Riser
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🕑 Added 2025-09-20 20:50:01 +0000 UTCChapter 10: Breaking the Trauma of the Future
In addition to everything else, Milk immersed in hide-and-seek with the mind of a six-year-old rather than a man in his forties had a face that was both serious and cute, with a hint of manliness.
To a girl just beginning to be interested in the opposite sex, the charm of that expression was enough to send Cupid’s arrow straight into her small heart.
Bel was so nervous that her pounding heart might be heard by Milk, and Ru relayed her feelings to Milk in real time.
[Bel’s favorability has risen to 52. If you stay in the same space for 10 more seconds, it will rise to 55.]
‘Thanks for letting me know, but is this really okay?’
[I expect a bit of physical contact, but she’s not mature enough for anything serious to happen.]
As Ru predicted, Bel gradually moved closer to Milk. When her breath could be felt on his back, Milk’s tail brushed against her belly.
Still young, his tail was soft and weak, but the tuft of fur at the end brushed against Bel’s belly, giving her a gentle sensation and making her want to get even closer.
‘Ah... what a nice scent. It’s so good. So this is what a boy’s body smells like...’
After running around to avoid the seeker, Milk’s sweat carried the fresh, milky scent unique to young Holstaurus.
This scent would later act as a pheromone to arouse adult Holstaurus women, but for these two children, it was simply a pleasant milky fragrance.
Conversely, Milk also noticed the milky scent from Bel’s sweat as she drew near.
‘It smells nice...’
[The scent of female Holstaurus excites males. The reverse is also possible, but since you’re both young, it’s just a nice scent for now.]
‘I remember Yuke and Yuri smelled similar. I noticed it when I nursed, but I was too tired then to feel this way.’
[That’s right. Since you’re not tired now, you can respond more to the scent of your peers.]
“Where are you!”
“Here! Found you!”
“Ah! Really! Everyone out!”
Somewhere, the seeker had caught some kids. Hearing the voices, Milk tensed up and tried to make himself smaller.
Bel did the same, remembering they were still playing, and snuggled right up next to Milk, curling up to avoid being seen if anyone looked inside the jar.
As they pressed close together, more kids were found. Only about five or six remained hidden.
The seekers’ search was getting tighter, and they started checking places more thoroughly, drawing closer to where Milk and Bel were hiding.
Perhaps the tension was too much Bel poked Milk’s waist and called to him softly.
[‘Milk... Milk...’]
[‘What is it, Bel?’]
He answered quietly, and she replied with a troubled expression and a helpless voice.
[‘I have to go... I really have to pee...’]
[‘Gasp!’]
Normally calm and composed, Bel was known for her intelligence and poise, but now, too nervous to hold it, she was desperately fighting the urge to pee, worried she’d get Milk caught.
But how long can a child really hold it? In the end, she couldn’t take it and asked him for help.
[‘What do I do... I really can’t hold it... Ah!’]
[‘Hold on, Bel! I’ll check outside. If it’s clear, I’ll tap the jar once then run to the bathroom. If someone’s out there, I’ll tap twice. If you hear me get caught, quietly go pee and then come back and hide here. Got it?’]
[‘Milk’]
Bel, moved, gave Milk a quick kiss on the cheek to thank him. Embarrassed, Milk blushed and poked his head up.
“Ah! Found you!”
“Eek!”
But at the worst possible moment, a seeker looked inside and locked eyes with Milk, putting him in danger of being caught.
[‘Stay put. I’ll go out and distract them.’]
[‘Milk!’]
“Found you! Here you are, Milk!”
“Oh! Milk, you’re there?! Got you! Come out!”
The two girl seekers giggled and surrounded the jar. Milk, resigned, slowly climbed out.
He spoke nonchalantly as he let himself be caught.
“Wow I thought no one was here, so I was just checking, but I got caught. Too bad ”
“Hehe now there’s only one left.”
“It must be Bel, right? Let’s find her. Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I think I heard something from inside the jar?”
“Really? Milk! Be honest someone else is hiding here, right?”
You can’t fool a Holstaurus’s ears. Being closer to the wild, their hearing and smell were much sharper than a human’s. The kids immediately picked up on the sound from the jar.
‘Too bad, but it can’t be helped. At least if she gets caught, she can go to the bathroom.’
Even if the game ended, Bel would have a chance to relieve herself.
Milk was about to call out to Bel in the jar when she suddenly burst out and sprinted away.
“Ah! It’s Bel!”
“Wait! We found you! Wait up!”
