The Seed Thief

“I was wondering where on earth you could have sneaked off to, only to find you in this place, using magic… Are you alright?”

Instead of stopping crying, Ervandas was startled as more drops fell down her cheeks. He quietly observed Lulu, who was crying in his arms.

No matter how exhausted he was, his eyes naturally opened when the time came. And last night, with Lulu tossing and turning due to his torment, Eravandas couldn’t fall asleep either.

He hadn’t planned on sleeping anyway. He just wanted to hold the being he had entrusted everything to and look at her in his arms for the first time.

When he plunged himself into Lulu’s deepest recesses, Ervandas immediately realized.

What kind of emotions he held for this forest witch.

The emotions that he had heard countless times from many others had finally arrived and settled within him.

Until the sunrise, he quietly looked at Lulu. His gaze was that of a devoted worshipper and a predator targeting its prey. Conflicting entities that he believed were incompatible had taken their place within him. His mind was chaotic, yet the space around them remained serene.

Contemplating how much longer he would have to bear this conflicting storm, unable to avert his gaze from Lulu’s closed eyes, her eyelashes trembled delicately. It was a sign that she was about to awaken from her slumber.

Eravandas intentionally closed his eyes, feigning sleep. He was curious to witness Lulu’s reaction when she woke up and recalled the previous night. It was Lulu who had yelled his name before fainting. Would she rise and immediately flee? No, considering her usual nature, she might even start hitting him with a pillow as soon as she woke up.

Certainly, what he desired most was for her to stare at him as usual and touch every inch of his face curiously.

However, Lulu rose without doing any of the things he had in mind. Instead, she cautiously withdrew her arm from his embrace and slipped away quietly. As soon as Lulu left the room, Eravandas promptly sat up.

The moment she faltered, he wanted to get up immediately to hug her, but he was curious about her intentions in sneaking out like that.

As he listened to her strained breaths and stumbling footsteps, Ervandas could sense her exhaustion from the previous night’s events. Yet, as soon as she woke up, where was she going?

He cautiously rose and followed after Lulu. Peering into the living room through the open door, he saw Lulu standing in front of the wall in the corner. Soon, as the wall disappeared under Lulu’s spell, revealing a staircase leading to the basement, he remembered what she had said.

‘She said she needed human seed to create a Homunculus.’

Last night, Ervandas had given what Lulu had wanted so badly. He lost count of how many times his semen had been smeared onto her belly.

Without any hesitation, he had indulged in what he had always considered evidence of sin.

The thought of his semen smeared and trickling beneath her pubic hair caused a throbbing in his lower region. At the same time, an indescribable discomfort weighed on him.

After having what she wanted, the sight of her casually leaving him was not pleasing.

‘Let’s take a look.’

Unaware of it, Ervandas followed Lulu with a stern expression as if he were scared. He worried that Lulu would notice his presence, but it proved to be an unnecessary concern.

With her fatigued body and her mind occupied with magic preparation, Lulu didn’t notice him. Thanks to that, Ervandas observed her casting the spell from beginning to end.

The spell to create a Homunculus was unbelievably complex and intricate, and Lulu’s ability to control it was mind-boggling. However, Ervandas’s eyes held no such amazement.

‘To such an extent…’

Was it because she desired a Homunculus?

Ervandas imagined what would happen if Lulu succeeded in this magic. She said it was a spell to create a human. Since she used his semen, the created being would likely resemble him. Then, Lulu would no longer look at him but pour all the affection she had shown him onto the newly formed being by her side.

A sound of teeth grinding leaked out.

Ervandas harbored hatred towards the being that didn’t even exist in this world yet. During his time here, he had lived amidst an absurdly passionate love and affection. At first, it was repulsive, then bewildering, but eventually, he grew accustomed to it. And now, he felt empty without it.

Without realizing it, he had been tamed.

While Ervandas seethed with anger, Lulu’s magic was racing toward completion.

At that moment, Ervandas felt an intense urge. What if all of this failed?

Even to an outsider, it was clear that this magic couldn’t be prepared in a day or two. So, until she could prepare this magic again, wouldn’t Lulu want him? Wouldn’t she keep him by her side, craving his touch, at least until that time?

Was it because the rein had been loosened once? Vile thoughts that he had never entertained before surged within him.

In the past, he couldn’t even imagine trampling on others’ hopes for the sake of his desires. But now, as if it had always been his true nature, it came to mind effortlessly.

The moment Ervandas thought so, his lips twitched. For someone who had indulged in a heap of lust last night, it seemed absurd to lament corruption.

‘It has come to this, anyway.’

If he had crossed that line, he wanted to go all the way. If he took away something precious from Lulu, wouldn’t her affection remain with him?

“No.”

At that moment, amidst the swirling blur of light, Lulu’s voice reached him.

It was a faint voice, but it was enough to halt his steps toward the magic circle.

The next instant, the dazzling array of lights that filled the underground vanished. Along with it, the shimmering magical aura vanished as well. Ervandas knew.

Lulu’s magic had failed.

Lulu, standing amidst the magical array, swayed in her stance. Without hesitation, Ervandas approached and held her falling body in his arms. Her body was a mess of sweat and the traces of the previous night, yet he found it all the more lovely.

