Chapter 4: The Conception (2)
"Are you feeling unwell anywhere else? Any dizziness, perhaps?"
"No, it's just... just the nausea... ugh!"
She kept gagging over and over.
Now, what had I eaten today?
Oh. Nothing. I hadn't eaten a thing.
No wonder the vomit had come up completely empty, pale and watery.
"You might just be hungry. I'll hurry and bring you some porridge."
"You really don't have to..."
"Of course I do. A holy one must be cared for when she's ill. Honestly, ever since you so suddenly settled here, everything in this village has been going wonderfully. Eat, then go straight back to sleep. Sickness heals best with plenty of rest."
"Yes..."
He took the priest's hand and made his way back to the room. The breeze that had felt pleasantly cool earlier now carried a distinct chill. Had he caught a cold? Or was it body aches? Well, after being pounded into the mattress by a dragon, it would hardly be surprising if his whole body was screaming.
He lowered himself onto the bed with great difficulty. No, truthfully it wasn't the lying down that was hard — it was more accurate to say that walking itself had become a struggle, thanks to that enormous rear and chest.
This body is honestly going to drive me insane.
"That was quick, wasn't it? Haha."
"I suppose it was."
"It might just be that your energy is depleted. Have some porridge and get your strength back."
"Thank you, Father."
Before long, the priest came puffing back with a bowl in hand. Steaming white porridge... The sight of it reminded him of that pool of cream, dripping down over the blood he'd spilled, reeking faintly of something musky — and he nearly gagged again.
"Here. Open wide."
I can feed myself, you know.
Did this priest think his arms were broken or something? He was scooping up the porridge with a spoon and bringing it straight to his mouth.
"I can eat on my own."
"Ah— oh. Right, of course. I'm sorry. Force of habit..."
The priest startled and hurriedly handed over the spoon and bowl.
Force of habit, though. So this guy had apparently had some kind of thing going with the original owner of this body.
"Ah..."
"Is something wrong? Not to your taste?"
"No. It's delicious."
It was bland. The rice wasn't even fully cooked. It was like a strictly inferior knockoff of scorched-rice crust. I am never eating anything this guy makes again.
"It's getting late. Finish that and get some proper rest tonight."
"Um, Father?"
"Yes?"
Without thinking, he'd called out to stop him. He didn't really know why. Just...
"Thank you."
"Haha, don't mention it. Then I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes. Tomorrow..."
He was endlessly grateful. Looking at it now, this house seemed quite far from the village, and yet the man had made that long trek back and forth, tending to him for two whole days. He'd even cleaned up the piss he'd splattered everywhere. He was simply grateful, human to human. Whatever hidden, unsavory motives he might or might not have had didn't matter one bit.
"Haaahm..."
The moment the bowl was empty, sleepiness crashed over him like a lie. It had only been a few hours since he'd woken from that long sleep. They say beauties love their sleep — apparently it was true.
He set the bowl on the table, returned to the bed, and let himself drift off.
"Good morning!"
"Hnngh... ugh..."
Swish. With a cheerful rustle, the curtains were drawn back and light came pouring down. Still drunk on sleep, he rose, rubbing both his eyes. Anna was already standing at the bedside, smiling her adorable little smile. Without thinking, he gave her hair a gentle pat.
"Did you sleep well, Holy Maiden?"
"Yes. Very well."
He hadn't, actually. The mattress was far too hard and the blankets far too stiff. It had felt like lying on a stone bed under a stone quilt. But then, for a medieval setting, this probably counted as downright luxurious, didn't it? After all, most commoners slept on straw mattresses that smelled strongly of horse dung.
"Holy Maiden! Let's go take our morning bath together!"
"Morning bath?"
"Yes! You know, the one we do every morning!"
"Ah..."
Which meant undressing, presumably. Come to think of it, he'd never actually seen this body fully naked. Just briefly touching down there yesterday had gotten the engine running, trembling all the way to the edge of no return. If he actually stripped off his clothes, wouldn't he go completely into heat?
"Come on, Holy Maiden. Hurry!"
"Alright, alright."
Unable to resist Anna's insistence, he had to haul himself up. He'd wanted to sleep more, honestly. But something was off with his body. The nausea from last night was gone, yet his body felt strangely heavy. His stomach, especially...
"Oh my? Did you overeat last night, Sister? Heehee."
"Huh...?"
Anna was giggling as she looked at his belly.
His stomach... was sticking out a little? Had it always had this much flesh on it? No — it definitely hadn't been like this last night. Was Anna right, had he overeaten? No way. One bowl of porridge couldn't possibly do this to a person. Then that would mean...
"Oh."
I'm fucked. Genuinely, royally fucked.
***
Panic seized the tiny village. In barely an hour, the cramped room was packed with people. The village chief, the elders, the tax collector... it seemed every notable in the village had gathered. Their cheeks flushed a furious red, they glared down at the priest kneeling on the floor.
