Chapter 8
「Ah, Nemu's body feels refreshed-nyaa!」
Early in the morning, Nemu, who had engaged in sex multiple times the previous day, was unusually energetic as her mating season had ended.
She felt a sense of excitement, and her body was full of vigor.
She was happily snuggled up to Mars on the bed, enjoying the intimacy of being alone together.
On the contrary, Mars felt a bit reluctant to get up from the bed as he had been drained too much.
「Shall we take a bath and have breakfast? I'm starving.」
Mars reluctantly woke up his tired body and carried the naked Nemu in his arms.
Nemu happily wrapped her arms around his neck without hesitation as she was being carried.
「You had a great time last night, wasn't it?」
「It sounds familiar...! G-Good morning, Lilia. You're up early.」
Heading towards the living room, they found Lilia, an early riser, reading a book on the sofa.
「Good morning-nyaa!」
「Do you feel refreshed? The bath is ready.」
「Nemu feel light-nyaa! Taking a morning bath feels so good, she's happy-nyaa!」
Lilia looked at the exuberant Nemu with a slightly stern gaze.
「Thank you for preparing the bath. I wanted to take one... U-Um, I'll explain everything later.」
「......Well, it's fine. I already know what happened.」
Though Lilia understood that it was inevitable for Nemu's mating season to coincide with her own idea of procreation, she couldn't help but feel that she wanted to be the first choice at first.
Lilia had the strongest desire for procreation among them.
Nemu, who didn't understand Lilia's melancholic feelings, remained cheerful.
「Nemu-chan, could you go to the bathroom first?」
「Got it-nyaa.」
And off Nemu dashed.
Now that Mars and Lilia were left alone, silence dominated the room.
Lilia was the first to break the silence.
「...I'm not really angry, you know?」
「R-Right.」
――She's definitely angry, isn't she?
「I genuinely am not angry.」
「G-Got it.」
Being pressed again twice, Mars felt even more strongly that she was angry.
「――So, I won't engage in any sexual activity with Mars until my mating season comes.」
「You're definitely angry, aren't you!?」
Mars became convinced of Lilia's anger from her cold attitude.
「N-No, it's not like that! I-I just want to enhance my body! I'll endure it!」
「You want to be in a state of abstinence, is that it...?」
「Y-Yes... I've heard that's what we should do for procreation.」
「I-I see...」
――Ah, she's not angry, she's just feeling aroused.
Upon closer inspection, Lilia's expression resembled the one before their intimate activities.
「...I hope your mating season comes soon.」
「G-Geez! B-But I agree with you too. A day or two is still manageable, but I'm a bit tired of this abstinence lifestyle that can last for who knows how many days...」
Abstinence implies desire.
Realizing that Mars couldn't help but grin.
「Today, please spend the day as you wish. As always, when entering the dungeon, we never know when we might die. Let's make sure we have no regrets.」
While having breakfast together, Mars created a serious atmosphere and encouraged everyone.
「Okaaayyy! Well, I'll be burying people with Mars-san again today, though.」
「Thank you. I really appreciate your help because I couldn't handle it alone.」
The burial of those killed by the 'Jet-Black' is still pending. Since it cannot be forced, Hazuki and Mars will do it voluntarily.
「I feel like reading the book I haven't finished yet. Seeing things on the surface is my greatest joy!」
It seems Sion has chosen to enjoy indoor activities.
「Nemu is thinking about what to do with her lifespan-nya. And then she'll go to sleep-nya. She's sleepy-nya.」
Nemu eats only the pasta in the salad, slurping them up one by one.
She neatly sets aside the vegetables.
「Do you have a general plan in mind?」
「Nemu wants to be with everyone-nyaa. She doesn't have anything else she wants to do, and her family consists only of everyone-nyaa, so she doesn't want to be left out-nyaa.」
Lilia smiles at Nemu's answer.
There is nowhere for the orphaned Nemu to go. Her parents might be somewhere, but Lilia had no intention of finding and meeting them.
Even if there was something she wanted to do, there was no need to separate from everyone. That's why she intended to choose the same future as Mars and Lilia—to die together.
Although she was uncertain until yesterday, when she thought about the possibility of having a child with Mars, the answer became clear.
「I will also have the same lifespan as everyone else. I'm still like a newborn. Life is just beginning for me.」
Currently, Sion is an immortal being.
Her goal is to start her life anew. She values the process more than the end.
So she has no intention of dying anytime soon.
「What about you, Hazuki-chan?」
「I will also live a long life! I don't want to die with my current lifespan, and I don't want to be resurrected like a necromancer either.」
「So, everyone will live a long life, I see. ――Let's continue supporting each other.」
Everyone nods and replies.
