Chapter 217: Am I a Masochist? (5K)

"..."

After Swani finished those shocking words, the entire space fell silent.

The flesh-mimicry construct said nothing, and neither did the coffin mimic chest.

The darkness settled into stillness...

But this unbearable dead silence did not last long, and immediately after, the coffin lid let out a tremendous bang.

Clang!

It seemed to have been struck violently by something; even the massive coffin lid trembled, nearly being knocked straight open.

"Hiss!"

A sharp pain shot through the top of Eliza's head where it had struck; she felt a tall, pointed lump was sure to be swelling there.

But this pain did nothing to calm the emotions in her heart; on the contrary, it only stirred her up further.

She strained to turn her head, trying to peer through the crack at the babbling fool behind her, wanting to glare at her—but she couldn't see a thing.

Her view was entirely blocked by her court gown, which flared out like a sea anemone; she couldn't see anything at all.

"Who's trying to seduce him!?"

Furious, she shouted, "You! What on earth are you blabbering about?"

You...

Tch, you're just like that holy knight—both of you are damn good-for-nothings!

"Isn't that so?"

Seeing Eliza so agitated, Swani became even more convinced of her own guess.

The vampire's demeanor didn't look the least bit like embarrassment; she felt it was more like someone desperately covering up after being seen through.

She furrowed her brow slightly and said slowly:

"You don't have to hide it. I remember reading about a case just like yours in 'The Dark Elf Book of Desire.'"

"Some dark elves with particular tastes deliberately wedge themselves into various tight spots, then provoke the slaves they normally suppress to 'humiliate' them, so as to enjoy the special thrill of being violated by their inferiors."

"Most often it's wardrobes, walls, or caves; the lazy ones just wedge themselves inside a blanket..."

"But wedging yourself into a coffin like this... I don't recall ever seeing that."

By the time she finished, her expression toward Eliza had subtly shifted—from puzzlement to a strange admiration.

"Your tastes are quite unusual."

"But you needn't feel ashamed; everyone has the right to enjoy their own se..."

Clang!

"Shut—!"

Clang!

"Shut up!"

Eliza slammed her head against the coffin lid, shouting and cutting off Swani's nonsense.

She's gone mad.

This woman has truly gone mad!

She felt she could not bear this insult.

"I don't need your help! Get lost right now!!!"

After enduring all that humiliation, she finally decided to make this woman disappear.

I don't need your help, just go, please!

"..."

At this moment, however, Swani did not obediently leave; far from departing on her own, she paced over to the side of the coffin instead.

"Are you truly certain you don't need my help?"

She gently placed her palm on the coffin lid, but the instant her fingers made contact, they were flung back.

Hiss.

The seemingly unremarkable black-iron coffin suddenly lit up with intricate patterns at that moment.

Herbert couldn't make sense of those markings, but Swani could roughly decipher their meaning—a sealed coffin, touchable only by the Warden.

"Ah—"

Just as the dark elf archmage triggered the coffin's protective mechanism, the vampire, who had already adapted to the coffin-pinching force, let out another pitiful cry of pain.

"Ow ow ow!"

She couldn't see exactly what was happening outside, but she could roughly guess that woman was behind it.

Fine, don't save me then, but why are you making things worse!?

Fortunately, the new force still didn't snap Eliza's body in two; it merely made breathing even more difficult.

It felt like, back when she was still human, having her corset forcibly tightened by a maid—as if all her insides were being squeezed out of place.

"... Go!"

After barely adjusting to the new force, Eliza forced out through gritted teeth: "I don't need your help!"

"Get away from me right now!"

Get lost!

Get lost right now!

"Lady Vampire, you truly are, just as Lord Herbert said, a most fascinating being."

Swani recalled the topic she had idly chatted about with Herbert earlier—you might want to go meet Eliza; perhaps you'll enjoy talking with her.

At the time, though Swani hadn't outwardly refused, she hadn't taken that advice to heart.

Swani felt that this kind of useless socializing would only affect her research progress.

She had been focused on her own research all this time, ignoring the vampire locked in the coffin, and had not socialized for so long.

And this time, on a sudden whim, she came over to check, never expecting that her conversation with Elisha would be so... interesting.

"Hehe... hmm?"

After smiling for a long while, she suddenly froze, raising her hand to touch the corner of her own lips.

A smile?

She really was smiling.

For the vast majority of living beings, a smile is a very normal instinct.

But for her, who had long since lost this emotion, it was very special.

When was the last time she had smiled?

Not a fake, feigned smile, but a smile truly from the heart.

"Perhaps... just as Lord Herbert said, I too have changed somewhat now?"

Then, what exactly had she become like this for?

Was it after killing her father, after her research made progress? Or after inheriting that hatred? Or could it be because...

She thought for a while, shook her head slightly, and nodded toward Elisha's rear end in indication.

