Chapter 14: I Was Also an Associate Member of the Country of Cowards!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14: I Was Also an Associate Member of the Country of Cowards!
I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by breasts. Thinking I might be in heaven, I reached out and grabbed the biggest one first.
Squeeeze!
My fingers didn't just sink in; it felt like they were being swallowed. The damn breast was sucking my hand in.
“Oh? Looks like Yong-hwan is awake.”
A familiar voice reached my ears. From behind the wall of flesh, the King Milk Cow Sister poked her head out. No, that wasn't quite the right way to put it. I saw small horns, tiny animal ears pointing outward, and blue-tinted purple eyes.
She seemed to be trying her best to look down at me, but because of the size of her chest, I couldn't see her face properly.
Feeling a lack of maternal affection from that side, I grabbed the second-largest pair of breasts. They were firm and familiar; these were definitely Mom’s.
“Such a mommy’s boy, my son! What should we have for dinner?”
“Dinner…?”
My senses started to return. As I bolted upright, the breasts moved away.
Bye-bye, my utopia.
My mind was clearing up. I hopped down from the table, only to trip and fall.
“Pfft…!”
I didn't know who laughed, but I was too embarrassed to get up.
“Why isn't he getting up?”
“I think he’s embarrassed.”
“Seeing him like this, he really does seem like a little kid.”
Behind me, a stream of nonsensical, gloomy, yet fact-based insults began.
“You stupid bitches… This is when you’re supposed to help a child up.”
Mother let out a long sigh and picked me up. I seriously considered whether I should cry here, but instead, I just buried my face in the young and beautiful Elf Mom’s chest as she patted me.
“There, there… Our Yong-hwan is such a good boy for not crying. You’re much better than the girls!”
As I wrapped my arms around Mother’s neck, it felt wonderful to be naturally lifted up. Resting my chin on her shoulder, I wanted to flip the bird at the sisters who were watching me like a monkey in a zoo, but I held back.
When my eyes met the blonde Vampire Sister, who was giggling, she immediately looked away. It seemed my previous discipline with the meat dildo had been effective.
“Where’s Big Sister…?”
“She’s learning the sword from Hindel. Shall we go watch?”
“No!”
“Right, let’s go!”
I was pretty sure I just refused, but it seemed my words didn't get through.
“I don't want to go!”
“Yes, yes, it’ll be fun for you to watch too, Yong-hwan!”
I seriously wondered if we were even having a conversation. I thought communication between mother and son was sufficient, but there was clearly something missing between us.
The sisters sitting at the desks also stood up and began to follow Mother. With no way to escape, I was being carried toward the place where that monster was.
I had to survive. Those were the eyes of someone who had actually killed people. No, they were the eyes of someone who wanted to kill me. Having experienced it several times in my first playthrough, I was certain.
“Mom, Mom, is Hindel Sister my dad?”
“Huh? No, no. You and Grasha were born through artificial insemination!”
Her reaction was completely different from what I expected. I thought she’d be embarrassed or flustered, saying women can't have children together, but she answered so nonchalantly.
“Then do I have two moms?”
The sisters following behind giggled as if they’d heard a funny joke. This wasn't the right direction.
I was a bit disappointed by Mother’s testimony that I had only one mother, but I still had to avoid being dragged to Hindel at all costs.
Actually, if it was going to be like this, maybe I should just ask Hindel to be my mother.
If she was a crazy mafia lesbian suffering from ‘I love Ame so much I might die’ disease, she might graciously forgive the sin of my very existence if I ‘incorporated’ her into the family.
“That’s a funny story, having two moms. Is it because he’s a boy? He has such a vivid imagination. Hehe…”
The King Milk Cow dared to dismiss my serious inquiry. If it weren't for those lumps of fat on her chest, that arrogant remark would have maxed out my dislike stack.
“Looks like you want to play the role of a mother, CEO Morian?”
Alicia began to tease Morian, poking her side-boob. Morian frowned and swatted her hand away, saying it tickled.
“Don't talk nonsense, Alicia.”
“She looks like a gentle sheep, but she’s actually dangerous, you know? Hmm-hmm.”
My eyes met Alicia’s red ones again. I thought she might say more, but she just gave a small cough and shut her mouth.
A strange silence lingered.
“You all like our kids so much, don't you have any plans to have children of your own?”
Mother dropped a bombshell.
“Getting pregnant with a seed from who-knows-where? That’s a no for me.”
Alicia immediately expressed her distaste.
“For me… we still have plenty of time… I guess you could say I want to take a long-term view…”
I didn't know why the Exhibitionist Snow Woman Sister was looking at me while saying that, but I got the message.
“Well, I just don't see any smart or capable men. I’m trying to raise them well at the academy, but they’re all duds.”
Aside from the King Milk Cow Sister’s crazy talk, I could understand everyone’s position.
