I Was Transported to Another World with a Male-to-Female Ratio of 1:3000 and Made into a Breeding Pet for the Demon Lord’s Army - 73

Chapter 73: I Will Remember Your Feelings Forever

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“That’s right… I decided I’d never get involved with short-lived species again if it meant experiencing that kind of pain.”

Muttering that to myself, I quietly returned the necklace entrusted to me by Lilith to its usual place. Now that I had given up both on adventuring and mating with a male… There was no longer any reason for me to wear this necklace.

“Ugh, just remembering what happened back then makes my chest tighten and I start feeling so sad… Alright, at times like this, I should go outside for a bit and let the cold night air clear my head. There’s no way I could sleep carrying these feelings.”

If I remembered correctly… There was some of the alcohol and meat my mother had hidden away in the underground cold storage. I’d spent two weeks taking care of Ken-chan. I deserved at least this much of a reward…!

“Hehehe~♪ When I’m down, I should eat lots of what I love, read some mating books, and cheer myself—wait, Mother!?”

“Puhahh! Nothing beats a good drink. Especially that first cup right after finishing a big job… Ah, it really hits the spot!”

Just as I was about to head to the underground door, my eyes caught sight of my mother sitting boldly on the edge of the outer stone border, drinking heartily under the full moonlight, completely alone but radiating confidence.

“Ah, Fiilia. Good job with the big task. How about a drink? Want one?”

“Uh, ah… Yes. I’ll drink.”

Urged by my mother, I slowly walked over to her. But I couldn’t sit right next to her, so I sat down with a small gap between us.

“Whew… I was on edge the whole time thinking I’d mess it up halfway through, but I’m glad it went off without a hitch. Still, I can’t believe I kept up that stiff formal tone for two whole weeks. I’m surprised I could actually endure it.”

Gulp gulp…

“Good work… Ah, excuse me, I’ll just have a bit of the meat.”

“Yeah, eat up, eat up. Today’s a day to celebrate the fulfillment of the Elf tribe’s long-cherished wish. The official wrap-up party is tomorrow, but all that’s left is sending Ken-chan home. There’s no way we’d screw it up now.”

“I see… Munch munch… haah.”

The meat skewer was perfectly salted, something that normally would have made me feel happy and content. But today, it somehow felt bland and tasteless.

“Sigh…”

Once Ken-chan left, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to eat again… I’d probably just go back to those boring days—reading my favorite mating books alone, going to bed with an empty heart.

“Haah…”

“You’ve been awfully quiet for a while now. Usually, you’d scarf down even my share of the meat skewers without a word.”

“It’s… It’s nothing important.”

“Out with it. I’m not the village chief right now, just your mother. It’s been ages since we talked like this since you left the village, hasn’t it?”

“Then…”

Normally, I would’ve tried to dodge the conversation and run away, afraid of being scolded. But today, maybe because of the alcohol… Or because I couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Ken-chan, I wanted to talk.

“Actually, today, Lammy-sama invited me to come with her to the castle… She asked if I’d be Ken-chan’s caretaker there.”

“Oh… And why not go? You’ve already left the village once before. The second or third time is not going to matter at this point.”

“I’m not worried about leaving the village. I’m… I’m scared… I’m scared of getting involved with short-lived species. Even now, my chest hurts and I feel like throwing up just thinking about it. If I get any closer to Ken-chan, and then we’re torn apart by death… I don’t think I could bear losing someone precious ever again!”

Since Lilith died, I had cried and suffered over and over, constantly blaming myself for not being able to do anything. Carrying the kind of regret that felt like it would tear my chest apart—I couldn’t stand it anymore. I never wanted to go through that again…

“I see… I kind of get what you’re trying to say. I’ve interacted with all kinds of species in my position as village chief. Of course, plenty of them aren’t even alive anymore.”

Mother quietly looked up at the sky, as if remembering something far away, and drank the rest of her cup in one big gulp.

“Whew… Fiilia. What if I told you I might die next week—what would you do then?”

“Eh, you’re going to die!? I mean, you’re pretty old for an Elf but…”

Thud!

“Ouch…”

“Don’t say something so rude… It’s just a hypothetical. So, what would you do? Knowing I was going to die, would you leave me?”

“Of course not… I’d stay with you until the very end.”

“Then let me ask you this—why? You always try to kick me out when I come into your room, and you refuse to wash the dishes because you ‘want to read your book’… But the moment you hear I’m dying, you want to spend time with me? You’re just taking the easy way out, huh?”

“Of course…! If I only had a week left with you, of course I’d treasure every moment of that week!”

When every minute and second was that precious, there was no way I’d waste it hiding away in my room! Mother had me all wrong—she acted like I was some kind of devil!

“That’s right… Then that’s your answer about getting involved with short-lived species.”

“Eh…?”

“Whether it’s a week, a hundred years, or five hundred years, it’s all the same. If you only have a hundred years together, then you spend that hundred years making sure you’re satisfied, with no regrets. Then you carry those memories forward in your life, never forgetting them… That’s what I think is the only thing we long-lived species can truly do for the short-lived ones.”

“Never… Forgetting…”

“Yeah. We remember the feelings of those who passed, and when we reunite with them in the afterlife, we can proudly boast of how we lived since then… I believe that’s the mission entrusted to us as long-lived species.”

The feelings of Lilith, who had already died… She drank poison herself at the end, choosing to leave this world before her illness robbed her of who she once was. Maybe… She wanted to send me off with a smile before her frail, sick body lost all trace of her old self.

When she shakily handed me the necklace with those thin trembling hands, I felt it: no matter how painful or sad things became, she wanted me to look forward and live on—that wish was powerfully etched in that moment.

I had been entrusted with something precious by Lilith…

“Well… What you do is up to you. Make sure you choose without regrets by morning.”

Saying that, Mother quickly tidied up the tray of drinks with magic and quietly put it away in the shelf. Then she disappeared into her bedroom, leaving me alone in the night.

“I… What can I still do for Lilith…?”

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