TCGAD 7

I was being dragged along at a terrifying speed.

“Hey, wait a moment… please, just wait a moment.”

My breath was rising frantically. The monster, who didn’t have the slightest shred of consideration tucked away in even a corner of his mind, was in a state of utter frenzy. Like a tank with broken brakes, he kept charging forward, only forward.

And no wonder… I stole a glance at his crotch. The sheer grandeur of it instantly crushed my spirit. Bulkan’s lower region had been massively swollen for quite some time.

“Are you sure you know the way…”

The surroundings were cloaked in a dense forest. Everywhere I looked, it all seemed almost identical. Was he even going the right way? I wasn’t sure. Could he possibly be just recklessly charging in whatever direction struck his fancy? My suspicions were growing when,

At the far end, the entrance to a cave slowly came into view. In moments like this, his sense of direction was almost uncanny.

“But how on earth did you find me earlier…”

“Your scent.”

My scent?

“I told you, your scent reverberates all around.”

How could he have found me in this vast place just by a scent? I couldn’t comprehend it and furrowed my brows. But then I recalled detection dogs at airports or search dogs, and it started to make sense.

Lemon, who had been lingering at the cave entrance, greeted us.

“Priest! You had me so worried when you disappeared. I had a bad feeling, and sure enough, you tried to escape again, didn’t you? You really never give up.”

Her words cut like a knife. I had a ton of things to say, but what was the point? At this stage, I was resigned to my fate. I pushed everything aside and handed her the fawn.

“Here, take care of the little one.”

The fawn, cradled in Lemon’s arms, squirmed. It looked at me with those pleading eyes, whimpering. Take me away quickly, hold me in your arms. Its eyes seemed to say that, but I forced myself to look away.

My nape was suddenly seized, and I was thrown into that familiar cradle. Bang! The monster slammed the door shut roughly.

“It’s stifling, so stifling!”

Bulkan frantically tore off his armor in front of me. Clang, clank. The heavy metallic sounds echoed. Soon, he returned to a primal state.

Blue veins pulsed wildly on his thick, tree-trunk-like thighs. In the middle, bobbing up and down, his dark, engorged cock nodded toward me.

“Tell me right now where I should shove my cock.”

Precum was oozing from the tip, and his dark pubic hair was already half-soaked. His hand reached out, crudely groping between my legs. He recklessly fondled my pubic hair and pawed at the flesh inside my thighs. It was an utterly depraved touch.

“W-Well, I mean, it’s…”

Unable to contain his excitement, the monster rubbed his cock furiously against my thigh. A slick secretion smeared on the inside of my thigh. The amount was staggering.

“In the hole down there…”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Now, there was truly no escaping this situation.

“The hole down there?”

“Between my buttocks…”

Yes, between my buttocks. That’s the place. My face burned with heat.

“I once saw dogs trying to mate… They were both males, but they were aiming for that spot…”

Even as I spoke, I felt a gnawing unease. How could he think of putting his cock in such a filthy place? Wouldn’t he just give up and decide to kill me and the fawn to take a female bride instead? But then,

“Argh!”

He flipped my body upside down. I wasn’t wearing any underwear. My white clothes quickly rode up to my thighs, exposing them completely. Bulkan yanked down my shoulder straps and grabbed my exposed chest.

“The hole.”

Smack. The sound of him licking his lips came from behind. It seemed he was thoroughly enticed. How could he salivate at the thought of penetrating such a place? He was clearly out of his mind.

“Ah, it hurts!”

A finger suddenly plunged into my entrance. I thrashed, my body trembling. The sensation was so foreign, it felt like my buttocks were being split in two.

“Fuck.”

He pounded the entrance with the tip of his cock, thump, thump. I could feel how desperate he was to enter. And then, he did something unbelievable.

“…Hah!”

He buried his nose between my buttocks. Then, my perineum was sucked with fierce intensity.

“What are you doing, why there… Ngh!”

