༺ Midnight Negotiations (3) ༻
Crack— Crack—
No matter how old and perforated this barn was, it was a bit excessive if I could see my leaking breaths on a spring night,
This was obviously an abnormal weather event. Also, I experienced a cold sensation that seemed to be seeping deep into my body down to my very bones.
『I. Have. Arrived.』
As soon as I heard an eerie voice echoing inside the room, I jumped up from my sitting position.
Standing up, I immediately proceeded to prostate deliberately to the simplified god statue that Luna made in the corner of the cabin. It had been staring at me with hostile eyes for a while already so I reckoned the goddess of the night had used that to descend into this place.
Plop—
“Lady Knox! Did you really descend to this place?”
『Which direction are you prostrating at? It’s this way, not that way.』
The voice that leaked out was not coming from the god statue but from behind my butt.
No way! She didn’t descend into my butt, right? Okay, that stupid idea disappeared as quickly as it came to my mind. I was able to understand everything when I saw Luna swiftly taking the blanket and covering herself from head to toe.
“Are you going to descend using Luna’s body this time too?”
『Yes, I am. But I won’t take too long.』
Lady Knox, who took over Luna’s body, covered herself with the blanket and the quilt lying on the floor. She covered herself in such a manner that not even a strain of her hair could be seen.
Anyway, I changed my direction and prostrated toward the direction Lady Knox had descended. That was… I prostrated toward Luna wrapped from head to toe using the blanket and quilt.
I don’t know why, but I often thought that kneeling down flat on the floor like this was a good move to preserve my life in front of higher entities.
“I-I was wrong!”
『This God hasn’t said anything yet. Yet, I don’t feel bad seeing you repent for your mistakes. You’re a commendable child, so I won’t punish you right away. Let me hear your excuses.』
“T-Thank you!”
『So how did it feel like, you small, useless thief? How do you feel about devouring something that this God cherished and cultivated with all her might? How did it feel to enjoy my precious?』1Might not seem very relevant right now but the word used here has two meanings. It could refer to a situation related to taking everything while gambling or in a situation of rape.
“P-Pardon!?”
Devouring? How could she use such a strong word to describe that? I felt that my face was literally getting hot due to embarrassment.
『Don’t pretend you didn’t. This God has already learned about everything before descending here. I’ve been taking care of her since she was small and I’ve kept her safe from anyone who dared to touch it, but then how dare to touch, trample, and even get a taste of her?』
“W-Well, it’s…”
Knox seemed angry that I had touched her daughter, Luna, in such a reckless fashion.
The floor began to freeze from the bottom of that ridiculous quilt, so I could only tremble in fear and the chill permeating from all around me. I might just freeze to death at this rate if I kept kneeling flat on the floor like this!!!
『Tell me, how did she taste? Tell me how you feel about what you’ve tasted! Right from how you felt when you touched her. Tell me, in detail!』
“Uh, I…”
No, shit, how could I even discuss such a thing?
In front of my girlfriend’s mother, how could I say that Luna’s breasts were so soft that they could be held in just one of my hands and that the warmth and softness of them were wonderful and fantastic? Which crazy bastard in the world even dares to say something like, “Does she take after you, Ma’am?” 2A way to compliment your in-laws by saying that one of your partner’s good traits was inherited from them.
Of course, someone in this hideous world might just be brazen enough to utter those words, but I definitely wouldn’t, at least.
『Why don’t you quickly say it? Or should I freeze your useless mouth and make you unable to taste anything in your life?』
I couldn’t tell because she was covered by the blanket, but I could clearly sense that Knox was really angry right now. I was so scared that I couldn’t do anything but kneel down and tremble in fright.
Fortunately, I’ve relieved myself become I came here, if not, I would definitely have wetted my pants already.
『Hurry up! Tell me everything! How did my precious taste? Tell me!!!』
“Well, uh, okay. Please calm down. Whoo…”
Damn it, this will be the end of my life, I can feel it. However, even if you enter a tiger’s cave, you still can survive if you keep your head straight.
So, after steeling myself for my eventual death I frantically raised my head. I think this was the first time I used my brain to such a degree in all my life.
