The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits - Chapter 223



EP10. The Falling Twilight

“…ah.”

I opened my eyes. And the first thing I felt was an intense thirst.

“I’m thirsty.”

I came to my senses and tried to raise my upper body to find water. And then, at that moment, I felt a touch on my arm.

I turned my head and looked in that direction, and what I saw was a woman sleeping with her arms around me.

“Peria…”

Only then did I look around me. The heat that filled the room. The strange smell that filled my nose. And, above all, the sight of Peria, naked and snuggled up against me, soundly sleeping.

Only then did I realize what had happened last night.

I have lived for over 100 years, but this was my first experience, and Feria was also a first timer. So, the two of us just ran wild like beasts, under the influence of alcohol, without any technical skills.

The result was like this.

I sighed and shook her awake from where she was clinging to my arms.

“Wake up.”

“Ugh… Huh?”

She narrowed her eyes as if she had been having a good dream, then opened them and looked at me as if she had come to her senses.

“…”

“…”

I didn’t know what to say. Only the dull silence continued to linger.

“Wait a minute. So this is…”

She was holding her head and trying to think deeply about something, when she suddenly put strength into the hand holding her head.

“Ugh!”

I looked at her in surprise. She said with a tearful face.

“My head hurts… .”

When I heard that, I thought to myself that it couldn’t be helped. When I thought about it, I couldn’t even remember how much alcohol I had drunk. I looked at Peria while thinking about that.

“Water, water… .”

Feria tried to get out of bed, but fell over, twisting her body.

“Waist, waist… .”

She held her waist. It seemed that she was still suffering from the aftereffects of the night before. I used my divine power to heal her.

“Ah, it hurts a little less now. Thank you.”

She said that and lifted the blanket to get up. At that moment, the warm air that had been warming the inside of the blanket rushed out. … Along with an incredibly strong smell of blood.

When Peria lifted the blanket to reveal her naked body, she saw the red marks and dried white fluid on the inside of her thighs. The blanket was also a complete mess with white spots and stains.

Feria wiggled her eyebrows at the sight, then carefully got up from the bed and started to head towards the water bottle. At that moment,

“Haaang!”

She groaned and sank to the ground with her legs crossed. I asked her.

“what’s the matter?”

Since I healed you with divine power, there’s no way you’ll still be in pain.

“What was inside… shook… huh, it felt like it was slipping out…”

… In short, only a small portion had already come out and dried up white, and most of it was still inside Peria and began to come out the moment she moved. When I glanced at Peria, I saw that a sticky white-yellow substance was continuously coming out from between her legs, forming a small puddle.

From noble mtl dot com

My face was flushed. This sight, which clearly showed how unruly I had been last night, brought unbearable shame.

Even while I was feeling so embarrassed, Peria was groaning and shaking her waist. Her legs seemed to have lost their strength and she couldn’t get up at all. I went over to her and helped her up.

After much thought, I said a few words to her.

“…Make sure to use contraception. It’s dangerous.”

I don’t know her inner workings, so I don’t know if she’ll get pregnant or not, but I at least know the risks. Having an illegitimate child while not married is not a good choice.

Upon hearing that, Peria opened her eyes wide and looked at me.

“Huh? Why?”

When I heard that, I was dumbfounded and said,

“Why, you can have an illegitimate child even if you’re not married. That’s…”

“Why doesn’t that work?”

“…what?”

Feria looked at me. Then, as if she had realized something, she leaned in and whispered in my ear.

“If it comes to life, just give birth to it.”

“No, that’s not it. How can an emperor have an illegitimate child without getting married?”

“What if I give birth? There’s no one to tell me anything, and I have no intention of getting married. If I can just produce a successor, it’s healthy.”

“No, let me put it simply…”

“Why, are you going to take responsibility and marry me?”

“No, that’s…”

“I’m joking. That’s… too fatal. Yeah. Not even giving them a chance. Well… I was upset that they struck first, so I did it first. But still…”

She placed my hand on her stomach.

“It’s true that I will give birth to you if you are born. Maybe, a child is being created inside me right now.”

When I heard those words, I felt an indescribable sensation. There was not a single direct word, not a single vulgar word, but for some reason I felt a strange sensation. In a word…

“Ah, I’m standing.”

Feria looked down at me and spoke. The subtle sensation I felt was defined by Feria’s one word.

I lost my mind once again, and Feria responded to me.

…

It was late afternoon when she and I finally managed to leave the bedroom. She magically erased the traces of passion scattered throughout the room, and only then could we enjoy our meal in peace.

After finishing her meal, she said to me.

“Do you want to go for a walk? It’s a bit awkward to just sit still.”

“…Okay. I have something to think about.”

Having made that appointment, we walked around the palace garden. The sky was glowing golden with the sunset.

I thought about the sunset, the sight of the plants shining golden, covered in gold leaf from the sky.

… If this really happens, what will happen if Peria actually gets pregnant with my child?

Common sense tells me that a normal person would get married in that situation, but unfortunately, I can’t think of myself as a normal person. I… couldn’t imagine getting married to someone.

Whether or not she knew my complicated feelings, Peria leisurely strolled through the green foliage under the golden sky. Occasionally, when our eyes met, she would gently stroke my stomach, perhaps as a gesture to tell me to look, and it felt indescribably subtle.

What would I do if Peria had a child? Would I step forward to take responsibility? Or would I just pretend not to care, saying I’m tired of the responsibility? … The best thing would be to leave it as a one-night memory and for her not to have a child, but I couldn’t say it out loud. Of course, she was so happy.

… All I’ve ever learned in my life is how to fight. How to cast spells. How to swing a sword. Even how to heal with divine powers – everything I do is directed entirely towards destruction.

Could I, like that, give birth to a new life? Have a child, raise a child… Is that even possible? In fact, I even thought that my body might reject such a thing.

Feria looked at me quietly as I was thinking that, then smiled.

“Oh, there’s Se-in over there. Why did you come here? Come and take a look.”

Feria suddenly pushed my back. I looked back at her in confusion and said.

“No, what all of a sudden…”

“Hey, I’m curious. Why did you come here?”

I sighed and walked towards Sein.

As soon as Se-in saw me, his eyes widened and he said.

“Ainzel?”

“Yeah. What are you doing here?”

Sein said that he had resigned from his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army, so he would no longer have any reason to come to the palace. Why did he come here? I asked curiously. Sein smiled and answered.

“I just… came here to see your face and tell you something, but you and Feria… didn’t show up.”

I slapped my forehead inwardly at those words. I had been doing that all morning and didn’t even realize that Se-in had come to see me.

“So, I just came out and took a walk. Now… it’s really peaceful. Yeah.”

While I was talking like that, Se-in asked me a question.

“You? Why are you here?”

“Uh… Feria asked me to go for a walk with her, so we came out together. Over there, in the back.”

“Ah… yeah.”

Se-in nodded at those words and tried to head somewhere else.

“Wait a minute. What were you trying to say?”

When I asked, Se-in shook his head and said,

“Oh, no. I can’t interrupt you since you’re with Feria.”

At that moment, Feria came over to me and said,

“…No, it’s okay. I’ll go in, you guys do what you want. I don’t want you to start a fight and then get downright lethal.”