Ch.324Iris’s Resolve

The day after experiencing the new world of feminization, lesbian orgy.

We went about our scheduled business as if nothing had happened.

Creating and delivering new guns to the Four Sisters members, purchasing potions for Mina’s inventions at Jessica’s mother’s potion shop, checking if any interesting jobs had been posted on the Adventurer’s Guild board, or if any replies had come from the Willow Sanctuary.

Huh? How did I feel about rolling around as a woman last night?

Well… to be honest, it was mind-blowing.

I can’t even remember how many times I passed out throughout the night while being touched all over by four women.

“My goodness… at this rate, our master might end up ‘corrupted as a female’~?”

I do remember Iris teasing me like that as she watched from right beside us.

I wonder how the well-raised Elder successor knew such terminology…

To get straight to the point, last night’s experience didn’t cause any changes in my sexual preferences or identity.

I reconfirmed that I’m happiest when making love to them in my male body.

That said, it’s also true that I was able to learn exactly how a woman’s body can feel pleasure.

And the results of that learning were fully demonstrated in our lovemaking after I returned to my male body—

“Ahhh… hic… huaaah…”

“I, I think we’ve… made a terrible mistake…”

“Yeah… we’ve created… ngh… a monster…”

“Zzzzzz….”

I not only completely wore out all four women but reduced them to a state where they couldn’t move a finger.

Jessica had fainted in a state that would get me beaten to death on the spot if her parents saw her.

Phyllis was barely holding onto her sanity, but the light in her eyes had gone out like someone who had suffered a terrible crime.

Seti was convulsing with her voice completely hoarse from screaming too much.

As for Mina, she had fallen into deep sleep, snoring away in the same position she had fainted in earlier.

A total victory indeed.

I, William J. Kim… am a man who thoroughly masters anything I learn.

“…So that’s why everyone is still unable to get up even though it’s past noon.”

“Y-yeah, something like that… hahaha.”

Leaving the completely exhausted Jessica and the others to rest in their rooms, I came down to the dining hall with Iris for lunch.

For reference, Iris had asked to watch my lovemaking with the women last night too, but I requested she retire to the adjacent room in case I might pounce on her under the influence of Seti’s pheromones.

It feels somewhat like covering one’s eyes and saying “you can’t see me”… like trying to hide the sky with my palm.

“By the way, what did you do for breakfast?”

“I had the French toast from the box while checking if there were any issues with the carriage.”

“Ah, good. I’d feel terrible if you’d been starving waiting for us.”

The primary reason I keep various dishes in the “Box of Stopped Time” is to serve as somewhat luxurious emergency rations, but it’s also for party members to eat without burden when our activity schedules don’t align.

Especially since Mina frequently misses breakfast due to being absorbed in her inventions until late at night.

“Are you planning to start the next adventure after receiving a reply from the Willow Sanctuary?”

“Not necessarily. Since we don’t know when the reply will arrive, we might prioritize a good job from the Adventurer’s Guild if one comes up.”

As we were talking, our lunch order arrived.

A set menu with tomato soup, fish steak, mashed potatoes, and a side salad.

The taste is… well, not bad, I suppose.

“Perhaps because I’m too used to the meals you prepare, Master, even the lunch menu at this 10-gold-per-night inn somehow seems lackluster.”

“I’m happy to hear that, but the chef here would be hurt if they heard you.”

“Honestly, every shop in this city overcharges. Ah, except for the potion shop run by Jessica’s parents.”

Iris whispered in a small voice.

The other shops charge such exorbitant prices that Jessica’s parents’ shop seems generous in comparison, though in truth, they too make quite a margin when dealing with regular adventurers.

Of course, that doesn’t apply to us, who purchase at nearly cost price thanks to the family discount.

As we continued chatting about various things during lunch, Iris suddenly asked with a serious expression.

“…If I may be so bold, Master”

“Yes?”

“When do you plan to taste the black and white elf sisters’ rice bowl?”

“PFFT!?!?”

I spat out my apple juice at the sudden sexual innuendo.

“*cough* *cough*… What are you saying all of a sudden during a meal…”

“But opportunities to have such conversations alone with you are rare.”

“That’s not wrong, but…”

“To be frank, even if things go well and we begin our activities in the west in earnest, I believe this issue must be addressed.”

“…You’re not joking around, are you?”

“No. This is as serious as it gets.”

After wiping my mouth with a napkin, I decided to engage with Iris’s “serious talk.”

It was about her confession of feelings for me when we first arrived in Technopolis, when she lifted her long skirt up to her thighs.

