Chapter 139 Losing Everything (Illustration)
Chapter 139 Losing Everything
“Well, anyway… now that all that is fixed, let’s continue with what we were doing.”
Reika clapped her hands, giving the girls a narrow, suspicious little squint.
“Yeah. We need to go out and look for food,” Yumi said, lifting her hand like she was answering a teacher.
“I’ll go hunt something,” Alessandra added with a sharp nod, already striding toward the cave exit.
“Then I’ll cook this time,” Yumi said. She pointed her tiny finger straight at Iryoku.
“You. Don’t wander off. Just relax, sir.”
“Hey, if you want I—” Iryoku began.
“Right—I’ll make a fire,” Reika cut in instantly, grabbing his sleeve before he could derail the plan.
Yumi grabbed his other arm, and the two girls dragged him outside with the kind of teamwork that only comes from long practice.
Behind them, Agnes gave him a gentle push from the back as they stepped out into the cold midday air.
They emerged into a small clearing between sharp mountain peaks, a couple of thin trees standing nearby.
Iryoku tried to say something—but Agnes was faster.
“Eh…” She cleared her throat softly. “I know.”
She hurried up and pressed close behind him, arms wrapping around his torso.
“Hey,” she muttered, cheeks flushed and voice small. “It’s morning… it’s time for your milk.”
Before anyone could react, Agnes yanked out one of her breasts, grabbed Iryoku by the back of the head, and pushed his mouth onto her nipple. His lips latched on instantly—pure reflex, like his body had been waiting for it.
Katherine’s eyes went wide, frozen in disbelief at the sheer, unapologetic shamelessness playing out in front of her.
“What the hell?”
Reika and Yumi finally released Iryoku’s arms. The moment they noticed Katherine staring, the two girls shifted almost in sync, stepping in front of Iryoku as if instinctively forming a shield around him while he suckled.
“Do you mind not staring when it’s Iryoku’s milky time?” Reika said, completely serious.
Both girls actually glared at Katherine.
Behind them, the wet, messy gush–gush, suck–slick sounds only grew louder—impossible to ignore even if someone tried.
Katherine frowned sharply and turned away with a muttered, “Perverts.”
Iryoku’s mind felt good—too good—bliss fuzzing out the edges of his thoughts. But then something twisted deep in his gut.
Something was wrong. He could feel it. They were hiding something from him. Covering something up.
He squirmed, trying to pull away from Agnes’s warm, milky tits.
“Hey—wait a moment—” he mumbled, but her hands clamped down on his head, and Yumi and Reika grabbed his arms, holding him firmly in place.
“Shhh… just relax and keep drinking,” Yumi whispered.
“It’s okay if you fall asleep…” Reika added softly.
“It’s not good to stop before finishing,” Agnes grunted, dragging him back to her chest with the force of a mother coaxing a stubborn child—except far rougher, far needier.
But she froze when Iryoku suddenly pulled free—milk smeared on his lips, breath sharp—and spoke in a serious tone, even with his mouth still half-full.
“Agnes!”
She blinked, startled. Her grip loosened immediately.
Reika and Yumi released him too—like their bodies reacted before their minds caught up.
Iryoku stood, wiped his lips with the back of his hand, and swept his gaze across the clearing.
“Where’s Christina?”
Silence.
Instant. Heavy.
All three girls’ expressions darkened, as if someone had flipped a switch.
Yumi lowered her eyes and murmured, barely audible: “We… wanted you to keep relaxing.
To forget the problems for a little more time.”
Deep inside the cave, Christina lay alone.
Still wrapped tightly in the blanket, she didn’t move—just a small, silent shape swallowed by the shadows.
Her eyes were blank, dead in all but function, staring at the rough stone wall with no recognition, no focus, no life.
Iryoku slid his arms beneath her frail body.
She lifted weightlessly, head tilting back, long bunny ears drooping like wilted leaves.
He carried her out of the darkness.
Cold daylight washed over her pale skin as they reached the cave entrance.
Her ears fluttered faintly in the wind, but she didn’t react—not even slightly.
Outside, the girls had already built a bonfire.
Iryoku knelt beside it and laid Christina near the warmth—close enough to feel the heat, far enough from the smoke.
He pulled the blanket back.
She looked like a lifeless doll. A breathing doll. Eyes hollow. Face slack. Her silver nun robe was torn across the stomach.
Agnes spoke quietly:
“Aqua already cleaned her… and her clothes. She… doesn’t seem to have any wounds. But…”
Iryoku nodded.
He lowered himself beside her and spoke softly—gently—as if afraid she might shatter.
“Sister Christina…” he whispered. “It’s me. Brother Iryoku. Do you remember me?... Yumi is here too… we’re all alive.”
He brushed a strand of pale hair from her face.
“Thanks to you,” he continued. “Your blessing—your Goddess’s power—it worked. You saved us. We’re only here because of you.”
Christina didn’t blink.
Didn’t track his voice.
Didn’t respond at all.
Iryoku’s heart twisted painfully.
His mind flashed to the orphanage—the kids under her care. And then to Alexander’s words:
“You should’ve seen it… those little demihuman brats, impaled on the trees, bleeding out.”
He cupped her cheek gently.
“Look… I know everything feels like it’s over,” he said softly, voice trembling with guilt. “But you have to be strong. Come back. Please. Don’t give up on life.”
He shook her lightly, desperate. The girls stood around him—anxious, helpless, lost.
Then a voice—calm, low, cutting—broke the moment.
“You don’t understand anything.”
Iryoku turned.
Katherine stood there. Not angry—just grim.
Yumi, Reika, Alessandra, and Agnes all glared at her instantly.
Katherine ignored them.
“I’m not saying you don’t know suffering,” she said. “Everyone suffers. But…” Her eyes drifted to Christina, as if she saw her own reflection in the broken girl. “Losing everything—everything—until there’s nothing left to hold onto… that’s the kind of pain that kills your soul while your body keeps moving. This girl is alive, but inside? She’s dead.”
Iryoku swallowed hard. “…But even you survived. You kept going.”
Katherine’s expression softened—just a little.
“I lost everything,” she murmured. “My home. My people. My family. ”Her gaze drifted far away. “And at my darkest hour… I found them.”
After escaping her destroyed homeland—
Bleeding, starving, hunted—
She found them: scattered children just like her.
Families murdered, homes erased, futures stolen.
“They needed help,” she said quietly.
“And because they needed me… I didn’t fall. They gave me something to hold onto.”
She looked back at Christina.
“But her?” Katherine whispered.
“She lost everything… and then had nothing left to live for. No anchor. No purpose.”
A breath escaped her—soft, fragile, almost defeated.
“Maybe… there really is no God in this world…”