"Since Lord Elisha does not need my help now, I shall take my leave for the time being."

Swani decisively turned around and left without the slightest reluctance... but after only two steps she turned back to add: "Please rest assured, once you've calmed down, I will come again."

Bang!

"Don't come back!"

Elisha, half-frenzied, slammed her head against the coffin lid and complained loudly: "You must absolutely not come back again!"

Stop tormenting me, I beg you.

"Hehe."

Accompanied by an ambiguous soft laugh, Swani's footsteps gradually faded away, and Elisha slowly calmed down as well.

"..."

And after finally confirming that the other party had left, the vampire took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

"Ha..."

Feeling the pressure on her body, beyond the pain and discomfort, there was actually a strange, faint sense of comfort.

And that was not what troubled the Young Lady vampire the most.

"Tch... it's all because he said all that nonsense, making me think wild thoughts here."

Elisha had driven Swani away just now for two reasons.

On one hand, it was because she didn't want the other party to make things worse trying to help.

On the other hand, it was because of confusion.

She wasn't sure what exactly this feeling surfacing in her heart was.

She didn't know why, after the other party said those words, beyond the anger and shame in her heart, there was actually an itchy sort of feeling.

A strange feeling of having been seen right to the heart of the matter.

Is this right?

Is that really what she was thinking?

Could it really be, as that fellow said... that she was unconsciously using this posture to seduce Herbert, waiting for him to come "help" her?

She had never thought about such things before, but after Swani's reminder, she finally realized just how shameful this posture of hers truly was.

Upper body stuck inside, rear end sticking out toward the outside.

"... No, no! Can't keep thinking about this!"

She pressed her legs tightly together, rubbing them against each other lightly, feeling utterly helpless right now.

Yes, helpless.

This posture really is so dangerous!

"B-but! If I don't let Herbert come help me out, then what on earth should I do?"

"Finding him to help isn't a problem, but what if he has some other ideas!!?"

"Would he do something to me? Would he use this to coerce me? Humiliate me..."

Elisha had never imagined she would feel panicked because of something like this.

And what she hadn't expected even more was that, beyond her panic, there was also a faint... excitement.

As if, seemingly, more or less, it felt like... she was secretly anticipating something.

The more she thought about these things, the more she felt her cheeks burning, and even felt, for the first time in ages, that her heart seemed to beat once.

"Ha, ha..."

She panted hard, making the already scarce air inside the coffin grow thin once more.

Although the Vampire Prince had long since had no need to breathe, this suffocating feeling also gave her a peculiar excitement.

No, that's not right.

There must be something off somewhere!

How could I get excited over something like this?

"D-does that mean! Am I really a despicable woman?"

In a certain instant, Elisha suddenly recalled when she was still human, at some ball she happened to overhear the noble ladies discussing a topic.

Those women hadn't noticed her passing by, and continued excitedly discussing those filthy, blasphemous, wild acts.

At that time, she was still a child and couldn't understand the things described in those stories, couldn't understand what postures they were depicting.

But now, she suddenly recalled them, and those memories actually became clearer and clearer!

"Aaaaaah! No, don't let me remember!"

She shook her head hard, trying to fling those long-buried memories out of her mind, but unexpectedly those memories only grew clearer.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"No no no, that's not right! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Could it be that I'm really the kind of… masochist he mentioned before?"

"No!"

"I really just thought the taste of holy blood was pretty good… how could that possibly be liking pain?"

"No, that wasn't me!"

Elisa wasn't stupid.

She simply hadn't thought much about it before, completely immersed in the stimulation the holy blood brought her.

But now that she'd come back to her senses… the more she thought about it, the more she felt her behavior in front of Herbert had been a bit strange.

No.

It was very, very strange!

"Aaaaaah—"

She didn't even dare think too much about what kind of image she was in Herbert's eyes…

"What on earth is going on!?"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The violent crashing sounds kept ringing out in the pitch-black space, echoing on and on.

Herbert, far away in the Pure Land, wasn't aware of Elisa's troubles — otherwise, he would certainly have laughed at her mercilessly.

So, at this point, you've finally caught on?

You masochistic weakling vampire!

What were you doing earlier?

The moment you first bowed your head and begged me because of holy blood, you already had no way back!

Hehehe, you've gotten hooked on holy blood!

He would definitely give Elisa another push, secretly stoking the flames, making her thoughts even more chaotic.

Unfortunately, Herbert was currently busy with the grand construction of his happy new home, with no time to tease her.

Watching the living stakes driven in with his own blood, Herbert looked at the gradually receding fog and the ground taking shape, and felt a bit emotional.

"It really took a lot of effort…"

Although many problems still hadn't been solved, and this place couldn't be considered completely safe, watching it slowly change stirred some excitement in his heart.

