The Seed Thief

Was the pleasure he felt now truly because of the spell she cast?

If so, Lulu would have made a move on him. The opportunity was always there, at any moment.

But whenever Lulu teased him, she withdrew as if she had no interest in going further. That tormented Ervandas even more.

Why? Why didn’t she want more?

“To live a pious, devout, and faithful life…so that…”

His recitation now stumbled worse than when he first encountered the prayer. In distress, he tried to recall memories of his simple and virtuous life in the temple, struggling to suppress the rising heat in his body. However, the moment a refreshing breeze swept through the forest, carrying the scent of blossoming wildflowers, he no longer recited the prayer.

The fragrance belonged to Lulu, who roamed the forest every day. That redolence had lingered in his arms just a moment ago.

“Ah…”

Ervandas lowered his head, gripping himself below. His penis pressed against his pants with an intimidating force, as if it could tear through them any moment. He needed to regain composure. All these emotions were but passing temptations. Wasn’t a life of serenity and apathy the ultimate paradise he longed for?

Yet.

“Hngh.”

Ervandas pulled down his pants and gripped his own with a trembling hand. The tip of his cock was wet with a clear fluid that seemed to have been leaking since his dream. The throbbing shaft under the moonlight embodied the very desire he had despised so much.

He moved his hand slowly, feeling a ravenous desire stirring within.

He was no stranger to masturbation.

Ervandas was a physically healthy young man, and it was not uncommon for his body to act against his own will in the early morning hours.

A healthy body couldn’t easily dispel its lust. If he waited for it to subside, he would be exposing himself, in a disgraceful state, to the other knights who walked on the path to God.

Therefore, unable to bear the gazes of others, Ervandas decided to commit a sin known only to God.

The moment he made up his mind, strength surged into his hesitant hand. That day, he stayed in the bathroom longer than usual. And much more later, on a night when the knights shared candid stories after having narrowly escaped death from a powerful demon, he realized he was not alone in committing such a transgression and there were many ways to get rid of lust quickly.

Ervandas hesitated for a moment, then grasped his penis with the other hand. Even with large hands, he couldn’t fully cover the length of his member.

Both hands swiftly moved up and down, creating a provocative sound that echoed through the forest. Amidst the buzzing sounds of mating insects, he made a lonely and lewd sound without a counterpart.

Tak, tak, tak

. As his hands moved faster, his penis grew even harder. With each movement, the throbbing shaft, adorned with prominent veins, was so rigid that if he were to release it, it would forcefully collide with his belly.

“Uh… Ah…”

In the past, whenever he masturbated, he would succumb to a dreadful and sinful feeling. It was so shameful that tears welled up due to his self-disgust. But why, now…

Ervandas slowly adjusted the speed of his hand. A languid breath escaped his lips. His entire body grew taut with a sensitivity that even the gentle touch of a passing insect could make him flinch.

Ervandas didn’t want to let this feral desire slip away like before. He yearned for something beyond mere release that would push him to his limits and make him experience sensations he had never felt before.

Ervandas now knew exactly what he needed to reach that state.

As his hand quickened and a whitish fluid began to spurt from the tip of his glans, he recalled Lulu’s face when she slept beneath him in the house earlier.

Ah…I want it.

With a shudder, the twitching tip vigorously ejected the whitish cum.

An indecent mark appeared on the grass.

“Hah… Hah…”

The disheveled breath mingled with the night breeze. Ervandas was overwhelmed by the repulsive yet satisfying thoughts that had consumed him, unable to move. After a brief moment of stillness, he resumed his movements.

May the gods count this night as one night’s sin.

 

“Er?”

“…!”

Lost in thoughts of that sinful night, Ervandas snapped back to reality at Lulu’s voice.

“Stay still, don’t move.”

He unexpectedly spoke in a stern voice, securing Lulu’s head in place.

Since his arrival, he had diligently cared for and dried Lulu’s hair, making it glossy. However, since it had never received proper maintenance, the thick, long locks appeared as heavy as a blanket. Thinking for a moment, Ervandas made up his mind and cut Lulu’s hair without hesitation.

Lulu’s eyes widened as her hair fell to the floor. Did he cut that much?

She hadn’t thought her hair needed to be long, nor reason for it to be short. Lulu kept it long because the forest witch who raised her had long hair.

Lulu had been growing her hair long out of a desire to remember the forest witch and become like her…

With each movement of Ervandas’s hand, more hair dropped softly to the ground. Watching the accumulating locks on the ground, Lulu felt fear.

She always missed the forest witch – the only one she could see and learn from, so she thought she would live like her and stay in the forest forever. But now, seeing her hair growing shorter, she realized something had changed.

It felt like a massive change that could never be undone had come over her, like a broken rock that couldn’t be put back together.

Lulu’s body shuddered with sudden fear.

‘Should I tell him to stop?’

Perhaps we should now and live like before, with unruly hair resembling the forest witch. And when the time came, she would send Ervandas away, returning to the peaceful life that she had known. The only thing changing would be gaining a Homunculus, but that Homunculus would learn from her, and she would eventually disappear like the forest witch.

Leaving it alone.