A sharp sensation struck my tailbone. My inner walls clenched tightly. My toes curled involuntarily, and my previously limp cock twitched upward once.

“…Hngh.”

Spreading my buttocks wide, he shamelessly sucked at my insides. His tongue probed deeply, its rough texture scraping against my folds. The maddeningly strange and unfamiliar sensation made my thighs tremble uncontrollably. It felt like someone was tickling the back of my neck with a feather.

“Stop, please stop…”

It was as if my brain was melting into mush. Afraid strange moans would slip out, I bit my lower lip hard. Clutching the sheets tightly, my body shuddered.

“Just put it in already!”

And exactly a few seconds later, I deeply regretted it. A tremendous shock slammed into my body.

“…Urgh!”

The unimaginable pain blacked out my vision. My half-erect cock wilted again. I froze, gasping for breath.

“Grr.”

The monster, forcing his cock into that tight space, let out a low groan of pain. Veins bulged angrily on his tanned forehead.

“It’s not even halfway in yet.”

As he pulled his hips back slightly, I sensed something ominous and tensed up. He had no patience. He was going to ram it in all the way with brute force. This lunatic was more than capable of it.

Panicking, I tried to stop him,

“Wait, just wait!”

But it was already too late. A brutal thrust, as if piercing through my lower abdomen, sent my face crashing into the bed.

“…Gah!”

A guttural sound of throat-scraping erupted from behind. The next moment, a hot sensation spread inside my buttocks. There was so much of it, I briefly wondered if he’d pissed himself, but the distinct musky smell told me otherwise.

“Ugh…!”

He’d ejaculated the moment he entered. Tears streamed down my face from the pain that felt like it had pierced through my lower body, but I was somewhat relieved that it was over quickly.

But the next moment, I was horrified to feel something swelling inside me again. After releasing so much, he was getting hard again.

“Uh, hngh.”

The monster began moving his hips again. He pounded into me at a ferocious pace. Thud, thud. His hard pubic bone relentlessly struck my buttocks. The coarse pubic hair grazed my tender skin, causing a stinging pain, but worse was the sensation that my swollen insides were about to burst.

“Please, slow down…”

Tears streamed down my cheeks haphazardly. Unable to move, I felt like a fish impaled on a harpoon.

…Ah, ha, please, slow down, gently, it’s too deep… I feel like I’m going to die.

Moans, indistinguishable as to whose, mingled chaotically and echoed through the cave.

To think we were clashing cocks with my hips raised like this. It was truly like dogs in heat. For a moment, I recalled a recent dream about dogs. Could that shitty dream have been prophetic? I genuinely wanted to bash my head against a wall and die.

“Fuck, this feels so damn good.”

Bulkan didn’t even try to control his strength. He just pounded into me as he pleased. His movements were rough and savage. It felt like my body might snap in half at any moment.

He gripped my breasts as if they were handles. Thanks to his constant groping and talk of milking them, my nipples were already swollen.

“Hah, hngh, hng.”

Wet moans poured into my ear.

“Ha, ngh, haa, hgh. Slowly, please, slowly.”

No matter how much I begged for him to slow down, it was no use. The monster was completely lost in his frenzy. His eyes, rimmed red, were fixed on a single goal, charging toward it like a mad dog dosed with aphrodisiacs.

“Ha, hngh, hgh…!”

Each time he roughly thrust in and out, semen dripped down my thighs. Squelch, squelch. The wet sounds echoed. The raw noise made my nape burn even hotter. It felt like sticky semen was overflowing from every crease.

Another round of ejaculation followed. I thought it was finally over, but Bulkan flipped my body over. My blurry vision caught the dark ceiling. Then, my lower body was lifted completely into the air.

“What, what are you trying to do?”

Muttering in a hoarse voice, I heard a low chuckle. My legs were spread wide like scissors. Was he really going to thrust again? Fear gripped me.

