“Business, is it?”
“Yes,” the Lecher Beast growled in his deep but polite-sounding voice.
“Yes. I’m a traveling merchant, you see.”
“My apologies, but this humble one is not interested in money or material things from humans. All this humble one wants is to leave a legacy of its existence.”
Hearing this, I smiled back slightly.
“Is there something funny?”
“No, it’s just… I think it’s a bit short-sighted of you to think only of money when you hear the word ‘business’. I had heard that Lecher Beasts were much wiser of the monsters, being ‘educated’ at birth to serve as ideal partners for women, but I guess rumors grow tails after all.”
“Interesting. But please go on.”
However, in contrast to the polite words, the monster gave me a more threatening look.
I was so scared that I almost wet my pants, but I’m sure everything will be fine. After all, the prouder a Lecher Beast is, the less likely it is to use violence to retaliate, as that would question its own intelligence.
“I’m going to ask you first, oh Mister Lecher Beast, but it’s not like your procreation has to be with this girl, is it?”
“It may be as you say. But before anything else, this humble one cannot accept it if you tell me to look elsewhere. It takes time to find a woman of this caliber. And the longer it takes, the greater the risk that I will be killed before I can produce the offspring, especially since I am now in what appears to be a human land. At least I am aware of how I look to humans now, that negotiating with them will be futile. In fact, you’re a strange one, inviting me to do business with you in my condition.”
“Then how about we leave out the part where you take the mother’s life? You said it was enough if you left a legacy. Can you just leave her alone once she’s given birth to your child?” If y ou a re abl e to r ea d th is messa ge, yo u are rea di ng fro m an una uthor ized ag gr egate s ite. R ead at my Wor dP ress at st abb ing wi th a sy rin ge. ho me. b log to sup por t me and my trans lat ions.
“That is not possible either because of the time constraints. If we go through the normal procedure, once my sperm is implanted in the woman’s womb, it takes about 24 hours for the birth to take place. But if I wait that long, there is a greater chance that the child will be taken away or killed. That wouldn’t be good after all that effort, so I have to rip open its belly at the time of implantation and take it out as soon as possible, even as an immature embryo, no matter how small. There are safer and less painful ways of doing this, and it doesn’t involve me injecting the sperm into a woman’s womb, just her fluids, but it requires massive amounts of concentration to make it practical. Developing it in the womb, waiting a while, then cutting open the stomach and taking it from there is the most efficient way. I’m sorry, but it’s all for the survival of me and my offspring”.
As you would expect from someone trained to be a toy for women, his manners are polite. I mean, he even explained the process thoroughly, as if he were some kind of butler for a high-class lady. But then again, I knew the beast’s intentions to rush the process. After all, their young would fetch a high price.
I asked the beast again, this time loud enough to be heard by the Minister of Finance who was watching beside us.
“So, beast. Will you trust me with the life of your child?”
“Entrust? I don’t know what you mean.”
The monster tilted his head.
“Use the safer and less painful method. If you keep the woman alive, I will guarantee the life of your child, which will be born in twenty-four hours.”
“How can I trust your words?”
The beast’s face contorted.
“I have a guarantee.”
I pointed to my chest with my right thumb.
“It’s my life. How about a contract that says if I can’t keep your child alive, I’ll give my life for yours?”
“And how will you make the contract?”
“I will have a notary witness it. Can you do that for me, Miss Priestess?”
“Yes, of course.”
The priestess was standing by the window, her silver hair fluttering as she watched the scene unfold.
“You… you were there? Since when?”
The Lecher Beast was astonished at the sight of the priestess suddenly appearing at the door.
“Huh? I was here the whole time. Didn’t you notice?”
Uh, so cool. I hadn’t realized that the same dialogue could have a different effect when used in the right situations.
After that, the beast snorted as if thinking for a while, and then, after muttering, “ Fine then,” he nodded. Because the risk to the child is obviously less if it is a fully developed baby than if the animal itself were carrying it around in its embryonic state.
“But I don’t understand. Why would you go to such lengths for her? Do you love her?”
This statement surprised me.
“Lecher Beasts also understand the concept of love?”
“Of course we do. What do you think we are? Love is just another term for sexual desire, isn’t it?”
No… yes, but that doesn’t apply to… ah, crap. He’s right, but he’s also wrong. And it’s a pain in the ass to correct him. This ch apt er tran slati on is mad e possi ble by st abb ing wi th a sy rin ge tra nslati ons. C heck o nly up- to-da te transla tio ns on my Wor dpr ess si te.
“I don’t have any special feelings for this girl. To tell you the truth, I don’t need her. But someone here does. So I will also do business with him before we proceed with the deal. Otherwise, I won’t see the point of this transaction. So, what do you think, Minister of Finance?”
At this point, I turned my head to the minister, who had been listening to my conversation with the Lecher Beast in stunned amazement.
“You heard me, Minister. As long as I risk my life, I can save your daughter. With that in mind, I want to talk to you again about the walls.”
The Minister of Finance stared at me for a moment.
“D-don’t be absurd! That means my daughter’s virginity will be taken by that beast one way or another! Moreover, my daughter’s firstborn is with that beast! I can’t accept that!”
“No, we have already chosen the safer way without penetration. Haven’t you been listening? We only need the young lady’s fluids”.
And as for your daughter’s virginity… it’s already been taken… by none other than me.
“Even so, I will not sell my country just to save my own kin!”
Stubborn as ever.
“Minister, we’re doing this to save your daughter’s life. Besides, virginity is the kind of thing that, once lost, makes life much more worthwhile.”
It’s a line that’s sure to draw a lot of flak from women. In fact, the young lady was already saying, “Are you serious?” so I was not sure what to say to her.
“I am not asking you to sell your country. All I want is a fair deal. You are free to make your decision from a public standpoint, and if you don’t think it’s in line with the national interest, you are free to reject it”.
It was sophistry, even for me. No person with an iron heart can make a calm decision from a public standpoint when the fate of his family members is in his hands. In the first place, there is nothing fair or just about a foreign merchant negotiating with the government of a country while offering each other terrible terms.
“I will listen to what you say.”
But I was confident that this finance minister would agree to my terms. That’s because he’s a ‘brilliant man’ and, if I’m not mistaken, he thinks the same way I do.
As for what he’s thinking, I’m sure it’s “Even if this is revealed, this will show that I can make a decision that’s good for the public in a situation where I’m heavily influenced by my personal feelings!” or something like that.
It was completely impossible by normal human standards. If it was me, In order to put my beloved daughter, whose life or death was at stake, out of my mind for the sake of the public, my mind would have to be like a magic calculator or something.
It is the weakness of excellent people to think that they can do things that ordinary people cannot.
I lifted the corner of my mouth and began the ‘deal’.
