The Tribe's Prosperity
The moment Hobe woke, he reached for Lily's breast out of habit.
He was already a fully grown goblin adult. That milk alone could no longer fill his belly was, perhaps, only to be expected.
"No!"
But Lily no longer offered her breast so readily.
The truth was that letting Hobe latch on and suckle brought Lily intense pleasure. The mere act of nursing was enough to arouse her, wetting her entrance, and in that heat she had even gone so far as to mate with him. Even so, she refused to nurse him now, because she believed that raising a child was a mother's duty. Lily meant to use this chance to correct Hobe's willful behavior.
The instant she cut him off and issued the command, the vaginal opening on her abdomen glowed pink. The blessing had taken hold. Hobe froze in a rigid, bewildered posture.
The mother who had once indulged his every whim now stood firmly in his way.
"You keep trying to nurse from Mommy, and if you keep getting hard and trying to shove it into me whenever you feel like it, you're going to get punished!"
Lily scolded him with sharp little gestures, and Hobe had no idea what to do with himself. Against the wall behind her, Kabe was already standing punishment with both hands raised. What happened if you didn't listen to Mother was being demonstrated perfectly by the sight of him.
"Grulp grulk…"
Kabe pleaded with a tearful face, but Lily clicked her tongue, making it clear he was to be silent. That was the price for carelessly spraying his semen on her. Kabe shut his mouth at once and resumed his punishment, arms trembling.
Hobe, as if the last traces of sleep had been shocked out of him, stared at Lily with wide, wary eyes, reading her mood.
"You sure had no problem grabbing Mommy's head and thrusting into her earlier, did you?"
Lily bit down on her lip as she looked at him. She intended to use this opportunity to drive home, once and for all, who ranked above whom.
"Sit! Stand! Sit!"
Lily began putting Hobe through his paces in earnest. She wasn't even borrowing the blessing's power. Completely cowed by her presence, Hobe immediately started sitting and standing on command. The originally sluggish hobgoblin moved quickly for only the second time in his life. The first, of course, had been during mating.
"Hubeubub!"
"What was that? Speak properly! You're all grown up!"
"Sorry… I…!"
Whether postpartum gloom and the stress of child-rearing had detonated all at once, Lily punished Hobe quite harshly. He whimpered as if, in the brief time he'd been asleep, he had fallen from heaven straight into hell.
"Grrrrulp?"
The one who stepped into the seedbed chamber in the middle of this brutal child-rearing was none other than the goblin chieftain, King. The black goblin he considered his own child was standing punishment with both hands raised, and the tribe's first hobgoblin was being forced through squats in time with Lily's cadence. King wondered if he'd walked in for nothing and considered turning around and leaving. In all his life, he had never seen a seedbed personally raising children, and the sight felt strange.
"Oh my, husband?"
The moment Lily saw King, she ran to him in a single bound and threw herself into his arms. As if greeting a husband home from work, she caressed him lovingly, her face bright with joy.
"You saw our kids, right? Anyone can tell they were conceived with the chieftain's seed."
"Grrulp. Right. Mutants. My children!"
Hearing Lily's words, King felt his mood lift considerably as he once again considered that offspring resembling himself had been born. He thought to himself that bringing Lily into the cave had been the right decision. She was such a bold, sturdy seedbed, and she had received his superior genes splendidly.
"But what this now?"
"Well, husband, I was really struggling. I was so sad. The kids wouldn't listen, so… I was working hard educating them! Isn't this a seedbed's role too?"
Hearing that, King understood at once that Lily's grasp of what a goblin seedbed actually was left something to be desired. The method of a female raising and educating offspring, as she described it, was a practice that applied to beasts, to certain higher-tier monsters, and to humans.
"That so? You worked hard."
"It feels so good when you comfort me, husband."
Lily nuzzled her face against King's belly, pouring on every bit of affection she had. Ultimately, the most superior male in the tribe was Chieftain King, and as the tribe's seedbed, wanting to look especially good to him was something akin to a female's instinct. There was only one seedbed in the tribe, so she had no female rivals to compete with — but expressing a bond with the strongest male naturally meant the lower-ranked goblins wouldn't dare step out of line. This behavior of Lily's was solidifying her own standing. And that applied even to Kabe and Hobe, who were still being punished at this very moment.
Hearing Lily's words, Kabe and Hobe realized that the massive goblin who had entered the room was the chieftain — and their father. They grew far more tense than they had been when Lily was alone with them.
"Hmm hmm. Good!"
King, perhaps conscious of those gazes, decided Lily's method wasn't bad. As long as she remained obedient to him, his authority would only grow more secure. From time to time, when a strong goblin mutant newly appeared, that individual would try to usurp power and rebel. At such times he had no choice but to fight, win, and remind them once more that he was the leader. One could call it the natural order of things — but for the one living it, it was a risk that had to be borne at every moment. If Lily educated the immature goblins in advance, that hassle would vanish.
"From now on too. Raising, I request."
"Yes, leave it to me, husband."