“Iris, you said you wanted to have a fling with me before returning to your elf body… or more precisely, before returning to the sanctuary and succeeding as Elder.”

“Yes. Apart from thinking you’re a wonderful man, I have no intention of running away from my duty as Elder.”

“That’s the part I find difficult to understand. Didn’t you say female elves can only bear one man’s child in their lifetime? Isn’t that too high a price to exchange for a night with someone you’re attracted to?”

Let’s say I accepted Iris and established a relationship with her.

Eventually, she would eat ambrosia, regain her elf body, and return to the Willow Sanctuary.

If I were only romantically involved with Phyllis and Iris, I might consider settling in the Willow Sanctuary with them.

But I also have Jessica, Seti, and Mina.

I haven’t thought specifically about my life plan after retiring as an adventurer, but it certainly won’t involve living among elves in the Willow Sanctuary.

At most, I’d visit occasionally, like going to in-laws’ for holidays.

“I don’t want to enter into such an irresponsible relationship where I’d make you unable to marry another man and then send you back to your homeland.”

I don’t want to ruin her future out of momentary passion, especially since we’ll have to part ways someday.

Iris should welcome someone as her partner who can stay by her side during her long years as Elder, share love with her, have children, and build a family.

I conveyed these feelings to Iris with sincerity.

“…I understand your feelings, Master. Now let me tell you my story.”

“Go ahead.”

“I am a genius unprecedented in the history of the Willow Sanctuary… no, in the entire history of the elf race.”

Suddenly?

Despite my incredulous expression, Iris continued her story.

“Normally, elves who walk the path of Elder go through about 70 to 80 years of training. Of that, mastering Arcane Words alone takes about 50 years.”

“That’s a period a human might not achieve even dedicating their entire life… so?”

“If you start training around age 10, you finish around 90. And around the time elves pass 100, a significant change occurs in their minds.”

“Ah, I’ve heard about this. The individual self weakens and begins to merge with the sanctuary, right?”

This was something I had heard from Garia, who told me about Arcane Words.

Elves begin to merge with the sanctuary as a kind of guardian spirit rather than as individuals around the age of 100.

After 150, their autonomy fades, and they live passive, accommodating lives like sturdy trees.

This continues for the remaining 150 years of their lifespan.

“I completed the Elder training in just 30 years. To be honest, if I returned to the Willow Sanctuary right now, it would take only about ten days to inherit the Elder position from the current Elder, Shulein.”

“Hearing that, you really are a genius… so why did you remain as a successor?”

“The moment the Elder position is passed on, the previous Elder’s life ends. I wasn’t prepared to take Shulein’s life with my own hands.”

A rather heavy revelation.

If the previous Elder dies the moment they pass on their position to a successor, it’s understandable that many elves would want to delay succession as much as possible.

“The problem is that such genius talent didn’t always manifest in positive ways.”

“Specifically?”

“I began merging with the sacred tree much faster than others. This means my time to maintain autonomy as Iris Eidra, an individual, was shortened accordingly.”

Like a child experiencing precocious puberty, Iris’s body and mind completed preparations for adulthood far too quickly.

This means she would begin her prime much earlier than others and maintain it for a much longer period while guarding the sanctuary.

That might be considered a blessing for the elves of the Willow Sanctuary, but…

“It must be complicated feelings for you personally.”

“Yes. Honestly, even now I’m not sure if I value the Elder’s mission because of Iris Eidra’s individual sense of duty, or because I’m already losing my autonomy and becoming part of the sacred tree.”

“Even though you’ve escaped the tree’s influence by becoming a dark elf?”

“Just because you put food in the Box of Stopped Time doesn’t mean it reverts to raw ingredients, right?”

“…I see.”

So that’s where the urgency I sensed in Iris’s behavior came from.

Apart from returning under the sacred tree’s influence when she reverts to her elf body, there’s the anxiety of not knowing how long she can maintain her individual self.

Being an unprecedented genius in elven society means she can’t reference others’ experiences, which likely fuels her anxiety.

“I want to have memories with the first man I’ve fallen in love with. While my soul can still burn with passion, while I can still laugh, get angry, and shed tears at life’s joys and sorrows…”

Because we must part someday, she wants to love fully while she can still love as a woman.

She values the memories she’ll carry as a person more than her future bearing fruit as a tree supporting the sanctuary.

That was the difference in our perspectives, the gap in our hearts as we faced the inevitable farewell.

“If I can just hold that happiness in my heart, Iris won’t regret it even if a reply arrives right now calling me back to the sanctuary.”

As she said this, the emerald eyes of Iris looking at me quietly burned with determination and passion that no one could ignore.