Anyway, if possible, it would be better to just go with a nonprovocative and vague approach, Anything will do as long as it doesn’t upset Knox.
“Well, she tasted very good.”
『Hmm. Is that it?』
“She was small and petite… It felt so good when it came into my arms… I thought she was well taken care of so I liked it very much.”
『So how did she taste? Was it sweet?』
Sweet? Damn it, how could you explain a person by their taste?
“Well, yes. She was very sweet. At the same time, she tasted a little sour as well… but I felt like I wanted to keep tasting her more.”
『How dare you want to keep tasting it even though she is not yours? You mean that you would continue to steal and devour something that this God took care of if given the chance?』
“That was a slip of the tongue…! I was just going to say…. that’s how good she tastes. Anyway, I-I’m sorry.”
『However, it’s the first time that someone has tasted and evaluated her.』
Of course, it’s the first time. Damn it, I had no idea that I would be saying these embarrassing things in front of Knox one day.
Wasn’t Knox referred to as a mighty goddess from Tartarus’s abyss? Indeed, like a goddess who lived in hell, her way of thinking was very hellish. She was indeed a hellish goddess!
『I raised her with great care. I oversaw her for 100 nights and was so nervous about its 1,000th day that it would get screwed up by a bad beast that wants to devour it. I was nervous that the bugs might get a taste Do you even know what parenthood feels like?』
“I’m so sorry…”
『However, what’s already happened can’t be changed. It’s impossible to undo what’s already happened, even for this God. Anyway, I’ll make sure to keep an eye on such mishaps from now on. I won’t allow a thief like you to lift a finger in front of her in the future.』
Ta-da!
The words that were spoken from beneath the blanket made me dizzy. I immediately thought of this situation to be similar to your typical drama where parents opposed the relationship between a boy and girl in love.
After experiencing such a thing in person, my mind became blank and my back was covered by cold sweat.
『Swear to the Styx River that you’ll never touch her again!』
“It’s…”
I was quite literally in a life-or-death crisis, hesitating while standing on that two-pronged path. One of the two was clearly the path that led to death and complete demise.
I clearly knew the answer as to what path I should choose, but somehow the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. How could I give up on Luna? Let alone make a promise by the river Styx to never touch her again.
“A-As expected, I can’t. I can’t promise that.”
『What? Are you going to continue sucking her nectar with that dirty mouth of yours? You have some guts, I’ll give you that. All right, then let’s make a deal. If you can promise that you won’t touch her anymore, I’ll give you appropriate compensation.』
“Compensation?”
『Yeah, it can be a substitute, for example, something like this.』
Swish.
A tiny palm was sticking out from under the blanket. It was Luna’s thin and slender palm. On top of it was a very round and shiny billiard ball-sized bead.
It was like looking at the universe inside a glass ball, shining with a dark navy blue luster and pristine white grains that resembled flaky salt.
『What do you think, don’t you want it? I let it sit inside a Titan’s tears for not only ten but 20 nights. Of course, it is no match for the precious I cherish the most, but it is already a treasure in itself. If you are a mortal, you will be able to sell it and live well for the rest of your life.』
Indeed, Knox’s words were quite convincing. I then picked up the Night Tears bead, it felt very surreal to touch.
That bead looked like a pretty expensive thing to me, even to the inexperienced eyes of a noob like me. To think she was trying to appease me with something as precious as this. Is Luna’s existence that important to her?
『You don’t like this? How about this? Men like this kind of thing or so I’ve heard.』
Ssk— Ssk—
The hand that was holding the bead went under the blanket again and eventually reached out back while holding something else.
How could I explain that thing? A crooked wire? A poorly-made stick? I don’t know what it was just from looking at it.
“What is that?”
『Don’t be surprised when you hear this. This is Jupiter’s thunderbolt, which fell into the deep abyss when he misfired it once. Although it has lost all of its divinity, there is no weapon like this in the mortal world.』
Zap— Zap—
I immediately knew what those sparks shimmering along the red copper would do as I heard the word “thunderbolt”.
That was like a copper wire filled with a deadly dose of high-voltage current. Even without touching it, I could easily guess how it might feel to come into contact with such a dangerous-looking thing with my bare hands.
