Starting with the defeated female knight

Naturally, empires built on bloodlines also gave rise to bloodline-related cultures.

Not only did the nobles reject other races, but they also discriminated against and excluded commoners, believing that their bloodline was too low and that even their mere existence was a defilement of the human race, let alone touching them.

However, because the nobles had a low birth rate, or rather, a low 'quality rate', they reluctantly allowed commoners to exist, even though they looked down on them.

After all, someone has to do the dirty and hard work, and if everyone is a nobleman, the superiority of their bloodline won't be apparent.

Although later, with the emergence of the church and the magicians' association, ordinary people were also able to master power, becoming equal to or even surpassing nobles, thus weakening the influence of bloodline culture.

But after all, since ancient times, and even today, bloodline culture remains the mainstream ideology of the empire, influencing all aspects of life.

As a half-orc, Ella was naturally an extremely unpopular figure in such an empire.

The border area is alright; everyone here is considered a barbarian, and we have a lot of contact with the outside world, so discrimination and xenophobia aren't that serious.

However, due to the previous demonic tide, although thanks to Cecilia's efforts, Ella's village received the news and was evacuated in advance, after leaving the border and entering the true imperial civilization, she naturally suffered from disgust and discrimination because of her overly obvious half-orc characteristics.

Bastard, defiled, untouchable...

Although those people weren't of particularly high bloodline either, it was precisely because of this that the suddenly appearing half-orcs were all the more worthy of persecution.

After all, it's rare to find someone of lower bloodline who can be openly discriminated against by them.

Refugees were already considered inferior, border barbarians were even lower, and those of half-orc blood were three levels lower.

By constantly disguising herself and hiding, she finally managed to survive until the end of the demonic tide. As soon as possible, Ella fled the empire and returned to the border.

However, what awaited her was not the familiar village, but a ruin left behind after the demonic tide had ravaged the area.

The streets were deserted, the houses were collapsed and damaged, and even outside, there was hardly any living thing to be seen.

The dark red blood had long since dried, and the corpses by the roadside were already rotting. Occasionally, a few moving figures could be seen, and upon chasing after them, it was discovered that they were mutated creatures whose brains had been damaged by the demonic tide, and whose mutated parts were constantly rotting and collapsing.

They had no companions, no shelter, and no food.

After a long and arduous journey, starving, she turned her gaze to the roadside plants, and then...

There's no after that.

She looked like she was dying.

Consciousness gradually faded, and the body grew colder.

But unexpectedly, Ella didn't feel much fear. Instead, she shrank back and a faint smile appeared on her face.

If I die, I won't have to starve anymore.

If I die, I won't have to be chased around like a monster anymore.

If I die, maybe I can see my mother again.

Then, she would rush into her arms and tell her how, after she left, she had kept her promise and behaved like a good child...

My consciousness continued to sink, as if falling into the deep sea, becoming increasingly blurry and cold.

But just as she felt herself about to fall into darkness, her fingers touching the door called death, the surroundings suddenly warmed up.

The seawater had become viscous and felt somewhat disgusting, but it was full of life, reminding her of the slugs she had eaten in the wild before.

However, although it has a sticky texture, it is much better than slugs in terms of taste and satiety.

This was her subconscious thought after she instinctively swallowed a few mouthfuls.

Moreover, for some reason, even though the viscous liquid had no temperature, she felt it start to heat up inside her stomach after swallowing it.

It's not scorching hot, but more like the feeling of sunlight on your skin.

Starting from the lower abdomen, then to the chest, and finally to the limbs.

She felt her body gradually become lighter and began to rise from the seabed, floating higher and higher.

Until the moment it leaves the water and flies into the sky.

She opened her eyes.

Before her lay a scene she had never seen before.

Wriggling, fleshy tentacles intertwined, spreading from bottom to top, filling her entire field of vision and covering the entire cave, like the internal organs of some kind of creature.

She found herself in a pool woven from tentacles, filled with a viscous, disgusting liquid. Leaning against the back of the pool, she could clearly feel the soft, slippery texture that seemed to be breathing as it rose and fell.

Looking up, dozens of tentacles dripping with viscous fluid hung from the top of the fleshy wall, constantly secreting and dripping that disgusting, sticky liquid.

Moreover, one of them was hanging right in front of her, and after she opened her eyes, it even sticked up, with an eyeball appearing at the tip.

Eye contact.

There was silence.

Just as Green was wondering if the child had been scared out of his wits and was about to go outside to call for the female warrior,

A gentle touch came.

Under Green's watchful gaze, Ella poked her head out and greedily scraped the surface of the tentacle with her soft and flexible tongue, rolling up all the slime on the surface and swallowing it all into her mouth.

However, perhaps because there was too much mucus and her mouth was too small, despite her best efforts to swallow it all, some mucus still spilled from the corners of her mouth, dripped onto her smooth collarbone, and then slid down into the pool of mucus beneath her.

Gulu.

After a while of struggling to swallow the 'slug' in her mouth, Ella finally came to her senses and noticed the eye staring at her. She shrank back in fear.

"that......"

She hesitated for a long time before lowering her head.

"sorry."

"but......"

"It's really delicious..."

Volume 1: Chapter 16: Can this stuff even taste good?

[Can this stuff even taste good?]