This place belonged to him.

No matter how many people came here in the future, no matter whether they would become part of this place, the ultimate ownership here belonged to him, Herbert.

Just like most children who hope to have a secret space of their very own, this was Herbert's secret space.

He could build freely here, give full play to his imagination, and let this place change according to his will.

A bloodline known as "construction maniac" had awakened deep within his soul!

Grand construction!

That's right.

I want to!

Build! Wonders!

Cough cough cough…

Of course, Herbert was only thinking about it — he wouldn't really start right now.

He wasn't that crazy; he knew the current base was still far from meeting the standard for building wonders.

What should be done now, and what shouldn't, he still knew clearly.

But a person has to have dreams!

"Cough cough, this is really getting too bloated, ahem, this isn't good, not good."

Having barely scratched the surface and already thinking about building wonders — Herbert didn't know what he'd dare to imagine once the city was truly built.

And as the town's foundations gradually took shape, Herbert suddenly thought of something crucial.

"Right, I almost forgot the most important thing!"

【"Hmm? What did you forget?"】

"We should give this place a name!"

Always calling it 'base' or 'Pure Land' feels a bit disrespectful to it.

Nie Nasha didn't really mind this point.

In Her view, this place was just a temporary dwelling — there weren't even any residents yet, what was the rush to name it.

But since Herbert had brought it up so solemnly, Her view had no intention of being a wet blanket, and She went along with it, asking:

【"Then, what kind of name are you planning to give this place? You must already have candidate names, right?"】

*Slap. *

"Haha!"

Herbert clapped his hands sharply and said proudly: "Of course I've thought of plenty!"

"Like Holy Soul Village or Divine Soul Village! Like Cecil Territory! Like Solan! Like…"

"Names — I can come up with as many as you want, it's no challenge for me at all!"

Don't ask where the inspiration came from… the answer is tribute, a heartfelt tribute.

"But before I make my decision, I'd like to ask you first — do you have any suggestions?"

【"My thoughts?"】

Nie Nasha was taken aback for a moment, then asked curiously: 【"Why would you want my suggestion?"】

"What are you so surprised about?"

Herbert, equally puzzled by Her surprise, countered: "For you, isn't this place very important?"

【"I…"】

The usually eloquent Young Lady of the Jester God suddenly fell silent.

Important?

It did seem rather important.

But was she really that attached?

Probably, not that concerned after all.

【"Herbert, I…"】

As if sensing this, Herbert smiled and said lightly:

"Don't overthink it, don't feel any pressure — just consider it as helping me brainstorm."

He pulled off his long boots and strolled barefoot across the newborn grass, feeling the vitality of the ground beneath his own feet.

"Nie Nasha, you seem to have forgotten one thing — this place is not only the ruins of your divine kingdom, it's also the base that I, that we, have established."

He walked to the spring, lowered his head to look at the reflection at his feet, saw the wavering shadow in the water, and laughed.

"For you, and for me, this place is a very important first step."

"It belongs to me, but at the same time it belongs to you."

This place belongs not only to Herbert, but even more to Nie Nasha — in fact, She holds an even more convincing claim of ownership over it.

【"…"】

"So, actually, I'm not only asking you to help come up with a name for this place — I want to tell you that this place belongs to you too."

"A name, or rather — what expectations do you have for this place's future?"

After a long silence, Nie Nasha finally let out a helpless, soft sigh.

【"You scheming rascal, you've really given me a tough one."】

"Hahaha!"

Herbert laughed in delight, sat down by the water, and said playfully: "I can't allow you to just sidestep yourself out of this!"

【"…I'm truly done with you."】

Since arriving here, Nie Nasha had indeed, intentionally or unintentionally, been erasing her own presence — not wanting to interfere with Herbert's decisions.

Her significance to this place was too special; once more ties were formed with it, it would easily trigger a chain reaction.

Even without intervention, the Holy Grail and Sophia had already been drawn out — if She interfered more, who knew what else might be drawn forth?

But Herbert didn't care about any of that.

Want to just watch the show?

As if it were that simple?

Whether it raised the difficulty or not — he didn't care!

You pitch in too!

The deity, helpless, then asked: 【"Tell me, do you even know what a god's expectation implies?"】

"What else could it imply?"

"Miracles? Calamities? The intervention of fate?"

Herbert replied casually: "Anyway, even if you don't expect anything, these things won't stay away from me."

Stick your neck out and it's the blade, tuck it in and it's still the blade — isn't there no difference at all?

"In that case, how about giving me a blessing instead."

【"Sigh… alright."】

She thought for a while, then quickly gave an answer.

【"Elda."】

She said:

【"In the ancient tongue, this means 'the place of beginning.'"】

【"And at certain special moments, this place carries another meaning…"】

【"The place of redemption."】

(End of chapter)