CH 86

Sponsored chapter (1/2)

I now know how Emilia developed her phobia of men.

“It was largely to be expected, but I didn’t expect it to be a rape of a 10-year-old girl and an attempt to establish a fait accompli. So this ‘rape’ is the cause of more complicated trauma.”

“Can this illness of Emilia-san be cured?”

Sierra-san asked me with a worried look on her face.

“Trauma–also called psychological trauma–doesn’t work with heal-type recovery magic.”

“Can’t you just cast it every day?”

Iris is the most receptive to this kind of talk, after all.

“Even if you cast a [Mental Recovery] spell every day, every time you cast that spell, you’ll remember that time, and that can make things worse.”

“So you can’t heal because you remember more than you recover and it damages your mind….. That’s troublesome.”

“That’s what I mean. Moreover, since the cause of the problem varies from person to person, even the act of asking the cause can be a burden. That’s why my master didn’t teach me the magic of [Mental Recovery].”

“Why didn’t the Great Sage teach it to Luke-sama?”

“He said it was better to leave that kind of thing to the priests and sisters of the temple rather than me. I didn’t even try to learn it because I was convinced of the reason. Did you learn that kind of thing, Iris?　Didn’t you work part-time in the Temple infirmary when you were a student?”

“I think that only priests who can enter the confession room and teach in the temple have mastered the magic of [Mental Recovery].”

“Confession room?”

“In the temple, there is a room to say ‘I’m sorry’ to God. It is called a confession room or penitentiary. After confessing your sins there, the priests will tell you what to do afterwards.”

『♪By the way, confessing your sins in the confession room doesn’t actually mean that God forgives you. Nor does he punish you. In the first place, before confessing, the lower world is under the control of the Yggdrasil system, so sins are always evaluated equally and the person’s sin is listed on the status plate and is a penalty. 』

“It’s kind of a story with no head or body.”

『♪But ‘confession’ does have meaning. Most confessions are for minor offenses that are not listed on the status plate, so the priest says, “God has forgiven you”. Many are converted when the priest instructs them, “God has forgiven you, and from now on you must repent and try to do good deeds. 』

“Well, they are the kind of people who confess their sins in the first place and repent because they feel remorse, right? Serious criminals like bandits wouldn’t even think of going to such a room. 』

“Well, let’s not talk about that. I think it might be one way to go to the temple and ask them to cast a [Mental Recovery] spell, but let’s have you hear my idea first and leave it to Emilia’s judgment. Is that okay with you, Emilia-san?”

“Yes, I’m fine with that. I will leave it up to you, Luke-sama. Please tell me what your plan is.”

“Emilia-san, your attitude toward Luke-sama seems to have suddenly relaxed. Is something going on between the two of you?”

Mifa’s jealousy, but I was also concerned about Emilia’s sudden decision to show her true face and explain the background of her phobia of men.

“Mifa-oneesama…. Sierra asked to be Luke-sama’s personal attendant while he is here.”

“Sierra? Really?”

“Sierra reports back to me every time Luke-sama does something. At first I told her to stop, but the more I listened to her reports, the more I became curious about what Luke-sama was doing – about Lara, about Sierra’s reports, about how he has been treating me, about my mother, and so on. I have decided that you are a person I can trust.”

“Sierra-san was my watchdog?”

“I’m sorry! I was really worried about Emilia-sama. I wanted to judge you with my own eyes, not through rumors.”

“I’m not angry with you. So, did I pass the test?”

“Yes, you did. The servants of the duke’s household congratulate you on your engagement to Emilia-sama.”

All the servants? You mean you reported it to the entire duke household?

**********************

“Well, where do we start with…. For now, let’s start with biology, since it has more to do with all the girls than with Emilia. And I think Iris might be interested in it as well.”

“Biology? I can’t wait to hear about it!”

I knew Iris would be interested and happy to hear about it.

“What do you think is the purpose of life?”

““”The purpose of life?”””

“When you are born into this world, you have no choice but to ‘live,’ don’t you? If I had to venture a guess, I would say that our daily life is our purpose in life.”

“I don’t know if I put it in the right way, but it’s hard to put into words…. For example, what do orcs and goblins do for a living?”

“To continue the species, to procreate?”

“Sierra-san, you are correct! They’re easy to understand, aren’t they? But fundamentally what applies to all living things is species continuity. This is the instinctive root of all living things, regardless of whether they are insects, reptiles, or plants. And humans, of course.”

I guess this is a little difficult for everyone.

“Well, do you know that there are ‘three major desires’ that are absolutely necessary for living beings to survive, and that are instinctively present in everyone at the moment of birth at a level that seems to be etched into their souls?”

“Desires? Like appetite?”

