Di Qi Ju: Excuse me, may I know where is Alvin’s ward? I’m his colleague from the expeditionary forces.
Hospital Concierge: Alvin? Give me a second…Room 2108.
Di Qi Ju: Alright, thanks.
Poppy:……
Thanks to that quick stop at the concierge, we managed to locate his room with relative ease. Judging from its appearance, it seems to be a singles room.
Just as I was about to knock on the door, Poppy abruptly pushed it open…
Mo Chuan:……
…slamming the door into the face of Mo Chuan who happened to be standing nearby. He was in the process of lifting the still unconscious Alvin onto the bed when we unceremoniously interrupted him. He was still dressed in Alvin’s clothes.
It was as if he had just given up on being a body double…was it because of the long wait?
Mo Chuan: Ju, who is this?
Di Qi Ju: Ah, she is—-
Poppy: —-Hi, I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Di Qi Ju’s fiancee. My name is Poppy.
Di Qi Ju:……
Mo Chuan: …fiancee?
Poppy revealed the same calm and refined smile she had the first day I met her. It was this smile that seemed to give weight to whatever she said, no matter how much it sounded like a joke.
But this calm exterior didn’t fool me one bit. I knew exactly how active and “unrefined” her imagination was.
Poppy: Hmm? Little Ju didn’t mention this before?
Mo Chuan: No, this is the first time I’ve heard of this.
Poppy: Little Ju, what am I going to do with you…you know there’s no need to feel shy about this matter.
Di Qi Ju: This has nothing to do with being shy, can we please skip past this pointless scenario?
This was the scenario Miss Poppy had prepared when we left that village. It was abandoned by me on that day itself.
Poppy: Don’t tell me—you’ve found happiness elsewhere?
Di Qi Ju: Let’s be serious for a second, over these past few days I’ve only come into contact with a bunch of stinking guys.
Poppy: Oh—well, that’s a relief.
Mo Chuan: Ju…who is she?
Poppy: His fiancee, FI AN CEE.
She curled her arms around mine in a tight embrace before turning towards Mo Chuan and answering him.
Poppy: In our hometown, once a woman has been engaged to a man, she belongs to him forever.
Di Qi Ju: Exactly where did this new scenario come from—-
Just as I was about to finish my sentence, my mouth was sealed shut by a slender but forceful finger to the lip by Poppy.
Poppy: Who would’ve thought that right in the midst of our marital bliss, Little Ju’s parents would suddenly be stricken with a serious illness.
Poppy: Despite our best efforts, they ended up dying a few months later, leaving Little Ju with an enormous debt from their medical fees and funeral fees….
Poppy: The debtor detained me and said that if he didn’t return the money within the time limit…as compensation, he would—-
She abruptly cut off her sentence and left those words hanging in the air. While it wasn’t stated explicitly, it was obvious as to what would come next.
Mo Chuan: I know the front half of that story.
Poppy: …I knew that Little Ju would have difficulty paying back the loan on time so I had no choice but to sneak away. Even if I risked getting captured by doing so, at least I managed to see him for one last time…
Mo Chuan: Such a tragic series of events…my condolences.
Mo Chuan: I want really want to help you Ju. But I just don’t have that much money to give you.
Di Qi Ju: Ah, you don’t have to worry about this…
Mo Chuan: Also, even though you’ve managed to escape. Miss Poppy, this place isn’t that safe either.
Mo Chuan: Our colleague, because of certain reasons, is now being chased by a killer. If you continue to stay by our side, you might get embroiled in this mess as well.
Poppy: Hmm? Are you talking about the stupid pig lying atop that bed waiting to be slaughtered?
Mo Chuan: Mhm—
Mo Chuan: —–ah??
His nod of approval was cut short as he turned towards Poppy with a look of disbelief on his face. What greeted him was a stony, ice cold expression.
While her face was deadpan, it still had that same smile on it. However, only a fool would think that she wasn’t angry right now.
Poppy: For someone to want to slaughter this stupid pig, it must mean that he had been sufficiently fattened up. There’s no need to worry about him.
Mo Chuan:……
Mo Chuan was stunned into silence by now. Even I was a little taken aback by this huge change in personality.
Di Qi Ju: Err…Miss Poppy, perhaps it would be better if we didn’t allow him to get slaughtered like a pig? Mhm.
Di Qi Ju: Deep down, he isn’t a bad person after all. I’ll feel bad if I let him just die like that.
Poppy: Sigh—
Poppy:……
Poppy: Alright, since Little Ju says so.
Poppy turned around and rested her head on my shoulders, her icy coldness disappearing in an instant as if it had sucked the heat away from my shoulders.
Mo Chuan:…That’s right! Ju, did you report this matter to the military yet? Shouldn’t there be someone coming over to protect Alvin?
Poppy: About that—there’s no longer anyone going after his life. He should thank his lucky stars for that.