“Stop, stop, hng, hngh, please…”

I thrashed my legs, then realized I was kicking his wounds and stopped. But the monster was the problem. With a loose-lipped grin, he grabbed my ankle and pulled. Then, he forced my toes to prod at his wound.

“Why, why the hell are you doing this, you crazy bastard?”

My toenails were soaked with hot blood. It had burst. I thrashed in horror at the cruelty, but the strength difference was overwhelming.

“Stop, hngh, I said stop…”

Whether I struggled beneath him or not, the monster was consumed by his actions with terrifying obsession. Using my toes to probe his wound, he continued pistoning into my forcibly spread hole. Without blinking, he stared intensely at my lower abdomen. Probably at the thin skin that swelled with his thrusts and sank as he pulled out.

His eyes were bloodshot, the whites laced with burst veins. He sneered in a drenched voice.

“My breeding ground.”

A large, hot hand covered my lower abdomen. Pressing firmly on my navel, it was as if he was declaring that this was where he’d plant his seed. As if he were conquering my body.

☀️

My body was shattered. Naturally. Pinned under someone twice my size, I was kneaded like dough doused with a bucket of water for days. Having been ejaculated into three times during our first encounter, I was utterly wrecked.

And yet, shamelessly, Bulkan kept fondling my body.

“It hasn’t healed yet. If you force it, it’ll really tear…”

“That’s not my problem.”

He snorted and continued to paw at me. To anyone watching, it was the touch of someone rummaging through their possession. Utterly unrestrained and brazen.

“If it breaks once, it’s hard to fix. I’m human, after all…”

My body is different from yours, I reminded him again. A fact anyone else would grasp at a glance, but I had to drill it into this monster multiple times.

Finally, with a tch sound, he pulled his hand from under my buttocks. The stinging sensation spreading through my hole made my nose tingle.

“You’d better heal quickly while I’m being nice.”

There was a reason he let go, albeit reluctantly with a smack of his lips. Fortunately or unfortunately, my skin was a wreck, looking as if it belonged to someone with a disease, covered in red and purple marks from his biting and chewing.

“I’m not exactly known for my patience.”

As if a passing dog wouldn’t know that? The monster tucked me under his arm and groped various parts of my body. When his hand slid deep between my thighs, I startled and clamped them shut. He compared one of my thighs to his forearm and smirked.

“Heh, female.”

It was blatant mockery. I was offended but could only bite my lower lip without a sound. Then, I caught a savory scent and wrinkled my nose. Where was it coming from? As I looked around, a knock came from outside.

“Bulkan-nim.”

It was Lemon.

“Lemon has brought food.”

I had no strength to even lift a finger, but my mouth watered. Even before she opened the door, the fragrant aroma wafted in.

“Get lost.”

Normally, he’d have rushed to devour the food, but Bulkan lazily sprawled on the bed. The monster, with his belly full, was fine, but my situation was different.

My sunken stomach growled loudly. Bulkan’s face twisted. Chewing out a curse, he ordered,

“Bring the food in.”

I hurriedly straightened my clothes. Trying to stand, I staggered, my body devoid of strength.

“Pathetic bug.”

His merciless, disdainful gaze struck me. The monster lifted me effortlessly and set me at the table.

“Priest, your skin looks especially radiant today.”

As usual, a lavish meal was being prepared. I stared at the table in a daze. My mouth watered like a waterfall. Lemon, seeing my entranced state, didn’t hold back her praise.

“Have you been secretly applying something good for your skin?”

I hadn’t slept properly, let alone applied anything. Not knowing how to respond, I gave an awkward smile.

“You don’t eat anything raw, right, Priest? But this raw meat is truly exquisite, so I brought it.”

As Lemon said, I usually couldn’t stomach raw food. Raw beef, sashimi—I couldn’t touch them. Raw meat was out of the question. But now… why did it smell so delicious?

The sheen on the meat, the distinct texture of the flesh. I kept swallowing hard.

