bookpower Chapter 205
Chapter 205
Chapter 205
【 Side Story. Pure-White Mainac 】
“Did you get someone pregnant again, Kaina?”
Sakiel sighed as he looked at the man before him.
The white-haired man knelt down in front of Sakiel, wearing an awkward smile.
“Haha, Sakiel… Well, you see, listen to this. I was drinking with Jenny the other day, and, uh… I really didn’t mean for it to happen, but Jenny was the one who first——”
“Silence!”
“Geh?!”
Sakiel struck Kaina on the head with his staff, making Kaina clutch his head and fall over.
“Ugh, that hurts. Hey, aren’t you hitting too hard?”
“You deserve far worse. Do you even know how many children you’ve fathered at this point?”
“Of course I do. This one makes the seventh.”
“And you still dare say that so casually?!”
“Gyaaah! Alright, alright! Stop hitting me already! I said I’m sorry!”
After landing a few more blows with his staff, Sakiel sighed and sat beside Kaina.
“This time it’s Jenny, huh? That dwarf friend of yours?”
“Yeah, that’s her. Now, don’t get all worked up—just hear me out. She was the one who asked me out for drinks first. And, well, I couldn’t refuse a friend’s offer, so I went to the dwarves’ village, and we had a few drinks… But, damn, their liquor is insanely strong.”
“The alcohol those drunkards brew is nothing a human can handle. Even we elves, with our mystical powers, can’t withstand it.”
“Exactly! I even used aura, but the booze cut right through it and devoured me whole!”
“And when you woke up the next morning, you were in the same bed as Jenny?”
“Exactly!”
Kaina spoke proudly, as though he were the victim in all this.
Sakiel let out a hollow laugh at that.
“But from what I heard, you met Jenny every night for three days after that?”
“…Ah, that’s, uh…”
“I also heard that the first night, she came to find you, but after that, you were the one who went to her. Isn’t that right?”
“Well, you see, Sakiel… speaking as one man to another, when a woman takes the initiative, it’s only natural for a man to respond in kind…”
“You call that an excuse?!”
“Urgh!”
Sakiel rained more blows on Kaina’s head.
“I told you before—control yourself! You’ve already gotten seven different women pregnant! From seven different races! Do you even realize what that means?!”
“I—I can handle it somehow, right? Come on, Sakiel, I’m a duke now. A duke should be able to raise his own kids properly.”
“Haaah… I also heard you’re seeing a human woman these days?”
“Ah, Helen? Yeah, I think I might marry her soon.”
“Then deal with Jenny first before talking about marriage.”
Sakiel sighed again and gave Kaina one final whack on the head.
“You’ll at least take responsibility for all the women you’ve impregnated, right?”
“Oh, come on, you think I’m the kind of trash who wouldn’t take responsibility for his own women?”
“Yes.”
“…Maybe I’ve been living too carelessly.”
“At least you’ve realized that now.”
Sakiel chuckled teasingly.
But even as he scolded him, Sakiel knew very well.
Kaina Mainac, the Empire’s Fourth Duke—
He was, at his core, a good man.
“Still, you’re something else. It’s near impossible for humans to have children with other races, yet you’ve done it seven times. How in the world…?”
“Ah, the secret’s actually pretty simple—immense stamina, and countless attempts. The chances are low, not impossible. So if you keep trying until it happens—Gyaaah?!”
A bolt of lightning struck down upon Kaina’s head.
It was Sakiel’s doing.
“Seems you have too much time on your hands. Using that stamina of yours for such nonsense.”
“Ow, ow! Still, shouldn’t I use it somewhere?”
“And that ‘somewhere’ is getting every other race pregnant?”
Sakiel rolled his eyes and retraced his thoughts.
He began recalling the races of all the women Kaina had impregnated.
“Elves, dwarves, harpies, two beastwomen, a nymph, and a mermaid. But seriously—how did you even have a child with a mermaid? I’m fairly certain your child is the first human–merfolk hybrid in this continent’s history.”
“Oh, that? Some merfolk have legs like humans, you know. With them, under the water…”
“Stop. Don’t say another word. I don’t need the details.”
Sakiel gave Kaina a look of pure disbelief.
The savior and leader of other races—
And yet, a man completely unpredictable.
As the two continued talking, another presence approached.
“At least you didn’t try with our race.”
“Oh, Laboc, you’re here?”
“Good morning, Sakiel. And… I heard, Kaina. This time it’s a dwarf, huh?”
“Haha, well… something like that.”
Kaina laughed awkwardly, looking up at the giant leader towering over three meters tall.
Laboc let out a hollow laugh.
“If you’re trying to set some sort of record, why not seduce one of our giant women next? You might just become the first man to sire a human–giant hybrid.”
“Uh, Laboc, even for me, that sounds… a little impossible.”
“You never know. Besides, I’ve heard there are quite a few of our women who have feelings for you.”
“Uh… really?”
“So, think about it.”
Laboc said that and turned his head.
In the distance, more guests were approaching.
“Akkion, Veron—you’re here too?”
“Of course we are, Laboc. And Sakiel, you’re here too? Scolding Kaina again?”
“Of course I was.”
Veron appeared, perched on Akkion’s shoulder.
Akkion glanced at Kaina, who waved awkwardly, only for the centaur to lightly kick him with his front hoof.
“Geh?!”
“Should I be thankful or regretful that your filthy hands have yet to reach our centaur kind?”
“Hey, Akkion, even I wouldn’t dare…”
“Oi, what about us fairies? Why are you discriminating against us?”
Veron grinned mischievously from Kaina’s shoulder.
