
So in the early stages... ]
The book contained the articles I had written for newcomers and beginners.
From the beginning to endgame content.
All the strategies were densely written in the book. I read it, then closed it and checked the front and back again. Even after double-checking, it was clearly the book I had created.
"What is this? Where did you find this book?"
Aron pointed casually at the floor.
"You found it underground?"
"No, in this house. My teacher was that Haim person mentioned there. Before he died, he taught me all the information in that book."
So he's Haim's disciple?
"Then by any chance... did you acquire most of the things in this book?"
Aron nodded.
This was why nothing was there when I went searching for things after becoming a mercenary.
"Then you have all the opportunities, items, and growth aids mentioned here?"
"I acquired everything I could. Though it's been so long that it's all meaningless now. It's been years since I collected everything."
My plan was flawed from the beginning.
I hadn't considered that someone would check the guide, monopolize the opportunities, and change the progression. Plus, if Haim was already dead, the timeline was somewhat different too.
They probably adjusted the timeline or content during the game development process.
'So that's why so much information didn't match during my mercenary life.'
During my mercenary work, I tried to use information to gain additional benefits, but failed every time.
Only now did I realize why.
Aron continued the conversation immediately.
"So you know about this book? Otherwise, there's no way you could have avoided that scrap metal's attacks."
"Scrap metal... Antikythera?"
"You know the name too. So you definitely know about this book, right?"
Aron gradually moved closer to me.
"Then are you perhaps the person who knows everything my teacher mentioned?"
How should I answer?
Should I be honest and say yes here?
Or should I say no?
"...At least not right now."
I couldn't bring myself to say no.
Even if I lied now, it would probably show on my face, so I gave an ambiguous answer.
Aron nodded as if convinced.
"I guess the information you know is quite different from now. But it's okay, I was asking because I was curious about different content anyway."
"Different content? What is it?"
"Among the terrifyingly dense information, this back part is missing. My teacher said he lost it but couldn't find it. Can you take a look?"
"What is it?"
Aron took the book, flipped through it a bit, then handed it back.
The torn pages contained information about events and additional patches that were added and modified later.
"Hmm... I'll check it first."