“It usually smells bad to me… but this seems okay.”

“Oh, then would you like to try it?”

I nodded a couple of times. Carefully piercing the meat with a fork, I slid it into my mouth. I braced for a fishy taste, but to my surprise, the juices burst on my tongue. It felt like a festival in my throat.

I lost myself. I began shoving the meat into my stomach mindlessly. I was so hungry. The only thing driving me was the urge to sate this hunger.

“Priest, you’re finally eating?”

A gasp made me pause my fork. Looking at the plate, I’d already eaten half of it alone. I’d devoured it like a thief in the night. Bulkan found it amusing, and Lemon was delighted.

“I-I must’ve been hungry after not eating for days.”

My face flushed with embarrassment at my gluttony. I mumbled an excuse. I’d never been one for greed, so why was my appetite so ravenous?

“Seeing you eat so well makes Lemon so happy.”

Lemon clapped her cheeks and squealed.

☀️

How long had I been here?

At some point, I stopped counting the days.

Meanwhile, spring had steadily arrived outside. It was ironic. Spring in hell? Spring was the season of new beginnings, but wasn’t hell where everything withered and ended? The irony poked at my chest.

“Lemon picked these flowers herself outside.”

Lemon placed white flowers in a glass vase. By chance, they were narcissus. Carefully chosen, they looked far more vibrant than those in the forest. If I went outside now, there’d be fields of them…

I averted my gaze from the thought creeping in. I didn’t want to linger on eyes that would surely drip with longing.

“The fawn is growing strong, so don’t worry.”

I didn’t respond to her words. I just approached the table, picked up a piece of bread, and put it in my mouth.

“You’re still so slim, but your cheeks have filled out a lot.”

At her words, I slowly stopped chewing. I looked down at my upper body. As Lemon said, I felt a bit more volume in my body.

I used to be so thin you could see my ribs, but oddly, my chest seemed slightly, just slightly, fuller. Yesterday, I noticed my stomach seemed to protrude a bit and found a faint line below my navel.

It wasn’t just gaining weight. My body was undergoing rapid changes. For one, my senses had become incredibly sharp. My sense of smell had heightened, and my hearing was acutely sensitive. Whenever I heard a sound from afar, I instinctively clutched my stomach.

My actions came before thought, like instinct. Why am I doing this? Even when I questioned it, no one answered.

A creak came from the bed. My senses sharpened toward the sound. I didn’t need to look to know the monster’s movements.

The monster, lazily sprawled, sat up. He spread his arms wide, enveloping the bed. His eyes gleamed with interest. A soft “ho” of admiration slipped from his parted lips.

“Well, I’m not sure.”

I used to be so dull in my senses. But just now, I felt the monster’s actions with a sixth sense. That was proof of my body’s changes.

“It’s no different from before.”

I desperately denied it. I really didn’t want to draw any more unnecessary attention.

“No, no, you’ve definitely put on some weight.”

I lowered my eyes, pretending not to hear. I placed the bread back on the plate.

“Bulkan-nim.”

Lemon called the monster with a bright smile.

“The weather outside is absolutely beautiful. The flowers are in full bloom.”

He only twitched his feet, his movements full of irritation. He hated Lemon entering this space. If I hadn’t been hungry, he’d probably have locked the place up.

“How about showing the Priest the sky and letting him feel the breeze? The nymphs are dying to know about him.”

I stayed silent, only watching the monster’s expression.

“I told them he’s as pretty as a flower. Creatures need to see sunlight and breathe fresh air regularly. That’s how they live healthy, vibrant lives…!”

He rose from the bed. His body, woven entirely of muscle, moved with precision and grabbed me.

“Get out.”

A sharp dismissal was issued. Lemon, with her usual smiling face, quietly stood and left the room. I stared at the door, dazed, when the monster grabbed my chin and pulled me close.

“Odoer, my human bride.”