Poppy: Little Ju, let’s go. I don’t want to breathe the same air as that pig.
Di Qi Ju: Err…is he really alright?
Poppy: Don’t you trust me?
Di Qi Ju:……
Di Qi Ju: Well…Mo Chuan, let’s head back.
Mo Chuan: ……
Mo Chuan:…
……
……
It wasn’t till nighttime that Mo Chuan came back to the inn.
He didn’t leave with us during the day but instead stayed behind to stand watch over Alvin.
Leaving behind such a kind hearted soul made me feel extremely embarrassed.
Di Qi Ju: Mo Chuan…is Alvin alright?
Mo Chuan: He’s fine. He was much more lucid after he woke up. He said that, there was a voice persistently echoing in his head. However, that seemed to have disappeared after he woke up.
Mo Chuan: I didn’t notice anyone suspicious try to approach him so everything should be fine.
Poppy: Didn’t I say so already, there’s no need to worry about that pig.
Mo Chuan:…..
Mo Chuan: Ju, who is this lady?
Poppy: Hmm? His fiancee of course.
Mo Chuan: Ju, I want you to answer me.
Di Qi Ju:……
While there’s some things I can’t explain, if I had to say who she was to me…
Di Qi Ju: She…is my benefactor.
Di Qi Ju: If I could only trust one person in this world, it would be her.
Mo Chuan:……
Poppy:……
She didn’t say anything but merely hugged my waist as she came closer to me.
As we stood there in a tender embrace, I could the warmth of her calm breathing on my neck.
Mo Chuan: …sigh.
Mo Chuan: Somehow, it seems like it has gotten even harder to understand you, Ju.
Di Qi Ju: I’m not that hard to understand…
Poppy: Aren’t you the same as well? Mr. Seasonal Wolf.
Mo Chuan: ……
Mo Chuan: My name is Mo Chuan.
Poppy: Alright then, Mr. Mo Chuan, do you mind spending the night somewhere else?
Mo Chuan: …huh?
Mo Chuan: This is the room rented by the expeditionary force in order to allow me and Ju to recuperate. You want to chase me away?
Poppy: Of course not, I don’t mean to force you out of here.
Poppy: But…don’t tell me that seasonal wolves have a voyeuristic habit of watching others have sex?
Di Qi Ju: ——-Pfft!!!
Di Qi Ju: Cough—–Cough, cough…
Mo Chuan: ……
Poppy: Little Ju, did you choke on something?
Di Qi Ju: Hey, you…cough, cough…
That sentence almost made me choke to death on my own saliva!
This must’ve been the closest I’ve come to dying ever since I’ve transmigrated to this world!!
Poppy: As you can see Mr Mo Chuan, my fiance doesn’t want to have a witness nearby as well.
Poppy: So, can you please leave?
Mo Chuan:……
Mo Chuan:…
Mo Chuan: I’ll be close by “listening” in on you guys.
Mo Chuan: Miss Poppy, you’re really strange.
Poppy: I’m quite sure you’re the strange one, Mr. Mo Chuan.
Mo Chuan:……
In the end, he actually left the room and found accommodation somewhere else.
Miss Poppy extinguished the lamps, throwing the room into pitch darkness in an instant.
What’s the time now? Is there only a quarter of the sunlight left? Or is it even later than that?
As she laid on the bed, she reached out with both her hands and pulled on my waist causing me to lose my balance and to fall onto the bed.
I laid there quietly with my back facing her. I knew she was right behind me at this moment but I never once thought of turning over to face her.
Poppy: Little Ju.
Di Qi Ju: Miss Poppy…isn’t it time for you to tell me the truth?
Di Qi Ju: It was like this as well during the afternoon. All you did was drag around the streets without talking about your situation.
Di Qi Ju: You’ve taught me so much about this world but that’s not what I wanted to hear.
Poppy:……
Poppy: It’s not like that.
Poppy: I just want to…can I get a feel of you first?
Poppy wrapped her arms around my chest and pulled herself into them.
All this while, my back was facing her, the sensation of her body indistinct, just like my impression of her.
Truth be told, I didn’t understand her at all.
Her thoughts, her secrets…even being this close to her, I still didn’t understand them one bit.
Poppy: Hmmm? Even though we are so close to each other, you don’t seem to be reacting as much as before.
Di Qi Ju:…..
Poppy: I get it, it must be because I’m still wearing my clothes.
Poppy temporarily released me and soon a faint rustling sound could be heard coming from behind me.
Is she…taking off her clothes? I suddenly became nervous as I remembered that conversation she had with Mo Chuan. In the end, I didn’t dare to turn around to check.
The next time she got close to me…
Di Qi Ju:…?!
It was distinctly soft sensation. It was so distinct I could almost picture the curvature of her body.
