Ch.294Awakening (1)

All men are beasts.

I once thought that way.

In fact, I thought so until just a moment ago. Even when the Saint asked if I liked Eidel, I clicked my tongue in disapproval.

I do like Eidel.

But I meant as a colleague.

I had sworn that I would never give my body to any man until the day I died.

I was certain of that. And yet.

“Hnngh, hah…”

After my legs, my shoulders went limp too.

A tingling sensation made my lower body curl up, and my vision turned white. It felt like free-falling from a tall building.

As waves of fear washed over me, my thoughts finally caught up.

It was my first time.

My first kiss.

The lips I had intended to give to no one until death had been stolen in an instant by a man.

It was the worst outcome.

If it had been anyone but Eidel, I would have drawn my holy gun and put a hole in their head before rushing to the bathroom to vomit.

That’s right.

It was Eidel.

So it couldn’t be helped.

“Be my wife. I’ll make you happy for the rest of your life.”

When I heard those words, Ireh was overwhelmed by a shocking realization.

Logically, I knew it wasn’t true.

This confession wasn’t meant for me. Eidel had mistaken me for Sonia.

But hearing it made me recall everything Eidel had done for me.

How he saved me when I was suffering from the Outer God.

How he helped complete the “Great Triangle” by recruiting Zernya, who seemed impossible to persuade, and embedding the Five Stars.

How he liberated Alcatraz Prison through various research efforts and led us to victory in the Great War with minimal casualties.

And now, discovering gravitons to counter the “End.”

I could say with certainty:

I, Ireh Hazlen, was a person who had been saved by Eidel time and again.

Though part of me was still bound by echoes of the past and resisting, I had actually thought that this man might be acceptable.

And so.

Ireh fell into confusion.

The prejudices I had built up over many years ebbed away like the tide after just one kiss, leaving my heart feeling empty.

That emptiness was filled by the vivid sensation on my lips, like having tasted sweet ice cream.

This feeling wasn’t bad at all.

“Sonia.”

“M-Master.”

Eidel pulled Ireh closer. He stroked her head with one hand while wrapping his other arm around her waist.

It was the second kiss.

It felt like falling to the ground. Ireh clutched Eidel’s collar tightly and accepted the kiss.

Fear and ecstasy, guilt and self-doubt mixed like paints on a palette, clouding her consciousness.

Then Eidel led Ireh to the bed.

“Sonia, would you like to lie down here?”

No way.

Are we going all the way?

The Saint is over there, and I’m not even Sonia. If I were to be undressed now, forget my future—I wouldn’t be able to face Eidel normally again.

“Master, I’m not ready yet…”

“I know. It’s not what you’re thinking.”

But Eidel laid Ireh down beside him as if telling her not to worry.

“I need to come to an agreement with my wives first. I’m sorry, but please be patient a little longer. After I tie up all the loose ends, we’ll make a child.”

“A-A child?”

“Yes, you’ve been talking about it for a long time. That you want to see a child who resembles both of us. And we need to prove that you’re not an inbred.”

Make a child.

Ireh knew the process well.

She had seen it many times on frontier planets.

The man thrusts his hips obscenely, and the woman has to endure it. As far as Ireh knew, it was only pleasurable for men and endlessly painful for women.

Ireh turned pale.

It was too much for her to accept.

Eidel said:

“I’m too tired today. I just want to… sleep with you like this. Tomorrow’s problems can be handled by tomorrow’s me.”

“Yes, that’s right, Master.”

Ireh struggled to maintain her composure.

Setting aside Saint Julia’s presence, if Eidel discovered her true identity now, their relationship would be completely ruined.

The thought of growing distant from the only male colleague she could trust and rely on made her heart ache.

She would bury it.

Keep it to herself and bury it forever. That way, she could maintain her current relationship with Eidel indefinitely.

Eidel stroked Ireh’s hair and closed his eyes.

“Good night, Sonia.”

“Sleep well, Master.”

Eidel’s eyes slowly closed. Ireh waited a bit, and after confirming that Eidel was completely asleep, she got up.

“…”

“…”

And then she met eyes with the Saint.

“…Did you see?”

“Yes.”

“From where to where?”

“From beginning to end.”

The Saint’s eyebrows arched upward.

“An affair with an android, how remarkable. Phew.”

“Don’t breathe a word of this to anyone.”

“Unfortunately, given my situation, I couldn’t spread rumors even if I wanted to.”

“I mean don’t tell anyone who comes here either.”

