Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Bodily Pleasure, Inner Rejection

Grandma Claire told her two grandchildren about what happened when she encountered me in the morning.

“… That’s how it is. Little Hill will be part of our family from now on. You two are older than her, so you should take care of her… Barry, did you hear that? You must not bully her!”

“…… I won’t!” Barry glanced at me secretly, then loudly said as if he was trying to cover something up.

“Little Hill, are you from a noble family?”

Elya opened her eyes wide. The eighteen-year-old village girl had very simple thoughts. She hadn’t received much education and didn’t have many complex ideas; she said whatever came to mind.

“I… am not.”

“I don’t believe you. Tell me!”

“Elya! Shut up and eat your food.”

“What’s wrong, Grandma? Even asking isn’t allowed… Why are there so many sweet potatoes again! Grandma, didn’t you say you would bring out the venison for dinner? Where is it? Did you secretly finish it all for Barry! Grandma, you’re being unfair. You know I’ve been thinking about this for days.”

“The venison was eaten by Little Hill. Tomorrow when Uncle Doyle returns from hunting, I’ll get some more from him.”

“I’m… I’m sorry, I… was too hungry…”

“Oh… Not you, Little Hill! I was just afraid Barry might sneak some. It’s fine if you ate it. After all… you’re so cute, hehe.” Elya blinked her eyes, ignoring Barry’s grumbling, and said to me, “Little Hill, do you want to go with me to gather herbs in the forest tomorrow?”

“…… Gather herbs?”

“Mm-hm, gather herbs. There are so many fun things in the forest! I’ll take you—”

“Elya, why are you so lively today? Little Hill shouldn’t go anywhere tomorrow. Let her rest for a couple of days first. Barry, you’ll go with your sister tomorrow.”

“…… Okay.” Barry replied in a low voice.

“Barry… What’s wrong with you today? You look gloomy.” Grandma Claire felt puzzled as she touched Barry’s forehead, “Are you feeling unwell?”

“No… I just think Elya is too childish and I don’t want to talk to her.”

“Barry! How dare you call me childish!”

“Why aren’t you childish! You’re making such a fuss, where’s the behavior of an older sister?”

“You… I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

“You two! Be careful or you’ll drop the plates. Eating like this is so unseemly!”

“Giggling.”

“Look, Little Hill is laughing at you.”

…………

That night, I slept with Grandma Claire.

Grandma Claire told me many stories, telling me that she once had a son, who was the father of Elya and Barry, and a knight of the Church’s Seventh Order. Her son had always been her pride, marrying the most beautiful girl in the village, but unfortunately died in a large-scale anti-bandit operation organized by the Church a few years ago. As for their mother, she passed away due to excessive bleeding after giving birth to Barry, leaving only Grandma Claire and these two siblings to rely on each other.

When Barry and Elya were still young children, Grandma Claire raised them alone, enduring much hardship. Fortunately, her son died in the line of duty, and the Church provided a decent compensation. The villagers were also very helpful, often lending a hand when needed, so they managed to pull through. Now, Barry is already sixteen, considered a half-adult, and has to take on many responsibilities in the household.

Grandma Claire said that she was getting old and her body wasn’t as strong as before. When she sees Barry get married one day, she feels she can finally close her eyes…

The everyday chatter of Grandma Claire turned into a sense of ease that I hadn’t felt in a long time, and I gradually fell asleep.

…………

A beautiful child like a goddess had moved into the Claire family home.

This news quickly spread throughout the village.

In an era with very limited entertainment activities, such an event was quite a big deal for the village. My appearance was indeed striking, and wherever I went, people recognized me.

“Ahh, this is the little girl who came to the Claire family… Tsk tsk tsk, she’s really beautiful.”

People would point and whisper like this.

As a result, Grandma Claire’s home saw a lot of visitors during this period. Some came specifically to see me, others tried to learn about my background, and a few days ago, someone even brought their son over to meet me.

It was a dark and skinny boy, with a simple-minded look, staring at me and smiling foolishly, which made me feel uneasy.

Finally, Grandma Claire got annoyed and pushed the visitor out.

What frustrated me the most was that whenever I went out alone recently, a group of kids, the oldest looking around eighteen or nineteen, and the youngest even running around naked, would follow me around, watching me like they were at a zoo.

A few times, I got so angry that I picked up stones from the roadside and threw them at the crowd, causing the kids to laugh and scatter, only to come back as soon as I turned around.

Later, I got so frustrated that I complained to Elya one day while chatting.

Elya held back her laughter and told me that the oldest boy was named Ryan, the leader of the village kids, who idled around every day, leading a group of little kids everywhere. He was probably doing this to catch my attention; the angrier I felt, the happier they became. She herself had been teased before, but they didn’t mean any harm.

Truly… so childish it was infuriating. At their age, they still relied on such tactics to attract girls.

