By Zephyria ========
Wolf slowly opened his eyes.
He seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep at some point. The smell of alcohol and the scent of dried leather from old furs lingered in the air. And the scent of irises. It had become much fainter and more subtle.
He rolled his eyes to survey his surroundings. The hearth fire had almost gone out, leaving the room dark. The only thing in his sight was Silver, whom he was holding tightly in his arms. Even then, he could only see the crown of Silver’s head leaning against his chest. Silver’s breathing was regular, suggesting he was fast asleep.
A thought suddenly clicked into place in his mind. That thing. Did it get smaller?
It felt smaller. Unlike when he had been mindlessly pounding into Silver, there was no sensation of throbbing there. Good, it shriveled up well. Retreat, retreat! Caution, caution.
Despite his best efforts to be careful, it seemed Silver had woken up. The body leaning loosely against him twitched, and then he slowly lifted his head. A cold gaze pierced through Wolf. A single sentence followed immediately.
“Get it out.”
“……I’m getting it out.”
“If you can’t get it out this time, I’ll kill you.”
It didn’t sound like a joke.
“I understand how you feel, but bear with me. Haven’t you heard of rigor mortis? If you kill me, the situation will only get worse.”
Wolf acted nonchalantly as he moved his hips backward. Get out quickly, you brat. Get out when the landlord tells you to get out!
Miraculously, it vacated the premises obediently this time. Silver let out a curse and pushed Wolf away. Wolf scrambled to get up.
“Let’s go wash up. There’s an open-air bath behind this house.”
“I know, you brat. I’m washing by myself.”
“Don’t be like that. I can help you—”
Wolf swallowed his words as Silver glared at him menacingly. Silver roughly pulled back the curtain and left the bed. The door slammed shut. The sound of footsteps walking down the hallway faded away.
“Ha. Fuck.”
Wolf sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his face with his hands. He was so dumbfounded and bewildered that he couldn’t even laugh. How could he ruin his first experience like this? Dammit! For fuck’s sake!
He lowered both arms and interlaced his fingers, steadying his breath. He inhaled and exhaled more than twenty times before slowly unclasping his hands. Then, he slid off the ring on his left pinky finger. The rusted ring slipped off quietly, leaving a red mark on his skin.
Wolf placed the ring on the nightstand and spoke. Even though there was no way Silver could hear him, his voice was barely a whisper.
“Hey.”
〔Yes.〕
“Explain this right now, you son of a bitch. My dick.”
〔Question scope is ambiguous. Requesting a more specific re-question.〕
“Ugh.”
Wolf rubbed his face with both hands. That damn Parasitic Wraith’s memory was barely better than a sow that couldn’t remember how many piglets she’d birthed three days ago, and to make matters worse, it was incredibly dense. He had no idea where to even start the explanation.
Earlier in the evening, when he woke up to the thick scent of irises, he had never imagined that a secret locking mechanism was hidden in his genitals. Who would? It was as if no one in the world would believe that a crossbow would fire from somewhere in their body when they were in danger.
The problematic Noose (ha, fuck, what a shitty name) had appeared suddenly during that one year when fevers visited him regularly like frequent guests. He had simply woken up from a deep sleep, and it was just there. It was an unpleasant shape, but it didn’t hurt. Urination remained as refreshing as ever. Since it was a useless thing other than for discharging pee, and he was certain it would never be used for any other purpose until the day he died, he had quickly lost interest.
And yet. And yet!
“……I’m. A Type 1 Mutant.”
Wolf removed his hands from his face and spoke.
“My genitals. I mean, that piece of flesh in the shape of a noose that suddenly appeared at the base of my dick. What the hell is that?”
〔The structure in question is a mass of vascular tissue located at the base of a Type 1 Male Variant.〕
〔It forms during the activation onset period of the Type 1 Male Variant manifestation.〕
〔In a dormant state, it maintains only standard blood circulation.〕
〔During intercourse with a Type 2 Mutant, the tissue becomes congested and expands to form a temporary connection mechanism…….〕
The biological explanation continued for a considerable amount of time. As always, it was riddled with incomprehensible terminology, but he understood the gist.
“So, what you’re saying is.”
Wolf raised one hand.
“There’s a lock on my dick. Like a door bolt.”