"First, from now. I. Teach. Hunting, raiding. Mutant education I do."
"Oh my, so that's why you came? Kids, what are you doing! Hurry up and follow the chieftain!"
At Lily's words, Kabe and Hobe scrambled out and stood before King. Having been standing punishment for quite a while, they practically fled the room.
"Then I'll see you later, husband?"
"That's right!"
After Lily established a firm position in the tribe, a chain was no longer fastened around her neck, and the door was no longer locked. They had dropped their guard against her leaving the cave and running away entirely. For the first time in a long while, Lily could feel a freedom liberated from mating, childbirth, and child-rearing.
"It's been ages since I've had this kind of leisure. Shall I take a look around the cave?"
Lily stretched fully, opened the door, and stepped outside. The goblin standing watch saw her and offered a greeting.
"Kigik! Lily!"
"It's you on guard duty today, husband? Could you show me around the cave a bit?"
The guard goblin pondered briefly, then nodded.
"Of course! Lily. Tribe member!"
He told her to follow and led the way toward the passage. Walking through it, Lily could see for herself that the cave was growing larger. Corridors that had once felt cramped had been expanded into spacious halls, and they were cleaned so thoroughly that not a single pebble caught underfoot.
The guard goblin explained that the reason for standing watch was to protect the seedbed's room. There had never been any need to post a guard inside the cave — it was a new post created after the seedbed arrived.
"Kik! Now I am permanent! Originally was rotation!"
With new goblins being brought in, it seemed the guard assignment had become a fixed duty. Judging by how boastfully he spoke, he took real pride in the job.
He feels like my personal bodyguard. I should take extra care of him when we mate.
"What's your name, husband?"
"Kigigik! No name. Lower goblins like us, none!"
"Aww, then I'll give you a nickname just between us. Hmm, how about Gabe?"
She'd taken it from "guard" — as in bodyguard.
"Good! Gabe! I am Gabe!"
Gabe hopped up and down, bursting with excitement.
"But is the seedbed not allowed to go outside?"
"Dangerous! Outside monsters many! Beasts also many!"
She'd gained her freedom, but it seemed she hadn't been granted the authority to come and go as she pleased.
"Hmm, I'd like to get some sun and take a bath…"
"Kigigik! Sunlight, regrettable! But water! There is!"
Gabe led Lily down a newly dug passage. It hadn't been excavated long, and it still hadn't been tidied. Torches weren't properly set, so it was relatively dim, and loose gravel littered the floor. When they reached the end of the passage, Lily couldn't help but let her mouth fall open.
"Kigigik! Surprised! Lily surprised!"
"Wait — what is this?"
Before her eyes, a wide lake spread across an open cavern. Because the space was so large, the goblins had hung many torches, making it far brighter than the other chambers. The lake — vast enough that even if every goblin in the tribe waded in, they wouldn't fill half of it — glowed with a faint sapphire light.
"Dug yesterday! Lake came out! Now fishing also possible!"
"It's so beautiful!"
"Kigik! Goblins no bathe! But Lily! Want to! Then Lily only does!"
Lily dipped her toes in to check the temperature. As expected of a cave lake, the water was bitterly cold. Still, the thought of being able to wash her body clean made it more than acceptable. She hadn't been able to bathe in water for days. The goblins' method of staying clean, such as it was, involved smearing some unidentifiable oil over their bodies. That approach wasn't entirely bad — but from a human perspective, used to washing with water, a lingering sense of discomfort was inevitable.
Lily drew a deep breath and stepped into the lake. A bone-piercing cold assailed her, but she soon adapted. She rubbed herself all over, scrubbing away the accumulated grime she hadn't been able to wash off.
"Hwah, that's refreshing! Aren't you coming in, Gabe?"
"Kigik! Guard! Lily!"
Gabe remained focused on keeping watch even while Lily bathed in the lake. Seeing him fulfill his duty no matter where they were, Lily found herself inwardly moved.
"Thank you, Gabe. I'll wash up quickly and we'll head back."
"Kigigik! Understood!"
After enjoying a bath for the first time in a long while, Lily followed Gabe's guidance through the rest of the cave. The room where she had first stayed had been completely transformed into a mating chamber. Apparently, after she had given birth, they had fully separated the place where the seedbed rested and delivered from the place used for mating. She was also able to tour the food stores and the valuables warehouse. Neither was particularly large, but both showed the traces of diligent work.
"Kigik! Thanks to Lily! From now on birth many!"
"Of course!"
Lily didn't go straight back to the seedbed chamber. Instead, she headed directly to the mating room with Gabe.
"The husbands will be coming soon, right?"
"Kigik! Right! Sharp! As expected, Lily!"
"Hehe, of course! I'm different from an ordinary seedbed!"
Lily puffed up with pride as she tidied a place to sit in the mating chamber.
"Alright then — shall we?"
"Kigik?"
"Our Gabe-husband, you've worked hard, so I'll let you have me first."
Lily spread her legs and opened herself, showing him that she was already wet.
"Come on. Get that cock hard and come here, husband?"