Chapter 51 - Side Story: Eternal Virgin Creature

Southeast from the capital of the kingdom.

If one were to pass the Utah Delta, known as the most fertile land on the continent, and go further east, there would be a vast swamp area that denies human access.

In the past, this place was home to terrifying beings such as hydras, lizardmen, and witches fleeing human oppression, inhabiting a wide and venomous forest.

However, as the world developed, even witches would rather face discrimination among humans than live in such a swamp, leaving only reptilian species that need moisture to survive.

And here, a group of traders has arrived and started causing trouble.

"Ah, come out, Nel!"

Other animals could not enter the swamp as it was waist-deep, but merchants and their escorts wearing boots enchanted with Water Walk magic could walk through the swamp without any problems.

They were angrily searching for a being hidden nearby, not a common lizardman or lamia, but one of the rarer ancient beings.

"Those were the humans who came last time. What's the matter?"

Was it because of the disturbance caused by their rowdiness?

Not long after, a being called Nel revealed itself in the swamp.

Nel's body was coated in a special mucus that prevented mud or muddy water from sticking, and it had prominent bumps on its surface.

From a distance, it looked like a giant starfish, but up close, its limbs were similar to human limbs, and it could easily be mistaken for a human due to its curved pelvis and face similar to a human.

Gulp.

Although the traders had caused trouble, the accompanying guards felt an overwhelming sense of pressure that made them put their hands on their swords.

Nel was not merely a being of flesh and bone but a more complex and beautiful yet dangerous entity with numerous tentacles and parts that could be interchanged to mimic a human.

Nel, an aquatic creature.

It was one of the fearsome masters of this dreadful swamp.

"This isn't what was said!"

"What's different?"

"They said touching these tentacles feels good, so why does my skin melt the moment it touches?"

Nel was also the provider of materials that had inspired the recent trend of tentacle-shaped adult toys.

"It'll feel good. Just endure a little longer."

"Do you know how many lawsuits I've faced for selling harmful substances to the human body?"

"Maybe the humans who couldn't endure are the problem?"

From the merchant's point of view, it was terribly unfair.

He wasn't originally a seller of adult toys but had come to see or obtain some special materials from the strange creatures living nearby when he got caught by Nel.

Then Nel, having eaten all his escort, said...

"Keep the contract that saved you. Return the favor by sparing those who invade my territory."

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"Damn it, then remove the poison from the tentacles!"

Wasn't he asking for a seed capable of reproduction?

When asked how to obtain it, the merchant was told it was his job to figure out, as Nel handed over a few separated tentacles, calling them its avatars.

After much thought, the merchant sold parts of Nel as adult toys...

Naturally, no sane person would buy them.

Anyone could see they were dangerous, and when he tried to force a beggar to try it, the pain they experienced upon contact with the mucus had them running to the knights, causing the merchant to flee to the swamp.

Normally, he would have placated the beggar with some money, but the problem was that he wasn't selling the products properly, and the tentacles in the wooden beer mug had reformed into small versions of Nel, enforcing the contract.

The merchant felt like he was going to go insane.

"If you really want to breed with human semen, then remove the poison!"

"Any male that cannot overcome that poison does not deserve to spread his seed to me."

"Damn, then they won't come out at all! No one sane would use those tentacles as adult toys without casting some sort of acid-immunity spell or protection on themselves."

In practice, the merchant had to force the tentacle creatures on people, and 90% discreetly discarded them, while the remaining 9% tried to use them and ended up hospitalized.

Except for a trainee knight who thought it looked fun and bought one, no one would willingly buy such things when they were properly sold, so the merchant was driven mad by the pressure.

"Damn... so endure with these guys."

"What? Master, what did you say..."

"These guys are healthy and have good virility. I brought them from a brothel where they were kicked out for being too sexually active. Let me eat them instead! This is the best I can do!"

Hearing this, the guards all simultaneously drew their swords at the merchant.

But Nel's tentacles were faster than their movements.

Nel's reaction speed was so fast that even a senior knight couldn't keep up, and she had been ready from the moment they entered the swamp.

Crunch!

It was only a moment before seven of the merchant's guards disappeared into the swamp, swallowed by Nel's extending tentacles without even a scream, leaving no trace above the swamp.

Spit.

"Low quality."

Fortunately for them, and unfortunately for the merchant...

Nel had spat out all the mercenaries she had once swallowed onto the swamp surface.

