Chapter 30 – The Goose That Lays Golden Eggs (1)
“In the past. There lived a poor farmer’s family in a remote village on the continent. They made a living by plowing the fields and raising geese.”
“It’s terrible. To live the rest of your life raising geese.”
“Yes. But listen, Rogeria. While raising geese like that, one day they witnessed an amazing sight. One of the geese they were raising suddenly laid a golden egg. An egg made of pure gold.”
“Like the decorations on Dad’s desk?”
“It’s a much bigger egg than that, my dear baby. Anyway, after that day, the goose started laying golden eggs continuously. Exactly one a day.”
“Then I guess I don’t have to live plowing the fields anymore.”
“Yes. They had to. But they started to grow greedy in their hearts. As time passed, they couldn’t be satisfied with just one a day. So I came up with a very good way to do it.”
“What is it?”
“Think about it. After all, the golden egg comes out of the goose’s stomach. Doesn’t that mean that if you split the belly, not one, but several golden eggs will come out? I thought so, so I put it into action right away.
“Oh my gosh.”
“Now you know the end of the story, Rogeria. They took the knife without hesitation and cut open the stomach of the goose that was laying eggs. It was the stomach of an empty goose.”
“…”
“If they had been satisfied with even one golden egg, they would not have been able to live happily ever after. However, they faced such a result because they did not give up their instinctive desire. They cut open the goose’s belly like that, and they could no longer get the golden egg. Sweet.”
…
“That’s fortunate.”
“…Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
“Is it because this greedy family has been punished?”
“No.”
At the end of the long story, my father questioned my answer. I was so young and innocent that I spit out what I thought without any malice.
“Now, no one but them can get the golden egg.”
Why.
Does this remind you of old memories?
“Duke.”
But those memories were not important now. I hurriedly opened my mouth to rectify the immediate situation.
“I can explain everything. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that’s all wrong.”
“…”
“So listen. What happened is…”
“It’s broken.”
Duke dismissed my excuses with one word. Then he walked over to the damaged communications equipment and fidgeted with the broken pieces.
“It’s very broken. It must have been hit with a hammer or something.”
“It’s what Lope did on his own. It has nothing to do with me.”
“Anyway, is this broken?”
“Yes. But…”
“Then what about my milk?”
“What?”
I inadvertently raised a question mark at the absurd question. But Duke asked in a serious voice, as if it was a really important matter.
“What about my milk? Are you bringing it?”
“Ah…That…Of course I told you. Even so, the supply ship will be leaving soon. You don’t have to worry.”
“Well. To be honest, I have some doubts.”
“What’s the question…”
Suddenly, Duke approached in front of me. That ignorant hulking that fills the field of vision was enough to make me shut my mouth. He tilted his head and brushed my hair lightly.
“No, that’s right. I saw you flirting with Lope. How can I believe you? The two of you could have conspired.”
“It’s not like that, Duke. I swear there’s no such thing. And I’ve made sure to tell you about the supply.”
“I’m not sure about that anymore. You’ve always communicated with them alone. It doesn’t seem like a lie in itself that you contacted me, but I’m a little suspicious of what you were talking about. Because I’ve never heard of it.”
“That’s because you’ve been busy doing other things…”
“So, I was going to ask you tomorrow. Couldn’t you try to do something about the communication?
“Ugh…”
A sweaty hand gently tugged at my hair. I let out a moan involuntarily at the subtle pain.
“But…But it was an accident that couldn’t be helped. Lope’s bastard suddenly came in and did this.”
“Why did he suddenly know that I sent the kids to catch him? If so, wouldn’t running away be the right response? Why did he come here out of the blue to meet you?”
“I don’t know.
“Oh yeah.”
“Aww…”
In response, Duke pulled his hair a little harder. I naturally sucked into it and complained of pain.
“Duke. It hurts…”
“Because I said I was sick. Because it looks like you’re lying. Lope came to see you. And then he came over and had a conversation with the land side. Then he broke the equipment so I couldn’t find out what it was. No?”
“It’s not like that, so…”
“Even the first thing I saw when I came into this room was you and him kissing her.
“…Ugh.”
“So you know what conclusion I drew?”
Well. I don’t know what it is, but that would be a stupid conclusion. I gritted my teeth and grabbed Duke’s hand. But he continued his words while holding my hair.