“W-Well, that’s a little….”
『What? Even this isn’t satisfactory for you? Wait a minute. I’m sure there’s something you’ll like.』
Then, Luna, no, Knox began to move around in the blanket. After a long time, I slowly spoke first to clarify the matter to her.
“I… whatever you take out, I won’t give up.”
Humph.
That statement made Knox stop moving.
『Even if you lose your life? Do you think it’s that good?』
“Well, it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life. I won’t be able to taste anything else so delicious ever again.”
『Hmm, I honestly don’t feel bad when you say it like that. I wanted to raise her well to entertain the other gods. I have confidence in myself. Erebor was looking forward to the harvesting day.』
What the heck is this? You’re planning to make Luna entertain the other gods? Who the hell even is this Erebor?
After hearing that, I couldn’t suppress the rising anger inside me. Even if she is her parent, how could she treat such a young petite girl as though she was an object? Did she think she could do whatever she wished with her?
I stopped prostrating and slowly got up. Then I said in a tone of anger.
“That, that’s not acceptable. Knox, i-it’s mine! I can’t give it to anyone else!”
『What? Are you trying to say that it’s all yours? How disrespectful! Have you contributed anything into raising it?』
“A-Although I didn’t, Lu-luna has promised me! I’m never going to hand her over to anyone else!!”
Wow, damn it! I went and really said it. Not gonna lie, that was pretty sick, even coming from me. I even dared to refute a woman who could erase me with just a snap of her fingers.
I wasn’t sure but I probably have grown my nerves after going against strong women like Elfriede and Hippolyte. Of course, compared to them, Knox was the real deal, completely incomparable to those two women.
Nevertheless, I’ve said everything I wanted to say! I wasn’t going to die now, was I? Should I gauge her mood from under the blanket?
『What are you even talking about? This God is talking about the apple she was raising in Tartarus.』
What? Apple? Which apple? What was she talking about?
I couldn’t keep up with the sudden unexpected turn this story took. Apple, apple… Immediately a certain memory struck my mind.
It was an apple that I ate in my dreams on that first intimate night that I spent with Luna. Its name was Apple of the Darkest Night. Now that I think about it, perhaps the thing Knox was speaking about was the apple and not Luna!
『What does Luna have to do in this conversation?』
Damn, I was the only one who had been talking nonsense all this time. I’m screwed, seriously screwed, damn it. I need to salvage this somehow.
If she found out that everything I said was about Luna, this would definitely be the end of me. I was going to die a terrible and miserable death. I couldn’t imagine how horribly I was going to die. Has my time finally come…?
“I-I was also talking about the apple. The apple was so good. It was so delicious!”
『Yes, of course, it was. However, the mortal body cannot handle ingesting the apple. No matter how you wish for it, that fruit cannot be yours.』
“W-Well, I think so too. I was out of my mind for a moment there. I just realized how big my fault is for thinking something like that. Please forgive me.”
I prostrated to Knox again. Knox replied to that in a warmer tone.
『That’s all right. This God is the mother of the night. The dark night has an endlessly broad mind so I’ll forgive you. Then, you promise that you won’t touch the apple again, right?』
“Yes, of course. How can I be so reckless and foolish all over again? I’m just a little worm.”
『Well, while you might be a little dull, you at least know how to quickly self-reflect. Yet, this God can’t just let you give up only with words alone. I’ll compensate you.』
Swish—
Soon, her hand came out from under the blanket again. There was a small coin in her palm.
Compared to the beads and the broken thunderbolt that she had offered so far, this one looked way inferior, so I was looking forward to the goddess explaining its functions.
“Well, may I ask what it is?”
『You’re really not so bright now, are you? Can’t you already guess just by seeing it? This is a coin.』
Hello everyone, been a while. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, definitely one of the funnier ones in this novel lmao. Just a really nice interaction overall. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did while I worked on it. Thanks for reading and see y’all soon.
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48 Footnotes:
1Might not seem very relevant right now but the word used here has two meanings. It could refer to a situation related to taking everything while gambling or in a situation of rape.2A way to compliment your in-laws by saying that one of your partner’s good traits was inherited from them.