Ervandas lifted Lulu in his arms. Her body was so small and light, it was astonishing how she had swallowed his member. Meanwhile, Lulu shed tears.

As he pondered how to comfort Lulu, she suddenly burst into a loud sob, wailing in his arms like a young child.

Swiftly like magic, Ervandas carried Lulu out of the underground, the resonating sound of her sorrowful cries made his chest throb.

Never before had he seen Lulu in such a state. The despair and fear in her voice, as if her world had fallen apart. Ervandas bit his lip at Lulu’s heartbreaking cries, unable to hide her own emotions.

For now, soothing her was his top priority.

* * *

With a loud splash, Lulu’s body submerged into a large barrel of water. As her body sank into the warm water, she let out choked sobs, slowly regaining composure.

Ervandas brought a low wooden stool and sat beside the barrel.

“Look up.”

But Lulu’s head drooped even lower. Ervandas sighed and gently lifted her chin with his hand.

Due to all the sobbing during the water preparation, her eyes were red and her cheeks were stained with tear marks. Ervandas poured warm water onto his hand and washed Lulu’s face.

He worried she would avoid it, but fortunately, Lulu obediently accepted his touch. Satisfied, he wiped away the tears.

The traces on her small face were soon washed away. Ervandas hesitated, repeatedly wiping her eyes and cheeks. Eventually, he removed his clothes and entered the wooden barrel.

There was plenty of space inside the barrel when Lulu had entered alone, but as Ervandas joined her, the sound of water overflowing echoed. In the cramped barrel, he settled Lulu on his thighs.

Seating Lulu to face him, Ervandas examined her body beneath the water. Her body was a mess, evident even through the water’s surface.

His fingers followed the marks, and there, he found a trace of semen that hadn’t yet faded. He gently rubbed the reddened skin where it stained.

“Ouch…”

Lulu quivered, suppressing a groan at the throbbing pain. Ervandas briefly glanced at her before resuming his movements.

The warm air and the soft moans were no different from the previous night, but now, only calmness in his examination, devoid of the tangled lust.

His hand, which had been hovering near her collarbone, hesitated before covering her perky breasts. Recalling the delicate drops that had trailed down this soft curve the previous night, Ervandas once again felt the weight beneath him.

As the sensation rose from beneath her hips, Lulu’s expression stiffened. It was clear she was remembering the pain of penetration.

“I have no intention of doing more right now, so relax.”

“…”

He tried to speak as softly as possible, but Lulu’s body remained stiff and rigid. Ervandas smiled bitterly. It was only natural that she couldn’t believe his words. How many times had he made promises to stop throughout the night?

As he pondered how to make Lulu more comfortable, she spoke up.

“When are you going to leave?”

“Leave? What are you talking about?”

“You gave me what you promised, so I think it’s time to go back. The magic…… seems to have been dispelled. So, aren’t you going to return to the village?”

“…”

Lulu’s question was one that Ervandas had been asking himself as well. What should he do now?

Indeed, Lulu was right, the magic was now broken and he had given her what she desired. There was no reason for them to be together.

Ervandas hated that fact. The fact that there was no reason to bind himself and Lulu together.

Then a thought flashed through his mind.

“Did your magic fail?”

“……Yes.”

At Ervandas’s question, Lulu hunched her shoulders and answered in a voice barely audible.

“So, what do you plan to do now? Will you try the magic again?”

“Well… I would need a lot of ingredients, and I’d have to redraw the magic circle… It seems difficult to try it again…”

The more Lulu answered, the more her shoulders slumped. The thought of attempting the magic again seemed daunting. It was then that Ervandas uttered words that pierced Lulu’s ears.

“You wanted to have a Homunculus that resembled me.”

“Yes……”

“If that’s the case, you can make one without using magic.”

Upon that response, Lulu jumped up in surprise.

“What? How… Ah!”

Lulu tried to sit up, but the pain that shot up her back made her fall back down again. The water splashed dizzily against her face, but before she had time to wipe it, she clung to Ervandas and asked.

“How? What method?”

Ervandas patted her shoulder and answered.

“You can do it the way everyone else does it.”

“The way everyone else does it?”

Lulu repeated Ervandas’ words with a dumbfounded expression. Then she recalled a fact that had seemed so obvious she had forgotten it. The villagers couldn’t use magic. However, they occasionally brought young humans who resembled themselves.

Ervandas ran a hand through Lulu’s wet hair, while her mouth was agape.

“Where do you think humans who can’t use magic plant their seeds?”

“Uh…….”

Ervandas’ hand leisurely trailed down Lulu’s body. Soon, his palm swept across Lulu’s flat belly.

“They plant them here.”

“Here?”

“Yes. Women plant seeds in here and carry them in their bellies until they are born. Not just humans, but beasts as well. Have you never seen it before?”

Ervandas ran a hand through Lulu’s wet hair, who remained still with her mouth open.

“Where do you think the non-magical humans keep their seeds?”

“Uh…….”

Ervandas’s hand slid lazily down Lulu’s body, and soon his palm was brushing over her flat stomach.

“It’s planted here.”

“Here?”

“Yes. Women sow the seeds inside here and nurture them in their bellies until the child is born. It’s the same for not just humans but also animals. Haven’t you ever seen it before?”