"Was there no one but you, eh?"
"I swear it wasn't me! Please believe me!"
"Swear it to God, then."
"I swear before God that I never got the Holy Maiden with child!"
"Enough. We'll simply dunk you in the pond. If you float, you're lying; if you sink, you're telling the truth."
"C-Chief!"
"The priest is right."
"..."
At his single quiet word, the clamor died instantly. In the same breath, every gaze swung toward him. It was a little overwhelming, but there was nothing to be done. He couldn't just watch an innocent young man be put to death. Or, perhaps, it wasn't quite so noble a reason after all. In this world where he was utterly powerless, he wanted to believe something was still within his reach. He wanted to confirm that he could save a person's life with his own strength.
"Holy Maiden, there's no need to shield him. This one, priest or not, was never sanctioned by the Order. He's nothing more than a bandit dressed in a priest's robes."
"That's right. If he violated you and then threatened you into silence, please say so. We'll boil him alive so he can never harm you again."
"I'm serious. I'm a virgin."
"Haha... Holy Maiden, there's a time and place for jokes..."
"Shall we verify it, then?"
He knew the hymen was there — he'd checked while fiddling down there before falling asleep last night. Apparently this body even regenerated its own hymen. The villagers seemed unaware of the Saintess's transcendent regenerative abilities, so he decided to gamble. It was the only way to save that priest.
"The... the hymen, you say?"
"Yes."
"Ahem, hm. Then let us have a look..."
Oh.
Right up until a moment ago he'd planned to simply hoist his skirt and spread his legs and get it over with. But now that every eye was on him, embarrassment crashed over him. This body, so alien to him until now, suddenly felt — for this moment alone — entirely his own.
"Hoo..."
His hands trembled violently as he slowly lifted the hem of his skirt. This is insane. This is so humiliating. Would it have been this embarrassing to bare himself as a man? No — with his old equipment, he'd have shown it off proudly. And this body's below was quite beautiful in its own right, so shouldn't that be worth showing off too?
"Ahh..."
No. This wasn't going to work. The resistance was far too strong. He was just about to blurt out an apology and pull the skirt back down when his eyes met the priest's — kneeling, staring straight at him. The man who'd seemed so composed until yesterday now wore the face of someone about to burst into tears at any moment.
He looked a little like a pitiful puppy. Right. It was a human life at stake here. He could bear a little humiliation. Besides, it wasn't even his body — what did it matter?
Squeezing his eyes shut, he spread his legs wide.
"Can you... see it clearly now?"
"Holy Maiden, you must remove your undergarments as well..."
"Oh."
He still had his panties on. Pure white panties, straining and failing to contain that enormous rear. That was what he was supposed to be showing them, wasn't it? And the priest was staring right at it. Could you look away, you oblivious bastard? At this point, stretching his legs back out to pull them off was too much of a hassle, and he couldn't bear to meet these people's eyes anyway — so he turned his head aside, pushed the panties to one side, and...
"Oooooh?"
"Ungh..."
With the index and middle fingers of his right hand, he spread himself open. He had no idea what angle his hips were at. Whether the hymen itself would actually be visible from there...
"Wait, one moment. Holy Maiden, hold still. Don't move."
"Ah..."
Apparently they couldn't see well enough. The people pressed right up to the foot of the bed, kneeling or bending low to bring their eyes level. Could they see it now? This body's hymen. Jesus Christ. Why was I even doing this? Tears were prickling at the corners of his eyes.
"It's true! The hymen is intact!"
"The Holy Maiden is indeed a virgin! And yet she has conceived — that means..."
"Good heavens."
The people exchanged glances among themselves, wearing expressions of utter disbelief. In the meantime, he hurriedly put his panties back in place. He'd nearly died of embarrassment.
"A virgin conception...!"
"It is a child of God! God has placed within the Holy Maiden a divine child!"
"Oh! Merciful heavens! Such a miracle!"
"O Lord!"
The people knelt before him and clasped their hands together.
Everything had gone exactly as intended... and yet it had spiraled completely beyond his control. Still, seeing the dazed look on the priest's face put his mind a little at ease. At least the man's life had been saved.
"A child of God! What could it mean?"
"Is it not said that the end times are drawing near? God must have sent a proxy to deliver our salvation!"
"No! He saw the depth of this village's faith and sent the child for our prosperity!"
The interpretations were already diverging in every direction. But what could he do? The child in this belly wasn't the child of God they were all imagining.
What do I do now...
It was a dragon's child — conceived when he was violated into a wrecked, ruined mess, semen poured directly into his womb. Once this child was born, every lie would come to light. Then what on earth was he supposed to do from here on out?
The one mercy in all of it was that the villagers were too busy debating fervently among themselves to notice that his face was on the verge of collapsing into tears.