The child’s attention was drawn to someone who couldn’t even flirt better than my neighbor’s little kid, who knew how to use snacks to get a girl from the neighboring class to kiss him when he was still in kindergarten.

After that, no matter what the group of naughty children did or said around me, I ignored them all.

…

Leisurely days seemed like they could continue forever.

One day, I got up early and prepared to go into the forest to gather some herbs.

The village had a regular merchant caravan that came every month to buy some herbs or produce, which was one of the few sources of income for the village.

The currency in this world wasn’t anything special; the ratio between copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins was the usual 10000:100:1. However, most villagers only used copper coins or salt for transactions, and I hadn’t even seen a silver coin yet, let alone a gold one.

I went out with a small bamboo basket in hand, along with Aelia, heading towards the forest.

The path to the forest was the same muddy road I had taken when I first arrived at the village. The forest was rich in resources, and villagers would go there to hunt or gather herbs like this, but they usually stayed close to the edge, rarely venturing deep inside.

“Axia, I’m telling you, there are Dragon Gods in this forest.”

“Dragon God?”

“Yes, a huge white dragon, isn’t that amazing? There really are dragons in this world!”

… Isn’t this what I should be saying? Are dragons also legendary beings in this magical world?

“Axia, have you seen one?”

“No… I heard it from Allen. His father is the strongest hunter in the village, daring to venture deep into the forest alone. He says his father once saw it.”

Allen, whom Aelia mentioned, was her lover, a sturdy boy two years older than her. They were about to get married.

“What does a Dragon God look like?”

“Well… I’m not quite sure. It seems his father only saw it from afar. Supposedly, it has enormous horns on its head, covered in white fur, and can transform into a beam of light and fly into the sky…” Aelia began to doubt herself as she spoke, “Axia, don’t dragons have scales?”

“I don’t understand these things.”

“Hmm… what would a dragon with white fur look like? I can’t imagine it. But it must look incredibly strong and majestic!”

Yes, although I don’t know what kind of Dragon God you’re imagining, it might be somewhat different from reality.

That dragon not only had white fur but also bad breath.

… I wonder what Dabai is doing now, I miss it a bit.

“Last year, an uncle living on the west side of the village got lost in the forest and woke up to find himself back outside. Isn’t that amazing! It must be the Dragon God protecting us.”

“…”

Yes, your understanding might not be far off.

“There’s another strange thing. Before you came to the village, many monks and knights from the church came. They said that terrifying monsters appeared on the other side of the forest and led us to seek refuge in the neighboring town. When you arrived, we had just returned a couple of days ago.” Aelia’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she spoke, “The knights from the church were tall and magnificent, so handsome! My father is a knight from the church!”

You can only say they are tall and magnificent when praising someone?

“Grandma told you, didn’t she, that my father was killed by bandits… But the monks said that before he died, he killed over a dozen bad guys alone!”

“Do you feel sad?”

“Why should I feel sad? My father was a knight from the church, a hero who died protecting the people!” The girl’s words exuded pride, “But… sometimes I dream of him patting my head, hehe.”

“…”

A hero who protected the people…

What a remarkable person.

…

As we reached the entrance of the forest, Aelia and I needed to split up to gather more herbs, so we could sell more copper coins when the merchants came.

“Don’t wander too far,” Aelia reminded me before leaving, and I nodded in response.

In fact, Aelia had already brought me here many times before, and I had memorized the route, making it impossible to get lost.

But each time, she still felt uneasy and gave me reminders.

We were looking for a type of herb root called Gan Rong, which had excellent healing properties for injuries.

For someone with exceptionally keen senses like me, finding things wasn’t difficult; I could fill the bamboo basket within an hour.

My main purpose for coming here each time was actually to solve another matter.

My hunger.

It was something I discovered recently while training the Abyssal Power, also known as the Black Smoke, in the forest. Before, I always felt hungry, not because I hadn’t eaten enough, but because the Abyssal Power within me urgently needed to absorb energy.

It needed to devour living creatures to maintain its vitality and avoid “death.”

So every few days, when that unusual hunger came, I would come to the forest.

Sss…

Not far away, an animal resembling a rabbit but with four ears appeared in my sight. I focused my gaze, and a black smoke ball the size of a fist shot out, its greenish-white light being absorbed into my body.

A tingling sensation spread through my entire body, and I involuntarily tightened my legs, feeling the hunger slowly dissipate.

Yes, just like this, the Abyssal Power absorbs energy.

I never tried what would happen if I reached the extreme of hunger, nor did I ever think about trying, as it would certainly lead to something very bad.

So sorry, little rabbit.

This feeling of devouring someone’s soul always made me uncomfortable. Every time this happened, I deeply recognized the truth that I was a monster.

Physical pleasure, inner rejection.