“It’s a supply ship and a Nabal, and in fact, what you called was an escape ship for the escape of love. I don’t know when it started, but you and Lope must have been lovers. Well, I don’t know how much you loved it, but you all wanted to get out of this island somehow.”
“That’s…”
“The problem was that the only communication equipment was in this room. So I somehow tried to coax Hater into using it. But when he died and I took over, the plan was disrupted.”
“It’s not like that, Duke…”
“Because I know how to be suspicious, unlike Hater, who is withdrawn. So I called Lope at night, made the last call, and destroyed the equipment? You got out of here, didn’t you?”
“Really no… Aww!”
The logic and process were all messed up stories. However, I couldn’t make a proper excuse because I kept pulling my hair. However, Duke seemed to think that it was because he had hit the mark, and said with a big smile.
“Looks right. Seeing as you can’t make excuses. What kind of bullshit did the two of you do? Maybe they put soldiers on the escape ship? We’ll all be dead when it arrives, right?”
“Duke…Please listen to me…”
“Anyway, it’ll all be over in a few months, so I don’t know why you’re plotting such a complicated thing. Lope is so good? Seeing that even Lena is obsessed with it, even her cock is fucking big?”
“You must be wrong. Why would I do that? There’s really no reason for that.”
“It could be. But do you know what it’s like to think it’s really fucked up?”
“What…What is it?”
“So what about the fucking milk?”
His milk. Milk. Milk. Duke’s infantile obsession was not even laughable. On the contrary, I was irritated and my eyes were furrowed. But Duke asked me with a serious expression.
“Milk. Are you bringing it? Is that something, Roselia?”
“I told you. So let go of your hair…”
“No, I don’t believe it. I didn’t even hear you say it yourself.”
“I swear to you. The milk will come. I promise you, Duke.”
“Then if you don’t come. Are you going to squeeze it? Huh?”
Duke suddenly smiled and touched my chest. His nonchalant fingers brushed over his underwear once or twice before accidentally touching his nipples. A groan escaped with force majeure.
“Huh…”
“Here you go. You’re not going to squeeze it here. Your breasts aren’t that big either.”
“Don’t do it, Duke. I told you I promised…”
“Oh why. I’m just touching it. If I suck it now, won’t it come out? What do you think? Huh?”
“Don’t fuck me!”
At that moment, I screamed involuntarily and pushed Duke’s hand away. The irritation that had built up over his stupid attitude exploded in an instant. I couldn’t tolerate that attitude as if he was dealing with a prostitute.
But the anger didn’t last long. As soon as the sound I made echoed through the room, I broke into a cold sweat and stopped breathing. I gulped and looked up at Duke.
“Duke…”
“What. Don’t do it?”
“Sorry. I meant to…”
“It’s scary. Seriously.”
“Duke. I…!”
Before I could utter an excuse, Duke grabbed my hair. Then, I pulled it upwards so hard that I couldn’t reach it. His hair felt tight as if it were about to be pulled out, and a sharp pain tore through his scalp.
“What if I don’t stop, huh?”
“Now…Wait…I…I made a mistake. I…Ugh…!”
“No, I’m asking you what to do. Please answer me. I’m curious.”
“Don’t do this. I’m really sorry…!”
“I don’t need that, so answer me. What can I do, Rogeria. Huh? Huh?”
“Ugh…Ahhh!”
Duke smiled and showed his teeth and pulled my hair. The joy that a child feels when tearing off a helpless ant’s leg is revealed in that smile. This moment was so interesting that it seemed that the previous incident had nothing to do with it.
Stupid. Infantile It’s sick. Even if I took out all the anchovies that could be attached to him, it didn’t insult him at all. Duke was like that before. Just like now, he was a third-rate bully who used to harass weak bugs around with his big friends. Nothing changed.
No. Is there just one thing that has changed? Being able to tamper with noble ladies like me, who I couldn’t bully back then. It was an incomparable game for him. That’s why I can forget about trivial things like supply ships.
But fuck Whatever the reason, this could really tear your hair out. No, it could be worse than that. Right now, I’m banging my head…!
“Aww! Ugh… Ugh…!”
“Ahaha. This is fun.”
