Chapter 39 – The primary and the second Holy Woman

side : Lulu

I was now inside Yuki-sama’s room, at the inn.
Women need to meet some requirements before they can bear children.

But Aslin-chan and Philia-chan were also here.
What’s more, there was Labiris and Lutz.

(Yuki)「Rahh, so persistent. You are putting on a face. How did we come to this conclusion?」

It was needless to say; Yuki-sama met those requirements.

(Lulu)「No, Yuki-sama. You’re misunderstanding.」

(Yuki)「What are you saying?」

(Lulu)「Labiris and Lutz had convinced the a.s.sembly. However, Millie and Kaya… If you leave it at that, they will both probably kill me. So even if you try to stop me, it’s useless. They are not in love with you. It’s simply a better alternative. It’s a subst.i.tute for their lost happiness. They need you to smear me instead of them. If we don’t do it, they will break…」

After I said that, Yuki-san 1) bore a serious expression.
Naturally. He was optimistic.
A person’s heart isn’t as simple as that. Even at the time when they just became released from slavery, it didn’t mean someone would do it when told.
In the end, Yuki-sama said it himself. They were free.
In the current situation, the new cooperation system of this Dungeon will break. Led by the Foreign me and followed by Millie and Kaya.

(Yuki)「That, huh? Is it necessary to make a child with Lulu to convince Millie and Kaya?」

(Lulu)「Yes, they wish for my dignity as a human to be trampled.」

(Yuki)「My role is to defile, huh~. But as for me, I want only to embrace my favorite women.」

When he said that, Yuki-sama took Labiris and Lutz-san in his embrace; each with one of his arm.
How to explain… It was a strange sight.
The Yuki-sama was usually shedding as much kindness as possible for them. But not today, he was rather aggressive.

(Labiris)「…Lulu-sama is suitable enough… However, Yuki can’t make a child for such reason」

(Lutz)「Let’s see～.It’s the natural way for onii-san to do things. It made sense. It was natural to take down the top of the Holy Country Ritea.」

At first, I couldn’t understand what those two were saying.
But my head began to understand bit by bit.
Why would they say something like that now?
And why should I not feel insulted?
Regardless, for me, it was the only road.
To bring peace for everybody here, I was going to dedicate my body to Yuki-sama!!

(Labiris)「… It was done with Yuki’s interest in mind. Lulu-sama, he’ll give you an explanation, but we need to go out first.」

(Lutz)「You can relax your thoughts onii-san. I’ll leave with Aslin-chan and Philia-chan. 」

Both left Yuki-sama’s arm with reluctance. They carried Aslin and Philia and went outside of the room.

(Lulu)「… Yuki-sama, can you please share some explanations?」

We were now the two of us in the room. Silence stirred for a while. But before I could, Yuki-sama’s spoke and broke the silence.

(Yuki)「You came here, but you have yet to understand… And I want you to stop with the 「Sama」. It’s not the place to be formal nor the place to make love. After all, you don’t bear feelings, and it was merely a speech.」

Yuki…San, my heart was uneasy, and my mind shook as the thought that he was unlikely to rape me.
Why? My body should be that of a superior as a woman.
My appearance too and my knowledge…

(Lulu)「What!! I have my honor!! But you’ve denied me so much, what is so fun about it! Will you let Millie and the other kill me just like that!! I Don’t want to die!! I hate the thought of dying!! Is it not good to attend you and stay alive!? Look here. My chest is big. Please rub them as you like!! … Please, I beg you. Let me be pregnant with your child!」

I was getting naked in front of his eyes to appeal him.
It’s already been four days since the agreement with Millie-san and the others.
The talk about Seraria-sama is over. The migrants will come soon, the construction of their houses is about to end. The building of other facilities will start shortly.
Until this day, I had yet to receive Yuki-san’s s.e.m.e.n… No. Not even once did he direct his s.e.xual desire towards me.
At this rate, Millie-san will absolutely kill me. Even if it’s not directly… I’ll get kicked out of this place…

(Yuki)「Lulu, what do you intend to do from now on? More specifically, what do you want to live for? I can say that living for the sake of bearing my child is meaningless. Can you understand?」

(Lulu)「What kind… thing you are saying? I, Yuki… san. To make children, safety… …」2)

(Yuki)「That’s only for now. Millie and the others are still not entirely convinced. But that’s only temporary. What? Do you think, if you bear my child, it will improve your relation with them?」

(Lulu)「That’s… …」

It can’t be possible. An easy method to improve things didn’t exist. My only choice was to become pregnant with him, even if he didn’t like it.

