After Retirement, Living a Stud Life in Another World - 169

**Episode 169: Gretel’s Pregnancy Preparation**

“What… what is this?”

Gretel, with a puzzled expression, stared at the ominous, pitch-black rope lying in front of her. It was a deep, absorbing black that even the smoke from a hearth wouldn’t be able to achieve.

“Um, could you quietly let me tie you up with this?”

“T-tie me up? Lutz, have you developed some new kink?!”

Gretel was clearly taken aback. While she tends to dominate in bed, she’s pretty straightforward and vanilla… No, I need to convince her.

“It’s not that… Please, just once, could you help me with an experiment?”

“An experiment?”

“Yes. It’s an experiment to help us conceive a child.”

“What?”

Gretel, who had been visibly recoiling, widened her eyes even further, and then those eyes began to glimmer with a strange intensity.

“If I go along with this, will it help us have a child?”

“I can’t promise anything. It might help, but that’s all I can say. Beato recommended this method… Can we give it a shot?”

Gretel’s gaze darted between my face and the pitch-black rope several times before she gulped and slowly nodded her strawberry-blonde head.

—

“Wah, d-don’t look at me like that, Lutz…”

Ayaka was deftly tying the black rope around Gretel, who had changed into her nightclothes. This ease… Could Ayaka have a thing for this too?

“No, Lutz-sama.”

Ugh. Even though I hadn’t said it out loud, how did she know what I was thinking?

“We, who live in the darkness, must learn the art of restraining others. It’s only natural that I’m skilled with ropes. The ropes tied by someone from our clan tighten the more one struggles… they won’t come off unless they’re torn apart.”

“Lutz, please don’t look… it’s really embarrassing…”

“Lutz-sama, I’ll have to ask you to leave the room for a while. From here on, this is a matter for a woman of the darkness.”

Ayaka’s eyes glinted ominously, and without a word, she pushed me out of the room.

—

Through the three layers of sliding doors, I could hear Gretel’s cries. It wasn’t out of fear or pain, but a desperate, pleading sound. It’s been about an hour since I was pushed out… What exactly is happening in there? Ayaka said, “It’s not something to be seen by a gentleman,” but that only made me more curious.

Hearing Gretel, usually so aggressive and in control, sounding on the verge of tears was surprisingly refreshing… Before I knew it, I found myself getting excited inappropriately. No, no, that’s not the purpose of this.

Eventually, the volume of her cries began to decrease, growing fainter… until they finally turned into a barely audible plea. And when even that faded away, the sliding doors quietly opened. Ayaka, looking slightly fatigued, appeared before me.

“I think the preparations are complete. I’ve done my best.”

She led me to a futon laid out, where Gretel, still bound by the ropes, lay breathless, her breathing shallow. Her nightclothes were disheveled, revealing just enough to be incredibly tantalizing.

“I’ve nearly stripped away Margrete-sama’s protective light blessing. It shouldn’t return for about two hours.”

“Thank you.”

Yes, what I had asked Ayaka to do, following Beato’s advice, was to use her dark magic to weaken the extraordinary defensive power that comes with Gretel’s innate S-class light attribute.

Women with a high light attribute are said to have difficulty conceiving. Their high defensive power, which is their strength, works against the sperm, preventing fertilization. So, if we could use dark magic, which counters light, to weaken that defense with Ayaka’s magic, which surpasses Gretel’s S-class… It might work. It was a very straightforward idea from Beato, but I thought it was worth a try, even if the chances were slim.

The black rope restraining Gretel had nothing to do with any fetish. It was because her light attribute blessing would likely resist Ayaka’s weakening, and the rope would prevent Gretel from thrashing about. This rope is a terrifying magical item from about 300 years ago that absorbs the power of light.

“Then, I’ll leave the rest to you, Lutz-sama. I pray for a successful outcome.”

Ayaka bowed and quietly left the room. Now it was just me and Gretel… Seeing her tied up and weakened, struggling to breathe, even someone like me, who has no interest in SM, couldn’t help but get excited.

“…Lutz…”

When she looked at me with such a pleading gaze in that faint voice, I couldn’t hold back. I forgot my original purpose and simply became a beast.