His scent invaded my heightened sense of smell. I clutched my lower abdomen for no reason. It tingled down there, almost like the urge to urinate, but I’d just gone earlier—why was this happening?

“Do you know what kind of scent your body is giving off right now?”

I quietly shook my head. If I could, I wanted to pretend I hadn’t seen or heard anything, to just ignore it, but this foul-tempered beast wouldn’t let that slide.

“A horde of males is about to come rushing in like a swarm of bees.”

It was an insane thing to say. That couldn’t possibly happen. Don’t talk as if I’ve become some kind of creature in heat…

I didn’t know what the changes happening to my body meant. No, I didn’t want to know. It didn’t make any sense at all.

I was born in a place called South Korea, raised through elementary, middle, and high school in the public education system. Nowhere in the textbooks was there ever any mention of the possibility that a man could experience this. For any human with normal reasoning, it was natural to think that way.

“Got it?”

The predator’s eyes slowly scanned my face and body. It felt like he was keenly observing me. I was too scared to meet his gaze. The thought that he might notice the strange changes in my body sent chills down my spine.

“You’re finally ready.”

“I don’t really understand what you mean…”

I avoided his gaze with awkward politeness. I had no idea what he was talking about. But my unnaturally heightened intuition kept making me feel uneasy.

“What do you mean by ready? I just ate too much, and my stomach’s a bit upset, that’s all.”

I tried to brush off the situation, but my chin was suddenly gripped tightly again. The impact felt like my jawbone might shatter. I swallowed a scream.

“Ready for what? Obviously, to carry my offspring in that dark belly of yours! You can feel something growing in there, can’t you?”

He sneered, and at the end of his words, his thick middle finger pressed hard on my lower abdomen. Lately, I’d been feeling something heavy gathering there, like I was hugging a balloon. The pressure now made it feel like my insides were about to burst, incredibly uncomfortable.

“Feel it already.”

Bulkan licked his lower lip with his tongue. My nose wrinkled involuntarily. His already overpowering scent grew even stronger.

The chaotic mix of smells pressed painfully on my head. The musty odor of the cave, the raw stench of meat, the fresh scent of narcissus. And standing out most among them was, of course, Bulkan’s scent.

“It smells delicious.”

He lifted the hem of my clothes. Without a hint of hesitation, he grabbed my buttocks and kneaded them forcefully. The pain was so intense I couldn’t even cry out. He pulled at the flesh of my cheeks, causing my lower hole to gape open. My nape flushed hot for no reason.

“Not now…”

Over Bulkan’s massive shoulder, I sensed a bluish hue. The dawn light was rising. If I could just hold out a little longer. With what little strength I had, I pushed away his advancing face.

“I said my body hasn’t healed yet.”

“What am I supposed to do about that? It’s got nothing to do with me.”

He spoke urgently, opening his mouth wide. His dark throat loomed like a cave. When I quickly covered my neck, he bit the back of my hand instead.

“…Ugh.”

If he’d put even a little more force into his jaws, his teeth would’ve torn through flesh. Thankfully, he restrained himself, leaving only faint bite marks.

“I feel like I’d be fine if I just healed a little more.”

As the room gradually brightened, his sharply contoured face, previously hidden in the darkness, slowly came into view. Bulkan furrowed his brows deeply and spat out a curse.

“Damn it, the sun…”

His massive body momentarily lost balance and swayed.

“You deliberately stalled until sunrise, didn’t you!”

Furious, Bulkan lunged at me. His elongated claws reached out to grab me, but I quickly stepped back. The beast couldn’t contain his rage.

“No matter how much those bastards covet you, you’re mine!”

He staggered like a Viking, then collapsed to the ground with a thud. The impact of his massive body hitting the floor made the ground tremble slightly, kicking up a cloud of dust that blurred my vision.

The cave fell into silence, and I could only blink.

‘Here we go again.’

Every time dawn approached, he’d revert to the form of a beast, like something out of a fairy tale. Like Cinderella turning back into a scullery maid when the clock strikes midnight, it felt like he was under some kind of spell.

