By Zephyria ========
Part 4
〔PAIR〕 /sync:failed
affection.checksum/mismatch
Silver brushed the dirt off both hands.
“All set!”
A heavy iron ball was attached to the shackle fastened around his right ankle. The long chain connected to the shackle was wound tightly around a nearby oak tree and locked. The chain was about ten paces long. The inside of the shackle touching his ankle was heavily rusted, so he had to clean it thoroughly and line it with leather. He had scavenged this restraint tool from a collapsed prisoner warehouse.
Additionally, he prepared leather straps and several handkerchiefs. The leather straps were for a gag, and the handkerchiefs were for bibs. According to Starry eyes, one drools uncontrollably during the Rut, making bibs an essential item. Silver couldn’t even bring himself to laugh at the thought of having to wear a bib at twenty that he would have worn as an infant.
Silver spun the key on his finger and looked around. A pile of salted venison and jerky stacked on a flat stone. It was at least two weeks’ worth of food. Beside it was a pile of dry firewood. Deer hides and two blankets. Flint, a water bottle, and a coil of spare rope. An earthenware pot. A tin cup and a bundle of candles. A stream of clear water flowed five paces to the right.
“Food, bedding, water. Combat readiness complete.”
Today marked his sixth day in the mountains. After Starry eyes recovered at the lodging and Silver woke up from a deep sleep, he had been preoccupied with his next task. All the Rut suppressants had dissolved in the rainwater. Fortunately, the Rut was not an absolute misfortune like one’s innate physical nature. It was a misfortune that could be overcome—something one could endure by gritting their teeth.
Fighting spirit! He would suppress it with fighting spirit!
He made his decision in the blink of an eye. With that, Silver left the lodging and headed for the mountains.
The autumn sunlight warmly colored the forest. The scent of pine resin, damp earth, and mushrooms growing on trees drifted like the smell of books piled in an attic. Since the autumn monsoon had ended, it wouldn’t rain for a while. There was no worry of encountering people in this forest. From here to the pirate village, it took half a day of hiking through the mountains. Aside from the noisy crows, it was a quite decent hideout.
〔Can you really endure it, Pruru?〕
Starry eyes asked worriedly, buzzing around Silver’s head. The white bonnet covering its triangular head was slightly crooked. Silver straightened the bonnet for it.
“I have to. Is there any other way?”
〔I suppose, but…〕
“Old Lady Erem said that if I don’t take the medicine, the Rut will start within five days at the latest. It’s been three days since I skipped the medicine, so it’ll start tomorrow at the earliest, or in two days at the latest.”
Silver sat on the ground. The chain connected to the shackle clanked.
“Did she say the Rut usually lasts four days? Five?”
〔Wait.〕
〔Re-examining to provide accurate information.〕
〔Indexing…〕
Starry eyes placed both front legs against its temples. According to the creature, this was the posture it usually took ‘when searching for knowledge in the mental storage.’ Silver was always puzzled. Its brain is so small, so why does it take so long?
Eventually, its small mouth began to mumble.
〔The Rut varies by individual. Statistically, the average is four days.〕
〔The symptoms are most severe for the first three days after the Rut begins. Peak intensity. The period where you are most vulnerable.〕
〔Explosion of strong sexual desire. Pheromone emission. Severe fever. Abdominal pain and spasms. Increase in mental instability. Above all, the point to be most cautious of is pregnancy.〕
No matter how many times he heard that talk of pregnancy, it felt like someone else’s story. Aside from pregnancy, pheromones, and sexual desire, the symptoms Starry eyes listed sounded no different from a severe cold.
〔You must be especially careful on the third day. Highest probability of pregnancy. After three days, the symptoms gradually subside.〕
〔Depending on the human individual, the Rut can last longer. Especially since you, Pruru, took suppressants even before experiencing the Rut, significant rebound symptoms are expected.〕
“Rebound symptoms? Hmph, I’ll win with fighting spirit—!”
Silver shouted, gesturing with both hands.
“Fuck it, Rut or whatever, bring it on! This Thunder will grind it all into powder!”
〔You shouldn’t underestimate the Rut, Pruru.〕
Starry eyes buzzed back and forth. The bonnet became crooked again.
〔The problem is the cycle of the Rut. Average once a month. However, that is only if the Rut is properly resolved. If it’s not resolved, if it’s not resolved, the interval between Ruts shortens.〕
“I’ll just leave for the mainland immediately after the Rut is over.”
Silver shrugged.
“Seize a pirate ship! Sail straight to Old Lady Erem’s orphanage! If the wind is favorable, I’ll arrive within two weeks! Simple, right?”
〔It’s not simple! Do you think countless mutants couldn’t endure the Rut because they lacked self-control? I’m telling you, don’t underestimate the desire!〕
“Don’t forget. I am Thunder.”
