The Seed Thief

Vol. 2 Chapter 5.3

She had seen them before. Human women walking around with full bellies.

If she had encountered animals more often, it would have been easier for her to realize that a full belly indicated pregnancy. However, due to Lulu's magic and the constant presence of the wandering golem and scarecrow, except for severely hungry animals, none of them came near Lulu's house.

"So, everyone grows seeds inside their bellies?"

"That's correct."

"T-then, can I do it too?"

"Of course."

Ervandas's hand reached the entrance he had frequented countless times during the night.

"If I plant my seed in here, it will grow."

"Then hurry up and plant it inside!"

Ervandas coughed in vain for a moment. He had thought he had grown accustomed to Lulu's brusque way of speaking. No matter how crazy he was about her, hearing such a direct request to fill inside her made his remaining sanity feel embarrassed.

"Do you really want me to do that?"

Lulu nodded vigorously at Ervandas's question.

"But it will be difficult at the moment."

"What do you want, Er? I'll get it all for you! If you want beautiful ores, I'll dig them all up. If you want lots of vegetables from the garden, I'll always enchant them. And if you want books, you can have as many as you desire!"

Lulu hastily listed things she could offer. What did humans like? The old woman living at the edge of the village always asked her for beautiful colored ores. At least, it held value for the people in the village. Lulu vowed to dig up ores even if it meant falling off a cliff and dying.

"That's not what I want."

"Then what?"

Once again, fear gripped her. What would Er ask for? There was nothing more valuable in this house than those things.

Ervandas gently placed his lips on the eyes that were beginning to be tinged with disappointment.

"I think I should explain to you what it's like to have a child, and the weight that comes with having your own, and among humans, there's a ritual for those who want to make children together."

"A ceremony?"

Lulu recalled the ceremonies of witches she had read about in books. Did she have to draw a huge magic circle at a designated day and time and light a fire? It was said that having a black cat would be even better, but were there any black cats in the forest? No, more importantly, when would the nearest solar and lunar eclipses happen?

Seeing Lulu's expression grow serious, Ervandas chuckled and rubbed his thumb over the wrinkles between her brows.

"I don't know what spooky ideas you're having, but I'll take care of the preparations, so don't worry about it. And right now, there's something else we need to do first."

Ervandas reached out to the nearby shelf. There, thanks to Lulu bringing it every day for him to bathe, was a soap bar that had worn down to the size of a fingernail.

Ervandas lathered it up and then massaged the foam onto Lulu's shoulder. As he pressed on her tense muscles, strained from torment, a moan of pain and pleasure escaped her mouth.

"Let's wash up first."

Ervandas hugged Lulu tightly as she tried to escape from his arms, and kissed her cheek.