I had no idea what the full story behind this was… but for me, it was a rare moment of freedom, so I planned to wash up. The beast hadn’t let me go long enough to bathe properly.

I sat dazed in the bathroom, staring at my reflection in the ornate, lace-trimmed round mirror as if studying it.

It was a face both deeply familiar and… strangely unfamiliar. The reddish-brown hair, the pale face. It was definitely my face, yet there was an odd sense of disconnection.

Not to mention the red and purple marks all over my body, like I’d been bitten by bugs. There was a strange flush on both cheeks, and my once bony, emaciated chest was slightly fuller. And then there was this line running from my navel to my lower abdomen. I had no idea what this faint line was.

I was lost in thought, staring at my body, when I heard movement outside.

“Priest.”

I quickly sank into the water. Splash. The warm water wrapped around my skin like silk. Lemon approached, sat by the tub, and smiled brightly.

“The fawn was whimpering, so I scolded it. It must miss you.”

She plucked petals from the white flowers and scattered them into the tub. They were the narcissus from the vase.

“…Is that so?”

I hid my hands under the water, clasping them tightly to keep myself from accidentally saying I wanted to see the fawn.

“I told it you’d come for it in ten nights, but it seems to have caught on that it was a lie. It barely eats even when I feed it. It doesn’t sleep well either. Maybe it’s having nightmares?”

Tsk. Lemon clicked her tongue briefly.

“It was hunted by Bulkan-nim while it was still happy in its mother’s womb, so it’s not exactly living carefree, is it? That’s only natural.”

What’s so natural about that? My tongue felt bitter, like I’d bitten into dirt. How could she talk about something so horrific with such a bright smile? Sometimes, I wondered if Lemon was as crazy as Bulkan.

“It’s still young, so it’ll forget soon.”

I barely managed a reply.

“Kids usually forget things from when they’re young…”

It was also a way to steady my own wavering heart.

“Well, it seemed too desperate for that. Even if it forgets the memory of being abandoned, the emotions will linger, won’t they?”

But Lemon was a formidable opponent. Every word she spoke was like a sharpened blade, slicing into my chest. Even pouring salt on a wound wouldn’t sting this much.

“Why don’t you visit it after going through all the trouble of bringing it here?”

“It’ll have to go back to the forest eventually.”

Since there was a hill behind our house, hungry animals would come down to the village when food was scarce. I’d sometimes find animals caught in traps, whimpering, and secretly treat and feed them at home. Even in those few days of temporary care, I’d grow attached, making it hard to let them go. But there was no other choice. If other villagers caught me, it’d put the animals in even more danger. If they found out I was keeping stray animals, they’d report me, and the animals might get taken by dog catchers or the like. Sending them back to the forest with their friends was probably better for them.

“…I’m trying to keep my distance early.”

The fawn would forget me eventually. I could use that as an excuse to check on it and see if it’s doing well.

But there was another problem. The monster, acting so bizarrely, was weighing on my mind.

“…….”

When I held the fawn, I kept feeling a gaze from somewhere. He didn’t even try to hide it. When our eyes met, he’d stare at me openly, intensely.

‘Damn it, no way…’

I had to constantly bite my tongue to keep from swearing.

Was this crazed glutton now targeting the fawn too? But when I closely examined his gaze, it wasn’t directed at the fawn—it was at me.

Why on earth? I couldn’t figure it out. It didn’t just seem crazy; it was chilling. My body trembled, and my ears tingled with unease.

“It’s about time it starts understanding words, so we should give it a name. What should we call it?”

I stared gloomily at the bathwater. I’d actually had a name in mind for a while. But I couldn’t bring myself to say it, afraid that naming it would make the fawn even more special to me. Was it okay to name it when I wasn’t even visiting it? I fell into deep thought.

“If you don’t name it, I’ll just call it Deer. It’s going to be released anyway.”