(Yuki)「…Haa, Lulu. You are not a poor worker from any temple. Your true ability is real.」

(Lulu)「What you!! How much! How much will you pull this up!! Do you think I wanted this t.i.tle as the Holy Woman!?!」

(Yuki)「Oh, but the truth is, you have the ability」

(Lulu)「… … What are you trying to say.」

(Yuki)「Lulu, are you stripping on purpose? It’s quite painful for me down here. The unskillful me might bring you down to your knee, make you shed blood and make you cry like a child.」

(Lulu)「Are you saying that I am only a child that have yet to bleed from her skin? What do you know!! Do you think, I compare to such a thing!! My faction threw me away from my homeland, sword pointing towards my back!! Why did I suffer such experience!! Please help me!! Nee!! Save me!!」

My eyes were filled with tears. They could not stop falling.
Whatever I had kept inside my mind, I spat them to Yuki-san.

(Yuki)「It’s the same. And it made sense. To cry and then stand up is what you should expect from a child. It can be considered as an excellent result. In the first place, you can see a meaning behind the comparison between you and a child. Lulu you should know, the thing you need to do is not to bear my child.I mean, you have to stand on your own. Did Herge need someone to tell her something before she starts acting? Lulu, you probably didn’t know. But Herge already met Millie when she was hurt. What did you think Herge did at that time? She bowed and she said「I am sorry」. It’s not so simple; not anyone can do that. It’s a tricky thing to do, considered we are talking about Herge. And she took the matter with Seraria very seriously.」

Herge did such a thing to … …However, I already took responsibility and accepted Millie’s request.

(Yuki)「You are irresponsible. You should stop acting like the heroine of a tragedy. No, isn’t the heroine of a tragedy still better than you? It’s because of this play that you, a princess, came to shake my hand for help.」

(Lulu)「… To apologize… It may not go like with Herge-sama and I’m not as courageous… 」

(Yuki)「I wonder, Lulu is not Herge. And you seem to misunderstand. It didn’t mean that Millie allowed Herge. Were you aware of that? Herge lowered her head in desperation to Millie and the others at the last meeting.」

(Lulu)「Are you saying that Herge was making Atonement?」

(Yuki)「… … Thank you for the pessimistic answer. You may as well go and ask Herge about the correct answer. You might even reach the true answer this way.」

(Lulu)「…… What do you want to say? I’m not Herge-sama!! There is no way I can apologize. It’s too scary!! I can be thrown away anytime if I offend them!!」

(Yuki)「That’s the reason why I told you to not act as the heroine of a tragedy. Lulu you already have the same role as Millie Labiris or Kaya, you are all part of the same cup. But everyone isn’t playing like the heroine of a tragedy. Millie in particular should be crying. But not you. Do you know why?」

(Lulu)「…… Nothing will change even if I apologize.」

(Yuki)「In the end, there is no meaning if you don’t grab the hand you called for help. Lulu, these past few days you just cried and screamed. You were unhappy. You had no choice but to do it. Or so you thought. Lulu, you don’t have to live for the sake of bearing my children. Rather, you should live for the sake of the children you will make. Does that sound different to you in the end?」

(Lulu)「…… What I should do is not to be pregnant with a child… huh?」

(Yuki)「It’s okay for today if you understood that much. For the moment, don’t embrace the situation too much and go back to your room quietly.」

Eventually, I put on the Yukata I took off previously and went outside of the chamber totteringly.
For a while, I remained, shocked, inside the hallway. I tried to think, but couldn’t gather my scattered thoughts inside of my head.
The action I should take is not to bear Yuki-san’s child…
I wonder why?
As it’s different from the promise, will I get kicked out of the Dungeon?
No, there is also the possibility that I become in use to expand the Dungeon elsewhere.
If they remove the given protection and kill me for DP…

(Lulu)「Ahh」

My feet got caught into the Yukata, and I fell to the floor.

