After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 151

Chapter 151: Should I Do It?

“Why not just do it, if it helps?”

Gretel’s unexpected response upon hearing the wishes of the Empire’s female mages. I thought she’d surely be jealous and give me a stern look.

“Why? Aren’t you against it, Gretel?”

“Well, of course, I wouldn’t feel great about Lutz, whom I love dearly, being with another woman. But this is for Lady Beatrix’s benefit. I’m sure Lady Beatrix would approve of ‘seeding’.”

When she casually said “whom I love dearly,” I couldn’t help but want to embrace her. But first, I need to properly understand what she’s saying.

“Look at this.”

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Gretel spread out nine sheets of paper in front of me. As I casually started reading the contents, which were written on very sturdy and high-quality paper, my face stiffened involuntarily.

This was what they call a ‘pledge paper’. Like a contract, it’s a super powerful one where you swear to the Supreme God, and if you violate its terms, you’ll be excommunicated—a punishment equivalent to social death in this world, whether in the Empire or the Kingdom. In other words, it’s an unbreakable contract.

The content of such a contract was incredibly simple. If I provide my seed, the wind mages would forsake all ties with the Empire and pledge absolute loyalty to Princess Beatrix… It’s quite a contract where I give and Beatrix gets the reward, but I suppose that’s normal in this world.

Each sheet was signed by the mages in the common language of the continent. And beneath their signatures, there was the signature of a priest acting on behalf of the Supreme God… Huh? That handwriting looks familiar though?

“Hey Gretel, why is your signature here?”

“Actually, this is confidential from Baden’s priests. So I… right?”

“What do you mean ‘right’? If you do that without permission, you’ll be punished by the church…”

“Huh? Didn’t I mention it? I hold the qualification of a priestess.”

Oh, really? I’ve never seen Gretel attending church or anything like that.

If you listen closely, there’s a convention in the church that grants priest positions to those of A-class or higher in the light attribute class and unconditionally grants priestess qualifications to those in the S class. Gretel, who was confirmed as S class immediately after birth, quickly completed her priestess training by the age of ten and obtained the qualification to oversee a series of ceremonies conducted by the church. I see, if she was ten, it was natural that I had no memory of her.

Well, it doesn’t suit her. Just imagining her standing at the altar of the quiet church where devout believers gather and giving a plausible sermon… It makes me burst into laughter just by imagining it.

“What are you laughing at…”

“Sorry sorry. Gretel is an amazing child to have a priestess qualification. Next time, I’d like to see you in priestly attire…”

“… Someday. But… It’s not good to do it while in priestly attire, okay?”

It’s cute how Gretel reads too much into my words and turns her cheeks cherry red. I want to say that’s not the case… but cosplay in priestly attire might be quite appealing. It was very exciting when I was with priest Daniela, who took care of me with “baptism”.

“Cough cough. Well, anyway… If I were to provide them with seeds, faithful and excellent wind attribute mages would assist Beatrix, right?”

“That’s right. And when the women of the Empire and the Kingdom see how these mages enhance their magical powers with Lutz’s ‘divine seed’, they’ll surely think, ‘I want that too!'”

Yeah, I can easily imagine that. But…

“If I do that, I’ll end up with hundreds of prisoner women… Gretel, are you okay with that?”

“I definitely don’t like it, absolutely not. But even I understand that Lutz’s ‘divine seed’ shouldn’t be monopolized. Besides… as Ayaka mentioned, Lutz and Lady Beatrix will likely face more direct dangers in the future. We’ll need a strong private army in Baden Territory. If that’s the case…”

Gretel spoke very rationally, with something shining in the corners of her eyes. Truly, over this past year or so, this girl has matured. She’s learned to control intense emotions, prioritizing the happiness of those around her over her own desires, becoming a noblewoman in the best sense.

But her fiery temperament is also a reflection of her high “heroine attribute”. Suppressing it must be incredibly difficult for her, far more so than for ordinary people like us.

Yeah, there’s not much I can do. At the very least, I should appreciate her kindness, comfort her worries a bit, and soothe her.

As I quietly pulled her close by the shoulders, she didn’t resist, naturally closing her eyelids… and I deeply kissed those crimson lips.