At Lemon’s words, I parted my lips slightly. …Even so. Even so, it’s too harsh for something born into this world to not even have a name. Making that excuse, I indulged a small desire.

“Haengbok.”

I mumbled in Korean, which felt awkward after not using it for so long.

“Haengbogi?”

“No, Haengbok. It means happiness.”

Lemon let out an mm sound from her throat. She stared at the rippling water, then muttered to herself.

“You’re kind of a difficult human, Priest.”

“…What?”

Her shoulders flinched at my question. Her eyes widened, as if she’d forgotten I was there. Then she shook her head vigorously, as if snapping out of it.

“No, it’s nothing, just Lemon talking nonsense!”

She raised her voice, almost singing.

“I’ll go prepare the meal now. Bulkan-nim caught a rare horned cow.”

It was her usual energy. For a moment, I wondered if I’d misheard earlier.

“Bulkan-nim has been giving you so many gifts lately. You’re such a lovely couple.”

“Yes… thank you.”

Something felt off, but I forced an awkward smile as usual. Sometimes, being with Lemon felt like acting in a play.

“Take a beautiful bath, Priest. Lemon’s off to prepare the meal happily!”

She cheerfully picked up the vase and stood. Smiling brightly, she turned and instantly wiped the expression from her face. What was that? I was confused, wondering if I’d really seen it right, when I heard a muttering voice.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to work.”

Startled, I looked at her. My body jolted in the water, making a splash. Lemon flinched in place, as if snapping out of it.

“Oh, bad Lemon! Bad Lemon!”

Then she suddenly slapped her own cheeks with her large hands. Slap, slap, slap! The sharp sounds bounced off the bathroom walls.

“Oh my, what did I just say?”

She smiled again, showing her white teeth. I stammered, at a loss for words. It was hard to brush off when her cheeks were so swollen.

“Haha! Sorry, sometimes my mind just slips. You wouldn’t get it, Priest, but those of us working below do this sometimes.”

…No, I don’t think I did that when I was working part-time.

“I’ll help.”

I felt so bad for her, seeing how hard the work must be, that I wanted to help.

“No, it’s fine. It’s a miracle your wrists and ankles aren’t broken. You can barely stand as it is!”

Lemon laughed heartily and left the bathroom. I was left behind, as if under a spell.

Bulkan had been bringing in strange things lately. A plump, oversized fish, a winged antelope, even a black swan. It wasn’t that surprising. He’d boasted that he could have anything he wanted.

“If I want it, I take it. This is my land, so I can have everything.”

The problem wasn’t that. It was that he kept laying his prey right in front of the door.

As if showing off.

Looking into the eyes of a freshly killed or dying animal was more painful than I’d expected. One small relief was that he no longer brought pregnant animals.

Still, the weight of guilt pressed on me like a boulder. I tried to avoid the prey as much as possible.

“Argh!”

One day, a dead bear was sprawled across the table. I nearly fainted from shock.

“Why is this here…!”

As I stumbled back in surprise, that familiar gaze hit me again. The monster was staring at me, piercingly. He kept circling me, probing, observing my reactions.

…Why is he doing this? I couldn’t understand, and the days dragged on. Today, he’d supposedly hunted some horned cow.

“Wow, look at this. How can meat be so big and sturdy?”

The meat Lemon had butchered herself was placed on the table.

“It must’ve been a real eater, it’s so huge. When I cut the torso, the juices just burst out.”

Her voice floated with happiness. At a glance, she seemed to love her work.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to work.”

But the voice I’d heard in the bathroom still lingered vividly in my head. That weary, exhausted tone sounded utterly worn out. Guilt naturally crept into my chest.

“Thank you, Lemon.”

And I’m always sorry for being a burden…

Of course, I swallowed the last part. My eyes kept drifting to the raw meat, but I tried not to look. I carefully picked up a neatly cut apple with my fork.