“…….”

Lulu tightly clenched her fist. Although cutting her hair caused no pain, Lulu closed her eyes as if enduring immense suffering. Ervandas, who had been busy moving his hands, stopped and whispered into Lulu’s ear, who was shaking with all her might.

“It’s alright. Relax. You won’t get hurt.”

Like a lie, Lulu’s body loosened its tension at that moment. Ervandas’s voice manipulated her, akin to a sorcerer.

The words “It’s alright” continued to echo in Lulu’s ear.

‘It will be fine.’

If Er said it was alright, then this frightening change would be alright.

From that moment on, Lulu completely surrendered herself to Ervandas’ touch. The sharp, well-honed scissors sliced through her lovely hair without hesitation.

In the temple, the knights always maintained impeccable personal hygiene and cleanliness. In a place where people handled things with their own hands, they would help in cutting each other’s hair. Thanks to that, Ervandas had acquired a certain level of expertise in the matter.

‘Cutting hair this long is new to me, though.’

He had always skillfully and accurately cut the short hair of his fellow knights. Nonetheless, Ervandas’ skills were undoubtedly superior to Lulu’s.

With careful precision, he snipped away at the tangled sections of Lulu’s hair, trimming the parts that seemed excessively thick. Unlike his usual goal of neatness, Ervandas aimed for Lulu’s hair to look beautifully styled.

Recalling the hairstyles of women he had seen in the palace long ago, he tirelessly moved his hands without pause.

When Lulu, who had been sitting still, could no longer resist drowsiness and was about to close her eyes, Ervandas spoke.

“It’s done. You can move now.”

“Really?”

Lulu abruptly stood up from her seat. She had forgotten the cloth wrapped around her body, causing her to lose balance and sway forward.

“Oops……Ah?”

Before she could fall, Ervandas grabbed her waist and lifted her into his arms.

“Why the rush?”

“I’m curious! I want to go see the mirror!”

At her words, Ervandas chuckled.

“Understood.”

Saying so, he carried Lulu in his arms as she was, wrapped in the cloth, and headed home.

Lulu knew Ervandas was much bigger and stronger than herself, but seeing him effortlessly lift her like a straw doll made her heart race strangely.

‘Lately, something feels off.’

When she glanced at his sleeping face at night, when he sighed deeply and set food before her as she rubbed her sleepy eyes in the day, when he walked down to the stream to wash and turned away as if unwilling to look at her – her heart kept pounding uncontrollably like this.

While Lulu wondered if she was getting sick because her heart was beating louder than usual, Ervandas took her to the mirror.

Then, as if purposely preventing her from seeing, he turned her face to him and hugged her.

“What are you doing?”

“Untying the cloth.”

“I want to see the mirror!”

“There’s no need to rush, is there?”

“I said I want to see it!”

Lulu yelled, but Ervandas, with one hand firmly holding the back of her neck as if telling her not to look back, slowly untied the fabric that wrapped around her.

Wriggling to escape his grasp, Lulu heard a low, muffled laugh in her ear and realized – he was doing this on purpose!

“Er!”

She wriggled harder as her curiosity grew, but Ervandas didn’t loosen his hold. After several failed attempts to break free, Lulu finally gave up and spoke in a weak voice.

“Is it that weird?”

“….Hm?”

“Are you not showing me because it’s weird? I won’t get mad…….”

“That’s not it.”

Ervandas briefly raised his voice as if to say, “What on earth are you misunderstanding?” And then he spun her around. Now Lulu could see – in the mirror, a woman with shoulder-length red hair.

It was her.

“Huh?”

Even though she knew the reflection was of herself, Lulu found it difficult to believe the image in the mirror was her.

It wasn’t just a simple trim. Ervandas had neatly cut her unruly bangs that always shadowed her face and eyes. The new style of bangs, this unfamiliar way of seeing her own face, and the shortened length – all felt so strange.

Seeing her hair had been shaped similarly to the human women in the village, Lulu just stared at her reflection with wonder. Then she noticed Ervandas smiling proudly in the mirror, apparently pleased with his work.

Thump.

At that moment, Lulu felt her heart sink once again. The gentle smile the forest witch had always shown her was now on Ervandas’ face. No, an even sweeter smile.

“Lulu?”

As Ervandas began to check her face, noticing her sudden stiffness, Lulu abruptly hugged his neck.

“Thank you!”

Was it really that good? Though caught off guard by Lulu’s unexpectedly serious reaction, he didn’t pull her clinging body away because he didn’t dislike it. So Ervandas couldn’t see the expression on her face.

***

Lulu toyed with the ends of her short hair, twirling them around her fingers. As she let go, the once slightly wavy strands curled in spirals.

Finding the new shape quite pleasing, Lulu played with her hair for a long while before letting out a deep sigh.

‘He called me Lulu.’

At first, Ervandas referred to her as “master,” then later switched to addressing her as “you.” And now, he called her “Lulu.”

‘The magic is gradually wearing off.’

The changing forms of address weren’t the only evidence. The hands that had grasped her when he cut her hair and his increasing hesitancy in answering, sometimes even refusing tasks she requested