“I felt that way at first too, but raising Iris made me want to have a child of my own. After having Yong-hwan, Grasha just came naturally. As for a fourth… I suffered so much giving birth to Grasha that I’m not really thinking about it. Well, I won't necessarily need artificial insemination in the future anyway.”
It felt like I’d just heard a secret about my sister’s birth that I shouldn't have, but I just rolled my head on Mother’s shoulder as if I didn't understand. I should have heard this when I was at least somewhat prepared, not so out of the blue.
No, maybe this was a secret I needed to hear. Since it meant the Cowardly Incest Route was open, if things were going this way, they might as well release a DLC where Mother is actually my adoptive mother to open that route too.
“Mom!”
“Yes, yes, Yong-hwan. Are you hungry? Sleepy?”
“I love you!”
Her happy, smiling face was truly beautiful. The hand patting my back was so warm that it put my mind at ease.
As much as men were hated, my own hatred for women was rising, but I felt like I could overcome it with a little love, mercy, and friendship.
“Aren't you coddling him too much? Are you educating him properly as a male?”
Just as the fruit of humanity, grown from love and sharing, was ripening in my heart, I was tackled again. It was, once again, the self-proclaimed educator, King Milk Cow Camel.
“He’s still young, so I’m planning to start when he enters elementary school.”
“He’ll get spoiled if you wait! It’s important to start early. The later you start, the more rebellious they become.”
“Our Yong-hwan is a good boy and doesn't rebel against his mom or sister, so it’s fine.”
Mother tried to brush it off.
“That’s how trouble starts. You should at least teach him the basics, right? Hierarchy within the ‘family’ is important, even if it’s different among friends.”
“Is that so…?”
It looked like the mad educator King Milk Cow was about to start her nonsense. I needed to say something to stop the conversation, but I couldn't think of a way.
In my struggle to avoid going to my ‘second mother,’ all the trump cards I’d prepared had vanished.
“Yes, yes. Because those are the conditions for a good husband. Answering within three seconds when called, knowing that women are heaven and men are earth, making sure to be home before sunset—basic ‘common sense’ like that is fine, isn't it?”
I looked into the King Milk Cow Sister’s purple eyes. She was saying those things while looking at me with a kind, warm gaze that held not a shred of malice.
The fruit of humanity that had begun to grow under Mother’s love withered before it could even bloom.
“Mom, do I have to come home when the sun sets?”
“Well, that is how it should be for men. As long as it’s for understandable reasons, it’s fine.”
“Tsk—Ame! If you start being that lenient from the beginning, there’s no end to it. Men will climb all over you if you give them an inch. I heard one of our parents was being lenient like that, and when she tried to ground her son, he started screaming and lunging at his mother.”
By this society’s standards, I guessed one was classified as an adult around the time they entered middle school, so I started to get confused as to why grounding even existed.
“Camel Sister, can't I go out at night?”
“Yes, yes, that’s a good question, Yong-hwan. Of course, a man should stay at home; he shouldn't be arrogantly wandering around outside. It’s also common sense to wait at the door for your wife to return after work, you know?”
I wanted to ask if she was an educator or a total female supremacist nutjob. Seeing the other sisters nodding in agreement and Mother staying silent, it seemed this was indeed ‘common sense’ here.
“Middle schoolers are adults, so are the sisters and brothers at school like that too? They’re adults, right?”
“Yes, because they’re adults. A boy must be more careful, more modest, and live according to his ‘place,’ okay?”
I wanted to bite the slender fingers stroking my hair, but I held back. To think they were targeting me while having such ridiculous thoughts—these ladies were pure psychos.
It might be a bit dangerous, but rather than a mom who coddles her son, these women seemed more likely to explain the reality of this world.
“Are men and women different?”
“Of course they are. Men are inferior and women are superior. Intellectual ability, physical strength, mana affinity—everything. There isn't a single area where men are better. That’s why you have to manage yourself and be supportive so you don't become a ‘parasite,’ okay?”
In this world where the gender ratio was so grotesquely twisted, I wanted to ask why men were treated this way, but it wasn't a question a child would ask.
Usually, the side with the smaller population wins the struggle. I could feel the malice behind whatever thoughts and ideologies the higher-ups used to create this insane world system.
A deep-seated malice toward men.
And then, I heard something I couldn't just laugh off.
“Are men weaker than women?”
“Yong-hwan, haven't you played with friends at kindergarten? Then you should know, right?”
The King Milk Cow smiled kindly. Come to think of it, I remembered a kid named Im Su-yeon who had her transforming dinosaur robot taken by me and then told the teacher. I was older and we were about the same size. But I remembered I couldn't beat her in terms of strength.
“I have! Then what about mana?”
“It’s the same for mana. It’s an innate difference because women naturally receive more of the Goddess’s Blessing than men.”
In this world of magitech, with its high towers scraping the sky, airplanes, and airships for cruising, talk of gods didn't feel like mere superstition.
The moment I heard the story of the ‘Goddess,’ I felt something catch in my throat.