“No need to thank me. Seeing you eat well fills me up. Lemon is happy. I’m proud to be the happiest nymph in the world!”

I awkwardly chewed my cheek. Bulkan watched me quietly, then glanced at his plate. As if just noticing the utensils there.

He dropped the bone he was holding with a clatter and picked up a fork. Then he stabbed the plate with it like a trident. Thud! The table shook heavily. Startled by the sudden disaster, I froze like a statue, busy gauging his mood. Why’s he acting like this now?

“P-Priest, try the meat.”

Lemon smiled with her usual bright eyes. Her golden eyelashes fluttered, and her mouth twitched. She placed a piece of meat on my plate herself.

“Here.”

I’d tried to avoid it, but with the meat on my plate, it was hard to refuse. My mouth watered. Eating just one piece wouldn’t seem too strange, right? After checking my surroundings, I pressed my fork into the tender-looking meat.

“Just one then…”

As the meat touched my tongue, it melted softly. The juices burst like fireworks, and an unfamiliar starlit festival erupted in my head.

“How is it?”

Lemon asked.

“It’s really, really deli—”

I was about to say it was delicious, entranced, when I snapped out of it under a piercing gaze. I rolled my eyes to steal a glance at Bulkan. He was staring at me so intensely, it felt like a viscous, muddy gaze.

He went through the trouble of catching this precious meat, so why isn’t he eating and just staring at me?

“…Just.”

I trailed off. My lack of eloquence wasn’t about to suddenly roar like a tiger.

“J-Just?”

Lemon’s golden eyelashes fluttered wildly.

“Yeah, just so-so…”

I mumbled clumsily. If it had been unappealing, I could’ve lied and said it was good. But the problem was that it was actually very tempting.

I don’t know what’s happening to me. I used to not be able to eat raw food at all.

“So.”

It wasn’t easy to admit I’d changed. That would mean acknowledging the changes in my body. But saying it wasn’t good felt awkward too, since I was practically a freeloader here, not by choice.

“Of course, I don’t mean it’s bad.”

As I stumbled over my words, the air grew cold. It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over us, and I mentally slapped my forehead. Trying to salvage the mood, I blurted out anything.

“I usually like eating soup. Since I’m Korean.”

“Soup?”

Lemon raised an eyebrow, as if hearing an unfamiliar word.

“Yeah, like kimchi jjigae, doenjang jjigae, stuff like that.”

I wondered if I should just admit I’d developed a taste for raw meat, but a terrifying premonition that Bulkan would grill me relentlessly made me hesitate.

“How do you make it? Lemon wants to make it for you.”

Lemon smiled sociably.

“Oh, Lemon… it’s just.”

I shifted in my seat. Guilt made my body leap like a frog.

“I want to make it for Lemon. You’ve cooked so many delicious things for me. I don’t know if the ingredients are here, but… you just chop some stuff and boil it. I’ve cooked a lot, so I can probably manage.”

“Oh, cooking with fire must be popular there.”

Lemon’s lively reaction let me relax a bit. The forced conversation seemed to be working out.

“Yeah, every house had a gas stove. You could turn it on and off.”

“There was fire in the house? How do you live with the heat?”

“When it’s hot, we’d usually use a fan or air conditioner.”

Of course, air conditioning was a luxury in my house. We only had an old, rickety fan, so I survived summers with hand-fanning, but I kept that to myself, knowing others’ poverty can make people uncomfortable.

“What’s that?”

Lemon tilted her head.

“Uh… it’s electric. It keeps you cool even when it’s really hot.”

“You come from a fascinating place, Priest.”

Lemon flashed her white teeth. On the surface, she looked like she was smiling brightly, but her eyes lacked life. She didn’t seem that interested. Not knowing how to wrap up the conversation, I rambled.

“Yeah… but I didn’t really use it much. There was a hill right behind my house. Even in midsummer, opening my window kept it cool. There was a tree in the yard that cast shade, so the sunlight wasn’t too harsh…”