“Hah! The so-called leader of the other races—how can you discriminate like this? Are you looking down on our giants, fairies, and centaurs? Want us to show you our strength?”
“I–It’s not that! There are just some things possible and others… not so much…”
With Veron’s teasing words, laughter filled the air among the five.
The leaders of the other races—
Representatives of the four tribes—together once again.
They gathered together, continuing their conversation in a peaceful and bright atmosphere.
After some time had passed—
“Huh? Ishizu?”
At the appearance of a female elf, Kaina quickly rose from his seat.
The elf called Ishizu smiled and handed the child in her arms to Kaina.
“Naiad kept looking for her father, so I had no choice but to bring her.”
“Ah, I see. My dear daughter, did you miss your dad that much?”
With a bright smile, Kaina took the child into his arms.
The little girl, whose pure white hair was just like his, smiled happily as she rested in his embrace.
“Oh my, look how beautiful my daughter is. She’s adorable, isn’t she?”
At Kaina’s words, the other beings of different races all nodded in agreement—except for Veron.
Veron’s eyes glimmered with mischief.
“Hmm… but doesn’t she look like she’s got the makings of a little troublemaker? I can already feel she’ll torment me like a toy when she grows up—ack! Hey, Sakiel! Why hit me all of a sudden?!”
“You really have no sense of what not to say to a baby, do you, Veron.”
“I was just saying what I felt!”
Veron protested indignantly.
But regardless, Kaina never took his eyes off his daughter.
“My daughter, do you want to play with Daddy? Then shall we go out? Yes, let’s go. Let’s go home.”
Kaina kissed his daughter’s forehead, then looked back at his companions.
“I’ll get going first. My daughter loves me too much to wait any longer.”
“Alright, go on. You’ve got far more children to look after than any normal person anyway. And about the matter with Jenny… we’ll continue that conversation later.”
“Ah, got it, Sakiel. We’ll talk later.”
With that, Kaina left the place with his wife and daughter.
He headed toward the Mainac Family’s mansion built in the Protected Zone for Other Races.
The four representatives of the races silently watched him leave.
Then, Veron spoke first.
“…Sakiel, the future still hasn’t changed, has it?”
“No. I still see nothing but darkness ahead.”
Sakiel’s eyes briefly glowed before he shook his head and closed them again.
“No matter how many times I look, the result is the same. I can’t see the details, but… that mansion, submerged under water… and the heirs of Mainac bleeding. No matter how many times I look, the future doesn’t change.”
“At least it’s not something that’ll happen while Kaina’s still alive, right?”
“Right, Akkion. As you said, this isn’t something that’ll happen to Kaina. It’ll come long after, to his descendants.”
Once more, Sakiel tried to glimpse the future through his eyes.
But no matter how many times he looked, the vision remained unchanged.
“So… we shouldn’t tell Kaina about this, right?”
“Yes, let’s not tell him.”
Sakiel nodded at Laboc’s words.
“This isn’t something that will happen to Kaina himself. Let’s not disturb his life with unnecessary words. Kaina is our benefactor. We should ensure he lives happily.”
“But… we should still prepare, shouldn’t we?”
“Right, Veron. This doesn’t concern only the Mainac Family. It will affect our races as well. We too will suffer great losses when that time comes.”
Sakiel’s eyes could see glimpses of the future.
And so he knew—the Mainac Family and the other races faced a dark fate.
And that knowledge filled him with dread.
‘I hope someday I can see only bright futures… please.’
Sakiel silently prayed.
“Sakiel?”
“Hmm? Ah, Gideon. What is it?”
“It’s just… you’ve been standing there in a daze for a while, so I wondered what you were thinking.”
“…Nothing special. I was just… reminiscing about the past.”
“I see.”
Gideon nodded lightly, brushing it off.
Then he turned his gaze toward the young girl in his arms.
A very young girl, her white hair the same shade as Gideon’s.
“Heh, you look happy.”
“Of course I am. How could I not be, when our Kiana is this beautiful?”
About five years had passed since his graduation from the Academy.
In that time, Gideon had gone through many experiences—and among them, he had married Lisa and had a child.
“By the way, Kiana—you said her name’s a slight variation of Kaina’s, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“A good name.”
Sakiel smiled and gently patted the little girl’s head.
Then he turned to look at the center of the Protected Zone for Other Races.
A place where a vast lake had once existed.
That lake had long since vanished, and the great mansion once submerged beneath it had resurfaced.
“How’s the restoration of the mansion coming along?”
“It’s progressing, but I’m not sure it’s going well. It’s been underwater for so long that… we might need to rebuild it entirely from scratch.”
“There’s no need to rush. Take your time. You have our races to help you—rebuilding a mansion should be no great challenge.”
“That’s true, I suppose.”
Gideon smiled and nodded.
Then, as if suddenly curious, he asked,
“By the way, Sakiel, I heard your eyes have recovered enough that you can see glimpses of the future again?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then… can you see what our future looks like?”
“Our future, huh.”
Sakiel’s eyes began to glow faintly.
After a moment, the light faded, and Sakiel smiled.
“I see nothing but a smooth, bright future. There’s no need to worry.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yes, it truly is.”
Sakiel nodded.
Long ago, he had once seen a future filled only with darkness.
That vision had haunted him for countless years, tormenting his dreams.
But those nightmares were gone now.
His eyes now showed only radiant futures.
‘Mine… no, ours. The future of our races—and yours, Kaina. Your wishes have all come true.’
Sakiel looked at the white-haired young man beside him.
His future, too, was nothing but bright and peaceful.