〔Your confidence is excessive, Pruru…〕
“It’s fine. Right now, the only thing I can trust is myself.”
Silver flicked the key away. The key flew across the stream and buried itself deep in a thicket of ferns.
“When the Rut is over, pick that up and bring it back. That’s all you have to do.”
〔Umm! Um! Indexing… Indexing…!〕
〔Pharmacological prevention… reproductive suppression… oral compounds… emergency procedures…〕
Starry eyes placed its front legs against its temples again and mumbled. Ever since they evacuated here, it had been doing this constantly, claiming it would find a solution. As always, to Silver’s ears, it sounded only like ●☆≠♨.
Silver flopped onto his back.
“Starry eyes, stop it. It’s meaningless unless it’s a recipe for a Rut suppressant.”
A wide yawn escaped him. For six days, he had moved without rest—chopping wood, trimming meat, and searching for a sturdy tree that could withstand the power of Thunder. His whole body felt limp, as if his bones had turned to straw. The sky in his vision was already blurring like watercolor stains.
“If a bear… comes to eat me… wake me up then…”
〔Index match found!〕
“Hieek, fuck.”
Starry eyes’ voice was so loud that his sleep vanished instantly. Starry eyes flew right in front of Silver’s eyes.
〔I found an excellent alternative, though not as good as a suppressant!〕
〔Reproductive Prevention Drug! Found the recipe in the information archive!〕
“Reproductive Prevention Drug? What is tha—”
Silver’s face flushed as he reflexively asked. Reproductive Prevention Drug. It meant contraception.
〔If the desire crosses the threshold, you might run toward the pirate village, Pruru! Intercourse itself isn’t a big problem in the long run! The real danger is pregnancy!〕
Starry eyes buzzed in a zigzag pattern, up, down, left, and right.
〔There could be Type 1 Mutants on this island! We must be prepared!〕
“What is a Type 1 Mutant… Starry eyes? Calm down, I think you’re getting excited.”
〔I can’t just rely on Pruru’s self-control! According to statistical records, there are no Type 2s who endured the Rut and maintained a normal life! Not a single individual!〕
“I said calm down!”
〔Executing Reproductive Prevention Operation!〕
“Starry eyes! Trust the oak tree, not me!”
〔Wait, Pruru! I’ll go get the ingredients!〕
“Starry eyes! Starry—!”
The mantis fairy flew away through the trees like the wind. Silver, who reflexively tried to follow, collapsed after ten paces.
“Ugh. Dammit.”
The ankle in the shackle throbbed. Because the chain was pulled taut, one of his legs was lifted. Silver propped himself up with both hands on the dirt ground and sat up awkwardly. Removing a pine needle from his cheek, he muttered hollowly.
“Even Thunder doesn’t have the confidence to run to the pirate village with an oak tree attached to his ankle…”
* * *
Around the time the sunset settled, Starry eyes returned carrying a lot of things. After setting the load down next to the jerky, it flew back into the forest without a word. It seemed completely focused.
Silver examined what Starry eyes had brought. A bumpy brown root. A pitch-black branch that smelled astringent. A handful of berries smaller than peas.
As darkness deepened, Starry eyes returned again with more supplies. Pieces of tree bark, a bunch of wildflowers, and a clump that looked like moss. It set the items down carefully as if handling jewels, then spent a long time with both front legs against its temples again. Only its wings buzzed.
〔Indexing… Indexing… Found it!〕
A long green front leg gripped the bumpy root.
〔The base is Mountain Mother Root. It must be shaved. If crushed, the wrong compound is created. Precise trimming required.〕
Starry eyes used the gears on its front legs to meticulously shave the surface of the root. It seemed to have no regard for Silver. For some reason, Silver just watched without making a sound. The scene before him looked like an alchemist’s experiment.
〔Next is the Black Knot Tree branch.〕
The green front leg snatched the pitch-black branch and sliced it rapidly.
〔This acts as a binder. It combines with the Mountain Mother Root extract to keep it in the body longer. And the Blood Cherry berries.〕
It squeezed three berries smaller than peas with its front legs. A thin, blood-colored juice dripped into the tin cup.
〔The berries are the active ingredient. They suppress the induction of ovulation in Type 2 Mutants… Three berries is the correct dose, four berries induce vomiting… Two berries are insufficient.〕
〔Old Scale Bark and Moon-breath Flower go in at the end, and Sleep Moss is…〕
Starry eyes moved swiftly and precisely. It fetched stream water in the tin cup and stirred the mixture with one front leg. Bubbles rose on the surface of the murky reddish-brown liquid. The smell, at the very least, did not stimulate the appetite.
“Looks tasteless…”
105 – Hell’s Execution Order