(Lulu)「It hurts…?」

From my knee, blood started to spill.It was a small wound.Insignificant.

(Herge)「Huh? Lulu-sama? Are you ok? I’ll treat you now.」

From the corridor covered in darkness, Herge-sama’s gentle voice broke out.

(Herge)「Heal. Yosh it should be good, the little pain is flying away. But you’re not a child right?」

With shyness, Herge-sama apologized.

(Lulu)「No, you were a big help. But the pain?」

(Herge)「Well Umm. Even if I cure the wound of a kid, he still continues to cry for a while. The pain is not the only reason why a child cry. There are various other reasons. Because his parents scold him, or because he is worried or maybe joyous. Did Lulu have experiences like this?」

(Lulu)「No, because I was working inside a clinic doing business work… Humm」

(Herge)「Let’s see. When you cure a child, was there a time one continued to cry?」

(Lulu)「There was, but since the wound healed, I went to the next person…」

(Herge)「Yes, because Lulu-sama is the Holy Woman of Ritea. But you should take some time off work」

(Lulu)「Huh, the same「Cause」 yet again. Why are you saying those words?」

(Herge)「Oh, I’m sorry. The child cried because of the wound. But the hard part of the work is the part that doesn’t always make sense. The wound disappeared but that’s not the most important part, it is to explain it. So「The little pain is flying away」bring the fact that it healed whether it was cured or not. Then there is a reason not to cry, so the child will smile. Well after that, there were still kids scolded by their parents who started to cry again」

(Lulu)「Well about that, isn’t this a pretext for your feeling?」

(Herge)「Yes, I think it may be possible. A scratch on my knee usually heals by next day. But I’m not crying. I want everyone cured by this Herge to have a smiling face. In contrary, If the injury worsen, I will be troubled.」

I smiled wryly to Herge-sama while remembering the scene.

(Herge)「Now that was a long time ago… I hope that the child won’t be caught in a battle. I wish for them to keep smiling.So that one day I can return to them the important thing they gave to me.」

Displaying her thoughts, Herge-sama offered her prayers under the Dungeon’s false moon.

(Lulu)「You received something from the kids?」

I had doubt about Herge-sama’s words.

(Herge)「Yes, they gave something vital to me. Even if I fall… I will stand up for the children. For them, it’s often the first time they’re hurt. It’s the first time they experience great terrors, and it hurts. That’s why they cry. But in the end, every child stand up and walk on their own feet. Parents treat their kids themselves, they scold their kids, and in the end, they ask for my treatment.」

She took a breath and continued once more.

(Herge)「… … Because of my mistakes, I brought a lot of troubles to Lulu’s saint country Ritea. To the Gai country and even to my homeland, Roshuru. Before, I cursed my misfortunes. Why something like this only happens to me. But then I met Mauve-san, Millie-san, and everyone. I was merely acting for my self-satisfaction. Yuki-san, he severely scolded me. Until I finally noticed… I was just an injured crying child not able to stand up. I still don’t know what I can do, yet I’m sure there is something I can realize. I’m not screaming anymore. Then I thought it would be better if I helped to enrich the life in this Dungeon. Even if it’s unpleasant for Millie and she doesn’t allow it, I will not stand still for the sake of the children. I don’t want people to talk behind my back. I will fight against my injuries as a Holy Woman」

When I heard Herge talking, I thought that her mindset was very different from mine.
What a dazzling way of life.
After all, what I did was begging for my life.
But compared to Herge I…

(Herge)「I’ve stopped lamenting over the things that I can’t recover. From here on, I will help as much as I can to improve the future.Even a kid doesn’t drag his injury forever.I will begin new and fun things.」

The whole atonement was a negative answer…
It was a mistake from my judgment.
What was the saying? Is it like comparing something muddy with something sweet or perhaps pure?
3)

(Herge)「Lulu-sama? Is it strange? My way of thinking.」

With a puzzled expression, Herge-sama looked towards me.
Therefore, I had to answer firmly.

(Lulu)「It’s a very respectable way. How Herge-sama talked. About how even a child can stand up. We cannot afford to crouch. Let’s do our best tomorrow.」

(Herge)「Yes！!」

Really, I was going to study hard from now on but… The light next to me was too dazzling.