07. The Monsters in the Underground Warehouse (1)

“Haa…”

I’ve lost count of how many times it’s been now.

I wet myself in front of Jane again.

It feels like I’ve become Urine Leaker Lily instead of the 26-year-old man Lily used to be.

At this point, it’s beyond embarrassment – it’s just absurd.

I’ve turned into one of those hypersensitive pervert protagonists from adult games who climax from the slightest touch.

At this rate, isn’t it going to become a habit?

And it wasn’t just urine – I leaked gel too.

From my back hole, no less.

Some magic or something makes it not dirty, but the psychological discomfort is still real.

I gave up on male pride long ago.

But I still wanted to maintain some human dignity…

Anyway, yesterday’s disgraceful display has become a dark history so embarrassing it could make me kick my blankets in my sleep.

“Life, seriously.”

I twisted my body on the chair.

Sitting backwards and rocking front to back, or putting my legs on the backrest and lying down.

The chair is still too tall for me.

Seeing me doing all sorts of dangerous acrobatics, Jane finally spoke up:

“Lily, sit properly. It’s dangerous.”

Since I was just rolling around out of boredom anyway, I straightened up without hesitation.

Instead, I punished the cause of yesterday’s incident by pinching her cheeks.

Soft, elastic texture.

But since her face is so slender, it’s not as satisfying to pinch.

I’d love to really stretch them, but since she’s my Master, I’ll hold back.

It’s absolutely not because I’m too weak to do it.

Absolutely not because I’m too weak to do it.

“Want a cookie?”

Jane, having her cheeks pulled, shows a terrifying lack of expression.

Instead, she casually offers me a cookie.

Like a baby bird accepting food, I naturally just opened my mouth.

“Aaah~”

Like a mother bird feeding her young, Jane puts the cookie in my mouth while hugging me.

Then, as if it’s the most natural thing, she buries her nose in my scalp.

I sneak a glance outside.

Pleasant sunlight, gently blowing breeze.

A warm fragrance, soft breasts.

No customers in sight – an utterly peaceful, leisurely day.

After sniffing me for a while, Jane picks off a crumb from my mouth and asks:

“How’s your body? Are you okay?”

“Yes, perfectly fine.”

Though I can feel a slight throbbing in my lower abdomen, my body has grown accustomed to these reactions by now.

Other than that, there’s really nothing wrong.

But Jane seems to find it strange that I’m fine, tilting her head curiously.

I immediately pinch her cheeks again.

“What’s with that reaction? Like you’re expecting me to not be okay?”

“It’s good if you’re fine.”

“No, your reaction just now was weird.”

Under my persistent questioning, Jane finally raises the white flag.

She reveals the truth in her usual calm voice:

“About that gel I used on you yesterday… It contains Alraune sap.”

“I knew you put something weird in it!!”

“That stuff tends to stay in the body for quite a while.”

“What?”

That’s straight-up poison.

My fingers digging into her cheeks tighten.

Yet Jane shows no sign of pain.

“Of course it doesn’t significantly affect your health. It just means the heat state lasts a bit longer.”

“That’s exactly the problem, Master.”

The way Jane says such outrageous things so casually somehow makes me not even angry.

I release the cheeks I’ve been pinching for so long.

Her face is flushed red.

I feel a little guilty now.

“Shouldn’t we check your condition just in case?”

Don’t tell me…

I narrow my eyes, waiting to hear what she’ll say next.

“Just a quick check in the laboratory-“

“No.”

When she wouldn’t let me explore the basement before because it was “dangerous,” but now she’s subtly trying to lure me in?

I’ve never once come out of that laboratory unscathed.

Why would I go there now?

What are you planning to do to me?

Give me back my guilt.

“Absolutely not.”

At my firm refusal, Jane’s lips pout ever so slightly.

If there was really something wrong with me, she would’ve just carried me down without asking like she usually does.

But she gives up when I refuse?

She was definitely plotting something evil.

After a staring contest with Jane, I changed the subject with the cookie she’d fed me earlier.

One bite for the mean Master, one bite for me.

It’s from the next-door auntie, packed with nuts – I really like it.

As I chew on the cookie and Jane’s words, something suddenly occurs to me.

“Alraune? What’s that?”

“A plant-type monster that seduces people and drains their energy, like a succubus.”

“Ooh, a monster.”

“I guess your previous life didn’t have magic or monsters?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah, your eyes sparkle more when you’re fascinated by something.”

Jane gently strokes my eyebrows with her thumb.

I naturally close my eyes and try to recall.

“In my past life, magic and monsters only existed in fiction – stories and such.”

“Hmm…”

“Ugh…”

Jane makes an intrigued sound, while I quickly reach for a quill pen as a familiar headache strikes.

“Notebook here.”

Jane uses telekinesis to casually bring over a notebook and writing tools.

While I jot down memories from my past life, she plays with my earlobe.

