Butcher Demon

Chapter 196

That night…

I spent a lot of time with Titania, who was at her maximum annoyance, serving her delicacies dishes with a lot of seasonings I had purchased at the Fort, making her a pot of brewed coffee, patting her head, rubbing her shoulders, squeezing her breasts, and so on. After putting her in a good mood, I finally put her to bed and went outside the anthill castle by myself.

I went outside the castle to cool down my body, heated up by the battle during the day, wandering around at night.

It is at times like this that I wish I could wrap my son in Titania’s embrace, but today is a day off. I was not going to do this today, because Arshella pointed out to me that Titania was exhausted, physically.

I will refrain from the usual senselessness of taking her to the bedroom every time we meet each other’s eyes. It would be a serious matter if she disliked me. Titania is not a woman to be used for sexual issues. Although I should be ashamed of myself, I was also happy to remember the fact that she had never once looked at me in a disapproving way. This is love.

It’s a quiet, bright night. It must be because of the snow and the moon.

I walk through a forest full of bare birch trees.

Leafless trees hung cold, and the withered forest was pale and silent. As I walked aimlessly, the contrast between the shadows created by the moonlight and the white of the snowfield led me toward an unknown destination.

When I looked up, I saw Anthill Castle with the moon in the background. It was covered with snow and looked like a snowy mountain. This way, for the time being, humanity would not be able to detect us.

Ferris and company seemed to have set up camp some distance away from the castle. They don’t seem to be planning to return anytime soon.

–I’m a little troubled by the sudden mention of an alliance.

If I was planning to take revenge on my girlfriend for cheating on me, and a completely unrelated third party approached me and said, “Let me help you,” everyone would be confused. I wish they would leave me alone.

Besides, 88 has Abigail, and Natsuki is probably still there. It would be dangerous if Arshella and the others suddenly went on a rampage. If they get caught in the dragon’s breath, any homosapiens will just be vaporized.

–I’ll have to let Abigail know what’s going on over here…….

As I was thinking about this, the forest cleared up.

It was the lakeside of a small spring. Snow-covered the icy surface of the water, and the pristine white spread across the flat surface, glimmering.

Such a sight caught my attention.

When my footsteps ceased, I suddenly felt as if the world had come to a halt.

The wind is gone, the water is frozen, and everything is silent in the snow. The stars remained still in the sky, not moving an inch. For this moment, I was part of nature.

『Jiiiibodan♪ let’s have sex!』

Let’s have sex! Before I could even add it in my head, She has already finished the sentence.

–What was that?

I thought it was an auditory hallucination and turned around.

Ferris was standing there. I was completely caught off guard.

How did she get so close to me without making a sound in this snow?

“Ferris, when did you get here?”

My mechanical voice blurted out.

I had my brainwave voice synthesizer on now. It was because I had just held an Al-Al festival to get Titania in a good mood.

『………that voice, you can do that now?』

Ferris looked a little surprised but soon walked up to me with a small nod of her head.

Unlike during the day, her eyes had returned to their usual soothing brown color. Her hair and tail were a fluffy chestnut color. I wondered if I had been mistaken.

『I got a device that can emit a voice from 88.』

『Wow, that’s interesting. Is that a circle thing on your head?』

『Yes, yes. How’s my voice?』

“Ferris, Al,” I said.

My alien vocabulary is incredibly limited. At the moment, I know only a limited number of words for objects, the names of people I know, and the words Ravios and Al. I’m still learning.

『Hmmm ……』 Ferris said, putting a finger to her mouth and pondering for a bit, 『I think I prefer the voice in Jibodan’s mind』 she smiled.

『By the way, Ferris, what are you doing alone this late at night?』

I asked, to which Ferris replied clearly.

『Hmm? I was thinking of having sex with Jibodan.』

The straightforward answer came naturally out of Ferris’s small mouth. There was no trace of shame.

That’s ridiculous.

Strange.

The Ferris I know would stutter at the word sex.

–I wonder if this little fox has fooled me…….