〔As a metaphor, that is correct.〕
“And that lock activates every time I have sex. And it takes quite a while for the bolt to unlock itself.”
〔Correct understanding.〕
Wolf shut his mouth and stared at the ceiling. A black spider was crawling on the beam. It was an ugly bug, but it was a superior creature compared to him. At least it didn’t have a bolt in its dick.
〔It does not expand every time during intercourse. It activates only during the Rut of a Type 1 Male Variant, and specifically when the level of arousal is extremely high.〕
〔It also activates during states of extreme psychological arousal, though this is very rare.〕
〔Statistically, it occurs primarily during the first intercourse of a Rut.〕
It was merciful in the shittiest way possible. At least he didn’t have to stand on the gallows every day.
“Wonderful. A curse designed to ruin the first experience; the god who sculpted the bodies of the Stoll People must have been as mischievous as he was skillful.”
After a sarcastic remark, he returned to the main point.
“I did it with the spruce tree. During my Rut.”
〔If ‘it’ refers to intercourse, it was appropriate as an emergency survival measure.〕
“I guess you forgot again, but you didn’t tell me about the lock on my dick. You recommended that I quickly have sex with the spruce tree if I didn’t want to die, but you completely left out the explanation about that part. You didn’t tell me the information I absolutely needed to know before putting my dick inside someone, you piece of shit.”
〔Unjust complaint.〕
〔The detailed operating principle of the genitals does not fall under the mandatory notification items for emergency survival measures.〕
“Usually, people tell you that kind of thing together, you son of a bitch.”
〔I have no obligation to voluntarily provide information that was not requested.〕
〔It is your fault for not performing a thorough preliminary check.〕
Veins bulged on the back of Wolf’s hand. He had never wanted to beat that Parasitic Wraith more than he did right now. If that thing had a physical body, he would have tied it up tight, hung it upside down, and made it scream ‘It is my fault for being dense and tactless’ fifty million times.
Wolf barely suppressed his rage and asked.
“Anyway, I did it. My Rut is properly resolved, right?”
〔Provided your partner is certainly a Type 2 Male Variant.〕
“He is. He was emitting pheromones too…….”
Wolf’s voice trailed off. He recalled Silver’s body, which he had confirmed through the act.
“Anyway, it’s certain. That guy is definitely the spruce tree.”
〔In that case, the Rut issue is temporarily resolved.〕
〔You can enjoy stable biological functions until the next onset period.〕
It meant he had bought himself three months. Wolf closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. The Rut had come a week after Silver suddenly disappeared. The symptoms were beyond imagination. The periodic fevers he had experienced over the past year felt like child’s play in comparison.
At least for three months, his entire body wouldn’t feel like it was burning alive. He wouldn’t wake up to a heat that felt like his bones were melting, nor would his breath grow ragged from a thirst that scorched his throat. The destructive urge to shatter everything would also be quiet. His thoughts wouldn’t melt away like butter in his head.
Fine. As long as it ends well, it’s all good.
“Then tell me everything related to Type 1 Male Variants, without leaving anything out. I’ve already been guided on the manifestation, Rut symptoms, and how to resolve them, so leave those out.”
〔Type 1 Male Variants are the only beings capable of impregnating Type 2 Male Variants.〕
“……Huh?”
A thunderbolt struck right from the start.
“The only? Not just any man?”
〔That perception is a distortion of knowledge caused by the massive loss of oral traditions.〕
〔Type 2 Male Variants can only conceive through Type 1 Male Variants.〕
〔The probability of conception increases significantly if intercourse occurs during the Rut of a Type 2 Male Variant.〕
〔That is all.〕
Wolf was speechless. Pregnancy?
Pregnancy…….
Come to think of it, he was the idiot for only realizing the issue of pregnancy now. Even though he knew clearly that the spruce tree could conceive. Anyone who understood the principles of intercourse would keep pregnancy in mind during sex. It was as obvious as the sun being hot, a knife being sharp, and an apple falling downward.
Despite it being so obvious, Wolf hadn’t thought of it. Because the days he had lived without sexual desire were too, too, too long.
Then am I…… becoming a father? Do I have to start a family?
Baby.
Father.
Family.
These were words he believed would never exist in his life. They had suddenly invaded Wolf’s life, planting flags and occupying it without permission. His ears rang as if a bell had been struck right next to him.
116 – Hell’s Execution Order