The notes don’t contain much – just names of comics and novels I enjoyed in my past life.

When my hand stops, Jane, who’d been watching, speaks up:

“Lily, you said you’ve never seen a monster before?”

“Yes.”

“Want to see one?”

“Gasp! Really?”

My heart pounds pleasantly.

It feels like it’s been forever since I felt this kind of wholesome excitement rather than sexual desire.

Jane, holding me with an arm around my waist, nods.

“Let’s go. You can see one right away.”

“Yes! Great! Let me change clothes first. Put me down.”

What should I wear?

Maybe a cloak like Jane’s?

Though that might be too warm?

But instead of putting me down, Jane tilts her head.

“Why change clothes?”

“Aren’t we going out?”

“We don’t need to go outside.”

“Huh?”

My Master’s next words make me jump.

“We’re going downstairs. The monsters are down there.”

“Eek!”

***

Compared to neighboring houses, Fairy’s Playground is quite spacious.

But it’s still within normal limits.

The story changes when you go underground though.

The fact that I’ve been exploring for a month and still haven’t seen everything says it all.

But there were monsters in the warehouse?

“Ugh…”

Passing by the first basement level – the laboratory – triggers my ingrained trauma.

Fortunately, Jane doesn’t stop and continues down the stairs.

“Huh? Jane?”

Jane, carrying me, passes right by the second basement level – the warehouse – too.

There’s nowhere left to go down.

Of course, magic was involved again this time.

At Jane’s gesture, stairs leading to the third basement level appear.

“Gasp!”

“I deliberately blocked this off. It’s more dangerous than the lab or warehouse.”

Come to think of it, there were quite a few times Jane disappeared despite not going outside.

I just assumed it was because she’s a mage, but she must have been down here.

The third basement has a heavy-looking iron door.

What could require this level of security beyond magical concealment?

I gulp.

It feels like exploring a dungeon.

In my imagination, I’m carefully advancing through narrow passages with shield and sword in hand.

“Good thing you’re simple.”

I barely register Jane’s out-of-context comment.

The iron door opens silently at Jane’s touch.

Lights begin turning on one by one from the nearest area.

“Ooh.”

A series of rooms blocked by iron bars.

How should I describe this?

An underground prison?

An indoor zoo?

Despite the lights turning on along the corridor, the rooms remain too dark to see inside.

But I could sense something was there.

“It’s too dark to see.”

“Many of them aren’t accustomed to light.”

As we go deeper inside, we reach what appears to be a feeding preparation room.

Only then am I allowed to stand on the ground.

“Can you wait here? I’ll bring something safe.”

Jane pats my head like I’m a child before heading back down the corridor.

It’s become so routine that I obediently climb onto a chair and swing my legs.

By the time I count to 100, Jane returns.

In her arms is a heavy-looking flowerpot.

The vibrant purple flower blooming even in the darkness is fascinating.

“What’s this?”

“Mandrake.”

“Huh? The kind that screams when you pull it up?”

“You know about it?”

Jane seems genuinely surprised I recognize mandrakes.

But doesn’t hearing that scream kill you?

As this half-remembered legend comes to mind, Jane suddenly grabs the flower and yanks it out.

What emerges from the pot is a ginseng-like root the size of a child’s forearm.

And immediately, the root opens its… mouth?

“Eek!”

My hands covering my ears prove unnecessary as no sound comes from the mandrake.

The violently shaking dirt is the only indication it’s screaming.

Jane’s magic must be preventing the sound from escaping.

“You’re supposed to talk to it before pulling!”

But my startled, pounding heart makes me protest anyway.

Ah, almost wet myself again.

After screaming for a while, the mandrake starts panting as if exhausted.

It’s bizarre seeing a plant breathe heavily like this.

“Can I touch it?”

“Sure, I removed its teeth so it’s safe.”

With Jane’s permission, I tentatively poke its belly.

It’s fascinating how it squirms as if ticklish.

“What do you use it for?”

“Alchemy ingredient. Mandrake can neutralize most poisons.”

Jane adds that it’s quite valuable.

Before I know it, the mandrake starts gumming at my finger.

As Jane said, with no teeth it just feels ticklish.

Kind of cute in a way…

-Hobabat chubobot

I feel something strange.

Is this thing an animal?

Or a plant?

Does it just need water?

It’s a monster and originally had teeth, so maybe it eats meat.

“What does it eat?”

Jane answers nonchalantly:

“Semen from hanged convicts.”

“Ew!”

I immediately pull my hand away from the mandrake.

“You know how when people are hanged, all their holes loosen and-“

“Stop! Enough!”

I don’t want to hear any more.

That’s way too much TMI.

That aside, it’s a much pickier eater than I thought.

Surviving on hanged men’s se-whatsit…

“It does eat other things too.”

“Really? Like what?”

“Virgin female ejaculate.”

“Eek!”