Starting with the defeated female knight

The remnants of the demonic tide still linger, and every now and then a rabid beast will emerge and wreak havoc.

But these aren't the most critical issues.

The worst part is that when they finally returned from afar and arrived at their hometown, what appeared before them was not the familiar scene, but a vast desolate ruin ravaged by the demonic tide.

Forget about storing food, they even dug up almost all the grass roots along the roadside. Many people died in agony, bleeding from all seven orifices, after accidentally eating poisonous plants.

Some people were so hungry that they hallucinated and mistook dirt for food. After filling their stomachs, they died in their sleep with a satisfied look on their faces.

Some people, driven to near madness by hunger, even turned their gaze to their fellow human beings.

Eve was also starving. Her already petite body became even thinner due to hunger. When faced with those gazes, she could only curl up and tremble. She didn't even dare to close her eyes to rest, for fear that they would think she was dead and throw her into the pot.

And it was at this moment, when the atmosphere grew more and more oppressive, and a monster called hunger was about to devour everyone.

A person dressed in black robes emerged from the shadows and not only shared food with them free of charge, but also promised to take them to a wonderful, prosperous place where they could be reborn.

His black robes fluttered in the wind, his sweet words were like honey wrapped in poison, and his fanatical and devout demeanor was chilling.

Let alone others, even Eve could tell that something was wrong with the other person.

but......

"Do we have a choice?"

Someone said with a wry smile.

So they followed the man and, after walking an unknown distance, arrived at the 'land of rebirth' he had spoken of.

Then, accompanied by the black-robed man's proud introduction, dozens of tentacles rose from the ground, surrounding them completely.

Those eerie, flowing eyes, lowered silently, swept over them as if surveying prey.

“Very good, the adults said you all look quite good.”

Facing the trembling lambs before him, the man in black robes smiled and spoke.

"It should be able to become a qualified 'material'."

The materials the man in black robes mentioned were the labor force needed to build Dawn City.

But clearly, these words had a different meaning when spoken by the refugees.

Then, the man in black robes turned his gaze slightly and landed on Eve, his smile becoming increasingly eerie.

"Also, the adults say they really like this child."

"It needs to be taken away and processed specially."

Are any of you relatives of this child?

"If not, then come with me."

No one responded.

And so, amidst a dozen pairs of fearful gazes, Eve was led away trembling.

At that moment, Eve thought of many possibilities, almost all the stories her mother had told her to scare children, and combined with the madness she had seen on the road, her legs trembled uncontrollably, and she could almost foresee the terrible fate that was about to befall her.

only......

Snapped.

The tentacle struck the man in the black robe.

I've told you so many times, if you don't know how to soothe a child, don't take care of her. Look how scared you've made her!

"I know, I know, but aren't we short-staffed?"

The man in black robes honestly admitted his mistake, then pushed Eve in front of a rather large building and introduced it.

"This is an orphanage built by adults, specifically to take in children who have been lost or separated from their families due to the influence of the demonic tide."

"Don't be afraid. Although the adults look a bit scary, they're definitely not bad people, and they really like children, especially little girls..."

Snapped.

【You want to share this too, right?】

"No no."

Then get lost! Those new recruits over there are waiting for you to assign them tasks, stop dawdling here.

"Yes, yes, I'll get out of here right now."

The man in black robes left.

Meanwhile, the long tentacles looked at the terrified girl in front of it, and after a moment of silence, gently swayed, signaling her to follow.

Come with me.

Because of the demonic tide, there were many children among the refugees who had suffered similar fates. As their numbers increased, Green built the orphanage.

Although later, as the population of the territory increased, the number of adults in charge of the welfare home gradually increased.

But when Eve arrived, there were very few people in the camp, and most of them were busy with construction. Only Green was able to spare the time to run the camp, so things naturally fell to his hands.

They guide you in, check your body, and after confirming that there are no major problems or infectious diseases, take you to the bathhouse for cleaning.

After washing her up and changing her into new clothes, once she had calmed down a bit, introduce her to the other children at dinner so they can talk to each other and get to know each other.

The warmth from his peers gradually dispelled the chill in his heart, and after several days of spending time together and being cared for, his fear of the eerie tentacles began to fade.

They even started to become somewhat dependent on and fond of it.

Then, after some time, since the group of children were just idling around anyway, it was better to find them something to do.

Green picked a room from the welfare home to use as a classroom, and then selected a few knowledgeable people from the refugees to be teachers, thus setting up a makeshift classroom.

Eve didn't know what was going on, but she was a very obedient child, so even though she didn't understand why, she studied very hard and seriously. Not only were she often used as a role model by her teachers, but even the Tentacle Adults praised her.

Then, time passed.

Through continuous hard work and study, she not only acquired a lot of knowledge, but also changed her temperament. On the basis of her previous timidity and humility, she gained a touch of gentleness and obedience.

At the same time, thanks to the abundance of food in Dawn City and Green's attention to the children's diet, her emaciated body, which had been skeletal due to long-term malnutrition, especially the hunger after the Demon Tide, gradually became plump. Even her previously flat and withered flat chest began to bud with small, budding flowers.

For the first time, she also had a faint, delicate, newborn feminine scent on her body.

Eve was very happy about this, but her focus wasn't on certain parts of her body, but rather on how much prettier she looked when she looked in the mirror.

Unlike other children, because her mother always talked about her father when she was little, especially about their wedding, she longed for marriage from a very young age, and was particularly curious about the wedding dress that her mother described as "pure white," "beautiful and translucent," and "like the most beautiful thing in the world."

