Chapter 81: Laws of the Jungle
And so, summer was in full swing.
Being in the north, it wasn’t overwhelmingly hot, and the low humidity made it bearable.
Compared to the murderous temperatures and humidity of Reiwa Japan, it was like paradise.
To be specific, it barely reached 30°C. In short sleeves and thin trousers, it wasn’t too hot in the shade.
That being said, I still used a cooling Magical Device inside the house.
“And eating piping hot ramen in an air-conditioned room is the best part of summer, you know?”
In winter, it’s the opposite: crank up the heat and eat Ice Cream under a kotatsu. Everyone knows that.
“Hee, is that so!”
…And so, I was somehow entertaining Shio, who was at my place.
Why? Well, it’s obvious.
Because my place is cool…
“Ugh, it’s so hot outside! I’m gonna boil!”
On Shio’s tanned skin, beads of sweat were popping up.
They trickled down her flat body, dripping from her chin and elbows…
Or soaking into her armpits, crotch, and chest.
Hmm…
I left the Chicken Carcass simmering in the pot and headed over to Shio, who was relaxing on the sofa.
And then… I hugged her!
“Whoa?! What’s wrong?”
Oh… the scent of a woman!
The scent of a woman’s sweat!
“Shio, raise your arms.”
“Eh? Like, this?”
I buried my face in her armpit.
“Owaah?!”
“Mmm… female musk.”
“Does sniffing around there make you happy?”
“Mostly…”
I took the opportunity to grope her breasts.
“…Hey, when you do that, I get kinda horny, you know?”
“What a coincidence, me too.”
“…Wanna do it? ♡”
Seriously, I haven’t been doing anything lately…
I finished the big job of meeting the royalty, and defeated the foreign infiltration squad?
I’ve been working like crazy, haven’t I?
I’m taking a break for a while because I’ll die from overwork if I keep going…
When I’m resting, the girls I’ve been with often come to see me.
Besides the Blue Comet, there’s Mirei from the Guild, Rosalinde the noble, that girl from the cafe, the daughter of the confectionery shop, and even some prostitutes.
Of course, I secretly use contraception magic when I sleep with them, so there’s no “take responsibility!” talk.
Besides, they’re all commoners, basically…
In this world with little entertainment, there are hardly any virgins.
Maybe the second or third sons of farmers in the remote countryside are virgins? But they’re basically serfs, so…
If they have children, they either abort them or give birth and send them to an orphanage.
It’s not just about being a bitch; it’s about medieval values. And there’s no Christianity here.
Don’t understand? Then let’s talk specifics.
“So, Shio. How’s it down there?”
“Hmm? Oh, this. You fixed it before, right? But does it even matter?”
“I think it’s better to have it.”
“Hmm, but in my tribe, they said that if you don’t cut it off, you’ll be addicted to the pleasure of coitus, so it’s not good. Well, if you say I should fix it, then…”
Shio had been circumcised as part of her tribal law.
Circumcision… FGM. A ritual where part of the genitals is cut off.
If women do this, it can cause irregular menstruation and infections, so medically, it’s better not to do it.
Seriously… I was shocked when I first slept with Shio.
It was so painful and pitiful, but I was extremely careful and considerate, thinking about the cultural background, and persuaded her…
But Shio basically doesn’t think about anything, so she just accepted the treatment normally…
And that’s how we got to where we are now.
“But really, coitus is so good! I can see why the tribe forbids it. If things keep going like this, I might get weak~”
“That’s fine, I don’t care if you’re weak.”
“I guess so… The civilization in the city is really different. I… I used to think that if you weren’t strong, you had no value, but it’s different here. It’s okay to have coitus with your husband just for pleasure… and it’s okay to protect and help weak people.”
“…Sorry, somehow. That’s the values of the city, but it’s also my values. It was rude of me to deny your tribe’s laws and tell you to conform to me, wasn’t it?”
I treated Shio.
But that meant Shio had to break her tribe’s laws.
It’s not about the right to be wrong, but… even if I think a value is wrong, it’s absolute to the person involved.
Religion is the same. Those who believe, believe. You can’t make fun of them.
Even that terrorist religion where the long-haired, filthy, fat guru was pretending to levitate, there were people who genuinely believed in it, right? It’s not good to denigrate the people who believed in it, even though what they did was bad.
And… she abandoned her “past” like that… and even abandoned it to conform to my ways.
…Even if it’s medically correct, it’s true that I made her abandon her beliefs.
“Nn-un. Because you’re stronger than me, right? Taking in the blood of a strong male takes precedence over any law. Besides… I don’t think this way of thinking is bad! I’m happy!”
Ah… I knew it.
I’m… no good.
I can’t just let it go.
I can’t abandon a girl who does so much for me.
Margot is the same. She may have given up her position as an Elf royal to become a Strider of her own free will… but she abandoned Elf culture and is conforming to me.
Rosalinde, too, wants to become my wife even if it means giving up her noble status…
…There may be interference from the country or something in the future.
But I can’t run away and leave such good girls behind.
I couldn’t abandon them in my previous life either, no matter what.
Children, family, and so on. They were 100% in the wrong, but I didn’t abandon them until I was quite old.
But… in this world.
Everyone is a good girl, kind to me, and doesn’t make nonsensical statements like “I studied feminism at a bottom-tier, stupid university!”…
I can’t escape the responsibility of being loved by such girls…
Haa… I have to expand the “Garden” so that I can support the girls who are with me for the rest of their lives…
It’s busy, but I have to do my best for the perks.
“Shio.”
“Hmm?”
“If anything happens, let’s run away together. I promise I’ll earn enough so you won’t have to worry about food for the rest of your life.”
“Of course! We’ll be together forever, my husband ♡”