The Broken Line, Blatant Desire
Roen did nothing but sleep. Perhaps the pain of this thing called a period was truly severe, for she skipped her meals and remained bedridden. Echidna had to personally inject nutrients through her venomous fangs, leaving Roen to drift through her menstrual cycle in a deep dream. In a sense, Echidna was alone once more. Roen's female pheromones were masked by the scent of blood, and with no need to pay attention to her, Echidna's tongue stopped flicking restlessly. In this state, she could easily resume her usual research. With her jaji quiet and dormant, the perfect environment to focus solely on her studies had finally been established. And yet...
"Menstruation is a symptom accompanied by bleeding, in which the uterine lining of a fertile human female sheds and is discharged through the vagina..."
Echidna was not conducting her usual research on analyzing the desert ecosystem to pursue evolution into a higher species. Instead, she was passing the time reading a book about the human species that had been tucked away in a corner of her library.
"It is a natural phenomenon that occurs to prepare for the implantation of a new fertilized egg when pregnancy does not take place... However, this process is accompanied by pain, causing many human females to suffer..."
Frankly, she couldn't quite understand it. Fundamentally, a fertile female should always be in a physical state capable of pregnancy. Yet, with this system, there was a period of about five days every month where mating could not be carried out smoothly. It was an extremely inefficient physical structure. It would have been far more efficient if females simply went into heat upon meeting a male, creating a mutual estrus cycle, or if their mating period was fixed to a specific season. Echidna sighed, thinking of how imperfect humans truly were.
"So this isn't a symptom that can actually be cured..."
The most Echidna could do for Roen was what she was currently doing: administering sleeping pills to induce rest, giving her painkillers to ease her discomfort, and injecting elixirs to nourish her since she couldn't eat while asleep. At this rate, overturning the library to find books on humans in search of a cure felt entirely pointless. But then...
"Of course, there is a way to temporarily halt these menstrual symptoms...?"
Just as she was about to close the book and prepare dinner for herself, a certain sentence caught her eye. Even someone of her caliber could not propose a solution to the structural flaws of the human body. Who on earth was the author of this book to claim they could suppress a physiological phenomenon unique to the human species? Driven by pure scholarly curiosity, she turned to the next page.
"As expected, the simplest method is to impregnate the menstruating female...?"
Contrary to Echidna's expectations, a rather fundamental solution awaited her.
"Generally, ovulation is expected to occur fourteen days after the onset of a human female's menstruation. Furthermore, the survival period of sperm within the uterus is approximately five days. Therefore..."
Rather than being disappointed by such an obvious statement, Echidna continued reading with an intrigued expression.
"If a female begins her period on the 1st of the month, her fertile window will be the five days before and after the 15th—roughly from the 10th to the 20th. If one continuously injects semen into her uterus during this period, she will inevitably become pregnant, thereby escaping the pain of menstruation for approximately ten months..."
The book was remarkably well-written. It was highly readable in many ways. And above all...
"In colloquial terms, this act is also referred to as a '10-Month Menstruation Prevention Shot.' This is because the gestation period for a human child is exactly ten months. Of course, in the case of crossbreeding between a human female and another species, this period may decrease or, conversely, increase..."
She particularly liked this passage. 10-Month Menstruation Prevention Shot. It didn't feel like she was violating Roen; rather, it strongly felt like she was treating her out of pity for her suffering. It felt like something she was truly justified in doing. To say she would thrust her jaji into Roen's pussy and shoot sperm to force a pregnancy sounded bad, but to say she would inject semen into Roen's pussy to prevent her period sounded refined and gentlemanly. It was only natural for Echidna to find this appealing.
"Whew, what a masterpiece. But what was the title of this book again...?"
Ultimately, Echidna closed the book after gaining a perfect understanding of human menstruation. But then...
Rechecking the title she had previously glossed over, she opened the book once more and began reading the subsequent chapters. It was quite entertaining.
"Ugh..."
I woke up clutching my head. Although I had been at peace while asleep, a dull, aching sensation throbbed in my lower abdomen now that I was awake. Still...
"Looks like the worst of it has passed."
If the pain was only at this level, it seemed the major waves had all broken while I was asleep.
"Ugh, so sticky..."