He glanced at the sticky substance on his tentacles, which even he himself found a bit excessive. And after multiple rounds of verification, both the pampered Edith and the hard-working Tania—the former female warrior—had surprisingly consistent opinions on it.

It's okay when applied to the body, although it's sticky, but you can get used to it.

But once it enters your mouth, whether it's so sticky it's almost solid but can't be chewed with your teeth, or even if you swallow half of it, you can pull it out completely if you pinch the outside with your fingers, or it's salty and fishy, ​​yet with a disgustingly sweet taste, it can be described as hellishly unpalatable.

Because of the numerous complaints, Green has been trying to improve the taste of the nutrient solution amidst his recent busy schedule.

However, at present, either the taste has improved but the healing ability has decreased, or the healing ability remains the same but the taste has become worse. So far, there have been no results.

Back to the topic.

After gathering his thoughts, Green refocused his attention on Ella.

Its gaze swept over her body from top to bottom, then it extended its tentacles, lifted her out of the pool, and checked some places it hadn't seen before.

And then came to a conclusion.

Aside from the wolf ears on her head, limbs, protruding canine teeth, and tail on her back, her other physical features are basically no different from those of a typical human female.

[Besides the armpits and waist being sensitive areas, the base of the tail and the inside of the ears also react when touched. Even if it's not ticklish, it should be similar.]

【as well as......】

The tentacle swept across the girl's abdomen, feeling the distinct bony structure, and Green shook his head.

How did this child manage to get so thin?

Since her mother's death, she had basically not eaten anything proper, coupled with her previous escape and what she encountered after returning.

Ella's current figure cannot be described as slender; it's more like skin covering her bones. She's so thin that just looking at her is unsettling, even bordering on deformed.

This is why Green didn't consider the possibility of mental pollution or frightening her, and simply dragged her into the cave's tentacle pool.

To Green's surprise, the overly fragile child did not show any particular behavior after waking up.

She didn't scream or yell, she wasn't terrified to the point of madness, and even when he was examining her body, she seemed somewhat timid.

But compared to any fear of terrifying monsters, Green felt that the child was simply uncomfortable and shy.

Especially when he called Tanya in, intending for her to act as his translator and chat with the little guy.

When faced with the sudden appearance of Tania, Ella showed even greater fear than when facing the tentacles. She even subconsciously picked up one of the tentacles and hugged it to her chest, as if the tentacles in her arms could make her feel at ease.

But this is not surprising.

After all, for the orcs of the Empire, the question of whether humans or monsters are more terrifying has never needed an answer.

"My name is... Ella..."

"Age...I don't know..."

"I won't cause trouble... I don't eat much... and I'm not picky about food..."

"I can help with the work... just give me some food..."

[Take a break. In your current state, forget about doing any work; you'd probably die after just a couple of walks.]

Green shook his head.

Even disregarding things like pity, this child was the first non-human unit he had ever obtained, and her research value was very high. He didn't want her to die like this.

Then, Green's gaze swept over Ella's abdomen, and suddenly he realized something.

[This child is so thin, could he have some kind of stomach problem or something?]

Green initially wanted to find a doctor to examine her, but after recalling the composition of the camp, he realized there didn't seem to be any suitable ones, so it seemed he would have to temporarily...

Ok?

As they pondered, the gazes of the two tentacles met, and then they blinked together.

Wait, it seems...

"Sweetie, open your mouth, let me check your body."

After Ella understood his meaning, Green extended his tentacles and firmly fixed her body and limbs.

Next, after she opened her mouth, they first used other tentacles to block her mouth, making sure she couldn't close it, and then extended a thin tentacle with an eyeball at the tip and stuffed it into her mouth.

Yes, it's a gastroscopy.

However, perhaps because she hadn't eaten normally for a long time, and was also a little nervous, her esophagus was somewhat constricted, making it difficult to swallow.

In addition, having never done anything like this before and lacking experience, and having to be careful not to block her breathing, Green could only tentatively probe deeper little by little, occasionally pulling back or secreting fluid for lubrication to avoid causing her any harm.

"Ugh....Mmm....Ugh....Mmm..."

Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it will be over soon...

Probe, stir, soothe, infiltrate little by little, until completely penetrated.

After a long while, she kept gagging and tears streamed down her face.

The eyeball tentacle was finally pulled out of her mouth, and at the same time, the other tentacles loosened their restraints on her.

Okay, confirmed.

This unfortunate child's stomach is basically rotten.

Because he wasn't a professional doctor, Green couldn't make an accurate assessment of the condition in her stomach.

But what he was certain of was that a stomach that even a layman like him could immediately tell was wrong must have serious problems.

For the next period of time, just stay here and recover.

Forget about other foods, just drink this nutrient solution to survive. It may taste terrible, but it's good for your stomach.

If possible, I'll ask around later to see if I can prepare some herbal medicine for your stomach ailment, or perhaps find a priest who can provide healing.

Although Tanya relayed the message, Tanya herself wasn't as good at understanding Green's meaning as Edith. Furthermore, Ella herself wasn't very socially adept, and she wouldn't be able to communicate smoothly with people normally.

Fortunately, Ella understood at least one thing.

That's because the tentacle master allowed her to stay here and feed on those slug-like slimes.