"Aaaagh...!"

Although their skin was burning from contact with Nel's mucus, it was fortunate that it wasn't aggressively deployed, so the damage was limited to slight peeling of the skin, and moreover, Nel had spit them out deeming them useless for proper semen extraction.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm not a cannibal monster. I can get enough nutrients from the microbes in the swamp."

"Hey, didn't you want semen? Then with these guys..."

"I don't want such things."

"Uh... oh? So this means..."

The merchant, who had planned to sacrifice the high-libido mercenaries cheaply, was petrified the moment they returned.

"Nel, Nel! Hurry up and eat them! These guys should have enough semen..."

"It's the first time I'm breeding in millennia, I can't accept the seed of weird guys."

When Nel firmly refused, the terrified mercenaries finally came to their senses.

As the muck from the swamp washed away Nel's mucus, their skin was slightly peeled and stinging, but it was only a minor injury akin to peeling from prolonged sun exposure.

And then they slowly advanced towards the merchant who had betrayed them and brought them as sacrifices from the beginning.

Despite their weapons being severely corroded by Nel's mucus, it was better to have rusty weapons to inflict a long, painful beating on such a swinish merchant.

"Save me, save..."

Gurgle...

Ignoring the screaming merchant, Nel sank back into the swamp while focusing once again on the tentacles she had extended outward.

'Just one person... the one who inserted himself directly...'

He had contacted her several times without any pain, feeling the sensation of violating her tentacles.

Although made of blue fluid, he penetrated her, defending well against her acidic mucus.

For her, having lived alone as an ancient being and a figure of terror in the swamp for millennia, it was almost the first time she experienced such a union.

'What could his identity be?'

She was sure he wasn't human.

A being capable of transforming its body into a fluid similar to slime, possibly a male water spirit.

Nel, not leaving the swamp, lacked proper external knowledge to be sure of his identity.

Of course, even if she had external knowledge, she would be shocked to learn how recklessly that fool had used her tentacles.

'With him... it might be possible...'

She couldn't live alone forever.

Unlike typical life forms, Nel, constantly dividing and regenerating, had no set lifespan, being almost immortal.

But seeing the many creatures in the swamp mating and reproducing, especially a witch who had come seeking her and met a knight, learning about love and eventually leaving the swamp...

Nel, the swamp's tentacle creature owner, became interested in love and reproduction.

Observing the witch, the only creature that had managed to evade her attacks for a long time, she learned from her actions, starving for human connection and ultimately being saved by love.

But she was a tentacle creature.

Her structure was fundamentally different from humans, and although she approached an explorer in human form to get close...

What returned was a strike from a magic sword enchanted with fire attributes.

Such an attack was not enough to kill Nel, but it was enough to cause her pain, and in her rage, she wrapped him in her tentacles and killed him, turning the magic-engraved sword into scrap metal.

Eventually, Nel began to agonize over finding someone who could accept her, discovering a merchant who could communicate well and manage people, and blackmailed him into taking on the task...

The problem was that the merchant, terrified, saw Nel as a malevolent being or a monster craving human flesh.

Although she didn't refuse human flesh, she didn't prefer it either.

Even after mimicking the witch and transforming into her form, she deliberately avoided eating human flesh and, if she had to kill for self-defense, made sure the swamp's creatures didn't desecrate the bodies by sending them out of the swamp.

"Is it all over?"

At Nel's question, the mercenaries nodded.

Wrapped in her tentacles, they could hear everything the merchant said through the tentacles, and Nel had released them at that moment, giving them a chance for revenge.

"Now... help me."

The mercenaries had no choice.

Nel could have engulfed them with her tentacles and eaten them before they could even swing their swords, and the only reason they survived was that Nel had shown them mercy.

"What can I do for you?"

"Take me... to the capital."

But the mercenaries hesitated at that request.

They didn't know what Nel would do in the capital...

"To my companion there..."

Seeing Nel's expression, like a girl in love, the mercenaries realized she wasn't a dangerous creature.

They had no choice but to follow Nel's commands, or death was the only other option.

Yet neither Nel nor the mercenaries she was leading knew...

That the companion she was thinking of was not just one person, but a human male, his genitalia elongated and protected in a way typical of slime-based coitus.

No one yet knew about the events that would unfold next.

"I feel kind of chilly."

Only a trainee knight far away in the capital instinctively shivered.