Lazy Salvation

Ashen was now approaching his fifth year in this underground home, and he still hadn’t seen even the shadow of the sun.

Not even once.

In fact, he hadn’t even left the base yet, and it wasn’t only him, but all the kids and women as well. The only ones allowed to leave were the men.

Ashen found this weird, and when he asked about it, they treated him as silly for wanting women to fight.

From his mother and sisters to his father and brothers, all of them said the same thing: the women’s job was to turn the base into a ‘home’.

They were responsible for cooking, cleaning, clothing, and taking care of the weary minds of the men, while said men were responsible for protection and bringing in food.

Thankfully, the water situation was handled by the existence of an underground water tunnel, but the main thing was that everyone already had an established role.

And Ashen wasn’t inclined to force his own views and ideas on them, especially as their approach did not seem to be wrong, judging by how they had survived until now.

He, too, liked the environment his sisters and mother had created around the base. No matter how big it was, it felt cozy and warm. Not to mention the various essentials they had created while staying here.

He couldn’t say for sure that an extra hand in fighting would beat a hand that fed and clothed you.

So he left it at that.

…but there was something else he couldn’t simply leave, no matter what he thought about it.

‘My brothers and sisters are acting too close.’

He didn’t know what to make of it. He had seen the signs and would even hear strange noises from time to time. Now, after five years, he simply could not deceive himself anymore.

‘These lunatics are into incest!’

“Fuck!”

“Language, bro…”

Lapis, who was napping beside him, spoke languidly, but Ashen ignored it.

“Lapis. We have a problem.”

“Whaaat?”

He did not answer immediately and simply looked at her silently.

That lazy expression, drooling mouth, and utterly comfortable posture…

‘She is adapting too well, isn’t she?’ he silently observed.

At first, he thought it was fortunate that she did not freak out when he told her where they were and explained the Beholder’s Eye functions, but now… he honestly wouldn’t mind if she freaked out a bit.

‘Yeah, she is getting too comfortable…’

He shook his head. Anyway, he decided to tell her his findings, since she would inevitably be affected by it.

“Listen closely…”

“Yea..?”

Before he could start, the door to their room opened, and their mother’s smiling face greeted them.

“Kids~ come along, me and your father would like to tell you something.”

“What is it, Mom? Are you pregnant again? It’s okay, I already know.”

Ashen waved her off with a small smile, like he already knew the gist of it.

“It’s not that… no, how can you even know whether I’m pregnant or not?”

“Are you not?”

“...Well, I am.”

Her son’s small smile grew deeper, and even her daughter followed suit, which made the mother strangely embarrassed.

“Anyway! This is not about me, but about you; let’s go!”

“Aye…”

Figuring that their talk would have to be postponed, Ashen dragged his sister along and followed their mother. The dragged girl did not take long to climb onto her brother’s back and continue her nap, much to the two’s exasperation.

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They did not head directly to their father, but first fetched Misty, Ashen’s twin sister, and then stopped by Cain’s room.

Only then did they reach their parents’ bedroom.

Upon entering, they found their father already sitting on the bedpost, wearing only his pants.

Their mother did not take long to put them on the other side of the bed before climbing into his embrace for a snuggle.

He naturally put an arm around her and looked at the four of them. By now, no one in the family batted an eye at their shameless display of affection, since everyone had become accustomed to it.

The father looked at them one by one, then nodded in satisfaction.

“Kids, it seems you have all grown up nicely. Perhaps it was due to all the jumping and prancing you’ve been doing all the time, haha.”

““Yes, Dad…””

“Hmm… alright. Seeing as some of you are already sleepy, I will get to the point.”

He sent a doting smile at Lapis, who was already using Ashen’s shoulder as a pillow, and continued.

“First of all, let me ask you. Do you little ones know what marriage is?”

“Yes!”

It was Cain who eagerly raised his hand while sneaking glances at the sleepy Lapis.

“Good. Then, Cain. Let’s hear it from you.”

The father readily nodded.

“A marriage happens between two adults to make children. We choose someone we get along with, and then make a family, just like Mom and Dad.”

“Yes, you’re right. Is that all?”

Seeing the encouraging look, Cain racked his brain before continuing.

“Yes! The one you choose must not have someone they already get along with…”

Tilting his head, he added, “And! They must not be from our family!”

“Good… good… it seems like your big sisters taught you well. I’m happy to see it.”

Cain nodded along with a happy smile, but he stopped with a question mark over his head when he heard his father’s next words.

“Although what you said is correct, and it applies to most humans, our tribe does not follow this common sense.”