“Emilia-san is correct! What are the other two?”

“The desire for things?”

“That’s not necessary for life. It’s one of the seven sins.”

“Sexual desire.”

“Erica is right! One more.”

No one got the last one right.

“So, let’s try to answer these questions. The first one is appetite, which is necessary to sustain life. Most babies are born with an appetite for their mother’s milk. Without food, any creature would die within a few days. Next, “sexual desire,” which is necessary for the continuation of the species. Without sexual desire, the act of reproduction would not take place and the creature would become extinct.”

“”‘Indeed, that is true.'””

“And the one you guys could not find an answer to was the ‘desire to sleep,’ which is also necessary for life-supporting activities as long as we are living organisms. If you stay awake for 3 to 5 days, the compulsion to ‘sleep’ is so strong that you will pass out on your own.”

“““I see…this also makes sense.”””

“The problem is that everyone has the three major desires, but the strength of each desire differs depending on the gender and the individual. By the way, what do you think I have the strongest desire for?”

“”Appetite!””

“Well, it’s just as you see it, isn’t it? Normally, I would say that appetite > desire to sleep > sexual desire, in that order. Now comes the crux of my point. Let’s delve into the biology of sexual desire.”

“Oh, but first, Your Highness Luke, would you like another cup of tea?”

“Oh yes, please, I’d love some more tea. I’ve talked a lot and I’m thirsty.”

It was immediately prepared, but instead of Sierra-san, another two maids brought a tea set and baked sweets tea cakes on a wagon.

The two maids finished distributing them to everyone, but they didn’t leave the room. On the contrary, they weren’t waiting at the entrance, but were standing behind Sierra-san.

“Sierra-san? Who are those two?”

The two ladies-in-waiting come forward, but it’s not their names I want to hear!

“Don’t worry about it – I found what His Highness Luke told me very interesting, so I called them over so that the two of them who are so keen on these kinds of lectures could hear them too. I’ll have them refrain quietly, if that’s okay with you.”

These kind of lectures? What I’m about to tell you is about sexual desire.

“Well if you say so, then I guess it’s fine.”

“Thank you.”

“Then let’s continue from where we left off. As I said before, without this desire, an organism will not be able to reproduce and will eventually perish. Basic organisms are divided into “male” and “female”. In plants, we have stamens and pistils. Some of them are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female functions in a single organism.”

“Eh? Is there a creature that can increase on its own by itself? Ah, slime!”

“Slime is a slightly different ecology they don’t have the concept of gender, meaning It does not have a male and female, and grows by division. Among the familiar creatures that Iris is familiar with, worms, slugs, and snails are hermaphrodites.”

“Worms! They are very unusual creatures. Worms and slugs can be found everywhere because they grow alone.”

“No, worms and slugs are both capable of male and female reproduction, but they do not multiply on their own. They always mate and pass on their offspring. There’s a good reason why they don’t reproduce on their own, but that’s a story for a later time.”

Except for Iris, no one else seemed to be interested in this story.

“Birds mate and lay eggs, right? What about the amphibian frogs we had for lunch?”

“Frogs also mate with a male and a female, and that’s their egg. When the egg hatches, it is a tadpole, which gradually grows into a frog.”

“Emilia-san is very well educated. What about people, Mifa?”

“People are …… that …… well …….”

Oh? Mifa! Why are you so shy when you become aware of people?

“We’re talking about living things, so don’t be too shy to be aware of them! You’re embarrassing me too!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Well, I’ll let Natalie answer next.”

“Umm…Let’s see….. Men and women have sex to produce babies…”:

“Not wrong, but let’s go further into the biological and medical aspects of the question.”

“Yes, a man and a woman mate, the man pours his seed into the woman, and she gets pregnant and gives birth to a baby.”

“Almost right, but actually the female of the human race also lays eggs.”

“”What? Eggs?””

As I expected, everyone is surprised.

“Women have a ‘monthly thing’ or ‘menstruation’ once a month, right? About two weeks after menstruation begins, an egg is laid, or rather released, into the uterus, which serves as the baby’s room. Then, the man pours his sperm, his seed, into the egg, and if the egg is successfully fertilized by the man’s sperm, it becomes a baby in the uterus and is born about 10 months later. That’s the whole process of human birth.”

“Luke-sama, a woman produces an egg. …… This is a lie, isn’t it?”

“Iris, my number one disciple, doesn’t believe what I’m saying! Was it that surprising? I can’t help it – Mifa, was I lying earlier as I spoke?”

“No, there was no lie at all. I had no reaction to my skills as a first class inquisitor.”

“”Eggs?””

I guess I said something unnecessary. ….

I regretted saying something that had little to do with Emilia’s case and was a bit of a pain to explain later.