Even when asked to write down their desired profession, they wrote "bride".

only......

Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw water droplets falling to the ground.

At first, it was just one or two drops, then more and more, until she couldn't stop sobbing.

"Mother......"

The tentacle sighed, emerged from the shadows, and pulled the girl into its arms, patting her gently.

The latter curled up in the entanglement of the tentacles, instinctively hugging them and burying its face in them. Amidst its constant sobbing, it gradually fell asleep in the softness and warmth.

Then, some time passed.

The city of Dawn is becoming increasingly populated and lively, and with the gradual completion of infrastructure construction, people's lives are getting better and better.

Because Eve arrived early, she became the "older sister" of the orphanage and began to help Green accept and comfort the other children.

Among them, there is another very special one, the bird-like beastman that Elise had encountered before, who was 1.8 meters tall and had a burly build, but was actually only eight years old.

Because she could only gurgle and cackle, the bird-like beastman couldn't say her own name, so Eve gave her a new name in the end.

Let's call it 'Eye Lamp'.

Because of its bright yellow eyes, combined with its jet-black feathers, it resembled a light in the dark.

Later, because she had a 'younger sister' to take care of, Eve gradually developed more of an older sister's temperament, becoming more mature and gentle.

Then, the time came to mark the establishment of the Touch Technology Center.

Because of the demonic surge that broke out a few days ago, Lord Tentacle mobilized Dawn City. Not to mention others, even Eve wanted to help.

In fact, Green had been working on building up the Dawn City Guard for quite some time. Even when Dawn City was still under construction, he had already begun to consciously have people do things that seemed meaningless.

Because Eve was always in school and her life was basically limited to the area around the orphanage, she was unaware of this.

However, due to her age and status, Eve was unable to become a member of the Dawn City Guard or participate in any battles.

However, she passed the test set by Green and qualified to become a cathedral nun, or rather, a tentacle technology researcher.

She didn't know what touch technology was, nor did she know what she was required to do.

But as long as it's for the adults, as long as it makes them happy, as long as it's a way to reciprocate that warmth and kindness, she's willing to do anything.

And then, as it turned out, she really did manage to do it.

Even after leaving the orphanage, her performance as a nun at the cathedral was the best among her peers.

While the other nuns were still struggling with Professor Morphia's knowledge of herbalism, she had already memorized almost everything.

While the other nuns were still meticulously recording the properties and methods of identification of the tentacles, she was already able to begin calculating and deducing.

Aside from the fact that she was really bad at Miss Tanya's warrior course, she was also the best at the tentacle course taught by Tentacle Master himself.

While other nuns were covered in dirt and even crying because of their own mistakes, such as overstimulating or squeezing the slimy tentacles, she was the only one who remained completely clean while rubbing the tentacles in her hands.

The container next to it was filled with the collected mucus, which had long exceeded the acceptable level.

It's like milking a cow.

She thought for a moment, then turned her gaze to her companion, who was soaked to the bone, with water all over her hair and eyelashes, her eyes barely open, muttering under her breath, "Oh no, I'm going to have to catch up on lessons now." A strange glint flashed in her eyes.

Pure white and flawless, beautiful and translucent, like the most beautiful thing in the world...

She seemed to remember something and blinked.

Is this considered a wedding dress?

It seems my mother never said that the wedding dress couldn't be liquid.

Her thoughts took a strange turn, and the more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

After all, in her eyes, everything about Tentacle Lord was the best, and even if the real wedding dress wasn't like this, Tentacle Lord's would definitely be better.

However, there were other things that puzzled her inside the church.

For example, in a corner of the church, there is a 'special room' exclusively for Miss Edith, which is said to be a place specifically for the proliferation of tentacles.

However, she had also taken a class on the proliferation of tentacles. Like the others, she had a sucker tentacle attached to her arm and, by absorbing their life force, let them personally experience and witness how tentacles absorb and multiply.

Although I do feel a bit bad, it's just a slight weakness and fatigue. Eating more at night and getting a good night's sleep will make me feel better.

But every time Miss Edith went into that room, she would act very strangely. Occasionally, when she passed by, she could hear strange groans coming from inside, as if she was suppressing pain, and sometimes she could hear muffled whimpers.

Furthermore, as their combat or rather, physical education teacher, Miss Tanya would not go to the bathroom after each lesson and training session, but would go straight to her room.

Eve initially thought that her room also had a bathroom, and that it should be better than the shared one. However, when she went to call her one time, she found that her room did have a small bathtub, but the environment was terrible, and there was only a tub that was not much bigger than herself.

However, what was contained in that bathtub was not clean water or milk, but tentacles that were wriggling and secreting mucus.

Even the most conservative and proper Miss Morphia occasionally behaves somewhat strangely.

Eve thought she might be sick and worried about it for a long time, until one day in class, when she went to hand in her homework, she saw a tentacle reach out from under the teacher's desk and into Miss Morphia's skirt.

At that moment, he was gently scratching her itchy spot.

"Well, adults sometimes...like to play pranks on people."

For once, Morfia showed a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Even so, they did not try to swat away the tentacle that was causing trouble.

But Eve wasn't surprised by this; in fact, she could empathize with it.

After all, if teasing her like this makes the adults happy, then she's happy to be teased.

Then, time continued to pass.

Because of her outstanding performance, Eve was given the opportunity to be commended.