The Lecher Beast will die in two or three days if it succeeds in producing offspring, but if it is unable to produce offspring in that time, it will not die even if you pierce it through the heart.
I don’t know whether their bodies go into overdrive at that point to give them incomparable vitality or whether it’s just their will and obsession to procreate that pushes them through.
But its state of inability to die lasts for about seven days.
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To resolve this, in the unlikely event that they are captured, their bodily movements are usually sealed. They are then hung out to dry, like sun-dried fruit, until the phenomenon wears off. They’re not vampires, so sun and heat don’t really matter to them, but the reason they’re dried outside until they die is that the smell of the beast will permeate if it’s indoors.
“Oooh… it’s you…”
“You’re still alive?”
The Lecher Beast saw me and groaned. Looks like it’s still able to talk.
“She really messed you up, huh. I knew it. Even though she looks like that, Miss Priestess is a hell of an enemy.”
“Hahah, you’re damn right. By the way, you look rather depressed today, merchant.”
I chuckled at the beast’s words and then replied,
“Of course I am. This merchant is about to die. A dying man can’t afford to be tense.”
I had staked my life on a contract that said I would ensure the safe birth of the Lecher Beast’s offspring in exchange for not killing the daughter, but I had failed in my part of the contract by allowing the minister to attack him. So, of course, I had to die.
I’ve come this far because I thought that, if possible, I should at least die in front of my contractor.
“In my country, we have a proud tradition of “seppuku”, where if you bring dishonor upon yourself, you can choose a painful way of suicide by cutting your stomach open with a blade and letting the contents drip out until you die. But since my stomach has already been ripped open by you, I think I’ll just have to die with a stab to the chest instead. After all, I think I already covered the suffering part with what happened before.”
With that, I sat down in front of the animal’s barely open red eyes and pointed a fang-like knife with a six-inch blade at my own chest. If yo u ar e abl e to re ad t his me ssa ge, yo u are rea di ng f rom an unau tho rized agg reg ate sit e. R ead at my W ord Pres s at sta bb ing wit h a syri nge . ho me. bl og to sup port me and my transl ation s.
“Wait a minute.”
Surprisingly, the animal stops me.
“What? I’m busy taking my life here.”
“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you even ask to talk to me at the last minute?”
“Um, first of all, I’m sorry if I misunderstood, but I was on your side back then because there was a contract, not because I was your friend or anything like that. So please don’t pretend to be close to me because I don’t intend to get along with you either.”
“Huh? What was that? Ahahaha… I see. But even if you tell me that, it doesn’t mean that I will obediently keep my distance. In fact, the moment you said that, I became even more interested in you. So will you listen to me?”
“Please make it quick.”
“Hmm, where to start. Ah, yes. First things first. You’re not afraid of dying, are you?”
“Oi oi, what do you mean ‘first things first’? You’re not going to give me a to-do list, are you?”
“To-do list? What the hell are you talking about? It’s that, you see… I’m scared. It’s true that I’ve been in pain for the last six days, but I’m even more afraid of dying.”
He doesn’t listen anymore, this guy. But I know how he feels.
“I’m afraid of dying too, but… or rather, I’m more regretful than afraid.”
“Regretful? Even though you just prepared to kill yourself? May I know why?”
“Because I am on a journey with a goal, and it would be a pity to die before I could fulfill it, wouldn’t it?”
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“Of course that would be unfortunate. Or rather, you’re asking someone who was halfway there with a beautiful woman before he was caught. Apart from the fear of dying, that’s the only thing I feel right now.”
Please do not put my regrets and yours together. They’re far too different.
“So, what is your goal?”
“I don’t want to say.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not a good deathbed act to dwell on your unfulfilled goals.”
Just now, the Lecher Beast did it, that dwelling. I do not like it at all.
“Don’t say that. Tell me. I’m dying of curiosity.”
“You’re overreacting.”
“I’m literally dying here. What is there to overreact to?”
“…”
“Then how about this? Let’s change the contract. You, as a substitute for your life, tell me what your goal is. That way, your ‘goal’ can be fulfilled, and more importantly, you will not have to commit suicide anymore.”
I sighed, long and deep.
“If you feel pity or moral obligation towards me for what you’ve done, then stop. I don’t need it.”
“That’s not true. As I said, I have no pity, only curiosity. And because of that curiosity, I am no longer interested in seeing you die. It is only natural that I try to extend my contract to one that will benefit you as much as possible”.
Hearing this, I released the shiny silver knife from my hand. A metallic clang echoed through the square. This chap ter t ran slation is ma de po ssi ble by sta bbi ng wi th a sy ri nge t ranslat io s. Ch eck only up-to-date tran slat ions on my Wo r dpre ss s ite.
I’m not a samurai or an aristocrat, so if my contract partner says so, I won’t insist on dying. I’m not the type to shout, “No, I’ll die in the name of my family’s pride and bury my failure with me,” or anything like that.
“I guess I have no choice.”
I put my mouth around where the beast’s ears used to grow and whispered at a volume no one could hear.
“GWAHAHAHAHAH… guuhh, gough, cough, cough…”
“You, don’t laugh.”
“You. That’s not a goal. That’s more of an ambition, don’t you think?”
“So… we’re good now? I have to go now. And before you say anything, no. I have no intention of saving you or anything, so give it up.”
“Yeah, I’m good. Now get the hell out of here.”
I spun on my heels.
As I stepped out to walk away, I met Miss Priestess, her eyes shining sharply through her silver hair.
“Wow. Am I supposed to be happy for you? You have friends besides me now, although this one won’t last long. Then again, it can’t be helped, since it’s you. If humans don’t work out, you can always make friends with monsters, right?”
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“Don’t talk about me like I’m a lonely person!”
“Don’t be shy. You talked about your dreams and laughed at each other. You two are great friends.”
I was about to reply, “We didn’t laugh at each other. He just laughed at me,” but then I realized that would sound even more pathetic, so I decided against it.
“And what are you doing here, Miss Priestess?”
“What else? To stop you if you ever decide to die.”
I see. The reason she hung the Lecher Beast in the middle of town was to watch for my arrival.
“Well, as you can see. I no longer have to die. But if I had chosen to die somewhere else, the priestess would not have been able to stop me, would she? At best, I could have chosen to die anywhere and not in the square.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already prepared another solution in case that happens.”
The priestess took a pair of handcuffs and some rope from her bag.
“All I’ll need to do is use them to bind you when you get out of the hospital and carry you to the basement of the cathedral to prevent you from killing yourself. Oh, and a gag for your mouth, too, in case you decide to bite your tongue and block your windpipe by swallowing it.”
“Priestess, that’s a crime. It’s literally unlawful imprisonment.”
Wait. If I had committed seppuku back there, I would have ended up in a state worse than death, wouldn’t I? That was a close call…
