The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 60

“Evelyn, I’m really on your side, okay? If it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t recommend anything, no matter how good it is. Once you go to the Nymph’s Temple, you’ll understand what I mean.”

‘I’m just going to look without saying anything.’

Having firmly resolved this, she finally set foot in the Nymph’s Temple, following Nike.

Honestly, it would be a lie to say her expectations hadn’t greatly inflated at the word ‘temple.’ While the Hall of Glory was majestic and grandiose enough to naturally make visitors bow their heads, a temple would be different from that.

“Would it be a sacred place?”

Would she need to perform some ceremony of respectful prayer or greeting upon entering? She quietly asked Nike who was leading the way, but what came back was just hearty laughter that echoed off the ceiling.

“Haha, there’s no such formality, so feel free to come in. Nymphs aren’t gods, right? Now, look here. This is the earliest artwork among the relics we possess. The ancient nymphs lived like this.”

“Yes…”

Her eyes, sparkling with curiosity, scanned the picture Nike pointed to. The single painting was horizontally long, and with almost no discoloration despite its age, it was easy to view.

But there was one problem. Her gaze, which had been following the seemingly charcoal-drawn lines to discern the forms, gradually filled with bewilderment.

“My, my goodness… What is this?!”

The supposedly greatest masterpiece of the most ancient nymph wall paintings. It was filled with lustful nymphs enjoying intercourse, entangled in all sorts of positions!

As if she had never been flustered before her, Nike, now with a strange gleam in her eyes, whispered.

“Surprising, isn’t it? This is the true nature of nymphs that you didn’t know about. Nymphs, you see, being born from nature, naturally live lives faithful to desire. So much so that in the old days… Well, let’s carefully look at everything later and skip ahead to here for now. This isn’t the end, you know.”

“What?”

Led by Nike’s hand, Evelyn inadvertently left the indecent mural behind and passed several artworks. To be honest, they were so lewd and obscene that she didn’t want to see any more.

On the way there were columns that had lost their central axis and stood sideways alone, low bookshelves filled with old worn-out books, faded piles of stones, and wooden tableware with crude patterns. Those things looked intact, which was somewhat reassuring.

Beside them were some impressive-looking jars arranged in a row, and Nike pointed to the most strangely shaped one among them.

“Can you see the letters engraved here? This is the name of this jar.”

“Hmm… I can see them, but I don’t know what they mean.”

“Mmm. It’s in Elvish so you probably can’t read it well, so I’ll tell you instead. The Jar of Desire!”

“…What?”

The jar is what? Surprised by the unexpected name that made her doubt her ears, she looked again and saw that the jar was much more splendid than the relics they had passed.

Near the mouth of the jar, there was a lustrous mother-of-pearl decoration as if wearing a necklace, and what was most peculiar was the lower part. Unlike other jars she had seen so far, which had narrow tops and bottoms with only the middle bulging round, this one had two protruding parts. Moreover, the very bottom base part of the jar was split in the middle.

Just like expressing a human figure as a single jar.

“Uh…”

Nike tilted the relic jar and personally pointed to the letters engraved on the mouth part.

“Here it’s written like this.”

“What is that…?”

The shape itself was strange, and the name of the jar was also ominous, filling her with a sense of foreboding. Wouldn’t it be better not to hear it? However, since the grooves of the clear letters were right before her eyes, she was also curious.

In the end, her wicked curiosity won. Evelyn hesitated but didn’t run away, and for that sin, she came to know the meaning of the letters. Nike told her in a booming voice that resonated through her vocal cords, just like when she had performed in the agora.

“Beautiful nymphs, love freely. There is no being you cannot meet, from the proud elves to the countless humans to various half-human half-beasts. Follow the example of the elves who have been allowed to raise you and surrender your bodies to pleasure without restraint. Hurry, whoever nearby pleases you, mount upon their bellies and enjoy happiness!”

Pleasure? Mount upon their bellies…?! Evelyn was shocked at the sound that made her doubt her ears. She questioned with a sharp voice that surprised even herself.

“That’s impossible. This jar is a forgery, right? What a bad taste, how could someone make something like this?”

“Impossible! Evelyn, do you think I’m lying? This is a proper temple and there are no forgeries here. If you’re really suspicious, take a rubbing of the letters on this jar and verify it yourself. I’m telling you it’s undoubtedly genuine!”

“I’d rather pretend I never saw any of this. Goodbye!”

It can’t be true. Surely this… this… Nymph’s Temple itself couldn’t be entirely filled with relics centered around desire.