Ashen, who was listening from the side, almost felt his jaw drop.

‘No, wait… are you really going to drop the incestuous talk now? With five-year-olds, even? Aiyee… Father, I knew you were a pervert, but not this kind of pervert…’

Unaware of his own son’s rude thoughts, the father continued his explanation.

“I will first start by explaining the cause. Starting from our home and stretching a vast distance, there is no longer any tribe alive aside from us.”

“…”

“…”

The other two kids did not quite grasp the implications, merely taking the information at face value, but Ashen, and Lapis who was now wide awake, grimaced inwardly.

‘Not ominous at all… haah…’

Either way, Ashen was starting to understand where his father was coming from.

“That means that aside from our own family, there won’t be anyone else to choose from as a partner. Do you understand, kids?”

““Yess…””

“Hmm. At first, it was just your mother and me as the sole survivors. Even if we made a couple of kids, no matter what, we wouldn’t be able to survive long with our numbers.”

“Even so, we did not give up, and the Eternal rewarded our persistence. You see, your mother turned out to possess a unique constitution.”

“Constitution?” Misty spoke in an airy voice, her little head tilted in curiosity.

“Hmm, yes. You can think of it as having a unique body. The uniqueness may differ from one constitution to another, but it is almost always beneficial.”

He paused to see if they were following, and after seeing a few nods here and there, he resumed.

“Your mother’s constitution is called Bountiful Cradle.”

He reached for his wife’s cheeks and started gently caressing them as he spoke, which she seemed to enjoy.

“It allows its bearer to bear twins of opposite gender with every pregnancy. Her body suffers no harm from pregnancy or childbirth, and every child she bears is born healthy, robust, and blessed with exceptional vitality.”

“Whoa…”

Cain’s fascination was shared by all the children. Even Ashen had never heard of such a thing before.

He knew of the existence of constitutions. His Mana Imperium could be counted as one, most likely, but one with such an ability… it was simply too fantastical.

“There’s more.”

And it seemed their father wasn’t done yet.

“The offspring of the bearer of this constitution would never suffer any complications in their lineage if they so wished to copulate and eventually have kids.”

“So that means!”

“Yes, Cain, as you have guessed. Your mother and I have used this constitution to populate the tribe. Our survival was on the line, and above survival, it is our duty as humans to leave as many offspring as possible to avoid the extinction of our race.”

The father stopped speaking as he felt his wife’s fair hand catch his. He realized that he was straying from the main subject.

Shooting her a grateful look, he turned to his children again, this time more calmly.

“We will get back to the reasons for our decision when you get a little bigger and understand things a little more clearly. For now, you follow the rules.”

“A twin of one womb will marry the twin of the next womb. That means little Lapis would take Ashen as her husband. And little Misty would take Cain as hers.”

“Do you understand?”

“Y-yes…”

The only one who answered was, unexpectedly, Misty.

The two adults trapped in kids’ bodies were too flabbergasted by the rapid turn of events, while Cain looked as if he had bitten into something sour as he stared at Ashen with jealousy.

“The others?”

“Yes…”

“I understand…”

“Cain?”

“Yes, Dad… I understand, but can we change? Isn’t Lapis my twin sister? I want to marry her!”

“You cannot. It is the rule. Everyone abides by it, and you will not be the exception.”

It was one of the few times their dad shed his indulgent look in favor of a more impartial one, and it made the little boy instantly nod his head.

“Alright, since you understand, off you go. But don’t forget what we talked about, understood?”

“”“Yes…”””

Just like that, Ashen and Lapis got out of the bedroom looking pale-faced. Following behind them were a fidgety Misty and an utterly displeased Cain.

“Ahh… what a mess, bro bro. What now? Are we gonna marry just like that?”

“...You’re taking it in stride.”

“Huh?”

She tilted her head.

“Well, you are my best choice based on the current circumstances, so there’s that… why?”

“Lapis!”

Cain’s steps didn’t stop until he came before her.

“What do you mean he is the best choice? What about me?”

Seeing his teary face, Lapis’ expression softened.

“Well, of course, I mean being a strong climber. Look at Ashen; he climbs so fast. That’s why I say he is the best choice.”

She ruffled his hair before moving past him, speaking encouragingly.

“Work harder to become strong, little guy. And make Misty happy, hm?”

“...Wuuu.”

Though she tried to be encouraging, her blunt words were anything but.

Ashen shook his head as he watched the scene and decided not to interfere.

His head was still full of the recent revelations.

‘Well… even if he asks us to marry, we’re still five. Surely there’s plenty of time to fix this mess before anything actually comes of it.’