I immediately headed to the bathroom and used the showerhead to wash away the fresh and dried blood on my backside. Perhaps because this Desert Mansion had excellent plumbing, the hot water ran perfectly, and the showerhead was fully equipped, which I loved. I heard there was even a tub in the grand bath. If one were to marry into wealth, this was exactly the kind of house to aim for. Especially since, with Echidna around, I could sleep right through the periods I had started experiencing after becoming a woman. It was simply perfect.
"Seriously, if you're going to marry for money, it has to be a rich household. The quality of welfare is on a whole different level. No wonder women are always singing praises about marrying up."
To be completely honest, Echidna's specs were far superior to any woman I had ever tried to hit on back in the Adventurer's Guild. The fact that she was so innocent and hesitated to initiate physical contact with me was also incredibly charming. I wanted to maintain this relationship with Echidna forever. Moving quickly, I set out to prepare breakfast for her for the first time in days.
"Today's menu is..."
Samgyetang! Since I had bought some decent-looking ginseng-like root vegetables, jujubes, and black pepper during our last trip to the Desert City, I figured I could replicate the taste I remembered.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
I had also fetched a chicken from the coop. There was a loser rooster who had lost the competition to be the breeding stud, so I planned to turn him into today's side dish.
"Alright, let's be careful not to puncture the gizzard or the gall bladder..."
Slice, slice.
I skillfully inserted the knife and began dressing the chicken. I had rarely dressed a raw chicken, but I had occasionally prepared similar creatures during my active days in the Adventurer's Guild. The basic technique was the same, so I was confident I could handle it. After struggling a bit to clean it, parboiling it to drain the blood, and simmering it with various medicinal herbs...
"Mmm, what a delicious smell."
Echidna emerged into the kitchen, flicking her tongue.
"Roen, are you feeling alright?"
"Yes, thanks to your help, Echidna-nim, I slept wonderfully and feel much better. Though it's still a bit sore down there. Haha..."
How could she be so sweet? Echidna took my hands in hers and asked how I was doing. I had heard that demi-human females didn't menstruate. Menstruation was a trait unique to the human species. Since Echidna was a Lamia, she wouldn't have to deal with periods, yet she was empathizing with my pain. Her behavior was highly agreeable in every way.
"It would be nice if it didn't hurt, wouldn't it, Roen?"
"Yes, honestly, I wish I just didn't have periods at all. Why is a month so short anyway? Every time the pain hits, I get so annoyed."
"Time does fly, doesn't it?"
Echidna chimed in, showing deep empathy for my suffering. I really appreciated it. Since I was a woman now, I naturally craved empathy and comfort during my period. With Echidna treating me so warmly, my affection for her as a person was skyrocketing.
"By the way, today's dish is chicken. Echidna-nim, you generally prefer eggs over the chicken itself, right?"
"Well, yes. They make for a perfect bite-sized snack, and they're reasonably filling."
"I'll shatter that stereotype for you. I'll show you just how delicious chicken can be."
And so, I decided to serve her the most delicious Samgyetang possible.
"Ta-da, it's done!"
I carefully simmered the chicken broth to a rich concentration and presented a bowl to her. It was a shame we didn't have rice or kimchi, but even without rice, I figured she would enjoy it as a hearty chicken soup.
"Mmm...!"
Echidna's eyes widened, clearly pleased with the taste.
"I don't usually eat meat, but prepared like this, it's incredibly delicious. The broth is wonderful too."
"Right? It's tasty, isn't it?"
I grinned and offered Echidna a bright, service-minded smile. Echidna stared quietly at my face for a moment before speaking.
"Roen."
"Yes, go ahead, Echidna-nim."
"Does it hurt a lot when you have your period?"
"Oh, it's absolutely killer."
"Then, should I cure it for you?"
"Huh?"
"If it's me, I can make it so your body doesn't menstruate anymore."
"Uh..."
It was a rather fascinating proposal.
"Does that mean you're going to make me infertile?"
"Absolutely not. Never."
Then again, even without making me infertile, many demi-humans and beastfolk didn't menstruate. Since Echidna was an alchemist, she could probably apply their biology to make my body free from periods.
"That sounds great! Please do, Echidna-nim."
I accepted her offer with a bright smile. As expected, moving in with Echidna was the best decision I ever made. Starting next month, I could finally say goodbye to that fucking nightmare of a period forever.