In my confusion, I couldn’t think of a follow-up question, so I changed the subject.

『Oh, by the way, what were you and Titania talking about during the day?』

『Talking about sex.』

She really wants to say sex.

Whenever the word sex comes out of her little mouth, my stomach churns.

『Gevaudan is not his real name, Don’t act like you own him. I told her.』

『H-hee』

『If you can’t handle Jibodan at night, we’ll take care of him for you, and you can breakup with him.』

That’s aggressive.

You are not that kind of character before, right?

I was puzzled.

Then Ferris looked at me and suddenly lost her expression.

『Jibodan…… will you break up with Titania and marry me?』

She said.

I couldn’t believe my ears.

What is going on?

To begin with, I was the one who broke up with you, I thought I had the courage to say goodbye…….

『…… marriage……. Is your marriage that casual?』

『The <marriage contract> is one of the most powerful and important of all the contracts, so everyone is very careful about it. In other words, it is an incorporation of the bloodline. It has a different meaning than simply having a child』

『Um-um』

『But Jibodan is different, You’re originally a subhuman. But it doesn’t matter』

Hmmm……… really? I’m not interested in bloodlines or anything like that but…

『So, I thought I’d better hurry up and do the deed.』

–I just heard some unsettling words.

『I came here today as a surprise fox bride』

『Fox bride?』

I look and see Ferris holding a piece of plank between her fingers and waving it fluttery.

It is a wooden tag with a picture of a white fox with many tails and unreadable words. The fox’s face resembled the design of the masks Arshella and her friends wore during the day.

『Here are my name and Gevaudan’s name. If we perform the rituals prescribed by each clan using the other’s party deity, the marriage contract will be consummated. Jibodan probably didn’t know all the details, so I attacked him quickly, and he fell for it, but..』

–eh?

『Wait, I was already fell for it?』

『Yes. You ate the grass, didn’t you?』

Ferris said, without a trace of apology.

『Grass?』

『The marriage between me and Jibodan supposedly took place when you received the bridegroom’s gift that I brought, That was my family’s ceremony.』

『eh……』

It’s like I signed an irrelevant document and found a marriage certificate hidden underneath.

–Arshella.

Is that what you meant by that smug look on your face?

『But it failed.』

I’m glad it failed–

I was unconsciously avoiding the divine forcing me a wife.

I could feel the tension drain from my shoulders. I had been unknowingly stiffening my whole body.

『Jibodan, you and Titania had already consummated your marriage.』

What’s that? I haven’t heard anything of it.

『Really?』

『Yes, But it seems that it was broken when Titania died. The bond is broken upon death.』

『Titania died?』

『Yes. Titania died that day. But I brought her back to life with Resurrection, the mastermind, Tulyal, is already dead. Everything is already resolved. Jibodan doesn’t need to be angry about it anymore.』

Ferris held my finger and gave me a concerned look.

–Panic surged from Ferris, But there was no time to get angry because it was too sudden …….

Oh well, Titania did die after all.

Well, sort of…….

I had a strange feeling about the conversation between the four girls that night I went to return Ferris. But I let it slide, thinking that there was no way a dead person could come back to life.

I had no idea that the power to bring back the dead really existed.

Ferris, by any chance, are you a really powerful girl?

–Ah, I get it.

That’s why Ferris was so relentlessly targeted by the human side.

It would be unbearable if the aliens, whom we went to a lot of trouble to kill, were to be resurrected one after another. That’s why the human side would be so desperate if they knew of its existence.

『–You mean, I’m a divorcee?』

Ferris raised her eyebrows apologetically in response to my question.

『Yes, Jibodan is a divorced widower. So he can’t marry anyone for a while. There is a special cooldown on marriage contracts, and you have to wait about a year before you can get married again. I guess to prevent people from trying to cheat others. 』

I looked up at the moon, not knowing what to say.

–I was unknowingly married and unknowingly divorced.

I and Titania are a couple yay, and while I don’t care about your life resume or whatever, I sincerely hope that at least that is something you can choose. You’ve been pushed around too much.