Although they said to leave it to him, Mars had a feeling it would turn out this way.
The logical reason was that there was no strong desire for them to die early.
Also, emotionally, their current life was a happy one.
They had an abundance of excitement and lacked nothing.
They had access to food, a place to sleep, and entertainment.
Though they may have become accustomed to it, they had no leisure to feel dissatisfied with their happiness.
Mars's lifespan manipulation was not absolute immortality but rather an opportunity for them to live a long life under their free will.
They could die at any time if they chose to. There were no disadvantages.
He also planned to control aging.
It was an escape from the laws of the world.
「How about we establish a new country in this place? It would be more like a village than a country, though. The dwarves led by Lucille should gather the elves. I want to save my own clan as well.」
「Agreed. We have enough resources for that, and honestly, if the power of the gods is real, we should be fine. I also want to eliminate any discrimination, just in case.」
「Even so, there are likely many of our kind still being treated as slaves... And I want to rescue them.」
「If we can eradicate slave magic from this world...」
Although they didn't know what they could do until the moment of remake the world, they felt they could accomplish this much.
「Oh! Can we possibly eliminate necromancy too?! Then please, I beg you!」
「Of course. But well, first we have the World Tree's dungeon. And then there's the 'Jet-Black.' The future lies beyond that.」
Let's fight for our own future.
Everyone renews their determination.
Mars went outside to check his new 'Forbidden Magic Book' and to confirm the true power of the sword left behind by the previous reincarnator.
The only one who followed him was Lilia.
The corpses had already been disposed of, the traces washed away, and most of them burned, but the scenery was different from what Lilia knew, and she felt an indescribable sadness there.
Although she had a slightly gloomy expression, Lilia did not put her thoughts into words.
Once this adventure is over, everything will work out fine.
Because there is hope ahead, there is no need to voice complaints.
「Before we knew it, we've come a long way. It may be the starting point for me, but I never thought I'd be able to come back.」
「Right, we've come a really long way. It's all thanks to you, Lilia. If it were just me, I would've died in some dungeon for sure. All alone just like before.」
「The same goes for me. Hazuki, Nemu, and Sion, too. We were always lonely on our own. That's why we were drawn to you, Mars, who feels that more than anyone else.」
Lilia said as she sat on a tree stump while Mars swung his sword.
「When I first met you, I thought you had a mysterious look in your eyes. Your face seemed like you were about to cry. Even though your words and attitude were bright, I could see despair deep in your eyes. That's why I decided to be bought by you. Until then, whenever someone who wanted to buy me came, I would behave aggressively and make them hate me, you know?」
「So, you saw through me at first sight, huh... I fell in love with you, Lilia, but at the same time, I thought you wouldn't come to like me. Even my parents didn't want to raise me. But I just wanted to be with you. I resorted to the cowardly method of using the slave mark.」
The relationship between Mars and Lilia started from his guilt.
That's why Mars bought her things and took care of her diligently.
To alleviate even a little of that guilt.
For Mars, who desperately approached her after buying Lilia, it must have seemed like actions that she couldn't refuse due to their power dynamic.
It was unfair to approach her with a relationship between a slave and a master.
If Lilia refused, Mars's treatment of her would worsen.
If she didn't like it, she had no choice but to comply with Mars's wishes.
Naturally, Lilia would think that way.
Mars felt guilty about such an unjust connection.
In the end, the reason he couldn't reveal that he was a reincarnator was because there was a "stranger" inside him who couldn't truly believe in others — the townspeople who walked by without acknowledging him(?).
From a positive perspective, one could say that he employed every means to be liked by others, but from a negative perspective, he took away others' freedom.
He couldn't trust others to the point where his suspicions vanished.
Since the moment of his birth, there might have been a betrayal by his parents before, so he couldn't easily trust others.
No matter what, he recognized others as entities that would betray him.
「Certainly, I didn't intend to come to like you at first. But now...」
Lilia lightly laughed, self-derisively,
「No matter how long I live, I won't be able to control my own heart. Even more so with other people's hearts.」
As she murmured, Lilia stood up.
「Even from an undesired starting point, Mars gave me the legs to walk to the place I desired. It feels like I gained freedom for the first time by becoming a slave. I am a fortunate person.」
Lilia proudly jingles her collar.
The collar, which was initially just a symbol of subservience, is now a symbol of their bond.
The world is filled with inequality.
Even simple things don't go as planned.
Both those who possess and those who lack have their own grievances.
But lamenting won't change anything.
We must move forward in a world where nothing goes as planned.
That is what life is all about.
「Let's go on an adventure and live through adventures.」
Mars returns a smile to Lilia's smiling face.
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