Despite the calls, Bel didn’t stop, running even faster to get away.
‘Milk gave me this chance! I won’t waste it!’
She was surprisingly serious for a game, determined not to get caught as a way to thank Milk for his sacrifice.
But in her rush, she forgot one important thing she still had to pee.
As she ran, her young bladder gave out, and she stopped, her face twisted in distress.
“Ah... ah!!!”
Milk and the two seekers were right behind her when Bel couldn’t hold it anymore and wet herself.
The two girls and Milk were shocked, and the other kids, hearing her cry, gathered and were also surprised.
“Bel?!”
“Bel, are you okay?!”
“Why didn’t you go to the bathroom ”
“Pee-pants...”
“Bel is a pee-pants!”
The younger kids seemed to just think she was desperate, but the older ones (close to ten) snickered and teased her.
The two seekers especially started calling her “pee-pants.” Surprisingly, Yuke just looked at her in shock without saying anything.
Bel’s famously calm face began to crumble under the stares. Tears welled up, her face twisted, and she started to sniffle.
[Warning: There is a risk that Bel could develop a trauma that will change her personality. If you let this go, it could affect her for life.]
‘That can’t happen. The kids mean no harm, but I should step in.’
[A sudden achievement quest has appeared: Save Bel from crisis. If you succeed, you’ll get 2 body enhancement points and 10 favorability with Bel.]
Hearing Ru’s explanation, Milk wiped the smile from his face and looked seriously at the kids surrounding Bel.
It would have been better to stop the game and let her go to the bathroom, but he’d gotten too caught up in the fun and put pressure on her. Feeling sorry, he approached Bel.
Seeing her skirt soaked, he scolded the other kids.
“Hey! Don’t laugh! I said, stop laughing!”
Silence.
Milk’s small, gentle voice was more powerful than anyone’s, and it reached all the kids’ ears.
“How can you laugh and tease a friend for making a mistake? You should all be ashamed! Especially you two! I’m disappointed you called her ‘pee-pants.’ Apologize!”
“Uh...”
“Sorry...”
The two seekers, chastised, looked ashamed and went to Bel, taking her hands and apologizing.
“Sorry, Bel.”
“I’m sorry... I was too harsh.”
“Sorry, sis.”
“Sorry, Bel.”
“Sorry, Bel.”
One by one, the other kids also apologized. Bel, now crying for a different reason, accepted their apologies.
Then
“This.”
“Yuke?”
Yuke took off the cloth covering her chest and handed it to Bel. When Bel looked at her, Yuke scratched her head and said,
“It got wet. Who cares if your chest shows? But you should cover down there. Here, use this.”
“Y-Yuke...”
Maybe rivals become friends through adversity? Yuke and Bel, who had led rival factions to be close to Milk, now showed maturity as Yuke offered help.
Bel took the cloth, changed out of her wet one, and wrapped it around her waist. The games continued, and Yuke, now bare-chested, laughed and played with everyone.
[Situation resolved. You saved Bel from crisis and completed the sudden achievement quest. You gained 2 body enhancement points and 10 favorability with Bel, bringing her to 65. The kids’ attitudes have changed they’ll comfort friends’ mistakes rather than tease them.]
‘Really? That much?’
[Milk’s scolding won the kids’ hearts. It’s a good example for a future chief.]
‘Well... I guess it’s not a big deal to act mature among kids...’
The games resumed, and Milk took turns being the seeker and a hider, playing until sunset before heading home.
“Milk! Milk!”
“Huh?”
He turned at the sound and saw Bel running toward him.
She was the fastest runner among the kids, so she quickly closed the distance and stopped right in front of him.
Still young, she wasn’t even out of breath, but then her cheeks turned bright red as she bent down and kissed him on the lips.
“Mmph!”
It was a short kiss, but both of them turned beet red and stepped apart. Bel, blushing, shouted,
“T-thank you! I like you, Milk!”
Then she ran off as fast as she’d come. For a moment, Milk was stunned, and Ru’s voice sounded in his head.
[Bel’s favorability has risen to 70.]
‘I could’ve guessed.’
Watching Bel’s figure running into the deepening sunset, Milk realized what he needed to do in this world.
A relationship with parents he’d never had, memories with friends he never made in his tough past life, and a budding pink love he’d been given another life to enjoy all of this.
He resolved to protect this happiness so it wouldn’t be shattered.
‘This is truly a gift from the gods for my previous life.’
[Agreed. I will do my best to help you protect this life.]
As if blessing their resolve, the sun painted the sky with an even more beautiful sunset.