It was a slightly firm yet bouncy feeling that caressed my upper back, stimulating my sense of touch and causing that alluring sensation of sensitivity.
It was as if my sense of touch had been imparted with sight as I painted a realistic but illusionary picture of those protrusions in my mind.
Even for someone like me who had no experience with women, I was able to make out what they were…
Even though I should’ve been accustomed to her scent by now, the fragrance that lingered in my nose was still as tantalizing as ever.
Poppy: Ah hah. Little Ju seems to gotten a little firmer.
Di Qi Ju:……
Poppy: Weren’t you suspicious of the weight of my words that day? Now that you’ve experienced it, are you still suspicious?
Di Qi Ju: No…Miss Poppy didn’t lie at all.
Poppy: That’s right, I’ve never lied to you.
Di Qi Ju: But this…
Poppy: I’m not lying right now either, I said that I simply wanted to get a feel of you…
Poppy: To get a feel of your existence, your warmth…
Poppy: To get a feel of what you said before and of all the “communications” you’ve had up till now…
Di Qi Ju: That’s…what’s that?
Poppy: …
Poppy: I’m able to hear, to hear about all that has happened to you these past few days.
Di Qi Ju: Hear…?
Poppy: The person who wanted to kill that pig, Alvin, was me.
Poppy: Last night, when they were executing those adventurers, your name was among the list of victims killed by the adventurers.
Di Qi Ju: ……
Poppy: The power of “communication” allowed me to find the root cause of it; that pig…that useless pig was the reason why you were thrown into that dangerous situation.
Di Qi Ju: But I’m not dead…aren’t I just fine right now? Plus, that wasn’t Alvin’s fault.
Poppy: Hmm…that’s right.
Poppy: My heart is full of regrets right now. I thought that even if you were to join the expedition, you wouldn’t be assigned to such a dangerous job…
Di Qi Ju: It’s fine, Miss Poppy…I’m fine.
Poppy: Don’t call me Miss Poppy, call me Poppy.
Di Qi Ju:…Poppy.
Poppy: Mhm.
Di Qi Ju: Poppy, can you tell me about your situation?
Poppy: ……
Poppy: I’m sure you’ve managed to deduce some facts about my situation.
Di Qi Ju: Poppy are you…an inquisitor of the Divine Hall?
Poppy: ……
Poppy: I was, but no longer; I ran away from that place.
Poppy: The previous me was a clergyman of the middle ring who represented “language”.
Poppy: Other than my ability to communicate with intelligent organisms, I have an “ability to control the organs related to speech in an intelligent lifeform” and also an “ability to determine the contents of what was said or heard by an intelligent lifeform”.
Poppy: Both of them are at 100 points each.
Poppy: I have a bunch of other utility abilities but these are the 3 main abilities that allow me to represent the will of Westrealm in the field of “language”.
Poppy: That’s why, I’ve heard, from your body, the voice of…Hilda Carlyle.
Di Qi Ju: You know each other?
Poppy: Not really. But I’ve heard that she was pretty enthusiastic about catching me.
Di Qi Ju: So…you’ve been hiding from the Divine Hall all this time?
Poppy: Mhm, that’s about it.
Di Qi Ju: But, why did you leave the Divine Hall? Aren’t clergymen a really formidable existence?
Poppy: I’ve had an abnormally high amount of wish points from a young age. The inquisitor in charge of perceiving wish points found out about me and introduced me to the Divine Hall’s grooming programme.
Poppy: But recently, I’ve come to the realization that…life in the Divine Hall is so boring.
Poppy: The Divine Hall’s final goal is to realize all the abilities permitted by God.
Poppy: They hope that one day, the entirety of their clergymen will be able to represent every facet of God. This is what they saw as truth faith towards God.
Poppy: Even if it’s some minor matter, they will strive to find a suitable person and groom him or her into a clergyman that can represent that field.
Poppy: From important matters such as war and agriculture to minor everyday things like drinkable water and sleep, they will try to fill those fields with someone.
Poppy: Such a pointless goal…To think that I was going to waste my youth and not get married for such a stupid matter.
Di Qi Ju:……
Di Qi Ju: Is setting up a family that much more important than being a clergyman?
Poppy: Definitely—-
Poppy tightened her arms once more, the stimulation on my back growing stronger as she did so.
Poppy: It’s natural for a girl to love the man she set her sights on.
Di Qi Ju: …Miss Poppy !?
Poppy: Ah, you called me “Miss Poppy” again. Looks like it’s time to punish you.
Di Qi Ju:…punish?
Poppy: Let’s see, ohh—
Poppy leaned into my ear and whispered in an alluring voice.
Poppy: Your punishment is to turn me into a real woman.
Di Qi Ju: ……
Di Qi Ju: …huh??
Footnotes:
Credits:
Special thanks to Steve Granger, Ichitsuzen, and LaRue Martin!!