“Yes, I know. I understand.”

The Saint smirked. Somehow, it felt ominous.

Ireh hurriedly closed the door and left. She headed to the changing room. Shortly after, the real Sonia, disguised as Ireh, appeared.

“Did it go well?”

“Yes, I sent him away successfully.”

“Government surveillance will intensify for a while. It’s better to keep up this appearance.”

“Sigh… understood.”

“Is Master Eidel sleeping well?”

“Yes, he’s in deep sleep.”

“Let’s switch. I’ll go check on Eidel, so you go back to your quarters and rest.”

Ireh nodded. She returned to her nearby quarters and lay down on the single bed.

“Ah.”

What on earth had happened?

Not only had she accidentally kissed Eidel, but she had also been held gently and had her head stroked.

Despite being toyed with by a man—the very creatures she had so despised—all she felt was longing.

“Haah…”

Ireh touched her lips and sighed dreamily.

More.

Just once more.

She wanted to feel that strangely addictive sensation again.

With her face buried in the pillow, she awkwardly tried to recreate it. Naturally, simply moving her lips couldn’t reproduce that feeling.

“…Huh?”

Ireh, who had been puckering her lips like a carp, jumped up from the bed in shock.

“W-What am I doing…!”

She suddenly came to her senses.

Her face burned hot.

Even if it was Eidel, Ireh had spent her whole life avoiding men. She couldn’t become so lustful after just one kiss.

Behaving like this, it seemed like the Saint was right—that she was in love with Eidel.

Ireh shook her head.

‘That absolutely cannot happen.’

Eidel was a married man. Moreover, he was currently troubled by the prospect of polygamy with Sonia.

Should she involve herself too?

It would be like dropping a nuclear bomb on the Rheinland family.

Zernya and Rustila would treat Ireh like a thieving cat, and Eidel would be extremely uncomfortable. Eidel’s family would fall apart, and he wouldn’t be able to focus on his research.

She couldn’t cause such trouble.

The first priority was the graviton bomb.

Ireh tried to recall wholesome scenes. Wholesome and somewhat happy scenes.

“…”

Come to think of it, her previous iterations had been nothing but a series of misfortunes.

The first time she had genuinely smiled was after meeting Eidel.

Since there were no happy memories before Eidel, she had no choice but to recall the wholesome times when she wrote papers with him.

Recently, Ireh had been writing a paper on the nervous system of Outer Gods. The equations describing the principles of the Outer God nervous system were similar to electromagnetic equations, but their structures differed fundamentally in the details.

Therefore, difficult mathematics had to be employed, and Ireh had received a lot of help from Eidel to derive these equations.

Ireh’s lips twitched as she recalled the days when Eidel reviewed her papers. He was so meticulous that his hand’s scent had permeated the paper…

“…!”

Ireh sat up abruptly.

The paper.

Ireh took the paper out of her bag.

She sniffed it, and indeed, Eidel’s faint scent was there.

Ireh lay down on the bed and placed the paper beside her. It felt just like lying next to Eidel earlier.

‘What am I doing?’

Self-loathing washed over her again.

No, was there anything to feel self-loathing about?

She was just looking at the paper. There was no other strange intention. It was a procedure to become an excellent scientist.

And so, Ireh rationalized herself as she spent the night.

***

Right after parting with Ireh, Sonia entered the room where Eidel was.

Eidel had fallen fast asleep, and the Saint was giggling like a demon.

In front of the Saint, she needed to act like Ireh Hazlen as much as possible.

“What are you snickering about?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

The Saint spoke in an excited voice.

“Well, who would have thought the head of the Rheinland family and an android were in a loving relationship?”

Sonia thought for about 1ms before speaking firmly.

“Nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense.”

“If you utter such absurdity one more time, you’ll face severe consequences.”

“Oh my, how frightening.”

She had refrained from displays of affection in front of the Saint, but it seemed the information had leaked anyway.

In any case, hiding this fact wouldn’t last much longer. After receiving her doctoral degree, the Master had promised to accept her as his official wife.

“Sleep.”

[─ <Sleep>]

The Saint closed her eyes as if fainting.

Sonia put down her calipers and climbed onto Eidel’s bed. She nestled into Eidel’s embrace and took a deep breath.

“Phew.”

The Master’s scent filled her senses.

Though she had become a bioroid, her sensory receptors remained the same. Thanks to that, she could detect fragrances intensely even from just a few molecules.

This was a poison.

She couldn’t help but frown as she detected a different scent than usual.