Duke was now pulling and pushing my hair like a yo-yo, hitting his head. He acted lightheartedly as if it were a joke, but his head thumped and rang every time he was hit.
“Stop…Stop!”
“You have to look at yourself. You look like a doll. You know that wiggling head. What was that?”
“Duke. I was so wrong. I was so wrong!”
“Okay. I got it. If you don’t like it, get out on your own. I’ll just hold on.”
“Duke please…Please!”
At that moment, his hand struck the back of his head, and his eyes suddenly turned black. Then, as I gasped and breathed in, my vision returned very slowly, as if a screen that had been turned off turned on. The fear that I might really die if I do this came over me.
“Duke! I’ll do something. So forgive me. Huh?”
“Okay. I’ll forgive you. Regardless of that, I’m just doing it for fun.”
“Please…Please I was wrong. I was wrong!”
“It’s a mistake, of course. It’s useless to beg now, right?”
“Duke!”
I groaned and looked around urgently. It was from the heart of wanting to find something to overcome this situation.
Suddenly, broken communication equipment came into view. I screamed with all my might, even though I knew it was useless.
“Yeah…Milk! I’ll make you drink milk. I’m the only one who can do that. That’s right!”
“Uh. But that’s broken. How do I know if you can get me some milk or not?”
“But…Yeah…My…I can fix it. I know how to fix it! Only I know. Really. So!”
“…Under.”
“Oops!”
Then, without warning, Duke let go of my hair. The recoil kicked me and I fell terribly on the dirty floor. With tears. Drooling saliva. All of a sudden, the mucus that leaked out of his nose fell to the ground.
And the shame set in. But Duke approached me as if he didn’t care about any of that.
“You can fix it? Really?”
“Yeah…Really. I can fix it…”
“Last time, they said there was no way if something broke. But can you fix it?”
“That…”
“Is that a lie too?”
“That…It’s not like that! Never!”
I forgot even the pain and screamed urgently. My hands and legs trembled uncontrollably.
“I was just trying to scare you back then. But I can fix this much. I know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s true. I… I’m majoring in magic engineering. It will take a little bit of time, but I can do it.”
“Rogeria.”
“Yes?”
“Can you really fix it?”
Hearing the heavy and solemn voice, I turned my gaze toward the damaged communications equipment. To be honest, I couldn’t fix it no matter how much I thought about it.
But first, I had to seize this small opportunity. I straightened my expression as much as I could and nodded.
“Yes. I can fix it.”
“Really.”
“It’s true. I swear on everything. Besides, I’m in a position to correct that more than anyone else in the world. That way I can prove that what happened earlier was a misunderstanding, right?”
“Um…Isn’t that wrong?”
The boy tilted his head for a moment, lost in his thoughts. But soon, such worries were bluntly spit out as if they were annoying.
“Okay. I’ll soon get tired of bullying you, so trust me. Can you really fix it?”
“Yes. I can fix it. Seriously.”
“Okay. Then fix it. You’ll have to hurry instead.”
“Okay. I’ll do my best.”
Only then did I let out a sigh of relief. In an instant, the tension was released and I felt as if all the energy in my body was drained. If I had been standing, I might have collapsed on the spot.
But then, suddenly, a small desire arose. Negotiations have always been about aiming for more than what was intended. If she continued to be dragged by Duke, she would eventually have no choice but to step on the predetermined future.
That’s why I had to leave even a small margin. With that in mind, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Hey, Duke. There’s one more thing I want to tell you…”
“What else?”
“It’s hard for me to do it alone, so I need someone to help me. Is that okay?”
“Why. To call a bastard like Lope?”
“It’s not like that! It’s not like that…”
At that moment, I desperately shook my head. Anyone who can help me in this situation. And at the same time someone the Duke wouldn’t be wary of. As I was thinking about those two conditions, one person’s name suddenly flashed through my mind.
“…Miss Lena. I need Miss Lena. She’s the top of her grade, so she’s smart and well-versed in magic engineering. You know that, right?”
“Ah. Lena.”
“Yeah. Is it okay?”
“I need Lena…”
Duke thought again. And just like that, he quickly brushed off his worries and nodded his head.
“Well, fine. Let’s do it together.
But he sighed and laughed as soon as he said that. Then he added a meaningful word.
“I don’t know if he’s in a condition to work.”
