NOVEL WEB Chapter 261: Chapter 261 - Leaving Middletown
"Young master, why have you let those women leave unscathed?" Number 1 observed the black-robed man and noted how the women who had arrived were dismissed easily after Ryuk signaled for them to go, contrasting with his harsher treatment of men.
This left him feeling that gender equality was lacking in this situation.
"....N-no need to answer, I understand." Caught sight of Ryuk's cold eyes, Number 1 felt his gaze wander, sweat breaking out on his forehead. He shifted his focus to the table, trying to enjoy his meal while occasionally glancing over at the four women who remained at the corner table.
'Can two different races reproduce if they don't both share human-like traits?' Ryuk, not paying attention to the primary matter at hand, was instead focused on the system's voice. He was internally contemplating the feasibility of interspecies breeding. He understood that generally, if a breed or race had a body structure similar to humans, reproduction may occur.
However, he also speculated that he wouldn't always come across races with human-like features, such as savants.
His curiosity arose from the fact that he saw a dark elf and a human's daughter, prompting him to try to understand how this world works.
[Host, reproduction serves the purpose of evolution. In basic terms, it aims to achieve the optimal condition of a specific gene or variant of a species. This can be achieved by combining two genes, one being weaker and the other stronger, to create a balanced variant that, through further evolution, could produce a gene with fewer errors.
However, it's also important to note that if there are no common traits between two genes, then evolution cannot occur, which negates the process of reproduction.]
The system clarified that two distinct races are unable to produce offspring because reproduction is fundamentally a process of evolution. Evolution requires some initial similarities in order to form a basis that can be enhanced over time. Without any foundational similarities, evolution cannot occur, making it impossible for entirely different races to create a viable offspring.
[But Host, you will be compatible with most of them, so you don't need to think much.]
'And why is that?' Ryuk recognized that his fundamental understanding of reproduction was not significantly different from the system. However, he was puzzled by the system's next statement regarding his high compatibility with a majority of races.
He had numerous questions about his body, including his extraordinary ability to nullify energy, the mysterious pheromones he was emitting, and various other peculiarities. But now, he pondered how he could reproduce with a majority of the different races.
Was his body remarkably unique or advanced? Or did it harbor numerous genetic connections?
[Of course, it's because of me ]
The system conveyed its message in a simple tone. After all, if reproduction was solely concerned with fulfilling evolutionary objectives, it wouldn't be particularly difficult for it to tweak the DNA and blend in some genetic similarities.
'....' Hearing the system's words, Ryuk ignored it as he observed the chair beside him, which was empty for human eyes and most of the people, including him, but the fragrance near him revealed that Esme was seated on the chair while covering herself in an illusion.
[Wait, but host, you don't have a kink, right? You know it would be hard for me if you tried to have sex with some female savant, since their height is smaller than your di—ERROR!]
'Keep silent,' Ryuk firmly declared, feeling that the system's words were crossing the line. He believed it was proactively forcing him to engage in reproduction or intimacy by mentioning it several times. Unlike its usual behavior, which was mostly just annoying and filled with lightweight, humorous quotes, this time it seemed to be setting him up for something intimate.
His mind was focused on something else as he noticed someone nearby acting strange.
Keeping the system silent as he used his ability, Ryuk, after finishing his meal, slowly stood from his table. This caused others to also stand as Esme's illusion slowly faded and she followed behind him, with all of them finally leaving the inn.
---
"Lan'er, don't be down; maybe that woman was jealous of you." One of the two women looked towards the third one, whose face was red due to humiliation, with one hand holding her neck where there was the mark of a chopstick wound, confusing her since her body was strong enough not to be simply penetrated by a simple wooden stick hit. Still, she was feeling pain there.
Even though they couldn't see what had happened to Lan'er, they overheard her mention that the woman who had suddenly appeared next to the man in the black robe had just exited the inn.
"I know," Lan'er nodded, her other hand clenched in a fist, knowing how that white-dressed woman was jealous of her as she approached that black-robed man, prompting her to grit her teeth and add, "that ugly pig can't compare to me."
Hearing her sister's words, Lan'er felt her lips curve as she began to smile and gulped down a bottle of wine, all her intoxication having flown away due to that woman's attack.
'....was that an illusion technique?' In the chair sat a woman with dark skin, quietly watching those around her. She remained disengaged, lost in her thoughts while hearing others mention that the earlier incident stemmed from jealousy.
Yet she alone grasped that the reason the mana was behaving unusually was linked to the presence of the woman who seemed to employ illusionist skills. Unlike her other sister, she had discerned a shroud of mana on the woman's face, altering her appearance.
This made her aware that the face they had seen of that white-dressed woman was not her own, but an illusion cast to hide her face. And anyone including her would be able to guess it since those golden eyes were already far too beautiful to make that woman's beauty evident.
"Senior Sister, should we report this to Master?" one of them inquired to her, causing her eyes to settle on the others as she glanced at the closed door before pulling her gaze back towards the table.
"What will you tell Master? Are you going to explain how you were all tempted by a man, and when you approached him, his wife attacked you?"
'?!'
"S-Senior Sister, that's..." The other women lowered their gazes, their fingers clenched in tension. They all understood their own limitations and the difficulty of being in this situation, especially before their senior sister, who had humbly bowed her head to support them despite the fact that the problems had arisen from their own actions.
"Don't be tense. Let's leave; Master will be waiting for us." With those words, the woman stood, followed by others after paying the bill, and all left the inn.
'That caught me off guard,' thought a man positioned far away, observing everything unfold. Cloaked and unseen, he stood silently before his eyes turned white, and suddenly his heartbeat stopped.
In a sudden collapse, he fell from his table to the floor, prompting all eyes to turn towards the now lifeless body of the man.
"What happened to him?!" As people hurried toward the lifeless body, a wisp of smoke lingered unnoticed by others, gradually drifting away and making its way for the door.
"Look into that smoke," a man cloaked in a black robe, wearing a mask of the same hue alongside a straw hat with his robe fluttering in the breeze, remained unnoticed as his deep, cold amber eyes tracked the wisps of smoke moving away from the door and ascending towards the upper town.